"Just be a good little hobgob and die!"
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AoO...
+4 if Hagla is still "prone" for AoO
+4 prone
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Kavaki will flurry of blows...
2nd attack...
If there's no rule to prevent a 2nd trip attempt... otherwise this will be a sword attack at +6 vs +8
if the 2nd trip attempt succeeds...
+4 prone
"Your evil plan will not succeed vile creature."
Kyra casts her prepared cure light wounds spell, steps up next to Branson, Kavaki, and the enemy, then uses the spell on Kavaki.
While the enemy is still trying to stand up Kavaki stabs his temple sword in the hobgoblin's back. The hobgoblin's painful cry startles Alanya, who misses.
Both Branson and Kyra heal Kavaki a bit, restoring most of the health he's lost.
While Chyras misses the hobgoblin, Alanya gets one attack in.
Before Kavaki can even try to trip the hobgoblin again, the enemy drops to the floor by himself.
"The spider will avenge me!" the hobgoblin manages to say before his last breath leaves his body.
One of the men who was hanging from the gallows walks up to you after Branson's freed the last person. After thanking you for rescuing him, the man reveals to be Brackett. He pulls himself tall and brings you up to date on the events that transpired since and leading up to the assault on the Cathedral of Aroden. "Quite a bunch of hobgoblins entered the Cathedral and took control of the place. The one you just killed was their leader. While they attacked an air elemental burst through the window at the front of the Cathedral. Did you also encounter it? I think it went to the congregation hall."
"We were captured and interrogated, but when the bells in the belfry rang this hobgoblin here placed us on the bench. He'd staggered the three of us so we couldn't resist. I see Telfyr's still out of it." Brackett looks at the unconscious man in between the chairs when he mentions Telfyr.
In addition to the details provided in the adventure background, Brackett also informs you that the great Osirian sage Amenopheus is in the city, and has been working with Brackett under cover as an inside agent among the local Shadow Lodge. He believes that the aged wizard is in great danger, quite possibly having been uncovered as a traitor by the local Shadow Lodge leader, a person known as the Spider, who Brackett suspects to be none other than a prominent member of the People’s Council named Dorianna Ouidda.
You decide to explore some of the parts of the cathedral where they haven't been yet. Perhaps there are more enemies to be cleared, or valuables to be discovered.
You first go to the eastern tower. The lowest level has a thick wooden door leading to the choir loft . The door's easily opened with the key you've been given by one of the people you've rescued: Greudemoffit, one of Telfyr’s senior apprentices, who lives on a higher floor of this tower. The first floor, however, is a storage area, containing crates of supplies and equipment for the lodge.
The middle level contains Greudemoffit’s laboratory, filled with large glass chambers, tubes, benches, and a number of weather experiments.
The uppermost level contains an office, with an enormous oak desk littered with papers and logbooks. These notes belong to Greudemoffit developed an fascination with meteorology and weather
prediction. A nearby table contains a stack of books
detailing magical theories of weather.
The tower’s roof is edged by a low crenelated wall and contains several pieces of meteorological equipment: a brass wind vane shaped like a bird in flight,a water-filled glass chamber containing a number of colorful glass bulbs (three of which float on top, one on the bottom), a rainwater gauge, and a spyglass mounted on a tripod.
When you're done exploring the tower, where no enemies or treasures are to be found, you exit the roof through the its trapdoor and go down the spiral staircase. After descending some more staircases and exiting the tower, you're back on the choir loft. You then go down the spiral staircase, and end up in a library.
A splendidly carved marble corridor cuts through the center of this chamber, connecting a pair of huge bronze doors to the south to a pair of colorful wooden doors to the north. Freshly painted images of the sun cover the latter, while a massive barricade of broken shelves and upturned tables blocks the southern doors—clearly the main entrance to the cathedral. Oddly, the piled furniture actually cuts through not only the arches lining the corridor but also the columns that support them, as if they were insubstantial.
Beyond these arches, two dim stone rooms flank the central corridor, packed with pile upon pile of books, tomes, and scrolls. Although dozens of shelves stand throughout, most of the books are scattered haphazardly on the floor, many torn or otherwise damaged.
In the library's northern wall is a pair of unlocked doors that give you access to the Congregation Hall. You have been told an air elemental went there.
The party decides to not bother with the air elemental, and report their mission to Venture-Captain Hamskanks.
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Standing silently off to the side, you see a tall, dark human man with a dark weathered cloak and a longbow and quiver on his back. He has a habit of observing conversations, studying the comments made as if unaccustomed to civilized gatherings. If he speaks at all, he speaks with a thick Varisian accent.
