PbP GameDay 6: PFS 08-24 Raid on the Cloudborne Keep (PFRPG) (Inactive)

Game Master FiddlersGreen

"Payment is not a problem. But I'm no assassin," says Karos. "I kill those that don't give me a choice. Still, no harm in going to see what these 'furies' are like. Reckon we can always walk away if it don't seem right."

Beysal tells you where you can find her ship and tells you to let her know by the end of the day what you want to do.

So is the plan to go looking for Efwurwa's Fury now, before the ship leaves the dock?

Yes

"I agree let's find Efwurwa" Sarvin checks his pistols.

I'm still here, I just cannot offer any input.

Ditto

You find the contact for Efwurwa's Fury at the warehouses near the air docks. As it turns out, it is a pair of air elementals. One of them calls out to your group as you approach.

"What did the breath of wind say" asks Rahab who is liking the situation less and less by the minute.

"I have no idea? Anyone?"

"Are you sure it didn't just sneeze? It sounded like a sneeze to me."

"It either breathed on us very loudly and needs a doctor or talked. I don't believe these things need doctors, so I choose to believe it talked."

Oh dear, I can see where this is heading... XD

The monk digs through his pack until he finds a suitably clean rag and offers it to the elemental. "Allergies?"

Oleander tries in Taldane, Elven and eventually orc. "We don't understand your language sorry... do you speak these tongues?"

Karos shrugs. "I'm afraid it's all Osirian to me, partner."

Everyone make a perception check and sense motive check.

The air elementals shift around uneasily for a moment before a voice sounds out again from one of them.

"You are clearly not of this plane. What business do you have with Efwurwa's Fury?"

The air elementals rise up above you, moving through the air with great speed and ease.

Perception: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (3) + 21 = 24
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24

Oleander looks carefully round the room, trying to judge what the elemental is thinking of doing...
perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32
sense motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

"This isn't going to work well if we can't even speak with them."

"I think they don't trust us. They are suspicious of our intentions and are taking a defensive posture." The monk thinks for a moment, "So I'm guessing it was not a sneeze I heard earlier?"

Oleader, just to clarify, the un-spoilered sentence in my earlier post was spoken in common. It was "You are clearly not of this plane. What business do you have with Efwurwa's Fury?"

"We heard you were a skilled mercenary company." starts Oleander.

"And wanted to make that assessment for ourselves before deciding on our next course of action."

"We already have a potential employer who promises to pay well," you hear a voice whispering from above, though it is not clear which of the two elementals are speaking. "If you wish to get out attention, perhaps you should start with the job description, tenure and remuneration so that we can decide whether your offer is worth our while."

Oleaner looks to the others for some guidance here.

"Details of such things are obviously confidential. I'm keen to know more about your abilities before saying anything more about what we want to do. Loose lips sink ships, even airships."

"What kind of coin are you looking for?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

"How strange. You come looking for us but don't know what we can do. You ask for information about us but offer little incentive to reveal our abilities. As I said, we already have employment. I think we are done here."

The air elementals begin to fly away.

Well, that went rather poorly. You will either need to initiate combat now or choose another option for getting to Purest Air. They are about 30ft above you right now.

If you choose not to fight them now, your other alternatives at the moment are to pay Beysal to leave today (they are due to depart tomorrow), or to pay her to let you board (or try to sneak on board).
Needless to say, you will need to take into account that Efwurwa's Fury now knows what you look like, even if they don't really know who you are.

"I told you they were cowards" Oleander sneers loudly to the others.

"Nothing but a load of Hot Air! And certainly not worth our money or our time."

Tries to intimidate them into starting a fight.
intimidate: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Would there be a roll associated with determining which one is Efwurwa/the one taking the lead in speaking?

I did ask for perception checks earlier. So far only Bo and Oleander have attempted it.

Heck, I'll try.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Rahab frowns, the voices of the two elementals confusing him altogether as his patience frays thin and a veritable map of Avistan is defined by the veins on his forehead.

Sarvin watches the elementals leave.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

In case it wasn't apparent, none of you noticed anything noteworthy from your perception checks.

So, what does the party want to do now?

Rahab glowers. "So now what? We could have had a glorious battle, but we did not. So we must either leave now and pay more money, or fight the creatures aboard the ship. We have been indecisive like mewling newborns. This will stop."

"So we ambush them on the docks before they board. That would seem to be the best alternative."

"At this point, maybe it would be best to convince the Captain to leave early. Perhaps the lesson here is that attacking without provocation is something we should avoid. It serves to clutter The Path, and honestly, is beneath us."

Oleander: Votes ambushing the mercenaries
Bo Goh Twang: Votes paying Beysal to leave early
Rahab: ?
Sarvin: ?
Karos: ?

We'll go ahead once we have some kind of majority or consensus.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30

Probably OBE at this point, but there they are.

"Yep. That's the way I see it. I don't draw down on anyone who doesn't sorely need it."

"Right, lets go and get on the ship then." sighs Oleander, thinking about the bottomless purses the rest of the society has.

"Sooner we get there, the better our lead."

