You are in Absalom, the mighty City at the Center of the World and you’ve always longed to explore one of the countless ruins of failed conquerors that litter the plains outside the city’s walls.
You’ve heard rumors that one of the sealed siege castles has been laid open by a minor earthquake. Word on the street is that no one has yet entered the tower, which folks are calling the “Fallen Fortress.” What better way to start a life of excitement and adventure than by exploring its long-abandoned, dusty halls and perhaps claiming its ancient treasures?
Your pathfinder lodge sends you a note that reads, Meet at six am at the 'Fancy Duds & Suds' tavern on the corner of Oak St. and Cayden Ave.
Upon arrival, the tavern is quite fancy... and mostly empty. Four halflings are sitting in one corner eating a very hearty breakfast muttering about a ring they lost.
Other than those four and a host/waitress/bartender, there is a single half-orc sitting at a large round table who waves you over. "Have a seat and welcome, pathfinders. The lodge has provided an allowance for breakfast, though it is a bit small and can only cover the basic porridge, fruit & milk meal combo served here. But still, not a bad deal. Plus then we can talk about your mission with a full belly."
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A woman with blue skin and thick black hair enters, her katana hangs loosely from her side and her Lamellar armour creaks quietly as she takes a seat. An image of a katana across a sunburst dangles from a chain about her neck.
"As above, so below." The Samsaran makes a sweeping circular gesture over her food.
As she tucks in she looks up at the half-orc, "Absalom does not change, except like the sea. Its tides flow. Where now for Pathfinders?"
She eats greedily and smiles a satisfied smile as she does so.
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A human woman with chestnut hair walks in and scans the room. Tucked in her belt is a flag emblazoned with the sigil of the open road. Hanging from her neck is the symbol of a quiver with a bow. She nods to the gathered group. "Well met. I am Fiata. I look forward to working with you all." She sets her pack down, bow and spear included, then makes her way to the family style platter and fills her bowl with porridge and some of the sweeter fruits. Fiata looks about, "Does anyone see any honey?" She orders some tea from the waitress and begins to eat her breakfast.
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"Mmmm. Honey not make one sweet!"
A wizened gnome shuffles over, leaning on a cane. His hair is no more than two extravagant tufts above his ears - wispy and white. But his lustrous green-hued skin shows he is no Bleachling.
He says no more until he has polished off the porridge and fruits, which he does with some gusto.
"Gnoda you seek, and Gnoda you have found. Mmmm."
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A tall man calmly pushes the door and makes his way towards the table with a slow, but assured demeanor and a proud air. His short hair is black as tar and well slicked, with an oily sheen to it.
Before sitting on the bench, he bends and carefully tucks away his backpack, as well as a longbow and a full quiver. His equipment is well worn, the burnished leather marked with cuts as well as a few bloodstains; however it all looks very well cared for.
The man sits down, and the faintest hint of a smile plays on his lips before disappearing. He looks around the table with a calm and expressionless gaze, carefully examining everyone seated.
"I am Jacques Tarrensun" he says before serving himself a bowl of porridge. "I do hope I might be of some help on the field of battle." He looks at the gnome curiously and resumes eating his porridge silently.
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Tamru looks around the group, a small moon shaped amulet hangs from his neck. I am sure you will do fine, the name's Tamru, from Thuvia originally. I joined the society after you helpeed sort out all those problems in Pashow. Nasty business that.
He leans down and feeds a sausage to the cat curled up under the table. This here is Eclipse, we haven't been together long but, with the blessing of Thoth I am sure we will find a way through whatever mission they send us on.
As the group tucks into the hearty fare, their pathfinder patron does so as well. He makes small talk about Absalom and the various factions in the Society.
As the meal ends he gets down to business, "Alright, as you might have heard on the rumor mill, there is a recently opened up tower out in the plains around town that needs investigating. I wanted a nice variety of explorers and fighters for this, and it looks like I got what I wanted. Anyway, go check it out and report your findings. Remember to work together and don't take unnecessary risks. There isn't a strict timetable on this, but the sooner you get out there and the less time you take searching, the less chance someone else sneaks in and recovers any valuable artifacts."
He looks around at each individual, "I don't have any more information, but I do have a map to get you there. Questions before you go?"
He replies with a smile, "Usually explorers get to name their finds so maybe you all can come up with a good one when you claim it for the society?"
Quensha realizes quickly that most of the information available about the tower has already been disseminated via rumors and the briefing. Asking around town about an ancient abandoned tower would likely not provide more details.
He pulls out the map, which isn't in extreme detail but does provide basic information, enough to confidently get to the tower. "Eh, 'bout a half day walk looks like. Faster if mounted of course, though that isn't necessary I'd wager. Ya might need to stay overnight to rest, depends on how easy a trek and investigation you have."
A tower, what sort of tower is it?
"...one of the countless ruins of failed conquerors that litter the plains outside the city walls.
What sort of things might be there?
"...perhaps claiming its ancient treasures?"
How come it has only just been discovered if its this close to town?
"You’ve heard rumors that one of the sealed siege castles has been laid open by a minor earthquake."
