Aram smiles at Jaeron.
"Knowledge ... doing some good! That is a cause I can relate with ..." he says but after a couple of seconds he sighs.
"I am sorry but I am a little jaded by many recent events in the Pathfinder Society and to be honest I come to the Wounded Wisp to relive what I believe were the Society’s golden days. That you are here is a good opportunity to go back to the principles of the society ... back to the past."
He shakes his head.
"Oh no ... I started again. I apologize!"
His facial impressions turn into a challenging smile.
"Let us talk about practical matters. Are you well prepared for your missions in the field? I mean the various threats that often hamper Pathfinder expeditions such as magical effects, swarms, traps, and other vexing obstacles? I want to ensure you and your friends are prepared for the challenges to come."
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Kam nods to Janira's comment about the two half-orcs and adds..."That is why back home in Tien-Da they teach us to balance physical abilities with knowledge, faith, and the arts. Like the playing of the flute..."...touching the wooden flute across his back..."as I'm sure you remember from our adventure." Kam adds with a smile.
Janira looks at Kam and suddenly ...
"Kam ... Kam Yuen? I did not recognize you! Yes, that is actually one of the adventures that I would rather like to forget. To be honest, the whole end with the minotaur is really fuzzy at the moment."
She turns to the others as well.
"You know, I am a halfling girl with a lifelong love of learning. And I would so much like to offer sincere praise to those who demonstrate a head for knowledge, facts, and figures. Although ... your friend Erôth here needs to improve on that front! So if you strive to not only go on adventures but to really learn something and also learn from the mistakes of our own organizations past, then you are on the right track. Think about the Shadowlodge, think about all deaths caused by overzealous agents." and again she shakes her head.
Then she looks at all of you and you think that she likes to be in the role of an educator and loves inspiring people.
She continues "I extend the question to you, too! Why did you join the Society?"
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"Let us talk about practical matters. Are you well prepared for your missions in the field? I mean the various threats that often hamper Pathfinder expeditions such as magical effects, swarms, traps, and other vexing obstacles? I want to ensure you and your friends are prepared for the challenges to come."
Jaeron seems to have been caught off-guard.
"Oh, well yes, hmm. I suppose I'm about as prepared as I could be given my skill set. I bought a dagger, although I'm not really prepared to use it. I don't unfortunately have anything for swarms, though it seems like it's something I should invest in once I have more coin.
My specialty is necromancy, you see. Not a lot of elemental damage effects with what I work with."
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Falshin listens to Janira with a small smile on his lips. "Lady Janira, I was a troubled youth in the great city of Magnimar and did not have the most esteemed of upbringings. Had it not been for the Pathfinder Society giving me a new path in life, I likely would have been fated to an untimely death at the hands of the Sczarni. They found me half-dead in an abandoned temple to Sarenrae in the darkest depths of that city. It was there I found my devotion to the Dawnflower and my powers." He smiles as a nearby mug suddenly lifts from the table and hovers in the air briefly before settling back down. "I aim to take the hope that was granted to me and push it out to the world three-fold by doing good works in the Society's name and the name of Sarenrae."
Janira listens to the answers and nods to Falshin.
She suddenly seems optimistic and cheerful.
"You guys are alright! I am always eager to assist new or potential field agents. So if you need anything come to me! I spend most of my time either at the Wounded Wisp or on the grounds of the Grand Lodge. Now you have to excuse me, my table is waiting for me!" she says smiling and goes back to the table she was sitting at.
"Traps hmm..this is my first mission. I don't have a lot of experience with traps. I'm good in the wilderness. My friend cactus comes from the deserts. Me from the forest"
Jaeron seems to have been caught off-guard.
"Oh, well yes, hmm. I suppose I'm about as prepared as I could be given my skill set. I bought a dagger, although I'm not really prepared to use it. I don't unfortunately have anything for swarms, though it seems like it's something I should invest in once I have more coin.
My specialty is necromancy, you see. Not a lot of elemental damage effects with what I work with."
Kaleel thinks for a moment.
"Well, the most important tools in my view are splash weapons. Have you ever tried to fight a swarm of bugs with a mace? Will not work! Except of that I believe you will be in good shape." Kaleel says with hope in his voice.
