PFS No Response from Deepmar (Inactive)

Game Master Nefreet

Grimdoc will urge everyone to back out of the chamber, motioning to Calistan and the rest about the unstable walls/ceiling.

This is supposed to create a sense of confusion and frustration (we felt it when my group played through it), so if you're sitting at your computer with a giant question mark floating over your head, I sympathize.

As of now the only lead you have is the map of the island.

Delbina eventually crawls out of her apple barrel. Sobbing, she asks, "What... What should I do? The island is dangerous... We've lost several miners to mosquitoes... But if I stay here... Is it safe?"

"It most certainly is NOT safe here. We need to find another way."

Grimdoc will start heading towards the city gate with map in hand.

Whew. This ain't no good. This here island is bigger than I thought. Even if we hustle (and that word ain't in my body's vocabulary) it would take a week or more to cover all the sites.

He turns to Calistan and says facing the cleric.

We are going to need to narrow down the sites to cut down the time. Do you have any divinations that could help? Otherwise, marching to each is going to take time and food. We may start tomorrow with the closer ones to the east - Dis and Avernus. That could eat the whole day to get there and back."

Calistan quickly moves from the room but doesn't care to keep bringing this scared woman into harm's way. He nods solemnly when she asks if she may remain.

The trade prince looks over the party as he sees that Samuel's muscles have atrophied quite a bit. A scowl crosses his face as he thinks of the magicks that he has remaining. He shrugs and decides to heal the man.

Lesser Restoration (x2): 2d4 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6

A firm plumpness returns to the man's arms and legs as Calistan's magicks do their best to restore him. Calistan tests the reflexes of the man and pokes and prods, but gives him a clean bill of health.

At Grimdoc's insistence, Calistan thinks of any divinations that he might have, but that isn't his specialty, so the man shakes his head, sadly.

Calistan motions to Grimdoc and the rest that they should retreat to their makeshift hotel for the day to rest.

In the morning, Calistan will scrounge up and foodstuffs available and try to make a decent breakfast, but the rotting food is quite grotesque and even his magic won't make it better.

After a fruitless chase with a chicken, the oracle of Pharasma decides to eat some smoked sausage and dried fruits from his pack and usher the group towards Dis and Avernus.

Grimdoc nods to Calistan. Works out the watch order for the night and then helps collect food and water for the trip.

I can carry a fair amount without slowing the group down. And I can take middle watch since my night vision will help."

Are there just 4 of us? For some reason I thought we went from 6 to 5. But I may have been mistaken.

There are 4, now.

Calistan heals Samuel of almost all of his Strength damage. After a night's rest, Samuel makes a full recovery.

Don't mind me: 1d100 ⇒ 71
Which watch?: 1d3 ⇒ 2

The night goes by uneventfully, though Grimdoc hears some howling off in the distance. Probably from the large forest directly north of the colony.

*** DAY 2 ***

The party awakens to the pleasant smells of eggs and griddle cakes. Delbina, though still quite atrophied from the Shadow's assault, appears to have a new spring in her step.

"Morning! I... uh... couldn't sleep. But, I went out looking for eggs. Looks like the hens are still laying. It was just a chore to find enough for you all. Most of the dried stores were still good, too. I could probably make you pancakes for a week! Oh, and I found some strawberries!"

Profession (cook), Take 10: 10 + 9 = 19

It all looks delicious!

Samuel gracefully thanks his allies for their healing and the breakfast, tactically considering their options.

"As far as I see it, our best bet is to start at the closer sites in the hopes that they yield further clues or leads in learning what has happened here. There is no benefit in us travelling further afield only to have to back track. Do you all agree?"

Back from the holidays so back to business as usual.

"Aye, lets have the food and get on with it. Thanks Delbina. This smells wonderful if I don't say so myself. Oh, wait...I just did. HAHAHAARRRRRR! If only Doc Blote knew what he were missing."

After his portion (and some of Doc Blotes), Grimdoc pats his broad belt and with a belch, stands ready to move.

"Sounds good to me." Marcel says, making certain that Grimdoc does not take his share of the food as he begins to check his belongings.

Don't mind me: 1d100 ⇒ 70

The trip to [Avernus] is rather uneventful. It even becomes somewhat scenic as you cross a series of rolling hills. The unmistakable signs of a past mining endeavor eventually become apparent, though the land seems to have reclaimed much of the damage. Shrubs, saplings and fields of grass give you the feeling that this area has not been mined for some time.

As you crest another hill and approach the final leg of your journey a horrible stench fills the air, wafting from the remains of an entire herd of cattle. More distressing than the horrible odor of death and decay is the condition of the animal carcasses. All of them are so mutilated as to seem far beyond natural predation.

New map in header. If you feel so inclined as to investigate any of the carcasses please place your token accordingly.

