The party, having rested for a day from the previous mission, and then spending a fine evening watching Astarton perform at the Belching Boggard, finds themselves once again summoned before the local Venture-Captain. When they arrive they notice another Pathfinder in attendance as well.
Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, a small, dark-haired, and dark-eyed Taldan woman, sits behind her enormous blackwood desk in the Pathfinder lodge in Cassomir and clears her throat. “My friends, thank you on the success of your recent mission, but we have need of your services yet again on such short notice. The Countess Arieta Patrizia, is dead. She escaped her capture by the fiends who operate beneath Cassomir only to succumb to disease and wounds incurred in Cassomir’s disgusting sewers. Ordinarily, this would be a matter for the Taldan authorities, but Arieta came to me directly after escaping and recounted a story that leads me to the natural conclusion that only the Pathfinder Society can resolve this issue.”
Venture-Captain Themis rises and paces back and forth behind her desk. “Arieta told me of an artifact she saw while in captivity below Cassomir. This artifact, called the jet rat, is known to us, but we must confirm that what she saw is indeed true. She claims to have seen it transform normal rats into something bigger, more vile and mean. If that’s true, the artifact she saw down there is old, evil, and should be stored safely in the vaults beneath the Grand Lodge in Absalom where we can study, catalog, and examine it. Worse, she claims to have seen this object in the hands of the derros, vile Darklands creatures that we have long suspected are responsible for the Cassomir kidnappings. I have a map here that shows the location of the sewer grate Arieta was dropped through when she was kidnapped. She could not, due to her illness, recall much about how she got to the location where they kept her in captivity, but she knows where they dropped her into the sewers and you’ll find that location on this map.” Venture-Captain Themis stops pacing and eyes you across her desk. “Bring me back this artifact—if you happen to free a few captured Taldans along the way, that’s good news, but the artifact is your mission. Any questions?”
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I have been contemplating a career change, I heard Exterminator's make decent gold. This should be a good on the job training for me.
Looking at Roary; My friend, we will all return naked as our clothing will have to be burned as soon as possible.
Captain, what else is known about this artifact? Do we know a size, weight, distinguishing marks?
Gryne pauses to gulp the rest of his ale. It appears Astarton's performance has sent the Dwarf spiraling downward into a barrel of cheap ale in an attempt to truly understand the artistry of Astarton.
And who are you?, addressing the Tiefling Pathfinder. I am Gryne Skystone, Grand Lodge Inquisitor/Exterminator. *snicker* I think our companion Twigg is going to have many questions for you, prepare yourself, he gets excited easily
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Makena shrugs after venture-captain Hestia finishes her briefing. "Really, more rats? You can still see the bite marks on my ankles", she sighs disheartened. Throwing a friendly glance at Gryne, she says jokingly "I hope you are a good exterminator, Gryne... and I hope Twigg's magic works on those nasty creatures, too!"
Knowledge, Local: The Cassomir sewers are actually the third incarnation of a sewer system beneath Cassomir. As the newest, the current Cassomir Sewers are large, vaulted affairs with tile ceilings, brick walls, stone walkways, and make-shift wooden bridges. The sewers are completely unlit and you will need to provide your own illumination. The sewer grates at the end of each “dead end” lead to smaller and smaller pipes that eventually connect to the storm drains throughout Cassomir. The sewer waterway itself is a combination of rain water, tidal salt water from the harbor, human and animal waste, and the city’s other refuse.
Knowledge, Arcana: The Jet Rat is so obscure that in your studies you have have only ever come across one passage about it, which merely detailed it as a small, glossy black statue of a rat that gives off a minor aura of transmutation.
Knowledge, Dungeoneering:(actually Know:Local does humanoids, but dungeoneering will be fine since all your knowledge skills are the same) Though derros dwell deep under most of the surface world's cities, very few know of the sadistic creatures' existence. Descended from mysterious fey that once dwelt deep underground, the derros lust for the comforts of the surface, yet the light of the sun causes them to blister, burn, and die. Derros often abduct surface dwellers to perform hideous experiments on them in their never-ending quest to divine what protects those who dwell above from the burning death, yet the intrinsic madness that plagues all derros dooms these experiments to failure every time. In the end, traumatized victims are returned to their homes, memories not quite completely wiped of their ordeal, to live the rest of their lives in vague fear of a nightmare they can't quite recall. You also know they often employ poison of different types on their weapons, the are immune to confusion and insanity based spells, and the are vulnerable to sunlight.
Venture-Captain Themis turns to Gryne and answers, "Very little is known about the Jet Rat to be honest. We know the item appears in the shape of a small black statue of a rat, but as to its function or anything else distinguishing about it, we are unsure."
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Astarton sits through the whole meeting with a goofy smile on his face until, that is, he found out they were going into the sewers. He dropped his head into his hands. "The one night I got a promissory date from an Aasimar, I have to go into the sewers to retrieve a rat. I should have known it was too good to be true. I'll never get the smell out in time!"
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"Oh boy the sewer! I met a stinky dwarf once... Kinda smelled like a dirty dog... I wonder if it will be similar... I've never been to the sewer this is a happy day! And if I'm able to meet a Derro that would be even better. Are they the crazy dwarves? We just beat up a couple of crazies! Gryne all we have to do is shave their beards to defeat them, right?"
Twigg pops up behind Roary with a hedgehog on his shoulder.
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Astarton looks up toward Gryne when asked about the brother. "Yes, my eyes is doing much better, it was hard enough to ask that angelic creature out without showing it to her, I can't even imagine how to get the smell out in time."
As he listens to Twigg, he does cheer somewhat. "Maybe that's why I have such a bad time. No beard. I can grow a thin one, I just never tried..."
