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The ramshackle tenement outside of Korvosa softly echoes with the sound of light rain as Venture-Captain Sir Canayven Heidmarch begins his briefing.
“For this mission you will have to venture into the sewers beneath Korvosa. Sascha Antif-Arah,” he announces, gesturing to a haggard human woman who is past her prime but whose posture expresses confidence and experience, “requires access to a particular vault. The society is going to help her.” Sascha eyes each Pathfinder in turn then nods to herself with some satisfaction and steps forward gracefully.
“Some years ago my friends and I had made quite a name for ourselves around Korvosa, and our adventures earned us a considerable amount of gold. We stashed most of it in one of the Vaults after evicting the cult that had already claimed it.”
Sascha pauses for a moment, smiles, and shakes her head as if recalling particularly amusing details of the raid. “Anyway, I retired from the business after that, started up a shop, and lived peacefully until I got into trouble with the Hellknights."
“I can’t show my face in Korvosa because I don’t fancy spending my retirement in shackles, but I’m willing to cede my share of the loot in that Vault to you. It’s no dragon’s hoard, but it should be more than worth your time. The only thing I want from there is an old locket—nothing magical or worth fencing, but it means a lot to me. Once I have it, I’m getting out of this place and off to somewhere the Order of the Nail has no sway."
“The entrance shouldn’t be too hard to find, assuming you know what to look for,” she remarks as she fishes several folded papers from her haversack. “There’s an old service entrance into the sewers about a quarter mile north of my old shop in Midland; I wrote down directions that should lead you to the vault. There’s a big room inside, and I stashed my share under the flagstones in one of the small chambers nearby.”
She extracts a few more items from her bag and holds them out. “I hope you don’t need these, but you never know. I certainly won’t be using them in my retirement. Good luck to you, Pathfinders.”
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The door to the room bursts open seemingly of its own accord. A few seconds later, a gust of wind leads a weathered tanned man into the room. The gust of wind seemingly reverses direction and leaves the room pulling closed the doors behind it. The man, almost completely devoid of muscle but with skin taut and glowing with health, doesn’t seem to notice but just greets the group cordially. Glancing around the table, he offers a nod to everyone.
”Greetings.. I’m known as Peregryne. Yes.... like the bird. And equally affiliated with the wild outdoors and wide open spaces.”
"How likely is it that the cult has returned in your & your companions absence? What about the Order of the Nail? Could they have tracked it down looking for you? What else can you tell us about the sewers? Any other dangers you faced while there that may still be around?"
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Sascha replies, "There wasn't anything left of that cult, last I knew. As for the Hellknights, I have no doubt they would arrest me on sight, but I think it unlikely they spent any resources investigating where I've been when I had clearly left town."
“Korvosa’s sewers have lots of blackboil alligators, so I wouldn’t go for a swim unless you really have to. My group ran into some other strange creatures years ago, but our scholar usually identified them for us; I don’t remember what they were.”
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A small gnome with a childlike innocence comes into the room. Bounding in alongside him is a good sized boar, snorting at the ground. The boar slips up next to the lady and seems to be rooting around for some sort of treat. The fey-related humanoid speaks, "Easy there, down boy. She probably doesn't have anything for you."
He wears a basic brown and grey explorer’s outfit and carries a backpack. The boar seems almost better outfitted in studded leather with a loaded pack saddle strapped to his back.
With a smooth few words he hands out some pamphlets, "Good Day all, I am Dexter and my porcine pal there is Salazar. We are sustainability experts, just trying to make the world a better place. Seems like this mission will aid our goals just fine, with a bit of seed money. Take a look at the flyer and let me know after the mission if you are interested in the cause."
He turns to the VC and listens to the spiel, asking a couple questions. "Any traps we should know about? Where exactly was the hoard located and any details we need to know to get to it? It's a sewer, is there a lot of swimming to be done?"
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"I wouldn't recommend swimming. Considering the alligators and things I've already mentioned. Once you’re in the sewers, you should be just a few minutes away unless you run into trouble on the way.”
Sascha then gives you more detailed instructions to the entrance to the sewers and the recommended path to take.
