The group gathers up everything they can find and document all that which they cannot carry! Triumphantly we begin to leave the cavern, with Sune eagerly urging everyone to "use haste!". Just as Sune prepares to exit the small shrine that held the secret door, she suddenly spots two people attempting to hide behind nearby pillars!
Surprise Round!
Sune can act in the Surprise round with a single Move or Standard action!
Round 1, Group 1
Igor and Syllyn can both post!
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Syllyn pops around the corner and lets loose with a DC 15 Cause Fear spell on the guy in front of him along the wall.
Hope that thins them out a bit.
Come on Scraps, lets get 'em.
Round 1, Group 1 Recap
Igor passes an extract to Scraps, who (whom? It????) gulps down quickly and grows in size! Syllyn steps out and targets the nearby warrior with a spell, the man's eyes grow wide and he looks as if he wants to run away, but he seems to fight down the urge. He glares at Syllyn with a fiery passion, tapping his greatclub against the wall...
The dwarf behind the pillar produces a holy symbol of Norgorber and both Syllyn and Sune feel a burning sensation as negative energy floods through their bodies! He then falls back a few paces to put some real-estate between him and the rapidly approaching Sylph!
Round 1, Group 2 Actions!
Sune and Viisiky are both up!
Neophyte: 13/13
Debilitator: 12/12
Initiatives:
Group 1
- Igor (14/14)/Scraps (15/15)
- Syllyn (-1/10 HP)
- Neophyte
Group 2:
- Viisiky (11/11 HP)
- Sune (11/12 HP)
- Brute
- Debilitator.
Round 1, Group 2 Recap
Viisiky draws his bow and he moves into the room while Sune rushes forward and cuts a deep gash into the dwarf's torso. He grunts with the impact and stares in shock as blood begins to pour from his wound.
The crazed looking human suddenly lets out a roar of anger and rage as he rushes Syllyn with a mighty swing of his great club! The barbarian whacks the nagaji solidly across the head and knocks Syllyn unconscious!
The half-orc targets Sune with a spell and the sylph finds herself wanting the flee the battle!
Round 2, Group 1 Actions!
Neophyte: 3/13
Debilitator: 12/12
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Big Scraps lobs a tanglefoot bag at the berserker in an effort to slow the brute down.
[dice=tanglefoot bag (range touch, throw anything, range)]1d20+2-2[/dice]
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This is quickly followed by Igor tossing an alchemist's fire at the dwarf .
[dice=alchemist's fire (range touch, cover range)]1d20+2[/dice]
Initiatives:
Group 1
- Igor (14/14)/Scraps (15/15)
- Syllyn (-1/10 HP)
- Neophyte
Group 2:
- Viisiky (11/11 HP)
- Sune (9/12 HP)
- Brute
- Debilitator.
Round 2, Group 1 Recap
Despite Syllyn's grievous wound, he stabilizes and loses no more blood. Igor and Scraps are the duo of the round! Igor's alchemist fire catches the dwarf across the back and douses him in sticky fire! Scraps' tanglefoot bag strikes the barbarian and he is immediately stuck in place! He roars in defiance, but cannot seem to make any headway...
The dwarf looks around frantically for any way to douse the flames, but when he doesn't seem to find anything he suddenly grabs his unholy symbol and sends another wave of negative energy into the room as he seems to resign himself to death... Immediately after the dwarf collapses with a raspy gasp.
Round 2, Group 2 Actions!
Neophyte: -3/13
Debilitator: 7/12
Initiatives:
Group 1
- Igor (6/14)/Scraps (22/25)
- Syllyn (-1/10 HP)
- Neophyte (Dead)
Group 2:
- Viisiky (11/11 HP)
- Sune (9/12 HP)
- Brute
- Debilitator.
Round 2, Group 2 Recap
Viisiky quickly stabilizes Syllyn while Sune attempts to trip the feet out from underneath the half-orc, but ultimately fails.
The barbarian suddenly breaks free from the goo with an angry roar! He looks at Igor and moves towards the alchemist with a terrifying visage. The half-orc fires a ray at Sune, that strikes her fully in the chest and she feels her strength being drained from her... He then falls back away from the sylph!
Round 3 Actions!
Everyone can post in any order now.
Viisiky's well-placed stab slips through the ribs of the raging barbarian and into his heart, dropping him immediately.
Sune rushes to cut off the half-orc's retreat just as Igor rushes up and crushes its head with his morningstar. There is a sickening crunch sound as one of the half-orc's eyes bulge outwardly. Sensing its impending death, the half-orc immediately drops down into a fatal-position. "No, please don't kill me!"
Combat over (unless anyone else has actions remaining that they want to take).
Igor, Sune, Syllyn, and Viisiky leave the Shrine behind and escort the remaining survivor (barely) to the local authorities. The half-orc is patched up enough to survive and the constabulary promises to look into the story of an ambush inside.
As you move through the area you hear about the terrible demise of a Sir Reinhart who had attempted to Test of the Starstone, only to fall into the oblivion of the chasm... As you listen to snipits of the story, Drandle Dreng suddenly appears at your sides with his trademark grin. "Tell me, Pathfinders, about your discovery!" He listens with rapt attention and a knowing twinkle is his eye when you mention the bottle leading to a hidden room. "My oh my! Speaking of which, did you happen to remember my drink?" At the completion of your story, Drandle thanks each of you individually. "I look forward to seeing each you again on more missions. You have done very valuable work here, Pathfinders! Worry not, that will come soon enough." Then just as suddenly as he appeared, Dreng disappears into the crowd.
