|
Having just finished your training, or after you de-briefing from the previous mission, you receive a knock on the door. A young boy stands there, a envelope in his hand. "For you, from Venture-Captain Brackett." Taking it you rip it open to reveal the letter inside, , Is there no peace for the wicked, no sooner than I finish something, then it's onto the next task. Oh well Andoran here I come.
......
You arrive in Elidir, at the Old Oak Tree Tavern, to join up with the other Pathfinders assigned to this mission. Thence it is a trek to edge of the country and rendezvous with Lieutenant Pratt of the Eagle Knights, in their encampment.
A human man in his fifties with a shock of grey hair and a stubble, wearing a vest with many differently-sized pockets, some of which have their own pockets, is accompanied by a strange cone-like clockwork contraption treading along.
"At long last, a chance to prove just how much the success of Pathfinder Society is going to be enhanced by my considerable talents in automation! Darklands is no place for a human of flesh and blood, but a properly adjusted and controlled construct could have so much more success!"
|
A halfling in a dark red coat trimmed with white wanders in. He sports a head of curly hair typical of halflings and a light brown muttonchop beard. Across his body is a satchel with a few alchemical bottles stuffed inside, clinking gently. He also carries a shortsword and sling tucked into his belt.
He spots the clockwork creature and his eyes light up. He speaks in quick bursts. "Oh, what have we here? I'm Argoni. Is this yours? What is it?" He taps his fingers on his lips and walks around the construct with a critical eye. "Very clever. How much do you want for it? Maybe we can make a deal!"
"Oh, wait, are you here about Pratt? Did Brackett tell you to come?"
The man gets a bit defensive.
My name is Dr. Galvanus, and this is not for sale! It is still in a prototype stage, you see, and needs field tests. I assure you, it is absolutely safe, but the proper scientific protocols demand that the efficacy of the device is demonstrated in an environment out of inventor's control before it can be certified for general use!
I am indeed here at the invitation of Venture-Captain Brackett - finally they have put an open-minded man in charge of the missions!"
|
|
A gnome with vibrant carrot red hair and a slightly red nose strolls in. "Am I to be molested by plants again on this trip? Bhopan turned out to be VERY plant-angry. Nice headwear though." He looks around and sees the halfling and the human. "Pleased to meet you lot! I'm Phineas Hatt, Phin to my friends and well-wishers. Bartender and finder of new liquors worldwide! Also, fun fellow to have around in a dangerous land I can assure you! So, whose fat will we removing from fires this go-around?"
A crotchety old man strolls in, with a horn-shaped gun strapped to his back.
"What on gween earth are you young'uns all awguing about?" he asks. "No wabbits awound here, so I don't see anything to be worth fighting over!"
|
|
After Phin's tuition the bar staff make cocktails never before mixed in this part of Golarian, including the bubbling, steamy Numerian Gargle-Blaster, the drink with a Kick like a Kraken. The group of Pathfinders begin to bond and relax, although it doesn't seem to work on Elmer, who still retains his unusual demeanor. Although some have heavy heads the next day, the trek begins.
Over the trek to the Eagle Knights encampment, the Pathfinders get to know one another and work together. Eventually as you climb a rise, an Eagle Knight in a green tunic covering military grade armour with white breeches makes himself known from his hidden guard post. "Halt, friend or foe?"
Explaining you are Pathfinders and have been told to report to Lieutenant Evanno Pratt, the corporal calls one of his subordinates from the hiding place. The soldier escorts you down into the encampment below the ridge. White tents with green and white banners of the Eagle Knights flying in the breeze. A small nomadic town of canvas, knights walk proudly through their makeshift streets, even to the small central square is full of military life, trampling the grass to muddy tracks. To the edge of the camp is a larger pavilion, overlooking an entrance to the Candlestone Caverns. You see an officer as you approach, Evanno Pratt standing in front of a map, coordinating tactics with other Eagle Knights. All around, several soldiers are building sturdy wooden barricades. As you close on the lieutenant, he turns to see who approaches.
“Ah! I see the Pathfinders have arrived.” An Eagle Knight officer steps aside from the ranks, doffing his hat jovially. “Pleased to meet you all! Lieutenant Evanno Pratt, at your service. But you can call me Evanno, or Ev.” He smiles as he waves your group over to a table bearing several incomplete maps, labeled as depicting nearby sections of the Candlestone Caverns.
