"Trapdoor. Pitfall." Agent Midnight points ahead, and Fazgyn agrees with her assessment.
She advances to the edge of the door and takes a look. "Ballistar, do you want to disable it?"
Baltoros immediately takes two steps backwards from the trap, perhaps bumping slightly into one of the accompanying kobold warriors, and begins scanning the other parts of the floor and walls for signs of other hazards.
"Might as well jest keep me peepers open wide fer anyfin strange an' unusual, shall I?" Balistar pulls a hooded lantern from his pack and fills it with oil, then lights it.
"Oi, ain't this a bit o'trouble! Well spotted, Agent M, well spotted, indeed!" the young ghost hunter hands his lantern off to one of the others, then carefully places his pack on a dry part of the floor and begins rummaging through it. "Jest 'alf a mo', an' I'll 'ave me ... there you are!"
Balistar pulls his "needful fings" out of his pack, and unrolls their stained leather wrap. He chooses carefully, then creeps over to the edge of the pit trap.
"All right, mates, all right. I appreciate your faith in my expertise - and it is absolutely warranted, that I can tell you - but I still strongly recommend that, unless you are holding my lantern or otherwise actively assisting in resolving our deadly peril, you each take a couple of big steps back."
Balistar cracks his knuckles, winks at whoever is holding the lantern, and gets to work.
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To everyone's amazement, Balistar easily jams the trapdoor using his tools in hand, enabling the group to walk over the door without triggering it.
”Yiss, eggssellent, good job” The kobold praises the bard, impressed at his thievery ability then continues to take lead, pushing the group into the sewers. Not long, you come into an intersection that goes into two opposite directions. The kobold lays low on the ground and sniffs each for a couple minutes. ”We’re near men, we spilt up here! Pathfinder you go there, Sewer Dragons go here, we surround dragon shark and crush them! Remember looks for trapsss.”
The kobolds unsheathe their spears and in a single line tread down the darkness in the opposite direction.
"Good job, Ballistar. I couldn't have done it as well." Agent Midnight smiles. "I'll keep Seeking. Maybe there are more traps along the way."
Perception for me, since I'm trained (+2).
Kuch will keep behind Midnight, on the lookout for enemies or their tracks.
"Ballistar, do you want me to try it?"
Balistar bows, and waves the halfling ahead.
"You 'ave at 'em, Agent M. 'Finders keepers,' as me old Mum used ta say."
Balistar will continue to Investigate with Recall Knowledge for Occultism.
Agent Midnight removes her Thieves Tools, inspects them carefully, chooses the finest picks and a nail to set the trap shut. "This should do it. We're safe to pass now. I'll keep looking for traps." She retrieves her tools, packs it on her belt, and moves on.
Baltoros looks immensely more comfortable when Balistar looks up with a grin. When it comes time to walk over the trapdoor, the Garundi nevertheless strides across warily and with haste.
As they proceed without the kobolds, he sticks near Kuch, stopping when Midnight finds the second trap; he cautiously attempts to avoid this too, even after she has deftly disabled it. As they move on, he grips his trident and begins uttering a nearly-subvocal litany imploring the Wind and the Waves to hear their servant and give him the second sight necessary to find magical things.
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As you travel, to some disappointed, nothing of the extraordinary is observed, nor is any magic sensed. Just more sewerage, junk, broken weapons and the likes littering about.
Baltoros keen ears picks up some funny noises from beyond the next intersection. To the group's surprise (or anticipation) they immediately spot a group of kobolds, presumably hostile as they bear the colours of the Dragon Sharks, milling about as they make their rounds. They chatter idly and eat some jerky before they realise a group of strangers have entered their terrain!
Midnight = 12
The chittering was unmistakable. Baltoros signals to the group that he had heard something, and their pace slows as they approach the corner of the hall. Sure enough, four of the scaled creatures were about. The old adventurer noticed that one of them stood out from the others, wearing the robes of a priest or arcane dabbler. Just as Baltoros turned to discuss options with the group, however, what had been idle kobold discussions took on a more forceful and frenetic tone as the Dragon Sharks apparently became aware of the interlopers as well.
