This is table 2 for subtier 4-5.
Dot.
You begin the adventure in an opulent parlor in the Druman capital of Kerse, part of the manor home of Temel Passad, a prominent Kalistocrat. Served the finest Chelish wine and delicate sweetmeats while awaiting your host, you have time to peruse a letter from Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin.
|
Einn a tall Ulfen woman wearing no armor sits uncomfortably in the parlor. Her blond hair is messy, but clean. She sips some wine, and tries to eat the delicate food without getting it all over her clothing. "More Rasmiran priests. I'm very familiar with that lot. I spent days undercover as an acolyte in one of their temples." she sits back. "Einn Sparkbearer at your service. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
|
|
Anibal walks in with his bow, wide hat, and longcoat. He settles his backpack on the ground next to him, and looks around for a place to sit. He extends a hand for a handshake towards Einn and everyone who happens to already be around.
"Anibal Ibarr - bounty hunter by trade. Nice to meet you.", he makes a polite nod, then reads through his notebook and scribbles something in it.
"You are familiar with the area, then? Or should we obtain a map of sorts?", he taps one of his coat's inner pockets, and a sound of coins clanging against one-another can be heard. "This would be my first time north of the Inner Sea, so I'm making sure we make our prep."
He sits down, and starts tying a freshly purchased string to his bow.
|
Guy is a swarthy little man dressed in fancy robes and prominently displaying a n amulet holy symbol of Sarenrae. He seems a little nervous, particularly whenever he gets near to anyone extremely large or fierce.
"I'm Guy du Loc, of Thuvia." He emphasizes where he is from, for no apparent reason and looks nervously around.
"May the fires of Sarenrae scorch our enemies and her glory fall upon us. Rasmiran Priests you say? Rather unaccommodating bunch. I'll have to watch what I say, and show..." He fingers his holy symbol as he says this. Then shrugs.
"Well, they can't be LESS accommodating that the undead I suppose, so we should be OK if we're careful."
Two silent servants open a pair of richly lacquered doors, and a human and two dwarves stride into the lavish parlor. The man, clad in immaculate robes of whitest silk, is short and round with a blonde oiled beard, and his eyes are alert and amused. He takes a touch of snuff from a golden box and sneezes before saying, “It is a pleasure to welcome Pathfinders to one of my estates once more. I am, as you may know, Temel Passad. Allow me to introduce—”
One of the two dwarves, a redheaded female in deep scarlet robes, curtly interrupts the man. “We can introduce ourselves, Passad. I am Metella Raugar, representing the interests of several Highhelm mercantile consortia. My companion”—she gestures to a dwarven man with leathery skin baked by the sun, his head swathed in a bright yellow scarf—“is Amauhak of Reth Bezel, a mystic of the sand dwarves of Osirion.”
Passad attentively sees to his guests’ needs and ensures that the refreshments are to their liking before discussing business.
"My boat, the Abacus, will take you from Kerse, hugging the shore of Lake Encarthan before entering the mouth of the Glass River to pursue your first task: searching the Gray Revelation Inn. From there, the Abacus will take you the rest of the way to Mendev to deliver myself, Metella, and Amauhak, and hopefully the liberated envoys. Keeping the presence of myself and his my companions a secret is the wisest course, given what happened to the earlier team."
|
|
Anibal nods at Einn's response as if making a mental note, greets Guy with a quickly raised and lowered hand, as if in deep thought. Once the dwarves arrive and introduce themselves, he clears his throat before responding.
"Ahem - Greetings! Nice place you have here. Expected for a man of your status, I suppose. I was under the impression that at least two of you are accompanying us. Can you suggest are we supposed to keep this a secret?"
Before the dwarves respond, he stops them by a lifted index finger, and goes for another quick question: "Do you have a recent, detailed, map of the area we could look at before leaving, or take it with us?"
|
|
Einn clears her throat. "I believe we are to liberate the current envoys from the Razmiran priests. I agree it is best that our friends," she indicates the two dwarves, "stay safe. We need dwarven envoy's to negotiate the re-open the Sky Citadel." She hands Guy the note.
|
Some stern arguing and maybe even a slight bit of shouting can be heard coming from the front door from where you first entered the estate. The voice is familiar, the servant who ushered you inside seems to be having argument with someone.
"No I don't believe you've got the right estate Mr...." Followed by a far deeper, more robust voice "Luuuuuuurg. My name is Luurg, but you gotta say it long and slow like dat else it sound funny."
