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Mr Peppers waves at the barkeep "I'll have a white wine please. Chilled. And a bit of your best goat cheese and crackers. We've heard it is quite remarkable."
Mr Peppers settles in to listen to the man's pitch and nods occasionally as he pieces together bits of the evidence. "Has the town normally been this excitable since the mines dried up? I can't imagine raising livestock gets people very worked up." This explains the crazy goat lady I guess.
Mr Peppers takes a bit of cheese and spreads it on a cracker, nibbling on it with great hope, he merely shrugs his shoulders and sets it down to have a sip of wine. "Not what I was expecting." He slides it over to the others.
"We're assuming most of these treasure hunters were hoping this meteorite was filled with star metals am I correct? What would make your employee Leeara stand out from this? What does she look like?" He inquires as he tries again to rinse that less than pleasant cheese after taste from his palate.
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"Yeah, of course we can have a look around for Leeara! We've done search and rescue missions before too, so that's no problem at all! Do you usually get a lot of prospectors coming through town, though? The way we heard it, sounds like a lot of the mines have kinda dried up around here." Gallix tries some of the cheese as well, shrugs, and keeps munching, his tastes apparently not being as refined as those of Lord Peppers.
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Nalan carries over a bottle of white wine and some beer. She also brings a teapot with hot tea. Just in case.
"Well, Dustpawn is a prosperous place. Goats bring in more money than you might think!" He answers Mr. Peppers. "Excitable? No more or less than any other town of our size, but the way the people have been acting is certainly odd."
He sips on a glass of water. "I presume the prospectors would love to strike it rich with some kind of precious metal mined from that star, but they've been far too secretive to really know."
"I've gotta say though.. I'm only an amateur astronomer, but I think that falling star was more than a meteor. Meteors don't slow down as they fall, nor does their trajectory curve during descent."
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"As for Leeara, she's my trusted cook. Hired her about 5 years ago, after I caught the woman trying to run a confidence game in my tavern," Dalviss smirks. "Rather than turn her over to the authorities, I offered her a job. What can I say? She reminded him of an old adventuring companion, and I needed a cook anyway!" He excitedly slams his hand down on the table. "It worked out well, though. Leeara turned out to be a talented hand in the kitchen - and," he leans in, whispering. "She does a great job at security as well. Got a sharp eye for spotting cons and fraud, you know. She's preventing many visitors for causing problems here."
He leans back in his chair. "I regret not paying more attention to her distrust of the strangers I allowed to stay in the inn's common room. She only had a hunch this time, and the strangers paid in advance for a month and well, gave me a healthy tip, so I ignored her claims. I think she tried to find out more about those strangers and ran into trouble."
He points to the back wall of the tavern. "Her room's back there if you want to take a look. I already had a look, but I'll be the first to admit my strength is spotting things in the heavens, not down here on the ground! HAH!"
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Sirettis casts Perceive Cues and Investigative Mind on herself while sipping the tea. She's so casual about it now.
"Thank you for the information. Whatever that falling body contained, it may have brought more trouble than prosperity." She finishes her cup of tea and begins to bring it back to the counter before stopping herself. I don't have to do that anymore.
Old habits die hard.
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Mr Peppers nods at the response, thanking the barkeep for the wine and tea. He gives Gallix a look to say Don't go nuts on that beer or else! then continues the conversation with Dalviss. "Do you have descriptions of those people from the common room you're suspicious of? How many would you say there were in the group?"
Mr Peppers raises a single eyebrow and nods knowingly as Sirettis casts her spells Those will be very helpful, good choices. He then turns his attention to the others, knowing they MUST have something they'd like to ask.
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Gallix listens to Dalviss's tale as he sips at his beer. He catches Peppers as the elf gives him "the look" and nods. Duty calls, he thinks as he sets the tankard down. "You mentioned other folks have gone missing too, right? Any chance you could point us to their families or friends if they had any? Maybe we could chat with them after we give Leeara's room a look."
Seeing Sirettis magic herself up for the search, Gallix pulls out his own wand and gives himself a tap between his well maintained eyebrows.
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"They were dressed like prospectors complete with mining gear. All humans. There were four men," Crenn cracks open a pistachio and lobs it in his mouth. "As for the other missing people, you'd have to ask the locals. I'm not sure, I've just heard rumors. Hard to place what's true and what isn't!"
