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Loud and raucous conversation filters through the door from the common room of the Uscalin Lodge, which doubles as the Ace of Dreams gambling house. “I know it’s here. I had it just a moment ago.” Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik lifts piles of papers and numerous boxes off of his desk, stacking them on various side tables and chairs in his clean but overly cluttered office. The tall, Varisian man’s face parts in a toothy grin as he lifts up a solid oak box. “Found it!” As if to punctuate his discovery, a crowd of players in the gambling hall erupts in cheers. Distracted for a moment, Besnik stares at the closed office door that leads to the common room. “Desna laughs. Well, she laughs at me, but she smiles on them.” The venturecaptain shrugs. “All they have is gold; what I have in here is far more valuable.” Besnik opens the box’s lid painstakingly slowly, careful to keep the contents out of sight. With reverence, he lifts a large tome from the box and gently sets it on the table. “Careful, the binding hasn’t held up well. This is one of the few Tomes of Righteous Repose left in the world. I’m pretty sure there’s one in the library of the Sancta Iomedaea in Vigil, but I’m—well, let’s just say I’m no longer welcome there. That’s a story for another time. “Up until today, I’ve only skimmed the pages. I didn’t want to damage it, but now that you’re here, I can’t wait any longer. Care to plumb the depths of this most ancient and wonderful storybook? Oh, the marvelous adventures we will soon read! This tome is a collection of tales describing how various crusaders died gloriously and honorably. I’m hoping to find some clues in the text that will lead us to an as-of-yet undiscovered site or relic. Maybe we can trade a bit of what we find with the Knights of Ozem and earn ourselves some goodwill. After what happened last time, we need it. “Care to peruse the pages with me?”
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A tall elf stands before you with an awkward look on his face.. He seems to be trying to determine if the venture captain is crazy or a bit slow minded. Either way he has long, silver hair bound by a band in the back, light skin, and blue eyes. He wears a mithril chain shirt and carries an elven curve blade across his back.
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Lounging in a chair is a Varasian whose looks make you double check your coin pouch. He's dressed in a loose-fitting linen shirt and seems to carry only a slim dagger. Scars criss-cross his arms, but dont seem to give him any pain. His slicked hair and oily beard give you pause, but when the man smiles at you it seems genuine and you think he might be a wonderful friend.
"Of course, Shevar! I'm always up for a good story! And if it leads to something of value, I'll be happy to represent our interests in negotiating a price."
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A very pale young men, blinking at the sun, in his early 20, arrived. He is quite well dressed in black, and with almost perfect features. More thin than big he is of average high.
Except for a rapier who don't seems to have been ever drawn he has no weapons nor armor. Around his neck a symbol representing a Black jackal skull eating an eclipsed sun.
What is strange or disturbing is that he seems to eat constantly.
Greetings. I'm Count Zaroslav Darkstar III from Ustalav, famous painter, it's an honor and a pleasure to meet you Captain.
When the Captain propose to peruse the bage of the ancient book, Zaroslav says Of course ! It could be entertaining and may be I could transform the stories it tells in something vivid in my paintings !
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A pretty young lady of Ulfen descent garbed in heavy armor and wearing a large shield as well as an assortment of axes, daggers and other killing paraphernalia is also in attendance. She is enjoying something that looks like strong liqueur when the count enters and makes his introduction.
The large Ulfen lady steps up to the Count and gives the skinny feloow a heavy pat on the back.
Well the two of us have more in common than I thought! We are both Nobility! I€ am Brunhilde Olafsdottir! Daughter of Olaf of Dragondad and ye guessed it Comti! That makes me a princess! So be so kind and treat me like one. I just got back from quite the tedious trip! Zombies and headless henchmen everywhere I looked. So a few stories are very much appreciated!
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A foppish gentleman scholar listens to the Venture-Captain while trying to be in contact with as little of the gambling den as possible. On his shoulder sits a raven with an extraordinarily well-kept plumage. It squawks angrily in a harsh sounding language.
Alexander ignores the bird and gives a bow.
"Alexander d'Louison, of the Westcrown d'Louisons, at your service. Let's have a look at this book then."
