Feel free to dot in here. We won't get started until the impossibly far distant day of August 13, 2018. :-)
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Felix of the Golden Coin is a rather well-muscled sized young man with a somewhat bulky frame, hiding his strong muscles. He has soft green skin and medium tight braided blond hair in the colour of honey and amethyst coloured eyes.
He prefers a gray and brown coloured explorer´s outfit with a long blue overcoat, completed by a Parade Armor from Absolom and a long curved Falchion for battle.
Atypical for a half-orc he has a warm mellow Tenor voice and enjoys to sing.
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Ruslo is leaning against a nearby wall/tree. He is a 6 foot tall Varisian. He has a small patch of facial hair under his lower lip. He wears a Varisian head scarf. Earrings glint in the light. At his hip is a grappling hook with a length of rope. Ruslo wears very fine crocodile leather boots.
“Well, well. What do we have here?” Ruslo winks with a smile. "The name's Ruslo."
A coin appears in Ruslo’s hand which dances from finger to finger, and then back again. Occasionally the coin flicks in to the air and Ruslo easily catches it. The coin begins to dance again.
"So," he says conversationally, "You been on many missions?"
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When Sir Lansle got his summons, he was at his brother's house talking to him. Or, he was trying to talk to him. It was hard to talk to your brother when he couldn't remember he was your brother. Luckily his owl remembered just fine.
"Goodbye, Palad, I'll see you next time. Bye Bobby. Keep an eye on him, alright?"
Then he left his brother's house and headed out for his next mission.
"Oh, dear... I hope's not too dangerous!"
Shaking with fear, he continues on his way.
Sir Lansle is a young man in his twenties. His hair is brown, but is starting to go grey on the sides from all of his worrying. He wears sturdy armour, and carries a big metal shield. Both of them have the glowing sword of Iomedae on them in brilliant, bright colours. Around his neck is a holy symbol of Iomedae. He looks like a holy warrior, strong and a true! But, he also looks terrified, and his arms and knees shake with fear.
He offers a handshake to the other Pathfinders. "H-h-hi" he stammers nervously. "I'm S-s-sir Lansle Eine! It's nice to m-m-meet you!"
Sir Lansle looks at Ruslo. That's the suspicious Varisian always hanging around my brother! Oh, my! I should... I should SAY something...
No! That's too nerve-wracking!
Suddenly Sir Lansle gets down on one knee, pulls out his longsword, and stands it up, point down onto the ground. Holding his sword, he bows his head, and prays, "Brave Iomedae, Shining Inheritor! Give me your blessing on this holy quest!"
Then he stands up, feeling a little bit braver.
He points at Ruslo. "I kn-kn-know you!" he exclaims. "You're that s-s-suspicious fellow who is always lurking around my brother's house." He eyes Ruslo nervously. "What are y-y-you doing here?" he stammers.
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Even though she is a grown up woman, Lady Naysha looks like a young, teenage girl. She has black hair, a bright smile, and eyes that sparkle with joy. She wears very fancy clothes and jewelry, and always carries around her beloved stuffed rabbit, Miss Whiskers.
When she is given a letter by a messenger to meet for a mysterious assignment she smiles and claps her hands! Lady Naysha was in her garden, playing with her fairy friends. Pixies, and pookas, brownies and fairies and lots of others too! She had waved goodbye and skipped off to prepare for her mission!
"Oh, boy! I wonder where we'll go this time! Won't this be fun, Miss Whiskers?"
As Lady Naysha and Miss Whiskers skipped down the road to get to the meeting, all of her fey friends followed her. She couldn't see them right now, but even walking through the roads of Absalom she knew they were there!
When she sees the other Pathfinders, Lady Naysha smiles at them, showing off all of her sparkling clean teeth, and curtsies. "Nice to meet you, everyone! I'm Lady Naysha! And THIS is Miss Whiskers!" She holds up a big, stuffed rabbit toy. "She's happy to meet you too!"
The stuffed rabbit doesn't seem to move or anything.
"And these are my fairy friends!" she says pointing behind her. "Come out, fairy friends!"
Nothing seems to come out.
Lady Naysha giggles like it's a real funny joke! "They're very silly," she explains.
Recognizing some of the other Pathfinders, she waves happily. "Hello again Sir Lansle! Hello again Ruslo! What's up?" Seeing Sir Lansle bravely pointing his finger at Ruslo, Lady Naysha giggles. "Why are you glaring at him Sir Lansle? Ruslo's a sweet-heart!"
