Hells Rebels (Inactive)

Game Master Daniel Penfold 351

Fulk will work with the others to exchange the headband he received for a similar one as well. I went with a Head and of Int, btw. Already had a belt.

Valekar can't think of anyone else to invite, though he misses Kira, Ryker, and Pellius and wonders idly if they would be open to attending such a council, even in just an advisory role.

Can you think of any NPCs to invite Adonara? You've been most engaged with the game, certainly.

"If you just want people, I could invite several of those in my generation from the noble houses, but I don't think that will play out as well as we wish. Too many looking for an advantage. A few actually trying to display loyalty. Both would gain by turning us in."

@Valekar: I had spoilered some possible guests in a previous post, for loquacity. Rexus Victocora, lying low and working through an Asmodean archive for us, and Hetamon Haace, Milanite good egg and our de facto stylist, certainly. The Torrent Hellknights would probably need to send a proxy, since they’ve been proscribed – maybe one of their squires, or Setrona? She’s the lictor’s cousin, but a civilian. Likewise, I had thought of Captain Sargaeta, but it occurs to me that he’ll also need to send an underling, since one of Thrune’s proclamations has forbidden the captains of visiting ships from disembarking.

"If you just want people, I could invite several of those in my generation from the noble houses, but I don't think that will play out as well as we wish. Too many looking for an advantage. A few actually trying to display loyalty. Both would gain by turning us in."

“If there are any you trust, though, by all means feel free,” Adonara invites. "We do need all the help we can get, especially for what happens after we get rid of Thrune."

No need not to be optimistic, she thinks. Keep spirits up and all that.

"I suspect the good people of this city may be leery of taking suggestions from a foreign courtesan, for instance, no matter how charming. Especially if she has her heart set on paying back the Abadarans," she says cheerfully. What's a revolution without settling some old scores, after all? ;)

Anyway, maybe the team of sneaks we just recruited are some of Tilorean’s friends? Gentlemen cambrioleurs? Drinking buddies from when he’s slumming it? Both? I don’t think there would be a problem with dressing up some of the paper dolls in our rebellion however we want to. :)

A few days later Laira organises a meeting in the tunnels beneath the coffee shop. Aside from yourselves there are:

Does this all seem reasonable and would anyone like to start?"

Adonara considers the attendees while she makes herself comfortable. She’s only a bit surprised that the lictor has shown up in person: with the smuggling tunnels the Ravens now have access to, it’s considerably less risky, and then she supposes knights pique themselves about matters of valour and such, and given his rank and (presumably) experience, in the worst case, he stands a fairly good chance of being able to fight his way to a more discreet exit if necessary.

Regardless.

A flurry of emotions crosses the courtesan’s features at the very first item on Laria’s agenda, before she manages to school her expression. &?%$ *@!> £#&~. In the privacy of her own mind, she indulges in a burst of vivid Elven profanity. Looks like the cat is out of the bag. It was only a matter of time, I suppose.

“Whatever those girls have been up to, I had nothing to do with it,” she says, entirely too cheerfully to be convincing. It could conceivably be disarming, at least, depending on how strict the headmistress is, and Adonara’s obviously listening to her own tone in an attempt to sound out the right note. “Though I may have provided a certain amount of encouragement, only.”

1) She turns curiously to Haetamon, her awareness of the seriousness of the situation visible despite her liveliness. “By all means, let’s hear it. What might be the Lady Docur’s pleasure?”

She acknowledges the other items for subsequent discussion. “ 4) I can reach out to certain of my clients, of course, but Mr. Vashnarstill would be better placed to approach the nobility more generally.”

She nods respectfully to Tilorean, adding only, before focusing her attention on their fashionable Milanite friend, “3) And we’ll certainly need to consider what else folk in the street and parlours might be talking about, to say nothing of 2) what we can do to gain more ground and support before the Thrice-Damned House decides to garrison a few legions and armadas about Ravounel.”

