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Having survived the Siege of the Diamond city Algar was told to meet up with a mercantile caravan lead by a pathfinder on his way to Gundrun where Venture Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury that was waiting for them.
It had taken him a bunch of days in order to catch up to them. Fortunately for a good portion of the way he was landed a horse and therefore was able to make good time even if he had to finish on foot.
Having be told what to expect he recognize the caravan in front of him as Mr Madison's.
Approaching it everyone can see a rather young men (mid twenties) wearing a full plate armor, completed by a large shield and a plan regular club in his baldric.
A rather full equipped travelers backpack completes his inventory.
Hello there fellow pathfinders i believe you are Mr Madison's caravan? not really waiting for a reply he continued
Well Hail and well meet I am Algar Lysandriss, fellow pathfinder of the Grand Lodge as he smile you can feel the warmth of his personality.
I am here to join you up for the interview with Venture Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury
As you inspect him his equipment is rather plain. No fancy weapon, armor made of specific material etc...
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Nice to meet you Algar, I'm Hedra. I'm a cleric of Aroden. I hope you will find in me and my power Hope for His return.
I wont forget to introduce you to Gamin, my sword. said Hedra showing her broken longsword.
It can help you to fight in case of need. And this she showed a flying winged eye is Eye. A gift from Aroden to look after me.
Nice knowing you Algar said a voice coming from Hedra's sword
I'm. Eye. Nice. To. Meet. You. Algar. said in response the flying eye.
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Mr. Madison walks over to the man approaching.
Pleasure to meet you Mr. Lysandris. Come have some food while it is still warm.
Mr. Madison walks Algar over to the fire and hands him a plate of food and a gourd of fresh water.
You must have traveled quickly to catch up with us. The Caravan has picked up speed in these dangerous lands.
It is good to have another with us. We have been discussing tactics. Kargoth over there is knowledgeable on demons and has stated that he will always be next to the biggest one. If they are as big as he says they are there should be plenty of room. Mr. Kouniashi dances through a fight and around the campfire as well. Mrs. Dreamcaster worships Aroden and can heal you up with his power. Once Mr. Foehammer begins a fight his mind becomes set on its swift completion, and he knows a good brew when he tastes it. As for me, Mr. Madison, I can warp the minds of our foes and touch their souls, if we know a fights coming I can help you out as well. As for you, it looks like you came prepared to fight, is there anything we should know before hand.
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A cleric of Aroden, i meet once someone calming that too. Although he was more of an oracle He went under the name of The Exiled. Now i am not in the mystery of the Divine, there might be an immortal spark that can still allow a divine magic user to access the power or it might just be his successor. Doesn't really matter to me i am more a down to Golarion type of person.
Algar turns toward Mr Madison.
My specialty? lets see i just came back from successfully defending Nerosyan for a siege, i am a divine caster, rather good with people, a decent tracker. I can summon things to assist or wade in combat myself.
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I heard of this man, but I can assure you I'm not like him. I learn my way to Aroden's faith and each day he give me power to help his flock. I know a lot of people doesn't believe me but my powers show them I don't lie.
Nevertheless here is not the time nor the lieu to speak of it. We have a mission in a dangerous place.
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Don't worry about me, i faced a few of them beasties during the siege of the Dimond city, We even got a Unique large Vrock also, and he was resistant to even good aligned weapon. he says
I wonder what those guys are currently doing, I kind of miss Xantriam's talking Longsword. It was funny as hell. at one moment he got hit by a fear spell.
he ponders for a second.
Ha yes it went like this
"Would somebody get over here and tackle this idiot? He's under a mental control effect! He's also really easy to tackle! Somebody? Anybody? " said Carmin
Once we finished the fight:
"But I was just doing my clerical duties..."
"Mental control."
"But I just needed to provide..."
"Mental control."
"Really, but they looked like they needed..."
"I watched you an Incubus cast a spell on you. Mental control. Period. Stop debating. You're wrong. Now stop lollygagging and meet back up with the rest of the group."
"Oh all right..."
"The things I do for you..."
I really hope all these guys are ok
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Gundrun is a ramshackle village built on the remains of a once proud clanhold, yet it’s among the few proper settlements that eke out a living in what was once Sarkoris. From the rough yet sturdy buildings, a Mwangi man bedecked in polished, nearly golden plate armor emblazoned with the holy symbol of Iomedae steps onto the dirt road and approaches with a friendly wave. It’s Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury. He approaches you as the caravan that has taken you here starts to unload the much needed supplies to the city.
