An unfamiliar woman’s voice intones, “You may now remove your blindfolds.”
The blinding light of day reveals lush garden. A tall woman wearing a white porcelain mask face and a crimson ribbon around her neck stands nearby.
“I apologize, but my employer, Venture-Captain Petulengro, requests you immediately join her in the sculpture hall of the Palace of the Glorious Revolution, a local museum. It is only a short walk from here, and she will be able to answer all of your questions when you arrive. Please hide your wayfinders and any other signs of your affiliation with the Society. Once you enter the building, the sculpture hall will be down the hallway to the left. You can’t miss it. Oh, and she’s in disguise today. She has long black hair and is wearing a green dress.”
Without waiting for a reply, the masked woman points toward a ruined palace a short distance away.
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Mekhu tucks his blindfold away in a pouch on his belt, just in case, and follows on behind the others. He quickly jots down some notes in a leather-bound journal that hangs from his belt by a short thong before realising that he has fallen behind.
He hurries to catch up, his long white robes flowing behind him and his belt, festooned with equipment, rattling slightly as he jogs. His dark skin and traditional dress mark him as a native of hotter climes. "I am Mekhu," he says to the others, holding out his hand in greeting.
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A young blonde-haired woman, her hair flowing over her shoulders and light blue cloak, follows along with the others. Around her neck she wears a simple but elegantly gold-trimmed wooden symbol of a screeching hawk and on her back is strapped a bow and a quiver of arrows. Her eyes twinkle like diamonds in the sunlight and the shadow that the sun casts behind her bears wide angelic wings that don't physically exist on her body.
As if her appearance wasn't breathtaking enough, when she opens her mouth to speak it sounds is as if a finely tuned harp was being strung with every word. "Oh, this is exciting! It's like a mystery party. A good mystery is almost as good as a hunt!"
As you walk closer you see that the Palace’s large windows are covered in plywood, and scorch marks from fires blacken the entire outside of the building. Loud laughter, claps, and jeers drift out from the building’s main hall.
When you arrive in the Sculpture Hall a raven-haired woman in a simple green dress emerges from behind a large culpture of marching peasants. Her mouth moves, and the whispers float across the room, landing precisely at her targets. “Greetings, citizens, won’t you join me?”
She presses on a latch, revealing a hidden door behind the statue and gestures into the secret room.
After you have entered she takes care to carefully close the door and turns to you.
The woman’s feature’s shift rapidly. Her hair turns a vibrant red, and she draws a wayfinder out of a concealed pouch.
“Welcome, Pathfinders. I am Venture-Captain Eliza Petulengro. First of all, let me apologize for the clandestine way you were brought here today, but I promise you, it was necessary.
Two days ago, I received word from the Almas Pathfinder Lodge. They informed me that two Senators from Andoran’s People’s Council, Victoria Garvensi and Augustyn Naryan, were abducted from their homes in Andoran nine days ago. Their investigations turned up a group of suspicious masked mercenaries, but by the time they tracked down the group’s location, they learned that it had already departed for Galt aboard the riverboat Drifting Current along with three other prisoners. The Almas Lodge requested that I pick up the investigation from there.
“I was able to prove through divinations that the Senators were indeed two of the prisoners aboard the Drifting Current, but both of them were warded against most of my magical abilities, including scrying. I asked a contact at the docks to inform me as soon as the Drifting Current landed in Woodsedge. Strangely, she sent me a message yesterday to tell me that the ship had been in port for a day or so already.
I followed up with another one of my local contacts, who discovered that the Galt’s feared executioners, the Gray Gardeners, were escorting the senators. Once I heard that the Gardeners were involved, I was forced to back off my investigation and call on the Grand Lodge in Absalom for assistance. Any move that known Pathfinder agents make
against the Gray Gardeners could lead to severely negative consequences for us here in Galt. On top of that, if the Gray Gardeners are indeed involved in abducting Andoran’s senators, this could be the start of an international incident.