GRAAAAAARRRRR
Eclipse pads along with her master.
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Jacques nods at his companions' words and breaks his silence.
"Agreed. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back."
He picks up his equipment and tightens his backpack straps before falling in line with the others.
When the group is on the move, he turns to Quensha.
"You were in Heaven's Shore, you say? I have some notion that it is not on our plane, is it? If I may ask, what was your business there?"
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A bald man with long, glorious red locks sprouting from his chin burst into the tavern. "Never fear! Omnia Kahlo has appeared. Your solutions consultant arrives precisely at the time he intends."
Turning around as a group of armored people walk past, the stranger is quite obviously armed with little more than a knife. His meager pack pulls tightly on his slender frame. "Oh, yes. That way then?"
Glancing towards the half-orc and numerous bowls, he frowns. "Looks so good but...I'll take it with."
Pointing a single finger at a the pot, translucent tendrils weave themselves together and scoop the porridge into a translucent bowl. Another flick, and it floats effortlessly towards him. A hollow, cylindrical thing forms from the same strands as he begins to walk with the group, slurping the food noisily.
"Fffro whermf fwee fweadin?" he snorts.
Quensha and Eclipse lead the way to the fortress, with the rest of the group following. The trip across the plains is mostly uneventful, with a nice cool breeze blowing under a cloudless sky.
The ruined siege castle now being called The Fallen Fortress Quensha's Tower rises out of the churned earth of the Cairnlands. No doors or windows mar the otherwise smooth expanse of the tower’s walls. The tower is quatrefoil in plan; its eastern wing has largely collapsed, exposing the interior floors to the open air. Only the topmost level seems whole, though its eastern portion hangs precariously over the mountain of rubble left by the collapse. At ground level, the rubble frames a gaping hole in the side of the building that provides access to the tower’s darkened interior.
As the pathfinders close in on the eastern side, the breeze blows their scent towards a trio of hungry wild dogs that burst out of the southern ground floor chamber in a hunting formation. The small dogs have a rough coat and a hungry look in their dark brown eyes.
Omnia
Dogs
Gnoda
Quensha
Jacques
Tamru
Fiata
Bold may act!
Omnia collects power from the ambient terrain, grunting as he does so and then channeling it all into a shocking blast of doom! It barely misses the small dog, if only the creature had been a bit bigger and easier to target!
The dogs prowl forward, spreading out and looking for weak targets to team up against. Two make it all the way to the frail looking Omnia and bite at him. The third decides to take a nip at the closer Quensha on the way. But none of the starved and desperate nips even come close.
for
for
Omnia
Dogs
Gnoda
Quensha
Jacques
Tamru
Fiata
Omnia
Bold may act!
All three dogs seem to be calmed from their ravenous pursuits... for a short while.
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"Anger is the path to darkness, mmmm. Peace. Serenity. Self-awareness. These are the things the enlightened warrior pursues."
If Tamru is not able to pacify the dogs then Gnoda will cast Ghost Sound to create the sound of a large angry dog coming from around the side of the tower, out of the dogs' view, in the hope of scaring them off.
Tamru moves up to the dogs and makes eye contact with the alpha. Pointing into the distance he growls, "GET!" The lead dog and his two pack-mates bolt off into the plains and out of site, looking for easier prey.
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Tamru looks over as the dogs run off, Yes, desperate indeed. This city has a lot to answer for
He glances at Gnoda and the building, One way seems as good as any other, lets take the southern side first he says heading toward the entrance. Before he gets too close he examines it carefully to make sure it seems safe.
After a quick check, the southern wing is almost completely full of rubble. The group quickly moves over to look into the northern wing.
The northern wing of the tower seems to have escaped the worst effects of the collapse, but rubble still litters the floor and everything is covered in a thick layer of stone dust. Thick cobwebs cloak the ceiling and hang down the walls like gossamer tapestries. A single archway stands open in the southwest wall. A small cobweb covered shape rests un-moving on the rubble against the north wall. No dangers appear present while looking in from the outside.
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Tamru eyes the webbing suspiciously from the entrance. Yes, those webs look pretty damn thick, watch yourselves.
He mutters a simple incantation conjuring a ball of light he uses to illuminate himself and so he can better examine the room.
He gives a low whistle, Eclipse, guard me he mutters as he steps into the chamber.
With a glow to his person, Tamru and Eclipse step up and into the room, respectively. At the last second, Tamru notices a spider the size of a man hiding very well up in the webs of the ceiling in the back of the room. The spider hisses as it finally sees the delicious target that it was waiting to attack.
Tamru & Eclipse
Spider
Jacques
Omnia
Tamru & Eclipse
Fiata
Spider
Quensha
Gnoda
Bold May Act.
His curse freezing him with inaction, Tamru is unable to act as the spider lobs a web at his companion who is guarding the entrance as commanded. Sadly though, the spider completely overestimated its web tossing ability and the gooey mass slaps into the wall near the kitty.
Jacques
Omnia
Tamru & Eclipse
Fiata
Spider
Quensha
Gnoda
Bold May Act.