You've all been summoned to Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin's office. The instructions said to enter once all of you are complete.
You're now all standing in front of the door, waiting for everyone to arrive.
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It's been a good week.
Manny sketched his picture of his family's guardian Angel, Shylye. Serpentine body with blue skin and bird wings. It was a wonderful sight, even if he just dreamed it. The Venture-Captains took stock of his notes and he eventually got his summons.
His whip neatly coiled around his hip, the blonde human waits outside the door. "Sup everyone, I'm Emmanuel Holysmith. Call me Manny. Tell me if you see an angel around here."
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Leaving the gnome to sleep off their night of passion, having tuckered him out after showing him things only a fully initiated cleric of Calistria could, she smiles as she leaves to her room, kissing him on the cheek as she leaves him snoring away.
She returns to the Temple of Calistria to freshen up and perform her prayers, knowing that she is growing in the favor of the Savored Sting and she meditates upon what this means as she thanks Calistria for her blessings/ She returns to the Pathdinder Hall.
The elven priestess enters into the room. Her hair is red as fire and her eyes are green as the spring grass. She is dressed in robes which is black and yellow in the stylized fashion of a wasp. On one hip she carries a quarterstaff of smooth, white wood, this staff is capped at each end with a golden cross adorned with a multitude of ruby. On one hip she carries a t rolled up scorpion whip. Around her neck is the symbol of Calistria and on her shoulders a white cloak, a gift from a former paramour.
She smiles as she sees the bard and sits on his lap as she bids him a good morning and asks how he slept.
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Aerin spots Manny and Atae in the distance, he threads toward them. His breastplate is worn on top of his wizard robes, and his long curved blade hangs on his belt. His blonde long hair falls on his shoulder and he looks at his allies with keen eyes
"Manny, Atae it is good to see you. Aerin Airendil if you forgot my name."
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"Oh, sup Aerin. How's it going- oof!"
Manny aligns himself and tries to remain professional as the beautiful priestess Atae jumps right on him.
Unsurprisingly, he's bad at it. "Sup Atae. Someone's in a good mood. You seem pretty happy, too." He grins like an idiot. "I mean, uh, I slept pretty well. The concert last night was good. So was the party. And the afterparty..." He giggles.
"How's the uh..." He mumbles. "Priesthood going? Any new prayers they taught you?"
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Zabu sleeps in, even for him. He gets up and looks around for Atae, but it doesn't take him long for him to know that she's gone. Not one to cry over spilled milk...or other fluids, he heads out into the city.
Some flirting, some eating, some drinking and a fist fight or two later and he heads back to the Grand Lodge.
He has no idea about any mission but he catches a whiff of Atae and night is coming back on so he tracks her down.
"Oh...you're here too," he says with little enthusiasm when he sees Manny.
Just as quickly he dismisses the man. "Hey, Atae, can you show me this move again..." he contorts himself into an extremely awkward position, "I want to show it to this hobgoblin I know but I think I might hurt her...in the not fun way if I don't get it down right."
It's only then that he notices Aerin, too. "What's this, some kind of reunion or something?" he asks.
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"Sup Zabu!" Oh, thank the gods! Manny is so happy to see him right now, maybe he can distract Atae - oooh that's a neck rub, hits the spot just right.
Manny is about to ask about the pose when he pauses and puts the information together. "Well, we all work well together. The Venture-Captain did tell me we would see some new faces..."
Ambrus Valsin was clearly expecting more people to show up, but it's getting past the appointed meeting time, and you decide it's better to be on time than to be complete. You enter into his office.
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin stands behind an oak desk and addresses the agents with a dour look on his face. “The Pathfinder Society has allies in many parts of Golarion,” he begins, “and we do our best to honor our alliances. Today we need reliable agents who can do our allies justice. The Blakros family has helped us immensely over the years. Without their aid, we likely would have lost many Taldoran relics during the Grand Campaign. Recently, they’ve had issues with one of their major holdings, the Blakros Museum here in Absalom.”
He opens a drawer and shuffles through some papers inside. “Between thefts, disappearances, and worse, the museum has suffered numerous setbacks these past few years. Now its stakeholders want a neutral party to investigate the curator, Nigel Aldain, for incompetence. Of course, nothing is ever easy. Nigel and his wife Dhrami Blakros are longtime friends of the Society as well. With two valuable allies at odds with each other, we need to ensure we make the right judgment.”
Ambrus produces a letter bearing a red wax seal from the desk drawer. “The Blakros family has provided us with an official missive, giving me the right to appoint you as investigators in this matter. First, stop at Dhrami’s townhouse in Westgate, where you can interview her and review her records. Compare what you find there with a search of the Blakros Museum. Tour the museum with Nigel, check his records, and make sure everything that should be in the museum’s vault is still present. Then return to me with your recommendation.”
Ambrus clears his throat before handing over the letter. “Dhrami and Nigel don’t know you’re coming, and they’ll be understandably tense about finding themselves under investigation. If you put them at ease and show your objectivity, you might learn more details from them as their trust grows. In the end, be objective, be fair, and be honest. Understood?”
