Foxy Quickpaw's - Shattered Star AP

Game Master Foxy Quickpaw

"And I forgot the major churches which are those of Asmodeus and Abadar. And the Council. But I guess those are not the institutions you're looking for." Gav adds.

"What about the Pathfinder Society? Isn't there someone from them here?" Tauriell inquires.

"I don't think so. Besides you I know of no one." Gav replies.

"How on Golarion did you get the idea to ask us if we are pathfinders then as we met?" Tauriell asks with a piercing glance at Gav.

"Lucky guess I think." Gav replies but adds "You have the same belt buckle as the only other Pathfinder I know." pointing at Tauriell's belt.

"That's really interesting. Because I got that belt from a boggard. Who is that Pathfinder?" Tauriell inquires.

"I forgot his name. But look we're back already. Shall I come tomorrow again to lead you around?" Gav asks obviously wanting to change the topic.

Tauriell raises an eyebrow but doesn't push the topic. "I don't know. I guess you have to ask Gwenhwyfar. She is the one paying you."

"I'll take Hector to our room for a bath." she tells Abomentolor. "A little more civilized look will do wonders for you! she explains Hector and takes him with her.

"Why are you telling me? Shall I go elsewhere or what?" Abomentolor inquires irritatedly.

"Just as an info. You're welcome to come along. Need a back scrub too?" Tauriell offers.

"No thanks. I'm going to get some cake in the bistro." Abomentolor replies and walks off.

In the bistro he orders a tea and cheesecake and enjoys both while listening to the beautiful singing of the girls in their cages.

Hector follows Tauriell to the room.

Tauriell draws a bath and tells Hector to get rid of his loin cloth and sit in the tub. Then she shows him the use of soap and the rest of the grooming kit. She trims his hair and beard and gives him a back scrub. Which is a nice bonding experience.

With a towel she rubs him dry and puts him in his new clothes. "Now take a look here in the mirror. That's the difference between some orc like Hector from the wild and a human like hector in the city. Learn to take care of yourself and respect yourself. That will go a long way towards others respecting you too."

Hector is happy. This soap thing he doesn't like too much, as it burns in the eyes. But besides that bathing is a lot of fun. And the treatment he gets from his new master is much better than what he got from the orc shaman or the slaver. And these are the best clothes he ever had.

Looking into the mirror he lets out a satisfied grunt.

"Not the most eloquent reply but I guess you agree." Tauriell comments.

"Let's go down again for something to eat and to introduce you to the others." She leads him back down to the first floor and into the bistro.

"Hello together." she greets the group. "May I introduce to you my new companion: Hector."

"And these are Abomentolor, Niamh, Gwenhwyfar, Jimmy and I'm Tauriell. I didn't mention that yet, did I?"

"No master. Not yet." Hector replies. He immediately starts feeling dumb again as he already forgot almost all the names again. He tries a smile which looks kind of dangerous with his large tusks sticking out.

Niamh turns her head and looks up to see Hector's face. Uhm... Pretty scary actually. She thinks feeling quite small with the huge half-orc in front of her. But then she smiles standing up on her chair but still has to look up a little. "Hello, pleased to meet you."

"Yes..." Hector replies unsure what that little woman means.

"Please take a seat and tell us about you." Gwenhwyfar suggests "Where are you from? What do you do? How did you meet Tauriell?"

Niamh lets herself slump onto the chair again.

Hector looks at Tauriell for approval.

"Sit down and tell us. I'd like to know more about you too." Tauriell tells him and points to a chair. She seats herself on the next chair at the table with the others.

Hector sits down as told and furrows a brow "I'm from an orc tribe from the forest down below in direction of where the sun goes down. I break things. And I met my master here in the big city." Hector answers Gwenhwyfar's questions.

"Master?" Niamh asks for further information trying to keep her gaze on Hector instead of looking at Tauriell.

"You like my new title?" Tauriell asks Niamh.

As Niamh feels like she should know by now what they're talking about but still has no clue she decides to just shut up to not make a fool of herself, pretending as if she knows what the two mean, she smirks and leans back in her chair. "I would say it fits your character fairly well"
Bluff: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
"Indeed. And Hector has found his destiny." Tauriell replies.

"Do I get food?" Hector asks as his stomach grumbles and all this delicious smells waft through the room.

"Sure." Tauriell replies. Waving a waiter over she orders "A piece of cheesecake for me and something large and meaty for Hector."

The waiter brings a large plate with a roasted boar leg and a side of green beans and mashed potatoes. And the cheesecake.

Hector engulfs the delicious meal.

"Enjoy it. Once we're on the road again it's dry trail rations." Tauriell tells him.

As there is nothing to do for the day everyone relaxes his or her way and will enjoy the cozy beds early. Hector get's to enjoy the cozy sofa. The next day all take breakfast together and then walk to the Augur temple meeting with Vargun.

