GM Chadius [PFS2 1-12]: The Burden of Envy - Table 1 (Inactive)

Game Master chadius

Elfino starts getting impatient to get going. "If dere's nae objecsh'n den, let's go to de guardhoos and feind Garrla afore we 'ead to de warehoos."

"Actually, if you would bear with me a couple moments, I will be right back." Ving says as he hurries back upstairs. Once upstairs he asks, "would you happen to have a scroll with the spell "Invisibility" or "Shrink" available in your archives or that you could make in the remaining time?" The Society will be more than willing to compensate, of course,"

Before they leave, Elfino takes some rough measurements of Seddothrum in his rock pile state. "Do ye know whit ye weigh, Seddothrum?" he asks the giant to confirm his estimate.

"Well ah guess at worse, we could have ye in a create as a statue for cargo. We will try and figure something oot. But fer now we need to get going."

Hammick holds out his hand for the giant to shake.

"Hmm..." Panarug examines Seddothrum, now in a rock pile. "Nothing comes to mind for now. Even if Ving gets the spells I suspect he is getting, the limited duration would be a problem. But we have 3 days to figure this out. I say let's keep going. The guardhouse is as good as any."

Seddothrum extends a couple of fingers the size of daggers to meet Hammick's hands. "Yes, you need to go. Seddothrum understands. Three days I will wait." He seems to be speaking less to you and more like he's repeating a mantra.

Ving returns to Daffrid's office. Her children are playing "pin the tail on the Runelord" while their father is hurriedly covers the unflattering display.

Daffrid hurries up to the door to answer Ving's request. "Well, there's a problem. I sold off most of my possessions to purchase the uh... payment. I don't have much more things of value. Sorry."

"I understand. I just thought I would ask. We will get back to you soon."

"Emoubu not sure what to do," he says quite to the others. "Want to help, but not sure how."

While waiting for Ving's return, Elfino decides to speed things up. Turning to the others, he says, "Weyt 'ere for Vin'. Ae'll go find oot where de Emerald Guardhoos is." He then heads out to the street outside the Arcanium Abjurant and inquires of the nearest guard as to the location of the Emerald Guardhouse.

Assuming that we're good with finding Garrla next, Elfino will execute a Pursue a Lead action, setting Garrla as its target, dropping the Daffrid lead in the process.

Once Ving rejoins the group, Elfino will lead the way to the Emerald Guardhouse and ask to see Garrla.

The half-orc turns to the kobold.
I also don't know how to help everyone who wants to get out of here. Let's focus on our main clients and see if any of them present us with new opportunities. On to the guardhouse.

You bid Seddothrum and Daffrid goodbye and head to the Emerald Guardhouse. Unsurprisingly more and more guards appear to bar paths and inspect paperwork. Another two hours pass before you can actually reach the training grounds.

Time is now 18:00. One hour until you meet with Theomolin at his warehouse.

Columns of this wide building are carved in the likeness of Runelord Belimarius. The courtyard is filled with practice dummies, training weapons and other evidence of martial training. Guards are changing their shifts, and a short line forms outside the door of a recruiting area.

The black haired woman looks at you. ”It is a good time for recruiting.” A female human guard walks past you to the front of the line.

Elfino quickly picks up the sheet of paper and stuffs it into his pocket before any of the other guards see it. Since he'd only noticed the paper after being bumped by the guard, he assumed that she'd been the one that dropped it surreptitiously. It appears that they had found Garrla.

He replays the interaction in his mind to see if he can get a better sense of the woman.

Perception (Sense Motive) +Pursue a Lead: +7 +1 - secret

He thinks over the message on the paper and the comment she made in passing. What could it mean? Was it an instruction of some kind? Seeing that they only had a short time before their meeting with the accountant, it appeared that the only way they were going to talk to her anytime soon was to stand in the recruitment line and wait their turn.

Elfino whispers to the others, "Dat woman dat jist bumped us is prob'ly Garrla. We needs to talk to 'er soon, soo it luks loike we'll needs to apply fur a new job 'ere."

He then goes to the end of the line and joins the other recruits, beckoning the rest of the group to join him. he wants to make sure that they are alone when they reach the front of the line, so Elfino allows any other recruits that show up after them to skip ahead of them in the line.

Hammick grumbles under his breath and fallows Elfino into the line.

Ving joins Elfino, takes out his flute and begins to play, quietly gesturing to the others to form a small "crowd" around him....

Performance (T; +9): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

...to try and help disguise their actions in plain sight.

Elfino gets a hunch he needs to follow that woman without raising suspicion, so he politely steps into the recruitment line. Ving quickly draws his teammates in, pretending they were always waiting.

