Please dot in here. We can do character intros closer to kick off.
|
From the corner of the room, where shadows dance by the fire light, a cold whisper comes,
"Death is merely a destination that everyone reaches in time. For this mission I will do my part to delay your arrivals." and from out of nowhere steps a small cloaked figure, wispy shadows falling from his slender form like heavy smoke.
|
Wizzy jumps back with a yelp!
"Hey now don't be doing that! Bout gave my little heart an attack! Geez.." The little gnome with a overfull haversack, but otherwise normal looking adventure gear seems to compose himself and stand a little taller..
"Names Floggentop Wizzbottle III, happy to meet new friends! At least I hope we can be friends.. My friends call be Wizzy by the way, so you all may do the same since I consider us friends now.."
He seems to be over excited about the proposition of a new adventure.. Also to note the small bard carries a stylized spear with a grand green flag showing the Glyph of the Open Road embroidered in gold leaf on it.. His eyes dart to it hopes that someone notices it grandness and makes a comment..
|
|
Gone is the sinister sounding, cold voice, replaced by a much more pleasant one filled with warmth, "Well met friend Wizzy. You may call me Vex. That certainly is a grand flag that you carry. I find the touch of gold leaf to be especially eye catching. It would be an honor to join one such as you on an adventure."
|
|
An unusual-looking tengu walks up to the group. He wears a resplendent feathered cloak of rainbow hues... it looks like it was made from his own feathers, the shiny black feathering interspersed with some of bright coloration. His beak is covered with tattoos that look like they might extend up on his skin under the feathers of his head.
Speaking of his head, on it he wears a jaunty hat festooned with more bright feathers. In the middle of his forehead, which is cleared of feathers in the area, is a shiny black, carved ebony scarab inlaid with precious and semiprecious gemstones. Barely visible under the hat, but above the scarab is a thin, gold headband.
At his belt are two fine scimitars, one with an ebony inlaid crossguard, the grip wrapped in leather and silk, the other all shiny adamantine.
On his hands are a pair of reddish swordsman's gloves, with a stylized 'H' on the back of each one.
Hello Wizzy... Wizzy, eh? and Vex.. I am K'Kei Hikaru, but you may call me just Hikaru... it's surely a pleasure to meet you both."
|
A half elf wearing resplendent white and crimson armor takes in the conversation. With a smile he sets down his Iomedae-emblazoned shield and joins the conversation."Well met Hikaru! Indeed, well met to you all. My name is Caduceus Via. I am glad the Inheritor has seen fit to bring us together. However, it sounds as if the Venture-Captain may be a while, so how about a toast to our new found friendships?" The holy warrior sets up mugs for all present and fills them with ale.
|
|
"Those missions? what does that mean? Do you have premonitions? a sense of foreboding? or perhaps suspicions of what we will be asked to do? Should I write a farewell letter to my loved ones before we go?" Hikaru asks with a disbelieving joviality to his questions, despite the seriousness of the possible consequences of their mission. "We don't even know the mission yet, so I say relax... plenty of time to worry when we get our briefing.
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin pokes his head around the door of the ready room and quickly surveys your group. You can see his lips moving silently as he counts heads before nodding, satisfied. "Good! You are all here!" he says in an extremely rushed tone. "The Mages are almost ready. Head up to my office, and I will meet you there in a moment. Hurry now.. much to do!" The head pulls back around the door frame and you hear the hard soled clacking of well worn boots diminish down the hall.
|
|
Having melted into the shadows once again, Vex silently glides ahead of the group. He surveys the room quickly upon entering, and finds a remote corner to keep watch from.
Using his wayfinder's alternate function, he casts message on every party member, and refreshes it as needed.
You each received a message last night from VC Ambrus Valsin, summoning you to his chambers at the towering Grand Lodge today in his usual cryptic manner. The message requesting your help hints at a dangerous mission into Geb, the domain of the dead but doesn't say much else.
