Feral's Reaping What We Sow (Inactive)

Game Master Feral

Late afternoon light pours in through the windows of the meeting room in Galt’s Woodsedge Lodge, and the smell of freshly baked pastries wafts in from the kitchen. Venture-Captain Eliza Petulengro sits at the head of a polished mahogany table in front of tall piles of papers.

She clears her throat. “I’m glad to see that all of you made it here safely. My name is Eliza Petulengro. And what are the names of the agents who answered my call today?”

Please include a brief physical description alongside your introductions.

A creature that appears to be nothing more than a tangle of grapevines staggers up to the table. His form is squeezed into an agile breastplate made of gleaming mithril. A rapier is sheathed at one hip into a scabbard attached at a broad leather belt. Wand and scroll tubes are tucked into bandoliers across his chest. In one hand he carries a tattered battle flag of the nation of Galt and in his other a bottle of wine. Several iron flasks hang from his belt and one adorns his neck.

He introduces himself with a bit of a slur to his words.

"Hello everyone my name is... well you can call me 'S' or 'Agent S' if you prefer something more formal. Why 'S'? Well, that's a bit of a long tale so... so I'd better get to it. It started a long time ago. You see the druid that created me never gave me a name. My creator was hired by a noble, he was... You know what? I always forget his name. He had a manor somewhere near some hills by a river. That's about all I can remember. I was made as a servant to tend his vineyard. But then one day the mobs came for him, and they burned his manor to the ground after looting it. Some of them were going to burn it first but I heard some of the other set him straight about the order of things. When they finished with the manor they were going to do the same to the vineyard. But I convinced them that instead of burning it up I could tend the vineyard for them and make them wine and they wouldn't have to do nothing or pay me anything. And thank the Lucky Drunk that they liked to drink. They told me all about their drinking god and they even gave me some of the wine that I made. They were nice people but a bit crazy if you ask me. They'd get all riled up about nothing and someone would end up losing their head."

"Now, what was I talking about? Oh yes, my name. After a few years they began to treat me less as a servant and more like a friend. They even started to take me on some of their raids. They'd let me carry their flag, that one over there, and I would sing songs to lead them into battle. I only know drinkin' songs but it seemed to work for them all the same. So one day they gave me a name, The Vine of the People's Resolve on a count of whenever they drank my wine and heard my singin' they said all fear would be wiped away from them. But I said you could call me 'S' and I'm going to get to that."

The leshy put the wine bottle on the table and placed the flag aside. He pulled out some ink and paper and began to scrawl something at the table. He stilled his unsteady hand and wrote very slowly:

The Vine of the People's Resolve

The leshy pointed to the barely legible writing. "See... see how long that took to write?" (Perhaps it would have taken less time if he was sober but that's beside the point.) "It's too long even too long to say The Vine of the People's Resolve every time. So then one day it hit me."

He dips his pen into the inkwell and proudly underlines part of his name.

The Vine of the People's Resolve

"Do you see it? The ViPeR! Kinda cool huh? It's like my very own super secret code name, kind of like Red Raven."

"Now I know what you are thinking, viper doesn't even have an 's' in it so how?... Well, now that I had this super secret name I would start signing things I wrote with a little snake. And one day I noticed something else! That little snake looked like a big letter 'S' and 'S' is even shorter than 'The Viper"! So that is why you can call me 'S'."

Note, S gets goodberry as a spell-like ability that he can use twice per day. As they have a 4 day duration, if there is travel time after the introduction, he might have more. But as for now he'll start with today's SLAs worth.

berries: 4d4 ⇒ (1, 4, 2, 1) = 8

Colin is a gaunt, emaciated man. Or so it seems from his face anyways, as he is wearing heavy, dark robes that largely obscure the rest of his figure. He speaks in an an unnerving syncopated, halting cadence that, coupled with frequent asides to himself or some unseen being, make his speech somewhat unnerving. He turns his head as he stares at the leshy.

