| GM Blake |
"Probably economics, politics," Smine suggests. "Unrest here would make it easier for Razmiran to invade if they were so inclined, which given what you discovered, they might very well be. I take it you didn't capture the Razmiran agent. Or did you leave him with the town guard? Anything else?"
| GM Blake |
"It happens," Smine says simply. "Well, if you're ready, I have have a barge ready to take you back down the river in a few hours."
I know Azu wanted to go look for references to Crispin or other Pathfinders. It won't take very long to accomplish.
Jorgen Yourminder
|
We just have to check for a few more things and then we can go back.
Azu Azan
|
"Anything else? Yes. We killed the Razmiran bastard when he turned on the rebel leader, Nalla. She had been duped by a man who called himself Harsus and who wore an iron mask that he hid with deceptive magic. We talked Nalla out of killing the young king and Harsus turned on her. I suspect she owes us a favor since we let her go. We did not reveal her name to the king."
"We also found a some information on the lodge up river. There are some names we need to track down."
When the meeting with Smine is over, he'll recommend the group tries to track down any of the names they've got.
| GM Blake |
"Ah, yes, good," Smine says to Azu. "That is the reason we brought you up here. You should look into that."
Asking around town, you easily find people who recognize the surname 'Crispin.' It turns out the Crispins have a long history here and have become a respected family in Artume. The people you speak with direct you to a narrow, three story house that serves as the home of the widowed matron, Aula Crispin. It resides in a better part of Artume, though its siding and shingles have suffered the wear of time.
When you knock on the door, it is answered by a gray-haired half-elf in simple a green gown. "Yes?" she asks tentatively, taking a step back as she notices the bear and saurian.
Bonezz
|
"Hi. We hear you are good people in town, and your family lived here for a long time. Did you ever hear of the Pathfinder lodge here? Or did your elders know them?"
Bonezz shudders slightly and his eyes darken.
"No... not now Gran."
Vilkik Birdsong
|
"What Master Bonezz is saying is that we're Pathfinders from Absalom and we're doing some, uh, investigating. Could we take a moment of your time?"
Jorgen Yourminder
|
I am sorry, don't be alarmed Jaarl here is just a big baby. Jorgen rubs his head and makes Jaarl lay down and not look threatening.
| GM Blake |
"Oh!" she says with slight surprise. "My ancestor, Pavo Crispin, was assigned to that lodge before the others moved on to more interesting lands. We actually have--Well, apologies, I'm a bit flustered and forgot my manners. Would you like to come in?"
She opens her home to you and leads you to a sitting room. "Tea?" Aula asks as a maid comes to attend to the matron and her guests. "As I started to say, we have an old journal of Pavo's. He talks about what happened to the rest of them. We've a few family heirlooms from back when the lodge was, well, a lodge and not a ruin in the middle of a swamp."
Bonezz
|
Bonezz recoils a bit at the mention of a journal, but smiles at the mention of the heirlooms.
"Yes yes, we would like to see the trinkets. Are they valuable?"
| GM Blake |
"Probably only to me," Aula answers before instructing her maid. "Go and fetch the heirlooms for me, dear."
The maid stops in the middle of pouring Vilkik's tea and scurries off into the house. Aula gets up and walks over to a book shelf. "The journal is here," she says and pulls down a cracked and peeling leather bound journal. "Do be careful. It is quite fragile. But if the stories are true, Pathfinders know how to be careful with old things."
She sets the journal down on a table for you to inspect. Shortly, the maid returns with a basket containing an odd assortment of old adventuring gear: a wayfinder whose bronze and silver details are aged, a hunting knife, a bronze Pathfinder insignia, a writing set without any ink.
Carefully browsing the journal, you gather that the lodge failed for two reasons: the surrounding land--swamp--was hostile and there were no promising archaeological sites anywhere nearby. After approximately ten years, Kerinha moved the lodge to what was then part of Cheliax but is now part of Andoran.
Azu Azan
|
Azu notices the adventuring gear, "So you were a Pathfinder? What type?" Asking whatever the IC equivalent is for class (not profession). I would use "class," but some GMs have issues with that
| GM Blake |
"Me? Mercy, no," she answers. "The only Pathfinder in the family was our ancestor, Pavo."
| GM Blake |
While Vilkik begins transcribing the journal, the rest of you have time to inspect the heirlooms as you wish (so long as none of you try anything destructive) and chat with Aula Crispin.
"It's good to have company," she says. "My children do not visit as often as I would like, but it is dangerous on the road so a mother's heart is torn between her desire to see her children and her desire to keep them safe. Anyways! It is getting late, why don't you let me have some dinner made."
Aula instructs her maid to prepare a meal for seven, which gives Vilkik time to finish her transcription. The meal is fair. Aula asks you all about your adventures as Pathfinders. Eventually the meal comes to an end, and it is well into the evening. "Well, I certainly did enjoy your company tonight. Thank you!" she says. You gather this is your cue to take your leave.
When you return to Venture-Captain Smine, he congratulates you on work well done and packages the items that you collected for travel back to the Lodge with you on the boat. Given the hour, you spend the night in Artume and take the barge in the morning.