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.
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.”
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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A kayal strides into the room, his spiked chain dragging behind him loudly and intentionally to signal his presence. He looks around the room, scanning for something, and, not seeing it, turns his attention to those he does find.
"Hello, Fola, Quickblade. I'm Anschluss."
He notices Fola struggling with the vials and offers to help.
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Ulrich travels to Mwangi in a dire mood "Stupid Venture-Captain, how could I know that it was not real dwarven spirit? Bloody Opparan thieves sold me a fake! Now I am on a ship with a bunch of bozos towards god forsaken lands" he looks on the fellow pathfinders "I was not talking about you, the other guys, nevermind."
A small but lean gnome with short mess of a hair gets on the land. He is carrying a short bow and on his belt hangs kukri blade. He follows Quickblade and Anschluss
"Ulrich Makaisson form Makaisson and Fishhead private investigators office in Absalom." he seems to have a way with words when not in one of his worse moods. You may see that his hair begin to change its tone to match the one of the surrounding brown and green, which is a bit unusual.
"Let me help you Urwal with the provisions. I've been dealing with those for years. First you need to stop a black market and illegal selling of the items from happening. THose are the worst, then..." He does not say that the hopes to set up his own way of distributing goods and getting some good money out of it.
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As one might expect, there are a great many unusual people in the Pathfinder camp, given the diversity of their organization. One such conspicious individual — or duo — is a goblin, fairly run-of-the-mill kind, running around in tandem with what looks like a human-sized marionette puppet. The goblin seems agitated, and the puppet unemotional.
"Hey! Listen! I told you to- Why isn't anyone listening to me?!" the goblin shouts, frustrated.
"Master Nant, given the time-critical nature of current situation, I estimate..." the puppet speaks, its voice uncannily humanlike yet monotonic.
"Whatever! Let them do their own things!" the goblin named Nant interrupts his companion, and turns his attention elsewhere. "Now come on, Needlework, I bet those morons can't get the reagents right unless I help!"
The bizarre pair rush to help Venture-Captain Barun's group of mages, almost bumping into some unfortunate agent.
"Well done, master." the puppet, apparently called Needlework, congratulates its master. "This time you didn't even need to drink the whole potion to identify it. Your performance rating increased by at least 25.0% since last time."
Befitting its name, the life-sized puppet is riddled with sizable needles, piercing its arms and torso, giving it a rather menacing look. Likewise its face is engraved into a grimacing expression. Yet, Needlework seems somehow gentle in its actions, carefully handling the reagents and vials.
"It is said that personal growth is the ultimate virtue, natural to all lifeforms. In this regard, you have done well."
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A young human dressed in heavy armor sits and drinks a warm beverage from a mug. Having grown up a ward of Pathfinders, Laeron is accustomed to the full chaos of a Pathfinder camp and has been taught not to let the nervous energy get the best of him.
After finishing his beverage, Laeron stands and joins Urwal to help with the inventory.
As a young person, he likely learns more from the experience than he actually helps finish the task.
"It looks like the Society packed too any antiplagues and antidotes," Urwal says, his voice trailing off as he stares at the horizon. "One wonders how one can have too many of either of those when entering a mysterious door in the jungle..."
By the time you are finished helping Fola with the reagents, you have accumulated a surplus. "Here, take these healing potions. There will be plenty once we have depleted these."
--Later--
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 signs while speaking aloud, “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?”
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Quickblade looks up upon hearing a familiar name, dropping what appears to be a vial of liquid on the ground, which promptly shatters, to Urwal's annoyance. Turning to face the source of the sound, he spies a gnome with a strange mop of hair on his head in the process of changing color.
"Makai's Son? Did I hear that right? I knew of a dwarf named Makai. Are you related?"
Realizing that he may have just insulted the gnome by calling him the offspring of a dwarf, Quickblade flushes with embarrassment. "I-I-I apologize! I meant no offense! I could not help but remember a dwarf of that name who I adventured with some time ago."
"Quickblade Trueshot, at your service. I am from the woods around Absalom."
Quickblade is a tall man, his skin bronzed from a life spent in the outdoors. A quiver of crossbow bolts hangs at his side, though his pack and crossbow sit in the corner of the tent, along with his sword belt, upon which hang two swords.
"Thank you. It is good to see our maps are--," Venture-Captain Torrsen begins say as Quickblade confirms the locations on the map to the half-orc. The ranger also points out a few obscure errors. "Good catch, Quickblade! I doubt I ever would have found that!"
---Later---
Horizon Hunters faction leader Calisro Benarry waves the 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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Following Calisro's suggestion, Laeron tries tp cheer up the newer Pathfinders. He tells the story of his coming to the Pathfinder society.
"As a young person, I was abducted...a captive of duergar. Some chaps calling themselves the Liberty's Edge rescued me and adopted me. I've grown up around the Pathfinder Society, and let me tell you, there is nothing a dedicated group of Pathfinders can accomplish."
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"Shut your beak!" almost yells gnome to a tall man. Seeing an odd look from Torrsen he says "It was not to you, it was a long journey, and I am tired, and annoyed. And some of the others are equally annoyed."
He goes towards the next trial and listens to Calisro Benarry
"Sure I can give them a spiel. Good that I am not that fresh, and I am great at handling my emotions."
He jumps on a crate and addresses the scared ones
"Listen up! We are here on a very important mission, it may lack some of the luxuries of the big city, good food, great accommodations, gambling dens... You know what I mean, but that will not stop us from doing what we came here to do! You are pathfinders and you will do your job!"
