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A muscular Iruxi woman proudly strides in, her frills bristling with excitement and anticipation as she speaks.
"Greetings fellow Pathfinders. I hail from the Sable-Trip tribe in the Mwangi, from where do you come from."
A medium length Tien blade rests in a quickdraw sheath at her side while numerous other weapons and a healer's kit jingle off various rings attached to her full plate.
Pathfinders hurry around the makeshift camp, packing and unpacking supplies, making repairs, and scribing scrolls. The atmosphere is excited but tinged with some trepidation. Venture-Captain Oraiah Tolal from Nirmathas takes the lead, ensuring everyone has an assignment and is working on it. A religious symbol of Alseta—goddess of doorways, portals, thresholds, and transitions—hangs from her neck, showing two faces in profile.
Please introduce yourselves to your fellow agents! You also notice that some of your favorite faction leaders and venture captains look like they could use some extra help.
Would you like to first meet with Khoumrock Blackthane, Calisro Benarry, Valais Durant, Urwal, Bjersig Torrsen, or Fola Barun?
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"Bjersig? He's deaf, I heard. I knew I should have paid more attention to the Society's lessons in sign. Now I'm going to come across as uncouth," frets a youthful Taldan with dark hair. His leather armor is barely scratched, and the gloves tucked in his belt look barely stretched in. A distinctive curved dueling sword hangs at his hip.
"I'm Locke," he says to the other Pathfinders, breaking himself away from his concern with personal decorum. "I'm from, well, I guess it doesn't matter where I'm from at the moment. I'm a duelist and a lock breaker." He flashes a quick grin. "I suppose my parents sealed my destiny with my name. I mean, what? Was I going to grow up to be a philosopher?"
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"Deaf? Ain't nothin' that can't be solved by a stick an' some dirt iffin' no one knows sign," remarks a small gnome, dressed in simple leathers and sporting shockingly bright and vibrant red-orange hair. Over her back is slung a backpack and wooden shield; a sickle hangs from her belt and she wields a longspear in her hand - though right now it's clearly more of a walking stick than a dangerous weapon.
"Here for th' job too, huh?" she continues, looking at Locke and the iruxi woman. "Good deal! Th' more th' merrier, I always say. Name's Poffis Whindlebit an' this here's my friend, Sunny Valley - though they'll answer to just Sunny, too. Nice t' meetcha."
Poffis offers a rather grimy-looking hand for a shake. For anyone looking closely, it looks like she just rolled in from the fields. She glances down and to the side, beckoning to someone behind her.
"Come on, don't be shy! We're gonna be workin' with lotsa folks so you need t' get used t' talkin'."
There's a pause and then finally, a tiny humanoid-shaped plant peeks out from behind Poffis' leg.
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"Um, hi..." Sunny squeaks, shuffling their feet shyly. "I'm Sunny. It's n-nice to meet you. We come from Artume. It's, um, in the River Kingdoms. That's what Poffis says, anyway..."
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Capricio Durey, a dark haired Varisian wanderer with a thick mustache and deep set eyes, greets the party with a hardy hello.
His leather armor and cloak are the color of the night sky and adorned with stars and moons. He leisurely strums a a lavender wooden lute decorated with butterflies.
”May The North Star guide us all.”
Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen scrutinizes a map as his loyal dog, Mahki, lies by his feet. Mahki barks to alert Torrsen to approaching Pathfinders. He says out loud, while signing, “I’m verifying all of our maps against what we can see from here. Landmarks can easily change. Why don’t you see if you can find any discrepancies?”
"Wonderful work, Capricio! These maps will help for sure!"
Torrsen shares his information, and you receive a survey map for one encounter of your choice in Part 1.
Horizon Hunters faction leader Calisro Benarry waves your group over. “Some of the newer Pathfinders seem a little nervous about this mission. Can you cheer them up a bit? This is exciting, after all!”
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A slight halfling with ruddy muttonchops pokes his head up under Capricio's arm to look at the survey map. Several vials clink together in a satchel over his shoulder.
At Benarry's calling, he glances around at the group. "I thought we were some of the newer Pathfinders." He shrugs and heads over in the direction the pirate Venture-Captain indicates.
