Once everyone checks in, I'll start! It's a straight forward Season 0, so I suspect a smooth ride.
After a hurried summons to the Grand Lodge, a quick conversation with Venture-Captain Alissa Moldreserva, and a wet, stormy trip across the Inner Sea to Andoran, the small, warm Pathfinder Lodge in Augustana is a welcome break from travel. “I can’t believe we are wasting our time on this matter,” says Caudron Wallace, the venture-captain of Augustana as he paces the main hall. “Frankly, I want as little to do with it as possible, so I’m passing it on to you.” Wallace nods toward a door at the back of the room. “The vagrant through there was found collapsed on our front steps gripping a Wayfinder of all things. We still don’t know who he is. Talk to him, for the tale he tells is amazing if true, and then come back here.”
You enter the room at the back of the main hall, and find a small sitting room with six comfortable chairs and a few bookshelves filled with the latest Pathfinder Chronicles. An old, withered man sits in one of the chairs, half-dozing when you enter. His skin is shockingly pale and his features are sharp with high cheekbones and a jutting chin. Through his incredibly filthy visage, matted white hair, and infirmity, his voice belies something else. When he speaks, he does so with a look of absolute, confident superiority...
“My loyal subjects, welcome! I know that some of you might not recognize me in my current state, but it is truly me, Gandros, the long-lost Prince of Augustana. I have been in hiding since the untimely death of my father, the Emperor, preparing for my return to glory. Unfortunately, I bear ill news. The army I have been gathering in the otherworld has been infiltrated by agents of our enemies. When last I called my forces together for inspection, dark assassins attacked me and I barely escaped with my life.”
He takes this opportunity to roll up his sleeve and reveals a series of recently inflicted claw and tooth marks on his right forearm. He then launches into a breathless retelling of how he came to be in the Lodge, without pause or acknowledgement of interruptions...
“I fled back through the magic portal to this realm. Grievously wounded, and with the assassins in close pursuit, I leapt into the dark river. I floated past the Almsman’s Sanctuary, but couldn’t climb out of the water. I did manage to grab one of the bridges, but a plank fell in with me. I held on for dear life and continued to drift downstream. I went over a waterfall and then emerged in the lake of ships and crawled to shore. Augustana has changed since I last walked my city’s bright streets, but I managed to find this house, bearing the symbol of my father’s empire.” He holds up the wayfinder hanging from a chain around his neck. “I knew I would find help here! If you remove the threat from my kingdom below and help restore me to my rightful place as Emperor of Andoran, I will grant you any boon within my power!”
He then blinks a few times, staring at the lot of you...
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A young tiefling in chelish clothes Sam is light on his foot and has a strange reptilian quality to his figure. His face betrays little emotion and his cold yellow eyes watch the venture captain with a snake's gaze. Fool.
He moves silently to the next room and discovers the homeless man. After his monologue he comments.
Its a fool's errant old man. Andoran is a republic and that is not about to change. Cheliax's best have being trying to change that for decades to no avail. Besides, you belong in a nut house.
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A burly Keleshite man, wrapped in a white kandura and blue kibr, saunters casually into the Augustana lodge as Venture Captain Wallace gives the briefing. Aryk Sief al Kiraan is a man who always has a ready smile for friend and foe alike. He speaks with the clipped words of someone for whom Taldane, the Common tongue, is not native. He bears a wayfinder with a painted portrait of a Keleshite woman and shows it to everyone he meets after a few moments of talk, asking if anyone has seen his sister lately.
As Gandros speaks, the smile never leaves Aryk's face, even though it does appear slightly forced by the time the codger finishes his fantastic tale. Well met, good sir! You look remarkably well for a man who has been in hiding for more than forty years! He laughs aloud at his own joke while clapping Edyth on the back. Yet my friend here speaks truly about modern-day Andoran — it is surely a different place than you will remember.
Aryk eyes the wounds Gandros has revealed for some hint of what may have befallen him.
He is certain that the wounds were inflicted by a small human child.
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Quiet up until this point, the halfling enters the room. She looks at odd man's face when he talks, seemingly muttering the same words he speaks with, although with a slight delay, and ignoring everything else happening. She briefly looks at the wounds, then continues to track his face. With a surprised look on her face, when she gets the chance to speak, she does:
You wish to make Andoran an empire again? Why is that? Is the current status not satisfactory? I feel like I am missing the big picture here. What's your endgame in this?
She pauses briefly, realising that she spoke without introducing herself.
Apologies for my rudeness. My name is Nergi. Pleased to meet all of you.
