You are waiting for your mission briefing with your fellow agents.
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Jiro trots up to the Lodge and quickly dismounts upon reaching the doors. "Stay here, Honor!" the man says to the creature.
As he moves inside, he sees a woman with a clipboard. "Umm... I've been called for a mission? Never done this before. Heck, I don't even know who called me." he says sheepishly.
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Some might recognize this creature as a nagaji--relatives of the snake-like naga--but would recognize none of the lithe, slithering qualities of snakes in his husky form. His weathered scales are rough and cracked, which—along with their sandy color—might bring to mind the consistency and tone of dried-out dirt. An ancient scar dominates his face, five gouged lines running from forehead to neck. He walks with an adamantine lucerne hammer, using it like a walking stick. His armor appears to have been cobbled together over the years from bits and pieces that their owner found suitable. Though they show the marks of many beaten-out dents and scars of battle, the pieces of armor are perfectly maintained.
He grins, revealing an (almost) full mouth of chipped and worn, yet clean, teeth, worn down from the sharp needles typical of nagaji to jagged, rocky formations.
"Heh, don't worry so much kid. Nerves will kill ya before any swords."
Old Iron holds out his hand to shake Jiro's.
"People call me Old Iron. Just stick with me. It's an old soldier's duty to look after the green ones."
He stretches his neck, a few staccato cracks accompanying the motion.
"You want to live long enough to look this good, dontcha? Heh."
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Nearby stands a fellow Pathfinder, a beautiful lithe female with long, straight black hair and pale skin. She wears scale armor and carries a large mithral shield, in addition to a club made from the femur of some large humanoid creature.
Despite her attractive appearance, something seems...off. There is an eerie feel about her, almost like fingers on a chalk board. Someone accidentally knocks some books from a table behind her, but she does not react. It is suddenly clear that the woman is deaf.
She observes the other Pathfinders, then turns and looks at no one in particular, scowls, and rolls her eyes.
"Shut up," she whispers to no one.
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Wearing a scowl like a fashionable Taldan would wear a hat, Tin nods his head ever so slightly to the others as he lounges outside the briefing room. No small amount of jewelry decorates the half-Mwangi/half-fiendish man, his dulled black jacket open in so small attempt to hide it.
He shrugs as Necress comments to nobody in particular.
"Well, a'ight then. Another eclectic bunch of misfits. Lucky me."
Stretching his long fingers, he leans forward, seeming only marginally interested in introducing himself.
"Yea, so if you ain't heard already, and I don't doubt them vee-sees kept another one tight to their chests... I'm Tin Futola, Detective and all that."
Sighing, he looks over his shoulder at the door.
"And I just hope them @##holes ain't sendin' my a## back to the Mwangi again, them racist bastards."
Venture-Captain Roderus sits at his desk in the lodge beneath the popular Winding Road Inn in Katapesh. Maps cover every wall of his workspace, and precarious stacks of journals and papers nearly reach to the ceiling. The venture-captain glances up from his work. “Welcome, Pathfinders. I hope your journey here was not too arduous. I have a fascinating assignment for you.” He plucks a single sheet of paper from the middle of pile on his desk. “This is a letter from the Osiriani investigator Amenira, who works with the Temple of the All-Seeing Eye. Mercy, the town she mentions in her reports, wasn’t even on our map until now. It’s a small settlement out in the Mana Wastes. Magic is unpredictable out in the Wastes, and it sometimes coalesces into deadly storms. People in Alkenstar reported seeing one of these magical disturbances heading in the direction of Mercy, but the town weathered the fearsome storm without so much as a scratch.”
He hands over the sheet and waits for you to read through the report before continuing.
After six months in Mercy, the local priests are still not totally cooperative. I am still referred to as “the outsider” and nominally kept under curfew, though they’ve stopped caring when I break it, so long as I keep to myself.
The rivalry between the carpenters and the blacksmiths is intensifying, and I’ve noticed restrained violence between the two groups. I will investigate further. The infiltration of the weaver’s home was successful, though brief. I have not yet obtained a sample of the ointment. My illness has been growing steadily worse, which has complicated my work, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to hide.
Something shielded Mercy from another mana storm a few days ago. The storm should have razed the town, but it split into two fronts that bypassed the town before recombining. I strongly doubt that the priests here have the power to evoke such a miracle. Is there an artifact in or near Mercy? Further inquiries are required.
The venture-captain clears his throat. “One of my contacts at the temple received this missive from her four months ago, and he hasn’t heard anything from her since. I’m sending you to Mercy to figure out why. If she’s still there, ask her why she hasn’t contacted anyone in months and help her finish her investigation; if she isn’t, find out what happened to her. While you are there, see how much of the mystery of Mercy you can unravel. Several of the clergy within the temple are intensely curious about why the mana storm didn’t level the town, and so am I. I will gladly provide you with additional pay for the information that you retrieve. I’ve booked a ship to the city of Alkenstar, which is a few days’ journey from Mercy itself. The ship departs in three hours. If you have any questions, ask them now. You’ll have time to purchase supplies when you arrive.”[/b]
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Tin grabs the sheet and gives it a once over, his expression never deviating from displeasure.
