GM_Goat's First Steps Part 2

Game Master Capricornus

Anya's acid misses the Blindheim despite it being grappled.

Fedorean is up

Fedorean attacks the monster, and since he is flanking he will also use sneak attack:

Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 6

You can see it, Halkale, but it is getting cover and is engaged in melee. However it is also grappled.

Blindheim has taken 17

Fedorean's slender blade skewers the Blindheim, and then its eyes flash again.

Guido is unable to avert his eyes quickly enough and the light from the Blindheim renders him blinded!

The rest of the party may act.

Interesting. Looking at the Blinded and Grappled conditions as well as The Combat Maneuver, I'm thinking that being blinded is more or less equivalent to my grapple target becoming invisible so he gets a +2 CMD. Are we on the same page with this?

"Son of a b@$#%!" Guido exclaims at the flash of light directly in his face. With his hands already locked around the Blindheim, Guido squeezes tightly.

Grapple: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Drogan is able to determine some sort of signal the blindhiem gives off before the blinding flash and is able to close his eyes. Drogan then hacks at the creature.
Attack roll: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

With Guido's crushing maneuver, the Blindheim is rendered unconscious.

End of Combat

"I still can't see anything!"

Guido punches the limp form in his hands a few times from frustration.

I'm guessing we're ready to move on.

"Let's go back to that fountain real fast. Maybe if Abasi says water to it, it will fill with healing stuff for my eyes."

Halkale searches the Blindheim.

Anya nods her agreement with Guido--not that he can see the gesture. "It can't hurt."

Halkale finds nothing on the Blindheim.

If someone wants to try a Heal check on Guido, they may. Anyone searching the room, and will Abasi be saying 'Water' to the statue?

Abasi looks skeptically at the fountain for a moment, before acquiescing to the request and saying it. If one knew the accents of native Kelish speakers, you could denote a fairly well-to-do enunciation in his speech.

Fedorean Searches the room and the adjacent room for any scrolls he may have missed earlier or any other treasure.

Can I take 20 on the search or do I need to roll?

Taking 20 is do-able.

Abasi, standing with Guido before the fountain, Abasi speaks the Kelish word for 'Water'. Suddenly the three lower Hydra heads emit a blast of water, slamming into the two Pathfinders.

Both of the Pathfinders manage to leap to the side to avoid the stream of water, and after a moment, the water stops.

Fedorean searches the room thoroughly in the mean-time, finding one trade agreement, a potion, and three flasks of some clear liquid.

"Perhaps I can look at your eyes, Guido. I may be able to help." Once I get to Guido, I check out his eyes, opening the lids, moving my finger back and forth trying to get him to follow it.
Heal Check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Elian offers to take a glance at the potion and clear liquid vials. He also searches his memory to see if he remembers anything about the dead creature and it's abilities (i.e. if the blindness if permanent).

Knowledge: Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Drogan determines that Guido's eyes will be better in a half an hour or so.

Fedorean hands Eilian the potion and vials so that he can try and determine what they are.

Elian determines the potion is Cure Moderate Wounds, and the vials are Holy Water.

Guido's eyesight soon returns while the room is searched. The adjacent room also contains scrolls, and several more trade agreements are found, this being the room Fedorean entered earlier by himself.

The rest of the ruin is empty, and soon you begin your trek back to Absalom.

Who will you be visiting first? And what do you with the Katana and the contents of its secret compartment?

"We should deal for the Katana and that Way of the Kirin contract seperately. Let's go visit VC Amara first and see if she can tell us anything about this Way of the Kirin. It may help us in negotiations with Aaqir."

"That does seem wise," Anya concurs as they travel back toward the city.

"Works for me"

At Amara Li's home she has you shown into the same room in which you met her for the first time. With anticipation, she waits for you to hand the Katana over.

On the journey back to Absalom, Abasi takes the parchment hidden in the katana hilt and secrets it on his person. When they arrive in the Venture-Captain's quarters, he hands over the katana without ceremony. "This is what you were looking for, isn't it, Mistress? I would hate to have gone all that way and returned with the wrong katana. There's one other thing..." Here, he pulls out the parchment and unfurls it so that it's plain to see, but not handing it over just yet. "We found this. Does it mean anything to you?"

