|
You each have received a message at your lodgings. The message was sealed with the Glyph of the Open Road, the sigil of the Pathfinder Society.
Greetings, fellow seeker of adventure!
I am Sheila Heidmarch, Venture Captain of the newest Pathfinder Society lodge—and the only such lodge in Varisia at this time. You have come to my attention as someone who possesses a certain amount of skills and interests that make you an excellent addition to a highly specialized team I’m putting together for a matter of grave import, not only to the Society, but to Varisia
as a whole. Please report an hour before noon to Heidmarch Manor—you will be compensated for your visit, but that reward will pale in light of the riches that await you should we come to an agreement on my proposition to you. I look forward to meeting you soon!
-Sheila Heidmarch
When you arrive at Heidmarch Manor you're escorted to the foyer, and told that Sheila Heidmarch will be with you presently.
|
Falco leaves to get to the manor early since the city is still new to him. He much prefers the quieter life of the forest, but he admits to himself there is a draw here. It doesn't matter much since he had been sent here to work with the Magnimar Venture Captain, so he'll be in the city as long as she wants him here.
Riding up on Lupin, he dismounts in front of the building. He introduces himself and is escorted into the foyer. Impressed at Heidmarch Manor, he looks around while waiting for Sheila and anyone else to come.
Rameth arrives at the manor about 15 minutes before he is supposed to be there. This is potentially his first big job with the Society since he joined up. He can barely contain his excitement. He takes the time to clean off his doublet
He calms his nerves, introduces himself to the escort who takes him to the foyer.
Seeing someone waiting, he extends his hand, smiling broadly
Well met friend! I am Rameth the Delver. Explorer of ruins, lover of traps, and beneficiary of far too much luck for my own good.
Adrielle walks into the foyer, not knowing what to expect while she hums a little tune. She had only just recently arrived in Magnimar, looking for her lover, but had found nothing of importance. Nevertheless, she was excited at the prospect of working for the lodge.
She looks around rather nervously, but excitedly says:
"Well met! My name is Adrielle, priestess of Shelyn, the Eternal Rose. Did you both also receive a letter from the Venture Captain?"
My word! I have not been this close to a friendly wolf since my days traveling with my families caravan. Mind if I give him a little rub behind the ears?
Lowering his voice And if all goes well the belly?
Rameth extends his hand, for Lupin to sniff if he so desires.
Never been to Taldor. But I have researched it.[b]
[b]But other than where it is, I can't say much more than that. Ha!
[ooc] Oops! [ooc]
Rameth actually knows more than he lets on about Taldor, but giving people a chance to talk about themselves is usually a good way to gleen insight into their personalities.
|
|
Rameth looks up from where he has bent down to let Lupin sniff.
Pleased to meet you Priestess Adrielle. I am Rameth the Delver, and I too received a letter.
Rameth wracks his brain about Shelyn
But he cannot recall anything about who or what the God is.
I am not sure that I know much about Shelyn, perhaps, if we wind up working together you can enlighten me?
|
|
Falco doesn't add much but to say that he is from the Verduran forest.
When Adrielle comes in and she introduces herself Falco gets excited, "Amazing, I too am a follower of Shelyn. I am Falco and this is my friend Lupin." He points at the wolf that Rameth iscurrently rubbing the belly of," Yes I have gotten a letter as well."
The slender dwarf arrives wearing a simple traveling outfit and plain boots. His dress would be unremarkable if it wasn't for two things: the bow and the cape.
The bow is well made composite longbow adjusted for a man stronger than average. The bowyer had thought enough of his work to etch his name in script along the larger part of the bow.
The cape is a decorated combination light blue/dark purple cape/hood assembly whose fashion is all the rage in Taldor. The exotic cape and hood shows an assortment of knights, dragons, faeries, and blonde princesses in a showcase of gold and silver needlework and embroidery.
Arriving in the foyer Bimbur hears Taldor being mentioned.
That's why I wear the cape: I don't have to talk about where I am from.
Bimbur enters and speaks one word, "Pathfinder" and nods to those gathered there.
