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Nebraska stays kneeling after she locks the shackle cuffs. She looks the woman in the eye and rubs her shoulder slightly while giving her best concerned look. Taking her friends leads, "It's ok to be down and out, you're looking around and wondering how you ever got here in the first place, aren't you. We get it, choices can lead us weird places, but it's not too late make things right. These shackles, they're just for right now. Once we talk and sort things through you might go on your merry, er, gloomy way. So tell us, please? What was going on here? Why slaves? Where were they going and for whom? What other motives were there?"
Luscilia shakes her head and looks at the Pathfinder with disdain, but the resigned expression on her face is a clear sign of her defeat. “As you wish”, she whispers, her voice full of anger and hate. “Have it your way, then. I’ll speak. Dalirio is…perhaps it is better to say that he would like to be my lover.” The woman pauses, her expression not turning any better. “ Dalirio’s family was once powerful and respected, but then its power came to a close nearly 50 years ago when a series of rival houses launched attacks on their holdings and wealth, and even went so far as to assassinate several of the Teppish family patriarchs. In just a few short years the mighty Teppish were reduced to laughingstocks in the Opparan social scene and were left with few possessions, even less gold, and no power at all”.
Luscilia takes on an even more disdainful expression.
“So the Teppish family did what any self-respecting Taldan family does when left destitute: they turned to a life of organized crime. Their crimes were crimes against the state. They robbed treasury caravans, ambushed military convoys, even traveled deep into the Verduran Forest and sabotaged druid-guided logging operations. Slowly and methodically, they sought to destroy Taldor from within. Their destructive ideal soon caught the attention of Groetus, the God of End Times. Groetus sent us to infiltrate the Teppish family and just over a generation later, their family has become one of the more ambitious Groetus cults in the western Inner Sea. Dalirio was raised in this environment of seething hatred toward the homeland, and by the time he’d reached adulthood, he had dedicated his life to Groetus, training as a cleric and slowly concocting a plan to start the first in a series of catastrophes that would eventually bring hated Taldor to its knees.”
Luscilia laughs maniacally at this point, then sighs.
“His plan was simple: disrupt all ship construction in the Imperial Naval Shipyards and Taldor would cease to be a power in the west. Everyone knows the Taldan Phalanx is under-funded, that the nation’s infrastructure is falling apart, and that the corruption of Taldor’s Bearded class is pushing the empire toward ever-increasing acts of frivolity and excess. If it weren’t for the power of Taldor’s Navy, the empire would long ago have ceased to exist. Dalirio wanted to help make this happen. He spent years recruiting a small cult of Groetus followers. He approached a local circle of druids, known as Nature’s Cataclysm, who hated the druids of the Wildwood Lodge for giving up so much of the Verduran Forest to the empire, and enlisted their help. He even traveled deep beneath Cassomir, where he bought the help of other creatures...But that’s another story. ”
Luscilia laughs again, her gaze wandering on the docks, as though she was hoping for something to appear. Whatever it is, it doesn’t show up. At least for the moment.
“Suddenly Dalirio found himself leading a sizeable band of miscreants with mayhem on their mind. Together they adopted the moniker of the druids, calling themselves the Cult of Nature’s Cataclysm. While wandering the Darklands, Dalirio received a dream from Groetus, telling him to seek a specific cavern to find the weapon that would help him succeed. Upon waking, Dalirio immediately followed his patron’s guidance and found a bizarre grotto filled with a brackish lake, dozens of decayed, staring faces floating just above the waterline. In the center of the lake was a small stone outcropping, upon which rested a solid gold, gem-encrusted amulet. Dalirio swam out to the stone, feeling dozens of skeletal hands lightly grasping at his skin as he went, and took the amulet from its perch. Once he touched the amulet, the faces on the lake awakened, their eyes bursting with blue light. Groetus had granted Dalirio control of several huecuva, fallen clerics of Groetus that the God of End Times had left there as punishment. Dalirio had the final piece of his plan—undead servants who would obey him unquestionably and prove to his followers that they truly had the blessings of Groetus himself.”
