|
Scratch seems a bit upset that Jaxon isn't sharing his acquired bottle of spirits, he totally misses any clues the VC gives during the meeting.
"Well, guess we got more work to do, I may take a day or two to gather my wits and reload a bit of ammo." And blow some stuff up, I coulda blown that house up way better than that wagon of fire..
|
You receive a hand-delivered missive instructing you to meet with Lady Gloriana Morilla at the Porthmos Club, a tea house and former temple to Shelyn that offers discreet meeting spaces.
Your presence is humbly requested at the Porthmos Club this afternoon. Plan on leaving early, as you will need to chart a longer, less direct route. Do not advertise yourself as a Pathfinder Agent. When you arrive, ask for a bottle of moon grape wine.
When you order moon grape wine per the instructions in their invitation, the server ushers you to a wine rack in the basement, sliding it aside to reveal a meeting room outfitted with a table and threadbare velvet chairs. To the left sits Lady Gloriana Morilla, a light skinned, dark-haired Taldan woman wearing a fashionable dress. On the right sits Venture-Captain Muesello, a light-skinned, grey-haired man with a ruddy and pock-marked complexion.
He wears a simple white shirt and a pair of brown utility trousers. Gloriana offers you seats and invites you to partake in the tea and charcuterie on the table.“Thank you all for coming,” says Lady Gloriana Morilla, longtime ally of the Pathfinder Society. “I hope the refreshments are to your liking.” She pinches a bit of cheese between her fingers and drops it near a grey stone cub on the table. The rock rolls over to the cheese, opens a crystalline toothy maw, and engulfs the crumb. “A few months back, a group within the Taldan military calling themselves the Ninth Army perpetrated a crime spree against supporters of Grand Princess Eutropia. They intended to implicate Venture-Captain Muesello here, and for a while, I nearly believed their ruse. Thanks to you, we were able to determine that the Ninth Army was responsible, yet Muesello still insisted on taking the blame, for... well, I’m sure he has his reasons.
|
Jaxon walks into the secret meeting with several days of beard growth and clutching a brown flask. His red eyes and his swaying walk suggest he's been on a bit of a bender recently. He avoids the tea in favor of sips from his flask, though he fills a plate with the sliced meats and cheese.
He sits with a grunt, but then he pointedly looks at Muesello. "Care to fill us in on that? I would assume we can speak freely here. I'd be the first to admire you staying the course to protect people. But it does question your loyalty to the Society." He grabs some meat in his large hands and stuffs it in his mouth, chewing openly.
|
|
I have complete confidence in the security of this location, so, yes we can speak freely here.
“And that brings us to our current situation. The Ninth Army means to pull some strings of their own and find a way to make Muesello disappear. We must uncover evidence proving the Ninth Army’s plot to frame Muesello. I’ve tightened my circle of trust to just you and a handful of my most loyal spies.” Gloriana pauses.
The silence is broken by Muesello’s cracker crunching. A few crumbs hit the table, and the granite cube tumbles across the table to devour them.
After sipping tea, Gloriana resumes. “I’ve learned that off-duty Ninth Army members gather at a tavern in Eastport called the Fox and Lion. I’ve arranged transportation to an old candle warehouse just south of the tavern. Your mission is to cause a commotion at the tavern and draw the Ninth Army into pursuing you through the streets. We’ve planted false information suggesting that Muesello plans to flee the city, so the Ninth Army is on edge; the mere presence of Pathfinders may provoke them. While they chase you, Muesello will coordinate my agents in observing the Ninth Army’s every move. He’ll be in the candle warehouse—it’s a safehouse, and it’s close enough for him to use magic to communicate with my spies. Hopefully one of the criminals leads us to their true hideout. Then, we can send you in to search for evidence.
Avoid direct violence if you can.
Muesello will signal you with magic when we have the information we need, then you can lose anyone still tailing you and rendezvous at the safehouse. Any questions?”
|
|
Avoid direct violence.. be discreet.. hide our wayfinders.. show us this cool pet and not tell us its name?!?! Scratch is clearly distracted by the stone cub, feeding it larger, and larger pieces of snacks. I wonder just how big this thing's mouth gets...
"Cause a commotion.. oh, I can do that." Scratch looks up from the snacks and gives Morilla a wink before grabbing more smoked meat, cheese and crackers in a convenient little bite sized sandwich.
|
Avery and her owl quietly join the others and listen to Lady Morilla's instructions on their continuing mission. She has doubts that Musuello will not betray them whatsoever, after the last time that he confessed all the plotted incidents. He agrees with Jaxon. "How can we be sure that you are one with us?" she asks the man.
|
|
Kaitlyn joins the group, appearing none the worst for wear from the last encounter with the Ninth Army. She catches the instruction to "avoid direct violence" and agrees with Jaxon.