“We’ve been dealing with a problem these past few weeks that a bit of collaboration should be able to solve. A group of duergars from the Candlestone Caverns have emerged, raiding the nearby lands for slaves and supplies. We’re not sure if they’re a scouting party, colonists, or something else; frankly, it doesn’t matter to us. They’re abducting Andoren citizens, and that’s not something we can allow to stand.”
Evanno’s expression darkens slightly. “We’ve been setting up some barricades in Candlestone, blocking off several passageways. Our plan is to force the duergars into this cavern right here, forming a two-pronged assault to wipe those filthy slavers out before they can escape deeper into the Darklands. The second prong,” he gestures to your group, “is right here in front of me. When my platoon found that journal on a duergar body, I knew that good ol’ Brackett would send some of his finest in exchange for it—and you all certainly seem capable. The placement of barricades is nearly done, and we want you to meet us there through the fastest means necessary; once they realize our trap, we need to act quickly. This map’s incomplete, so feel free to depart from it if you find a faster route. Any questions?”
|
|
Argoni gives Dr. Galvanus an odd look when he says the clockwork creature isn't for sale, but then nods as he hears that it is an experimental prototype. "Very good. I have a few concoctions of my own that I continue to perfect." He taps his satchel bag.
*******************
At the camp, Argoni has to find a chair to stand on to see the map. Longshanks always have their tables too high. He studies it for a moment. "Seems like a decent enough plan. Is there a leader of these duergar to worry about? What are they like, what are their tactics?"
On the way to the Eagle knight camp, a small figure covered in a variety of moss small twigs and one large brach pops out of the bushes. They point a loaded longbow, well if the mess of wires, hinges, pulleys and metal alloys could be called a longbow, at the lead. "Bandits, eh? Ya can't have my inventions! is mine! Mine, I tell you! Now leave me alo... Wait ya aren't bandits are ya?" They peer at the assembled group for a beat or two, recognizing that they seem to be more adventurers than bandits. Their glare lightens some as they release tension on the bow.
"Pathfinders? Sent by um Sproket? No... Uh Bucket... Wait it was Brackett, wasn't it? Sorry 'bout this. Not used to traveling, kinda first time to do so internationally. Don't do much in the tapestry. 'specially the sewers."
They eatricate themselves from the bushes with some snaps, crackles and a few curses in draconic, before approaching the group. The small figure starts to extend a hand for a moment before realizing that it's covered in mud for camouflage and quickly wiping I ton their barely cleaner clothes. With the mud gone their three clawed hand shines a bronze in whatever light is available. "Rapzap. Maker of weapons for people in the Hao Jin tapestry. Well when there was people still in it. Now I'm just a Pathfinder. Anyways looking forward to working with you!"They go around shaking hands with the enthusiasm of someone who's read about such things but has next to no practical experience. They do try keeping as much dirt off everyone. After introductions, and some appropriate cooing ogling of the mechanical cone, they whip out a completely clean towel and gently clean off, and oil their 'bow.' Along the front of it is engraved, WHIN, STRING OF THE TAPESTRY. The thing then slowly folds up along the hinges going from a near 3 foot tall weapon into a 6 in by 6 in cube. They the take the few arrows they had prepared, pull them apart at the center and then put the heads and fetching away in separate compartments in a quiver at their hips.
At the entrance to the camp, Rapzap gives a jump as the guard questions them, and has WHIN halfway put together before anyone can say 'Pathfinder.'
They listen to the briefing with one eye on the maps and Lieutenant, the other on anything that might be a threat outside. After a moment they raise their hand, seeming to think they need to be called on like in classes back at the Grand Lodge. "Saaa, we need to make sure none o' these, uh, druggers, get out of the caverns? Any suggestions on how we do so? Do we need to set up barriers? I can do barricades!"
Are you aware of any other threats we could encounter in these caverns? You said the duergar are slavers - are they coming with slaves now? What if they take the slaves hostage?
|
|
Evanno grimaces dourly as you seek knowledge about the duergar. "They’re a bunch of dwarves who went rogue ... I don’t know the whole story about how they became the monsters they are now, but they enslave other creatures above and below the surface without a care. They have taken our very own Andorans prisoners, we will bring retribution. Those scum work people to death ... the sooner we’re rid of them, the better. Save any slaves you can from these black hearted souls." he almost spits the words out, looking at Dr. Galvanus as if this answered the question posed.
