Granta's Evergreen Arc #3 (Inactive)

Game Master Granta

"I know how to use that thing, and if we get into real trouble I think Suna's hands will be better occupied by that flail of hers." Daffy says, taking the wand from the gnome.

Crowe will lay claim to the potion of barkskin and one potion of cure light if no one objects.

Kyun pockets the potion of Vanish.

"So, what's the plan from here?"

"Well, she told us to finish our mission, and we shouldn't stray too far until she gets back. Let's have a look around!"

Despite the fright from the minotaur and the danger Janira is facing, Daffy is quickly back to being curious and upbeat as he examines the petroglyphs on the walls.

Suna ponders the contents of the backpack solemnly. She will take the scroll of obscuring mist, the potion of feather step, and the holy water.

She joins Daffy examining the petroglyphs. "What do they mean?"

Daffy will take the tanglefoot bag, the thunderstone, and one of the alchemist fires. "Nice to have some combat options".
I'll take the other alchemist fire if no one else wants it, along with the scroll of identify, since that's on my list.

"What do they mean?"

"Not sure. They're pretty, though. C'mon, let's see what's farther in!"

"Yes, yes. Let's go explore!"

"Well, exploration is part of our motto... I could scout ahead, if you think that's a good idea."

"Do what you think best, but I caution that sticking together might be safer for all. If you feel you must go ahead, I won't be far behind, just enough for you to scout silently."

"Can you see in the dark to be all stealthy and stuff when you scout ahead?"

I gave all the unclaimed items to Crowe, assuming he has the highest carrying capacity.

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 and several large spikes. The corners of the pit are rounded, and the tunnel walls don’t look easy to climb either.

Survival: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Suna scans the pit uneasily. I can't believe I forgot to pack rope. Two years of Royal Guard training, three years of Pathfinder training, and I still forget the most basic equipment.

Knowledge (dungeoneering): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"I guess we could...jump across?" Daffy says, eyeing the spikes nervously.

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 3

"Jump across, eh?

Kyun takes a running start and leaps over the pit with confident ease. Taking ten on Acrobatics for 17.

"Toss me a rope and I'll try to fasten it somewhere."

"I guess that doesn't look so bad"

Emboldened by Kyun's graceful leap, Daffy moves back to get a running start and leaps across himself, albeit much less gracefully. Take ten on Acrobatics for 13.

"I have a rope on my mule." He stops and thinks. "I guess we'll have to leave the mule behind and come back for it later."

He pulls the rope and grappling hook out of the saddle pack, and offers them to someone with a good throwing arm.

"Crowe, Suna, you two look big and strong. Would one of you mind carrying some of this stuff for me? Also, can Rosey ride on one of your backs as we cross?"

He pulls a sack with a couple of items off the mule (sunrods, oils flasks, a waterskin), leaving behind the stuff that won't be immediately useful.

Looking down in the pit, he wonders aloud, "What could that cloth be? I wonder if there's anything hidden inside or underneath it. Can anyone here cast Detect Magic? Maybe someone should climb down and check it out. As long as you don't fall, avoiding the spikes should be easy."

"Sure, I can carry some of your stuff. It won't make it any harder than it already is to get across." She sighs. "I don't think there's any way I'm jumping over; I'll have to climb down. I can check out the cloth while I'm there."

Assuming she can set up the rope, Suna can take 10 for a 10 on the Climb check.

Now let's see what this bundle is. Garbage, or something more interesting? Suna casts detect magic.

If we're using the rope against the wall to climb down into the pit, and then climb back out on the other side, then it's only DC 5. Since I can only hit an 8 while taking 10 to climb, that's how I would like to do it.

Salagadoola climbs down into the pit with Suna, while Rosey the skunk approaches Crowe and puts his front paws on the big man's legs, apparently begging for a ride.

"Anything interesting, or just a rag?" he asks about the cloth.

Crowe wrinkles his nose as he sees the skunk, then rolls his eyes and picks up Rosey by the scruff of the neck and places her in his pack on top of everything else. He makes sure she is secure and comfortable before he makes his own attempt to cross the pit.

climb down rope, taking 10: 10 + 3 = 13

While at the bottom, he'll pick up the bundle of cloth and take it up with him, letting someone wiser and smarter examine whatever it is.

climb up rope on the other side, taking 10: 10 + 3 = 13

@Suna: Yes, the robe is magical.

About 50 ft. after the pit, the tunnel curves and you find a plank big enough to span the pit. The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.

The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere. It seems like there might have been a dozen carvings at some point, but only four are still decipherable. As best you can tell, they are images from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy text of Aroden.

If you speak Aquan or Azlanti, you get a cumulative +2 bonus on the above checks.

Percpetion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Kyun gives the carvings a blank, uncomprehending stare.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Knowledge (history), Aquan: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 + 2 = 16

Daffy looks over the cloak for a moment before his attention is ripped away by the carvings. "Ooh, neat! I've seen this one before! It's from that Aroden book! Only, this seems a little different than I remember..."

