Kenza - The halfing responds, Oh my... look at the time... must be going. He turns and hustles out of the room quickly.
Kalakang and Kenza run in to each other as they mingle. After comparing notes, you are both pretty sure that Dymal Rinks is in fact the halfling that Kenza had been speaking with. Furthermore, Kalakang is able to remember that he had heard rumors of a halfling merchant running up significant gambling debts at the local bullfighting ring. To the extent that the owner of the debts might begin using some, ahem, more aggressive, methods to collect on the debts.
When Jeskit approaches the Doctor, the Doctor sees that he is a Nagaji and completely ignores his question. Fascinating... you're a Nagaji, right? I've heard of your race... interesting. Where are you from?
To summarize your progress so far:
You have discovered the names of the following bidders:
Pathfinder society (VC Heidmarch)
Maiveer Sloan: a gaunt, fashionably dressed Chelaxian handshakes his way through the room, accompanied by a half-dozen followers who appear to be equal parts attendant and bodyguard. (The Aspis agent)
Dymal Rinks: identified, a squat halfling merchants agent.
Falrig Sneve: identified, gray-haired man in his early fifties, dressed in fine silken robes and flanked by two muscular guards. The man nervously fingers a small silver coin, flipping it about in his fingers
Kresh Vaor: unidentified
Duchess: identified, two varisian women from out of town.
Doctor Ernst Landis, from museum of ages: identified
Zimandi Kaddren: A strikingly handsome Chelaxian woman with deep, dark eyes and black hair steps forward to admire the key. She is richly dressed in a flowing gown cut to the very latest in Magnimarian fashion.
You only have one person left to identify, but are free to interact an attempt to gain more information about any of the targets.
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Kahwen believes his team has identified everyone on the list he saw. But more information is more to report. Ad the Duchesses are the last two he found, he approaches them.
He sweeps his hat off his head as he approaches and bows deeply. "I can tell by your noble bearing and appearance that you must be the ladies known as the Duchesses. I am a humble man and can admire the main item in the auction, but I am sure that ladies such as yourself know more and have more reason than simply that it is shiny," he says.
The cathedral’s sexton calls everyone’s attention “The pre-auction gala has ended; all must leave the cathedral immediately. Thank you for attending and we’ll see many of you back here for the auction.”
You return to the Heidmarch Mansion. The theater is filled with your fellow Pathfinders, all buzzing with excitement. Sheila Heidmarch, raises her hands and quiets the room before speaking. “Well my colleagues, I trust you were successful this evening? Anyone have information to share? Let’s see some hands.”
A dwarf clad in full plate with a great hammer on his back calls out ”Aye, we met Rinks, a halfling who said he was acting on behalf of one of his clients. We found out that he has spent the last few months here in Magnimar betting on the bullfights at the Matador’s Lodge. He was not as lucky as most of his kind and has run up a sizable debt with the lodge’s owner, Master Basaale Minvandu. The halfling is staying in the Old Fang Inn”
A couple of humans push a grippli forward ”Quon here also has to report something” they say. The grippli turns a brighter shade of green and then softly starts speaking ”I am afraid we made a bit of a mess at the gala. That Chelaxian woman, Zimandi Kaddren, found out that we are with the Pathfinder Society and she immediately stormed off in anger, saying that she would take every effort to outbid the Society at the auction.” The grippli seems to have found his voice as he continues ”We asked around and we discovered that her parents vanished during an expedition to a mysterious fortress known as Viperwall in central Varisia. I think that she blames the disappearance of her parents upon the Pathfinder Society.”
A famous halfling jumps on a table ”I am Lem and I can report that the curator of the Museum of Ages is also interested in the artifact! Doctor Landis has secured a donation for the key. He thinks it is an item of great historical significance, and that it was created by Emperor Xin to unlock a temple of seven paradises. I would have expected that Nigel Aldain of the Blakros museum would also be present, but I did not see him. That is all for me!”
A human woman calls out, the symbol of Iomedae obvious on the buckler that she has strapped to her left arm. On the same hip she has an Aldori duelling sword. ”I talked to two women dressed in travellers’ outfits. Both had with thick Varisian accents. They introduced themselves as ‘the Duchesses’ and said they live in Ordellia where they work as caravan guards. Beyond that, they had little to say.”
A servant rushes in and hands Sheila Heidmarch a note ”Give me a moment, this is probably important, otherwise Jacob here would not have disturbed us”. She reads the note and briefly ponders it for a moment.
“Well, my friends, it seems Desna smiles upon us. My sources have just informed me that the Aspis Consortium has fewer funds than we first imagined. Thus, they have sent word to an ally in Korvosa to ship them more gold. Fortunately, I still have a few spies in Korvosa. A few days ago, the Consortium hired a Varisian caravan to carry a sizable shipment of gold to Magnimar, presumably to help them secure the Runecarved Key’s purchase.”
