The rowdy town of Port Eclipse stretches out in all directions and soars overhead, its buildings clinging to the inside of a hollow sphere of rock. Gaps in the sphere open to boundless blue skies. Docks protrude from the gaps, extending into the endless expanse of the Plane of Air. From these, airships of all shapes and sizes dock and depart in a regular stream. Many of the bustling port’s inhabitants soar freely through the open air.
The circular front door to a dome-shaped building swings open. Venture Captain Norden Balentiir stands in the doorway.
“Thank you all for journeying here,” he says, “Come inside, and watch your step.”
As the venture-captain backs into the room, he points to its oddly sloping floor. The dome-shaped building’s interior is roughly spherical, with chairs bolted to all of its walls and a cylindrical dais floating in its center. A tall and handsome suli man with pale blue eyes that glow with electric radiance hovers in the air by the dais. A wispy dust cloud slowly circles the suli’s head, making whooshing noises as it moves. Balentiir speaks, “I hope those of you unfamiliar with planar transit don’t find the process unsettling. I, myself, try not to eat for a few hours before crossing a planar boundary.” He smiles cordially. “If any of you haven’t met him before now, permit me to present our friend, ally,” his voice takes on a wry tone, “and host, as this building belongs to his organization. Ashasar, Liaison to the Seat of Balance of the Concordance of Elements.”
The suli inclines his head with a welcoming smile. Balentiir goes on, “In case you aren’t familiar with recent events, let me catch you up. After some initial misunderstandings between our groups,” Ashasar looks aside at Balentiir and shrugs, “We have come to terms and are working toward the same goal: releasing the captive elemental lord, Ranginori, from his imprisoning artifact— the Untouchable Opal. This goal has attracted the attention of the other Lord of Air, Hshurha, who does not want to see her rival freed. Accordingly, she has begun mobilizing her forces against both our organizations.”
“Which has only furthered our cooperation.” Ashasar finishes, and then takes over. “So, we are trying to limit her available resources. One of our agents informs me Grasping Storm, a belker lieutenant of hers, is hiring mercenary groups to increase its strength. One of those mercenary groups is traveling to Grasping Storms base via airship in a few days.” As if he were petting a cat, Ashasar traces a finger along the shape of his cloud satellite, which reshapes itself into an airship with a dragon’s head for a mast. Its draconic face takes on a contented expression. “We would have you take their place aboard, and gain entrance to Purest Air, Grasping Storm’s cloud fortress. Infiltrate it, find Grasping Storm, and take one of Hshurha’s lieutenants off the board before she has a chance to send it at us.”
"Speaking of cooperation," Balentir interjects, "seeing as you lot are going to be working together on this mission, perhaps we should start with some introductions, as well as any questions you may have for us?"
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Setting his polished darkwood weapon aside, the young Taldon man clad in blue and white robes looks around the table. Save for a long braid reaching the middle of his back, his head is shaved bald. "Well met. I am Bo Goh Twang, and I seek enlightenment on The Path. My spirit guardian has lead me here, so I am hopeful that we will all be enriched by this experience we share together. This..lieutenant, he is a worthy adversary? What are the warrior gifts he has unlocked along his journey? Magic? Strength of arms?"
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A tall tiefling in a chain shirt enters the room. He has a red cloak on and two pistols tucked into his belt. A rapier in a well made scabbard hangs at the other side of his waist. A red tail flicks at the bottom of his back.
"Welcome all...I am Sarvin. I seek to further the aims of the Society. A missive from the Paracountess has led me here."
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A tall and thin elf, with a large wolf at her side and a bow at her back slips into the room.
"I am Oleander. Guide, explorer and Silver Crusader." she says.
The wolf looks up at her.
"And this lug is Wolfie. Don't let him into your rations. They are not good for him."
With a reproachful look Wolfie gets up and sniffs Bo once, before cautiously approaching Sarvin and offering a short whine.
