Agent Midnight emerges from her hiding spot. "My apologies, madam. We were sent here to look for a group known as the Band of the Palm. Any information you could offer would be very useful."
Agent Midnight attempts to use Diplomacy to Make an Impression upon the woman. But she's much too formal and never really trained this skill.
Her nobility is showing. As usual.
Kuch produces a badge embossed with the Glyph of the Open Road.
"We're Pathfinders, you see. And the Society has given us resources to make your cooperation worthwile."
He puts the badge back and instead holds up the purse with the money received from the Venture-Captain, shaking it so that the coins inside clink, but not giving it to the woman yet.
"Has there been an outbreak of rats recently?" Agent Midnight shrugs. "Vermin carry disease. Disease causes outbreaks. Outbreaks weaken the city."
"Also, rats is vile, disgustin' creatures wot make my skin crawl. Yer doin' a real service 'ere, you are. But where are me manners?" Balistar bows. "Balistar Vinn, officer, an' jest by chance, I am a collector of tales of strange an' unusual 'appenings. 'Ave ya noticed anyfing strange or unusual 'appening 'round 'ere lately?"
Reluctantly, Balistar draws the pouch out from under his new cloak.
So long, me lovelies!
"We 'ave also brought wif us, officer Al-Shirati, purely as a gesture of good faif from the Paffinders, an' in particklar from our Venture-Cap'n Ambrus Valsin, this small token of the Society's esteem fer the Muckrakers to assist in yer important work."
With that, he hands Ziraya the pouch.
"Believe us, we are quite keen to maintain the good graces of the Muckrakers. Say, what was that about the overwhelming rat problem?" Baltoros pushes several strands of hair back and looks at the nearby rodents, seemingly observing their conversation.
"We were actually investigating the recent string of murders around town, to which one of our agents also fell prey. Has anyone besides the rats been causing trouble in the district lately?"
|
"Thank you." She responds as she receives the coinage, and soon reveals everything she knows about recent incidences. She explains that the vermin infestation was sudden, but the Muckrucker's aren't resource to investigate the root of the problem as they begin to attempt to manage it futilely. The Band of Palm, although they heard the name, the group is too well hidden, but something Kuch says triggers a thought.. “Well, now that you mentioned it, about murders, I received a report from a woman named Dahlia a few days back, she claims her friend has gone missing. I thought nothing of it at first, since people dissappear all the time, and to be honest, none of the Muckruckers have been able to do anything other than attend to the rat infestation. Perhaps you can see to her claims she seemed desperately worried. Dahlia works at a tavern called the Frog's Tongue, it isn't far from here. She's the cook, a pretty blonde, you can't miss her."
|
|
The guard points you off in the right direction of the tavern, and gives you a clear warning to stay away from the rats, and perhaps any suspicious looking individuals. Thankfully your short journey through the wet and narrow alleyways is uneventful.
The Frog’s Tongue, a small building, seems to embrace the water that often floods the Puddles. Recognizing that keeping the first floor of the building dry was a losing battle, the owners instead hollowed out much of the first floor and built a permanent pond, stocking it with frogs for novelty. The tavern patrons primarily use the second floor.
The sign announcing the tavern is a mummified frog glued to a slab of wood. As you arrive in the early afternoon, business is slow. The door to the kitchen is open, and you spot Dahlia frying fish in a skillet. As you approach her and explain your intents, she immediately embraces your presences and drops everything she does causing the fish to burn slowly in the background.
“Thank the gods, the Muckruckers decided to send someone after all. As I was telling the badge lady with the dog tattoo, it’s not like Justerian to not show up for work. He’s a cook here with me, see, and he loves his job. He’d been a slave for years, and with all that slavery isn’t on the up and up anymore, he finally had a chance to pull his life back together. Puddles ain’t the best place for that, but he was managing just fine. He kept talkin’ about how he was worried that one of those underground slavers was gonna come snatch him back. I thought it was just talk, but now I’m worried.”
Balistar shakes his head in sympathy with Dahlia's tale.
"Oi, that's a right smelly kettle o' fish, that is." He pauses a moment, then adds, "I don' mean the actual fish, Miss. Those smell delish, but I do believe they might be gettin' a bit overdone, if ya know what I mean."
Balistar stops and tries again. "Anyways, mayhap ye could give us the skinny on where yer mate lives, where 'ee would 'ang when 'ee weren't cookin' 'ere, an' anyfin' ye've 'eard about these 'ere unnergroun' slavers 'ee were worried about."
|
|
"Ah! My fish!" She reacts by simply turning the fire off but quickly returns to the conversation eager to tell her tale. "Errr, maybe it was slavers, like he said. But I really don't know who his enemies are. He’s real private about his past, and I don’t like to pry when it’s not my business. If you want to know where he lives, I'll draw you a map of it! He kept staying in this real rotten old place. I don't think anyone else would dare step a foot in it!"
