The grounds of the Grand Lodge are abuzz with whispers and nervous energy as countless Pathfinders congregate wherever they can find a bit of room to stand. Rumors abound of what the Decemvirate might have summoned this many agents for, each more outlandish than the next.
As the sun rose, you were directed to find your fellow teammates at the closer end of the Wall of Names, a stone wall that winds through trees and parks with the name of every lost or fallen agent inscribed upon it. This close to Skyreach, the names and dates written on this section are from some of the earliest members of the Society. The sun slowly lifts the chill from the air, replacing it with gentle breezes that carry the faintest hint of autumn.
|
A Tien peasant wanders in and looks at the wall with curiosity. Her raggedly-looking clothes appear to have a variety of stains - sewer water, doppelganger blood, lava burns. But her hair is done quite nicely as if she attended a wedding last week and didn't bother changing her hairstyle.
She pulls an apple out of her backpack and munches loudly as she reads the names.
She finishes eating the whole apple, including the core and stem, as the others approach.
"My name is Tsuan," she says simply, bowing politely to each of her fellow Pathfinders.
|
"Floria Avernathus, charmed"
A young Taldan noblewoman, dressed in comfortable but clearly expensively embroidered leathers bows in return to Tsuan. She has dark hair cropped to her shoulders, is no more than about 5'2", and plays with an elegant cane as she stands looking at the wall.
She looks Tsuan over and tries not to tut at the state of her clothes.
"Are you sure you are comfortable in that ... outfit my dear? I have my sewing kit with me if you need any repairs made and we get time, though sometimes a fresh start is the best way to tackle problems of that, er, magnitude"
|
A young human man walks up to the Wall of Names taking in the pleasant surroundings. He is short, not much over five feet in height. He is wearing brilliantly shining chain mail and carries a large shield which has been polished to a mirror finish and emblazoned with Desna's butterfly. He has a Starknife hooked onto his belt. Noticing others gathering at the appointed spot he raises a hand in greeting. "Greetings, my name is Mattaius. It is good to meet you."
|
|
Dashing up behind Mattaius is a bright peach gnome, jittering with energy and babbling a mile a minute. "Oh! Hi everybody! I'm Pai Shecks. Oh, Hi Tsuan! When I saw your name on the roster for this mission I was so excited! Boy, that last mission! Whew! That was the most exciting wedding I've ever been to, that's for sure!"
Ah! Always prepared, she is! Pai's eyes take a dash over Tsuan's outfit, ending with a conspiratorial twinkle and a wink.
|
|
Making his way towards the Wall of Names amid all the hustle and bustle in and around the Grand Lodge, a rather graceful creature in a dark green cloak deftly maneuvers to find his assigned group. As he arrives, he initially doesn’t recognize anyone...
He steps forth in greeting, pulling back the hood to reveal a face with sharp Elven features. A warm smile on his lips, he bows. ”Mythryndyr, at your service...my friends call me Myth...”
Upon seeing the spunky gnomish lady, Myth ponders a bit before recognition sets in and his smile grows wider. ”Pai? Pai Shecks, is it not? Been a long while...Lady Heidmarch...sent us to Riddleport...we infiltrated the Aspis...that was quite the mission. Good to see you again!”
|
|
She looks Tsuan over and tries not to tut at the state of her clothes.
"Are you sure you are comfortable in that ... outfit my dear? I have my sewing kit with me if you need any repairs made and we get time, though sometimes a fresh start is the best way to tackle problems of that, er, magnitude"
Tsuan shrugs rather non-chalantly.
"The holes make it easier to reach in and draw these -" Tsuan draws out a pair of well-used, but well-maintained wakizashis, "- unnoticed."
"I've got a fancy dress in my backpack if we're going to a wedding or someplace nice."
"Hi Tsuan! When I saw your name on the roster for this mission I was so excited! Boy, that last mission! Whew! That was the most exciting wedding I've ever been to, that's for sure!"
"So ... Avistani weddings don't usually end like that? That's a shame."
She chats up Pai for a little bit, showing her some new tricks she learned since they got back - she winks and several shadowy copies of her appear.
"I'm not going to spend any more combats snoozing on the sand!" she boasts.
He is wearing brilliantly shining chain mail and carries a large shield which has been polished to a mirror finish and emblazoned with Desna's butterfly.