Then with pride in his military, their achievements and battle honours he continues, "We the Eagle Knights, are the military of Andoran! We are sworn to protect our homeland within and without from wicked organizations that seek to undo it. We have a particular enmity toward slavers, as I’m sure you can tell. My platoon here represents one of our branches, the Steel Falcons, who do whatever must be done for freedom’s sake. And in this instance it is to free Andorans from the threat of these scum, to obliterate their operations and send them to hell! Whatever tactics they may employ, we will succeed." he concludes looking sternly to Argoni and Phineas.
He looks to one of the officers with a badge of a hammer and rope on his tunic, "Well do you need extra for making barricades, seems the kobold can help." The officer smiles, "Maybe last week, we could have used a hand, but we've got them all completed for the final push."
You know that duergars are dwarves who refused to venture to the surface and came to worship the evil god Droskar. Their time underground has exposed them to occult energies that allow them to turn invisible and grow in size for a short time. They take slaves, following the code laid out in a series of tomes known as Successful Methods for the Enslavement of Lesser Races.
Elmer wanders the camp, looking for wabbits and information.
Rapzap wanders around the camp, looking at the weapons and equipment that the camp residents have and offering advice on things that the camp might be able to do to improve their weapons. The kobold also asks if the knights had any advice on what kinds of weapons would be best against the 'druggers' that they were to hunt.
Dr. Galvanus is almost oblivious to the camp around him, tinkering with the lenses and sensors at the top of his cone-like companion.
At one point, he notices with a corner of his eye a dwarven soldier. He jumps up to him. "Hey, could I ask you a small favour? It will only take a minute of your time. It's very important for the success of the mission. Just stay here and raise your shield!
The baffled soldier reluctantly stands as Dr. Galvanus snaps some parts into place with his strange-looking tool, and flips a bit of dark-tinted glass over the lenses of his invention. The metal cone begins whirring as a pneumatic metal rod raises up and begins repeated thrusting forward in the general direction of the dwarf, who reaches for his weapon in return.
"Wait, keep calm, I have deactivated its locomotion control circuit! What I mean is it can't move!" shouts Dr. Galvanus and exactly at that moment the construct lunges forward on its treads! Dr. Galvanus jumps at it and flips the dark glass open, causing it to immediately stop and retract the metal rod, puffing out a cloud of stinky grey smoke in the process. The spooked dwarf runs away, cursing his commander for hiring some crazy pathfinders instead of just calling for regular military reinforcements.
"Right, I forgot about that failover bypass I installed last week... But it proves that the device is even more reliable than I thought! This will be a glorious success!"
|
|
As you mingle with the soldiers, most are friendly but busy sharpening swords, cleaning crossbows and greasing their armour and taking other precautions to ease their movements. Young boys run about in the camp, taking messages between different platoons. Engineers check nuts and bolts that hold barricades together.
Dr. Galvanus draws a crowd as he tinkers with his clockwork friend, amongst the youngest there are giggles as the machine seems to catch fire, the grey smoke making them cough and disperse. However one or two engineers look on fascinated by the weird machine. Questions begin to form, "What is it? What does it do? Why tracks? Why the smoke?...oh no, maybe not so good!"
Any idea that the questions are going to get anywhere is soon curtailed, when an officer shouts "No time for idling, get back to your units and do your jobs." He looks disapproving at the smoking contraption.
Evanno invites you to buy stores from the quartermaster, before he heads off, "Good Luck, we'll see you as we catch those scum in our trap. Time for action, time to lead. You may purchase supplies from the quartermaster if you require anything?" He strides manfully to the head of the units, as they begin to line up for the expedition.
Leaving you with Lieutenant Brackett, who cheerfully asks, "When you are ready, I'll lead you to your cavern entrance. Ready?"
The Candlestone Caverns are dark and you think they would be a great place to explore.
The Candlestone Caverns are a gateway between the Darklands and Andoran. Its tunnels can be treacherous, and many an adventurer has either gotten lost in the caves or fallen victim to an unexpected plunge.
The Candlestone Caverns are a gateway between the Darklands and Andoran. Its tunnels can be treacherous, and many an adventurer has either gotten lost in the caves or fallen victim to an unexpected plunge.
