A summons from Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin brings you to Absalom's busy port.
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A tall humanoid with hair and beard shorn to the skin arrives at the meeting point. Fiery red eyes give away his otherworldly ancestry, but most pay less attention to that and more to his imposing presence. Forge toned muscles on his thin frame, he wears simple but shiny light armor and has a polished walnut crossbow slung across his back. The image carefully stitched on his cloak shows a triple-headed ibis, with wings that burn and eyes of flame. Those with some rare knowledge of religion or planar beings may recognize him to be a follower of Atreia, an Elemental Lord.
He speaks with a crackling and spitting voice, almost like that of a campfire hissing as it burns, "Here for the mission. What evil shall we slay today?"
Standing about 12 hands beside him (~4 ft tall) is his companion who looks sorta like a horse wreathed in constant flame. The body doesn’t quite seem like it is actually a horse, but more like if you described a horse to a person who had never seen one and they were pretty good at drawing.
It opens it's mouth and... speaks!
"Oh lord, this again? I tell you, we don't always have to smite the evil. Sometimes there is research or investigation or schmoozing rich people. The world ain't gonna end on every mission."
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A fair and well-muscled young lady walks in and smiles as she spots the baby mammoth. Her long golden hair at times cascades around her breastplate until she fixes it in place with a cord.
"My what a rush. The summons always come at the absolute last minute. I swear sometimes I think they do it on purpose."
"I am Rogarch. Nice to meet you all as well."
A friendly looking scorpion waves an enthusiastic greeting to the assembled party. He seems to be riding around safely in Rogarch's pocket.
A litte quite girl that has not even reached puberty joins the discussion with a stern look on your face.
That children are allowed to join the Society is news to you.
She suddenly speaks up.
"Hellloooo, I have not even introduced myself! So before you start asking. No, I am not lost here. No, I am not the daughter of a fellow Pathfinder. No, I will ... oh ... yes, I will hide in the back! And then burn the enemies to ashes! Ha, ha, ha ..." Yoon says laughing.
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A wry smile appears on a bronze toned man's face wearing a linen vest and voluminous pantaloons, his hair fluttering about like wisps of flame. "Hah, I think I'm going to like this kid," he says. "But I call dibs on any monkeys, demon or otherwise. The little Mwangi Jungle freaks are annoying. You can call me Fyl," he adds.
The insensed eidolon stamps his feet, "Listen here you little punk. Firstly, my NAME is Ponya. Someday you will get it through your thick skull. Secondly, I went to ONE masquerade party and you won't ever let me live it down. And lastly, I was gorgeous in that gown, so back off."
He snorts and turns to Fyl, "Can I trade owners to have you instead?"
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Seemingly last to arrive (?), is a halfling lass with hair both black and white. A slight limp can be seen by the careful observer, and she wears a few odd trinkets. Dressed in a blue tunic with furs upon the shoulders.
A greensting scorpion is perched upon her shoulder.
"Am i in a group of tall folk again?", as she scans the group, resting her gaze at Yoon.
"Since when are actual kids enrolling? That's child labor, it is.
And i wondered -last time- why they'd send out a kid, even though he was a baby-faced halfling, but still."
She shrugs. "Didn't mean to be rude, though. I'm Alice."
Water laps steadily at the pier as sailors, laborers, and merchants rush busily around Absalom’s port. The venture-captain’s summons called for a meeting aboard the Sixwing Drake, a sleek sailing ship.
The Drake’s captain, a Varisian woman and fellow Pathfinder named Zarah Zendrani, stands at the helm of her vessel. “It’s not like Valsin to be late,” she mutters, furrowing her brow.
As if on cue, a tall and meticulously groomed man pushes his way through the crowd and up the gangplank, cursing audibly. “Whoever supervises this mess of a port needs to be dumped in the sea!” he grumbles. The tall man looks around at those gathered before him.
Image of groomed man on Slides.
“Just the group I requested. Perfect. I’m Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin, and I took great care in selecting just the right Pathfinders for this assignment.” Valsin reaches into his belt pouch and withdraws a small, folded paper before continuing. “A few days ago, I received a curious note from a rather unexpected source. It’s not every day that I get a request from an agent of the Aspis Consortium.” Captain Zendrani’s eyes widen, and Valsin smiles knowingly. “But Magali Delroya does not appear to be your typical Aspis agent. As you surely know, the Aspis Consortium pursues a variety of activities across the Inner Sea that the Pathfinder Society finds abhorrent."
