Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch glances out a window as the last wisps of twilight fade over the Fenwall Mountains. Turning from the sight, she runs her hand along the rustic cabin’s wall and stands beside an occupied wooden bed before addressing you.
"This," the venture captain says, gesturing to the man thrashing around violently, straining against the bonds that lash him securely to the bed, "is our colleague, Kalkamedes. Every night for several weeks now, he has fallen into a deep slumber and tried to sleepwalk right out of his cottage. If not restrained, he marches straight north, eventually falling off a cliff or into a bog as if trying to get himself killed in an attempt to reach an unknown goal." As though he were expressing disagreement, the man tied to the bed suddenly begins pumping his limbs even harder, the violent spasms threatening to smash the bed into splinters.
"There are those who have recently criticized the Pathfinders for our indifference to the plight of our fellow field agents. It’s time to show that’s not true. I want you to help Kalkamedes, whether he wants it or not. Several of our best spellcasters have attempted an extensive list of magical cures, but whatever sleepwalking curse or effect he’s under tenaciously resists our efforts. All we can do is keep him safe." Heidmarch pats him with a degree of professional affection, and Kalkamedes rewards her by trying to swat her with his head.
"Kalkamedes’s friends are at their wits’ end, so we are going to attempt the only thing that we have not tried: we’re going to let him go tonight. That’s where you come in. I want you to follow him and keep him safe and in one piece. Let him get to wherever his addled brain thinks he needs to go so badly. Maybe, just maybe, if he gets there, you can find a way to help him. Maybe you can determine who or what did this to him and find a way to undo it.' Heidmarch pulls out a serrated knife. "Now before I cut him free, does anyone have any questions or last minute preparations?"
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Malfeas stares at the bound man with a cross between concern and contempt shining in his dark eyes. The muscles under his bronzed skin ripple as he adjusts the new longbow on his back. He wears his robes open, allowing more freedom of movement, and the pack he carries seems barely half full. Running his hands over his bald head, he asks ”Shouldn’t we let him go someplace where there will not be a cliff to the north? We could use his daytime sensibilities to get him to a safer location for release.”
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Walter listens to the problem as out-lined by Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch.
His face shows his usual restraint.
I believe that a baby-sitting mission is...
well, a baby-sitting mission.
He shrugs his broad shoulders, glancing at his companions.
But, by Abadar, if that is our next venture than we shall do it with every recourse at our disposal!
He motions to the thrashing Pathfinder.
This only occurs at night? Does he act normally during the daylight hours? Perhaps, as Malfeas suggests, we may begin this 'experiment' at a position of safety as far as cliffs are concerned?
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"I am fond of searching for clues at each point in a mystery, which sometimes turns up nothing and sometimes everything... I see that you are in a hurry, as it seems you need be for his sake, but has this cabin and its surroundings been properly searched?"
A note of panic is in Naurin's usually steady but severe voice. 'Last minute', indeed! She feels that she is trying to wake up from a dream of her own!
"If now (or once?) a Pathfinder, I would hope and expect that there would be a journal, or the makings of a chronicle."
"What ... kind ... of adventurer is or was he? Was he on a current mission? Did he continue with his explorations around this locale?"
After these questions, Naurin addresses Malfeas' and Walter's concerns: "As far as the cliffs are concerned, we could tie this rope to him and myself. I should be heavy and strong enough to pull him to the ground if a danger approaches. But, if he is near shattering this bed, we may have to release him here."
Venture-Captain Heidmarch scans the group and responds to their questions,
"As for releasing Kalkamedes at another point, I'm afraid that is out of the question. Even though the risks may be great, we simply have no idea where he is trying to go. We need to be as thorough as possible. Perhaps he has even passed right by the source of his trouble already."
"You may restrain him if necessary, but go easy on him. We are trying to help the poor man, and it wouldn't do for him to suffer lasting harm form his fellow Pathfinders."
"You may certainly take sotck of his possessions and use whatever you find here, within reason."
"Kalkamedes himself is an ex-paladin. He took the oaths early in his career, but has since left the holy orders for reason that are unknown to me."
