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The visbaron, now in the guise of a porter carrying an old carpet, bifurcated from his path on the opposite sidewalk and followed the group inside the Venture-Captain's office, his left hand patting his Pathfinder Pouch twice to hide all its contents (including his bejeweled Wayfinder) in a pocket dimension, save for a few silvers and coppers.
There... no need to make anyone's job easier yes? hopefully this group isn't too jumpy and won't hold all this cloak and dagger against me...
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Soaring through the doorway is a bright peach gnome with a short-cropped shock of bright orange hair and pale green eyes. She alights on a chair that's much too big for her and settles in, swinging her legs freely with unbridled energy as she tilts her head to check if the sleeping man is really sleeping. An amused grin flashes across her face as she glances over at the other person in the room, followed immediately by an excited exclamation. "Zzorn?! OHMYGOSH! It's been so long! Since the Sun Orchid Scheme job, right? How are you?" She seems to have forgotten that someone is trying to sleep in here.
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A young man of Taldan descent darts into the room.
I'm not late, am I? My summons got misrouted to my brother...and vice versa...I'm Therin, servant of the Dawnflower..nice to meet you all. he says before droping his pack in the corner. His arur and shield carry the symbol of Sarenrae in addition to the one hanging from his neck. He sees the other Sarenite devotee and smiles warmly.
May the Dawnflower light your path, sister. I know this will be a successful mission now..
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Venture-Captain Esmayl ibn Qaradi sits behind his immaculately clean desk with his head in his hands. He sighs, takes a deep breath, and rises to address his assembled guests.
“Originally, I wasn’t planning on sending a team back out to the Zho Mountains. The risk of losing another team is, frankly, too high. If that weren’t enough of a reason, the Society’s assault on the Worldwound has left the lodge’s coffers much lighter — too light to fund another expedition into dangerous territory so soon. However, following some conversations with fellow agents, I am reminded that all Pathfinders must come home — no matter the cost, no matter the danger. The lessons of the Shadow Lodge still resonate.” He nods toward a Pathfinder who stands silently in the corner. “In fact, the recent disappearance in the Zho Mountains has brought a surge of monetary support from the onetime disciples of Grandmaster Torch. It was enough to finance your voyage here, and I would happily provide you the remainder if you succeed.”
The venture-captain takes a few steps toward a map of Qadira hanging from his wall.
“Six years ago, a team of Pathfinders received a map of an unexplored area in the Zho Mountains, and ever since they have stayed busy surveying the region and sending me updates. Until recently, they had uncovered only a few dozen small sites and a plethora of new plant and animal species, but their most recent update referenced a large illusory barrier. Since then we have not heard from them, and I believe they found something dangerous beyond”
“I ask that you use what notes I have on file to track down these agents and make sure they return safely. Investigating the nature of this illusory... field, barrier, shield... is secondary at best.” Esmayl pauses for a moment before continuing. “If you have any questions, I shall answer them as best I can, though most of what the Society knows about the mountains is in the logbooks of those agents.”
You may already know about the Zho Mountains and the surrounding terrain.
The Zho Mountains are the source of many tales and rumors in Qadira, and you may know more.
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"The two peaks...Zhonar and Zhobl. They last erupted a thousand years ago right? Any signs that they might still be active?" Catushlara asks from her seat. She answers Therin's words with a smile before continuing.
"I heard there are draconic and other monsters in the mountains aside from the usual feral beasts. Any clue on what they might be?"
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"Uh.. wuzzat?" the old man wakes with a start as the Venture-Captain begins his briefing. "Sleeping Sword! That's my style!"
The old man leans heavily on his scabbard as the briefing continues.
"Uh, who are the missing agents?" Sleeping Sword enquires when the VC invites questions. "Do you have descriptions?"
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A thin human woman with gray-tinged skin, short black hair and brown eyes wearing green traveling clothes, 2 wands on her left side, a backpack, amulet, bracers and a headband rushes in just as the Venture Captain starts speaking and grabs a seat.
"Sorry I'm late. My name is Indranna Grace the wizard." the young woman says a bit out of breath.
