Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin enters boldly, his strong presence causing brings an expectant hush as you wait for his opening words.
“Pathfinders, I’m sure you know our associate, Guaril Karela, if not personally then by reputation,” says Ambrus Valsin while gesturing to the Varisian man seated across from him. “We’ve had reports from a confidential informant in the Aspis Consortium that trouble is brewing in Tamran. Probably not coincidentally, several of Karela’s shipments bound for Tamran have gone missing.”
Guaril adds, “You see, the Molthuni navy maintains a rather tyrannical blockade around the city—a blockade past which my associates and I have helped Ambrus move items numerous items. It’s not so difficult; the Molthuni are not the brightest stars in the sky. Or at least it wasn’t difficult until recently. An unknown party has intercepted my last dozen shipments, and I doubt Molthune is responsible. When I lose shipments—”
“—Our lodge in Tamran loses much needed supplies,” finishes Ambrus. [b]“Not to mention the fact that Guaril provides many important goods to the people of Tamran, such as food and medicine. Your mission is to accompany Guaril to Tamran and investigate the disappearances and thefts. Hopefully Oraiah Tolal, our venture-captain in Tamran, will have more leads.
“You depart with Karela in two hours. If you have any questions, or any supplies to purchase, I advise you do so now.”
He stands at parade rest looking at each of you in turn.
|
Lolly didn't want to be the first to speak up, as her natural shyness makes her feel all fluttery when she is speaking to new people. In fact the only person in the room she knows is the Venture Captain, whom must to trust her to assign her to a mission like this.
Almost invisible among the large men collected here, Lolly is a wisp thin girl of no more than 10 or 11 years. Her strawberry blonde hair is pulled into two pig tails on either side of her head, and she wears a pretty blue and white dress you might see on any middle class girl in Absalom these days. Only discerning eyes of finally honed Pathfinder agents can see through her intentional disguise. The features are not quite human, and there's some age in her face, most would not notice at a glance. It's hard for most to tell she is a young halfling woman, and she's glad of it, children can move around without notice much easier than adults can and this can be very useful.
In a very quiet mousy voice, Well hello, my name is Lolly, I'm pretty good at sneaking around, that's probably why I'm here. She stares at her buckled shoes as she speaks slowly.
Making quick eye contact with Ambrus before looking away and back to her shoes, Mr. Valsin, what can you tell us about our travels, will there be dangers on the way?
Gurail will captain the ship transporting you to Tamran.
Most of you are aware the Nirmathi are outmatched by the Molthuni in numbers, and so they rely on guerilla tactics to win their war of independence. To this day, the capital Tamran and its surrounds are not protected by a single army but by loose collection of militias.
Molthune has captured and occupied Tamran five times throughout its history, but the Nirmathi have retaken it each time. Fortifications proved ineffective against the Molthuni armies, so the Nirmathi simply tore down the walls; this makes it harder for the Molthuni to hold the city, and the forces invariably withdraw and burn down the city after sustaining too much harassment.
|
Alexandre slips into the office with a chagrined look on his face. He is a thin, well-kept man with a mess of auburn hair. His shirt and trousers are somewhat plain, but well-made, as is the blade sheathed along his left side.
"My apologies for the late entrance. The page you sent had a little trouble finding me." After getting brought up to speed, (likely to Venture-Captain Valsin's annoyance) He gets a thoughtful look on his face.
"First of all, what did those reports say? Was there any information of note, or was it just a "something odd" report? Likewise, has Venture-Captain Tolal mentioned anything in his reports?
Secondly, Do we know anything about the Molthuni forces currently near Tamran?
And Lastly,"he says, as he turns his attention to Guaril, "How will we be entering the city, and should we take any major precautions due to them?"
|
A man in a used Dark robe with the spiral of fate on him and a lot of holy water vials on him is part of the group.
"Stop those who stop our smuggling. Ok. The only that matter for Pharasma is that the dead have an appropriate ritual after dying and that the dead stay dead. So I suggest you that you restrain an urge to kill. Because i will need to bury them. That takes time. For the rest, I will do to do what you need me to do.
By the way, whose gods each of you follow?"
It is not that i don't care about all of this. I just capable to have one burden at time. And i will never be relive of this one. This is my fate.
|
Lukaas is a well dressed young man, sporting a beard. A tear is tatooed under his left eye.
Mindlessly, he plays with a magnificent luth, drawing a few soft, sad notes, while listening to the Venture Captain and Guaril, and then to his Pathfinder colleagues.