“Pathfinders, it’s good to see you again. Walk with me, if you will,” Jorsal requests as he turns toward a crude wooden structure. Then he gives a quick signal to a standing guard and opens the door, motioning inwards. “Though the Pathfinder Society doesn’t have an official lodge here in Gundrun, the locals have allowed us to use part of Clefthorn Lodge as a war room to discuss upcoming missions and objectives. Please take a seat.” As the room begins to fill, he closes the door behind him and makes his way to a small desk, where a large parchment map supports a host of red and blue figurines.
“During the First Mendevian Crusade, an Iomedaean cleric named Ghalcor and his assistants built a once-secret weapon to combat the encroaching demonic threat; however, the fighting ended before he could put it to use. I say ‘once-secret’ because the demons heard about the weapon and attacked the tower when combat resumed years later. It seems Ghalcor was caught off-guard. He and his team died in the assault, but not before they triggered special safeguards to keep anyone from capturing the weapon—demon, crusader, or otherwise. Since the weapon was never used, no one knows quite what it does or even how it works. What we do know is that we’ve spotted demons scouting the site as if they intend to break in soon. I trust you understand how that could be worrisome.”
He picks up several of the blue figurines and moves them from Gundrun to a site labeled ‘Ghalcor’s Tower.’ “Queen Galfrey has sent some of her forces to hold the area around Ghalcor’s Tower, but she needs specialists to find a way in. You,” he says with pride, “are those specialists. Travel north to the tower, enter it, handle any hostiles, and find out how the weapon works; you may also be called on to arm and even activate it, if circumstances demand. A brigade of Nerosyan’s crusaders is already on-site awaiting your arrival, and the esteemed Ollysta Zadrian is due to arrive soon with a small contingent to reinforce their position. She may have more details once you arrive. “
The esteemed venture-captain pauses to see if you have any questions.
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Captain Jorsal, It's an honor to meet you. I'm Hedra Dreamcaster, cleric of Aroden. I hope that one day you will return to Him after serving Iomedae.
Said Hedra bowing to the Venture Captain. This time Gamin stay silent.
When Algar asked her about preparing Align weapon and channel she said.
Sorry but as I explained before, I can't channel. My connection to Aroden is not yet complete and I can't took power directly from him and redirect it to you.
Nevertheless all of my spell can be turn in healing spell and I can send Eye to do it even in the middle of a fight.
As for the align weapon spell, I can't neither memorize it. My special connection to Him gave me access to a wider range of known spells in the cost of other.
But don't worry, I have tools against the demons.
She turned again to the captain and asked
Sir Jorsal, have we a code with Queen's Galfrey troops ? Do they expect us ? The reinforcement are also aware of our presence or not ? I would not to have to deal with angry crusaders.
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"Mr. Madison," said Venture Captain Jorsal, excited at all the questions, "I am under the impression that the scouting party was nothing more than a couple of schirs and a brimorak or two - nothing too unusual. Who they were scouting for, on the other hand, I have no clue. The crusaders at the camp probably have more information that I do.
As for how far away the tower is, Algar - we're here and the tower is here." The Venture Captain points at two locations near the south of his map. The one marked Ghalcor's Tower is surrounded by blue figurines. "It's going to be a 20 mile journey, although this is important enough that I'm going to spend some coin to speed you guys up a bunch. You should be there in under an hour.
Excellent point Hedra. They should be expecting you. Like most crusader outposts, they'll be detecting you for evil and magic before you arrive to make sure you're not disguises, but otherwise you'll be fine. We had enough headtime to pass along fairly accurate descriptions ahead of you.
Quinn, I'm glad you're excited, but calm down. Demons can and will exploit any point of weakness that you have. It's best to approach with extreme caution. Now if you get your kicks out of killing demons, that's great and have fun - that's what we're ultimately here to do. But don't let that excitement blind you to the dangers that occur in the Worldwound. It's as crazy as the Abyss out there. Literally."
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Venture Captain Jorsal brings you outside to meet with a masked Kellid woman. He hands a bag of money over to the woman who proceeds to cast a spell.* Five spectral horses appear in front of you, ready to take on riders. The Venture Captain gets ready to bid you off but when he looks at the party once more, his brow furrows as if something is wrong. He turns back to the woman, and a short heated argument ensues, ending with Jorsal giving the woman a couple of platinum pieces and the woman casting a second spell,** making a sixth spectral horse appear. Venture Captain Jorsal spends a moment regaining his composure, and then turns to face the party.
