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A hooded figure walks into the briefing room, taking a moment to consider the space as if he is trying to memorize his surroundings. Seeing no one else present, he pulls his hood back, sits down in a chair facing the door, withdraws the latest Gazetteer from his well worn haversack and starts consuming the text. His quest for knowledge will only be sated a short time, but discovering critical connections from publications like these are the times when he is happiest.
The Hao Jin Tapestry hangs on the wall of this stuffy basement room each of you is ushered into in the Grand Lodge. The tattered piece of fabric, five feet wide and seven feet long, looks more like a worn tablecloth than a storied artifact. The Pathfinder Society’s Master of Spells Aram Zey stands before tapestry, his arms folded across his chest. He speaks without greeting.
“As you all surely know, the Society is right now laboring at some cost to assemble a dwarven relic known as the Sky Key.” The Master of Spells produces an intricately sculpted piece of metal decorated with fluid carvings. A sudden flash of excitement fills his weary eyes.
“The object I hold in my hands is one of five pieces of that curiosity. The pieces that we have managed to obtain so far share the same luster and artistic sensibilities, but have different shapes and functions within the assembled artifact. Today, hopefully, you will retrieve another piece." His gaze turns from the Sky Key component in his hand towards you Zey's smile tightens and you detect a slight wince before he continues.
"Of course previous missions were supposed to have already done just that. Those agents however, proven less successful than hoped. Nonetheless, a previous team managed to at least discover enough to lead us to believe that a fragment of the Sky Key lies within the tapestry, in the company of a dwarven clan that left Golarion for Hao Jin’s realm some time ago. Which brings us to you. Your task is to enter the tapestry and make contact with these dwarves, discern what they know about the Sky Key, and negotiate for their piece, should they still have it.”
The taciturn sage produces a hexagonal beard clasp of thick, polished metal. “Pathfinder agents retrieved this beard clasp from one of the sites that we suspected of holding the Sky Key fragment. It belonged to an ancestor of the dwarves who live in the tapestry, and it may assist you in your negotiations. Return it to me if it does not gain you the fragment you seek. We hold no particular ire for the dwarves. Retrieve the Sky Key fragment if possible, but try not to murder anyone.”
Aram Zey adds grudgingly, “Does anyone have any questions before I send you into tapestry?”
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"Well I doubt this is a simple diplomatic mission... What other kinds of creatures are there that we'll probably have to deal with?"
Balooo is a rather large hirsute Ulfen with dark hair. His hands look rough and calloused. He is wearing a simple yet well made breastplate made of mithral that barely covers his massive chest. On his back is a sword made of a black metal and a bow, both seem almost brand new and hardly used.
"Well I doubt this is a simple diplomatic mission... What other kinds of creatures are there that we'll probably have to deal with?"
"Besides the dwarves themselves?" The master of spells waves a dismissive hand. "Earth creatures, maybe. It is frankly impossible to tell. Hao Jin made her tapestry into a living and breathing museum but she didn't limit herself when it came to populating it. Other explorations of the Tapestry have discovered entire, thriving communities of lizardfolk, ratfolk, and aasimar, without even touching on various other monsters."
To Farg's request, Zey gives a nod. “These dwarves are the descendants of those who followed Prince Naldak, son of the last ruler of Jormurdun, King Gutheran. That beard clasp bears the rune of the line. As I said it should at least give you a formal introduction to them, provided its presented respectfully of course."
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A young gnome, smelling faintly of chemicals and smoke, shuffles into the tapestry chamber and then almost immediately does his best to blend into a corner out of the way. His clothes are simple and functional, but dotted with numerous burn marks, alchemical stains, and holes from both sources. A pair of smoked goggles rest atop his head, as he glowers at pretty much everything through narrowed eyes. He seems unusually dour for a gnome.
He doesn't say much at first other then to mumble his name, "Milo", clearly not overly comfortable around people.
He listens to the others asking questions, but does not offer any himself.
Aram Zey scowls. ”The other teams’ information proved…faulty. As Jormurdun was falling, its last king Gutheran split up the Sky Key into five parts and gave one to each of his four children, who promptly led their people in a diaspora. Those who left with Prince Naldak headed west into present-day Irrisen. With considerable effort, a band of your colleagues managed to find the ruins of the dwarves’ settlement only to discover that a significant protion of it – including the Sky Key fragment – had been swept up into the Tapestry by Hao Jin some time before.”
The Master of Spells looks defensive. ”Of course keeping track of migrations from a fallen tribe from millennia ago is a complex enough accomplishment without having to take into account random demiplane transportation. Nonetheless, those failures have borne the fruit that led us to here.”
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Listening to the briefing in stoic silence is a tall, powerfully built Aasimar with skin of darkened Iron and pale white hair. His bight blue eyes scan the people present and the Tapestry Hmm, a diplomatic mission to a foreign plane, what could go wrong? he thinks sourly as the Master of spells outlines their plan.
