Welcome to Episode 5 for The 6 Seasoned Pathfinders!
Tide of Twilight takes place in and near the Taldan town of Wispil in the Verduran Forest. Wispil is a lumber town populated primarily by gnomes. The Verduran Forest outside Wispil is an ancient and wild forest, the domain of druids and fey currently at an uneasy peace with the nation of Taldor.
With a thump, Venture-Captain Brackett sets a rounded granite stone on his desk. The stone is polished smooth and veined with shallow carvings reminiscent of constellations.
"This is a lorestone, from the depths of the Verduran Forest. It’s rumored to hold all of the secrets of the druids of that ancient wood. Just over two years ago, a group of Pathfinders recovered this stone for us. We’re not much closer to cracking its secrets than we were on the day those agents put it into our hands, but we have gleaned one interesting bit of knowledge."
"The lorestone tells of a lengthy ritual using an artifact called the Atavistic Splinter, a piece of charred bark touched by Gozreh himself. The ritual transforms humanoids into bestial creatures with preternatural resilience. We could use something with this kind of power for the upcoming Ruby Phoenix Tournament in Goka, so we need you to recover the Atavistic Splinter for us."
"We believe the artifact is near the gnome town of Wispil, deep in the Verduran Forest. A Pathfinder operative there—a gnome herbalist named Falbin—was investigating increased lycanthrope activity south of Wispil. Falbin discovered that a sinister cabal of druids in a compound called Briar Henge is using the Atavistic Splinter to perform the ritual, probably to drive out the local loggers, but he couldn’t recover the Atavistic Splinter from the druids by himself.
“Go to Wispil and contact Falbin there. He will provide you with directions to Briar Henge and recent intelligence regarding the situation around Wispil. Then use this information to infiltrate Briar Henge and acquire the Atavistic Splinter."
If anyone would like to use Knowledge(history) or Knowledge(nature) to recall more information, open all of the spoilers that you rolled higher than.
Venture-Captain Brackett has already arranged for your transportation to Wispil (overland to Bellis, then across the Sellen River by riverboat, and overland along logging trails due east to Wispil).
"Any questions? If not, good luck Pathfinders!"
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Starling listens attentively to the briefing. "Seems like a straightforward mission," she comments when the Venture-Captain finishes. "I think I heard some rumors about that gnome, something about him losing a fortune playing dice, becoming a bandit and rescuing a princess. O wait, that was another gnome named Fablin. My bad!"
Wispil is a bustling town built on a small scale—although humans and elves walk the streets, most buildings are built to accommodate the gnomes who live and work in Wispil. The scent of fresh-cut lumber wafts through the town. Falbin’s home is not difficult to find. It is situated on the south edge of the town, with a large garden spreading out behind it. Most of the garden is obscured by high growth, but the sound of a violent argument carries into the street. Although it is not yet dark, firelight glimmers from within the garden walls.
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The dwarven woman at the mission briefing has quite some years under her belt, judging from the wrinkles in her face and the grey in her hair. She is hooked from the moment the smooth granite stone hits the table. "A lorestone? Secrets, leading to an artifact?! Say no more, I'm your woman." She listens to the rest of the Venture-Captain's explanation, looking in turn at her new companions. The right side of her face shows considerable burn marks and the eye on that side often doesn't align with the other. As she turns her head, the right eye stays focused on the lorestone without fail.
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As they start their overland journey to Bellis, the woman takes our her quarterstaff, whips her braid around the other shoulder and checks the straps on her backpack. "Let's get going, shall we? I'm Yndra, by the way. Yndra Marthaun, formerly of Janderhoff, now on a mission from the church of Nethys." She holds out the holy symbol around her neck as evidence.
She seems friendly enough and tries to find some common ground with her fellows, grilling any spellcaster on the theoretical knowledge of their art. "We wouldn't want any mishaps, would we...?"
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The leg of the journey by riverboat doesn't quite agree with Yndra, by comparison. She spends most of her time looking over the captain's shoulder to make sure he knows what he's doing. The rest of the time is spent trying to read and write, while complaining that the boat isn't stable enough for either. Her trouble with reading might have more to do with the fact that her right eye keeps roving around in agitation.