Nodding to the pig tailed young girl,he whispers to her
Nice to meet you too. I'm Lukaas Penn. Sorry,you are so discreet I haven't seen you right away. Miss Lolly popped in..
despite the attempt of humor, his face remains sad.
Jobin screams slightly as he's abruptly teleported out of the room. Ambrus looks unsurprised, as if this happens all the time. "Humph. Looks like the Master of Spells' work. The lad must not have finished a previous report."
"To your questions, then."
Ambrus nods at Alexandre. "I don't have much information readily available about the composition of the Molthune forces, or even answers to your other questions. It does seem you're in need of a, quick history lesson, though.
"Molthune was both part of the Chelish empire that broke into pieces following the death of Aroden. The country’s militant leaders continued to exploit the forests to the north, driving the rural population to secede and form their own nation called Nirmathas. Molthune has maintained an ongoing campaign ever since to recapture the rebel-held lands, though most of the Inner Sea region’s leaders now recognize Nirmathas’s legitimacy—or at least do not denounce their efforts. The blockade is one of Molthune’s ongoing ways of harassing its northern rival."
"Hopefully you won't have to worry too much about the blockade, as Master Karela here will smuggle you in."
Ambrus yawns slightly, a signal that it's time for you to finish taking up his time.
"You leave in only two hours. Now are there any further questions before I get to doing the rest of my work?"
As per your briefing, Guaril Karela provides a ship to take you (and him) to Tamran, using the cover of night and his own cunning to slip through the Molthuni blockade. You reach Tamran in the early hours of the morning. A local Pathfinder agent named Reginar Lacklan, surreptitiously greets you and offers to take you to the Ashfall Lodge, the Society’s base of operations in Tamran. Once there, Karela explains that he has his own enquiries to pursue and arranges to reunite with the you at the Ashfall Lodge in three days to see what they’ve learned.
Like much of the city, Ashfall Lodge rises above the marshy ground; however, whereas most other buildings stand atop piers and pilings, the Pathfinder lodge straddles three broad cypress trees. Rope bridges and wooden slat ladders wind across its outer branches, leading to a handful of tiny cabins for storage and visiting agents. Two bell pulls hang from the southern tree—one weighted by a medallion depicting the Glyph of the Open Road and the other weighted by a bronze symbol of two faces in profile.
Reginar takes hold of the Open Road rope and gives it a sharp pull, sounding a high-pitched bell in the lodge above. From above, a gray-haired halfing
woman examines the visitors, smiles, and drops a rope ladder. She nimbly clambers down and gestures grandly to the elevated structure. “Welcome, Pathfinders. May Ashfall Lodge be your home away from home and your welcome to a new land. If you’ll accompany me, I can answer any questions you might have.”
The halfing introduces herself ("Oraiah Tolal, at your service"), and you recognize her as the Venture-Captain over this lodge. Oraiah leads you to a small meeting room inside. There she explains that her own attempts to investigate the thefts were stymied by a pernicious rumor spreading through Tamran slandering the Pathfinder Society in general—and more specifically herself and Reginar—as Molthuni sympathizers. "Those nasty rumors were probably started by the same folk that disappeared Karela's shipments, to keep me from looking further. But without any proof, there was little I could do. Hopefully you young ones are new enough here you'll have more success."
Oraiah recommends several sites that might be worth investigating in the city.
* The Docks: “Karela’s shipments across the lake haven’t been getting through, which means the bandits must have a ship. If they have a ship, they’ve probably visited Tamran’s docks.”
* The Gar’s Last Meal: “Many consider it the only inn in town worth staying at—a harsh verdict but a great place to dig up rumors.”
* The Forest Bounty: “That’s the town’s most popular feast hall. These
days it’s seen a lot of traffic from members of the city’s various militias. You probably won’t get a very friendly reception, what with the rumors around town, but talking to the militia patrols is your best bet at learning what’s going on outside the city.”
* The Market District: “We haven’t been getting our supplies, but several of the more... illicit... items Karela used to bring into the city are still appearing in the market. That suggests someone in town is fencing goods for the thieves.”
|
|
Getting into Tamran was far easier then I thought it would be. Alexandre thought as the party entered Ashfall Lodge. I was expecting an assault as we entered town, or on the Lake. He shakes his head before focusing on the Venture-Captain's words.
"So, we have three days to gather information before Mr. Karela returns. My instinct says to try Gar's or the Bounty first. Getting word of mouth is always helpful. "
The Gar’s Last Meal is a reasonably priced and relatively comfortable inn, whose only downside is that it smells of fish. The taproom at the Gar’s Last Meal is a fairly popular local hangout, providing a large number of possible informants in one place, if you think you're able to pin any down.
|
|
While the others work the crowd for Lukaas, Alexandre grins and works from the other end of the taproom, letting his natural charm gain the goodwill of those he chats with.
