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Fran manages to focus enough and sends her hardbound copy of Curses for Dummies into Aslynn's head. She dissolves into shadowstuff.
The door suddenly bangs open and Zarta Dralneen rushes into the vault along with Society leaders Ambrus Valsin, Eando Kline, Eliza Petulengro, Fola Barun, and Calisro Benarry. They look ready to fight, and they're quite impressed by your handling of the situation.
"What happened here?!" Zarta demands.
As the Society leaders gather reports from you, a familiar figure follows them into the vault.
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"Um...well..."
Fran looks around at the progress they've made in cataloging but also the mess they've made in the process of fighting for their lives, more than once.
"It's sort of a long story b-but the short version is that a hag named Aslynn appeared...well, sort of. More like a...shadowy projection of her? But it still had the power to kill," she shudders. "She seemed interested in some of the items we were sorting through and promised future trouble..."
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"Aslynn has terrible fashion sense." Bella's boots sag, soaked in skunk and rat remains. "And her horns are fake."
She moves toward Roark. "You missed quite a show, Mister Thunderbird. The hag was hellbent on finding... some kind of treasure from here. Mister Glovely and Mister Biglock are under some kind of compulsion from her, but magic is meant to be broken."
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Stitch wipes a sweat soaked brow when the hag disappears in a puff of smoke, just like the skunks did "Whew, I thought for sure we were going to the scrap yard in the sky." He pounds in celebration on Meat Wagon's dash with a grin, quickly reconsidering his actions, wiping the grease and blood off with his elbow.
"Eh Feathers, welcome back from your 'vacation', hope your perch had a great view, and the worms were thick n juicy!" He grins out of the sides of his beard.
Finally he turns to the VCs that crashed their party "We finally were about to get some peace and quiet to go through this list of stuff and you bust the door in!" He tugs the flaps of his coveralls closed, hoping they don't notice the magical breast plate.
He nods in agreement with Fran and Bella, adding in "You also got quite a rat infestation, less than about an hour ago but still, scared the begeezus out of Rain over there." He points to the face down fungus in a pool of urine.
"Eh Nicky? You kinda look a bit pale, think you should get those rat bites looked at. Buy me a drink and I'll see what I can't do?"
Success: You grant the creature a +2 circumstance bonus to its next saving throw against the disease.
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Roark looks skeptical at Bella's tale.
"Really? I think you all dreamt it up to make me jealous or something."
Roark flips his tail at Stitch. "My feathers have all regrown, no thanks to you! But the beetles I had in the Land of the Linnorm Kings were delish." He pointedly ignores all reference to the 'perch'.
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Zarta turns the chalice over multiple times, trying to see if she can get any of the magic liquid to appear. When everyone has finally gathered for the debrief, she says, "Well, I'm still not sure what this is, but all your reports are consistent. It's obviously a central piece of Aslynn's plan. In a way, it's a good thing that shard of her mind infiltrated our vaults, as it's allowed us to understand a few things we might have otherwise missed! I wish we could've learned about this without putting your lives in danger, and for that, I apologize. I hope you're ready for more adventures. We've just scratched the surface of the vault's contents, and we need to act fast to learn more about some of these items. One thing is certain: we can't leave everything here and wait around for Aslynn to strike again."
The faction leaders quickly fall into a heated discussion over the best approach to the items—it's clear that they don't see eye to eye, but they all agree that they'll need to work together for the sake of the Society's future! While the Society's leaders argue, Biglock gives you a smug grin. "Nice work. Hey—Zarta is pretty great. She says Mr. Glovely and I don't have to stick around this dusty vault! Don't worry, though. We'll be in touch. I've got a few schemes in mind. When I'm done making arrangements, Mr. Glovely will come calling!"
Thanks for playing all!
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The assumption is that you're cured of diseases between adventures unless it's something permanent...
"Beetles, not worms huh. Crunchy texture could be better but both sound pretty nasty. I'll stick to burgers and sammiches."
Stitch spends the next pile of days making little toy versions of Meat Wagon to sell off for a little side money.
A human and faun are practicing their steps. A short hop here, a controlled lunge there, and they finish off by locking arms and dancing in a circle. They laugh before taking a seat.
The human woman regains her composure: every motion is controlled to maintain a polite pose that demands respect. On her purple stained leather armor, you notice a faint pattern of a rose on her torso. She hears the gnome, takes a longer moment to look at the cauldron, and is about to turn to her water when the faun slams the table.
"Hi Clover! I'm Khiari." She gets up and squats over. Underneath her leafy blouse you notice the fur on her torso also has the same rose pattern. "I'll get a bowl for my sister Bella. She's bad with introductions, unless we're at a formal ball. I love your hair."