“The caravan was traveling along the Yondabakari River and should be nearing the outskirts of the city in a few hours. I need you to ride out to the caravan before it gets within sight of the city walls and ensure that gold never reaches the Aspis Consortium at Bronze House. Take whatever gold you can, but try not to draw attention to yourselves as Pathfinders. It’s bandit territory out there anyway, so caravan raids aren’t uncommon. That said, rest assured the caravan will be armed. As soon as you’re finished, hurry back here. We don’t want Maiveer Sloan to catch on to our plot. I’ll send a white raven to signal you to return before the situation becomes too risky.”
Jeskit - The Doctor is happy to converse with you about Nagaji, and your own adventures, and about his museum, but he pointedly changes the conversation anytime you bring up the key and whether or not he is bidding on it.
Kenza - whoever this Kresh Vaor person is, no one else seems to know who she is either. You are unable to find Kresch Vaor (She is the hardest one in the scenario to pin down! Dice weren't with you guys on this one)
Kalakang - you can see Rinks exiting the building, but are able to discern little of his intentions.
Kahwen - The Duchesses are happy to converse with you for a bit. They put on affected Varisian accents. While they converse a bit about events and locations in the town, you get the impression they are largely unfamiliar with it. You suspect that they are from out of town. They also freely admit they are not actually duchesses, and that is just what they like to be called. After a few minutes of conversation, they let it drift off, and eventually wander away to another part of the party.
Following Heidmarch’s marching orders, you immediately head out into the darkness of the night by foot to intercept the caravan. You follow the Yondabakari route, which eventually leads into the Varisian Forest. A place filled with lush greenery, especially pine and redwood trees, for miles to come. Several miles into your hike outside of the city walls, a side trail branches off and away from the Yondabakari and winds south into a forest of ancient evergreens. A faint glowing light in the distance attracts your attention. Off to the side of the path, nestled into a deep pocket of spruces, sleeps a small Varisian caravan, only two wagons strong.
A small campfire has been lit to keep the travellers warm in the cold of the night. A few men, presumably those that travel with the wagon, sleep around the fire. From afar you believe you note a single person scouting the immediate vicinity of the encampment, and he moves around in no discernable pattern.
An open wagon with a sleeping person rest closer to the road, inside it are small cartons of goods, likely rations and supplies, and one cage which seems to hold a creature within it. Another covered wagon rest further out from the road.
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Kahwen is largely quiet as the results of the investigation at the pre-auction gala are announced. He is all too eager to jump into a more active mission - especially one that harms the Aspis Consortium at the same time.
"I think I can eliminate the guard quickly, Companions," Kahwen whispers, drawing his sword slowly and quietly.
He'll try to creep up on the man and get a surprise attack in on him unless the rest of the party protests.
He has tucked away his Wayfinder for this mission, though.
Kahwen is largely quiet as the results of the investigation at the pre-auction gala are announced. He is all too eager to jump into a more active mission - especially one that harms the Aspis Consortium at the same time.
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 9
"I think I can eliminate the guard quickly, Companions," Kahwen whispers, drawing his sword slowly and quietly.
He'll try to creep up on the man and get a surprise attack in on him unless the rest of the party protests.
[dice=Stealth]1d20 + 12
He has tucked away his Wayfinder for this mission, though.
Kahwen, can you please draw on the map the route you are taking to get to the guard? And go ahead and post an attack too, just to save time if it is needed.
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Kenza nods as the next mission briefing is given out. This was more to her talents.
As the caravan comes into view Kenza ducks into the underbrush to observe it from afar.
"Definitely an Aspis wagon," she remarks. She pulls out a vial and drinks it.
Kenza moves along with Kahwen, sneaking up on the guard on watch in the hopes of taking him out quietly before he even knows they're there.
Kahwen, Kenza, and Taizen creep forward silently. They see no movement from either wagon outside of the occasional shuffling from whatever beast is in the cage. One of the merchants snores loudly. Kahwen leads the way, skirting the northernmost wagon. As soon as he gets within 10 feet of the wagon, an obnoxious, and very loud, sound issues forth from within the wagon.
WEEEOOOOO WEEEEEOOOO WEEEEOOOOOO
The jig is up! Bold may act!
Merrill
Kahwen
Guards
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man
Kalangkang
Beast
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Merrill becomes alerted with the loud sounds from the caravan and immediately recognizes the trigger. "Darn it! We should've known it was rigged with an alarm spell."
He stands straight up, walks over to where most of his allies can hear him, and gives words of encouragement to his comrades.
"Be at the wary, heroes. They already know we're here."
The sleeping mercenary wakes up, and swiftly realizes the caravan is under attack. He stands, and advances towards Kenza and Taizen to the north.
Kahwen slashes visciously at the sentry,leaving a wicked gash down his chest. He responds by stepping back and launching an arrow at the Tengu.
The arrow lodges solidly in Kahwen's abdomen.
Merrill
Kahwen
Guards
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man
Kalangkang
Beast
Bold may act!
Taizen's thunder cloud is off target, and goes drifting off into the distance. Jeskit and Kenza team up to drop the formerly sleeping caravan guard.
The man in the cart chants some words, and then disappears.
