: In Service to Lore
Three weeks after completing their Confirmation, our Pathfinders find themselves in the office of Ambrus Valsin, the venture-captain in charge of daily operations in and around the Grand Lodge. The efficient and straightforward chamberlain greets you all curtly and motions for you to sit. He wastes no time getting to the assignment.
“All right, Pathfinders! Listen up. I know you are new recruits eager to make names for yourselves in the organization, but first we need to make sure you are up to snuff and won’t get yourself killed out there without a nurse maid. I have a number of small assignments for you and your team, and it would be best if you could finish them before the day’s end.”
“Every day we get some doe-eyed hopeful or some sniveling bootlicker willing to do anything to join up with the Pathfinders. Most of them are good kids, but not all of them have the salt to make it in a world like this. It’s rough out there and I’m not just talking about the ruins, tombs, and wilderness Pathfinders find themselves in on missions. We’ve got people who look down their noses at us, folks who think we squander our resources, and agents who want to take everything we have collected. This wealth of knowledge and these items of lore make us the most powerful organization on the planet. That said, since we are fractured and widespread, it’s difficult for that power to light on anything for too long. For every friend of the Society, there are two enemies.”
“Your first mission, to test your mettle and loyalties, sends you to meet a few people important to the Society living here in Absalom. These are other venture-captains or close allies of our organization, so follow their orders as you would mine. I’ve prepared a list of things I want you to do. They’re not arranged in any particular order of importance, but I want them all completed as quickly as possible. Only report to me once you complete them all. Included in the envelope you hold in your hands is the list, complete with the name of your contact, and directions to the meeting location.”
• A man named Guaril Karela runs a curio shop in the Docks called the Pickled Imp. Go to him and fill his request as a favor to the Society. I believe it has something to do with a set of rare books.
• Ollysta Zadrian requested aid and is expecting you at the Temple of the Shining Star in the Ascendant Court. She needs someone to deliver a parcel of medicine and curatives to a needy orphanage and verify the character of the recipient.
• Visit the offices of Osirian nobleman Dremdhet Salhar in the Wise Quarter. The Pathfinder Society needs to obtain permission to delve the Salhar ancestral vaults beneath Sothis. He has made a verbal agreement, and your visit makes it official. You will receive an official charter and detailed maps. Do not embarrass the Society in this matter.
• Chelish Paracountess Zarta Dralneen possesses an item loaned from the Vaults. Meet with her in her estate in the Ivy District and retrieve the item in her possession.
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The elf, Melufious Beniductus, sits and listens excitedly while fingering his new wayfinder. "Thanks, we'll get right on it!" The chain shirt he wears definitely sits heavier on him than the leather. Happily though, his movements do not seem to be slowed by it, but you wonder how long that will last.
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Aurelia sits in a chair of Valsin's office, one leg crossed over the other as he briefs them. She seems to barely be paying attention, instead much more interested in filing her nails to perfection and removing any tiny granules of dirt lodged under them. She takes a cursory glance at the letter, doing a double-take only when she spots Zarta Dralneen's name written there. "Oh! The Paracountess! Most excellent," Aurelia smiles widely, a wicked glint in her eye. "It has been some time since I last... paid her a visit. It will be good to see her again."
"Where are we off to first, then?" she asks the group. "Maybe we can get a carriage there, or a rickshaw? I've had enough of hiking since our last endeavour out to that blasted minotaur cave..."
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Standing in the back of the room, as his is normal behavior, Belroar watches his companions, as well as the venture captain makes his speech.
"Meet some people, do some errands. Maybe not as exciting as defending a city against a demon invasion, but we can't get all the great assignments, wouldn't be fair to the other Pathfinders."
Belroar opens the door and moves out into the main hall as the others gather to discuss the list.
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Ophelia listens politely as Valsin makes his speech, sitting with her hands folded in her lap, her death-spiral pendant prominently displayed at her throat. She wears the same scale coat as before, but the pack at her feet seems different - partly because it's now a newer leather thing, with more straps and better distribution; partly because it appears stuffed to the seams. A wand is tucked into her belt, and the morningstar hangs beside it from a simple loop.
She takes the letter, seeing nobody else moving to do so, and looks over the tasks. "I would like to see the medicine delivered first," she says, glancing to each of her companions in turn, "though I suppose as it is not a matter of urgency, we could start anywhere. And I will not be paying for a carriage or rickshaw," she adds to Aurelia.
