Jakwin does not know who or what Groetus is, although it will be possible to make a research in the future.
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'The Prancing Prince, that was the ship the Pasha mentioned,' Dolgarth thinks, quickly referring to his letter. 'I will watch my allies, see if any of them attempt what I am trying for. If so, I should be able to disclose my mission.' Turning back to the prisoners and the task at hand, he states simply, "Then it would be prudent to go to this ship, see if anyone can be saved. As for this piece of filth-" He jerks a disgusted thumb at the crazed man while stowing his flail, "-Could one of you get him to some agent of the law? We could talk to him later if need be, but it would be best if he was in custody for now. I trust you people are fine going out on your own now that you are free?"
Nebraska searches the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor, but she’s not able to find out anything of particular interest for the mission.
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In the meantime, the tattooed man laughs maniacally, spitting blood with every word he says. “He…*phf!*…He’s…*phf!*…The God of End Times! *pfh! pfh!*” the man says before starting over again with his ravings about ridding the world of humanity. It’s not entirely clear if this Groetus of whom the man speaks is actually a true god or the ‘Ismacco’ previously mentioned by Aldus.
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On the other side of the room, near the bar, Jakwin finally manages to heal the unconscious man and allow him to come back to his senses. At first, the man shakes his head and puts his hands to his temple, as though he had just sobered up. “A…A glass of water please…” he asks with a raucous voice, made even hoarser by his dry throat.
Once he gets the water he asked for, the man drinks it all at once and then immediately asks for more. As soon as he gets more water, he uses it to wet his hands and wash his face. After a few minutes spent this way, the man seems to be finally ready to answer to your questions.
“So…”, he begins, giving an appraising glance at each of you. “To whom I do owe my thanks?” The man’s voice is now clear and authoritative, and a confident smirk has appeared on his lips.
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The kidnap-victims nod to Dolgarth. “Yes, we’ll be fine”, answers the auctioneer. “Thank you again for you help”, says one of the wealthy Cassomirites. “Yes, thank you! You’ve been very proud today! I would reward you appropriately, if those thugs had left me something in my pouch…” adds another wealthy citizen, an elder lady.
With that said, the kidnap-victims leave the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor.
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Aldus looks up as if asking some deity to give him patience at the blood-spiting cultist. "Well, since it seems this Ismacco fellow is going to be selling slaves, I will just take it that you are referring to Groetus. Thank you, this was all very enlightening. Our good citizens will get some law enforcement here and I'm sure you will be sent to a nice mental institution where you will be well taken care of whilst waiting for the end of times."
After making sure the rope is stills holding strong, he moves to join the others and the now awoken man. He helps bringing him some water and, once he collected himself, answers: "You were pretty far gone, I'm happy to see you are feeling better. Anyway, we were sent by the Pathfinder Society, so you probably owe your thanks to them. I am Aldus, and you? How come you were beaten up and kept apart from the others?" says the Galtan bard, offering some more water and looking at the man with his usual intensity.
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Nebraska returns from combing all the auxiliary rooms to see Aldus double checking the knots on the tattooed man in rags. "It's pretty bare in here as far as interesting things go. Weird that they fixed it up so much to just hold people intended for the slave market... Ooohh Ha! I get it now, the remodel was on the OUTside! The ol' Thunder Bucket double-take! Man, we gotta watch our backs as we close in on these guys. They're scheme-sters!"
She then walks with him and stands between Aldus and Jak, unconsiously starring her eyes at the newly awoken man.
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Fiametta completes her scan, finding that everything is much as it appears.
As the kidnap victims are freed, she asks them all their names. "Just for my records, you understand. And could you sign here? Thank you. And you?" She doesn't stop anyone who refuses to sign, but she does ask everyone.
Then Fiametta returns to the man recently awakened, interested in what he has to say.
The kidnap-victims tell Fiammetta their names without too much resisting, but all of them refuse to sign the document the Chelaxian girl hands to them.
