A powerful ally of the Pathfinder Society has disappeared, and no one but the Pathfinders even remembers that she ever existed. Can the PCs discover the fate of their missing associate, or will all memory of her be erased completely from history?
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A Tien peasant walks into the room and sits patiently in the corner. Her clothes smell a little like she's been walking around in the sewers. There are also specks of black blood.
Tsuan pulls an apple out of her backpack and begins munching on it loudly.
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A Tien peasant walks into the room and sits patiently in the corner.
"Can I help you?" says the beautifully statuesque naked woman reclining upon the divan in the center of the room. She's an elf with golden skin, and smoldering eyes.
The room is hung with diaphanous pastel draperies, the floor strewn with pillows, and scent of musk, and perfume hangs in the air.
The woman doesn't look particularly surprised as people file in--only a bit perturbed. "Hello. My name is Rilia, and while my duties as a sacred hetaira do often include catering to groups of people, most of them have the common courtesy to knock first." She moves to rise.
He grins at the other occupants and nods."Um, up here."
Chains drag from behind its skeletal hands as it looks around the room, emitting a low growl.
"And that usually requires double the standard donation to the temple." Rilia says, noting the apparition.
At some point this morning, each of you received a summons to the Lodge to see Ambrus Valsin. The message said it was urgent.
After you had the opportunity to get to know each other ... and share drinks you are escorted to Valsin's office. Entering you find yourself with three other operatives and Valsin pacing the room furiously. He looks up once you're all assembled an launches into he briefing.
“Pathfinders,” Valsin boomed in the briefing chamber within the Grand Lodge, “Zarta Dralneen no longer exists. She never existed. She’s never worked for the Chelish embassy here in Absalom, and she’s never been in charge of the Chelish Pathfinders. At least that’s what I was told, repeatedly, to my face, through three layers of Chelish
bureaucrats. he says with a sneer. "I know those people, and they all knew Zarta. They didn’t just forget about her. She’s been ‘disappeared.’ I don’t know where she went and I don’t know who took her. What I need you to do for me is to go into the Chelish embassy and find out as much as you can by snooping around for a bit. I want to know where Zarta is, I want to know who took her, and I want to know why she was taken. We can’t afford to offend Cheliax, so you’ll have to infiltrate their embassy quietly."
He begins rummaging in his desk drawers, removing items and setting them on his desk. "I’ve devised a cover story that should get you in the side door with orders to see the new Chelish ambassador. An ongoing diplomatic gala scheduled for the same time and a clever ruse by Venture-Captain Amara Li— who is also attending the gala—will keep the ambassador busy, but you’ll have to act quickly if you want to secure the information we need before he arrives to meet you. You must get into the embassy, get what we need, and get back out of the embassy without the Chelaxians ever catching on that we’ve been rooting around."
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At some point this morning, each of you received a summons to the Lodge to see Ambrus Valsin. The message said it was urgent.
After you had the opportunity to get to know each other ... and share drinks you are escorted to Valsin's office. Entering you find yourself with three other operatives and Valsin pacing the room furiously. He looks up once you're all assembled an launches into he briefing.
Rilia slips into a little black and yellow dress for the occasion. She smiles warmly at everyone upon making her entrance.
“Pathfinders,” Valsin boomed in the briefing chamber within the Grand Lodge, “Zarta Dralneen no longer exists. She never existed. She’s never worked for the Chelish embassy here in Absalom, and she’s never been in charge of the Chelish Pathfinders. At least that’s what I was told, repeatedly, to my face, through three layers of Chelish bureaucrats. he says with a sneer.
"Who is Zarta Dralneen?" asks Rilia continuing to smile. She has never met the woman before (even though they seem to share so much in common).
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When Valsin begins talking about Zarta having never existed, William looks fascinated, and you can practically see theories about what paranormal phenomena could have caused this going through his head. As Valsin goes on, however, he becomes less interested, and by the end, looks a bit miffed. "And we're sure this isn't some supernatural occurrence that literally caused her to cease existing or for everyone to forget her existance?"
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Tsuan finds a corner and starts taking off her clothes.
She changes from her peasant's outfit into a courtier's outfit that she had in her backpack. The long dress is a little wrinkled, but still more suitable for a gala. Her mithril chain shirt fits neatly under a shawl, and she moves two hidden wakizashis under her dress. Two neatly cut holes near the waist allow her to draw the wakizashis through her dress, although a few mended tears indicate that this has required some practice.
to hide the armor
to hide the wakizashis
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The man with the long coat and walking stick begins jotting down some notes in a small book. He looks up and says. "Oh, hello everyone. My name is Quinn. I guess you could say investigation of this kind is something of a specialty of mine. Infiltration complicates things, of course. I'd normally suggest we start with some basic divination to get a lead, but I assume the Society has already tried and failed."
