Gameplay Thread!
|
A tiny young girl with long blond hair and flashy clothes enters the room. Moving with almost animal-like grace and beeming a huge smile she bows to all. A curved sword hangs on her hip and a straight is in a shoulder sheath upside down, as if she could draw it with her left hand, if it weren´t tied securely to the sheath. Bouncing with almost limitless energy she adresses the present. "Am I late, no, can´t be, nono, well, well met all. I am Wu-wei, but everyone calls me Dailung. Please do so too. I do not hear to the other. Well if you are not my mother, that is. Are we ready for our briefing?"
|
A Vudran man astride a camel in fine silk approaches the lodge, chiseled features peeking out from beneath a radiant chain shirt and flowing cloak. Crossed behind his back are a trident and javelin. Stabling the camel, he moves across the lodge with careful, even, exact steps, appreciating the scenery as he passes.
Genial, if not particularly eloquent, in conversations with passers-by, the man takes time to introduce himself to and ingratiate himself with anyone willing to listen to his stories of valor in the Fifth Crusade, despite the seeming lack of scars and damaged armor that most crusaders exhibit. The stories of facing down schir and brimorak seem believable enough, however, and the man- -an oread upon closer inspection- -is quick to excuse himself when it seems his truthfulness may become a topic of conversation.
"I must go; I'm on a mission of some import," he says, in a soft voice that somehow still manages to sound like a braggart. "You can look me up in the Chronicles, later," he tacks on with a wry smile.
By the time he arrives in the conference room, Vad's demeanor is less 'casual boasting' and more 'focused indifference.'
"Hello!" he greets the room warmly, flashing a smile. "Vad DesChamps, of the Fifth Mendevian Crusade as a human and the Pathfinder Chronicles since," he announces. "But enough about the past, duty calls. What kind of daring escapade do we have lined up today?"
In the Master of Spells’ of ce, the newly re-appointed Sorrina Westyr still seems to be settling in. She stands among a few unsteady towers of books, replacing and rearranging them on a bookshelf. She dusts off her hands and smiles.
“I apologize for the mess. I was hoping to get a quick accounting of these tomes, but it’s taking longer than I anticipated.” She takes a seat and gestures toward the other chairs. “To business. No doubt you are aware of the death of my predecessor and replacement, Aram Zey, at the hands of Aspis Consortium agents during the attack on the Grand Lodge months ago. What you may not know, however, is that Zey’s soul was imprisoned at the time of his demise in a magical lantern. One of the Aspis agents—a strange elf who we later discovered goes by the name 322—absconded with the artifact and made her way to the Forae Logos library, where she escaped into the Dimension of Dreams with the help of a night hag named Aslynn. But all is not lost."
“Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine has taken the abduction of
his friend’s soul quite personally. He has spent countless hours searching for Aslynn’s whereabouts in the hopes that we can still save Zey. Shaine recently had a breakthrough. He discovered the night hag is currently doing business in an itinerant marketplace called the Veiled Bazaar, and will likely be there for the next couple of days, perhaps even attempting to sell Zey’s soul. There is one small catch: this market is on the Ethereal Plane.”
Westyr takes a mahogany box from a drawer and sets it on the desk. “Luckily, we have a way for you to get there. Shaine is preparing a ritual as we speak that will allow all of you to cross over.” She opens the box to reveal a Harrow card and a number of vials filled with a milky liquid. She hands over the Harrow card to you.
"“Once on the Ethereal Plane, this will transport you to the Veiled Bazaar, where we would like you to nd out whether Aslynn is selling Aram Zey’s soul and, if so, acquire it. We don’t fully know the night hag’s motivations in all this, so try not to antagonize her. Once you have the soul, you can use these to return to the Material Plane.” She then distributes the vials.
“I’m sure you have many questions, but we need to keep it as short as possible.Who knows what other beings might be looking to purchase the soul of a high-ranking member of the Pathfinder Society.”
Material Plane.
|
|
"It's good to see you are settling in," Vad offers the Master of Scrolls.
"Simple enough, save for the incorporeal undead and xill," Vad remarks, with a small shudder when he mentions xill.
Changing the subject slightly, Vad asks Ms. Westyr, "And if Aslynn is selling said soul, any idea what she expects as payment?"
The Master of Spells can't quite repress a smirk hearing Liam. "Exactly. I suggested we just make this the new batch's Confirmation, but I got overruled. So hopefully you can make it work."