"It seems that Delroya has been working with them for some time," he continues, "but can no longer stomach the snakes herself. She wants to stop a shipment of an experimental drug from leaving Diobel later this week. It’s bound for a number of locations across the Inner Sea region. According to Delroya, she can’t ask the local authorities for help, because the Aspis Consortium has already
struck a deal with a faction of the Kortos Consortium, a powerful merchant collective."
"Her hands are tied, so she’s come to us for help," he says, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a few pieces of paper. "In this note, she outlines three different tasks that would help to disrupt the Aspis long enough for her to move the shipment to a secure location, out of the clutches of the consortium. Once you accomplish two of these tasks, she’s willing to meet with you, but not before."
“Normally, I wouldn’t trust an Aspis agent at any hour of the day. But our sources in Diobel have confirmed the Aspis and Kortos consortia’s activities. Everything checks out, so we are presented with a unique opportunity." he says, handing the papers over to you. "If we help Delroya, we might not only strike a financial blow against the Aspis Consortium, but we could also reveal their dealings with the Kortos Consortium—and possibly prevent their arrangement from turning into a more formal alliance. Furthermore, we hope to stop this drug from spreading across the Inner Sea region, and if we—if all of you—do a good enough job, we might even convince Delroya to join the Society. A turncoat agent would be a valuable asset in our ongoing run-ins with the Aspis Consortium."
“Take some time to look over Delroya’s note and the tasks she has set for you." urges Valsin. "If you have any questions, now is the time to ask. Remember, the Aspis Consortium is a long-time enemy of the society, but the Kortos Consortium, while certainly suspicious, is not our enemy. It is a complex organization with many factions, and we should avoid antagonizing any of them, except when necessary to oppose the Aspis Consortium.”
A wry smile appears on a bronze toned man's face wearing a linen vest and voluminous pantaloons, his hair fluttering about like wisps of flame. "Hah, I think I'm going to like this kid," he says. "But I call dibs on any monkeys, demon or otherwise. The little Mwangi Jungle freaks are annoying. You can call me Fyl," he adds.
Yoon laughs and looks at Fyl.
"Hey you all! And especally hellow Fyl! I am Yoon! Nice meeting you! she says and grabs Fyl's hand.
"And yes, my life was tragic ... this question always goes on my nerves so let us get over it. My short life has been filled with tragedy and adventure. Hailing from Minkai’s Oda province in distance Tian Xia, I lost my mother at the age of five. FIVE!" and tears are visible in her eyes.
"Then, just before my eighth birthday, my father and grandmother took me to Oda for a fireworks festival that honored Desna. As the fireworks faded, though, I saw flames shooting from the building where my father had gone to meet with fellow Desnan dissidents, who were unhappy with Minkai’s harsh imperial regency.
Just when the imperial soldiers moved to cut them down, my grandmother unleashed her pyrokinetic power to allow me to escape." and now she is really crying but gets a grip on herself.
"And now ... now I need to control my own powers. And this is my first mission by the way so I will follow you Fyl, ok?!"
~
When the VC provides more details she seems a little confused. She looks at Fyl and waits for her to speak.
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Micah grabs the letters and begins reading them, Ponya looking over his shoulder. His glowering resting angry face actually manages to get more glowering as he reads the first letter, "EVIL PEOPLE! We must stop them quickly. See fire-horse? SEE?"
He hands the note along and reads the second. He hands it along as well and then considers the options available, "The source must be stopped. We need to strike hard and fast at the alchemist first."
The ifrit turns to the VC, "How do we get to this Diobel place?"
His companion is unusually quiet, simply looking around at the group, "A smash and grab should be fine to manage in the sewers but the other missions will require subtlety and tact. Are any of you good at that?"
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Rogarch simply grins at the Eidolon's question while she pats the head of her enormous hammer.
"One problem at a time. We should start in the sewers. That should be easy enough for this group. Then we can try to muddle our way through one of the others tasks."
