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After a hurried summons to the Grand Lodge in Absalom, a quick conversation with Venture-Captain Alissa Moldreserva, and a wet, stormy trip across the Inner Sea to Andoran, the small, warm Pathfinder Lodge in Augustana is a welcome break from travel.
“I can’t believe we are wasting our time on this matter,” says Caudron Wallace, the venture-captain of Augustana as he paces the main hall.
“Frankly, I want as little to do with it as possible, so I’m passing it on to you.” Wallace nods toward a door at the back of the room. “The vagrant through there was found collapsed on our front steps gripping a wayfinder of all things. We still don’t know who he is. Talk to him, for the tale he tells is amazing if true, and then come back here.”
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The team is admitted to a small sitting room at the back of the main hall. There you find a six chairs and some bookshelves filled with the latest edition of the Chronicles.
An old, withered man sits in one of the chairs, half-dozing when you enter. His skin is shockingly pale and his features are sharp with high cheekbones and a jutting chin. Despite his incredibly filthy visage, matted white hair, and infirmity, when he awakes and regards you with a look of absolute confident superiority.
“My loyal subjects, welcome! I know that some of you might not recognize me in my current state, but it is truly me, Gandros, the long-lost Prince of Augustana. I have been in hiding since the untimely death of my father, the Emperor, preparing for my return to glory. Unfortunately, I bear ill news. The army I have been gathering in the otherworld has been infiltrated by agents of our enemies. When last I called my forces together for inspection, dark assassins attacked me and I barely escaped with my life.”
He takes this opportunity to roll up his sleeve and reveals a series of recently inflicted claw and tooth marks on his right forearm. He then launches into a breathless retelling of how he came to be in the Lodge, without pause or acknowledgement of interruptions.
“I fled back through the magic portal to this realm. Grievously wounded, and with the assassins in close pursuit, I leapt into the dark river. I floated past the Almsman’s Sanctuary, but couldn’t climb out of the water. I did manage to grab one of the bridges, but a plank fell in with me. I held on for dear life and continued to drift downstream. I went over a waterfall and then emerged in the lake of ships and crawled to shore. Augustana has changed since I last walked my city’s bright streets, but I managed to find this house, bearing the symbol of my father’s empire.”
He holds up the wayfinder hanging from a chain around his neck. “I knew I would find help here! If you remove the threat from my kingdom below and help restore me to my rightful place as Emperor of Andoran, I will grant you any boon within my power!”
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Umm... pardon me, but you seem to assume that I know who you are, but I must plead ignorance. I'm afraid I know neither who you are nor who your enemies are.
You've mentioned assassins, and, seeing as I've received such training myself, that must be why they called me to help you. So, perhaps you could do this little frog a favor and tell me what you know of your enemies.
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"You may address me as 'Your imperial highness'" says the man, making sure you realise whose audiance chamber this is.
"I have gathered my army in the Otherworld, beyond the Circular Portal" he explains slowly, as if to a simpleton. "As for finding it, that is your job. Follow the dark river up from the Almsman and surely you will be able to see off my enemies and rouse my armies for me."
"As for my enemies they are many, and masters of disguise - everyone one of them. But through patriotic fervour I know you will triamph."
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A short and lean Tian-Shu hurriedly enters. He is slightly out of breath, as if he might have been rushing over. His long flowing hair and robes strangely seem to billow gently, although there clearly is no breeze indoors. Under his simple robes is a tien-style leather lamellar armor, while strapped to his left arm is a small buckler. Beyond that, he does not appear to be carrying much more gear, and noticeably, does not seem to be carrying a weapon.
"Sorry, I am la.." Fung stops though when he realises no one is noticing him, but rather is listening to the old man. Fung sidles up behind everyone and listens, too. Those of you near him feel a gentle breeze around him.
Fung frowns deeper and deeper as he listens. Otherworld? Magic portal? Well, at least it's not undeads... He whispers to the other Pathfinders, "Um, is he ... uh ... not quite balanced?" Unfortunately, Fung's voice moderation is not that masterful, and his words carry further than he intended.