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The last leg of the journey gives Yndra some rest, and their entrance in Wispil has her in a good mood. She inhales deeply through her nose. "Can you smell that? Sawdust, a scent of honest productivity..." She perks up her ear when they're close to Falbin's farm. "And do you hear that? A good argument as well. Lovely! We're just in time in seems." Although... The sight of fire has her on edge. "You're right, Starling. Maybe it's not such a good argument after all."
Staff in hand, Yndra is ready to barge in and find out what's wrong.
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Dusklord, despite his massive reservoirs of knowledge, knew little of the druidic sect or the Lorestone. This seemed to irritate the man.
He looked interested in their new companion, however.
"I have not seen many dwarven females who have taken up the life of an adventurer," he says. "This is of interested, but not as much as a dwarf following Nethys. I will admit, were I to be a religious man, Nethys seems to align with my great admiration of all things magical. Perhaps we will prove to be allies in our quest for magic."
Almost as an afterthought, the wizard says "Please disregard anything you have heard about my past. While it is most likely true, I have repented of my--errant ways. As all of these fellow Pathfinders will swear, I have done nothing untoward since joining this fine organization. Nothing whatsoever."
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As the group approaches the gnome's house, Dusklord raises an eyebrow, and tries to determine whether he can make out what the argument is about.
A small draconic familiar crawls up Dusklord's shoulder and also tilts its head to the side.
Dusklord looks over the situation, and sees that the gardens are starting to burn. He also notices a gnome, unconscious, at the back of the garden. Three men look to be lighting the fires, and one carries a large sack.
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During the trip, Serak is more than happy to discuss the virtues of setting things on fire with magic with the dwarf, though his overly large eyes and mouth (the latter of which always looks like it has WAY too many sharp teeth) is a bit disturbing. It doesn't take long to see that the gnome is almost mentally unhinged, or somewhat of a hoarder-pyromaniac-morally grey sort of fellow.
When he sees the fire starting, his toothy maw stretches into that familiar, far too toothy grin.
Now this is my kind of party! Let's go!
He summons a ball of fire into his hand and starts heading toward the conflagration.
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Yndra looks a little alarmed at Serak, and his eagerness to throw oil on the fire. Still, the sight off the unconscious gnome makes her decide to act.
Waving her quarterstaff and whipping her braid over the other shoulder, she barges into the garden. "Get away from that gnome right now, mister, or you're going to have to deal with me!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Dusklord looks over the thugs lighting the place on fire, and estimates they will be a simple challenge for his adept companions.
"You will want to refrain from further spreading your flames," the wizard says.
"That is strictly our job, and you are treading on our turf. Now please kindly surrender, or I will show you the true meaning of fear."
Yndra moves forward and tries to demoralize the red opponent (only one in range), but fails to scare him.
Aeleth moves quickly into position, hoping someone tries to attack him.
Elvik does not see any water around.
Blue starts by notching an arrow and firing it at Serak, who looks to be dangerous with his ball of flame. He manages to nick the wizard, but barely.
Red moves right at Aeleth, looking to teach him a lesson, drawing two silver short swords as he comes. Aeleth is ready for him though, and stabs him right in the belly, just as Dusklord casts his spell on him.
He is clearly disabled (13 dmg), and while he shakes off the fear spell, he is likely very afraid.
Green sees an opening, and like Red, closes while drawing twin blades. As he approaches, he swings one at Aeleth in a long arc, which is easily deflected..
The fires begin to spread.
Elvik enters the fray. Serak's fireball goes wide, as Dusklord puts Red out for the count.
Starling puts a bolt in the Blue opponents leg. Green hears Yndra's command and turns to flee, allowing Aeleth an AoO. He takes advantage of the opportunity, and slams the wind out of the fleeing man.
This ends the threat of attack, but the fire is still growing.
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"I'm not sure we can do it by ourselves, we'll probably need help!"
Dousing a Fire
Source Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #25: Bastards of Erebus
Dousing a fire requires a large amount of water or other non-flammable material, such as dirt, to be deposited on the burning area. One effective strategy for extinguishing a fire quickly is to surround the burning area with nonflammable material. PCs doing this must make a ranged touch attack against an AC of 10 to deliver their payload to the intended square. The following indicates how many 5-foot squares of fire a number of the listed containers can extinguish with successful delivery.
Waterskin: Twenty waterskins full of water extinguish one square.
Bucket: Four buckets full of non-flammable material extinguish one square.