A woman with light brown hair that reaches her mid back, eyes of brown that hold deep insight into the world around her. she has on many scarfs and brightly colored clothing, a vest on top and a skirt that stops a few inches above her feet. she moves with strength and graces of body. Walks up to the gathering group,
Hi I am Malena, how are you, i take it i was not the only one that got a letter, how many of you got one too? she says with a smile, looks over to see the wolf,
Oh a puppy, how cute, i can pet it right? she reaches out her hand to start petting the wolf.
Ramth rises from Lupin with a last pat. He straightens his impreccably clean brown clothes, adjusts his longsword. He then rubs his hand over his recently shaved head, smoothes his beard and smiles at the newcomer, Malena.
Rameth the Delver He extends his hand to her.
Greetings Falco, and Rameth shakes his hand, then reaches down to Lupin,
Greetings to you too Lupin, whos a good puppy, you are yes you are. she starts to pet him and rub his fur all over.
Adrielle's face brightens when Falco mentions his worship of Shelyn
"Amazing, I am always delighted to meet followers of Shelyn. It will be wonderful working with you!"
She turns to Malena as she walks in and smiles.
"It seems like we're all here for the same reason. I wonder where the Venture Captain is?"
|
|
Right on cue the door into the foyer opens, and a tall woman with raven hair steps out from the adjoining room. You all recognize her as Sheila Heidmarch, the Venture Captain of the Magnimar Pathfinder Society. She is concluding a conversation with someone else in her office.
Oh my you're all early. What an excellent quality in Pathfinders! Thank you very much for answering my summons. I've just been speaking with another Pathfinder here ..."
"...and she's brought me some interesting news."
Oh and what news might that be? Malena asks as she pets Lupin
Ms. Azmeran, delighted to make your acquaintance, and you too of course, Madam. Heidmarch
Rameth says giving a bow to both, completely in awe of the unexpected pathfinder.
|
|
Well forgive me, I think that introductions are in order. Everyone, this is Koriah Azmeren. Koriah this is Malena, Adrielle, Falco, Rameth and Bimbur."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all in person, I was quite impressed when I received the roster from the Absalom Lodge. Anyways, to answer your question, Malena, Koriah is a bit of an expert on the Darklands, and she's just returned from Nar Voth. She discovered a new route down through the Fogscar Mountains. She discovered a surprisingly large cache of Thassilonian artifacts down there. I'm afraid I'll have to speak with her for a few more moments."
"Ahh yes, now if you'll just follow me, I've got something of a preliminary assignment for you all"
After being addressed by the halfling, the dwarf responds in perfect Taldane:
Bimbur nods at the two striking Pathfinder women.
"Let's get down to business."
It becomes quickly obvious why the Pathfinders in Taldane could so easily spare the surly dwarf to visit Magnimar.
Rameth quickly follows Bimbur.
"Yes, I'd like to know what we should be doing"
Adrielle says as she follows the others.
|
|
Sheila Heidmarch leads you all into an adjoining room. This chamber is the lodge library and study. The walls are lined with bookshelves, while several tables in the middle of the room are heaped with scrolls and books. One table in the center, however, supports only a single object— an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with Thassilonian runes. Sheila asks for you all to take a seat around the table. As you sit she says:
"I apologize for the delay, as I must conclude my business with Pathfinder Azmeren before we meet. In the meantime, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue.
This stone coffer is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box. As you’ll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves—there’s no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened.
Essentially, a paradox box substitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock.
This particular box was among those items recovered by Koriah—the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she’s not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing. So... why don’t you put your heads together and see if you can’t do that for me?
Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I’ll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open! Think of this as an audition, if you will—because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!”
Sheila and Koriah leave the room.
Rameth can barely contain his excitement. He immediately begins to study the box, ignoring the notes for now. He takes great care to barely touch it and spends several minutes examining it. He looks at it closely seeking to read the Thessalonian, as well as any obvious or not obvious triggers, while wracking his brain as to the history of such devices.
