PFS - First Steps 1 of 3, In Service to Lore

Game Master Thunderfrog

"It seems we have some decisions to make about this Auntie Baltwin! On one hand she keeps the children in good shape, on the other it appears she is skimming supplies, working the children, and an alcoholic! While drinking is a personal choice, she shouldn't be a drunk while watching children.."

Valya bows her head revenently.

We are only too glad to be of service in this matter. When I was with her I sensed a darkness in her past, barely masked by her good deeds with looking after the children, however I fear greed has hot a hold of her sadly

Valya looks a little upset, but quickly gathers herself.

Come my friends, we need to move onwards, we have yet still more errands to run this day!

Well said Valya, and I believe you are right, we should be off to the third of our 4 tasks. This has been a rather productive day so far, no sense in slowing down now! I can almost taste the pints waiting for us...

Twitnit, would you like to take a ride on Luna to our next destination? You will have to excuse me as I lead her, I would hate for something... unfortunate to happen should she see a squirrel, or heavens forbid we are attacked in the street. On the plus side, it wouldn't be a very long fall should she decide to... lighten her load...

I will continue to monitor our surroundings, particularly looking for our fan club, and trying to see if I can notice anyone else who may be a part of that group.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

DM OOC: Each PC recieves 68 gold for their help with Auntie Baltwin

The young pathfinders embark on the newest leg of their journey. A foray into the Wise Quarter. You are scheduled to meet Amenopheus, the most trusted advisor of Dremdet Salhar, head of the Quadiran faction of Pathfinders. There you will discuss rights to explore a newly discovered tomb that is located in lands owned by Dremdet Salhar.

Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, is available to negotiate any business
they may require. The servant explains this while leading the group down well decorated hallways, past expansive rooms. After a few minutes, the group arrives at a simple study near the end of a long hallway.

Inside Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage (N old male wizard 13), a tan-skinned old man sits behind a desk flipping through pages in a large tome. Scraps of paper jut from the book marking over two dozen different places. As the group approaches the open door, the wise sage silently gestures you into the study with one thin hand, while closing the tome with the other after finishing what he was reading.

“Good day to you, Pathfinders. I am Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, advisor to Master Salhar. I understand you were sent here to discuss archaeological permissions. Knowing this was coming, I spoke with Master Salhar at length on the subject and have this to say on his behalf."

Amenopheus clears his throat.

“Since Osirion was reopened to exploration a decade ago, adventurers, historians, and treasure-seekers flock to my country by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. While most families with ancestral burial vaults maintain guards and keep their sites out of the hands of casual thieves, not all families have the wealth or power to restrict everyone, and as we all know, not every defense is perfectly secure.

Unscrupulous tomb robbers and maligned merchant organizations cause
Osirion to bleed relics into the Inner Sea—something the descendents of Ancient Osirion cannot afford. We Osiriani have thousands of years of rich history coursing through our veins, and while that power has been out of focus in recent years, we are content to wait, knowing our enemies will wear themselves down. As they fall into arrogance, folly, or greed, we wait for our return to power, knowing we bear the riches of
our ancestors at our feet."

The sage pauses, his message delivered.

“Master Salhar remains impressed by the PathfinderSociety, orating in their favor a handful of times in front of Absalom’s Grand Council, in fact. Due to previous relationships between him and the Society, Master Salhar has agreed to grant permission to the Pathfinder Society to
explore his family’s vaults below Sothis. The only thing he requires is that you retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here. The servant will lead you to the basement and show you the room.”

The Sapphire Sage’s eyes twinkle as he smirks knowingly, then he turns back to reading his book as though he had never been disturbed.

Pooka bows politely in response to the Sage's monologue. The society is grateful to Master Salhar for his willingness to partner with us in this extremely important time, both for the society as a whole, and for Osirion most notably. I can assure you that under the watchful eye of the society, Orision's relics will get the respect they deserve, and Orision will once again stand on the might of her ancestors.

Diplomacy (for effect): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

I am assuming you require the map in order to provide the charter for the search?

Pooka will wait for any of his companions who might have questions before following the servant down to the basement. Once out of ear-shot of the servant he will speak in a low voice to his companions...

Pooka pulls the rolled parchment listing the group's tasks from his belongings, pointing out the details of this task as given to them this morning.