Luscilia pauses again, asking for water to ease her dry throat. She doesn’t go on until you bring some water.
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Aldus listens to the story attentively, his Galtan education nudging him towards quick judgements 'Backstabbing, destroying lives and causing suffering for vanity and power. Ah, the joys of nobility.' His thoughts are interrupted by the woman's nervous look to the docks. "Expecting someone?" he says whilst giving her some water.
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"Yes, that does sound like Taldor, the decadent Lion of the East, now in steep decline. Yours is a foolish resistance, but I understand why you would undertake it."
As she is talking, Fiametta moves around behind the captive, so that she is not directly in her view. She stays five feet away so as not to spook her. She also draws her dagger, but does not threaten anyone with it, merely to have it in hand should another enemy appear.
A rough wind gusts in off the harbor, blasting the rope lines on the Prancing Prince into a whip-crack frenzy. Luscilia grins as he drinks the water and looks at the Pathfinders with eyes full of revenge. Suddenly, a throaty male voice from down the gangplank says, “Well, what have we ’ere, boys? Come for some work, find some sport instead, eh?”
Three well armed men board the Prancing Prince with clearly hostile intentions towards the Pathfinders. These warriors are wearing a leather armor and hold long staves with both hands.
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: mage armor (Fiammetta, 15 minutes remaining; Nebraska 50 minutes remaining)
Aldus
Jakwin
Fiammetta
Luscilia
Fighters
Nebraska
Dolgarth
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Dolgarth listens intently throughout Luscilia's speech, taking in the enormity of the plan. 'Is this really something we can solve ourselves? And where is Cestis?'
Before he has time to ask his last question, however, the three men appear on the deck. "Damn, we stayed here too long!" The half-elf yells, weapons out and running between the thugs and his injured teammates. "Jak, Nebs, drink some of those potions!"
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Aldus scoffs at Luscilia's glee "Your smile will be short lived, woman," he says. Then, projecting his voice, he recites a revolutionary exhortation with words full of emotion "Their treachery will be short lived! Comrades, draw on the indomitable spirit of the revolution! Be determined to vanquish all enemies and never to yield! No matter what the difficulties and hardships, so long as a single man or woman remains, they will fight on!"
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After glaring at the priestess -- Nicely played, apocalypse scum -- Fiametta moves into position to take on the newcomers. With a well practiced twist of her wrist, she sends a cloud of acid at the center fighter. I think I've used this spell more today than in the past year.
Then she adds,"I don't execute prisoners, Nebraska. She's tied up and doesn't have her holy symbol, so I'm not worried about her. But if she makes herself a combatant, I will end her.
While Aldus inspires courage in his allies, Jakwin draws sword and shield, readying himself for the battle. Fiammetta, in the meantime, sends a cloud of acid at the center fighter, managing to hit him. The fighter lets out a cry of pain, but does not give up.
After that, the fighters quickly move to engage the Pathfinder in melee. Two of them close in on Dolgarth, while another moves to Fiammetta. The half-elf, still flat-footed, is protected by his armor against the first attack, but there’s nothing his armor can do to protect him from the second one. Fiammetta is not able to protect herself as well, and she gets his by a quarterstaff in her belly.
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: mage armor (Fiammetta, 15 minutes remaining; Nebraska 50 minutes remaining), inspire courage +1 (Aldus, 1 round)
Aldus
Jakwin
Fiammetta
Luscilia
Fighters
Nebraska
Dolgarth
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Dolgarth reels at the intense pain in the side of his head, but still stands. "One day, all of our conflicts will be resolved with peaceful words. A pity you will only see that day from behind bars or the vantages of the Boneyard!" All this is said as he tries to deliver a mighty blow and steps to the side so he is back-to-back with Nebraska.