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Neerduwyl takes one of Dexter's pamphlets, reads it, shreds into tiny pieces with her fingernails, and scatters the pieces around his feet. "If you think recycling is going to save us you're a fool. The Pathfinders need magic more than ever before. Especially given what the humans have done."
Neerduwyl gives Peregryne an icy stare.
"It looks like we have some good elven muscle, though, in the party, so I've offered to help, provided the naturalists don't mind me snapping my fingers to create a hex or two."
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Dexter merely smiles, "Not all wish to pursue the life I've chosen, that's fine. As for magic... I can do a fair bit myself. But half the time magic causes a problem instead of fixing it. It's part of the solution, but also part of the problem."
He goes on, really winding up, "And it has very little to do with recycling. My process looks more at reducing waste and reusing items to prevent the need for that expensive process. I think you'll find we have a very modern view towards the subject."
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Already bored with Dexter's waste reduction mission, Ne'erduwyl turns her lack of charisma and venomous attitude toward the pathetic old woman , "Antitoxins, anti-plague and alkali...there's a lot you're not telling us about the dangers of this mission. Care to tell us why you think we might need these?"
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Salazar rears up and turns lightning fast on the little scorpion, blood in his eyes and spittle flying as he works himself into a frenzy. Dexter jumps in between the two with a calming voice, "Easy there... easy there. Save the fighting for anyone that gets in the way of our mission."
He thinks for a second, trying to recall anything specific he might know about blackboil alligators.
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Dexter shrugs, "It's a sewer, most of the creatures down there aren't any real valuable part of an ecosystem. If it was a natural swamp or something, eh... I'd probably still not care that much if the critter was trying to eat me or Sal."
He adds, "I will point out that I have a decent connection to nature, so I may be able to calm down unaltered animals that we encounter. Gaining a few denizens of the sewers as allies for our trip would be beneficial, I would think. If they are already attacking though, just do what has to be done."
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Ne'erduwyl takes note of Dexter's abilities, and is glad to have the druid and the boar on her side. She doesn't let on, though...
"Don't listen to the cruel gnome, PInchie, all the things we find in sewers are very, very valuable. You are the apple of the ecosystem. Besides, maybe Dexter will get us a whole swarm of scorpion friends!"
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After your briefing you travel through the Midland district of Korvosa. It is packed with markets and banks and bustles with commercial activity despite the drizzling rain. As long as you follow Sascha's directions you have no trouble finding the concealed sewer entrance in the secluded alley.
A rusty, slime-encrusted steel ladder descends into the Korvosan sewers, whose tunnels stretch to the north, east, and south like roads in an underground city. Curtains of fungus and mold hang from the ceilings, which rise roughly ten feet above the tunnels’ walkways, which run along either side of the sewage channels. Occasional dim patches of light filter in from the streets above providing minimal illumination. Despite the sickening smell of decay, the tunnels are free of garbage, waste, and the other byproducts of Korvosan life.
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Right as they get to the bottom, Dexter casts a quick spell and Salazar's thick boar quill fur seems to thicken up.
He pulls out two glowing stones and holds on in place in front of his head until it hovers there on its own, then begins slowly circling around. He does the same with the other one, having Sal stand still staring at the stone until it also rotates slowly.
He points to the left, "Map said this way, keep it quiet and watch for dangers. We got anyone who can look for traps?"
If not, he will have Salazar lead the way and follow along quietly behind.
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Giovanni hates getting dirty. He makes sure to cuff his jacket and pants to mitigate some of the filth but he knows it's a lost cause. He stows his glasses as he descends the ladder.
Giovanni activates the light on his Wayfinder and produces a wand from his bag.
I can take the forward position if you would be so kind as to activate this wand for me, Dexter. Giovanni hands over his wand of Heightened Awareness. Help yourself, if you like.
With that, he'll also draw his rapier and a smokestick that he activates in a controlled fashion.
Let's get to it.
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Dexter nods side to side, "If it talks, it isn't an animal so my ministrations won't do much. But... I do have some food it might like, hold still Sal." He cautions his boar as Sal snorts, ready for battle.
He slips his hand into the pack saddle the boar is wearing, pulling out a wax wrapped chunk of smoked meat, tossing it to the creature, "That might taste better."