The mismatched bard leads you during your long journey to Kaer Maga. The journey takes weeks, first by sea and then by land.
Upon arrival in the city, Gray takes you to the Bottoms district, land of the free man in the city, and leads you to the Godsmouth Cathedral, the center for Pharasma worship in Kaer Maga.
This is where you need to be. Find a person named... He takes out a note with a little etched name on it ...Valanthe Nerissia. He hands the note to the party, which a ripped piece of paper with her name on it. She is a member of this church here. Just tell her you are Pathfinders and she should instruct you on what to do. There should be a small reward involved, but more importantly access to their underground and whatever magic treasures lie in wait there, if there are any.
He salutes the party Good luck, and Desna speed. I have other business to attend to. And with that, he heads off.
|
Thessaly squints after the vanishing bard, then spits expressively onto the cracked stones of the street. She is a tall, rangy half-elf who looks to have taken more after her human heritage. She is wearing a well-made breastplate, a heavy fur cloak, and a perpetual scowl. A glaive that shows signs of heavy use rests in the crook of one arm; her dark hair is cut ragged and short with little care for style or beauty, it seems, and scars zag along one cheek and over the bridge of her nose.
"This city," she says shortly, a trace of an Ulfen accent clipping her words, "is gods-blasted bizarre, and I don't give a damn who hears me say it."
She scrunches her nose up at the big cathedral, then turns a fierce look on the other Pathfinders. "Name's Thessaly. Thess if you're in a hurry. I stab things, I can take a hit, and if you let me handle locks and such we'll probably all live longer. We can save the fuzzy-wuzzy stuff for celebrating after the job's done."
|
A tall, athletically-long-limbed half-orc grins over at the half-elf. He's an interesting balance to her. He, too, leans casually on a polearm (though admittedly his is a simple longspear) and sports a breastplate for protection. But where she is all hard edges and mercenary in appearance, the half-orc has a simple, good-natured look to his ruggedly handsome features.
"Nice ta meetcha, Thess. I'm Kayde," he responds, offering a firm shake. Then he leans in, and adds solemnly, "Kinda like the god."
So maybe he's not the sharpest arrow in the quiver.
He keeps grinning through her full introduction, taking a moment to also take in Kaer Maga. ”Lots’a places is weird, ya know? I’m guessin’ ya just gotta find the charmin’ spots.” His grin widens, ”Or at least the best waterin’ holes.”
That last he punctuates by taking out a canteen—marked with Caelien’s symbol—and takes a long swig. He looks back over at Thessaly, ”Always good to have a ringer in a fight. Me? I’ll just try not to get in the way … though I guess I can swing a stick pretty hard.” He winks, ”That, plus me ma taught me a thing or two about callin’ on the Lucky Drunk. You’d be surprised how often that’s gotten me out of a scrape.”
|
|
Thessaly gives the half-orc a critical once-over, then grasps his hand in a rough, perfunctory handshake.
"Uh-huh," she says. "Yeah, well, I think I saw some big ugly cuttin' out his own guts as we walked through the city, so I won't be 'watering' around him, tell you that much for free."
She frowns a little, then digs in her backpack until she finds a stick of wood about ten inches long, traced with curly vine and leaf patterns. "You're a god-botherer? Can you use this?" she asks, gruffly shoving the stick at Kayde.
"Guess I don't mind Cayden, though. One of the best of the lot."
|
A mysterious thin man with dark skin, sharp cheekbones, broad shoulders and bald head join the party in the ship.
He has many tattoos spread throughout the body, and a face painted in the eyes line. Under a black robe, he wears a long and colorful robe, ornated with sashes at the waist.
"I'm Malakiah Uzamar", the wizard says in a low voice to the others and he remains silent during the trip, unless someone starts talk to him.
Once they arrive at Kaer Maga, Malakiah calls Thessaly and Kayde's attention: "you talk too much. We have a job to do here. Let's find this 'Valanthe', c'mon".
He wasn't rude, just strictly objective.
|
|
"I'll bet you're a real riot at a party."
"I will consider it a compliment, Kayde", Malakiah almost smiled.
"I am Little one ere heh I am the little cleric of Cayden. I mostly provide the distraction and throw stones" the Halfling surveys the cathedral "Funny looking tavern. Shall we see if we can get a drink inside?"
"Hello to you too, little one", the wizard tries to be pleasant.
|
A young girl skips up to the group with a huge smile on her face. She wears an old, worn, hide jerkin that was definitely not made for her small frame and some woolen breaches. Her hair is disheveled as if she just rolled out of bed, with even a twig or two caught in the knots. Despite the fact that she probably hasn't bathed in several days, she has a caring face with warm inviting eyes.