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Mel lets out a guffaw at Belroar's words, "Ho, I'll bet! Let's do it, but have our dear Aurelia get you all puffed up again! That'd be great!" But when he catches a glance of the stern venture captain, the grin disappears from his face. "Err... umm.... let's go" The elf is quite a site, attempting to casually stroll / run from the room with his head sucked down between his shoulders. Once he gets outside, the grin partially returns, "I still think it would be funny." he says quietly.
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Valik will smile at Mel's words, he remember his youth and the zeal he showed. Perhaps, he may once return to that state, but right now there is work to be done. He ponders on where to starts, but since he will be running all over Absolom it doesn't really matter where the starting point is.
Valik looks over to Mel once out of the captain's office, Mel, I understand the zeal and exuberance you have, it is not a bad thing. I used to be the same way, but had to grow up early. Don't ever change, but just try to remember your surrounding young one. Although your remark was funny I must admit, the captain my see it differently. I just don't want you to be shed in a negative light with so much still left to do in your pathfinder career is all, with the final words he gives Mel a giant smile to let him know it is all "fatherly" advice.
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Aurelia sighs lightly, both at the apparent decision to head to the orphanage and the rebuffal of her desire to not walk around the entire damn city all day. "Alas! My reuniting with my dear friend shall have to wait until after we have saved the children. ... Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that, I suppose."
Compared to the last time you saw her, it seems that Aurelia is even less appropriately dressed for battle. It appears that her first paycheck has largely gone to purchasing a large array of fancy jewels and other such bling--two golden rings inlaid with diamonds, ruby earrings, and a garnet-encrusted hairpiece in the shape of a crown. Oh, and a fancy new silk gown that would not look out of place at a noble wedding ceremony. Red, of course. She seems to like the colour.
Valsin makes no comment about anything said in his presence, he merely seems content that everyone left promptly.
Making its way out of the Grand Lodge in the Foreign Quarter, the group heads first towards the Ascendant Court to speak with Ollysta Zadrian about delivering medicine. Located in the heart of the city, the Ascendant Court contains a myriad of religious buildings and temples for a diverse number of faiths. The most striking structure in this part of the city is the Starstone Cathedral. Aroden himself is said to have dragged the Starstone out of the ocean, pulling up land with it to create the Isle of Kortos. It was the most easily recognizable landmark in the diorama of Absalom you found weeks ago in the gillman cave.
The party's destination is The Temple of the Shining Star, which is dedicated to the goddess Sarenrae. Upon arrival, the group is immediately directed to Ollysta. The young woman strides forward to meet you, holding herself with the poise of both a warrior and queen. After a brief nod of acknowledgment to Moadis, she addresses you in a strong voice.
“Thank the light of Sarenrae you have arrived! I knew Ambrus would come through for us in the Silver Crusade. I desperately need you to bring medicine to an orphanage and let me know if the headmistress, Gilga Baltwin, is deserving of our charity. Since our quest began, the needy have clamored for our aid, and I suspect some are abusing our generosity. It may sound cruel, but there are plenty of dishonest people out in the world eager for easy gold.”
“Has Moadis told you of the Silver Crusade? After discovering so many factions splintered the Society, a number of us banded together to proliferate the cause of charity and kindness using the Society’s resources. As it is said, ‘The Dawn brings new light’ and we’ve made it our life’s work to use our recent darkness to bring a new light to the world and to the Pathfinder Society.”
“I apologize for straying off point. Will you bring this parcel of medicine to Auntie Baltwin’s Home for Recovery in the Eastgate district?”
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Belroar clears his throat and says, "We'll take these meds over to the orphanage right away and determine if this headmistress is abusing your generosity. I've got a keen eye and not too many people think it safe to lie to me. I suspect with old Moadis here, we'll make a great pair!"
Belroar leans over and pats Moadis on the shoulder roughly.
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Moadis kneels in front of the paladin. It is an honor to finally meet you milady. I have heard so much about your work. It will be my privilege to help the cruzade one more time.
And he needs to steady himself with his left arm after Belroar's "pat" before getting up.
My gorumite friend here speaks the truth. He does have a very good eye for liars. We will get to the botton of this I promise.
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Ophelia rolls her eyes at Mel's antics, though she smiles as she does so. Shouldering her pack and pocketing the letter, she follows the grouop through the streets to the temple.
She stays quiet after walking through the doors, gazing around in adulation - a life on the open roads did little in the way of introducing one to elaborate buildings, after all. She bows deeply to Ollysta, not having much to say as Belroar and Moadis do most of the talking - though she does take the package of medicine with a solemn nod. "It shall be done," she says simply.