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"Owe my thanks to the Pathfinder Society, you say? Tsk" The red-clothed man spits in disdain. "Here's something I'll never do!" The man grins and stares at you with an unpleasant smile on his face. "Nevertheless, I have nothing against being grateful to individual Pathfinder agents. You know, we often cross our paths on the field, and a friend is always better than an enemy, life has taught me". The man grins again. "My name is Kafar, and I'm very grateful to you for rescuing me from this rather...fragile situation".
Kafar has two sips from his cup of water and clears his throat. "They took me at the auction, just like the others. But once they brought us here, I woke up. Unlike the others, I protested for my conditions, and asked for explanations. They beated me and asked me to give them some...sensitive information. I refused. They beated me again. I guess I must have lost my senses then", Kafar explains without abandoning his confident grin, one that makes all the more credible his beating, especially if you imagine this man, all tied-up and wounded, answering with such an annoying expression to his captors.
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"Who's they? Other than that guy, I mean. And what's this sensitive information?" Nebraska rests her head on her hands and returns his smile, indicating to the man in rags with a slight nod.
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Dolgarth puts a hand to his forehead in exasperation. 'I never actually saw why the Society had such a feud with the Aspis until now. But surely not all of their agents are like this?' He takes out a piece of paper and scribbles down another question to ask his mentor, should they meet again in Absalom.
"So, you're Kafar, eh? Your friend Nefti was in quite the panic about you. Have you any idea what happened to Cestis, was he taken to the boat? I assume you were keeping an eye on him until your own situation turned dire. It would still be prudent to get to the Prancing Prince first, as it is our closest and most assured lead," he finishes, head now turned to his colleagues.
Kafar grins. "I owe you my thanks for rescuing me, but...nothing more than that", firmly replies the man. Faced with Nebraska's insistence, Kafar shakes his head. "Believe when I say that I don't know why they wanted it...anyway, I can't tell you more than what I've already told you, even though I appreciate your almost-Chelaxian courtesy. Want to know why? Well, because I don't have any sentitive information at all!" As he says that, Kafar burst into a laughter. "There's something I can give you as a reward for saving me, though. A lesson. A valuable one, that could even save your life in the future, especially if you continue your career as a Pathfinder. Always make them think you've got something valuable. It doesn't matter what it is...Information, knowledge, anything that could work is fine. Just make them think you're valuable. Give them a reason to spare you life. And gain time. Time sometimes can save your life." The expression on Kafar's face turned somehow less sarcastic as he spoke to Nebraska, but at the end of his speech, he wears his usual grin once again. "So, really, I had no sensitive information at all. I just lied. And saved my life, apparently".
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"Aye, Cestis was at my same auction and he was kidnapped too. I assume you're after him, then. Well, sorry for not being able to help, but I don't know anything more about him. Last time I saw him was before they captured us. When I woke up here, he wasn't here anymore". Nodding to Dolgarth, Kafar stands up. "Well, thank you again. Now, if you excuse me, I must go and find that sneaky apprentice of mine."
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"We'll accept your personal thanks, then, Kafar." Aldus says with a smile at the corner of his mouth, thoroughly enjoying the fact he asked a Consortium member to thank the Pathfinder Society.
He raises an eyebrow at Kafar's bravado, his smile expanding: "Well, the famed cunning of the Consortium seems to be well-deserved. If you have no sensitive information, I'm sure you wouldn't mind sharing with us the nature of their questions?"
"Also, do you know anything about this Groetus our friend over there keeps yelling about? Seems to be some sort of deity.", the Galtan says, walking Kafar to the door.
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"Ah! Hahaha! I love it! Very good advice!" laughter rolls through Nebraska with his big secret reveal.
"Hey, do you know who owns this place?" She gets the question out before he leaves but doubts he'll know or even answer.
With Kafar gone she checks that she has everything and then slaps the bar. "The plot thickens! Let's check out this Pony. Even though the Thunder Bucket failed to go brick and mortar, we still have a chance with a boat! How are you on maritime law Fiametta?"
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"Kafar," Fiametta repeated as she jotted his name down on a fresh sheet of paper from her satchel. "Excellent! Nefti was very worried about you. He tried not to show it, of course. Very brave. You've done well with him -- I'd say he's a keeper."