Amara Li is ecstatic to have the Katana, but when Abasi presents the parchment that was inside the Katana's hilt, her joy fades.

"I admit I was not completely forthright with you about my motives, Pathfinders." she says. "It is a matter of the finances of the Lantern Lodge, and not purely of honor, as I said."

"All I can say is, I will be grateful to you if you give it to me, but you have done what I asked, and so your reward will be yours as I promised, whether you do me this additional favour or not."

Halkale looks at Abasi and nods.

"Can you tell us anything about this Way of the Kirin?"

"They were a once-powerful military and trade organization. They disappeared when the Lung Wa Dynasty collapsed." she explains.

Fedorean looks at his companions and says quietly to them..

"I say she got what she asked for..since she wasn't honest about her intent from the get go, I reckon we are not obliged to give her the agreement so I vote we keep it ourselves..besides it may come in handy later on if we choose to keep adventuring together..who knows when an agreement with a powerful military organization might come in handy?"

Abasi nods back at Halkale, and then raises an eyebrow at Fedorean. "I'd be quite curious to know what need you think you would have for an army. Besides, she said they disappeared. A ghost army, in that case. Seems they wouldn't be much help. But you have made me question something."

Abasi turns back to the Venture-Captain. "If this is a question of finance, my lady, then why do you seek an agreement from a long-gone organization? What good would this scrap of paper provide, if they no longer exist? Does it have some other value?"

After this

Amara, with the Katana in her lap, has regained her frosty façade. "The one who arranged this agreement with Asad was a member of my family, and this agreement will free up funds for the Lantern Lodge that would otherwise be lost to us." she says.

"I'm going with Guido on this one..we already have the reward she promised us..lets be on our way?"

Drawing on the family that he lost, having no one left in this world, Drogan says"I think that since it is part of her family's heritage, that she should have it rather than that snake. However I will go along with whatever the rest of the group decides, since one of the tenets of the Pathfinders is to Cooperate."

I agree with Drogan. It is hers, and would you take from someone what is theirs? I did not realize that we were now lowering ourselves to thievery. And to deny fellow Pathfinders what could be necessary finances would be the height of selfishness."

Anya nods her agreement with Abasi. "It is hers."

Federean rolls his eyes at his companions..

"Good lord..Ive never seen so many goody goody adventurers in my entire life..team work and honor is great and everything..but C'mon..guys this women lied to us and sent us after some worthless sword just so she could have that paper..what kind of honor is that..sending fellow society members out to risk their lives and omitting the real reason why they are doing it..Talk about selfishness.?..she deserves nothing more than what she asked for..I for one don't like being lied too, but since me and Guido here seem to be the only two in the room with any amount of dignity and pride..you guys do whatever you want with it..ill be outside waiting.."

Fedorean exits the room.

"Dignity and pride, says the elf who kills those unable to protect themselves, and who whisks himself away at the chance of any minor bit or bauble. The elf who wished to keep this agreement for himself, so that he may make demands of an organization he knows nothing about, for the chance that he may raise his own status. The elf who seemingly only values his endeavors in our Society because they may gain him gold. What hypocrisy." Abasi snorts.

"But he has a point, Amara Li. You did lie to us. I am still willing to give you this, though my contempt and exasperation is ever growing. You see, I believe that each Pathfinder has a duty, no matter how small, to each and every other. Here is where Fedorean and I differ; I will not stoop to meet your own, lacking, conduct. Make your decision, my friends. I no longer have any taste for this." He gestures around to the rest of the assembled group, and sets the agreement on the low table.

Amara's expression is contrite as she speaks, "I am sorry for the deception, but I do not know you, but I do know al'Hakam. If one of you were his agent, I may well have lost this item."

"She didn't lie to us--omitted some facts, maybe. She wanted the katana. The papers were in the katana. If we were to have known this fact when we were given the task to find the katana, would we have acted any differently?"

Abasi settles himself, looking weary. "Intention is a powerful thing. Would we have acted differently? Most likely not, no. But one of our own would not have stormed out, and we would not be having this conversation. I do not see the necessity of the omissions, and only bad feeling has come from it."

He sighs. "I could understand your fears, Mistress, but you invited us all personally. Did you not investigate us prior to requesting our assistance?"