"Yes, Mr Luuuurg. Are you sure you've come to the right place? They are already having a meeting inside and ... they don't wish to be disturbed." The deep voice answers back with a more insistant tone "I'mma 'posed to be in dat meetin'! I'mma Pathfinder too, I got distracted by dem nice a-bo-cado trees out front! Dey's super gud!"
"Ummm no.. thank you... they are quite good... Let me get you a towel then you can head in.... oh wait! The carpet!"
The doors swing open and a larrrgggeee, rotund Half... Mostly? Orc walks in smiling, with large perfect white teeth, beedy little orcish eyes and a leaf covered spear in one hand and a stack of emerald green fruits in the other. "Hey Dare! I'm Luurg, sorry fer bein' late. Don't have so many gud fruits right outside if you don't want people being late!"
Looking down at his full hands and then at the others, Luurg leans his spear up against the wall, takes off his backpack and drops the pile of 'abocados' down into it with a thud, thud, thud! He pulls the drawstring tight and leans it up against the wall with his spear. With his backpack off its easy to see the glory that is 'Luuuuurg'. A skin tight chain shirt struggles to contain an impressive belly, a few links in the chain already seem to have lost the battle of the bulge. Around his neck and belt are a slew of different fruits dancing on a leather cord. They range from coconuts, to apples, to pineapples, to bananas. Other assorted fruits seem to be hidden among them as well.
He reaches out his immense green palm to shake hands and introduce himself "Nice hut you got here! Smell real gud too!" He gives a long and deep sniff, closing his eyes a bit as he savors it. Whoever shakes his hand immediately notices a bit of a combination of a sticky substance and a greasy one. The greasy bit definitely smells of 'abocado'. The sticky has a faint odor of apples mixed with.. pineapple?
"What Luurg miss? Not much yet? Where we goin? Luurg love to travel. Any swamp werk maybe? Gobbie tribes need stompin?" He asks questioningly.
|
|
Guy is completely unable to decide what to make of Luuuuurg, but he is slightly afraid to say his name in case the green ball of energy takes offense. The half-orc reminds Guy of certain bullies that used to torment him as a child. Then again, his easy going and friendly manner does not strike Guy as bully behavior. But just to make sure guy maintains a safe distance and gives him the squinty eyed once over more than once and he shares a look with the poor doorman.
"I will answer some questions." exclaims Temel
“We are rescuing three dwarves: Rakuska Imgardam, a well-known Five Kings diplomat and devotee of Torag; Holfist Sendstrom of Taggoret; and Pechas Domri—like Amauhak, a Pahmet dwarf of Osirion. All are valued for their strategic and military acumen.”
“Razmiran is a strict theocratic government presided over by a vast priestly bureaucracy serving a being said to be a living god.”
“All other faiths are prohibited in the nation, though foreign priests are tolerated as long as they are not proselytizing and just passing through. All nonresidents are subject to sundry tariffs and unannounced inspections.”
"What happens if you fail?"
“Metella and Amauhak will take their places, though it would reflect far better on the Society were you to rescue the captives. Regardless, it will be important to continue to Mendev in a timely fashion afterward.”
Knowledge History or Religion
Razmir, known as the Lord of the 31 Steps, claims to have taken the Test of the Starstone and ascended to divinity. He appeared before the people of Xer in the Duchy of Melcat 52 years ago and now acts as both sovereign and god of those captured lands.
It is no secret that the Razmiri clergy rely more on bullying than on divine miracles, often exploiting
travelers to fill the church’s coffers. The regular patrols of faithful enforcers searching for dissension has resulted in the paranoia that runs throughout the government and the populace. Any friendliness from a native is cause for suspicion.
While not all citizens of Razmiran worship the living god, none would admit as much publicly, especially to outsiders who may be undercover clergy.
A few scholars who have observed the faithful of Razmir performing healing magic claim that the divine magic functions in an abnormal way, different from that granted by other gods. A handful of sages speculate that Razmir’s claim of divinity is questionable, but there is no evidence to prove that he is anything but all-powerful.
After answering some question Temel and his crew go about their duties .
|
|
"Well that's a relief. Frankly I have heard more than a few stories that their clergy are a bit energetic in their defense of their religion. Many a priest of Sarenrae have returned to the church with warnings to keep our beliefs to ourselves when passing through. It's tough to start a church when the government kills all the clergy and members. It doesn't take much to set them off, all it takes is one pamplet or a sermon and *scccrrrch*, no more head. And the rabble is not much better. They're so desperate to stay on their good side that they would delight in turning an outsider in for points in their favor. 'Be wary of a friendly Rasmiri,' the saying goes."