"Not to mention if we had the perfect party for the job it would not be called an adventure. Have a bit of faith."
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The insensed eidolon stamps his feet, "Listen here you little punk. Firstly, my NAME is Ponya. Someday you will get it through your thick skull. Secondly, I went to ONE masquerade party and you won't ever let me live it down. And lastly, I was gorgeous in that gown, so back off."
He snorts and turns to Fyl, "Can I trade owners to have you instead?"
Fyl's eyebrow arches like a flame with more fuel. Raising his index finger to his face, tapping in thought, he concludes, "That depends. How do you feel about charred monkey? Because that's been the menu as of late..."
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Yoon laughs and looks at Fyl.
"Hey you all! And especally hellow Fyl! I am Yoon! Nice meeting you! she says and grabs Fyl's hand.
"And yes, my life was tragic ... this question always goes on my nerves so let us get over it. My short life has been filled with tragedy and adventure. Hailing from Minkai’s Oda province in distance Tian Xia, I lost my mother at the age of five. FIVE!" and tears are visible in her eyes.
"Then, just before my eighth birthday, my father and grandmother took me to Oda for a fireworks festival that honored Desna. As the fireworks faded, though, I saw flames shooting from the building where my father had gone to meet with fellow Desnan dissidents, who were unhappy with Minkai’s harsh imperial regency.
Just when the imperial soldiers moved to cut them down, my grandmother unleashed her pyrokinetic power to allow me to escape." and now she is really crying but gets a grip on herself."And now ... now I need to control my own powers. And this is my first mission by the way so I will follow you Fyl, ok?!"
What the??!! What is this?
Fyl looks around the room for help. "Uh, maybe you should talk to that other kid over there. Look, she even has a pet scorpion that... you know... you can find crickets or something to feed... or throw sticks at or something..." he says, looking at Alice.
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Well obviously we must grab that alchemist and turn him over to the authorities! And if we don't stop the meeting her cover will be uncovered and she won't be able to help us.
"I agree. The whole situation relies on Magalia not getting captured or worse. We should probably redirect their interest to someone more convenient..." Fyl adds.
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Uh, maybe you should talk to that other kid over there. Look, she even has a pet scorpion that... you know... you can find crickets or something to feed... or throw sticks at or something..." he says, looking at Alice.
Alice raises a brow at the comment.
"-Some- of my kind can look the part, but you might want to wake up and rub the sleep from your eyes.", as she briefly crosses her arms on her chest, then her hand on a hip, to accent her figure that she is not a kid.
The ifrit turns to the VC, "How do we get to this Diobel place?"
"So you’ve never been down the coast, hmm?" Valsin replies. "There is a reason why you were summoned here to the docks."
He considers at Micah a bit longer, than concludes that a more succinct explanation may be required. "By boat," he concludes.
It sounds as if we have a plan (or at least an intention) Captain Valsin. Is there anything else you can tell us about the city or the people/creatures we are likely to encounter? Odd laws? Quaint local customs? Curfew? Xenophopia?
"Diobel is often called the ‘Doorway to Absalom,’" explains Valsin. "Shipments to and from Absalom often go through Diobel, which has lower taxes than Absalom. Trade with Diobel is an important part of Absalom’s economy—which is why we must tread lightly around the Kortos Consortium, given their influence in Diobel.”
"As for what you are likely to expect there?" he ponders. "The place is rife with smugglers. For centuries, Diobel's been a port for those seeking to oavoid Absalom's stiff harbor taxes, its law enforcement, and its criminal element. This popularity has made Diobel one of the largest markets for contraband in all of the Inner Sea."
"The Kortos Consortium pretends to be a legitimate merchant guild dedicated to stamping out smugglers, but it participates in its fair share of illegal activities as well." notes Valsin. "It is powerful enough to rival Diobel’s teriarch, or governor, Lord Avid. A fair number of prominent people in Diobel are in the Kortos Consortium’s pockets, or are prominent members of the guild themselves. If possible, try not to get on the group’s bad side."
Also, how shall we make contact with this double agent?
"From what I gather from her note, she'll be the one making contact with you--after you complete at least two of her tasks, that is," replies the Venture Captain.