She nods towards Vad “As for the payment, I unfortunately don't know. Despite our not-inconsiderable efforts Aslynn's long term goals are still murky to us and it's hard to tell exactly what her angle of wants are in this case. She is not however dumb: her thoughts are heavily warded, she undoubtedly has allies and you are meeting her in unfamiliar territory." The oread looks pointedly at her compatriot. You are already familiar with Aslynn’s deviousness, so you can understand the need for caution here.”
At Dailung's comment, Sorinna hesitates slightly before replying: "“We’ve learned a few things about the elven agent 322, specifically her less than fortunate background, and while I think it would be foolish to trust her implicitly, I do believe she is trying to turn her life around in her own way. In either case, if she’s allied with Aslynn, you probably won’t be able to attack her on sight and still do business with the night hag. As you said: this is a rescue mission, not one of vengeance.”
"Navigation is what the card is for." Sorinna explains to Elliot, nodding to the Harrow card the 'Foreign Trader' now in you hands. "It's an invitation of sorts to the Veiled Bazaar. Once you are on the Ethereal Plane, make sure all of you are touching the card and then speak the command word "uthedim". It should teleport you straight to the Bazaar."
"As far as moving around on the plane itself, from what I've been told its as much a matter of will as anything. You should be able to walk, or fly, as you wish, just with less resistance from the bounds of our plane's physics."
|
|
"So, then, objective one is to get ourselves to the Shaine, who'll get us onto the Ethereal Plane, where we use the Harrow card to get us into the Veiled Bazaar, where we bargain for the soul of a man being sold by someone who could ask for pretty much anything in return," Vad states, more a question than a statement. "All in a day's work," he laughs.
And if you do run into the elven lass, try not to mention that you've been inside her head.
"When do we begin?"
"At once." Sorinna says to Vad and starts walking, indicating for the rest of you to follow her.
She leads you out of the Grand Lodge and through the streets of the city, guiding you towards the Ascendant Court. "Shaine has prepared the ritual in the grand Pharasmin temple in Absalom. Apparantly it is a spot where the barrier between this world and the Ethereal Plane is thin. Which reminds me," The Master stops and opens the box once more, handing each o you a vial from within. "Once you have the soul - or if you need return to the Material for any reason - drink these. They are extracts from a hypnalis, whose poison can force creatures out of the Ethereal plane. It's diluted of course, and should be safe to drink, but the transition may cause some mild discomfort."
Continuing on, she calls back to Torean "We might, but if the hag had something in mind we possessed she could have come directly to us. No, I suspect her tastes or interests might be the more obscure or esoteric. In which case its lucky for you that you're heading to an interplanar market: with open eyes I'm sure you might be able to find something to draw her interest."
Finally reaching the Pharasmin temple itself, Sorinna leads you directly down into the catacombs below the church. Swinging the door to one room open, the chamber reveals Kreighton Shaine standing in the center of the room. Remaining impossibly still, the elf holds an obsidian dagger in one hand, its blade dripping with some type of paste.
Barely moving his lips, the Master of Scrolls softly speaks. "Good, you've arrive. Are you ready?"
”Don’t worry about me.” Shaine says, waving off the party’s concerned comments. “These are just a small side effect of the ceremony I’m about to complete. A minor cost for the ritual, worth it if it will accomplish Zey’s return.”
“Now, if you’ve been briefed,“ Kreighton Shaine nods to Sorrina Westyr, who steps out of the room. The Master of Scrolls turns and announces, “I am about to open a portal to the Ethereal Plane. When you pass through, you will be on your own until you return. Be careful. Bring him home” With that, he holds the dagger in front of him and makes a downward cutting motion. The blade seems to slip slightly out of existence as it slices open the air surrounding it. A shimmering rip hangs in the center of the chamber.
As each of you pass through the tear, you brace yourselves but emerge in a world of swirling mists and indistinct shapes. Looking around, you notice that the colors displayed on your outfits and the surroundings appear muted, and every noise sounds muffled and somewhat distant. Outlines of a room looking much like the one you just left appears faintly in the fog. You can see – as if through a dirty mirror – a blurred Kreighton Shaine standing and putting away the dagger. He peers around as if looking for any sign of another in the room, but his gaze passes right through you.
|
Torean hesitantly walks through the portal, feeling the magic wash over him. The dwarf shudders as he feels his body shunt through the planes. This was all very unnatural, and it took every ounce of his effort to avoid trying to reject the magic as it pulls him through the fabric of the universe.
When he lands on the other side, Torean looks around. He breathes heavily, looking at the blurred images around him. "It's no use, he can't hear us. We should get on with this. It's not right for us to be here."
