We begin in the city of Magnimar, in the Alabastor district which is close to the easternmost gate. The party is in the Heidmarch Manor, which is the first Pathfinder Lodge in Varisia. You are all waiting in the Foyer for Shiela Heidmarch, as she's finishing an unexpected meeting with a relatively well-known Pathfinder.
You guys can discuss with each other as you wait
Von-Dai impatiently tapped his foot, awaiting his meeting with Venture-Captain Heidmarch. He’d been in the Lodge for three months now, awaiting the opportunity to undertake further exploration. Now, he suspected, he finally had his chance. Fame and wealth would be his for the taking - it was close, he could sense it. Hopefully he could rise to heights of wealth beyond what even his father had dreamed of.
At Erond’s question, he said, ”I’ve been here three months and you still don’t know my name? Von-Dai Cress - Von-Dai is hyphenated.”
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"No sir, I know your name. Sorry sir, it's just that we have a lot of Pathfinder through here and many of the Venture Captions and other highly decorated Pathfinder can change their faces, get new bodies, have twins, change their identities, and so forth so I have found it is better to ask."
Erond, records the name so far.
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Erond’s Records:
Entry 1#
I have been summoned along with four other adventurers, but I have never had a field mission, so this situation seems odd. To add to this the Venture Captain had an emergency meeting today, which uncharacteristically delayed our meeting. Though the other Pathfinders are new, the ones who have files have promising future’s in the Society. The delay maybe a blessing in disguise as the four adventurers have started introductions. The two arcane scholars seem to have much in common and I hope to learn from them, but Elendar seems suspicion of the group. Hopefully, this distrust will subside with time. Marcus seems physically formidable. He has been engaging with the group, but he obviously has had to travel a long way and is quite tired. He been around the world with caravans, a useful trait in a companion. Through conversation it has come to light that we all have some speciality in ancient cultures specifically Thassilon surely this is a clue to our future mission. I guess we won’t know for what we were summoned until the meeting starts in earnest. For what reason I have been included I could not begin to guess, but I will commit to recording their deeds to preserve their accomplishments.Yes, there is also Adamar. Seems friendly, but I could not obtain his file. Very mysterious! His discretion will be an asset.
Marcus just waits for the VC to show up and dozes.
About 5 minutes later two women walk out of the room. One woman is an attractive half-elf wearing leather armor and a distinctive looking aklys hangs from her side
She then turns around to head back into the room before stopping, and saying "On second thought, it might be easier for you lot to join us as well" and she walks in.
Elendar looks almost stricken; his eyes widen and his gaze darts quickly to the woman that Lady Hindmarch calls Koriah, as if he is looking her over for some sort of news that is very important to him. He follows them into the room, staying close to Koriah in an attempt to indicate that he would like to talk to her when her business is concluded.
Marcus will get up and follow them in.
Von-Dai notes the very distinctive alkys upon the woman's back - he didn't recognize the woman herself, however, but it looked as the Venture-Captain Heidmarch's meeting was ending. Standing from his chair, he adjusted his pack as she asked for more time and named the woman "Koriah". Upon hearing she'd found a large cache of Thassilonian artifacts, he was unable to hide his eagerness at studying them, and moved quickly once the Venture-Captain invited them in. He noticed Elendar's reaction - apparently he knew who she was - and made a note to ask the half-elf about her later.
Adamar looks over the others in the foyer with a wary eye, noting the fine clothes and catching the back and forth banter with open ears "They're nervous, unsure on why they've been summoned to see the Venture Captain but then again,by the Hells, so am I." so he's aware as the small talk focuses on him. "Mysterious? Not so much." replies to Elendar's query "I prefer to think of myself as a Retrieval Specialist, a Rogue is someone who is, most often, dishonest and unprincipled and I am neither." "There let him chew on his faux pas for a while" he thinks to himself as he continues lounging on the sofa.
As Venture Captain Heidmarch and the half-elven appear Adamar catches sight of the distinct weapon she carries which triggers a memory that he
should know her but can't quite recall. "Koriah?, Koriah?" he rolls the name around in his head as he stands with the others and to their surprise picks up a large elegantly crafted and lethal looking sword, which he slings over his shoulder before following the others into the room.
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"Rogue colloquially here is used to describe those with clandestine skills. I did not mean any offense as I assumed you had them based on your lack of file. If it makes you feel better I disapprove of literal interpretations of language but still find you likeable so I guess rogue still works. You are just a grammar rogue."
Erond chuckles obliviously thinking syntactic repartee is funny. Then refocus his attention.
"Ah good, a burglar. I was afraid this was all going to be me trying to bodyguard a bunch of scholars. A good burglar was always handy on Pathfinder missions according to my Uncle. "
"Scholar I may be, but my magic is not relegated to merely academic purposes. I have also been curious about improving my skill with weapons - perhaps you could teach me sometime, Marcus?" Von-Dai asked, not taking offense, but letting Marcus know he wouldn't be completely reliant on protection.