"Oh! A butterfly! Are you an entomologist?"
|
|
Floria greets each of the newcomers as the team assembles. She smiles as she sees old friends and acquaintances reuniting. At Tsuan's wakizashis she nods appreciatively with a wide-eyed look.
"I do hope I get a chance to see that dress. I'm more of a seamstress than an intrepid explorer myself these days, and I'm not sure I miss it"
She turns to Mattaius as Tsuan asks him about the butterflies.
"You are never lost following butterflies" she winks at Mattaius as she uses the Desnan Aphorism.
Unless you are in the ivory labyrinth where all souls are lost
The thought comes unbidden in a voice she hasn't heard in some time. She tries not to let her discomfort show on her face as she listens to the conversation and nods along
|
|
Smiling at Floria's use of the aphorism, Mattaius turns to Tsuan "Me, an enter-m-olist. No, what's an enter-, err, one of those?". Stumbling over the unfamiliar term, Mattaius looks a little flustered. So hurriedly changes the subject, [b]"Are you from Tian? The butterfly is the symbol of my goddess, Desna; I think the Tian people know her as the Resplendent goddess of Fortune.
|
|
A wiry halfling walks along the Wall of Names, moving quickly but without hurry, humming a Taldan drinking song. His half-open vest shows a beautifully-worked chain shirt of a gleaming metal, and he wears a rapier on his belt and a bow over his shoulder. His face is sun- or wind-burned except for three lines of paler skin on one cheek, evidence of recent magical healing.
When he reaches the group, he marches directly up to the cloaked elf, peers up at the face under the hood, and bursts into good-natured laughter.
"Mythryndyr, my old friend! I should have known I would find you lurking about!" The halfling grins sticks out a hand. "Where have you been keeping yourself?"
Once he has finished catching up with Myth, he turns and introduces himself to the others with a bow and a friendly smile. "Greetings, my new comrades! I am Jamir Montajay, of the Cassomir Montajays, sailor, explorer, Pathfinder (of course), and the deadliest swordsman on or around the Inner Sea! I am delighted to make your acquaintances!"
|
|
"Are you from Tian? The butterfly is the symbol of my goddess, Desna; I think the Tian people know her as the Resplendent goddess of Fortune.
"Oh."
Tsuan pretends to understand.
Tsuan is of Tien heritage but not from Tian Xia. She is descended from survivors of a shipwreck, and grew up on an island off the coast of Cheliax. She knows Tien, but doesn't know much about Tien culture. She doesn't advertise this, but she admits it to anyone that she has grown to trust (like Pai, with whom she's previously adventured).
|
|
Jamir shakes his head. "I have not seen him in quite some time, not since the three of us were sent to Thuvia more than a year ago. I have spent most of the time since then on a special assignment up north." Frowning, he lowers his voices and adds, "You know, back in Irrisen."
The halfling shudders, then forces a smile and his tone regains its usual boisterous cheer. "But occasionally, our venture captains call me south to join individual missions, and I assume today's assignment is no different. If it must be extreme frost or heat, my friend, let me hope for another voyage through the desert! But what have you been doing? Where have your travels taken you?"
|
|
Myth chuckles. ”As I was telling Pai earlier, same ole, same ole. They seem to like sending me to Varisia...a lot...I’ve been briefed and debriefed by Lady Heidmarch so much that I fear people will start to talk. And they’ve sent me against the Aspis a few times as well...can’t stand those bastards...just returned from fighting them in the Mwangi...got back just in time to join the fun here...
“Any way, good to be journeying with you again, my friend,” he adds before finishing with a smirk, ”...just like old times...you stick ‘em up close, I’ll stick ‘em from a healthy distance...”
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Pai's about to respond to Mythryndyr when Jamir saunters up. She steps back and lets the guys reconnect. Normally a chatterbox, she's content for the moment to allow the conversations to bubble and swell around her. But when Tsuan shows Pai her new trick, the giggly gnome simply has to respond in kind. "Oooh! That's soo cool! Yeah, I can see how that'd be totally useful! --Oh! Guess what I can do now! Ohmygosh! I can fly!" To prove it, Pai activates her Wings of Air ability and flies around the group with an enormous grin plastered on her face. "See? Now I won't be stuck behind a bunch of tall people just staring at their butts! Seriously, I've had way too many missions like that." Her words tumble out so quickly that she doesn't have time to process how easy it is to misinterpret their meaning. "Oh! That sounded bad! Oops! What I meant is that I can't do anything when we're stuck in a tunnel and all the tall meat shields are in front of me, so I can't blast anything 'cause I can't see it, so I'm just looking for an opening, but, you know, the height difference..." She gestures and shrugs as if to say "What can you do?"
|
”Yes, Pathfinders” Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine muses. ”A lot of you, certainly. Lovely! Well, find your places in an orderly fashion. We’ve got some truly exciting news today and I can’t wait to get started!”
