The game will begin on 1st September
After your last mission you've all had some downtime at the Grand Lodge in Absalom. Perhaps he caught you asleep in the library, or perhaps you failed to turn up to a briefing. However it happened, it's come to Ambrus Valsin's attention that you don't have enough to do, and yesterday a letter was delivered to you from Venture-Captain Valsin, assigning you to a training mission.
Idle Pathfinders are Pathfinders needing work. Having a bit of downtime is no excuse to sit around and let our skills lapse! So I have come up with a training exercise for you and a few others waiting around the Grand Lodge for a job. I trust you are familiar with the Red Redoubt? If not, for shame! It’s an important part of Absalom’s history. You might want to spend a few minutes researching it before heading out. While it is technically a “cleared” ruin, it’s a perfect location to test your skills.
Another team has spent the last few days practicing their own dungeoneering skills by establishing an obstacle course in the Redoubt’s upper levels. Now it’s up to you to go and see how well they’ve done. The course follows a specific path—if you come across a symbol of three red dots inside a triangle, that means “do not enter.” Don’t go wandering—I do not want to send a third team to find you if you get lost. Otherwise, your response to the challenge is up to you. Bring your own gear, make your own plans, solve the puzzles, and bypass the traps. You’ll know when you reach the finish line. I’d wish you good luck, but skilled Pathfinders don’t need luck.I trust you’ll impress us,
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin
You spent the rest of the day preparing, then set out early to the location mentioned; the "Red Redoubt". . You've just arrived after a few hours travelling through the rough terrain northwest of Absalom on the Isle of Kortos, during which time you'll have become acquainted with each other.
The noonday sun shines brightly in a cloudless sky, but the rugged landscape diffuses the light as if through a stained glass window composed entirely of crimson panes. Deep red metal walls, broken but mostly untouched by rust even after a millenium, form an obstacle course through the landscape. Clearly, when the Red Redoubt of Karamoss was named, it was not done ironically.
The marked path through the siege castle's ruins leads to a large central chamber open to the sky above. Aside from the metallic flooring, walls, and rubble, nothing remains of the so-called "machine mage" Karamoss or his lost armies. Refuse, old campire rings, and other signs of life attest to the place being a haven for scavengers and vagabonds.
The chamber is filled with a large, circular shaft in the metal floor, with smoothly rolled edges that demonstrate superbly uniform craftsmanship. A rope ladder descends into the pit, anchored by pitons hammered into the floor panels. The level your on has diffuse lighting reflecting from the sun outside, but down the pit it is dark. Brakkik and Duskin can see that it goes down about 30 feet and that the ladder runs all the way down.
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Fentar scowls at the note as he packs his bags, This is a deeply unfair assessment. I had been up all night chasing fey around a library for Kreighton Shaine. Then I spent the morning training with a fellow companion who I had promised to help. A little snooze in the refectory after 32 hours without sleep is entirely reasonable!
He checks in his pack that the sunrods, anti-toxin, chalk and ioun torch that he bought are all in good order. Then he sharpens the edges of his new chakrams, axe and greatsword with a whetstone.
As he trudges toward the Red Redoubt with his companions, the nagaji looks about, "I know nothing if this Karamoss."
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”Fasshinating!” A ratfolk wearing patched robes picks something from between his teeth, his words sounding obscured by something else in his mouth. The wind blows at a tuft of scorched hair plastered against his head, but it stubbornly refuses to lie naturally. ”They shay he wash half-man and half-masshine. Imagine rah shtuff he musht have left behind here!”
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At best the short halfling will ask around the lodge before making the trip out. She has zero confidence in doing any sort of research on the place.
She lazes atop her wolf Blue as she looks down the large hole. "Half metal? I imagine the soft bits had quite the rash rubbing up against the metal ones. Who would want that?"
"By the By, anyone strong enough to help me lower his lug to the bottom with some rope? She asks, patting her mount Blue.
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Generally, a wolf stands from 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs between 45 and 150 pounds...
Fentar shrugs, taking a look over the wolf, "Will it behave?"