Guy's grimace shows his lack of enthusiasm for this particular mission.
|
|
Einn starts to laugh quietly when she hears Luurg's voice. She finds it harder and harder to muffle her snickers as the poor servant doesn't know what to do with him.
When she sees the looks on everyone's faces as Luurg arrives in all his glory in the fancy salon she just about falls out of her chair trying to keep from laughing and upsetting the half-orc.
She stands up and quickly moves to Luug still snickering. "Lurrg so good to see you my friend. It's been a long time since Absalom and our Confirmation." She tries to hug him, but realizes that she'd smash some of the fruit on his belt and settles for slapping him on the shoulder instead. "Got any good pineapple drinks for later?" she asks with a smile. "Yours are the best."
She realizes everyone is staring at them, and becomes serious. "Rescue three dwarves. Head into the heart of Razmiran territory. Got that. Anything else?" She stands at attention next to Luurg.
|
|
Anibal shakes Luurg's hand in greeting: "A pleasure...", he gives the half-orc a polite nod, and continues to listen to the dwarves speaking. He discreetly smells his hand after feeling the sticky substance on his palm, and produces an old cloth from his coat to wipe the hand of whatever it is that made his right hand sticky.
"Every plan sounds simlpe, until reality hits.", he responds to Einn.
Before the dwarves leave, he attempts to get their attention: "What of the maps?"
|
|
Luurg smiles at Einn for a moment, a puzzling look crosses his face as he tries to remember. "OH! Hey dare! Good to see you! Gimme big hug! Arrrgghhh.." He grunts as he gives her a solid squeeze, keeping his fruits mostly out of the way. "We catch up on trip, lots of time walking right? Luurg love to walk! Mud is best, cool on da feet!" You look down to notice just that... bare feet and mud... lots of mud...
"Map be gud. Luurg great guide, but much better guide wid maps. If we in big rush we can walk many hours, make better time dat way right?" He then turns to listen to the shy man talk about the priests they may be dealing with "Deez holy men like fruit? Dey bleed red blood like us? Luurg's not a churchy type, dey like me and my fruits... if not dey meet my spear!"
He smiles half joking, half not. Its clear by the stains just below the spear blade that it isn't just for show.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I doubt any conflict with these priests will be fair straight up fight Luuuuuuuuuurg."
I sure hope I made his name long enough.
"Like most bullies they are cowards and either come at you when they know they can win or manipulate innocents to do their dirty work. Just be careful and, uh, sort things out before you start sticking folks with that spear."
After the Pathfinders have their questions answered they sail off on the Abacus.
Your journey along the coast of Lake Encarthan from Kerse is uneventful. Passad’s hired hands (five sailors in all, including the captain) are quiet and efficient, and the boat, a modest craft named Abacus, reaches the mouth of the Glass River and heads east without incident. As the boat enters Razmiri waters, you have a choice as to whether they will dock at Xer and pay any necessary tolls or sail on and try to evade Razmiri authorities.
”We need to do the former.” argues Passad. ”Abiding by the local customs will help us avoid unwanted attention, especially if we include an extra gratuity when we pay our tolls. Without proof that we have paid the expected tribute , we run the risk of greater trouble if accosted by one of the ubiquitous faith barges upriver.” Passad draws two platinum pieces from a white silk purse. ”Here, I will provide the toll myself.”
”No.” exclaims Mettela. ”Stopping at Xer gives the authorities a chance to search this boat and discover you Passad. It is best to avoid the docks altogether and take our chances with any faith barges we might encounter.”
|
|
"From my knowledge of the Razmiran religion, Alyssa may be right. Even with the paper we may need to keep paying. On the other hand not stopping will certainly gather attention. I say we stop, and pay the toll. Perhaps a gratuity and the right words will keep us from being searched by the authorities."
|
|
"Even if they search us - do we have anything to hide?", Anibal addresses Passad.