She looks at the half-orc and smiles. "Felix of the Golden Coin... Hmmm... That sounds familiar..." Lady Naysha thinks for a moment. "Oh! I know! A friend of mine named Juno said you're a great singer! Is that true? I'd love to hear it!"
She looks at the man with his strange armour. "Wow! Are you a samurai? You're the second samurai I've met! You're a long way from home, huh?" She smiles. "I love to travel! But, I have never been that far away. What's your home like?"
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Lizbeth strode up to the other Pathfinders with casual pride and a wide grin. She's a weather-worn woman with black, jaggedly cut hair, a heavy dose of scars, and an eyepatch over one eye. She has an easy smile, and a slender form. When she shakes your hand you can tell she’s surprisingly strong for her size, and has heavily calloused hands. She wears the typical clothes of a pirate—tight pants, wicked boots, a loose linen shirt, a vest and a few belts and sashes for good measure. But over her clothes she’s got weird foreign armour, and on her back is strapped a Minkaian-style sword way too big for her to wield. Dangling off of her belt is a holy symbol of a skull and crossbones right alongside one of a katana in front of a blazing sun. The symbols of Besmara--goddess of sea monsters and piracy, and Shizuru--Tian goddess of the sun, honour and swordplay.
"Finally! I've missed this!" she exclaims. After a moment she scoffs and adds, "Like I care what you think. You're an idiot. Besides, you should have the decency to stay quiet when you're sheathed. It's only polite, or whatever."
She seems to be talking to herself.
She shakes her head, then grins at Lady Naysha. "Hey, Naysha! What's up?" She nods at the teenager, then nods at her rabbit toy. "Hey, Miss Whiskers. Looking good." Then she nods at the empty space around Naysha. "Hey, Fairies. Same deal as last time, yeah? Don't play any tricks on me and I'll give you a gift when we're all done here."
Apparently she believes in Naysha's invisible fairies.
Turning to Sir Lansle, Lizbeth grins, "And look at you, Lansle! Still an Agent, I see. I thought you would have quit with the way you're always quaking in your boots." She lets out a laugh and gives Lansle a clap on the shoulder.
She looks at the other agents she doesn't know and gives them each a handshake. "Hey, guys. The name's Lizbeth Emander. I hope you're ready for anything! You'll get it with this crew!"
She bursts out laughing.
Suddenly she frowns and casts a glance over her shoulder at the handle of her big sword. "What? It's funny!" she whispers under her breath. "Is too! Ugh, I hate you."
She shakes her head, as if to clear it, and smiles brightly at the others.
At the sight of the samurai, Lizbeth's eyes suddenly glaze over. She bows deeply, and starts to talk in a strange language.
Suddenly Lizbeth stops talking and rights herself. She scowls, bites her lip and crosses her arms. "Ignore that last part," she tells the samurai.
Under her breath she hisses, "No vows. I refuse. ...No! Cut it out."
She chuckles nervously but makes no effort to explain her erratic behaviour.
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Sir Lansle turns to Lady Naysha in surprise. "Are you s-s-sure? Oh, well, alright..."
Sir Lansle nods at Ruslo. "Hello. I'm Sir Lansle. My brother is Sir Palad. Well, you would know him as Fuzzzy. We used to fight in the Worldwound, but he forgot that when he d-d-died." He shakes his head to get out the bad memories. "Death is traumatizing. Trust me! I know!"
At the sight of Lizbeth, Sir Lansle smiles and waves hello. "H-h-hi!"
When she starts talking to herself, Sir Lansle shakes his head and sighs. "Hello to you, too, Renku."
I hope our mission's not too scary!
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Lady Naysha smiles at Lizbeth. "Oh, hello again! My fairies loved the honey you left them last time! I'm sure they'll be nice to you again!"
Lady Naysha sticks out Miss Whisker's hand towards Lizeth. "Miss Whiskers wants a paw-shake. She's happy to see you."
"Fuzzzy fought in the Worldwound?! What? No way! Really?" Lady Naysha laughs at the thought! "He never told me that! Of course, he does forget a lot of things."
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Lizbeth raises an eyebrow at all this talk of 'fuzzy' people. She's never met the guy.
Lizbeth waves her hand at Sir Lansle and Lady Naysha. "No! Don't call him by name!" she sighs. With a groan she explains to the others, "My sword tries to force me to do nice things. Sometimes it works. His name's Renku, but don't call him that. He doesn't deserve it. He's WAY too much of a pain in my neck."