"I'm Fiametta, by the way. From Kantar?" She hands the paper and a quill to the former captive. "Would you mind signing this, please? Just an acknowledgement of your rescue. You know how the Asmodean church is with paperwork...it will just make everything easier when we make our reports to our boss."
What do you think? Bluff check to pass a secret message? I'll make a d20 roll and you can decide what it represents. (My bluff is +4)
"Any other information you could provide would be appreciated, of course. Aldus' questions are very insightful, of course. It would also be helpful to know anything you could tell us about the people who took you captive."
Then she follows the rest of the group to the Prancing Prince.
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"Well, Nebraska, I'm not an expert in maritime law, but I did brush up on it a bit in preparation for joining the Pathfinders. It's remarkably freeform -- the contracts you can enter into are fairly wide open, but once you agree to them, you and your partners are pretty well bound together by them until completion. What sort of venture did you have in mind?"
Kafar smirks when Aldus asks for more answers. "Tsk, you Pathfinder can't really be talked into accepting no as a definitive answer, isn't it? Well, as I said to your friend before, I've got nothing more to tell you. I just lied, and believing I had some really important information for them, they tried to get them from me."
When Groetus is mentioned, Kafar squints his eyes. "Groetus, eh? Well, I know a few things about him...Normally, I would have you pay me a hefty sum for access to this kind of information, but since I owe you a debt I'll take my chance to repay it now. Open your ears lad. Groetus is the god of End Times. He has no formal religion or church, with many of his faithful being made up of lone madmen prophesying the end of everything, or megalomaniacs bent on bringing about the end of creation to please their god. Some believe that he may not even know or care that he has any followers, knowing that if his goals are achieved, they will be destroyed along with everything else."
"And no, I don't know who owns this place", rudely answers Kafar to Nebraska. "Now, it's time for me to go before you drown me to death with all these questions". The man is clearly annoyed and takes his leave immediately after receving the contract from Fiammetta.
The kidnap victims refused to sign the contracts once again, except for Kafar, using all kinds of excuses in order to justify their denial.
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With Kafar and the other kidnap victims going their own separate ways, the group is ready to reach the Prancing Prince.
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Aldus thanks Kafar one last time before closing the door. "Lovely chap, eh? At least we are now certain the kidnappers have some sort of religious motivation." he shakes his head "Diplomacy becomes a distant idea once fanaticism enters the stage."
"Jak, may I have a sip?", he asks. When Jak passes him the flask, the Galtan sighs with pleasure at the liquid burning his throat: "Cheers, I owe you a pint once this is over".
Afterwards, he looks at his companions: "On to the Prancing Pon…Prince?"
It’s just a 10-minutes walk from the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor to the docks where the Prancing Prince is moored.
A tri-masted galleon, the Prancing Prince appears to be in good condition and floats lazily against its mooring along a wide, crate- and barrel-filled dock. No one appears to be aboard her, however, and the standard watch typically found at the gangplank of a docked ship is nowhere to be seen. Atop her bowsprit is a gaudily painted wooden man that appears to be the exact likeness of the Grand Prince of Taldor, Stavian III, hands on his hips, a huge smile across his face, and his legs bent as though he were dancing a jig.
The deck was recently scrubbed clean and still shows remnants of soap bubbles and puddles of water. It is otherwise deserted and completely dark. There are two doors on the deck, one to the west and the other to the east. Also, a set of stairs descend into the lower decks.
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As they leave the bar Nebraska responds to Fiametta's question, "I was thinking we could run the Thunder Bucket as a floating casino! A boat really is more of a bucket anyways, and this way we could see the world!"
When they arrive to the boat Nebraska nods to herself as she looks it over, This is it alright, hopefully they'll want me to investigate the occupancy first again.
"So? What do you think? Looks nice, much cleaner than the spa. Maybe I should check if anyone is home?"
