Pathfinder 2e, Bounty 7, Cleanup Duty, Outpost VI (Inactive)

Game Master DoubleGold

Dot in.

You all begin your journey as you explore the Bazaar of Sails, a bustling marketplace in the Dockway District of Magnimar. You all notice Zarzan hanging a poster on the job board with weary determination. His
clothes, while clean and well-kept, seem to be from another era. Zarzan’s poster reads as follows.

Immediate Assistance Needed!
Hello intrepid adventurers. I require a competent crew to
check out an abandoned building, track down a wayward servant, and clean out some disgusting pests. Please inquire at the Rusty Anchor.
—Zarzan

A very large man of obvious Ulven descent eyes up the poster carefully. He leans forward, running his hand along the words to make sure he has them right.

Then, looking around, he checks around for the Sign of the Rusty Anchor.

"Ulvard brave. No abandoned building scares Ulvard!" he mutters, stalking toward the Rusty Anchor as he does so.

A knight, or what appears to be a knight follows Ulvard into the Rusty Anchor. His eyes are haunted, as if reliving a traumatic event.

"You would think differently if you're from where I'm from" he mutters. He touches his purse, feeling its lightness, and sighs.

"Ha!" says the big man.

"Ulvard wonders where you are from. Ulvard will travel there and show you how fearless he is! Then more will know of Ulvard the Fearless."

"Lastwall"

"Shush, you two!" A green-haired gnome barks at the two tall humans. "Can you not see that I am trying to read?"

Spying the request on the note, the gnome declares, "Surely, this is a job for Rethersfell the Evocator!"

Ironwolf looks at the gnome. "Who the What?"

A somewhat scrawny-looking orc looks at the poster. "Huh. Seems easy enough. A good test for you, eh, Bob?" he says, turning to what looks like little more than a vaguely humanoid pile of purple slime. He then notices the others arguing about the job. "You all looking for work, too? Looks like we might be tackling this one together. I'm Mark, and my friend here is Bob." He offers a hand to each of the others, and you get the feeling he would like the same courtesy extended to his 'friend'.

As the green-scaled kobold approaches the poster from a trip in a country, located east of Varisia, he exclaims with a low voice, but with excitement.

"Ah! Those tasks seem made for me!" He has a flash as the word pests. "Please! I hope those pests are not my fellows."

"Retherfall the Evocator[b]" says Ulvard, carefully and slowly to Ironwolf. He leans closer "[b]Ulvard thinks maybe he means Evoker. Ulvard wonders what scares brave men of Lastwall when they are unable to hear spooky sounds?"

He nods to the others in the oddball collection, shaking hands with Mark and then extended an extreemly polite hand to ... Bob.

Ulvard offers a nod to the kobold. "Ulvard hopes so too. Ulvard suspects rats. Rats are everywhere in civilised lands."

Turning back to Rethersfell he offers "Would you like Ulvard to read note for you?"

Turning back to Rethersfell he offers "Would you like Ulvard to read note for you?"

"Not necessary. Not necessary," Rethersfell insists. "You have already prattled on quite substantially and, yet, have managed to say very little."

"As for 'Evocator'? One should know that a wizard always says what he means!" declares the gnome, before adding, "No doubt, you should be asking me to read a dictionary to you."

"Let's not get snippy." a baritone voice came from a dark corner of the Rusty Anchor. The figure stood, and pulled back a simple green hood, revealing a tall, lanky Varisian man.
He tapped a callused finger on a tarnished brooch; the Glyph of the Open Road. "We are all on the same team, after all."

The man stepped forward, and cautiously shook hands with Mark and Bob, then much more confidently with the others.
"Name's Geshko. Well met!"

After you all introduce yourselves at the Rusty Anchor, Zarzan explains his situation. He speaks in heavily accented Common, I was once an apprentice to the great wizard Meave the Enchantress in the Thassilonian realm of Bakrakhan. While I wass on an errand to retrieve rare supplies in the capitol, Xin-Edasseril, Earthfall stranded me outside of time, a
fate shared by many other Thassilonians. When I found myself in a new time and place, I traveled south to see if his teacher’s home and study were still standing. I found Meave’s home on a nearby island the locals call Gull Island, but putrid oozes infest the place. Unable to eliminate the creatures myself, I hired a local mage to conjure an ooze mephit for me. I sent the mephit to handle the oozes, but the slimy servant is overdue. Zarzan has two tasks for the PCs: clean out any remaining oozes, and the ooze mephit as well. As a reward, he offers the PCs four gp each, to be paid at the conclusion of their mission. Any questions.

