.Will use this for my cleric
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You receive letters instructing them to meet Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng outside the main gates of the Grand Lodge at noon in formal attire.
Noon comes and you meet at the main gates. Drandle Dreng is late.
The fall rains have come early this year, and a chill wind blows off the waters of Absalom’s harbor, bringing with it the smell of a storm somewhere far off at sea. Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng hurries down the street in a most unusual outfit for the aging Venture-Captain: some sort of blue military uniform complete with a green sash displaying a pair of ornate medals and a black umbrella. "Ah, there you all are," he half-mutters to himself. "Is everyone here?" Without waiting for an answer, he turns on his heels and heads off at a brisk pace, occasionally turning around to make sure everyone is keeping up.
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Bulgo puts on his courtiers clothing, arrays himself in a moderate amount of jewelry "As is fit and right for the occasion." and turns up to Dreng's office in a carriage.
"Rain!" he explains, as if to prove he is not really that lazy.
When the captain hurries down the road, he calls out.
"Sir... perhaps you would like to use my carriage? Bulgo Bluefoot at your service. Scout, Rescuer, and Acquirer of lost artifacts."
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Distant in the rain you hear the voice of a woman, as well as the 'chap-chap', suggesting someone is running.
"It is this way dad, I am sure!"
In front of you is an astonishingly beautiful young lady with long black hairs and green eyes. When she finally catches up with you, she presents herself.
"Hi, sorry... I know I am late. My name is Arianna Turvanar, but you can call me Anna if you like." She then smiles.
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The Kitsune leaning up against the wall, walks forward and bows to the group. "Meeting you is nice. My name is 狐はろ, please call me Haro. he looked around to see if anyone understood his Jistka's pronunciation of his name. "Honor thy before people, they here before you. he says as he bows to the place where the ghost vanished.
Nodding left and right the priestess joins in.
"Pleased to meet you."
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Dreng continues his way. "You’re probably wondering where I’m ragging you, eh? Seven years ago I sent young agents much like yourselves on a preliminary exploration of the necropolis below the Drownyard in the Precipice Quarter. The Drownyard is the name that was given to the old Tri-Towers School, once home to some of Absalom’s wealthiest progeny. It was destroyed in the great earthquake of 4698 ar, and we thought that all of the children, teachers, and staff had perished. But let be back up a bit. Eight years ago, the Society discovered an ancient necropolis under the Drownyard. It dates back to the third century AR, and if you know anything about Absalom’s history, you’ll know that we know almost nothing about those early years. It took me almost an entire year of negotiating with the parents of the children who died in the Tri-Towers Yard to convince them to grant us access to the site, and when we did, what did we find? A lot of spooky stuff: undead, haunts, and some nasty bugs. But we also found something completely unexpected: a survivor. A little slip of a girl named Junia Dacilane somehow survived in a death-like state for 10 years. The only thing that kept her alive was a ring of sustenance that she had found among the crypts. Junia’s mother, Lady Miranda Dacilane, was of course beside herself when we pulled her living daughter from the ruins and she vowed to not only give the Society full access to the property, but personally underwrite our archaeological efforts there. Soon thereafter I set up an archaeological dig at the Drownyard, and we’ve been pulling out fascinating fragments from Absalom’s early history ever since." He pasuses for a moment.
"Every year I visit Lady Dacilane to renew our contract to maintain the dig, but this year it seems that she wants us to jump through an additional hoop. She wants us, or rather you, to escort her daughter back to the Drownyard. It seems that Junia’s become a bit obsessed with her alma mater, and since the Precipice Quarter is no place for pampered young noblewomen, she needs an escort. Think you can manage that?"
Without giving you a chance to interrupt him, he quickly adds, "Oh, and don’t forget to call the Drownyard the Tri-Towers Yard while we’re at Dacilane Manor. No one who lost children in the earthquake likes to be reminded of that tragedy... even the ones who got their child back."
