Welcome to the Gameplay thread for Inkstains (by invitation only)!
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The eyes. Before all else, it’s the eyes. Midnight blue they scan the room, alternating between gimlet and uncomfortably wide. The man with the gaze is slightly uncomfortable to look at or even stand near. His robes are meticulously clean and overly detailed with strange occult runes. His bald pate does nothing to destract from his eyes.
The fact that he seems neither armed nor armored in this line of work is always a sign of magical power.
On your return to Ashima, you found that Mai Chun was away from the Pathfinder Lodge on other business. The Venture Captain had, however, left instructions for you in the form of a letter.
Your journey to Xiwu was uneventful, and you were able to locate the School of Affinities without difficulty.
The School of Affinities stands on the southern side of Xiwu, overlooking the Golden River. The school is a compound of several freestanding buildings surrounded by a stone wall; there are three gates in the wall, each of which is open at the time of your arrival (early afternoon). A small fountain bubbles in the space between buildings.
The sliding walls of most buildings are open, allowing light to reach rows of students kneeling at their desks. Teachers walk between the desks, occasionally pausing to check work before continuing with their calligraphy lessons.
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With a single glance, Treble deliberately changes his focus of the new-comer to a spot just to the left of the man's mouth. Then, realizing he is casting his gaze downward from the man's eyes, re-focuses to his forehead. His eyes then start to dance over Ohm-eran's face, always in an attempt to avoid the disconcerting gaze. "Well met, Ohm-eran. You must be our replacement as the Society puts us all through our paces."
Treble looks around the school, trying to recall any information that might be useful.
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Upon reaching the school, Zadim's first instinct is to loop around the enclave to get a rough view of the grounds that they need to infiltrate, sweeping wide to avoid too much scrutiny . After his look over, Zadim returns to the others. "So,"he says quietly, "Do anyone have any ideas on how to start with finding and collecting our quarry? Aside from striking at night, I'm at a loss for the tactics for this."
As Zadim sneaks around the wall surrounding the school, he notices a young man in bright yellow robes standing near the open south gate. The youth is speaking animatedly with one of the guards, a scarred, frowning fireplug of a man who only responds with the occasional shrug or grunt. As Zadim watches them, the younger man gestures in the direction of the gate, then starts to walk up the path towards the school buildings. The guard swiftly steps in front of him and shakes his head. The young man sighs loudly and, with an eyeroll and an unmistakable expression of boredom, returns to his post near the gate, the guard staying close beside him.
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Treble’s eyes focus, as if coming back from some far-away place. He cannot shake the overwhelming feeling he just lost several days, as if they just… never existed. He looks to the others to see if they noticed anything amiss.
After processing Zadim’s description of what he saw, Treble explains. ”What you probably witnessed was some young noble arguing with his personal witness. Looking around, this place definitely appears to be a school for nobles. If you observe, each of the students appears to have at least one bodyguard accompanying them at all times. Also, see the ones wearing black and blue sashes? These are most likely the guards the school itself employs. We would do well to remember this is a wealthy school that caters to the extremely wealthy.”
You hear a young man’s voice speaking loudly in Tien, coming from the direction of the gate where Zadim saw the student arguing with the guard. The speaker sounds defiant, but his voice also has an undercurrent of laughter.
“Rúguǒ wǒ yīnggāi shàngbān, nàme wǒ bìxū kàn suǒyǒu de dàmén! Ràoguò qiáng wài zǒudòng xiàolǜ yào gāo dé duō! Rúguǒ nǐ duì wǒ de ānquán rúcǐ dānxīn, zhèng, nàme nǐ jiāng bùdé bù péibàn wǒ, zhè jiùshì tā de quánbù!”
With that, the party sees the youth in the yellow robes march through the gate onto the path and head in your direction. The guard - his bodyguard? his minder? it is impossible to tell - follows behind, a resigned expression on his face.
Seeing the PCs, the young man breaks into a grin and increases his pace. He calls back over his shoulder, “Nǐ kàn, zhèng! Wǒmen quèshí yǒu yóukè - wàiguó rén, cóng tāmen de jiǎodù lái kàn - tāmen zhǐshì tài hàixiū ér wúfǎ jiējìn dàmén!”
When he reaches you, he stops and gives you a formal bow, although the sardonic grin that seems never to leave his face spoils the effect a bit. Up close, he looks to be about 17 or 18 years old.
He greets you in fluent Common. “Welcome to the School of the Affinities! I am Jianghong, a not-so-humble student here, and this - ” he waves in the direction of the guard - “is my nanny, Zheng.” The guard rolls his eyes, but the Jianghong continues undaunted. “Who do we have the honor of meeting today? You are here to visit the School, aren’t you? Please say that you are, I was about to die of boredom.”
