Pregen dot
The Pathfinder Society finds itself in a politically difficult position. The Technic League once roused Kevoth-Kul against the Society, using the warrior-king’s compromised state to convince him that the Pathfinders were stealing treasures and secrets that belonged to Numeria’s ruler to invoke his wrath.
The Kellid warrior Dagur Hawksight has maintained the secret Pathfinder Lodge in Hajoth Hakados, a small border town in Numeria, for nearly 20 years. Dagur has quietly worked to avoid drawing Kevoth-Kul’s ire while waiting for an opportunity to bring Numeria’s Pathfinders out of hiding and reestablish positive relations between Numeria’s leader and the Society.
With the Technic League’s power over the Black Sovereign broken, Dagur has decided upon a dangerous but potentially rewarding course of action: she has sent an invitation to Kevoth-Kul himself, asking the Black Sovereign to treat with her as a representative of the Pathfinder Society to start a new relationship between Numeria’s preeminent warlord and the Pathfinders.
You have been in the city of Hajoth Hakados in Numeria for over a week, assisting Venture-Captain Dagur Hawksight with preparing the Pathfinder lodge to receive an important guest: Kevoth-Kul, Numeria’s ruler. Dagur has arranged for Hajoth Hakados’s leader, Lady Altouna, to participate in the event. Preparations have been going well, and Kevoth-Kul is expected to arrive tomorrow morning.
What have you been doing to prepare for the event?
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A slender half-elf, the hood of his coyote-fur cloak partially obscuring the shaved head and cranial tattoos that mark him as a member of the Shoanti Shadde-Quah, has been disappearing most days into the wilderness outside of Hajoth Hakados. Friendly, if not particularly outgoing, he introduces himself as Varret, and will share whatever he's learned from his days spent scouting the area to familiarize himself with the region.
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Farzin, more charm that substance, summons fey creatures to the lodge for their assistance, and occasionally creates illusory guards to ward off any eavesdroppers, but mostly he spends his time talking up the Venture-Captain, and making sure to look busy.
"...and that's when I said to him, is your confidence making you stupid, or is it just me? And I cast a little spell we call Touch of Idiocy upon him. Let's just say things got much worse for the gargoyle after that."
Farzin smiles as he recalls the encounter to Venture-Captain Hawksight.
"Good one, boss!" squawks Papayo, the magpie on Farzin's shoulder.
"Remind me to tell you about the time I talked our way out of Xin-Edasseril, and with a group of refugees no less. We were disguised, of course. Another of my clever tricks." He gives Hawksight a sly grin. "But now I must prepare myself for the big day. Components to organize, mysterious tomes to consult, that sort of thing. Busy, busy! Come Papayo, let's not waste any more of the Venture-Captain's time."
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Maggie has worked hard to win over the local children to assemble and practice a marionette show for the Numerian ruler in order to welcome him.
She had a few things working against her, including her patched and stained simple servant's outfit and her broad sharp-toothed grin. Even her background as a fashionable nanny for the elite members of Oppara society was somewhat tainted by "the incident", though thankfully few knew enough to ask about it.
Ultimately she won families over with her lively songs and her natural charm, and has been practicing with her small troop daily, making ready to entertain this distinguished guest with songs and puppetry that she thinks would delight any audience.
Valeros' approach to help, when it doesn't involve drinking, is to use the muscle the gods gave him to move things. It turns out that preparing for a guest of this stature involves moving a lot of stuff about. So that's what he does.
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Biago has been working around the lodge using his crafting skills to try to make some nice art to spruce the place up. He also uses his Art lore to make sure things are appropriate for the situation and culture.
He's quite excited to be trying a new form of art in new styles, and he happily talks to anyone who'll listen about the details on the art he creates.
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Curdle Puling is a kobold with beautiful brass-and-silver scales; the metallic patterns scintillate in the light. Most other Kobolds would be proud to have such strong draconic lineage and special-looking scales, but Curdle is always looking at the ground, mumbling, and trying to avoid eye contact. He's still getting used to the above-ground world, but Apsu teaches that we must travel the world and help others.
He carries a strange guisarme strapped to his back; it was given to him by a kind old lady after he helped her do her chores one sunny afternoon. Curdle is always willing to help, but sometimes he's not very good at it — like when he used to cook down in the Hookclaw Kobold mines when no one else wanted to, and it always came out spoiled.