At Angie Sen's words, Lizbeth crosses her arms. "Hey, I was perfectly stable before he came along." She tilts her head at the sword on her back. Clearly she understands Tien even without Renku's intervention.
With a sigh she adds,
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"Felix of the Golden Coin, hey?" Ruslo grins. "I think I'm going to like you."
"Suspicious?" Ruslo remarks with a grin as Sir Lansle first talks to him. "What makes you say I'm suspicious?"
He catches the coin.
"I'm just being neighbourly..." He offers a friendly smile to the nervous knight.
Ruslo pats Miss Whiskers on the head. "Hello, Lady Naysha. Hello, Lady Naysha."
Ruslo shakes Lizbeth's offered hand. "Pleasure to meet you...?" he replies as he tries to get a measure of Lizbeth.
Ruslo bursts out laughing. "Fuzzzy died? Well, he's looking fairly healthy for a dead man. He's still confused as ever!" Ruslo chuckles. "Bobby's taking good care of him. I like to check in on him. Make sure he's okay."
"Worldwound, hey? ...Never been there. Don't want to go. I haven't heard a good thing about it."
Ruslo grins at Lizbeth. "Yeah, I guess there's nothing wrong with doing nice things." He gives her a friendly smile.
As the samurai finally speaks in Common, Ruslo jumps. "Hey Angie! That's great that you speak common. You know I once knew an elf who only spoke elven..."
Ruslo chuckles.
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Lizbeth raises her eyebrow at Angie. "Easy, pal. You don't have to apologize. We know we're freaks." she shrugs. "People have thunk way worse than that of me. Trust me."
Lizbeth pauses and looks over her shoulder at her sword. She sighs. "No, I will not tell him that you say I'm that! Geez."
She shakes her head and scoffs. "Swords."
When Ruslo weighs in on the Worldwound, Lizbeth chuckles. "You said it, pal."
A moment later she raises an eyebrow and rolls her one good eye. "Nothing wrong with doing nice things? Nothing wrong?!?" she shakes her head and scoffs. "You know what he did with the last treasure I unearthed? Like, actual treasure? A massive treasure chest I hunted down over a whole year? A treasure I sailed for? Searched for? Fought tooth and nail for? Dug for until my hands bled? Rowed for freakin' miles for? He donated it! Who donates a massive treasure chest of doubloons to a POOR HOUSE?!?" She growls and crosses her arms. "Didn't even let me keep a gold..." she grumbles.
"You know who'll be in the poor house next? Huh?" she asks her sword.
She seems to be listening to something for a moment. Then she looks over her shoulder at the sword handle and scoffs. "Pfffft! Honour my butt! LOSERS do that! SUCKERS!"
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Turning to Ruslo
When my patron Amara Li came to lead the Lantern Lodge I was required to learn common, so I could work with other pathfinders in the society. Since the disbandment of the Lantern Lodge and the Lady Amara returning to Tien. I was ordered to continue my work within the Pathfinder Society.
Turning back to Lizbeth after hearing the comment about honor
A master once told me, "Only the hand that erases can write the true thing".
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Lizbeth raises an eyebrow at Angie's comment. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
A moment later she seems to be listening to something, then she groans at Renku. "Ugh, not you too! I don't need cryptic wisdom! You know what I need? Coin! So I can afford to EAT."
She shakes her head, then turns to Angie. "Thanks for that, by the way. He'll be nagging me about enlightenment, and inner reflection all day."
At Felix's words, Lizbeth breaks out into a lop-sided smile. "Yeah, what's with that? I don't even know where we are. Does anyone know where we're going?"
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Sir Lansle looks at Lizbeth and her sword nervously. He shakes his head, and his knees knock in fear. Back in the Worldwound, demons possessed people all the time. It was horrible! This... Renku sword made him very nervous...
What was it anyway?
A demon?
Magic?
A spirit?
...Maybe it was holy?
"Lizbeth... Did you ever try n-n-not using your sword that tries to control you? It's d-d-d-dangerous!" he stammers.
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"That Amara sounds like a smart lady," Ruslo tells Angie with a grin.
"Donated?" Ruslo asks Lizbeth, "All of it? Well, that's a shame." He begins to toy with his coin again, making it dance between his fingers. "So, if you need any help donating riches in the future, let me know Renku. I'm a real trustworthy guy! I'd be happy to help..." he gives Lizbeth and Renku a wide grin.