"Unfortunately, I have to leave now. But I invite you and your friends to visit my shop, Kaleel’s Curiosities, in the Coins district if you find yourselves needing advice about something that you find ... well ... curious." Kaleel says with a sly smile and with a courteous farewell leaves the Wisp.
Heryn returns
After about half an hour Heryn comes to your table and says: “Are you ready to go?"
* * *
After you all drink and eat what you ordered you confirm that you are ready and she takes you through the kitchen (A7) where three cooks prepare appetizers and larger meals with a wood-burning stove and several stone-surfaced tables. She opens the door to a back storeroom (A8) where a set of stone stairs leads down from here into the basement level of the Wounded Wisp.
The stairs descend into a tightly packed storeroom (A10) where barrels, boxes, and crates of assorted foodstuffs and drink garnishes are pushed against the walls or under the stairs.
Heryn suddenly has a stern look and says
“If you were not here because of business associated with Dreng I would never let you in here … firstly because it is embarrassing and secondly because I will let you alone down here, what I also do with Dreng. So please enjoy and respect my trust and also Dreng’s I suppose. You will see why I say embarassing because we usually do not use the rooms beyond this room anymore.” and with that she opens the door and shows you the next room (A11) and continues.
”Ahhh … formerly the next room was a meeting room where the staff could converse or take time off between shifts, but this chamber suffered significant damage during the earthquake of 4698. Several fissures split the floor that are leading down to a section of the city’s sewer system. So please, please keep quite about this, okay?” she says with a pleading look.
Heryn is slightly relieved. She shows you the next room and the hole in the floor ”Look, nobody had the money to pay to repair the damage, so before I even started here they had acquired a broad wooden plank that serves as a bridge across the fissure. Now go through this room and enter the cellar on the other side. Actually, Dreng asked me to get the bottle and give it to you but … I am afraid of heights and I cannot come with you. I am sure you will need time to find what you are looking for because except Dreng nobody knows this place anymore.” she hands you a piece of paper with the name of a vineyard and a certain vintage (from a year preceding the creation of the Society) and waves goodbye hurrying up the stairs.
Neglected since it was “installed,” the plank isn’t as sturdy as it once was. You have to move slowly to get across or somehow reinforce it with skill (Disable Device).
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Falshin glances at the board with an appraising eye before noticing that it is not quite as sturdy as it should be. He lifts his hand and the board shifts around, wobbling a few times before it comes to a rest again in a more level spot. ”There, I believe that should do the trick.” He will then be the first to cross, shrugging at several of the dubious looks he receives.
Falshin ia able to repair and attach the board properly and reaches the other side without any issues and the others follow this example so that you are now all on the other side.
You walk into the cellar (A12). This chamber is where the Wounded Wisp keeps its supply of specialty wines and ales for important occasions.
You start searching for the wine bottle and it feels like searching for a needle in a hay stack.
Finally you find that particular bottle from a very old vintage but it is stuck in the wine rack. You pull again and get it out only to see that behind the bottle a strange lever is hidden
Finally, Verdant finds that particular bottle from a very old vintage but it is stuck in the wine rack.
Verdant pulls again and gets it out only to see that behind the bottle a strange lever is hidden.
When you use the lever the complete wine rack slides back. The sound is almost not to hear but the dust that comes down shows that this secret door has not been opened for ages.
You look into a short stone tunnel that leads into a hidden room (A13) that is illuminated.
You enter the tunnel just a little to see what lies ahead and check for traps but cannot find any.
A sturdy silver chain jutting from the ceiling ends in a glowing orb that radiates yellow light across the rectangular room. A simple desk of polished wood, stacked with documents and scattered notes, shelters a pair of wooden chests against the south wall. A series of cracks along the eastern and western walls form makeshift entrances into exposed caverns.
The only light source in this room is a plain rock that bears a continual flame spell and hangs from a chain. The illumination is enough to brighten the room but leaves the connecting tunnels dark.
You look at the desk and see that it contains various notes and leads. A first glimpse shows that these were obviously penned by Selmius Foster with later annotations by a certain Adolphus.