She excitedly greets her fellow Pathfinders, "Hi I'm Amelie! I just finished my second adventure with the Society and it was so cool! I go to jump through a portal and go on an icy ship! And before that I even got to meet Mr Dreng and got to go to the Wounded Wisp, can you believe it!"
She finally stops talking, and looks around the group. Amelie furrows her brow and stares intently at each of the others for a moment. "I don't see any evil people in here so that's good, always gotta check! I can always tell ya know." she says with a wink.
|
|
Kayde claps Malakiah mightily on the back, "You take it however you want, Slim."
He waves in a friendly manner at Amelie, shaking his head, "Never been to the Wisp, though I sure want to. Wanted to wait until I could step in as a Pathfinder, ya know?"
At Lyteonira's introduction, Kayde simply gives the small Cayleanite a warm smile, nodding encouragingly as he takes another swig from his own Cayden-engraved canteen.
"I could use a drink,"
"Ha!" Kayde laughs, "this guy gets it! First round's on me. Though I suppose Slim has a point. Maybe we should go check in with ... uh ..." he frowns down at the scrip of paper, working hard to read the name. "Va-lan-the. Gotta make the Society look good, right?"
|
|
"Apparently she is a member of the group of chattering", he thought about Amelie.
"And the dwarf acts...as a dwarf. Why do they think only in stones and drinks?", he questioned it mentally.
"Slim? What a f...?!", Malakiah rolls his eyes.
"Yes, Valanthe. Let's find her. And yes, we have to make the Society looks good. No troubles in the path to her", he looks to everybody, hesitant.
As you approach the cathedral, you see a bunch of thornless black roses growing on the side, planted in a bed in the center of the path to the church's doors.
Once you open the doors, you see a grand cathedral, with iron candelabras hung from the ceiling to illuminate the central approach to the high altar. A plush purple carpet runs down the center aisle of the cathedral, flanked by rows of wooden pews. At the end of the carpet is a stone altar set on a raised dais. The stone altar houses a large hourglass containing red sand. There are several wooden seating areas on top of the dais for the clergy when a mass is in session. Behind the altar, a large rose window depicts Pharasma in her three aspects: Birth, Death, and Fate. It is flanked by smaller stained glass windows illustrating the judgment of souls in the Boneyard.
Right now, there are clergy members walking around performing their daily business among the various doors that exit from the main cathedral. There are also six men and women around a trapped door in front of the altar at the base of the raised dais, all bearing a symbol of Pharasma emblazoned on their armor.
A man of Taldan descent dressed in priest robes wanders by as Amelie begins talking to him. "Oh, the Pathfinders? I think I heard she was expecting something like that. Follow me. She's been spending most of her time there in the Chapel of the Reaper in the Sanctuary of Death doing daily prayers. If I were to guess, that's where she would be right now."
The man leads the party through the long cathedral hall to a smaller (but still large) side room. Inside, there's several candles, some lit and some not, that represent the departed souls from the temple, and several kneeling benches around the room. There are also sitting benches scattered throughout.
You see a woman of Varisian decent wearing clerical garb and has multiple holy symbols of Pharasma, both embroidered on her clothes and in the form of silver holy symbols.
"Oh, you're the Pathfinders that were sent! I am Valanthe. Welcome to our sanctuary! Thanks Jeeves for leading them to me."
Jeeves leaves you to talk with Valanthe. She glances around the room to make sure no one else is around before continuing.
"It's quite an embarrassing problem we've been having here, especially as we are the main keepers of the dead under Pharasma's guidance. You see" she gulps for a brief moment "for the past few weeks, a lot of bodies that we keep in our Ossuary here have gone... missing. It was only a few bodies at first, but it has been rapidly increasing to the point that every night several of our buried have disappeared! This is a huge problem because people depend on us to bury their dead here and we want to respect the wishes of every single soul that has departed, as it is a sacred sacrament to us."
"The bodies have started missing from a localized area in the catacombs, and right next to that area is a crypt that we haven't opened for many years. We suspect that may be the source of what's causing these bodies to go missing, but we don't dare go down there! Crypts that old that are not maintained are certain to be full of all kinds of monstrosities! I put out a call, which was quickly answered by the Pathfinder Society."
"I have a 500 gold reward for putting a stop to whatever is doing this! As well, if you are able to clear out the whole crypt, I can add 250 gold to that as it would be nice to use that area again."
"You don't have to leave right this moment, but we would like this issue to be dealt with in a timely manner. We are counting on you for our reputation! It probably doesn't require mentioning, but please don't be vocal about this issue."