Praise Brigh! This is a gift. I should start with the notes but look at this!
Adrielle thinks for a few seconds, saying:
"It seems Rameth knows a bit about the box? I think we should go through Koriah's notes, so we can start from where she left off."
She takes a moment to read through the scrolls, looking to find anything of value.
Bimbur quietly sits next to Adrielle and motions for her to hand him the scrolls as she peruses them. He patiently waits for her to finish the first one. Bimbur gets out his own parchment and pen to take notes.
|
|
The first scroll which Adrielle, Bimbur and Falco read lists translations of the significant runes on the box—one of the most oft-repeated symbols was the rune for “wrath,” which Koriah also notes is associated with evocation magic, and in the earliest days of Thassilon with the word “kindness.” Her notes indicate that this rune merely marks the box has having once belonged to a citizen of the Thassilonian nation of Bakrakhan, and that the rune likely has little to do with the method of opening this particular paradox box. Another of Koriah’s scrolls lists a few other key observations—the key observation being that five of the box’s faces are identical, but on one face, several additional runes appear. These runes spell out the word “CRUEL.” Koriah speculates that this word is somehow linked to the box’s mystery. She’s also noted that each of the individual runes in the word can be reorganized by touching two runes at once.
Rameth's inspection of the box reveals the same information as Koriah has set forth in her notes. He also notices that the box has no seam or hinges at all. It is as far as he can see a perfectly solid stone. As you touch the letters on the "CRUEL" face they begin to glow and the two letters your fingers touched exchange places. "LRUEC"
Rameth gently places the box back down.
The letters I touched changed places. Perhaps this is some kind of word jumble...in addition to being fascinating. Any clues in the notes about what kind of word to try to create?
I wonder if it has an aura to it...
Rameth steps back to allow others to touch it as he focuses.
Bimbur carefully writes down all 120 possible combinations of the five runes. One combination intrigues him, because, well dwarves are always thinking about money. After moving letters three times he manages to spell 'LUCRE'.
hmm maybe try saying what the new word is, it might work, and if it does not then we know. After all it might be key word opened.
starts to think harder about the box.
|
|
Rameth gently places the box back down.
The letters I touched changed places. Perhaps this is some kind of word jumble...in addition to being fascinating. Any clues in the notes about what kind of word to try to create?
I wonder if it has an aura to it...
Rameth steps back to allow others to touch it as he focuses.
Rameth detects a moderate aura of abjuration and conjuration.
Bimbur reflects on the kindness word. Cruel is the opposite of kind, maybe cruel spelled backwords is related to kindness.
Bimbur touches the letters and tries, 'LEURC'.
|
|
Bimbur carefully writes down all 120 possible combinations of the five runes. One combination intrigues him, because, well dwarves are always thinking about money. After moving letters three times he manages to spell 'LUCRE'.
As Bimbur moves the letters to form the word LUCRE, a spark of magic burns along a groove on the top edge of the box. The magical spark moves along three sides of the box. The false lid has been transformed into what appears to be a fully functional lid.
Bimbur opens the lid.
Bimbur carefully looks inside for nasty things like beetles that can survive thousands of years entombed and burrow under your skin. (Bimbur read a lot of adventure stories in the monastery).
Then he reaches inside carefully.
|
|
As the box opens, you all hear a catch somewhere within click audibly. Almost immediately afterwards, there's a whoosh as two gremlins appear in the box.
"I think we may get in trouble for this."
Speaking to the gremlins, "STOPPP!!!"
Surprise round: Bimbur knocks a cold iron arrow and lets fly.
Not seeing any better behaviour, Bimbur peppers the same one with two more cold iron arrows, using his special focus on the first arrow
[ooc] On the surprise rd Rameth draws his longsword, then on his initiative, as a swift Uses Archaeologists Luck
I could be wrong but I think it's a trap! I LOVE traps!
Rameth atempts to move into a position between a critter and Adrielle. Then he swings for the little critter.
After the initial surprise, Adrielle grabs her glaive, swiping at a gremlin