Yes... good omens... to be...paired with one that has such lovely tentacles. Do you think he knows? No... he seems like he doesn't...still good omens. This mission is favored. You may call me Colin. Not that it will matter in the end...

Need to stat him up still, but should have that done over the next day or two...

Stealth: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

From the shadows in the corner of the meeting room, a cloaked figure emerges. Removing his hood reveals a bald head with obvious Orcish facial features. With a toothy grin, he bows to the Venture-Captain. "I am Dylph…"

Heavy but steady footsteps precedes her, where the leshy is frivolous, she is stoic.

This female dwarf heavily armored in actual stone plates covering her vitals, a long shafted warhammer across her back and tucked into her belt at her side is a heavy looking flail. This flail is striking as despite her holy symbol proclaiming this dwarf's allegiance,its heavy ball is etched with images of stylized eagles and sunburnt.

The dwarf herself has her hair braided and pushed back for a more utilitarian style. Strong jawed with bright eyes, she's looks the part of a trained warrior with physique to back it up.

"Greetings." she gives a formal bow.

"In Torag's name I greet you. I be Faerin Boulderstep, a warrior pledged in service to my Lord. I have being on previous missions where I have slayed dangerous creatures with the aid of Slitherbane here." she pats the flail at her side.

Faerin, I think you posted in the wrong Gameplay thread as this one is tier 1-5; I think you meant to post in Daughter's Due which is the one I'm GM'ing; the link is here.

Eliza listens patiently to the party's introductions, staring with unnerving intensity at each Pathfinder.

Waiting for a couple more to check in.

Colin stares intently right back at Eliza.

Will level up asap to four. But already posting for mission briefing.

Toral is a dwarven merchant that wears full plate and is a little grumpy at the moment.

* * *

Toral raises an eyebrow.

"You don’t know our names?! Really?!“ Toral asks incredulously.

”Again ... again one of these missions awaits me! The Exchange sometimes forgets that I have a business to run! A business! The only reason for dragging my body to these Pathfinder events is the good pay ... and obviously the contacts and relationships ... ha ha ha!" he suddenly starts laughing.

"Well, I should complain less and work harder to get back to my enterprise ASAP! So to answer your question captain... my name is Toral of the Kargar merchant family!"

After studying Toral for several silent seconds, Eliza smiles warmly.

“As expected. Excellent.” Moments later, a wiry man wearing a tailored suit strides into the room. A white porcelain mask covers his face, and he wears a thin red ribbon around his neck. In his gloved hands, he carries a tray of sweet and savory pies, which he sets in the center of the table before quietly slipping away.

The venture-captain serves herself a generous slice of pie. “Mind that you don’t get food on the papers,” she says. “They record the information that your fellow agents have been gathering about the ebb and flow of Galtan society. To perform such work properly is, unfortunately, far less interesting than it sounds. I have a more engaging opportunity in mind for you. You’ll be traveling about a hundred miles up the Sellen River to the village of Rosehaven. Rosehaven is the home of Armeline, a savvy information gatherer who was once a reliable contact for the Pathfinder Society."

"Twelve years ago, she was accused of espionage against the revolution in connection with some of her past work with the Society. She sent a cry for help the Grand Lodge. It was an exceedingly difficult situation, considering only a few months earlier revolutionaries stormed this very lodge and killed my predecessor and her servants. Following that tragedy, the Decemvirate suspended all operations in Galt. It was a sensible decision after all, the Decemvirate is not in the business of sending agents on suicide missions but it seemed a death sentence for Armeline. Whether through luck, guile, or both, Armeline survived. I would like to extend a formal apology to her, and hopefully convince her to consider working with the Society in the future."

"We have before us the perfect opportunity. Rosehaven’s upcoming festival culminates in a ceremony of ritual forgiveness, which may encourage her to move past the Society’s unfortunate necessity so many years ago. I’ve arranged for a riverboat to pick you up at dawn. You’ll arrive in Rosehaven in the morning of the first day of the festival"

Eliza frowns, “Oh, and one more thing. I have a hunch, and I learned to trust my hunches years ago. I doubt this mission will be as simple as it seems. Stay alert.”

