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Seoni looks on at the Shrade's woman-handling of Tagir with an amused smile Perhaps that is enough to satisfy your ardor hmm?
She then notices Heryn motioning for the party and quietly makes a signal to the rest of the party while getting up to leave "Well, it was fun drinking with the both of you...unfortunately we now have to run a little errand for Venture Captain Dreng. But if time permits we'll be back to join you...I'm sure Tagir wouldn't want to miss it for anything..."
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"Perhaps, my dear, you would become a part of the history that shapes the Society's future one day."
"Perhaps," Maya laughs softly, "I think any aspiring adventurer would dream of as much." She pauses to steal a glance at the roaring laughter coming from the orcs' table behind her, immediately turning back around with a slight flush growing on her cheeks.
Maya clears her throat and draws quickly to a stand. "It has been a pleasure talking with you, sir, but it appears I must take my leave. I hope you have a wonderful evening."
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Iddo blushes. He wasn't sure whether he was staring again or not. Listening to a story told by none other than Janira Gavix... this was a dream he never expected to accomplish. Without a word, Iddo seats himself next to a table, preferably an empty one, and takes out his journal. As he opens it, a thought pops into his mind.
"We have to collect some parcel from the Barmaid, don't we?"
The question is not directed at anyone in particular. If any of his fellow Pathfinders were within earshot, it probably would have been directed at them. Iddo looks around nervously, realizing his allies are busy mingling with the local folk, and slumps on his chair.
I guess the mission can wait till someone else takes that parcel.
Iddo spends the next few minutes half-singing, half-mumbling, just so that no one could hear him, and happily joins Tagir as he collects the party members from around the Wisp.
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"I see that your party requires your presence," Aram exclaims, as he sees the rest of the party beckoning. "I am glad to have made your acquaintances. Despite the short conversation, you give me hope for the future of the Society. If you ever need assistance, come visit me at my shop. I sell various trinkets and curios down at the Coin District during my spare time. Aram's Curios, it's called. Sarenrae bless you in your mission."
As Maya stands to take her leave, Yargos also hastily gets onto his feet. "Certainly, Miss Maya. I'm sure you have important Pathfinder business to get to. I'll still be here most of the day." He glances at the boisterous party centred about the half-orcs. "Despite the noise... Eh, hum. If you ... I mean, if you party needs any assistance, I'll be here."
"Aw, you're leaving?!" Garl bellows at the top of his voice. "This is less fun with less people. Besides, I am going to win again anyway." Shrade quickly retorts. "Ha! That's only because you were watering the ale under the table!" She turns to Tagir and Seoni. "Well, he is not going to last very long. If you want to continue the game, I'll still be here though! Oh, if you need anything breaking, too, we are more than game!"
Iddo suddenly feels someone shaking him out of his reverie. Janira pipes up, "Um, I think your party is looking for you?" She gestures to the rest. "We can more Pathfinder stories later." She bids Iddo farewell with a warm smile.
When the party is gathered, Heryn then escorts everyone below.
The cellar appears to be a fine stonework affair, although some cracks run across the walls, which Heryn explains were from the quake of 4698. A set of wooden stairs descends from the main floor into a tightly packed storeroom. Barrels, boxes, and crates of assorted foodstuffs and drink garnishes are pushed against the walls or under the stairs. From there, a door to the south leads to a large chamber that might once have been a meeting or resting room for the staff of the Wounded Wisp, but has suffered significant damage, likely during the said quake. Several fissures split the floor, leading down to an equally damaged section of the city’s sewer system, about 10 feet deep. A plank has been installed over the main fissure, but it certainly doesn't appear as sturdy as it once might have been.
Heryn takes care to cross the board slowly. Once she reaches the other side, she explains, somewhat sheepishly, "Um, we never quite got around to repairing this. Stonework is really quite expensive, and the plank was sufficient after the quake. And um, we never really use that part of the celloar. You know, one thing leads to another ... fifteen years later and we are still using this plank. I promise, though, I'll get it fixed soon! It's should be fine for you - none of you are wearing heavy armor, thank goodness! Just go slow..."