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"The Prancing Prince, an apt name," Dolgarth chuckles at the caricature, not sure whether it was made with intent to praise or mock. "We should explore the top deck first, but do you fellows have any idea where the captain's cabin might be? It could yield useful information about this cult and their operation, although it appears measures have been taken to cover their tracks." He makes a sweeping gesture at the pristine deck. Despite plenty of coaching on the subject, he is having trouble misleading people, especially his allies. "You're right, Nebraska, this would make a better spa. We should try to figure out beforehand, however, if any potential occupants are hostile in the face of progress."
Dolgarth appears to have an ulterior motive.
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"I guess they're into keeping a clean image. We should remember suggesting less diseased rats. And less nobility, at that," he throws a glance to the bowsprit. "Anyhow, I expect us to get the same silent treatment as before if we try and knock, so it's probably a good idea to scout ahead, Nebraska," says Aldus. "But I'm worried about one of us going in alone. Do you want to give us something like a time limit so we know to act if you're taking too long?"
The bard looks into Dolgarth's eyes for a long time with a brief but clear glint of suspicion "…In the boat I took to get here the cabin was in the rear deck. You're right in that it probably hides further clues; but better to make sure no one's around before we start investigating, no?" Aldus turns his attention to the deck. "Should we wait for Nebraska here?" His hand slipping towards the red book on his belt, he thinks 'What are you hiding, Dolgarth?'
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Nebraska looks at Aldus surprised, "Hey, that's a good idea! How about 2 minutes? If you have to start looking for me then I'm your odd stegophily niece, always running off and surprising landowners."
Looking to Dolgarth, Nebraska studies him closely. 'Well, we are alies... so maybe..'
"I'll check in the cabins first, if they're aboard they're likely below deck. Kay, anything else before your eccentric niece Muhlia runs off?"
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Aldus slowly turns to Nebraska, drumming his fingers on the book 'So, whatever's happening here, you two are on the same boat, eh?'.
He opens a wide smile "Very well, my dear Muhlia." In a grandfatherly manner he brings her head close and gives Nebraska a peck on the forehead. "Your uncle and his friends will be waiting for you, but don't be too long or we might get worried! Remember, no peeking into other people's bedrooms when they don't have any clothes on!"
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Jak is way too busy considering the possibilities of the Thunder Bucket as a ship. ”Now that ain’t a bad idea,” he chimes in, looking over the Prancing Pony with the eye of someone who doesn’t have a clue about boats. ”Not bad at all.”
He settles on his heels, leaning back against the mule (who for once doens’t try to take a bite out of him), so he can await Nebraska’s return. ”Keep careful, then.” He grins, ”Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
Nebraska slinks to the aft cabin's door. Not finding any traps, she opens the door just enough to slip inside.
When Nebraska opens the door to the aft, it provides the main deck with shadowy illumination.
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Nebraska then moves to the bow and, after having examined it for traps (and yet again, without finding any), she opens the door.
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Closing the aft cabin's door, she slinks back across the deck. Handing the captain's logbook to Dolgarth on the way.
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Fiametta listens to her companions banter. Gambling has always seemed silly to her -- she prefers sure things -- but she doesn't dismiss the idea out of hand. Just another area for her to research.
Once on the ship with the decadent, foppish figurehead she waits with the others as Nebraska scouts. She really is very good at sneaking around -- and at finding things, it appears.
"Is that the log book? What has this ship been up to? We can learn a lot about it from its ports of call."
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Seeing no way around it, Dolgarth opens the logbook. 'Not sure who else knows and who doesn't, aside from Nebraska. But it's like Hestia Themis said, the mission is more important. Well, here goes nothing...' He then begins to flip through the slim volume and recite recent dates and locations, noting that many pages have been torn out. 'I don't know who I have to thank, Nebs or the book's original owner. I assume the former, with the help of some quick thinking.'
"All appears to be in order here, we can check these locations and dates against that cultist's memory later," he sighs after reeling off some of the book's contents. "Hopefully, the local law enforcement will allow us a chat with him. In the meantime, shall we?" With an 'after you' gesture towards the lower decks, he walks down the stairs, stowing the book in his backpack and drawing his flail and shield.
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Aldus joins Fiametta and Dolgarth, looking over their shoulders at the captain's log. "Anything of interest, Dolgarth? Where has this ship been before Cassomir? Not surprising to see they are trying to hide something, anyhow," he says, noting the torn pages.