"Oh! Hello cauldron. What's your name?" She turns to the cauldron and waits patiently before turning back to Clover. "Can your friend speak? Some of our assistants said they couldn't even move back when they were cursed. It was awful..."
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A greasy balding Dwarf pokes his head out from under a strange looking wagon at the sounds of the Gnome Looking for Pathfinders? She doesn't look like the thug's he'd send... With some grunts and groans he crawls out and sniffs his way over towards the cauldron "What kinda soup.. a Steeltoe never turns down a free lunch."
He offers up a grimy handshake "Name's Stitch." He gives her a slow look up and down, almost like an evaluation. "Is that hair real or you get some implants? I can do that, just in case you're wondering.." He scratches his chin, picturing her in even longer, thicker hair dragging to the ground.
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A thin young woman sits peering at a book, a large black cat curled up on her lap. You can see that she's dressed rather plainly in a set of worn but clean explorer's clothes and has a backpack sitting at her feet. Hanging from her belt are a number of weapons: a dagger in a sheath, a light mace, and a sickle. None of the weapons look as though they've seen much use. As Clover walks up to introduce herself, woman and cat both cease their studying and napping to look up.
"U-um, hi! Hello! You're in the right place, we're Pathfinders," she smiles, snapping the book shut. The cat rises, stretches, and hops down. "I g-guess you're a Pathfinder too, right? Um, and wow, that soup smells delicious..."
She smiles; it's a shy but friendly smile. "I'll take a bowl too, p-please. I'm Fran and this is my kitty, Mister Midnight."
Ambrus Valsin enters the room. Seeing you all in a group, he smiles broadly and approaches you. “Ah, good! Just what I was looking for! Some agents with experience just waiting for an assignment.”
He reaches into the bag at his hip and pulls out two courier satchels. He checks the labels on both before holding them out to you.
He says “I need someone to do some deliveries for me. The first satchel goes to Captain Sorranda Forgeheart in Starrise Spire, Neosyan. The second goes to Sigvor Yovenovich, a priestess of Pharasma. As I understand it, she is in Riba, a town in Irrisen. She should have a like sized package for you to bring back to me.”
He then brings out a small purse and puts some coins in it. “Here is some money to cover basic travel expenses. I need a group that can survive the travel and you should be experienced enough.”
Each of the satchels has label with the name of the person and the location.
“Feel free to spend the rest of the day planning your trip, I expect you to leave by tomorrow. If you don’t have them already, get warm clothing. Irrisen is never warm.”
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Bella finishes eating her cereal as the Venture-Captain delivers some orders. "What will happen after we deliver these? I suppose they will need something else once we get there?"
She finally looks at Clover and does a short bow. "I am of House Sidare, given name Bella. This is my sister, Khiari. And both of us will have to purchase some >Winter Clothing<. If you do not have them, you should purchase them sooner rather than later."
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Nicole arrives fresh and positive. The arrival of another agent catches her attention, in which she actively goes in her direction and quickly gives a courteous bow before introducing herself. But before she could tell her name, she is amazed at how the sorceress in front of her, evident with her mouth gaping. "Wow. Like wow. I have never seen an aasimar before. You are like, burning? Are you alright?" she asks. "Oh, sorry, I'm Nicole by the way," she adds and offers a hand to shake but quickly pulls it back, thinking she might get burned. "Oops, sorry."
And peeking behind the aasimar, Nicole finds a walking cauldron and sits next to it, observing the contents brewing on it. "Wow. Is this edible? It makes me hungry." she refers to the soup on the cauldron.
The arrival of Ambrus Valsin though prompts her to stand up and bow at the venture-captain. She then turns to Bella to inquire, "Is it really that cold to Irrisen, never been in that place either, might as well I buy winter clothing for myself too." She pulls some coins out of her pocket to buy the clothing before they head out to their destination.
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Road trip? Sounds like easy money.
Stitch listens on as Valsin describes the very vague and basic mission, cringing a bit when the others talk about another entire wardrobe for cold weather. But I just cashed out on these fancy new glasses and armor... maybe if I ask nicely I can get a low interest loan, NOT from Feathers.
He ponders how much he knows about where these locations are, and any other relevant info.
While they're out shopping Stitch discreetly asks Bella for a short term loan, her high society background should provide deeper pockets?
"Umm, I know its bad form to ask colleagues for a loan, but I just blew my bank between missions and am running a bit short for warm clothes.. could you spot me til the next payout?" He wrings his hands nervously.
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Mister Steeltoe approaches Bella with an unexpected amount of candor and politeness. He's usually so... uncouth.
