Demon Dot
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Deep in the foreign quarter of Absalom drums pound to an Ulfen cadence. Men and women, exiles from Irrisen, meet again around a fire, some dancing steps like warriors circling in a dual. At the edge of the light stands Aod the Witchchild. He took no part in the dance this night, his thoughts scattered and emotions burning after the betrayal. Guaril had said another job was in the making, but it couldn't come soon enough for Aod.
Your party has had but a week to recuperate from your last mission in Riddleport before you are summoned once again...
In the halls of Skyreach, Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin’s familiar voice gathers the attention of the assembled Pathfinders. “Pathfinders, please may I introduce to you Hamaria Blakros, who some of you may have met previously. Madame Blakros is the head of the powerful Blakros family, valuable allies of the Pathfinder Society. She will brief you on your next mission.”
The regally dressed noblewoman looks over the assembled party, her piercing eyes seeming to notice every detail, then speaks. “Greetings, Pathfinders. Recently, my daughter Michellia married the Hellknight Damian Kastner, and as is customary when one marries into the Blakros family, he provided a dowry in exchange for being honored with our illustrious name. Damian’s gift took the form of his ancestral home, an estate called Ostergarde in north-central Cheliax. Ostergarde has sat empty for some time, deserted by the Kastners after the Thrune regime came to control Cheliax and the family moved to the new capital of Egorian. I am a cautious woman, and I’d prefer to have a third party explore the manor before I or any of my family take up residence there.”
Hamaria snaps her fingers and servants bring several tomes to her side. “These books all make some mention of Ostergarde or the Kastners, and may contain useful information. While the Chelish government takes great care in rewriting history to suit its current politics, these tomes have been in our family since before the rise of House Thrune, so I am confident their contents have not been altered. Consider them a donation to the Pathfinders’ great library—a down payment for the deal I brokered with your venture-captain. I suppose he can fill you in on the details from here. It was a pleasure to meet you.” Without further ado, Hamaria takes her leave.
Valsin then claims the room’s attention again. “Pathfinders, you are to journey to Ostergarde and rid its halls of any squatting denizens, traps, or forgotten devils. In return, you are free to plunder its contents. Hopefully, everything you need to know about Ostergarde can be found within these books. I do not need to remind you how important it is to maintain our good relationship with the Blakros family, so don’t screw things up. Stick to the mission, and don’t wreck the place.” Softening his stance, Valsin finally adds, “Be careful, Ostergarde is not a kind place,” before hurrying away to attend to the next crisis.
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Takahiro smiles his usual gentle greeting.
"Honourable friends, it delights me to once again find myself in your company" Takahiro bows.
He turns to Valsin and the Blackros matriarch "I will carry out my duty faithfully"
Know:Religion
"I may be a stranger to these lands, and know little of the lore and customs, but perhaps this story sounds familiar..."
As Pai reads through the books, her memory is is kindled and she recalls a few things about Ostergard and the Kastners. The gnome recalls:
It was an open secret that when occupied, Ostergarde was a nexus for devil worship, and because of its reputation, most travelers leave the abandoned manor alone even though it sits near a highly travelled mountain pass between Kintargo and the rest of Cheliax.
Before Queen Abrogail I of House Thrune ventured into the Barrowood, she visited Ostergarde to bolster her knowledge on infernal contracts. It is believed she used this knowledge in her infamous infernal bargain within the Barrowood, which led to her house’s victory in the Chelish Civil War.
A sprawling dungeon complex exists under the manor, accessible only through secret entrances. A gateway to Hell is believed to rest somewhere beneath Ostergarde’s abandoned halls.
One must enter Ostergarde with an escort of Kastner blood, or speak aloud the following devotion to Asmodeus: “O, cleansing fires of the Prince of Darkness, wash me in your burning might. Purify me as I enter your house of cloven hooves.” Anyone who fails to do so incurs the wrath of Ostergarde’s eternal defenders.
Valsin informs you that Ostergard is at least three days from any settlement of any size. I suggest you equip yourselves before you leave, as you won't have the opportunity once you get to the manor. Good Luck!
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A courier's knock upon the door sends Hawkson skipping to answer. "Ah, my good man, here's for your fast stead delivery and greet the blacksmith, I'll give her proper thanks when when I get back!, he tips the courier and returns to the others with a few fine wooden boxes. Laying them out like treasure chests, Haris admires his new gear - an exquisite set of four matching daggers in one box, in the other, a mercurial masterwork shortsword; and in the last case, a wand. "I believe I'm ready!
purchases:
Masterwork Adamantine Shortsword
Masterwork Cold Iron Dagger x2
Masterwork Mithral Dagger x2
Wand of Prot from Evil
Once everyone has purchased gear and outfitted themselves, your party has an uneventfull trip to Cheliax. Leaving civilization behind, the party heads off into the Menador Mountains for Ostergard.
As your paert winds through the mountains toward Ostergard, you are barraged by a raging storm that has followed you through the countryside for days. Lightning slashes through the overcast sky, highlighting a darkened manor that stands defiantly upon a jagged bluff. A torrent of rain floods the trail, and thunderous cracks accompany each electrified stroke. In the distance, the trail ends abruptly at the front door of the lonely manor house-the only shleter in sight. The area around the manor is desolate, consisting of sharp hills, craggy terrain, and barren trees. Other than the manor, there is a stable to the north.
As the party nears the nears the manor, Aod, Haris, and Takahiro notice tracks of several large felines intermingled with stranger tracks that resemble elongated, thin humanoid footprints.
The feline tracks head toward the stable, while the humanoid tracks lead to the manor.
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By the time the group reaches the grounds, Haris had recited the ode thrice, taking no chances. In fact, its starting to sound like a cheery tune to the pentatonic scale.
-Posted with Wayfinder
As the party approaches the stables, suddenly two howlers jump out of a hay filled stall and move to attack!
Pai knows a few things about howlers.
Howler Howl: Curse—howl; save Will DC 12 negates; frequency 1/hour; effect 1 Wis damage; cure 1 save.
Pain (Ex) Whenever a creature takes damage from a howler's quill attack or its quill defense, that creature must make a successful DC 14 Reflex save or one quill breaks off in its flesh, causing the target to become sickened until all embedded quills are removed. Removing one quill requires a DC 15 Heal check made as a full-round action. For every 5 by which the check is exceeded, one additional quill can be removed. On a failed check, a quill is still removed, but the process deals 1d4+1 points of damage to the victim. The save DC is Dexterity-based.
Quill Defense (Ex) Any creature that strikes a howler with a non-reach melee weapon, unarmed strike, or natural weapon takes 1d4+1 points of piercing damage from the howler's quills and suffers from the howler's pain attack.
That is about it for holwers, they are outsiders.
Pai sends a missile of magic at the near howler!
Takahiro attacks the near howler, but misses!
The near howler attacks Takahiro, but misses!
The rear howler begins to howl, but the party can't hear it!
Haris attacks the nearest howler and his blade sinks deeply into it's prickly side!
A quill on the beast stabs Haris, but is able to twist away before the quill buries itself in his skin!
Aod then throws himself at the howler, knocking it down!
The bardbariagus gets stuck with quills as well, but he too jumps back before the burrow into his flesh!
Takahiro then plunges his blade into the prone howler and it ceases moving!
Like his party mates, he avoids having a quill embed itself into his skin!
With one howler deceased, Pai sends a bolt of missiles at the second cat, causing it screech silently as it jumps toward the party.
The second howler leaps at AOd, jaws agape, but the Witchchild evades the gnashing teeth!