A crystal key from another world? We should look into that. What could possibly go wrong?!
You approach the Lodestar Inn in the countryside near Ardis, former capital of the dread nation of Ustalav. You received instructions from Zarta Dralneen to carry an ornate box to their meeting with Venture-Captain Evni Zongnoss.
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A tall woman of obviously Kellid ancestory enters the inn. Tall, she walks with surprising grace. While her face mostly screams Kellid her dress is Varasian, and her movement is that of a dancer.
She doesn't bear the traditional heavy weapons of a Kellid, a dagger and rapier hang at her waist. A glance at her hands don't show the calluses of a swordswoman though. Rather they are covered in ink. Stepping back you might even notice her robe is that of a scholar.
She looks around, before annoucing "I am Teja Khellekdottir. I am looking for Evni Zongnoss.. " she pauses, and then adds hopefully. "and Khellek the historian."
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A short, Thuvian woman enters the inn, ostensibly unarmed, but a dozen or so bottles stuffed into her bandolier suggests she is not helpless. Her skin is dark from the harsh, Thuvian sun, under which she has spent most of the past year gathering stories of the legendary alchemist, Artokus Kirran.
Her face breaks into a wide smile when she sees her fellow Pathfinders. "Teja," she says, "I've read of your adventures, but I don't think we've ever gone on one together."
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Standing at the bar is a tall, muscular Ulfen woman wearing heavy armor with a shield slug across her back and a sword and hammer at her hip. She nods at the pathfinders as they enter. Her face breaks into a huge grin as Quinoline enters the room. She quickly downs her ale and orders four more from the innkeeper. Carrying the drinks to an empty table she calls the alchemist over and sets three of the drinks before her. "Ha! Quinn! Good to have you here. I haven't seen you since that business in Iobaria. Sit down and drink up. I'm already two ahead of you so I got you enough to catch up." She gives her friend a good-natured punch in the arm.
Taking a sip of her ale, she turns to the other pathfinders and slams her gauntleted hand on the table. "I'm not sure I know the rest of you. I'm Astrid Gertasdottir, shield maiden. I'm stealthier than moonlight and fiercer than a summer storm. I've killed more men than winter and drunk enough ale to sink an armada. I've ridden dinosaurs in distant lands and frightened a demon lord back into hell. I know what to expect from Quinn here. What can the rest of you contribute to our little venture?"
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Teja eyes up the rather fearsome form of Astrid slightly warily.
"I am Teja Khellekdottir, a scholar by profession. "
I suspect this is some type of challenge of boasts.. hmm
"I have read tombs from the fallen library of Gisthinarum, faced the drowned sailors of a sunken Ulfen raider and gutted more men than I have fingers... and toes."
The Lodestar must have once been a popular and well-appointed establishment, but it’s lost most of its splendor in the decades following the move of Ustalav’s capital from Ardis to Caliphas. The tables and chairs are made of sturdy oak, but bear the scuffs and stains of many years of heavy use. Once-vibrant tapestries hang on the walls, their hues muted by decades of lamp smoke, and the dusty shelves are laden with silver teapots, statuettes of unusual beasts, and other knickknacks. A small figure wearing flowing robes that glimmer like the night sky sips a large cup of tea as she chats with a slender half-orc in traveling gear and an older dwarf whose long red hair is streaked with gray.
Evni smiles widely. As she speaks up, her voice fills the somber room with brightness.
“You’ve arrived, and not a moment too soon! The situation might be getting out of hand, so I fear we don’t have much time. Oh, by the way, this is Ziri, a Horizon Hunter, and Kamenya of the Radiant Oath. They helped narrow down the signal’s origin point.”
Ziri gives a nod before speaking. “It’s somewhere near the village of Ilev. It should take you about a day if you take the Old Crown Road, unless you’re adamant about taking a carriage down every old and overgrown path.”
“Hey, a carriage is an excellent base of operations! Although I admit, I don’t mind having a permanent base from time to time.” protests Evni, folding her arms as Ziri chuckles before continuing.
“The village itself is abandoned, but there are still a few homesteads and farms nearby. The Ardis Scholars chose their headquarters well; folks around these parts know better than to go looking into anything unusual. I certainly hope we can find them. If Zarta’s suspicions are true, it’s possible they traveled farther than most! Can you imagine traveling to an entirely new planet?”
Kamenya pipes in, her voice smooth and level. “Ziri doesn’t hesitate to walk the path least traveled. From the little we know about the Ardis Scholars, they share a similar outlook, and also act with compassion. Their motto is ‘to learn, to understand, to embrace,’ which doesn’t fall far from the Radiant Oath’s philosophy. I hope we can find these elusive scholars and welcome them as allies.”