"I can lead you to the crypt when you are ready."
|
|
Thess follows along in a mostly-uncommunicative silence, her glaive slung over one shoulder. She takes care not to bump into things or furniture in the Pharasmin temple-- while she's hardly pious with regards to most of the gods, the goddess of death herself is one you probably don't want to piss off more than necessary.
This bit of respect seems to evaporate when told of their errand.
"Bloody undead!" Tris growls with a grimace. "Ah, it farkin' figures. Oi, all of you: make sure you've got a blunt stick for the bony bastards, and a good blade-- the kind that cuts, not just pokes-- for the fleshy ones. And if you've got the gold for it, we probably oughtta get Val here to bless some water."
Thess turns a brow arch on Valanthe. "Unless you might see your way to give us some free of charge, lady? Seeing as you want this taken care of quick and quiet? Seems like the goddess of graves might authorize a few bottles to help clean out the house..."
I do have a few things to give you, but not really traditional weapons.
She gives each of you a Potion of Cure Light Wounds and A Vial of Holy Water.
|
|
Kayde gives the big cathedral a curious look, especially noting the Pharasman guards at the trap door. He gives Jeeves a friendly, thankful wave when the man leaves, then settles in to listen to the Varisian woman's instruction. His face is set in a look of concentration as he strains to retain the details.
"Something's snatchin' old dead bodies? That don't seem right." He chews his lip in painful-looking thought. "Anything else weird happening 'round town?"
"Something's snatchin' old dead bodies? That don't seem right." He chews his lip in painful-looking thought. "Anything else weird happening 'round town?"
Valanthe chuckles a little. It's Kaer Maga. There's always something weird going on around town, by my standards anyway. Nothing related to this that I know of, though.
|
|
"It wasn't a ritual at all", Malakiah thought when the paladin dealt with the Pharasmin clergy member.
The wizard walks through the corridors close to the other Pathfinders, looking everything around with much attention, the paintings on the walls, the clothes of the sacred clergy members, everything. His curiosity was almost as big as his thirst for knowledge.
"Pleasure, my lady", he bows to Valanthe Nerissia.
After heard her history, Malakiah looked uncomfortable with the comment of Thessaly, but soon his discomfort disappeared, as Valanthe provided the Potion of Cure Light Wounds and The Vial of Holy Water to the party.
"Well pointed, Kayde. Maybe we can gather some information in the city, before depart to the crypt. I can do it".
|
|
Between a street and another, Malakiah approaches of Lyteonira and Kayde.
"I saw that you are sacred followers of Cayden Cailean. I have this...", he shows them his wand of cure light wounds, "but I don't know how to use it well. I wish one of you stay with it, and use it at the right time", he stretches his hands with the wand toward them, hoping one of them accepts his proposal.
|
|
Kayde looks back through the door—assumedly to where the guards stand their post over the trap door, "So how big is this place we're clearin' out? Do we need to grab supplies for days of work? Or can we pop up here every night to sleep ... ya know ... where dead bodies aren't mysteriously disappearing?"
|
|
"I saw that you are sacred followers of Cayden Cailean. I have this...", he shows them his wand of cure light wounds, "but I don't know how to use it well. I wish one of you stay with it, and use it at the right time", he stretches his hands with the wand toward them, hoping one of them accepts his proposal.
"Lyteonira," Kayde responds, looking down at his fellow Caileanite, "I'm holdin' onto Thess's, so why don't you hang onto this one. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can make a good run of keepin' everyone on their feet."
Kayde looks back through the door—assumedly to where the guards stand their post over the trap door, "So how big is this place we're clearin' out? Do we need to grab supplies for days of work? Or can we pop up here every night to sleep ... ya know ... where dead bodies aren't mysteriously disappearing?"
It's actually at the cliff side near the edge of this district. You... won't have much opportunity to come back and rest here. The crypt is sealed and we don't really want to open it more than we have to. In fact, I'm gonna give you an item to open it from the other side because the clergy won't open the door when they hear knocking or anything. We can't be sure it's you, and we don't want to release an undead scourge from the abandoned crypt if that's what is happening. The item I'm giving you only has limited charges, however, and you may find it useful throughout the crypt itself... I'm not entirely sure. I'll need to grab it before we head out.
We have some empty cells in the Sanctuary of Fate you can sleep in if you want. Just don't mind the prophets inside the other cells that sometimes pound on the walls at night.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
|
|
Alchemist’s fire -20g
Scroll of Bless x2 -50g
Scroll of Prot from Evil -25g
Scroll of Divine Shield -25g
"Underground, huh?" the half-orc says, thinking aloud. "I can see in the dark, and I got a couple of torches. You guys should make sure you can make your own light ... just in case."
|
|
Thess offers Valanthe a brief grin at the bounty of bottles. "See, now, that's what I'm talkin' about! Cheers, sister."