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"What an interesting group! I'm so very happy you could all be here today." Fustbickle can't hold all his excitement in, the man is over joyous to have you in his presence to be able to go through the book with him. Without any hesitation or waiting, he opens the pages of the book, one by one, slowly and carefully, trying not to tear or destroy any of the pages on it.
Most pages are covered in war stories regarding the Shining Crusade, he skims each page carefully, but does not stop to discuss about any yet, some of you get bored waiting for something to happen.
Rellakarabee Fustbickle is a gnome poet, known mostly among literary scholars. His subject matter revolves around heroic figures and tragic deaths. His style is too melodramatic to gain significant acclaim, though he is popular in some circles.
Fustbickle based his poems on true stories from the Shining Crusade. However, the finer details are ambiguous at best. Rumors suggest he was on speaking terms with the mortal Iomedae.
Lastwall was established in 3828 ar, when it seceded from Taldor. It is a military dictatorship, primary focused on keeping the Whispering Tyrant locked away and the orc hordes of Belkzen at bay.
Lastwall originated from the remnants of crusaders living in the area after the conclusion of the Shining Crusade, the great war against the evil wizard-king TarBaphon (also known as the Whispering Tyrant, who rose after his death as a lich).
Lately, Lastwall has had to recruit less pious individuals to fill its ranks. On the borders, followers of Gorum and Kurgess are more common than paladins of Iomedae and Sarenrae.
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"Rellakarabee Fustbickle was a gnome poet, known mostly among literary scholars. His subject matter revolves around heroic figures and tragic deaths. His style is too melodramatic to gain significant acclaim, though he is popular in some circles. He based his poems on true stories from the Shining Crusade. However, the finer details are ambiguous at best. Rumors suggest he was on speaking terms with the mortal Iomedae."
"Lastwall was established in 3828 AR, when it seceded from Taldor; a warning of what would befall the a few hundred later, perhaps. It is a military dictatorship, primary focused on keeping the Whispering Tyrant locked away and the orc hordes of Belkzen at bay. It originated from the remnants of crusaders living in the area after the conclusion of the Shining Crusade, the great war against the evil wizard-king Tar-Baphon (also known as the Whispering Tyrant, who rose after his death as a lich). Lately, Lastwall has had to recruit less pious individuals to fill its ranks. On the borders, followers of Gorum and Kurgess are more common than paladins of Iomedae and Sarenrae.
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The halfling in the corner has done a good job at keeping quiet and out of sight as he fiddles playfully with one of the many knives that he seems to possess. Obviously a rogue of some type, he stand there with a constant smirk on his face, as if he knew something more than you did about something you should know.
Yeah, I agree. Let's get to the part that tells us about the treasure. That's why we're here, isn't it? To get the treasure?
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"Treasure? We're looking for much more than treasure, or artifacts.
We're looking for lost history! Things we've never knew before existed! That's the greatest discovery of all!" His over-excitedness shows again. The small talk continues for a bit.
But as he turns to one of the pages, a piece of art is stuck in between the pages. he Venture-Captain jolts upright. “Minkai art! Let’s see, the Minkai Empire was founded in 3619, and the empire’s first explorers didn’t reach the west coast of the continent until at least 3691 ar, which leaves only sixty years before the beginning of the Shining Crusade itself. These women could have been among the first Minkai citizens to reach the Inner Sea! Let’s see, what secrets does the poem on this page hold?”
The picture resembles three female samurai warriors, of Minkai descent, walking underneath a burning sun.
"Hmm, what is it trying to tell us?
[Quote:Ode to the Lost]
Oh Heroes, Ne’er shall we see you again in life,
For we hid you like buried treasure
‘Neath the halls of poor, sweet Mordesha,
Away from our foes’ rasping voices.
Yet they found you, sharpened your edges
Turned you loose as wild dogs In poor, sweet Mordesha.
Though we remember you, We’ll forget where you rest.
The knights have clamored long For ignorance of your fate.
Our thoughts of you burn bright
But brighter is poor, sweet Mordesha
Her chimneys rise as skel’tal fingers
Desperate call, betrayal anew We turn away, willfully blinded
From the eyes of poor, sweet Mordesha
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Zaroslav have heard many stories about how Lastwall still stands and how difficult is for them to gather ressources to fight the evil insight.
He also knows local "legend" about how the Crusader use magic to protect the corpse of their fellows from the Tyrant's magic.