Manny and Aerin recall information about Nigel Aldain. As a former Pathfinder, Curator Nigel Aldain has arranged open access to the Blakros Museum’s sizeable collection for the Society.
Atae also recalls that the museum recently acquired a powerful but dangerous artifact known as the deck of many things, and the Blakros family has offered a reward to those willing to draw a card from the deck.
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"Oh, the Blakroses? I wouldn't mind investigating their...assets," Zabu says.
He growls slightly when it is revealed that they have to take the soft approach.
"You usually get to the bottom of an investigation quicker and more accurately with some threats and a little violence but I guess we'll just take our chances since we like these guys," Zabu says, in no way reassuring anyone that he's going to do anything to make anyone involved less tense.
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Ah, the Blakros family. Artifact keepers, the lot of them. He's heard some stories about infamous disasters within the museum, but he's also aware of them as a status symbol. You marry a Blakros and you're all set.
"Nigel Aldain... oh yeah, he gave the Pathfinders full access to the museum collection, right?" He laughs. "Oh right, they have a deck of many things? If you're dumb enough you can draw a card and get a reward."
"Well, we don't want to ruin our relationship with them." Manny ponders as Zabu grumbles. "Hey, if we play our cards right, maybe they'll introduce us to the other Blakros members. Should be quite a show, eh?" Manny raises his eyebrows and winks.
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Seeing Zabu come into the room while flirting with Manny, the preitess will focus her attention on the gnome. As she gets up from Manny's lap, she makes sure to run her finger tips across his inner thigh with a wink.
She squats done so that she and Zabu are of equal height and so that she can see him eye to eye and face to face. My virile champions, she smiles. I will be happy to show you any moves that you want o learn, and might even be able to get you into that section of the Calistrian temple that deals wit such matters/ We perfect what we practice and practive what we perfect/ she says as she reaches out to rub his ears with her thumbs and forefingers.
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Listening to both Manny and Zabu discuss the Blakros family, the priestess will add her two sense in to the discussion. Diplomacy and deception can be such wonderful games to play. It seems that this family enjoys them as well. And besides, diplomacy being an asses is important Zabu. Maybe we can get all dressed up to meet this family and I can later examine your pwn assets again the double entrance was too delicious to pass up. Kissing yjr gnpme on the forhead, and smacking his assets,she stands up.
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"Sorry it took so long to get here," a tall Varisian man with a pronounced widow's peak says, "I met some folk who were looking for redemption, and I had to speak to them. Well, they weren't actually 'looking'. But, I knew they really wanted to be redeemed. Down deep inside, that is. I'm Othello, by the way."
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Zabu savors Atae's attentions and is quite close to completely disrupting the meeting for more entertaining activities when Othello comes in.
Hearing the man speak only increases his temptation because he's a jerk and likes to test other people's limits.
In the end, he just settles for saying "For the record, no matter what you might think you know, I do NOT want to be redeemed and anyone who tries will find out just how much I do not want to be redeemed the hard way."
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Atae smiles at Zabu when he says he is not in need of redemption. She smacks him on his pert behind and says, Oh Zabu, youbare soo naightu! and then gives his behind one more smack forgood meaaure.
She looks at the new arrival and gives a half hearted smile. Nog all gods believe in redemption. Some teach that passion sjould be embraced ]/b] as she bends down to gove Zabu a deep and ontense kiss.
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin stands there awkwardly watching everything happen. He wants to interrupt whatever is happening, but knows that it's important for agents to let off steam.
"Ahem, if there are no further questions, I suggest you leave and start the assignment. And don't let intra-party shenanigans distract you from it, if you could."
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Manny spins around. "Getting a room would be a temporary solution." Manny replies matter-of-factly. "Besides, I don't date anyone while on a mission. Conflict of interest and all of that."
Manny snaps his fingers and his leather armor ripples with light until it turns into a fancy suit.
"Alright, let's mosey."
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Zabu punches Aerin in the arm. It's meant to be a friendly gesture, but Zabu is strong and not particularly careful so it's not damaging but may be painful.
"Come on. I don't care how talky this mission is. Sooner or later, something's going to need to have a hurt put on it. You're going to want me around for that part."
He doesn't seem to hear Aerin's question for the Venture Captain. He heard "let's mosey" and is already headed for the door.
Ambrus Valsin nods to Aerin, glad that someone is paying attention.
"The matrilineal Blakros family earned most of their fortune during the Grand Campaign, a 524-year-long conflict between Qadira and Taldor. Blakros merchants somehow managed to smuggle many goods and relics past Taldor’s closed borders when nobody else could. They have centuries of wealth and power behind them. Any family with that level of influence has a few skeletons in their closet. But they have the right to protect their assets, especially something as important as the museum."
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Ambrus Valsin nods to Aerin, glad that someone is paying attention.
"The matrilineal Blakros family earned most of their fortune during the Grand Campaign, a 524-year-long conflict between Qadira and Taldor. Blakros merchants somehow managed to smuggle many goods and relics past Taldor’s closed borders when nobody else could. They have centuries of wealth and power behind them. Any family with that level of influence has a few skeletons in their closet. But they have the right to protect their assets, especially something as important as the museum."