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In the morning, the mesmerist takes a moment to connect with each teammate, bestowing a bit of Ohm-Eran's psychic energy in each. Each of you now is prepared with a False Flanker.
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Ohm-Eran speaks Tien, and his accent is shockingly good.
He approaches slowly, but with a confidence that's a bit unnerving, "Indeed young one, we are. I am Ohm-Eran of the Pathfinder Society. We have come to the School to do what one always does at a school: Learn. Is there a right of entry, or may we grace your erudite walls freely?"
The mesmerist looks over both men, "I can tell the dynamics of both the protected and the protector. I see within you both tremendous energy, we are fortunate to meet people such as yourselves."
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Jianghong switches back to Tien with to respond to Ohm-Eran, and acknowledges him with a nod of his head.
"Ha! Less a right of entry, perhaps, than an open invitation to any visitors during regular school hours. I am on door-duty today as a reward" - Zheng rolls his eyes again and coughs discreetly - "for my spirit and enthusiasm! I would be honored to give you a tour, if you and your companions will follow me? We have had no other visitors yet today, so I promise you that my patter is still fresh."
He turns halfway back to the gate, and looks at the party expectantly.
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Although it isn't necessary to speak Tien - Jianghong will speak Common with any PC who doesn't understand the language - I think Ohm-Eran's effort to speak the language of the country you are visiting is worth a small circumstance bonus to the Diplomacy check he made, which may matter later. As Ohm-Eran has stated he will translate for the other PCs, I will not bother putting the translation in a spoiler.
Jianghong's grin widens. "Follow me!" He leads the party forward through the gates and into the school grounds. "During the day, our gates our open so that any who seek knowledge of the ancient and venerated art of calligraphy may enter, and guards patrol the school grounds to preserve order. At night, the staff lock the gates, of course, so there is no need for guards."
Jianghong begins the tour at the center of the property, where a large fountain stands in the center of the school on a raised dais . The fountain consists of several pools that represent elaborate inkstones. "This," he says with an exaggerated wave of his hand and a wink, "is our immense inkwell!"
He then gestures to the neat gravel paths and well-tended hedges (which are about 4 feet high) along some of the paths . "The grounds are the domain of my good friend Master Bao." The twitch of Zheng's left eyebrow is almost imperceptible. Jianghong ignores it. "That is his hut, actually," he says, pointing to the small outbuilding just off the path where Treble is standing . "I would introduce you, but he is away from the school at the moment. Visiting relatives, I believe."
A few guards are marching down a path on the far side of the campus.
"Now this fine edifice," Jianghong says as he hurries you around the fountain to a large building at the northeast corner of the grounds , "is our luxurious guesthouse."
"And these," he says, pointing you to three buildings at the northwest, east, and southeast, "are our classrooms." The sliding paper doors to the classroom buildings are open, and the PCs can see teachers monitoring students bent over their desks, and the students' bodyguards watching over them all. "Ah, I remember my days in those classrooms," Jianghong says wistfully. "That was before I was recognized as being worthy of door duty, of course."
At that moment, Zheng has a horrible coughing fit. He waves away any offers of aid, and motions for Jianghong to continue the tour.
Finally, Jianghong leads you back towards the South Gate, to a large, two-story building. "Last but not least, this building houses our Main Hall and the offices of the administrators and faculty. I, personally, rarely spend any time here, but I have heard - from other students - that some of our more rambunctious pupils may be found here more frequently than in their assigned classrooms." The twinkle in his eye does not help the credibility of his denial.
He motions you into the open door, and you find yourself in what must be the Main Hall. The hall contains several treasures on display, including weapons and examples of exquisite calligraphy. One of these pieces is an ornate map on orange silk. Unlike many of the other art objects, the map is not secured behind glass. There are two guards standing at attention, and you can see a narrow stairway at the end of the hall.
"This brings us to the end of our tour, gentlemen! Is there anyone here you would like to meet? Or do you have any questions?"
Jianghong shrugs and says: “It's good, but it’s not as good as the original. The teachers sometimes copy the art on display here as practice, as with this map. I presume the original would be in an office upstairs.”
Jianghong shrugs. "As far as I know, there is nobody staying in the guest house tonight, but you will need permission from any of the teachers. Master Shuo is usually in his office at this time of day. Shall I fetch him down for you?"
