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bigboom's halfling wants to grapple a dragon. Let's let him have his glorious moment!
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With a tone that is all business, he says, "Pleased to meet you. My name's Busta Jawz. You may have met my cousin, Busta Chimez. He's a bard in these parts and always needs to be the center of attention. He's the absolute WORST at family reunions! Singin' and prancin' around like a fool!
"But enough about him. Me? I work as a bouncer at a local pub, the Myopic Monk!! And I gotta tell ya, them monks sure love themselves some mead!! I saw them so often that after a while, they taught me their ways and now I can take care of any riffraff that would dare cause trouble at a pub under my charge!!
"In fact, with the skills those monks taught me, I've developed a larger ambition. And that ambition... that dream, my friends, is to wrestle down a dragon!! They say it can't be done! They laugh at me! 'A halfling can't wrestle a dragon!!' they say as they ridicule me. But no matter! One day... one day it'll happen!"
A distant, longing look falls on Busta's face for a moment but he soon continues, "Which brings me to you fellas! I may not be the smartest halfling around, but when the going gets tough, the Pathfinders bring me on board to watch my team's back. And I'm sure that on one of these missions, we'll eventually come across a dragon!
"But in the meantime, stay close and I'll keep the thugs and undesirables off you! Like the Myopic Monk, you're all my charge now."
He ends with a grunt, raises his glass to each member of the party and takes another long drink.
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"Welcome Busta, like you I prefer to take on large challenges. I tend to handle giants instead of dragons, but I'm sure some of the same tricks will come in handy.
Now, I'm a Gorumite myself. In fact, I just learned the second half of an interesting technique of his. Let's you really put some power behind your blow when you get a running start."
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Val enters and places a box of cookies on the table, they are chocolate chip; "Please, help yourselves. They come from a little artisanal shop in the Ascendant Court, a personal favorite of mine. They import their chocolate directly from Mwangi producers, completely bypassing any exploitive mercantile consortiums."
Taking a seat and rearranging his exotic robes, "Picked them up on the elemental Plane of Air, this cut is all the rage this season in Armun Kelisk." he greets the others.
"Busta, Cervantes; I am honored. Trade Prince Val Covan at your service. I have studied at universities in Galt and Magnimar and will be able to consult on arcane matters, I also trade extensively in commodity futures so I tend to keep a close eye on the events of the day."
"If we encounter any opposition I will conjure help and support, and I do have access to all kinds of support... Hmm, what could I offer you?... Swiftness of leg and limb is always good but does not maximally compliment your combat styles. Also can summon a Deamon that can shroud both of you in illusion , disorientating your foes? It takes a lot out of me, but I can also teleport a couple of us once, useful if Busta wants to disable a foe quickly."
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Setare seems to be quite nervous and looks around. She is a scrawny girl with auburn hair and amber eyes.
Her features seem Chelaxian but also have something else mixed in.
She is wearing a brown adventuring outfit, a light mithral chain shirt, has a plume on her head and carries a fine scimitar at her hip that is attached to her wrist with a very fine chain.
Around her neck a pendant with the holy symbol of Sarenrae is clearly visible.
"Hel ... Hello ... everybody ... " Setare says with a quivering voice.
Then she focuses on the group of Pathfinders.
"Sirs ... you know ... ehh ... you know ... I have the feeling that I have heard of you ... but who told me about you ... everything is so fuzzy ... your names seem familiar..." she says and looks down at the floor.
She takes a look at the weapons of these strong Pathfinders and then observes her own little Scimitar.
She looks at them again "Ehhh ... it is ... you know ... it is nice meeting you." and then looks away.
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At precisely the first stroke of the eighth hour, the door flies open and a Tiefling gracefully strolls into the room. His face horned face looks down on all of you, appraising each like a piece of livestock. A Halfling? Doesn't look like he can carry much. The brute looks like he does his job well enough. And a baker? What a joke. Is that a child? I'll have to triple my rates for this excursion. What despicable accoutrements. "Surely this must be another clerical error, there is but one brute of suitable stock... Is anyone reading my dossiers?!" he mutters harshly to himself.
His clothing? Opulent. His stance? Imperial. He finally decides to grace you with his speech. "I am Lutorinus Exsuberia, a representative from the most Profane Church of Asmodeus. Your Society has contracted for me to work with you all," he states with authority. "What is it you all bring to this assignment?"