You arrive and mingle for a few moments, before a booming voice calls out from the wood-paneled office’s open doorway. “Welcome! Welcome my friends! Please. Have a seat.” The speaker, Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin, points to a number of chairs around his desk. He sounds friendly, but his smile seems forced.
“I’m not one for beating around the bush, so let me lay it out for you. Three weeks ago, we lost contact with an expedition of Pathfinders sent into Geb, led by a researcher from Absalom named Joktan Heth. He and the other members of his group were magically disguised as undead creatures and tasked with recovering an ancient tome known as the Testament of Geb, purported to be a scholarly treatise on the creation of new types of undead— intended specifically for use on the battlefield. Joktan’s mission was to sneak into the country, locate the Testament, and bring it back to the Vaults. He’s overdue and we fear the worst. We need you to undergo the same process of disguise, infiltrate Geb, and learn the whereabouts of Joktan, his team, and most of all, the Testament." He pauses for a moment, surveying you as you listen to the briefing.
"Pathfinders, time is of the essence. If that book falls into the wrong hands, it could destabilize the entire Inner Sea region. We need that book and we have the utmost faith that you’ll do what’s necessary to make sure we get it. Any questions?”
|
|
"I have a few." comes Vex's voice, as steps from his corner.
He holds up four fingers and begins to tick each one off as he asks, "First, we will need a full and detailed description of Joktan and his entire team. Second, tell us more about this magical disguise and how it works. Third, where in Geb should we start our search? And fourth, once we locate Joktan, his team and the Testament, is there a plan in place for extraction from Geb or is that something you are leaving up to us? Those are the most immediate questions that I have, though I am sure we will ask more once these are answered."
He melds back into the shadows while awaiting a response.
|
The scratching of a pen becomes audible when it suddenly stops, having been going at it for so long beforehand that everyone else had "tuned it out" by now, leaving a jarring silence in its place.
The holder of the pen - an elf with straw-blond hair, ice-blue eyes that smolder with an ominous coldness, and wearing the immaculate formal garb of a physician - looks up from a thick notebook filled with tight script, arcane alchemical symbols, and bizarre, sometimes macabre, sketches.
He speaks with a voice as placid and cold as his eyes. "This text sounds like the sort of thing some would have locked away and forgotten about. If we retrieve it, we will have continued access to it afterwards, correct? I should think that would be the bare minimum reward for such a quest."
Valsin cocks his head, listening as Vex enumerates his concerns, and waiting answer them in turn. "Joktun Heth and his team were disguised much as you will be, and for all intents and purposes they will appear to be the same undead as haunts the rest of that blasted country. Instead of basing your search upon looks, you may have more luck searching for anyone or anything that stood out to those you come across. He was an inquisitive man and a student of history.. I imagine he was asking questions of any he thought may have answers. This alone may single him out to anyone that ran into him."
"Second, this disguise is part of a magical ritual that will make you appear for all intents and purposes as undead. Your body will be cold to the tough, and you will feel no need to breath. You will take on some of the qualities of Undead, and therefore will react to most spells and magic as undead do. I have some potions that I can give you that will help to heal you if you should meet some trouble along the way."
"Your last two questions, I can answer as one. You will be transported near the area where Joktuns reports place him and where he suspected the Testament to be found. The Society will teleport you to an isolated position in north central Geb, near the city of Graydirge but not near enough that anyone should see you suddenly arrive. From there you will need to head toward Corpselight, a small farming town to the east of the city. Joktan was convinced the Testament of Geb was there and that’s where any clues as to his fate will be found. For getting back, here is a token.. When you have found the Testament, and hopefully Joktun, rub this coin and it will alert us to recall you through the same teleportation spells."
Turning finally to Caduceus, he elaborates. "Positive energy is one of the things that will affect you just as if you are undead. Positive energy will hurt you, while Negative energy will heal you. In that regard, I have several potions of Inflict Wounds here that should help you."