Mr. Peppers knows well enough that even an amateur astronomer like Dalviss Crenn is correct about what he said about the meteor's trajectory and impact.
Crenn stands. "Here, I'll show you around. You can stay here free while you're investigating," he guides to your rooms. "Nalan stays in this room, and this here is Leeara's room. Well, have a look, and holler if ya need anything!" Crenn is already walking back to the table as he says this. "And get them some more cheese, will ya, Nalan!?"
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Leeara's room appears to have been lived in until recently. The sheets on the bed are rumpled and a thick open book lies face down, draped over the arm of a chair. A cursory search of the chamber reveals that Leeara's personal belongings are still here, suggesting that she didn't simply pack up and leave.
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Mr Peppers hastily waves off the cheese. He detects magic on the room and takes a look around, half a glass of wine in one hand. "This shouldn't take long, there isn't much here to see..." He mage hand the book to whoever would dare take it. What are the odds that's either a female romance novel or perhaps a murder mystery?
He continues using his magic to move around the bed sheets and such before heading to any desk or table.
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Cup deftly pulls the book from Mr. Peppers, pulling out her wand of Kreighton's Perusal. She gives herself a very quick read of the entire book and then offers the wand to Pep. "Want to read with me?" She looks around. "Why would the girl leave all her clothes here? She clearly was intending to come back..."
"If any of you spot a footprint, can you let me know? I'd like a better idea of what we're dealing with."
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Cup, Mr. Peppers, and Gallix huddle around the book. It's a worn journal that contains at least several years worth of entries dotted with some recipes: mushroom risotto, steak and lobster florentine, eggplant parmesan .. the list goes on!
It's clear Leeara focused heavily on fresh, local ingredients. At points, her disdain for imported ingredients come across as something approaching a personal crusade.
Near the back of the book, she keeps a master list of where in the region various plants, spices, and other ingredients can be harvested, and nearly three quarters of these ingredients come from Old Frog Swamp near the source of the Grackle River.
While flipping through the book, Cup also notices Leeara spends a lot of time at the Old Frog Swamp, sometimes even overnight, camping in a small cave at the end of a footpath.
With so few customers, and with Nalan frequently sweeping the floors, there aren't so many footprints that Cup would be confused. Instead, the gnome finds a bunch of footprints leading out from the common room where the prospectors stayed towards the front door of the tavern.
"I'm afraid they keep that room locked," Dalviss shrugs. "They paid well enough, so I never bothered going in there, and it's not the sort of lock I have the key for, either."
Mr. Peppers senses a faint abjuration aura on the lock to the door of the common room.
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"Now we've got to find this woman, she seems to be an accomplished chef. Something this world needs more of for sure." He heads along with the others, eyes lighting up as the locked door is pointed out.
"A magical lock? Are you sure?" After a few arcane words he reaches out to touch the door to see if it would open for one such as himself...
Hrm, looks like the likes of a locksmith can be replaced by a simple spell, I wonder if I should tell Stali?
Knock opens stuck, barred, or locked doors, as well as those subject to hold portal or arcane lock. When you complete the casting of this spell, make a caster level check against the DC of the lock with a +10 bonus. If successful, knock opens up to two means of closure. This spell opens secret doors, as well as locked or trick-opening boxes or chests. It also loosens welds, shackles, or chains (provided they serve to hold something shut). If used to open an arcane locked door, the spell does not remove the arcane lock but simply suspends its functioning for 10 minutes. In all other cases, the door does not relock itself or become stuck again on its own. Knock does not raise barred gates or similar impediments (such as a portcullis), nor does it affect ropes, vines, and the like. The effect is limited by the area. Each casting can undo as many as two means of preventing access.
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"These recipes are amazing! Liara is very talented... But why would she leave her book behind? It would be like me leaving behind my tea journal." She frowns. "I do hope she's alright."
Cup looks to Pep when he opens the door. "Oh, aren't you the clever one? This is what I love about wizards. They're always prepared!"
Cup kneels down with delight when she finds the muddy footprints. "Let's get a look at you prospectors!"
With a light tap of her wand of residual tracking, she takes a closer look at them.
She concentrates, but this spell does not go off. "Bother."
"Ah, there you are."
