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A red-skinned goblin sporting two jaws with rows of sharp teeth approaches you. No taller than the average goblinkind, he wears the entire upper half of a flayed red kobold, including the skull cap to complete the hooded cloak.
After shuffling through through some snot-spotted parchment and squinting at your face for a few moments he suddenly snorts long and loud, reversing the ever flowing stringy drip back into his nostrils, ::KhhAGGG!:: ::KhhAGGG!:: ::KhhAGGG!:: ::PooT!!!:: splattering a wet citrine glob on your left shoulder (sign of deep respect). "Righteous mooting upon disgusting red fluid carrier and dog friend! -This is yours.", he hands off a note to you then waddles off without another word.
“Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”
~ Kreighton Shaine, Master of Scrolls, Pathfinder Society
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An elven man looks at the note, considers burning it, then tracking down the goblin that gave it to him and burning it too, but decides instead to head to the Pig's Paunch. He still wasn't convinced the Society was the place for him, but he might as well see what sort of task they required before turning down their offers.
A young human male dressed in a colorful patchwork cloak made from many different colors and types of fabric, which provides a stark contrast to his dark hair, purple eyes, has a sardonic smile flicker across his face, as he shakes his head as he watches the Goblin leave.
The Society is using vermin like that as errand-boys? Well, at least I know that means the bar for getting in is set pretty low... both literally and metaphorically.
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"A goblin messenger, perhaps I made a mistake." The young human woman muses with an annoyed expression. Although she's wearing a simple explorer's outfit, she holds herself with the haughty posture of someone of noble birth, while her white blonde hair and the slight bluish tint to her skin suggests she hails from some exotic land.
Despite her verbal protest, with an exaggerated sigh she makes her way to the Pig's Paunch.
The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table. “Welcome! Welcome, my friends! Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. “Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born." Shaine studies the room wistfully for a moment before continuing.
“But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach. She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist. Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.”
Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen.”
Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building, "All yours Janira, take care of them! Badmucus - come!", the little goblin messenger waiting outside runs after him into the mist.
Janira excitedly says to the group, "Any questions or is every one ready?!"
At the center of the Isle of Kortos stand the Kortos Mounts, the points on the island.
Entire tribes of centaurs, harpies, and minotaurs constantly vie for territory up and around the Mounts, with harpies being the most common at higher altitudes and centaurs controlling the lower slopes and foothills.
Also known as the Low Azlanti, the gillmen are an amphibious humanoid race believed to be the last descendants of the ancient Azlanti people.
During Earthfall, the Starstone struck Golarion and destroyed the human empires of Thassilon and Azlant. It is said that gillmen’s ancestors survived the cataclysmic event because they received the blessing of an aquatic entity that allowed them to breath underwater.
Most scholars believe the terrifying aboleths were responsible for the gillmen’s transformation. Any alliance between them appears to have fallen apart over the millennia, however, and the gillmen are now an independent people.
Janira answers Katharina with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just two days before the moon is full again. We both believe that is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there.
“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too."
She pulls out a large leather-bound journal and opens it on the table. “Before we set out, we should all get to know each other and review our plan. After all, the most important factors that determine whether an expedition will be a success are cooperation and preparation! I’ll go first!
I joined the Pathfinder Society about four years ago. I grew up in Eastgate where my father is a porter. I'm the oldest of seven children and the only one to have come of age so far. Originally, I joined the Pathfinders for the opportunity to see the world (and sample it's fine foods), but I quickly fell in love with the pursuit and preservation of knowledge.”
Janira waits for the initiates to introduce themselves and greet each other.
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"I am Hallothien of Cheliax." The elf says with a slight nod. Just enough to be polite, but not exactly friendly. "I grew up with imps for playmates and a barbazu butler. My house has always valued knowledge, and I have been trained in the classic texts of summoning and the arcane. My father was a court summoner, though my mother dabbled in the mysteries of the occult and I have followed in her footsteps."
Looking out a window, he points to the mountains. "As I recall, those are the Kortos Mountains. The journey does not look to be too far, but as it is inland, it seems a strange place for gillmen."
Geoffrey draws himself up gracefully, and gives a curt bow, carefully not looking in Hallothien's direction.
"The name's Geoffrey, and I come from Westcrown. Thing's became a little too oppressive there over the last few years, what with all the shadowbeast attacks, and I decided to have a fresh start... travelling to Absalom, and joining the Pathfinder Society, seemed like the natural thing to do. I am not much of melee fighter, but I can provide ranged support."
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First a goblin messenger and now an airhead halfling guide. This is not an auspicious beginning.
