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A Tien man sits waiting for the rest of his party to show up. A thin mustache clings to his face and his eyes seem to be watching all who pass by. He has a pot of tea in front of him as well as many cups. He drinks from his own. He doesnt seem to have any weapons on him besides the crossbow on his back. Occasionally you catch a glimpse of a odd and shining armor from under his cloak.
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The next to arrive is a Varisian man in shining full plate armor with a large shield in the shape of a lion's head strapped to his back. Upon removing his helmet, you note that his eyes are golden in color. He adjusts his grey cloak and longsword as he sits at the ninja's table, smiling as he asks "Greetings, might I ask what sort of tea it is that you have brewing? It smells wonderful."
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The answer to that question is stalled a moment.
Master of Swords Marcos Farabellus strides up to the large crowd you have assembled in and claps his hands together for attention. “Welcome Pathfinders, one and all! And welcome to our traveling venture-captains stationed abroad as well our honored guests! I am Marcos Farabellus, and on behalf of the Decemvirate, I welcome you to the Pathfinder Society’s annual Grand Convocation! I shall address all of the attendees later this afternoon to announce some of the Society’s greatest accomplishments over the past year and our plans for the future. In the meantime, I invite you to stroll about the campus, meet with your peers, and enjoy all the sites of the Grand Lodge. We have set up numerous challenges and contests so that you can show off your skills or sharpen them if need be. I’ll send around ushers when it’s time to assemble for the speeches on the north lawn. Enjoy!"
Feel free to mingle and continue introductions as festivities begin to go underway!
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A slender Vudran woman enters the edge of your view. She is clad in flowing monk robes and her hands and feet are wrapped in dirty leathers. Each footstep is deliberate as she moves to sit on the edge of a stone wall, dropping her backpack and re-positioning her kama for comfort. She turns and notices the eyes of the assembled group. After a nervous pause, she speaks.
"I am Therisah of Jalmeray. Pleased to meet you all. I don't believe we have missioned together before. What a wonderful day for a party."
She sees the tea set and extra cups.
"Ah, civilization. I have been in the cold reaches of the Mammoth Lords for too long."
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"Greetings, fellow Pathfinders."
A tall, lean Kelish woman casually shifts her scimitar behind her and dusts off her clothes, while unslinging her pack.
"I am Devanandra Al'Kier".
She loosens some light scarves around her neck and tosses back the hood of her cloak to reveal golden-brown skin and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail. Bangles and bracelets cover her wrists, along with two silver bracers engraved with the Eye of Horus.
A necklace with the symbol of Sarenrae falls into view from the loose folds of her desert clothes as she bends over to rummage through the pack.
Well-worn sandals cover her feet, the laces criss-crossing her lower legs.
"Sweets from Katapesh? The round ones have fig paste and almonds, and the little rolls have pistachios"
As she places them on the table, you smell the warm aroma of cloves and cinnamon wafting from the package.
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"Oh pardon my tardiness but this location was certainly hard to find!"
The voice belongs to a youthful figure in a cloak.He pauses as his eyes sweep the room for the moment and then lifts the hood off his head. revealing white hair and amber eyes.
"Never thought they would be so angels in the house tonight"
The doors behind him open once again to allow a tall feminine figure to enter behind him. She looks much like a catfolk, her build fails to fit the usual stature one would expect.He walks towards the table and takes a polite bow
"Once again,I apologise for my poor timing, my name is Aldaris and my companion is Aelurus"
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Therisah accepts the gracious edibles from Ozak and Devanandra with a polite smile and returns to her seat.
"Quite a few Aasimar-kind here. A pleasure to be in your company."
She pulls out her sketchbook and pen and begins to document the scenery of the courtyards surrounding Skyreach. She notes the various outbuildings with her practiced calligraphy.
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As your party gathers together, you see that festivities are already underway. Not just fraternizing and shows of camaraderie, but more organized forms of entertainment!
Relevant Skills: Handle Animal, Intimidate, or wild empathy
Relevant Skills: Bluff or any Perform
Relevant Skills: Linguistics or any Knowledge
Relevant Skills: Acrobatics or Dexterity
Relevant Skills: Heal, Perception, or Survival
Relevant Skills: Craft (traps) or Disable Device
Relevant Skill: Strength, of course
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Aldaris steps up to the scholars and begins to suggest some ideas
"While studying the text known as the infernal incantation I came to realise that while the book was written in infernal,in reading it aloud reveals to one subtle nuances of primitive Abyssal, allowing one to gain more knowledge to the true nature of the many demons that reside within hell. Let me perhaps demonstrate."