When Nebraska is back, he cracks his neck, combs his dark hair with a hand and draws the bow. With a sigh, he looks to the sea and says, more to himself than the others, "'We do not strike rashly, we do not strike if unprovoked, but when we do strike, we must win.'"
"I'm ready. Jak?"
The group goes downstairs. Six large ballistae are housed here, screwed to the deck and mounted on rails so they can be pushed through the swinging doors on the side of the hull and fired at nearby ships. There is no ammunition present for these weapons, however, and the deck is empty.
The southwest corner of the room contains an open trap door.
There are two doors in this deck: one to the east and the other to the west.
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"Hmm yeah it is kind of creepy. Maybe they're out getting groceries? All that cleaning would definitely work up an appetite. Since we're all here I can check for anything mischievous but we should open the doors one at a time together. Ready for whatever is waiting to fly out."
Once people seem ready Nebraska will check the first door, starting again with the aft cabin that the group is clustered by.
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"Ready as always," he responds with his usual enthusiasm. As they move into the innards of the ship, he rests his longspear against a rail. "Great against bears," he says with a smile, "Not much use in small spaces."
Then he moves with the group, looking around curiously. "Seriously? Why's this place so dead? I thought there were supposed to be bad guys in here."
Nebraska scouts ahead for the group once again. Taking all the necessary precautions, the Qadiran inspects the whole deck.
Nebraska’s examination of this deck failed to reveal something truly interesting, at least as far as your common goals are concerned. To continue the exploration, you now need to use the trapdoor.
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Aldus can't help but smile at Jak's rashness. He gets a coin, flips it and when it falls on his hand again it is shining with a pale light; he then helps opening the trap door and once that is done throws it in the hole. "Well, now, after you", the dark-haired bard says. After Jak is down, he follows, bow in hand with a nocked arrow.
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Standing at the top of the hatch with Fiametta, Nebraska waves as the men descend into the unknown. "Have fun! Be safe!" Turning to Fiametta, "Such brave adventurers! I'll follow you down when you're ready. Wouldn't want anyone to be alone if those sailors ever came back."
As soon as Jakwin drops into the trapdoor, he gets ambushed by two half-orcs. Desna must really love Jakwin though, as both of the attacks miss the bard.
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The half-orcs immediately attack again, trying to overwhelm Jakwin before his allies join the fray. Still trying to realize what’s going on down here, Jakwin gets swept away by a quick succession of blows. Hit two times, the bard falls down, bleeding and dying. The last punch especially proved too much for the Taldan to handle.
Even though the group has little time to focus on its surroundings, this is the lower deck, the place where cargo would ordinarily be stored for passage, but aside from several empty barrels and a few broken crates, this room is empty of cargo. It is instead filled with more than a dozen shackled prisoners.
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: mage armor (Fiammetta, 55 minutes remaining)
Half-orc (Green)
Half-orc (yellow)
Fiammetta
Dolgarth
Aldus
Jakwin
Nebraska
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Dolgarth expresses himself with a titanic bellow of Rushing forward, he steps over Jak's body to shield it from further harm, calling behind him, "Aldus, could you do something about him? I'll deal with this!"
He then grounds himself in preparation for a fight, and time seems to slow down for him as he recites a Spiral Bear mantra in his mind. It hadn't taken him long to realize these were just their shaman overcomplicating the process of fighting, but they still made him feel more at ease in battle. 'Air spirit. Call upon it for grace in battle, with which to vex the foes of your tribe and bring glory to your name.'
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The smile quickly disappears from Aldus' face once he sees Jak falling unconscious. 'No, no, no, not this again', he thinks, frozen in place. It's only with Dolgarth's yell that he snaps out "On it, Dolgarth!"
Shaking slightly, he moves to the stairs and quickly drags Jak closer to himself. He grabs a bunch of herbs form his pouch, shoves them down his fallen companion's throat and hits his chest yelling "Get up, Jak! Else Norgy will be dragging you to the Abyss! And I will help him!" With a quieter voice, he continues "Please, wake up."
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