Thinking quickly, Baltoros glides past Kuch and lines up a gust of supernatural winds in an attempt to neutralize two of the Dragon Sharks without much injury.
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A gust of wind blows strongly against the back end of the sewer thanks to some magic by Baltoros. The front Kobold stands himself firm surprisingly. But the sorcerer flies off his feet and is knocked back! With the wind against him he refuses to stand up! But he starts casting from where he lies.
materializing out of thin air, three bullet shaped translucent objects fly directly against the wind (magically) and knock into him!
"I'll target the magic user..." Midnight runs through the sewage, readies her crossbow, and sees plenty of targets guarding the magician.
Gah, my favorite boots! I'll be scrubbing them for weeks to get the smell out!!
"Fine, Mister Red. You're blocking my shot!"
Kuch gives Midnight an impressed look. "Nicely done, Agent!"
He then Leaps across the drainage in front of Baltoros, Strides towards the yellow kobold, and makes two quick Strikes in a flurry of knees and elbows, aiming for the scaled chin.
"'Ey now, well done, me lads and lassies, well done! Let's kick these guttersnipes ta the ... oy, well, the gutter then, wot?"
Balistar moves to the other side of the sewage stream - Oy, this is a bit 'orrible, ain't it? - and draws his bow.
"Magic Missiles! They have a mage of some sort. Well they'll not do that twice."
Sable casts Shield, then takes a double move, to running jump over the filthy water,
but skids on the wet stone, and has to climb out, soaked and furious, ending up in front of Baltorus.
The wind had appeared to be a success, as the robed kobold flew backwards end-over-end. His elation evaporates once he spies three magical orbs shooting from its fingertips and smashing into his body. "Gah! Seriously?!" But his indignation gives way to gratitude as Kuch and Midnight drop the two kobolds closest to him in rapid succession.
He takes a moment to call upon Gozreh for healing and protection, should the bowled-over kobold try to do the same thing again.
"I'll try to use suppression fire." Agent Midnight reloads her crossbow and gets closer to the mage before firing.
The key to suppression fire is not to hit, but to scare the target into doing something else.
Kuch groans as the missiles burn his flesh. For a moment there, his orc half almost goes out of control, but he centers himself with a deep breath. "Your sorcery will not subdue my spirit!" he shouts as he leaps over the fallen kobold's body, taking the stance of the dragon and covering the distance in a few leaps, aiming to crush the sorcerer' skull with his heel.
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Kuch quickly closes in on the sorcerer as he seems to be the biggest threat even while knocked prone. The half-orc monk kicks the kobold while he's down. The injuries sustain are enough to cause the enemy to fall unconscious.
Uncertain about what to do, the last standing kobold warrior just slings somemore projectiles towards Kuch in hopes to scare the half-orc. Unfortunately it barely makes an impact as the stones feebly bounce of his ripped body!
"Looks like these Dragons Sharks ain't gonna put up much of a fight! Let's finish this so's our Sewer Dragon friends 'ere can get back to ... doin' whatever it is they were doin' before these yahoos showed up!"
Balistar shoots off a pair of arrows at the last kobold standing, using his bow in combat for the first time.
One last target to neutralize. Agent Midnight steadies her aim and fires...
As his ethereal shield dissipates, Baltoros observes Kuch take a beating from a withering hail of stones and magic projectiles. He raises the woodcarved symbol of a dripping leaf high overhead and proclaims some forceful, ancient words. In a blink, a misty and intangible ray materializes, connecting Kuch and the symbol.
Kuch takes a deep breath as the positive energy heals his wounds and bruises. He shows a thumbs up to Baltoros as he leaps over to the other side of the sewer, strides back towards the last kobold and throws a couple of quick jabs at him.