Khiari is about to protest when Bella pulls out her purse, modeled after a sheep's head. She pulls out 4 pieces of silver and hands it to him. "I don't know what spotting is, but no one should freeze."
The group reviews what they know about Neosyan and the Starrise Spire and Riba.
Neosyan is the capital of Mendev and is strategically located at the juncture of the West Sellen River and the Egalsee River. The city gets its water from the Egalsee River as the West Sellen flows along the border of Sarkoris and is still tainted by the worldwound.
It played a major role in the crusader effort in Mendev against the Worldwound and continues to be a safe haven as people try to restore Sarakos. The sealing of the Worldwound did not eliminate the demons already on Golarion, and Mendev remains crucial as a staging ground for holy champions who have pledged to fight until the last fiend has been driven out.
The city is laid out in a diamond pattern between the two rivers in order to maximize their defensive potential. The outer walls are topped with crenelations and dozens of towers, ensuring that the defenders can pour fire into any attacking force. The top of the walls are covered in sloped roofs cut with arrow slits, which allow the defenders to ward off flying horrors. At the center of the city sits the Cruciform Cathedral, which allows the defenders to easily sally out to any part of the city.
Chancellor Irahai was appointed to oversee Mendev by Queen Galfry when she abdicated in order to step forward to become Iomedae's new herald.
There are mentions of the climate being cold, but you realize most of those accounts are coming from people who traveled from the south into Mendev. Asking around the lodge, you quickly discover that Irrisen is much colder.
Starrise Spire is in the Confluence District of Nerosyan. Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury continues to oversee it. It has a commanding view of the Sarkoris Scar—formerly the Worldwound—and of Nerosyan.
The first and most obvious identifying feature of the Spire is a powerful burst of celestial sunlight pouring from the top of the tower. Legend states that as long as one guard remains within to stand against evil, the light will never fade.
Queen Galfrey granted the Society use of the Starrise Spire so long as a crusade was active in Mendev and so long as the Society kept sufficient numbers stationed there to keep the tower's light strong. Now that the crusade has ended, the Society's right to continue occupying such a prestigious landmark became tentative at best. Jorsal works to keep the Society integral in the cleansing of the Sarkoris Scar and the restoration of displaced Sarkorians while attempting to build a relationship with Chancellor Irahai; he hopes that by doing so she'll allow the Pathfinders to remain in Starrise Spire without having to pay taxes or rent.
With the Fifth Crusade complete, many are still trying to determine where they fit in Mendev society.
Although you can find a fair amount of information about Irrisen, you find little about Riba other than a location on the map. The town of Riba sits on the eastern banks of the Marbleflow, facilitating the traffic of goods up the river to Glacier Lake. Many of the town's residents are followers of Pharasma.
Irrisen is a nation that Baba Yaga stole away from the Linnorm Kingdoms. It was ruled by her daughters — all of them winter witches — for fourteen generations until recently when Elvanna betrayed and trapped Baba Yaga. This did not end well for the daughter, Baba Yaga was freed and there are only rumors of what happened to the daughter. Today, for the first time since its founding, Irrisen is ruled by someone other than a winter witch. It is said that the young Queen Anastasia is an exile of the same world her ancient grandmother Baba Yaga hailed from.
Your travel to Nerosyan is uneventful. The weather in Mendev is pleasantly cool during the day, just barely dipping below freezing at night.
You find the dwarven mercenary captain Sorranda Forgeheart looking over postings on a mercenary job board. It looks like she may have a bit of outsider in her bloodline. She is looking over the board and taking a few notes.
You exchange introductions and give her the satchel. “Ah, been waiting for this.” She hefts the package and then puts it in her pack. “Thank Zarta for me next time you see her.”
Well, at least now you know who wanted the package delivered here.
“If you are getting short of coin, some of these postings are new.” she says, gesturing towards the board. “Think me and my company will be taking this one.” She grabs one requesting help to track down a bear that is suspected of being tainted by demons which has attacked travelers recently.
Looking over the board, you find one that might be interesting. It is posted by someone named Castor Lebris and seems like a fairly simple request. Go to the ruins of a town and search for something there. The posting gives the address of an office in town.
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Clover is impressed with all the recent history that her friends remember, and she takes careful notes. To Khiari she confides, "My cauldron doesn't talk, but I call him 'Mr. Potbelly'. He's great at keeping soup hot while we're on the road." The first batch of soup that she serves up is a nice clam chowder, but she varies the menu as the group travels, adding delicious ingredients found along the way. There are mushroom soups, chicken noodle, a curried stew, and even some beer cheese soup that she serves with some bread from a local bakery. "This soup was very popular at the Gold Falls Inn where I worked while learning how to become a Pathfinder."