Aldaris begins to speak in infernal and then abyssal
Aldaris takes a deep breath and repeats the text again, this time in abyssal
He then moves to conclude his presentation
" Through examination of these texts there is a clear sign that an interpretation can be made through vocalising the text. I thank you all for your time."
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Aldaris awaits her turn to share lore and blows many Pathfinders away not only with her knowledge of the topic but also in her manner of speaking! As she is departing, one aged man comes to congratulate her talent and shares "It is a very good thing to have knowledgeable Pathfinders such as yourself! Indeed, I was happy to hear that the Decemvirate has spared no expense on this year’s Grand Convocation and has reached out to as many Pathfinders as possible and underwritten some costs when necessary. This is an effort to demonstrate their appreciation to field agents, repair any frayed relationships, and celebrate a successful year."
Therisah soon makes her way through the faux crime scene and blows everyone away by reciting from memory the places, positions, and even colours of the articles contained in the room! One of the women who set up the room applauds her and she comes near and offers one more 'clue' by way of a rumour. "A large number of venture-captains posted abroad have made a concerted effort to attend the Grand Convocation this year. There is speculation that there are interesting plans for the year ahead and that they’re jockeying for consideration from the Decemvirate."
Moving on to the obstacle course, she nimbly leaps across the quintuple steps, across the rolling log, up the cargo net and across the swinging ropes, all before running up a 14 foot wall to reach the finish! The chime from her bell is almost drowned out by the cheers and applause from the bystanders! One other man who has finished advises her to check out the menagerie. "The budget to maintain the menagerie has been temporarily expanded for the Grand Convocation. The Grand Lodge is capitalizing on the large number of visitors to present as many unusual specimens as possible."
Additionally, you have gained a +2 competence bonus on one Heal, Perception, or Survival check attempted during the adventure.
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Ozak tries to follow in Therisah's footsteps but stumbles across the log roll and falls to the padded ground below.
Trying to alleviate the unsuccessful attempt, he moves to see if he can't bypass a trap set by another Pathfinder. Things seem to go well before a small bar clamps down on his finger! The trap maker comes over to aid removing it and claps him on the shoulder. "That's okay. No one has been able to get past it. Not even Venture-Captains."
Owyn sadly sees similar failure on the strength challenge, his grip slipped before he could get a good lift. In the sleuthing challenge, he mistook severe poisoning for nothing more than an allergic reaction.
Devandra, keen on making it through the obstacle course, got so far as the cargo net before loosing her grip and falling to the safety net below. In sleuthing, she finds all of the clues except for the one which ties them all together and sadly makes an assumption to the finale.
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Owyn sighs at his poor performance, but otherwise shakes his head, saying "Oh well, all in good fun." This remark, however, seems to elicit a low growl of annoyance from...his shield? Upon hearing this, the paladin reaches back to flick the shield, resulting in a loud pinging sound. "Hey there, no commentary from the peanut gallery! It's not like you could have done any better." he mumbles over his shoulder.
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Marcos Farabellus addresses the collection of Pathfinders and guests on the North Lawn.
“Greetings! Once again, I am Marcos Farabellus, Master of Swords, and it is my distinct privilege to welcome you all to the annual Grand Convocation of the Pathfinder Society! We have sent expeditions throughout the Inner Sea and beyond – from Tian Xia to Jalmeray to Irrisen, we have explored, worked together, and uncovered more mysteries about our world than ever before. It has been an incredibly successful year for the Society, and the ones responsible stand before me today: each and every one of you who continues to make the Society great. On behalf of the Decemvirate and your venture-captains, you have our sincerest thanks.