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Midnight fires off and hits the kobold in the arm. Following through With a strong arm, Kuch moves in to critically wounds the remaining dragon shark, just in time for Fazgyn and company to witness your display of prowess as the appear from the other end of the sewer. From afar, the sewer dragon trapper yells, ” Hail Pathfinders! I si you doez good in defeating the false tribe! Eggscelllent!”
As you peruse the belongings of the fallen enemy, you find a few mundane equipment but something from the sorcere’s spellbook easily catches your eye. Slightly different in colour, a finer piece of parchment, soaked and stuff into his spellbook is what looks to be an excerpt from some sort of journal. Why it is of importance to you, is because the some of the names written on the journal are that of the missing or dead at the presumed hands of the Rose Street Killer!
Agent Midnight checks the crossbow bolt that missed. "Good job, everyone."
She reads the note. "Are these the killer's targets? It sounds like one worshipper of Milani was helping them with their new lives. Why did the Dragon Sharks come into possession of this?"
Balistar shakes his head sadly.
"'Spect they got it by comin' inta possession o' the follower o' Milani, Agent M. Any chance one o' these guys will talk?"
He looks again at the names on the list. "Any o' these poor sods wot ain't been brutally murdered yet? Might be we could give 'em a bit o' warning."
"I can try to use my healing kit and rouse them. Kuch, can you use some of my rope to bind them?"
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You return one of the fallen kobolds to consciousness for the purpose of questioning, but soon realise that the discovery was nothing more than dumb luck. While scavenging around the Puddles, the group found dead body of a half-elf cleric. They looted his belongings of anything potentially valuable, but found that most coins had already been taken. Without understanding the common language, the kobold sorcerer picked this page assuming it was a list of spells.
Concluding the mission, you return to Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin to report on your successful public relation campaign. Upon reaching the lodge, you relay to him your endeavours and unusual discovery of the waterlogged journal.
The captain reacts jovially to the results, "Very good job! I'll ensure that my fellow Venture Captain, Drandle Drang hears of your good work here. The Sewer Dragons are one of our closest allies, I'm surprise you've not heard of them before today."
He takes a bit more time to read through the journal excerpt, but eventually relents as he isn't able to make much more of it than you at the current time. "Well, this is certainly interesting, but I don't know what to make of it yet. I suggest you head home for now, take a shower, maybe two, and await for further instructions."
~~~
And true enough to his word, in a few days, another missive arrives at your door by a Halfling runner working for the society. He hands you a small bag containing 35sp.
~~~
The Puddles district in Absalom is one that most people try to avoid. After suffering an earthquake 2 decades ago, the town remains in a ruined state with some of the district perpetually sinking in the ground. Anyone with the means, have left the puddles, leaving behind a desperate and underfunded district plagued with flooding and crime.
Rain patters down onto the muddy streets of Absalom’s Puddles district, covering it with the murky pools of water that give the district its name. The buildings that line the streets have seen better days. Many of them are decaying, shuttered, or boarded up. The door of one of these buildings swings open, letting rats rush out into the streets. A woman wearing leather armor and a bronze badge stands in the doorway, slashing a shortsword into the swarm of rats and urging them out of the building. On her forearm, a tattoo of a dog animates and snarls.
Agent Midnight spends several days scrubbing her boots to get the smell of sewage out.
Receiving the missive, Agent Midnight tries to recall details about the Band of the Palm.
In the Puddles, Agent Midnight keeps an eye on the woman. "What's with the tattoo?"
Balistar buys a pair of boots, a cloak, and a nondescript outfit suitable for traveling - all gently used, and reasonably close to his size - from a small shop in a dingy alley without a sign of any sort. Returning to his rented room, his landlady comments on his new clothes.