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"Ahh, yes, the Tri-Towers. I remember hearin' of that earthquake that ruined the place. Think the Arboretum Arcanis, a fancy greenhouse for stuff all over the Sea, was there, too. Course the place is supposed to be haunted. Been creepier since Deris Marlinchen, the pops of one of the students killed, stopped visitin' the place and speakin to them spirits. No company would make me a restless, too."
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"Yes, that's right. It's haunted. All bodies were removed, but the haunts stayed." Dreng answers.
After approximately 10 minutes of walking through the rain, Dreng and you arrive at your destination. Dacilane Manor is an imposing four-story townhouse of heavy masonry with a parapet roof that is festooned with numerous leering, demonic gargoyles. After knocking on the door, a middle-aged halfling woman in a large apron answers it. "Please come in. My lady will join you momentarily in the drawing room."
The interior of Dacilane Manor is just as imposing as the outside. A wide foyer with a grand staircase leads to the second floor, while open double-doors lead into the drawing room. Heavy black draperies cover all the windows, shrouding the manor in shadows. All of the furniture in the common areas is oversized, expensive, and gothic, made of dark-stained mahogany wood.
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Bulgo shakes himself dry, closing his umbrella and handing it to the servant.
"Thank you dear lady, if you could let this dry somewhere where it won't drip on the carpet that would be fine."
Wow, look at this place, that picture alone must be worth hundreds of gold.
He keeps his hands in his pockets. "So, anyone know what happened to Deris? Think we could find him and have him come along as well, keep his old friends happy?"
He gives Anna a look. "And what does your pa think about this? He play nicely with other ghosts?"
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As they enter the estate, Anna is kind of amused with the place.
Look al this wealthy... dad would be quite pleased to raid this whole place!
He gives Anna a look. "And what does your pa think about this? He play nicely with other ghosts?"
"Well, I really do not know... But I think he will react the same way he always does: 'swinging his cutlass angruly'!"
She thinks for a moment.
"Also, not all ghost are equal, and some of them can't even think anymore, just a memory..."
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"Unfortunately, nobody has seen Deris since he left the Tri-Towers sard seven years ago." Dreng answers to Bulgo's question.
The servant takes Bulgo's umbrella and all your wet coats and jackets handed to her and takes them away.
Lady Dacilane enters a few moments after you and Dreng have gathered in the sitting room. She is a tall, stern-looking, yet attractive Chelaxian woman with sharp features, a fair complexion, and black hair accented with gray and white. She is dressed in a well-made, floor-length black gown streaked through with crimson. A plainlooking silver pentagram necklace is her only jewelry. Dreng immediately jumps up to greet her, bowing and kissing her hand in a formal fashion. He then quickly introduces you before launching into a prepared speech about the importance of Lady Dacilane’s ongoing support of the Society’s activities and the many important artifacts they have been able to recover from the Tri-Towers Yard necropolis. Lady Dacilane listens politely, making a few pro-forma inquiries into several details about the management of the site before getting to the heart of the negotiation and addressing you directly.
"As I am sure Master Dreng has already informed you, I have a particular request of the Pathfinder Society this year. My daughter Junia has recently celebrated her eighteenth birthday, but she maintains a certain obsession with the traumatic events that befell her at the Tri-Towers Yard so many years ago. I have stopped her from sneaking out of the manor and visiting that place several times, and I feel that her past is keeping her from fully embracing her future. I would ask that you accompany her to the gods-forsaken Precipice Quarter and let her see her fill of the decay and misery. Perhaps those sights will cure her of her unnatural obsessions." Lady Decilane says.
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"Certainly!" says Bulgo.
"I'm assuming there are some particular sights she wants to see though. Something about where she slept away those years maybe? Perhaps if we could have a word with your daughter, maybe with you here, we could get a ..." here he pauses for a moment, searching for the right words.. "A shared understanding or where you would, and would not, want her to see."
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Maldrek breaks the silence in which he has been, and tries to complete Bulgo´s questions.
