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The adventure begins in Nerosyan, the capital of Mendev and once–central command for the war against the demonic hordes that spilled out of the Worldwound. You are assumed to already be in the city when you answer a bounty posted by Castor Lebris. You meet with Castor, a male half-elf builder, at his architectural firm office, where he explains the details of the job.
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 his desk. 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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"I am truly sorry for your loss," says the tall slender woman at one end of the table. "Would you happen to know what kind of dangers we might find in Bulviss, though? Also if there is anything you need to tell us that might help, we ask you be honest with us. Since we will be the ones risking our lives for you, after all. By the way, I am called Kaitlyn, but you can call me Kat." Kat's voice is slightly musical. As she moves her head, you can see the slightly pointed tips of her ears peeking out from behind her golden hair.
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The light armored Tengu heard the monolog with saying a word himself. He simply had his right hand caressing the pummel of a shortsword. He could wait for an answer longer but something told him that the half elf would reply in a short time. After all it was his deed…. and it was his brother. Not sure which one he preferred. And that wasn’t the question anyway. The only one interesting at this point was already asked: what could they be prepared to encounter?
As Kat gave her name he nods saying simply: Chupko
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"Erryn Canmore," says another woman about halfway down the table, with short dark brown hair, the hilt of a rapier just poking out from her well-used traveling cloak. "From Vigil. I can't tell you I know how you feel, but I know something like it, and we'll do what we can to set things right for you and your brother. I take it the Mendevian authorities have been less than useful?"
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Scragatha is a excitable goblin wearing many pouches and bandoliers of glass vials on her person. Despite the sheer amount of glass she carries, she moves very quietly.
"Scragatha the amazing alchemist! Well, still working on the title, but I can do quite a bit with these-" She indicates the array of ingredients on her person.
She is very enthusiastic about the job until she hears "I want you to travel there and retrieve a deed that should be among the rubble." For the first time she seems a little worried or upset. "Another lost deed? That uh, really didn't work out last time I had to do something like that."
She can tell he's a little miffed about the whole situation too.
"Sounds like you aren't really as worried about your brother than the deed, right?"
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Castor answers questions as best he can, but he lacks details beyond the crusaders’ reports on their findings. Demons sacked Bulviss after they broke through Mendev’s backlines. Though crusader reinforcements routed the demons soon after, those few hours were enough for the demons to destroy Bulviss. Castor asked the crusaders to investigate again, but they only confirmed that the area was free of demons before advising him to hire adventurers. After providing this explanation, Castor shares a physical description of his brother and marks the town’s location on a map.
With some prodding, Castor admits to this, and that he fears too much time has passed to find either the deed or answers to his brother’s fate. Adventurers started leaving Nerosyan once the Worldwound closed, so his calls for help went unanswered for months. The crusaders are equally uninterested in helping beyond hunting for lingering demons.
I really want closure he admits.
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((If Pre Fix still wishes to roll you still can - are we missing one? Merisiel?))
The trip to Bulviss takes a day and is uneventful, save for the sign of patrols of hired mercenaries who lazily watch out for demonic threats. The approach to the hamlet shows evidence of an attack. Farmhouses are destroyed and fields lay fallow. The town itself is little more than the shells of buildings and a ruined well. A survey of the area indicates three buildings with the least amount of damage, the most promising places to search for clues.
((Map on slides. Please indicate where you want to go by placing your tokens on the map))
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This house’s interior is largely intact and light filters through closed shutters that haven’t opened in years. A swarm of bats in the rafters panics when the PCs enter the house.
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Scragatha looks in surprise as Kat jumps back. "Ah, traps. No problem."
Scragatha attempts to clear some of the traps. Mostly by throwing cracked or empty vials into the triggers.
"Ah, well, maybe some problem. Hang on."
She mixes a few things together in a vial. Shakes it up a bit and then gulps it down. She gets a pained look on her face and a small trickle of blood drips from her nose. She wipes her nose with her sleeve inconspicuously.
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With the bats gone you can see jagged holes in the floorboards which conceal cunning foot traps filled with inward facing barbs. Merisiel is able to quickly deal to them to render them safe.
Searching the house reveals that though most objects are just ruined accoutrement, a half-burned roll of parchment can be found in the fireplace. It shows detailed instructions for making foot traps and conceal them with rugs or debris, including a note that says if they have questions, ask Pellas for help.
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Scragatha sighs in frustration until Merisiel steps in to do the job. Then glares at her a bit as she expertly disables them. "Well, la-tee-da."
Scragatha looks around the small house with the others. "Pellas? Is that the guy we're looking for?"
She spots some piles of bat guano and her face lights up. "Oh! This stuff is great for explosives. Anyone got a shovel? Or at least some gloves?"
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The large building at the center of Bulviss used to act as a catch-all gathering place, but its final function was as the townsfolk’s last defense. You can't see an opening from your current position but, after going around a bit further, you can see that the front entrance is wide open and it looks like it was forced open from the outside