Till spots the danger in Noam rushing forward, just a second too late. He realizes that his wounds are severe, but doesn't want to make it show in his tale. "The heroes of our tale charge forth valiantly, but of course their attack is met in kind! While magic proves hard to resist, steel also shows it's worth. Look, on of the heroes takes a wound in the chest and crumples. Things seem dire for our protagonists, but they do not falter. No, they do not!"
To lend weight to his words, Till levels his bow at the Strix with the longspear and fires an arrow, feeling that his aim is true this day.
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Feeling particularly bold, and prone by nature to show his bravado, Arthur decides to set his tactical vantage aside and choose courage instead of patience. As a result, he tightens the grip on his rapier and moves forward.
As soon as the attack arrives, and if Noam didn’t precede him in taking the hit, Arthur tries to parry the lounge. If still alive and on his feet, Arthur will then move close enough to the strix in front of him and attack!
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Noam takes a series of brutal attacks from the strix’s spear. Arisha’s mental trick keeps his adrenaline up enough to push through the first attack, but the second pierces him through the chest. He falls, bleeding on the ground. However, somewhere on his person a small tattoo of the Glyph of the Open Road glows faintly before fading away, and he miraculously survives although his unconscious breathing is shallow.
Lord Arthur charges forth to avenge the attack, piercing the strix through the side. He screams in pain, a sound that resembles both a human cry and that of a bird of prey. Till’s arrow finds purchase immediately after in a sensitive part of his wing, and the spear-wielding strix stops flapping and crashes into the ground.
Aggie moves forward and blasts the still standing strix with brilliant starlight. Already dazed, this strix lets the flashing lights into her vision with a dull reaction of wonder. Her pupils become huge before her eyes shut as she is overwhelmed and also falls over.
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Arisha
Noam (at -11 HP, bleeding out)
Lord Arthur
Till
Aggie
Niome
With the threat gone, Arisha breaks from cover and approaches the fallen.
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"Well, now, that was close." Arthur grins confidently, but inside he's well aware of the risk he has faced. Only Noam prevented him from falling victim of the strix's spear.
"I'm alright, but I guess it's just because of you," says Arthur with a genuine smile as he approaches Noam and offers his hand to help her get back on her feet. "You're one of the bravest person I've ever met."
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Niome will squeeze Noam's shoulder, then stares at the open grave How many did these two kill? worriedly looks around We... we should check to see if there are signs of others. agreeing with Aggie and Arthur on that matter And... any identifying items around to give peace to families with missing members... as much peace as that knowledge would bring. she'll look to the others to see if they agree before moving around and searching.
With the strix defeated and Noam recovered, the Pathfinders must decide to do from here. The one knocked loopy by various spells will wake up eventually, and the other one’s wounds are grievous - blood continues to pool under him.
Niome’s search reveals nothing of much interest - this place is truly an abandoned ruin. The pit full of bones is unnerving, but the bones are all mismatched. While some of them could be human, many of them are also much too small, and (if one were inclined to this sort of work) it would take days to sort through and categorize the species of everything here.
Arisha looks for a place to plant the evidence. Leaving it clumsily “hidden” behind a rock or near the edge of the bone pit would likely be ideal places. The lack of strix attacks here should serve as adequately interesting to draw others here.
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Arisha plants the evidence--hidden, but not too well--near the bone pit, where the curious are likely to search.
She looks to the dying stryx and the unconscious one, thoughts warring across her expression. Ultimately, she steps over to the unconscious one and spears him through the side.
"What?" she asks, somewhat defiantly. "You were all putting off the inevitable conclusion."
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Niome's search leads no where so she returns in time to see Arisha's decision. She stares at the woman in shock for several seconds, logic warring with conscience. So she talks it out, "They were intelligent creatures, tool use, tactics. I have a startling lack of knowledge about anything else about them though. For example I don't know if they are inherently evil, like a devil. Or just desperate and driven to evil."
She pauses, rubbing her neck as she thinks "Could we have reasoned with them? From a position of strength, if we shared a language? Maybe..." but sighs "... but not now. They are dead, or soon will be, and any others will treat us as enemies."
Shaking her head, she tries to move on. What's done is done, and condemning Arisha isn't going to undo it. "The evidence. Did we decide on leaving it? I like the Thistles better than the other groups we've encountered, but will their evidence cause more volatility or stabilization? I'm not an expert on politics." She'll look to Arthur and Till "Both of you showed a large amount of knowledge about the area with Captain Benarry. Do you have opinions?"
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Listening to Niome's mixed feelings brings Arthur back, at the time when he stared in shock at the first vaguely humanoid creature he killed with his own hands: a lizardfolk, at the Fallen Fortress.
The young lord takes a long breath and moves closer to Niome, gently putting a gloved hand on her shoulder. "I feel you. All of us have already experienced what you're feeling now, and those who have not are either too cruel to become Pathfinders or are going to experience it in the future."