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Twitching in her seat like a child on a sugar rush, Pai pipes up, babbling a mile a minute: "Hi Indranna Grace the wizard! --OH YEAH! I wanna know their names too. And their descriptions. So we rescue the right people. Good call, Sleeping Sword guy! I'm Pai, by the way. --So. Just checking: Rescue mission first and foremost. Don't worry about anything else until we have taken care of that. But keep our eyes open and take notes along the way. And if we get the others out safely and feel like we can safely check out a few things on the way home, that's fine. Right?" It truly looks like she's about to zoom on out of the room before she gets her answer, but instead she grips the seat of her chair with both hands to hold herself in place.
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Esmayl responds directly to Catushlara “Orcs and giants, for sure... Sphinxes, Geniekin and Elementals... likely. If you are lucky, perhaps you will see a thunderbird or dragon. Not many people have been truly able to settle in those mountains. Those who try either never return or return badly hurt and scarred forever. Expect the worse in those mountains. And be wary of sandstorms on the way there.”
To the request about the agent's identities, the Pathfinder standing in the corner steps forward and speaks in a low, gravely voice. “The original Shadow Lodge was an underground resistance movement created by Grandmaster Torch and several co-conspirators who were unsatisfied with the detached attitude of the Decemvirate toward the common agent. Its mission quickly took a violent turn, and we were able to cleanse it of rogue elements with the Society’s help. Although Torch has since left us, many of us remain loyal to the lodge’s ideals: hold the higher-ups accountable, and assist the common Pathfinder when disaster strikes.”
"Here is our dossier with the information about the missing Pathfinders." he adds.
Kyra - Human Priest of Sarenrae
Lem - Halfling Bard
Amiri - Human Warrior
Ezren - Human Mage
Harsk - Dwarven Ranger
Merisiel - Elven "Specialist"
It includes visual illusory images of the agents so you will be able to identify them if needed.
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"Uh, you are a wizard?" Sleeping Sword asks Indranna. "If you please, take these wands. They hold a spell of mage armour. Please use them on me and anyone else amongst our party who has need. One of the wands is almost spent, the other is fully charged."
The old man looks seriously at the gathered pathfinders, almost like a father about to give bad news to children. "Before we set out, you must know this about me. My birth was cursed. Although the curse grants me power, it renders me vulnerable to the divine energies that ordinarily heal mortals. Instead, such energies may kill me. Negative energy restores my wounds, for I am dhampir, ancient-born."
Sleeping Sword shows the party a potion bottle, and another wand. The bottle is labelled in both Tien and Taldane: Sleeping Sword Only! DO NOT DRINK!
"Use these to heal me should I fall."
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Esmayl matches Pai's excitement. "The greatest sandstorms in the world, in fact. We call them Khamsin Storms and they have been known to last for days, and can bury citadels and caravans in their wake. Lucky for you this is not their season."
He turns to the rest of you. "These should come in handy." The venture captain lays out an array of items for your trip: a potion of remove curse, a potion of cure serious wounds, six potions of endure elements, and 2 doses of oil of taggit. There are also two letters, one addressed to Pai and the other to Catushlara and Sleeping Sword.
Arms spread, he backs away from his desk.
"As you have the mission specifics now, and our guest has procured horses, ponies and rations for your trip - I can only offer you my wishes for a safe journey and successful ventures."
The remaining agent grunts. "I'll be waiting outside with your mounts when you are ready to depart."
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The honorable Pai Shecks,
Time moves quickly in our favor in these days. Keep your eyes open for any opportunities to rally the oppressed or overthrow a tyrant.
Your Comrade in Arms,
Tamrin Credence
Greetings my friends,
Dangerous foes seek to envelop this world. The Silver Crusade must remain adamant in our ability to prevent any further atrocities, protect the weak, and ensure stability in the locations we travel to. Seek to uphold these virtues to the best of your abilities.
Ollysta Zadrian
Temple of the Shining Star, Absalom
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Once you have purchased any other supplies needed, the agent from before meets you, leading a dozen horses for loan, and bows deeply. "The Shadow Lodge offers its blessings of luck on the valiant mission you undertake. May the road rise for you."