Curdle's full plate is always messy, even though he cleans it every morning and every night. No matter what he does, he can't seem to keep it shiny — he doesn't quite know how to fight or do work without getting filthy.
He wears a tiny, tarnished medallion of a dragon whose long tail forms a silver pool, but one wing is broken off.
He listens intently to Farzin's story, but cannot stop looking at the colorful bird.
To prepare, Curdle has been helping around the lodge, moving supplies about, cleaning, and doing manual labor. He's very excited to hear more in the briefing and hopes to help bring the lodge out of hiding, so it's officially accepted by the Black Sovereign!
As everyone is busily attending to your tasks, Vanis Mercuria, Hawksight’s assistant, comes to find you.
“We of the Hajoth Hakados Lodge thank you for your willingness to contribute in this politically sensitive endeavor. Our attentions cannot be diverted from other matters presently. I shall be brief. Our scribe, a gnome named Zatqualmish, has gone missing as of this morning, along with several necessary documents. We suspect foul play, potentially from an internal element, as the documents were magically hidden. A preliminary search has given us nothing conclusive, but you are welcome to investigate any areas or staff of the lodge you feel may help.”
They gather their sheaf of notes and hold out a silver compass. “Take this, should you need something to give you a bit of authority with the locals.”
They also hold out a wayfinder for you, and suggest that you speak with the support staff of the lodge.
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Farzin strides into the lodge, brandishing the silver compass in one hand and the wayfinder in the other.
"Calm down everyone, no need to panic. We shall find this..." He consults his notes, but doesn't dare attempt to pronounce Zatqualmish's name. "This gnome character. The missing scribe. When were they last seen..?"
He consults his notes again.
"This morning? The morning of today? Today's morning? That's not a very long time to be missing. I mean, I've been gone from here longer that that, and no one came to find me. I was busy of course. Taking care of things. And, obviously, I was fine, and came rushing back as soon as I was needed, as I would do. Ever on call is Farzin! But enough. Back to this gnome. Let's begin with their personal belongings. Did they have a room somewhere, or a desk? A workstation, anything?"
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Maggie takes the Wayfinder and tells the children to keep practicing. She makes her way to the lodge where she says she is looking for a lost doll that belonged to one of the children. She does her best to ask questions about what is going on without immediately revealing she is investigating the disappearance in the hopes of getting some more honest information from the staff.
Once other pathfinders arrive she will reveal herself to be part of the investigation team.
(Note she has the Charming Liar feat)
Biago and Maggie talk to one of the kitchen staff. They learn that Zatqualmish rarely strays from his room, which he also uses as his office. He spoke most with the lodge’s cook, Miro Loamgarden. However, Miro is currently browsing the markets in town for ingredients, but he should be back in a few hours.
Curdle finds a maid to talk to who says that she saw Zatqualmish packing a bag and looking agitated. She thinks he took off toward the forest.
Farzin searches the room thoroughly. A cold, half-finished breakfast for one is laid out on a small table. While messy, the room shows no obvious signs of a struggle. The desk and cabinets seem to have hastily stripped of quills, inkpots, and other scribing tools, though none of the drawers and wardrobes seem touched.
Varret searches the area outside the room. There are no footprints or any other sign of passage below the window. He keeps searching and finds a trail beyond the tree line that leads toward town.
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When the group reconvenes, Farzin shares what he discovered in Zatqualmish's room: a cold, half finished breakfast, although Papayo has since finished the toast.
"Waste not want not, boss!" squawks Papayo.
And while the room was messy, there were no obvious signs of a struggle, Farzin explains.
"It appears, however, that all of his scribing tools have been taken, as though he packed them up in a hurry. His wardrobe had not been touched, perhaps implying that he doesn't expect to be gone long. I suspect he hasn't traveled very far."
You follow the trail. It turns out to be a shortcut to a marketplace in the Homeshore District.
The Homeshore District’s markets are buzzing with activity. Some peruse at their whims, pointing out odds and ends, while others move with focused purpose to exact stalls and prepare to haggle. While it seems impossible to find anyone here, an obvious path of disgruntled citizens winds its way around stalls and storefronts.
You immediately spot lodge chef Miro Loamgarden haggling with a merchant near the entrance for a very large quantity of tubers.