"I could if you want. Don't know if you'll like the sparring, it's a bit rough. "
Elendar seems preoccupied with something, and does not contribute to the conversation about their various skills.
"If anything is gained too easily, it isn't worth gaining. I wasn't born with innate magic - my arcane studies took me some time to master. I may not be strong, but I'm fairly agile, and not particularly frail," Von-Dai answered Marcus. He knew that being purely reliant on others was potential folly, and did not intend to make that mistake.
"Well I'm sure game to train you if you want, not that I'm an expert. You can probably find someone more able about town. I'm kinda new to this stuff after all. "
"Burglar, eh? Nothing so mundane." Adamar scoffs at Marcus' remark.
"Cutpurse? Footpad? Second story man? What's in a name? It's all the same, sneaky, stealy sort. "
"True enough. I'll call him whatever he likes. Adamar I suppose. "
She leads you into the Library. The Library walls are lined with booksehlves, and there are several tables covered with books and scrolls. One table in the center holds only an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with Thassilonian runes. She gestures for you to have a seat before saying “I apologize for the delay, as I said I must conclude my business with Pathfinder Azmeren before we meet. In the meantime, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue. This stone coffer is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box. As you’ll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves—there’s no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened. Essentially, a paradox box substitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock. This particular box was among those items recovered by Koriah—the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she’s not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing. So... why don’t you put your heads together and see if you can’t do that for me? Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I’ll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open! Think of this as an audition, if you will—because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!”
Not really sure how to help, since he's no tinker, he also looks over the notes.
Adamar picks up the box and turns it end over end in his hands as he examines it. Frustrated by a lack of success he sets the box back on the table.
Von-Dai looks over the notes along with Erond and Marcus, along with some of his own notes on Thassilon and Thassilonian history. He looks over the box itself, as well, familiarizing himself with its grooves and carvings.
He also casts a cantrip to detect magical auras and studies the box itself, looking for any magical wardings or possible triggers.
Elendar raises his eyebrows at Erond's earlier comment about having seen arcanists who eat souls, startled for a moment out of his reverie, but then decides not to comment on it. He stares at the man as wheels turn in his head and then he turns back to the door.
He briefly frowns when the Venture Captain and Koriah depart without elaborating on their discussion, but curiously turns his full attention to the box. He looks it over alongside the others, pointing and making appreciative sounds as he notices particular qualities of its construction.
The scroll lists translations of the significant runes on the box—one of the most oft-repeated symbols was the rune for “wrath,” which Koriah also notes is associated with evocation magic, and in the earliest days of Thassilon with the word “kindness.” Her notes also indicate that this rune merely marks the box has having once belonged to a citizen of the Thassilonian nation of Bakrakhan, and that the rune likely has little to do with the method of opening this particular paradox box. Another of Koriah’s scrolls lists a few other key observations—the key observation being that five of the box’s faces are identical, but on one face, several additional runes appear. These runes spell out the word “CRUEL.” Koriah has correctly deduced that this word is somehow linked to the box’s mystery. She’s also noted that each of the individual runes in the word can be reorganized by touching two runes at once—doing so causes the two touched runes to exchange places for an hour before reverting to their original spelling of “CRUEL.”
"Hmm, it's an anagram of cruel"
Elendar considers for a moment, and then says cryptically, "LUCRE, or ULCER?"
Lucre is the answer, and as you enter Lucre 2 Pugwampises (Pugwampi?) pop out of the box and look around, preparing to go b%@&$~# crazy, roll initiative
Additionally, you roll initiative with disadvantage, as the creatures seem to drain all luck from the room. I should put up a map in the morning, for now roll the inits
+2= 19
"Well, done, Elendar! Your studies have been quite broad." Von-Dai congratulates Elendar for his work, then drops his jaw as the two Pugwampi jump out of the box and start going crazy.
Elendar preens a bit at the offered praise, then blinks with surprise when the creatures burst from the inside of the device.
Expecting the worst Adamar is pleasantly surprised when nothing explodes but is still taken by surprise when the creatures suddenly appear, still he recovers quickly enough to react before they can wreak havoc.
"Anybody know what in the Hells these things are?" he asks the assembled scholars.
Elendar frowns, and as soon as he catches his breath he tersely mutters "Pugwampis, a kind of evil fairy. Slightly resistant to most weapons, except for those made of cold iron."
First up is Adamar, then the Pugwampi, then the rest of the group, and remember all d20 rolls have disadvantage
Adamar reaches for his curveblade and pulls the blade free. Swinging for one of the gremlins, he stumbles upon a section of upturned carpet and his attack goes wide as the creatures cavort about.
The Pugwampi spend their turn pushing a shelf down, and it comes crashing down to the floor with a loud *BANG*, Adamar roll a reflex save, you take damage, half on a dc 10 reflex save (Remember disadvantage) and then it's the group's block