The beast is still locked in its cage, and thus largely unable to act, so I'm going to go ahead and skip it this round.
Bold may act!
Merrill
Kahwen
Guards
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man
Kalangkang
Beast (In its cage)
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Kahwen sees what's coming before it does. He's just not quite fast enough to stop it. The arrow hits him and narrowly misses his favorite organs (which is most of them.)
He's pretty sure the next exchange is going to decide which of them is left standing at the end of the battle. He follows the archer and takes a swing, wishing the man was distracted so he could get in a really good shot.
Any actions Kalakang?
Blue enemy was actually dropped by Jeskit and Kenza, but that would miss pretty much anything.
Botting Merrill. He'll continue singing his bard song, giving everyone +1 to hit and damage.
Jeskit and Kenza team up to beat up the guard who had been sleeping. He crumples to the ground just as swiftly as he woke up. The guard engaging Kahwen draws his rapier and engages the bird in melee. He lands a solid blow, this time hitting some of Kahwen's favorite organs, and the bird crumples in a heap of feathers.
The two wagon drivers finally get their wits about them enough to figure out what is going on, and run to cower behind the wagon.
Bold may act!
Merrill
Kahwen (-20)
Guards (Blue down, red -10
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man
Kalangkang
Beast (In its cage, delaying)
** spoiler omitted **
No idea where that came from Kenza. You're ok to just remove it.
Kenza, Taizen and Jeskit all rush to render aid. Jeskit's haste makes him sloppy, and his stroke goes wide.
Hah! Gotta do better than that to put me down bandit! I got myself a bird already, next I'll add a snake to my collection the guard taunts in response.
You hear a clank and see the door on the cage fly open, releasing the creature within. Following that, you hear some chanting and strands of sticky webbing materialize out of the ether on top of Jeskit, Kenza, Taizen, Kahwen and the remaining guard. Everyone needs to make a DC 13 reflex save or be entangled.
Anyone in the effect’s area when the spell is cast must make a Reflex save. If this save succeeds, the creature is inside the web but is otherwise unaffected. If the save fails, the creature gains the grappled condition, but can break free by making a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check as a standard action against the DC of this spell. The entire area of the web is considered difficult terrain. Anyone moving through the webs must make a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check as part of their move action, with a DC equal to the spell’s DC. Creatures that fail lose their movement and become grappled in the first square of webbing that they enter.
If you have at least 5 feet of web between you and an opponent, it provides cover. If you have at least 20 feet of web between you, it provides total cover.
The strands of a web spell are flammable. A flaming weapon can slash them away as easily as a hand brushes away cobwebs. Any fire can set the webs alight and burn away one 5-foot square in 1 round. All creatures within flaming webs take 2d4 points of fire damage from the
A small bluish reptilian creature comes darting out of the cage, and runs towards Kalakang, looking none too friendly.
Merrill
Kahwen (-20)
Guards (Blue down, red -10
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man (invisible)
Beast
Kalangkang
Bold may act (or continue bleeding out, depending on each person's own unique situation)!
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It would be nice to say that this doesn't happen to Kahwen on a regular basis. Nice, but false. In fact, it happens fairly often as he has a habit of rushing into danger and is relatively fragile (birdy bones and whatnot.) If you ask him about it, he'll happily declare it's just part of being a good Pathfinder. Of course, you'll have to wait until he wakes up...if he wakes up, to ask.
The lizard is immune to electricity.
Merril launches an arrow, which sinks into the lizard's side. Kalakang steps back and launches a volley of acid at the lizard, which sizzles as it impacts the beast.
Jeskit and Kenza manage to avoid becoming entangled in the sticky web. Unfortunately, the guard is not so lucky. He will spend his action trying to escape from the web, and then stabbing the fearsome snake man in front of him.
He fails to escape, but is still able to slash at Jeskit!
Heh, you're not any tougher than your friend, are you?
Bold may act! Will someone save Kahwen in time, or will he ignobly bleed to death while the lone remaining guard kills the rest of the party?
Merrill
Kahwen (-21)
Guards (Blue down, red -10)
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man (invisible)
Beast (-10)
Kalangkang
The shock lizard continues attempting to chomp on the closest target, stepping up to attack Kalakang again. Electricity sparks between the horns on its head, and a bolt of lightning shoots out towards Kalakang.
Someone shouts out Bah! Do you have any idea how hard it was to capture that thing!
A bolt of magical wizard shoots out from the wagon, and a bearded man is seen standing on top of the wagon.
Merrill (-2)
Kahwen (-5)
Guards (Blue down, red -10)
Jeskit
Kenza
Taizen
Sleeping Man
Beast (-10)
Kalangkang (Needs a reflex save)
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Kahwen awakens, reassured by the presence of his new friends.
"Thank you, friends!" he declares.
He us less reassured by the presence of the guy who shot and stabbed him...and the webs!
"Are we fighting a spider? Is he a spider-man? Amazing! Spectacular!"
He tries to wiggle out of the webs, knowing he's not going to get much done trapped in them.
He barely manages to get free, but can't do much else as standing up would expose him to attack.