"Dangerous? You think so?" Ruslo wanders a little closer and examines Lizbeth from behind -- the big sword, that is. "I don't know. Looks like a sword to me."
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Lizbeth lets out a boisterous laugh at Ruslo's words. "Don't hold you breath, pal."
Then she looks aghast at Sir Lansle's suggestion. "What? No! It's my sword. I'm not gonna give it away!"
She starts to mumble to herself -- or perhaps to Renku -- clearly agitated at the suggestion. You're not quite sure what she's saying.
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Lady Naysha giggles. "Oh, Sir Lansle! You're so silly! You can't just toss aside a friend! Even if they are naughty sometimes."
"Hey everyone! Want to see a magic trick?!"
Lady Naysha puts on a mundane magic show while everyone waits. "Look! Nothing up my sleeves... And VOILA!"
"Hey! You're supposed to come out now, guys!" Lady Naysha giggles. Nothing seems to work out for her today!
Then she tells some silly jokes...
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As Lady Naysha, Ruslo, and Sir Lansle get called away by an officious looking messenger who informs them they're in the wrong place, Lizbeth chuckles. "See ya' next time."
She shrugs. "Guess they were lost." She looks at Angie and rests her elbow on his shoulder, leaning against him in a rather casual fashion. "Looks like its you and me, pal!"
She cocks her head, as if listening to something, purses her lips, but pointedly does not respond.
"You think Felix fell asleep over there?" She waves his hand in front of his face, curious if he's still with us.
You are assembled in the Grand Lodge in Absalom.
“Greetings, Pathfinders. Please have a seat,” says Venture- Captain Ambrus Valsin, beckoning towards the chairs before his desk. Over his right shoulder watches Ollysta Zadrian, faction leader of the Silver Crusade, with a cool, stern expression.
Valsin continues. “You have been selected to carry out a special assignment—one that is close to the heart of many Pathfinders. Several years ago, the Pathfinder Society sent a team to investigate the lodge of Venture-Captain Thurl. We had long suspected him of shady dealings, but none of us had knowledge of the true depths of Thurl’s depravity. The investigative team disappeared entirely. We sent another group of Pathfinders to follow up, this time with greater care. Amid the many horrors uncovered beneath Thurl’s lodge, these Pathfinders uncovered a single survivor from the first Pathfinder team—Valais Durant. Thurl had twisted her in both mind and body, melding her flesh with that of babau and kalavakus demons. Although some feel that this demonic influence has made Valais dangerous, I am unwilling to abandon an agent in need."
"She’s not eager to go out in public in her condition, so she’s been keeping busy doing research and cataloging work here in the Grand Lodge. Everything was going about as well as could be expected, and her fellow researchers mostly learned to look past her tendency to mutter strange things under her breath. Or at least they had, until she suddenly ran out into the middle of a combat training exercise and attacked with lethal force, all the while begging her fellow agents to stop her.”
Valsin shakes his head in dismay.
At this, Ollysta Zadrian steps forward, “We owe Valais a great debt for the trials she has endured, and a path to her full freedom from demonic influence may yet be available. Recently, a group of Pathfinders helped Valais confront the kalavakus demon that Thurl used to augment her flesh. Killing the fiend seemed to restore some measure of control to Valais and ease her suffering. While the Pathfinders were inside the demon’s lair, they also rescued an azata named Kitarlo. From him, we learned of a new route to salvation for Valais. Kitarlo believes that the Great Library of Harmonious Scripture in Heaven holds a ritual that could cleanse Valais."
“Kitarlo has called in favors and gained temporary access the great library. Your mission is to travel with him and escort Valais through the very gates of Heaven itself. Once inside, you must seek out the ritual in the library and restore Valais to her normal self. We have already spoken to Valais and Kitarlo. They can fill you in on any further details.”
“One final thing,” Ambrus chimes in, “You are representing the Pathfinder Society, so acquit yourselves accordingly. Don’t do anything that even carries a whiff of evil, like casting evil spells. Archons and angels can be a judgmental lot, and it’s important that we make no new enemies in Heaven. So once again: no evil actions, no evil spells. I need you all to confirm for me that you’ve heard what I said."
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There is a moment of heavy silence before the unfamiliar voice of a young woman comes from the back.
"Yes, I heard what you said. Definitely. I definitely heard what you said..."
"...so that's what I'm here for. Is this a joke...?"
"PLEASE not now!"