As he passes it along to Old Iron, he listens intensely while Roderus completes the initial assignment before seizing an opportunity to call out a few of his questions.
"Four moths since contact? Don't you think that's a little long to wait before sending in the cavalry? Especially since you cats seem to think there's some sort of weather-controlling artifact out here? That's so damn long, Aspis could've snatched and grabbed it three months ago like a mouse in a pantry..."
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"The Temple of the All-Seeing Eye is the most prominent temple of Nethys, god of magic," Necress says. Though clearly deaf, she speaks almost perfectly, as if she was not born deaf, but lost her hearing later. She carefully reads the lips of the others as they discuss the mission, and she also reads the note.
"We will find out what happened to this Amenira," she promises.
"Four moths since contact? Don't you think that's a little long to wait before sending in the cavalry? Especially since you cats seem to think there's some sort of weather-controlling artifact out here? That's so damn long, Aspis could've snatched and grabbed it three months ago like a mouse in a pantry..."
The venture-captain blushes slightly at this accusation but does not deny its poignancy.
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Jiro claps the snakeman's hand in greeting. "Ah, well met, Sir Old Iron. I am the mighty Jiro!" he proudly states. "Though that is likely me in the future. For now Jiro probably is best."
He sees the woman acting weird in the corner and turns to Tyr, whispering. "Uhh... you get a lot of them like her?" he says quietly as he gestures towards Necress with his eyes.
Tin gives his introduction and the Bold Strider moves up to greet him. "Ah yes, the gallant Tin Futola. It is a pleasure." he says, bowing deeply in front of the man as Venture-Captain Roderus enters.
At the end of the briefing, Jiro bows to the Venture-Captain. "I am honored that you chose me, sir! I will not let you down." he says with a quick bow. "I have no questions as that is the Bold Strider way!" he says a bit too excited.
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A blonde haired woman steps in, while cleaning dirt from under her fingernails. She is swathed in mithral chain shirt, and the shirt dances in a pale blue-green as the light hits it. She looks up, as she is the last to arrive.
What, am I late? Not my fault this damned place is so huge. So, what we got going on boys and girls?
She listens to the Captain and what has to be done.
I ain't got no questions, but I will do my best to figure all this jazz out for ya.
When Jasmine gets to her destination, she ponder about what she may need for the upcoming mission, and figures anything magical may be dicey given its the mana wastes. She cannot think of anything to purchase off the top of her head.
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Tin smiles like a man with a called bluff as Jasmine enters and displays her own streetwise sensibilities and love for the acquisition of small blades.
He cracks a crooked smile and looks to Roderus.
"Yea, you might be makin' up for it by sendin' two hustlers who know how to get stuff done on the same mission."
Tin gives the others a quick glance by way of apology.
If the others don't ask, he sighs and inquires.
"So magic ain't predicable, but what about alchemy? That's all good down that way, right?"
"So magic ain't predicable, but what about alchemy? That's all good down that way, right?"
"I am not trained in alchemy but as I understand it potions can be finicky but if any of you are trained in such things you might have a better experience."
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The ship travels down the coast of the Obari Ocean, tacks northwest up the Elemion River, then sails south down the Ustradi River, finally stopping at the city of Alkenstar. It docks slightly short of a five-hundred-foot-tall waterfall in the middle of the city, where southbound ships painstakingly ride a winding elevator to the river above. Nearby, carriages wait to lead passengers into the smog-covered city.
The city of Alkenstar boasts a population of over 50,000 people, mostly humans, with a sizable number of dwarves and halflings as well. The unreliable nature of magic in the Mana Wastes has made the city a center of technological advancement. Alkenstar’s most famous inventions are firearms, and while strict laws regulate their possession to members of the nobility, unscrupulous dealers make a tidy profit selling these weapons on the black market. Magic functions normally in the portion of the city to the east of Ustradi River, and does not function at all in the western portion of the city.
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"The waterfall would have made for a picturesque site if it wasn't for all that fog. Instead the mist just adds to the dreariness," says Cade, as he inspects his gear before heading out. Two kukri's lay out on a strip of leather along with the rest of his gear in military precision while the halfling polishes his long sword, the etched tree and sword of Nirmathas boldly visible above the hilt, as he waits on deck for the rest of the group to disembark to Alkenstar.
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Old Iron travels about the seedier parts of town, looking up some old soldier buddies he fought with and against back in the Mana Storm War of 4677--or was it 4678?
When he returns, he smells slightly of alcohol, though his behavior doesn't appear to have been affected at all.
"Mercy's about 20 miles south of here, though they don't come around here much. Like to keep to themselves. Sounds like kind of a hardass town, like they are a buncha hellknights or something. Good farmers, though. Worship some weird nature god I've never heard of...Robori I think it was."
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Tin begins casing the town of his own accord, shaking down various street punks and assorted lowlife.
"Yea, so there's definitely a seedy underbelly here that ain't getting much sun..."
Clearing his throat, he looks at Old Iron and nods to confirm his own understanding of Mercy's location.