Toral again raises an eyebrow.

"Hmmm ... so we are offering an apology and that is everything we have to offer to sweeten the deal? Really? I am a stoic negotiator and I can tell you that I would not let the Pathfinder Society off the hook that easily! So what do you have that she wants?"

He then looks at the man that brought the food.

"And why are your servants here wearing masks?!?" Toral asks in a rather unpleasant way.

Unnerved by her intent staring, Dylph reluctantly stammers out a question...

"Uhhh...m'Lady...is th-there anything of note that we sh-should be aware of, concerning Rosehaven or its citizens? Or perhaps of th-this festival?"

Upon hearing the mission, Colin's eyes lose some of their intensity and he looks almost bored.

I'm sure a letter will mend all fences. If she trusted anything beyond the absolute truths that all is chaos and death is the only certainty for us all, then she is mad. And your hunch seems a prophetic fulfillment of these same two truths.

Colin speaks with a maniacal cadence. You almost expect him to begin cackling as he finishes talking. However, instead his tone suddenly shifts to be completely monotone and supremely bored.

Come, companions. Let us complete this petty errand so perhaps we can get a more productive assignment.

Eliza shakes her head. ”We’ve already offered her all forms of compensation for the difficulties she’s faced serving the Society. I don’t know what it’s going to take to win her over again. That’s why I’m sending your group in to negotiate with her.”

At the question of her servants’ uniform, Eliza sighs. ”The ribbons represent the guillotine. Each of my servants has lost someone dear to them at the hands of the revolution. Here in my lodge, I can provide them some manner of protection from the outside world. They wear the masks so that their association with their relatives and confidants does not doom them to the same fate.”

Toral nods.

”You are a good boss protecting these people. And I know the people that don’t care about money - terrible, just terrible!!“ Toral says shaking his head.

GM, I have never played in Galt before. Are there knowledge checks?

Sure. You can roll the usual diplomacy/local checks.

Sorry, missed this one.

"Uhhh...m'Lady...is th-there anything of note that we sh-should be aware of, concerning Rosehaven or its citizens? Or perhaps of th-this festival?"

“Rosehaven is a village along the Sellen River, home to several hundred people. Its isolation shields it from the cycle of revolution, for the most part. Its people make their living primarily through farming and fishing.”

Kn local Galt: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Diplomacy Info Gathering Galt: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22

Toral's heard a bit about Galt from his comings and goings.

"Hmmm ... as my fellow Pathfinders might know the recent history of Galt is a story of blood and turmoil. Ever since House Thrune came to power in Cheliax, Galt has been trapped in a churning cycle of revolution. Quite a few past governments have fallen, and their leaders and supporters have met the guillotine’s blade. Each new government promises to rectify the ills of the last and bring peace and prosperity. Venture-Captain, is there any political mine that we could step on in this mission?" Toral asks.

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"As I said, I was created and lived in Galt most of my life. Rosehaven wasn't too far from where my vineyards were. What you've heard about Galt is at least somewhat truth. The people there were well-meaning but too easily swayed by the mob. They did horrible things in the name of their ideals. A close friend on Moonday could be the one pulling the lever on the Final Blade by Fireday. Who knows how long it would have been before I faced that fate if the Society hadn't rescued me. It would have only taken one bad harvest."

"We can only try to deliver the message to Armeline but we cannot make her listen. Forgiveness, if possible, is on her time."

GM, since there will be travel time, we'll need to discuss the traveling goodberries. I'll be using my SLAs every day as well as most of my leftover spell slots at night to make more. Do you want me to roll for all of them or just take the average (5 per casting). Since I'm not sure how long the trip is and I also won't know if there are any encounters on the way, I'll have to line everything up by time so I always have a current count, but I can manage that.

@Dylph: You can read that spoiler.

