After returning to Absalom from your latest missions, you each receive an invitation by courier to appear in Drandle Dreng's office this afternoon at 3 bells. Assuming you decide to accept this request....
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Drandle Dreng
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Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng’s pinched face is hard to
see from behind the stack of books that divide the front of
his office from the space behind his desk. A shockingly old
man with white hair and slightly milky eyes, he is surprised
by the appearance of outsiders in his office, and looks up, half
startled and half relieved.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’d been
meaning to give this assignment to you at a later date, and
with less pressing time constraints, but it seems that time has
conspired against us.”
Dreng mumbles to himself as he passes
out a stack of notes and maps from behind the wall of books.
“These notes are from a recent Chronicle—it contains some
interesting finds, but one of them is now the utmost priority
to the Society.”
Dreng lightly taps a bony finger on a map, on which can
be seen a section of Absalom with a small corner townhouse
circled in deep red.
“This townhouse is a façade for an underground vault.
The vault belonged to an old noble family of Absalom that
was expelled a decade ago—the Decklands. The family was
forced out when their patriarch—a man known as Orias—was
discovered to have written documents detailing the city’s
defenses, documents he intended to hand over to hostile forces
loyal to Cheliax. The Chronicle indicates that a copy of these
documents exist within the vault.
“A Pathfinder looking into the Decklands and their
Chronicle references in Cheliax was attacked and killed ten
days ago. The thugs made off with a copy of his notes—
fortunately, he’d already sent us another. We have reason
to believe it was the work of the Decklands’ oldest child,
a young woman named Celeena, and she’s the reason this
assignment is now urgent. The fact that Celeena and her
forces were willing to kill a Pathfinder for this information
shows how desperate they are to retrieve the documents. If
she were able to get these documents and return them to
Cheliax, it would undermine the defenses of the whole city,
as well as cause the Society undue headaches. Find Celeena,
find the documents in her vault, and prevent this situation
from turning into one big mess for the Society.”
Dreng continues...
"Well, I have called on some of you in the past....and I see some of you have traveled together before. Very good. Please work out the introductions with the rest of your team and report back here once you recover the documents. Any questions?"
The old man pauses while considering the question, as if calculating down to the minute...
"No, we are not exactly sure how much time you have. That is why I called you on short notice. The time it would take to get the proper
attention of the authorities would give Celeena more than
enough time to recover the documents. And considering
she and her mercenaries killed a Pathfinder in Cheliax,
we feel it better to play this one close to the chest.”
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The slender man under a huge cloak steps forward, gracefully pushing himself off the wall. The man of mixed heritage speaks inquisitively I have a few questions if I may he continues What kind of documents are we looking for? I am assuming it is not a book of Chelish Nursery Rhymes. Which brings me to my second point, Cheliax is a nation of Devils and devil worshipers, what sort of resistance do you expect? Lastly, This is a vault, of a paranoid family from Cheliax, I am assuming we can expect traps, are there any among us skilled at dealing with traps?
Turning to Alan...
"The Society guesses that Celeena seeks to
find her family’s old documents regarding the defenses
of Absalom and sell them to highest bidder. Though
the documents and plans may be outdated, they still may contain
information on various hidden passages under the city
and through its walls."
The agents in Cheliax report that Celeena hired mercenaries
from the Devil’s Claw Company, a mercenary organization
of failed Hellknights. And as you state, there could be other traps and extra planar allies as well. We do not have any intelligence on what to expect since our agent was killed. You will have to use your training as Pathfinders to overcome any traps you encounter. Improvise and you will do fine.”
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From the side of the room Maps listens to Dreng explain the task and the others ask their questions. It seemed to him that they were asking the right things, so he kept his own council for the moment. When the subject of traps comes up he narrows his eyes slightly, recalling a trap he found on his last mission. It was not one of his finest moments, and he had survived the experience due to his other skills.
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The tall, lithe black-haired elven woman walks over to the fire and stokes it with a poker nearby. She loosens the grip on her shawl to allow the heat to warm her back. Her brown eyes scan the room and nods in agreement to a question unasked.
In a thick Varisian accent she then speaks, "A mess for the Society, or for Absalom?"
She then chucks her tongue and moves away from the fire. "My name is Zynep Ravana, servant of the Savored Sting. I know nothing of traps, but I have danced with the shadows my whole life.
"It appears we are dealing with rich, mad woman, willing to kill to get what she wants. Respectable. While mercenaries work for coin, half of them would honestly say they are in it for the blood-lust. Traps, annoying yes, fatal no. As for devils, remember your lesson from the Paracountess's pleasure room.
"Continue with your questions. When we are done here, I ask that we meet under the Sigil of the Open Road at the Gate for a blessing."
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With the conversation winding down, Zynep leads the party out onto the main road leading out of the Grand Lodge. Under the Sigil of the Open Road, she extends out her hands.