"These ruffians almost killed someone and gave us a really hard time. Surely you can't be serious about avoiding violence!"
|
|
Responding to Avery
Muesello looks sheepish, “The Ninth Army wasn’t just out there preparing false evidence to make me look like a traitor. They were also planting false evidence to trick me into doubting Gloriana, to put me in a place where I couldn’t know who to trust. And I bought it, hook, line, and
sinker.” Gloriana replies, “It’s understandable, Muesello. They had me doubting you as well. Their skill at forgery and trickery is formidable. We’ll need more direct evidence of their involvement to be certain to defeat their lies in court.”
Gloriana Morilla responds to Kat
We're asking you to avoid direct violence during the first part of this plan. It is quite likely that there will b e violence once we have located the Ninth Army headquarters.
|
|
Before you leave, Muesello mentions that his assistant at the Oppara Lodge, Lolly Adafish, is grateful for the Society’s continual efforts to resolve the dilemma in Oppara, even in the face of growing threats across the Inner Sea. He hands you a gift from Lolly:
He also hands you a compass needle. Keep the needle with you. It’s ritually linked to the wayfinder it came from. If something urgent comes up, I can use it to send you a short message and receive a short reply from you in return, as usual for the sending spell.
Gloriana instructs you to accompany Muesello to her manor in West Park, where a small flat-bottomed boat awaits to deliver them to a candle warehouse in Eastport. You can purchase supplies in Oppara on your way if you wish.
Your 45-minute journey through Oppara highlights the city’s gradual decline. The opulent manors of West Park with their high stone walls overlook the fashionably distressed apartments and markets of Imperial Square. The homes lining Canal Row grow shorter and more condensed the further south the party travels. Turning into Eastport, wooden buildings and construction co-mingle with dilapidated structures.
The party disembarks near a gated warehouse along the shore. Before the ferryman departs, he informs the party the Fox and Lion is a quarter mile north through the city. Muesello discreetly enters the candle warehouse and signals the “all clear” to your party to proceed with your mission.
The bustle of the district winds down as evening approaches. Shops begin closing, and tired people walk home. There is a distinct lack of guards patrolling. One building stands out from the rest; raucous laughter pours from a downtrodden tavern with a recently crafted sign bearing a fox and a gold lion with a white mane.
You believe the lion may be an homage to Maxillar Pythareus, a former general in the Taldan military and defeated challenger for the throne.
Inside the tavern, the dozens of patrons are in various states of relaxation and revelry. Parvilla, a light-skinned, brown-haired Taldan woman with a perpetual scowl, tends the bar and serves day-old bread. You recognize Parvilla as the woman who was spying on you at the Queen’s Tears Fountain.
A light-skinned, balding Taldan man with an overbearing smile, plays a lute and sings songs in the corner of the bar, ceding the makeshift stage to other amateur performers who want to work on their craft.
You recognize these songs as popular tunes in Taldor; however, the lyrics have been changed to bawdy parodies.
A few patrons are tossing knives at a target at the opposite side of the bar. The rest of the room is a cacophony of mugs thumping, belching, and workers bemoaning their day jobs—or lack thereof
You get the sense that the bar is unfriendly toward anyone who isn’t a human from Taldor.
Round 1—Get Noticed: You must draw the attention of the tavern’s patrons. Each of you can attempt a Diplomacy or Performance check to make your presence known, such as by speaking loudly or putting on a performance; a Perception check to notice and approach the patrons who seem most susceptible to provocation; or an Underworld Lore or Warfare Lore check to draw attention with relevant conversation.
Bold may act
Avery
Scratch
Jaxon
Kaitlyn Deathsbane
Zenith
Shandra
|
|
"The lion may be an homage to Maxillar Pythareus, and I heard that he was a former general in the Taldan military and defeated challenger for the throne." Avery shares with them when she sees the golden lion on display. "And whatever they are singing, I think the lyrics have been changed to bawdy parodies. And I know they are popular tunes in Taldor." with some irritation to her ears from the noise they make. "Be careful engaging with them, they seem to be unfriendly toward anyone who isn’t a human from Taldor." she tells them before making their planned commotion.
She starts by approaching a nearby patron who seems so drunk and brings Sophia to fly and step on their food and fly back again to her. "Ooopps, sorry! I have not been feeding her lately. Maybe she thought your food is a rat."
|
|
Jaxon looks around the tavern, nothing the song parodies. "Heh, I kinda like this place! Shame that we need to get run out of here."