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Maya smiles politely at Heryn as the bartender comments about the lack of repairs, trying her best to ignore any smells that waft up from the sewers below. She is sure to keep a few paces between herself and Tagir on the way down into the cellar, making a mental note to ask the others about how their conversations went when an opportunity arises. I'd better reel my curiosity in for a little while; wouldn't want to come across as overly eager or nosy... Though Iddo's heroine did sound like quite the storyteller, and I can't help but wonder what Zen Shu and Yuvonesom got to discussing so avidly in the end. As for the other two, how can Seoni remain so calm under that man's lecherous gaze...?
Maya shakes the wandering thoughts from her head, gently clearing her throat. "There's no need to make such a promise, Miss Heryn," she says happily. "Besides, I'm sure it is a wise decision to have patience with such repairs than risk inadequacy for the sake of haste."
She casts a quick glance at the rest of the group in case anyone wants to speak before she moves to carefully follow Heryn over the plank, glad that her modest stature could for once be considered an advantage.
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How disappointing. Neither one of them asked for help across. But, I suppose ladies rarely become adventurers.
Tagir backs up a few feet, then carefully jogs up and jumps across the gap . "It's an adventure! Let's have a little fun. Just imagine all of the rich compost down there, waiting for us. We could become famous fertilizer farmers . . . all we have to do is survive the poisonous gas traps and defeat the insect swarms."
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Maya tries to suppress a giggle, offering Tagir a slight smile instead.
"I sure hope there aren't any gas traps or insect swarms in our immediate future. I'd rather none of us become fertilizer, let alone farmers, famous or not." Perhaps it was merely harmless fun; a difference in culture. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
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Heryn waits patiently at the entrance of a chamber for everyone to cross over, but Seoni goes ahead and enters without waiting for the rest.
When she enters, she sees racks and racks of bottled wine and fine ale throughout the chamber. This chamber appears to be where the Wounded Wisp keeps its supply of specialty wines and ales for important occasions. With the cobwebs and dust, the chamber does not appear to be frequently used, but anyone with any knowledge can tell that the collection is indeed quite fine. That is when she realised that she has no idea what is the 'package' Dreng wanted.
As soon as everyone has crossed, Heryn leads the rest into the chamber as well. She pauses briefly at the entrance, and looks rather proud of the collection. "Impressive for a run-of-the-mill dive bar, isn't it? Over hundreds of years, Pathfinders have donated vintage wine and other alcoholic drinks they've collected from far flung locations. At least, those they didn't drink themselves. Turning to the racks, you then hear her mumbling to herself, "Hmm, I believe that Dreng would now be looking for the vintage from 4306. I wonder why though. It wasn't a particularly good year, and Kortos certainly doesn't produce good wine as it is." She then gestures to the party. "Come, this would go faster if we all chip in. Sorry, it's a bit untidy. We never really got round to organising all these. The one we are looking for should be from Kortos Vineyard, the year 4306." If it had not dawned upon you earlier, by now, you realise that Dreng had sent your team to fetch a bottle of wine.
After a couple of minutes, Zen Shu's sharp eyes spot the bottle in question, lying on a rack in a heavily cobwebbed corner. As he extracts the bottle, though, a catch is released and a section of the wine rack next to Maya suddenly slides back with a faint grinding sound to reveal a stone tunnel. Interestingly, an unflickering yellow light emanates from the tunnel.
"By Abadar, what is that?" Heryn exclaims in alarm.
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Maya follows the others into the chamber, her eyes sweeping across the vast collection of bottles on display. "It certainly is impressive," she comments quietly, half to herself and half in polite response to Heryn's explanation. She knew next to nothing about alcohol or drinks in general but found collections of anything to be interesting in their own right. To think so many tales of fortune and adventure exist in this very room, a humble story behind each and every bottle...