Grimdoc will approach and raises a hand for the group to stop.

Wait. Something smells fishy here...and it ain't no tuna sandwich."

The deaf man looks oddly at the dwarf, trying to understand what he is saying. After a moment, the man lets out a silent chuckle. He claps the dwarf on the back with his free hand as his other draws his steel shield.

The man points to his eyes and then to the nearby surroundings before shrugging to Grimdoc. He will stay near the dwarf in case of an ambush.

When they get closer to the corpses, Calistan will halt the group and try to investigate the cause for death or any anomalies.

Heal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

"Cal, that just ain't natural. Something had to have done this. They just don't lay down and die on a trail spaced like this."

Heal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

You can tell from a distance that every one of them is mutilated. The lack of fresh blood on the ground signals they've been dead for a while. If you want to use your Heal check and actually perform a necropsy then you'll have to move adjacent to one of the corpses and interact with it.

There are approximately 30 cattle in total, and together they surround the opening to the old mine.

Grimdoc will shrug and move up within 10' of the first one and poke it and detect evil. If nothing happens he will concentrate on detecting evil as he moves up the hill towards the mine entry

1=Bad, 2=Safe: 1d2 ⇒ 2

Grimdoc pokes the first carcass and it practically deflates. Peeling back some of the dried hide reveals the remains of hundreds of thumb-sized pupae. It seems that whatever was inside of this carcass hatched and moved on.

Grimdoc's keen eyes can discern which corpses are still "twitching", and which ones are not. Four appear to be safe, and four appear to be inhabited.

I'll mark which are which in the morning.

Calistan looks over the creature's corpse and doesn't seem to understand any of it. He shrugs at Grimdoc and stays by his side. He points at an 'inhabited' one and mimes bashing it with something.

Grimdoc will step back and motion the others to get further away as well.

He and pull out a flask of alchemists fire and make the motions to Cal about lighting fire and hurling onto the twitchy corpses.

kn:nat, monster lore: 1d20 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 1 + 3 = 18

To the others he will state.

Some of these have some sort of infestation by critters. We may needs to burn them....not really my specialty, but I will see what I have in my pack. Either that, or we go wide around them....but still need to get int the mine, I reckon."

Following the path, the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and top right carcasses appear infested. Noticing the threat, you can safely navigate around them without disturbing them.

If you wish to clear the threat, I just need 2 people to confirm so, and everyone to place themselves accordingly.

Lobbing an Alchemist Fire at a carcass will count as your surprise round, if that's the route you wish to take.

When Grimdoc shows him the fire, Calistan sees that the fight can be avoided. He nods towards the right path and encourages the group to follow as he strides quickly between the infested carcasses.

With the indication from Grimdoc that the corpses were infected, and from Calistan that they could be avoided, Marcel does his best to avoid them while following behind.

When you reach enough of a vantage point to peer down into the mine entrance you can clearly see that it was artificially sealed up long ago. A rusted metal sign displays a date from many years ago; likely when the shaft was filled in.

Presently, rainwater has collected into a muddy pool. Game trails lead from the fields to this water, suggesting it's been a regular watering hole for some time, but there are no recent tracks.

After a thorough (and careful!) investigation of the area you find little of interest. Except one disturbing fact:

Calistan eventually gets close enough to a safe carcass to perform a necropsy. He finds that the cattle were likely mutilated when they were alive, and died of their wounds while staked into place. No signs of who, or what, did this gruesome act remain.

Where to next?

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

Marcel checks to see if the mine entrance seal has been tampered with recently.

It's filled in with concrete poured over excavated boulders, providing enough of a seal for water to collect. You're pretty sure that it hasn't been sabotaged. Any tampering would likely require stone-shaping magic to remain undetected.

Digging around in the murky pool doesn't reveal any secret entrances or hidden items. Much like the penal colony, something terrible obviously happened here, but you're once again left with more questions than answers.

Well rats. Other than these poor mutilated cattle, not much to find for the long trek. I guess if there still be day light, we could try the next mine.

If you choose to press on you can make it to the next closest mine before nightfall, which means you'd need to camp outside for the night.

You could continue back to the colony and make it there by nightfall and spend the night there.

You could also explore the forest, or follow the coast around the island.

Does anyone have tents or bedrolls?

Grimdoc checks his pathfinder kit and finds a blanket/bedroll. He does not have a tent.

There appeared to be more supplies available back at town, but then we lose a day - if that even matters.

Samuel surveys the carcasses with a look of disgust on his face.

"I have no issue sleeping rough. I have a bedroom and blanket, we could take refuge at the entrance of the next mine for the night. I suggest we press on there?"

"Yeah Sammy, I was thinking the same thing. We get to the next mine, and unless it is also crawling with maggots,
we start a nice fire and make camp there. Good call.
Heck, maybe Dr. Blote will come back with stuff to make smores."