Rahab grunts, trudging along back to the airship.

You head back to the tavern just as Captain Beysal is about to leave, and inform her of your decision. She nods and, once you have paid her, she tells you to follow her to the Williwaw. I'll mark the gold off your chronicle sheets later. I think there's some exchange faction journal boon that refunds you some money spent on bribes and expenses, so if you have that, let me know.

The perpetual noonday illumination of the Plane of Air shows off the Williwaw in all its glory. The airship resembles a flying dragon, stretching over a hundred feet from bow to stern. A segmented tail-like rudder dangling a score of feet below the sky docks adds further vertical length. Its sails are two graceful wings stretching out from either side of the hull, crafted of azure and white cloth, displaying a satin sheen as they ripple in the breeze. Some scars on the hull show that the Williwaw has seen its share of fighting, though likely only briefly—its reputation is that of a speedy cargo ship, not of a ship designed for battle.

The captain has a few words with her crew, a few of which look surprised at the announcement of their early departure, but it doesn't take them long to get ready, and you are out the dock within the hour.

The journey to Purest Air takes 4 days. The crew spends most of the time conducting routine ship maintenance, adjusting the rigging and rudder to navigate the air streams. Captain Beysal spends some time conversing with you, telling you about the fantastic sights she has seen while traveling the Endless Sky. On the fourth day, a lookout points out a distant flying cloud dragon, and identifies it as one of Grasping Storm’s perimeter scouts. Since the Williwaw is expected, the dragon issues no challenge and flies off, but the sighting means Purest Air is just a few hours away. A short time later, the Williwaw changes course, heading directly for the only cloud in sight. As it approaches, the tower atop the cloud becomes visible.

“When we reach the tower, we’ll be docking at the roof. That’s the only entrance—solid clouds, hard as stone, seal off any others. Even if there were more, I’ll not risk the Williwaw by approaching off course. That tower has siege weapons! Once we dock, you’re on your own. My crew and I aren’t even allowed to set foot off the ship; one of Grasping Storm’s charming ways of establishing dominance over flesh-and-blood beings. You might be able to talk your way past the guards, but that’s not my concern. Far as I know, you are Efwurwa's Fury. That's my official position - that you guys provided convincing proof that you were here in their stead. If a fight breaks out, we won’t be assisting. You didn't hear this from me, but there's an air demon and some air drakes waiting to greet you. Good luck.”

Rahab grunts, his mood sour. "So are we going to try and talk to the demon and the drakes? Or are we going to storm into battle and TAKE THEIR HEADS?"

"Talking hasn't done us any good so far. Do you think stealth might be an option? We are not equipped to take on the entire outpost."

Beysal takes a sudden interest in buffing her nails as she absently adds a comment from the side.

"Not that I'm taking sides or anything, but it's not like they are expecting an all-out assault on their outpost. If the orc is as powerful as he seems to think he is, who knows, you might be able to rampage your way to Grasping Storm before his forces are able to rally. If it was me, I'd talk them into showing me to his room. Not that I would ever take on a job like this, of course."

Unless you have a means of dimensional travel directly into the tower or a way of making all of you invisible, your options are pretty much just frontal assault or bluffing your way in. Everyone please vote for one of those options. This would also be the time to decide if you have any plan, strategy or preparation for either bluffing or fighting your way in.

Given how it went the last time you were asked to make a decision, I think I will need to impose a time limit. If we do not have a majority decision 48 hours from the time of this post, you spend too much time making a decision and are forced into combat for better or worse. If you reach a consensus before then, we can proceed a little sooner.

Well, I vote for bluff, as a fight will break out anyway if we fail.

Feel free to try, but we failed miserably last time. I don't think we have a major face character in this team do we?

Sure. Whoever has the highest bluff can try. I suggest our bluff to be "Efwura's Fury didn't want anything to do with you loosers, so they sent the B team."

Edit:Looks like our highest bluffer with a +7 is Sarvin. If he cannot post, Rahab will try that bluff. The chances of success aren't good at all, but it'll be funny.

bluff?

Sarvin moves to the guards with no weapons out.

"Efwura's Fury couldn't make it. We're the backup"

Bluff: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

A cloud on the horizon grows larger, its details resolving to the naked eye as the Williwaw draws closer. It resembles a pearly gray anvil a thousand feet across. Despite the surrounding blue skies, lightning flickers within. The top of the cloud is perfectly flat. A lustrous tower soars hundreds of feet above the cloud’s surface. Thick layers of wispy vapor curl around the tower like shifting, smoky ivy. The cylindrical tower gradually becomes rectangular at the peak.

As the Williwaw approaches the tower, you see two lanky, mist-shrouded drakes flanking a lean cyclopic being with skin the color of thunderheads and broad bat-like wings descend to meet you on the roof of the tower. The gangplank is lowered and you disembark under his intense scrutiny.

I'm going to give Karos a chance to post before proceeding since this could influence how things go. Also, last call for preparations.

I changed one of Oleanders spells, so she has Gravity Bow memorised now

The ranger watches the incoming cloud with a degree of trepidation.

"Let us hope this goes smoothly."