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Aurelia loses interest in Ollysta Zadrian's self-serving advertisement of her faction in about two seconds flat, paying only the barest minimum of attention required to get the general gist of the mission ahead. Something something sick orphans, something something greedy rent-seekers.
"We shall make sure the iron fist of the law comes down upon any who cheat the system," she says to the Sarenite priestess with a vague smirk. After all, Asmodeus is also known as the Prince of Law... he would not appreciate the breaking of a contact like this. For all her arrogance and looking down her nose at the 'goodly' churches, Aurelia nevertheless cannot muster the confidence to say that sort of thing out loud. Maybe she'd get smited or something, y'knowww?
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Valik, since one saw him last hasn't changed a bit. Still carries the used weapon given to him by his teacher, wearing only the basic accoutrements, and maybe has a few more wrinkles than last. He listens to what the mission at hand is, I would like to think an orphanage would not scam a church out of supplies. What would Golarion come to should that be the case.
”The honor is mine, Moadis. I have heard tales of your many years of service in Mendev.” Zadrian replies to the other paladin, then addresses the group, ”I thank you for accepting this task, I can only hope our fears are ill-founded.”
Reaching Auntie's Baltwin's Home for Recovery requires a walk to the Eastgate district, a rather quieter section of Absalom composed mostly of residential buildings of differing size and quality depending on neighborhood.
Nearly swarming with cats and children, your destination is a fine upper-class home that appears to be clean and in good condition considering the number and ages of its inhabitants. Three young boys shoot marbles in the dirt near the side porch, and inside strewn toys and more cats lie about on the floors. A few children take care of chores, while coughs and sneezes softly erupt from the children’s dormitories upstairs.
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"Marbles! I haven't done that since forever!" exclaims the young elf as he leaps the fence and deposits himself amidst the boys playing marbles. "Mind if I play?" is followed quickly by "Eww, nice shooter, I used to have one like that when I was little."
That is about it for Mel. Unless someone calls him back to reality or there is a big commotion, he losses himself in the game with the kids. The play may not stay marbles, perhaps devolving into chase, wrestling, or any other childhood game. Somewhere in the back of his mind is an itch that he ought to be doing something else, but he does his best to squelch it.
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The children are surprised and excited when an adult elf asks to join their game, but start to become a little upset when be begins beating them.
”Hold on, hold on!” A raspy woman's voice responses to Aurelia's knock and, after a few moments pass, an old human woman opens the door. Her appearance is a bit disheveled, she's missing a few teeth and her gray hair sits in a messy bun. One of the many cats in the home brushes itself between her legs. She seems nonplussed for a moment as she looks the group over.
You notice broken blood vessels in her eyes and nose, shaky hands, glassy eyes, and a fine sheen of sweat coating the woman. These are probable signs of alcoholism.
”Yeah, what is it? Hey, what's the elf doing with my poor children?! Get away from them!”
She is suspicious of the group and is hiding something. She may also be under the influence of a drug or alcohol.
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"Don't worry about the elf, he's harmless. Well, at least to the children he'll be harmless. The issue here is, we've been sent by Silver Crusade to see if you might be worthy of a donation of medicine. It's a formality mostly, but you know how those stick in the mud paladins are, rules rules rules. So let's just make this visit brief and to the point. Why do you need the medicine?
Belroar gives a smile, hoping it doesn't look like a sneer.
Please just remain quiet Moadis...please don't get all huffy puffy
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To the old lady, he says "Oops! Sorry... was just playing. They're pretty good at marbles, although I think they want a rematch." Then he turns back to the kids, "Whadda ya think? Everybody against the big goofy elf? You can get some of your friends to help if ya want.". If there are any kids left near him, he'll whisper, "Man, is she always that grumpy?"
His mind has partially returned to the mission at hand and he has decided that grilling the kids for info might be a good idea. At least that is what he thinks to himself... Yeah... if they start to win, maybe I can distract them by asking questions about the old lady.
”Go on, shoo now children!” Auntie Baltwin orders the youngsters, ”Stay away from that elf, you don't know where he's been!”
Despite Mel's attempts at the winning them over, the kids obey Baltwin's command and run off to play further down the street.
Her attention then returns to Belroar and she scrutinizes him specifically before responding, ”Well, it's strange that the half-orc is asking the questions, but ok. This is a home for healing sick children, and I use the medicine for that. They told me someone would be bringing it by, do you have it?”
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Valik stands in back, saying nothing in the beginning, but when Auntie Baltwin tells the kinds to get away from Mel, he interjects himself into the fray.
Excuse me miss, but what has Mel done, other than play marbles. Your accusation that he is "dirty" is highly appalling and down right rude. I will remember that. May we come inside?
