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Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng’s pinched face is hard to see from behind the stack of books that divide the front of his office from the space behind his desk. A shockingly old man with white hair and slightly milky eyes, he is surprised by the appearance of outsiders in his office, and looks up, half startled and half relieved. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’d been meaning to give this assignment to you at a later date, and with less pressing time constraints, but it seems that time has conspired against us.” Dreng mumbles to himself as he passes out a stack of notes and maps from behind the wall of books.
“These notes are from a recent Chronicle — it contains some interesting finds, but one of them is now the utmost priority to the Society.” Dreng lightly taps a bony finger on a map, on which can be seen a section of Absalom with a small corner townhouse circled in deep red.
“This townhouse is a façade for an underground vault. The vault belonged to an old noble family of Absalom that was expelled a decade ago—the Decklands. The family was forced out when their Patriarch — a man known as Orias — was discovered to have written documents detailing the city’s defenses, documents he intended to hand over to hostile forces loyal to Cheliax. The Chronicle indicates that a copy of these documents exist within the vault. A Pathfinder looking into the Decklands and their Chronicle references in Cheliax was attacked and killed ten days ago. The thugs made off with a copy of his notes — fortunately, he’d already sent us another. We have reason to believe it was the work of the Decklands’ oldest child, a young woman named Celeena, and she’s the reason this assignment is now urgent. The fact that Celeena and her forces were willing to kill a Pathfinder for this Information shows how desperate they are to retrieve the documents. If she were able to get these documents and return them to Cheliax, it would undermine the defenses of the whole city, as well as cause the Society undue headaches. Find Celeena, find the documents in her vault, and prevent this Situation from turning into one big mess for the Society.”
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Tapping his Fingers under his chin, the Arcanist looks thoughtful."Do we have any legal problems entering the house. I mean, it would be rather emberassing to gather the evidence just to be arrested by the city guard. Something, I am assured the Lodge would rather not happen to see?"
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An orange-robed tengu with a bamboo hat, a staff, and a rolled-up blanket on his back stands up. His attire pegs him as hailing from the eastern realms of Tian Xia, to those who know of them.
He takes a bow, staff in one hand to the side, other hand in a half-prayer position at his chest.
Straightening up, the rather enthusiastic crowman of perhaps four and a half feet in height seems undaunted by the sorceress' reputed power. He makes eye contact with the elder Venture Captain, "Most honorable Dreng-san, fear not! The righteous shall prevail." His eyes look upwards, in recollection, "As Master Kong says, 'the noble person is concerned with rightness; the small person is concerned with profit.'"
After Thael speaks, he responds to the group, "Since dusk is best to infiltrate the vault, would any of my honorable companions care to accompany me to the local apothecary? One can never bring too many healing potions along... uhm, just in case."
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Thael nodded to the unusual monk.
"I would be happy accompany you in your purchases," he said as he ran his fingers through thick black hair. "I have some knowledge of all things magical, and have found I can learn and observe in the most unusual places. Let us depart at your earliest convenience so that we do not hold up the expedition."
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You see a well-groomed woman with honey-blonde hair loosely gathered into several braids. Her eyes are a deep blue, with small flecks of silver near the iris. Her skin is fair and pale, indicating northern ancestry. She has small freckles on her nose, high cheek bones, and a strong jaw. She is dressed in scale mail armor, with a rust-brown cloak. She holds a polearm with a hooked, concave blade and opposing spike. You also notice wicked spikes on her gauntlets and several chakram gathered at her belt. She is tall, with a solid frame and straight posture.
"Let's do this."
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Sitting on the corner of a quiet street, the red brick Deckland townhouse melds in with the middle class buildings in this portion of Absalom. A small, flickering candle can be seen through a barred window on the building’s west side and a single door can be seen on the building’s south face.
The townhouse is located in the Eastgate district on Absalom’s quiet east side. There are two potential methods you can use to enter the townhouse: either through the main door or through the barred window.
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Thael examined the facade of the building, looking for anything suspicious.
Thael turned to his new companions.
"While it appears we have two options for securing entry to the townhouse, there are benefits and problems with each point of entry."