Acclimating yourselves to the new reality, you find that you can move about as normal amongst what seems to be solid ground, but also are able to send yourself floating through the empty space around you with a thought and concentration. After getting your bearings, the five of you pull out the Harrow card gifted by Sorinna and - making sure each of you has a grip on it - utter "uthedim".
Instantly a gossamer fog whirls about you obscuring all vision. After a moment, the fog disperses to reveal a starkly different view. You now stand on the edge of a massive circular platform that looks more solid than anything else on this plane. Positioned near the edge of the disk, you can look down over the lip or through the semi-tranluscent platform to gaze into a deep, dark chasm. The rest of the disk sits on a stony floor near the remnants of ancient, crumbling buildings that stretch off into the distance. A distant group of birds approach you from above, and it is only as they swoop past you into the black, opaque depths below that you see they are not birds at all, but a school of blue-scaled fish. The school's path ducks behind a set of bushes growing on the silty ground, though on further study you can see that the bushes are in fact clumps of kelp.
Ahead of you, a number of stalls, tents, and wagons dot the platform. Dozens of figures—not all of them humanoid—mill about the shops, haggling with one another and exchanging items. Despite the participants’ and goods’ strangeness, the event appears to be nothing more than a marketplace, yet a sense of ruthlessness undercuts the convivial air. An immense green dragon watches the proceedings while perched atop a nearby basalt column that seems to exist on both planes.
|
|
"If we're going to spend time in an unfamiliar place, we ought to appreciate everything the locals have to offer. Strangers in a strange land- -it'd be pretty nice to have a local friend or two in close proximity," Vad remarks, scanning the crowd for any attractive females, elven or otherwise.
If there is any sort of local equivalent of a flower merchant, Vad will purchase a bouquet.
Vad sees several woman either wandering around or hawking wares, but none appear to be elven that he notices.
"Time toxins! Time toxins for sale. Kick in before you even apprach: the perfect alibi."
"Xryethios star. Sell it for a song. B-flat preferred."
YOU WILL BUY THE MIND SQUID SKULL. RIPPED FROM ANOTHER REALITY. BANNED IN FIVE PLANES - LIMITED TIME OFFER"
Spotting a makeshift kiosk festooned with flowers whose petals shimmering and shift in coloring with the breeze, a crouched over cyclops peers at the oread with his one eye. "Ah, you like? Freshly cut, and can give heads up for the winds of change." He sizes you up. "You look drab enough that you could use some color. How about a bunch for...two secrets never said aloud? Or three bouquets for a dream's egg?"
--
A bit further away, Torean and Liam begin asking around. At first, any mention of an elf lady of Aslynn lead to a few outsiders and aberrations to quickly excuse themselves, though their gazes tend to fall on a large tent with gauzy walls before they depart. However, just after a thoqua slithers away from the pair, a colorful crow wearing what appears to be a plastic mask flutters down to land on the platform before them. It begins to speak in Common, albeit with a strange accent.
"You seem new he-re? Not been to the Veild Baz-aar before? I can help you." It awkwards shuffles into what looks like an apptempt at a bow. "Tik, at your serv-ice. What are you at the Baz-aar for to-day?"
|
|
"You look drab enough that you could use some color. How about a bunch for...two secrets never said aloud? Or three bouquets for a dream's egg?"
"Two secrets for a boquet of flowers sounds fair to me," Vad agrees, leaning in conspiratorially. "A dream's egg seems a bit high."
Also,
"It's only worked once. With a Hellknight, no less."
"A fair revelation for fair flowers." The cyclops says to Vad as he collects and presents a small bouquet of the flowers. "Try not to expose them to too much fear: if it sinkns in too much you'll never get the colors right again."
--
"We're looking to do some business. You heard of someone named Aslynn?"
The bird hops back and forth on its legs at the mention of the hag's name. When it responds, its voice comes out in a rush of agitation.
"As-lynn. The hag lady. Very bad, messing with things not hers to bar-ter with.I come here to the Baz-aar observing and noting trades of souls - souls belong with the Lady in the Bone-yard. As-lynn and her ilk, they do not resp-ect the Lady: profane by treating souls no different than cop-per."
"You, you would deal in souls too? Meet with As-lynn like those others? Per-haps Tik has misjudged you."
|
|
Torean shakes his head. "No, we seek to get one of the souls back from As-lynn. She stole it from the rightful owner like a thief in the night. We want to either restore the soul to it's owner or allow it to freely pass to the Lady of the Graves properly. She had it trapped in a lantern. Did you see anything like that in her possession?"