Is he hurt? she asks, looking at the Keleshite I mean besides the apparent wounds he presented.
Aryk can't tell if he's ill, high, both, or neither.
He utterly ignores most of the parties questions, instead only offering, "I expect you to use proper address, such as “My Prince” or “My Liege” or “Your Royal Highness.”
He then adds, "What the hells is a Republic? What is this nonsense?!"
A quick look over reveals the V-C beckoning you over...
He sighs heavily, “My diviners say that there is some truth to his story. There has never been a Prince of Augustana, nor an Emperor in Andoran, but the old fellow has a surprising amount of knowledge of the pre-revolution noble families of the city. He may be the lost scion of some noble line. If so, he’s fallen far. From the filth and stink on him when we found him, we’re fairly certain he’s been living in or near a sewer. The wayfinder is also a mystery, but for now, it makes him one of ours. However, I’m more interested in his supposed gate to the otherworld. If it exists, I want to know about it. Implausible as it may seem, I’m certain that his injuries were caused by otherworldly beings. We must take the possibility of a portal seriously. I don’t want to dirty my hands with this, but you don’t have that choice. Retrace the old man’s path through the sewers. The Almsman, whom he repeatedly mentions, is rumored to be an eccentric priest who runs some sort of hidden beggar’s sanctuary in the sewers. He may know where our prince’s portal is, if you can find him. But be warned; a local gang calling themselves the Steel Wyverns claims the sewers near the Almsman’s Sanctuary as their own territory.”
Venture-Captain Wallace shows you the spot on the map of the likely sewer outlet from which Gandros came. It’s near the north end of the crowded Augustana harbor, near where the north harbor wall hits land.
It's then that you see the man has fallen back to sleep.
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What a poor soul. Nergi sighs. If it's a pathfinder, we ought to look into it anyway. I'm sure we would want the lodge to do something if it happened to one of us.
She comes closer to the weathered man, and tries to examine him for head injuries as well.
Well, he might have been in a brawl or something and got hit in the head. Do we know anything else about this priest? after asking, she looks over the room to find if anyone else is talking.
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Edyth eyes the old man from afar.
Deciding he looks quite healthy, she bows low, wrinkling her nose a bit and not wanting to get too close. My Liege, if you please would forgive the rudeness which has been thus far been afforded to you. We as Pathfinders do not often find ourselves in the presence of greatness such as yours, and we forgot ourselves. Is there anything more you can tell us about the portal you came through, your army, and who is your enemy that sent assassins to kill you?
Edyth approaches the man who stares at her with wide eyes. "YOU MADAM!" he practically shouts. Then softer, "No, that's what you as my loyal knight will find!.
Edyth doesn't get a feel for anything causing the behavior. Sam's shout doesn't seem to work, and even when Amelia shakes him he doesn't move. Nergi checks him out and discovers signs of drug use, but that's it.
The Steel Wyverns were once the most powerful criminal organization in the city, but they have been in decline for decades. Now they are a rag-tag gang of thugs and petty crooks. The wyverns prefer to fight with spiked chains, which they call “Wyvern stings.”
The Almsman has recently started providing sanctuary and assistance to the city’s beggars. He is a mysterious figure who wears a mask, but most folk believe he is a priest. Most of the city’s poor do not know where his sanctuary is—those who do know won’t tell.
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After checking the man for injuries, Nergi reaches for the man's wayfinder. Perhaps this would shed some light on the issue.
It seems "his highness" is under the influence of some substance. Or, even worse, is not ... she pauses ... and is permanently delusional after having a tad too much.
She then stands up and proceeds to toy with the wayfinder. Checking it from all sides, against the light, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
The Venture-Captain lets Negri keep the Wayfinder for now. It's light function seems to be broken, and the Halfling looks thoroughly for any initials, compartments or other identifying features... and comes up with nothing.
It doesn't take long to find the sewer entrance that the venture-captain pointed out. The sewer is DISGUSTING, even by sewer standards. The water is dark and filthy. If it smelled any worse, you're not sure you'd be able to keep your breakfast down.
That water is likely rife with all manner of diseases. Going for a swim would likely expose you to something nasty like Filth Fever.
Feel free to make any last minute purchases (even turning around and going back to buy something.) Check in with a Perception check.
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As the group nears the sewers, Nergi can feel the stench assaulting her nostrils. Almost a burning sensation. That's disgusting! I should have skipped food when I found out where we were headed.
She vomited a bit in her mouth, but swallowed it back.
Honestly - if you think it's bad up there, you should try being my size.