Jaxon backs up to bump into someone as he says, "Yeah, some anti-crown dandy was making noise along the street, so a few of us had a bit of fun and beat the s!!~ out of him. Serves him right for being all high and mighty thinking he knows better."
|
|
When the group arrives to the inn, Zenith casually finds a few patrons to talk to, and began sharing their fabled tales. "[...] So we found ourselves deep underground, on the edge of a 30' wide chasm. I don't think whoever fortified the place ever expected someone to run and clear the entire thing, but that's what I did to help build a bridge across!" they laugh.
|
|
Scratch takes some time before heading to the Tavern to prepare some explosives "Just a few.. just in case!" He grins at the 8 lesser alchemist fires prepared in scavenged old liquor bottles.
---
Scratch always walks with a light step, never knowing when he may need to fade off into the shadows. That time is now as the approach the Tavern, he takes a trip around the building to scope out its entrances, exits, dark corners and of course, bathroom facilities! He picks a spot out of sight and gets to work while the others head inside...
Demolition Charge: Feat 4: Archetype Demolitionist
You can rig your bombs to inanimate objects in order to cause destruction to the surrounding area. As an activity that takes 1 minute, you attach between one and four bombs to an inanimate object within your reach, such as a chest, door, wall, or column. This creates a hazard in one square occupied by or adjacent to the inanimate object, and the hazard's Stealth DC to detect it and Thievery DC to disable it are equal to your class DC. The hazard has the following reaction, which you can also trigger as a single action so long as you are within 30 feet of the hazard. The hazard retains its potency until it's triggered, until the inanimate object moves from its space, or until you make your next daily preparations, whichever comes first.
↺ Fire in the Hole; Trigger: A creature moves into the hazard's space; Effect The hazard explodes, dealing the bombs' damage and splash damage to the inanimate object. Combine this damage for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses, and this damage ignores an amount of the object's Hardness equal to your level. Any creatures adjacent to the hazard take the bombs' splash damage, similarly combined for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses. As a reminder, since you didn't throw the bombs, Calculated Splash and similar effects don't apply.
|
|
As you start to draw attention, table conversations become noticeably louder and peppered with Pathfinder Society misquotes. “Explore, Extort, Corroborate.” “Something stinks in here. Must be the Bathfinders.”
Round 2—Provoke Pursuit: You must provoke the Ninth Army insurgents into pursuing you outside. Each of you can attempt an Intimidation or Performance check to boast or to insult the patrons; a Society, Genealogy Lore, Oppara Lore, or Pathfinder Society Lore check to brag about Grand Princess Eutropia or the Pathfinder Society’s accomplishments; or an Acrobatics or Athletics check to physically shove, trip, or “accidentally” stumble into someone.
|
|
Avery quickly grabs a half-filled mug of a drunken patron and casually walks toward the one calling them Bathfinders and 'accidentally' slips in front of that person, splashing the contents of the mug into their face. "Oooops, sorry. I think it is you who need a bath now." she says amusingly while putting the emptied mug on a nearby table and walking back to her original place in the bar.
|
|
Tensions quickly escalate between the Pathfinders and the 30 or so people in the bar. A thrown tankard misses Scratch, followed by a shout of, “Take it outside!” The room then erupts into a chaotic brawl, though several patrons noticeably ignore everyone else and make their way straight to the party.
Round 3—Sprint through the Streets: You must keep ahead of your pursuers—but not so far ahead that you immediately shake them off. Each of you can attempt an Athletics check to keep the correct pace; a Perception, Oppara Lore, or Society check to remember or notice clear streets; or an Intimidation or Performance check to taunt the insurgents into further pursuit.
Bold may act
Avery
Scratch
Jaxon
Kaitlyn Deathsbane
Zenith
Shandra
|
|
"Well been fun, but not THAT fun. Time to head out." Scratch flips off the nearest angry patron as the wall behind him explodes, pelting everyone with debris.
He puts his head down and smashes through like the Koolaid Man into the streets beyond!
Demolition Charge: Feat 4: Archetype Demolitionist
You can rig your bombs to inanimate objects in order to cause destruction to the surrounding area. As an activity that takes 1 minute, you attach between one and four bombs to an inanimate object within your reach, such as a chest, door, wall, or column. This creates a hazard in one square occupied by or adjacent to the inanimate object, and the hazard's Stealth DC to detect it and Thievery DC to disable it are equal to your class DC. The hazard has the following reaction, which you can also trigger as a single action so long as you are within 30 feet of the hazard. The hazard retains its potency until it's triggered, until the inanimate object moves from its space, or until you make your next daily preparations, whichever comes first.
↺ Fire in the Hole; Trigger: A creature moves into the hazard's space; Effect The hazard explodes, dealing the bombs' damage and splash damage to the inanimate object. Combine this damage for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses, and this damage ignores an amount of the object's Hardness equal to your level. Any creatures adjacent to the hazard take the bombs' splash damage, similarly combined for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses. As a reminder, since you didn't throw the bombs, Calculated Splash and similar effects don't apply.