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"I am unfamiliar with these images."

Assuming Suna fails to identify the magical cloak with her Detect Magic, Salagadoola will pull out his wand of Identify (+18 total between the spell and his spellcraft skill, so no need to roll).

"Ooh. It's a cloak of resistance. Somebody should wear that for protection."

knowledge religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

"These look similar to the stories of Aroden, the dead god who disappeared 100 years ago. That one's the thief, and that's the soldier. I think there's some minor magic still left. If we say a prayer or perform a ritual or something, maybe it'll grant us a blessing."

Yup, turns out I don't have Spellcraft trained.

Yup, turns out I don't have Spellcraft trained.

I have spellcraft, but don't have Detect Magic as a cantrip. Divination is one of my opposition schools. That's why I picked up the wand of Identify.

Cloak of resistance +1 added to the loot list on the campaign tab. Who is going to wear it?

@Salagadoola: Even my casters with detect magic pick up the wand of identify for 2 PP. Not only is it nice to never fail an identification, but it often saves a few prestige when running into cursed items.

The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.

Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.

This cavern is not unoccupied though. A lone gillmen kneels in the water, seeming thoughtful and unaware of your presence.

The carvings are in the room with your tokens. This description is for the next room.

Kyun eyes the gillman with interest.

"Well, this is what we came for. Do we just say 'hi', or what?"

"Sounds like a good plan... " he turns his attention to the gillman and says "Hello! We're Pathfinders, we want to talk with you."

"Of course we say hi! This is what we came for, right?" Daffy says, already walking towards the Gillman. "Well hi there! My name's Daffy! What's yours? This is such an interesting place!" If he gets no reply, he'll repeat the same greeting in Aquan.

"Hello!"

The little gnome and his skunk approach the gillman, but make a point of staying behind the rest of the group, in case it's an enemy.

Suna approaches with Daffy. "We are not here to harm you; only to talk."

The gillman looks at each Pathfinder as he or she speaks, but his expression says little, and he says nothing at all.

He seems rather ‘indifferent’ to you so far, but a Diplomacy or Intimidate check could change that.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Suna hisses quietly to her companions, "I think that robe belongs to this guy, or his people at any rate. We should hand it over."

Does anyone object to giving the gillman the robe? Assuming that we are doing so...

"Hello, sir. Does this belong to you? We were hoping to talk to you about what you're doing here. Were you praying just now?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

"Yeah, it looks awful similar"

"We don't mean to interrupt your prayer, and we certainly mean no disrespect to this place. We're just here to explore."

Diplomacy, aiding Daffy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Kyun whispers back.

"We'd better wait with that. We might have unintentionally broken some taboo by picking it up."

"My people call me Uori, and I am a but a pilgrim here." The gillman retrieves a wand from his belongings and hands it to Daffy. "Here, perhaps this will help keep you safe during your explorations. If one among you possess a connection to the divine, she may speak the words faythe sheafe for protection."

A wand of shield of faith (CL 6th, 10 charges) has been added to the loot list on the Campaign Info tab.

"You're a pilgrim? What is this place? Why is it so special that you make a pilgrimage?"

"Thank you, that's very kind of you! Have you encountered many dangers in these caves?"

Daffy will hand the wand back to Suna and mutter "You seem to be the only divine type here, why don't you take this?"

Suna gratefully accepts the wand.

"Thank you, sir! Can you tell us more about that little city in the water?"

Uori answers Salagadoola first, "We make a pilgrimage to this sacred pool at neap tide, the only time when the water is high enough to submerge in." then turns to Suna, "As to those carvings and this city: they are human things, and I know little of them.

"And any dangers in these tunnels were likely brought here by other landwalkers. That pit has served my people well in keeping out the dangers of the forest."

You can try to perform the Arodenite rituals if desired. Otherwise, choose a path out of this cavern when you’re done talking with Uori.

Daffy will move closer to the miniature city and carefully inspect it.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Crow walks over the city and stands at Daffy's side, examining it... "Hmm... little frogs make little messes on little city..." He brushes the frogs off the city and then turns back and joins the others...

Salagadoola joins Daffy and Crowe in examining the little city.

"Ooh. Very nice craftsmanship. I wonder who lives there."

"Frogs"

Thief, huh? Well, I'd better honor the dead god, then.

Kyun tries to surreptitiously collect a few knick-knacks from the diorama.

Sleight of Hand: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

There's a picture of soldier...

"Salagadoola, what is the soldier doing in the mural?"

"Errr... marching? I think it was carrying a lantern. Something about carrying Aroden's light to all corners of the world or something. "

"Hm...the thief was shown stealing things, maybe Kyun has the right idea. Of course, if it's not well made, it's not worth stealing; maybe this is an allegory for craftsmanship instead. Anybody good at making stuff?"

@Crowe: Please roll Handle Animal, Intimidate or wild empathy.

Uori watches your rituals with mild interest before returning to his own prayers.

Will give one more day to wrap up ritual attempts.