If #1 isn’t Adonara’s mess to begin with, it sounds very much like her jam, so that’s what she’d like to focus on first, but that doesn’t mean she’s not interested in #2-4. Some of the others likely have talents much better suited for those than she does. She’s not much of a country mouse, nor military, if we have to explore beyond the city walls.

Bachu raises a hand respectfully and then says "I think we may have begun to gain some regional support by freeing the sea elves that we encountered. If they are having any troubles and we can solve them they may turn into a solid ally. That I think would be a good place to start."

"Yes, my friends tell me that the elves they rescued while I was away are facing oppression at home. Their aid might prove valuable if we could help them free their yoke. "

"If nothing else, what do Thrune's patrols in the city look like right now? If we can sow fear and uncertainty in his guards and administration by having a few here and a few there disappear into the night, that might be a quick and simple task we could accomplish while these others come togethr."

Ragnar having listened to everyone for a few moments leans forward and comments.

One problem that I can see with making guards or watch disappear, is those with families will likely turn their backs on us. My thoughts are to try to gain the support of the sea elves first.

Haetamon steps forward to talk about the first item on the agenda.

"I have been contacted by Lady Mialari Docur. She runs Lady Docur's School for Girls in Villegre. She has expressed an interest in getting rid of Barzillai Thrune. His presence is Kintargo is not good for her school. As a token of good faith she has provided a scroll of heal and a scroll of raise dead. She can offer assistance with security and safety. "

does Valekar know anything about this school or Mialari Docur already?

"Is there something Lady Docur need from us? Or a tip she has for us perhaps?"

Adonara relaxes a bit as it becomes clear that she’s not being called out for involving some adventurous youngsters in the rebellion (even if she would suggest that such is valuable experience and training for any upright young lady).

She decides to take it at more or less face value for now, as a sign that the Ravens’ exploits have convinced the headmistress that they know what they’re doing and so deserve her tacit support. She inclines her head, “Lady Docur is most generous. I’ll be sure to write a note of thanks as soon as I can and place myself at her service. I’d certainly be interested to hear her ideas about security.”

Not least, the courtesan thinks, because she’s been surprised by the offer, which would seem to indicate that Lady Docur is very good at keeping a low profile herself as she considers where it best serves her interests to intervene. It sounds like they might get on quite well, all things considered.

“In the meantime, is there other news? Acisazi does sound promising, if there’s nothing more pressing: with due respect to Captain Sargaeta, unless he and very many friends are willing to throw their lot in with us, I’m not sure I like our chances against the Imperial Navy, and aquatic allies would help.”

Ragnar having listened to everyone for a few moments leans forward and comments.

One problem that I can see with making guards or watch disappear, is those with families will likely turn their backs on us. My thoughts are to try to gain the support of the sea elves first.

"How many of Thrune's goon squad is even from Ravounel? Of those who are, how many could we have won over? I would think that those bearing Thrune's blades would be his most devout supporters."

"The majority of Thrune's guards come from Cheliax, mainly from the capital. Lady Docur recommends that you try and shore up support for the rebellion in more outlying areas which seems like a good idea to me.

3)While the Menador Mountains aren't impassably rugged, there's only one navigable pass through the mountains as far as troop movements and trade with the rest of Cheliax are concerned: the Menador Gap. If this pass were to close, Cheliax would be unable to send additional ground troops directly to Kintargo, and would have to move around the mountains through Nidal or up through Pezzack-both significant detours through areas fraught with their own political troubles."

I think closing pass would be the step before open resistance. That way we have more time for the revolt, and they don't have time to clear the pass.

Ragnar leans back to listen some more.

"I agree, closing the gap should be our last step. I'm inclined to start with the sea elves, as I mentioned before. I believe they are in danger, so we should move quickly to make them safer. Vyre can wait."

" Next we must deal with rumours and general information:

3) There are rumours that Thrune is planning on throwing a masquerade ball in the near future as a way of currying favour with Kintargo's nobles and artists."