You follow the guard to the recruitment area, with all of you at the front. ”Alright. Anyone else with questions should be at the back of the line.” It takes a while as recruits ask, get their answers and leave. Some of them are pumped to defend the city, others are excited to wear armor and wield weapons. Some realize they're not cut out for this work.

Finally it’s just you and this guard. ”If you like it and you have what it takes, it can be yours one day soon. Just tell me the time and the place.” She makes a lot of smalltalk, emphasizing the words time and place. as she speaks, Maybe you should interrupt her.

Elfino is not certain yet that they are dealing with Garrla, but the dark-haired woman's rather odd behavior with the sheet of paper and her apparent great interest in times and places, seems to suggest that she is the one.

Before giving her any details as to the time and place of the Rolanna’s Prayer pick-up, Elfino makes an attempt to confirm her identity.

He does a quick scan of the area to make sure no one else is near enough to hear, and says, "A buddy of ours told us to ask fur Garrla 'ere at de guardhoos." Once again, Elfino pauses a second to nonchalantly pull his hair back and twirl his imaginary moustache in an imitation of Guaril, before continuing. "Me buddy said dat Garrla wuds be pleased to vouch fur us. Do ye 'appen to know where she is?"

Assuming that her words and body language convince Elfino that she's the client they're looking for...

Elfino smiles and says, "'Appy to finally meet ye Garrla. Oor mutual buddy tells us dat ye loike fishin'. Locky fur ye we found de perfect place nearby in Shard Cove. We'll be 'eadin' oot dat wae ourselves on Thursday. Ae gatha dat de view of de sunrise is quite pretty frum de Cove, but ae wuds suggest gettin' dere well afore den soo as nae to miss it."

Elfino pauses to get her reaction and to confirm that she got the time and place. He then pretends to remember something else. "Oh, and one moor thin'. Maek shur ye brings plenty of de reit bait wit ye. Withoot dat bait, itsa 'ard to catch nuttin' in de Cove. Do ye know whit Ae mean?" As he did with Themolin, Elfino rubs the fingers of his right hand together to make it clear what he's referring to.

Elfino converses with the guard, and she nods along, remaining fairly neutral with your responses she seems to react to []i]Garlla[/i] but doesn't actively react. ”Travel papers, please.” She takes your papers and inspects them. ”By the way, Ellvard is scheduled to work at the docks. Hope you have what it takes.” She hands you a black notebook. ”Hope you have what it takes.” She points at the guard stationed outside the door, who has his back turned to all of you. Something tells you he shouldn't see that book...

Somebody make a Stealth check to smuggle this notebook.

It doesn't take a trained investigator to catch Garrla's drift about what she expects them do with the book. Clearly, they had to get it past the guard on duty. "Ah, so Ellvard is a guard at the docks. How interesting. We must get this book out of here."

Elfino takes the book and hides it carefully behind his back and under his cloak where only a thorough search will find it. He then says loudly enough for the guard at the door to hear, "It sounds loike bein' a city gard is a lot more work dan me buddies and I were expectin'. We'll 'ave to go and tink aboot dis fur a bit. Dank ye fur yur time."

Under his breath, he says to the others, "All of ye shoods leave fairst. If I'm caught wit de book, den at least de rest of ye will gets awae."

Once the rest of the group is clear, Elfino says, "Gud dae ma'am. Maebbe I'll see ye again real soon," and leaves.

He nonchalantly passes the guard as if he hasn't a care in the world.

Stealth (Conceal an Object): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Dang it! Looks like Hero Point time...

I said... He nonchalantly passes the guard as if he hasn't a care in the world.

Stealth (Conceal an Object): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Much better.

Thurk follows Elfino's lead and just watches his smooth work from aside, wide-eyed and only half-aware what's going on here.
It really takes all kinds..., he thinks to himself.

Elfino lets everyone leave before pocketing the journal. He walks past the guard outside, cool as a cucumber.

"Hey, you there." Elfino freezes in his tracks. "Did you drop this?" The guard leans down to pick up a copper piece. "Be careful about your belongings."

Away from the guards, you look at the notebook. It’s a ledger of sales. Ellvard sold a piece of art to Belimarius - an “idealized” painting of the Runelord herself by a famous artist. But there’s a note in different handwriting stating the artwork was a forgery. This notebook would implicate Ellvard in an illegal act. If this were revealed he would lose his job. Maybe even lose his head.

This will come in handy later...

This Ellvard character, hmm… maybe you could learn more about him.

With 2 hours, I can make a Diplomacy check to Gather Information to learn about Ellvard. But you are dangerously close to curfew. Maybe later?

"Hey, you there." Elfino freezes in his tracks. "Did you drop this?" The guard leans down to pick up a copper piece. "Be careful about your belongings."

