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"Oh, guess I could always volunteer my own bit first if I'm gonna ask," Poffis then adds, after a slight pause. "When I'm not out on assignment somewheres I'm usually doin' farm work. Got recruited right from th' field into the field, so to speak, so I didn't go through that three schools trainin' like most of you prob'ly did."
Glancing down at Sunny, she smiles. "Plants are my main specialty, though, iffin' you hadn't already guessed. Got a special tie to 'em, you might say. Lets me do some handy things when push comes t' shove."
When the birds show interest in Lizzy, she opens her eyes and opens its mouth begging to make sounds. Then she takes in a breath and spits with fire. That would incinerate anything in it's way...
But the flame was 3 inches long, and not very wide.
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"Calm down Lizzy, calm down." Speaks Hopper grabbing his lizard and putting her on his shoulder.
"They will do you no harm." says patting her.
"And I must say you are getting better and better with the flames. Good job."
He turns towards Meadow and bows to greet her. Later he turns towards Moko and says
"Kia Ora!"
Then he listens to Poffis story, nodding and taking a seat to listen to it whole.
"My whole story is a bit long and could bore you. So let me give you few facts. After finishing alchemy at the academy in Absalom at the age of 7 I left the town to explore some wilderness and experiment with potions, and my true love: mutagens. The juices brewing was going well and I spent a big chunk of my life as a Hermit. I think about 2 years."
He pauses for a moment and takes another sip of mead from Grog, nodding to him as a thank you.
"As a Hermit I met a few pathfinder agents and I heard some stories about the missions. It sounded like a good way to gain more ingredients and recipes for potions. And here I am." says screeching
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"Hey, nothin' wrong with bein' a hermit," Poffis replies, her expression actually quite serious. "Y'can learn a lot just by stayin' to yourself an' workin' your craft - or listenin' to th' voice of nature. Ain't no coincidence all those stories 'bout crazy powerful druids an' wizards an' such always gotta mention that they live or lived out in th' middle of nowhere for a time, y'know."
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"But anyhoo! Meadow, Hopper, what brings you folks 'round to th' Society? Iffin' you don't mind my askin', I mean."
"My friends would often fly off and be gone for weeks. It gets kind of lonely in the forest with just Silence and me so when I heard of Absalom I decided to go and visit. I'd never seen so many big people in my life! And from so many different places! It's no wonder that Absalom is called the City at the Center of the World.
Anyway I needed a place to stay and I found this nice lady that let me stay in her room for awhile while she went off on a mission. She was a Pathfinder! And that's how I started living at Mrs Mullinax' Home for Adventurous Young Ladies. While I was staying in Yasmin's room I would help Mrs Mullinax with some chores like milking the goat and washing dishes. Mrs Mullinax used to be a Pathfinder when she was younger and told me many stories about her adventures while I helped her. At mealtimes the other pathfinders staying in the house would tell me stories too. It sounded so exciting! Silence thought so too. Mrs Mullinax wrote a letter to Ambrose Valsin and I was accepted into the Pathfinder Society and started my training."
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"Hey, nothin' wrong with bein' a hermit," Poffis replies, her expression actually quite serious. "Y'can learn a lot just by stayin' to yourself an' workin' your craft - or listenin' to th' voice of nature. Ain't no coincidence all those stories 'bout crazy powerful druids an' wizards an' such always gotta mention that they live or lived out in th' middle of nowhere for a time, y'know."
"Wrong? I never said that it was wrong? Do you feel that it is wrong to be a hermit? " Hopper is obviously agitated. He walks forwards and takes a sit.
He listens to Meadow story nodding from time to time
"Wrong. Pfff. what a nonsense!"
As if taking a cue from Poffis, Sunny coughs and looks up at Hopper. "Mister Hopper? Um, you said you really loved making mutagens. What's a mutagen?"
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Moko turns to Hopper and gives a nod of respect.
Tēnā koe. It is nice to know one who speaks my tribe's dialect.
Then he begins to tell his tale...
When my eldest daughter was old enough, I gave her rights to take my position as tribe's shaman. The tribal elders knew I always wanted to go out and see the lands beyond our swamp. They allowed me to leave. Soon after, I met Kai. We formed a close bond hunting in the same lake together. That is another story, though.