At last, Valsin turns an upraised eyebrow to the presumptuous statement of Dr. Zephyrus. "This tome is most dangerous.. exactly how dangerous remains to be seen, but Joktun was absolutely mortified by the thought that anyone should get a hold of this book. Retrieve it and allow our scholars to evaluate the dangers of what it possesses and we shall make our decisions then."
VC Valsin then hands you a simple coin with another admonishment not to spend it, as it is your only way home short of a very long walk, then hands you a pouch. Examining the pouch reveals it to contain 8 small vials, all labeled "Inflict Critical Wounds".
Venture Captain Valsin comes out from behind the desk and looks you over for a moment before continuing. "No more questions? Ok. We must move quickly then." He leads you to a special room in Skyreach where he turns back to you before you enter the magic circle. "Any last minute items that the Lodge can provide for you? Ok.. in you go. Once the ritual is completed, these same mages will transport you to Geb. Take care, Pathfinders, and godspeed."
The ritual is an odd one, but as most of the preparation is already complete, it goes quickly and culminates in in each of you drinking an unknown liquid from an ornately carved bone chalice. A cold queasy feeling begins in the pit of your stomach and moves quickly through your body, leaving behind a pale pallor and cold, clammy skin. Once you have all drunk, the mages begin the teleportation spell, and the world falls out from under your feet!
The world materializes into a hazy swamp, the few plants within as dry and colorless as one would expect in a nation ruled and inhabited by the undead. Ghostly pale moonlight provides illumination and a mournful wind blows slowly from the south, carrying with it the unmistakable sickly sweet scent of long-dead flesh mixed with newly spilt blood. Only the sound of rustling brush breaks the tomblike silence.
|
|
As they travel to the site of the ritual, Vex takes the time to educate the group on Geb, "To be clear, Geb is a nation ruled by the undead. Intelligent undead have the same rights or more than the living, and the kingdom uses other undead as a form of cheap labor and as expendable, renewable soldiers in the country’s armies."
Taking a steadying breath, he continues, strong emotions seeming to creep into his voice, "Because of the nation’s dependence and promotion of undeath, the faithful of Pharasma like myself, often conduct raids into the country in an attempt to destabilize it, to destroy unholy sites, and eliminate the undead abominations that call Geb home."
And finally, a chilling tension evident behind his words, he says, "We need to be especially careful while there, for if we are discovered to be living we could become conscripts in the army, or worse, we could be simply and painfully used as a food source."
Jaysin asks for a Wand of Infernal Healing, and Valsin sends a page running for the storerooms to locate on. During the meantime, K'Kei laments the decisions which led him to this time and place, and Vex educates the team on what he knows of the far off land of Geb. After what seems like way too long, the page returns, huffing and puffing from his hard run and waving the wand breathlessly in the air towards everyone. Valsin snatches the wand from the boys hand with a look of panic before turning to Jaysin and trading the stick for a stack of gold coins. "That all then?" the Venture Captain asks.
|
|
Just before the group leaves, Vex activates his wand of longstrider on himself and then he refreshes message on each party member so they can communicate quietly.
Once the group arrives at their destination, Vex quickly scans the groups surroundings as he steps away, becoming one with the shadows.
His voice, quiet as can be, whispers to the group, "I will check the nearby structures for signs of our agents."
The swamp you seem to find yourselves in is wet and uncomfortable even to cold and clammy undead skin. Luckily, it does not seem that the mire reaches more than about a foot or foot and a half in depth, and your new darkvision peers easily though the night.
In the midst of hearing every cricket in the surrounding five miles chirping, as well as an uncanny number of worms digging through the soft mud of the swamp, Vex can hear chanting in sync with the sounds of marching feet slogging through the muck, approaching the your position from the north.
|
|
Hikaru looks little different after the transformation, his feathers covering the pallor of his skin. His eyes glow a little red though as they catch the little available light. He trudges along through the muck and when the call to take cover is made, he looks for any available cover. If there is none, he'll just crouch low over the mud, trying to keep his feathers out of the stuff.