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"I thought Wardens of Nature would hit harder than that. You can't even knock down a frail, unarmored woman." Fiametta barks at the man who hit her. "I had been somewhat sympathetic to your plight. Darkness knows, Taldor is full of rot. But now I have to strike you all down in the name of my Lord Asmodeus. Perhaps we'll get along better in the next life."
Fiametta takes a five foot step backwards, and then begins to make the gestures and incantations she would use to cast her spell of sleeping -- without any actual power behind them, of course.
I'm disabled and out of spells; I might as well see if I can keep them distracted. Every attack they make against me is another chance my companions have to take them down.
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Nebraska pierces a fighter with her rapier, while Dolgarth knocks one of his opponents down with a powerful strike of his flail.
Aldus’ arrow pierces the fighter’s arm, causing him to shout in pain. Fiammetta steps back and pretends to cast a spell, encouraging her foe to attack her while the other fighter keeps attacking Dolgarth. Fiammetta’s too wounded to react in time to the attack, and she gets hit again. This time, he poor body cannot stand anymore and falls down, unconscious.
In the meantime, Dolgarth is able to parry the attack against him, keeping the fight open.
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: mage armor (Fiammetta, 15 minutes remaining; Nebraska, 50 minutes remaining), inspire courage +1 (Aldus, 2 rounds)
Aldus
Jakwin
Fiammetta
Luscilia
Fighters
Nebraska
Dolgarth
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'What the.. she's crazy! I must have read her wrong, I have a lot to learn about these other cultures.' Seeing the enchantress draw the fighter into a trap with a selfless act and then get struck down, Nebraska moves into action.
[ooc]If Aldus flanks or doesn't drop the fighter Nebraska will continue on him. If that target is gone, she'll move around to flank the remaining man.[ooc]
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'Damn, Fiametta!'
Aldus' eyes open wide and he yells at the top of his lungs "Nay, not for the revolution, but for our comrades! Fight! Strike hard! For each downed ally, our unrelenting blows will grow fiercer and bolder!" The bard fires an arrow at the closest fighter and then inches closer. Once closer, he drops the bow, draws his rapier and braces for the worse, hoping to last long enough to help Nebraska in flanking the man.
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Nebraska attempts another attack against the same fighter, but the man this time is able to avoid her thrust. In the meantime, Dolgarth hits the other fighter with his flail, although he doesn’t manage to knock him down.
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Aldus’ arrow misses the target while his song keeps bolstering his allies. Jawkin steps up and engages another fighter, but the man is quick to react and parries the assault. The fighters quickly retaliates. One of them attacks Aldus, while another focuses on Dolgarth. The result is the same: they both miss! Luscilia sighs in the background.
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: mage armor (Fiammetta, 15 minutes remaining; Nebraska, 50 minutes remaining), inspire courage +1 (Aldus, 3 rounds)
Aldus
Jakwin
Fiammetta
Luscilia
Fighters
Nebraska
Dolgarth
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Blocking the attack with his buckler, Aldus forces the shield against the quarterstaff. That opens a clear opportunity for a clean thrust, which the Galtan takes with rage "We shall fight on! We shall prevail!"
'Hold on, Fiametta!' he thinks, unaware that the Chelaxian's condition is, at least for the moment, stable.
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Nebraska and Aldus uses their rapiers to great success. The Qadiran girl feints and then thrusts forward, catching his opponent unaware while he has to deal also with Jakwin and Aldus. Nebraska takes advantage of the situation and pierces the man’s lungs. As soon as she pulls back her rapier from the man’s chest, he falls down to the ground, bleeding and unconscious.
After a few moments, Aldus moves to Dolgarth’s side and attacks the only remaining foe with his rapier. The thin blade pierces the fighter’s neck causes him to collapse to the ground once Aldus retracts the weapon.
The first thing you notice once the combat is over is that now Luscilia’s face has lost every hope. She was fierce although tied-up before–now she’s resigned to the worst. The woman shakes her head while she curses the men’s ineptitude.
A quick search of the fighters’ bodies reveals nothing more than leather armors and quarterstaffs.