"I was sent by zhe Society. Zhey said your team needed zome assistance. I have worked against zhe ambushes and kidnappers before, so I might prove more zhe help once we start. Oh, and my name is Roland. I was recently down in zhe sands of Osirion. "
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A young gnome, smelling faintly of chemicals and smoke, meets up with you in Almas. His clothes are simple and functional, but dotted with numerous burn marks, alchemical stains, and holes from both sources. Half of one eyebrow looks like it has been burned off recently. 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, and quite young.
He doesn't say much at first other then to mumble his name, "Milo", clearly not overly comfortable around people. When he does eventually speak more, it is with a thick, heavily accented, slang-filled, lower-class Magnimarian accent that occasionally borders on incomprehensible.
"Toffers said was to go on the books here." He mutters, scowling.
"Was in Augustana area divin' the skipper after some right barmy lurker started blowin' flam." He shrugs slightly. "Took topper over shakes on the way back, so was about..."
"Best ya get, on the fly." He adds, with a rueful grin.
The cool ocean air of Almas is less forgiving than usual this early morning, leaving the streets empty even of vagrants. As the moon showers its last ivory rays onto the cobblestone street and the tip of the sun begins to climb over the watery horizon, a lone figure slinks out from a nearby alleyway, pulling back its hood and revealing itself to be Venture-Captain Alissa Moldreserva, a dour expression cemented to her face.
"It’s a shame we couldn’t have met at the lodge, but thanks to all the disappearances and political turmoil as of late, I’d say it’s best to keep a low profile for the time being, at least until things get sorted out. It’s bad enough that the good name of Pathfinders everywhere is being slandered by that treacherous group of villains, the ones who call themselves the Shadow Lodge—now the politicians are on our hides thanks to that damnable Ouidda."
"No doubt you’ve heard of her—Dorianna Ouidda, one of the representatives on the Peoples’ Council here in Almas. She showed up in Almas a few years back, and she’s been out to get the Society ever since. Her origins are damn-near untraceable by practical means; it took us this long to finally get to the bottom of the matter, and while it’s no secret she has it out for the Society, few know the truth behind the matter, which is what I’m here to tell you."
"We have it on good authority that Ouidda is none other than the Spider—the leader of the Shadow Lodge cell here in Almas—and that she’s been using her fellow cabalists to smear our name throughout the city. She’s trying to get the legitimate members of the Society either completely run out of Almas or completely under her thumb, but for what reason, we don’t yet know. We know she’s got some shady dealings in her past with the slave trade, and we think she might be up to some of that business here in Almas too."
Venture-Captain Moldreserva explains that in just a few days’ time, Ouidda will be going up in front of the Council to make her most damaging speech yet, a speech which could obliterate the Society’s presence in Almas, if not the whole nation of Andoran. The tricky part is, the Society doesn’t have enough proof of her association with the Shadow Lodge or the slave trade to get her disbarred yet. That’s where you come in.
Moldreserva orders you to uncover evidence of Ouidda’s foul business in Almas, whatever that may be, and to stop her from delivering her speech before the legislature at the palace of the Peoples’ Council the morning after next. You'll have to go around the city finding leads regarding the Spider; if you uncover nasty or criminal information about her, you’ll need to investigate further. The general public is not keen on Pathfinders since Ouidda started smearing the organization’s reputation, so she recommends that you find the clues you need as quickly as possible during the day and make the rest of your moves after dark so you don’t rouse too much suspicion.
The Venture-Captain tells you one more thing before you're giving the opportunity to ask questions: "If you come across Quidda herself, capture her alive. Killing her may give the wrong impression to the Council."
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"If this haybag's tryin' ta cooper us, why not just torch her now, be done with it, before she starts blowin' her patter to the toffers on the floor?" Milo asks, frowning slightly.
His frown deepens, and he starts muttering to himself under his breath. Mostly cursing politicians and rich people in general for being 'barmy gits'.
Alanya smiles, raising her hands in a "ah well" manner.
"Well, at least i'm no society member. So doesn't that make me a bit....flexible on the ruling? She won't die, but i can't guarantee she won't be hurt."
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Branson looks at his fellow Pathfinders and steps forward, "Venture Captain, if I may? I'm unsure of what various locations here would be good starting points to begin our search. Are there any that seem sympathetic to our Society? Are there Aspis agents about? Any rumors of Hobgoblins in these parts? Shall we hide our various trappings that associate us with the Society?"