He releases a gruff sigh, then continues, “I met Magali several years ago, when she was barely a grown woman. It must have been just before she joined the Aspis Consortium. She’s awanderer, never comfortable in one place for long. I saw great potential in her as a Pathfinder, but she always preferred to work alone and felt that the society was a poor fit. Had I known that she would wind up with the Aspis Consortium, I would have put more effort into recruiting her.”
"By the time you arrive in Diobel, you will only have a day, maybe two at most, to complete the assigned tasks." Valsin concludes. "I suggest that you take an hour or two to gather supplies and make any last-minute purchases before setting sail aboard the Sixwing Drake."
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Yoon is a little disappointed about Fyl's harsh words and the lady with the Zebra hair looks a little intimidating.
She walks to the elf.
"Hey you sir! My teddy bear and I are as ready as you are!! And that person there is talking about evil all the time. Is that ok? I thought that is bad word!" she says to Rogarch.
The party boards the Sixwing Drake and sets sail for Diobel. The travel is uneventful.
At dawn, with the sun rising on this Oathday, Captain Zendrani and the crew of the sleek vessel bearing the party steer the ship up to the massive barrier of broken war barges, crumbling walls, and jetties of iron and wood that protect the port of Diobel.
“Well, here we are,” says the captain. “I’ll make sure everything is in order with Diobel’s inspectors and charter you a barge to the port. You aren’t carrying anything particularly valuable, so you shouldn’t draw much attention from the inspectors or pilots, so long as you don’t run your mouth. My crew and I will wait here with the ship. You can return here to rest, if you need to, but remember there isn’t much time!”
Wasting no time, Captain Zendrani slips several gold pieces to a barge captain as a sign of good faith, asking him if he could do her the favor of sticking around on shore for the day in case the party needs to return to the ship.
The barge captain is a stocky middle-aged man, named Markus Karbie, with weather-beaten skin and calloused hands. With a nod of the head and a glint in his eye, he accepts Zendrani’s deal. Accepting Zendrani’s gold and respecting her request, Karbie asks no questions and makes no effort to engage in conversation. Still, he is skilled at his profession and the barge journeys from the barrier to the coast, drawing little attention.
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Micah looks at the fire-horse and the barge and all the water they will be covering, "Hey, you better go home for a bit. I'll call you back when we get to the sewers. This part is boring anyway."
With a wave of his hand, Ponya disappears in a poof of smoke.
The ifrit hops into the barge and rides quietly to shore. Climbing out he gives a nod to the Captain, "Happen to know where Rat Street is?"
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Rogarch grins as she suspects that some in the party are confusing her for an elf. This is not surprising considering her golden hair and fair complexion which is very unusual for any half-orc. She suspects that it may be a result of an ancient ancestor who might be the source of her bloodline powers.
The Bloodrager smiles at Yoon admiring her Teddy bear. She waits patiently with the others but is eager to disembark the barge and begin their adventure.
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Alice follows the others, but they'd outpace her from the start anyway.
Hmm?
She wasn't trying to be rude, but her halfling curiosity and impulsive interest got the better of her.
Not knowing Rogarch's name, having arrived last at the briefing, Alice calls out by the finest feature Rogarch sports.
"Goldilocks, could i ask you something, one scorpion owner to another?"
When close, she'd wait until the others are far enough so as not to be overheard.
With a friendly, if slightly mischievous smile....
"Pardon my bluntness for asking, but i could not help but notice some....'features' in that fair face. I'd say you are the prettiest half-blood of your kind, i have met. May i inquire, is there some celestial blood in your family?"
"Happen to know where Rat Street is?"
"I'm not being paid to make conversation," replies the captain.
View and map of Diobel now on Slides.
You alight from the barge captain at one of Dibel's collection of piers. Diobel’s dockside district is an ever-churning, noisy collection of piers, docks, boardwalks, markets, cut-rate taverns and inns, chandler shops, filled-to-groaning warehouses and hovels where the town’s poorest families eke out a meager existence. The area dominated by industrious ship-builders, merchants trading larger volumes of merchandise, and caravanners seeking supplies to carry overland to Absalom.
