GM Weenerton 7-10 Consortium Compact (Inactive)

Game Master OG3

Consortium Compact

The morning's haul of fish leaves a briny scent in the air. It hangs as you wait just inside the harbormaster's office where your summons asked you to be. Upon receiving you, the harbormaster asks you to make your way to the Sixwing Drake just a few moorings down.

Although no expert in animals, Cith suspects his mule would not like a trip by sea. With a sigh, he leaves the mule in the stables and packs a second bag with all the things it normally carried -- bedroll, food, grappling hook -- all useful items that he generally doesn't need readily available.

I hope we don't have to traipse across the wilderness once we get to our destination!

Putting the bag over his shoulders, Cith struggles a bit with the weight. It is more weight than he normally likes to carry.

Getting to the docks, his mood lightens considerably. Fresh fish is in the air!

He rests a moment in the harbormaster's office, asking a second time for the directions. It gives him that little extra bit of time to rest. Then he gives a sigh and puts the heavy bag back over his shoulder as he makes his way to the Sixwing Drake.

Mule normally carries about 20 lbs of equipment. Let me know if you want an exact list.

I'm not a stickler ;)

A taller man in tidy clothes stands on the dock near the ship, holding a quarterstaff and nodding at the catfolk as he approaches. "Welcome," he says with a clipped voice. "You must be a Pathfinder as well. Catfolk are not common in Absalom. It is good you have arrived on time." He pauses for a moment. "My apologies for forgetting social necessities - please refer to me as Bry Anne. How do you wish to be addressed?"

A fairly tall woman with bright red hair strolls onto the dock. Her armour and shield bear the markings of a Sarenite priest, but her weapons say she is not shy to get near the front to do her healing duties.

May the Lady of the Light shine on you this day. I am Carlin...delighted to meet you.. she says with a nod of her head.

straightforward healer...but can handle herself at the front too...

Bahram saunters down the dock, looking at each ship in turn. He looks like he would be much more comfortable on the dunes of the desert than on the deck of a boat, with his Keffiyeh scarf to ward off sand, his curled tipped boots, and his loose baggy pants. His ears perk up as he hears a blessing in the name of Sarenrae. Adjusting his scarf, which is actually a Dawnflower Sash, Bahram approaches Carlin with a lopsided grin.

"It is good to see a fellow Sarenite!" he says, making sure that the Dawnflower's ankh is clearly visible. "I'm suddenly looking very forward to another boat ride.". Adjusting his great axe, he nods to the other Pathfinders. "Bahram al-Urgug, at your service."

“I am Cith, nice to meet all of you.” Giving a short chuff of amusement, he adds “My kind likes to wander, some wander further than others.”

Looking towards the boat, he then asks “Is it common to just be given a destination without explanation? I must admit, this is my first official mission for the Society.”

"The Society's missions are a little ramshackle," chuckles a Tien-Min woman walking gracefully behind Jack as he approaches the ship, "but there is no need to fret. Not at this point, anyway; I am certain our untimely deaths will not come until after the briefing."

Hiding a giggle behind her sleeve, Sayuki is the picture of Minkaian beauty; a waif of a woman with long, black hair, a narrow face with close-set eyes, and high cheekbones. She wears her eyebrows partially shaved, all that remains being shaped into neat, tidy ovals. She wears a soft robe over what seems to be leather armor.

Sweeping his arm behind himself, he indicates the woman behind him. "And this is Sayuki. We have completed a mission or two together."

Sayuki chuckles. "I had hoped to take you more by surprise, but such is the way of things. How is your sweet mother? Did she pack you the sandwiches with the crusts cut off as you like?"

"Yup. I call them scarab sammiches. How long have you been following me anyway?"

Sayuki offers a grin. "Babokistauw is an odd name," she replies.

Puffing up his chest and straightening his shoulders, with exaggerated pride Cith declares “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want my death to be timely! The more time that passes before it, the better!” He then lets the posture go and gives a chuff of amusement.

Twitching his whiskers, he offers “Shall we get started?”

He then grabs his extra sack of stuff and heads towards the boat.

"If I may give some advice?" she offers, tilting her head to Cith. "I have heard it said that people who have more birthdays tend to live longer."

Looking back over his shoulder, he replies “So we should celebrate our birth each day? I would be up for that!”

"It is definitely a philosophy I endorse," she chuckles, reaching into her robe and taking out a small flask. "May there be many more!"

She raises her flask very briefly before taking a swig, re-capping it, and stowing it away.

Bahram also reaches for a flask, but feeling glass, he takes his hand off of the alchemist fire and switches to his leather waterskin. No gold for spirits. I need to fix that.

Trying to regain his social focus, he looks back to Sayuki. "Sayuki, have you run into Alurius or Sulana recently? haven't seen them in a while. That cat was kinda cool."

Sayuki shakes her head. "I am afraid not," she says. "My wife was home from a long time adventuring elsewhere, so I took some time away."

Hopefully, Sarenrae willing, I'll fie an old woman...maybe some anklebiters running around. Whenever I am to be called to go, I am ready....not willing, but ready.