Arthur stares at the void. "But as Pathfinders, we must be prepared for this. Our mission comes first. Those being attacked us. Perhaps, if we spoke their language we could parlay...or perhaps not. We don't get to know that. But when they attacked us, they left us no choice. And giving them a coup de grace is an act of mercy, not a murder, because these creatures already had threatened us, thus signaling them as too dangerous for us to leave alone."
"As for the evidence...," adds Arthur, taking the opportunity to change subject, "we should leave it."
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As Niome's squeezes his shoulder he places a hand on hers. He smiled as he felt that familiar comforting presence seep into his mind, courtesy of Arisha. "Thanks."
As she runs the feebled one through he lets out a shocked gasp "Wait!" He didn't know what to think at the moment. She was with the other one that had tried to kill him, but she wasn't armed.
As Niome voices her thoughts it just compounds things further. "She wasn't armed." he says to Arthur.
"I'm sorry." he says to the corpses as he positions them respectfully next to each other, rather than leaving them in crumpled heaps.
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Aggie watches Arisha plant the evidence and kill the strix with a quick nod. "Our goal here was to stop the strix. It probably had hopes and dreams and some kids or something, but that's not our problem. We agreed to come here and kill them. Maybe if they wanted to talk we could talk with them, but if we spare it, then we haven't done our job. I don't know much about these things, but I doubt we could strike a deal where it just goes off somewhere else. This is just what we have to do."
Among the strixes’ remains, as Noam lays them out respectfully, the Pathfinders find a number of basic supplies and equipment, including some well-crafted bows. Marked with their icons, any of this would offer suitable proof of their defeat for Lorrin Meese.
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Back at the Inkwell’s back room, Lorrin Meese is happy to see you all back in one piece. “I’m so glad you’re alright! I really appreciate you dealing with those strix - innocent people were getting attacked, sometimes killed.” He smiles, genuinely appreciative. “You are trusted friends indeed. I’m sure I can mobilize some of our people to create a distraction. Enough for you to escape with ‘the Printsmith.’ We’ll be ready in about a day, so in the meantime we can work on that other thing…”
Lorrin goes to a desk in this room and shows the Pathfinders what looks to be a flyer - or more accurately, a wanted poster. “We managed to get our hands on one of these in advance - a bounty on Pathfinders, apparently, saying your Society is a terrorist threat. Armed, dangerous, and looking to sow disruption in Pezzack and Cheliax without regard for its people.” He sighs. “Obviously this isn’t true, but most people won’t know that. We can help you with your reputation here - and reputation is very important in Pezzack - but I’m willing to follow your lead. How would you like to go about this? I have some suggestions of my own, but only if you’d like to hear them.”
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Arisha spends the afternoon trying to spread anti-propaganda propaganda, sharing her plan with the White Thistles so that they can reinforce the message and add credibility. Her first visit is Auntie, the gossiping proprietress of Auntie's.
Dressed in her academy robes when she visits, she orders a drink and, when Auntie inevitably comes around, she turns the gossip towards the Loyalists. In a scandalous tone, she begins, "Do you know what I heard? The Loyalists botched some big operation and let the Printsmith escape even though they knew exactly who he was and where he was going to be. Now they're so embarrassed that they're trying to blame their blunder on the Pathfinder society--was the Society even here?--and calling them terrorists, putting up wanted signs. All that effort just to hide their mistake. Ha!"
In the evening, eschewing her academy robes and her armor, Arisha sneaks around town plucking down any wanted posters she finds and trying to steal any printed copies in storage at the printers.
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I've always admired the pathfinders. Adventures, heroes, sometimes a bumbling mess as well, but I've never heard tales of them being terrorists or really involved in politics in general. Niome chats with people eating lunch at Auntie's. Having gone there with Arisha. Strength in numbers.
Unfortunately she's a little too pushy in her statements.
Getting frustrated at herself, she decides to listen instead of talk. One can help shape the tides of opinion much better if one can simply shut up long enough to be able to hear where it is going.
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Arthur is pleased that his missions has been a success, and listens intently to Lorrin Meese's suggestions. "Mmm", he begins, scratching his chin, "I suppose that's the most reasonable thing to do, Mr. Meese. Go out in the streets and talk to the people. That could put us in danger, and in any case blow our cover, but it's the only good idea that I have got in my mind. Perhaps, I could ask someone to disguise myself. Anyone is able to do so?" he asks, looking at his companions.
If no one answers, Arthur turns to Meese. "Any of yours would be able to disguise me? I'm willing to pay, if needed."
***
After he made sure to have a good disguise, Arthur decides to go out in the streets and give several public speeches in key points of Pezzack (squares, taverns, gathering places) about the virtues of the Society. He insists for someone to accompany him and blend into the crowd, for security; if no one of his allies is willing to do so, he asks the help of a few White Thistles.
