After about half an hour Heryn comes to your table and says: “Are you ready to go?"
++++++++++
After you all confirm that you are ready she takes you through the kitchen (A7) where three cooks prepare appetizers and larger meals with a wood-burning stove and several stone-surfaced tables. She opens the door to a back storeroom (A8) where a set of stone stairs leads down from here into the basement level of the Wounded Wisp.
The stairs descend into a tightly packed storeroom (A10) where barrels, boxes, and crates of assorted foodstuffs and drink garnishes are pushed against the s or under the stairs.
Heryn suddenly has a stern look and says
“If you were not here because of business associated with Dreng I would never let you in here … firstly because it is embarrassing and secondly because I will let you alone down here, what I also do with Dreng. So please enjoy and respect my trust and also Dreng’s I suppose. You will see why I say embarassing because we usually do not use the rooms beyond this room anymore.” and with that she opens the door and shows you the next room (A11) and continues.
”Ahhh … formerly the next room was a meeting room where the staff could converse or take time off between shifts, but this chamber suffered significant damage during the earthquake of 4698. Several fissures split the floor that are leading down to a section of the city’s sewer system. So please, please keep quiet about this, okay?” she says with a pleading look.
Heryn is slightly relieved that you do not object to keeping quite.
She shows you the next room and the hole in the floor ”Look, nobody had the money to pay to repair the damage, so before I even started here they had acquired a broad wooden plank that serves as a bridge across the fissure. Now go through this room and enter the cellar on the other side. Actually, Dreng asked me to get the bottle and give it to you but … I am afraid of heights and I cannot come with you. I am sure you will need time to find what you are looking for because except Dreng nobody knows this place anymore.” she hands you a piece of paper with the name of a vineyard and a certain vintage (from a year preceding the creation of the Society) and waves goodbye hurrying up the stairs.
Neglected since it was “installed,” the plank isn’t as sturdy as it once was. You have to move slowly to get across or somehow reinforce it with skill (Disable Device).
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"Sure," Mizzie says with a puzzled look, "no problem." Seems like an experienced mage could fix something like this easily. With all her Society connections I'm surprised it wasn't done long ago.
Upon seeing the room, the reason for Heryn's worry becomes clear. "This... will be harder than I expected."
Kirithiel can easily reinforce the structure.
Kirithiel reaches the other side without any issues and the others follow her example so that you are now all on the other side.
~
You walk into the cellar (A12). This chamber is where the Wounded Wisp keeps its supply of specialty wines and ales for important occasions.
You start searching for the wine bottle and it feels like searching for a needle in a hay stack.
~
Finally, you find the particular bottle. It is from a very old vintage but it is stuck in the wine rack. You pull again and get it out only to see that behind the bottle a strange lever is hidden.
You do not believe that the lever is trapped and pull the lever.
You hear a strange vibration in your bones ...
... and the complete wine rack slides back.
The sound is almost not to hear but the dust that comes down shows that this secret door has not been opened for ages.
You look into a short stone tunnel that leads into a hidden room (A13) that is illuminated.
+++++++++
You enter the tunnel just a little to see what lies ahead and check for traps but cannot find any.
A sturdy silver chain jutting from the ceiling ends in a glowing orb that radiates yellow light across the rectangular room. A simple desk of polished wood, stacked with documents and scattered notes, shelters a pair of wooden chests against the south . A series of cracks along the eastern and western s form makeshift entrances into exposed caverns.
The only light source in this room is a plain rock that bears a continual flame spell and hangs from a chain. The illumination is enough to brighten the room but leaves the connecting tunnels dark.
You look at the desk and see that it contains various notes and leads. A first glimpse shows that these were obviously penned by Selmius Foster with later annotations by a certain Adolphus.
Selmius Foster was a Pathfinder who was published in many of the early Pathfinder Chronicles.
Adolphus was a Pathfinder who began his career as the assistant of the Pathfinder Selmius Foster. He published the account of his master's death in Volume 3 of the Pathfinder Chronicles. He went on to found the Pathfinder lodge in Quantium.
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As time allows Kiri will handle some of the various objects in this room, as well as the wine bottle, looking for clues or revelations with object reading. Based on the age of the room, she would expect only to find out about historically significance, and not a peek at the last person to use an object unless someone was unexpectedly here in the last day.
But if time is short or anything attracts attention she won't hold up the group.
She also casts the light cantrip on her buckler.
Kirithiel feels that these documents were all written by either Adolphus or Foster but there is no historical significance beyond the content of the documents.
Vindex sees nothing in the tunnels. And it is impossible to proceed after 10 ft as the tunnels are too narrow.
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Mizzie reads the first letter. "It says Selmius suspected another Society agent of keeping information-- and other things as well, perhaps-- to herself. Gives a few possible leads to the mystery."
"And this one," she says after reading the second, "says Adolphus started following the leads but didn't get far. He says some key clue is buried with a stonemason named Arkath, but doesn't say what. Gives a few other names that might lead somewhere." She sets down the letters. "It seems we've stumbled into a puzzle that was never solved."
So those that did not fill out the slides - please do so for the next combat. I am placing you at the bottom of the init.
Perception
Initiative
You are discussing and standing in the silent room that looks like it was not touched for ages.
Suddenly, you hear hundreds of high-pitched squeaks fill the air as a mass of small, carnivorous bats surges forth, all of them hungry for blood.
Kiri, Mizzie, and Vindex are not surprised when the swarm of bats enters the room through various tunnels and is all around them.
