Smine looks back at the party, blushing slightly. "Ahh, sorry, don't mean to ignore you fellas. I don't suppose the rest of the site available for cataloguing now that you made friendly with the locals?", asking a question before he looks back at Isirah. "Blimey, can't say I've seen a person in a box like this. Fascinating!"
So if i understand we have less the normal gold?
A broad coral structure dozens of stories tall emerges from the boundless sea. A steady stream of submersibles dock and depart, while dockworkers unload goods and carry them to carefully protected glass tunnels. Water mephits swim and flit about, surveying the new arrivals. The turtle-drawn carriage swims up to one of the tunnels. As the carriage’s bubble of air meets the tunnel’s mouth, fresh air flows into the carriage, carrying with it the smell of fish. Within the glass passage, an elf with teal hair, webbed fingers, and gills stares out at the sea. As the turtles come to a stop, she raises her pale blue hands in an unfamiliar greeting. A golden wayfinder is secured tightly to her wrist, and a pair of long coral daggers is strapped to her back. "So, she actually did it," the elf comments, tilting her head and giving a small smirk. "I had heard Zahra was threatening to summon agents to investigate what happened, but I thought it might merely be bluster to save face. Still, whatever cause has brought you here, you are welcome in our city. I am Lileone Blacktide, and I wish you luck, but I warn you that there is no culprit for you to find beyond Zahra herself."
Lileone, an aquatic elf scout, offers to take the party to Zahra's residence.
Lileone continues
"A week ago, Zahra set out on an expedition towards a sea of jellyfish known as the Lambent Bloom. She believed she had made an incredible discovery: the remnants of one of the lost elemental lord Lysianassa’s servants, which might still hold a fragment of Lysianassa’s power. I was skeptical of her claims, but I joined her. If there was any chance she was correct, I thought it was worth investigating. I should have thought better of it. Not two days into our journey, Zahra steered our caravan too close to a patch of the Carmine Scourge, a poisonous red algae that drifts through the plane on the tides. They say it blooms in places where the elemental lord Kelizandri has passed, and it certainly shares his hunger. It sprung upon our caravan as if drawn by a magnet, sending everything into chaos and killing most of our precious whale sharks. Several members of our expedition are still violently ill, and I only survived myself because I was scouting when the incident occurred. Worse yet, though we managed to escape, the algae clung to us as we fled back to Vialesk. It broke off and settled among the coral reefs, and now the reefs have begun to die."
"Zahra has managed to convince herself some great conspiracy is to blame, rather than her poor navigation decisions and her inability to listen to anyone else. I have no doubt she truly believes she’s innocent; she has always been stubborn and arrogant, and it has always led her into trouble. The Society may have overlooked her errors in the past due to her superb mind and her talent for damage control, but this time, I will not allow them to slide. I warned her that the waters ahead didn’t seem right to me, but she couldn’t be troubled to listen. She has no excuse for the damage she has done and I will see to it that she is held accountable for her negligence. I look forward to your attempts to prove me wrong."
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A woman with with hair and pure white eyes, with blood tattoos running from them, in hell knight armor sighs "Elemental disaster I assume awaits, so while there are we to deal with her by any means?"
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A scrawny fellow sighs as he shuts a large book called Broken Promises: The History of Politics in the Outer Planes. Your experience with him thus far has shown him to be a man of many words and a fair amount of bluster (typically without much reason).
The slight fellow looks about, taking in the boundless sea about them. I wonder whether we are the correct choice to be conducting such an investigation, he says, seeing as none of us can long survive outside these walls. Yet it seems we should seek out this reef. We will need to procure magics which allow us to do so.
@Siival: "At this point I am not quite sure. As the reefs have begun to die, many of the creatures that have called it home have left. There may be some aquatic scavengers trying to risk the toxins for an easy meal."
@Darvik: "Lysianassa was the previous elemental lord of the Plane of Water, until she was overthrown by Kelizandri. Kelizandri rules the plane with a tyrannous fist."
@Esthraceti: "Meet her and decide for yourself. I have my opinion of her, but she is the one that called for you."
@Blodgett:
As Blodgett mentions gear, his stature and mannerisms seemingly impress Lileone, who reaches into her backpack and hands him three vials. [b]"This will be my material contribution to your efforts. Speak with Zahra for anything else."[/ooc]
As Siival asks about trying to find a location to purchase some additional equipment, Lileone directs the group to a magical curio shop that specializes in tonics and tinctures to handle the plane.
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before heading out she checks her pack for 2 potions of water breathing and her 2 gems, one of water the other of all 4 elements just to be safe
"I believe I should be ok with these, any one have a way to heal?"
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"Indeed I think it may be."
The words come from a statue of a man. Well over 6 feet in height, with long braided hair practically announcing his Ulfen Blood. His voice is deep, and tingles the ears slightly to hear it, as the timbre carries force both in volume and timbre. His attire is similarly northern. The scales in his mail have a distinctly linnorm shape to them, and his wide axe bears an Ulfen engraving upon it's haft "Skullsplitter."
"My apologies for my tardiness. Last night included much mead, and many stories."
After some shopping that seemed to take two weeks, the party finally makes their way to their patron Zahra.
Obviously distracted by the recent events, she greets the party with a smile that does little to hide the anger on her face. "Greetings, Pathfinders. And thank you, Lileone, for escorting them here." The aquatic elf silently nods to the undine.
"While I am sure Lileone informed you of what I want, here I shall recap to you once more my goal. I want you to investigate the failure of the last expedition. While all on-site evidence has been lost to the ides and algae, I do believe that the disaster was due to foul play and that one of the surviving expedition members may have a clue or, worse, a role in the attack."
