The Kingfisher sails o'er the rolling waves of the Steaming Sea.
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Manny kicks back on a chair on the deck, mostly strumming his lute and saying hi to everyone who shows up.
"Welcome Kingfisher! Time for a little ditty I call Splish Splash, I was taking a Bath!""
The human's lute starts up and the audience is taken away to the land of waves, sea salt, soap, and sweet relaxation and celebration on weekend nights. He gets quite a crowd and plenty of attention afterward. Perfect.
"Thank you, thank you! Maybe after my task here I can meet some of you a bit later?" he winks.
”You’ll have to buy me dinner first! Hah!”, Valeros shouts. The rugged-looking warrior slaps his knee. He’s been singing along (badly), and has already had a few.
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A young half-elf woman with black hairs, entwined with crimson locks, green eyes and a smirk on her face is reading reading a large book, full of esoteric symbols.
She's wearing a crimson heavy armor, and on each of her side hangs two identical strange sword. On her back a longbow is tied.
She stops reading for a moment, says Hi, I'm Shandra. and goes back to her book.
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"Dude, I play the music, you buy me food." Always a critic. Manny sighs when Valeros shouts. This guy's been a pain during the entire trip. But man, he knows how to use a sword. Plus he was willing to teach him that whole opportunity thing. Shylye says everyone knew how to do this in the past, but hey. New generation, new rules.
Once the crowd breaks up, he leaves his impromptu stage and visits the other Pathfinders, veering from Valeros's breath. "Sup everyone. The name's Manny. But you know that already."
"Sup Snarlfist. Glad to see you here. Hey Shandra. I'll keep it brief. I love a good book... uh... lots of drawings in there." He gives a wave to Valeros. "Valeros, you should lay off the booze, at least 3 days before your mission."
Ezren stands up with the sound of a snap coming from one joint or another. "I'll have to agree on the booze. Name's Ezren."
”Hey, just because you can’t handle your ale, doesn’t mean I can’t!”, Valeros retorts. ”I’ll be fine!”
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Getting closer to their final destination, Yanko decides to join his fellow agents on top of the deck. Yanko is a slender, worryingly pale man with half-elven features and thin wire-frame glasses that he habitually pushes up his nose without any need. Clad in a long dark leather coat, he shields his pale grey eyes against the sunlight that is amplified by the glistening of the sea.
He nods towards the hobgoblin. ”Good to see you again, Snarlfist. I hope you've been alright since Minkai.” Turning towards the rest of the crew, his nod becomes almost a small bow. ”Yanko Tiriac. It is a pleasure to meet you.” His smile reveals canines that are slightly too long for comfort.
Towards Manny, he adds. ”Please continue, I quite enjoyed the music. Apologies for staying mostly below deck, but I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the sun.” Still shielding his eyes with his hand, Yanko looks up towards the sky and sighs. ”Unfortunately there’s always plenty of it at sea.”
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Manny pauses as he sees Yanko. Pale skin. Hates the sun. Long canines. But also a Pathfinder. Manny has met worse who weren't cursed. Head in the game, Manny. Shylye reminds you to look past the initial looks.
"Yanko, good to see you on deck. You only seem to go out at night. You miss Ezren's sunbathing routine." He laughs and leans back to imitate Ezren lounging back with a sheet of metal reflecting sunlight on him.
Valeros winces a bit when he sees Yanko. ”You might want to get a hat when we reach port”, he says. ”Can’t have you roasting like a lobster”
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Yanko’s smile grows wider with the second. Decades of defamation and xenophobia have taught him to distinguish between true hatred and a jovial jest among fellow agents.
”Don’t worry Valeros. I don’t burn that easy. Plus this beautiful bald head took me a while to groom.” He grins and points with one of his long spindly fingers at his polished head. Whoever looks careful enough, can spot a faint hint of scar tissue in the shape of a handprint on his skull. ”I won’t hide it.”
He looks around the ship at this point and adds, ”Anyone knows where we’re heading? Instructions have been quite hazy so far.”
"Um, yes? I guess I'm the famous Ezren." He seems a bit flustered at the idea of being a celebrity. He seems much more comfortable talking Arcana.
No idea, they seemed quite secret about our destination... she says to Yanko.
