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Falling way behind with d'log the nibmle arctic elf takes to the air, attempting to at this point not be the one in the tail end of the chase.
The nimble elf however is not a strong elf, as her legs let her down completely. She attempts to grab an edge hoping to prevent her fall.
But it seems today is not her day.
Even dragging Ava along, Dahros managed to squirm through the fallen bookshelves, due at least partly to her rousing cheering. Even as they squeezed through, Ava's eyes seemed to be recovering from the flash effect and she could see again. Rolo got his armor wedged in the hole he tried to get through, but Thellira took another path and scrambled through. Behind them, Nali didn't quite manage to get over the pit, and the slammed into the far wall, sliding down to the bottom. She looked up in consternation in time to see a partially blinded d'Log come tumbling down on top of her. The goblin blinked his eyes rapidly, slowly seeing the world around him come into focus again.
Ahead, you saw another flight of stairs, and could hear running footsteps once more. Apparently you were gaining on Harsus again!
Here is your current position and the obstacle there:
4+ | Harsus
4 | stairs, DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletic check | Dahros/Ava, Thellira
3 | tumbled bookshelves, DC 15 acrobatics to work through | Rolo
2 | pit in floor, DC 10 Athletics to jump | Nali, d'Log
1 | stairs, DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletic check |
0 | no obstacle |
In the pit, Nali tries to stand on d'Log to get out of the pit, but the goblin wriggles out from under her and climbs her like a tree, leaping to grasp the edge of the pit and flip himself onto the passage floor. The goblin rounded the corner to see Rolo wedged into the fallen bookcases and cursing up a storm. Ahead, Dahros, Ava, and Thellira crested the top of the stairs to see a familiar flash and cloud of red smoke coming from a doorway ahead.
They rushed in to see the throne room, with the royal family rubbing their eyes and huddled together. The guards are also blinking, trying to find the source of the attack and protect the king. Several statues line the walls and chandeliers light room, along with skylights set in the ceiling.
One of the guards shouted, "Halt! Who goes there?"
Here is your current position and the obstacle there:
4 | stairs, DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletic check |
3 | tumbled bookshelves, DC 15 acrobatics to work through | Rolo, d'Log
2 | pit in floor, DC 10 Athletics to jump | Nali
1 | stairs, DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletic check |
0 | no obstacle |
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d'Log rounds the corner and finds rolo failing to climb over the shelf.
d'Log lashes his tail back and forth preparing to climb over the bookshelf.
wait, what's the problem? These books make for good foot and hand and tail holds. Watch
as d'Log runs away from rolo he yells Use the books with the dense prose! d'Log chuckles all the way down the hallway, which sounds like a cat in heat being tickled.
Thellira and Ava's actions did nothing but provoke nervousness from the king's guards, especially when Thellira readied her weapon. But when Dahros bellowed, one of the guards trembled a bit. Looking closer, you could see that he seemed to be panting shallowly, as if out of breath and trying to hide it.
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d'Log rushes up the stairs as he hears the horses bellowing.
Harsus? It would be wise not to hide from this guy. And definitely do not hide under chairs or tables. He doesn't play hide and seek, he prefers seek and destroy.
hey that was clever, maybe skimming over those books make goblin's clever.
d'Log holds up a hand waiting for Rolo to give him some hand slaps, then remembering Rolo not so good at literary hurdles.
d'Log slaps his own hand and nods to himself.
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"That one!" Dahros exclaims at the one that's out of breath like all of the others that just came through the chase. Except Nali. She clearly hasn't gotten far enough to even get winded yet because she's napping a pit somewhere.
Striding over to the man, he swings his hammer and says "This is the assassin!"
Dahros' hammer connects, and the guard staggers backwards. Weapons wer raised across the room as the king's guards moved to protect their charge against this madman. Then the king's voice rang out, "HALT!"