"Assuming we have nothing that is considered contraband on board, and the three of you masquerade yourselves as generic sailors scrubbing the deck and hull, they would be none-the-wiser. Merchant boats are not an oddity here, are they?"
|
"since we have to hide them is there any barrels or something we might be able to put them in?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
"Pay taxes for not a reason? Dats not right! Dat dare be teefin'! Luurg don't take kindly to no teefs. We go 'round I say den. How you guys at swimmin? I can swim real gud, go sink any nasty barges maybe? At least keep dem from gettin' us if you got some moar ropes and anchors or sumtin? Luurg can be kinda sneaky... shhh." He puts his fat sticky finger to his lips and smiles.
|
|
Anibal can't help but to show a hint of a smile imagining Luurg sneaking around. "Heh - While I agree with our fruit-loving friend over here, we are in a foreign land, and their own rules apply. Unless they just make new rules on the fly. Still, we should apply some finesse to this voyage. We have an ulterior motive, remember? I'd go get all necessary papers and possibly a list of taxes and fees that would apply to us. If we are asked for something not on that list, we can at least call people out on it. Speaking of which, what is our cover? Do we have cargo to declare as a legitimate trade goods?"
He looks at the dwarven escorts on the deck: "You have experience in trade here, right? Some pointers might be nice. Unless you wish to expose yourself and deal with anyone demanding a fee directly, that is."
|
|
"Weeelll. If the previous group ran into problems, and I'm assuming they did, we should do things differently. I expect they paid the toll. So I wish to avoid the same pitfalls as them and try to slip in unnoticed. Gives us a better chance of slipping up unnoticed on the kidnappers - again assuming they were kidnapped."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The city of Xer occupies the north bank of the Glass River, and its dozens of docks remain busy as ships headed both east and west call at the port. Grubby men and women in bulky jackets patrol the deck and few smiling faces are seen.
The boat’s captain chooses an isolated berth sheltered on either side by tall warehouses, and unless you direct the sailors otherwise, one of them automatically tosses a rope to the dockworker, who moors the boat to post near him. This prevents the boat from departing until the Razmiri finish their business or someone severs the rope, which has 4 hit points and can only be severed with slashing weapons, reaper, or similar attacks. The knot affixing the rope to the boat is coated with dried tar and cannot be undone.
As a full-round action you can successfully untie the mooring from the dockside
As the Abacus arrives at the dock, three Razmiri enforcers—one holding the taut leash of a slavering, half- tamed wolf—approach. "What is your business here and and how many souls are aboard?"
The three are ill- tempered, having been disciplined recently for performing their duties with insufficient rigor and enthusiasm. As punishment, they were reassigned to this low-activity dock, where opportunities for profit are rare.
You convince the Razmiri to allow the Abacus and its passengers to sail away unmolested.
|
|
Luurg will be on deck doing his best to look like a deckhand. Moving things around to and fro if needed, or washing/scrubbing. He keeps his mouth shut at least for the time being. Bossmen say: Luurg keep yer yap shut sometimes on dem missions! Best fer all of us!
He does keep an eye on the going's on as best he can from his location
|
|
Guy casts guidance and Touch of Glory on himself for a +5 to his diplomacy roll.
"Besides the crew, which the captain will have to speak for, there are 8 of us that booked passage here. We are looking for some friends that passed through here a while ago. We are worried that they came to some harm."
|
|
Anibal is not below "sweetening the pot" to further develop the group´s agenda, but considers whether the dock guard involved would consider it insulting or a welcome gesture. Either way, he casts a quick incantation, counts 150 gold coins, and puts them in a pouch before approaching the guards.
Anibal casts Oath of Anonimity on himself before approaching the dock workers.
"As my colleague was saying - We are worried, since we did not receive a report from our other ship. The cargo and crew might have been capsized on a shallow area of the river, or some similar unfortunate event."
"I'm sure you are quite busy and we would not wish to waste your time. I assume this would help to speed up the process of us receiving our trade permit and the necessary travel documents."
"There are 8 aboard? Bring everyone above deck for inspection."
Anibal senses something is off and trouble is brewing and does not hand over the bribe.
One of the enforcers notices the bag in Anibals hand.
"What is that? "
|
|
"Oh, this?", Anibal weighs the pouch in his hand a few times. "Backup - in case of any surprise expenses."
He looks at Guy afterwards, and speaks in a calm, but humorous manner. "Du Loc, did you sleep the entire week? Three people disembarked five days ago, remember?. Hitting the bottle again, have you?"
Anibal turns towards the dock workers again, lifts his shoulders in an apologetic gesture, and with a hint of a smile on his face, adds: "Guy can't handle his liquor lately."