Mylady, you should know the drownyard is not a safe place. Does your daughter know it? Is she prepared in anyway for such a journey?
I´ve been tombs, looking for archeological clues, treasures, and the last time, even to help a village in a tradition. And sometimes not everybody come back.
We will do as much as we can to protect her. But it will be better if she accepts our help willingly. Is your daughter a girl who can follow others easily, or is she too used to make the orders?
"I fully understand your wish, that your daughter is healed of those traumatic experiences. I will gladly aid you in your quest."
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"Take her wherever she wishes within reason in the Precipice Quarter. It is a dangerous place even during daylight hours, so use your best judgment. Let her stay as long as she wishes, but bring her back before nightfall tomorrow. Junia’s experiences during and after the earthquake were terrible, and they have left lasting mental scars. Despite my efforts and those of some of Absalom’s best healers, I have been unable to truly help her. Nevertheless, it is time for her to put her childhood experiences behind her and face her adult responsibilities. Junia did not age mentally or physically while sleeping in the crypt. It is a mystery that has never been explained. Even though we should be celebrating her twenty-eight birth year, she appears and acts like a child of eighteen." Lady Dacilane answers. "Let me introduce you to my daughter."
Lady Dacilane calls for her daughter. Lady Dacilane’s daughter comes bounding down the stairs and into the sitting room a few moments after he mother calls her. She has her mother’s height, black hair, and fine facial features, but that’s where the similarities end. Unlike her mother’s carefully coiffed hair, Junia’s is short and practical, and she carries herself with a confident and unladylike swagger. She is dressed in grey breeches, knee-high leather boots, a white cotton shirt, and an azure blue riding coat with tails with a golden eagle pin on the lapel. Beneath her coat, it is clear that she is wearing a mithral chain shirt.
You immediately recognizes that Junia is attempting to look like a member of the Andoran Eagle Knights.
Dreng excuses himself at this point, claiming that he is needed back at the Grand Lodge. Before he leaves, he hands over a large, iron key to you, telling you that it opens the wrought iron gates to the Tri-Towers Yard. He warns you that although the necropolis below has been cleared of undead, the partially restored surface structure still holds a dangerous haunt. "Try to stay away from there," he mutters, "we’ve tried to eliminate it several times, but it keep coming back. If you do need to go in there, take a look in the supply closet, you may find it useful."
Once the Venture Captain leaves, Junia picks up a backpack from a stool in the corner and pulls out a kukri, which she sheathes at her hip. She then straps on the backpack and looks expectantly at you. "Well, shall we go? I’m ready when you are. I'm Junia, but you can call me J."
"May the sun of Saranrae be between you and all the harm on your ways!"
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Once out of her home, J. breathes a sigh of relief and visibly relaxes. "How would you like to proceed to the Precipice Quarter? I have to admit that I haven't gotten out of the house much in the last several years."
There are two main ways of reaching the Precipice Quarter from the Ivy District. The most direct route is through the mercantile Coins district and then along the edge of the Merchant’s Quarter. The second is through the Foreign Quarter and then through the Docks.
Today is a market day, which means that the Coins are packed with shoppers and merchants. On the other hand, even though there will be less traffic in the Docks, going through that neighborhood is not without its risks, as it is one of the city’s rougher districts.
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Nice to met you J. May I ask why are you wearing such costumes? You look similar to an eagle knight, but you look a little young to be one of them.
About how to proceed, from here we can go following one of two paths. Being a market day we will spent more time to cross the Coins than going through the Docks, but is safer.
J, if you don´t plan to spend much time in the dr..Tri-towers yard, then I´ll vote for the safest route.If you want to satay as much as posible, then we should not waste time with merchants.
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Arianna nods to her companions and smiles.
"Alright, so through the Market it is!... And, J., living all this years in the house, have you ever tried some baklava? It is a sweet pastry from my country... since we are going to the Market I can grab a couple for you! Trust me, you will have no regrets!"