"At least some of you will prove useful," he comments dryly, shooting a withering glare of disapproval at Busta and Setare. Not a baker then, but a consumer of luxury! There is much potential in that endeavor. His diabolical tail sways gently as his thoughts dive deeper into the utility of his companions.
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Busta looks over Cervantes' armaments and replies, "And I see our approach differs a bit as well. While I like to charge in, same as you, I can't say I have much power behind my strikes. I'll make you a deal. I'll hold 'em... You hit 'em!! Sound good??"
Walking over to Val, Busta tries a cookie. "Thank you very much, very gracious of you! And pleased to meet you. It looks to me like you're the brains of the group which works for me. I know what I'm good at and when it comes to thinkin' too much, well my head already hurts just thinkin' about thinkin...
"And if you really can BAMF!!! me right up to some big and nasty, well you're A-OK in my book!!"
Busta reaches up and gives Setare a friendly pat on the back. "Confidence girl! Confidence!!! Look, the Pathfinders wouldn't send you on this mission if they thought you had nothing to contribute. I'm certain by the time this mission is over, each and every one of us will be glad you've been with us from the start!!"
After observing Lutorinus' attitude, Busta shrugs and says, "There's always gotta be at least one on every team, right? Watcha gonna do??" Busta returns to busying himself with his beer.
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A tiny woman arrives late, circling the room on butterfly wings before landing on Val's shoulder. Studying Lutorinus with a conflicted expression she speaks in a sing-song voice;
"This is a mean one... Mr. C."
"He really is a heel"
"He is as cuddly as a cactus"
"He is as charming as an eel... Mr C."
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Lutorinus rolls his eyes when Busta brushes him off. Those brash words wouldn't come out of your mouth if we were in Isger, whelp. The rightful- His thoughts are cut off when the next thing flutters into the room.
"Call it what you wish, creature of Elysium, but the strong survive while the weak serve or perish," he explains cooly. I should know, an Isgeri orphan doesn't rise to the unholy rank of Asmodean Priest through kindness and hugs.
He then turns to Val. "Of all the extraplanar denizens in the outer sphere's planes, you have selected this one? I'm sure you have your reasons, you are clearly an educated man of considerable means. Pray tell, what are they?" While Lutorinus clearly disproves of this choice, he does seem genuinely curious as to why an Azata is Val's ally. They flit around and cause all manner of nuisance, why would anybody willingly ally themselves with something so whimsical when devils are just as available to serve? More reliable even! Even Angels respect order, the only thing worse than an Azata at business is a Demon!
During their conversation, Lutorinus' tail has managed to procure a cookie. "Ah, yes, why thank you," he absentmindedly says to his tail before indulging. Now isn't this marvelous?
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Setare raises an eyebrow when Lutorinus speaks up ... for a couple of minutes she carefully observes him but remains silent ... suddenly she burst into movement and positions herself in front of him with a little more determination than before.
"I ... I will pray fo ... for you! Redemption is ... is the path to walk to cle... clean ones soul Lutorinus!" Setare says with a hopeful facial expression.
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A young half-orc girl slinks into the room, eyes darting challengingly between her assigned companions from beneath a shock of black hair. "I'm Roldala." Her words are muttered, her mouth barely opening up enough to let them through, but even that brief glimpse is enough to see that her mouth is a horror of jagged teeth, filed and broken into mangled wreckage.
She stalks over to the side of the room on powerful limbs that still manage to look a bit gawky, as if she still has one growth spurt left to finish. For a moment her eyes burn into the symbols carried by Lutorinus and Setare, but though you can see her jaw working in some suppressed emotion, she stays quiet.
It's a warm morning as you all approach the Uscalin Lodge known as the Ace of Dreams. The lodge is housed in the country of Lastwall.
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A tiefling, maybe 5 feet tall with a strange glow about her approaches you in the main room of the Lodge. Through the loud and rauccous conversation of the gambling hall, her speech is quiet, but notably audible.
"Venture Captain Besnik will see you all now." she says. Ushering you all to the back room. "Busta, you were requested specifically. The rest of you, I hope you found your way here alright. It's a rather...careless country out there. Oh, and, Busta, intel says you may be able to accomplish that goal of yours, finally!"
As you walk in, you notice a human, towering almost a foot taller than Nalaia with long dark hair, and notable five o'clock shadow within the room. He's got an immaculate leather coat on, and a large sword strapped to his back.
