Water laps steadily at the pier as sailors, laborers, and merchants rush busily around Absalom’s port. The venture-captain’s summons called for a meeting aboard the Sixwing Drake, a sleek sailing ship. The Drake’s captain, a Varisian woman and fellow Pathfinder named Zarah Zendrani, stands at the helm of her vessel.
“It’s not like Valsin to be late,” she mutters, furrowing her brow.
As if on cue, a tall and meticulously groomed man pushes his way through the crowd and up the gangplank, cursing audibly.
“Whoever supervises this mess of a port needs to be dumped in the sea!” he grumbles.
The tall man looks around at those gathered before him.
“Just the group I requested. Perfect. I’m Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin, and I took great care in selecting just the right Pathfinders for this assignment.”
Valsin reaches into his belt pouch and withdraws a small, folded paper before continuing.
“A few days ago, I received a curious note from a rather unexpected source. It’s not every day that I get a request from an agent of the Aspis Consortium.”
Captain Zendrani’s eyes widen, and Valsin smiles knowingly.
“But Magali Delroya does not appear to be your typical Aspis agent. As you surely know, the Aspis Consortium pursues a variety of activities across the Inner Sea that the Pathfinder Society finds abhorrent. It seems that Delroya has been working with them for some time, but can no longer stomach the snakes herself. She wants to stop a shipment of an experimental drug from leaving Diobel later this week. It’s bound for a number of locations across the Inner Sea region. According to Delroya, she can’t ask the local authorities for help, because the Aspis Consortium has already struck a deal with a faction of the Kortos Consortium, a powerful merchant collective. Her hands are tied, so she’s come to us for help. In this note, she outlines three different tasks that would help to disrupt the Aspis long enough for her to move the shipment to a secure location, out of the clutches of the consortium. Once you accomplish two of these tasks, she’s willing to meet with you, but not before.
Normally, I wouldn’t trust an Aspis agent at any hour of the day. But our sources in Diobel have confirmed the Aspis and Kortos consortia’s activities. Everything checks out, so we are presented with a unique opportunity. If we help Delroya, we might not only strike a financial blow against the Aspis Consortium, but we could also reveal their dealings with the Kortos Consortium—and possibly prevent their arrangement from turning into a more formal alliance. Furthermore, we hope to stop this drug from spreading across the Inner Sea region, and if we—if all of you—do a good enough job, we might even convince Delroya to join the Society. A turncoat agent would be a valuable asset in our ongoing run-ins with the Aspis Consortium.
Take some time to look over Delroya’s note and the tasks she has set for you. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask. Remember, the Aspis Consortium is a long-time enemy of the society, but the Kortos Consortium, while certainly suspicious, is not our enemy. It is a complex organization with many factions, and we should avoid antagonizing any of them, except when necessary to oppose the Aspis Consortium.”
The Venture-Captain nods at Jamiroquai and Shabah pertinent questions.
"If, when, you complete two of the tasks, Magali will contact you and sort out the practicalities."
"The precarious situation and strict timetable only allows you a single day to work on the tasks."
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A stocky kitsune emerges from below deck, dressed humbly and carrying a tattered banner. One side bears the Glyph of the Open Road, while the other displays the Master's Rebus. "Draklor Ribiera, reporting for duty. Don't worry, I heard the briefing." Despite his jocular attitude, he looks a bit glum. "It seems we have been blessed with this opportunity. We know our timetable, but is there any particular order in which these tasks should be accomplished?"
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The stocky Oread, his slick, crystalline skin covered in rock-like growths, introduces himself as Adnan. His voice sounds disconcertingly like an avalanche. He stares, unblinking and unmoving, at anyone who speaks. Although he rarely acknowledges anything that is said, his eyes reveal his complete comprehension.
At the conclusion of the briefing, he moves to stand by the gangway, where he watches the rest of the questions.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Shabah apologizes briefly for pressing on with the briefing before proper introductions were made.
I am Shabah Al'Quna of the Susianam. Though I am in service to His Imperial and Royal Majesty the Padishah Emperor Kalish XXII, I take my obligations to the Society equally seriously. I do not know any of you, but I will take great harm to see that you return safely if need be. I hope that I can expect the same of you.
Valsin dismisses Draklor's question with a wave.
"The order is up to you. Jamiroquai seems to have a viable plan."