Our captain made it a point to make sure we didn't embarrass the society in this task. Let's be sure to do our best to not touch anything except for the map the sage requires. Perhaps if we play our cards right, we might just be able to put ourselves on the preferred list to delve through the tombs under Sothis...

"What are you reading there? What can we expect down there? Care for some orange flavored candy? How many vaults are there?

sense motive: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (14) - 2 = 12

Hans raises an eyebrow.

"That sounds suspiciously straight-forward... I wonder what the catch is...?"

Nevertheless, when it is time, he dutifully follows the others downstairs to investigate the vault...

Valya is deferential during the group's meeting with the sage, and thankful to be moving on to more proactive things.

Hmm Hans, I think you're right, nothing this day has been straightforward, whyever would it be different for this task!?

After leaving Amenopheus’ study, the servant brings the group back through the spacious estate, leading them down sturdy stone steps into the cool basement. Down a hallway, after a couple turns, the party ends up at a plain wooden door. The servant opens the door, gesturing to the room with a bow, and waits silently for you to enter. He doesn’t know anything beyond that he is supposed to escort you to this room.

A plain stone room contains three chests:

a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood
a red lacquered chest
what looks to be a cube of solid steel.

Behind the chests sits a low table holding a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket.

As you peruse the room, the door is shut behind you and the tell-tale *schlik* of a deadbolt sliding into place echoes around you.

As you turn around, the following message is written on parchment stuck to the inside of the door.

“Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.”

Haha! Clever game! Pooka claps his hands together with a smile and dismounts from Luna. With the eager excitement of a child exploring the woods behind his home for the first time, Pooka begins to look around.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

As long as we are not in combat, I will continue to carefully search the room, taking 20, which takes 20 minutes. This will give me a result of 22 on the perception check.

Chiba my friend, would you mind terribly making sure that no one is going to get poked, or explode when we open these cases? I am going to see what is in that wicker basket.

Pooka carefully approaches the table behind the chests, and slowly opens the wicker basket to inspect the contents within...

"Well since we are each taking a look at something, I'll check out this jar."

Twitnit picks up the jar. Swirls it around a little as if examining a fine wine. Draws in a sample of any aroma that would come from it.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

"Do you think one of these chests contains something to snack on? What do you got going on over there in that basket, Pooka? Is it a picnic basket? I think I left my keys in my other pants. If anyone is up for a barbeque, last time I checked, wood is flammable"

Twitnit smiles as he extends his arm outward to the wood door they entered and with a snap of his fingers a mini flame like a candle rises from his pointing index finger.

Pooka, a perception check is a move-equivalent action so you can do 2 per round, meaning a take 20 takes exactly 1 minute ;)

Valya eyes the puzzle paraphenalia suspiciously, frowning at it as if it will get scared and hand over the map immediately. She sighs

Right, well we don't have a lot of time, so I suggest we just do this as quickly as we can.

She opens the basket and examines it.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

When the Wicker basket is opened, both Valya and Pooka are peering inside. They find something alright...

Viper Bite!

Attack Pooka: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Attack Valya: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

The tiny viper ducks back into the basket, hissing at all who dare intrude on his domain.

Valya's Perception was sufficient to notice a shining key at the bottom of the basket![/i]

As Twitnit swirls his jar, he is rewarded by a clanging sound, as if something metal was banging around inside.

Pooka quickly moves his hand back, narrowly avoiding the bite of the tiny viper in the basket. He quickly replaces the lid to prevent another bite attempt, and to clear his thoughts before deciding what to do next.

Thaaaat was close Perhaps the basket isn't important?

Since I did not see the key, I wouldn't have much reason to try to get the viper out of the basket just yet...

Hans sighs morosely.

"I dare say *everything* in here is important. Like everything else today, this is undoubtedly a test, although slightly more brazen than some of the others..."

"Did you say SNAKE!? Think we could drown him with the liquid in this jar? If you open the lid away from you, I could pour this inside, or just throw it hard enough to break the jar? Snakes! I hate snakes. Except when slow roasted on a skewer with a nice barbeque sauce. Anything useful found in that metal box?"

Hmm, now there was a key in there along with our scaled friend and its fangs...

Valya angles her head and a line creases her brow. After a moment's thought she grabs the basket, upending it and throwing its contents in the corner of the room on to the floor. She'll approach the revealed snake and if she gets a chance, will just chase it away, however if it tries to bite again she will crush it with her gauntlet.

