You are in Tymon in the River Kingdoms, awaiting a briefing from Venture-Captain Holgarin Smine.
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A young Garundi woman who weighs in at a paltry 4'8" and 112 pounds with traditional tanned skin and black hair. She carries some travel and adventuring gear and wears a number of bandages over her eyes. On her belt is a number of scroll tubes and wands, as well as a heavy pick with a skull running through the apex. She seems oblivious to the world around at first glance as she slowly makes her way into the room.
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Ash is a small red haired gnome (all thought his hair color is difficult to determine most of the time since he will be covered from head to toe in ash, soot and other blackish stuff).
Ash waves happily at everyone as he moves over to them to introduce himself and offers a hand (which is almost completely black from being covered in some sort of grease), as he notices people starting at his hand he tries to wipe it clean on his clothes - and fails to do so - before offering it again.
"Hi, my name is Ashiel, but you can call me Ash. How can I call you? I mean, what would you prefer I call you? There are off course lots of things I _can_ call you, but..." Ash continue to ramble on for a bit until/unless interrupted by someone
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Dhastrach Orisialis is a dwarven priest of Nethys, yet his appearance raises many questions. His skin is charcoal black, and he lacks hair completely, meaning he has no beard either. When idle, he browses a thick leather journal full of small print notes. Dhastrach takes meticulous notes of all the colleagues entering the room.
Conveniently he has not left Tymon after his last mission, and has had time to do errands and concentrate on his literary works.
"I am known as Dhastrach Orisialis," Dhastrach begins with his deep, raspy voice, "you may rrememberr me frrom such worrkss ass Taldor — A Hideous Affliction — The Story of Decadence and Genetic Degeneration orr The Wondrous Adventures of Lander Lebeda. Or in case you *do* follow yourr prrofession as a pathfinderr, I wass parrt of the team who found the lost Sky Citadel. I'm a prrofessional scrribe and will be conducting the finalization of documentation that will be deliverred to the superrvising venturre-captain at the end of ourr quest. I value knowledge and so I wish you all behave ass properr agentss of the Pathfinder Society."
After a few more minutes an assistant leads you in to the Weaponworks where you are to meet with the Venture-Captain.
The incessant beat of hammer against anvils and weaponry greets your entrance to the Weaponworks, the smithy of great repute in the town of Tymon in the River Kingdoms, along with an oppressive wave of heat and the acrid smell of coal. A broad-shouldered dwarf, face and arms smudged with soot from the furnaces, smiles broadly, proclaiming in a voice harsh with years of yelling, "Ah! I was expecting you lot! Step inside my office. I have refreshments."
He steps inside a cozy office, gesturing at several chairs, ranging from an overstuffed chaise to a sparse and undecorated rocking chair. After rinsing his face off in a nearby basin of water, he pours out several glasses of water, immediately quaffing one for himself before refilling it and sitting down to his desk. "Venture-Captain Holgarin Smine, at your service. Guessing the Lodge got my message. You don't look too fresh-faced for this mission." Finishing the rest of his drink, he wipes the corner of his mouth with a clean cloth.
"i'll be quick about it. You've got a bit of travel ahead of you. One of the mayors of Uringen, Lady Aurelia Ogden, wants the Society's help-with an experiment she's been doing. The clock tower of Uringen has drawn all sorts of researchers. It hasn't worked quite right from the get-go. It makes a whole piece of the town disappear. Four clock faces, each with a different way of counting time. All displaying a different time-until now. The mayor thinks that those faces might finally join up. What's going to happen when it does is anybody's guess. She doesn't have the staff she needs to record it properly. That's where the Society comes in."
