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"Hmmm, that's interesting" mutters Thaelen "While the walls of this cavern cosmetically look natural, I think this cave was created using magical stone shaping. There's a few tell tail signs scattered around, but it’s still impressive."
Heading over to the desk he looks at the paper's but is unable to fathom the ciphers.
"The ciphers are beyond me as well, although I'm guessing this must be Eylysia's hidden repository of information. I agree we should probably take it back for further study. I'm intrigued to know what secrets are hidden here and why Eylysia wanted to hide it."
You realize that the gem is not magical.
Again, you are discussing and standing in a silent room that looks like it was not touched for ages.
Perception
Initiative
Suddenly, Orenjii, Thaelen, Kalak and Twitchy hear footsteps that are approaching fast.
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Thaelen drinks his extract of shield and takes a 5 foot step.
Initiative
Tani
Human with greatclub
Kalak
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer
Twitchy
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
The flames that Tani creates burn the human brute and the elven archer although the human can dodge partially!
"Arghhh!!! I will kill you little one! You will stop spreading lies!" he shouts with pain in his voice.
The human has rage in his eyes and with his large greatclub moves and hits Tani so hard hat her jaw shatters and she almost falls to the ground.
~
Initiative
Tani, -13, staggered
Human with greatclub, -4
Kalak
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer, -8
Twitchy
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
The dwarven woman touches her elven companion.
"May the shroud cover your pain!" she says softly.
You see the elven archer shoot an arrow at Orenjii but misses because he faces cover!
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Thaelen concurs with Orenjii and Kalak, the tunnel is not a good place for the party to be engaging the enemy and they should look to draw the enemy into the cave to make better use of their superior numbers. He had been hoping to move up behind Orenjii to help fend of the attackers using his spears reach to cover his allies while they withdrew back to the cave. But with that no longer an option starts casting around for other ideas.
Turning to his remaining companions in the cave he says "If you form a line here level with Kalak, or behind him, I'll try and buy some time for the others to fall back to here."
He then moves forward "Everyone withdraw back behind Kalak if you can, I'll cover you."
Finally turning his attention on the gentleman with the club, Thaelen uses his telepathic powers to try and temporarily confuse him.
The human barbarian resists the telepathic assault.
Twitchy misses the dwarf because of cover!
Tani is now in front of the brute!
Initiative
Tani, -3
Human with greatclub, -4
Kalak
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer, -4
Twitchy
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
The human has rage in his eyes and with his large greatclub moves and hits Twitchy and knocks the ratfolk out.
~
Initiative
Tani, -3
Human with greatclub, -4
Kalak
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer, -4
Twitchy, -19, stabilization roll please
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
Orenjii can heal the little ratfolk who is staggered and awake on the ground.
Kalak moves forward but only hits the wall!
~
You see that the dwarf moves forward and heals the brute.
~
Initiative
Tani, -3
Human with greatclub, -1
Kalak
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer, -4
Twitchy, -11, staggered, prone
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
You almost have the feeling that space and time start to distort.
Kalak's movements begin to change and his weapon shatters the brute's ribcage and he falls to the ground bleeding.
Also the dwarf's healing does not wake him up!
~
Initiative
Tani, -3
Human with greatclub, -17, prone, stable
Kalak
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer, -4
Twitchy, -11, staggered, prone
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
You see the elven archer move and shoot an arrow at Kalak and the arrow pierces his chest!
The card slashes the elf!
~
Initiative
Tani, -3
Human with greatclub, -17, prone, stable
Kalak, -5
Orenjii
Dwarf with shortsword
Evin
Elven Archer, -7
Twitchy, -11, staggered, prone
Thaelen
BOLD is up!
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Kalak steps forward, onto the downed human, gaining purchase on the man's abdomen with his boot. The Shoanti continued, the fury of the Storval Plateau continuing to build in his arms, and evident on his brow. Wordlessly he continues to scream at the dwarf, implacably advancing into the enemies, and providing some cover for Twitchy to crawl to safety.
Kalak hits the dwarf so hard that her body is lifted and hits the ceiling and then drops to the ground bleeding.
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Thaelen, a little disappointed that this fight had not afforded him the opportunity to demonstrate his martial prowess, decides he’s going to have to use his weaker backup weapon if he wants to get involved. Advancing on the archer, he uses the threat of his spear to distract his opponent, before slipping inside and attempting to deliver a solid hook at the elf’s chin using his cestus.
Thaelen‘s chestus sinks deeply into the elf’s chest and his unconscious forms sinks to the ground.
After examining the fallen you notice that they are all still alive but will surely die if they are not stabilized.
During the examination you find two symbols that all of the attackers were carrying with them.
The first symbol is the holy symbol of Norgorber. He is the only evil god amongst the Ascended. He is known as a Taldan deity of thievery and assassination, as well as a keeper of secrets. He is called the 'Reaper of Reputation' by some, but has more insidious titles among his other worshipers. He remains an enigma to most, and his true motives are unknown. Many of his own followers remain ignorant of his plans and designs.
The symbol belongs to an organization called the Harbingers, which was founded around the Book of One Thousand Whispers and that are dedicated to bringing about the promised Age of Glory by making the prophecies from the ancient Book of 1,000 Whispers come true.