"Zatqualmish is missing? Huh. Well, he always orders a meal an hour after breakfast of fresh coffee and jam pastries, but today, he didn’t place that order. Usually that means he's going to travel because 'jam disagrees with a nervous belly'. Honestly, he avoids conflict at all costs. He might have been coerced into whatever mess he’s in. If you want to ask around people who might know more, I'd suggest the ink vendor Orin Blackfingers, Bia Blazebane the construction worker, or Neesquix who, uh, leads an organization."
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Farzin, who is no stranger to the criminal underworld, will talk to Neesquix.
"But, obviously, no upright citizen such as myself would speak to someone like Neesquix. So first, I'll need a disguise, something that screams henchman!" He casts Illusory Disguise to make himself look like a brawny brute: muscles, scar on his cheek, piece of an ear missing. "And now for a backstory..." He thinks for a moment, and then snaps his fingers. "I believe that troublesome gnome owes me some money! I mean-" He clears his throat and in a deeper voices says: " Where's that gnome hiding?"
"Good one, boss," squawks Papayo.
Varret and Curdle go meet with Bia Blazbane, a dwarven woman you find resting with her construction crew, who are enjoying their lunch break and trying to keep cool on a hot day.
"Look, I don't have much time to sit around and chat. We have a huge job to finish today. As soon as lunch is over, it's back to work."
Farzin, disguised, finds Neesquix, the goblin leader leader of the local Ash Callers gang. He is adjusting his prosthetic leg near an alleyway as a taller, more muscular goblin holds an umbrella out to cover the boss’s head from the sun.
"Bah, so much heat but no fun explosions. Hmm. You seem like an upright criminal. But can you prove it?"
Neesquix laughs as Farzin displays the card. "Ha ha! I like you. So this gnome owes you money? I saw a gnome running through the markets in a big rush just a few hours ago. He was heading for the Crafters’ Quarters. You know it? It's all condemned alchemical and blacksmithing workshops."
Bia looks approvingly at Curdle's work. "Not bad. Let me know if you want a construction job. All right. On my way to this job, I saw a really harried and frantic gnome enter an old building in the Crafters’ Quarters, Morgan’s. It's a potion shop that's been closed forever."
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Farzin looks at Maggie in complete dismay.
"I've never thought about singing."
Papayo, on Farzin's shoulder, spreads his wings and puffs up his chest as though he's about to bellow a loud squawk, but Farzin grabs his beak.
"That's quite enough of that." Farzin says. "Aren't we meant to be keeping a low profile?"
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"When goblins walk quietly, everyone is suspicious and watches them. When goblins sing out loud for all the world to hear, no one bothers them."
We carry on to see the ink seller. Maggie remembers all the times she drank the ink and made the children laugh with her black toothed grin. Ink is so delicious. These long shanks don't know what they are missing.
Orin Blackfingers is busy fussing over his stall of quills and inks, moving jars back and forth and making minute adjustments to his display to ensure all his products line up in neat right angles.
"Ah, customers with taste, I can just see it! I have some marvelous red ink just in from Jalmeray, you'd be the first ones with a chance to buy it! No? How about this purple ink, all the way from Arcadia! I also have some lovely writing sets here, just 1 gp each, everything you need."
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Farzin smiles at Orin and surveys the items for sale.
"Hello, and well met! I do believe we have been directed to the correct stall. What a trove of wonderful writing supplies you have on offer! Purple ink? Who knew? I think I will pick up a new writing set. Mine is nowhere near this nice. But we're actually looking for our colleague, the gnome..."
"Zatqualmish!" squawks Papayo.
Farzin's smile broadens.
"Yes, that's the one. I've heard he's a customer of yours. Have you perhaps seen him today?"
"Ah, you know your stuff! You know, I have seen Zatqualmish. He's one of my best customers, normally! But today, I noticed him heading off toward the Crafter's Quarters. He was alone here at the market, you see, but when he got to wherever he was going, he was joined by a bunch of very slowly moving humanoids figures. They were doing whatever he said, and sometimes sparks would fly! I decided it was better not to go talk to him and get back to my booth here."
DC 15
Success
Critical Success
Critical Failure
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Curdle waits for a quiet moment and then taps his friend on the shoulder. Um… Farzin? I think those sparks Orin saw were from things controlling the people, taking away their thoughts and will. It's stuff bad people like the Technic league use.
He starts walking towards the Crafters’ Quarters. I would like to save them.