"If she treats souls like copper, perhaps there is something she would trade us for the return of the soul? What else has she been interested in here at the market?"
Tik cocks its head. "Your frie-nd was ripped from his course? Terrible! Ex-actly why As-lynn and her ilk are plagues." Tik alights and begins flapping, hovering in the air.
"I have seen several people enter and leave the hag's tent all morn-ing. None look del-ighted though. The purcha-se may not have been made yet. But I do not know what she wants in trade. From my times at the Baz-aar, many big deals are conducted via secr-et bidding. Not for gems or gold though. Most trad-ing here revolves around ephe-mera stranger than souls: fle-eting memories, plucked thoughts, stolen shadows, dark favors, and the sort."
"But your goal seem to be noble. I can help you, show you ar-ound if you like. But you must obey the Baz-aar rules: no vi-olence. At all. Otherwise Yetakerinos will show his disples-ure." Tik's mask turns upwards to point at the green-skinned dragon presiding above on the column.
|
|
"No violence? Well...that's just boring for a dwarf." Torean mumbles, then looks up at the dragon. "Ok, ok, no violence. Just a stern finger wag."
He bows to the psychopomp. "Please, your guidance around the market would be very helpful. And you think Aslynn might sell the soul for a dark memory? Perhaps something of our fears?"
"Good, good!" Tik exclaims as it begins to fly in a small circle around you. It cocks its head at Torean. "Hags are dark corru-pting creatures. Bad me-mories and fears and nig-htmares may be up the-ir street. If you bel-ieve those may be useful things, I can show you who to spe-ak with. Here, follow!" The psychopomp takes off, occasionally turning around to make sure you are following.
Passing near a large archway, Tik points a colrful wing at an even more brightly-hued wagon below it. The vehicle bears signs boasting “A Plethora of Priceless Peculiarities.” Beside the wagon stands a humanoid figure seemingly made from pure darkness, with no apparent facial features, who is wearing a flamboyant suit and hat. "That is Mr. Null. He is newer to the Baz-aar; I think this is his first vi-sit. I think he wants to beco-me a staple here howe-ver, and he seems very willing to make deals."
Flapping further along, she takes you towards a group of hairless humanoid creatures with no eyes and large, fleshy, hood-like growths on their heads stand behind a table that displays a number of cracked pieces of rock. "The caulborn always come selling the same goods. The stones are e-mo-tion taken from memories. Maybe they will have one so-mber enough for As-lynn?"
A ways across the platform lies a large, gauzy web that stretches between two pillars, with several pieces of merchandise — twisted blades, wands that resemble elongated human fingers, and shiny metal discs, to name a few—hanging from the strands. At the web's base, a large blonde phase spider sits atop six of her legs, while the others widely sweep out and point as she exhorts passersby to come and view her wares. "The spider is Beleth. I heard that she has a very rare object that had to do with sa-dness. And she is good merchant. Hone-st. Most of the Baz-aar likes her. Well, except for Kysh." The psychopomp indicates with her beak towards a xill who stands at his own well-stocked stand opposite the market. When not talking to customers, you notice that the xill's gaze frequently turns back to glare at the phase spider."[/b]
Stopping to rest on a broken marker stone. Tik looks at you. "Those are the four I would tru-st for you noble mission. Well, and Yetakerinos, but he does not often trade himself. Still, he knows much from his years running this place."
|
|
[b]"Let's meet Mr. Null. He seems a good place to start. Though if we can get the spider's wares, I bet that would interest the hag.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Dailung heads over to find the merhcant hawking the time toxins. The trader is a small gnome-like figure with massive ears. Shdows drip and ooze from her hands only to pool back into her own shadow as she minds her stand.
"So, understand the smart play in taking care of toxins? Can't say I blame you. Could give you a dose, but time ain't cheap. Forty years should do the trick. The first, fresher half if you please. Don't worry, Agna's a square dealer. When you reappear goods'll be ready and waiting for ya."
---
As the rest of you approach Mr. Null, the astomi hops down from a box he was standing on and proffers a deep bow. His voice echos animatedly through your heads even as his expression remains a blank void.
Greetings and salutations fair travelers. My name is Mr. Null, and what I bring for you this day is a collection of curiosities unrivaled on this or any other plane. From my wares to your homes, there's always a trade that can leave both players satisfied. Next to him you spy numerous objects, ranging from crystal figurines to a silver pair of scissors on display within the wagon.
So, how may I assist you sprightly shoppers?