A few days later, each of you receive a missive from Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin dictating some of the initial findings your group reported! Well done, Pathfinders!
Water laps steadily at the pier as sailors, laborers, and merchants rush busily around Absalom’s port. The venture-captain’s summons called for a meeting aboard the Sixwing Drake, a sleek sailing ship. The Drake’s captain, a Varisian woman and fellow Pathfinder named Zarah Zendrani, stands at the helm of her vessel. “It’s not like Valsin to be late,” she mutters, furrowing her brow.
As if on cue, a tall and meticulously groomed man pushes his way through the crowd and up the gangplank, cursing audibly. “Whoever supervises this mess of a port needs to be dumped in the sea!” he grumbles.
The tall man looks around at those gathered before him. “Just the group I requested. Perfect. I’m Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin, and I took great care in selecting just the right Pathfinders for this assignment.” Valsin reaches into his belt pouch and withdraws a small, folded paper before continuing. “A few days ago, I received a curious note from a rather unexpected source. It’s not every day that I get a request from an agent of the Aspis Consortium.” Captain Zendrani’s eyes widen, and Valsin smiles knowingly. “But Magali Delroya does not appear to be your typical Aspis agent. As you surely know, the Aspis Consortium pursues a variety of activities across the Inner Sea that the Pathfinder Society finds abhorrent. It seems that Delroya has been working with them for some time, but can no longer stomach the snakes herself. She wants to stop a shipment of an experimental drug from leaving Diobel later this week. It’s bound for a number of locations across the Inner Sea region. According to Delroya, she can’t ask the local authorities for help, because the Aspis Consortium has already struck a deal with a faction of the Kortos Consortium, a powerful merchant collective. Her hands are tied, so she’s come to us for help. In this note, she outlines three different tasks that would help to disrupt the Aspis long enough for her to move the shipment to a secure location, out of the clutches of the consortium. Once you accomplish two of these tasks, she’s willing to meet with you, but not before.
“Normally, I wouldn’t trust an Aspis agent at any hour of the day. But our sources in Diobel have confirmed the Aspis and Kortos consortia’s activities. Everything checks out, so we are presented with a unique opportunity. If we help Delroya, we might not only strike a financial blow against the Aspis Consortium, but we could also reveal their dealings with the Kortos Consortium—and possibly prevent their arrangement from turning into a more formal alliance. Furthermore, we hope to stop this drug from spreading across the Inner Sea region, and if we—if all of you—do a good enough job, we might even convince Delroya to join the Society. A turncoat agent would be a valuable asset in our ongoing run-ins with the Aspis Consortium.
“Take some time to look over Delroya’s note and the tasks she has set for you. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask. Remember, the Aspis Consortium is a long-time enemy of the society, but the Kortos Consortium, while certainly suspicious, is not our enemy. It is a complex organization with many factions, and we should avoid antagonizing any of them, except when necessary to oppose the Aspis Consortium.”
The venture-captain sighs. “The Aspis Consortium is a ruthless mercantile organization. While some of its operations are aboveboard, at the end of the day, profit is its only concern. It considers no business venture off limits, from the trafficking of slaves to war profiteering. The consortium storms through priceless historical sites, caring only for how it can translate their history into wealth.”
“It pretends to be a legitimate merchant guild dedicated to stamping out smugglers, but it participates in its fair share of illegal activities. It is powerful enough to rival Diobel’s teriarch, or governor, Lord Avid. A fair number of prominent people in Diobel are in the Kortos Consortium’s pockets, or are prominent members of the guild themselves. If possible, try not to get on the group’s bad side.”
“So you’ve never been down the coast, hmm? Diobel is often called the ‘Doorway to Absalom.’ Shipments to and from Absalom often go through Diobel, which has lower taxes than Absalom. Trade with Diobel is an important part of Absalom’s economy—which is why we must tread lightly around the Kortos Consortium, given their influence in Diobel.”
“I met Magali several years ago, when she was barely a grown woman. It must have been just before she joined the Aspis Consortium. She’s a wanderer, never comfortable in one place for long. I saw great potential in her as a Pathfinder, but she always preferred to work alone and felt that the society was a poor fit. Had I known that she would wind up with the Aspis Consortium, I would have put more effort into recruiting her.”
The venture-captain shakes his head. “I agree with Magali’s judgment on this matter. It doesn’t mean much if you succeed at all three tasks and fail your overall mission.”
Knowledge (local)
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A tall black haired handsome and clean shaven Varisian man enters the room. "Hello all...Kennick here dappler in magic and swordsman." He's dressed in fine armor and has a scimitar at his waist.
A hunched man in a shabby, dark overcoat, lurches onto the deck. He is heavily laden with a pack, and huge spiked mace. The man has features like melted wax. He smiles horribly.
And people thay I talk funny. That remindth me.
"'Thikthwing Drake, a thleek thailing thip.'
'Thikthwing Drake, a thleek thailing thip.'
'Thikthwing Drake, a thleek thailing thip.' perfect."
“I met Magali several years ago, when she was barely a grown woman.... Had I known that she would wind up with the Aspis Consortium, I would have put more effort into recruiting her.”[/b]
"Oh ho. Thay no more thir. Your thecret ith thafe with uth."
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In the horrible stooped man's wake there scuttles a small aberration of some sort. It seems to be a crudely sewn together pastiche of every creature ever put in an bestiary, as a sort of collected crib note of fauna-kind. If ever you needed a remembrance of some mammal, insect, reptile, or cephalopod you need only look at this thing for a hint.
"Ppppprrrrrrrrrrtttt." It squelches wetly, and then waves its paws, and feelers about as if to stir the air.