"Harumph." Til looks bored, though there was a brief glimmer of interest at the mention of the School for Girls.

"People have been asking after the Silver Ravens for years. How is she different?"

-----

"A masquerade ball? That could prove entertaining. It is the sort of cover I have used to dig around noble homes for a while, now."

Obviously, this rumor has Til's attention.

"Hei Fen, the last of the Gray Spiders." Valekar says matter-of-factly. "She could be very dangerous."

"The rumor about Bainilus feels true... but I'm not sure how we could find out for sure. If we could find them and reveal the truth to the public, that would be a blow to Thrune's power."

Valekar screws up his face at the idea of the ball. "I guess the Ravens will be obliged to make a disguised appearance, yes?"

Adonara agrees readily to the prioritization of tasks beyond the city proper. [i]Securing allies before we do something as obvious as taking the Menador Gap is far the best, and Acisazi needs help, unlike Vyre, as far as I know i]

" Next we must deal with rumours and general information:

1) Firstly there has been a woman asking about you and the Silver Ravens. She has been asking questions all over town. She looks of Tian origin and has dark hair. She was seen carrying a rapier and wearing studded leather armour.

2) Lictor Octavio has suspected that the previous lord mayor Jilia Bainilus never left the city and she's been captured and imprisoned by Thrune.

3) There are rumours that Thrune is planning on throwing a masquerade ball in the near future as a way of currying favour with Kintargo's nobles and artists."

What’s going on in Kintargo might be a bit of a complication. “Hmm. Well, we might give the person looking for us the slip long enough to track her down in turn if we take a break to sort out my marine cousins and Vyre. So that’s one thing, but I couldn’t bear to miss a masquerade! Do we know how soon it might be held?”

“And if the real mayor never left, that’s certainly concerning. Perhaps we should keep our ears to the ground while we prepare to go to Acisazi, look into those two things first, whichever we can learn most about while the masquerade is still in the offing.”

What is it with Humans and their Masque parties

Ragnar shakes his head, as he considers the Logistics of what he needs.

"Disguises? I'm always down for disguises."

Also, totally in agreement with y'all on the other priorities.

Sorry for the info dump- lots of stuff to assimilate- what was the overall plan?

overall plan is to help the sea elves and then visit Vyre, but we need to know how soon the masquerade ball is so we can try to attend it if possible

No date has been announced for the ball at present, but it is unlikely to be anytime soon

What is it with Humans and their Masque parties

Ragnar shakes his head, as he considers the Logistics of what he needs.

“I can’t speak for our human friends,” Adonara grins, “but they do allow for testing the waters discreetly: making a few cautious overtures, seeing what others might be interested in that they wish to announce but not entirely openly, even using the mask to encourage oneself to try something brave or new.”

Gosh, and now I’m imagining that somewhere in Golarion there has to be a Calistrian code for flagging at fancy parties. ;)

“And, of course,” she adds lightly, “it’s an excuse for fabulous costumes.”

More seriously, she considers the question of logistics. “Even Vyre’s not much more than 70 miles away, is it? A message should be able to catch up to us if there are any sudden developments that would call us back home. Otherwise, let’s start with the coast: Acisazi first, since they need help, and Vyre on the way back, perhaps.”

"I dread going into the presence of That Man before I am ready to fight him, so the ball has no appeal to me. But I suspect my presence is necessary. I will think about how to prepare myself adequately in the meantime."

"But first, it seems we should prepare to visit Acisazi."

Ok, can I have knowledge geography or Profession sailor checks please.

Valekar has neither of those, but there may be a scroll he can buy to be decent at them if no one else has them either

Prof Sailor: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Ragnar quickly gets his sea legs back and watches to see what is going on.