Hello, everyone! How's everyone getting along? I'm Argoni. A bit of adventure out to the jungle, now eh? Everyone got their gear? Preparation is key! And have your notes at hand too. You'll see all sorts of marvelous things out here, I'm sure."
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Locke does his best to make sense of the maps. He is more fluent with city-level cartography.
A little bit later, he heeds Calstro's request and entertains the other newer Pathfinders with a round of folk songs.
...but inadvertently chooses ones where the hero dies in the end.
"Outstanding work, Locke! I never would have spotted that discrepancy on the river!"
Blanka's draconic inspirational speech does seem to cheer up the brand new recruits!
The neophyte Pathfinders are in much better spirits for the journey ahead and can lend you a hand. Once during the adventure, each of you can receive a +1 circumstance bonus to one skill check or attack roll, representing the fellow Pathfinder succeeding at a check to Aid you. You must decide to use this benefit before rolling.
Envoy’s Alliance faction leader Fola Barun directs a group of Pathfinders who are carefully blending magic and ingredients inside glass vials. “Come help us ensure that everyone is well supplied for this journey.”
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"All should worship dragons. Other deities have no relevance."
"Oh, magic potions?! I can help with that!" The halfling quickly goes to inspect the concoctions, offering pointers on stirring technique and at one point tells one of the Pathfinders that his mixture seems off. "No, no. You must have had a bad batch of herbs. See, it's supposed to be a deep purple. That's more like fuchsia. And you can't smell that? It smells like honeysuckle! There's no way that's right!"
With Argoni's help, Barun and her team make an abundance of materials, enough to provide you with extra!
You each receive a minor heling potion and a lesser healing potion.
Venture-Captain Khoumrock Blackthane ensures that groups of smiths and carpenters accompanying the Pathfinders have everything they need. “A lot of this gear got damaged on the voyage over. We need to make sure that everything is in tip-top shape.”
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"Huh...I think mebbe I can bend some of th' metal back inta shape..."
"Yow! Sharp edges! Uh...mebbe I'll just go keep th' greenhorns entertained an' outta trouble for a bit..."
Embarrassed, Poffis wanders over to the group of neophytes and regales them with the story of her last mission.
"An' so then we just had t' pry th' thing out of its' face! And lemme tell ya, if you can deal with somethin' like that then all this business here should be a breeze!"
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Argoni helps the Pathfinders sort the items into triage piles for the smiths and leatherworkers. "Lightly damaged metal work goes here. Then heavily damaged. Put the lightly damaged leather items there. Oh gods, look at how that leather is ripped. That is heavily damaged and it should be in a different pile. Then maybe all the damaged wooden items together."
Argoni assists the smiths skillfully and helps them get extra work done!
They can craft enough to have extras! You each receives one piece of non-magical low-grade cold iron ammunition of your choice from the Core Rulebook.
Radiant Oath faction leader Valais Durant oversees a small army of Pathfinders poring over books and scrolls. A few use magical methods to absorb information even faster. “Oh good, you’re here to help. I was able to get these reference materials from local institutions. There’s information on local plants, animals, and fey that I couldn’t get at home. We’re about to face a lot of dangers. Choose your favorite topic and start reading.”
Argoni presents some key insights!
The background information helps you readily identify threats during your journey. Once during this adventure, each can gain can gain a +2 circumstance bonus to any one check to Recall Knowledge.
Verdant Wheel faction leader Urwal lays on the ground, making marks on a scroll that stretches over 10 feet long. “This is our supplies list. Everything from rations to ammunition to the mounts needed to transport it all with us. We need to ensure that we know where everything is. I’m not letting anyone try to forage while we’re traveling.”
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"Huh? Wha-? Oh. Yes. Finished reading," Locke says and replaces the book back on the stack. He turns and subtly wipes the accumulated drool from his chin.
Later, he heads into the rows of supplies to count things. "Oh, yes, this is the life of adventure that was advertised."
...he falls asleep between two crates.
Samantha and Argoni helpfully locate items from the inventory and even suggest better ways to categorize things.
Urwal discovers that the Society packed in excess for the mission, and you each receive your choice of a lesser antidote or lesser antiplague.
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”All right! We have done the menial tasks,,when do we find out where we are going and what we are doing?
