|
Genryl gathers everyone together away from the people they just kncked out. "Hold on for a second, I'm going to all down the power of Halcamora." He holds his holy symbol aloft and concentrates for a second before a wave of energy that almost looks like a fountain of a sparkling white wine starts to flow from the symbol, dousing everyone in a good thirty feet in the 'liquid' energy. Little bubbles form over exposed skin and open wounds in particular, and they quickly float up as the energy fades, leaving healed skin and a light-hearted, giddy feeling behind. gEnryl then frowns at how little it healed and pushes out a second pulse.
He then pulls out a small potion bottle and takes a sip from it, before grimacing. "Gods this is terrible! It's almost on the point of turning into vinegar! Ughh. Mind if I use another to wash the taste out?"
Genryl, his wounds fully closed, steps up next to Sirius. "I've got an enlarge person spell left if you want to swing extra hard in the next fight!" Otherwise the man prepares his divine favor spell to use right before they head into the fight.
|
The party prepares for the next room. As everyone gets ready, you smell a sulphuric smell coming from the next room. You turn the corner...
Party Conditions
@ Genryl
@ Ella
@ Sirius (-1 lethal, CON 3 dmg, STR 2 dmg)
@ Perrine
Two long tables take up the center of this room. One is covered with scattered cutlery and scraps of leftover food while the other sports flasks, tubes, and other alchemical equipment. Two doors to the south lead to matching hallways lined with simple bunk beds. You see two assassins, sitting idly on the chairs. As they see you, they hop up. A woman, clad in dark leather is currently preparing a vial of purplish liquid over a beacar and burner. She raises her glasses as you walk in. Huh? And who might you be? Surely youre not the same ones who got tricked by Ilchok. He did say that he was being followed by a group of, what did he call you, Pathfinders? Why have you come here?
|
|
She lets out a short laugh before continuing. If you’ve come to stop us, you’re already too late. The leaders of this vile city are dead. There will be chaos on the streets. Blood will run like a river. Unrool, unrest. Isn’t it wonderful? You’ve failed to stop the coming storm. You’re actions here are without end - you’ve failed. Go home, bury your Vemture Captain. There is nothing left for you here.
|
|
There's not a trace of a smile on Ella's face as she responds, "Oh I don't know. Seems to me we can still find vengeance."
Genryl's face on the other hand is plastered over with a smile that is more a baring of teeth than an actual smile.
"Well that was very informative. First, You are the instigator of this 'rebellion.' Second, we can probably take a good stab at why you started it, someone mistreat you in the past, steal your pastry? Third, you have a terrible accent, who says 'unrool' like that? But my friend is right, we can at least exact vengence and make sure you and you're companions do not have a place in the new leadership, maybe we can even step in and help ensure things move smoothly, now that the rotten bunch of grapes has been removed and burned!" He looks at his companions to double check they agree with him.
|
|
We will see about that. She grins, and takes a fighting stance, right as Sirius grows larger from Genryl's spell. Interesting. Well, kill them all. Except for that dwarf, save him for me.
Round 1
@ Ella
@ Perrine
!Assasins (blue, orange)
!Caladara
Genryl
Sirius (large, -1 lethal, CON 3 dmg, STR 2 dmg)
@ Ella and @ Perrine may act!
|
|
The assassin struck, winces as he retaliates, joined by his friend. As his friend moves around, it provokes from Perrine.
The alchemist lady throws a bomb at Sirius.
Round 1
@ Genryl
@ Sirius (large, -12 lethal, CON 3 dmg, STR 2 dmg)
Round 2
@ Ella
@ Perrine
!Assasins (blue, orange -8)
!Caladara
@ Everyone may act!
"Insert witty remark here!" :) as he goes for the alchemist.
-- ouch
-- nice?
-
|
|
While Ella and Sirius both struggle to hit their target, Genryl moves forward and begrudgingly stabs Calasdra through the chest. Perrine is also able to land a hit, but the assassin only looks back at her, peeved.
Calasdra recoils in pain. Aghhhhh...hahahaha as she quickly turns it into a laugh. You're stronger than you look. I like that. Join us in our conquest. She takes a step back, and throws another bomb at Sirius.
hit, + smoke! grants concealment!
As the bomb hits, the smoke creates a blanker over the party! The thick smoke is hard to see through.
The assassins try to take out the large target in the room.
-- at Sirius, hit
-- at Ella, miss
Round 2
@ Genryl (-5 lethal)
@ Sirius (large, -20 lethal, CON 3 dmg, STR 2 dmg)
Round 3
@ Ella
@ Perrine
!Assasins (blue -2, orange -8)
!Caladara (-15 lethal)
@ Everyone may act!
