Your boots squash with fetid water as you plod through the Puddles. A thick fog hangs in the air, seeming almost to caress the flesh with an unnatural chill. As you stand outside the Soggy Piper in a foot and a half of brackish brine, you try to recall what was so damned important to demand your presence in the half-flooded slum during Absalom’s rainy season. You remember your meeting at the Lodge just a few hours earlier with your Venture-Captain, Adril Hestram.
A bear of a man with only a few teeth remaining in his head, he motioned you into the meeting hall with a casual wave of his grizzled hand. The human captain outweighs most of Absalom’s half-orcs, and though a layer of beefy blubber coats his frame, those of you who have tangled with him in the Lodge sparring ring know that beneath this thin veneer of fat lies nothing but solid, steely sinew. Adril’s wild beard wags to the ponderous shake of his massive head as he examines a scrap of ancient parchment on the table before raising his eyes to greet your gaze and speaking:
“Come in then, friends, and thank you for answering my summons so swiftly. The society is in need. An old and quite penniless historian, a bespectacled wag-beard by the name of Yargos Gill has recently made a discovery in an old archive that we have a great interest in obtaining: an ancient codebook, left behind in the wake of one of Taldor’s many failed attempts at invasion. This several-hundred-year-old text would prove an excellent addition to our collection, and must be preserved.
“Yargos makes his home in ‘The Puddles,’ Absalom’s poorest district, suffering from a well-known reputation as a haven for lowlifes. Following an earthquake ten years ago, parts of the Puddles now rest below sea level, resulting in frequent and untimely flooding. Those who can afford not to live there—don’t.
“The district is the stomping ground of pimps, harlots, addicts, knifers, and hoards of unseemly derelicts. It’s never been a kind place, but recent reports reveal some new nameless terror on her waterlogged streets. Several persons claim to have seen cloaked, skeletal-like figures marching through an unnatural fog. Ill tidings indeed. Tracking down Yargos is now a priority—--lest some yellow-toothed thug cut him down, or one of these strange wraiths carry him beyond the pale. Find him, fellow Pathfinders, and find the codebook. Your exploits will be recorded in the Chronicles if you succeed.”
The memory fades as a fresh deluge of cold seawater rounds a bend in the lane and assaults your knees. After searching for Yargos at his favorite eatery, the Soggy Piper, you learned you just missed him. According to the Piper’s staff, a gang of dangerous young tattooed toughs arrived ahead of you. They grabbed Yargos and several of his friends from their dinner table and dragged them to a nearby cliff at the edge of the Puddle District. The watch was called, but they will arrive too late, as they often do in the Puddles, when they bother to venture there at all.
It is early evening, the first Wealday of the month of Desnus, an old man is about to face some awful fate at the sea cliff known as Torsen’s Maw, and you are no closer to finding the codebook Adril sent you for.
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A physically weak looking gnome with purple hair shuffles along and nearly gets washed away by the fresh deluge. Cursing and muttering to herself, she gets up. "Ugh, water... why is there so much dirty water? I hate it here inthis gods-forsaken place! I should've learned that d*mn cantrip to be able to dry-clean myself any time I want..."
The gnome is wearing just a haramaki for armor and a spell component pouch - both now very wet - showing that she probably is some kind of magic user.
On her pink skin there are prominent tattoos. Many look like strange patterns, but the one on her right leg shows a tiny scorpion.
The gnome introduces herself to the other pathfinders: "Well, we didn't have time to introduce ourselves back at the Lodge, so... My name is Brat, Brat Gnosor, and I like fire... way more than water." She smiles and winks.
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A humanoid construct strides smoothly through the water and looks around at the team, ”I am Rusty Metals and my canine ally here is CeCe. Fear not, this water shouldn’t cause me issues, I am even capable of swimming if necessary, though hopefully we won’t have to jump off a cliff after Yargos.”
Rusty stands about 5’10” with reddish hair and yellow eyes. Their skin is an unnatural pale color and devoid of common markings, freckles or blemishes. They have several light weapons and a shiny chain shirt.
Next to them is a young dog sloshing along happily in the brackish water, waiting to see if this mission brings allies, enemies or BEST FRIENDS FOREVER.
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Alongside the gnome and the Android is a very tall wolf-headed humanoid, sniffing the air thoughtfully.
"No sign of our quarry yet" he reports, before offering a hairy claw to Brat when they're nearly knocked over.
"Marius", he offers in response to Rusty Metals and Brat's offered names, his speech gravelly and distant. His continues to sniff the air.
CeCe gives a light *wurf* when her name is mentioned.
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A tall (though not as imposing as the rougarou), slender woman with markedly elven features wades through the water, looking faintly unhappy and occasionally shivering. "It's not the wet, it's the cold." She wears a colorful (if now mostly mud-hued) tunic and loose trousers, and a head scarf that matches her clothing. A light crossbow is slung over one shoulder. "I'm called Zhaxia Tilea." She glances down at the gnome with a warm smile. "My magic is that of the mind, not the elements, so we should provide complementary approaches to the problems we encounter. Oh, and I *have* learned the cleaning cantrip, so once we're out of the water I'll be able to dry us off."
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"The name is Yukari. Yukari Rosenthal. The family name might rings a bell or two for some." a cute young human lady drags her feet in the half-flooded street, with a longbow on her back. "Let's give chase to the cliff. I am not a big fan of this part of Absalom and don't want to linger here long."
"I don't know what's worse, wearing boots or wearing sandals. Or maybe it doesn't matter as my feet will be soaked in sea water anyway......"
A young man of Taldan stock plods through the water, muttering under his breath. He nods to the others as he approaches them
Blessings of the Dawnflower upon you...I am Therin, servant of Sarenrae...nice to meet you all... he says with a smile.