After long journey across many lands, seeing many ruins and friendly towns, meeting new people or beset by foul creatures, I was making my way through a lush forest of pines. A group of adventurers had mistaken me for a foul creature since I was a lizardfolk so far away from my land. They loosed many arrows at me, and thunderous fiery spells erupted around me. Luckily, I was only slightly injured. I called out that I meant no harm and was simply a lone traveler. These adventurers stopped their attacks and we parlayed from a distance through the trees. After realizing I was peaceful and had no ill will, the healer tended to my wounds and we camped together and told stories of our journeys. I traveled with Ezren, Seoni, Valeros, Merisiel, and Kyra for several moons. Our journey together was uneventful, yet, I was impressed by their grand stories of adventure and they told me of the Pathfinder Society and that the Society welcomes people of all kinds. When we got to the city where their mission started and as we thanked each other for a pleasant journey together, they drew me a map that would take me many weeks to get to Absalom. I made it to the great city and was welcomed by the Pathfinder Society.
The Pathfinders receive a letter from Urwal, the iruxi leader of the Verdant Wheel. He’s one of the newest leaders of the Pathfinder Society, an iruxi stargazer who simply showed up at the Grand Lodge the previous year and made himself at home, correcting labels on Mwangi artifacts, sorting insect collections, and painting murals of the night sky as seen from central Garund. He’s considered odd, even by the flexible standards of the Pathfinders, but he’s clearly committed to the Pathfinder cause, and he and his supporters have proven their worth where the preservation of nature is concerned.
Three months ago, the Green passed briefly beside the Stranger, the two in confluence for a half-turning of a moon. In Finadar’s heart, the spirits run riot. Flesh and flower flow together, and bones walk on limbs of wood. Soon, the Child shall pass beneath the aegis of the Mother. The time is auspicious for the Pathfinders to fix what was broken. Journey to Iobarian Mishkar. At the caravansary beneath, amid the stalls, you will find Jaldan, a shaman of Redpine. She will wait for you there until the moon turns once more. Do not dally.
Silence ignores Meadow and preens his feathers.
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Rushing into the room, gasping for breath, a haggard man in robes looks about before striding further into the room.
"I'm not too late it appears. Good, good. I'm Valdris, scholar of warfare and medicines, pleasure to meet your acquaintance! Mind if I read that after you all?"
Still trying to catch his breath, Valdris looks about before finding an avaliable chair to sit in. Taking a few moments to collect himself, and wiping his hands on his robes, the man reads through the letter before setting it on a nearby table.
"My, the wording in this letter is cryptic, though it seems that we are on a time frame." Rubbing his temples, he sighs again before muttering to himself, "First a race in the wilderness, and now this. I can see why brother liked working for this organization."
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Sprawling on a hilltop overlooking a broad caravansary, the town of Mishkar is an eclectic mix of steeply pitched Varisian houses interspersed with the occasional red-tiled Taldan roof. The scars of the recent fires are still visible if one cares to look, seen in the town’s smoke-darkened rooftops and sooted doorways.
The caravansary at the foot of the hill is bustling. A large caravan of merchants from Brevoy has just arrived, and the building’s yard is crowded with clerks and guards, horses and grooms, with curious children darting between the wagon wheels. Just about everyone seems to be at the caravansary today, except the person the Pathfinders need to meet. Jaldan is nowhere to be found.
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Hopper reads the letter then pass it away. He takes out a piece of paper and a writing set and begins scribbling in a horrible and chaotic manner
"Fertile green went into conjunction with an eye while golarion was in alignment with protector."
He says in his high pitched voice. He passes his notes as well
In caravansary he begins seeking for the shaman
Grogggg, Hopper, and Valdris fan out and look for Jaldan the old fashioned way - by looking.
Just past the east wall of Miskhar is the peculiar sight of a freckled, teenaged centaur yelling at an apple tree. Grogggg and Valdris gather the group to investigate.
Upon closer inspection, it is clear that she is actually yelling at a pair of human children who have climbed the tree: a boy and a girl, each about ten years old, with matching red hair and homespun clothes. The girl nonchalantly eats an apple while the boy rifles through a decorated leather satchel.
“You little demons, give that back!” the centaur yells, flicking her tail in profound irritation.