You see a half orc woman approach. She's quite tall and well built. Something in her eye's make you take a double look at her - there's anger deep in there. But her smile is warm and friendly - for a half orc.

"Hello folks. It's been a long time since I've been on a mission. Does anyone know where we are off to?"

"Judging by the ship, I would say 'anywhere but here.' Well met, by the way. I am Sayuki," says the waif, offering a polite bow.

Bedisa reaches out to shake your hand - whether you take it or not. Her hand is covered in colorful rings.

"My name is Bedisa by the way. What a great day."

Sayuki takes it.

Sleight of Hand: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

And also a ring.

Bedisa doesn't see Sayuki take one of her rings (no point in rolling especially since Sayuki rolled a nat 20). They are a symbol of her deity.

"So what are we waiting for? Are we all here?"

A short time later.

Water laps steadily at the pier as sailors, laborers, and merchants rush busily around Absalom’s port. The venture-captain’s summons called for a meeting aboard the Sixwing Drake, a sleek sailing ship. The Drake’s captain, a Varisian woman and fellow Pathfinder named Zarah Zendrani, stands at the helm of her vessel. “It’s not like Valsin to be late,” she mutters, furrowing her brow.

As if on cue, a tall and meticulously groomed man pushes his way through the crowd and up the gangplank, cursing audibly. “Whoever supervises this mess of a port needs to be dumped in the sea!” he grumbles. The tall man looks around at those gathered before him. “Just the group I requested. Perfect. I’m VentureCaptain Ambrus Valsin, and I took great care in selecting just the right Pathfinders for this assignment.” Valsin reaches into his belt pouch and withdraws a small, folded paper before continuing. “A few days ago, I received a curious note from a rather unexpected source. It’s not every day that I get a request from an agent of the Aspis Consortium.” Captain Zendrani’s eyes widen, and Valsin smiles knowingly. “But Magali Delroya does not appear to be your typical Aspis agent. As you surely know, the Aspis Consortium pursues a variety of activities across the Inner Sea that the Pathfinder Society finds abhorrent. It seems that Delroya has been working with them for some time, but can no longer stomach the snakes herself. She wants to stop a shipment of an experimental drug from leaving Diobel later this week. It’s bound for a number of locations across the Inner Sea region. According to Delroya, she can’t ask the local authorities for help, because the Aspis Consortium has already struck a deal with a faction of the Kortos Consortium, a powerful merchant collective. Her hands are tied, so she’s come to us for help. In this note, she outlines three different tasks that would help to disrupt the Aspis long enough for her to move the shipment to a secure location, out of the clutches of the consortium. Once you accomplish two of these tasks, she’s willing to meet with you, but not before.

“Normally, I wouldn’t trust an Aspis agent at any hour of the day. But our sources in Diobel have confirmed the Aspis and Kortos consortia’s activities. Everything checks out, so we are presented with a unique opportunity. If we help Delroya, we might not only strike a financial blow against the Aspis Consortium, but we could also reveal their dealings with the Kortos Consortium—and possibly prevent their arrangement from turning into a more formal alliance. Furthermore, we hope to stop this drug from spreading across the Inner Sea region, and if we—if all of you—do a good enough job, we might even convince Delroya to join the Society. A turncoat agent would be a valuable asset in our ongoing run-ins with the Aspis Consortium.”

“Take some time to look over Delroya’s note and the tasks she has set for you. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask. Remember, the Aspis Consortium is a long-time enemy of the society, but the Kortos Consortium, while certainly suspicious, is not our enemy. It is a complex organization with many factions, and we should avoid antagonizing any of them, except when necessary to oppose the Aspis Consortium.”

See Maps link for Handouts 1 and 2. Please place your icons in the marching order.

Bahram looks to Carlin, smiling warmly at the mention of 'anklebiters.' He can picture that scene very clearly with her. His smile fades, however, when he turns that upon himself. What would that look like? Probably not in the cards for me.

At that moment Bedisa enters. Sarenrae, are you having fun at my expense?"

@Bedisa, "I'm not sure who all has been invited to this party, or if a venture captain is going to join us before taking off. Perhaps we should find a captain?"

"Speak of the Venture-Captain and he will arrive at your shoulder," grins Sayuki. "What deadly behemoth are you sending us to battle today, Valsin?" she asks with feigned familiarity.

Knowledge (local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

"So we're here to take this flirtation from a potential relationship to a disastrous one-night stand?" she asks. "My, you did ask the right person."

Kn: Local untrained: 10 + 0 = 10

Cith extends a paw to Besida. “Glad to meet you, my name is Cith.”

When Valsin arrives, he listens closely to what the man has to say. When Valsin mentions questions, he asks “Why did you choose us? Seems a strange choice.”

——

When handed the letters, he reads them carefully. You know exactly when he reaches the third task as his nose wrinkles up in disgust and he mutters “Sewers? Can’t this Laszo find a better place to lair?”

I don’t care which tasks we choose, but my character has a good nose on him. He is not going to welcome going into stinking sewers.