Selmius Foster was a Pathfinder who was published in many of the early Pathfinder Chronicles.
Adolphus was a Pathfinder who began his career as the assistant of the Pathfinder Selmius Foster. He published the account of his master's death in Volume 3 of the Pathfinder Chronicles. He went on to found the Pathfinder lodge in Quantium.
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Jaeron flips through some of the paperwork. While it's not his usual field of study, he seems to recall some things.
"Hmm, I've heard of this 'Selmius Foster' before. He's a Pathfinder from older history with some renown. I believe Adolphus was his assistant."
Jaeron reads through a few documents of note...
"Selmius mentions this gnome Fimbrik, though I wonder if he could still be alive. Adolphus also mentions the mausoleum that holds Arkath's remains may have something for us. Finally, Adolphus mentions tampering with The Wall of Names, which if I'm not mistaken, is the memorial at the Grand Lodge.
"Well, where would like to go?"
How intriguing! Jaeron thinks to himself, I never suspected such an investigative mystery working for the Pathfinders!
You are discussing and standing in the silent room that looks like it was not touched for ages.
Suddenly, you hear hundreds of high-pitched squeaks fill the air as a mass of small, carnivorous bats surges forth, all of them hungry for blood.
Perception
Falshin and Jaeron are utterly surprised when the swarm of bats enters the room through various tunnels and is all around them.
The others on the other hand heard the screams a little earlier and are ready to react.
BAT SWARM CR 2
N Diminutive animal (swarm)
Init +2; Senses blindsense 20 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15
Speed 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 size)
hp 13 (3d8)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +3
Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune weapon damage
OFFENSE
Melee swarm (1d6)
Special Attacks distraction (DC 11), wounding
Wounding (Ex) Any living creature damaged by a bat swarm continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic.
Initiative
Round 0 - Surprise (only 1 standard OR move action)
1. Fae -> You are up!
2. Swarm
3. Bahboom, Verdant, Kam
Round 1
1. Fae
2. Swarm
3. Bahboom, Verdant, Kam, Falshin, Jaeron
#Swarm: Full HP
#Bahboom:
#Verdant:
#Jaeron:
#Falshin:
#Fae:
#Kam:
* * *
The swarm of carnivorous bats suddenly fills the room and makes breathing difficult. Kam and Jaeron are filled with terror as the swarm engulfs them and the young Pathfinder's bodies start to bleed.
, .
Round 0 - Surprise (only 1 standard OR move action)
1. Fae
2. Swarm
3. Bahboom, Verdant, Kam -> You are up!
#Swarm: Full HP#Bahboom:
#Verdant:
#Jaeron: 1/7
#Falshin:
#Fae:
#Kam: 9/15
Kam and Verdant move out of the way of the swarm.
Round 1
1. Fae -> You are up!
2. Swarm
3. Verdant, Kam, Falshin, Jaeron
#Swarm: Full HP#Bahboom:
#Verdant:
#Jaeron: 1/7
#Falshin:
#Fae:
#Kam: 9/15
Fae sees that Kam has left the swarm and that she can cast her burning hands now without hurting Nox.
The fire blows through the room and hits a huge part of the swarm burning the bats and creating a burnt stench in the room.
* * *
The swarm of carnivorous bats is hit and stays where it was continuing to hurt Jaeron ... the tiny bats start tearing into his flesh.
Creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.
You all see that Jaeron drops to the floor ... blood visible all over his body.
* * *
Round 1
1. Fae
2. Swarm
3. Verdant, Kam, Falshin, Jaeron-> You are up!
#Swarm: -6 HP#Bahboom:
#Verdant:
#Jaeron: -5/7, dying (stabilization roll needed)
#Falshin:
#Fae:
#Kam: 8/15
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Falshin sees Jaeron collapse to the ground, surrounded by the swarm of bats and curses in the varisian tongue as he watches the elf bleeding profusely from his wounds. He wraps his kapenia around his face and neck before stepping into the mass of swirling bats. He kneels down next to Jaeron, placing his hand upon the elf's shoulder, and furrows his brow in concentration as all the small wounds suddenly begin to clot over and knit themselves back together as tiny aetheric strands work to seal the cuts!