The agents join the throng of Pathfinders - some new agents, some more experienced, and even some of the more permanent staff - making their way out of the Grand Lodge, chatting and catching up with old friends along the way. The impromptu procession snakes through parks, past temples, alongside the grand estates of nobles, out the gates, and onto a large muddy plain almost five miles from the walls of Absalom. In the center of the field stands a wooden platform, raised some ten feet off the ground. The excited chatter drowns out the buzz of summer insects as the gathered adventurers speculate on what's to come.
|
|
It warms Floria's heart to see old friends reconnecting, so she stands back and allows them to do it. When they make it to the site her mind starts working at what might be going on.
She has spent a lot of time in the Grand Lodge recently, avoiding missions where she can, but she's tried to keep up with more active agents.
"I'd heard this has something to do with the "Sky Key", the relic retrieved from Jormurdun. Apparently the society has been buying large quantities of skymetal, and hiring evokers of all things." She rolls her eyes at the mention of evokers. "Have you heard anything like that? Were any of you responsible for collecting the sky key pieces?"
"That can't be right. There are some conjuration symbols there, and there, but they are not aligned correctly for conjuring. In fact the whole thing doesn't make any sense. This is either something new or master Shaine has finally lost his marbles completely"
"The fact that they chose this spot is interesting, I wonder if it has something to do with the history of the place?" She looks at her companions and checks to see whether everyone already knows this before proceeding. As long as someone looks vacant she will explain; she's been teaching a few classes at the Grand Lodge recently so slips into the patter.
"Many of the invading armies that have besieged Absalom over the years have begun here at the Bloodwatered Meadow. Some even ended here, like when a Linnorm King fought a Thuvian warlord here hundreds of years ago for the right to invade. Both went home too depleted to begin their attack. There's even some evidence of ancient Azlanti buildings here, not many Pathfinders bother to research so close to home, but in Chronicle ..."
Having gotten a bit carried away Floria looks a bit embarrassed and stops.
"Or so I'd heard"
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Pai listens, rapt at first, to Floria's explanations. She is so very glad when Floria catches herself and stops, though. She's too excited about the impending mission briefing that she's in no mood to listen to a side lecture, especially when she knows a bunch of it already.
"Aye, Pai, impressive indeed! What other tricks have you learned since last we journeyed together?"
In a side whisper to Mythryndyr, she conspiratorially shares: "I can deafen people. Permanently!" Of course, since she's waited this long to respond, the comment seems to come out of the blue and anyone overhearing it would have reason to wonder why the heck she'd randomly say that.
|
|
Jamir nods enthusiastically at Flora's description of what she has heard and the inferences she has drawn. "Just so, my new friend, I have heard much the same in the last few days. While I have undertaken many missions for the Society in the far north, only my first assignment had any relation to the search for the mysterious Sky Key, and that only became apparent in hindsight. It's no surprise that the Decemvirate would throw gold and wizards at such an artifact, but to what use could the Society put this dwarven relic that would require so many Pathfinders to assemble in the open like this?"
The little swordsman pauses, then asks Flora under his breath, "My lady, you did hear, as I did, that the wizards involved were evokers, is that correct? Not diabolists? Or necromancers?"
|
|
Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls and de facto Master of Spells in the wake of Aram Zey’s untimely assassination, steps forward. A broad smile graces his youthful, elven features, and his golden hair shines in the sunlight.
“Welcome, my countless eager scholars! Today we are about to witness a wondrous and strange new chapter in the Pathfinder Society’s history. But first, please everyone take a moment of silence to remember our lost Master of Spells and my close friend, Aram Zey. While many of you found his manner abrasive, he fully believed in the Society’s goals of exploration and cooperation, and I know his loss will be deeply felt by us all.” After a moment, Kreighton Shaine continues.