“Pick a pelt! Pick a pearl! Everything’s for sale in Diobel." cries the shouts of a nearby hawker. "Don’t listen to those high n’ mighty Absalomites. Their city ain’t nothing but a bunch of kneelers, necromancers, bloody barbers, and—worst of all—politicians. They’re right about one thing, though: we’re simple folk, who like our smoked oysters and a mug of ale after a hard day’s work and a game of drouge now n’ again. Here, anyone who ain’t afraid o’ hard work can make a good living and walk with his head held high as any lord’s. So welcome, friend, and if you’ve got goods you want moved to Absalom tariff-free, I might just know a man who knows a camel who knows a bird’ll get ’em there."
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Rogarch smiles at Alice.
"There is a legend of a powerful elven sorcerer having a dalliance with one of my human ancestors way back. Granted record keeping is not exactly the best in the north. In fact I do not even know the name of this so called magic-user. So who knows if the story is even true."
The Bloodrager turns to more immediate and practical concerns addressing the party.
"I say we start in the sewers. That seems like more of a straight forward assignment."
The hawker considers asking the tengu for a few coins in exchange, but thinks it better for business simply to give the feathered examiner what he would like so he will depart more quickly.
The directions provided by the hawker match those accompanying Delroya's missive. Both lead to an isolated alley in the Bristles. Delroya's directions then lead you down into the sewers beneath Diobel. There is a ladder descending into the darkness.
The stench of sewage mixes with the sharper odors of chemical fumes and decay and permeates the damp tunnels.
Map of this area of the sewer now revealed on Slides.
From this intersection, tunnels lead west and south into the darkness. A third tunnel heading east is filled with detritus, filthy beddings, food scraps, broken glass, and rotting furniture. An alcove lies beyond a collapsed portion of the tunnel’s southern wall, and further east, a statue of a giant rat rests in the dead-end passage. Countless empty flasks and discarded alchemical ingredients lie on the floor around the statue. On a nearby workbench sit several organized but empty flasks and jars.
Four people lie about the tunnel and alcove. Each appears to be a sorry state, suffering from malnourishment and barely speaking.
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Immediately after climbing down into the sewers, Micah puts his hand up and says quietly, "Hey, hold up a sec. I need to bring my fire horse back."
He focuses a moment and you hear a whispered argument, "Hey, get your butt back here. We're in the sewer. *pause* Does it smell? Of course it smells, it's a sewer. Can you even smell anyway? *pause* Ooooh, well lucky you. But then why did you even ask? *pause, rolls eyes* I see, well I'll get you cleaned off after the mission."
With a pop of displaced air and sewage, Ponya appears next to Micah and looks around.
As they see the dirty lab and sick people, Micah pulls out a wand and activates it on Ponya, strengthening his resistance to evil things.
“Ahh, look there are nice things back there!!!“ Yoon says and walks forward while ignoring the people around her.
“Ahh, look there are nice things back there!!!“ Yoon says and walks forward while ignoring the people around her.
As yoon passes by one of the suffering souls, her hands shoot out, desperately attempting to grab ahold of one of the vials on the human's person, including Yoon's potion of cure light wounds, her water flask, and even her bottle of ink!
Ponya sighs and moves up next to Yoon, "Young Miss. You should be a bit more careful. These people could have been zombies or ghouls or worse, water elementals."
He growls at the one pawing at her pouch, "Stay back bud!"
Helping Hand remains in his mistress' pocket. His paw glows and he touches Rogarch providing some aid.
(Guidance cast on Rogarch)
Then addressing the one trying to steal from Yoon, No! Bad person. You do not take other peoples stuff with asking. Then he moves forward to stop the person if necessary.
The grabby young woman ignores the tengu, continuing to try and grab one of the vials, but her movements are sluggish and difficult. Indeed, her efforts to stand are proving difficult and she poses no little threat, at present, to Yoon's belongings.
Suddenly, a number of the party members spots a luminescent creature emerging from the nearby pipe. It is housecat-sized beetle with a dull brown color that’s brightened with two glowing green-yellow spots on its carapace.
Picture now available on Slides.
Location of beetle marked with green-bordered token on map.
SEWER OR LATER! - Surprise Round One Begins!
Alice
Fyl
Rogarch
Helping Hand
Beetle (green)
Ponya
Yoon
BiggerBird
Micah