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Your journey to the Zho Mountains is relatively uneventful (no sandstorms), and you reach the foothills in a less than a week.
However, the first Pathfinder team’s notes and maps provide an incomplete picture of the mountain range and its myriad pathways.
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"Ooo! I'll take a look!" Pai flies up into the air and zooms closer to check that tree, then comes zipping back. "Yup! Looks like it's the same tree! OOH! Do you need a bird's eye view? I can totally take the map up there and see how it matches the landscape and all that! Maybe add some notes where it's vague?"
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As the party makes the long overland trek, Sleeping Sword recalls another journey from his past...
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. How far I have travelled, since I stepped over the Crown of the World. How great a distance still to go. Empress of Heaven, light my way.
When, eventually, the group begins the search for the missing pathfinders in earnest, Sleeping Sword's instincts and superior senses prove useful.
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With the group's help, Catushlara is able to scope out the easiest path into the mountains. The trail winds around and over several of the lower peaks, gradually taking your intrepid group several dozen miles deeper into the Zho Mountains and several thousand feet higher in altitude. Signs of the first groups’ progress vanish as you enter an alpine meadow filled with scrub brush and dry grasses that cling to the thin soil. This arid, milelong mountain cove suddenly dead-ends. By all accounts, this is where the location should be...
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Catushlara and Therin are the first to discover the true nature of the illusion, eventually convincing the others of the effect.
With its illusory nature clear, much of the plant life gradually fades into transparent shadows, and the cliffs at the far end of the vale part to reveal a much larger valley beyond. In the distance, a large wall encircles a humble town of stone structures. An immense castle built of bronze bricks towers over the settlement from its perch just above the base of a nearby mountain. Two ifrit guards man the entrance gates and seem to have spotted your approach.
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"Whooooa!" Pai is thoroughly impressed by the illusion. The normally chatty gnome, who consistently flies a few feet off the ground so she's at eye level for taller people, is remarkably somber as she processes Sleeping Sword's observation. "No kidding. I hope they're not in the dungeon."
She shakes herself out of her reverie and gives a little huff. "Huh! Okay! Who's good at talking to people? I mean like, being diplomatic and stuff. I could talk folks's ears off but that doesn't seem to get me anywhere. But anyway, it looks like we can't just sneak around 'cause they saw us, so we might as well go talk to them, you know? At least let them know we mean no harm and all. But I probably shouldn't be the one to do it 'cause I think they'd get annoyed with me. And I babble when I'm nervous. Like, words keep falling out of my face and I have no idea I'm doing it. And..." She continues babbling about her babbling until someone interrupts her, at which point she claps a hand over her mouth and spends the next thirty or so seconds giggling at herself for being so oblivious while trying to pay attention to what everyone else is saying. It *mostly* works.
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"Zzorn?! OHMYGOSH! It's been so long! Since the Sun Orchid Scheme job, right? How are you?"
"What? HOW?! ah dammit... this disguise is THAT bad hey?..." says the large man, taking off his black wig and fake beard to reveal a close-cropped, clean shaven Ulfen male in his early forties. "Well met Pai! nice to see you again! I've been trying to work on those subtle skills ever since that Sun Orchid gambit. As you can see, it's a work in progress, but I did manage to acquire a few new tools in my spycraft arsenal! what have you been up to?"
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Zzorn had retouched his porter disguise since Pai's easy discovery, and now he would lean on it to help Cat look important to those guards.
Zzorn nods at how the magic of his ring incorporated some of the guards' local accents, noticing the new patterns in his illusory clothing's embroidery... he also notices his newfound geniekind flaming hair and beard... Nice touch! thinks Zzorn.
Approaching Cat with arms full of 'luggage' (greatswords and bucklers never looked as cumbersome and bulky, he thinks), Zzorn the Porter announces, "Will you require all your belongings in your room at the inn, Madame, or shall I ask our driver to keep some of them with the horses?"
A nondescript average-looking Ulfen man joins Zzorn, seemingly awaiting Catushlara's answer while holding some of the other party members' backpacks.
"No, Tellendrak The Third! I told you to wait with the horses! go, GO!!"
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One of the guards slides forward on the overlooking platform the moment you start to approach. He hails you in a scathing hissing language before trying a low gravely one with increasing frustration.