“You may have heard rumors about the Sky Key, an artifact coveted by the dwarves of Jormurdun. A few of you even managed to recover pieces of it. But—and this is the important part—the Sky Key is no dwarven relic. The dwarves found this artifact in one of Numeria’s many wrecks and struggled to master its abilities just as we have spent the past several months doing. But now… now we have this assembled... wonder.”
The Master of Scrolls pulls back a canvas tarp, revealing… a bed of withered roses. “The Key itself is secure in a small chamber we’ve constructed below this field, and it is connected to the surface here by a series of adamantine rods and mithral cables.” He taps a dark metal shaft beside him. “This formerly-award-winning bed of roses, however, we have left sitting here for two weeks without sun or water.”
His hands weave an arcane pattern, and arcs of lightning leap from his fingertips to the rod. A chest-shaking hum rises from somewhere below, and a bubble of green light enfolds the roses, revealing a flower bed of vibrant reds, purples, and yellows where only withered brown stood moments before.
“This is the power of the Sky Key: It creates a window into the past. No longer will the Society have to pick at the precious few scraps history leaves behind. Instead we can watch the greatest moments of Golarion’s history unfold before our eyes! We can watch the Eventongue Rebellion shatter Taldor into a dozen smaller states. We can witness Irrisen before the coming of Baba Yaga, or study the godcallers of Sarkoris before the Worldwound. We can witness the Starstone plunge Golarion into an age of endless night, or watch Aroden himself pull Kortos from the sea in its wake. Anything we want, we can study. And all it requires is lightning!
“Unfortunately, we must content ourselves with study. While our modern forms can enter these temporal bubbles unaffected—” he reaches a hand into the shimmering energy and plucks a rose. Pulling it from the iridescent field, the flower ages and crumbles into dust, “—anything removed collapses under the weight of time itself. We can witness anything we like, but any treasures of history, or great figures, belong to their own age, beyond our reach.”
“It takes the magic of one accomplished wizard to reach back thirteen days. How far, then, do you imagine twenty will reach? A hundred?” Several other teams across the field begin assembling adamantine rods. “Our math says: The Age of Serpents, some tens of thousand years before the present. And that is where all of you come in. If this works—and it will, mind you—then we estimate we’ll have four to five hours to see what Kortos looked like at the dawn of the Azlanti Empire, when our earliest ancestors still warred with the serpentfolk empire of old. We need all the eyes and ears the Society can muster to take notes and make observations. Oh, and keep those eyes and ears from getting killed. Anything in the bubble can’t get out, but these roses... they still have thorns.”
He nods, and Pathfinders across the field begin casting spells, directing arcs of lightning into the waiting sky metal rods. Something deep below the earth thrums, and across the field a massive bubble takes shape, expanding to reveal a cube of earth and stone hundreds of feet to a side, as if sliced from the land and laid out in celebration. Low, stone buildings peek over from the very top, while networks of caves riddle the lowest level. Ophidian faces peer out, then retreat back into the darkness.
“It seems the ground level was a bit higher before the Starstone drove it into the sea,” Shaine observes. “Regardless. We have three-hundred and seven minutes remaining. Let’s make the most of it!”
The Pathfinders mill about, many rushing into an exposed tunnel at the base of the block while others fly towards the buildings perched on the top.
As the team gets closer to the block, they have to decide where they want to begin their own exploration and cataloguing endeavors.
|
|
"Evokers indeed-"
Floria's reply to Jamir is cut off by the master of scrolls, and she whispers during the presentation.
"Ah so the evokers are merely batteries for this more subtle time magic."
After the grand cube is revealed, Floria looks up at the opening.
"I'm sure Pai could make it up there, but I only have one scroll for flight and I'd prefer to save it for emergencies. Shall we take the more terrestrial approach?"
|
|
Awww! Bummer. Still, Pai doesn't like adventuring on her own, so sticking with the group is her preferred method. Those meat shields are useful, you know! "Yup, down we go! Next time though, they ought to warn us so you can all buy a couple of flying potions. That'll be fun!" The fact that they didn't know what the terrain was going to be before trying this is completely overlooked.
|
|
Seeming to pay little attention during the presentation Mattaius idly tosses a coin into the air and catches it again. But as soon as the bubble forms and the ancient ground rises up in front of the group he snaps to attention, the coin disappearing almost as if it wasn't there.