If the Pathfinders ask more questions to Luscilia, the woman close herself in an invincible silence, and there’s no way to make her tell you more about the Cult. Anyaway, she told you more than enough.
The ex-slaves reach the upper deck in a few minutes. Many of them stop to thank you again before leaving. Creighton Nish pats both Jawkin and Aldus on their shoulders. “Good job guys. I expect to hear your name frequently in the future. I’ll make sure that the Captain is informed about your valor and skills. Thank you again!”
With the ex-slaves leaving the Prancing Prince the Pathfinders must decide what to do with Luscilia and the fighters. After that, they have to decide whether they want to follow the map now or wait and rest in order to recover their energies.
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Dolgarth immediately drops his weapon and shield to the ground and sprints over to where Nebraska kneels over Fiametta. "I think she's still alive, if nothing else. Jak, Aldus, you two said you were out of magic? See if any of these conquering heroes had any potions on them, we'll do what we can for now."
"She'll be fine for now, is there any point to trying to keep these thugs alive? We have our information, but they don't need to die, do they?"
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Hearing that Fiametta's dead, Aldus rushes to Nebraska " Step aside, Nebs, Dolgarth!" says the bard. He pushes the two aside, somewhat ungently in his haste, and gets some herbs from his pouch, repeating the earlier process with Jak. He applies strong pressure to the Chelaxian's chest, whispering a few incomprehensible words.
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"Whew, sorry for the drama." Nebraska looks relieved and a little embarrassed.
"We have no way to help these men. Bringing them with us almost out of the question too, I think all we can do is notify the authorities. I'm mostly concerned about what our next step is. I mean, we're kind of wiped but do we risk resting when we don't know what kind of situation Cestis is in? The Captain would kill us if sleeping on the job got her prized agent killed."
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A bit more calm, Aldus apologetically says whilst getting up "She…she should wake up soon. Sorry if I hurt you when I rushed to her side. Anyhow that was my last charm for the day."
He nods in agreement with Nebraska: "I share the concern…I doubt it will take very long for this Tepish fellow to notice something is wrong. He might move away from where he is whilst we rest or even take more drastic measures. What do you think, Dolgarth?"
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Fiametta splutters and coughs and opens her eyes. "Did you, did you take care of the vagrants with the tree trunks? Hellfire, that hurt. I think he broke a rib." She struggles, then sits up, wincing. "Or two. I guess I'm the one that needs to work on dodging."
She listens intently to the updates on their situation, and nods at all the appropriate moments.
"I'm down to cantrips, but I agree we should probably push ahead so our quarry doesn't have time to escape. Should we deliver these miscreants to the Venture Captain, or to the authorities, do you think. If the Captain, we should blindfold them, as the Lodge's location is secret. But the authorities might be very interested in a plot to tear down the Taldor establishment. Although," she muses, "it's rather a shame to stop them in such an endeavor. Still, this is a raging forest fire they're building. Far too likely to burn out of control."
The Pathfinders decide to handcuff the defeated men fighters and half-orcs using the shackles removed from the slaves. Their foes are now unconscious and do not pose any threat to the adventurers. As for Luscilia, the Pathfinders decide to leave her manacled as well. Instead of simply leaving, though, the adventurers split the party in two different groups, one staying on the Prancing Prince and the other taking care of alerting the local authorities. As soon as the Pathfinders spot the city guards, they leave the ship and head toward the Pathfinder Lodge.
The route to the Pathfinder Lodge takes the adventurers through the district known as Abbey Green. This district surrounds the ruins of Quickfall Abbey and is bordered to the north by Threegates and to the south by the Imperial Naval Shipyards. Abbey Green is tenanted by artisans, historians, former military officers, and well-to-do merchants. The buildings here are some of the oldest in Cassomir, constructed of stone, brick, and mortar, and generally standing no taller than three stories. Many resident merchants live here in apartments above their stores, and Abbey Green is also occupied by some of Taldor’s finest tailors, leatherworkers, jewelcrafters, and fine metalworkers. Quickfall Abbey’s storied past of hauntings and disappearances does little to bring down the mood of Abbey Green, and the district is often alive with street fairs, artist showcases, and outdoor concerts.