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Six brash young toughs covered with tattoos of vicious, snarling dogs are prodding four terrified older men off the edge of a cliff into the sea. The prisoners are shackled together in a line with heavy chains, which shall surely drag them to the sea floor in short order should they tumble from the cliff’s edge into the churning waters below.
Round 1 (">" can act):
>Marius
>Yukari
>Brat
>Rusty
>CeCe
>Zhaxia
>Therin
War Hounders
Therin moves up and tosses a small ball of fire at the thug with the yellow shirt.
Drop to the ground...they can't pick you all up...do it now! he yells to the prisoners.
Therin moves up and tosses a small ball of fire at the thug with the yellow shirt.
Drop to the ground...they can't pick you all up...do it now! he yells to the prisoners.
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Rusty agrees with the shifter, ”I don’t know the law well or even how most people handle things, but this definitely feels wrong. CeCe, get em!”
The android’s hand falls down and brushes against their puppy’s shoulder, imbuing magical power into the canine. They point at the magenta thug and say, ”Alakh!”
Rusty draws a rapier and moves up to threaten a different thug.
The genial canine has a switch turned on in her brain when the command to attack is given. She becomes a fur and fang armed missile, bolting towards her target and snapping at him with a growl!
for
Z
Yukari centers one of the thugs in their right eye, something they didn't saw coming, while Marius and CeCe shred two more of the smelly brutes to shreds with tooth and nails.
The two thugs by the cliff quickly shove the first prisoner down the precipice, which drags the other three down too, due to the chains that keep them together. Luckily the last prisoner in line manages to take a hold of the ground, but you all doubt they will last long in that situation.
One thug moves to confront Rusty, the other draws their crossbow, and the last one charges Therin.
Round 2 (">" can act):
>Marius
>Yukari
>Brat
>Rusty
>CeCe
>Zhaxia
>Therin
War Hounders
Prisoners
Therin lashes out at the thug with his scimitar. Quickly...save them!
CeCe hops forward and chomps away!!!
for
Yukari aims true and shots another thug right in their throat, and it falls down the cliff.
Therin tries to get back at his target, but misses.
Marius tries to grab on the chain, but the weight of the prisoners is way too heavy, and he loses his grip!
Rusty and CeCe completely dismember their enemy.
Zhaxia fries the (rather mediocre) brain of the last thug standing.
The chained prisoner lose his grip on the ground, and the group fall down into the waters, it won't be long until they drown!
Therin will help anchor the rope.
Yukari, Rusty, and Marius all dive into the waters below and manage to reach the drowning prisoners.
Zhaxia manages to secure the rope to a nearby small tree.
Therin grabs the rope in case someone needs to be pulled up immediately.
You succeed in rescuing Yargos and the other prisoners, they thank you profusely once safe and out of the waters. Yargos tells you all he knows about why he was taken prisoner and the coming Silent Tide. By this point, Yargos has pieced together everything and shares it with the Pathfinders.
Eight hundred years ago, a hidden armada of ships from Taldor floated off the coast of the Isle of Kortos like a thousand locusts, waiting for the signal to invade Absalom. The plan was simple, but deadly: when the misty weather of Desnus took hold, a fifth column of infiltrators known as Black Echelon would weaken strategic defense points and destroy Absalom’s warning system from within. Once their bloody mayhem was complete, the hidden saboteurs planned to signal the fleet, welcoming them to lay siege to a city now brought to its knees.
Prearranged signal lights were prepared for each phase of the offensive. A red flashing light was the sign for Black Echelon to poison Absalom’s granary. A violet light with three pulses was the signal for a prearranged team to destroy the city’s bell towers, and so on. But when the mists of Desnus descended, the prearranged signal lights never appeared. Unbeknownst to the hidden strike teams, the leaders of the Black Echelon infiltration cell were discovered and assassinated by brave heroes of Absalom. The signal lanterns lay dark, and the rest of Black Echelon sat idle. Several hours later, the fleet’s hiding place was discovered. A quick counterattack by Absalom’s navy ambushed the would-be invasion force and Taldor’s armada was destroyed to the last mast. In the coming weeks, Absalom’s constabulary rooted out the remaining hidden members of Black Echelon and put every last one to the sword.
The failed invasion mission, called the Silent Tide, would have amounted to little more than a cautionary footnote in a textbook of naval battles save for one crucial detail: prior to entering Absalom, each member of the Black Echelon cell swore an ancient oath, known as the Binding Word. Black Echelon pledged to fulfill their duties, no matter the barrier, no matter the cost. And as recent events have begun to demonstrate, in this case, the power of the Binding Word compels these deadly saboteurs from beyond the pale.
I have acquired a copy of the ancient codebook detailing the signals for the Silent Tide, and I have replicated them on a lark. I soon watched in horror as Black Echelon rose from the dead and begins to fulfill the tasks the spies swore to complete so very long ago. Even worse, the marines of the massive armada that now rest on the sea floor have also sworn the Binding Word. Once Black Echelon finishes its final task, the invasion force will rise and the Silent Tide will roll across the city, bringing death to all of Absalom.
I was foolish, and I tried to alert the city and avert disaster, but before I could hurl the codebook into the sea to abort the Silent Tide once and for all Nessian, a young crime lord, sent his thugs to get his hands on the codebook. He intends to manipulate the undead operatives and take advantage of the disruption their sabotage wreaks. As the bearer of the codebook, he alone knows the lantern signal to abort. The codebook is his chance to blackmail the populace as he wishes and finally secure his place in Absalom’s underworld.
Absalom is about to be invaded from beyond the grave.
What will you do next?