Once the snake is dealt with, she'll scoop up the key and try it in each of the locks on the boxes, wood, red lacquer then steel.

With Valya so deftly dealing with the snake situation, Pooka turns his attention to the metal cube.

Luna, come see what you smell on this thing. Pooka calls his companion over, while carefully inspecting the surface and all around it. He runs his hands along the sides and corners, looking for an opening, or some sort of line or crack that might indicate in what matter the cube might open.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Pooka stubbornly continues to search, determined to find something.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Stubborn...

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

After quickly handling the snake problem, Valya has a key and a messy gauntlet.

Twitnit still has a glass jar full of something clear and a shiny metal key.

Valya tries her new key until she comes to the red laquered box. It fits! Inside is another key adorned with blue stones! It doesn't fit any of the chests though...

"I dare say that we will need the key in that jar, Twitnit," Hans says dryly...

There has got to be something special about this box!

Pooka seems befuddled as he continues to diligently search the metal cube for some hint of a crack or clue where a key might fit. Luna sighs a heavy canine sigh, and lays at his feet, content to take a quick nap while her master is preoccupied.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

I am assuming that since there have been no negative consequences for failing my perception check, this is the definition of the premium opportunity to take 20. Taking 20, my result is a 22. If that doesn't find anything, I give up :)

Is the jar sealed or is it open without a lid? Did it have any kind of odor?

Valya's face lights up at discovering the key, however finding it doesn't fit any of the other boxes she frowns and very carefully puts the key down on the floor, scowling intently at it.

She joins Pooka in scouring the rest of the room, running her hands over the walls and muttering darkly under her breath about tests

Taking 1 minute to take 20 for a total of 24

Pooka's Jar is not sealed, and there is an acrid odor coming from it.

Valya and Pooka search the room, and while they find nothing hidden or of special interest, they do ascertain that the blue key opens the door back into the main hallway.

"Well, at least we can get out of here... We still haven't found what we were looking for, though..."

Yeah, a jar full of clear, acrid-smelling liquid is *definitely* going to be safe to touch... How about we pour it out in one corner of the room / on the basket, and get the key that way...? Thoughts?

Should we leave using the key in the door and bring the jar and solid steel to the guy upstairs? As well as find out what we were locked inside here for?

We were specifically told that “within these cases lies your quest and your way out", and "retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here", so I think that we need to find what we are looking for by opening the chests, down here.

I think Hans is right, in guessing the key in that jar opens the other chest, which contains the key to opening this metal cube. This is a test by our benefactor to see if the society is indeed worthy of exploring his family vaults... Just my guess. We need the key in the jar.

Hence why I suggested pouring out the jar to get at the contents... If I learned anything from the Van Helsing movie, it was that reaching into jars full of clear liquid to retrieve the object inside is never a good idea ;-)

How about: prestidigitation on the key in the jar to lift it out safely and place it on the ground?

Unfortunately, Prestidigitation can't duplicate another spell or effect - Mage Hand is what we need for this situation...

So I guess we just pour he contents of the jar out and retrieve the key?

Valya stares at the barbarian and gnome, staring at each other and seemingly lost in their own thoughts, and gently lifts the jar away. She moves to a separate corner of the room and very carefully crouches down and slowly pours the contents of the jar on the floor.

If safe to do so then she will pick up the key and try it in each of the boxes.

Chest Selector: 1d3 ⇒ 1

Valya picks up the Key and slides it into the Red Lacquered chest. The key fits, but spins pointlessly. When placed in the copper banded chest, Valya needs to make a Will Save DC 12! When placed in the Steel Chest, the key shatters and crumbles into dust.

After doing a double take, Pooka's pup looks up at the ceiling and barks. (DM Error >.<)

Following the dogs eyes, you see a small golden key hanging on a thread from the ceiling, a bit too high up for even the barbarian to reach without an impressive vertical leap.

Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Well done Luna! Does she drink pints Pooka? IF so I think she definitely just earned one!

Valya considers the height of the chamber, swiftly followed by the weight of her own armor and lack of training to jump really high. Her gaze roves around the room and settles on the ninja.

So Chiba...if I gave you a platform to jump from, and pushed you up as you jumped, would you be able to reach the key? I'd catch you on the way down as well of course! she adds quickly with a sparkle in her eyes.

