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Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, a small, unassuming woman of Taldan heritage with dark hair and eyes, holds a large sheaf of papers in her small hands and clears her throat. Her booming voice, the antithesis of her stature, fills the main hall of the small Pathfinder Lodge in the Taldan city of Cassomir.
“One of our own has been kidnapped. Pathfinder Cestis was taken just days ago from a relics auction in the Imperial Naval Shipyards, and we believe his disappearance to be related to the six dozen or so kidnappings of the last several months. Now that one of our own is missing, this has become a Society matter—something we’ll get to the bottom of.”
Themis gestures to a teenage boy standing beside her, who nervously regards his surroundings and sweats profusely, his thick brown hair matted and wet against his head. “This is Nefti, the assistant to the biggest thorn in my side in Cassomir - an agent of the Aspis Consortium named Kafar. Kafar is also missing, taken from the same relics auction along with Pathfinder Cestis and a dozen other citizens of Cassomir. Nefti was at the auction, saw where a small group of the kidnapped victims were taken, and his handlers in Cassomir have give us access to him so that he might guide us to our missing Pathfinder. If you happen to find Kafar...” Themis grinds her teeth. “Let him go, per the agreement I’ve just made with his superiors. Your priority is Cestis, and I think Nefti can lead you to him. Any questions?”
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Zinkyudo listens in observant silence as the venture-captain speaks, his gaze flicking over his companions. Never worked with any of these Pathfinders before. I hope they're not complete savages. His large, amber eyes take in the scene in the lodge without evident emotion, however. Zinkyudo is a most unusual-looking young man, slender with a smallish set of wings sprouting from his back, covered in feathers of a dusty brown. He holds his head completely still, then moves it quickly, like a bird of prey scanning for a meal. This predatory aspect is reinforced by his hooked nose, like the beak of a desert hawk.
The avian hunter look, however, is undone the moment he speaks. ”I’m Zinkyudo!” he almost squawks, his voice sounding both startled and scratchy. "Good to meet you all," he adds with a nod to the other Pathfinder agents.
Rotating his head back to Venture-Captain Themis, he squawks in alarm, "Six dozen kidnappings? That's a lot of people missing! Good thing the Society's getting involved at last. And no one has any idea who's behind them?"
Zinkyudo's gaze pivots to the boy and he continues his questions, "Nefti, is it? Tell us what you saw. Did you see any of the kidnappers? What were they wearing? Did you hear them speak?"
As he finishes speaking, he unconsciously flexes a wing over his shoulder, reaching up and picking and preening at the feathers there before abruptly stopping himself.
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Gwendolen glares a long while at Nefti, but finally tears her gaze away to pose a question to good Captain Themis. "Are there any links among the kidnapping victims?" she says, her monotone, booming voice a fitting accouterment to the gleaming breastplate containing her statuesque figure. "And what do we know of Cestis? Is he a mere scribe or a towering warrior? And what of this relic auction? What sort of merchandise was being bartered that would attract so diverse an assemblage from Pathfinder Cestis to..." she pointedly doesn't look at Nefti, "...other assorted lowlifes? We shall of course find these evildoers and return good Cesis so that the Society can get back to," her head swivels slowly to again rest her gaze open Nefti, "the real enemies of Cassomir."
Gwendolen always had a way with people.
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You can make knowledge local and knowledge nobility checks for a bit of background.
Hestia As far as who's behind the kidnappings, best I can tell you is that there are... rumors... of twisted men from the Darklands who climb up through Cassomir’s Locker, the sewers, catacombs, and older ruins below the city. Problem is, they're only rumors. We don’t really know who’s doing it. That's what you're here for.
Upon addressing Nefti, the young man shudders and hides behind Hestia, looking fearfully at her, I said I didn't know who took them, I just think I know where they went.
Hestia continues, You will recognize Cestis by his Pathfinder Wayfinder. He is very proud of it. There isn't anything that is of importance to your mission about the auction, just that there were some folks kidnapped, and they were some folks we need back.
Getting angry now, The kidnappings themselves started a few months ago. Cassomir has always had some trouble with its citizens going missing, but this was different. Only folks associated with the Imperial Naval Shipyards were taken before: shipwrights, carpenters, navy guards, that sort of thing. This recent kidnapping, where they took Cestis, was much more brash, very bold. They grabbed more than a dozen people at one time.
She breathes deeply and calms down, Just find Cestis. If you find Kafar alive, return him, but really, find Cestis.
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"Twisted men from the darklands? That sounds even worse than my last assignment for the Society, dealing with drug-addicted chameleon men," Zinkyudo says with an alarmed shake of his head.
"Well, Nefti," Zinkyudo says, "why don't you take us where you think they went, and we'll see if we can't bring them back. "
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"Indeed - lead on." Blayne says rising from his seat. "we should probably investigate as soon as possible."
I wonder if the type of people being kidnapped is relevant. Could someone be building a shipyard or a ship?
-Posted with Wayfinder
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He leads you to the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor. There. He points at the building. I think they are in there. He is shaking visibly and is unwilling to go in with you.
Perched precariously overhanging the dirty harbor water stands the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor. A fresh coat of white paint glistens on half the inn’s outside walls, and most of the windows are boarded up. The roof leans slightly toward the harbor, as if at any moment the entire thing could come off and slide into the ocean. The dock leading up to the inn is made of rotting wood connected to thick, rank-smelling pilings. Several small rowboats are currently tied up along its length.
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Zinky again! Why do they always call me Zinky? In Osirion that would be a most ridiculous nickname, yet it's what all the Pathfinders seem to call me. Ah, well, at least she said 'friend' along with it, and seemed to mean it...though she was very kindly suggesting I go first.
With all of this running through his mind, Zinkyudo moves along the rotted planks of the dock, trying to make as little noise as possible. When he reaches the door, he examines it and gives it a careful listen. If he finds nothing that causes him any concern, he signals to the rest of the party to come join him and opens it.
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The situation unnerves Gwen. The boats along the side mean that it could be heavy-populated, or they could be unrelated. That it appears quiet means it could have a skeleton crew, or hold half the city in the basement. And they've naught but single witnesses' word that this building means anything at all. Well, of course it's a den of inequity, that's not in question, but whether it's the _right_ den of inequity is the sticking point.
The factors point more to 'going in heavy' than 'enter and speak'. She pulls her ranseur and gets behind Zinky, ready for anything.
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Druid, cackling maniacally, You will never stop us! We will rid the world of... but in the midst of his mad ramblings, Zinkyudo's arrows take him out in a flash! Seriously, it was so quick there was a flash.
DRC Green is the only one left, standing. It being his turn, he runs to the nearest window, scampers out, and jumps into the water below.
DR2 (Blue) Dead
Zinkyudo
DRC (Green) Scampered away
Nev
Druid Dead
DR1 (Red) Dead
Gwendolen
Blayne