As Catushlara speaks, he nods with barely hidden contempt. "Speakers of Taldan, your arrival was no mere mistake as you were obviously determined to travel here through the wilderness. But we respect your resolve. You may enter this 'fascinating castle'. Secure lodgings in Crystalcrag, respect its curfew, and avoid causing trouble." The last words tinged with a laugh as they contemplate Zzorn's middling disguise.
The gates slowly crank open for you.
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Despite the ifrit at the gates, oreads still comprise the majority of Crystalcrag’s population. They are curious rather than shocked by your strange presence in their town, and they respectfully yet shyly observe you as you enter the town.
You sense a bit of activity that swells toward one of the buildings across the main plaza, past the towering crystalline statue of a proud warrior.
An aging oread with hair-thin cracks spiderwebbing his skin, approaches and welcomes you in passable Common spoken with a strong accent.
"Greetings travelers. I am Eurdan Stonemantle, remaining councilor of Crystalcrag. Please join me in the Council House where it is not so hot." He flashes a look at the guards manning the front gates in the distance. "Please. Join me and allow me to share news of other visitors to our town." He gestures to the large building behind him.
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Sleeping Sword bows slightly to the guards before entering. At least they did not see us as a threat.
"Councillor" the old man bows again. "May the light of the Empress of Heaven shine upon you. The ifrits mentioned a curfew. When does this take effect?"
Sleeping Sword falls in behind the Councillor and the more sociable pathfinders.
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Pai notices the glance that Eurdan Stonemantle flashes at the guards. Huh. She wonders if the ifrits are controlling the oreads, or if the councilor's annoyance is based on something less sinister.
"Oh, yes, thank you! We appreciate your welcome." She desperately wants to ask a question, but senses that it may be best if the ifrits don't hear it, and she knows that her voice tends to carry. Vibrating with tension, she flies along with the group to the Council House. Once inside and the doors have closed, before even looking around to see if the location is secure, her curiosity bursts out in a rush. "'Remaining councilor'? What happened to the others? And who were they?"
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"The curfew begins at nightfall, no one is allowed out without express approval of the night foreman."
Eurdan nods at your general graciousness, then retreats into the building, beckoning you to follow.
Once you have entered, he closes the door and sighs.
"You are not the first foreigners to reach our town. Others came before you, each carrying a strange compass badge. Now they find themselves as "guests" — you note the sarcasm — of Crystalcrag’s present ruler, Tygora. Their arrival had been a minor rallying point for us oreads, but my fellow councilor Koriath disappeared without a trace soon after the visitors’ abduction. And the other, Glaheri, disappeared for even questioning Tygora's ways when she first appeared a year ago."
His eyes close as he states the obvious.
"I suspect Tygora has all of them imprisoned. I don't know what to do. But I feel that your arrival must be a sign of hope.'
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The oread nods solemnly, eyes still shut. “Aye, Tygora Cinderfury, our city’s efreeti ruler, oversees all actions for the city with an iron fist, along with legions of efreet soldiers and other creatures of fire. I have no doubt she already knows you are here. You would not have been let in so easily otherwise.”
His eyes open again, driven by palpable fear.
"Your arrival is likely to cause more difficulties for me. It could even result in Tygora taking my life. The situation is complex, my people have grown accustomed to the efreet, even taking them in as family. Family is important to my people. It would take a great deal for us to sever those bonds. Yet, we still remember a time when we ruled ourselves." He adds wistfully.
"To be honest, I'm not sure if I should even be talking to you or speaking for my fellow oreads anymore. And I am no strategist, I don't know how to even begin."
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"Fear not Councillor. It is our lives to risk, not yours. If we are successful, then you won't need to fear anymore; if we fail, we'll likely be dead, but I doubt this ruler of yours will extend her wrath to her own people... always bad to murder your own tax base don't you think? You have our word that we will keep the subject of this meeting a secret. For all intents and purposes, this was a something about trade and your area of expertise. Which is what, exactly, should we have to fill in some questions in the fugure? we could also draft a contract between our 'adventuring company' and your trading name, if you wish..."