"Seems simple enough to me, well let us be off. I am Tomas Stormborn, Warpriest of Cayden Cailean"
His devotion is clearly marked by a tattoo etched into his right arm of a foaming mug. Nodding to the Master of Spells, he follows the others into the Tapestry.
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The tattered... something - robes are too grandiose a name for the garment heaped upon the small figure - shifts and a pair of black, beady eyes are upon you before shifting away hurriedly. A beak of some kind protrudes from beneath the cowl and the voice of the creature - a fellow Pathfinder who gave his name as Kikil, a Tengu Wizard. His garments conceal a number of items, including a large book and numerous scrollcases.
"These Dwarves have not-not been contacted before? Any information as to their culture or politics-tics?" Kikil asks in a croaking voice.
"It should be simple, yes." Zey says as he leads you towards a corner of the tapestry. Pointing to an extremely specific spot, he says. "So why waste any more time. Touch here, speak 'Traydios', and come back with the Sky Key." The Master steps back and looks at the six of you expectantly. As one by one you follow Aram Zey's instructions, you find the tapestry seemingly rushing towards you and growing to massive proportions as there is a flash of light...
...and you blink to find yourself facing a very different view.
The hill basement temperture now has been replaced by hot, humid air. A large earthen hill stands before you a ways off, surrounded on each side by hills covered in vines, grass, and stands of jungle trees. In one direction, mountains rise until they meet a haze of thick clouds. In the other direction, the deep blue sky is barely visible through an expanse of thick jungle. Just ahead lies a small village, its stone buildings overrun with vegetation.
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Kikil peers down at the... seemingly abandoned village. He draws a wand and uses it on himself, causing a matrix of force to appear around him before fading from view. He looks at the wand and tosses it over his shoulder, then he draws a second wand and activates it, and a faint mist spirals around his head before he puts this wand away.
"Looks quiet down there-there." Kikil says.
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"Lets go knap this screw then." Milo mutters as he pulls the shaded goggles on his head down with one hand, and touches the tapestry with the other. He quickly mutters the word Aram Zey gave them, and vanishes.
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As they all start appearing, one by one, in the jungle terrain of the demi-plane, he lifts his goggles, wincing slightly, as he looks around warily.
"Bloody hell." He mutters in annoyance, as the heat and humidity hit them. He then does his best to fade into the surrounding foliage.
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Once in the tapestry, Fendel takes stock of the immediate area. He pulls out another phial and drinks down the contents.
The human investigator slides into the heat. He takes a moment to decide if he needs to address the effect of the heat on his ability to function. It's hot, but it does not seem to warrant wasting any resources on.
As the party trudges forward, the wayang, gnome, and human tread carefully, sticking to the shadows and ducking behind hill crests and scrub as they advance. Baloo takes a more direct approach.
Nearing the village, each of you can see that whatever buildings still stand have been long abandoned. The jungle around you seems to be slowly reclaiming the place as vines crawl over worn stone. Fendel and Milo notice something amiss about the rubble however. even from a short distance the pair notices awkwardly upturned earth, uncovered graves, marred and defaced murals, and piles of debris seemingly newly exposed to the elements - all pointing to recent activity.
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Tomas examines his surroundings appreciatively and marvels at the power abused here to create this world, even if it was stolen from the material plane and dumped her for a mad sorceror's pure amusement. And they wonder why people struggle to trust them, they do nothing but abuse their power... he thinks grimly, noting he is surrounded by those of a similar ilk so wisely keeps his tongue.
Due to his heavier footfalls from having the metallic skin of an angel, Tomas's stealth is not as good as his allies and so he hangs back and allows them to act as scouts. When he sees them stop, the Warpriest will come closer and peer at the graves.
"Hmm" the Angelkin whispers back to Fendel his keen eyes and ears looking and listening to the unnatural jungle. "It would appear this place is all not what it seems. It may be these dwarves or creatures of earth, we should proceed with caution yet not open hostility as our Master of Spells demanded in his brief."
As you discuss the situation, a strange roar rings out - a loud echoing sound that brings to mind the noise of a hammer striking against an anvil. As birds scatter from the surrounding trees, a large strange figure comes swooping down from the sky to land atop a small structure the the west of you.
The horse-sized creature has the face of a dwarven woman wearing a silver nose ring. But her body resembles that of a large bear with scaly wings. A barbed tail writhes wildly behind her as she threatens with a sonorous growl.
"Who are you. Go away. This place is not for you" it snarls at the six of you.
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Fendel nods to Kikil, "Agreed. I will proceed with caution."
Holding no weapons in his hands, the investigator steps out of the shadows and cautiously approaches the eidolon. "Forgive us for intruding, we mean no harm. We are explorers, come to learn and trade knowledge with a clan of dwarves." Please don't have screwed us Zey! Fendel takes the beard clasp out of his haversack and holds it out before him. "We were given this beard clasp to show as a sign of our good faith. We offer our sympathies to you for your fallen master. I understand the bond between you must have been very strong for you to stay here. Were you left as a guardian here, was that the last task asked of you? Can we assist you in some way, or strike back at whomever would desecrate the honorable graves of the fallen?"