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Makena whistles and moves her fingers, and four fiery globes appear in the air. She directs the globes around Twigg's face, following his jaw line down to his chin, creating what appears to be a beard made of cool flames.
"Well, Twigg, you would look fierce indeed with a beard!" Smiling, she holds her polished buckler before the gnome to show him his reflection.
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That is a smile that has likely seen its share of explosions
I have spent my entire life trying to get above ground and once again I am sent beneath the surface for the Society.
Shall we keep a tally of who kills the most rats? It may help us forget that were stomping through our own sewage. What say you all?
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The half elf looked thoughtful. "A contest of prowess, I'm likely to fail as well, but I don't mind participating. Any game can be good for morale." He stood and stretched his arms out wide and dropped them to his sides. "Well, we shouldn't dawdle. There is much to do and the sooner I can find myself to a bath with some fresh soap the better."
The party, satisfied with the information from the Venture Captain and eager to cut their teeth on some filthy rat action, gathers up their gear and heads towards the sewer entrance indicated on the crude map handed to them. As they leave, each member of the group is momentarily stopped by a runner or page as they make their way out, and is handed a small folded piece of paper.
Servant of the Satrap,
An agent of mine, Wafid Sadaqat, is missing in Cassomir. He was captured a year ago on board the Prancing Prince, a slave galleon the Taldans commandeered. He was imprisoned in the vile Swift Prison in Old Cassomir and recently disappeared from his bunk. We do not believe he escaped. Rumors have reached my ears that unscrupulous guards may have sold him to derro slavers beneath Cassomir. If you find him down there, return him to me—quietly. Additionally, we are concerned about the proliferation of supplies throughout the Darklands beneath Cassomir that seem to originate from an Andoren smuggling operations. These uncreative louts mark their boxes with a giant red X. Count the number of boxes thusly marked as you wander beneath Cassomir so that I may compare that number to these recently acquired shipping manifests from the Taldan Imperial Navy. If they match, we have a weapon to use against those Andoren dogs.
May your coffers run deep,
Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri
Agent of the Empire,
When will the empire be rid of the Teppish family? Strike down one of them, and another sprouts like a weed. Pluck that weed, and another materializes from thin air. I have reason to believe that Grench Teppish, the twin brother of Dalirio Teppish, is behind the Countess’s kidnapping. If you find him, ensure he dies and bring me his head. Though it will be a small consolation for the Patrizia family, mounting his head on the gates of their family estate should hopefully keep the Teppish clan quiet for a while. Lastly, while below, should you find any source of poison—natural or otherwise — recover it in perfect condition and return it to me. My supplies seem to be running low and poison is so dreadfully expensive here in Taldor. Be a dear and get me some more.
In the Emperor’s Name,
Baron Jacquo Dalsine
Honored Subject of the Ruby Prince,
This tale of a shiny black artifact that turns normal rats into large, violent rats sounds disturbingly like an old artifact of Osirion, lost a thousand years ago. Known as the jet rat, this artifact enabled some depraved individuals to create armies of vermin. Should this be the very same artifact, be sure it’s returned to the safe-keeping of the Pathfinder Society Grand Lodge in Absalom. This item is very dangerous and shouldn’t be floating about in the general marketplace. If you happen to find a rat that has been altered by the artifact, take a sample from its body—but do so carefully. Remove the patch of skin and fur on the back of the neck. These must be taken together. Return a sample to me so that we may further understand how this artifact works.
In service to our Ruby Prince,
Amenopheus, The Sapphire Sage
The group arrives at the location on the map and finds a heavy metal drain cover protecting the access to the sewer proper. With little effort, Roary heaves the cover wide allowing the party to drop down into the much and filth below, the barbarian following closely behind them.
Murky puddles dot the tile floor below, which gently slopes toward the room’s center where some of the puddles are very slowly draining into a large, 10-foot-by-10-foot drain. Thick, sticky webs cover most of the corners of the room, and several large vermin appear to be caught in the webs. The sound of running water can be heard to the north.
As Roary drops down from the opening above and settles himself, the party notices movement in the northwest corner of the room. Looking more closely they see a large spider detaching itself from the webbing and working its way to the ground. It is black and bloated looking, with a large red hourglass shape on the underside of its abdomen. It clicks its mandibles at the group and makes its attack...
1. Asarton, Cedrick, Makena, and Twigg
2. Yuck, its a spider
3. Gryne and Roary (bringing up the rear with a might roll of 1!)
Cedrick's bomb lands true to the mark, exploding and sending wisps of flame and smoke curling through the webs surrounding the spider, burning them and causing hundreds of crispy baby spiders to fall around the area, twitching and convulsing as they are consumed by the burning residue.
Momma spider appears to be stuck to the floor, unable to move, all eight of her legs tangled in a sticky mess of goo, webbing, and burning baby spider corpses. But she's still very much alive...
Its a female giant black widow spider. Nasty stuff. Has a very potent poison bite that can wreck someone's physical strength. They can shoot webbing as well.
Makena's arrow fires, hitting the spider in the abdomen and causing a spray of gore and fluids to erupt from the body.
The spider, finding itself stuck to the floor, attempts to break free from the tangling mess so it can feast on some juicy humanoid fluids. Yum.
The spider manages to free enough of itself from the goop and mess to allow for limited movement. It raises its abdomen from the floor and launches a wet sticky mess of webbing at the little monster that hit it with the hurting fire...
The webbing flies wide and just barely misses the tiefling.
As Roary charges in to the spider it clacks its mandibles and bites at the barbarian...
...and connects. A cold chill rushes through Roary's veins as the spider injects a heavy dose of venom into the wound.
Roary in turn connects with a devastating swing and chops at the spider with his sword, cleaving through the legs and abdomen and causing a massive eruption of goo and ichor to fly across the room and bathe the entire party in spider ick.