Looking back, you see a slight, pretty young woman - well, she looks young at a glance, but it's almost like she's some kind of preserved fruit, simultaneously young and ancient - with a large scythe over her shoulder, and a bundle of leathery old skulls and a sheaf of wands at her side. As she advances further into the room, a more striking thing about her becomes noticeable: She's virtually colorless. She has a strangely attractive blue-and-lavender pox flecked sparsely across her face and arms, and a few visually dissonant spots of color amongst her equipment, but other than that, she's practically a charcoal drawing, nothing but shades of black, white, and grey - in fact, as she gets closer, it seems her very presence drains the color around her.
"I'm Lydia. Lydia Stillbourne. I worked with the Dark Archive for years before I really got into adventuring...and I just got back from a demon-possessed mansion in Isger...so of course they're sending me to Heaven - seriously THE Heaven??? - now! It only makes proper sense, right?!?"
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"I would like to swear that I will not do an evil act but I can't. An action maybe evil to some but not to others.
Such as a rampaging Ogre is in your town and it has kill many villagers already, when it comes after your family you kill it. You stopping the Ogre to most is not a evil act since it has killed many already and stopping it saved many more lives. But there are those that will say taking life, no matter the reason is an evil act.
So the only thing I can swear to, is that I will bring honor to the Society.
And with Valais being flesh warped with demon flesh, would they allow her in to Heaven? We could be fighting Archons and angels just to defend Valais."
"It is to be hoped that the citizens of Heaven will be more restrained and obedient to the law than that," says Valsin.
"But it won't hurt to be circumspect," says Ollysta.
"As to you, Lydia Stillbourne," continues Valsin, "do you imagine that I would send an embassy to Heaven and just select the first five Pathfinder who showed up? You have been carefully chosen for a mixture of abilities and a breadth of experience. Your mission is Isger is one of the reasons you are here now. If you are cautious, I suspect that Valais's demon-infused nature will be more of a danger than the anger of angels. The hosts of Heaven may be swift to judge but they are said to be slow to rouse to true violence."
"Now, all of you please go find Kitarlo and Valais. They're waiting for you in the secluded room at the end of this hall.
In the room at the end of the hall, you meet with Kitarlo and Valais.
Kitarlo is a one-armed raelis azata, a humanoid-shaped celestial creature
with bronze skin, adorned in rune-covered robes. Valais is altogether different, appearing as part woman, part red-skinned demon.
Kitarlo smiles broadly when you appear. "Welcome! So you are the heroes brave enough to enter Heaven, eh? Very good! Come, you must have questions for us."
Valais looks both hideous and weary. She regards you with gratitude, but not much excitement.
You also learn that although many adventurers have entered the various outer planes at one time or another, relatively few have ever entered Heaven and most of those regarded it as among the most perilous journeys of their lives. Heaven looks very poorly at deceivers or those with evil agendas.
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Lizbeth raises an eyebrow. "Well that's... Not what I expected for my second mission." She shifts uncomfortably and mutters something under her breath.
"Of course you're happy..."
She smiles, though the effect is not convincing.
"Yeah, I understand the mission. Nothing evil. Got it. We'll find the text and try our best to--"
Lizbeth's casual posture suddenly straightens. She stands tall, places a hand over her chest, and bows deeply.
"Under the gaze of the Empress of Heaven I vow to represent the Pathfinder Society with honour, and do all that is in my power to cleanse Valais Durant of evil."
Lizbeth rights herself and blinks rapidly. She narrows her eyes, crosses her arms and steps back. She mutters quietly to herself.
"I hate you..."
Lizbeth stalks out of the room to find Kitarlo. She pauses a moment as she takes in the strange duo. Then she shrugs.
"Hey, guys. I'm Lizbeth." She leans against a nearby wall. "So how exactly are we getting to Heaven? And this ritual we're looking for... You think it exists? Or you know it does?"
<sigh> Oh, okay.
Kitarlo nods. "Good questions. Magic and think, respectively. I have been blessed with the power to move us all between what you call the planes. When we are ready, I will do so. And I admit that while I have heard of this ritual I have never seen it myself. But I believe it lies within the Great Library of Harmonious Scripture."
Valais speaks, her voice shifting from a pleasant human tone to an oily inhuman one without warning. "The Great Library of Harmonious Scripture is one of the greatest libraries in all the planes, and it holds many [color=red]precious secrets.[/color] For eons, the archons have collected tomes from the deepest oceans to the highest peaks and gathered them all inside the library.”