The guard Dahros had hit staggered back against the wall, his uniform and fair hair gone. In its place were the robes and mask of a Razmiran priest. The mask was askew from Dahros' blow, and a trickle of blood leaked from the nosepiece.
"What is going on here? Everyone put down your weapons! Explain this!" The king shouted in fear and rage.
Guards rushed to secure the Razmiran priest as you all dropped or lowered your weapons.
The king said, "You are Pathfinders, you say? And this priest of Razmiran is out to harm me? By what cause? I have offered no offense to Razmiran or any other god worshipped in this kingdom. Freedom to worship as you please as long as it does not harm your fellow citizens is a foundational tenet of my rule. Is he acting alone, then? Or is he part of a greater plot to kill me and usurp my throne. Mother, is this what you worried about?"
The older woman behind him said, "Yes, my son. This is exactly what happened to your father, and then that horrible advisor of his, Waiki arranged a coup. You should find this man's compatriots and have the lot of them killed. Only then will your throne be secure!"
The man beside her, dressed as a monk, replied, "Not every danger should be met with an axe or a noose, Sovella. We should see what the truth behind these tales is before we rush to judgement."
The king took all this in, and said, "Is there anyone in town that can vouch for who you say you are? I would like to believe your story, but at this point it is simply words in the wind."
As the king was saying these last words, Rolo and Nali stepped in from the secret passage, prompting another show of weapons from the guards until they joined the rest of you.
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Rolo kneels before the king. "Your majesty, what good would it do us to barge in here and make these accusations? We gain nothing and risk everything. We're here because this priest, or whatever he is, plotted your downfall. We don't know why. We are appallingly uninformed on your and his history. We are not from here, we were simply passing through on orders from our Venture Captain to investigate a potential threat to the region."
Rolo pulls out the golden statue. "This might not have led us anywhere immediately, but it is the last clue we have of an old cult that may still remain as a threat to your people. Maybe there is a connection to this man or maybe not, we are here out of a sense of good and righteousness as we stumbled onto a group of individuals unhappy with the state of the land. 'Say What They Will, They Live Free' - we didn't agree on all points on how to implement change here but the discourse is their right. Assassination doesn't sit well with us though and that civil conversation led to this false guard charging his way towards you once we made it clear that we felt change should be sought through compromise and conversation rather than violent force." He gives an ugly look to the older woman as he finishes his statement.
Rolo saw the king's mouth twitch downwards at the words "Say what they will, they live free", and he immediately realized his mistake. Of course those words were meant for the commoners of the Riverlands, and the nobility likely would not appreciate them. But, the rest of his words rang true, and the king nodded for him to continue.
The monk moved forwards and asked to see the statue. After peering at it for a while, he handed it back, saying "I believe this is a representation of the Golden Daughter, leader of a cult that tried to control the region several hundred years ago. I don't know much about it, but I did meet a man in town that claimed to be a descendant of a Pathfinder family. One of the hand-me-down stories he told mentioned of the Pathfinder leader in the area clashing with this Golden Daughter. Is this priest and his pet rebels tied to that cult? It seems unlikely. Razmiran has his own forms of treachery and self-aggrandizement, and he doesn't seem the type to share willingly."
The king said, "Be that as it may, there is still the matter of these rebels. What cause have they to strike at me and my family? And why should I not have them all put to death, as my Mother advises?"
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"Violence begets violence your majesty. I can't speak for this man, we've hardly had a moment to ask him a question before he erupted in outrage at our rejection of his plans of assassination."
Rolo takes a breath before starting again, "Though I can say if you start down the road of merciless suppression of dissenting opinions you might not find a road back. There are people within your kingdom who aren't happy but aren't ready to join this man yet. Kill enough of the commonfolk and their attitude may change. It seems to me that you may have the capacity to be an open-minded and just ruler. Demonstrate this to your people and they may embrace you instead of the likes of this priest."