"People of Pezzack!" his speech always starts with this. "Have you heard about the smear campaign against the Pathfinder Society that, in recent days, the Loyalist have inaugurated? Well, to be honest, I believe they're doing what they always do. Pull the wool over the eyes of the people! They accuse the Society for problems that their government created! They are blocking our city with their ships, they're taking our freedom away from us! And what do they do in the meanwhile? They attack the Pathfinder Society! A Society whose presence has always coincided with Cheliax's most prosperous years! When House Thrune rose to power, the first thing they did was to ban the Pathfinder Society from Cheliax! And why, why? Just because they were the symbol of freedom, a freedom Pezzack embodies in these days of suffering. Don't let them tell us what to do! Don't let us tell us what to think! Destroy those flyers! Down with the loyalists!"
Till has been somewhat silent since their fight with the Strix, and the subsequent deaths and the planting of evidence. "Grizzly business, but it must be done, I suppose..."
Once back at the Inkwell, he quickly agreees with Lorrin Meese. "We have little time left, so we'd best make good use of it to undo the worst of the damage. I can compose a poem, I think. That seems fitting. I will perform it once myself, and I hope that several of you will pick it up from time to time, to reinforce the message." Till turns of to be a better performer than writer, but the story seems passably to him. It paints the Pathfinder Society as harmless investigators, curators of history that document without interfering.
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With the group going out and about to start combating the misinformation, Aggie decides to go out on her own and do what she's good at: street preaching.
Her little goat begins to glow and levitate behind her as her eyes go black, and she begins to speak in a lilting rhythm, her bubbly personality fading as she channels her strange powers.
"COME TO ME PEOPLE! The stars have spoke to me, and now I am their agent. I am their vessel to show you the Truth."
She turns to look at someone whose attention she's briefly capture. "The void beckons to all of us and we are but terrified mortals, infinitely small before the vastness of reality. But FEAR NOT. I say fear not... know that there are those who would manipulate you. Who would control you. Who would use your fear, your need for safety for your children and hone it to a weapon against those who would help."
"Do not fall prey to politics. Do not fall prey to fear. There are those who claim Pathfinders are terrorists - but Pathfinders are investigators. Scholars of history. Pathfinders look to the stars and ask "What way do we go next?". There is nothing to fear from the Pathfinders. Instead of listening to lies and fear mongering, you must find your path and rise about the politics and hate. Learn your purpose under the stars, and follow it."
The Pathfinders take to the streets to combat the Loyalist slander against them. Whether in private conversations, bold declarations to the public, or clandestine missions of sabotage and aid, they fight against the spreading Loyalist propaganda starting to crop up in town. After their hours of hard work, the city is buzzing with news about the Pathfinders. As they pass through the streets, they hear a jumble of messages from people who vilify them, people who praise them, and some people who are just confused. Still, it seems their efforts were successful overall - the Loyalists’ smear campaign has clearly failed to take root.
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In the evening, they make their way back to the Academy where Poppo and Olandil wait.
“So the White Thistles will help us? Excellent news!” Olandil replies when he hears the news of the Pathfinders’ efforts. He turns to Poppo and says, “Is the whale ready yet?”
Poppo looks at him slightly crossly and replies, “Not quite! I still have to make some adjustments, patch it up to make sure it’s seaworthy…”
“We can’t stay hiding forever you know!” Olandil interrupts. “The Loyalists have been thrown off for now, but even with help we need to leave immediately. We can wait maybe one more day, but that’s it,” he says, almost pleading. Poppo sighs, and says, “Fine! One more day. I can have it ready by then.”
Addressing the other Pathfinders, he smiles and says, “You Passfinders have done good work! Take a break, rest up. We’ll leave in a day, so be ready.”
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Till doesn't need any special preparations, but he just has one question. "Exactly what is this whale you speak of? How is it going to help us escape? It's not an actual whale, is it?"
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Arthur spends his spare time reading some books (if Poppo has some to borrow) and casually flirting with the women of the group, including Aggie. He's not serious in his attempts, and it is clear that he's acting almost from force of habit, but he does his best in order to flatter the ego of each woman in the group.
This is usually good for their morale, although not very effective for me...
Poppo grins at Till’s question. “It is indeed an actual whale!” Poppo explains that the ritual will allow him to steer a whale’s body out to sea. He insists that there is nothing necromantic about the animation ritual; it animates the whale’s body as an object using transmutation magic rather than negative energy.
The professor can also show the Pathfinders his research notebooks. Even a cursory glance over the notebooks reveals that Poppo’s approach is organized, meticulous, and detail-oriented to the point of obsession.
Poppo is happy to show off his research and planning to the appreciative young mage.
"So you need a dead whale to perform this magic? Do you have one, of will we have to kill a whale first?" Till doesn't look too keen at that prospect.
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Aggie gets into her favorite activity - communing with the stars and chilling with her goat. The weird chaos of Pezzack has unsettled the half-orc a lot and she is delighted to have some opportunity to rest up.
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As she's told about the ritual, Aggie's eyes go wide and - literally starry. "WOOOW! A dead whale?!" Aratare looks really unhappy. MEEEHHH. "Oh hush you. I can't think of a better way to travel."
She licks her lips.
"So uh... how do you get a whale?"