"Uringen's alchemical goods are some of the best. In exchange for recording the experiment's effects, and dealing with unexpected issues, Mayor Ogden will give the Society a discount. But there's something else that the Society wants. You heard about the mishap with the Sky Key? How it's not working correctly? Turns out, that clock tower might have something that can fix it. Scholars call that something 'temporal essence.' Fetch at least one vial of the stuff. Ogden says the best time to collect is in the middle of the clock face alignment. I've arranged for travel to Emeth Forest. When you get there, you'll be meeting Jamel Visser. Visser's the leader of the local forest guides. They call themselves the Embeth Travelers. Don't dawdle. You've got to make it to Uringen before the clock faces align. The boat will get you to Visser in a little over 2 weeks if you don't run in to trouble. The clocks align in 3 weeks."
"Any questions. . . or refills?"
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Knowledge Local as to Uringen
Knowledge Local for Emeth Forest/Travelers
The tiny halfling in the corner nodded as she was given the details of the mission. Her tiny kukri gleamed in the light of the Weaponworks. She spoke with an air of confidence as she told the others what she knew of the two lands they would be traveling through.
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St. Germaine is tall and regal. Slight variations in his appearance indicate he is not entirerly human, and he seems to walk with a nearly 0alpible aura of calm, confidence,and holiness. He speaks little, not liking to waste words when not needed, but when he does, his words are kind and polite, if a bit archaic.
He wears Full body plate armor made from an ancient silver dragon, a gift from one worthy champion to another, and carries an unsheathed bastard sword, the martial implement of his faith across his back.
To each he bows at introductions.
"We shall do what we can. But tell me, when these lands have vanished, what became of the peoples that had resided there? Are there still any about? And do we have any means of protecting against it? And what can you tell us of these, these clocks? Who or what made them? Why are 5hey important?"
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"Hmm, Ogden soundss familiarr." Dhastrach begins to plow through his source materials to check all he knows about Uringen, the Embeth Travelers, the Emeth Forest, Mayor Ogden, the Sky Key incident , the clock tower of Uringen, and Jamel Visser.
"Iss therre a way to move even fasterr, captain Smine? It would buy uss morre valuable time," the dwarf asks another, "and when doess thiss boat leave?"
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"I would be called Kris, it is a pleasure to meet you." She bows politely, keeping a secret eye through the thin bandages for any holy symbols (particularly more for deities of honesty than of goodness.) "Do the Smine's Best line come with maintenance warranties," she asks about her pickaxe.
She waits until the end of the briefing, "I am unaware of the Sky Key as a whole; it has been some time since I've seen the field. I believe we were fighting demons last I recall?"
"That said, my question is 'What are we to capture this liquid time within? Are we sure a glass bottle will be enough?"
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Shel recalls that Uringen is split, quite literally. One half of the town disappears for a bit, and the other sticks around. Aurelia Ogden is the mayor of the half that disappears sometimes. Knaar Mieren is the mayor of the other half. It is an isolated place that requires guides to help through the Embeth Forest, guides like Jamal Visser.
"We shall do what we can. But tell me, when these lands have vanished, what became of the peoples that had resided there? Are there still any about? And do we have any means of protecting against it? And what can you tell us of these, these clocks? Who or what made them? Why are they important?"
Smine shakes his head. "I'm not rightfully sure, you'll have to ask them when you get there."
"One of the founders of the town built the tower and clocks. Great piece of work-even if it's not dwarven," he says with a wink. "It combines magic and machinery. I'm no wizard; can't tell you more than that. It causes a piece of the town to disappear and reappear-or at least, the people in Uringen say that's what is does-and that sounds like a powerful bit of engineering and magic to me."
"Iss therre a way to move even fasterr, captain Smine? It would buy uss morre valuable time," the dwarf asks another, "and when doess thiss boat leave?"
"To be honest, you have plenty of time. The boat's already been paid for. Sounds expensive for no good reason. Plus, Uringen supposedly moves its location and the forest is a dangerous place to teleport. Plus, you'd have to tell Visser about the change of plans somehow."
"Do the Smine's Best line come with maintenance warranties,"
"Of course!"
"That said, my question is 'What are we to capture this liquid time within? Are we sure a glass bottle will be enough?"
"That's what they tell me and the scholars who know more about that stuff can tell you better than I can."
