Dot with your character.
dot
And we are 4.
What's your PFS# Cedric
In the halls of Skyreach, Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin’s familiar voice gathers the attention of the assembled Pathfinders.
“Pathfinders, please may I introduce to you Hamaria Blakros, who some of you may have met previously. Madame Blakros is the head of the powerful Blakros family, valuable allies of the Pathfinder Society. She will brief you on your next mission.”
The regally dressed noblewoman looks over the assembled party, her piercing eyes seeming to notice every detail, then speaks. “Greetings, Pathfinders. Recently, my daughter Michellia married the Hellknight Damian Kastner, and as is customary when one marries into the Blakros family, he provided a dowry in exchange for being honored with our illustrious name. Damian’s gift took the form of his ancestral home, an estate called Ostergarde in northcentral Cheliax.”
“Ostergarde has sat empty for some time, deserted by the Kastners after the Thrune regime came to control Cheliax and the family moved to the new capital of Egorian. I am a cautious woman, and I’d prefer to have a third party explore the manor before I or any of my family take up residence there.” Hamaria snaps her fingers and servants bring several tomes to her side.
“These books all make some mention of Ostergarde or the Kastners, and may contain useful information. While the Chelish government takes great care in rewriting history to suit its current politics, these tomes have been in our family since before the rise of House Thrune, so I am confident their contents have not been altered. Consider them a donation to the Pathfinders’ great library—a down payment for the deal I brokered with your venture-captain. I suppose he can fill you in on the details from here. It was a pleasure to meet you.” Without further ado, Hamaria takes her leave.
Valsin then claims the room’s attention again. “Pathfinders, you are to journey to Ostergarde and rid its halls of any squatting denizens, traps, or forgotten devils. In return, you are free to plunder its contents. Hopefully, everything you need to know about Ostergarde can be found within these books. I do not need to remind you how important it is to maintain our good relationship with the Blakros family, so don’t screw things up.”
Stick to the mission, and don’t wreck the place.” Softening his stance, Valsin finally adds, “Be careful, Ostergarde is not a kind place,” before hurrying away to attend to the next crisis.
|
"We should avail ourselves of this library and the information about this Ostergarde. I have never traveled there myself. I am Omrax, follower of The Inheritor. It is my honor to serve with each of you on this mission."
The tall half elf bows deeply to each of you and smiles in a warm fashion. The fair haired knight wears a bright red cloak, underneath is visible a suit of shining platemail along with a shield bearing the crest of Iomedae. His longsword is well kept and shows signs of recent battles. He closes his eyes briefly in meditation.
• I will never abandon a companion, though I will honor
sacrifice freely given.
• I will guard the honor of my fellows, both in thought
and deed, and I will have faith in them.
|
"Ah! Research! Finally a task that is almost worthy of my abilities!" says a tall Varisian man, wearing the traditional colorful clothing of his people. His sleeveless shirt reveals intricate tattoos on both arms. Hie head is shaved, though a thin, short line goe from his forehead to his neck, indicating he is growing a mowhawk. His ice-blue eyes gleam with only a hint of excitement (and mostly boredom) as he begins poring over the books proffered.
|
|
Slyph leans heavily against the door frame, his mismatched eyes look over Hamaria Blakros coolly as she delivers the mission to the assembled group. After she leaves he slowly ticks off on his fingers his experiences with the family and their holdings. Straitening he shakes his head resigned to another deceptively dangerous mission and introduces himself to his companions.
”Greeting, I am Brother Slyph.” He bows his head respectfully to his fellow pathfinders. ”I am an Alchemist of some skill, it is a pleasure to meet you all.” His speech and manners are impeccable though his green eye seems to be staring far off, as if concerned with matters far beyond this mission.
As Matteo begins to study the books Slyph joins him. He caresses the old tomes taking in their textures and smelling the parchment before opening one to begin perusing the contents.
