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So the backpack probably belonged to Sparrowsmith. Is there anything else in the pack that might connect it to Sparrowsmith? Anything written that might be in his handwriting? Shasta has linguistics and probably would have looked over the letters the VC had from him.
So it sounds like we know where we need to go to keep on Sparrowsmith's trail, or at least where to find more kobolds and presumably their current leader. Will we need to escort the miners back to make sure they make it safely?
The journal is indeed Sharrowsmith's; the miners do need to be escorted back. But Fort Bandu is a good spot to resupply, as well.
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Shasta tries to think of anything relating to the two names... but nothing comes into mind, although Gob does explain that Kithzak is likely the name of the kobold that is casting spells. The Golden God, though bears nothing to him, either.
The party tends to their injuries and that of the miners as best they can and make their trek back to Fort Bandu. Exhausted, the jungle fort is a welcomed blessing, more so when the citizens applaud your arrival with the eight miners in tow (including Coranna on muleback). Praetor Sylien smiles, personally escorting everyone into the Barracks to rest and recover from their trek. "I sincerely appreciate your return these men and women; the other miners you rescued informed us of what happened and of your heroics saving them, too. Although it was a Pathfinder that caused this mess, you have shown that you are willing to up those messes, too, even at risk and injury to yourselves.", Sylien noting the lack of rest the party must have undergone to reach the captives so quickly. "The blow you have dealt the kobolds, too, in the heart of their own territory should also by us some time to shore up our own defenses and find a better solution for dealing with those menaces. Again, thank you.", the Praetor bowing before the party as the miners applaud from their bunks. "I hope you were able to find what you were looking for."
"I am sorry to hear that.", laments Sylien. "Is there anything I can do to assist?"
"Ahh yes, they are a tribe of grippli that live in teh Kaava Lands just northwest of the Bandu Hills; a member of the tribe visits several times a year to barter for food and trinkets. In fact, he arrived after you departed and left the same day and...", Sylien's brow furrowing. "Amersanus Valacosti also left abruptly only a few hours afterwards."
"I assume that you will want to head out as soon as possible, but please rest up before you head out. I'll be happy to provide you with the necessary accommodations."
As the party moves about Fort Bandu, Gob makes his way to the Golden Crown Company to discuss the trade agreement he promised to get to. However, another man, well dressed in an almost equal 278 gp suit, approaches the half-orc first. "Well met, sir. I hear that you are involved with the rescue of the Golden Crown miners, very good work with that.", the man immediately starting his sale without giving the half-orc a chance to introduce himself. "I represent the Deeptreasure Mining company, and if you can provide us with the location of where the Golden Crown site was, I can make sure you are properly rewarded; my superiors are always on the look out for good agents."
"But of course!", the man shuffling Gob into another tent. Gob looks over the contract, his name already signed and a line only awaiting yours. Your careful eyes analyze the document and you can tell that Deeptreasure is willing to invest in your favor to have an edge to crush the local competition. With a flourish of quill, your name is signed and you hand over the logbook.
"Good to business with you sir Gob! I will send a missive out first thing in the morning to inform my superiors of our new trade agreement with your Exchange."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Hakime goes to her room to meditate on the training she'd taken at the monastery before taking up her mantle as a paladin. It had been a long time, but she was ready now to embrace her monastic roots. After her session of deep thought and contemplation, she goes outside to the practice yard and puts thought into action, practicing her archery with zeal. Then she heads to a local shop the next morning and sells off her chain shirt, which she no longer feels the need for, finding it too hampering with her new abilities. When she meets up with the others, ready to adventure, she is simply wearing a comfortable tunic and pants.
Shasta pours through Sharrowsmith's journal. It's obvious that the aging Pathfinder wanted one last huzzah and devoted a large amount of his own personal resources into research for whatever treasures may be in the lost dwarven city of Ashkurhall. He describes that there is something called a Golden Guardian that seems to have driven the dwarves away from their home, perhaps making their home its new territory. The dates on the logs suggest that these thoughts were noted several months ago, but Sharrowsmith acted upon them over a month prior to the party's arrival.
She then asks about Deeptreasure Mining; they are a cutthroat organization that pays well for working for them in any aspect related to mining, including finder's fees for dig sites (occupied or otherwise). It's rumored heavily that they've used mercenaries and toughs to push out other mining groups, claiming the mines and digs in the process.
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Shasta shares the following things with Praetor Sylien:
"I meant to correct your understanding of the Pathfinders' responsibility for this situation earlier, but you did not seem very receptive. You should know that Nieford Sharrowsmith has retired as a Pathfinder. Some years ago he started his own business and this latest adventure is personal, not something the Pathfinders asked him to do. We came because Nieford's business partner, Aya Allahe, requested help in finding out what happened to him. So the only official role of the Pathfinder Society in all this is the help we have been able to secure. I suspect you may have been misinformed by the Aspis Consortium agent, who referred to Nieford as a Venture Captain."
"Near the Golden Crown mine, we were attacked by festrogs, disgusting undead abominations who are normally only created by powerful releases of negative energy, such as from destroying an artifact. We know that Nieford was searching for some kind of artifact in a ruin of an ancient dwarven city, which is where we encountered the kobolds."
"The miners whom we rescued from the festrogs said that when the kobolds were taking some of the miners prisoners, they said, in Draconic, their language, 'It will be pleased.'"
"When we arrived at the Dwarven ruin, the kobolds were preparing to kill the miners in a ritual sacrifice."