"Felt like a bit of a change, I did, Mrs. R, and a good fing for you I did. The clothes I 'ad been wearin', why you'd 'ave smelled 'em all the way down at the butcher's if I'd worn 'em 'home." Balistar shakes his head. "No, I thought to meself as I left the Grand Lodge, no, I should go straight to the tailor and purchase meself some new rags so that these offending duds can go straight into the furnace! And Mrs. R, that is jest wot I did, it is. I said to Tailor Bennish, Bennish me lad, I'll gladly pay ya a silver for these new threads, an' worf every bit of it they are, but I implore you ta take this bundle of odiferous apparel and burn the lot."
Balistar receives the message from Ambrus Valsin with enthusiasm. Clapping a hand on the shoulder of the courier, he grabs his cloak and pack from a wardrobe near the front door, and hustles the young halfling outside. From the front step, Balistar calls back into the small rooming house, "Sorry, Mrs. R, duty calls! The Paffinders need me particular skills ta solve a turrible mystery! I'll prob'ly not be back until very late!"[/b] As the storyteller slams the door shut, Mrs. R's voice is just barely audible from inside, calling, "But Balistar! What about my rent?"
Balistar bids the halfling good morning, then walks off toward the Puddles, rubbing his hands together as thinks about the eventual payoff if his team is able to stop the murders and catch the killer.
Band of the Palm... Now what d'ya suppose that's all about, Bally me lad?
Not a clue, Bally ol' sot, not a single bleedin' clue.
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Arriving in the Puddles, Balistar follows the Venture-Captain's directions until he spots first the rats, then Agent Midnight, and finally the woman with the badge. He jerks back around the corner before remembering that he's actually looking for someone with a badge instead of the other way around. Sheepish, he saunters over to Agent Midnight.
"Top o' the morning, Agent M, top o' the morning. Leave it ta ya ta notice the details like the lady's animated tattoo. Me, I was focused on these here rats." He shivers, then continues. "Reminds me a bit too much of our last caper, eh?"
Turning to the tattooed lady in question, Balistar gives a jaunty salute. "A very good morning to ya, madam! Ya wouldn't 'appen ta be one of these well-known Muckrakers, would ya?"
Upon concluding their underground explorations, Baltoros is keen to clean himself up, and after dropping his gear off at home, he heads to Just A Drop, a bathhouse in the Ascendant Court district which lies precariously close to the lip of the chasm surrounding the Starstone Cathedral. He takes a good, long time there and pretends not to notice when his stench drives the other would-be bathers away. He spends the next few days alternately at home or offering his services at one of the natural Gozran shrines scattered throughout the city.
Upon receipt of the note, Baltoros is relieved to have the change of pace. He collects his things and dons his gear before making his way to the sodden Puddles district. He makes his way between a few run-down, ramshackle buildings, down an ill-advised alleywau whose dilapidated walls bowed in like tree boughs, looking for his fellow Pathfinders.
He hears Balistar's voice and makes his way there, looking on rooftops and down alleys on his way.
On his arrival, he spies the rats running away from the woman shooing them and uses the foot of his trident to guide them in the direction of sewer entrances and clearly-abandoned buildings.
"Good morning, everyone. How are we faring today?" he asks upon his spotting the rest of the group.
Kuch spends the first day off cleaning himself and ordering a new kimono to replace the smelly and burnt one. He then trains intensely at his dojo, paying special attention to the moves designed to evade projectiles and grapple spellcasters.
After receiving the note he arrives at the Puddles district with mixed feelings. He is happy to see the familiar faces but disgusted at the notion of being in the muck again, as it were. "After our last adventure we should be made the honorary muckruckers", he says as he scowls at the rat crawling around.
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Little is known about the secret society called the Band of Palm.
Your address towards her causes a distraction to her activity and she hits the ground instead of a rat. *Clink*Sploosh* Frustrated, she turns around to address you. “Do you need something? As you can see, I’m busy. Can’t have vermin chewing thorough our food stores, and this isn’t even the first swarm of rats I’ve dealt with today. They’ve been everywhere lately.”