My investigation also led me to another oddity. A barrister here in Woodsedge by the name of Alois Lofton once served as an undercover venture-captain. I reached out to him via secret channels when I began the work of establishing the Woodsedge Lodge, and he made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me or with the Pathfinder Society as a whole. When I learned about this case, however, I went to him in person to request his aid. His responses were extremely odd. I got the sense that he knew more about the case but was unwilling to share it. Troublingly, he seemed to be ignorant of rudimentary information about the Pathfinder Society, or even his past status as a venture-captain. When I tried to figure out more, he threatened to take me to court for harassing an officer of the law.
This situation calls for caution and discretion, and I can’t be seen investigating this matter further. I ask that you pick up the
investigation in my stead, keeping your status as Pathfinder agents a closely guarded secret. I’ll summarize the leads I have. Please commit them to memory.”
The venture-captain raises a finger with each name.
“My contact at the docks, Larisa Stronwell, did not report to me in a timely manner about the arrival of the Drifting Current.
My contact with connections to the Gray Gardeners, Almont Enderios, informed me that the
Gardner’s were involved in this case, and said that he’d look into the matter further. Former Venture-Captain Lofton knows more about this case and not nearly enough about his own past, but you’ll probably need to dig up proof of his involvement if you want him to talk to you.
Finally, I’d also recommend talking to Guard Sergeant Ottavia Respani.
Any information you can find will be of use. In particular, I’d like to you look for clues about who is involved, what Lofton knows, and where the Gray Gardeners have taken the prisoners. If you happen to find information about any of the three unidentified prisoners along the way, please report that as well. When you are finished with your investigation, please tie a simple message to this raven and send it to the Lodge. I will return to the sculpture garden to meet you.”
The venture-captain hands over a small silver statuette of a raven.
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Pethwen's naturally joyous mood seems to be soured a little by the seriousness of the investigation they've been asked to undertake and when she speaks her musical voice now sounds more like the deep strummings of a cello. "I'm sorry but I have little knowledge about the Gray Gardeners or the political sensitivities you mentioned with regards to their possible involvement. Is there anything more you can tell us about that...oh, and are we to track down these prisoners once we find them and attempt to release them should the opportunity arise, or do you only want us to find out where they are for the moment? I for one would be keen to do whatever is possible to ensure they are returned to freedom!"
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It takes all of Mekhu's willpower not to open his journal and write down all the information given by the Venture-Captain, but knowing the secrecy required of them on this mission he thinks it wiser to mot leave a trail of evidence that could lead back to the Society should anything go wrong.
"Who is Guard Sergeant Ottavia Respani, and how is she relevant to our investigation?" he asks. "Also, how reliable has Larisa Stromwell been for you in the past? Might her loyalties have become divided recently?"
The Gray Gardeners are the executioners of the Galtan government. They operate the final blades, magical guillotines that capture a person’s soul at the moment of death. The Galtan Revolution, known as the “Red Revolution” has been ongoing for the last 50 years.
Gardeners constantly hide their faces behind gray masks or veils to remain anonymous and to not themselves become victims of mob justice.
blades nearly 50 years ago. Its members wanted a humane, painless form of execution that would deny Hell its harvest of evil souls.
About the kidnapped senators.
up much of its wealth and property during the People’s Revolt in 4669 AR when Andoran gained its independence from Cheliax and become a democratic.
She then answers Mekhu
“Sergeant Respani is an idealist who works for the town guard. She’s a trained musician who longs for the return of artistic heyday of Galtan culture.
She’s helped me a number of times by feeding me useful information. She should know if the kidnapped people were moved in or out of the Woodsedge Jail, and how you might spring them out if they’re still there.
“Stronwell is a bureaucrat who works at the docks, primarily in shipping and receiving paperwork. Her position gives her easy access to many stored files.”
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Mekhu shares everything he knows about Galt with the group before recounting what little he knows about Senator Naran .
"It sounds like the start of a useful network," he replies to VC Petulengro, "though the delay in Ms Stronwell's information is concerning. Perhaps she should be our first port of call."
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Batholowmew finishes looking around the environments"It's a shame that a building as lovely as this has to be let go so badly. Though I must say you've admirably with it given the conditions. Ms. Stonewall does seem a likely lead. Unfortunate name that Stonewall. Let's hope she doesn't live up to it as far as our investigation is concerned. In either case I can't think of any obvious reason the Grey Gardeners should be interested in these senators, but something will undoubtedly turn up."