"And for good reason." replies Venture-Captain Muesello, who had greeted you each as you boarded the Kingfisher about a week or so ago. "With you already all here on deck, it saves me the trouble of rousing you out of the hold."
Portrait of Muesello on Slides.
"Follow me, I have something to show you," Muesello says, before adding, "But finish those drinks first. I don't want to have to deal with any spills."
The Venture-Captain brings you over to a twelve-foot contraption mounted toward the front of the ship. Wiping the grease off of his hands into a rag, you can see that the mechanist has spent the early morning assembling and running a chain through the clockwork contraption mounted on the deck. Stuffing the dirty rag into his smock, he turns to address the group.
“I’m sure you’ve guessed this isn’t just a fishing trip." he begins. "I would have filled you in sooner, but I was asked to keep everything confidential until we arrived. An expedition of Pathfinder initiates recently discovered this uncharted island, Burozi. The recruits found some Azlanti ruins, and we have a special assignment for your team.”
Muesello turns to the shore just five hundred feet from the moored ship, the peak of the island barely visible against the orange glow of the morning sun behind it. He clicks open an intricate compass, and its needle snaps to the direction of the island.
"“Open your wayfinder, and you’ll see the same thing." he continues. "This close to Burozi, all wayfinders point toward the island. As for the one in my hand here, this was found on Burozi—I’ve never seen one quite like it. The expedition team found it near a sealed hatch made out of reinforced skymetal."
"They couldn’t get in, which might have been for the best. The recruits were inexperienced, and Azlanti devices can be incredibly dangerous! But you’ve got more experience under your belts, so I need you to find a way through that sealed door and investigate whatever is on the other side.” With a reassuring nod, Muesello returns to his work, meticulously checking each bolt as crew members emerge from below
and begin preparing a sailboat for passage to the island.
Snarlfist pulls out his wayfinder as well to check the effects.
The Venture-Captain's words prove true, as the needle on the hobgoblin's wayfinder snaps to the direction of the island.
Valeros nods toward the machine near the bow. ”Does that whatsit figure into our mission?”, he asks.
Valeros nods toward the machine near the bow. ”Does that whatsit figure into our mission?”, he asks.
"Technically, yes." Muesello confesses. "It's a fishing rod. Ever try sea snake? Me neither, but somehow, it’s a delicacy in the senate right now. And officially? We’re just fishing. No reason not to have a bit of fun with the expedition though."
Many scratches his head. "Hmm... any dangers out there? Is the island inhabited? The last one I was on had tons of Iruxi. They have this throaty singing I could never reproduce."
"The reports didn't mention anything dangerous. Nor any inhabitants But, then, you never know. Use a sailboat to get to the island, then just follow that wayfinder."
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Yanko looks fascinated at his wayfinder and tries to confirm the venture-captain’s statement. Indeed, the compass needle is glued towards that island.
”Hm. Fascinating.” He comments the fact and closes the lid on his wayfinder, before putting it back under his long coat. ”Say, Muesello, you said there’s a hatch. Did the other agents report anything about it, other than it is made out of skymetal?” He quickly adjusts the glasses on his nose. ”Any locks? Traps? Anything?”
Ezren nods to Manny, "I know a bit about camping. I'd prefer we make this quick and not need to though."
”Say, Muesello, you said there’s a hatch. Did the other agents report anything about it, other than it is made out of skymetal?” He quickly adjusts the glasses on his nose. ”Any locks? Traps? Anything?”
"No mention of it in the reports, but I can't attest to the thoroughness of the initial sweep by the prior expedition." Musesello concedes. "I'd be ready for anything."
”It’s all in the reflexes”, Valeros explains with a grin. ”Gotta build that muscle memory, so you can lash out when you see an opening”
Aboard ship, Venture-Captain Musello holds out the wayfinder from Burozi, offering it to you. "Feel free to take this with you. You might need it."
Muesello speaks the command word and the wayfinder emits a small, green light. "After a week tinkering with this thing, I still can’t get it to do more than this. Still, it may be of some use to you.”
The wind on the seas make the rowing to the island rough. Nevertheless, you arrive mostly safe and mostly dry. The excavated ruins of a tower rise from halfway up the island’s sloping peak.