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Thellira winces when she sees where this is going. "Your highness, presumably that would be your right as king. And it is not our place to question that. I'm not here to plead the case on their behalf either." She glares and points at Harsis, "I will say that the others that he had embedded himself were surprised by his actions just now. They were attacked by the priest too."
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Nali curtsies the King before following up with what Rolo speaks. "We mean you no ill will, and only wish to travel through. Our desire, is for a peaceful resolution to whatever quarrels you have with those who disagree with your methods. "
Nali then turns her attention to the older woman. "They spoke of harm to you, and we were able to get most of them to come to more peaceful negotiations. Perhaps we can work with you the same? It is only this man who fled who would not stand down. This interruption only helps his escape."
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Dahros looks over at Nali and says "Glad you could join us. How was the pit?"
Dahros then listens to Rolo's speech, thinking that he has it under control. After both Thellira and Nali chip in, Dahros says "It's easy to order someone dead. It's harder to take a more human and diplomatic approach that resonates with your people. They know you can kill your enemies, but to stay your hand and show compassion will help show them even more."
"Hmm...I will take what you say into consideration. You have saved my family from a threat, so I cannot discount your words out of hand. However, it seems to me that bowing to pressure by threat of revolution is little different than bowing to an open threat by an invading army. Neither sit well, and a kingdom cannot stand if it does not have the fortitude to resist such advances."
"Still, the Pathfinder Society has done me and my kingdom a great service, and one I intend to repay, starting with the four...no, six, of you." He murmured something to one of the guards, who took off out of the throne room.
The king continued. "As for the Society as a whole, I obviously need well-traveled advisors on my staff. I would be pleased if you would carry my message to your leadership that a Society advisor would be respected and well-listened to in Artume. And now, if you'll excuse me, my mother is a bit distraught. I must see to her."
The king stood, and all around him bowed. You took that as your cue to leave the throne room, not by the secret passage that you entered from, but from the main doors. As you stepped into the hallway, a seneschal met you with a small chest, filled with coins and gems, a suitable reward for saving the life of a king. He mentioned in passing that the priest Harsus would be held in the dungeons until his swift, just trial.
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Free now to explore Artume with a little more leisure, you have the reign of the city. What would you like to do?
From the list of Pathfinder agent names you got from the abandoned lodge, you managed to locate a woman named Aula Crispin. You arrived at her home to find a gray-haired half-elven woman, widowed a few years back, and running a boarding house for working-class women. She is happy to talk with you about the old Pathfinders, and even shows you a journal she inherited that tells where the rest of the Pathfinders went. While reticent to give up this piece of her family history, Rolo convinces her to loan it to the Pathfinder Society until a copy can be made.
Finally, with journal in hand, and the king's life saved, you returned to the River Steed Inn to check in with Venture-Captain Smine. You found him in a makeshift office, writing a letter, the balcony door open behind him to give a nice view of the docks and the Sellen River. As you enter, a paper bird flies in through the opoen balcony doors and unfolds on the table in front of him. Smine reads the letter, frowns, then looks up at you.
"Ah, my scouting team. What did you find? And I hope that explanation includes the reason why I just got a summons to court from the Royal Seneschal."
You fill him in on your travels, meeting with the rebels, the discussion under the waterworks, your saving of the king, and finally your discussion with the Pathfinder descendant.
"My, you have been busy, haven't you? Saving the king's life and getting us a seat on his Council is tremendously good work. If you had come to me in the middle of all this, I don't think I could have helped you plan a better outcome. And you found this journal on top of all that? Fantastic work! I can see we have a very talented group of Pathfinders here. Don't stray too far from each other. I have a feeling we will be wanting your team on standby for future assignments. It is always good to have a team that works well together."
"And now for the rewards you earned." Smine pulled a small pouch from under the table and handed it over. It was filled with gems of varying shapes, sizes, and quality. "That should get you some baubles down in the market. Now take off and enjoy yourselves. I have a meeting with King Edryd to prepare for"