“As most of you know, one our greatest triumphs of the decade has been the location and exploration of the lost sky citadel, Jormurdun. Those of you who joined the Jormurdun expedition may recall the unusual artifact that we discovered on that mission: the Sky Key. The key gave us a momentary glimpse of the past—an unparalleled opportunity to meet and interact with a lost civilization. Unfortunately, the key was not whole. So, for the past year, teams have scoured Golarion in search of its missing components. I’m pleased to announce today, the Sky Key is whole! Soon we will again bridge the divide to ages past and…”
The Master of Swords pauses for a brief, questioning second as he peers into the air above the gathered crowd. There, an immense Glyph of the Open Road hangs in midair before booming an angry retort.
“You’ll do what? Steal the past? Like you steal everything else?!”
Farabellus’s eyes narrow as he stares at the symbol.
“Who are you and who put you up to this?”
“The better question is, ‘What am I?'”, the voice retorts. “I’m not a liar, and I’m not a hypocrite. Nor do I rob captives of their livelihood, claiming the moral high ground of historical preservation!”
With each accusation, cracks appear in the Glyph of the Open Road before the whole symbol ignites and drips flaming tears upon the crowd below.
“But the Pathfinder Society is that and more, and today it shall answer for its countless crimes!”
Screeches from above announce scores of winged humanoids launching themselves from Skyreach’s many roofs, just as howls from the menagerie accompanied by explosions from the outbuildings that send painful reverberations through the Grand Lodge.
The Pathfinder Society is under attack!
Sir Laribold Croome, an immaculately dressed Taldan nobleman scrambles for cover behind a table, which his halfling manservant helpfully flips onto its side. Catching his breath, the Taldan fumbles for his monocle before addressing you. “Monsters and villains are attacking all over the grounds,” he states with perfect articulation, punctuated by a crossbow bolt that embeds itself in his makeshift barricade. “Spread out, patrol the grounds, and snuff out trouble as you find it. If you should discover any clues about what the devil is going on, report back here at the base of Skyreach.”
He pulls his sword cane free from its sheath and raises it overhead. “Look alive, and show initiative,” he shouts before performing an elaborate dueling salute in the direction of an elephant and setting off after it.
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Good thing I didn't waste any ki on that damned obstacle course. Therisah thinks as she scoops up her backpack over both shoulders, draws her kama in one hand and wand of shield in the other.
"Yes, to the northwest. Hurry, before they penetrate Skyreach! And keep an eye out for young pathfinders who may be at risk!"
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Rushing to the northwest, you hear a great commotion coming from the Mausoleum. This enormous, columned stone structure is both temple and fortress. Two wings flank an open courtyard. The imposing structure is adjacent to a thick copse of trees.
The courtyard was a scene of destruction a few years ago, and someone has come through and smashed what the Society rebuilt. Shattered statues and religious sculptures pertaining to death and the afterlife are strewn about the courtyard. The eastern stone doors are barred shut from the other side. The bodies of two caretakers are slumped to the sides of the western doors.
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They both regain consciousness and are grateful. They cough out "The snakes of the Aspis... They came in looking for something... Don't know what, but you can deal with 'em, yeah? Here, this key opens the room just inside that door. Take what you can. Whatever helps." With that, they lean against the wall to collect themselves.
Going through that door, you see the indicated room and unlock it. Contained within is a bag with a emergency supplies; two potions of lesser restoration and two doses of a variant form of silversheen, which works identically to silversheen except it allows the weapon to overcome damage reduction as if it were adamantine. It does not allow the weapon to overcome hardness.
Back in the main room, steel tables, lab equipment (medical and alchemical), and barrels of wash water indicate this is a room for autopsies. The light here is dim from the windows along the east wall.
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Aldaris trails behind the rest of the party, peeking anxiously out.
"Two doors diverge in the stuffy Mausoleum, I being none the wiser choose the path not right."
He gestures towards the door on his left.
"It seems there would be more behind there, I don't think it's a good idea for me to go first though."
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This absent minded woman walks through the door and looks around. Once she sees you she looks down and starts talking in a squeaking voice.
Celie: "Do you think this is the group that Marcos sent us to find?"
Fox: "Well, they don't look to strange."
Celie: "True, but they could be robbers. Should we fight them?"
Fox: "Talk first, then fight if needed."
Celie: "Oh, alright."
As this strange woman approaches the group, you can spot a necklace around her neck. On the necklace is what looks like many different appendages, some human fingers and some weird claws. On her belt is what looks like a society wayfinder.
She stops 15 foot away from the group. "I am Celie, who are you guys and where are you from?" she asks.