Keen to help out and hurry along the process of completing the group's task, Maya picks a corner and begins scanning the racks for any mention of Kortos or an outstanding date. She wasn't exactly pleased by the knowledge that their 'mission' involved retrieving liquor, but keeps any complaints about it to herself. Still, I don't see why Dreng didn't just tell us this was what he wanted. Surely Venture-Captains are afforded the simple luxury of drinking fine wine at dinner parties and the like? Or perhaps he wishes to keep his alcoholic habits a secret from-
Maya's thoughts are cut short by the grinding of mechanisms and stone as the rack she had just finished scouring disappears into the wall. Her immediate reaction is to glance expectantly at Heryn with an eyebrow raised. It didn't seem too ridiculous for someone to store their most valuable treasures and rare beverages in a secret compartment, but after hearing the bartender's exclamation of surprise it quickly dawns on her that her assumption is incorrect.
"Umm..." she begins hesitantly, looking at Zen Shu with a concerned expression and then each of the others, motioning the party over. "Maybe everyone should take a look at this. Judging from your reaction, Miss Heryn, can we take it that this tunnel isn't supposed to be here?"
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"Well, we wanted an adventure! I think finding a secret tunnel qualifies. Although I doubt it was a secret to Drandle," Tagir turns to Maya, "have you heard any stories about hazing new Pathfinders?"
Reminds me of the time we told Joseph's little brother that leprechauns lived in old Mr. Hadrin's tool shed, and gave gold to any child brave enough to find them. Ha!
Tagir moves into the doorway and loudly says to Heryn, "Oh no! I hope there aren't any monsters in there waiting for us."
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"Interesting..." Seoni mutters as she walks up to the tunnel "I doubt Dreng asked us to retrieve that particular vintage without knowing the trail goes further. However, we should proceed with caution, as Tagir's words may yet come true. Who knows what awaits us further in these tunnels."
Seoni turns to Heryn "Miss, may I suggest you wait here while we ensure that the path ahead is safe?"
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"I can't say I have, Tagir..." Maya replies, frowning in thought. She nods at Seoni shortly after. "Though I'll have to agree with both of you on this. I think we all suspected there was more to our task than simply collecting an old bottle of wine. Either Dreng's real parcel lies somewhere down that tunnel, or this is some sort of elaborate test."
She folds her arms across her chest, grinning ever so slightly as her curiosity begins to get the better of her, and waiting for Heryn to answer Seoni.
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Heryn takes a while to reply to all of you, as you can see that she is rather stunned by this mysterious passage that has opened up under the place she has called hope for her whole life. She stutters, "N.. no, I never knew about this place. It looks like it has been here for a long time, maybe even since the tavern was here. Yes ... yes, I'll wait here."
You organise yourself to enter this passageway. The short tunnel opens up into a small but well-constructed stonework room. 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. Heryn stays back in the chamber, but peeks into the tunnel to see if there is anything of interest.
A series of cracks along the eastern and western walls form makeshift entrances into exposed caverns, which are completely in darkness.
Unfortunately, none of you spot the two giant critters hiding in the cracks in the wall.
One steps out from the crack to Maya's right and attempts to skewer her with its tail. However, the tail swings over her head instead.
The other from the safety of the tunnel aims its tail at Tagir, and its strike is true. The sting pierces into his side, injecting poison into his system.
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Yuvonesom, to preoccupied with other things in his head apparently, participates little in the conversation about the secret tunnel, until the large beasties start coming out of it, at which point he springs into action. He suddenly begins transforming into something decidedly not himself, morphing into some sort of grotesque, gray cave lizard that stands on two feet. Despite the shifting features (most notably the mouth), he relays what he knows about these things to his comrades while the transformation takes place. When the transformation is complete, he takes off towards one of the creatures and raises one of his newly clawed hands, ready to strike.
Standard: Alter Self Spell-Like ability to transform into a Troglodyte
Move: Move to a creature
Free: Talk about the creatures
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Maya immediately darts away a few steps upon feeling the displacement of air above her head. Her eyes widen a little, both in surprise of the sudden attack and Yuvonesom's somewhat monstrous transformation. There will be time for questions later, she quickly thinks to herself, ripping the bladed spear from across her back and twirling it into a more offensive stance, sending the two strips of white cloth that previously held it in place fluttering towards the ground.