After sailing through the night Captain Zendrani and the crew of the sleek Sixwing Drake steer the ship up to the massive barrier of broken war-barges, crumbling walls, and jetties of iron and wood that protect the port of Diobel. The pale dawn light is just starting to peek over the myriad warehouses and workshops.
“Well, here we are,” says the captain. “I’ll make sure everything is in order with Diobel’s inspectors and charter you a barge to the port. You aren’t carrying anything particularly valuable, so you shouldn’t draw much attention from the inspectors or pilots, so long as you don’t run your mouth. My crew and I will wait here with the ship. You can return here to rest, if you need to, but remember—there isn’t much time!”
Delroya’s directions lead to an isolated alley in the Bristles, and then down into the sewers beneath Diobel. The stench of sewage mixes with the sharper odors of chemical fumes and decay and permeates the damp tunnels. From this intersection, tunnels lead west and south into the darkness. A third tunnel heading east is filled with detritus, filthy beddings, food scraps, broken glass, and rotting furniture. An alcove lies beyond a collapsed portion of the tunnel’s southern wall, and further east, a statue of a giant rat rests in the dead-end passage. Countless empty flasks and discarded alchemical ingredients lie on the floor around the statue. On a nearby workbench sit several organized but empty flasks and jars.
Among the detritus in the eastern tunnel, are four men, almost indistinguishable from the tattered pallets they lie on. They are barely conscious and clearly malnourished.
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Adnan quietly arms himself with his Morningstar and shield. With the alchemist's chamber in sight, he casts a spell on himself. Then he approaches the four men and checks on them.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Neither the vial nor anything else among the mess radiates a magical aura.
The man Shabah approaches opens a crusty eye with difficulty but looks right past them. He shuffles pitifully towards Ylania and makes a feeble and unsuccessful attempt at snatching the vial from her.
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Adnan points at the delirious wretches and rumbles out "Withdrawal." his voice like falling boulders.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Jamiroquai seems quite at home in the sewers... and seems entranced by the architecture of the system... When they get to the littered area with the addicts in withdrawal, he'll cluck with a bit of disgust, then look beyond them to the statues.
"Is that a shrine to a rat god? and where is the alchemist who did all this?"
You can't get a single meaningful word out of the addicts, but the alchemist is clearly not here.
The workbench near the statue has clearly been used for alchemical purposes, but it's currently not in use, and the alchemist and his notes are nowhere to be found.
The makeshift and poorly stocked lab lies ruined at Adnan's feet.
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Shabah sighs at Adnan's destruction.
At least we have a sample of the unrefined narcotic, but I fear that with his lab in ruins, clear evidence of someone's ill will, the Leper will no longer keep this place as his warren.
The notes do not appear to be here, so either we must return in failure, or await the alchemist's return. It may be before the end of the day if Sarenrae wills it.
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"We should check around, but there is no need to endanger our success in the other tasks for the sake of this one. We still have time to disrupt the meeting and take the documents, and perhaps we could check back here later. You're right, Shabah, he may not be here given what was happened, but it can be tried."
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"Drak has good ideas... let's go do another task and return here later... or do both the others and skip this one? Disrupting the meeting first sounds good, let's go find this meeting place... what was it now? oh yes... a tavern... the Corpulent Clam? Something like that... um.. oh yes... the Overflowing Oyster! Let's go.. we've got a little dirt on the owner... perhaps we can convince him to close for the day? Each of the agents meeting there s should see the 'closed' sign and leave, thinking the meeting is a bust. We could threaten him with exposure of his counterfeit pearl business... or just bribe him outright. Whatever works."
The Overflowing Oyster is a dirty, broken-looking building that barely fits between the fishing tackle shop to its north and the junk shop to its south. Hanging over the door is a creaky sign that shows a painted oyster with pearls spilling from its gaping shell. The interior of the Overflowing Oyster displays a mix of rickety furniture and gaudy decorations, from strands of obviously fake pearls hanging over the kitchen’s entrance to wooden carvings of sultry mermaids and cheap paintings of ships at sea.
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"Those are good ideas, I particularly like that second one," Draklor notes. "Regardless-" The kitsune closes his eyes in light concentration, and after a tiny flash of light he is a scruffy brown-haired human of the same shape and size. "-It would probably be best if I were in this form. The better to blend in. I don't know how people stand it all the time, but it's no problem for the sake of the mission."