"I know it's here! I had it just a moment ago." Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik lifts piles of papers and numerous boxes off of his desk, stacking them on various side tables and chairs in his clean but overly cluttered office. The tall, Varisian man's face parts in a toothy grin as he lifts up a solid oak box. "Ahh! Found it!" As if to punctuate his discovery, a crowd of players in the ganbling hall erupts in cheers. Distracted for a moment, Besnik stares at the closed office door that leads to the common room. "Desna laughs. Well, she laughs at me, but she smiles on them." The venture-captain shrugs. "All they have is gold; what I have here is far more valuable. Please, agents, take a seat."
Besnik opens the box's lid painstakingly slowly, careful to keep the contents just out of sight. With reverence, he lifts a large tome from the box and gently sets it on the table. "Careful, the binding hasn't held up well. This is one of the few Tomes of Righteous Repose left in the world. I'm pretty sure there's one in the library of the Sancta Iomedaea in Vigil, But I'm - well, let's just say I'm no longer welcome there." He laughs to himself for a moment, looks back up at you all, blushes a bit, and proceeds. "That's a story for another time."
"Up until today, I've only skimmed the pages. I didn't want to damage it, but now that you're here, i can't wait any longer. Care to plumb the depths of this most ancient and wonderful storybook? Oh, the marvelous adventures we will soon read! This tome is a collection of tales describing how various crusaders died gloriously and honorably. I'm hoping to find some clues in the text that will lead us to an as-of-yet undiscovered site or relic. Maybe we can trade a bit of what we find with the Knights of Ozem and earn ourselves some goodwill. after what happened last time, we need it."
"Care to peruse the pages with me?" he says with a wink. "I've done a bit of research into this, and several pages here mention dragons. As I know you're a fanatic, I'd like YOU, Busta, to help me."
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Setare’s eyes open wide and her stuttering is reduced due to the excitement. ”You a... are Roldala?! Oh what a wo... wonderful happening. The Dawnflower sha... shall bless you! You are a... a saint! A beacon of hope fo.. for those fighting for freedom. How you saved a... a city and ca... cared for the shattered soul of a Pa... Pathfinder inspired me. It is an ho... honor to walk at your side!!“ she says with a broad smile on her face.
* * *
Setare seems genuinely excited but she does not dare to proceed first ...
”Ma... maybe you start Ve... venture captain?!“
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Roldala visibly shrinks beneath Setare's adoring stare, unable to keep up with even Setare's stuttering barrge. "I'm no sai- Sarenrae can keep her- The city is still-" Her eyes dart from side to side. "Are you another Katsu?"
***
Roldala couldn't help but look at the fragile book like it was a trap, waiting for Busta or someone else to be the first to page through it.
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Roldala visibly shrinks beneath Setare's adoring stare, unable to keep up with even Setare's stuttering barrge. "I'm no sai- Sarenrae can keep her- The city is still-" Her eyes dart from side to side. "Are you another Katsu?"
Setare is a little ashamed as well.
”I .. I ... I am sorry fo... for forcing my faith on yo... you!!“
She thinks for a moment.
”Yes, I ... I am a Katsu bu... but ... Andor and Zaarah are ... “
She pauses as if it is hard for her to continue.
”... well ... you have to ... to know that my si... siblings and I are a diverse lot! We are a ... a real patchwork family. My real fa.. father died when I wa... was very young and my... my Ifrit mother remarried a ma... man that had be...become the foster fa...father of orphans. And the ... the result was that my Ifrit bro... brothers and sisters grew up with be...beloved and wonderful Ki... Kitsune step-brothers and step-sisters and that we ... we learned to love a ma... man who treated us like hi... his own children... that is why I carry his last name ... Katsu!“
Again she pauses for a moment.
”Roldala, you know tha... that my Kitsune step-siblings were almo... almost sacrificed by their own fa... father and had to flee whi... which led to them loo... loosing their mother and even one of the... their siblings.
Later I heard, you a... and Andor even learned tha... that their own evil father wa... was part of a Chelish noble fa... family that worshiped and bou... bound devils ... the Sarinis! Roldala, I ... I am sorry for my ... my ... enthusiasm. I ... I am just glad to... to see a friend of my ... my brother !“ Setare says apologetically.