"Let us now all gather energy, and unite this caravan."
Once everybody has joined hands, Zynep begins her prayer. (Those that don't join in, please state so in your next text.
"Calistra, I call thee, come forth and grant us your protection!
"Goddess of fortune and knowledge, I ask thee to bless this caravan. May your sting provide swift vengeance against those that would us harm.
"Provide us a safe . . .and profitable return home. May fortunes be good."
After the prayer is done, Zynep is ready to travel to the location of the townhouse.
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Maps wasn't a particularly religious man, but listening to Zynep's sermon was interesting. If he had to choose one god or goddess to buy into it probably wouldn't have been Calistra, but the priestess sure had a way of speaking of her goddesses ideals in a way that made them sound... righteous. Maps had always thought there was a gray area between vengeance and revenge, and so his personal beliefs seemed similar to Calistra's in that regard. But until now, he had thought her knowledge favored only he carnel. A subject he rarely practiced because of the questions it often led to.
Releasing the hands of his companions he tugged his sleeves over the tattoos and took a comfortable step back. "I'd like to get a few supplies."
"If there are no other questions you can proceed to the townhouse with haste . "
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Varg stands next to Maps with a disinterested look on his face, but has enough respect to wait until the blessing is done to move on. When she completes the words, Vrag spits on the ground and turns to lead the group in the direction of the Townhouse.
Fine words, ma'am. I'd rather depend on my Axe though.
You pass several shops on the way to the townhouse. The merchants are trying to make their final sales of the day and are happy to see the color of your gold. As you stroll down the streets and alleys, you gain the occasional attention of others on the streets as they head home, with the street lamps trying to push away the evening.
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On route Maps opens and reads a letter. When he is done a scowl has formed on his face. Traps? The Sage has a bad sense of humor. He knows well enough about my experience with them.
With a soft growl he resigns himself to the task and makes a couple stops to buy the tools it seems he will need.
This is a list of what I was hoping to get. The thieves tools are the only thing bought specifically for this mission, so I'm hoping you might consider the idea that some of the other big ticket items, such as the mithril chain shirt, were bought before getting the mission.
SELL chain shirt 50gp
BUY mithril chain shirt 1100gp
BUY spring loaded wrist sheath - 5gp
BUY weapon cord 1gp
BUY scroll of detect secret doors 25gp
BUY potion of touch of the sea 50gp
BUY 10 adamantine bullets 61gp
BUY 10 silver bullets 25gp
BUY antitoxin 50gp
BUY masterwork thieves tools 100gp
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While we are discussing such matters, I think it might be wise to capture one of these mercenaries alive in order to gain a greater understanding of what awaits us. The lean man says from underneath the billowing cloak. Looking at each of the traveling companions he feels a bit naked without the protection of armor and the intimidation factor of such weapons but thinks back to his training armor merely slows you down and weapons are a hindrance limiting your avenues of attack to one instead of the many available to his body.
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Flinders begins to laugh at Zantir's comment, then catches and stops himself with a cough. That reminds me of an ancient Thassilonian myth about a shepherd boy and a succubus. The boy represents innocence and of the course the succubus represents temptation.... He continues to drone on with the impromptu lecture while the party walks to the townhouse, sounding suspiciously like a professor at one of the academies.
You slow as you approach the address provided by the Venture-Captain.
The other buildings in this area are mostly dark, with only faint light from the distant street lamp painting the cobblestones.
You see the townhouse up ahead on the right....
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Zynep finds a way to stay within the center of the group.
"Should Celeena be present, I ask that we not take her head off immediately. She is more important alive, then dead. After all, once we have the documents, she will be harmless to the Pathfinder Society."
Once the townhouse is within sight, Zynep only whispers, "One moment. Wait on my return"
Zynep then tries to disappear into the shadows. She will circle the building and look around for anything unusual, especially if somebody is on guard.
Zynep returns, but only saw a flickering candle in the barred window on the west side of the house.
Flinders is gone for a longer time....
You are certain youheard a couple of male voices, maybe playing a game of some sort in the eastern part of the house. There is only the front door, which is locked.
There seems to be some sort of trip wire connected to the door.
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Flinders returns to the party after a time. The door was trapped with a tripwire, probably linked to some sort of alarm. A simple thing really, I was able to disarm it, so it does not trip when the door is opened. Now, while at the door, I heard a couple of male voices on the eastern part of the house. Sounded like they were involved in some sort of game. Any ideas on how to proceed?
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Flinders follows Maps and begins to walk in lockstep, speaking to him in hushed tones.
As a group you "sneak" up to the door, Zantir tries the knob but since it is locked, defers to Flinders to try the lock.
You hear a quick shout then what sounds like quick movement of furniture from within the house. You no longer hear any talking coming from inside.