It was an open secret that when occupied, Ostergarde was a nexus for devil worship, and because of its reputation, most travelers leave the abandoned manor alone even though it sits near a highly travelled mountain
pass between Kintargo and the rest of Cheliax.
Before Queen Abrogail I of House Thrune ventured into the Barrowood, she visited Ostergarde to bolster her knowledge on infernal contracts. It is believed she used this knowledge in her infamous infernal bargain within
the Barrowood, which led to her house’s victory in the Chelish Civil War.
A sprawling dungeon complex exists under the manor, accessible only through secret entrances. A gateway to Hell is believed to rest somewhere beneath Ostergarde’s abandoned halls.
It is the books that give you the final and critical key that you may have missed otherwise.
One must enter Ostergarde with an escort of Kastner blood, or speak aloud the following devotion to Asmodeus: “O, cleansing fires of the Prince of Darkness, wash me in your burning might. Purify me as I enter your house of cloven hooves.” Anyone who fails to do so incurs the wrath of Ostergarde’s eternal defenders.
You have time for a final resupply and rememorisation of magics before you leave.
Hello to all i am Ezren a rather well traveled mage
I confirm all these information, you should be ready to fight all mater of Devil i would say. That or undead and constructs.
On his way to the Manor Ezren will study his spellbook in order to be better prepared
|
|
After reading about the mandatory devotion to Asmodeus, Slyph scowls. "I would rather drag the hellknight with us then speak a foul devotion to the prince of hell. I assume of course though that he will not be able to accompany is to the manor?"
He flips through his traveling formule book as they prepare to travel.
You may be out of luck there - its the newly named Damian 'Blackros' Kastner and he is not available. A more detailed search of bloodlines and genealogies and the hunt of eligible candidates would take a long time, longer than the expected scope of the mission.
|
|
Slyph claps a hand on the man's back. "Your not alone in your distaste for such words Omrax, perhaps it will be enough for Matteo alone to say them. If not then we will dispatch whatever dark guardians there may be." He tries to give him a warm smile, but the glint in his green eye and the scarred flesh of his face twists to look more like a grimace.
I hole hardly agree. says Ezren
|
|
Megferra greets Madame Blakros warmly, taking her by the hands in greeting and complimenting her elegant outfit. She bids her matriarch friend an equally warm goodbye on her departure, thanking her for her generous contribution and entreating her to visit again soon. This done, she greets her recent acquaintance Matteo and introduces herself to the others. "Hi! My name is Megferra the Rose, and I greet you as a servant of the Eternal Rose, Shelyn. But you can just call me Meg! It's good to meet all of you! Gosh, did you see Hamaria's dress? It was gorgeous! And that family really knows how to throw a wedding! Well, except for...well, I'm just glad us Pathfinders were there to help!"
Meg brushes away some dark curls from her face, careful not to catch her hand on the string of her white, rose-embroidered eye-patch. She leaves the reading to others, not having had much skill in that particular activity. The information revealed disturbs her, though, somewhat dampening her otherwise bubbly mood. "I agree, nothing good can come of pledges to devils." She suddenly brightens, though, as she declares, "I'm sure that whatever defends this place, Shelyn's guidance will defend us and help us through! Not to mention the might of Iomedae," she adds, winking (an exaggerated action to compensate for the eye-patch) at Omrax.
Meg purchases some supplies and prays to Shelyn for guidance before their embarkation.
Restoration, Lesser
Hello Holly paladin, I am Ezren a wizard of some skill and reputation he says playing with his cane
(extraplanar) bolts
|
|
"Indeed we will, Omrax!" she bubbles. "I've never been on a mission with another paladin before. With the two of us around, not to mention our highly skilled magical friends here, I'm sure no devil will be able to stand against our justice!"