The party deals with the filth as best they can, trying to retrace the path of the "Prince of Augustana." Eventually the sewer spills out in to a larger area. Amelia hears the hushed sounds of men talking ahead...
No map yet, but I'll take a marching order:
1. Nergi
2.
3.
4.
5.
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As the group comes upon an open area with light ahead, Amelia stops the group. "I hear voices ahead. We need to be cautious!" With these words, she draws out a wand and taps herself with it before putting it away and drawing a second wand out and holding it ready while the group figures out the next move.
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Ok, well - This might be an issue.
Nergi looks at the group and whispers - Remember I have hearing issues, people. If anything, tap me on the shoulder or something. I can try to scout ahead, but - she pauses - I can't hear anything.
She composes herself.
You know what - I'll do it. I might not look it, but I can take a hit. I'd rather avoid it, but you never know. If anything I'll scream like mad until you show up.
She tries to scout ahead as quietly as possible...
And without realising it, steps on a rat in the process.
The words are muffled, and the flow of the "water" makes it even harder to make out what's being heard. Unfortunately, your presence doesn't go unnoticed.
The smell of waste and rot is strong in this large chamber where filthy water flows in a series of cascades between tiered stone tanks. A raised platform along the east wall is connected to the passage’s walkways by several thick wooden planks creating a makeshift bridge. On that platform is what looks to be a makeshift alchemy lab on a rough-hewn table—beakers, glass vials, dirty bottles, and moldy buckets cover the entire surface of the table.
"OI! Who's there? Show yourselves slow like and drop all your goodies. Leave no and no one gets hurt. Savvy?!"
There is a trio of men in the room. The one speaking stands near the table. The other two stand at his shout and draw spiked chains, which they start spinning in anticipation...
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Aryk steps forward with his ready smile. Friends! he exclaims, his empty hands stretched wide in a manner inviting a hug. We have no quarrel with you, I assure you! We seek one who lies beyond your guard, a certain Almsman, as I understand it. We have an inquiry with him over an unfortunate fellow he may have seen recently. Any help you can give would be splendid!
"Wrong answer mate..."
The man by the table begins fishing for something in a pouch while the other two men start to smile, and you don't think it's a friendly turn of the mouth....
Round 1:
Edyth: Go
Baddies: TBD
Sam: TBD
Aryk: TBD
Negri: TBD
Amelia: TBD
The Kineticist steps up and releases a torrent of water (clean water!) The blast slams into the man's chest. Even of the torrent you can hear ribs crack. He doesn't fall, but he's clearly staggered from the blow.
The man tries to rally, but can't. He moves a bit before toppling into the filth and gets washed away. The other thug snarls in anger. He jumps easily to the platform in the middle and swings his chain hard at Edyth: , but misses.
The man in the corner also swears, but his concern seems to be for his table than the man Edyth just destroyed. He pulls forth a tanglefoot bag and hurls it across the way at Aryk: , but he embarassingly drops it on the floor.
Round 1:
Edyth: Hydroblast
Baddies: ATK
Sam: Go
Aryk: Go
Negri: Go
Amelia: Go
Thug:
Wizard:
The wizard eyes the Kelish man, preparing something more intimidating.
Round 1:
Edyth: Hydroblast
Baddies: ATK
Sam: Go
Aryk: Double Move
Negri: Go
Amelia: Go
Thug:
Wizard:
Nergi risks the chain and draws an arrow , and easily dodges the chain, but at the cost of a good shot and her arrow goes wide. Amelia follows up with a quick spell that slams into the man's gut.
Round 1:
Edyth: Hydroblast
Baddies: ATK
Sam: Go
Aryk: Double Move
Nergi: Miss
Amelia: MM
Thug:
Wizard: 3
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As the group travels to the sewer Sam uses the time to ask around for rumors. Before entering the filthy hole he shares what he has learned.
The Steel Wyverns were once the most powerful criminal organization in the city. Those days are dead, the group's power have been in decline for decades. Now they are a rag-tag gang of sorry thugs and petty crooks. Yet we should be careful, desperate animals are often the most dangerous. The fools prefer to fight with spiked chains, which they call “Wyvern stings.”
As they enter the sewer the sorcerer makes a face but does not say anything about the smell. When the fight starts Sam also attacks the enemy at the back casting a magic missile on him.
Sam's missiles strike with even more force. The wizard can do nothing. He crumples in place, never having cast a spell... The remaining thug roars in anger. He asks for no quarter, and only hastens the swing of his spiked chain.
Round 2:
Edyth: Go
Baddies: TBD
Sam: TBD
Aryk: TBD
Nergi: TBD
Amelia: TBD
Thug: