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Swayaah finishes her report, and her client sighs before paying. "Yeah, I'm sorry about your wife, but... hey, now you know."
As she leaves the manor, a page bumps into her and her assistant Fae, handing an envelope. "Huh... The Pathfinder Society needs me. Alright, fun time's over." She stretches her bat wings. "Come on."
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A piercing cry resounds through the coins, startling several passersby unused to the bustle of the market district. For the nearby merchants, however, it is business as usual as a snow-white owl launches into the air to retrieve a piece of barbequed meat thrown by a young half-elf woman in leather armor. She turns her attention to Xiao-Feng's noodle cart and her eyes light up as the tien woman hands her a pair of chopsticks and a steaming hot bowl of noodles.
"Thanks Xiao-Feng. Would you please wrap up a few more pieces of that meat that Silence likes. It looks like the Society is sending us on a mission and we won't be back for awhile."
While the meat is being wrapped in wax paper, the ranger sits down on a nearby bench and begins devouring her noodles. The owl lands next to her and swallows his treat whole. She frowns at her friend.
"You'd better savor that, there won't be much more anytime soon." She takes a big bite of her noodles. "Skuuuelbu e a wur goon oo u wangi eha."
The owl turns his head almost completely upside-down and stares a the half-elf.
The owl hoots softly.
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The young woman laughs. "Ha! You're right. Skuttlebutt is funny word. Big people have a lot of funny words. Anyway skuttlebutt means a rumour. You know like y si yw."
"Anyway it's just as well that we're about to leave for a bit. Maybe that wizard will forget about you knocking him into the fountain."
The owl begins to preen his feathers.
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The young ranger gapes at the owl, clearly scandalized. "It was not my fault. All I did was say that the reflection of the clouds in the water by that wizard looked like a rabbit. You shouldn't have taken me literally, and you most definitely shouldn't have gone tearing over there like a lunatic and knocking him into the fountain. What is it with you and rabbits anyway? He said you were a flying fiasco and that I was a calamity waiting to happen." She finishes her noodles and slurps down the last of the broth before standing and handing the bowl back to the mistress of the noodle cart. "I sure hope his spellbook dries out." She pays for the meal and places Silence's treats into a belt pouch for later.
"Let's head back to the lodge and make sure we get a nice long mission. We'll slip in through the back so that hopefully we won't run into Ezren." Gesturing for the owl to follow her, she bids farewell to Xiao-Feng and heads towards the Grand Lodge.
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Each of you arrive one by one having received a similar missive inviting you on this mission.
Illustrious Associates,
I write on behalf of newly commissioned Venture-Captain Stella Fane. The Pathfinder Society has need of your services again in an expedition to the Mwangi Expanse. New information has come to light regarding members of the Open Road Pact and their adventures in said region.
The venture-captain shall impart specific details of the mission to you later. However, you are to be the lead team for an expedition that starts in the Sodden Lands at the mouth of the Frogmarch River. From there, you are to proceed inland, exploring a few sites along the way.
I say lead team, because a support team of experts and others shall follow the trail you forge. Although these secondary personnel have guards, we suspect you would agree that your skill allows you to trailblaze and move faster than they. To be clear, your responsibilities include marking a trail for this slower group and clearing said trail of hazards. This entourage shall rejoin you late each day to provide you with supplies to aid your trek and to help you catalog and store any important finds.
You set sail with Venture-Captain Stella Fane aboard the Risen Albatross at dawn in five days. If that schedule is not agreeable, please report it to the lodge or Venture-Captain Fane, who can be found fitting the Risen Albatross in the Docks, or else most likely at the closest tavern to the ship, the Spinning Coin.
Sincerely,
Amita Dugada, senior clerk
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
Numerous experts, warriors, and porters are aboard the Risen Albatross. Venture-Captain Stella Fane has kept the details of the mission close, vowing to reveal everything once the ship nears its destination. After a long voyage, including skirting the northern edge of the Eye of Abendego, the time has finally come.
About midmorning, Fane calls for the crew to gather in her quarters. Inside the cabin, a large desk faces the door; a worn leather chair faces away. Papers clutter the desktop, some of them weighted down with sailing cleats and tackles. Curtains adorn the room, accompanied by an unmade bed and a long table with benches. Wall shelves hold books, maps, and more bottles of various spirits than can be counted quickly.
The leather chair turns melodramatically. In it reclines Venture-Captain Fane, her hair pinned back from her face. She stops the spinning chair with a firmly planted boot on the desk and takes a swig of dark-brown liquid from a glass in her hand, then breaks the silence by saying, “Have a drink and a seat.”
She grins and gestures to the bottles and glasses on the desk, and then to the benches along the table. Most of the bottles are sealed and full of good, dark rum from the Shackles. One is already open and half empty.
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A pale elven woman with a black ponytail enters the cabin. Her right eye is violet, her left eye black. She has long purple nails, and wears a jester’s motley in purple, black and white. Holding a large marotte (jester’s baton), she wears a black cloak with the hood down.
”I like this mission already!”, she declares. Pouring herself a rum from the open bottle, she takes a seat on a bench.
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A ruddy haired halfling with muttonchops grabs a random bottle and perches himself up on a bench. He sniffs at the liquid and peers through the bottleneck at it before shrugging and taking a long swig. "Whoo!" He smiles at the concoction and sways a bit. "Nice of you to share, Captain!"
A satchel at his side gently clinks with glassware. Over the course of the voyage, Argoni has been at work mixing up various chemicals and seemingly testing out new formulas. He's made an awful stink of the deck a couple of times and dyed his hand blue another.
"So, ready to tell us all about this mission? You can find all sorts of interesting ingredients in the jungles and some people will pay top dollar for that kind of stuff. But I doubt that's why you want us to go. What exactly are we blazing a trail to?"
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"Stella Fane. Good to see you again." Swayaah takes a swig. "Gah, this burns hotter than hell's coals." She slumps into a chair and fights her coughing fit. Fae peeks her head behind the chair and sits on the chair's arm, perching herself precariously.
"This is my first time in the Mwangi Expanse. I've heard it's beautiful this time of year."
Swayaah's mind cuts through the small talk. "Okay, but... we amassed a lot of people for this trip. Lots of expensive people." She gestures to her teammates in the cabin. "Like Argoni said, we must be here for a very special reason. Could you tell us now? Not like I'm going to get back home quickly."
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Fane smiles at Swayaah. "Ah, my favorite cleaner fish." SHe pours her another drink. Fane begins, “I know this a weird one. It has been, all around. But I’m going to get to the point, short and sweet.”
She looks at her glass and takes another swig, savors it for a moment, and continues, “The Society has come across some information that’s led them to believe that what they know about Gregaro Voth isn’t true. And whether or not that’s right, they think he left a trail to follow. You’re going to see if the loremongers know their stuff."
“When the Albatross drops anchor, your mission is to go ashore, make your way inland, and find three sites the Society believes Voth left clues in. I won’t blather on about it. Wrote the details down for you, I did. Harder to forget, right?”
Fane grins and slides a few papers across her desk.
Pathfinders,
Gregaro Voth might’ve hidden something for us at the following places. You are to make a trail to each
site, so the support team can follow you. General locations on the map accompanying.
Sodden Lands: Voth writes “...within the coils of Ydersius near the headwaters of the Frogmarch.” You should pass through a drier, forested area after about 20 miles. It’s another 20 miles or so to the site. Signs of serpentfolk civilization in this area should point you to the right location. It says “the idol”—whatever that is—might be underwater. Items likely hidden in or around the idol.
Mwangi Highlands: East southeast of the last location, as the hills climb from the Sodden Lands to the Mwangi Jungle, about 20 miles. Voth writes “...marking the Honor Spire.” After forming the Open Road Pact, Voth’s group buried an iruxi named Urshoje at a place they called the Honor Spire to honor her and her love of overlooking views. Items likely hidden in or around the burial site.
Defaka River: Voth writes “...in scaled stones of Warlock’s Barrow.” A haunted site infamous among travelers on this part of the Defaka River. An outpost stands on the river’s fork, roughly 10 miles from the Honor Spire. It’s a good place to rest, resupply, and ask for details on the barrow’s location. The map marks this outpost rather than the barrow.
