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"Huh...it's a...well, it's a token, you see. And when you activate it, it will turn into an anchor for a boat and keep it in place," Fran explains. "But only for a day! Then it'll vanish. How neat!"
"Oh and I suppose I should take a look at these potions, too..."
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"Oh, soup and bread will be just fine for me please," Fran responds politely. "And maybe some milk for Mr. Sunshine too, if you have any."
Unable to help herself, she looks up at the giant gar mounted above the bar. "Did you catch your bar gar yourself Mr. Tamal?"
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At the bar, Puglas gets Fran her stew. It is fish stew.
Looking up at the mounted gar, he shows off his stump as he says “That is the one that ate my arm! That was about six years ago, now.”
Puglas then launches into a fish tale about how the gar got him, but he had the last laugh and got the gar. Judging by his delivery and the eye-rolls from a few of the patrons, he has told this story several times before.
As he is telling it, he checks around and finally shakes his head. Pointing to Mr. Sunshine and then the fish stew, he gestures asking Fran if the cat wants some of that instead. He does not interrupt his retelling of the tale.
Nothing suspicious to be found here!
Puglas brings a bowl of soup and a mug of coffee over to Shayna.
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"So let me get this straight. They had more magic and items with them worth more than the cargo of the vessel we were on? That doesn't make any sort of sense at all, does it? And they were in... a rowboat?"
This conundrum has Ramon rather distracted the entire trip to the Gar, arriving a few moments afterwards in a nicely modest travelling dress.
She isn't hiding anything about her Undine nature.
"I'd like four nights, please, Mister Tamal, and soup with a chunk of bread sounds good."
When the soup arrives, though, the aromas threaten to overpower her a bit, and she nibbles at the bread gamely while looking around for Mister Sunshine to save her from having to eat it.
She must have gotten some of the pot scrapings or something in her meal...
"So, being fresh in from out of town, but knowing a little bit about what's going on... is there anything interesting for a group of individuals of talent to be looking for?"
Puglas brings Ray some of the stew as well.
Smiling, he says "Well, fishing hasn't been so great of late. It is those blasted faith barges driving all the good fishing away! Need to stay away from them when sailing."
Thinking a bit, he adds "Been a while since we had any direct attacks on the town. Not sure what the Multhune are up to right now, but I'm sure it isn't good."
"Other than that, I'm afraid you will need to be a bit more specific in your request."
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"I'll take a bit of soup, if you've got it. And bread sounds lovely, too."
Kriklishik listens intently as Pulgas describes the fight with the fish. "Sounds very exciting! I've never seen a fish that big. Most of my life's been spent on land."
When things calm down a bit, Kriklishik asks Pulgas if he has a pen, a bit of paper, and some sealing wax. He then scribbles a brief note to Aunt Tolal, describing the boring voyage and his excitement to be doing anything, even if that thing is rebuilding her outhouse. I include that I'm staying with my traveling companions at the Gar's Last Meal, and that if she would, she should please send word how to find her, as mother was vague on the details.
He pinches the wax between his fingers and lets a tiny bit of heat flow to them. It softens into a ball, which he presses onto the folded edge with his thumb then scratches with a K. He then leans back a bit, taking in the room.
"Is there anyone around who can take a message?"
Puglas checks around a bit and brings back a charcoal stick and some paper that smells of fish. “Will this do? If not, you’ll need to wait till morning.”
He pauses to think a moment. “I’m not sure what the general store on the docks has, tends more towards items a sailor might need. Further in town I’m sure you could find someplace to sell you more appropriate items.”
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One of the customers looks over and yells back “Where’s it got to go?”
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Kriklishik uses the provided materials to fashion his note. As the charcoal stick gets dull, he'll carefully burn it between his fingers until it comes to a point again.
"My Aunt Tolal lives in the area, but I'm not entirely certain where. I'm supposed to help her with a couple of projects. I think she might do some work with one of the archaeological companies. Path...something. But I'm afraid I have no idea where she lives. Do you know of her? Or the company?" He sorts out two silver pieces from his pouch. "This should cover the trip almost anywhere in town, with a litle extra because I'm not sure where she is. If you wait for a reply, there'll be one more when you get back."
Bluff take 10 = 17
He looks out the window at the deepening darkness.
"I suppose it could wait until morning. I'm not in any particular hurry to start rebuilding an outhouse."
Yup! Kriklishik is fully human!
They give Kriklishik a strange look. Then they quietly talk amongst themselves.