He pointed to the door. "Surely we could try the front door, though that might be expected, and perhaps trapped. However, the approach from the window requires removal of the bars before we attempt it, though it is unlikely to be the expected approach. Do any of you have a preference for entry?"
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Thael pointed out the simple snare to his companions, as well as the voices of the guards.
"It seems we lack someone that might be equipped to disable these traps. If any of you have that skill, please speak up. If not, we will either need to force our way past the guards, or try the window. Would anyone like to attempt removal of the bars? Acts of brute force are not my forte."
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"I would prefer to catch them unawares and silently." The strong northern woman rubs a hand on her chin in thought. "Who here is a good liar? Because you are now officially an inspector with the Absalom Municipal Authority, and this building has multiple serious code violations for water drainage. Why, just look at that nearby alley! Pooling water is going to cause foundation decay for neighbors. You need them to come take a look so they can see what you are talking about. Aaaaaand boom!" She punches a fist into her open palm. "We knock them out. Easy peasy, with no extra noise."
She shrugs. "Or I can try to intimidate them, but a good lie is less likely to arouse suspicions."
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Kuaizi takes a sneak peek at the guards through the barred window, pulling himself up by his arms to reach the proper height. He then returns, pondering his companions' words thoughtfully before chiming in. "Hmmm. Yes, I agree with Thael-san. I am in favor of reasoning with the guards first. If they continue to choose to aid and abet the murderer and obstruct our mission, then we must subdue them."
Looking up to the tall blond woman, "I have taken a vow of honesty, Wibeke-chan, so I can speak no lies, no less good lies." He then looks amongst the party to see who might be this municipal inspector she speaks of, "It is wise to prevent flooding and structural decay, of course, though I suggest we first tend to the more immediate business at hand." Kuaizi, not a native of the Inner Sea region, sometimes takes things too literally, failing to grasp the meaning behind cultural idioms and implied meanings...
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"Fine, I'll do it. Everyone else, get in that alley and find a place to hide. Pronto!"
Wibeke approaches the front door and waits for the rest of the party to hide, clears her throat, and raps twice on the sturdy wood. "Absalom Municipal Authority! Please open up, I need to speak with the owner or current resident!" She waits until they open the door. She speaks in a rapid-fire, mechanical voice that removes any sincerity from her polite words. It is very much routine and impersonal. "Good morning, citizens of the fair city of Abasalom. I hope that the day finds you blessed by the gods. By the authority invested in me by the Grand Council and the Absalom Municipal Authority, I am hereby empowered to inspect and cite homeowners for violations of the Building Standards and Practices Code. This residence is currently non-compliant with the water drainage and runoff subcode. When was the last time that a certified inspector visited the premises? Neighbors have complained of water flowing from your foundation and pooling in the nearby alley. This could lead to serious weakening of the foundation and compromise structural integrity. To avoid fines and levies, the Absalom Municipal Authority would like to issue a warning and allow for residents and owners to willingly comply with recommendations to bring the premises up to code. If you would follow me," she waves a hand for them to follow, "I can show you the drainage issues in question. This way please."
Wibeke leads them to the alley.
Intimidate check
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Wibeke shrugs. "Sorry, fella. Just business." She whirls her polearm into an attack stance, and quietly whispers to herself. "The Boar Rushes Down the Mountain." Her attack begins as a powerful diagonal slash which starts behind the right shoulder, and then curves into a horizontal slash, aiming for the soft portion of the abdomen.
fauchard w/ power attack
Attack
Damage
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Kuaizi springs to action with a "Caw!" Spotting Herb in the townhouse, he flies into him with great haste. Crowish limbs swiftly wrap around the guard's neck, sword arm, and opposite leg, halting the guard from moving.
Noticing Wibeke's actions, the monk then declares to him, "Surrender, Herb-san, and we may spare your life. Surrender not, however, and your remaining life will be both short and full of excitement."
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Wibeke attacks the guard in front of the house before he could finish his sentence, cutting a deep wound in his abdomen. At the same time Kuaizi takes his chance to grapple Herb .
The guard swings his shortsword at Wibeke.
But he already lost too much blood and his sword bounces off her armour.
Adsal tries to intimidate Herb and points her crossbow at him.
Wibeke
Kuaizi
Guard -14 HP
Thael
Adsal
Nuada
Herb