Gallon Container: Twelve gallon containers of nonflammable material extinguish one square.
Cauldron: One cauldron of non-flammable material extinguishes one square.
Portable Hole: A portable hole filled with non-flammable material extinguishes a 12-square-by-12-square area.
Bag of Holding: A bag of holding, type I filled with nonflammable material extinguishes a 3-square-by-3-square area, type II extinguishes a 5-square-by-5-square area, type III extinguishes a 7-square-by-7-square area, and type IV extinguishes a 10-square-by-10-square area.
Yndra comes to the rescue and starts dousing flames left and right. The fires are out.
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Serak sighs in regret as the fires are doused, and curiously, takes a half burned leaf from the ground, placing it into a pouch on his belt. It rests alongside a battered gold coin, a brightly colored pebble, a piece of a singed beetle carapace, and a battered Aspis badge.
He pipes up helpfully saying
Hey, the next question should be: "Why did someone hate your garden so much they stuffed you in a bag and tried to burn it down?
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"so, you're the jester of the group, aren't you?" Yndra remarks to Aeleth while shaking her head. "Let's see if you still find it funny when someone tries to burn your house down."
Satisfied that the fires are out and seeing that Dusklord is taking care of the gnome, Yndra busies herself with the bandits. She checks on them one by one, casting Stabilize if they're still alive. "Still, the question Serak asked is legitimate, of course. Maybe one of these is still in a condition to tell us something." She also pats the bandits down for anything of interest. "So, what do you have for us?" she starts talking to herself. "Written orders from the boss, maybe some trinkets?"
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Aelth looks at Yndra quizzically.
"Why, someone did burn my house down! In fact, I believe it was me! It was not funny, but necessary, for we were rebuilding you see. And it was winter. Ah, much warmth did we have. A blaze hot enough to burn the villainy away for a thousand miles! After all, evil does not flee when it does not see the blazing flame of JUSTICE!"
"Why do you look at me so? Do you think I jest? Force-feeding of vegetables is a serious matter of villainy! Clearly your parents never read to you the Epic of the Battle of Broccoli! Ah, such a deprived youth. My heart weeps at such tragedy! I would tell you it myself, but alas I am no story-teller, and though I myself fought in that battle, many blows to the head have made my memory not quite what it used to be. Perhaps after we are done with this mission, we shall find a bard who can tell it to you?"
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Yndra mellows at hearing Aeleth's story, after first looking at him like he was mad. "I understand, Aeleth..." She looks almost grandmotherly for a moment, patting the large half-elf on the lower back. "I'd like to hear that story, when this is over. Also, if I can make a suggestion... I have some experience with matters of the mind. You know, Nethys isn't just a Deity of magic, but of knowledge as well. Which lies quite close to memory, if you think about it. Maybe I can help. We'll talk about it later, perhaps?"
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Starling comes upon Aeleth and Yndra's conversation just on time, and gladly shares her own knowledge. "The Battle of Broccoli! T'was a great battle indeed. I've actually put a song together for it," she says while pulling out her lute and plucking the strings while singing the first two stanzas from her upcoming poem, stopping to take a look at the unconscious gnome.
"Of The Battle of Broccoli, a ballad of bravery
I sing swiftly, of Soren, so strong and sourly
who wanted to win, but warred wretchedly
against all allies, abusing them awfully.
Gathering godless groups, the general guaranteed generously
large largess for their labor, a luxorious life for their loyalty
if indeed they initiate, immediately yet so immodestly and illegally
vanquish that villified visitor, the valourous Vegetable Valkyrie."
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Starling comes upon Aeleth and Yndra's conversation just on time, and gladly shares her own knowledge. "The Battle of Broccoli! T'was a great battle indeed. I've actually put a song together for it," she says while pulling out her lute and plucking the strings while singing the first two stanzas from her upcoming poem, stopping to take a look at the unconscious gnome.
"Of The Battle of Broccoli, a ballad of bravery
I sing swiftly, of Soren, so strong and sourly
who wanted to win, but warred wretchedly
against all allies, abusing them awfully.Gathering godless groups, the general guaranteed generously
large largess for their labor, a luxorious life for their loyalty
if indeed they initiate, immediately yet so immodestly and illegally
vanquish that villified visitor, the valourous Vegetable Valkyrie."