The Candlestone Caverns are a gateway between the Darklands and Andoran. Its tunnels can be treacherous, and many an adventurer has either gotten lost in the caves or fallen victim to an unexpected plunge.
"As ready as I'll ever be. I've heard the Candlestone Caverns are a gateway between the Darklands and Andoran. Its tunnels can be treacherous, and many an adventurer has either gotten lost in the caves or fallen victim to an unexpected plunge."
Elmer will grudgingly admit he has Survival if you put up with the inevitable lecture about how kids these days always have their faces buried in their wayfinders and none of these young'uns knows how to field dress a deer any more. It's a lost art, that's what it is. It's going to die with his generation. Grow the abyss up, when he was young you'd never catch anyone adventuring without survival training. No sir, back in the good ol' days half the Pathfinders would get eaten by bears and then at least the half that survived would know damn well how to string together a few footsteps without getting lost.
, which really should be the bare minimum if you really think about it. Everyone's so enamored with rations and magic. When he was young the wizards got 1d4 hit points, which taught them the value of respecting their elders.
|
|
Despite Elmer's dour monologue Lieutenant Brackett is oblivious to othe man's words and talks happily about the success the Eagle Knights will have against these Duargar rogues, that Evanno is a great tactical leader and will bring swift justice.
After about an hours march, Brackett points to the dark rocky entrance to a tunnel in the grassy hillside, "That's the way in, you go that way and we'll have the duergars cornered." he winks and smiles in anticipation of the plan. "Now you're gonna have to shift your butts it's a long way down there to the rendezvous, and I mean long. Time is of the essence to catch them blighters in the pincer trap. So good luck, we'll see you later." he gives you the thumbs up, before a quick salute and returns.
After about an hour’s travel down the caverns following the map, going deeper into the hillside, water dripping down the wall of the tunnel, over bumpy rocky ground, twisting and turning, just as drawn on Evanno's map. Then as you move on the way is barred, rocks and earth build up narrowing the tunnel, until very quickly there is no way through, a cave-in blocking the main path forward, but just as you are about to retrace your tracks, the light catches a dark hollow, could this be your lucky day.
Old man Elmer, looks at the map and the way Evanno had planned for you to go, then scratching the end of his nose he comes to a conclusion.
You start down the smaller tunnel, which is quite easy to start, though the sides and roof close in on you more than the main tunnel.
Suddenly the tunnel plunges into a steep decline too tall and uneven
to simply walk down. A slip could make life difficult, care must be taken.
Elmer will light a torch, but he'll need to drop it as soon as we get attacked.
"Follow me if you're too soft to find your own way down! he boasts just before he wobbles.
Dr. Galvanus follows in the tracks of his invention, which has been equipped with a sensor module granting it darkvision. it will also immediately sound an alarm if it detects any tremors within 30 ft. He has an elixir of darkvision handy for whenever he ends up out of range of both the invention and Elmer's torch, but he isn't planning to end up in such a situation unless an emergency arises.
Rapzap seems perfectly fine in the darkness, having lived in dark tunnels and sewers in their youth. They happily take the smaller tunnel rambling on about how nice it is to not have to watch out for rats or other brown things. "... Opp a bit slippery, but nowhere near as bad as that one moss/mold patch near the southern entrance used to be!"
|
|
With a torch held high, a grumbling Elmer Soup starts his descent, his shoes rolling over loose rocks that you hear echo as they fall down the slope into the blackness. All goes well, until a shoelace gets caught on some long dead root, unnoticed by Elmer. He continues another few feet down, before stepping on his own shoelace you hear the words, "Oh what the @*@*" then a low scream accompanied by the sound of falling stones and a body. What seem like a few minutes later, but is in reality less than half a minute, you hear "Ooww! That *@*@*@ hurt." as sharp rocks cut and bruise Elmer as he falls.
Argoni following behind, is completely shocked by the sudden disappearance and the sudden absence of light, stumbles, slips and falls after the expert. Unfortunately as he flies head over heels down the slop, there is no soft landing at the bottom, just razor sharp rocks .
Phineas carrying a flame in his hand?, watching the other two, takes evasive action stepping to the side, before he too hears some strange noises from behind.