Fair winds, all. Don’t die.
Fane
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
Swayaah knows that Gregaro Voth was a half-orc explorer and member of the adventuring group that formed the Open Road Pact centuries ago. Voth is famed for exploring the Mwangi Expanse; his last mission aimed at finishing the Pact had once failed at. However, he failed again and died a year later in Absalom in disappointment. According to history, he is thought to be the last surviving member of those who formed the Pact, which included other famous Pathfinders, such as Durvin Gest, Kerinha Napsunar, and Selmius Foster.
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A large but with an angelic face for a bearded man quickly arrives to join the conversation. He wears a simple shirt and khaki pants, but conspicuous in him is his religious symbol of Sarenrae. Slung around him is his satchel of tools for healing with weapons such as a staff and scimitar. Fortunately, he is just in time to receive one of the papers on the desk.
"I hope I am not late, I am Henri Hart. By Sarenrae, it is an honor to meet you, Lady Fane." he introduces himself to her and gives the other a courteous bow. He then continues by reading the contents of the paper.
"So what are we expecting to find in these sites?" Henri asks Fane. "Are these religious sites? You mentioned, or Voth mentioned 'idols'."
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"Ah, the Open Road Pact survivor, Gregaro Voth." Swayaah muses. "We have a mystery on our hands. And three places of interest." She describes what she knows about Voth, as some of his friends were loud braggarts.
She smirks when Henri Hart acts so formal. "Relax Henri. We're all friends here."
"I don't have a preferential order, so maybe we just go top down. The Sodden Lands, first."
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The young half elf in leather armor looks around at the assembled pathfinders and grins. "So this is the team, huh? Neat! I'm Meadow. I'm an archer." She indicates the bow at her back then points to a snowy owl. "This is my best friend, Silence. He's an owl."
She turns her attention to the map. "It's pretty obvious we'll have to start in the sodden lands. Once we find the first location we can find the second by travelling east southeast. If we went to the honor spire first we'd waste a lot of time doubling back to find the first location only to have to turn back around and head for the outpost right here." She points to the spot indicated on the map. She turns towards the owl. "What do you think, Silence?"
Silence has been staring at Aldonza's marotte for the entire briefing. He flaps his wings in response to Meadow's question while continuing to stare at the marotte.
Silence shrieks at the marotte.
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Argoni waves to Meadow. "Hiya, Meadow! Hi Silence!" The halfling pulls out a bit of dried meat, looks it over, and then offers it to the owl, hoping it wont take his finger with it.
"Yeah, Sodden Lands sounds like a good place to start. What do you mean by what we know about Voth wasn't true? Should we try to dig into that more? Maybe the Serpentfolk have records of his passing."
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The young archer scolds her friend. "Oh don't be ridiculous. It's not 'eyeballing' you. It's just a puppet. You've seen things like that before back in Absalom." She smiles sheepishly at the changeling. "Sorry about that. He gets some funny ideas sometimes."
”Don’t we all?”, she replies. She holds up her marotte beside her, watching Silence track it with his eyes. She turns her head to face it, as she twists it to face her, they nod to each other, and face the owl.
”Two of a kind, my buddy and me!
Wherever we go, there’s so much to see!
A mystery clue, a treasure to find!
It’s double the fun, ‘cause we’re two of a kind!”
She turns toward the others, and takes an elaborate bow.
“Aldonza Delamorte, devil-may-care harlequin! Bringing laughter to my friends, and slaughter to my enemies!
With a flip and a quip,
And some tricks up my sleeve,
I can go toe-to-toe,
And make doubters bereave!”
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“The idea is that Voth left clues behind. Writing, maps, important objects. Anything like that. Your guess is as good as mine at what exactly we’re looking for, but I bet you’ll know it when you see it.”
Fane leans forward, saying, “If you need any kit, go see the quartermaster, Akin. You can take your drinks if you like. Give him your glasses when you’re done.” She smiles, leans back, puts her feet on the desk again, and says, “He loves bringing them back to me.” She winks.
“Oh, and like the instructions say, please don’t get yourselves killed. That’s all I need. I mean—good luck!”