When they reach town and look at the Bounty Board, Clover speaks up. "Let's go find this Castor Lebris and find out more details about this job."
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Stitch keeps the set of winter clothes in his backpack until its just too damn cold to not wear them. Its not often he gets new clothes, they aren't high on his list of priorities, unlike mechanical work, scoring free drinks at happy hour, and jotting down ideas for new inventions.
Along the road he rides on top of Meat Wagon, his pride and joy. Something of a cross between a standard wooden wagon but powered by a smokey contraption fueled by coal, flammable liquids, and steam. The front bumper is heavily augmented with iron rods and bolts with a gore covered set of sickle blades mounted underneath.
"So, what's the soup of the day Clover? Do you pick them willy nilly or run a tight schedule?" He leans over from on top of the wagon, always trying to get a closer look at Mr Pot Belly, curious how it works exactly.. and what's inside for grub.
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At the job board Stitch nods in agreement "The sooner we pick up some extra work the better. They have a saying about inventors: If you aren't retired your broke, and if you're broke you better keep working!" Telling jokes aren't his strong suit.
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"Mister Pot-belly?" Bella pauses long enough for Khiari to start chuckling. Bella falls to one knee, a greeting she developed for some of her shorter guests. "Well met, Mister Potbelly. My apologies for not greeting you earlier. Our assistants at the manor were cursed quite some time ago, and many of them lost the ability to communicate."
"Off to Nerosyan!" Bella declares proudly.
During the trip Bella and Khiari make impromptu plays, skits and anecdotes. Some are about a rabbit that can't stop running. Another involves the folly of a foppish nobleman Bella assures is completely fictional. Khiari relates her findings about various nations and cities she has visited recently, along with Bella's retorts about the "real" situation.
The delivery isn't too difficult- Bella finds herself almost bored. But an opportunity presents itself. "I agree. I wonder how much detail Castor Lebris is hiding."
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Khiari dons her fur-lined robes and ties the cloth belt around her waist. It's a light purple that matches the stains on Bella's leather armor. Rose motifs glow faintly across the robe, particularly near the torso.
"Man, this is itchy..." She scratches her arm. "How do you deal with all of this animal hair?" She scratches the other arm. Then she adjusts the lower part so it stops rubbing against her furry legs. "It's warm, don't get me wrong. But it's everywhere!"
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"Can I join in on your performances, Bella?" Clover asks. "All the wait staff at the Gold Falls Inn doubled as performers. I can sing, dance, whatever you need for your plays." To Stitch she notes, "I've collected some nettles along the way so we can have a vibrant green nettle soup - it's a bit spicy, but totally edible and delicious, or we could do a chili from my stores."
"I keep lots of non-perishables in Big Truffle's saddlebags, so we can have lots of variety. I don't have a set schedule, since I like using fresh ingredients gathered along the way, but I do try to vary the type of soups I serve so that no one gets sick of it."
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"So you're telling me you take extra food with you on that badger there.. gather up goodies along the roadside.. dance, sing, and come up with recipes on the fly?" He looks pretty impressed, and honestly a bit jealous "Where you been all our lives?!?" He digs out a beat up tin, wipes the grime out with more grim before handing it down for a sample.
Better keep Scratch away from this one, he'll never let her go!
Your group finds the address given by the bounty. The sign outside reads Castor Lebris, architect.
Entering the office you see a number of blue prints for various buildings, defensive works, and a water mill framed on the walls. The lines are fine and clear, the writing impeccable. There is a male half-elf at a drawing table working on something and a young adult male halfling assistant that immediately comes over to greet you.
“Hello, how may we help you today?” The assistant introduces himself as Sumak.
When you indicate you are here about the bounty, he nods and says “It will be just a moment and Mr. Lebris will meet with you.” You are invited to sit in a meeting room to the side. “May I offer you some tea or coffee?”
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It is just a short wait while Castor finishes something on the drawing he was working on as you entered.
After brief introductions and apologizing for keeping you waiting, he gets to the topic of the bounty itself.
“Have you heard of the settlement of Bulviss? It was a small hamlet near the border with the old Worldwound.” Castor sighs. “No, you probably haven't. It was wiped off the map by demons during the Fifth Mendevian Crusade, when the crusaders fought the demons. ”
“I want you to travel there and retrieve a deed that should be among the rubble. Mendevian law says you're entitled to whatever else you find, as the only others who may claim it are the villagers' next of kin. And since I'm the only next of kin that survived the town…” Castor trails off as his gaze drops to the table.