'Kikli' and Milo try to hide in the brush as Fendel steps forward to speak. The creature glanes at them momentarily but listens to the human's words. Peering at the beard clasp, the eidolon hangs her head and speaks in a low voice.
"Master was last of Naldak’s Point dwarves. They were good and proud until evil came and took the youth away. Now they live in the mountain to the east. Their heads are bald and their skin is gray. They should cut their beards in shame.”
"All good Naldak dwarves gone. But the grey dwarves took away history, broke up home. If you going to fight them, Grodel has things for you."
The eidolon flaps down from her perch and squeezes into the building she had landed on. Emerging with an empty scabbard and a smooth stick, she begins to hold out the items before pausing.
"Wait. Are you here to take away honor from the bones? Break into cairns like the others?"
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During the conversation so far, Tomas has been careful to keep his arms to his sides, despite carrying only one weapon the Warrior-priest is wary of the unhinged nature of the creature, though talk of a clan of Dwarves devolving into Duergar causes him to step forwards, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture.
"Well met Grodel, we have been asked to meet with your Master's people, though it would appear that disaster has struck. We do not seek to plunder or to desecrate Naldak lands." he backs up Fendel, though so far the man's silver tongue has seemed sufficient.
"These Gray Dwarves break in the tombs? Or other people. Do you know who they are? We would be honoured to assist."
Grodel shakes her head at Fendel's offer, but seems to calm down. He senses that she is still on guard, but lacks deceptive intent.
"No, Grodel stays here. Keep watch over master's old home. Keep rest of dead and things safe."
"And grey dwarves not dig deep. They look like you." she says, pointing to Fendel and Baloo. "Do not know who they were. But maybe these can help you if you see the."
The eidolon will offer forth a Scabbard of Vigor and a wand of Stone Call, with 37 charges remaining.
Grodel nods in agreement to Baloo.
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Tomas nods to Grondel and turns to his allies, the offered items of no use to the Warrior Priest, given his preferred brawling style. Carefully, Tomas will begin to approach the dig site they spied earlier, not wishing to spook the Eidolon but wanting more information before they rushed into the fray. Shaking his head at his caution, the Aasimar knew that he had been not quite himself ever since his death at the jaws of a Remorhaz.
"We should see of there any clues ahead, I have no doubt that the Tapestry holds many and sometimes things that look human are not quite."
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"Probably more a those Aspis prigs." Milo mutters, at news there are others in the area looting graves.
He does not appear interested in the wand, far preferring to burn things then pummel them with rocks.
"So the dwarves all got jiggered and now some prigs is rollin' stiffs?" He snorts, glaring around at the surrounding countryside. "So which a these scurfs' got the screw now?"
He scowls towards the mountain the eidolon indicated earlier, already knowing the likely answer to his question.
Grodel unfortunately does not have much more to tell to Kikil. The eidolon is certainly describing humans, but also mentions someone who sounds like an elf, and possibly a half-orc. The wayang gets the sense that the creature seems to have difficulty distinguishing the nuances between non-dwarves.
Looking over the ruins of Naldak's Point, Fendel notes that the disturbed graves seem to have been excavated with fair precision, though no tools or shovels remain nearby. Each of the holes lies stripped bare of valuable items. there are some tracks, headed east. Poking about the stone structures themselves, the detective notes a faded mural. Partially defaced, it illustrates angry dwarves facing away from their brethren and carrying a strange heavy device to the east.
A overgrown dirt road winds its way out of the dwarven settlement, and following it the mountain ahead of you looms ever higher as you walk. The peak reaches overhead, covered in lush trees and white mist. As warm winds whip around the mountain’s rises, wisps of cloud separate from the thick cover and float away. A brief plateau about halfway up the mountain features a sheer cliff, otherwise inscrutable from a distance.
After about 20 minutes of walking, the roar of a waterfall begins to fill your ears. Soon, you can see as well as hear the feature, as water spills out from an opening high up the mountain to land down into a pool before you, which in turn drops down into a second river sixty feet below. The vapors become gray clouds as they rise in altitude, but near the base of the mountain they are white wisps rolling out from the pool. The pool’s water is clear and deep, with the spill forcing white bubbles back to a rippling surface. Deep into the pool, away from the frothy cascade, a glint of gold beckons the eye.
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Tomas finishes the search of the area before pressing on, enjoying the trek to the mountain in the distance though now he is obviously prepared for violence, his fists clench and un-clench unconsciously and his footing is sure and controlled. Seeing the gold in the river, the Angelkin moves closer, peering at the area from the rocks.
"Dropped Treasure or a trap do we wonder?" he calls back to his allies.