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Vrald peers down the stairs. Chained the length of the ship, two to a bench, are 50 filthencrusted oar slaves bleeding from lacerations and open sores and slumped in sleep or exhaustion. The benches form a five-foot-wide aisle down the center of the galley, constricting movement in all but three areas: a 10-foot diameter around the main mast, slightly fore of midship, and the extreme ends of the galley which hold rooms.
In the front, are two guys, a man you know already and a gnoll who seems to be the captain of this ship. The man is Pildapush.
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"Guys, I'll cast some HUBERT-style mist down there," he says out loud, emphasizing a couple words, "So we can climb down under cover."
Gilfroy casts silent image to create thick mist that looks like an obscuring mist spell. He makes sure it covers the two baddies and the ladder.
Will save DC 18 to disbelieve, but everybody gets a +4 bonus if they figure out Gilfroy's hint.
Meanwhile, Hubert jumps softly down and gets in the gnoll's face.
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A creature 5 feet away has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker cannot use sight to locate the target).
Gudrun can't see through the mist and does not know where to swing his weapon at. Vrald just tries his luck to see if he hits somebody and indeed is able to hit the captain. The captain swings back but hits only armor.
Gilfroy
Gudrun
Vrald
Captain red -9HP
Jaegar
Pildapush blue
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Gudrun clambers down the ladder, moving into the gap between his allies and the slaver.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Gudrun swings down at the blinded slaver, using the man's lack of sight to his advantage.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Gudrun swings his battleaxe at Pildapush and the man stumples and falls down on the planks. Vrald tries to do the same and attacks the captain. He hits, but the gnoll is stronger than Pildapush. He's bleeding, but still alive and standing.
Gilfroy
Gudrun
Vrald
Captain red -25HP [stunned] 1R
Jaegar
Pildapush blue -14HP defeated
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Gudrun steps over the felled Pildapush, beginning to circle behind the captain. The dwarf takes a casual swing as he does so.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Vrald starts freeing the slaves, asking them for their names and describing the lady the team has come to rescue. After the first slaves are freed he'll relocate the slaver and gnoll to the slaves shackles.
"Somehow I think our lady may be elsewhere... surely she is too valuable to treat like this?"
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Jaegar checks the bodies of the captain and the slave master. He wants to check for information, instructions, or any other valuable evidence for the Ambassador or the Society. He'll also liberate any valuable coins or magic items, casting Detect Magic.
Jaegar offers Lady Anilah a swig from his wineskin. He can burn a charge from his wand of Cure Light Wounds if she looks injured.
"I suggest we make haste for the Grand Lodge. I'm not certain a flood of escaping slaves will make the docks a safe place. We should press out with the throng to avoid retaliation!"
Jaegar searches the room quickly for any notebooks, journals, or other valuables.
He tosses the keys to Gudrun and says, "Let's sweep the other sealed rooms swiftly, and get out with the rest of the escaping slaves."
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Vrald nods, making sure that Lady Anilah has some clothing, offering her his own cloak if she is lacking appropriate attire.
As he follows the others out, he mentions quietly to the lady.
"The Pathfinder society heard you had met with trouble, and members of the Soverign Court are always here to help."
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Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin asked to meet you in his office in the Grand Lodge. Once you arrive at the lodge you immediately meet Valsin.
As a clock chimes the hour, Ambrus Valsin opens the door to admit you then resumes his seat next to a grey-eyed woman wearing the robes of an academic. "Please seat yourselves quickly so we can begin. This is Lady Darchana Madinani, archdean of Absalom’s premier school of the arcane, the Arcanamirium. She’s has come to the Pathfinder Society on delicate business."
Darchana takes a moment to greet you before she speaks.
"As Second Spell Lord of Absalom, I continually investigate magical attempts to attack our home. The Pathfinder Society recently aided one of my investigations by capturing a disguised Okeno slave ship used for several months to transport various unfortunates to Absalom for sale as slaves to the city’s noble families. Normally this would be legal, yet it seems someone has marked each of these slaves for use as divination foci. I can’t ignore the threat posed by such an insidious spy network. With the capture of that ship, we’re now in an excellent position to strike back at the hidden mastermind behind the slave-scrying. Know that I do not come to the Pathfinder Society lightly. I am taking on a calculated political risk by asking you to handle this investigation for me. But my long friendship with your master of spells Aram Zey has given me confidence in the abilities — and discretion — of Pathfinder agents. Using my own spells, I acquired an image of the slaver: a humanoid woman wearing a heavy veil and peering into a mirror. Her clothing is common in Kelish fashion, and I could sense her location was somewhere underground on Stonespine Island. Although we could pursue conventional means of tracking down the slavers, I have taken measures to ensure our quarry does not see you coming, and I would appreciate a similar effort from you. I propose disguising yourselves either as slaves for sale or possibly the slavers selling them. If successful, you need only allow our enemy’s agents to escort you to their hidden stronghold. Once inside, it should be a modest challenge for you to escape and take their leader by surprise." Lady Darchana pauses for emphasis.
"Our goals are to capture the veiled spymaster and to bring the scrying mirror I observed back to Absalom for further study. If the spymaster dies before she is brought here, that would be regrettable but also understandable."
"Before you get too concerned," Ambrus adds quickly, "it isn’t the Society’s practice to sell our field agents into slavery. We’re sending you with a reliable cover story and a magical edge we can discuss in a moment. This isn’t just because it’s a dangerous assignment; we also found the name ‘Muhlia’ associated with the captured Okeno ship. It’s not a common name, but if haven’t kept up with recent history, I can understand why you may not remember her. Pasha Muhlia al’Jakri was an associate of ours who represented Qadira’s interests to the Pathfinder Society. Three years ago, she departed following very ugly circumstances in Taldor and hasn’t been seen since. If it’s true that she’s building a spy network in Absalom, we need to head off the threat she poses to the society before she can strike."
Ambrus waits for any questions.
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Before the meeting begins, an athletic young human woman of Varisian heritage with dark brown hair and hazel eyes waits with some impatience outside Valsin's office. Her mithral chain shirt, composite longbow and quivers of arrows suggest she's probably an archer of some type. Once everyone arrives, she introduces herself, "I'm Tori, good to be working with you all."
After the meeting starts:
Oh my gods, not this terrible woman again...
"Lady Darchana, we meet again." Tori says with a polite nod to Valsin's guest, "Yeah, I remember all that. I have to admit that I'm not too fond of the idea of either being enslaved or acting as a slaver. Would it be possible to come up with another disguise, perhaps as merchants? I seem to recall that the Okeno slave ship you mentioned actually possessed an enslaved Pathfinder Society member, this sounds more than a little risky."
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Vrald nods at the words of Tori, but bows respectfully to lady Darchana.
"My lady, I would be..uncomfortable..posing as a slave. It would also part me from my implements of office, making my task of defending the team substantially harder than is desirable."
He looks around, before turning his attention to Ambrus. "What else is known about Pasha Muhlia al’Jakri ? Does she have any known weaknesses? Why would she veil her face? Custom? It would be odd to do that while spellcasting would it not?"