Just before a verbal duel, a noble fencer can spend up to 4 panache points. For each point he spends, he selects a tactic for which he has chosen Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Sense Motive as an associated skill and gains an edge he can only use with that tactic.
This deed replaces the dodging panache deed.
Lucas has very little luck, despite many attempts at conversation. All eyes are ont the pair of women performing that evening.
Alexander makes many new friends, and is quickly the talk of the tavern. The most talkative are Lily and Lilah, the pair of sisters performing at the tavern. They repeatedly return to his table between sets, and more than once offer to answer whatever questions he might have.
"So, what brings you to town, pretty boy?" Lilah asks.
|
|
"Well,"Alexandre starts, "My cousin, Tobias, comes through Tamran to pick up some supplies from time to time for his trading post out west. But this past month, he's had a string of bad luck. So he asked me to come here and buy his goods for him, and my dear Lolly wanted to come along. Now, I come to Tamran, only to find that the supplier that Tobias hasn't been able to get his supplies, thanks to the gods-be-damned Molthuni. He said that lately, they've had more luck with catching the blockade runners, and some folks are blaming Pathfinders for the fiasco."
He sighs in a blatantly dramatic fashion before continuing. "At this point, I'm just hoping to find any of the supplies that Tobias needs. Would you lovely ladies be able to direct to someone that was more lucky in dodging the blockade, or at least direct me to where I can find any rumors about such a blockade runner?"
Lily leans in close and says, “I heard the thefts were fake. One of those Pathfinders was in here a few weeks back asking around about the Shining Crusade, wanting to know if anyone had a picture or a drawing of what the soldiers back then looked like. I asked her about the thefts, and she said it was all a lie to let the smugglers drive up the prices.”
Lilah, scooting in closer on the other side, all the while ignoring Lolly, adds a bit more information. “Yeah, I remember that elf. She gave me the willies, her and her boyfriend both. Glad I haven’t seen them around town lately.”
The two women provide little useful information beyond identifying both supposed Pathfinders as elves who had a strong herbal scent about them.
There is little else to be gleaned, and the remaining patrons either nothing useful or aren't sharing.
You enjoy a pleasant evening at The Guar's Last Meal, and manage to only spend hour seeking clues.
|
|
Blueington meticulously sets aside his dining utensils before wiping his mouth with a handkerchief and slowly sliding back from the table.
An herbal scent makes me think of some more interesting recreational substances. Maybe a peak at the docks would turn up someone who knows more about these so called pathfinders or information about our bandits.
Although Molthune blocks much of the trade to and from Tamran, the city still does brisk business with other Nirmathi settlements up the river, and there’s plenty of fishing to be done well before reaching Molthune’s interdictors.
The docks bustle with activity during the day, but it's winding toward evening now.
|
|
Lolly follows the others to the docks, as they go she seems to be mumbling to herself a good deal, culminating in a slightly louder,
I said not right now Sir T!
Quickly followed by her speeding up to catch up with Alexandre, Dad, this place smells awfully fishy...I don't like it.
Nevertheless she tags along attempting to aid Alexandre as he gathers information.
Unfortunately, her attempts at being cute on come across as being whiny and annoying. She quickly grows very silent and watches as the others work on the investigation.
After hours, you find someone willing to chat, if only briefly. Jonathram, is closing up his street display for the evening. An amateur apothecary. Jonathram has not aged gracefully, despite his half-elven heritage. He is completely bald, which reveals his slightly pointed ears. He wears a single silver earring in one ear and a snowy white beard.
"Are you sure I can interest you in this simple draught for indigestion? It's made with the finest peppermint. No? Well, you have that look that says you won't leave until your questions be asked, so you may as well ask them."
|
|
After a moment, Alexandre picks up the draught the man is selling and holds it up to the light. "You know, I've heard several ladies in Taldor swear by the cleansing power of Fangwood mints. May be they were on to something."
He hands the going price for the placebo to the man, with a little extra. "I'm looking for a pair of elves, a man and a woman. Both of them were claiming to be Pathfinders, and the going rumor is that they had a strong herbal scent to them. Have you seen or dealt with such a pair?"
"Oh, thanks be upon you and your house, good master. I can't be sayin' I know of those fellows you mention, though. I hope their not looking to horn in on my space. But, Pathfinders, you say? Trading in Pathfinder wares is bad business, I know that much."