The Book of 1,000 Whispers is a book of prophecy used as a guidebook by the Harbingers of Fate in Absalom. This book predicts events happening between the years of 4604 AR and 4714 AR. Unfortunately for the Harbingers, many of the remaining prophecies make no sense.
Additionally, the dwarf had a written note that unfortunately is written in a strange code.
The note details that the Harbingers want to attempt to make the recorded prophecies within The Book of 1,000 Whispers come true so as to set the world right after the death of the god Aroden. The group has come to the Shrine of the Failed in search of unattended items that fulfill more of the book’s strange conditions, but they have heard of the investigation of the Pathfinders and as their mission is in direct violation of the Harbingers’ mission they are to attack the Pathfindes and try to kill them to ensure the Pathfinders don’t interfere with the foretold omens.
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Kalak breathes out hard, placing his earthbreaker down and turning to help Twitchy to their feet, Are you alright? Does anyone possess the means to heal our injuries? I worry about Twitchy should we come face to face with another foe. he winces some as blood trickles from the arrow injury he sustained.
Seeing the others looking through the possessions of the fallen bandits, he asks, Did you find any clues on them? I am sorry, nothing there means anything to me. He then spends a few minutes binding the fallen foes hands with their belts, but doesn't do anything to stem the blood loss they seem to be suffering. Should we bandage them and bring them to the authorities, or leave them to dust here in this strange place?
In the next weeks you receive a lot of attention as the news about your discovery spreads!
Several Venture-Captains from near and far send you their regards.
* * *
The Wounded Wisp staff is still flabbergasted about your discovery and has received some funding from the society with which they intend to repair the disgrace in their cellar.
You now also enjoy Heryn's gratitude which means that the first drink is always on the house! You can take cooking lessons in the Wisp whenever you want.
And of course you can be sure that several agents in the Wounded Wisp will never forget you and the events of that night.
--------------------------
After about a month you receive a summons to gather in the Grand Lodge as Dreng wants to give you a thorough debrief on this mission.
When you arrive in the meeting room you are all together again but Dreng is not there, yet.
You save your attackers' lives and learn that they were Harbingers that wanted to kill you because some of the Harbinders' crude prophecies could have been invalidated by Eylysia’s cache.
After surviving the ambush, you are able to leave the Shrine of the Failed after some explanations to the city guard who take the three Harbingers into custody.
The crowd gathered around the Starstone Cathedral has disbanded, and many of the locals are still horrified following Sir Reinhart’s attempt to vault the chasm on horseback, which ended with a fall into oblivion.
You deliver Eylysia’s cache to the Grand Lodge. Drandle Dreng personally thanks you for your successful investigation, indicating his interest in your future careers as Pathfinders.
He speaks with each one of you and should you not have completed your confirmation, the venture-captain promises to speak with Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine to have the process expedited.
Dreng promises that those who have already completed their Confirmation will receive further assignments soon.
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Orenjii is very excited about the trove of information located within the Shrine of the Failed. They volunteer to return to the site to help catalog and transport the information to the Grand Lodge.
Meeting up with the team for the post-mortem, they are significantly more relaxed. They read harrow cards for anyone who is interested, finding some measure of good fortune for each agent. You even catch them using a contraction! They thank you for your assistance during the search and hope they will see you on future missions.
* * *
A little female gnome comes in again and says with a sigh "So sorry, but Dreng is not able to join you again! But Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin will be here shortly! You guys have become popular?! Hee?" she says with a little bit of jealousy in her voice.
She leaves again slamming the door.
little female gnome comes in again and says with a sigh "So sorry, but Dreng is not able to join you again! But Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin will be here shortly! You guys have become popular?! Hee?" she says with a little bit of jealousy in her voice.
She leaves again slamming the door.
After about ten minutes Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin's enters the room. He looks at you with a keen interest.
"Your recent investigations and recovery of agent Eylysia’s papers have already yielded results. Under my direction, a team of scholars has tracked down the long-retired Society ciphers the gnome used and translated many of her entries. Although many of these records present valuable leads, one is especially timely and exciting.
Several months ago, the Pathfinder Society recovered an incomplete relic called the Sky Key. Its missing components disappeared millennia ago, carried by dwarven refugees to the far corners of Avistan and beyond, and the Society has struggled to follow these faint trails to piece the potent device back together. It appears Eylysia may have found one of the pieces centuries ago!
She writes of a visit to Tar Kuata in Osirion, where she not only met with the Iroran devotees there, but also the curious order of dwarven monks known as the Ouat. According to her journals, some of the resident dwarves’ ancestors arrived long ago from the distant north bearing a broken treasure of wire and steel. Based on additional context and several magical divinations, I have reason to believe Eylysia—and you—may have found one of the lost pieces of the Sky Key!
We need to make diplomatic contact to the Ouat which will take months. But as soon as I am contacted by Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir in Sothis to prepare for an expedition I will potentially contact you.
Until then I wish you all the best on your future missions!"
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Kalak accepts the praise and thanks of the Venture Captains, and returns to the Wounded Wisp to meet others and learn their tales. I have been on this island too long, he says, gesturing about Absalom, I yearn for a chance to be part of the wider Society, and see more places while we study about many things. he smiles at Ambrus, Thank you again for the opportunity!