Grimdoc trudges along with the look of a dwarf day-dreaming.

I wonder what the biggest mountain of chocolate could be...or a volcano with melted chocolate. Mmmm. And a nice pint of ale sounds good while we are at it....Mmmmm I miss my pantry.

Your trip to [Dis] is as uneventful as your initial trek from the colony. Eventually signs of wildlife can be found again: the occasional hare, the tracks of a fox, a small herd of forest gazelle, and the scat (that Grimdoc identifies) of a Dire Wolf.

Arriving at your destination just before dusk, you don't find any grisly scenes or mass cullings. This mine shaft is similarly sealed with concrete, though its angle prevents the collection of rainwater. Another metal sign displays the mine's seal date, which was also several years ago (though more recent than Avernus).

Don't mind me: 1d100 ⇒ 6

Setting up camp is a breeze, though maintaining a fire is difficult as an evening downpour assaults the area.

What, if anything, would you guys be conversing about during your watches?

"Well Marecel, this is quite a kettle we have ourselves into. A muddy island with no decent food or ale for weeks and just closed up, and abandoned mines. Some people say this is the stuff Pathfinder's dream of. I ain't so sure I saw this on the brochure, hows about you? HAHAAAAA!"

Grimdoc peers into the darkness trying to find sign of anything watching.

Calistan wanders around with his best friend, the dwarf of the holy order. He nods along with the man, but at least tries to keep his eyes open, however he finds himself growing hungry and distracted from the task at hand. He roots through his pack for some dried jerky and fruit and munches on that while the party explores Dis.

Calistan will investigate, but he has a terrible Percpetion so I am roleplaying that. Feel free to roll for me if you think that his ambient looking around would garner anything.

Grimdoc smiles at the Wanderer's wandering.

Not sure if there is much else to tell from this mine.
It sure would be handy to have a druid or something around that could just ask the island where everybody went.

He will use his dwarf stone skill to examine the mine closures and around the entry.

perc+stonework: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 15 + 2 = 30

this is one time when having a caster that could swap out spells each day would be very handy.

Anyone good at Survival to look for tracks?

No.

Grimdoc will look for signs of walking food (tracks).

survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

"But wouldn't asking the island where everyone went take the romance out of everything?" Marcel asked, looking over Grimdoc's shoulder. "Then again, the romance I prefer has actual living people to save."

Calistan looks oddly at Marcel, wondering why the man has romantic feelings for the newfound island. He directly the rest to head to Dis, but can't seem to find anything on his own.

survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

You don't find any notable tracks, but you curiously find a recently deceased yellow bird. Some sort of seed eater. You've seen several flitting around on the island. Its carcass appears to be simply discarded in a bush, uneaten. Several of its flight feathers have been plucked.

*** DAY 3 ***

As the air warms and the sun rises you become acquainted with some of the local fauna: mosquitoes. Last night's rain seems to have brought them out in proliferation, but your smoking fire keeps them partially at bay.

Where to next?

Calistan taps the three men with him on the shoulders and points to the vast forest to the west. Then he shrugs at them as if he is asking them a question.

Well, Cal. I am not sure if we want to trudge through the forest. I supposes there could be some survivors hiding in there. I ain;t seeing any tracks though.
Or do we go back to town and stock up on some more supplies before heading to the next two mines. Erebus and Stygia look to be the next two...but further away than these last two and these blasted gnats!"

Grimdoc swats the back of his neck as he tries to shake them loose.

"I have seen sturges that were less blood thirsty than these brutes.

unless others want to go through the woods, Grim will head back to town and then to the other mines.

Calistan shrugs as if giving up on his intended target and begins the trek back to town, hoping that there will be pancakes for him.

That sounds like two votes for town.

Don't mind me: 1d100 ⇒ 98

Ooo! Exciting. More to come later =D.

Samuel marches back alongside his allies, periodically slappy the odd mosquito that finds a crack of flesh through his armor.

"How can so many people have disappeared, yet left so little evidence?"

How many hours pass by?: 1d12 ⇒ 5

Your trek back to the penal colony would be just as uneventful as your trip yesterday if it weren't for the hundreds of mosquitoes that decided to follow you. Even as the sun traces overhead they seem to keep pace. Unless anyone uses vermin repellent, they remain a constant nuisance.

Just after passing [Avernus] you crest over a hill and see something that catches you off guard: a lone man wandering the road. He's thin, unkempt, and looks to be wearing a uniform similar to those you found in the miner's barracks (though it is quite dirty and tattered). He's carrying a primitive spear in one hand and the bloody carcass of a badger in the other. He's a good 150ft ahead of you, out in the open. He hasn't spotted you, yet.

What would you like to do?