"How do you intend for us to 'take the place' of this group of mercenaries? is only the first of the elf's questions.
"And how do we navigate in this fortress? Lastly, Grasping Storm... what more can you tell us about her? Is our only option killing her, or could she be turned?"
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Taking up the rear is a half-orc who throughout the journey to Sothis and then to the plane of Air has been surely at best. This though, is not one of them. "I am Rahab Seven-Blades, this is Gamin the Misforged blade, and why must we use this deceit to get to the fortress? We could RUSH their gates and DESTROY THEM like the puny beings they are." He glowers as he tracks the cloud orbiting the envoy's head, stomping his heavily armored foot while his hand hovers around the pommel of his two blades. Emanating from the sword he did introduce an almost frightened voice squeeks out "Oh gods, please help me, get me away from this madman..."
"Yes, well, Grasping Storm is, as I said, a Belker - a creature of smoke and air. However, I am also told that it is unique amongst its kind, so it is hard to say what you should expect beyond the usual tactics of its kind. What is certain is that it is fanatically loyal to its mistress, and diplomacy highly unlikely to be a viable option."
"The fortress itself no doubt houses many guards, so a frontal assault is likely to be suicide. Subtlety is your ally here. They are expecting mercenaries, so passing yourselves off as such is likely to be the easiest way to gain entry and access to Grasping Storm. Alternatively, a combination of stealth and deadliness with swift precision might get you through if that is where your skills lie.
"Either way, the airship Williwaw is the key. Grasping Storm has dragon allies patrolling the skies near Purest Air, but they are expecting the Williwaw, so they should not be suspicious of its arrival."
"How you handle things once inside is up to your discretion. There is a reason we are sending experienced pathfinders on this mission, after all."
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"Flying?" Rahab pauses and almost seems subdued. "I had not thought of that. I too will ask those in awe of my prowess to gift me a potion of flying. What is a Belker? Does its flesh part beneath a sword's blade? Does it tremble with fear when it knows it's life is about to end? I, Rahab of the seven blades wish to learn about these Belkers. Tell me everything you know."
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"And battle favors those who know, plan and think ahead. Believe me. Gorum has branded that lesson well into my flesh. It is sad that I was not meant to learn much. But learn and teach I will."
Rahab turns to Oleander, the tatoo of Gorum's holy symbol catching the light upon his face. "Oleander of the Silver Crusade. Karos seems to know much. Trust in his wisdom as I am trusting in it."
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Bo tries to follow the discussion, but rapidly gives up. After a while, he starts to polish his bow, Aetherwing. Too much to follow. They need more simplicity. The best way to follow The Path is to make certain one is not cluttered with distractions. Worry not Sir Ilivan, they will take us where we need to be soon enough.
As you are speaking a hawk flies into the meeting room and alights between Ashasar and Balentir.
"Ah, good, you have arrived," Ashasar says as the hawk swiftly enlarges and takes the form of a male with light blue skin and white wind-tossed hair.
"Gentlemen and lady, this is the Concordance agent who provided the intelligence on Grasping Storm’s recruiting, Zephyr of the Forgotten Sun. He will be facilitating your extraction after you have taken care of Grasping Storm. Once you are ready simply signal him by activating this bird feather token. As our prime informant, Zephyr of the Forgotten Sun is also better-suited to answer your other questions. Master Balentir and I have other groups who need instructions, so we will leave you to plan your mission."
The blue-skinned man nods to each of you in greeting as Balentir and Ashasar leave behind the feather token and leave the room.
"Aright, first things first. The airship, the Williwaw, departs in two days so we do not have all the time in the plane to prepare. The captain, a djinni named Beysal, makes regular runs to Purest Air, so she’s a natural choice to ferry Grasping Storm’s mercenaries. They’re a local group called Efwurwa’s Fury—all elemental beings. Apparently Grasping Storm specifically requested elemental mercenaries, and has refused to hire anyone who isn’t at least as tied to air as a slyph. The Furies won’t be the only ones responding to the call, but they’re the first, so getting to Grasping Storm before it has the opportunity to shore up Purest Air’s defenses is critical. We stuff this up, the next group that tries and has to try to retrieve your bodies will have a much harder time, if they try at all. As for how you get on board, that will depend on your skill sets. I am able to arrange a meeting between yourselves and Beysal, but that's about all I can do for you in that regard.”