"My name is Katharina and although I fail to see how personal information is relevant to the matter at hand, I will say that I come from the nation of Irrisen in the north. I joined the Pathfinder Society as a sort of test of myself and my abilities."
"Excellent, I'm ready as well!" Janira exclaims.
Within the city, Janira offers a few suggestions to those interested in purchasing adventuring gear. "Rope is probably a good idea, a light source, food, a way to make fire, any sources of healing. Additionally, if you can afford it, alchemist’s fire, antitoxins, and the like. Last, but not least, as a Pathfinder you need to report your findings, and do so accurately. If you need them, please take these." She passes out writing supplies and paper to anyone who doesn’t have it already.
Moving along at a brisk pace, Janira seems energized to be out of the city. "When I was in training, we students used to head out into the Cairnlands to an abandoned siege tower called Asad's Keep. Many a recruit have some memorable adventure there." She says wistfully. "After a time, the area was nearly cleared of anything of interest, so now the Society has the recruits range a little further out."
Janira continues like this throughout the journey, with an unfettered enthusiasm, pointing out local landmarks, flora and fauna, and distant mountains. The journey through the Cairnlands is uneventful and after a full day's travel, the party stops and makes camp.
Rising the next morning, the party begins travelling westward again, hiking throughout the day. As the day begins to lengthen, the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid.
After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.”
1d6 ⇒ 6
Just as you begin to move again a hideous, dog-sized flea leaps out from the underbrush on long, gangly legs. Then another jump into view to the south and both start to head your way with sharp, jagged jaws greedily clattering for blood!
"Oh no!" Janira shouts, pointing. "Everyone prepare yourselves!"
-Kain
With uncanny ability, a seemingly far off flea leaps across the terrain and onto Kain, hungry for some nourishment with diseased jaws.
-miss
The other flea scurries towards Geoffrey.
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Nursing a minor headache from all of Janira's prattling, Katharina almost sees the giant flea attack as a blessing, that is, until the halfling begins telling inspirational stories. Luckily, these stories seem to actually be helpful.
Stepping 5 feet away from the flea, the hydrokineticist summons forth a beam of cold to strike out at the vermin of unusual size.
Geoffrey directs a blast at the flea moving towards him, sending sharp, flinty stones scything through the air towards it.
Earth, Wind and Fire; the fleas get scratched before they even tasted blood. At first Janira was worried about getting killed by giant fleas, now she stands motionless with darting eyes at the 'initiates'. "G- g- good job everyone... what amazing abilities, heheh", Janira stammer out, "Lets take five then we'll move on."
Your small party continues on through the wilderness. However, a bit of bad luck finds you when a trail is blocked by a rock-slide, and a shortcut known to Janira is discovered to be overgrown since her last trip through. These minor delays are costing you time, and Janira asks if anyone has some survival skills that might help speed things along.
Geoffrey carefully considers the path, listening to Hallothien's advice.
As most of the group discusses backtracking or trailblazing, Geoffrey proves he's the best survivalist with Hallothein's help and is able to find a rudimentary deer trail that heads in the right direction. The dense forest soon opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff with thick vines stretching 30 feet overhead.
“Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.” As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.
The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group. Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! I know you guys are tough, but I don't think we can handle this. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!”
She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
Geoffrey nods.
"I agree, as much as it pains me - we should follow orders, and finish our mission."
He then heads into the cave.
With half the party entering the cave, leaving only two to deal with the minotaur, the course is obvious. Janira's pack carries all sorts of useful supplies. A potion of barkskin, 2 potions of cure light wounds, potion of feather step, potion of vanish, scroll of entangle, scroll of gust of wind, scroll of identify, scroll of mage armor (CL 6), scroll of obscuring mist, wand of burning hands (CL 3rd, 4 charges), wand of cure light wounds (CL 3rd, 8 charges), a vial of acid, an alchemist’s fire, holy water, smokestick, tanglefoot bags, thunderstone, antitoxin, and 2 sunrods. All are packed neatly and conveniently labeled.
Following Janira's orders, the group enters the cave. Anyone stealing a glance back see Janira speeding off into the woods, the minotaur in chase, not far behind.
Inside, you find yourselves in a damp narrow passage that snakes into the mountain, opening and closing in width from three to ten feet. Water drips from stalactites and the sound of a rushing underground stream can be heard somewhere in the distance. The cave walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light.
Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls. The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.
1d6 ⇒ 1
The carvings continue along the narrow tunnel as it twists and turns. Several hundred feet in it opens to a wider passage. There, a large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. 20 feet below the edge a pool of water fills the pit. Floating on the surface is a small bundle of cloth.