It is quite fortunate – or perhaps thoughtful of the Gray Spiders – that the vault beneath the Lucky Bones contained a suitable mode of transportation for exploring the coast. Our new folding boat! We’ll have to come up with a name for our gallant vessel. :)

Valekar and Fulk seem best placed to figure out how the strange trinket works, and thankfully Ragnar knows something of sailing, so Adonara is happy to take a step back and observe, making a few mental notes for when she next has to deal with an unfamiliar magic item, and pitching in to hold a rope or tug at an oar as required as Ragnar puts the boat through her paces.

Knowledge (geography), untrained?: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 I would have made it a (sailor lass) check to aid, but I think Profession is trained only? Even (geography) is pushing it, unless Ado gets a pass because she's tracking down other elves.

Knowledge(Geography): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Fulk knows a bit of Golarion geography, but this particular knowledge isn't really in his wheelhouse.

Bachu discusses their journey with Fulk to try and come up with the best course.

Kn: Geography: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"So's anybody know how to get where we're going, then? Do we need to find a book or two on the subject and use those resources instead?"

"I don't think I know anything about my aquatic cousins..." unless he can recall something about them related to Kintargo with knowledge, history, GM?

knowledge, history : 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

"But if our capable friends here can't figure it out, there may be a scroll I can purchase to give me access to the information."

there are spells that give you temporary ranks in knowledge skills, right? Or at least give you big bonuses to knowledge checks and let you make them untrained?

Ragnar, Adonara and Valekar you know that the dismal Nitch is a small outpost on the coast and that no ships sail the waters of the area. It is about 85 miles away from Kintargo. Overland the journey would only be 60 miles but it would be over rugged, unsettled and trackless hill country.

She says that whilst the wise woman of the village has been unable to deal with the problem in the Drowned Eye she is able to cast healing and is able to help people breathe underwater.

Adonara is far too civilized to do anything as crude as crack her knuckles, but that post gives us a wonderful bit of room to pencil in the sketch!

Having two historically-minded elves around – especially if one is local and the other was trained in what is more or less the preeminent elven homeland in Avistan – proves unsurprisingly helpful in tracking down unobtrusive elven settlements on the fringes of human lands. Given the distances involved, we can handwave/retcon Ado preparing lay of the land on the way, to tidy up the loose ends a bit.

More practically, though, it’s very good indeed that someone knows how to manage a boat, and it’s mainly due to Ragnar’s seamanship that the Silver Ravens are able to take Adonara and Valekar’s gleanings and turn them into a course along the coast that will let the group watch for the signs they’re looking for to track Acisazi down.

Privately, Adonara finds the settlement unprepossessing, but then she’s a big-city, cathedral-school sort of girl from Kyonin, so her perspective is bound to be skewed, and besides, she's sure most of the interesting parts of the place must be built into the cliffs underwater, the thin line of surface construction mainly for the benefit of a few eccentrics and the rare trader or two.

She is, however, glad to see that the cousins the Ravens rescued have made it home safely, of the opportunity to see a bit of how aquatic elves live, and, not least, for the breathing space to gather a bit more intelligence on what exactly is going on with the village plagued by Menetheguro and its lackeys.

Adonara’s heard of places like the Drowning Eye before – her family’s roots actually go back to the Mordant Spire, and they’re comparatively recent arrivals in Kyonin – so the talk of failed wards, mysterious illnesses, and the knowledge that an aboleth is involved stir an unusual aggressiveness in the courtesan. After all, even beyond Acisazi’s needs, she wouldn’t want to let her forebears’ long war against the abominations crawling in the abyssal depths down.

She prepares as best she can for an expedition to investigate the cursed pit. I dunno, guys. I’m still game for anchoring our folding boat out there as a floating outpost, especially if we can borrow the village wisewoman to check up on us every once in a while, and explore the Drowning Eye with a series of dives?

Made some minor tweaks to my prepared spells

---

Valekar offers the elder a deep bow. An elven wisewoman is truly wise and aged. He thinks to himself, and he feels a pang of sadness (and rage) at the thought of his missing mother. Will I ever see her again? I could use her wisdom in this shadow war... He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts.

"We will do what we can to discover the nature of the curse, and clear it if we can." He tells her.