He holds up a bundle of papers
”Here is a packet of information that bears on Chelish interests in Sargava. It’s legitimate intelligence that we probably would have passed on to Zarta eventually anyway and that we’re willing to give up for free as our ticket into the building. You’ll enter the embassy through the north entrance of the residential wing, where Chelish imperial security receives all of their informants. Even if you have a good cover story, you might have difficulty getting past the guards there—if necessary, you’ll have to resort to bribing your way through!“
He pauses, taking a breath and running his eyes.
”Once you’re in, the guards will likely make you wait for the ambassador when you tell them you have important information for him. Don’t give it to anyone else, since once they have the information there will be no reason for them not to show you the door. “Amara Li will keep the ambassador pinned down at the gala while you break out of the waiting room and snoop around. She will also meet you just before you enter the gala to cast a message spell on you, just in case you need to keep in touch during your mission. You just need to make your way to Zarta’s chambers—they’re in the southwest corner of the residential wing, but you’ll have to find a route that doesn’t intersect with the gala’s attendees or residents of the embassy. Try to get in and out in less than an hour. That’s my best estimate at how long the gala and Li can keep the ambassador preoccupied. Once you’ve got the information and made it back to the waiting area, you just have to wait for the ambassador to find time to see you!“
Valsin holds up a small piece of parchment folded into a square.
”My informants tell me that Ailenia Hospar, one of the clerks you’ll likely run into at the embassy, is addicted to shiver. I’ve procured some of the drug for you to slip her if she initially proves less than accommodating. You may also have to deal with Anstrella Trelax, the pompous night-duty officer. Beyond that, what you’ll face is beyond my knowledge. I’ve ordered for you to receive several tools that might help you in your mission. Good luck, Pathfinders!“
He tosses a small bag on the desk. Take this, it might prove useful. Now hurry, you have a short time before the gala starts.
Two scrolls of Disguise Self and two elixirs of Hiding
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Quinn listens carefully to the instructions and then turns towards the others. "I think a cover story that is simple and as close as possible to the truth will be the most likely to be successful. We're clearly a mixed group of well-armed, experienced travellers. Perhaps we pose as an adventuring party who came upon the corpse of a Pathfinder Society courier in the Puddles District, discovered the information about Chelish interests in Sargava, and decided to seek out a reward for its return at the embassy?"
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"Quinn's plan is good. We needn't be too specific about how we came across this information, though - information brokers are usually vague about such matters.
Plus, we don't want to start with such a wholesome reputation in case we need to -" she curtsies politely, but draws a wakizashi from underneath her formal dress as she rises, "- tarnish it later."
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The oread standing silently in the corner barely reacts to all of the chatter surrounding him, including the physical antics of the females here. He stands quietly in thought even through the briefing, before he realizes he should tell the others who he is.
"Hello, I am Jyrrar and I am a Student of the Stone. This talk of one who has disappeared makes little sense to me. Humans, like the ground, do not disappear. They leave traces of their passage." When the plan is announced Jyrrar nods slowly in agreement.
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Valsin holds up a small piece of parchment folded into a square.
”My informants tell me that Ailenia Hospar, one of the clerks you’ll likely run into at the embassy, is addicted to shiver. I’ve procured some of the drug for you to slip her if she initially proves less than accommodating...."
"Why Venture-Captain, peddling drugs? For shame." Rilia scolds Ambrus Valsin.
Quinn listens carefully to the instructions and then turns towards the others. "I think a cover story that is simple and as close as possible to the truth will be the most likely to be successful. We're clearly a mixed group of well-armed, experienced travellers. Perhaps we pose as an adventuring party who came upon the corpse of a Pathfinder Society courier in the Puddles District, discovered the information about Chelish interests in Sargava, and decided to seek out a reward for its return at the embassy?"
"I would leave any lies to a minimum. An empire propped up by devils no doubt has methods of sussing such things out. Amara Li is a well-known Pathfinder, and she was invited in, so why not us as well? We are Pathfinder representatives if asked. We have important information to share with the ambassador. If we play our cards right we might even win favor for the Society with the ambassador."
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Quinn rubs his chin while thinking over Rilia's proposal. "It sounds like Amara Li will be attending a gala and providing a distraction, while we're to pose as information-sellers coming through the side door. If we go in as Pathfinders, and anything goes wrong, we both put Amara Li in danger and risk the reputation of the Society. We need to provide them with plausible deniability. That's my understanding, anyway."
The Venture Captain raises an eyebrow after Rilia's comment.
"Your ethics are yours. Do whatever you believe is right."
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Quinn nods to Sarah. "I'm happy to help, and those scrolls and elixirs the Venture-Captain gave us will be most useful. I think the hardest part might be after we're let into the building. We'll only have an hour to incapacitate any guards, sneak into Zarta's quarters or the ambassador's office, figure out what's going on, and then get back. It'd be hard enough for one or two people to pull off a convincing disguise or stick to the shadows, but it's going to be much harder with all six of us tromping around. We'll have to rely on luck, speed, and our ability to quickly silence any suspicious witnesses." Quinn shrugs. "But I'm just a street-snoop and thief-taker, no master spy. What do the rest of you think?"