But for right now... She nods at the reptilian alchemist, listening carefully to his advice and finally tearing the curious gaze of her purple eyes away from him to glare at the creature in front of her as she strikes, attempting to pierce it right after Seoni's arcane magic hits...
...and chipping away at the stone floor instead.
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Iddo slowly trails behind the party as they go down the cellar, occasionally stopping to examine interesting patterns on the wall. He reluctantly follows the party down the secret cave, citing zombies as his newest reason to fear underground places. When the scorpions reveal themselves, his expression quickly transforms from anxiety to horror to bravery.
"Go, Pathfinders! Exterminate these vermin for our friends in the Wounded Wisp!"
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Zen Shu lifts his heavy crossbow and fires a loaded bolt over Tagir's shoulder. Unfortunately, to avoid hitting Tagir, the bolt also flies high.
Yuvonesom moves up and transforms into a bipedal lizard, shocking many of his teammates. Seoni, however, ignores the transformation, and releases a magical bolt, striking the scorpion. Maya attempts to strike the same scorpion but the spear slips in her hand, and the head strikes the floor instead.
The scorpion faces the advancing lizard, formerly Yuvonesom, and strikes with its sting and both its claws. The lizard, however, dextrously dodges the attacks, ducking to one side to avoid the sting, and ducking low under the claws. The scorpion then steps into the safety of the tunnel.
The scorpion attempts the same with Tagir, who has yet to get his footing. However, from the confines of the tunnel, the scorpion's aim is off. Its sting slams into the floor and its claws digs into the walls instead.
Iddo starts shouting words of encouragement.
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Yuvonesom hisses through his reptilian mouth, his tongue flicking past his lips as he rasps, Not so fast, little insect... as he stalks the escaping scorpion and tears his claws and teeth through the air as the thing shuffles backward, finding purchase on its carapace and mercilessly tearing.
Attacks
Damage
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Maya grins a little at Iddo's shout, feeling a tad less embarrassed about the scratch marks she'd just put into the ground. I suppose I was in need of a warm up... She watches in admiration as Yuvonesom bears down upon the scorpion already wounded by Seoni's magic, tearing it apart. Whatever he is, he sure can handle himself.
Content to leave the alchemist to his own sharp devices Maya spins to face the bug behind her, hesitating as she glances questioningly at the man stood next to it with her slight grin still in place. I'd hate to tarnish his pride by stealing a victory from under his nose. "Will you do the honors, Tagir, or should I?"
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Tagir's fist swings wide, almost punching into the alcove wall. He then steps back, hoping to lure out the scorpion. Yuvonesom's reptilian form tears into the carapace of the scorpion, ripping out flesh and goo to splatter all over the alcove. It dies before it collapses on the ground.
Seoni fires a blob of acid at the remaining scorpion but it slams into the tunnel wall instead, melting a hole in it.
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Zen Shu spends the round loading his crossbow. Maya takes the opening when Tagir moves out of the way, smashing through its carapace.
The scorpion, furious with Maya's attack, steps out of the tunnel and attempts to skewer her with its sting and rend with its claws. Maya, however, deftly dodges out of the way of the attacks.
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Seoni looks on irritably at all the posturing that seems to be going between her companions. "Gentleman, could we not worry about glory or notches on your belts and just deal with the threat?"
She punctuates her words with a irritated flick of her hand towards the scorpion, muttering a few arcane syllables. Yet another dart of mystic energy flies from her fingers and strikes the scorpion
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Tagir again attempts to punch the scorpion but again in manages to step out of the way. Unfortunately, it steps right into Yuvonesom's waiting maw, as he takes a big bite into the base of its tail. Seoni, irritated with the male machismo, reminds everyone of the business at hand, while firing another magical bolt at the creature.
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Maya hides her amusement behind a neutral expression, her smile fading slightly upon notice of Seoni's irritation. She does have a point. It would probably be best to bring this engagement to a close and see to it that Tagir doesn't fall sick from whatever poison these nasty creatures may carry. And then we can begin unraveling this little mystery of ours...
