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Venture-Captain Roderus sits at his desk in the lodge beneath the popular Winding Road Inn in Katapesh. Maps cover every wall of his workspace, and precarious stacks of journals and papers nearly reach to the ceiling. The venture-captain glances up from his work. “Welcome, Pathfiders. I hope your journey here was not too arduous. I have a fascinating assignment for you.” He plucks a single sheet of paper from the middle of pile on his desk. “This is a letter from the Osiriani investigator Amenira, who works with the Temple of the All-Seeing Eye. Mercy, the town she mentions in her reports, wasn’t even on our map until now. It’s a small settlement out in the Mana Wastes. Magic is unpredictable out in the Wastes, and it sometimes coalesces into deadly storms. People in Alkenstar reported seeing one of these magical disturbances heading in the direction of Mercy, but the town weathered the fearsome storm without so much as a scratch.” He hands it to you to read over.
12 Lamashan 4715
After six months in Mercy, the local priests are still not totally cooperative. I am still referred to as “the outsider” and nominally kept under curfew, though they’ve stopped caring when I break it, so long as I keep to myself. The rivalry between the carpenters and
the blacksmiths is intensifying, and I’ve noticed restrained violence between the two groups. I will investigate further.
The infiltration of the weaver’s home was successful, though brief. I have not yet obtained a sample of the ointment. My illness has been growing steadily worse, which has complicated my work, as it is
becoming increasingly difficult to hide. Something shielded Mercy from another mana storm a few days ago. The storm should have razed the town, but it split into two fronts that bypassed the town before
recombining. I strongly doubt that the priests here have the power to evoke such a miracle. Is there an artifact in or near Mercy? Further inquiries are required.
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Thracius looks around the maps covering the walls with barely contained awe, as if soaking up the information contained on the walls. A tall willowy elf, Thracius has long unkempt silver hair that seems to rustle slightly. A long open emerald robe hangs from his shoulders revealing a bare torso which is painfully thin and untoned he nods politely.
"Yes, why is she in mercy?" the Elf asks quietly, obviously shy, "and what is the business of the temple of the all seeing eye?"
The venture-captain clears his throat. “One of my contacts at the temple received this missive from her four months ago, and he hasn’t heard anything from her since. I’m sending you to Mercy to figure out why. If she’s still there, ask her why she hasn’t contacted anyone in months and help her finish her investigation; if she isn’t, find out what happened to her. While you are there, see how much of the mystery of Mercy you can unravel. Several of the clergy within the temple are intensely curious about why the mana storm didn’t level the town, and so am I. I will gladly provide you with additional pay for the information that you retrieve. I’ve booked a ship to the city of Alkenstar, which is a few days’ journey from Mercy itself. The ship departs in three hours. The Temple of the All-Seeing Eye is the most prominent temple of Nethys on Golarion. It is a center for arcane scholarship, and it holds substantial sway over the politics of Osirion. I don't know why she was in the weaver's home, you should go find that out. She was investigating Mercy to figure out why the Primal Magic Storm didn't wipe out the town as it would any other.”
"We do not have any, as far as we know she wasn't ill when she left."
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Thracius nods graciously to the Venture Captain before stepping back, obviously overwhelmed by such little interaction. The Elf's hair fidgets once more and a strange little man-like being made of elm wood pokes out, observing the assembled group cautiously.
"I have not been much further than Kyonin I am afraid, I have heard of the Mana wastes, but how does it react to Arcane casting?"
The strange elf nods. "I see. Is there anything else you can tell us about the town of Mercy or of this woman Amenira? A description, perhaps?"
“It’s a small town roughly twenty miles south of Alkenstar. Ask around when you arrive in Alkenstar, and I’m certain you’ll find someone who knows more about it than I do.” He also gives you a description of Amenira.
Thracius nods graciously to the Venture Captain before stepping back, obviously overwhelmed by such little interaction. The Elf's hair fidgets once more and a strange little man-like being made of elm wood pokes out, observing the assembled group cautiously.
"I have not been much further than Kyonin I am afraid, I have heard of the Mana wastes, but how does it react to Arcane casting?"
“It’s a dangerous place, particularly the farther you stray from pockets of civilization. The war between Geb and Nex millennia ago devastated the land, physically and metaphysically, and the scars linger to this day. Expect areas where magic doesn’t work or becomes unpredictable. Clouds of poison and storms of terrible power erupt spontaneously. There are mutated creatures, undead horror, and monstrous scavengers, among other things. Use your best judgment, be ready for danger, and don’t go wandering of into the Wastes more than absolutely necessary.”
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"Exotic locales? Dangerous creatures? Why, this sounds like just the ticket! Name's Jaxal, if any of you haven't heard of me before."
The elf walks back and forth in his fancy clothes.
"Disease, though.... that sounds serious. I, for one, would like to take some options to cure or avoid diseases. Will you be providing such a thing?"
"You have time to purchase any supplies you deem necessary."
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Thracius waves to the new comers, surprised by the vigour and enthusiasm showed by some and still wondering how he got himself into this in the first place.
"Thracius," he mumbles in response to Jaxal's introduction, "I can cast Infernal Healing, but I know that some have an aversion to it. I cannot cast Clerical spells I am afraid."