Once in Threegates, the party quickly heads toward the lodge, and in a few minutes the Pathfinders reach their destination. They’re welcomed in by the maid, who opens the hidden trapdoor for them. The group climbs down the ladder and eventually reaches the underground level of the building, where Hestia Themis offers a warm welcome. The Pathfinders briefly summarize to the Venture-Captain the events they’ve witnessed and the plot they’ve uncovered, receiving an encouraging nod by Venture-Captain Themis. “Very well, nice start for you first field assignment. Anyway, I still expect you to bring Cestis back to the lodge. Just follow the clues you’ve gathered. I’m sure they’ll lead you in the right place.”
The group spends almost an hour in the lodge. The old maid brings a cup of hot Tian tea for each member of the group, and while the others enjoy some well-earned rest chatting on a sofa, Fiammetta takes care of registering and selling the loot the group has gathered to one of the lodge’s workers. With a few coins at her disposal, the Chelaxian wizard buys several healing scrolls from the lodge, as previously arranged with her allies.
After the trading has been done, Fiammetta joins the others and the Pathfinder quickly leave the lodge. It’s night outside, but fortunately the Pathfinders have a map to follow.
The map leads the Pathfinders to a cooper’s warehouse on the south side of the Imperial Naval Shipyards, in which there is an office with a trap door that leads to a hidden basement. Dolgarth opens the trapdoor and the group is ready to descend into the basement.
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The trapdoor opens into a 10 feet shaft. The first Pathfinder through the trap door must drop down
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"Sounds like a plan. I can't say I fancied jumping 10-some feet straight down in this armor, and that was my plan before you reminded me of what I've been carrying around for years." Dolgarth grins as he fishes out his rope, shaking his head. "Here, you hold this, with someone else too, I'll go first. Maybe find something to tie it around for the last one down, or catch them. How did I not think of that?"
With the aid of a rope held by his fellow Pathfinders, Dolgarth climbs down the shaft. A smell, not unlike wet dog, fills this room. The corners are occupied by dirty straw pallets covered by wrinkled, mildew-encrusted blankets. A single dilapidated table and four cracked and uneven chairs surround it. The floor is covered in a thin layer of dust and mud and footprints clearly cross the room from the trap door in the ceiling to a set of wooden double doors in the west wall.
The room appears to be well lived-in, though not by anyone who values cleanliness. Insects skitter along the floor, small annoying clouds of flies buzz near the ceiling about 10 feet up, and a sickly, wet smell permeates the room. There is a single ladder leaning up against the wall near the trap door in the ceiling.
As soon as Dolgarth lands into the room, a man bearing similar tattoos to those on the body of the very first foe you faced, back in the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor; not unlike to that enemy, this one is surrounded by two dire rats who apparently answers to his orders.
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At his master’s order, one of the dire rats quickly moves to attack Dolgarth, while the tattooed man begins shouting something in a language you’re not able to understand. “ Tresbaswyr yn mynd i mewn i'r Lair!” Then the man casts a spell on his club, preparing himself to join the fray.
Fortunately, Dolgarth is able to keep the rat at bay for the moment, preventing the giant things from biting his foot.
The other Pathfinders are still above, but they’ll quickly join the half-elf in battle.
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: mage armor (Nebraska 5 minutes remaining)
Nature’s Cataclysm Druid
Dire rat animal companion
Jakwin
Dolgarth
Aldus
Dire rat
Nebraska
Fiammetta
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Hearing the cultist's scream, Aldus grabs the rope and slides down as fast as he can.
He lands on the ground with a loud and painful thud, but manages to avoid hurting himself in the process. He draws his rapier and yells "Put your weapons down or you shall face the same fate as your dead companions at the Inn!"
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