With a quiet sigh, Maya quickly dances backwards and thrusts the pointy ends of her weapon towards the injured arachnid, hoping to end its suffering swiftly.
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Maya's spear plunges deep into the carapace of the scorpion, ripping out flesh and goo on its way out.
Iddo draws his shortbow and fires at the scorpion. In trying to avoid hitting his party members though, the arrow goes wide. He then takes one step back to give space to Zen Shu.
Zen Shu steps back away from the scorpion, raises his crossbow and waits til there is an opening. The crossbow bolt flies true, striking deep through the carapace, pinning it to the floor. the scorpion wriggles for a while, but slowly becomes still.
The silence that falls upon the room after the short but fierce battle is broken when Heryn pops her head into room, and asks in concern, "Is everyone alright?"
With the vermin defeated, you can properly examine the files on the desk. The papers chronicle the personal exploits of Selmius Foster, a famous Pathfinder whose name the you recognize from your training as Pathfinder agents or from conversations with other Pathfinders. Zen Shu adds on that Selmius Foster was one of the founding members of the Society about 400 years ago, and was known to have frequented the Wisp often and occasionally took up residence in a spare room between his travels. 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. Two pieces of notes left behind, one by Selmius Foster himself, and one by what appears to be his assistant Adolphus, appear to be off particular importance.
Other than the simple furniture, the small room is quite spartan. The cracks in the walls from which scorpions emerged from do not appear to be part of the original construction, and were likely formed by the same earthquake that created the fissures outside. Through the uneven passages you catch the faint stench of sewage, and they likely lead to Absalom's sewers.
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"Gods. This is... fascinating, yet scary. This gnome lady sounds like a villain from one of those murder mysteries they like over in Varisia. I hope it all ended well though."
Iddo spends a few more moments scanning the notes, then gasps and raises his head, not looking at anyone's face.
"Do you think this story hasn't ended yet? What if we could unravel the secrets Eylysia hid?"
The bard stumbles a bit backwards, scratching his head.
"I didn't come here for that. That is terrifying."
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"Terrifyingly exciting!" Tagir slaps Iddo hard on the back, "I knew this was some sort of hazing for new recruits. They've left a scavenger hunt for us! And they probably keep those scorpions in cages down the hall and that's why Heryn kept us waiting, so that somebody could release them."
"So . . . which clue should we follow first? None seem particularly dangerous or exciting."
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Yuvonesom transforms back into his previous self after about half a minute and begins helping search through the notes.
I don't think that all of this was intended, Tagir, our host seems fairly shocked by all of this. And I can't take credit for all of the shock, he muses as he looks over the clues, tapping his chin as he ponders. Perhaps the wall of names should be our first stop, it is close and perhaps it will have the most information.
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Now that the danger is over, Heryn peers quite curiously into the room while you are having your conference, fascinated by the room that has been hidden under her tavern all these years without her knowledge.
"Young man," she storms over to Tagir, wagging her finger in his face. [b]"If you think I would have allowed someone to be keeping dangerous beasts under my tavern, you need your head looked into!" Now that she has entered the room and has a good look, she adds on, somewhat reverently, "This room must have been here since the very beginning. Was Selmius responsible?"
She looks around the room again and glances at the stack of notes on the table. "This looks like Pathfinder business, so I'm not going to touch anything here. Go do what you need to do. I'll make sure no one disturbs this place until one of your agents come tell me otherwise."
Heryn then paces around the room, and seems to be more interested in the dimensions of the room than the contents. You can hear her muttering to herself, "Hmm, a bit small, but I can put a few shelves here ... here ... and here. Once I've sorted out the wine outside, I can keep the valuable ones hidden here. Oh but I need to fix those cracks... What is that smell? Do the cracks lead to the sewers? Ew..." She is still examining the room while you troop out, unconcerned about the two scorpion carcasses.