"There aren't any hidden entrances to Grasping Air that I know of. I’d wager that everyone who resides there can fly, so you might make sure you can too, unless you trust your skill at setting the direction of gravity. You do know, of course that gravity is subjective here on the plane of air, didn't you? No matter."
"As for Belkers, they are creatures of air, but even their forms can be dissipated much like an air elemental."
As he gives you time to take in the new information, he also scrutinises each of you with his piercing blue eyes.
Efwurwa’s Fury is a Port Eclipse-based gang of elemental toughs. They’ve seen some enforcer and guard work, but haven’t made much of a name for themselves yet.
Presently, their roster includes a handful of air elementals, plus the eponymous Efwurwa.
Grasping Storm spent many centuries as one Hshurha’s favored lieutenants, carrying out abominable acts for her. It controls Purest Air, a cloud tower built by a material plane wizard. Hshurha desired the tower, so Grasping Storm claimed it for her. Hshurha granted Grasping Storm stewardship of the captured tower, which it renamed in its own style.
Grasping Storm is notoriously racist, even for a belker. It passionately hates fleshy creatures, and even deems air-based beings “lesser” creations unless they have some raw elemental nature. Many of the services it performed for Hshurha involved massacring whole populations of these inferior beings. Some time ago, Grasping Storm fell out of its mistress’s favor. She permits it to continue holding Purest Air, but most of the duties she requires of it these days are demeaning or highly dangerous. Curiously, given Grasping Storm’s fanatical prejudices, no elementals currently reside at Purest Air, and all its servants are material beings who receive much abuse from it.
Hshurha forbids Grasping Storm the luxury of elemental servants, part of her punishment for a perceived betrayal. Having permission to hire elementals might mean it is coming back into her favor.
These are the traits of the plane of air:
Air-Dominant: The Plane of Air consists mostly of open space, with occasional solid masses floating in it. Creatures with the earth subtype feel uncomfortable here, but this discomfort conveys no mechanical penalties.
Enhanced Magic: Spells and effects with the air descriptor or that use, manipulate, or create air (including those of the Air domain and the elemental [air] bloodline) function as if their caster level were 2 higher than normal.
Impeded Magic: Spells and effects with the earth descriptor or that use, manipulate, or create earth (including those of the Earth domain and the elemental [earth] bloodline) are impeded, requiring the caster to make a concentration check (DC = 20 + the level of the spell) or the spell fails and the prepared spell or spell slot is lost.
Subjective Directional Gravity: In most parts of the Plane of Air, each individual chooses the direction of gravity’s pull. When walking on solid surfaces, choosing the direction of the surface to be “down” is relatively intuitive and does not require a skill check. In midair, creatures with natural flight can fly normally. Those without the ability to fly, or those who would prefer to move faster, can attempt to set the direction of gravity.
Once per round as a free action, an individual can attempt a DC 16 Wisdom check to pick a new direction for gravity. If she succeeds, she begins falling in that direction, moving 150 feet in a straight
line on the first round and 300 feet on each following round. If she fails, she can attempt the Wisdom check again on the next round. The DC decreases to 12 on successive checks until she succeeds in changing gravity’s direction. Once an individual starts falling in a direction, stopping requires a successful DC 16 Wisdom check to set gravity in the exact opposite direction. If she succeeds, she continues 150 feet in her original direction for 1 round, and then stops.
Because an individual in free fall cannot stop quickly, performing actions during the fall is difficult. However, the PCs may ready
actions and perform them during the free fall, such as readying an action to grab an object or to attack an opponent while soaring past it. Moving past an opponent in this manner provokes an attack of opportunity.