Genryl moves to a more favourable position and stabs orange.
|
|
As Genryl and Ella try to stab at their targets and miss, Sirius takes out blue.
The assassin remaining retaliates towards Genryl.
Caladra laughs. Is this all you have, Pathfinders? Your defeat is inevitable. Your fight is over. Leave with your lives. She moves into the mist, gaining concealment. Obviously a fan of the smoke, she smiles and rolls a bomb down towards Sirius.
Round 3
@ Genryl (-10 lethal)
@ Sirius (large, -28 lethal, CON 3 dmg, STR 2 dmg)
Round 4
@ Ella
@ Perrine (delayed, reflex required)
!Assasins (orange -8)
!Caladara (-15 lethal)
@ Everyone may act!
|
|
Perrine and Ella completely annihilate the last assassin thug in the room, leaving the alchemist alive and laughing hysterically. Yes, that's it! Run away, Pathfinder. Oh wait, you won't get a chance to do so...
She disappears from view inside the smog, and reappears where you entered, blocking your way out. She throws a bomb from stealth at Perrine.
Round 4
@ Genryl (-10 lethal, delayed)
@ Sirius (large, -28 lethal, CON 3 dmg, STR 2 dmg)
Round 5
@ Ella
@ Perrine (-14 lethal)
!Assassins
!Caladara (-15 lethal)
@ Everyone may act!
|
|
As the alchemist goes down with a thud, the smoke in the room dissapears after a few minutes. You find a journal which belonged to Cladara, the leader of the Ghostknives it would seem. Within the pages there is a very detailed plan for the Ghostknives to overthrow the local military in Daggermark.
The chaotic River Kingdom of Daggermark maintains a semblance of stability via a common understanding among its residents: those who draw their neighbor’s ire often end up dead. Daggermark’s Assassins’ Guild and Poisoners’ Guild hold considerable sway in the unruly city-state, sharing power with the local military. New members of the Assassin’s Guild receive local contracts as part of their training, and any citizen can hire a student assassin once per year at a reasonable price. Only members of the military are exempt from these trainee contracts, meaning those who seek security and social advancement often enlist in the army. This system has kept the peace for years, but a cabal of Assassin’s Guild defectors called the Ghostknives sees the military exemption as a loophole it can use to overthrow the Guild and seize control of the city. By quietly eliminating army officers and replacing them with coconspirators, the Ghostknives could set the stage for a bloody coup.
The venture-captain stationed in Daggermark, Istivil Bosk, accidentally stumbled upon a Ghostknife assassination occurring outside of the bounds of the Assassin’s Guild’s rules. To save himself from the assassin’s blades, Bosk invoked one of the River Freedoms, the cherished values that form the backbone of River Kingdom society. The second River Freedom, “Oathbreakers Die,” encapsulates the significance River Folk place on personal vows—every vow comes with an implicit promise to keep it or die trying. Bosk swore an oath that he would not reveal the Ghostknives’ existence to anyone or interfere with their plots, which convinced the assassins to spare his life. Bosk was true to his word, though he continued to monitor the group’s activities, watching silently as Ghostknife assassins began targeting military officers.
Yet when Bosk learned that Timinic, a Pathfinder agent who had been exploring the sewer complex below Daggermark, was marked for death, his loyalty to the Society overruled his oath to the assassins. He revealed the situation to his most trusted friend, Sergeant Brandur Clovesh, who promised to help hide Timinic until Bosk could request an evacuation from the Grand Lodge. Despite Bosk’s best efforts, the Ghostknives noticed that Timinic disappeared before help from the Grand Lodge arrived. While the assassins have not yet found their target, they have deduced that Bosk must have broken his oath and have set in motion plans to kill the venture-captain and cover their tracks.
Your actions expose the Ghostknives and compromise their leadership, causing the cabal to collapse. Any Ghostknives who survived the initial raid are quickly eliminated as the Assassin’s Guild roots out the remaining defectors. Ghostknife sympathizers within the military abandon their posts and flee the city, fearing that they will ousted from the military by Jallor Clovesh and handed over to the Assassin’s Guild once the guild identifies any officers who were promoted because of the cabal’s intervention. The flurry of desertions roils the military for a couple days, but before long Daggermark returns to its anarchic equilibrium.
The Pathfinder Society is left with the question of what to do with Dryblade House, now that its venture-captain is dead and its surviving agents are demoralized. Timinic returns to Absalom with recommendations for missions that could reinvigorate Pathfinder activity in the Daggermark Lodge.
The End.