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After Setare offers a good, soul-cleansing prayer, Lutorinus puts on his best pouty face and pats her on the head. "Pray as you wish. I'll pray for you too, we'll see whose get answered faster, ok?" REDEMPTION? Condescending Sarenites, always assuming people who disagree with their sentimental views need saving.
And then Roldala slinks in. "YES!" the Tiefling cries, looking at the sky with his arms outstretched. My dossiers have been working! Two brutes to defend me, at last!
EDIT: At the mention of the Sarini's Lutorinus' head snaps in Setare's direction with a sharp crack as his vertebrae realign. "Did you speak of a Sarini heir?" he requests, clearly comfortable butting into the heartfelt converstation Setare and Roldala are having. /EDIT
At the Venture-Captain's invitation, Lutorinus takes the best seat to "peruse the pages." And if our discoveries can be found or connected to Isger, all the better... I'll need all that I can to raise enough of a resistance to smother the bandit hordes.
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Leaning back in his seat Val dwells on Lutorinus's question before being interrupted by Nalaia. Getting up to follow the tiefling into Venture-Captain Besnik's office Val winks at Lutorinus and answers. "It was a pact for power..."
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Seeing the ancient tome, Val comes to hover of the desk and dons a pair of silk gloves. "Everyone please ensure that your fingers are free of chocolate."
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Witnessing the exchange between Roldala and Setare, Busta smiles, a look of amusement on his face. "Happy to meet you, Roldala! It appears we're not all complete strangers, which is always a cause for celebration. We should have a round of beers on our next earliest opportunity!"
Hearing Nalaia's words, a look of confused excitement crosses Busta's face. "My goal? Requested? No.... Can it be...?"
Listening intently to the Venture Captain, Busta hangs on his every word. When the Venture Captain is done speaking, Busta says, "Truly?!? A dragon??? This is a dream come true!! Most of my life has been spent preparing for this opportunity! You can most certainly count on me... even more so than usual!!
Busta turns to Lutorinus and says, "I'll see to it that your judgement of people based purely on superficial appearance will be proven wrong, especially in this upcoming endeavor of ours. When we're done, you and I will be sharing a glass together and you'll be doing so gladly!!"
Busta turns his attention back to the Venture Captain, heeds Val's words of advice by licking his fingers free of the layer of chocolate leftover from the tasty cookies and says, "Well, no time like the present!!! Where do we start?? What does the book say??"
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At the mention of the Sarini's Lutorinus' head snaps in Setare's direction with a sharp crack as his vertebrae realign. "Did you speak of a Sarini heir?" he requests, clearly comfortable butting into the heartfelt converstation Setare and Roldala are having.
Setare seems surprised.
”You ... you surely are ve... very knowledgeable about devil wo... worshippers?! I don’t kno... know if it is true but it seems ... my Kitsune si... siblings seem to be descendents o... of the Sarinis!“ she says with some distrust in her demeanour.
She smiles at Busta. ”You a... are a kind soul. I... I will support you o... or stand back as you wi... wish in your battle!“
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The Tiefling gives Setare an incredulous stare, dropping his unholy symbol of Asmodeus onto the table in front of her. "I am a worshipper of THE Devil, the Dark Prince, King of Hell, Lord of Darkness, Prince of Devils, the Ruler of Hell. It is my duty to know of devil worshippers, especially those who met a grisly end in Isger," he explains, emphasizing the many titles of Asmodeus with appropriate fanfare. Despite his best efforts to conceal it, his mood visibly sours considerably after Roldala's words. Fortunately for the bristling man, the invitation to meet with the Venture-Captain finally arrives and he storms into the next room. She dares to call me a Chelaxian? They who guide the yoke that chaffs agains the neck of Isger? They who force us into a ruthless, degrading submission?
Lutorinus raises an eyebrow at the Halfling. "Let's make a wager," he says slyly. "If you manage to pin a dragon in my company, I'll purchase the first three rounds of drinks for this entire band of misfits. But now, if you don't, you will be my porter for an entire day," he offers, extending his hand. "Naturally, I will not skimp on the contract the Society and I have agreed upon. That is to say, all the support I am required to provide you with shall be given," he says, this part without a hint of guile.
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Replying to Lutorinus, "A fine proposal!!" Busta jovially bangs his beer mug onto the table. "I pin a dragon, we all get hammered on Lutorinus' coin! I fail and I carry Lutorinus' bags for a day! During which I'm sure quite a few strangers will accost and accuse him of child labor. But neverthless, a deal is a deal!!