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Aurelia cringes away from the terrifying and decrepit old woman, noticing the telltale signs of alcoholism in her face. She had an old uncle back in Cheliax who was like that, always shaking and looking totally out of it all through the day. She shakes her head, trying to recover from the sight.
"Ma'am," the young Chelaxian curtseys with her best fake smile, "I wonder if we might come inside and talk to you for a while? We have some routine questions to ask, is all, before we hand over the medication."
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Mel is dumbstruck, having never encountered such hate before. He just stands there mouthing the word "dirty"
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”Well, let's see, Jyhm had a bad case of filth fever, while Kiki had some fungus in her lungs, but I really shouldn't be telling you all this unless you come up with that medicine to prove you are who you say you are.” Auntie Baltwin replies fearlessly to Belroar.
She ignores Valik's statements, but concedes to Aurelia's polite approach, ”Yeah, yeah. Let's make it quick though.”
Leaving the door open, she leads whoever follows her into a sitting room. A nearly empty bottle of whiskey sits on one of the tables. ”Ok, how can I help you?”
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Ophelia lays a reassuring hand on Mel's shoulder as she steps over a cat. "A tree may fall to the wind, but the forest remains unmoved," she murmurs, offering a wink. Inside, she stands in the sitting room, dubiously eyeing the bottle of whiskey. "On the contrary, we need to know if we're delivering the right medicine," she points out. "We need to know how best to accomodate your needs." She keeps the package in her arms, but makes no motion to hand it over.
"If you let me see the medicine than I can tell you if it's the right one or not." Baltwin says to Ophelia, "I've been doing this for years, honey, probably longer than you been alive. I don't need any extra accommodation."
She then shoots Aurelia an incredulous look and laughs, "Ha! Seems most days you need it if you want to make it through the day in this house. These children are killing me! I hope that's not what this is all about.”
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Comforted by Ophelia's words, Mel relaxes some muscles he didn't know he'd been tightening and follows in behind the rest of the group. He also makes a mental note to thank Valik for standing up for him. Mel doesn't realize it yet, but he is starting to see Valik and Moadis more and more like father figures than adventuring buddies. He tries to remain partially hidden behind Belroar.
She is evil.
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Moadis waits for the Aunt to move away and goes to talk to the children down the street. Following Melufious's example he starts with some small talk before going into the serious questions.
Hello little ones. My name is Moadis, I am an aspiring knight of the Silver Cruzade. Can I play with you too.
”We're not supposed to talk to strangers.” One of the children says solemnly to Moadis.
”Are elves really dirty?” Another child inquires with a confused expression.
"Are you a grandpa?" Asks a third.
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Aurelia seems rather taken aback by Baltwin's rather flippant response, but she quickly recovers herself with a dark frown. "Hey, lady," she responds with a scowl, "I don't know if you realise it, but it's damn scary to be around a stinking drunkard." She shudders, remembering some of the times her alcoholic uncle had gone on a drunken rampage of one kind or another. "And you're keeping the bottle out here where any of them could get to! What if a kid drunk the alcohol? They'd get awfully sick!"
This old woman was disgusting her, and Aurelia glances towards the door, wanting to get out of the stifling, medicine-stinking atmosphere as soon as possible...
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Belroar growls and walks up to Auntie Blatwin. Standing over her, he says, "I've grown tired of this. You will tell us the truth and the whole of it, or I swear to Gorum, I'll take that package," he gestures to the package in Ophelia's arms, "back to those stick in the mud paladins at the Silver Crusade and tell them you are a drunk and probably a drug addict! I do not care one bit what you do in your personal life. DO. NOT. CARE. But, my companions and I have been tasked with a job. A very important job and I always do the job given to me. So answer our questions with the truth."
On the Street:
The children still seem a bit wary of Moadis despite his attempts to put them at ease. Nevertheless they do open up a little, "She can be really mean." The first child confesses, looking around afterward to make sure the old woman wasn't around.
The second child nods sadly in agreement, but adds "Her food is really good though!".
"And her bedtime stories are great!" The last child pipes in.
Inside the house:
As Aurelia reveals her disgust at Auntie Baltwin's drinking, and Belroar browbeats her into submission, the old woman's attitude takes a complete turn, "Yes, yes it's true. I do have a horrible drinking problem. I just wanted to help the children, but I got lost somewhere along the way. I see it now. Please, I promise I'll get some help, just don't close down my home, who else will heal these poor orphans!"
Baltwin's overwrought promise to get help doesn't sound very forthright even to the less sensitive of ears.