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The Hao Jin Tapestry hangs on the wall of this stuffy basement room in the Grand Lodge.
The tattered piece of fabric, five feet wide and seven feet long, looks more like a worn tablecloth than a storied artifact. The Pathfinder Society’s Master of Spells Aram Zey stands before tapestry, his arms folded across his chest. He speaks without greeting.
“As you all surely know, the Society labors at some cost to assemble a dwarven relic known as the Sky Key.” The Master of Spells produces an intricately sculpted piece of metal decorated with fluid carvings. A sudden flash of excitement fills his weary eyes. “The object I hold in my hands is one of five pieces of that curiosity. The pieces that the Society has obtained so far share the same luster and artistic sensibilities, but have different shapes and functions within the assembled artifact. Today, hopefully, you will retrieve another piece. Previous missions lead us to believe that a fragment of the Sky Key lies within the tapestry, in the company of a dwarven clan that left Golarion for Hao Jin’s realm some time ago. Your task is to enter the tapestry and make contact with these dwarves, discern what they know about the Sky Key, and negotiate for their piece, should they still have it.”
The taciturn sage produces a hexagonal beard clasp of thick, polished metal. “During your mission in Irrisen, you managed to retrieve this beard clasp from one of the sites that we suspected of holding the Sky Key fragment. It belonged to an ancestor of the dwarves who live in the tapestry, and it may assist you in your negotiations. Return it to me if it does not gain you the fragment you seek. We hold no particular ire for the dwarves. Retrieve the Sky Key fragment if possible, but try not to murder anyone.”
Aram Zey adds grudgingly, “Does anyone have any questions before I send you into the tapestry?”
The Hao Jin Tapestry is a masterpiece of magical craftsmanship. It is the entrance to the legendary sorcerer Hao Jin’s personal demiplane. She pulled regions from all over Golarion into the tapestry. The tapestry is a living, breathing museum that houses countless historical treasures.”
“You can enter the tapestry by touching it and speaking a command word. Each person who enters the Hao Jin Tapestry leaves an eddy in his wake. Simply walk into your eddy, which only you can see or interact with, to come back here. I don’t have time to stand around while you complete your mission at a leisurely pace—if you return before accomplishing your goals, I’ll send a more competent group of Pathfinders to finish the job.”
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Aetherys is a lithe elven girl bearing long, well-kept blond hair flowing down to her waist. Some of it is braided, with small clasps respresenting the Dawnflower. Her eyes are deep blue, and she hardly ever blinks. At her side, a black-bladed scimitar rests, engraved with arabesque.
"Greetings, I am Aetherys and this is Dawnblade." she says as she strokes her scimitar.
"So this is the Hao Jin Tapestry! Such an honor to be sent inside it. I've heard so many tales about it, I can't wait to see if any of them are true! I have a few questions about our mission. What's the name of the dwarven clan, and the name of the ancestor that was presumably sent within the tapestry? Do we know if they were sent willingly or not?"
The dwarves are the descendants of those who followed Prince Naldak, son of the last ruler of Jormurdun, King Gutheran. Aram says, the precise circumstances under which the clan was transported to the tapestry have not been recorded.
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Fancy gnome, with bright golden and fiery copperred hairs nodded to Aram's words.
- "Oh, we'll see the descendants of Prince Naldak, that will be great... Probably they are not so cold and cruel as that lonely dwarf we found in the North. Master Zey, what should we say to their ruler if they want to return back to our world? Do you know how to open a gate for them through magic of the Tapestry?"
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The human warrior just stands with his hands folded on top of a massive greatsword, resting point down in front of him. He smiles at Pitbull's comment - and simply spoke, "Enter the magical tapestry. Locate the dwarven clan inside. Negotiate for the Sky Key. Return. Minimize casualties - treat all as neutral or friendlies. Self defense is, as always, authorized. Check."
The hot, humid air announces an abrupt change in the local scenery. A large earthen hill fades into view, surrounded on each side by hills covered in vines, grass, and stands of jungle trees. In one direction, mountains rise until they meet a haze of thick clouds. In the other direction, the deep blue sky is barely visible through an expanse of thick jungle. Just ahead lies a small village, its stone buildings overrun with vegetation.
We have had some trouble with Aspis conjurers in the past, so I suppose summoning magic works without trouble on the demiplane. Aram says.
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Castien shifts uncomfortably at being asked to enter the tapestry. "Th-the last t-t-time I w-was asked t-t-to enter a t-t-tapestry, it w-was on a m-mission t-t-to th-the T-t-temple of Empyreal Enlightenment. It w-was a wh-wholly d-disturbing p-p-place."
Still, when the time comes for him to do so, he touches the tapestry and speaks the word. Once he is through, he waits for the others to lead the way.
From the southeast, within a ruin, a roar can be heard, not unlike a hammer striking an anvil.
Marra sees clear signs of looting: uncovered graves, defaced murals, and newly-exposed rubble.
The southeast end of the destroyed village holds the burnt-down remains of a dwarven house. Inside is a horse-sized creature that has the face of a dwarven woman wearing a silver nose ring. Her body resembles that of a large bear with scaly wings. A barbed tail writhes wildly behind her as she threatens with a sonorous growl.
Grrrr...
The creature seems to hesitate, ready to pounce on the group at any moment, but the friendly opening of Aetherys and Marra seem to sway it.
Master was last of Naldak’s Point dwarves. They were good and proud until evil came and took the youth away. Now they live in the mountain to the east. Their heads are bald and their skin is gray. They should cut their beards in shame.
Marra is not sure what to make of it - it looks to be a rogue eidolon of some sort
Their own weak minds! Their own false thoughts. They went east the eidolon says, pointing to a path.
The eidolon then turn to the topic of the deserated graves, and answers Grimaldus No, there were looters here. Looked like you, she says, as she points to Grimaldus, then to Zlata, then to Castien and Aetherys, but not to Marra or Maeglin.
They did not find this, she says, as she shows a scabbard and a wand, if you go east, you should take this.
You may search these ruins, their masters are gone. But do not shame them in desecrating the site!
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"How were they like us? Similar in size? Oh, and by the way what's your name? And your former master's?"
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My master used to call me Grodel, my master was Torredugh. Yes, the looters were as large as you, not like the dwarves at all.
Pitbull makes out the details of a defaced mural in one of the ruins. The mural illustrates angry dwarves facing away from their brethren and carrying a strange heavy device to the east.
My master passed away long ago. Nothing can bring him back, though I mourn him every day. These folk that looted the village, they did hurt me dearly, and they might still be near. You could help me by making sure they do not return.
It's a scabbard of vigor and a wand of stone call (6 ch.)
The mountain reaches overhead, covered in lush trees and white mist. As warm winds whip around the mount’s rises, wisps of cloud separate from the thick cover and float away. A brief plateau about halfway up the mountain features a sheer cliff, otherwise inscrutable from a distance.
The roar of the waterfall overhead explains the thick mist that covers much of the mountain. The vapors become gray clouds as they rise in altitude, but near the base of the mountain they are white wisps rolling out from the pool. The pool’s water is clear and deep, with the spill forcing white bubbles back to a rippling surface. Deep into the pool, away from the frothy cascade, a glint of gold beckons the eye.