Meg receives Ezren's greeting energetically. "A wizard you say? That's so great! Can you do that one spell where you pull a rabbit out of a hat? I love that one!"
|
|
Slyph moves over to Ezren, "Old friend we meet again! I haven't seen you since we scaled that tower outside Absolom three years ago. I see the years have been kind to you..." Slyph gestures to the scars on his face and his discolored eye, "Not so kind to my looks though." Slyph gives the wizard a friendly wink. "Learn any new spells that i might copy off of you? I would offer to return the favor but as you know you can't make heads or tails of my chicken scratch."
|
|
Omrax listens to the discussions and decides he does not need any additional purchases without knowing the specific threats.
"Sir Ezren, greetings and well met. We now have a well balanced team. Lady Megferra is right, we shall prevail on this mission. By the might of the Inheritor, mere devilkin shall not stand before us."
Indeed the years have been good to me Slyph and i am very glad to see you are still alive. I have learned a few new spell of great power since we last traveled together. Let me show you the latest.
He makes grand and ominous evocation and a white rabbit key chain comes out of Megferra ear. (prestidigitation)
he smiles.
I'll show you my spellbook tonight and you can copy what you like from it.
For the next few hours or so before it disperse into nothingness he says with a bow on his cane toward Meg
You travel, after a period of over 20 days you move into the area.
As you approach Ostergarde in north-central Cheliax, you are barraged by a raging storm that follows you through the countryside for days.
Luckily, the manor itself should provide a good source of shelter. Other than Ostergarde, however, the area is desolate and consists of sharp hills, craggy terrain, and barren trees.
Lightning slashes through the overcast sky, highlighting a darkened manor that stands defiantly upon a jagged bluff. A torrent of rain floods the trail, and thunderous cracks accompany each electrified stroke. In the distance, the trail ends abruptly at the front door of the lonely manor house — the only shelter in sight.
Omrax
Megferra
Ezren
Matteo
Slyph
Matteo notices some tracks. He points out the tracks of several large felines intermixed with stranger tracks that resemble elongated, thin humanoid footprints. I need two Knowledge (Planes) Checks. Others may use Survival to aid another when attempting these checks.
Ha yes tracks let me see if i can recognize them says Ezren as he bends down
There are both howler footprints with as well as tracks that can be identified as babau prints.
The babau tracks lead toward the manor, while the howler tracks lead to the stable by way of the shattered wagon—its surface is marred by rents from the beast’s savage claws.
The babau is an assassin, a murderer, and a sadist—certainly not traits unusual in the demons, yet the babau's penchant for stealth and surprise sets it apart from its generally less-subtle kin. With no need to eat (although most babaus relish the flavor of mortal meat on their thin, raspy tongues), a babau can wait in ambush for years or decades—their inhuman patience in anticipating a well-conceived murder also setting them apart from the other denizens of the Abyss. Babaus obsess over the act of killing and take great pride in their grisly art, often leaving behind some form of grim marker or obscure signature, whether it be a distinctive modus operandi, an unnerving token, or other profane evidence.
The howler is a native to the Abyss, an Outer Plane where madness is the norm and cruelty is expected and often rewarded. The howler prowls these Abyssal realms, serving the role of a hungry predator like a lion or tiger, save for the fact that the typical howler is much more intelligent than a big cat. Worse, howlers have little interest in eating their prey—they need not feed to live, but rather enjoy the process of stalking, mauling, and killing living creatures. In a way, the act of inflicting intense pain and madness upon mortal life is what fills a howler’s life instead of the desire to feed.
The howler’s mane of razor-sharp quills makes it a poor choice of mount for most creatures, but it serves quite well as a guardian or sentinel—especially for outsiders, who may not enjoy the creature’s constant howling, but aren’t adversely affected by the supernatural sounds. When a howler sees prey, the tenor of its howls changes—howlers cannot speak, but they can use their howls to communicate quite a bit of information if required. They understand the Abyssal tongue, and when serving demons as guardians, their howls can not only alert their masters to the presence of intruders, but also to their number, appearance, and weaknesses.