Reaching the ruins, you find what remains of the tower, a semi-circle of white wall holding back centuries of dirt and debris. The skymetal hatch lies dead center in the tower’s foundation. The 5-foot-wide hatch is decorated in thin silver filigree resembling gears in the shape of an eye.
At the center of the eye is a socket that is obviously the same size and shape as the wayfinder that you received from Muesello.
Upon approaching the socket, the wayfinder that Musesello gave you again begins to glow as it did on the ship.
A woman’s voice emits from the direction of the door, speaking in an ancient language.
On the door itself, glowing markings appear. They appear to be numerals. They appear to be depicting a countdown. By your estimates, you have now have less than thirty seconds before the countdown concludes!
Ezren thinks for but a second, "We should probably stick that wayfinder in there."
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Manny rows as much as he can. Helps his strumming.
On the island, Manny is glad to get indoors.
Manny is puzzled by the clearly religious design, but the woman's voice distracts him. "Hey Shylye, help me Comprehend Languages, please." Manny asks no one in particular.
He waits for the voice to repeat itself, and they chime in his ears. “Security System malfunction detected. Insert badge and restore actuators to working order to avoid further security protocols.”
Pause
"Uh, that's what she said. What's an actuator? And what badges is she looking for?" Realizing he doesn't have time, he looks up at the door and approaches it with the wayfinder. "Sup, ma'am? We're from the Pathfinder Society. Sorry, I don't speak... um... I'm not sure what language this is."
"Anyway, I think this is the badge you're looking for? What are actuators?" Manny shrugs and sticks the wayfinder into the socket with one hand and puts the other hand on his whip.
The voice gives no further response to Emmanuel. However, when the wayfinder is slotted into the hatch, the colored light in the wayfinder activates and spreads down silver circuits 100 feet in each cardinal direction before reaching panels built along the perimeter of the ruined structure.
Despite the clear activity, the hatch remains locked shut. It is evident that the hatch is held sealed by a series of mechanisms, designed to achieve the conversion of energy into physical movements.
Four such components hold the latch shut. Each of the four lies in some state of disrepair or misalignment that will require attention or correction before the hatch will release.
A rough map to help visualize the area is now on Slides.
The magical energy flowing off the northmost actuator is traveling in the wrong direction.
Access to the southmost actuator is blocked.
A fuse on the easternmost actuator is broken.
The fuses on the westernmost actuator have become dislodged. Putting them back in place is a delicate operation.
HATCH 'N A PLAN! Round One Begins!
Emmanuel
Ezren
Shandra
Snarlfist
Valeros
Yanko
Valeros peers at the actuator to the south. ”Looks like this gizmo has some drek in the way”, he says, as he tries to pry it loose.
Ezren notices the broken fuse on the eastern actuator and tries to fix it.
Neither Valeros nor Ezren make any progress. Fortunately, neither makes the situation any worse.
HATCH 'N A PLAN! Round One Cont'd!
Emmanuel
Ezren
Shandra
Snarlfist
Valeros
Yanko
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South seems busy enough.
Manny has no idea what Erzen is tinkering with.
So he looks to the northern door.
"Huh. Yeah. I think cousin Al messed with this kind of button once. Then again he said it led to a cave of wonders shaped like a lion's head, so maybe he drank too much coconut juice that day. Not sure."
Snarlfist, Manny, and Shandra make progress, yet none of the actuators can yet be moved.
HATCH 'N A PLAN! Round One Cont'd!
Emmanuel
Ezren
Shandra
Snarlfist
Valeros
Yanko
HATCH 'N A PLAN! Round Two Begins!
Emmanuel
Ezren
Shandra
Snarlfist
Valeros
Yanko
”Not bad!”, Valeros says to Snarlfist. ”Let’s see if I can get that thing out of the way”
Valeros puts some muscle into and removes one of the large stones inhibiting the actuaor.
Snarlfist finds the broken fuse to be frustratingly difficult to repair.
HATCH 'N A PLAN! Round Two Cont'd!
Emmanuel
Ezren
Shandra
Snarlfist
Valeros
Yanko
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Ezren mutters some things about the fuse's parentage and tries again on the east.