BAT SWARM CR 2
N Diminutive animal (swarm)
Init +2; Senses blindsense 20 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15
Speed 5 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 size)
hp 13 (3d8)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +3
Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune weapon damage
OFFENSE
Melee swarm (1d6)
Special Attacks distraction (DC 11), wounding
Wounding (Ex) Any living creature damaged by a bat swarm continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic.
The swarm of carnivorous bats suddenly fills the room and makes breathing difficult. Vindex, Mizzie and Kirithiel are filled with terror as the swarm engulfs them and the young Pathfinder's bodies start to bleed.
--
Initiative - SURPRISE ROUND - only standard or move action
SWARM
Kirithiel
Vindex Craxos
Mizzie Mysken
-
Initiative - Round 1
SWARM
Kirithiel, -2
Daenerija
Tarka Slitherscales
Vindex Craxos, -2
Mizzie Mysken, -2
The swarm of bats is definitely dying away after the negative energy hits it!
Then the fire burns parts of the swam to ash but many of the bats can dodge!!!
--
Initiative - SURPRISE ROUND - only standard or move action
SWARM
Kirithiel
Vindex Craxos
Mizzie Mysken
-
Initiative - Round 1
SWARM, -10
Kirithiel, -2
Daenerija
Tarka Slitherscales
Vindex Craxos, -2
Mizzie Mysken, -2
Suddenly, the negative energy kicks in again!
As if life was draining away slowly ... and suddenly the whole swarm is lying on the ground twitching!
No further threats are visible and the tunnels become too narrow to follow.
You decide to leave the cellar and the secret room and return to the upper level.
The kitchen personnel is a little astounded to see you again, especially with some of you having blood stains on their clothes. And although Heryn Gale is quite busy when you return she notices that you obviously were in a fight.
"Oh my god, what happened to you?!" she asks with great concern and wants to run down to see what is going on.
When you explain to her that you found the secret door she obviously is very surprised about what you found.
Heryn then says "That is truly unbelievable and I agree with you. But to be honest such a matter has to be discussed with a Venture-Captain to align on the next step. I do not know what you want to do now but good luck to you! And please come back and inform us what to do with the room ... I ... I am still in shock ... unbelievable."
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Mizzie, seeing no reason to withhold the information, includes the discovery of the papers in her description of events (but insists they not leave the group's possession, just in case). "I completely agree. We'll take this to Drandle Dreng in addition to his bottle."
"Oh of course!" Instead of taking Vindex's wand from him, she wraps her hand around his. "These wands usually respond to... രോഗശമന." The word slides off her tongue with ease, activating its magic. "Good as new!" She draws our her own wand and repeats the word, with the same result.
The group decides to leave the Wounded Wisp and return to the Venture-Captain and you travel back to the meeting point that you received earlier ... and it is still raining.
You are now just steps away from Dreng who looks at you with a smile at first and with some concern when he sees the marks of battle on your clothing.
"You are back. I hope you have my bottle ... and can explain the shape that you are in." he says with a raised eyebrow.
Dreng is suspicious but opens an umbrella and looks through the documents … his eyes open wide after he reads through the first pages. He asks you tell him everything and wants to know all the details.
After a while he stands up with the umbrella.
"I ... I cannot believe that I have been in this wine cellar so many times and have never noticed this secret door! You Pathfinders might have found something that gives us a taste of our roots." he says with genuine surprise in his voice.
"You had the luck of finding a long-lost trove of documents and by following my directions you will potentially earn some renown in Absolom. This is an important find and you will be the ones to investigate some potentially far-reaching discovery related to Eylysia because you were the ones to stumble upon it." he says with a sly smile.
Then he looks at the documents in more detail.
"The other documents you found that are not related to Eylysia will need to stay with me so that I can begin assigning other agents to decrypt and collate the contents for proper study and comparison to exploits published in the Pathfinder Chronicles."
"Hmmm ... of course I wanted a wine bottle!! A great year! But I wanted to give you another mission!“ he says while reading the notes.
“Well, yes, that seems to be correct … you take care of the mausoleum and the rest of the things in the notes. Ahhhh ... six people standing next to me with papers definitely has blown my cover!" he sighs and stands up.
"You find me in the grand lodge. Now go and solve this puzzle!" he says and walks away.
MAUSOLEUM
You depart to check the lead involving Arkath. Details left by Selmius Foster indicate the location of Arkath’s burial site: a plot of land in Eastgate operated by the faith of Asmodeus.
A fence surrounds the necropolis grounds, and although members of the faith of Asmodeus and city guards routinely patrol the property, you know that it is still legal to enter the grounds to respect the departed. You can see citiy guards patrolling the area.
Arkath’s crypt is the northernmost structure on the map that you found in Selmius documents.
While the gates into the necropolis are left open to those paying their respects, the doors of all the mausoleums are sealed with sturdy stone slabs.
You are in front of the gates to the necropolis when you suddenly see a man in robes and a large pendant with the holy symbol of Asmodeus approaching. The man is holding up his hands and it is visible that he has lost several fingers.
This seems to be a mid-ranking cleric of Asmodeus and based on your knowledge he has the responsibility to watch over the tombs of the honored remains of friends of the church. You also know that especially for clerics of Asmodeus guarding the sanctity of the tombs is the cleric’s primary responsibility, but each cleric has different motivations and sometimes evil goals.
You know this guy! Durward is his name you believe. A former street thug, Durward lost several fingers and toes — and almost his life — before finding refuge among Absalom’s Asmodean priests. He enjoys his position of privilege and the powers granted to him by his god.
But you also know that Durward is ruthless in persecuting those who do not follow the rules and believes the strong should always be in a position of power.
The man approaching shouts out loud "Who goes there?!"