|
You receive an urgent letter from the Master of Swords, Marcos Farabellus, urging you to meet at the statue of Durvin Gest on the grounds of the Grand Lodge in Absalom.
The immense Sky Reach Tower casts a dim shadow over the twenty-foot-tall likeness of the Society’s most heralded founding agent, Durvin Gest, his gaze directed over the horizon as if searching for one last adventure. Standing beside the angelic figures and elaborate friezes that adorn the monument’s base, Master of Blades Marcus Farabellus waits with barely concealed impatience.
“Now that you’re here, I’ll be brief. I received a short relayed message from the Master of Spells. Zey reported that something has gone wrong with the gate he and Amara Li are working on to establish a direct link to our new base camp in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords through the Hao Jin Tapestry. I need not remind you of the importance of that camp and its proximity to Jormurdun. Once that gate is permanently established, we’ll be able to provide safe and reliable support for our efforts to breach the dwarven Sky Citadel.
“We recently appointed a new venture-captain, Nikolai Adonai, to oversee day-to-day operations and provide security until Zey and Li finish their work. Zey speculated that one or more of the arcane foci used to stabilize the incomplete gateway may have been disturbed, but reestablishing the connection should be relatively simple with the help of the camp’s agents. That, as well as the fact that Nikolai hasn’t responded to any communication magic, suggests something is wrong.
“I need you to travel to the base camp, find out what’s going on, and repair the link through the Hao Jin Tapestry. Any questions?”
******
Satrapy for his work.
|
Atum approaches the statue in a confident march, his polearm at his side and another strung across his back. His golden armor is gleaming, as usual, the red scarab on his chest accenting the red gem in his forehead which serves to mark him as a member of the sacred order of the Living Monoliths, a servant of the sphinxes.
[spoiler=DC 15 Perception]Everything is very well polished but you do notice a bit of glitter behind one of Atum's ears that he seems to have missed.
He listens to the Venture-Captain with a serious look on his face. "So you haven't heard from anyone in a while and you need us to check on the camp and help them reassemble this magical portal? This we can do."
Turning to his companions he nods his head and introduces himself in a deep monotone. "Atum Nakhti, Servant of the Ruby Prince, Lieutenant-Commander of Fangwood Keep in Nirmathas, and Living Monolith blessed by Sphinxes. I have traveled in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords before and am well-known by one of the local tribes for my wrestling bout with a fearsome tyrannosaurus." The Garundi allows himself the slightest smirk. "I won."
Turning back to the matter at hand, he continues, "The camp lies approximately 45 miles east of Tolguth and is within sight of the Worldwound’s border. We need to be wary of the demon-taint in that area. I saw it running rampant in my last pass through Tolguth. Make sure you are armed with cold iron." To prove the point, he lifts his right hand holding his polearm to show his cold iron cestus locked into his armor.
|
Osric greets his new allies:
"I am Osric, a hunter and slayer of demons and undead horrors. This" as he indicates an enormous panting wolf, "is Grimtooth. He is my trusted companion and has proven his worth on many a field."
"We too have been assigned to these Realms before, and all too well do I remember the Worldwound's taint."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Grimtooth sits happily on his haunches. He greedily gulps up a piece of jerky Osric tosses him. The wolf is the size of a small horse, and wears a coat of fine chain over his deep grey coat.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
A human dressed in tight leathers enter the lodge and looks about.. Without saying anything he sits down and pours himself a drink..
He cracks a small smile as he hears the name Nikolai.. I know I've heard of this man.. Ahh yes, I remember now.. He keeps his mouth shut on the subject, for now..
After finishing his glass he speaks up.. "Names Darius.. I've never ventured that far north so you'll have to give me some pointers. As far as skills go I'm flashy with a blade and spell, but not so flashy with words.. I usually let someone else do the talking.."
|
|
Cairo walks in, rather late. "Oh I'm so sorry. What did I miss? My name is Cairo." He says nodding to everyone. He is a young Kelish man in a suit of Fullplate that seems a bit too big for him. Dark wavy medium length hair covers his head though his face remains clean. He has a scimitar at his hip and a silver holy symbol of the Dawnflower around his neck. Ever the optimist, he often has a goofy grin on his face. "I'm sure Kyra would be on time."
|
|
Master Farabellus nods at Atum. "That's the gist of it. We think that Master Zey used arcane foci to stabilize the portal-crystals about the size of your fist made of black tourmaline. There’s something special about their crystalline structure. When properly aligned with the tapestry, they can hold open a gate between planes indefinitely."
"Getting you there is going to be costly, but I’ve arranged for another agent to transport you there with magic. That said, if you can manage your own instantaneous transportation, that’s one less expense for the Society. Once you realign the foci and get Zey and Li out of the tapestry, they should be able to get you home. Follow me."
Farabellus leads you to one of the Grand Lodge’s outbuildings. There you meet one of the Society’s more decorated, albeit cantankerous, agents, a wizard who introduces himself as Ethan. He pulls out a small silver mirror, says, "The Pathfinders’ Jormurdun base camp," gives the mirror a shake, and holds it out for your to see it. The reflective surface shows a vast field of tall grass, barren of any signs of civilization. "That’s an active view of the center of our camp. Master Zey has concealed its location from all but the most powerful of magic. I’m going to teleport you there, at which point you should expect to fumble around a bit before being able to pierce the illusion."