Tightening the straps of his shield on his arm, whilst the party discuss their options, as soon as a decision is reached Mattaius says, "Ok, let's go.". Mattaius will start moving leading the way toward the cave entrance.
The Pathfinders head into the tunnels ahead of them, quickly breaking off into smaller and smaller groups until each squad is traveling alone. The stink of animal scat and rotting meat fills the air, getting stronger and stronger as the group approaches what must be a massive cavern.
A sudden noise puts the explorers on edge - a massive footstep, sending tremors through the stone, as well as a strange sibilant voice.
|
|
Floria draws her metamagic rod in one hand, her wand of magic missile in the other, then concentrates and causes her metamagic rod to glow. She holds it like a torch. Although there's plenty of light from the others, she doesn't want to end separated and and in the dark.
"What in the hells was that?"
|
|
Jamir draws his rapier and activates his wayfinder to give the party more light as they enter at more or less ground level.
"That sounded intriguing! Ah, the excitement of discovery! Come, my friends, let us find out what enormous creature has caused such a ruckus and - only if necessary, of course - test ourselves against this antediluvian colossus in deadly combat!"
The source of the sound becomes evident as the Pathfinders move into the cavern. The shelves, passageways, and fixtures carved into the wall by careful hands are each stylized to resemble a serpent’s head or body. Around a rocky pillar, the myriad of light sources reveal a serpentine figure dwarfed by a massive reptile covered in bony plates. The snakeman hisses and points a dagger at the invading mammals.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Mythryndyr
Mattaius
Red
Pai
Floria
Tsuan
Blue
Jamir
The serpent-man hisses in pain as Mythryndyr's arrows both pierce its scaly hide, and its form wavers before splitting into identical copies of itself.
All three snake-men beat a hasty retreat behind the armored reptile.
Snake-man? Man-snake? Whatever it is, it's kinda weird-looking.
But the other reptile? That's an ankylosaurus for certain! Biggest thing you have to watch out for is that tail - it's suuuuuuuper long and hits suuuuuuuuper hard. Some folks even say it hits so hard that it'll knock the wind out of you and leave you stunned for a moment or two - which is pretty bad when you're close enough for it to hit again!
Maybe you've seen these before, or perhaps only read about the ancient ruler race of Golarion sent underground after the devastating arrival of the Starstone, but that's definitely a serpentfolk standing before you. Innately-gifted masters of magic, even the lowliest serpentfolk can boast of an inherent resistance to spells. This, combined with their strange thought patterns, makes it completely impossible to affect their minds. Should they be forced into melee combat, a serpentfolk's poisonous bite paired with their spell-like abilities can easily prove deadly to an unprepared adventurer.
And the larger creature is a dinosaur known as an ankylosaurus. These gentle herbivores are well-equipped to defend themselves from attacks with their thick armored plates and a tail as long as the rest of their body tipped with a heavy bone maul. Some hunters have written about how blows from that tail can knock the wind out of even the stoutest of warriors and leave them too stunned to defend themselves against the angry beast's next attack. However, they are still simple animals with simple minds.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Mythryndyr
Red (-19, 2 images)
Mattaius
Pai
Floria
Tsuan
Blue
Jamir
|
|
Pai flies along the ceiling, grateful that there's even more room to do so in the cavern, marveling at how quickly she can move now that she's not relying on her tiny little legs. As soon as her eyes land on the reptile, they bug out in astonishment. "OHMYGOSH YOU GUYS! That's an ankylosaurus! A flippin' dinosaur! Watch out for that tail! It'll knock you into next week! From, like, 15 feet away! I didn't bring a spatula to scrape your remains off the floor, so you'd better not get creamed!"
Being in the best position to take out that threat, Pai lines up an electric blast on the ankylosaur. Apparently we're shooting first and asking questions later. Oh well! Works for me! She flinches briefly as she takes a point of Burn to pump up the power of her blast.
... Empowered: 15+7=22
|
|
Floria snorts with annoyance on seeing the Serpentfolk.
"Serpentfolk have strange minds immune to magical tampering. Typical! They resist magic in general and are venomous, and can even fog the mind of the unwary. Watch yourselves! The ankylosaurus is an animal, not aggressive by nature, but quite deadly with its stunning tail." She thinks quickly what to do but sighs in frustration. "I'm too distant to be useful here"
She moves in and concentrates, conjuring a shimmering field of psychic energy to protect herself.