“I am a V.I.D.*, and have very important things to do.
“Plus, we are falling behind on our mining!”
Blanka manages to keep his hair trigger rage under control.
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"Well! We make a right good team," Poffis remarks as she considers the options and chooses a lesser antidote from the excess supplies.
"Least most of us do. Guess I got up on th' wrong side of th' bed this mornin' or somethin'..." she adds, a little embarrassed about her lackluster performance so far.
"I am a V.I.D.*, and have very important things to do."
"Um...excuse me, M-Mister Blanka?" Sunny pipes up, timidly raising her hand to get his attention. "What do V.I.D.s d-do, um, usually?"
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”Very good question, little plant. “ replies Blanka. ”There are so many things. We always are involved with protecting our clan, which in my case are the Hookclaws. That’s really what is important. We dragons stick together.
“Then there is mining. Gotta do the mining. Again, always for the clan. Often we patrol out territory, checking the traps, and drinking out unwanted vermin. Those mammals get everywhere you know.
“Me, I have graciously agreed to help out the Pathfinder Society, since my Hookclaws have allied with them. We figured that after the calamities of a couple of years back, you would need the help!
“Very busy life as a V.I.D.“
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Everyone gathers around a makeshift stage as the sun starts to slip below the horizon. Pathfinders whisper to each other in anticipation.
Venture-Captain Oraiah Tolal addresses the group. “Pathfinders, our expedition begins tomorrow. We have a day’s travel to reach the site where we will find the Door of Seasons. The founders of our Society may have been unable to reach the realm that lies beyond this magical gateway, but we have something they lacked.” The Venture-Captain holds a verdant crown aloft. “This is the Perennial Crown, an artifact that will serve as the key to opening the door. I hope that Alseta will bless us as we find this doorway to a new place. From what we’ve been able to gather, there’s a demiplane on the other side. The demiplane and the crown alike are closely tied to the Thorned Monarch, Qxal, an evil fey who once terrorized this region. The Pathfinders who recovered this crown faced steep opposition from the Monarch, and I have no doubt they will defend the Door of Seasons even more fiercely. Be wary any fey you see along the way; they are likely to be working for Qxal. Stay in groups of four or more for safety and help each other. Make any final preparations that you require and get a good night’s sleep; your next few nights will be on the trail. We leave an hour after dawn.”
Day breaks, and the excitement around the camp is too high to allow any Pathfinder to oversleep. Agents perform morning rituals, eat breakfast, and take a final look through maps and plans. Venture-Captain Oraiah Tolal gathers everyone together one last time. “I know that we’ve prepared well. We’re going to stop this Thorned Monarch. I have a small gift for each of you: a signal whistle with an engraving of the Perennial Crown. Use it to signal your fellow Pathfinders if you need help. And now, into the wilderness!”
An aasimar woman with violet marks on her face looks around. “Urwal? Urwal, where have you gone? We’re setting off now. Urwal?” She jumps slightly as an iruxi man suddenly drops to the ground from the tree overhead. He begins talking without missing a beat. “Pathfinders, watch your feet and know your plants and animals. The Thorned Monarch is wreaking havoc on the ecology of this area, and we don’t want to make it worse. Valais, aren’t you ready to go? We’re departing now.” Valais Durant stares for a brief moment before replying. “Yes. Yes, I am ready. Pathfinders, we’re very close to the Door of Seasons now, and things are about to get dangerous. Watch each other’s backs and don’t be afraid to call for help.”
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Poffis considers the numerous tasks that lie ahead, idly bouncing one leg as she does.
"Hmm...Samantha's got a good point, we need a path t' follow if we wanna get anywhere in a hurry. But after that we need t' keep it clear so we might wanna go take care of that shroom gate next. An' after that...we should prob'ly help th' greenhorns an' then check out the plants an' animals to make sure there won't be any nasty surprises later! Oh an' go make sure there ain't any other shenanigans happenin' elsewhere out here."
"That's my take on it, anyway," she shrugs.
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Argoni looks over, munching on a spare apple that "fell" off the supplies. "Eh, sure. That makes sense. Charting a path does seem like a good first step. I'm eager to see this mushroom gate too."
As he joins the others, his satchel clinks with the collection of new alchemical creations he made that morning.