Regarding their day of preparations--
Thessaly has her recently-obtained new cloak , fringed with white fur and made of beautifully-cured-and-treated deer hide by the Snowmask tribe of the far north.... she is proud of it, but she traded for it with many of her own goods, and as such she is a little light on coin at the moment. She makes no purchases in town other than a few more days of trail rations.
While others spend a day gathering information or preparing spells, Thess sits in one of the pro-Cayden alehouses, probably with the dwarf, spending some of her remaining coins on mugs of thick dark ale, doing a good impression of grouchy-cat-as-a-barfly. She sharpens her glaive's blade with her whetstone, but has no further preparations she wishes to make.
When the time has come for assembling at the ready, Thess grunts, "So I'll have my hands busy with this big stick that cuts things-- too full for a torch. If someone's got a magical glow to stick on my big stick that cuts things, all the better."
You sleep in the Sanctuary of Fate. You hear a few poundings on the wall at night and weird wailing noises but the night shift guards quickly silence any that pop up. They leave your particular cells unlocked as instructed by Valanthe.
Ready to go? Wait in the cathedral for a few minutes. Have to pick up a couple items before I lead you there.
She heads to the backside of the cathedral where she opens the door slightly and walks in This area of the church has a symbol of Pharasma that highlights her "Fate" aspect (where you were sleeping). After a few minutes, Valanthe comes back out and tells you to follow her.
Valanthe leads you outside the cathedral and to the cliff that borders the Bottoms district. She takes you through winding paths upwards on the cliff before coming to the mouth of what looks like an open cave. There are more Pharasman guards stationed at this entrance. Valanthe waves to them, and they let the whole party pass without any hardship.
She takes you through winding tunnels inside the cliff face. As you walk along, you find that most passageway walls are riddled with skeletal remains, but a few areas also have coffins which you can infer were the more influential people of the city's past. As you walk along, you find various members of the clergy performing rites of burial and armored figures patrolling the caves. All the passageways are well lit with everburning torches.
It feels like about 5 minutes of walking around these catacombs (which feels like a maze) before you enter an area where the walls have been disturbed. This looks like the area Valanthe was talking about; there appears to be missing skeletal remains here in the walls. This is so dreadful says Valanthe as she walks by the scene. I hope you can solve this problem.
After about a half minute more of walking, Valanthe and the party come to what appears to be a stone door with a keyhole and handle.
This is the place. She reaches into her pockets. Here, take this. It is a Chime of Opening. You can use this while you explore the crypt, but I would save at least one use for getting back through this door. The Pharasma clergy will not open this door for any reason, as we have no way to know it is you and could be unleashing an undead scourge upon the catacombs. It currently has 5 uses.
After handing that over, she reaches into another pocket and take out a large key. She then uses the key to open the door and says Good luck! You see a spiral staircase heading downwards into the darkness (and no keyhole on the other side).
|
|
"As you wish, my lady", Malakiah takes the chime.
When the door is opened, immediately the wizard creates four glowing spheres of light, that starts to 'dancing' at the stairs ahead.
"Thessaly, please...", he makes a signal for her move on.
The door grinds open despite long years of disuse. Within, a stone spiral staircase descends into the earth. The stairs descent about 60 ft. before ending in a room. You hear the door closed by Valanthe behind you.
Old carvings cover the walls of this square chamber, thick with dust and cobwebs. Three sets of stone double doors stand in the three facing walls. Heavy bronze seals emblazoned with the symbol of Pharasma secure the doors against whatever lies beyond.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
As you head down, a darkness washes over the party, suppressing all light sources and hear a short screeching sound come from behind!
Darkness Rules
- All of the following rules apply if you can't see.
- You are denied you dexterity bonus to AC and take -2 to your AC on top of that.
- Every creature has a 50% miss chance for attack rolls (doesn't affect harmless effects like curing an ally)
- You can move at half speed normally, or full speed if you make an Acrobatics check DC 10. Failure means you fall prone from where you started your move action.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
- Bolded characters may post their turn
Amelie (-0)
Blue (-0)
Malakiah (-0)
Maulaxe (-0)
Lyteonira (-0)
Kayde (-0)
Thessaly (-0)
|
|
Amelie turns and looks nervously at Valanthe as she leaves them at the door "Hey umm, you're sure you need to lock us down here? I'm not a big fan of the dark and all..." Not hearing a suitable response she draws her bow and prepares whatever lies within.
As soon as the darkness washes over the party, Amelie quickly knocks an arrow and then freezes in place, her fingers nervously playing with the fletchings. "Ummm guys? What just happened? I hope this isn't some sort of joke one of you is playing cause it's not funny!"