“Hmm. Nope,” the girl in the tree says, munching on the apple.
“Not until you show us how to make those dead squirrel monsters!” the boy calls down.
“Sure, I’ll show you! Come on down, I’ll make two dead monsters! Little devils, with red hair!” the centaur yells, then spots the Pathfinders' approach. “... Oh no. You’re… did Urwal send you? Oh no. Um. Can you just... I’m sorry, could you come back in a half hour? Please?”
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Moko steps forward after hearing the centaur ask if they were sent by Urwal. He is reluctant to get involved with the bickering between the centaur and the children, especially human children of which he has no experience with. He then remembers there is a mission to be done and hopes one of his other party members has the expertise of chastising disrespectful human-childs.
Urwal did send us. I... I do not think we have time to wait.
He then glances at his companions, hoping for one of them to chime in.
chastising disrespectful human-childs
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As the group first arrives in the town and gazes around, Poffis seems thoughtful. "Y'know, th' whole of Iobaria has an unspoken pact of sorts with th' fair folk - meanin' the fey. An' many of 'em even rule over th' really remote parts. Prob'ly a good setup, both groups keepin' their distance, else you get messes like th' Darkmoon Wood..."
Before Poffis herself can really decide on a course of action she finds herself and Sunny pulled along to go investigate the matter of the strange, yelling centaur. When they arrive, she has no trouble sizing up the situation.
"Here now, what're you doin', takin' things that don't belong t' you?" the gnome calls up to the two children. "How'd you like it if someone took your things an' just...tossed 'em up on a roof or down a hole where y'couldn't get to 'em? Prob'ly not much, I'd wager. An' I think you both know it, too. So come on down an' give this lady her stuff back an' we'll call it good, alright?"
Silence spins his head around nearly backwards to watch the spectacle in the tree.
Poffis manages to get the childrens' attentions, although they have climbed far up onto the unsteady branches to escap Grogggg.
"We'll give it back if she makes us a squirrel monster!" they tease.
The boy interjects. “It’s like, a dead squirrel, with a bunch of branches stuck in it, and it moves kinda like a centipede, and it’s got burning eyes with bloodpine sap, and it’s the awesomest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“I think they maybe saw one of the polluted nature spirits.” Jaldan says to the Pathfinders on the ground, quietly. “And before you
ask, no, I can’t make one. Not that I would. If I could.”
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Moko begins to get visibly agitated by the human-childs' antics. A primal instinct stirs deep within his lizardfolk soul.
A low growl issues from deep within him which grows slightly louder as he partially extends his bright red frills on his crest and neck. He extends them just enough to scare the children hoping to not send them into a panic.
Grrrraaaaawwwwl!
The sudden extension of his frills startles Kairuku, which, unfortunately, sends the osprey into a panic. Kai's wings flap furiously, loose feathers start to fly, and the osprey starts screaming!
"Um wait, polluted nature spirits?" Sunny asks nervously as she peeks around Poffis' leg. "That's awful! Why are they pollu-eep!"
The sudden flurry of noise from both Moko and Kai also startles Sunny and she hastily ducks back behind Poffis, clinging tightly to the gnome's leg.
"Too much noise! Too much noise!"
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Kai! It's alright! Kai!!! Calm down!!! Moko shouts to the bird still flapping around with it's eyes wide in panic at Moko's feet.
Kairuku!!! He growls.
Kai, realizing there's no danger, begins to settle down.
Forgive me, Kai. I did not mean to startle you. Moko says in a calming tone.
The bird, still a bit shaken, flaps up onto Moko's arm and slightly shifts side to side with his feet. The pair glance about embarrassed, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.
Acting as if nothing happened, they then look up at the red-haired children in the tree.
Silence launches himself into the air then swoops down at the bag, grasping at it with his talons.
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Hopper looks at the tree and then at the centaur.
"How about I burn the tree to the ground and the kids would have to get down. Then you can chase them down on the flat ground?"
Asks the horse lady Hopper
"No worries kids, keep in mind you can easily burn up there. Your best chance is to jump before you fall down.
He speaks as he takes out his alchemist fire and spills a tiny bit on his hands. The smell of burnt flesh can be felt in the air as Hoppers eyes shine with urge to fire things