---

Your proposed plan works for me, Adonara

"Underwater and haunted? The last haunting proved far easier than expected. That means this one is supposed to be worse, right? PLUS it is underwater. I think this is going to be a painful walk . . .. Though the wise-woman being able to help with the basic problems like breathing can only be better than having to figure it out ourselves. Again."

"Indeed. I was just about to say the same."

Well, that could prove problematic, but I guess we will need to figure it out.

“I think we have a very good idea what’s haunting the place,” Adonara says grimly. “A tentacled abomination from when the world was young, and probably its pet devil, at this point. Primeval magic. Hopefully not ghosts, but we could try to prepare for those as well, as best we can.”

And now I feel like Adonara needs to write a manifesto. “A spectre is haunting Ravounel: the spectre of Calistrianism! …” ;)

After taking a tour of the parts of town accessible to air-breathers and thinking about it a bit, Adonara remembers something else that could be helpful, and tracks down the local equivalent of a smith. She’s not a huge fan of crossbows – in this regard, at least, she’s a bit of a traditionalist – but she knows her cousins and other aquatic species have designed a few that work much better underwater than anything she could bring from above the surface. *Sighs long-sufferingly.* How gauche, but we’ll probably have to deal with it. Does anyone else want an underwater crossbow?

Otherwise, apart from adjusting spell selection – in case there is a ghost down there after all – I think Ado’s ready for a first exploration.

Preparations are pretty much complete on my end. I just need to purchase a crossbow and bolts as well.

If we are taking a ship and having it wait in the area, I will leave my bow on the ship. If the ship is carrying on without us after we get there, then I will leave my bow in the lair. Either way, I intend to purchase an underwater crossbow, 100 cold iron bolts, and some silver, adamantine, and ghost touch weapons blanc to apply to some of the bolts.

Valekar will also purchase an underwater crossbow, 40 cold iron bolts, and silver blanch.

Agreed. An underwater crossbow seems a wise choice.

Til spends some time in whatever social spots he can find, talking up the people present and trying to see what he can find out about the Drowning Eye or this wise woman . . ..

Doesn't speak Aquan, but he does speak Elven?

Diplomacy (Drowning Eye): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21
Diplomacy (Wise Woman): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25

I'll stick to my mystic bolts. Those are magical so they work underwater, right?

Tilorean you discover that the local wise woman is called Athannah Quhurill. The iloacl inhabitants of the village are sickly and despondent and there are few who will talk to you for very long, it appears that they are wary of outsiders. They direct you to speak to Athannah with any questions. You can, however, make any purchases you are able to.

Agreed. An underwater crossbow seems a wise choice.

Til spends some time in whatever social spots he can find, talking up the people present and trying to see what he can find out about the Drowning Eye or this wise woman . . ..

*Insert obligatory Blackadder reference here.* :)

As the Ravens equip themselves with suitable ordnance, Adonara can’t but notice the villagers caginess. Not that she blames them, with the pressures they’re under: even with their scouts newly returned, and with her and Valekar in the mix to provide a connection to other branches of elvenkind, it’s a lot of new faces under less than ideal circumstances.

She accompanies Tilorean to meet with Athannah, to announce the group’s preparations and request an escort to the waters of the Drowning Eye and, if such can be spared, a spell to mitigate the drain of water-breathing magic on the Ravens’ resources.

She explains the plan to anchor off the Eye and dive down, and that while their own spells offer them fairly wide scope for action, depending on what’s down there, it might take more than one trip.

Entering Athanah's hut you find an elderly half-elf woman with long white hair, tied back with bladder wrack, sitting in a driftwood chair, wrapped in furs. She appears pale and sickly, although her voice is clear is strong.

It is rumoured that in centuries past our kin set up a circle of runes to protect the area, however a powerful enough necromancer could bypass this protection by placing an anchor rune nearby which would deflect the power back against us. I suspect that this is the reason for the sickness that is plaguing our village."