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"All of that sounds might interesting! A tower that's sometimes there, and sometimes somewhere else? Do we go now? A boat trip...that's a lot of water, but it could be fun..don't you think it might be fun? Or don't you like water either? I don't like water that much..it tends to put out fires..I do like fire..do you like fire? Do you think they will invent a boat that will move on land? Or through the air..that sounds like fun..."
Ash stops rambling as he runs out of breath
"...what are we doing again?"
You conclude your conversation with the Venture-Captain and head off to get on the boat. After an uneventful trip along the Sellen River, you arrive near the edge of the Embeth Forest, where Jamel Visser and his group of Travelers should be waiting for you.
A sturdy wooden pier stretches over the western bank of the fast-moving river, where a river barge offloads several crates of labeled goods. Nearby, a camp laid out in a rough semicircle bustles with activity, its borders marked off by covered wagons and tarpaulins. Water from a recetn downpour collects in the canvas' folds and in puddles on the ground.
A pair of Travelers directs you to Jamel Visser, who is standing by the central campfire. Dressed in plain forester's garb, as well as a worn but well-kept suit of leather armor and a longbow, he listens to the two scouts with a pensive look on his face. "Well met, travelers," he directs at you. "Smine sent word of your arrival, expressing the urgency of your journey, but we will have to delay your departure. On our trip here, we ran afoul of that blasted grig's traps, and we won't be able to leave until we've fixed things up."
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"It neverr ceasess to amaze me how gnomess univerrsally seem to be sufferring frrom a case of verrbal diarrrhea," Dhastrach grumbles, making notes to his journal.
"Ah, now you rrequirre ourr serrvicess?" Dhastrach replies, somewhat smugly, "it'ss a good thing ourr team consistss of severral experrtss of the wild. What do you need, exactly?"
"I've got a few problems, to be honest. Deadfall, pits, whatever snares those twisted fey though of, and that's just the start. They'll all need to be cleared or disabled before we go back into the woods. Our mules are sick too, probably poisoned, and even some of our hounds have succumbed too. Our healers would be most appreciateive if you helped them out."
Nithra's folk like to harass us in and out of the woods. We usually catch most of their tricks, but not this time. Nithra is a grig, from what I hear. I've never actually seen him face to. . . well, face, I guess. Just in passing as he hopped away from putting mistletoe in the stew pot. Some fey might clean your house while you slept at night, and I can tell you, he's not that kind."
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"I can do naught for the traps, but if you would show me to the injured, I'm certain my skill with menestrations will be of some use."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Dhastrach harumphs at the situation. "Quite a lot you ask frrom uss," the dwarf replies, "but it appearrss ourr team is morre than qualified to solve these petty prroblemss of yourrss. Furrtherrmorre, should you prrovide uss with varriouss nutrricientss, we would be able to attain the favorr of severral benevolent fey living in these forrestss, possibly aiding us trravel to ourr destination fasterr."
Ash and Shel move down some of the nearby trails and spot the traps Visser mentioned. Shel proves an expert disabler and quickly makes the traps inert.
Saint Germaine also expertly diagnoses the giant wasp poison that has caused the sicknesses in the animals and properly treats them.
At Dhastrach's suggestion the rangers leave out some offerings to attract friendly fey. The Embeth rangers are impressed by Dhastrach's knowledge and wisdom and hope that the attraction of good fey to the region will keep out the malicious fey in the future.
With those tasks taken care of, Visser declares that it is time to depart for Uringen. He gets the remainder of the supplies ready and you head out into the forest. The journey will take several days but thanks to your help, it is mostly uneventful.
Approximately half a mile outside Uringen, however, Visser calls a halt to the caravan, gesturing you forward. Raising his voice over the jingle of jokes and the rattle of wagon wheels, Visser booms out, "Halt!" Dismounting from his horse, he gestures down the road. "About half a mile down that road, you'll be in Uringen. Desna smile on you in that place."