He steps up to the wolf, with Enta still riding it, and lifts both off the ground with a heave, "Yeurgh."
After putting them down again, he steps back and tilts his head to one side. Fentar's tongue flickers out for a moment, "I have a rope. We can tie it to the saddle. Fine."
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She’s a large woman—almost 6 feet—built out of wiry muscle that her winter clothing obscures. Her Jadwiga and gold dragon heritage have combined to give her hair a color between platinum and gold and eyes to match. Her skin has a glow like torchlight shining through ice, scars likes cracks. She keeps her hair in long ringlet curls that she meticulously tends to and ties back with a bow. She wears a deep blue and white hardy dress.
She also takes a turn picking up the wolf and rider with nearly the same ease as Fentar. However, while he does a much more practical lift, she does so with a pose and a flourish. "Not bad at all. I have rope myself, should we require it."
She turns to the rest of the group and curtsies. "My name is Kseniyatalya Tatyanovna Hildenlieder Morgannan, but you may call me Kseniya for brevity. You may know me better by the name I perform under, Golden Girl." Her voice is proud with playful notes.
Fentar's sunrod hits the floor at the bottom of the shaft with the sound of a pebble striking a large shield. A metallic clang, and the lingering tone of vibrating metal afterwards. Now lit up, you can all see down the shaft and find more of the rust coloured red metal that you've been seeing.
You make your way down the ladder after making sure that its safe. Kseniya and Fentar have no trouble lowering Mr. Blue on a rope, and one by one you gather at the bottom. The shaft opens into the centre of a red steel chamber. The floor beneath the shaft is canted at a slight angle; it seems to have originally been a circular platform that fit flush with the rest of the room but at some point unevenly sank a foot or so. The floors around the room's perimeter are solid and even, with a textured surface to give better footing on the smooth metal. The walls are riveted metal plates, fallen or torn off in places to reveal solid rock behind. Recessed slabs of metal with adjacent panels, presumably exits, are centred on each wall. The norther panel glows dimly, illuminating scorch marks and glistening red stains around it. The other four exits are marked with a symbol of a triangle with three dots inside.
The only light here is that coming from Fentar's sunrod, and except for the shaft the ceilings are 10 feet high.
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Greetings... I'm Duskin. - the voice sounds low and shy. In the back of the group, an out worldly dark skinned "shadow gnome"-like creature speaks. He carries a visible Pathfinder pin, as well as his own wayfinder - Duskin Veilsong. Nice to meet you all...
He's all covered in long sleeves, clearly trying to hide his heritage the best he can. Yet, despite the shy voice and polite gestures, he sounds a lot more creepy and sinister than he'd like to.
Unfortunately, I can't search well for traps. If we find any, however, I might have... Nontraditional ways of dealing with them. - he answers Etna.
Brakkik steps up to examine the northern door, and quickly discovers that the red liquid is dye, not blood. It seems some sort of trap was triggered and spattered dye all over. The door itself is confusing as it doesn't appear to have a handle, but Brakkik finds that by simply touching the illuminated panel the door swooshes open almost instantly, revealing a dark metal corridor beyond, spatterings of dye on the floor.
Having few other options, the group sets out down this coridoor, walking two abreast as it is 10 feet wise. Fentar's ioun torch and the sunrod light the way well, for otherwise it would be perfectly dark.
After about 5 minutes of walking, with Brakkik looking out for traps, you come to an intersection. The corridor continues north and branches also to the west and east, but the eastern branch is blocked with a stout metal grating marked with three crimson circles within a triangle. A large white "X" is scrawled in chalk on the floor in the centre of the intersection.
Perhaps alerted by the X, Brakkik notices a tripwire running across the tunnel just before the X. Tracing it to the wall he finds more dye pouches, but these ones set up to crush the occupants of the tunnel between wicker walls and pour dye on them. He suspects that any damage inflicted would be non-lethal, and inflict more embarrassment than injury.
Spots of dye fleck the floor leading north.