"The buildings of other Dwarven ruins were defaced with graffitti showing drawings of a golden dragon. Sharrowsmith had uncovered evidence of something similar in his research that led him to this area. He also found evidence something called the Golden Guardian drove the dwarves from their home."
"The kobolds preparing the sacrifices were painting the intended victims with red and white paint and a golden wing on their foreheads. They were chanting words of reverence and asking for forgiveness from the 'golden god.'"
"When we attacked the kobolds preparing the sacrifice, one of them said, 'More humans here to stop the holocaust to the Golden God! Get Kithzak!' Kithak was apparently their shaman."
"We found Sharrowsmith's backpack with his journal inside. So we are going back to explore that ruin and see if we can discover this 'Golden God' and stop it. If we fail, at least you know what you might be up against and why. We don't know if Sharrowsmith had anything to do with the presence of this supposed god, but we are certain that Sharrowsmith himself did not send the kobolds to attack your people."
Shasta starts to leave. "Oh, in case we don't come back, you'll need a song to sing of our bravery. I'll write one tonight and leave it with Gustav, just in case. If you want something done right, as they say." She gives the Praetor a wink and leaves.
Since it's none of her business, Shasta will not do anything about the situation with the Deeptreasure and Golden Crown, although she is concerned about the miners, who have been through a lot and now have had the location of their mine divulged to the very people they requested not get it.
"Thank you for the solid report Ms. Lux.", the Praetor writing some notes from the Pathfinder's briefing. "I can only hope that the Golden God is mere superstition from the kobolds, but it would be folly to not accept some truth that there is something out there." At Shasta's last request, the Praetor smiles. "I'll make sure to have Olav provide the finest music to accompany your song although I would prefer not to; the man's singing is only proper when compared to a goblin's screech."
Shasta can easily find a vendor willing to offer materials to a wonderfully exotic and witty woman such as herself. Applying the various blances will take about half an hour in total, but she has her arrows coated with the various materials.
Gob has a harder time finding his goods, but the Deeptreasure representative he talked to before, Matthias, offers to procure him his boots as a sign of good faith for the contract.
Shasta shares her vendor information with Hakime; she easily makes an exchange of her armor towards blanching and arrows.
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Shasta does not want to carry more arrows than 20, so she only wanted to blanch 4 arrows of each type, and save the remainder to use when these are used up. So she has 4 silver, 4 cold iron, 4 ghost salt, and 8 regular arrows. She'll partition her quiver and apply some kind of identifying substance to each different type of arrow (near the feather), so she can draw the one she wants.
Despite exhaustion, the night is anything but quiet. A bit of a celebration has hit Fort Bandu with the return of many lost miners and news of the blow dealt to the kobolds.
The party gets enough attention that they can ply some of their other trades. Wyeth doesn't have enough time to concoct much and only sells a few cheap perfumes from some flowers found in their trek of the jungle. Marduk does have a few of the Bandu guards ask to fight with them, to learn of some techniques to use against the kobolds. Hakime tries to get their attention, but the martial mastery of Marduk overshadows her archery, which she mostly perfects on her own save for a single crossbowman that pays a couple of coins for tips.
Gob quickly chronicles their adventure, which the Praetor pays for an advance copy to spread to other outposts like Fort Bandu. However, most of the people pay attention to the illustrious Shasta, whose song, dance, and wit captivate the camp and is showered with coin and flowers.
In all of the action, though, no one notices the mysterious Zadim vanishing into the night, as if he wasn't there at all. A new guest, though joins the Fort during the middle of a dance led by the celebrity Pathfinder.
The crowd is quite enthralled with the Varisian, and she nearly has to result to using a stick to keep them away.
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The newcomer has the characteristic pale skin and dark hair Chelaxians claim is proof of their Azlanti heritage and wears enough red to embarrass a rose bush. She looks briefly in Shasta's direction as she enters, looking more annoyed than appreciative of the entertainment. She takes a few moments to get her bearings before heading for the Praetor's office.
The party leaves the fort as minor celebrities, with the Praetor and the Gold Crown Mining company waving the group off. The journey from Fort Bandu to the Kaava Lands is oppressively hot, but it gets easier as the days go on and the terrain transitions from rugged foothills to open grasslands before giving way to dense jungle. Following the directions from Fort Bandu’s garrison captain, it is not difficult to find Krihirik village, which lies approximately ten miles inside the jungle's border — and twenty feet off the ground. Narrow rope bridges connect a few dozen tree-dwellings overhead, forming a small but secure community. Bright-skinned, bulging-eyed gripplis go about their daily business nearby. Crates and sacks of trade goods litter the jungle floor, and several gripplis busily inspect a bundle of swords, throwing down their spears and nets in favor of freshly forged steel.
A blue-and-brown-skinned grippli in practical traveling clothes bounds forward and holds out his webbed hands in welcome. "More visitors come to trade with the Krihirik? You are most welcome here, though I fear we have little to offer at this time. Or perhaps there’s some other reason you came all this way?"
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"Well that's interesting," Wyeth says quietly as the team approaches, his gaze to the treetops. "Just as effective as moat and drawbridge for keeping people out, I imagine. Heaven help them if an attacker decides to start a bonfire, though."
He remains near the back of the group, in deference to those with silver tongues.
The grippli does look exhausted, though still bears a courteous smile. "No, other trades brought those. Are you here to trade with us as well?", he asks again.
"Yes, that human was here, met with with the bogmother. Arranged for them to arrive." pointing to the weapon cache. The grippli looks somewhat antsy since his original question has not been answered yet.