Visser pulls an oilskin folio out of his saddlebags. "Since you've been right useful this trip, I was hoping you could carry these reports to Mayors Mieren and Ogden, since you'll be in town anyway. Put in a good word for you as well, maybe you'll get something from them for it."
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"Surre," Dhastrach replies to Saint Germaine before Visser does, "the town'ss split because of the clock towerr; prresumably into fourr differrent sectorrss given the knowledge of fourr facess in the clock towerr. Smine did say Ogden wass one of the mayorrss, and that one of the facess iss spinninng wildly out of contrrol. I might speculate thiss wildly spinning face iss which facess Ogden'ss sectorr."
Rod of Metamagic, Reach (3000 gp)
Engineer's Workgloves (3000 gp)
Headband of Vast Intelligence +2 (4000 gp) (maxing out Sense Motive, gain one language: Azlanti)
The town of Uringen is a flurry of activity. Puffs of multicolored smoke rise from tall stone chimneys that emerge from steeply pitched rooftops, and people dressed sharply in black and white shuffle about the town, preparing for the convergence. The divide between the two halves of the town is stark. A wide street, 20 feet across at its widest, separates the static and unstuck portions of the town. Boarded windows and prominent closed signs decorate the static half of the town, whose residents speak in hushed and tense tones. In the unstuck half of the town, excitement and curiosity outweigh fear, and groups of people gather in the streets. Above it all, a four-sided tower looks out upon the town, with an enormous clock face decorating each side its pinnacle.
In the middle of the street between the two halves, a pair of well-dressed figures appear to be locked in a debate, their words clipped and harsh. Their heated conversation is in Skald, with a smattering of words and phrases in Common.
The man rests his hand on the hilt of a rapier at his side, while the woman hooks her thumbs in the wide sash wrapped around her body. A tiny blue-skinned humanoid with iridescent blue butterfly wings flits behind the woman's head, a minuscule pair of pince-nez perched upon his pert nose.
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Aproaching with Shel and offering a formal knightly bow, "Indeed. I am St. Germaine, and I believe you are both expecting us. We where also asked to deliver some reports", handing them over.
"Things appear,. . . tense. Is there perhaps something we might be able to aid thee in?"
Unsure what exactly is the custom with the weefolk, I'll simply smile at the smaller, blue-skinned woman, and nod, "Milady".
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"You two look like you arre at warr," Dhastrach comments quietly, "and rregarrdlesss of yourr inconsequential bitterringss, we've come frrom farr away to rrecorrd the eventss about to occurr on the behalf of the Pathfinder Society, so it would be most beneficial to each one'ss interrest to keep all weaponss sheathed and act with the rreasoning of a sentient being."
Assuming anyone in this schizophrenic town is truly sentient...
Mayor Mieren, who runs the static side of Uringen it seems, turns to Mayor Ogden in anger. "You invited outsiders?" He crosses his wiry arms. "What for?"
Mayor Ogden, on the other hand, ignores him and welcomes you warmly. "Oh, thank you and welcome to our town!" A woman approaching her middle years, Aurelia Ogden retains some of her youthful good looks, the barest grace of silver among sun-bleached brown hair at her temples and crows' feet around her brown eyes the only real sign of her age.
"Excellent to see that my message was received and heard by the Society! I'm Mayor Aurelia Ogden, and this is my compatriot, Mayor Knavar Mieren. I trust your journey through the Embeth wasn't too hazardous" She takes this time to open the reports and briefly glance through them before handing them to Mayor Mieren.
"Not unexpected news, but I will leave the details of the guard arrangement with Mieren. Right now, I must focus all my attention on my experiment-and I, for one, am happy that you are here to assist with it," Ogden finishes, with a pointed glance at Mayor Mieren.
"Your role in the experiment is very straightforward. I will need several people to observe the westward-facing clock, and record everything you see or hear-taste, smell, touch as well if it becomes necessary. As members of the Pathfinder Society, your experience with... unusual situations is legendary, and this alignment will certainly qualify as unusual-one for your Pathfinder journals, I hope!"