The Master of Swords intervenes before Ethan casts his teleportation spell. "Hold! You know I'm no friend of magic, so one piece of advice for you youngsters. We've used teleportation magic to send operatives in the field before, but it hasn't always worked out fine as we sometimes sent them into dangerous areas. Remember, the base camp is right next to the Worldwound border, and we don't know what to expect there. My suggestion is that you prepare for a bit before Ethan teleports you. I don't want to have to carve your names on the Wall anytime soon, understand?"
|
Ace sees Osric. OZZZZZZZZZY! You coming to this thing too? Wait, you got jerky? Where's my share of that jerky?
He listens to the Master of Swords words half-heartedly while tuning his Masterwork Mandolin and testing his Doom-tar. I can throw out a Good Hope or some inspiring music if you guys think that will make the teleportation work better.
|
|
Osric's face splits into a wide grin as he sees Ace.
"Sure thing Ace, I brought plenty. I just hope Ethan can keep that gate open long enough to get your kit through!"
Osric hand Ace a piece of jerky and offers some to the others as well.
"It sounds like there could be trouble on the other side. I'd better take a few precautions."
|
|
Farabellus nods at you. "Very well. Good luck, Pathfinders."
The wizard known as Ethan starts sprinkling amber dust in a circle around you, and instantly the scenery changes to the one you saw in the silver mirror. As the magic dissipates, a vast, grassy steppe comes into focus. The only features to speak of are a handful of wizened trees, twisted into impossible shapes by the Worldwound’s taint, and the Tusk Mountains far to the north.
Yet, things are not as they seem at first, for Ace bumps on an invisible obstacle that could be a well.
|
|
Darius, Arntoth, and Cairo shake off the illusion field in front of their eyes, and a small village comes now into view. It appears you are in the middle of a town square, surrounded by houses in ruin. There's no visible signs of life around.
Atum and Osric have a harder time, but they will eventually come to see the truth as well.
|
|
The moment Atum proposes to explore the derelict camp, all hells break loose. The sound becomes louder, coming your way. Soon, you are able to discern what was whirring so loudly: two swarms of tiny gluttonous insects that devour everything in their path make their way to the town square, attracted by your pristine equipment. Just when you thought your day couldn't start off worse, a vile droning sound is heard, sending shivers down your spine. Two terrifying locusts the size of a horse emerge from behind the ruined houses. They have a scorpion’s stinger and an almost-human face. Their front legs end in clawed hands.
Both giant locusts start opening a gate to allow more of their kind to join the fight.
Initiative - round 1
D (large insects)
>>>Group 1 (Osric, Ace, Arntoth, Darius)
V (swarms)
Group 2 (Cairo, Atum)
Group 1 can act!
Grimtooth snarls and moves forward, blocking the way to the party, readying his jaws to snap at whatever comes close.
|
|
Darius is able to tell his companions that these demonic insects are named Vescavor swarms. As all swarms, they are immune to weapon damage, resist moderately to fire and electricity . They have a fearsome reputation for two reasons: the first is that their gibbering sound render those caught in it or near it completely insane, whereas the second is that they eat all metal and wood as easily as flesh.
The magus identifies the large locusts as Derakni, demons linked to the demon lord Deskari. Those have the usual demonic resistances . Their special abilities include poison seeping from their fangs and sting, as well as a particularly vile droning sound they make as they move. Non-demonic creatures that are near them when they do this droning sound risk losing their mind utterly and completely.
Ace starts doing a solo performance, inspiring his friends.
|
|
Cairo remembers that the vescavors are indeed resilient to magic, though moderately so,
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
The swarm avoids some of the fireball's damage, and seems resilient against fire. Some vescavors are burnt to cinders, but that is only a few compared to the swirling mass of demonic insects that compose the swarm.
The Vescavor swarms buzz to the group, ravaging everything in their path. They manage to surround Darius, Volfie and Grimtooth in their midst.
The swarms' incessant gibber start getting on your nerves, making you progressively insane.
Confused
A confused creature is mentally befuddled and cannot act normally. A confused creature cannot tell the difference between ally and foe, treating all creatures as enemies. Allies wishing to cast a beneficial spell that requires a touch on a confused creature must succeed on a melee touch attack. If a confused creature is attacked, it attacks the creature that last attacked it until that creature is dead or out of sight.Roll on the following table at the beginning of each confused subject's turn each round to see what the subject does in that round.
d% Behavior
01–25 Act normally.
26–50 Do nothing but babble incoherently.
51–75 Deal 1d8 points of damage + Str modifier to self with item in hand.
76–100 Attack nearest creature (for this purpose, a familiar counts as part of the subject's self).
Initiative - round 1
DerakniGroup 1 (Osric, Ace, Arntoth, Darius)
Vescavor swarms
>>> Group 2 (Cairo, Atum)