Elfino turns to face the guard and pats his pockets as if looking for something. He takes the copper piece from the man and with a deferential bow, says, "Much obliged to ye guv'nor, I'm shur." and quickly rejoins the others. "Phew. I thought I was cooked there for a moment."

This Ellvard character, hmm… maybe you could learn more about him.

With 2 hours, I can make a Diplomacy check to Gather Information to learn about Ellvard. But you are dangerously close to curfew. Maybe later?

There is nothing that Elfino would like to do more than dig into who this Ellvard fellow is, but it appears to be 18:00 plus some minutes, and if I'm not mistaken, we have an appointment with Theomolin at 19:00.

Elfino checks the sun and realizes that they do not have any time to waste if they are to make the 19:00 meeting with Theomolin at the warehouse. "I suggest we 'ustle if we want to gets to de warehoos in time to meet wit Theomolin."

He then starts moving in the direction of the warehouse that the accountant circled on the map for them, looking back to make sure the others are following.

Now that we've found Garrla, Elfino will Pursue a Lead, setting Theomolin's warehouse as its target, dropping the Garrla lead in the process.

"Aye, the information on Ellvard can be found out aboot later." Hammick fallows along to to the meeting with Theomolin.

The guard smiles as he does a good deed for the day. "All in a day's work."

You make haste through the city towards the warehouses. You note the shiny green buildings become less and less frequent as you see more trash, vermin and more broken buildings, suffering from ill repair. It only takes about an hour to reach the designated address.

Time is now 19:00.

The warehouse stands out from the dilapidated housing that surrounds it, as it’s well maintained.

(Please place yourself on the map, on slide 1.)

Elfino automatically uses his That's Odd feat whenever he enters any new location.

Elfino previously set the warehouse as one of his leads, so he gets a +1 circumstance bonus to any Perception or skill check to investigate the warehouse.

When they arrive at the warehouse, Elfino looks about but doesn't see Theomolin anywhere. "Dat's odd. I'd 'ave tought 'e'd be waitin' fur us outside. Hmm! Maebbe I was wrong or maebbe dere's somettin' funny goin' on 'ere. Keep yur eyes peeled jist in case."

Exploration Mode: Avoid Notice +6 +1?

Elfino then quietly moves to the nearest door and checks it for any traps.

Action: Perception (Seek): +7 +1 - secret

If he doesn't find any hazards, then he will carefully and quietly attempt to open the door in the usual manner. If the door is locked, he will then move to the other door and repeat the same actions there.

Ready. Why does that map look so familiar...LOL.

"Emoubu thinks we should be on guard. Maybe someone looking for us."

Emoubu moves up to help cover Elfino.

The half-orc stands 10 feet behind and 5 feet to the side, alert but trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

Hammick looks for any windows or cracks to be able to see in. If none, he makes his way over to the other door and listens for any noise.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Panarug follows Hammick, joining in the effort to spot anything suspicious inside the warehouse before entering. And of course, to have some shield should things go south. And just in case, he hands over one of his potion of healing to Fharan, his familiar.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Elfino takes a look at the southern door and notices the simple lock holding it shut. He doesn't see any traps, at least.

You will need 3 successful DC 20 Thievery checks to unlock the door.

Hammick and Panarug approach the northern door and find it is unlocked. They take a moment to listen and hear laughter from inside.

When Hammick and Panarug find that the northern door is unlocked, Elfino joins them. He listens through the door at the sounds within to try and figure out how many people they were dealing with.

He whispers to the others, "Theomolin wuds nae 'ave brought someone to dis meetin' and 'e didn't stroike me as de laughin' type. Somettin' funny is goin' on 'ere. We shoods assume de werst."

Elfino then pulls his short bow out and holds it in his hand ready for use. He looks to make sure the others are also preparing for combat. When it appears that everyone is ready, he quietly opens the door a crack and says, "Ready? Let's go; quiet loike eh?"

Exploration Mode: Avoid Notice +6

I suggest that we go in with the marching orders we put together on page 5 of the slides.

Elfino will use hand signals to direct the group towards the laughing sounds to see exactly what it is that they're dealing with.

Emoubu creeps up and whispers. "Do you want Emoubu to try to open lock? Emoubu is pretty good at locks."

"Shhh. dis door not be locked, Emoubu." Hammick whispers.

Drawing his weapons, Hammick ready's to try and sneak in.

Emoubu roll his eyes. "Emoubu know that. Eomubu mean other door, one that is locked. Come in from behind, maybe more surprise."

"Go fer it, ye might catch them off guard." he whispers

Ving slips to the corner so he can watch the street as the others head inside.

"I am ready to proceed."

Emoubu returns to the southern door and finds it locked. The lock is of poor quality.