He shares is knowledge with his new comrades.
The Tyrant is one of the many things that announce the End of Time!
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Navoreal recalls that there used to be a town near Lastwall named Mordesha, and such the party begin to dig up as much documents, and ask as many people about this place referenced as "Mordesha".
Though several old documents reference a town named Mordesha, it appears on no official maps. There is a fire-blackened field 46 miles north of Vellumis with tall cairns called Yua’s Fingers. Locals believe it is an old druid site, fouled by evil magic. Other rumors report the area to be haunted.
Captain Besnik thinks long and hard about this, finally he snaps. "That's it! That's what we need, or rather, you need to do. We must visit this Mordesha, and rid it of the evil magic!" He runs into the back room and comes back with a bunch of stuff that he chucks on the table. "Take this with you, maybe you'll need it."
Lying in front of you is a traveler’s any-tool, a wand of cure moderate wounds (6 charges), a wand of protection from evil (7 charges), and one oil of bless weapon and two +1 flaming arrows.
You all start to prepare to head out, the journey looks like it may take an approximate 4 days.
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Zaroslav thanks the Captain for his gifts and is eager to keep the wand of protection from evil
He takes great care to take enough (some will say far too much) food for himself. "For the trip" he answer when asks.
During the trip he seems clearly always hungry and even when eating he looks at Xavian. delicious I'm sure...
Oh, before I forgot friends. If I falls, please use only this. he shows a red wand with a devil face. Only this will be able to revive me. Do not, on any circumstances, tries to heal me with anything else. It could kill me.
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Teric smiles and nods at Zaroslav. "I can use the wand on you if needed. We'll just say you owe me a small favor if it comes up. No worries." The Varasian motions like it's nothing.
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Half Vampire! That sounds creepy. But I heard an old PAthfinder talk of em before...seems like a few of ye odd folk have joined our ranks as of late! If that's devlish healing! I'm actually quite good with that myself! Learned it fro our Seer! He says Gorum approves and that healing can't come without pain! Otherwise it's not the warrior way!
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After making pleasantries, the party is off on their way.
The journey is long and cold, but mostly uneventful, some beautiful scenery of hills, meadows, and the farms are found out in the countryside, closer to where you believe Mordesha is, much of the plant life start to decay, showing a more distasteful sight than what you have seen. At the base of a mountain, rotten trees are noted, and something that looks to be a small tomb, covered by a huge boulder.
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Well, well... our fist bit of treasure! Xavian points out a lantern partly buried near the entrance and goes to take a better look. Quite an intricate design. There's an inscription, "In purity is our refugee from corruption" The halfing then notices that a small note is sticking on the lantern. Hmm, it reads "she lives". Who's she?
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Looking at the boulder, Teric says, "I could make one of you bigger to help move the stone." The mage seems less enthusiastic about pushing it away himself.
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Brunhilde easily removes the boulder blocking the pathfinder's path, to reveal a dusty, mouldy, musky smelling path. The crypt in complete darkness.
Travelling in, you are lead into a small room. Fust and neglet mark this chamber, and darkness fills its corners. To the east lies a single stone sarcophagus. A long passage of text is carved into the wall behind the sarcophagus. A plaque on the lid of the sarcophagus bears the words “General Dame Vheist” and Aroden’s holy symbol. The text on the wall behind the sarcophagus describes a mighty battle, in which the general charged at the point of a formation of cavalry into a valley full of undead.
Lying near the sarcophagus also lies a bag back, in it there are some useful tools. 2 potion vials, a pair of boots, and a belt.
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Teric waves away the items. "If you think they will benefit you, Xavian, take them. The potion may be good for Brunhilde too."
"Now, let's see what other secrets this general's tomb holds." He draws a wand stone and casts Light on it.
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The next room seems also the same, dusty, worn, musky, full of mould growing on the floor. This room looks to be a Ossuary of sorts. Piles of bones, generally sorted by type, litter this chamber. A tibia sharpened to a point lies near a circle scratched on the ground. Not soon after you step in, a buzzing noise can be heard, and more than a few stirges come out of the walls.
Conditions:()
Teric,Xavian,Brunhilde,Navoreal,Zaroslav,Alexander
Stirges