Baltoros thanks the Muckrucker for her help, and leaves with the rest of the group. When they are out of earshot, he stops the group at the driest puddle he can find. "My friends, these ears are almost certain not gathering in such numbers for natural reasons - and if attempted by a mere mortal, the staggering logistics alone make such a method unlikely. I believe that we are dealing with something supernatural altogether, something divinely affiliated. I will commune with my patron and search what knowledge my training has accorded me, to root out the source of this infestation." He winks at Kuch. "The last thing our investigation needs is to be derailed by a rat invasion. I will let you all know what I discover."
At the Frog's Tongue, Baltoros is openly pleased at the integration of a natural ecosystem into the downstairs section of the bar, and is clearly enjoying himself here. He is, however, able to compose himself appropriately when talking to Dahlia about the missing cook. When she is finished, he echoes Balistar's sympathetic sentiments before asking a question of his own.
"Given that he had shared his concerns about being pinched back by underground slavers, did he give any evidence or specific reason why he thought they would be coming for him? Was anyone following him around or the like?"
"Thank you kindly, ma'am." Accepting the map, Agent Midnight begins plotting the best route for approach.
|
|
Baltoros knows that a few deities might could possibly be responsible for the spread of plague, diseases, vermin. He isn't able to piece together enough information to pinpoint a single deity.
Dahlia thinks real hard, but isn't able to produce any answers further to what she's already divulged. "Like I said, he's really private about his life, I really don't know much. He wasn't acting unusual or anything like that if you ask me, but it's just not like him to just vanish like that! He just managed to turn his life around..."
"We'll make sure we're ready for anything." Midnight checks her equipment and heads toward the destination when the party is ready.
She doesn't know much about Nature, so she expects the others to lead.
"Has he given any particular reason why he wouldn't abandon that place? Have you been there yourself, what's it like?"
|
|
"I just don't know, perhaps he thought no one would find him? Remember how I said no one would think to look there? It’s because it’s not safe. The stairs are full of termites, and the attic’s full of bats. One good storm and the whole place might just fall down! I really don't dare step into the place myself..."
The group eventually follows the directions to one of the worst hit areas of the Puddles. Buildings seem to be crumbling more so, and roads much more uneven, the situation is so bad to a point the majority of the locals avoid this area for their own safety. You eventually stumble upon the ruined Manor Justerian calls home.
Only weeds surround this once majestic and now crumbling and rotting Manor House. Something you would picture as the perfect haunted house. The buidling now leans slightly to the west, sinking into the muck. The first floor is flooded, and it's door hangs open. Two staircase lead up to the second floor, their steps riddled with small holes.
Agent Midnight looks at the rubble, pulls her climbing gear and prepares to climb.
"Careful, everyone. I'll scale up the wall."
Balistar looks around the abandoned mansion in delight. He nudges Baltoros with an elbow.
"It's wunnerful, i'nit?" the bard says happily. "Places like this, ya c'n feel the weight of 'istory jest pressin' down on ya, can't ya? I bet all kinds o' strange an' unusual 'appenins 'ave 'appened in this place!"
He watches Agent Midnight begin climbing the walls, and shakes his head, impressed.
"Heh. That's well enough for some, but I fink I'll jest take the stairs all careful-like, and trust me luck."
Baltoros eyes the "house" with suspicion, saving the lion's share of it for all of its treacherous entrances. "Wonderful is hardly the word I'd apply here," in response to Balistar's marveling. "Golarion is reclaiming this place, and doing a superb job at that. Let us not linger too long; I'm in no hurry to be reclaimed along with it."
He stows his shield and attempts to move up the stairs, though his armor is not ideal for lightly stepping on rotted boards.
|
|
Balistar and Baltoros both realise upon looking at the stairs, that degradation of the wooden features are clearly a result of the termite infestation Dahlia referred to, and perhaps knows a enough to explains the patterns of their habits to help avoid the most vulnerable spots.
Midnight scales the wall with relative ease, but the same can't be said about Balistar and Baltoros who both get their foot stuck in a misstep and suffer a few cuts from splinters, but nonetheless the make it way to the top.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Rock climbing and rooftop raids helped prepare me." Midnight reaches the top and looks down as Balistar and Baltoros decide to take the stairs.
"Be careful, some of those boards are-" CRACK "-loose."
Having received valuable intel from the "B" team, Kuch follows Agent Midnight up the wall.
"A hundred pull-ups per day prepared me." he adds, towering next to Midnight.
Midnight nods approvingly. "It paid off well, I see."
She looks down. "Sable, do you need any aid?"
Kuch will carefully proceed along the corridor and start opening the doors to his right, starting with the nearest one, ready to pounce at any serial killers hiding beyond.
"I'll keep me peepers open fer strange an' unusual phenomena while we nose about," Balistar says, as he picks splinters out of his leg.
Midnight helps everyone up (at least to the best of her ability) and falls quiet as a mouse.
Baltoros recovers from a truly embarrassing misstep and makes it the rest of the way up. Once there, he takes a moment to massage out a couple of bruises before setting himself for the interior of the home.
Once inside, he begins searching the floor and walls for signs of anyone's passing.
|
|
The party moves down the corridor cautiously, paying attention to every detail possible. Most of the rooms with doors were dud, either completely destroyed with holes to the floor, or just bare and empty. Deeper into the house you move, a horrible smell washes over you.