The head of the Cheliax Pathfinder Faction, Paracountess Zarta Dralneen relishes her role in Absalom. She's always found the city rife with sins-in-the-making, and takes pleasure in what she regards as "Golarion's largest cesspool of corruption." She uses her beauty and diabolic power in equal measure to corrupt the souls of her enemies. Zarta paints the veneer of a cultured aristocratic lady on her outside, especially when appearing on official Chelish business, but the promise of soul-blasting sin is an ever-present dance in her sultry eyes, and the orgies of excess she holds at her private villa are legendary affairs that most scorn with curses, even as they secretly yearn for invitations. Despite her reputation as a strict taskmaster, Zarta's known hedonistic tendencies have fueled rumors that agents of House Thrune are unhappy with her performance and that her famous lash may be turned against her if she can't generate real results in the struggle for control and influence in Absalom.
Amara Li originates from the bustling city of Goka. Respected for her gracefulness, poise, and cleanliness, Amara Li is also known for her perfectly executed tea ceremonies.
Rumours circulate of personal financial problems that trouble Amara, although she considers discussing such matters to be "improper" and refuses to discuss them. Gossip also suggests that her money problems have prompted her decision to increase cooperation between the Inner Sea region and Tian Xia.
She migrated to Absalom to run the Lantern Lodge in the Petal District, where she advised and dispatched Pathfinders to Tian Xia. She spent much of her time in her meticulously tended garden on the property.
With the dissolution of the Absalom Lantern Lodge, Amara returned to Goka to operate its expanded Lantern Lodge.
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The Venture Captain raises an eyebrow after Rilia's comment.
"Your ethics are yours. Do whatever you believe is right."
"And what if I thought it was all wrong? To possibly throw away the lives of myself, the people in this room, and Amara Li's to recover one agent, whom I have on good authority you never showed the slightest liking for. What if I thought it was wrong to endanger whatever relationship we have left with one of the world's great powers, and thereby put the Society as a whole at risk? What then, Venture-Captain? Hm?"
The Venture Captain smiles now.
”Then I would see you as an agent that thinks and understands that actions have consequences. But I hope that this agent also understands that sometimes more is at stake than only one person being gone! What if the person that you are supposed to find knows a lot that could save lives! That finding this person could prevent a war! What would you say then about this mission?!“ he asks.
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Sarah looks down at her equipment. A morning star a spear and a satchel of bottles and sets out to buy 2 potions of invisibility (600gp)
She looks towards Rilia "And if this person was a priest of your order! Or a Bard you once inspired to be? Zarta is that person to me and I would not expect any of you to risk your lives to save her but for me I have to try we are pathfinders and we don't leave our own!"
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Tsuan is ready. She doesn't have enough money to buy potions of invisibility or darkvision, but she'll use her wayfinder for light if we end up in dark tunnels. She'll keep her wakizashis and a wand of cure light wounds under her dress in case she has to go without a backpack. Save for the backpack, she's gala-ready.
And, just for full disclosure ... she has a severed ghoul's head from her last adventure in her backpack that's she's going to put at the top to discourage the coat check attendants from prying.
You are in a dark alley in sight of a nondescript side entrance to the Chelish Embassy - used by informants you have been told. The only thing that distinguishes this door from all the others along the alley is the presence of a single guard dressed in Chelish imperial livery.
On the main street some distance away a Tian woman dressed in a beautiful, but rather stern, gown passes accompanied by several servants, she does not look your way, but her fingers flicker discretely in your direction and you each hear a whisper in your ear,
"This is Venture Captain Amara Li. Know that I have my own ends here this night, I am not here for you. I will keep the Ambassador distracted for an hour, so you need to convince them your information is for his eyes only and make use of your waiting time. This is a message spell, do not contact me unless it is extremely urgent."
The guards face twists up in indecision for a moment, before his posture relaxes a bit.
"Alright, you better not be jerking me around. I'll let you go tell your tale to Ailena. That's her job, not mine."
The guard turns, opens the door and directs the party a reception room. The red paint that covers the walls of this high-ceilinged chamber does little to hide the raised outlines of ancient religious mosaics that once decorated this former temple to Aroden. Behind the chamber’s large and imposing desk sits a woman in clerk’s clothing. The clerk, apparently, Ailena, looks up from her paperwork to scowl at the party.
"Vanius, who have you let in now!" she says to the guard as the door slams shut.
She turns to the party. "Yes? What is it that you need? I am very busy at the moment, we have a very important event going on at the moment." She continues to scowl at you, waiting for your reply.