The one who originally asked where it had to go looks at Kriklishik and says "Um, mister the only Tolal we know of is the old halfling woman with her tree house up on the hill." He makes a vague gesture with his hand, not quite pointing the way. "Forget what she calls it."
There is some more muttering as a few of the patrons talk amongst themselves, trying to remember. "Spruce Log? Oak Fey? No...some sort of tree in the name though!"
"When did your aunt get here? We tend to notice strangers."
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"Halfling? I always just figured she was short. Ma always had me call her Aunt Tolal when I was growing up, but I haven't seen her since I was pretty little. Ma said she needed some help and was living up near Tamran.
Halfling? Huh." Kriklishik puts on a bewildered look.
The patrons shrug. One of them drinks down the round Roy bought them and gets up. “I’ll drop it off for you mister.”
He accepts the paper and walks out.
Your rooms are small — consisting of a bed and a footlocker — but clean and reasonably comfortable. In the footlocker is an extra blanket.
In the morning there are bagels with lox available.
Leaving the inn, you don’t have much trouble finding Ashfall Lodge. Like much of the city, Ashfall Lodge rises above the marshy ground; however, whereas most other buildings stand atop piers and pilings, the Pathfinder lodge straddles three broad cypress trees. Rope bridges and wooden slat ladders wind across its outer branches, leading to a handful of tiny cabins for storage and visiting agents. Two bell pulls hang from the southern tree—one weighted by a medallion depicting the Glyph of the Open Road and the other weighted by a bronze symbol of two faces in profile.
Ray attempts to answer Shayna's question about the symbol.
"It is the symbol of Alseta, also known as The Welcomer or The Opener of the Ways. She is the goddess of doorways, thresholds and transitions. The goddess is well known as a good hostess and skilled negotiator. She has often acted as a neutral party in celestial negotiations. She is closely aligned with Pharasma, and many ecclesiastics have speculated about the nature of that connection.
I don't remember the details, but the elves revere her for something specifically relating to their culture."
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"Yah, there's multiple ways to enter a house and look around.", the tien youth thinks out loud, standing arms crossed, looking at the residence.
"There's second floor windows, chimneys...."
Thomas' face is looking rather mischievous.
"I could have a look at the around to see if there's guards outside before we enter, of course."
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Thomas doesn't find anyone currently guarding the lodge.
When Vlazis pulls the cord, sounding a high-pitched bell in the lodge above. From above, a gray-haired halting pops her head out and examines you for a moment. She then drops a rope ladder and nimbly clambers down and gestures grandly to the elevated structure. “Welcome, Pathfinders. May Ashfall Lodge be your home away from home and your welcome to a new land. If you’ll accompany me, I can answer any questions you might have.”
She then leads you up and into a small meeting room.
Gesturing towards the chairs, she bids you all "Be seated. Would any of you care for some hot tea? I fear the cookies are still baking -- the first batch should be ready soon."
Chuckling, she says "I asked for people to help gather information because the local members were too well known. Although they aren't my style, secret messages and disguises are not out of place for any agents sent here."
Looking over to Shayna, she says "I wouldn't mind some help once the cookies are ready."
She then goes over to a side cupboard and gets out tea settings. Picking up a pot that was already set out, she starts pouring tea.
As she hands steaming cups to any who want some, she answers Kriklishik's other question.
"I hope you like ginger cookies."
Smiling, she then says "I can only give you the high level overview. Reginar has been the local agent doing an investigation. You will have a chance to meet with him soon, I hope. I could send a messenger now, but I think it may be too early in the morning for him to be at his normal hangout -- The Forest Bounty. It is a large feast hall on the northern edge of town."
Once everyone is seated and has their tea, she sits herself and asks "So, what do you know of the Rasmiran faith and the country of Razmiran?"
Knowledge Geography
Knowledge Local
Knowledge Religion
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"What I know about Rasmiran and Razmiran is that they probably don't make cookies this delicious," Kriklishik says as he reaches for a second. "And this tea smells scrumptious! Do you have any cream?"
"Seriously, though. Razmiran isn't that far from here. We sailed past it a few nights ago." Kriklishik swallows quickly before continuing. "They're a theocracy, right? Something about a Living God?"
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Vlazis rolls his eyes. A living god indeed! Aroden's greatest failure was in setting up the test of the Starstone. Iomedae is the only one to passe who has had anything like the proper reverence for her borrowed status, but one only has to look at Norgorber or Cayden Cailean to see what kind of company Razmir more likely falls into.