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"I don't like the sound of these Gray Gardners at all. If they are indeed behind this, I don't think we should let mere political sensitivities get in the way of us getting to the truth behind these abductions, but yes let's not jump to conclusions. As for where to start, I agree Ms. Stronwell sounds as good as any." Pethwen agrees with the group consensus so far. "Oh, and I think it is Stronwell, not Stonewall, so her name is not so much of a bad omen. A simple case of Tianese whispers there, I believe!" She laughs, the sound like the tinkling of a piano's higher keys.
The venture-captain insists that time is of the essence, and that lives could hang in the balance. She gives you detailed physical descriptions of each of the four contacts mentioned above along with where they can most likely be found during the day (Stronwell in her office the docks, Enderios in his home in Fashion Alley, Respani in a small guard post, and Lofton in his office). She also tells them that Respani typically goes to a bar called the Drunken Morlock for both lunch and dinner. The venture-captain also gives you portraits of the two missing senators.
She also hands you some supplies:
2 potions of invisibility, an elixir of truth, 3 doses of oil of taggit poison, and a lesser silent metamagic rod.
After distributing the items you are ushered out of the room and you begin an uneventful trip to your destination.
Whom to visit first?
Mekhu findsdockworker who tells him that “Someone else was walking around here offering coin to keep quiet about a boat. If you want to know who it was, you’ll need to pay me more than he did."
The man smiles and shakes his head.
"10 times, but I promise the info is worth it!"
The dockworker asks you around the corner and whispers:"There seems to have been a deliberate effort to keep the ship’s arrival off the books. Alois Lofton bribed various people in the harbor to conceal the ship’s arrival to “facilitate the apprehension and security of dangerous criminals and traitors to the Revolution.”
Time used 1 hour
Who goes to Ms Stromwell? Who checks the docks for additional info?
Who goes to Sergeant Respani?
Please post, otherwise I will continue the plot in 8 hours.
You won´t get any more Intel from Ms Stromwell, as the docker gave you all she had. But you saved very valueable time!
As you visit Ottavia at the Drunken Morlock, she is sitting at a back table and writing music on loose sheets of paper while nursing a mug of cheap red wine. The Drunken Morlock is quite nondescript, with a dozen tables scattered about the common room. Its other clientele seems to be
mostly human professionals or tradesfolk. She is wearing utilitarian clothing and is clearly off-duty, not in her guard uniform. She concentrates intensely on her music and hums notes to herself.
You can try Bluff, Intimidate, Diplomacy or Perform.
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"What an interesting composition you're working on. May I see? I'm a bit of a music lover myself, can't compose a note and believe me you don't want to hear me perform; completely tone deaf, but I do greatly admire the work of others. I apologize for interrupting what must be
a glimmer of joy in an otherwise tedious work day, but I was hoping my friends and I might be able to ask you a few questions. A business acquaintance of mine suggested you as a shining example of Galts proud traditions and an honorable officer."
Ottavia tells you the following: Two days ago, she was on her way back to work from lunch at the Drunken Morlock when she saw a gray hearse carriage loaded with prisoners and Gray Gardeners pull up in front of Lofton’s office. Two gray Gardeners emerged and quickly went up the stairs. One of them was a blond man with a rose gold earring, but she couldn’t see his face because of his Gray Gardener mask, and the other had his hair underneath his cap and no jewelry. The group returned a few minutes later along with Lofton, who led them down the street to an abandoned warehouse where they stashed the prison wagon. What seemed strange to Ottavia was that the prisoners in the wagon were not booked into the jail overnight, as per the standard regulations. The whole thing seemed a little fishy to her, but she knew better than to stick her nose into Gray Gardener business, anddidn’t inquire any further.
She is absolutely able to provide you with direction to the warehouse.
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"Thank you for your time. Oh one more thing, do you know anything about a man named, Alois Lofton? He's a barrister I believe. He helped a friend of mine negotiate some contracts and dropped her account very suddenly without reason. I was wondering if you'd seen or heard anything unusual while performing your duties?"