A PC under the effects of a feather fall spell falls at only 60 feet per round and gains a +2 circumstance bonus on the Wisdom checks to change direction.
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"If they are expecting to have elemental mercenaries... how do we expect to get into the fortress? Are we going to disguise ourselves? Or rely on stealth?" asks the elf.
"I'd prefer stealth myself..."
She looks at the potion she acquired earlier. "These potions won't last very long...I think we should spend some time practicing this 'subjective gravity' thing here before we set off."
“You may not need to fight Efwurwa's Fury if Beysal takes you instead of them. If she makes your groups fight for the berth, well, then it is what it is. You should know now that I can’t participate in a fight; my Concordance work requires keeping a low profile around town, and a shipyard brawl is a bit too public. I’m just here to provide information. And spells, if you need. If you cannot pass yourselves off as mercenaries or go in stealthily, however, your best option may to strike hard and fast. Needless to say, this will also be the most dangerous option. But I hear you Pathfinders pride yourselves on resourcefulness, so I will trust you to work out the best plan... or to provide another stronger strike force if the current team should fail,” Zephyr says in a level matter-of-fact tone.
Zephyr nods.
"Very well then. I will arrange a meeting between yourselves and Captain Beysal."
You have the rest of the day to make whatever purchases and preparations you require in Port Eclipse.
Come evening, you are summoned to a dockside tavern where the meeting is to take place. The barkeep points Beysal out to you - a well-dressed teal-skinned djinni with long white hair held in locks by numerous gold bands. She is sitting alone at a table on a quiet balcony nursing her drink with a bored expression. A narrow winding stairway leads to the balcony, and she turns her attention to you as you make your way up the stairs to her table
"So. You are the ones? Yes, you match the description. I am told you have a business proposition for me," she says calmly.
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Oleander saunters up to the Djinni.
"We're mercenaries. The best. And we heard there is good money to be made by you taking us to Grasping Storm."
Oleander does her best to look like a menacing mercenary. Something she has had a bit of practise at in her time at Bloodcove.
<- will do this as an aid if someone else takes the lead in negotiations. Note she is not trying to intimidate the captain, just put on the appearance of a hard bitten mercenary.
Beysal looks almost ready to shoo wave you away, but for some reason when Karos turns on the charm she suddenly seems to relax a little, and she beckons Karos over with a slender finger before speaking in a hushed tone.
"Unfortunately, Grasping Storm does his own recruitment. I've only been asked to provide transport, and that is for the group Efwurwa's Fury, which is not you. Moreover, developing what working relationship I have with the belker has represented a substantial investment of both time and money. Betraying both this alliance and Efwurwa’s Fury is contrary to my interests."
She leans back a little and rubs her chin.
"Still, Efwurwa has already paid me, so I might be persuaded by a commercially-sound proposal."
"Hmm...leaving port early and abandoning Efwurwa's Fury will be costly; 1000 gold for each of you will cover my expenses and contingent reprisals from either group. Alternatively, if you take care of Efwurwa's Fury, either by seeking them out beforehand or attacking them on board the ship, I should be able to feign some degree of ignorance and talk my way out of reprisals, so I will charge 250gp per head for passage only - but you will need to deal with Efwurwa's Fury yourselves, preferably beforehand so I can avoid the cleaning bill."
"Perhaps we need to deal with Efwurwa's Fury, then our transport will be certain?"
"Just remember that I still want you to pay me even if you take Efwurwa and his cronies out of the picture. It's just that it will cost you less if you make sure that doesn't become something I will need to worry about later."
As a mercenary group, Efwurwa's Fury is known in Port Eclipse, and while not much is known about Efwurwa himself (it appears he is seldom seen in public), he is known to use agents with affinity to the element of air, including but not limited to sylphs and air mephits and elementals. His roster rotates semi-frequently, but you are given a location where you might be able to find him, ironically, reasonably close to the docks.