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"I" glares the price "Am extremely well balanced, having fallen over no more than twice today. Be respectful or I will have my chamberlain remove you."
He graciously extends his hand, holding the wayfinder. "A" he hesitates for a moment, not quite sure what to make of Dunia "Lady..." he concludes uncertainly. " may certainly inspect my birthright."
So far as you can tell it is just a regular wayfinder with the rune of the open road upon it.
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A dark bird glides into the room to land on the back of a chair. "Ah, this is the odd man, who I was told about?"
He bobs in a close approximation to a bow. "Your Highness, my name is Javon. I was...um, what was I doing when I heard about him, Gerald? Gerald? Gerald, where are you? Your Highness, my apologies, my porter has gone missing it seems."
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"I'm right here! And my name is not Gerald, Javon. You know my name. It's Grax!" A young half-orc comes around the corner wearing armor and a greatsword strapped to his back. He also seems to carry a large flail on his belt.
"Javon, your memory is horrible. The captain told us about him just a while ago. You said something about indulging the man." He shakes his head and looks at the others. Grax rolls his eyes.
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"Don't be silly. Gerald is a much finer name for a porter. It suits you well, Gerald."
The bird turns back to the Prince. "Now, where is this Alms...Almsstone? What did you say you passed coming from the portal? And alms giver?"
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Lady Isabel knows there has been no royalty in Andoran since the Peoples Uprising maybe forty or fifty years ago. While the man appears to be the right age to be a lost prince from the era, she has heard no rumors of the family surviving.
The Prince smiles at the graceful lady Isabel.
"And my pleasure also. Please convey Our greetings to Our brother monarch when next you see him."
Ladu Isabel also knows there is a huge variety of lesser nobility - lords and such in Taldor and a "lord" is likely to never see the king.
He nods to Javon, a little surprised to see a talking bird. "We agree that good help can be so hard to come by." He glares at the porter. "Kindly have him removed, or shall We summon Our chamberlain to do so?"
He turns back to the bird, taking the talking creature in his stride.
"That We do not really know. As We said, it is upstream of that Lake of Ships that We emerged in. We were hoping Our loyal subjects would be more familiar with those mundane aspects of Our lands."
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"Replace Gerald? Oh, no your highness. While he can be uncouth, he is nothing if not loyal. He has been tasked to help me regain my memories and my previous power. And he will put his own body before mine. You cannot buy such....um..." The eloquent bird seems to have forgotten the end of his own sentence. "What is the word? My, this is embarrasing. You cannot buy such...you know..."
"But we are here about your problems. Now, my mind isnt what it used to be. Telp us again of your travel since the portal. "
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The prince happily repeats his story. "I fled back through the magic portal to this realm. Grievously wounded, and with the assassins in close pursuit, I leapt into the dark river. I floated past the Almsman’s Sanctuary, but couldn’t climb out of the water. I did manage to grab one of the bridges, but a plank fell in with me. I held on for dear life and continued to drift downstream. I went over a waterfall and then emerged in the lake of ships and crawled to shore. Augustana has changed since I last walked my city’s bright streets, but I managed to find this house, bearing the symbol of my father’s empire.”
After a moment he adds "IF you have no more questions, my chamberlain will see to mundane details.."
It doesn't take a lot to realise you are dismissed, and the chamberlain, that in Venture Captain Alissa Moldreserva takes out back out of the "Audience chamber"
There she says
“My diviners say that there is some truth to his story. There has never been a Prince of Augustana, nor an Emperor in Andoran, but the old fellow has a surprising amount of knowledge of the pre-revolution noble families of the city. He may be the lost scion of some noble line. If so, he’s fallen far. From the filth and stink on him when we found him, we’re fairly certain he’s been living in or near a sewer. The wayfinder is also a mystery, but for now, it makes him one of ours. However, I’m more interested in his supposed gate to the otherworld. If it exists, I want to know about it. Implausible as it may seem, I’m certain that his injuries were caused by otherworldly beings."
She looks concerned.