He jumps down from the crate and asks Calisro "Why are we here again? I am just told to carry crates, check the maps etc. But no one told me what do we want to accomplish."
Whatever their thoughts on any individual interaction, after some time it is clear that the less experienced--even less experienced than any of you--Pathfinders are beginning to relax.
---Later---
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.”
Anschluss and Nant make some progress with the repairs. "Appreciate the help!" Khoumrock says. "Grab yourself an arrow or bolt from the cold iron stock."
---Later---
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.”
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"A song? Good idea, Needlework!" Nant says, suddenly, unprompted. Needlework's head turn towards its master, as if to indicate puzzlement.
Without further ado or warning, puppetmaster Nant starts singing, in a fashion typical of goblins: loudly, and irritatingly out of tempo:
"Goblins stitch and goblins sew
Goblins' progress, quite slow
But don't call us dumb
Anytime needles prick the thumb
'Cause goblins made a puppet
So you can kick the bucket!"
Laeron brings over a stack of musty books and spreads them out on the table. His prescient selection of books proves extremely illuminating to each of you on a variety of topics.
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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!”
A Pathfinder agent moves to your group and hands each of you a signal whistle. "Here you go."
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Ulrich looks at the lists of tasks with no better choice he nods his head on Enemy Forces, he takes out his kukri and takes few swings with it.
"Ok, we have some crown to open some gate. This will takes us to the new place. For safety, they gave us whistles. Sounds good to me" says the gnome looking at the small device.
"“Things are not what they seem!” cries Urwal as he crawls out from under a giant toadstool. “The tree, the rock, the bird, even the ground! Constant vigilance is needed!”
As if summoned by the iruxi's warning, mud puddles along the stream rise up in anthropomorphic forms and begin to shamble toward you. The ground around them seems to ripple and seep with agitated mud. One of the elementals reaches Anschluss and swipes at him with a muddy tendril. The wet dirt slams into the kayal's head harder than he expected.
Encounter! Round 1. Bold may act.
Mudwretch Red
Mudwretch Blue
Ulrich
Spear Frog Green
Anschluss (-12 hp)
Nant
Spear Frog Yellow
Quickblade
Laeron
Bosh
The ground around the mudwretch becomes incredibly wet and boggy. Ulrich's feet stick in the mud, slowing him down . The gnome strikes at the muddy elemental, which he remembers little about, and scores a line through the mud .
A tiny and colorful frog hops onto the rocky ledge next to Quickblade.
Encounter! Round 1. Bold may act.
Mudwretch Red (-6 hp; 10 ft difficult terrain aura)
Mudwretch Blue (10 ft difficult terrain aura)
Ulrich
Spear Frog Green
Anschluss (-12 hp)
Nant
Spear Frog Yellow
Quickblade
Laeron
Bosh
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The goblin puppetmaster doesn't seem bothered by the enemy, muddy and off-putting as they may seem. "Too bad for you! I'm not afraid to get my toys dirty!" he cackles, and points his marionette control bar towards the distant mud monster, as instructed by Ulrich. Upon doing so, the needle-pierced puppet immediately moves in that direction, as if pulled by invisible strings.
The puppet moves, or is moved, to stand next to the mud monster. "Hello," Needlework greets its enemy, and then punches it.
"Can you understand me?" the puppet asks in a pondering tone, as if it hadn't just assaulted the monster.
Nant sends his puppet to engage the elemental sloshing its way toward the group from the other side. The puppet's fist collides with wet but solid mud. Meanwhile, Anschluss takes advantage of Ulrich's advice and strikes at the first elemental. The spiked chain wraps around the muddy creature's leg. The kayal yanks the chain back in what would cause a terrible wound in most living creatures, but the mud flows over the rent. The elemental seems less bothered than expected .
Another tiny frog hops into the fray. Why? Only the fey know.
Encounter! Round 1. Bold may act.
Mudwretch Red (-11 hp; 10 ft difficult terrain aura)
Mudwretch Blue (10 ft difficult terrain aura)
Ulrich
Spear Frog Green
Anschluss (-12 hp)
Nant
Spear Frog Yellow
Quickblade
Laeron
Bosh
Laeron's sword glances off of the slick mud coating the dense dirt within. So too does Quickblade's quarrel.
The muddy elemental slogs around Laeron, at act against which the fighter might take advantage, and opens its mouth unnaturally wide. A raging torrent of mud gushes over the Pathfinders, rushing into their ear holes, nose holes, and every nook and cranny on their armor. It is an unpleasant and painful experience.
The other elemental slams its fist at the puppet. The muddy fingers stretch and flow around the puppet, grabbing hold of it and crushing it within the elemental's grasp.
Encounter! Round 2. Bold may act.
Mudwretch Red (-11 hp; 10 ft difficult terrain aura)
Mudwretch Blue (10 ft difficult terrain aura; grabbing puppet)
Bosch
Ulrich (Basic Reflex DC 18 vs. 8 bludgeoning)
Spear Frog Green
Anschluss (-12 hp) (Basic Reflex DC 18 vs. 8 bludgeoning)
Nant (-9 hp & Basic Fortitude DC 18 vs. 8 bludgeoning)
> Puppet (grabbed)
Spear Frog Yellow
Quickblade
Laeron (Basic Reflex DC 18 vs. 8 bludgeoning)
You're held in place by another creature, giving you the flat-footed and immobilized conditions. If you attempt a manipulate action while grabbed, you must succeed at a DC 5 flat check or it is lost; roll the check after spending the action, but before any effects are applied.