To VC Amara:
"Wait, why are you so afraid of al'Hakam getting the bond? And how is it you can't even offer up a reward for delivery of it? Are YOU Way of the Kirin?"

To the party:
"And you all, are you seriously considering making such a extravagant gift to someone proven untrustworthy and hypocritical rather than seeking a reward from someone who has been straight with us all along? Seriously, you'll just take her at her word that it somehow belongs to her family?"

Elian has stayed quiet during much of the interaction, letting the others speak. As always he appears distracted by much as he is constantly looking around in a lackadaisical manner while the rest of the party bickers. He casually glances at Fedorean as the elf storms out.

He then looks to Guido after he references al'Hakam. "And you know for a fact that all other invested parties have been straight with us? Hmmm. Interesting. I was not aware you were able to see the truth behind words, Sansone."

He looks at Amara. "I am in agreement with the others. I say we give her the trade agreement. Such an act would of course go favorably for us. I am sure the Venture Captain here would not forget such an act of honor on our part. It would not be wise to burn this bridge; having such an ally as Mistress Li would be rather beneficial for many reasons." He nods to Abasi. "Besides, it is the right thing to do."

Halkale clears his throat then speaks.

"Would more coin be beneficial to me? Yes, I am not well off and equipment and clothes tend to wear out and need replaced, there's always some new bow catching my eyes. But, we have done what the Venture Captain asked. Had we not discovered the agreement, we would have delivered the katana to her. If she decides to reward our actions, so be it. I did this because I am a Pathfinder. I do not do it because I am a member of Lantern Lodge, which I am not. Let her have her items, let her honor decide what she does with our reward."

With that, Halkale shrugs.

Fedorean stops as he reaches the door..as he starts to walk out he hear's Abasi run his mouth and stops..and then thinks to himself that "maybe he should have let that thing live, just so he could watch this idiot get his tongue cut out later..or stabbed in the back from some shadow..this ungrateful group is trying my patience"..his hand grasps his sword hilt and the thought crosses his mind to cut the uncouth oafs throat right here and now..spilling his disgusting human blood all over this lying women's desk..as a warning that he doesn't tolerate being disrespected..but decides instead to turn around and give him the universal hand gesture..and continue out the door with a snarl on his face..as he leaves he says something in elvish..

" Sociieth sib damonos!..Ellos eiften wah ellumay...ina sola ellos aiken..danah, es dhager druna duina ellos croatid...minith Humaish!!"

Amara Li's eyes widen slightly at Fedorean's outburst, and the look in them - hard and sharp, suggests she understood every word. "Watch your mouth, and your actions, Pathfinder, or you'll find yourself out on the street, or below it, before a cherry blossom dropped from the hand hits the floor." she says with surprising fire.

Decision?

Consensus seems to be to give it to Amara.

Feeling quite insulted by Amara pointedly ignoring him and Elian's derision, Guido is truly taken aback by Amara's overreaction to what he believes to be an insult by Fedorean.

Looking pointedly at Elian:

"No, Elian, I don't *know* the Quadiran has been strait with us, but I do know the Venture Captain hasn't been. She said so herself - right here - in this room - just now - right before you decided to be an ass. How do you even know the sword is hers? Because the liar said so?"

With his back to Amara, addressing everyone else:

"Clearly you have all made up your minds, but I just don't get how you all who pride yourselves so high and noble line up as lapdogs before such a petty, hypocritical tyrant just because she's free with her threats. You all look down on me as a man of few morals, but what I've got I'd never sell so f+&%ing cheap. I'm outta here."

Guido storms out giving no time for replies.
Consensus Amara

Later in the hall with Fedorean:

"What the hell did you say to them that pissed her off so bad?"

Venture Captain Amara Li thanks you for your help, and your favour in handing over the trade agreement. She becomes all sweetness and light when she does so, despite the iron in her mere moments before. She promises to keep you in her mind for future missions and promises she will repay you in future.

After your meeting with Amara Li, you go to visit Aaqir al'Hakam. He meets you in a smoky private room in a tobacco den, and when you give him the trade agreements, he smiles. "Many thanks. You are all to be commended for fulfilling your promise, and my word is as good. You will all be rewarded if you continue to serve so admirably." he says. "I understand you were sent to retrieve a fine Jade Katana. I was hoping I might see the piece in question. I am a collector of such decorative objects."