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A sigh is heard from Malfeas’ direction. ”If our mission is to just protect him while he wanders, then I guess there is nothing else for us to ask.” Turning to the group, he adds. ”It seems the majority of our mission is to take place at night, unless we try and reverse his sleeping patterns. I suggest we make sure spell casters can make light or we have sufficient torches and lanterns for entire nights.”
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"Did Arya come along with us? I have only a limited light-creation ability, although if the moon is up that's all the light I need. I understand hoomans have weaker eyes, though."
"Hmm, can't say I've ever even heard of him before. I suppose, I've been spending most of my time farther east than Varisia these days."
Searching Kalkamedes’s cabin uncovers several items of note. The wardrobe in Kalkamedes’s bedchamber contains his outdoor clothing (an explorer’s outfit) and a pair of strong boots. A drawer in the end table next to Kalkamedes’s bed contains a series of unfinished charts mapping the Fenwall Mountains. Searching inside the stove, you find the remains of a crumpled and burned charcoal sketch. The tattered sketch depicts a squat fortress under a full moon enshrouded by clouds.
After some much more thorough searching you find a hidden lever in the back of the stove that releases the catch to a hidden compartment concealed in the floor under a stack of water barrels. Within is a locked metal chest!
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"I can cast a light spell, for one at a time. And I have this -", she says, unvealing a magically lit holy symbol of Iomedae, "- which is everburning."
Naurin examines the sketch - "Likely this scene is what is haunting his dreams." - and the unfinished charts, shows them to her teammates, and then rolls them up carefully and places them inside an empty map case. Naurin looks for clues as to terrain and direction of where he might have been going recently - and the location of the mysterious scene - but her geography and map skills are poor:
Naurin keeps turning the charts around and around, unsure which side is supposed to be 'up'...
With Johann's help, Mal is able to open the lock on the chest! Inside are a number of items. Naurin casts detect magic and severl items show an aura: a set of bracers, a muddy cloak, a clear vial containing a liquid, a dried gourd with an orange liquid inside, and an irregularaly-shaped mitharl flask with jigsaw-like edges, containing liquid.
Also secreted in the chest is an odd sword. It has a glittering blade, and is definitely magical, but it also has a rippling break from tip to hilt, like a crack in a broken window.
Kalkamedes is indeed in his nightclothes, and Naurin slips his boots on his feet with some struggling.
The night sky is clear with a waning quarter crescent moon that provides dim light.
Naurin identifies a pair of bracers of armor +1 and a cloak of resistance +1.
The sword remains a bit of a mystery. The flask is not magical, but looks like it could be used as a makeshift caltrop.
Johann takes a close look at the potions, and identifies the one in the gourd as a cure light wounds.
The other liquids are an elixir of swimming and a potion of hide from undead.
With a little more effort, Naurin and Mal manage to fasten the bracers on Kalkamedes and tie his cloak securely around his shoulders.
Captian Heidmarch looks at the group.
"Well then, if you are ready, I will cut Kalkamedes' bonds."
As soon as this is done, Kalkamedes stands up and begins walking slowly (20 ft/round) out the door of his house. The party follows after him.
About half an hour after the group departs, Kalkamedes stumbles awkwardly on a rock. His heavy boots protect him, however, and he is uninjured.
About an hour later, the group spies a thick copse of vegetation ahead, and Kalkamedes is walking directly towards it.
The party takes up positions around Kalkamedes. They set off and assist him when he stumbles on the rock. Johann and Walter see the dense patch of vegetation in the near distance, and take a closer look to determine the nature of the obstacle.
You should have enough time to take 10, but rolls would be better. You have only a few rounds until you reach the plants.
The palnt is razor bramble, a naturally growing weed capable of lacerating one’s legs. The razor bramble counts as difficult terrain and covers an area 40 feet wide and 60 feet deep. It can be cut, and is also susceptible to fire.
Kalkamedes tries to move straight into the brambles, but Walter, Norine, and Johann all work together to re-direct him. Their is a great deal of struggling, but eventually the group steers Kalkamedes around the dangerous plants, and they all resume walking as before.
After about another hour, Kalkamedes abruptly turns to the west. The suddenness of his turn causs Walter and Johann to lose thier placement at the head of the group. They are now even with Kalk. and Norine, and just a moment later the group notices a bog directly in their path. Kalk. heads straight for it, and steps into the edge of the water while the rope is still slack.