Fane opens a drawer and hands Swayaah a small compass as well as a single cormorant feather for luck.
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Once you all are ready, the Risen Albatross drops anchor in the mouth of the Frogmarch River, and a longboat ferries you as far up a tributary river as it can before the overgrowth forces them to disembark and continue on foot. The sky is red above as the rising sun strikes a heavy cloud ceiling that extends to the horizon.
The red sky is a warning of rough travel. As the group continues on their travels, steady rainfall begins and persists for the journey. The trip is 40 miles southeast through the swamp.
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Argoni buys a compass from the quartermaster before they depart the ship. He offers it to Meadow. "You want to use this? I figure you might be the one leading us through the jungles and swamps."
As they travel, the halfling keeps his eyes out for any sign of the serpentfolk. "If we can find them, they might know more about Voth and where he went."
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With Yakuthiel seeking out solid footing and Aldonza's ease of moving through the swmp you are able to cover a great distance in a short period.
Just a short distance off the trail you notice signs of an elephant graveyard. The sound of bubbling signals the presence of water just beyond a nearby thicket of vegetation. In the clearing beyond, massive tusks, skulls, and other bones protrude from the ground’s cracked, muddy surface, the mud loosening slightly in the ceaseless rains.
Argoni and Meadow identify the bones as belonging to some kind of pachyderm, though they are much larger than common elephants.
Swayaah remembers that trade caravans once passed through this region, carrying all manner of precious cargo. She also knows this is a naturally occuring site that elephants bury their dead.
Several worn saddlebags hang against the ribs of a nearby skeleton, close enough to be reached from solid ground.
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Inside the saddlebags are several bricks of high-quality rock salt, protected from the elements by wax paper.
Along with the rains, the disturbance of them walking on the unstable ground was enough to destabilize the mud pit. As they leave, the remaining bones sink into the mud.
It's still raining, but your spirits rise as you make excellent time through the swamp. Will Day 2 be just as productive?
Silence flaps his wings.
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You make camp about a mile away from the site and set out the next morning.
As you hike through the swamp. you notice serpentfolk ruins in abundance out here. The ancient monoliths are scrawled with newer, insidious-looking markings. There are also strange talismans hanging in the trees.
Swayaah, Argoni, and Meadow recognize these as Boggard in origin. Swayaah recognize the iconography of Gogunta among the fetishes and know how to ward themselves against the Frog Mother's magic.
After discussing this, you come across a path that leads to a lake of some kind ahead — there are boggard tracks going that way, too.
Trees crowd the wet path just ahead. Beyond that, the jungle parts, and a weathered chunk of sculpture stands before a clearing with a broad pool. Across this pond, to the southeast, is another large piece of a statue. The remains of an ancient, tumbled structure stand to the southwest. Whorls and snaking lines in the architecture hint at serpentine pictograms that were carved on these stones long ago.
A slow stream flows from the east into the pool. Rushes and lilies grow in the northeastern portion of the pool, where the water slows as it pivots against a jutting portion of the bank. The vegetation tangles in the water there, but near the path is a section of the pond free of such hazards.
Within the hazy, slimy-bottomed pool is a massive, crumbling statue suggesting a form part snake and part humanoid. Its diamond-shaped head almost reaches the surface, and its coils rest on the pool’s floor.
A froglike head submerges quickly, leaving only slight ripples on the water’s surface in its wake.
You can see five boggards under the clear water, in the center of the lake near the idol. They are all 20 feet down.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
➤ Aldonza
Swampseer (Pink)
Henri
Yakuthiel
Swayaah
Argoni
Meadow
⠀⠀Silence
Scout (Red)
Scout (Green)
Warrior (Orange)
Warrior (Blue)
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The strange shaman-like boggard croaks tapping it's staff against it's companions shoulder and club. It begins to glow with a light magic.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Aldonza
Swampseer (Pink)
➤ Henri
➤ Yakuthiel
➤ Swayaah
➤ Argoni
➤ Meadow
⠀⠀➤ Silence
Scout (Red)
Scout (Green)
Warrior (Orange)
Warrior (Blue)