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Mr Peppers listens to the Master of Scrolls with interest and focus, following along with an occasional nod and smile.
Turning to the Halfling: "Well met Janira. I am Mr Peppers. Is there anything you can tell us about the area we're going to? Any particular hazards we should be wary of? Monsters other than Gillmen you remember to be in the vicinity? Any possible sources of Arcane energy or weird magic perhaps?" His eyes growing very intent after the last question.
"Oh, and have you arranged travel to the island or should we inquire around about that?"
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Untrained: You cannot make an untrained Knowledge check with a DC higher than 10. If you have access to an extensive library that covers a specific skill, this limit is removed. The time to make checks using a library, however, increases to 1d4 hours. Particularly complete libraries might even grant a bonus on Knowledge checks in the fields that they cover.
"Yes of course, we will handle the travel portion.
Janira steps forward after answering a few questions. And begins
“On to the details of the mission at hand,” Janira says with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there.
“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.”
“Centaurs control the lowlands and surrounding wilderness of the
Kortos Mounts. The areas farther up the Mounts are controlled by minotaurs, and the icy peaks are home to tribes of harpies. They’re always vying for territory, but with any luck, we should be able to avoid them and reach the caves without conflict.”
The first phase of their Confirmation takes the PCs through Absalom, leads across the Cairnlands, along a well-worn path that leads toward Diobel, through the wilderness surrounding the Kortos Mounts, and culminates at the cave entrance noted in Janira’s Confirmation report. The journey through the City at the Center of the World is swift and without incident, and the long trek across the Cairnlands provides a great opportunity to discuss Master Shane’s class on the history of Absalom. Most of the journey is uneventful, but Janira might point out landmarks such as siege towers, distant mountains, or distinct flora and fauna along the journey. No encounters occur during the first day of travel, and the PCs have an opportunity to rest and prepare new
spells before entering dangerous territory.
As the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid. After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.”
Most of the trees in this section of the forest have trunks that are too big for any creatures to share their space. Sporadic patches of light undergrowth provide areas for creatures to hide while restricting movement for those passing through. A large rock outcropping to the east rises nearly 20 feet above the forest floor, and a small sinkhole to the northwest drops off sharply, descending
to the ground 10 feet below.
Just as Janira gets her bearings, a large tree falls and two swarms of insect scurry out in a mass of confusion.
Initiative Order
Janira, Uthraed, Gealdn, Gringo, Mr. Peppers, GM 1, GM 2, Mun, Grummosh
Janira starts off by starting her bardic performance, inspire courage.
Uthraed, Gealdn, Gringo, Mr. Peppers you are up
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"Aren't those two angry swarms of bugs. Good thing I remembered to prepare burning hands for just this occasion. Stand back else you'll get your eyebrows scorched off! Try to get them together so I can hit them both at once."
Mr Peppers motions for people to back up and clear the way and begins speaking in Elven emphatically
Mr. Peppers, which one do you go after. If you are able to, update the map with your new location.
makes the save but still the swarm is vaporized.
All the weapon damage does not seem to effect the swarm.
The swarm starts to surround Gealdn.
Mun, Grummosh you are up
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Mūn moves to position himself far enough away from all party members so as to not be attractive to the swarm by standing in a cluster. He studies the swarm to see if he can learn what type of creature it's made of and if there are any obvious weaknesses.
Mun, it is a swarm of spiders. thousands of diminutive insects. They have swarm traits.
Mun state your actions.
Janira pulls out a wand and activates it.
failure, and with that the swarm goes up in flames.
Janira shoves the wand back into her pocket and nods in approval of her self.
"Very good pathfinders. How is every one doing?" He looks over to Gealdn and sees the spider bites over his legs. "Oh dear, lets handle this"
Janira speaks a little saying and cast a spell.
"Now lets gets moving"
Survival Checks
With Gringo and Grummoshs survival skills, you are able to find your way out of the forest and into a clearing.
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth. The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.
Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance
we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling
off her backpack,“and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
Your choice to go into the caves or fight the minotaur.
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Uthraed puts an arrow on his bow cord but balks before releasing it torn between fighting the beast here and letting Janira lead it away.
It certainly won't catch her she is far to nimble... But if it does it would mean her death.
Uthraed looks around at his fellow companions wondering if anyone else has the same bad feeling as he does about letting Janira risk her life for them.
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She's the mission leader; this is her call. Probably a good call, nonetheless.
Mūn wastes no time, squeezing into the cave before yelling back. "You heard her; get inside here. Make haste!"
Once inside, he knocks an arrow to his string and peers deeper into the cave, bow at the ready. He slowly steps farther in to make room for the rest of the Pathfinders.
This cave system stretches deep below the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, though most of it is accessible only through a narrow keyhole tunnel. All of the tunnels in this area are between 3 and 10 feet wide and vary equally in height, though most are a comfortable 7 or more feet wide in each dimension. The caves are damp, which increases the DC of all Acrobatics checks by 2. Water dripping from stalactites and the distant rushing of underground streams creates an eerie backdrop as the PCs explore.
The caves’ walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light. Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls.
These are carvings left behind by gillman pilgrims and mystics over the years, each carving a mark to prove that she reached the caves and to commemorate the pilgrimage. The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.
The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit lies a small bundle of cloth.
The whole is approximately 20 ft deep, and will requires DC 15 Climb checks to free climb.
Gringo are you climbing down before investigating or doing it from up top. Also, how do you plan to get down to the bottom.
Just FYI, it is dim-light in the caves, please put your light source in your info line.