PbP Gameday VII - #7-21: The Sun Orchid Scheme - GM Nowruz (Inactive)

Game Master noral

"Good night..." Fuzzzy mutters in his sleep.

"Good night!" the hat echoes.

Bobby hoots loudly as he flaps around Fuzzzy. "HOOOO! HOOOO! HOOOO!" He waves his talons at anyone who gets too close!

From behind the tent Lady Naysha chants in a weird language. Starting to cast summon minor monster.

Ranus and Apek charge the leader if she is still up, otherwise they go for the green guard.

Charge Attack Boss, Bless: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 2 + 1 = 27
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 4 + 2 + 1 = 24
Extra Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

-2 AC from charge

At the end of the charge, Apek attacks his rider's target as well.

Charge Attack Boss: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

-2 AC from charge

Ivira obviously did not need to speak at all as her subordinates understood her orders without a single word.

And without hearing her voice once ... the arrows of the half-orc and the vicious attack of Ranus and his dinosaur take her down.

The remaing guard shouts ”Ivira!!! Noooooo!!!“ and fear is visible in his eyes.

Suna rushes forward to try to heal Fuzzy. I know that he's not unconscious from damage and so won't die if not stabilized, but she doesn't.

heal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Sita moves forward and throws a seedpod at the remaining Aspis.

attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

If that hits, he takes one damage and needs to save or else is deafened.

"Hey! Lady Naysha! Fuzzzy's down!" Trusting Lady Naysha to take care of the old man, Ruslo charges the last remaining Aspis Agent, and greets him with a hook to the face!

Charge Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 5 + 2 = 22
Piercing Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

You see the last agent turn around and he tries to flee.

Ruslo, you have an AoO before he can leave.

PATHFINDERS ARE UP!

Suna and Sita do not try to interfere with the fleeing Aspis.

Ever gracious, Dylph will give the Aspis agent a parting gift...

Shortbow: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 1 = 21

Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

Summoned Rabbits: 1d3 ⇒ 2

Lady Naysha's chanting stops and two magical rabbits appear thirty feet away from her. They give the air a sniff. Their little noses twitch. Then they races off after the nearest enemy! The chase after the Aspis guy running away and try to bit his anklet.

Celestial Rabbit 1 Attack: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1
For 1 damage! (Plus 1 more damage if he is evil because it is smiting evil.)

Celestial Rabbit 2 Attack: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (4) - 2 = 2
For 1 damage! (Plus 1 more damage if he is evil because it is smiting evil.)

"NIBBLE NIBBLE NIBBLE!"

Oh! Then Lady Naysha wanders over to see what's going on. Seeing FUzzzy hurt she moves up to him (double move).

"Not so fast!" Ruslo shouts as he swings his hook at the Aspis Agent. "Surrender! We've got questions!"

AoO: 1d20 + 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + (7) + 5 = 13
Piercing Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

---

If he's still conscious, Ruslo chases him down and attacks him again!

Attack: 1d20 + 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + (2) + 5 = 16
Piercing Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

If the agent flees Ranus will use the run action to get back engaged with him. Well Apek will run. Ranus will sit and hold on.

Your joint attacks bring the last Aspis agent down.

What do you do now?

Dylph will search the bodies and then the camp...

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

Dlyph suddenly notices that a huge fire is burning up the tent!

Hmmmm ... why did they bother to throw alchemist fire on the tent????

Dylph quickly ties a scarf around his face, covering his nose and mouth, and rushes to the tent...he'll try to dodge the flames while searching the tent for anything significant...

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Suna tries to magically douse the flames with create water.

With your attention now on the tent you rush in the direction of the fire and Suna is able to douse most of the fire although you can see that smoke is also coming from the inside of the tent!

* * *

You enter the orange tent, which seems to serve as a meeting hall or office.

Numerous ledgers, dossiers, and other piles of paperwork are scattered across a few small tables and desks in this tent.

You smell the lamp-oil and the fire is threatening to burn the documents!

* * *

You now notice that the tent’s interior walls are oil-slicked. This might make sense in a region with heavy rainfall, but here in the desert they are probably extremely flammable and that is the reason the tent is burning so hot!

You retrieve all documents that you see and come storming out of the burning tent!

Lady Naysha quickly hugs and cuddles her rabbits before they disappear! But, not matter how tight she holds them they still disappear! At least she has Miss Whiskers...

Then she checks out Fuzzzy again. "Hey! I know you're dying Fuzzzy! Get up! Come on lazy bones! Get up!" She shakes her head. "He's not dying or anything, but he's not moving either. You should carry him, Ruslo. I don't want to."

She hugs Miss Whiskers and goes to check out the papers.

Fuzzzy has no idea his friends are so amazing.

...Of course, being Fuzzzy, he has no idea they're his friends either. So it doesn't matter much anyway...

While the others investigate what they found in the tent, Ranus dismounts to see to Fuzzy. He lifts the unconscious wizard and lays him across Apek's saddle for a sleeping dino ride, just so they don't forget to bring him along when they leave.

"Apek's used to carrying someone around anyway haha!"

Ruslo shrugs at the dead Aspis Agents. "Hmm. They should've given up when they had the chance."

He rushes over to help load Fuzzzy onto Apek's back. "What's wrong with him? Why isn't he waking up?"

Ruslo's too busy tending to Fuzzzy to give the papers a glance.

Suna and Sita stay out of the way, for they know that getting an unconscious Big One onto a dinosaur is not anything they can help with.

