(Valjoen and Callan)
My advice: don't go there, Garl says place is haunted and strange. Too many magics work their way there. I heard they're exploring a place called 'hall of the flesh eaters', some cursed tomb it's supposed to be. Would stay, 's what I would do.
Our mission was just the strangest - finding a single pillar among many. And they just kept shifting around. But what about you, where have you been?
---
(Guntir)
Myself? Absalom, born and raised. No excitement from travelling for me, I'd rather study history from my room. I'm always interested in hearing your travel stories, though. Yargos says.
---
(Andrietta)
There is wisdom in those words. I was just professing that too many young recruits rely on brawn these days, and too little on knowledge. Not everybody can be a scholar, I admit, but that is why the society works with teams. A Pathfinder should stand on his own two feet, but be able to lean on a fellow agent when needed
|
"I haven't much in the way o' travel stories to share; though I did once help bring a murderin' pirate to justice."
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Callan uses his dagger, 'Nail', to clean the grit beneath his fingernails. His deep voice rumbles from his throat, "I have traveled from Cheliax to Taldor as a warrior in the KnifeHand gladiator troop, earning my keep in the pits. We were the best troop on the circuit until Farrell Shatterfoot, our lanista, was murdered by a rival. With no leadership, my pit-brothers began loosing their lives at a record pace, and with no one to promote us, our popularity slipped as did our demand. As the last of my troop alive, I decided to join the society and seek my fortune working for the Grand Lodge. This is supposed to be my first mission, but it seems the society needs six people to simply fetch some wine for a clearly off-balanced Venture Captain! "
|
Zar smiles and nods to Janira.
Ah yes, that was quiet the adventure to start out on. I would like to thank you for the help you gave us during that time. And as you said, you never know what a good piece of rope can be used for.
He turns to the other adventurers, I wish you all luck. Just remember no matter how good you think you are, Janira here has probably seen more than all of you together. Listen to her, she'll keep you alive.
|
|
(Andrietta)
There is wisdom in those words. I was just professing that too many young recruits rely on brawn these days, and too little on knowledge. Not everybody can be a scholar, I admit, but that is why the society works with teams. A Pathfinder should stand on his own two feet, but be able to lean on a fellow agent when needed
The tengu priestess nods. "I've heard many cautionary tales of the brawn before brains category. Sometimes it works, but far too often folks make judgements that are dicey at best. And... Grandmother Crow would probably like you a lot -- are you following someone right now?" It may seem a bit rude to humans to get that kind of question, but for tengu, that's a valid question, given how capricious some are with their faith.
Andrietta's gut feeling is Sarenrae, but is ready for pretty much anything. She'll give Zar a nod.
(Andrietta)
To each his own faith, mine is the dawnflower's.
---
(Zar and Hennet)
Oh, yeah, and the usual stuff of course: especially when moving into the wilderness, bring something that can deal with swarms, bring something that will trap or entangle a waylayer, perhaps even something against undead. Healing is important, so adventurer should go without really.
---
(Guntir)
In the shackles, I assume? It's supposed to be a hard place for a man doing a honest job.
----
(Callan and Valjoen)
Hah! One to hold the corkscrew, and five to spin the bottle! Garl says, as if answering the riddle.[/b]
---
At that point, the replacement comes in, and Heryn signals she is ready to go to the cellar below.
Heryn escort the adventurers down into the basement. The basement of the Wounded Wisp is a stonework affair, and Heryn explains that it has had its foundation strengthened following a significant donation by a Society member (Selmius Foster’s assistant Adolphus) only to suffer damage during the quake of 4698.
A set of wooden stairs descends from the main floor into this tightly packed storeroom. Barrels, boxes, and crates of assorted foodstuffs and drink garnishes are pushed against the walls or under the stairs.
A door leads to the next room. Formerly a meeting room where the staff of the Wounded Wisp could converse or take time off between shifts, this chamber suffered significant damage during the earthquake of 4698 ar. Several fissures split the floor, leading down to an equally damaged section of the city’s sewer system. We had that plank - eh - installed after the quake. You'll have to be very careful, if you move too fast it might break and dump you into the pit below.
Finally, the last room holds the wine cellar, where Heryn points out Dreng's vintage wine. As soon as one of the party grabs the bottle, a panel slide away, revealing a room beyond.
A sturdy silver chain jutting from the ceiling ends in a glowing orb that radiates yellow light across the rectangular room. A simple desk of polished wood, stacked with documents and scattered notes, shelters a pair of wooden chests against the south wall. A series of cracks along the eastern and western walls form makeshift entrances into exposed caverns.
|
|
After gingerly crossing the plank and entering the wine cellar, Callan's suspicious nature takes hold and his eyes search for any clues on why he and five other Pathfinders have been sent here. Upon the reveal of the secret room, the hair on the back of his otherwise shorn head stand on end. "Lady Heryn, why are we really here?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
"Nah. Was in Diobel, on the Western edge of Kortos. Bloody man had destroyed a town and taken some valuable tablets from it."
"Ah well. I had best be going." He throws back the rest of his mug and gives the man a, nod. "Pleasure."
--
Guntir peers into the room and grunts. "Here for more than just wine, I see."
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Upstairs:
"If you would pardon me, sir, looks like it's back to work for me? I'd like to speak to you at length again sometime soon!"
Downstairs:
Andrietta looks around in awe. Secret doors, hidden passages, strange places under the city? While she's not one of those overly curious types -- leave that to the truly sneaky members of her people -- this does pique her curiosity. She will take her time crossing the plank, but consider.