As you move towards the centre of the house, two large rooms come into view. The room on the south's door has been destroyed, likely from deterioration over time. From afar, the north room seems to be large unfurnished room with a spiral stairwell heading towards the attic. Inside, it seems to be in a state of disarray with some fresh staining, and what seems to be a club lying on the floor. The room to the south, looks to be a bedroom, with puddles of sludge littering the all over floor.
Midnight continues to tiptoe along. When you reach the branch, she takes a look, loads her crossbow, and then points South.
Balistar holds up one arm and tries to breath through his sleeve. With his other hand, he points to the entry to the south room
"Seems like sumfin's nestin' in that room, mates. That 'orrible stench is like the worst combination of animal scat an' the garbage me landlady dumps in th'alley every Toilday an' Fireday fer the scavengers."
Baltoros glances toward the south room, then back at Midnight, who is still pointing. He mouths, You sure? Upon her confirmation, he scans the room and slowly enters, shield held high and trident at the ready.
"Aye, I feel it too. Did Justerian fall prey to a wild animal inside his own house?"
Kuch will follow diagonally behind Baltoros, sniffing the air and ready to leap out from behind the shielded cleric if a threat appears.
|
|
Curious about the smell, the group investigates the southern room. This bedroom's walls are covered with dark greenish mold and smells terribly with what seems to be small droppings on the floor. Other than the bed, which is adorned with fresh blankets and pillows, the rest of the furniture, consisting of a chair and a bedside table is decaying and covered in dust.
You soon realise the sludge pools that cover the floor is something unnatural, as an ooze like creature deposits slime everywhere it moves, wandering about the bedroom. The creaking floors also cause a disturbance to a nest of sleeping bats and they immediately react, creating a swarm of bats!
Baltoros passes his trident to his shield hand, allowing him to weave a sigil in the air with his finger, chanting a verse in praise of Gozreh. Everyone notices a slight acceleration to their weapon hands, or in Kuch's case, just his hands. Baltoros passes the trident back to his free hand once more and keeps his shield aloft.
Midnight identifies threats, and realizes the goo probably doesn't care for a piercing bolt. And there are too many bats to individually shoot.
So she draws a dagger and hacks away at the swarm. "What-what's the most effective method against the bats and the slime? Should I slash it, bludgeon it?"
[ooc]Agile: If Midnight attacks multiple times in a round, she takes a -4/-8 penalty instead of the usual -5/-10.[ooc]
Agent Midnight spots a critical part of the ooze and hacks away.
Balistar will use his first action to cast Inspire Courage.
"Oi, ain't this grand?" Balistar shouts, as he flails about swatting at the bat swarm. "Swarming bats! Awful oozes! This 'ouse, which is almost certainly 'aunted! It's like the most Paffinder-y thing we could do!"
LINGERING COMPOSITION FEAT 1
Traits: Bard
By adding a flourish, you can make your compositions last longer. You learn the lingering composition composition power (see page 235), which you can cast at a cost of 1 Spell Point. Increase your Spell Point pool by 2.
|
|
Balistar knows a little about the ooze, from the smell it's definitely derived from the sewers, and naturally it makes the creature immune to acid. Additionally being without a brain, it's also immune to mental and visual afflictions. On top of that, without any proper anatomy, is immune to precision.
The Bats on the other hand, are common household bat swarms, and because they are difficult to hit can be resistant to most attacks. Additionally, Balistar realises the bats are more spooked than they are hostile and it is possible to attempt to calm them down.
LINGERING COMPOSITION
POWER 1 (Enchantment, Power) - Reaction
Casting Verbal Casting; Trigger You finish casting a cantrip composition with a duration of 1 round.
You attempt to add a flourish to your composition to extend its benefits. Attempt a Performance check. The DC is usually a high-difficulty DC of a level equal to the highest-level target of your composition, but the GM can assign a different DC based on the circumstances. The effect depends on the result of your check.
Success The composition lasts 2 rounds.
Critical Success The composition lasts 3 rounds.
Failure The composition lasts 1 round.
Balistar runs into the room to get away from the bat swarm and conveys what he knows about the bats and ooze. "'Ey there, the goop is jest a mindless sewer thing, it's acidic enough so acid can't 'urt it! It ain't got any real body parts, so it don' matter where ya hit it, won't be any better or worse'n anyplace else! An' these bats are awful 'ard ta 'urt jest by bangin' away at 'em, especially wit' a blunt instrument or by stabbin' at 'em! Baltoros, can ya try ta calm 'em down?"
Balistar draws his rapier and prepares to attack the ooze .
|
|
The Ooze now surrounded by Midnight and Balistar reacts to the situation. First, it unleashes a wave of filth and slime that spreads all across the room in a 20 feet radius. Everyone but Baltoros is covered with excessive acidic slime!
Then it turns on Midnight and attempts to latch on to her and digest her with more acid.
Midnight is gravely injured as the creature's acid burns her skin throughout! She falls unconscious!
.