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"Razmiran has a council...I think its members are called Visions or something," Fran adds as she happily accepts a cup of tea. "Thank you, it smells wonderful!" she nods to Tolal. "Um, what was I saying? Oh right, Razmiran and their council. It's nice that they have a council I suppose, but Razmir still has the last say-so on everything anyway."
She sips her tea. "Perks of being god, maybe? It's all a bit strange, really."
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Ramon will curtsey politely to the older halfling. "Your hospitality is greatly appreciated, and it is hoped that as a guest I will brighten your halls and bring spirit to them."
"If we were going to get into a religious debate, arguably any deity that has a humanoid guise is a pretender to the power of their faith, as humans are only a portion of all living beings on Golarion. Don't need such things for the Wind and the Waves, they're either there, or they are not, easy." Ramon offers, then considers as she looks to Vlazis.
"Still, Norgorber is all about not being out there in the world, last I heard, and Cayden's all about doing the right thing but damn the consequences, right? Iomedae is a zealous crusader hanging onto the remnants of a deceased deity's legacy. None of them is interested in having a country. So why would a deity need a country?"
Ramon blinks a few times then rubs her forehead. "What were we talking about again?"
The venture captain listens closely to all you have to say.
As Ray finishes, she passes the plate to Ray and says "Have another cookie, dear!"
Then she looks at the group and says "It seems you know quite a bit already about Razmiran and this Living God. Although I knew where the country was, until recently I knew very little about it."
She pauses to take a sip of her own tea.
"As small band of missionaries shows up in Tamran about two years ago. In a very short time, they had managed to have a temple built within the town and it is from that temple that their priests do their work."
"At first, there really wasn't anything to worry about. The priests seemed to be helping the poor and recruiting members from the lower classes. I really only took notice when I found out a little more about the temple they built."
Shaking her head, she says "Although there are some religions that have to hide, most temples will have an area to welcome visitors in their temples. That the temple the Razmiri built is more like a fortress than a temple was our first cause for concern."
"They only allow those of the faith inside their temple."
"Reginar has been watching the temple and trying to find out more. He has found instances where the city guard seem to dismiss many complaints against the temple or it's members. A few months ago we noticed a group from the temple left a while ago, their members greatly reduced when they returned. About a week ago, another group left the temple and boarded a boat. That group included a woman who had blue robes -- they seem to use the color of the robes to indicate status within the church. We have not seen that group return."
With a sigh, she admits "All of this is suspicious, but we do not have evidence of wrong doing. Reginar feels it is time to bring in agents they wouldn't recognize, in hopes they could uncover more. That is why we have requested you."
"I think it is best that you talk directly with Reginar. Coordinate with him and investigate this temple. I would suggest that you not openly identify yourselves as members of the Pathfinder Society, for they know that Reginar is a member. I'm sure they know that he has been investigating them and would likely be wary of any member."
Making a steeple with her fingers before her, she asks "Have you any questions for me?"
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"So, we're here to investigate the temple. And this Reginar fellow, he's going to be our handler?"
Kriklishik idly dunks a cookie in his tea.
"And the reason we're investigating is that they send out groups of explorers who don't all come back?" Maybe we should investigate the Pathfinder Society!
Kriklishik looks around at the others. "I'm totally down to investigate this group, but are we sure we'll find anything? It sounds like your every day run-of-the-mill adventuring club. What's the society's interest in all this?"
Looking over the brim of her tea cup, she says “If you investigate some of the beatings and other complaints that the guards seem to be ignoring and find nothing, I must admit that I would be surprised.”
“On the other hand, it is possible that the Razmiri Temple is not involved. There have certainly been enough instances where groups tried to frame the Society for mischief and we were innocent. That is why I would like proof.”
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Understood....oh these cookies are delicious...I must get the recipe for my mother. .she would just love these. Shayna says between cookies, which she stuffs in her mouth as quick and polite as she can manage. Are there any current rumblings against the Society near here? We might be able to kill two birds with one sling stone...
“None worth note. Although there are always those who would speak ill of us, in Tamran most people are more concerned about when Multhune next plans to raze the city.”
With a smile, she adds “I will be sure to make a copy of the recipe. It warms my heart that you all enjoy them!”
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Thomas will try to eavesdrop around busy places like the tavern, docks and shops, to try and learn things.
If at any point someone would question him...
"I'm exploring the scene. If i want to recommend this place to fellow travelers, i'd have to know where the places of importance are, right?
Commerce is good for the town."