As you climb the stairs out of the cellar, you hear Heryn exclaim, "Ah, there it is!" followed shortly by the rumbling noise you heard earlier. It seems that she has found the catch to close the secret door. "How convenient," you hear her add on.
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Maya quietly scours whatever documents she can get her hands on, occasionally sneaking a curious glance at Yuvonesom and the others when they speak to show she's listening. She eventually perks up in response to Heryn after everyone has had their say and a chance to read the notes left behind.
"It appears Selmius was indeed responsible, Miss Heryn. However, this room was no doubt hidden with The Society's best interests in mind. I suspect Drandle had a hand in it too, judging from how our task has turned out. Um..." Maya slides her backpack off of one shoulder, setting it front of the desk. "You wouldn't happen to mind if we kept these, would you?" she asks softly, packing away the entirety of the desk's contents while the bartender wanders about the room in audible thought. I'd really like to read over these in better detail later. So many riveting stories!
Maya follows the others out of the room after calling a quick goodbye to Heryn that likely goes unanswered, but feeling content to leave the woman to her own little investigation. She makes sure to reclaim the two lost strips of cloth from the floor as they leave, tying them around her sizeable spear as they ascend the stairs so that it rests comfortably across her back.
"My vote is with Yuvie for now," she says, shooting the alchemist a grin after climbing the final step. "It would be good to ascertain the existence of these names for ourselves. Though, it is peculiar..." she continues pensively, "Perhaps Eylysia wished to hide these people from further scrutiny, or maybe there's some sort of hidden message? Hmm, I suppose we can't count out the fact that it's entirely possible this is a meaningless ruse designed to throw off anyone following along too closely... Regardless, it seems like a good starting point." It's definitely not like I'm excited to see this famous wall with my own eyes or anything...
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Seoni looks through the notes on the table and nods to Heryn as she examines the room. She mulls over the meaning within the notes, then speaks up "Meeting the gnome or the stonemason seem more promising as they have had direct contact with Elysia. For all we know, the carvings on the wall of names could be a false trail. Nevertheless, I'm agreeable to investigate this wall as we shouldn't leave any stone unturned."
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You head back to the grounds of the Grand Lodge, where the Wall of Names resides. Created in 4330 AR, the monument is a curving wall of black glass that stands atop a small hill at the western edge of the lodge’s grounds. Trees surround the hill, providing ample shade and privacy for those visiting the wall to remember fallen comrades. Carved into the wall are the name and date of death of every Pathfinder killed in the course of duty since the Society’s formation, and most entries also include a sentence or two summarizing either the agent’s greatest accomplishments or how she died.
Baron Rysalius Starnon, Deceased 4715 AR. Died heroically to protect his fellow Pathfinder from a tentacled horror.
Admiral "Dent" Zhebugbug. Deceased 4712 AR. Lost with his companions Ksenia and BaddaDing in the bowels of the Blakros Museum.
The rain continues to fall, drenching all of you completelyas you scour through the names on the Wall. Eventually you find the three names of supposed bogus Pathfinders mentioned in Adolphus’ note, scattered about the wall. Strangely, certain phrases were underlined.
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By the way, there’s an actual Wall of Names Facebook page, where you can leave an eulogy for any of your characters that fall along the way. :)
Seoni, having drawn her hood up in a small attempt to keep herself from being totally drenched, reads the names of one pathfinder after another who fallen in the line of service. Poor things...I hope my name doesn't end here, just another line in an endless stream of others who have failed
Upon finding the three names of the Pathfinders mentioned in Adolphus' notes, she stares at the phrases, but fails to draw any connection with her limited knowledge. She turns to her companions "What do you all make of these?"
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Tagir replies to Seoni, "Doulgonlir died during sex with a contortionist. Hollis . . . well, you know those stories about guys meeting a woman and not realizing that she's a man until the clothes come off? Well, Hollis there didn't realize the woman was a banshee. And Madame Clamp? She was the quartermaster for a mission in Cheliax, and tried to save too much money on supplies. Turns out she bought rotten rice and some Hellknights died of food poisoning. The commander put her to death for negligent homicide."