Zahra then hands Darvik a note with several names written in need handwriting. "Please investigate the people on this list, but due be subtle in case the person is indeed a saboteur."
"Do you have any questions before you begin your investigation?"
@Instrument: Zahra's eyes light up with fiery anger before she closes her eyes and takes a calming breath. "Ugh, sorry, I'm still fuming at the incident." She pauses for a moment before telling her tale. "Our expedition was to investigate rumors that a relic of Lysianassa may be hidden along the Lambent Bloom, a sea of jellyfish that resides far outside of Vialesk. At first, everything seemed normal, but on our second day, a wave of toxic red algae overwhelmed the caravan, killing off our whale shark transports and poisoning several of the crewmen. We retreated, but damned if that didn't happen. The algae should have been miles away from our route."
@Ordvaben: "A rhythmic clanging in the distance, half an hour before we encountered the algae bloom. I am confident this was a signal, though I have yet to ascertain who was signaling. As I have double checked my navigation and know I was not at fault, the noise must have been related to the disaster."
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Blodgett pontificates almost as soon as Zahra pauses for a breath. Studies show that expeditions fail for any number of reasons. Failure to adequately prepare; insufficient preparation; and of course the omnipresent lack of preparedness on the part of those involved. He studies her face a moment, then continues. I can tell that you do not see these issues as a cause of its failure, however. Very well! We shall endeavor to investigate!
Quietly, to the Instrument, Blodgett says, I wonder if she suspects foul play?
Lileone silently guides the party to the first person on the list, Honoke. It takes roughly an hour's travel time, making your way through the crowds, markets, and various tunnels that make up Vialesk. Luckily, the locations of the people on the list reside in the large air pockets within Vialesk, saving the party immediate need for their breathing potions.
When the party arrives at Honoke's residence, they spy a massive, about 20 foot tall man guiding some whale sharks around a submerged enclosure. A lengthy gray beard and hunched over shoulders show the man's age. He doesn't seem to notice your presence, the giant's attention focused solely on the underwater beasts.
The whale sharks are seriously weakened by some sort of affliction. The giant man also seems likewise affected and perhaps only his large size was the telling factor in why he is still alive.
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"Lileone, you seem to be an elf of conclusive thought. What do you know of Honoke? His character? And now that we're on task, what do you really think happened?"
"Ho there! Giant sir, May we have a word? We are here to investigate what happened to your sharks. You have our condolences on the ones lost in the expedition. We seek to help. My name is Ordvåben. "
@Ordvaben: Lileone raises a surprised eyebrow that someone in the party seems to value her opinion. "He is a good man, one who like me cares more for beasts than people, although he was married. Lost his wife to old age about a five years ago and the whale sharks are his only real love at this point. I imagine he is taking the loss of so many of his beasts hard."
At your second question, she shakes her head. "As I already said, it is due to Zahra's poor planning and navigation that we were to close to the toxic jellyfish that bore the red algae upon the caravan. I consider myself lucky that I was scouting at least and was not in the wave that injured so many others. Regardless of whose fault it is, though, the reefs are dying and I will need to find some talented folk to help remove the dead materials, heal the wounded coral, and preserve what creatures still live there... a truth that Zahra is avoiding in her rage against her own ego."
As you speak to the giant Honoke, he slowly turns his head, painful looking blisters evident on the man's face and neck. He speaks in slow, carefully thought out sentences. "I'm sorry, but I'm busy now tending to the sick.", slowly turning his head to face the three remaining whale sharks in his care.
@Siival: When you ask, he turns to face you with a silent nod, then goes back to looking over the beasts.
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Ordvåben gives the guard a smile. Allies are always a good thing.
The Skald looks despondently at the animals, and the giant. "Our business is second to the health of your majestic beasts, and to you as well. Please let us help."
The Northman does his level best to help both the whale-sharks and the giant.
"Please sir, where I come from writing a wrong is as important as health. Let us bring you a righted wrong. May we talk to you about the failed expedition?"
While the cure light wounds, does improve the sharks' health, he can tell that the whale sharks are suffering pneumonia in the gills, a result of the weakened immune systems from the poisons. With Ordvaben's help, they come up with a treatment plan that should improve the whale shark's survivability.
Informing Honoke of this, the giant man smiles warmly, almost relaxing despite his condition. He agrees to let Honoke review him and notes that the giant is likewise suffering from the same condition, although in his case due to not taking care of himself properly while treating the whale sharks.
"Thank... you.", he acknowledges.
With Ordvaben's prompting, the giant tells what he knows. "We were traveling. Then I recall hearing a rhytmic *claaang* *claaang* and the tide seemed to shift direction towards us after the sound. I do not know why either events occurred."
While treating the sharks, Siival also noticesthat there are notices down one of the whale shark's fins.
The notices are some sort of code, or at least an identifying marker of some sort.
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The Instrument surveys the wounded with a keen eye and thrusts his hands into the tank with little care for the sleeves of his robe, brushing against each whale shark in turn. With each touch, their wounds are lessened. The Instrument then turns his soggy fingers to the giant.
"Curious markings, these. A branding of some sort, to tag these sharks as your own?" the Instrument inquires of Honoke, pointing out the code.
@Ordvaben: Honoke shakes his head. "I do not know."
@Instrument: Honoke shakes his head slowly once more. "That is not my doing. I believe that animals should not be desecrated as such. I do not know who did it, but that they should be punished for marking my animals.", a slight tone of anger within the old man's voice.
Lileone has an inquisitive look on her face. Something is on her mind.