If Chiba is also lost in thought, her offer is open to anyone with the dexterity to make the leap, including the hulking barbarian, who she still thinks she'll be capable of hoisting and throwing ;)

STR check for throw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Good dog Luna! Pooka gives the pooch a vigorous rub on the back of her neck and scratches behind her ears.

Now how do you suppose we get that precious key down from there? Pooka crosses his arms, pursing his lips and putting one finger against them, deep in thought.

...

..

.

...

Ah-Ha! Hans my friend, please hold me as high in the air as you can. I will take my trusty halberd here and see if I can reach high enough to cut the key down. If that doesn't work, perhaps our napping ninja can use his throwing stars to slice through the string that holds our prize so far above our heads...

The barbarian and I together probably total in the 10' to 12' range. Halberds are typically about 5' in length. If that doesn't work I will hop back down, and resume my thoughtful pose...

**EDIT**

Good idea Valya! I will offer to be tossed as well, with respect to little people everywhere...

"There's no need to start tossing halflings around. Let me handle it."

Hans then nods, and attempts to climb the wall, using a corner of the room as a 'chimney' to help him brace himself.

Climb: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29.

He then calmly reaches over to collect the key.

Ideas circulate all around! About the time Valya tosses the halfling, who bats at the key with a halberd, Hans complete his wall-climb. They meet in the middle with a satisfying aerial high five, then land successfully on the ground.

Valya is aware that the copper banded chest is simply an illusion!

You now have the gold key. What next?

It might be wise to note that the chest here she points at the copper banded one does not actually appear to be real she looks puzzled.

How odd!

Taking the initiative, she plucks the key from whoever is holding it, smiling sweetly, and tries it in the metal box, it being the only one left that hasn't opened or been proved an illusion.

Fresh off of the coolest maneuver he has pulled off to date, Pooka smiles smugly as the group admires their prize. Where is a bard when you need one? Its a shame that moment will be lost... However if we can get to those pints at the end of this crazy day, maybe this moment won't have to die...

He holds his breath as Valya inserts the key, knowing what happened to the last key that was inserted into the chest...

Twitnit pauses with a smile and look of amazement at the exhibition he just witnessed...

"Það var áhrifamikill ótrúlegt!"

"What's in the chest? Is it edible? Are we leaving now? I can't wait to see the look on the old guy's face!"

Valya! Will save DC 11!

The chest is opened, and within is both the map to the Salhar burial grounds and a thin metallic wand!

Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Oh dear!

Valya exclaims in triumph at the finding of the map, her grin is practically ear to ear, an almost worrying sight given her pointed teeth, but you take heart from remembering the holy symbols of Saranrae emblazoned all over her gear.

I don't want to touch that wand though, Twitnit have you any idea what it is?

will read magic or detect magic help in identifying it?

Detect magic for 3 rounds then a spellcraft check is the usual procedure Twitnit :)

consider it done

spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Well done friends! It seems we are now only one simple *cough cough* task away from a well earned pint! Let's go inform Amenopheus that we have completed the task and be on our way. Valya, I believe that beautifully adorned key is our way out of this closet?

Luna, Heel.

Luna obediently moves to Pooka's left side and sits, waiting patiently for the group to move out.

After Twitnit has studied the wand, and the door is opened, Pooka quickly mounts up, gathering all of his gear and follows the group back to the Sapphire Sage's study.

Valya and the others easily determine the wand is a Wand of Knock, with 11 charges remaining.

Unfortunately for Valya, as she opens the box, she is overcome by a strange magic. Her skin turns a deep and royal shade of purple!

Waiting around for a few minutes the magic fails to fade. It seems she might be stuck with this color for some time...

The Sapphire Sage takes note of your arrival in a large book. He looks at Valya for a moment and shakes his head in disapproval, then scribes a few notes in his book.

"The master of the house is still not in, though I shall give him a full report of the time taken and the varying degrees of success you have achieves. Feel free to keep the wand and the map. Have a good day."

Once the party is safely out of the estate, Hans breathes a sigh of relief.

"Well, I am glad that is finished. Where to next?"

Twitnit stands behind the barbarian and subtlely waves the wand at the door out. Then stands with a surprised look on his face.

"I think that's a SIGN! We should fill our bellies and ponder todays events so far, as well as what our next course of action should be. I think I saw an eatery, not far from here. Anyone want some orange candy? What task is NOT checked off our list? Anyone else think that old guy is kind of a "grump"?