You will need 3 successful DC 20 Thievery checks to unlock the door. Critical Failure will break your thieves' tools.

Hammick and Elfino open the northern door, carefully. The evening sun lights up the warehouse and its 30 foot ceilings. Crates are stacked 15 feet up. Old financial books and almanacs are seen inside some of the crates. But the laughter continues to ring through. You recognize the laughter and the speaker.

"Now what, Theomolin?" Barralbus laughs. "No one else knows you're here- the perfect hiding spot, eh? I know you're hiding it somewhere. And when I find it I will be the Minister of Tithes while you rot! Everyone, keep searching!"

Where to next? Feel free to move yourself on the map.

Emoubu's first attemptat the lock...
Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
...seemed very successful.

Lifting Fharan the weasel very quietly out from his pouch, Panarug lets his familiar rest of the ground and silently asks it to enter the warehouse to scout around a bit. Otherwise, he hangs back, keeping behind Elfino and Hammick.

Fharan stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

I'm hoping that even if they spot the weasel, they would just think that it is hunting mice and ignore it. But anyway, since I didn't choose any speech ability for it (yet), it can only give me emphatic info.

Emoubu pulls out his lockpick and gets to work. He feels he's made some progress, but he needs a bit more to succeed. Maybe he'll get lucky again.
1 out of 3 Successes.

Panarug lets Fharan down gently, and the weasel quickly crawls into the warehouse. After a minute or so the weasel scurries back.

Hammick slides in quietly like a mou.... weasel. Hiding behind some creates he takes a look around.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Scouting's a good idea. Hammick likes scouting. Scouting likes him. He sneaks around the corner and looks down between the crates.

He sees one person, clad in dark red armor. A rapier and a shortbow lie at her hip. She sweeps her gaze around the room like a professional, but if she saw Hammick she doesn't respond.

Hammick takes a look upward and sees another person, clad in identical armor but it's colored White. He is atop the 15 foot stack of crates, looking downward.

Seeing the others open the door, Ving moves forward to join them still scanning the street for possible ambush from behind.

Hammick readies himself for when the attack comes, he plans on pushing over the create so the the man in the white armor comes tumbling down.

Ready action to push over the creates when the rest of the group is spotted

Emoubu continues to worry at the lock, hoping to repeat his earlier success.

Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Edit: Darn

Edit 2:

Edit with a retract on post, did not look at the map

Hammick using hand signals, signals the others where the first two are at and that there is a third and a fourth somewhere deeper in the warehouse.
He tries to see what the person in White armor is looking at.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Then he tries to sneak closer to get a better view, using the creates as cover to hide from the two guards.
Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Does the armor look like city guards armor, or is it move of a mercenary group?

Hammick notes the armor does not match the Emerald Guard's. Perhaps this is a mercenary group? He looks a bit further in and sees Barralbus laughing at Theomolin. Theomolin is tied and gagged to a chair, weeping to himself. No one seems to have noticed Hammick yet.

4 rounds later, Emoubu hears a click and the lock on the door pops open. It's unlocked.

"Door is open. Want to come this way?"

OK, Elfino isn't waiting any longer. He's going in.

Elfino sees Ving behind him and Panarug outside. He knows that Emoubu is working the lock on the other door. When he hears the familiar, though distant sound of a lock giving way, he assumes that the kobold finally managed to get the other door open. He guesses that Thurk is with Emoubu and that they are entering the warehouse.

Elfino takes his shortbow in hand and counts off two rounds in his head to give Emoubu and Thurk time to get into position. He then signals to Ving and Panarug to stay near the door and moves up quietly until he is directly behind Hammick. He assumes that Ving and Panarug will follow when the fireworks begin.

Once behind the dwarf, he too spots the mercenaries that Hammick had signaled about earlier. In particular, he focuses on the one in red armor about 20 odd feet away.

From what he's heard of the conversation so far and the muffled whimpering, he assumes that Barralbus is working on his own account and has hired some muscle to rough up Theomolin in an effort to extract something of value from him.

His mission is to get the paying clients safely out of the city with their payments. It now appears that he will need to go through Barralbus and his hired goons to do that. Under these conditions, he has no compunction about initiating combat with the enemy.

Elfino points to Hammick and then moves his finger to point at the white armored guard. He then points to himself and moves his finger to the red armored guard.

Elfino then nocks an arrow and takes aim at the red armored mercenary intending to fire...

Elfino, who is hopefully still Unnoticed by the bad guys is about to shoot an arrow at the red guard from his current position behind Hammick.

I believe that now would be a good time to go into encounter mode and roll for initiative.

Elfino creeps into position and nocks an arrow. He's ready to go.

Elfino sees the perfect opportunity to make the shot.
Elfino is the only person to beat the enemy initiative.