Brakkik easily disarms the trap, manipulating the dye bags and the wicker walls to remove the tension on the tripwire.
You set off down the western passage, moving as a group and keeping a careful eye out for more traps. You see no sign of any, or indeed any sign of recent activity at all. After about 10 or so minutes the passage takes a turn to the right. Soon after that the passage you're following branches, with one passage continuing north and one going east. You notice the dye spots again leading from this eastern passage and heading north.
Just ahead up the northern passage you spot the body of a half-orc sprawled on the ground. Above the corpse, a wooden sledgehammer dangles from a rope beneath an open ceiling panel. Though the head of the mallet is padded, the trap was apparently still lethal to the unfortunate half-orc. A few feet up the corridor another chalk "X" is scratched on the floor.
Brakkik carefully examines the area and does find any more traps, beyond the one that was sprung. A closer look at the half-orc's body shows that he is covered in deep gashes caused by some sort of slashing implement, and the mallet wound might just have finished him off. He is also covered in dye matching the droplets.
Going through his things you find that he is wearing masterwork studded leather armour, has three daggers and a sap sheathed at his belt, and a pair of manacles in a belt pouch. Lying next to him is a quarterstaff. Closer inspection reveals that one of the daggers is made of of some sort of skymetal; possibly adamatine.
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Etna will rush forward to examine the body but sighs when it becomes obvious it's too late. She will look for anything to help identify the man. "This doesn't make any sense. I thought all of these were supposed to be nonlethal traps. Those look like serious injuries on him. I think we should head forward in case someone else may be hurt. We can come around back if their are any other survivors that way."
The half-orc is not carrying anything that would identify him. He does have a tattoo on his neck though.
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Fentar narrows his eyes, "This guy might even have set the trap. We've got six sets of droplets going away to the north and only one, this guy, returning."
He sniffs the air, "I heard about the same thing happening in Nirmathas, small town, Kassen I think. Someone set up a fun assault course in an old tomb, then the dead started to interfere." He looks about suspiciously, "Maybe some of Karamoss' old magics were triggered by someone trying to hide a jar of paint or something?"
"Let's go where he ran from. Find the problem and solve it."
You hurry forward down the passage to the source of whatever befell this poor half-orc. Barely a minute passes before you come to another of those doors with a glowing panel. Brakkik checks it over and deciding that its safe, then taps it to open it up.
Beyond the door is a grisly scene. The red hue of the dungeon's metal walls is dramatically accented with a fresh coating of blood. Three corpses lie scattered around the room, all hacked apart with great force. The arterial spray from the last moments of their lives spatters the walls and ceiling and pools on the floor. A dim crimson glow spills from a wide archway to the north, casting a garish light upon the faces of the dead. An open chest sits against the eastern wall, with broken links of chain scattered on the floor around it.
Its the creature in the centre of the room that draws your eye though. Approximately the size and shape of a man, but made of metal. Its face has been made into the mask of an evil grin, and horns decorate its head in a vaguely devil-like manner. Its right arm ends in a jagged sword, and mounted on its shoulder is some sort of crossbow. Worse still, it moves as you enter, its shoulder crossbow loading automatically and turning in your direction!
The metallic monstrosity appears to be glued to the floor by the remnants of a tanglefoot bag, but is in the process of "zzzt zzzt" trying to pull itself free.
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Kseniya flicks her hair back and smiles. "Oho, what's this? Already held down in one place for us and everything. Allow me to ensure it stays there."
She strides into the room, her ringlets flowing behind her, and suddenly snaps the metal creature into a headlock. She looks to her pathfinder allies. "Your turn."
When Kseniya steps within 20 feet of the archway, two small darts shoot out of small holes above it, trailing wires back to the archway above. The wires crackle with electricity.
One of them pierces the spectral force of her mage armour and delivers an elctrical charge.
Although painful, Kseniya shrugs off the electricity and manages to keep control of her limbs. The wires begin slowly reeling the darts back in.
Kseniya grabs the metal monstrosity before it has a chance to react, but its deadly sword is now dangerously close to her...