His expression is full of barely repressed grief. “My brother, Pellas, and I grew up in Bulviss. I'd acquired a valuable tract of land after settling here in the capital, but I sent the deed to him for safekeeping.”
“Now he's missing, and I don't know what happened to him.”
“My hope is that by scouring the town, you'll find clues about my brother's fate. You can't be less helpful than the crusaders, at least. Help me recover my deed and bring back information about my brother. Whatever else you find at Bulviss is yours to keep.”
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"You are welcome to join, Madame Nettlesoup. As well as Mister Pot-belly." Bella welcomes another member. "Time seems to melt away when you are entertained. Or entertaining!"
Bella looks at the many blueprints, sketches and drawings plastered on the wall. It reminded her of too many painters, claiming to burst with creativity yet unwilling to look beyond their home for inspiration. Stifling. Unfortunate.
Khiari quickly sips any coffee she can get her hands on.
Bella listens patiently, stifling her own grief. "We will of course do whatever it takes to find your brother, and the deed." Cloistered or not, it is her duty to help this architect.
Castor smiles and looks hopeful. He says “Thank you! Any information about my brother would be welcome.”
It seems Castor is quite frustrated by something having to do with this situation. Without known it anything about your group he seems eager or borderline desperate for more information.
He brings out a map showing where Bulviss is in relation to Neosyan and tells you what he knows of the attack. Demons crossed the border and broke the crusaders’ rear line. When the crusaders finally arrived in Bulviss, the demons fled without facing them. None of the population remained.
Being that close to the Worldwound, even a settlement like Bulviss should've had some kind of watch system. Though the grace period would've been small, they still should've gotten early warning about the demons approaching. The lack of apparent survivors or refugees implies that few people fled.
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Clover accepts a cup of tea, and offers some fresh nettle soup in return. "It's a bit spicy, but refeshing and delicious!"
As she stares at the map, she considers. "Being that close to the Worldwound, even a settlement like Bulviss should've had some kind of watch system. Though the grace period would've been small, they still should've gotten early warning about the demons approaching. The lack of apparent survivors or refugees implies that few people fled. Was your brother a military man?"
“Like me, my brother liked engineering. Where I focused on buildings, canals, and other community projects my brother preferred smaller mechanical systems. As a child he built an intricate mouse trap that was a marvel to look at.”
“I don’t think either of us would consider ourselves part of the military, but everyone able to is expected to do what they can to fight demons. That would include spreading a warning of any trouble detected.”
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Roark follows behind the group, staying out of Meat's exhaust and trying as best he could to shake the dust from his new clothes. Finally, he walks up to Clover, Bella and Khiari.
"Hiya again! Whatcha got for soup now? Oooh nettles! Never tried those but I've heard that they're good."
Roark hands his dish out to Clover to fill and enjoys the spicy soup.
"So do you expect anything to be left in Bulvis? I mean, How dya know it's still standin'?"
Roark's demeanor changes and he appears to sympathize with Castor. "I know how it is, not knowin'. But how you tell us everything and maybe we can help ya the best we can."
Castor describes his brother as best he can.
When asked to tell everything, he looks to Roark and says “I think that I have!”
“It has been tough getting any information. The crusaders are only interested in hunting demons. I did manage to convince them to do another patrol, but all they told me is there are no demons there. I’m not sure how much they even looked! They were the ones who told me to hire adventurers!”
“It has been a while now and with the Worldwound closed many of the adventurers have left town. I fear with the time that has passed there might not be any clues left!”
As he describes his efforts with the crusaders, it is obvious that this has frustrated him.
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Many things have happened since they left but Nicole is not much of a performer or even a cook. She supports their ways of having fun to keep the group from boredom. She gets along as they travel until they get to help a certain Castor.
She is not sure how to console the guy for what happened to them. "We will help to look for the deed. I just wish there are no more demons there." she seems frightened.
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Khiari is much too interested in what Roark's doing. "Do you feel itchy from this winter clothing?" She scratches her arm. "Does it mess with your feathers?"
Bella notes Castor's position so carefully. Roark speaks up first. He is always so perceptive. Castor's desperation weighs on her, but she remains silent for now. If he's lying, she'll sniff out the truth.
"The Crusaders are sometimes blinded by their duty. It's too easy to forgot the entire reason for the Crusade: to protect the people. We will do what we can."
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"Coffee would be great" Stitch stays true to form: always accept the freebies. He wanders around the room a bit, admiring the sketches and schematics along the walls. He peers through his new lens, studying.
"You say something about mousetraps? So your brother was a crafter, very interesting." Stitch's interest just tripled, it was no longer just a side job, this one had promise!