”Ladies and Gentleman, may your time in the wound be swift, and may you return with your mind and soul intact. Good luck to all of you.” And with that, he turns to head back inside.
Due to your fast mounts, travel to Ghalcor’s Tower is swift and you arrive within the half hour. While you spot some wandering demons, none seem too interested in you and you make it through the ‘Wound unscathed.
Ghalcor’s Tower looms over the surrounding wasteland on a plateau that plummets down to the defiled Sarkora River below. At a distance, the tower looks like nothing more than a large outcropping of weathered rock, though this is an illusion maintained by the towers safeguards to help it avoid attention; the mirage fades away at a distance of 100 feet to reveal an octagonal keep of smoothed stone with a central tower that soars more than 100 feet into the air. Surveying from the foundation to the top of the tower, there’s no obvious entrance; the structure appears sealed.
Several hundred crusaders have erected a palisade crowned with cold iron spikes around the tower. Dozens of tents fill the enclosed space. Nearest the tower stands a large command pavilion, where a dozen crusaders strategize over battle plans and maps. As the PCs approach, the crusaders call to them to identify themselves and state their business. Ollysta Zadrian, a paladin and retired Pathfinder, joins the crusaders to vouch for the PCs, welcoming them into the camp.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Pathfinders,” Ollysta states calmly. “I hope that Venture-Captain Jorsal explained the situation to you fully because the demonic scouts that we found surveying the tower, have sent for reinforcements. Our movements have not gone unnoticed, and we spotted a large contingent of demons and fiend-spawn moving this way. There are more numerous than we had anticipated, so we are relying on you to secure and prepare Ghalcor’s weapon. I intend to assist in the defense of the camp, and everyone is placing their faith in your success. Venture Captain Jorsal chose each of you for a reason, and I am confident in his decision.
“Is there anything you need to know from us here on the ground?”
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"Madame Zadrian, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. If only it were under better conditions," Quinn greets as he dismounts. "I don't think we need anything else, except for maybe a way in. We hope to have it in hand quickly so that we may help you hold the tower. That or make a hasty getaway."
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"Funny you should mention a way in Quinn. In the briefing I was given when I arrived a couple hours ago, I've been told that no one's been able to breach the tower. There are no visible doors, and there appears to be an effect cutting off teleportation and remote viewing. Not only that, there's a magical field that goes 5 ft out from the tower that the crusaders aren't sure what it does or how it works. Unfortunately, it looks like finding a way in is your job.
"I should clarify - this is all hearsay. I just got here a couple hours ago and I didn't want to attempt anything until you guys got here. You all are better suited to general problem solving than I am."
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Kargoth simply bided his time, watching and listening to the briefings, although he will mutter a "told ya" whenever mention of venturing near the worldwound popped up.
As the topic turned to aligning weapons, Kargoth will mention "cause I'm such a good guy, I don't need that spell. when it comes to demons, I know all the tricks to getting through their tough skin."
When Grimnir mentions the secret door, Kargoth will draw his adamantine longsword and say "I got my dwarven lockpick!"
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After looking at the magic field, Hedra explained to his comrade how it's working
First, the field seems to be coming out within 5 feet of the tower, and It seems to be centered all throughout the walls as opposed to a point inside. What is weird is that the field appears to be similar to a wayfinder.
At the very least it's going to throw our wayfinder off if we decide to open it up in the presence of the field. It might even throw it off back where we're standing, like a regular compass in the presence of a large magnet. It's like they have the similar magical resonance.
I think it will require some testing to fully understand how it's working.
after a short pause she added
I can ask Aroden through Eye up to six questions. If you think we need it.
Hedra draw Gamin who now help her in all her work
Oh! I Almost forgot, I can target 3 people with a spell who will tell me of your condition, in case of trouble. Tell me who will need it and I will cast it on you
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When Mr. Madison approaches within 10 feet of the tower, his wayfinder starts going berserk. The needle starts spinning like mad and releasing purple drops of energy, which fly through the air towards the tower, spreading out on the stone like waves on a pond.
Ghalcor handpicked exemplary crusaders with sterling reputations for a secret project, and later studies showed that they heavily researched the nature of the planes and philosophical texts about morality before departing to construct their tower fortress. Ghalcor had a reputation as one who respected scholars of any background.
The few research notes that survived Ghalcor’s death were instrumental in developing other powerful works, such as the wardstones that kept the demons at bay until recently.