"Twenty miles. Some obscure #ss god. And more than one punk seemed to think there was some bloodsucker along the way down..."
Neither Tin nor anyone else has ever heard of Robori or knows anything about them.
Furthermore, no one seems to know when Amenira's next visit will be, as they have not seen her for over a month, so it seems your best bet is to head on to Mercy.
The dirt road toward Mercy winds through rocky, tree-lined hills. Sporadic clearings occur where large sections of trees have been destroyed or damaged. Some are only missing a few branches, while others have been split almost in half vertically or chopped down to a short stump. The exposed wood is black and perfectly smooth. One such clearing reveals the opening of a narrow cave in the hillside. The trail splits, leading both into the cave and off to the north.
debris in the area.
As you round the corner and this cave comes into view though, you also notice that this place is not unguarded: mutant gnolls with vestigial limbs block the path onward along with their pair of pet hyenas!
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Jasmine, should seem startled at the enemies before her, but she is oddly calm and somehow expected there to be trouble before they ever got to their destination. She had her crossbow loaded should something happen, but she can barely see the bizarre gnoll off in the distance.
Instead of trying to get a shot in before all hell breaks loose, she instead grabs a potion from her belt, and then drinks it down.
Jasmine and Tyr ready themselves against the gnolls as Jiro and Honor go racing forward to assault the gnoll before he can react!
The nearest gnoll swings at Honor!
The other moves out from behind the rocks and fires an arrow at Jiro!
Meanwhile the furthest hyena moves in closer to the path as the nearer one closes in on Tyr and bites!
bg: 12 dmg
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The gnoll's attacks clang off of the armor coating Honor's flanks as the pebble glances off of the rider's shoulder, not able to penetrate his bedecked steel.
"That was a mistake, gnoll." he says, glaring at the creature who attacked his prized horse. "I bred this horse from a foal in Lastwall!" he bellows as he swings his katana at the creature.
"Attack, Honor!" he yells as the horse tries to bite and stomp the ugly humanoid.
Jiro and Honor beat up on the gnoll at the top of the ridge, leaving him quite bloodied! Meanwhile Tin gulps a potion and waits for the second hyena to move in as Tyr quickly kills the first one. Necress wills the first gnoll to drop to the ground but the mutant hyena-man resists! Cade moves up while Jasmine naps in the background.
The remaining hyena moves in on Tin but he swats it down before it has a chance to do anything! The gnoll with the bow is not happy about both hyenas dying so easily. He shouts a curse in his own tongue and fires at Tyr!
The other only laughs madly at Jiro and Honor as he swings his longsword at the horse again!
bg: 22 dmg
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Tin stretches his neck and looks back at the others.
"Yea, no worries. I got this dog up here."
Tin gestures with the end of his longspear, as if they will help clarify what he means by 'got this'. Then, with the speed granted by his elixir, he makes like a hustler and closes in on the gnoll above.
for
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Old Iron spits on the hyena corpse.
"Bah, pitiful."
Old Iron jogs up ahead towards Jiro. The nagaji pauses for a moment when he gets within reach and looks the gnoll over. Shaking his head, Old Iron moves around into a flank.
"JIRO! Old Iron will give ya a flank. Put this poor bastard out of his misery."
Tin runs up the slope and pauses a short way from the archer gnoll. Cade, Necress, and Tyr quickly follow behind. Jiro then finishes off the first gnoll and then urges Honor up the slope towards the last gnoll!
The gnoll keeps his distance from Tin and instead fires at the investigator!
Jiro kicks his heels into Honor, spurring the beast on as the reach the top of the crest. "Hiya! Last one, Honor!" he bellows as the horse charges to meet the last aggressor, lashing out with his blunted teeth.
Upon reaching the gnoll, Jiro brings his sword to bear, trying cut him down before he can react.
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Tin stumbles back as the arrow strikes him hard in his gut. He looks upon the gnoll with respect more than concern of fear.
"Nice shot, 'pup. Too bad it's yer last..."
Stretching his neck, Tin spits blood before he leaps ahead using his alchemically enhanced speed to circle around his enemy and end the gnoll's life.
for
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Old Iron jogs up the hill. He stops for a moment to scan the horizon, grumbling as he realizes there are no more enemies.
He stops as he gets a look at the massive arrow wound on Tin and grins.
"HAH! Tin, you lucky bastard! Looks you found the good one."
Old Iron rests his hammer against his shoulder and leans up against the boulder.
"I don't want to mess up your fun. Just let Old Iron know if you want a hand."
Jiro and Honor's charge, along with Tin's stab from behind, are enough to take down the mutant gnoll!
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Tin rifles through the possessions of the fallen.
"No identification, no notes."
He holds up a potion he found, checking the lip of the flask for imprints that might show a gnoll's mouth had been intimidate with it or the contents.
Finding nothing, he still uses a rag to wipe the bottle before guzzling down its contents.
Tin then drinks an extract of his own design.
He finally pulls out a wand.
He then takes a look around, looking up at the cave and searching for any evidence, but clearly being a bit out of his element this far removed from the city.