The invitation delivered last night was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion: “Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”
The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table.
“Welcome! Welcome, my students! Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. “Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born. But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach. She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist. Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.”
Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen.”
Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building while humming to himself.
Janira scratches the back of her head rather abashedly, "Heh, I wasn't able to get very far into the cave system without some of the larger, angrier wildlife taking offense to my poking around the cave system. Without a team I didn't feel comfortable exploring further."
Her face brightens being able to answer Anthys' question, “The gillmen are a humanoid race much like humans save for the three piscine gills on both sides of their necks. They’re a little secretive but not outright hostile. Most live in or near the water. Are there any other questions? I'm always willing to help, just like with your last adventure!” She smiles brightly thinking of the treasure you've recently uncovered.
Janira waits a bit for some more questions, then dives a bit more into the history of the gillmen. "Also known as the Low Azlanti, the gillmen are an amphibious humanoid race believed to be the last descendants of the ancient Azlanti people. During Earthfall, the Starstone struck Golarion and destroyed the human empires of Thassilon and Azlant. It is said that gillmen’s ancestors survived the cataclysmic event because they received the blessing of an aquatic entity that allowed them to breath underwater." Janira's eyes shine as she revels in the lore. She coughs awkwardly realizing just how excited she got before pulling out a thick leatherbound tome and dropping it on the table with a meaty SMACK!
“On to the details of the mission at hand,” Janira says with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there."
“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.”
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Vindlér listens to Janira with interest. When she finishes her description of their task, he bangs one of his large, toughened hands on the table and stands up. "Well then, we best not delay. Sounds like we haven't much time to reach our destination, so let's grab any last minute supplies we may need and get moving."
Before the group departs, he purchases two scrolls of Bless and a grappling hook.
Janira takes you west out of Absalom, heading into and through the Cairnlands on the trader's route to Diobel. Along the way Janira points out various landmarks, siege towers from famous battles, the distant, but ever-looming Kortos Mounts, even some of the more peculiar flora and fauna that grow in the Center of the World. Your first day of travel is rather peaceful and you spend the night just beside the entrance to a large forest.
Waking early the next day you continue your travels into the forest, the trees towering overhead allowing less sunlight and warmth to grace the forest ground. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out the Wayfinder she used to help you during your first mission for the Society. She looks at it with a soft smile and turns to you saying, "It really is a special moment when you receive your Wayfinder. Treasure that moment when you earn yours." Flipping hers open you see the engraved letters J.L. on the inside of the cover. "We're on the right path," she says after examining the device. "We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead."
After pointing out the rocks ahead there comes a great creaking sound from a tree north of you. You watch as it begins tumbling to the ground gaining speed, though it looks slow and graceful in its fall. It hits the forest floor with a mighty and stirs hundreds of snakes out of hiding from nearby. They edge toward you in a hissing and biting panic.
hp 16
half damage from non-bludgeoning weapons
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"Well, there's good news and bad," Vindlér says gruffly. "Good news is these buggers happen t' be large enough fer us t' smack around with our weapons. Bad news, on the other hand, is that there's enough of 'em t' make it unpleasant." He straps on his shield and draws his morningstar, then turns to Anthys, Qioté, and Alan. "Well, my friends, let's squash some snakes."
The snakes move closer allowing Alan to precisely throw his acid flask, shattering and burning many of the snakes in the swarm. However, it does not stop the snakes from overtaking Vindlér who has the snakes quickly winding up his legs and about his torso.
Janira pulls out a flask of Alchemist's fire from her pack to hand to someone before striking up a tale, “Let us remember the sacrifice of the fabled Yasmin bint Faroud, favored of the Ten, who gave her life distracting Zythrustianax, draconic scourge of the Society, so dozens of junior agents could survive. Her act of benevolence is the epitome of cooperation within the Society.”
Janira briefly pauses in her stories of Pathfinders past, "Whenever confronted by swarms of critters, its best to use weapons or spells that cover entire areas!" She holds the alchemist fire in her hand meaningfully.
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"That's all well an' good, Janira. You just watch where you're tossing that fire though, aye?" Vindlér scrambles to swipe a few of the snakes off of his legs using his shield.
He manages to get a few of the snakes off and begins bashing them with his morningstar once they're on the ground, trying his best to smash their reptilian heads into the forest floor.