"We must take the possibility of a portal seriously. I don’t want to dirty my hands with this, but you don’t have that choice. Retrace the old man’s path through the sewers. The Almsman, whom he repeatedly mentions, is rumored to be an eccentric priest who runs some sort of hidden beggar’s sanctuary in the sewers. He may know where our prince’s portal is, if you can find him. But be warned; a local gang calling themselves the Steel Wyverns claims the sewers near the Almsman’s Sanctuary as their own territory.”
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Nodding along to herself, "I agree, Lady Alissa, it is definitely peculiar. In all my education I too was never taught anything of an Emperor of Andoran. Either he is a crazy or something more is a foot,"
Looking at her new allies, "We'll get to the bottom of this, is there anything else to know about the Steel Wyverns?"
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Grax nods. "If the Almsman operates out of the sewers, then he may be the key to all of this. He could likely tell us more about our Prince." Then he sighs. "Javon, if I have to wade through sewage for you, your memories had better be worth it."
"We also could ask around about the Steel Wyverns. If we know their territory, then we know where to start looking for the Almsman."
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The Almsman has recently started providing sanctuary and assistance to the city’s beggars. He is a mysterious figure who wears a mask, but most folk believe he is a priest. Most of the city’s poor do not know where his sanctuary is—those who do know won’t tell.
You know that the sewer comes out in the harbour under a breaker and can be hard to find from land.
How are you going about your search?
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"Well, Gerald, I may not remember anything about the Steel Wyverns, but if we are to wade into the sewers, then we can gain entrance in the Harbor. There is a breaker there and the sewers come out under it. It can be difficult to find from land, but my memory tells me it is there."
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The grippli adds meekly.
Excuse me all, I am just a little frog, but I can climb and jump and see in the dark and I can be very quiet. I may not know much about the sewers here, but I've heard they sound like the swamps back home, only underground. What I mean to say is, I can scout ahead if you like.
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Fung looks at Qingwa, as if he only just made the connection. "Wait, your name is Xiao Qingwa? Like literally 小青蛙 ?" Somewhat confused, he punctuates that with an "Oh..."
Shaking it off, Fung adds, "Normally, I would volunteer to scout as well, but my vision underground might not be as good as yours."
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Hearing mention of the sewers, "Oh I do swear, when do I get sent on a mission that doesn't have me tromping through a jungle or wading through the sewers, where are the tea parties and galas, Lady Gloria made it sound grand joining the Sovereign Court,"
Relenting, "But if I must, I will accompany you into these sewers,"
Sighing as she walks through the city with the group.
"I've heard about this Almsmen from some of my more philantropy-minded friends, no one has been able to uncover his identity nor where he hides and the poor folk he helps won't reveal anything about him,"
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Xiǎo Qīngwā nods to Xuan Fung.
Well, that was not the name my parents gave me, no, but Master Bái said I am to be called Xiǎo Qīngwā until I have earned a more respectable name.
The little frog did not mind the stench so much.
The first thing he did though was to test the walls, see if his padded feet could gain purchase on the stone.
Xiǎo Qīngwā will scout ahead, moving as quietly has he can and peering off into the darkness. He'll stick to the wall if he can over using the walkway.
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Grax draws his greatsword as he climbs down to the walkway beside the river of sewage. Javon lands on Grax's pack and watches the surroundings as they head deeper into the sewers.
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The smell of waste and rot is strong in this large chamber where filthy water flows in a series of cascades between tiered stone tanks. A raised platform along the east wall is connected to the passage’s walkways by several thick wooden planks creating a makeshift bridge. On that platform is what looks to be a makeshift alchemy lab on a rough-hewn table—beakers, glass vials, dirty bottles, and moldy buckets cover the entire surface of the table.
Three men are here, two with spiked chains near the "bridge" and one near the alchemists lab.
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Grax gives a grim smile, knowing that if the thugs considered this their territory, a fight was inevitable. He whispers a word to Javon and the bird flies up and hides among the a niche in the wall. The half orc holds his greatsword up.
"Well, its six on three, but we just want to pass through. Get out of here now. Trust me that i know how to use this sword."
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