”I do prefer we handle the sabotage and thievery options,” agrees Sayuki. ”Although it would be unfortunate to let this Laszo slip from our grasp...”

Wrinkling his nose, with hesitation Cith admits “You may have a point...I would hate for the creator of the drug to get away. They would likely set up shop somewhere else.”

Looking to Valsin, he then asks “Any idea what this Whip drug does?”

kn. Local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

"Oh, I know all about the Aspis Consortium and the Kortos Consortium. I know how fragile they are and just where to hurt them most. The slave trade is where it's at."

After reading through the missive, Bahram clears his throat and says to the group, "The shipping documents most likely contain The names of all of these slaves being shipped, although they are probably supposed to be nothing more than spices. bringing this to light would most likely split these two forces apart. As to the second mission, we can either nab the individual responsible for the drug or protect our informant."

"What deadly behemoth are you sending us to battle today, Valsin?" she asks with feigned familiarity.

Valsin retorts, Nothing, I know you can't handle. Den of vipers sort of work, you know.

When Valsin mentions questions, he asks “Why did you choose us? Seems a strange choice.”

If your confidence wanes, we have more LOYAL Pathfinders up to the task.

Valsin starts to gather his things, We're on a time table. If there's nothing else, bon voyage. He waits for any closing questions.

With a look of wounded pride, Cith responds to Valsin “It isn’t my confidence. It just sounded like you had a particular reason.”

I wonder if he just said that because he doesn’t know what Whip does? Trying to avoid the question.

“I have no further questions.” for you, Valsin.

Ugh...poisoning people with that garbage. I have a cure for that snake that makes it.. Carlin says, patting her morning star. I just hope we can save a few and get them off of the drug. I am ready to set off... she says as she double checks her pack.

Sayuki can’t help but laugh. ”It would seem the one we have decided upon most certainly is the one we had reservations about to begin with!” she exclaims. ”So we will be dealing with Laszo, then. Where to besides? I feel an opportunity calling at the tavern...”

Finally finished building Bedisa. Got equipment all sorted out. Gonna double check everything.

Bedisa sighs. "'Laszo the Leaper'. Or was it 'the Leper'. Either way, I'm ready to go. Let's head out."

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

"I feel that gaining the shipping documents from the trading vessel would do much to hurt the relationship between the two consortiums, but we can't leave Delroya out to dry either. We may need her. My vote is the tavern and the sewer. That Laszo certainly needs to be stopped." Bahram says, nodding to Carlin and Sayuki.

“Might I suggest we at least do the other task before the sewers? Think what someone’s reaction would be to someone with the smell of that place still on them!” He then mimes holding his nose while sticking out his tongue in disgust.

"I think a distraction in the tavern would suit this gal just fine." Bedisa gives an exaggerated wink at no one in particular. "Perhaps we can start there."

"The meeting at the tavern is not scheduled until Oathsday," Bry Anne points out. "Given the time frame we are working with, it would be logical to investigate the sewers beforehand on Wealday, rather than waiting to implement both ideas on Oathsday. This is clearly the superior option as it also give us an opportunity to investigate the sewers a second time should the first expedition prove unfruitful."

Sewers and Tavern sound good here.

“When will this ship arrive in Diobel?”

Sounds good to me...

"A question, then, for any among our number who specialize in the arcane arts," says Sayuki: "Do any of us know the-- I believe a cantrip is the word the wizards use-- the cantrip for cleaning? If so, it may be wise to be ready to use it as soon as we are free of the sewage."

"Oh, I certainly do! This is not my first sewer unfortunately. The cantrip you're looking for is called prestidigitation, by the way.". He says, smiling at Sayuki.

Sayuki grins. "Ah, yes. I only know it in my native tongues--"

"and"

To anyone who doesn't speak Sylvan, mostly it just sounds like Sayuki started chattering and squeaking like a cat watching a bird through a window.

"I've only heard it called szemfényvesztés - the Orcish (Hungarian) word for it. A wizard once tried to teach me, but I guess I did not show the aptitude"

“I am no master of the arcane, but am familiar with that effect. It can lift stains...” He concentrates a moment and the little bit of dirt on his boots is removed. “...but little more.”

He cast Prestidigitation but did not seem to need any verbal or somatic components.
The spell doesn’t say anything about drying nor removing scent. I think it only removes the stains.

“Anyways, it seems we as a group have mostly decided to deal with the tavern and the sewers. Is that alright with everyone?” When he says the word sewer, his distaste for the place is clear. He looks towards Bahram expectantly.

Aaaaactually--

It can color, clean, or soil items in a 1-foot cube each round. It can chill, warm, or flavor 1 pound of nonliving material.

I'd say if it can "clean" something, that would cover stains and the odor (since the odor comes from the filth). That's been common GM interpretation as well.

Looking back to sith (ahem) Cith, Bahram says, "Uh, yes, that fits our timeline and seems satisfactory, at least, to everyone. We shall go to the sewers, clean up, and then prepare ourselves for the tavern. There should be much information to gather about our quarry before entering the tavern I'd assume.". Looking around at the group of Pathfinders, he continues "We would seem rather well suited for these two tasks."