Vindlér's last strikes with his morningstar convince the snakes to disband and scatter in an easier direction than through your troupe. Janira smiles with pleasure as she takes in the teamwork and cooperation you've demonstrated. She lays a hand on Vindlér's more visible bruises intoning, "Even with all the trials and tribulations in his path Durvin Gest found the strength to continue forward and hurl the Lens of Galundari into the endless Nemesis Well, knowing that his mission was not yet over." The skin clears up and remains unblemished as though the snakes never got to Vindlér in the first place.
Janira looks for the sun through the canopy above and makes some calculations, "We should move on if we want to get to the caves by dusk, I don't want to arrive only to find the gillmen have gone."
Your continued trek through the wilderness reveals fallen objects blocking trails, overgrown shortcuts, washed away banks, all things that would normally slow you down. With your teamwork you manage ways above, around, or through all of the obstacles and make it to the cave site in a timely fashion.
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.
Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
You see the minotaur chasing Janira, struggling through the thick underbrush and hear random taunts in Giant. It is not long before the cacophony of the chase fades and the sounds of the forest return to normal. Grabbing Janira's backpack you find inside:
- Potion of Barkskin
- 2 Potions of Cure Light Wounds
- Potion of Featherstep
- Potion of Vanish
- Scroll of Entangle
- Scroll of Gust of Wind
- Scroll of Identify
- Scroll of Mage Armor (CL 6th)
- Scroll of Obscuring Mist
- Wand of Burning Hand (CL 3rd, 4 charges)
- Wand of Cure Light Wounds (CL 3rd, 8 charges)
- Acid
- 2 Alchemist's Fire
- Holy Water
- Smokestick
- Tanglefoot Bag
- Thunderstone
- Antitoxin
- 2 Sunrods
The narrow tunnel you find yourselves in twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening into a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave's width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit, amid a scattering of sharpened stakes pointing upward, lies a small bundle of cloth.
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Vindlér picks up the bag and rifles through it, describing its contents to the others as he does so. Once they've completed their inventory, he hefts the bag onto his shoulder and says, "I'll carry this lot if you all don't mind. We dwarfs have strong backs for carrying big loads, so it'll be no trouble t' me. If ya want anythin' in particular out o' the bag, though, feel free to grab what ya like."
As the party approaches the hole, Vindlér sighs heavily. "Well, I'll tell ya one thing," he says, "There's not much chance o' me jumpin' over such a gap. I did bring some rope and a grappling hook, though. Perhaps there's somethin' we could latch onto o'er the other side." He peers through the semi-lit tunnel to see if he can spot any helpful points where his hook might attach securely.
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Alan looks through the items. "If no one objects," he says, "I'll take the Wand of Burning Hands, Acid and Alchemist Flasks."
Alan studies the pit for a moment. What is the object in the water?
Moving back 10 feet, Alan takes a running start and attempts to clear the pit.
He peers down the passageway upon barely clearing the obstacle.
Not seeing anything significant, he turns back towards the group and says, "Toss a rope over here and I'll find an anchor point."
The bundle of cloth at the bottom could be anything, but a flash of red lining catches Alan's eye as he clears the pit and the spikes beneath. Looking down the narrow rocky corridor he spies a wooden plank just around the bend that looks large and wide enough to help everyone cross the plank.
Anthys is able to easily scale down the rope and grabs the bundle of cloth. Pulling it up and into the light reveals a beautiful cloak of grey with red trim.
The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves, and they date back to long before the gillmen explored this area. Scattered throughout the cave are inscriptions and images that depict various carvings.
Only 4 of the carvings are anywhere near legible and require some time to decipher.
retelling Aroden’s prophecy that humankind would prepare the rocky earth for planting and over generations wear the pebbles down into fertile soil.
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Alan studies each of the carvings thoughtfully.
"This first one seem to show a farmer plowing his field."
"The second one looks like someone fighting a snake-like creature."
"I can't tell what this next one is depicting."
"This last one shows someone sewing a long blanket or something."
Turing to the group with a puzzled look, Alan asks, "I wonder what these images mean?"
The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
Kneeling in the shallow water is what you can only describe as a gillman, both from Janira's descriptions of the beings and from the large frilled gills on the side of his neck.
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As the group arrives in the large chamber, Vindlér looks around at the incredible stonework, the strange pool, the hungry looking insects, and the odd figure kneeling in the pool. He unconsciously scratches at his beard for a moment as he considers the situation, then looks at the others and extends his open hand toward the cavern, inviting one of the others to initiate the interaction with the gillman.
In the pool in the distance you can see tiny fish darting around.