The battle-hardened dwarf sighs. “But most people fear what they don’t understand, and I can tell you the people around Ilev are terrified. They started to suffer from frequent and debilitating headaches. Some have even reported finding themselves in places without recollection of how they got there. No one has been injured so far, but they’re realizing something isn’t right.”
“And when they realize an alien or mysterious organization may be causing all of this, they won’t hesitate to use torches and pitchforks to solve their problems.” concludes Evni.
“But luckily, we have you! And the key in that box, of course. Zarta mentioned it should help us pinpoint the location of the source. What do you say, shall we take a look?”
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"I'm afraid that Zarta was... frugal.. with the information that she shared with us before departure. Apart from the box she gave us, she said nothing about what we would be facing, or doing. You mentioned something about a group of scholars... which is likely why I was included. But also another planet?"
Teja remembers that Ardis was the traditional capital of Ustalav and the birthplace of Soividia Ustav, the Varisian hero that founded the kingdom and ushered in a golden age that lasted until the rise of the Whispering Tyrant. Prince Valislav Ordranti’s decision to move the capital to Caliphas in 4674 AR is still felt bitterly by the people of Ardis.
Evni answers, “They key is not of this world, it acts as a sort of receiver, and prolonged contact with it without protective shielding causes headaches, memory loss, and other disturbances. I hope we’ll find out more once we open the box.”
Quinoline knows nothing else, but Navarre recalls that The kingdom’s founder defeated the Kellid shaman-king Voagx of the Stormheart and brought the clan’s godstone back to the capital of Ardis, where it still sits. The stone’s top is wrapped in chains, but is said to be decorated
with images of “a being made of storms and eyes” raining blessings upon its children.
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Quinoline takes a moment to smugly poke fun at Astrid for not reading the mission summons before showing up to smash things, and quietly omits the fact that she did the same and was also confused.
Astrid good-naturerdly accepts Quinnoline's ribbing."Ha! That's enough out of you. I don't take scoldings from friends that let me drink alone. Now get to work. You're almost three behind now." The shield maiden gestures expectantly at the three mugs of ale in front of the alchemist.
Before the drinking gets too intense to continue the mission, Evni encourages the Pathfinders to open the box.
The crystal key is inside a lacquered jewelry box about one foot long, six inches wide, and three inches tall.
Anyone who handles the box after removing the key quickly realizes it’s too heavy to be made of wood alone.
The box opens with a subtle click, revealing a key made of smooth crystal and blue-tinged metal. Whispers and fragments of incomprehensible visions surround the unusual key, creating a telepathic cacophony of jumbled thoughts and emotions.
If you are not the first to touch it, nothing happens.
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vs DC 24
"This link is psychically charged. I bet spells like mind reading, telepathy, or mind probe, or telepathic abilities will make the images and emotions easier to understand."
Perhaps Quinoline has been away from the Pathfinder Society too long to remember the dangers of touching random objects. Perhaps she overestimates her own psychic prowess. Either way, she instinctively reaches for the key, and ...
You may remove the red box on slide 3 to see the person in the image, but please replace it after you are done.
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"You guys didn't see the ... um ... the, um ... weak guy? The farm with cows and they have ... uh ... broken crowns? He walked up the hill, all stumbling and stuff, uh ... and the animals are in their enclosure."
Quinoline seems stupified by the vision.
Astrid is astonished at her friend. "Good gods Quin! You've barely had any of your ale. How can you be drunk already?"
Quinoline started acting funny after touching the key. Others could do so as well.
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Astrid touches the key and frowns. "Nothing. Well Quin wouldn't make that up so let's see if we can make anything out of that vision of hers."
She turns to Quinoline. "You say you saw a weak guy on a farm and there were cows that wore broken crowns or had a symbol of a crown. The weak guy walked up a hill but was either drunk or injured and the animals stayed in their pens. Is that right?"
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It takes a few tries, but Quinoline eventually recollects everything she saw.
You see an emaciated figure. He is at a small farm with about a dozen head of cattle marked with the symbol of a broken crown. Without closing the gate behind him, he slowly ascends the hill, stumbling and disoriented, while the animals wander off to their enclosure.
Evri eagerly listens to Quinoline's tale, though seems puzzled by the vision. Ziri, however, recognizes the brand from a farm belonging to Kistur Radu, a reclusive man who only occasionally makes the trip to Ardis to buy provisions or sell meat. His farm is located about a day of travel north if you follow the road leading away from the inn.
"You could rent a cart to get there and back. Kistur's reclusive, but not dangerous. We'd like you to figure this out as soon as possible, but I agree that running there isn't going to work out well for you."
The Pathfinder Society can spot you the few coppers to rent a cart, or you can walk. Either way, you head for the farm.
A simple rectangular dwelling faces a small hill to the northwest. A fenced area attached to the home keeps in a few heads of cattle, each bearing a mark of a broken crown. The sound of a grindstone grating against metal comes from a small shed on the opposite side.