Often called simply the Great Library, the Therassic Spire is believed by many to be the oldest repository of written knowledge in Varisia. A circular tower eight stories tall, the structure is rumored to extend an equal number of stories belowground. The librarians who run it are a reclusive sect that lives within its walls, and part of the library’s fame comes from the fact that all knowledge is welcome, no matter how trivial, dangerous, or profane — though finding it in the twisting, bizarrely organized stacks is another matter entirely.

When Vargun and the group approach, the huge ironbound doors of the library are shut tight, a small, meticulously lettered sign announcing that the library is closed until further notice. Vargun ignores it and pounds on the door with a meaty fist, keeping it up for a full minute. At last, a panel in the doors slides open, and a pair of beady eyes stare out through ornate metal grillwork. "If you can’t read the sign,” a prim voice says, "then there’s nothing in here for you anyway."

"Oh, cut the crap. We want the next shard of the shattered star. And Augustille said you're sitting on it. So either you open that door or I'm going to let Hector here try how sturdy it is built." Tauriell threatens.

The eyes behind the grating go wide, and then the door cracks open. A hunched human woman in red robes ushers them inside quickly, closing and barring the doors behind them.

The librarian introduces herself as Koifa. "Who are you? Where do you come from? And what are you talking about the shattered star?"

Tauriell looks at her companions and as no one objects leads the introduction "These are Pathfinders." pointing to Gwenhwyfar, Jimmy and Abomentolor. Pointing to Niamh she adds "She is for entertainment and we are the kick ass department." She leans at Hector. On second thought she corrects herself. "If you're interested in knowledge gathering and stuff you'll got to talk to Gwenhwyfar here. She is the real pathfinder here. The rest is the kick ass team... all but Niamh. She is really for entertainment." Pulling out her shard she adds "And this one is missing another one of it's siblings. So you either tell her something to write down or direct us in a direction to kick ass. Because at the moment the focus is on you."

"Hey stop it. This nice librarian hasn't done anything to you. And we're only here to ask what they know to help us." Gwenhwyfar intervenes. "Please excuse the bad manners of the elf. But we would be very thankful if you could help us finding the next shard. Which is hidden somewhere under Kaer Maga."

The librarian's eyes grow wide as she sees the shard. "Well, I wouldn't talk about this normally but we're in a desperate situation. We were in contact with another race that dwells below Kaer Maga known as the caulborn. We contacted them via telepathic means to get them to help us with some really interesting questions over the last years. But lately they contacted us and offered us to help recover an artifact of great power. A shard of Xin's great Sihedron from another legendary realm below the city called the Dark Forest."

"We put together a band of adventurers and sent them down but they're gone for several days now and have not yet reached the meeting point with the caulborn. Something must have gone wrong. If you're willing to go and fix whatever happened down there you can go meet the caulborn yourself and keep whatever you find."

"What a generous offer. I guess that's what you get if you let a librarian do a Pathfinder's job. I guess we'll take you up on that offer, but for the service of cleaning up the mess you created you're going to assist us." Tauriell demands.

"We need a base of operations where we can do the planning and get all the supplies we need for this. As well as some means to travel back to this place. Gwenhwyfar here can prepare dimension door a few times and I still got a wand but everything we need to use that costs us money to replace, you will pay. And I want to know all about these caulborn that there is to know. All this 'There is this valuable thing and we'll help you to get it just because we are such good sports.' stinks to high heaven."

"Why are you being so negative? Maybe these nice caulborn are the Salvation Army of librarians starving for knowledge. I guess they have done all this helping in the last years free of charge, haven't they?" Abomentolor asks the librarian "Sorry what's your name again?"

"My name is Koifa." the librarian replies and starts feeling stupid. Well, more stupid as she did before for starting this mission. "They didn't help for free."

"Which raises the question what they wanted in exchange for their help in the past and what they want this time." Tauriell inquires.

Vargun is all ears as this is such valuable information and such good blackmailing material. If this blows up the librarians of the Therassic Spire are so screwed. Opening up the undercity and letting out whatever monsters hide there - very bad idea. And one of the few things that are actually forbidden in Kaer Maga.

Koifa hums and haws but finally spills the beans "The caulborn take memories in exchange for their help. But now that you mention it they didn't specify the price for their help this time."

"Just as I thought." Tauriell comments. "But just that there are no misunderstandings - what do you mean they take memories? Did you send them your diary?"

"No. They consume the memories of someone willing and then it is as if the person never had them." Koifa replies.

"Did you take a lot of wisdom damage over the years to deem it a good idea to deal with such creatures?" Tauriell asks astounded.

"I didn't pay with memories. And the wisdom and intelligence damage the volunteers took was not permanent. They recovered within a few days." Koifa explains.

Tauriell facepalms herself. "I suddenly feel really badly prepared for this." she states.

"Why would you say that?" Abomentolor asks.

"Because they can play with your mind. As if these mindf#@!ing seugathis where not bad enough." Tauriell states.