"And as a devil worshiper, I have no doubt you'll hold up your end of the bargain!!"
And responding to Roldala, "If I end up a stain on the sand while pursuing my life's dream, then so be it. It will have been a life well spent, at least in my opinion! And all the more reason for a drink together before setting off!" Busta raises his glass to Roldala and takes another gulp.
Besnik stops Busta as he's flipping through, images of dragons and illustrations of grand battles fluttering by, but one particular images catches him off guard. "Go back! Go back. What was that? Was that!!??"
He rips the book from Busta's hands, forgetting just how priceless the book probably is for a moment before turning back. "My apologies. We're looking together. I got carried away."
He puts the book back down on the table and flips a few pages back. "Haha! It is! Minkai art! Let's see, the Minkai Empire was foundid in 3619, and the empire's first explorers didn't reach the west coast of the continent until at least 3691 AR, which leaves only sixty years before the beginning of the Shining Crusade itself. These women could have been among the first Minkai citizens to reach the Inner Sea! Let's see, what secrets does the poem on this page hold?"
He asks each of you to individually approach and read the poem. before asking each one of you, "What do you believe this means? I've got my ideas, but I'd like to hear yours first. Some of my brightest pupils," He gestures to Nalaia, "have redirected missions from a failure to a success based on their reasoning."
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Lutorinus ponders the poem for a moment before responding, pointing at various stanzas as he does. "Obviously they are referring to the Knights of Ozem here, who fought the Whispering Tyrant during the Shining Crusade and were led by none other than Iomedae as a mortal," he lectures. "With the Shining Crusades having taken place in Ustalav, I suspect whatever it is we are looking for resides there, perhaps being guarded by a 'Minkai warder,'" he concludes.
He then looks expectantly at the others, waiting to hear their thoughts on the poem. A little test of the mind then. Should give me a little insight into their thought processes, always a valuable bit of information.
Besnik is caught off guard by the tiefling's knowledge, but doesn't directly address Lutorinus. Instead, he focuses on the questions. "Gyudar's snow is a mountain within Ustalav! And, though Iomedae was still mortal, the god being referenced here may more likely be Aroden himself (or his then herald Arazni). Afterall, Iomedae was a devout worshiper of Aroden, even being called his herald. Its said she took his place in the pantheon after ascending via the test of the Starstone. Good, good, any other guesses?"
He then turns to Lutorinus, "You seem like an excellent historian. Remind me to invite you back here so we can have a chat over the possibility of switching your home lodge. If, of course, you'd be willing."
"An evil incarcerated? We should check up on it. You know, in case the incarceration is failing...?" Elyse shrugs and looks to the others for support.
Besnik smiles. "Thought you guys would like this mission. We may not be able to read every word of this poem, but what we can read is more than enough to tell us that we need to investigate this site. What is clear to me is that the poem references some sort of protectino against the Whispering Tyrant. The Knights of Ozem have always been secretive about the many and varied ways they keep that old lich locked away in Gallowspire, even among themselves. it's possible that they have no idea this particular protection exists."
Time for some checks. Each chunk of spoilers is a single check.
Knowledge (Arcana, History, or Religion)
Knowledge (History, Local or Religion)
Knowledge (geography) or Survival
Besnik begins sifting through papers before finding one, grabbing it, and stroking his chin for a bit. After a moment, he puts the paper back, walks over to a lockbox and offers it to Busta. "Based on my research, these should help you in the area."
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Setare thinks for a moment.
"I ... I can remember that to keep the Whispering Ty ... Tyrant locked away, the Shining Crusade im... implemented a layered de... defense. Even if one li... line fails, there are se... several others keeping his immo... immortal powers at bay!" she says with a quivering voice.
"We shou... should make haste a... and try to find thi... this place!"
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"A barren no-man's land populated by only cultists and the depraved. Shame" Val responds despondently.
"Yes, they used a broken key defence. Robust in the short term but subject to information decay.. Hard to account for the Ship Factor when you plan to defend for all eternity... Val stares at down at the table mulling information security.
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Lutorinus nods with approval as his companions offer up troves of valuable knowledge. The Society is proving more and more adept at reading my dossiers it seems. Finally a team worthy of working with. He cooly plucks the wand of cure serious wounds from Busta's hand.
"Unless we have some last minute errands to run, every further moment we spend here is a waste. Shall we?"
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