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Out of curiosity, Gallix peruses the ingredients list for anything that might double as an alchemical reagent or component of some sort of poison he is familiar with. He's especially curious if this swamp has a special variety of toad he's heard of that secretes a oil from its skin that induces hallucinations if you lick the toad...
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He's especially curious if this swamp has a special variety of toad he's heard of that secretes a oil from its skin that induces hallucinations if you lick the toad...
I'm afraid they keep that room locked," Dalviss shrugs. "They paid well enough, so I never bothered going in there, and it's not the sort of lock I have the key for, either."
"You'd be well within your right to be in a room -you own- from time to time. They would need new sheets and a cleaned room, wouldn't they."
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Sparks of purple fly from the keyhole of the lock to the common room as Mr. Peppers chants an incantation on the magical lock. With a zap, the aura surrounding the lock fades, and the door now seems unlocked.
Cup takes a better look at the footprints with Residual Tracking. In her mind, she sees four human men wearing ordinary clothing and carrying pickaxes. However, each of them also has a spellbook, a set of four scrolls, and a wand tucked into their backpacks. They all wear amulets that are black discs with a ring of white dots around the rim.
Gallix thinks he might be able to mix a few of the mundane ingredients with some of the rarer herbs listed to perhaps concoct something mind-altering...
"Now now," Dalviss backs away from D. "I get it, but I'm a businessman, and didn't want to upset them."
The room contains four beds that are all neatly made up, as well a cabinet next to each of them. The room contains an inordinate number of waterskins filled with drinking water on top of each cabinet.
There's a folded-up piece of paper behind the bed. A hasty map of the Dustpawn region is drawn on it, with a big red 'X' on one location, and a red circle on another location as well. Both are unlabelled.
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"Oh, how interesting. They're all casters of some sort, and with those spellbooks, I am guessing Wizards. Though... I have a spellbook too, and I'm really not a wizard." Cup sucks in her breath for a moment, and then details their outfits and what they were carrying. "Four identical amulets? Pep, Sirettis... Do you recognize this symbol? It looks almost astronomical..."
Then, being low to the ground, she fishes out the folded piece of paper.
"Xs and Os and a map of Dustpawn... I believe that we have some places to search out our mystery."
She shows the map to Dalviss. "Where are these places? Are any of them familiar to you?"
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Mr Peppers grins as his magic dominates that of another's "This will stay unlocked for 10 minutes before relocking. Let's make our investigation quick before we leave things as they were. We don't want to get our host in any trouble in case these men aren't the cause of the problem."
As Miss Cup starts searching under the bed his eyes move towards the pile of full waterskins "Are there any particularly arid areas nearby? Or ones without any potable water?" He detects for magic, because, well, that's what he does.
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"Miss Cup, you'll need to draw out the symbol as I'm not benefiting from that spell." His statement would normally drip with annoyance but it certainly has more playfulness than usual.
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It is good to see Miss Poshkettle hasn't lost her investigative edge. Sirettis lets her lead.
"Four identical amulets? Pep, Sirettis... Do you recognize this symbol? It looks almost astronomical..."
Sirettis tries to recall information about the amulet.
Then, being low to the ground, she fishes out the folded piece of paper.
"Xs and Os and a map of Dustpawn... I believe that we have some places to search out our mystery."
She shows the map to Dalviss. "Where are these places? Are any of them familiar to you?"
Do any of these locations map to local areas?
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Cup recognizes the amulets' design. This particular design is favored by cultists of the Dominion of the Black. Why would prospectors be wearing it?
The room is otherwise free of magical auras or goods.
Back out in the main room, Dalviss runs his finger along the map. "Most curious! That 'X' is definitely close to where the meteor hit! And this place beside it... That's one of the old mines. The Nesher Mine, to be exact."
"Seems you've got a couple leads here. What do you think?" Dalviss pours Gallix another beer. "Will you search the swamp first, or maybe venture out to the crash site? It's strange that the mines are also circled on this map..."
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Sirettis knows a bit about the Dominion of the Black: They're associated with the dark places between the stars - a realm known to scholars as the Dark Tapestry.
Little is known about the Dominion - whether it's a cabal of strange creatures, a collective of an unknown race, or a single eldritch force is unclear. The needs and desires of the Dominion are tended on worlds like Golarion by cultists and the insane - pawns who rarely actually know why they do the things they do or have any insight into all of the Dominion's goals or nature.
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Dalviss and Nalan give you some snacks for the road, and then you exit the bar and travel outside Dustpawn. The region outside consists of lightly forested hills to the west, and the ragged foothills of the Five Kings Mountains to the east. Two streams of the Conerica River flow through this region, and numerous roads wind through the hills. A narrow wetland runs along the southern bank of the uppermost reaches of the Grackle.
Leeara's journal leads you to the banks of the Grackle River in about an hour, but the roads here are disused, and you're not quite sure where the small cave she referred to is from a first glance.
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Mr Peppers likewise flies along just off the ground, his hair tied back neatly in a pony tail however. "Don't you find the wildness of your hair aggravating Sirettis? Doesn't it get in your eyes and mouth all the time? I couldn't imagine Dwarves and their beards.. the shear volume of food caked in them after a meal is enough to feed TWO Elves."
As they small talk he keeps his eyes peeled for what they could be looking for. "They don't keep these trails well marked or maintained. I wonder if they even know HOW to cobble a street." It couldn't be that difficult, I'm sure with the correct application of magic it would be quite quick actually. Stone shape perhaps? That would do a fair job, then a herd of gnomes to carve in some ode's to our favorite celebrities maybe?
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"Braiding my hair- and unbraiding it- was one of the few pasttimes I was allowed to entertain. My masters made sure I was presentable." Sirettis responds. "They enjoyed showing off my hair as part of my... exotic charm."
Sirettis was never proud of her slavery, but it did happen. No sense in running from the past. "Too many people try to fight their hair. That's the problem. It is a part of you. You wouldn't force your hand behind your back, why restrain your hair?" Some of her hair flaps and pushes her ahead.
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Mr. Peppers, Sirettis, and Cup keep their eyes on the ground as the party travels south along the road. Oolong sniffs the trail, and barks to alert Cup to a narrow path winding down into Old Frog Swamp. The path winds along a low ridge that snakes its way through the bog all the way to the banks of the Grackle.
A loamy smell assaults the senses, while the ever-present croaking of frogs permeates the air, giving the impression that they converse with visitors to this area. The croaking seems to grow louder as you approach the river.
A relatively dry track winds up to the southern bank of the Grackle River, bordered on either side by tangles of marshy undergrowth. Across the river, a thirty-foot-high ridge rises up into densely forested mountains, but directly across the river, a dark cave entrance beckons...
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Mr Peppers takes the wand and looks at Gallix with a raised eyebrow "Are you sure you want to swim in a slow moving river that winds through a swamp filled with freaky frogs? THIS is what you wish to do Gallix?"
The Elf and Sirettis hover above the ground looking on concerned. "If you wish." He taps him with the wand and shrugs.
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As Gallix's hands and feet magically reform to better suit him for climbing and swimming, he sighs and takes the wand back. "Fine, I guess you and Sis can just carry me over or whatever," he grumbles, "Just wanted to do something cool I guess, but you guys with your magic always have the stupid answer..."
All the way through the flight over the river, Gallix wears a pout.
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Mr Peppers smiles at Gallix as he finally sees his wisdom "Magic is always the correct answer Gallix. Especially when the question is 'should I swim in this swamp or fly over it'."
He then turns his attention to Miss Cup and her slobbery taxi "Perhaps Sir D could lift that pairing up and over as well? Either would provide some life changing level of excitement right?"
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Sirettis wraps her hair around Gallix, much to his disappointment, and gingerly carries him across the stream. Mr. Peppers floats over while D uses the power of telekinesis to levitate Oolong and Cup up and over to the other side. Yurei snorts as her hooves dig through the mud and she begins sliding in, but Uesugi angles his body forward for momentum and Yurei finds just enough purchase to make a leap across.
And then, the soft sound of the calm waters flowing is interrupted...
Ribbit... Ribbit.... RIBBIT...
Movement surrounds you as there are suddenly frogs. Frogs, everywhere! Four giant, warty, fat bullfrogs leap from the pond and lash their tongues out, one of them striking just short of Gallix's boot.
-- Bold is up --
D., Sirettis, Cup
Blue, Yellow
Uesugi, Mr. Peppers, Gallix
Red, Green