First the strange machine sets off an alarm, as it detects the disturbance ahead, a tremor in the ground?. Still unused to the behaviour of his prototype, Dr. Galvanus jumps in the air in shock. As he lands and slips, he reaches out to his invention, hoping to catch hold and stop himself falling. Unfortunately for the Dr, he fails to stop his momentum down, he pulls the invention off balance too. Both go tumbling down the slope, but the invention digs in its trtacks halting it's fall, but Dr Galvanus is torn by sharp stones and rocks that leaves his body bleeding and bruised. .
Rapzap, watches from above as most of his companions fall into the dark below, he sees a crumpled pile of bodies strewn across the tunnel floor many feet below. The tiny kobold, with his light weight and sleight of foot, bounds down after them until he reaches a rather shocked looking gnome, who had just watched the Dr and his machine fall right by him.
Elmer's torch, somehow still alight, caught amongst some stones halfway down to the bottom of the slope, shines light on the passageway down below, dim though it is.
"Who builds passageways this steep? When I was young, builders took pride in their work."
Ow! Once again, practice confirms my theory that such missions are best left to specialized high-tech constructs rather than a frail living body!
Luckily, it's nothing a well-timed therapeutical intervention can't fix...
Dr. Galvanus calls his invention to his side and fiddles with buttons and switches. The construct begins making loud whirring noises, and after a while a cloud of green-tinted vapor pops out of a metal tube. Dr. Galvanus inhales this vapor and immediately comes down with a fit of cough, but after it's gone his wounds have stopped bleeding too.
There! Now I just need to recalibrate the gyroscopes... The inventor spends the next ten minutes digging through the workings of his construct before announcing that he is ready to resume the journey.
Rapzap gives a small chuckle at most of their companions tumbling down the near hidden passage. "Gots to watch out for unexpected holes! 7th rule of living in the sewers! Should I take the lead? Cause we'd hate to have another bundle up like that!"
The little kobold then pulls out their small bundled longbow and with a flourish, unfolds it out into its shooting form. They also prep a quiver of arrows with flat round heads instead of the normal piercing ones.
"Kids these days and their newfangled machines. But that's an abyss of an invention!"
Elmer is in the lead in the Slides only because it was the only space available. He wouldn't mind letting someone - or something - else lead.
|
|
Having rested for a considerable length of time, Argoni is able to patch himself and old Elmer, although it doesn't stop Elmer from telling Argoni what he's doing wrong and in his day someone with medical skills knew what they were doing, using proper organically grown herbs and fungi.
Dr Galvanus spends his time, checking over his contraption, oiling it's tracks, whilst Phineas looks on coughing on the smoke that it keeps throwing out. A gnomes curiosity knows no bounds.
Once everyone is ready recovering at the bottom of the sharp slope, Rapzap leads on. You find yourselves in a wandering cavern. The walls appear totally natural for the most part. Rough walls that are almost passageways in themselves, turning back into the main chamber, then wandering out again. Occasional drops of water drip from the high up ceiling, landing with a splash on the heads, then sometimes even your eyes as you look up into the darkness to see where they come from. As you all make their way around its perimeter, you are stopped from any more forward progression by a metallic grate securing the only apparent exit from the room. The grate appears to be completely sealed, with no knob, lock, or other mechanism to open it. Near the grate, an inscription in a mixture of Dwarven and Undercommon glows faintly in a violet light on the wall.
"Back in my day, there were no healer's tools. If you broke a leg, you used your other leg as a splint."
"Hmm, is that a puzzle of some kind? I like puzzles!"
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
"The good ol' 4600s! Back when lower AC was better and everyone rolled 3d6 for stats!"
Rapzap pops up from behind a rock and adds in, "Hmph, least you had your fancy AC and stats. Back in the tapestry, we had to describe what we were doing and hope everyone else played along. So much 'I'm king of the sewer!' 'No, I am.' 'No it's me!' Inevitably someone had to come and break it up."
They give a heavy put upon sounding sigh and then notice everyone look at the runes. "Oh, you trying to translate that? I made one already. You wanna see?"
Rapzap gives a small grin. "Being naked is always better! Clothing needs washing and can be restrictive. Also some good slime always feels best against the scales..." They cock their head in nostalgia for a second before turning back and refocusing on the conversation. "Maybe it has something to do with Whacko?"