"I won't go into details about the stories Quidda's been spreading, because they're all just lies to make the Society look bad. I can't answer all of your questions, but I'll provide you with the answers I can."
"While I’d normally suggest we handle Society matters ourselves, this time it’s a bit different. If we strike at an elected member of the People’s Council, we risk the very result of disgracing the Pathfinder name we hope to avoid. This needs to be handled legally, which means we need to expose Ouidda for the scoundrel she is."
"Ouidda’s web of contacts is vast and her influence strong, so there’s no telling how many you might be up against. Owners or proprietors of the corrupt businesses she uses to launder money or that serve as cover operations are especially suspect, and depending on how discrete you are, she may send some of her own agents after you in short order. Be on the watch for assassins, though there’s no telling what kind of creatures—or whether they’ll be magical or not—a person of Ouidda’s influence might have access to."
Moldreserva looks every member of the party in their eyes, and smiles wryly. "I don't have any leads for you. You'll have to go into the city and figure this out yourself. It may help you win the people's trust if they believe you to be Andoran, but that may be a risky tactic for some of you."
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Milo snorts. "Hay burns, needles don't" He mutters, doing his best to follow behind the larger folks to avoid the crowds.
Having little tact or patience for diplomatic concerns, he lets the others do such things, and having no ability to pretend to be anyone but himself, he doesn't try to blend in as a local either.
But he does have some know-how into how to find things in a large city, although he's not too familiar with Almas.
"Still Chyras, i gotta say. Somehow it still amazes me the type of people you run into on this plane.", as the group's composition is slightly different from the last time.
While searching for clues Chyras enters a store and starts a conversation with the owner, a halfling woman by the name of Analis Broomwillow. Having traveled the Inner Sea region a dozen times over, Analis is well-versed in the laws of lands both distant and near. Her adventuring days wore her out long ago, so she settled down in Almas to operate a provisioner’s shop, where she sells goods that might aid travelers such as you. Analis tells Chyras the Spider is involved with a strange new investor. She's willing to give some more information, but you'll have to buy something from her shop first.
In front of the store Branson starts talking to an Andoran woman, who says her name's Audovini. Traveling from city to city in Andoran, Audovini wound up in Almas some years ago and has been begging for food and money to get back on her feet ever since. She’s clearly lost most of her mind, and she’s known for being “not all there” by the people who live on her street. She’s sharper than they give her credit for, though, and she knows it, listening intently to passersby’s chatter and absorbing as much information as possible. She reveals that she knows where the Spider's originally from, and tells you the Spider brought some slave-traders with her. Audovini will gladly tell you some more, but only in exchange for some food.
Branson takes Audovini to the bakery across the street. Once he's bought her something to eat she'll start talking: "If rumors are true—and I hope they’re not—then this Spider is the nasty sort of arachnid, the kind from distant lands like Katapesh that brings her creepy slaver buddies with her. Only sensible way in from Katapesh is from a boat, and the only boat I seen around here that says it’s from Katapesh lately is the ship they call the Sailswift."
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The gnome stays outside the shop, and listens to the beggar lady's tale with a small frown.
"Another boat? Took the topper to avoid the bloody shakes." Milo mutters to himself in annoyance.
He spits suddenly, one fist curling into a fist, and adds to the others, "Last Katapesh boat I gaffed, was runnin' dog-faced gnoll body pushers. Torched the lot of 'em."
He eyes the beggar lady warily for a moment. "Think the sponger's patterin' straight or throwin' crazy?" He asks with a shrug, "Flam for scran?"
Kavaki kicks in 5gp for food, and Audovini's eyes widen. "I can eat a month with this!"
While at the bakery she immediately buys several sweet-rolls in addition to the bread, and devours them. Milo sees no reason to doubt Audovini's words, especially after she lets him take a bite out of one of her sweet-rolls. "Tasty, isn't it?"
Inside the store, which sells pretty much all the equipment you could think of, Analis laughs. "I sell many things, but if you're looking for food I only have trail rations."
"Is there anything specific you'd like to have?" Analis asks Chyras and Kavaki. "I sell many special things, but they're special to me. I don't know what's special to you."
"Thank you, that's very kind!" analis accepts the money, and gives Chyras four trail rations.
Analis then shares what she knows: "This old half-elf, goes by the name of Jarovar—a real stingy, nasty type—well, he’s just set up his investment establishment in Almas, but he refuses to subscribe to any of the merchant guilds in the city and he only deals with a few clients who get small contributions from him, one of whom is the Spider, I hear. Queerer still, he makes odd ventures out of his shop in the dead of night, well after closing."