Geoffrey eyes the pit carefully.
"I realise that I may be stating the obvious, but the pit is artificial, and is at least a year old."
He then picks up a rock and throws it at the bundle of cloth to confirm that there isn't anything hostile down there using it as bait, and then ties his rope off on a stalagmite, tosses the end down into the pit, and climbs down to investigate.
Geoffrey's rock does little to disturb the bundle and nothing hostile seems apparent. Whoever created the pit rounded its walls to eliminate any corners that a trapped creature might brace against while trying to escape. As careful as he tried climbing down into the hole, Geoffrey loses his grip and take a back dive into the muddy water.
Geoffrey repels down into the water and estimates that it is only ten feet deep. He's able to reach out and grab the bundle, which unravels revealing it to be a cloak of exceptional quality, either dropped or left by a victim.
The party recognize it as magical and identify it as a cloak of resistance +1.
Geoffrey sets the rope and grapple, an with a little care the group crosses the pit and continues.
The tunnels lead deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls. The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves.
Hallothien finds that the inscriptions tell stories and parables from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy text of Aroden that refers to "12 guises of Aroden" meant to illustrate his hopes for humanity: the artist, beggar, craftsman, farmer, fisherman, hunter, merchant, scholar, shepherd, soldier, tailor, and thief. Most of the carvings here are weathered beyond recognition, but you are able to decipher four of the parables - the parables depicted here are slightly different than those that appear in the known version of the History and Future of Humanity, suggesting that these might represent an earlier version of the work.
The Farmer is depicted plowing four lines in a field, retelling Aroden’s prophecy that humankind would prepare the rocky earth for planting and over generations wear the pebbles down into fertile soil.
The Scholar is depicted writing on a piece of parchment and then reading from it to passersby, just as Aroden was said to smile on those who recorded history and other knowledge to share it with others.
The Shepherd is depicted herding animals out of a crowded city to the pastures beyond, just as Aroden blessed leaders with the foresight to direct people to the tasks and places that best suit them.
The Tailor is depicted sewing together a long cloth of featuring many patterns that wraps around a city like a moat, referencing Aroden’s proclamation that when the fate of all peoples is woven together, it shall be humanity’s greatest strength.
-Posted with Wayfinder
After studying the walls and taking notes, your group heads further into the cave.
The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Kneeling in the water is a lone gillman, his back to the party...
-Posted with Wayfinder
Geoffrey nods in satisfaction.
"Well, at least it looks like we have finally found one of them. Now we just have to convince him to talk..."
The gillman finally turns to see Hallothien. He gives a startled blink, then sees the rest of the occult party, and quickly stands. When he speaks, there is a strange slur to his words.
"I am Uori. Who are you and what brings you to this place?"
The gillman’s own folded robe is of a similar style and color as the cloak recovered from the pit earlier.
Uori is eying the cloak Geoffrey is carrying with interest.
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"He wants that cloak you're carrying, Geoffrey. Perhaps he dropped it on the way in." Katharina offers somewhat helpfully, as she finds herself staring in fascination at Uori's gills. "Ah yes. We understand that you gillman visit this place regularly. We merely wish to know why then we shall be on our way."
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Hallothien was more inclined to demand cooperation and information from the gillman, but Katharina's words remind him that Pathfinders do not usually operate with such tactics. Still, his glare does little to aid the situation as talks.
"We found this in a pit near the entrance to these caves. Likely someone fell in and died, then was eaten by something."
Geoffrey nods at Katharina's observation.
"Fair enough."
He then moves over to Uori, and bows, proffering the cloak.
"Well met, Uori. My name is Geoffrey. As my colleague so eloquently put it, we are curious as to why Gillmen come here, so far from the sea..."
From the way Uori watches Hallothien carefully, you suspect he is reading lips and might be deaf.
Uroi nods cautiously at Hallothien. "I am sure its owner would like it returned. Or if dead, then returned to his or her family."
With Geoffrey's presentation of the cloak Uori's eyes brighten and he bows in respect to your group. "You have entered a place sacred to my people." He makes a sweeping gesture around the cave. "And in the past, to Aroden, god of humanity. I have heard stories of when his followers came here. It is said they spent time in prayer at the wall of symbols and then again at the sculpture of Absalom here in the pool." He looks up to the ceiling. "But over time the carvings have eroded and faded. And soon... soon Aroden's influence will fade away completely."
The gillman steps to the side. "As I said, the pool is very sacred to the Low Azlanti, but you are free to do as you wish as long as treat the area with respect."