"If someone has a means of bolstering that... my gut's giving me fits about a narrow plank over a pit just past a place we're going to be exploring? If we have to come back through here at speed..."
It's not paranoia to want to be secure on the escape route, is it?
Even Further Downstairs:
"While the idea that we're here to get prizes for our patience is rather appealing, I don't think that's the goal here? Or.. is it?"
Valjoen is ready to move into the hidden room and investigate, as a large swarm of bats flies out!
---
Guntir
Zar
Callan
Andiretta
Valjoen
Hennet
---
Bats
---
|
|
Seeing Heryn signal to the party, Zar gives Janira and the group of adventures a small nod before heading down with the rest of his group down into the wine cellar.
Seeing the crack in the floor with a single plank over it, Zar moves over and takes a close look at it and takes a moment to try to secure the plank in place.
Crossing to the other side, Zar's eye wander the racks of wine up until someone pulls the wine bottle and the passage slides open.
Amazing. Should have known, even for the Society this many people for a simple package was too much.
As the bat swarm begins to collect, Zar curses something in an odd language . Blasted bats, should have had my burning hands.
He reaches up and grabs a vial from his bandolier and waits for the swarm to approach a little closer.
The adventurers instinctively reach for their acid and fire: Guntir does, and so does Zar, readying to throw. Callan searches for flammable liquids, but this is a wine cellar, not a liquor storage.
Valjoen tries to close the panel, but there is no obvious way in which he can pull the door back in. Bennet searches for his acid, and shots for people to get out of the way.
---
Guntir
Zar
Callan
Andrietta
Valjoen
Hennet
---
Bats
---
Andrietta blesses the party while the bat swarm advances on Valjoen. Zara throws his fire, and sets a few bats alight, but most of them still come through.
---
Guntir
Zar
Callan
Andrietta
Valjoen
Hennet
---
Bats (9)
---
|
|
Guntir steps back and yells "Get back!" He waits a moment for the others to do so, then hurls a flask of acid at the swarm.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Guntir fumbles his throws, and splashes himself, and Valjoen in acid. Fortunately, some of the bats are affected as well. Andrea bides her time.
---
Guntir
Zar
Callan
Andrietta
Valjoen
Hennet
---
Bats (10)
---
The halfling is lucky. With a subtle flick from the wrist, Hennet lobs his vial past the opening, and splashes his acid all over the bats. In panic, the dark creature - at least the ones that still have their wings - scatter off in all directions.
With the threat gone, the pathfinders now have the time to investigate the documents. The papers chronicle the personal exploits of one Selmius Foster, a name that most Pathfinders recognise as a famous member of the Society. Most of Foster’s more infamous adventures appear here in varying amounts of detail, but it is evident there is another investigation he had been pursuing before he died: the lost records of a Society agent named Eylysia.() Furthermore, someone called 'Adolphus' made additional notes.
|
|
Guntir grunts as he reads the notes. "I imagine Dreng'll be wantin' to be seeing these."
-Posted with Wayfinder
By the time party gets back to where they met Dreng, he is no longer there. A different beggar has taken his place, and bares a row of rotten teeth as he grins and says Your beggar is in another Lodge, gentlemen.
4331 Merfandel! Dreng exclaims. Selmius' favourite wine! Of course!.
You should investigat these notes - after all, it is your find, and we should respect that. This exciting mystery is yours to pursue!
In the meantime, you can hand me any documents not related to Eylysia, Dreng says so that I can begin assigning other agents to decrypt and collate the contents for proper study.
|
|
In the Cellar after the bats are driven off:
to catch the entire party.
Andrietta will read over the notes and considers. "Well, there's some gnome named Fimbrik who seems to be a person of interest, and his address is... over here..." She'll trail off abit. "And then apparently there's this Arkath stonemason fellow, who's deceased and buried..." "I'd rather deal with the living than the dead, personally, if given a choice of things?"
|
|
Yeah, I think we should talk to this gnome. We can ask her about those names, see how she reacts. I'm not exactly keen on digging up the dead, but if we gotta, then I guess we gotta.
His excitement is readily apparent in his smile as he starts heading toward the address.
Well, at least this little venture is going to be interesting! Imagine if we uncover something big!
The wooden chests under the desk contained a few more journals by Selmius, that you all neatly delivered to Dreng.
Frimbrik's place is a small house on the campus of the Arcanamirium. A brick step leads to Fimbrik’s front entrance, which is locked with a rusty simple lock. Through the window, the party can see an elderly gnome garbed in noble attire with a dapper rounded hat on his head and a cane tipped with a brilliant glowing gem in his hand. He's just entering the chamber, and slowly moves to a chair to sit down and read a newspaper.
The gnome doesn't so much as get off his chair after Guntir knocks on the door. There is no answer.
|
|
Andrietta places a palm over her beak as she lowers her head slightly.
Grandmother, give me strength.
"Callan? It doesn't look like he can hear anything from outside, and if you keep this up the Guard might come around wondering just what we're on about. Though it's kind of weird that he wouldn't hear anything, and lock himself in... is it a haunt, maybe? Are we too late?"
|
|
Guntir's frown deepens at Callan's behavior. He takes a deep breath, then turns to the half-Orc. "Calm yourself!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Hennet stops looking in the window to turn to Callan.
Now, now, there's no need for unpleasantness. Let's see if we can handle this more... diplomatically.
He goes up to the lock on the door, and fiddles with it for a second, and then looks at the group.
Should we just bust it open? Ask the guards why he's locked in? This is such a weird situation.