@Vine: It will be a 10 day trip. You're welcome to roll out the days ahead of time.

With the questions winding down, Eliza stands to excuse herself. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. Please, enjoy the rest of the day. Your riverboat arrives first thing tomorrow morning. Good luck Pathfinders."

***

True to her word, the riverboat arrives for the party at dawn manned by a crew of four hardy sailors. It moves slowly but steadily up the Sellen River and, after ten sleepy days, arrives uneventfully in Rosehaven. The village’s only dock seems to double as a shop as vendors can be seen selling fresh wares to other passing ships. You can get basic supplies here.

Despite being fairly small, the town is visibly buzzing with activity as locals can be seen hustling to prepare for the festival.

A link with a map of the town is at the top of this page. You can poke around the notable structures or go straight to seeking out Armeline.

Let us start with A1. :-)

Toral is eager to explore.

Since nothing happened along the way that will be 4 sets of morning castings (2 each) and 4 sets of evening castings (4 each) currently unexpired. That's 24 total castings active for 48d4 goodberries.

Pile o' goodberries: 48d4 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 1, 1, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 4, 1, 3, 4, 1, 1, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 2, 4, 4, 2, 4, 3) = 135

S has been handing out his goodberries along the trip so you each have a small pile.

Each of you can have 24 goodberries, which is 3 days worth since you can only benefit from 8 per day). I'll keep the last 63 for myself for now, which is probably way more than I even need.

"Just don't gorge yourself on 'em. Each of those grapes is as potent as a whole glass of wine." (The goodberries I create are fermented. Instead of a meal's nourishment, they each count as a serving of alcohol.)

"If you'd like something a little more... liquid in your refreshment take this." (He offers each of you a hip flask filled with wine.)

"By the way, if you feel a little not quite right and my singing is inspiring you, drinking something potent may make you feel like yourself again."

If you accept my raging song, you gain the good for what ails you rage power.

Thank you, oh tentacled one for your blessing. You are wise - your creations are already dead and decaying - a state all things end in. No reason to fight the inevitable.

Small towns like this often hold dark secrets - but none worthwhile for us. Let us find the Armeline and be done with our mission.

Colin votes to head straight for Armeline, but mainly just cause he is a curmudgeonly ol' coot. He'll come along investigating the rest of the town, despite his creepy grousing.

Dylph sniffs the goodberries warily. "You don't, perchance, have a goodbacon spell handy, do you?"

It sounds like we need a tiebreaker.

Go ahead with exploring the rest of the village - I've no desire to cause someone to miss out on content.

"We should at the very least talk to people, listen to the news of the town first."

Dylph sniffs the goodberries warily. "You don't, perchance, have a goodbacon spell handy, do you?"

"Do I look like I'm made of bacon? If I were do you think I would have survived this long?"

Murmuring barely a whisper, ”You don’t look like berries either,” Dolphins bows apologetically and starts heading for the town to see what he can learn about the town and it’s festival...

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Diplomacy gather information : 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27

The party's exploration brings them to a sturdy wooden building. Its exterior is covered with rustic paintings, carvings, and drawings. Despite their humble styling, most of the artwork clearly represents dedications to the goddess of art.

A robust older man is locking up when the party arrives. He greets each of you with a smile and the offer of a firm handshake. "Welcome to Rosehaven. Are you visiting for the festival or just passing through?"

Toral's dwarven feet carry him forward slowly.

"Hello good sir, we are here for the festival and to visit an old acquaintance of ours. Do you know Armeline?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

"Could I interest you in a sip of inspiration," the leshy adds, holding up his bottle of wine.

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19 (because why not)

"Of course! I know everyone in town. Armeline will be in the town square along with everyone else to kick off the start of the festival. You have picked an excellent day to visit Rosehaven. I don't know how much you've heard but Mercylight is a festival is dedicated to the grace of Shelyn", the older man explains. "Oh where are my manners, I'm Bertinard. I organize services here at the temple most weeks."