Instead, they look over the injured Aspis, seeing if any are still alive.
If they find one still living, they try to stabilize him or her.

heal, Suna: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

heal, Suna: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
heal, Suna: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
heal, Suna: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Suna realizes that one of the guards is dead but that Ivira and the two other guards are still alive.

She successfully stabilizes them!

Bobby lands on Apek's back, right beside Fuzzzy and keeps watch over him. "Hooo!"

Lady Naysha holds Miss Whiskers over the papers so she can read them even though they're boring and smell yucky!

On the leader: potion of cure moderate wounds, alchemist’s fire, mwk chain shirt, hand crossbow with 19 bolts, mwk rapier, toothpick of pyrotechnics, bronze Aspis badge, 18 gp
On the thugs: alchemist’s fire (4), breastplates (4), heavy wooden shields (4), heavy crossbows with 19 bolts (4), longswords (4), 12 gp

* * *

Among the documents from the orange tent, you find many interesting pieces of information.

First, the Aspis seem to have bribed a local Water Lord to provide this oasis where the group could operate in secret. Aspis spies used this camp to exchange notes, smuggle contraband, and plan their next moves unmolested by the Water Lord’s enforcers, so long as they work under the Consortium’s banner.

The records also show that Prince Zinlo and the Aspis Consortium conducted extensive trades with each other at favorable rates. But more importantly, the notes further detail Prince Zinlo’s involvement in the Consortium’s scheme, including a detailed provenance of every resource he provided the Aspis agents (mainly information about the Emir’s planned defenses).

In addition to some of the information the party discovered at the workshop and barracks, the note describes plans to send multiple decoy transports to confuse would-be-thieves and to move some vials of the elixir “by other means entirely.”

These documents are of particular interest to members of the Sovereign Court faction, as they provide a detailed account of Prince Zinlo’s political maneuvering throughout Thuvia, both in public negotiations and black market dealings.

If you wish you can attempt to interrogate the fallen Aspis, or you can proceed back to Lady Ziralia’s camp to report.

"Good job, Miss Whiskers. This is all important stuff! Come on! Let's go tell Lady Ziralia."

As Ruslo collects the Apis agents gear he says, "Well, well. Let's bring these fools back to Ziralia. She'll know what to do with them. And we've got plenty of proof of their guilt."

I agree. Let's go report to Lady Ziralia and bring these guys with us as prisoners.

Dylph nods. "I agree, let's take 'em to the Lady, along with the evidence..."

Suna agrees to the plan.

Sita looks droopy and tired and lifts her little hands up for someone to carry her, if she can convince them by being cute...

Soon the group is back at the rendezvous point, and Lady Ziralia is eager to hear all about the adventure.

"I must express my most sincere gratitude for your help. I can see to it that these people you captured are turned over to the proper authorities."

"I should have never doubted the Pathfinder Society. So, who were these other infiltrators? Who were they working with? And furthermore, tell me what you think about the convoy's defenses? How might they be improved? What should we do differently moving forward?"

Dylph bows. "'Twas the Aspis, m'Lady, in league with Prince Zinlo, as the documents we brought you will show...

"As for your defenses, they weren't bad but not vigorous enough for a skilled and determined party...you might want a better vetting process for your guards as a couple of us were able to infiltrate with little trouble. You could also use more guards and dogs, as well as another mage or two as well as they were fairly easy for us to overcome..."

"We found an Aspis badge on one of the infiltrators, so we can only conclude these were Aspis agents."

Lady Ziralia frowns.

"I believe that Aspis Agents are fairly highly dubious. But to see that my own father ... " she says slightly shocked.

"I would not have believed that that he would ever do something like this ... in Aspenthar where I grew up!" says Lady Ziralia with a frown.

* * *

She asks you lots of questions on your mission and how the transport can be improved.

"Well, I will relay all of this information to Emir Guldis. I'm sure he will make the necessary adjustments before the real convoy goes out. Again, I appreciate your help in this matter, and I will remember the Pathfinder Society in the future. Farewell."

At this, Lady Ziralia leaves you, and you make your way back to Pashow where you report everything to Lady Glorianna.

She complements you and emphasizes that you were crucial to gain lady Ziralia trust.

* * *

Later ...

Lady Glorianna takes Lady Naysha aside for a private meeting.

She is happy to take the ledgers off your hands, and she thanks you for this information, which helps her identify Aspenthar’s allies and casts Zinlo’s ambitions in a negative light.

This concludes PFS # 7-21: The Sun Orchid Scheme. You got all the rewards, and both prestige points. ;-) Chronicle sheets will be ready latest Monday.

"Well done everyone. Now for some well-deserved rest! Well, for most of us - but I think the old man has had enough sleep on this adventure."

Lady Naysha immediately picks up Sita. "Auwww! Isn't she cute, Miss Whiskers?! Come on. I'll carry you."

---

In the private meeting she says, "Happy to help!"

---

Lady Naysha laughs at Ranus' joke. "Hahaha! You're funny. Hey! Did I ever tell you the joke about the bunny who ate a bear? No? Well..."

Perform Comedy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Bobby puts a feathered wing to his head and sighs.

Fuzzzy drools all over the dinosaur in his sleep...

Ruslo shivers. "Oh, Lady Ziralia. That's going to be some awkward family get togethers..."

Thanks for a great game.

Fuzzzy drools all over the dinosaur in his sleep...

Fuzzy wakes up before the discussion with lady Z. ;-)