Picking up their meagre pack and habitually checking their spell component pouch, Thracius indicates he is ready to proceed.
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The ebony oread in the corner nods at the assignment and the questions form his group members. They all seemed clever. That was good. When he spoke to address the others in his broken common tongue, his voice sounded like a loud rumble of stones clashing against each other. "Am RumbleRock. It is good to have healing magic for use. If group not have wands, might not find other healers out in field," he nods.
He approaches the Mage with the obvious component pouch. He pulls a wand and hands it to the elf. "Thrakus, wand called Mage Armor. Good for Rumble. Would elf use on Rumble in field? Elf can use on self, too, if want do so."
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Eleoheim scratches his neck underneath his mask. "Well, I don't know, Mistress Halfling. I've known quite a few people in my days that being stuck by a sword would be much too good for."
The masked elf then turns to Jaxal. "If you're worried about disease, I would recommend antiplague potions. They can be quite useful and are inexpensive."
The ship travels down the coast of the Obari Ocean, tacks northwest up the Elemion River, then sails south down the Ustradi River, fially stopping at the city of Alkenstar. It docks slightly short of a fie hundred-foot-tall waterfall in the middle of the city, where southbound ships painstakingly ride a winding elevator to the river above. Nearby, carriages wait to lead passengers into the smog-covered city.
Mercy is located a little over 20 miles south of Alkenstar. The people there worship an obscure nature deity. Rumors speak of a vampire who occasionally hunts travelers along the road.
The people of Mercy have a reputation for being insular and extremely devout to their god Robori. The town has rigid, inflexible rules, but the quality of its harvests encourages traders to occasionally stop by the town to purchase produce.
For the past year, an Osiriani woman from Mercy named Amenira came to Alkenstar every month. She traded for supplies and sent large collections of letters before returning to Mercy.
The dirt road toward Mercy winds through rocky, tree-lined hills. Sporadic clearings occur where large sections of trees have been destroyed or damaged. Some are only missing a few branches, while others have been split almost in half vertically or chopped down to a short stump. The exposed wood is black and perfectly smooth. One such clearing reveals the opening of a narrow cave in the hillside. The trail splits, leading both into the cave and off to the north.
The black sheen on the wood is burnt sap.
There should be far more debris here.
As you walk up the hill, you spot a freakishly mutated gnoll and a hyena lying in wait.
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"Well, this is certainly the right track. I heard tell of Amenira coming to town on a regular basis. Sounds like Mercy is full of hicks though."
Belinda spies the ambush and dashes forward, drawing her rapier as he goes. Realizing she cannot reach it in time to swing, she swerves south, not wanting to give the creature an easy swing at her in return.
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Thracius takes a moment before realising that the Oread was addressing himself and suddenly nods quickly, taking the offered wand and sheathing it inside his robes with another very similar.
"Err.. Yes of course, I have my own so not a problem, I can use your wand on you."
Smiling at the strange masked Elf, Thracius follows the group from the Venture-Captain's briefing and onto the boat.
Upon leaving town, Thracius draws his wand of Mage Armour and activates it with a whispered Elven command, a sudden shimmering force surrounds the Elf before going translucent. He offers Rumble a casting if he wishes.
"Hmm, there has been a fire here recently, see the sheen, burnt sap. Also, the area seems too clear..." Unable to offer an explanation over the few remarks, the shy elf quiets again letting others discuss the work.
Spying the ambush ahead he reacts quickly, nimbly darting across the road before stopping suddenly. With an intense focus, Thracius calls upon the thorns and splinters on the surrounding wood, pulling a spear from the air. With a wordless command, the spear flies off into the Gnoll.
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Infernal Healing Used:
Splintered Spear used:
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On the ocean and river journey, Eleoheim keeps mostly to himself, occasionally speaking a few words to Thracius and Jaxal. He inquires generally about their backgrounds: where they grew up, who raised them, where they were trained, what the societies they grew up in were like. He seems quite interested in other elven societies. If asked about his own background, Eleoheim volunteers that he was raised on the Mordant Spire and received much training there, but does not say much else.
Bulgo moves forward as Rumble gives sage advice. Thracius conjures a spear and it embeds itself into the mutant gnoll. The wound seeps blood that is a sickly green though the wound doesn't seem as bad as Thracius thinks. Eleo fires off his bow and hits, but the arrow seems to do no damage.
Jaxal will double move. The gnoll will drink a potion, his wounds knitting themselves up.
The hyena races after Belinda!
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Thracius looks aghast as his spear hardly pierces the Gnolls thick hide, watching the ichor pour from its wounds in disgust, unable to discern what exactly is going on the Wizard decides it best not use that tact again.
With his allies fighting the Heyna in a whirling melee Thracius could hardly aim and so instead decides to call upon the most minor of spells at his disposal, causing caustic acid to form and launch it at the Gnoll.
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Jaxal misses even despite the flank but Belinda doesn't and stabs the canine. RumbleRock continues to give sage advice. Thracius throws a bit of acid at the gnoll doing a little damage. Eleoheim moves into position and readies.
The gnoll steps in to flank Jaxal.
The hyena keeps biting at Belinda.
Eleoheim in all her fury finishes off the mutant gnoll while Belinda, Thracius, and Rumblerock take down the hyena.