Jianghong nods and walks to the stairs, Zheng following behind. The guard near the bottom of the stairs stops them for a moment with a question. Jianghong answers quietly pointing to you, and Zheng adds a curt nod. The guard looks past them to you, then nods in response and waves them on before returning to his position; he appears to be keeping an eye on you while Jianghong and Zheng are absent.
Jianghong bounds down the stairs soon enough, followed more slowly by Zheng and an elderly, skinny man wearing thick glasses and leaning on a cane - this is Master Shuo. Zheng helps him down the last few steps, and he hobbles over to you.
He greets you with a little bow, but does not smile. In Tien, he says,
"Welcome to the School of the Affinities. It is so unusual for us to have foreign visitors. May I know your names, please, and the reason for your visit?"
Master Shuo raises an eyebrow at Elemenar as the wizard wanders off, and then gives Treble and Zadim - standing mute despite Ohm-Eran's translation - a blank look as though he is waiting for something. Then he sighs and shrugs, and says, "Of course, you and your ... entourage are welcome to stay in our guest house tonight, and in the morning we will discuss our school in more detail. You would not be a typical student, you understand, but perhaps we will be able to arrange something."
The elderly teacher gestures at Jianghong, and the student pulls a flat box from within his robes and presents it to him. Master Shuo opens the lid, and you see that the box contains a several pieces of blank parchment, a quill, and several tiny vials of ink. The instructor removes one sheet of parchment, a vial of ink, and the pen, then closes the lid. With Jianghong holding it steady, Master Shuo uses it as a desk and begins writing something on the parchment. Ohm-Eran, you can tell that his Tien characters, even for this mundane task, are perfectly drawn, with ruler-straight lines, sweeping curves, and the occasional frill that must be a signature element of his personal style.
It takes him twenty minutes to write a note explaining that the foreign traveler Ohm-Eran and his entourage are permitted to stay at the guest house for the night and should be granted the full hospitality of the school (which means they will feed you as well as giving you a place to sleep). With a nod to each of you and an irritated glare at Jianghong, he replaces the quill and ink in the box, snaps the lid shut, and hobbles back up the stairs alone.
Jianghong holds out the note granting you access to the guest house. "Is there anyone else you would like to meet this evening, or do you have any other questions? Or shall I escort you to our humble guest quarters for the night?"
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Elemenar finishes another round of the room, looking at the displays with obvious curiosity, then meets back up with Jianghong. "I find your collection of historical items impressive. However, it has been a long and full day. I think I would like to find my quarters now." Elemenar looks at the rest of the group then back to Jianghong. "Will be be sharing a room or have separate quarters?"
"Of course you may each have your own room, as honored guests of the School of the Affinities - particularly as there are no other guests this evening," Jianghong answers as he leads you out the door and across the campus to the guest house. "But if you prefer to share, I believe there is at least one room large enough to accommodate you all."
The guest house is large enough to accommodate a dozen guests comfortably, and the cheerful staff give you the impression that they are perfectly happy to have something to do on a night when they had believed they would be able to relax.
Jianghong will stay (along with Zheng) and answer questions as long as you like, but in any event he leaves before the staff calls you into the small dining room for dinner. The fare is simple, as it was prepared on short notice, but everything is quite good. The servants bring out new dishes and refill drinks efficiently without being obtrusive.
Once the meal is over, they quickly clear the remains of the meal and leave you to your conversation in the dining room after making sure you have everything you need for the evening. You have already checked out your rooms, which are small but comfortable.
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Once alone, "Like many missions, we must decide if we're going to opt for skulduggery, silver-tongues, or violence. I think we can all agree that violence is not an option."
The mesmerist looks at the room around him as if it'll give him a clue as to how to proceed. With a sigh he adds, "I can easily charm someone. The odds of them resisting my gaze are slim."
Through the large windows of the guesthouse dining room, you see dusk turn to night while you plot. The teachers, students, and the students' bodyguards stream out through the gates. The school's own guards cease their patrols of the grounds. Instead, they climb to the top of the wall (pulling their ladders up behind them) to protect the now-empty school from outside threats.
The campus is quiet. Even the servants in the guest house have gone to sleep. Pathfinders, what do you do next?
Sneaking out of the guest house, Ohm-Eran stumbles into an end-table, knocking over a vase of dried flowers. Zadim manages to catch the vase, but sound of the table legs scraping along the floor echoes through the foyer. The party freezes and waits in tense silence for one of the servants to wake and raise an alarm, but all remains quiet.
Once outside, the tall hedges that line the deserted paths provide more than sufficient cover for the group to stay hidden from the guards atop the wall, should any of them happen to glance back for a look at the campus. Crouched over to stay fully concealed, you arrive at the Main Hall without incident. You find the door unlocked.