The Quest for Perfection — Part one (PFS PBP 3-09)

Game Master Rickmeister

Lyn breathes a sigh of relief, and follows the others down, wearing a somber expression.

-Posted with Wayfinder

"A swing of the sword worthy of tale, if i ever saw one Horatius!"

Leiff follows the example of his companions and starts the long hike back to their starting point and better air...

"Thank you my friends, Erastil was surely with us. Unfortunate that it needed to be done, but best done swiftly if at all."

You start making your way down the path, and experience little trouble. You know what is where, what is best avoided, and where not to put your feet. You reach the cavern where you last had a good night's sleep.

Snow clouds are gathering up ahead, and by now everyone is feeling the effects of the lighter air.

IC: continue or rest?

Lyn looks over to her friends.

"I may be because I'm a little gnome, but I'm feeling pretty dizzy right now. Would all of you mind if we rested here for awhile?"

Seeing the shelter once again and hearing Lyn's suggestion Theor nods "Perhaps we should get some rest before finishing the journey back. I am exhausted as well and it looks like poor weather is brewing."

"Sounds wise, it does not seem we can beat the clouds down the mountain."

"Agreed, there is no sense in exhausting ourselves."

Horatius assists in setting up camp before seeing to his gear.

When all of that is done he'll ask Thaurux, "You have some skill with languages my friend. Would you look at the writings in the cave and see if you can translate them?

Leiff nods in agreement...

"At home they always say, be it on sea or land, it is best not to test the ire of Gozreh... Stopping here sounds like a plan."

He assists the others in setting up camp

As you all set up for the night, the winds pick up and a small snowstorm picks up. You have enough shelter to not be bothered by it, but being outside would have been more challenging.

In the morning, you notice the weather has turned to a calm winter breeze again, and you can make your way down the mountain without much trouble.

Whut du yu du?

Leiff starts putting his stuff back in his backpack. Getting ready to continue the trek down...

Horatius takes a few moments after his morning prayers to once again take in their majestic surroundings. The long views and serene landscape have a calming, centering effect and it's easy to see why the monks chose to make their home here. Feeling a bit refreshed he turns to preparing for the day and begins the trek once the party is set.

Lingusitics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
These signs don't mean much to me.

Lyn joins the group in continuing their descent. She begins to feel better, observing patterns in the clouds and listening to birdsongs. she begins to whistle after a short time.

The group arrives at the bottom of the mountain with little trouble.

Anything you want to do while going down, put it in spoilers.
Whot do yoo do when you reach town?

putting together our notes in a single report, picking the brains of the others for details (eg the translations Thaurux made) in order to make a complete summary. Some extra time spent on the mysteries surrounding the braid...

Explore, report and cooperate afterall .... There is ample time to talk about it on the way down. The compiling is probably done in town.

Burn it to the ground and take their stuff? :)

Horatius spends most of the trek down focused on the trip itself. Traveling downhill at first seems like it would be easier than the difficult climb but sore knees and joints quickly make their opinion known. None-the-less making their way across familiar terrain eases the effort and soon the town they started at is before them. Rising plums of smoke speak to warm fires and inviting inns hurrying the parties pace.

In the relative safety of town Horatius is glad to once again walk among a larger community. The stark beauty of the untamed mountain wilderness is near to his heart but it's where goodly folk carve a place for themselves within such a land that his spirit truly lies.

Sitting with his companions he asks, "Perhaps it might be worth asking about the two monks who left the monastery before we depart. It seems likely that they would have stopped in town after making the descent."

Has Thaurux been able to recover some health after the nights rest?
Thaurux decks himself in the loot. :P

Your level in hitpoints.
Oh, and nobody is fatigued due to the altitude anymore :)

"Good point, the locals might be able to tell us more..."

During their time there Leiff will ask around for more information on the two brothers of legend, Ying Pei, Li Yao and Jiang Dan. Both among the local populace and from written records in a library or something if one is available.

Nothing anymore, I guess? :)

As you reach the lodge, you dump your stuff back into your own quarters and start cleaning the gear, replenishing your arrows and getting some muchneeded "feet in the air" time.

A few hours later, a runner comes for you. He says that Venture-Captain Amara Li will want to see you.

"Leiff , would you happen to have some restorative magic I can benefit from, prior to meeting the Venture-Captain."

Anything anyone wants to do, like Thaurux, before going to see Amara Li?
Second question: we are reaching the end of the first book. Could you clarify if you (A) want to continue with this character into the second booklet, or (B) want to step down, due to whatever reason. No hard feelings :)

Didn't realize there was a second book . :) Horatius is ready willing and able.

After taking a bit of time to rest and enjoy the company of his companions Horatius asks about the lodge to see if anyone can translate the writing he copied down from the cave.

"No problem my friend"

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Leiff concentrates incanting words of power, Thaurux' wounds are slowly starting to close until after a little while he is fully healed.

"there, good as new..."

i'm game for the next book :), as for actions trying to fill in the details for our report with data found at the lodge, similar to what i posted before

Nothing in particular I'm looking to do first. Just ready to hand in my report, so to speak. I think I will step down after this. It was a fun game, but I have to cut back on my PBP, so I'm trying to "rest" certain characters as their current games end. Thanks for running this Rick, it's a really neat adventure!

Nothing Theor is doing. He is still good to go.

"Thanks Leiff!"
Is this a second module, i.e. 1 XP, 2 PPs, etc.., I am game but will want to do the whole get a wand of "not tax the Cleric" or bard :P

As everyone is ushered into the Venture-Captain's chambers, you notice he is quite busy.

When one of you coughs to break the silence, he looks up to you and speaks.
"It is you who have brought back the braid, and for this you have my personal thanks. I can not have been an easy task, but you have pulled through, as I had been told you would."

”The terrain proved more hazardous than the beasts… I know this may not be my place, but may I ask, what is the fate of the Braid. Since its previous master left it behind, none of the monasteries disciples could call upon its power and so they abandoned the monastery. The braids previous master took one student with him at the time, a disciple by the name of Ying Pei. Perhaps searching for his last disciple may uncover the secrets of the braid.”

Horatius nods in agreement with Thaurux. "It is unfortunate but it would seem the braid was at the heart of the demise of the monastery. The community there was undermined by jealousy and mistrust and now houses only the creatures of the highlands. From what we have learned the monks overcame their pettiness in time but what they had built was lost."

Leiff follows Horatius' example with a nod. After the two men had their say he falls in and hands over the written report.

"That being the jist of things. We have compared and compiled our memories and notes into a more detailed report. Also we've added untranslated rubbings of symbols we found in a cave, and a battered journal we found close by some bodies. It where the remnants of an expedition by a fellow pathfinder by the name of Rickard Murton. Since Thaurux is the only one that seems to understand it's content he would be a better choice to discus any details of it."

Back!

The venture captain looks at all of you, and listens to your tales. In the end, he looks at the bundle Leiff presents, and starts reading. A servant that was standing to the side motions that this could take a while, and ushers you out.

You go back to your lodge.
I assume.
--
Technically, this is the end of the adventure. Please tell me what you want to do/buy before I fill in the sheets :)