"Got it, got it" he does not say that they are fancy smugglers, but this is exactly what Aerin thinks while rubbing his shoulder.
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The priestss rolls her eyes at her felllow elf, thinking he must be a forlorn elf. She half hardily listen to the VC and then tells Zabu You would look really cute in a bow tie!. Stick with me and I can make sure that you will be the most adorable gnome there and lull them into a false sense of security! Thgat way when Manny makes things take a turn towards the sour, you can BAM! get em
Ambrus Valsin nods and gives you a letter. "This authorises you to poke in the business of the Blakroses and anyone who might be involved with them. It does not give you free reign to do whatever you want, so make sure to remain civil and not break anything you're not willing to repair yourself. I wish you good luck on this assignment and I hope everything goes well."
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You leave the Grand Lodge and make your way to Dhrami Blakros in the Westgate district, the first person on your list of investigatees. Citizens and travelers from across Golarion crowd the streets of Absalom. The air dances with smells ranging from freshly caught fish to spices imported from half a world away.
Everyone can make me a DC20 Perception check or a DC 18 Underworld Lore check and open the spoiler below if you make it.
- Make an Acrobatics check to weave through the crowds and lose your tail.
- Make a Deception check to make a diversion and lose your tail in the chaos.
- Make an Intimidation check to frighten your follower off.
- Make a Stealth check to hide in the crowd.
Note that you can only make a check if you succeeded on the Perception/Lore check.
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"Catch you later, Venture-Captain!" And Manny is out the door.
The city invites him to try out its various wares. From Habberton the baker, juggling loaves of bread and his six children. Adonna the seamstress who always seems to know the latest deals on tomato soap. All the way to Zagzig, the- Manny isn't sure what his profession is, just that he reeks of oil.
"Hmm..." Manny swore he heard someone whisper into his ear. "I'm gonna buy a fruit bowl, to help break the ice."
He bumps a little too hard into the fruit merchant's table, spilling a majority of coins at the merchant and a bunch of fruit into the street. A crowd quickly forms to pick up the free money and free food. He quickly melts away from the crowd.
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Othello is oblivious to the actions of Manny, but, quickly helps the merchant collect what he can from the street. Seeing the merchant distraught at his loss, he digs up a gold piece from his pack and gives it to the merchant. "Redemption comes in many forms. If this is more than your losses, perhaps you could give some more of your goods to the impoverished."
Manny causes a ruckus at a fruit stand and a lot of people swarm around it, taking advantage of the chaos to snag a few silver pieces or a free lunch. Oblivious, Othello helps clean the mess up. The merchant snatches the gold piece from his hand and says furiously, "You think that one gold piece will pay for all these wares? My cabbages pears are all bruised, no one is going to want to buy them now!"
Still, he mumbles a thank you as he turns around to continue his work. Atae and Aerin don't seem to spot the follower, but Manny can see the dwarf struggling to get past the commotion.
You start hustling towards Dhrami's house and try to shake off your tail, but as soon as she notices you speeding up, she speeds up herself. Because there's more of you, the crowd slows you down enough that the person following you, a dwarf, catches up with you and bumps into the one carrying the Venture-Captain's letter. The dwarf stumbles and rights herself by clinging on to you, but you see her hands diving into your pocket and retrieving the letter. She's already turning around and trying to dissolve into the crowd before you can react.
It won't reflect well on the Pathfinder Society if you started a brawl in the open here, but there's other ways of apprehending her. You can all try one of the following:
- An Athletics check to grapple the thief.
- A Stealth check to follow her through the crowd and ambush her later.
- A Thievery check to steal the letter back without her noticing.
- Any other creative input you can think of, such as spells or attacks.
Everyone can try, and I only need one success.
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"I hope the apple was good." The team wastes time fiddling with the cart while what's-her-face gets closer and closer.
"Now hold on." Manny grabs some of the rope from the cabbage merchant and tries to trip and tie the thief before she can escape. "I wasted some good money to distract you. Now you gotta explain why you're after our stuff."
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Manny trips the thief and she goes sprawling onto the ground. As she gets up, she sees five people standing around her and freezes. "Urp, I surrender! Some middle-aged guy with a salt-and-pepper beard hired me, paid a lot of cash up front. I w-was supposed to take a letter from you guys and drop it off at a drop site. I'm supposed to meet him again tonight at the Soggy Piper for the other half of the money. I'm telling the truth, I swear!"
She has a small dagger on her person, a purse with 50 gold pieces, and a pouch filled with semiprecious gemstones worth 25 gp. She's clearly not built for battle, she thought this was a simple grab-and-run.
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"Well, if he wants it all he had to do was ask." Manny retrieves the stolen goods. "So first, you'll tell us where this drop off point is. Then we'll be taking your money here. Some of this will repay the merchant for the uh... distraction. Third, you've got some skill. Interested in joining the Pathfinder Society? They'll give you some good training. And as you can see, they're a lot more merciful when you get caught."
Manny does believe in redemption, he's not as direct about it. Plus Shylye probably thinks that was cool.