Bertinard does a bit of double take at the talking vine's offer but he recovers gracefully enough.

"That's quite generous of you but the goddess provides me all the inspiration I need. Can I talk you into joining us for the festival? Armeline will be there after all."

Dylph nods. "We also came to see the festival. What can you tell us of it? Will they have pickles?"

"Of course we have pickles. What kind of harvest festival doesn't have pickles?" the older man says jovially.

Does anyone have any other questions? Did you want to tag along with Bertinard?

”Ha, you are a good man! I’ll gladly follow you!“ Toral says excited to see the businesses in town.

Bertinard escorts the party to the square where it seems the entire village has already gathered. Working from long benches, many villages of all ages diligently carve hollowed out pumpkins into elaborate displays. Several unclaimed gourds are carefully stacked in a pile nearby.

"Feel free to grab a pumpkin!" Bertinard says moments before he's waylaid by several sticky pumpkin-flesh covered children. "Oh! Armeline is right over there."

Sure enough, a petite half-elven woman with copper hair matching the description the party was given is seated at the end of one of the benches. Between praising the work of the children near her, she works at her own piece with a sharp knife. She glances up when Bertinard calls her name but makes no effort to greet the party.

If you do participate in the pumpkin carving, please include a short description of what you're carving.

Toral grabs a pumpkin and starts carving a dwarven face into it.

He looks at Armeline with an awkward smile.

craft : 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Dylph nods and grabs a pumpkin...he pulls out his dagger and carves the face of an ifrit woman he once met...

Sleight of Hand: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21

S was tentative at first. Hopefully none of them were...

Since they didn't seem to be moving of their own accord. After a few moments he grabs something he can use as a carving too and attempts to carve...

the Glyph of the Open Road.

As he does so he whistles a tune, which sounds a lot like the March of Liberty.

Colin will reluctantly participate, attempting to carve an open portal with tentacles sprouting from it, surrounded by runes and magical writing.

Craft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

He cackles softly to himself as he works.

Heh. Was anyone going to seek out Armeline?

The party happily participates in the festivities. Dylph's work in particular earns a few murmurs of appreciations.

Toral is observing the scene but when nobody starts a conversation with Armeline he approaches her.

"Hello Armeline, my name is Toral of the Kargar merchant family and part of the Pathfinder Society's Exchange faction. I know what you think: 'What is this Pathfinder doing in my town? And did they really send a dwarf?' Ok, I completely understand that you are pissed. Oh I would be pissed too! But I hope that you see our attendance here today as a sign that we want to contribute and make peace ... and that we hope that you can forgive the Society for its failures ... " Toral says and if she allows he will start a conversation with her to make clear that the Society really tries to make amends!

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

Leveled up to 4 now.

Armaline continues working at her gourd while Toral makes his introductions and she doesn’t respond for several tense seconds after he’s finished. Finally she rests her knife on the bench and gives the dwarf a nod of approval. ”I’ve lived with the anger at what the Society did to me for a long time. I don’t know that I’ll ever forgive them. But it’s possible I’ve forgotten that there are good men and women in their ranks. What happened to me under the Society’s protection isn’t your fault.”

”You’ve given me plenty to think about Toral.”

Well S was going for a more subtle approach, letting her know they were here and seeing how she reacted, but I guess that works.

The little leshy saunters up to Toral and Armaline.

"Why hello there. Nice to meet you. You can call me S. Do you know why I'm called 'S'? Well..."

After his long explanation he concludes:

"So tell me about yourself. I'm always interested in hearing a new tale. Perhaps a sip would help lighten the mood."

S holds up his bottle of wine offering some of it to Armaline.

Amelia regards S with curiosity but doesn’t shirk at the offer. She takes a long draw of the offered spirits. ”To the Eternal Rose.”

”What drew your colorful cast of characters to the Pathfinder Society?” she asks S and Toral. ”I know everyone has their reasons but some are more interesting than others.”