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Dhastrach pats his thick leather journal. "I'm well-equipped forr detailed analysisess and documentationss rregarrding the eventss unfolding. We have come ass quickly ass possible, and ourr jourrney thrrough the woodss was uneventful thanks to ourr capable grroup." The dwarf seems, for once, to be proud of the pathfinder agents he is traveling with; all of them are compenent, albeit he shows a certain disdain towards Ash, who seems to talkative to his tastes.
"I trruly hope we arre not the sole grroup investigating the phenomenon. Arre the otherr facess being obserrved as well? And what wass the content of those missivess we werre tasked to give you, something we should know? Furrtherrmorre, beforre even accepting to conduct the rresearrch, you two must solve yourr difficultiess; while the combat prrowesss of pathfinderr agentss iss rrenown, I'd much rratherr would rresorrt in not using it against potential alliess."
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Kris has little to deal with traps, given her limited line of sight.
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"Given my... Condition... I do focus on the alternative senses. I am Kris, it's a pleasure." She bows before the hosts. "I was told there is some sort after-effect. Is there anything I should worry about in a week?"
(+7 more if I can use Bluff.)
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"Shel, it iss prrobable the eventss unfolding once the clockss align can be surrprrising, and my wildest speculationss include rriftss to the Dark Tapestry, allowing nightmarrish abominationss to pourr into ourr rrealm," Dhastrach explains, "I doubt ourr expedition herre is going to be dull sitting."
"I trruly hope we arre not the sole grroup investigating the phenomenon. Arre the otherr facess being obserrved as well? And what wass the content of those missivess we werre tasked to give you, something we should know? Furrtherrmorre, beforre even accepting to conduct the rresearrch, you two must solve yourr difficultiess; while the combat prrowesss of pathfinderr agentss iss rrenown, I'd much rratherr would rresorrt in not using it against potential alliess."
"The reports are just an update on the activity in the area, particularly regarding some of the more active fey around. The other Mayor and I are well aware of our respective differences and although we may agree on many things we are able to work together; don't allow our arguments to taint your opinions of us."
"Now, as you might know, when this part of town becomes 'unstuck' as it is referred to in the local vernacular, we lose all sense of how much time has passed. I am hoping that the timepieces I have constructed will allow us to keep track of time while we remain out of phase with the rest of Uringen. While I'm observing my timepieces, I will not be able to pay attention to other events in the tower, which is where you come in. I think together we can handle the duty."
"I was told there is some sort after-effect. Is there anything I should worry about in a week?"
"Nethys willing, no, but as he instructs, magic is always capable of creation and destruction, and either could happen I suppose. I won't lie to you-I do not know the original intent of the tower. Since this alignment has never happened before in Uringen's history, I am not entirely sure what we can expect, so be alert and ready. I have heard of the exploits of the Pathfinder Society; you are far better equipped to deal with any situations that arise than our town guard."
"We are to simply watch and observe the goingson? We can do that, sure, but is there something else we can do that might be helpful?"
"Your observations are the most crucial, as they are unbiased and not viewed with a practitioner's eye."
" ...so when is the clock supposed to do anything?"
"I would recommend your arrive by 11:45. That will be enough time to get yourselves set up and prepared for the event itself, but you may have better insights as to how much time you need to investigate beforehand. Be careful when using the clock tower to tell time; the northern clock face is the accurate one."
She tells you that it is not about 6:30 in the evening. Mayor Ogden then mentions that you can relax at the Oaken Knot Tavern before the night's events if you wish. She bids you farewell and heads to make her own preparations.
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"We werre given to underrstand we'd have much morre time to do backgrround worrk herre in Uringen," Dhastrach begins, "arre you saying the countdown iss tonight?"
Slightly furious about the short time to prepare, Dhastrach then leaves to try and analyze what sort of man Birji Uringen, the founder of the town of Uringen, really was. He will seek out the library, force himself in if he has to, and reads all the biographies he can find about the man.