Bob glares at Zarzan in a way that might be considered accusatory on a face where the features weren't so malleable.

"The oozes that are already there," Mark clarifies. "No one is going to be handling you."

This is roughtly what Bob looks like.

Isder shows a surprised face as he hears what they need to clean up.

"What? Did I heard ooze?"

Yes, oozes, I'm sure you Pathfinder can handle it he says with confidence.

"Ulvard wonders if his Mighty Blade will hurt oozes. Ulvard has heard that some cannot be hurt by normal weapons."

"No testing on Bob, please."

Ironwolf looks a bit indignant at what the mage is asking.

"I did not survive the disaster at Lastwall to clear out slime."

He sighs and takes a deep breath.

"However, I also do need to eat, so perhaps this is better than cleaning the privy at the local tavern."

Geshko frowned as he listened to the Thassilonian's problem. Why would someone would use magic to summon more ooze to solve an ooze problem? Why would magic even be your 1st option? He shrugged, shaking off the irrelevant questions and suspicion.
"I'm sure we can handle your oozes, Zarzan." Geshko responded, "Do you have the name of the mage you hired? We could ask him about the mephit."
"Anythin' else we should know about this house? Somethin' valuable you're lookin' for we should be keeping an eye out? Enchantments? Traps? ... Curses?" His eyes narrow as he spits the last question out.

"Never send a mephit to manage the matters of a mage," chides Rethersfell. "When do we ship out?"

Ulvard's eyes light up at the word "value", but his ears prick up also at Ironwolf's mention of a disaster. "Ulvard has been in many disasters!" he says. "But mostly on the winning side. Ulvard also greens with Ironwolf. Food is important."

The mages name is John and he will be hard to track down because he is always busy working at school or doing afterschool work and can't be bothered, but here is something you need to know about the Mephit since you are asking.
“If he causes trouble or won’t leave, do what you must to get him out of the way. He has his uses, but he is tiresome. I can’t have him interfering while I am investigating the ruins. I do not wish to squander the money I spent to conjure him, so if he is alive and willing, I would have
him continue to serve me rather than be slain.”
And about this place “I used to work there as a student of magic and alchemy. My master is long gone, and I was shocked to find the place still standing. I hope to see what remains of my master’s work and perhaps take up residence.

SOCIETY, MAGNIMAR LORE, OR THASSILON LORE Post your modifiers, this is a secret roll.

Arcana Post your modifiers, this is a secret roll.

Occultism Post your modifiers, this is a secret roll.

Ulvard considers what little he knows of the area.

Society +0, untrained in others so +0 there too

Ulvard considers what little he knows of the area.

Society +0, untrained in others so +0 there too

You don't have to roll, you can just post here that you don't want to roll or you aren't trained in anything so you don't want me to. There are crit failure answers and because you won't know the results of your roll, you won't know you crit failed.

None of the above so Ironwolf just sits and watches

That's okay, Ulvard would certainly have a think about what he does or does not know, so I'm happy to risk a crit fail on a society recall knowledge. That said, if a crit fail can have a party wide effect, I'll not risk it on behalf of others.

Isder knows he does not know stuff and relies on others.

I won't roll any secret skill check.

Arcana +3, leaving the others alone.

Geshko has Occultism +5
And Lore: Curse +5 if it matters.
Pretty sure we'll be relying on the Evocator for this one!

+7 is Society, Arcana, and Occultism. Rethersfell would like to try all three.

Ulvard knows nothing Neither crit fail or success

Comlobue's pregen knows: Ooze mephits are a type of elemental creature. Weaker than their elemental kin, they usually serve the whims of more powerful beings. They can fly and their bodies are made of slime, but they have no special power over oozes, or any other creature, for that matter.

Geshko knows nothing

Rethersfell knows what comlobue knows on the arcana check
occultism check
Many oozes have acidic attacks that can degrade flesh and
even stronger materials. The putrid oozes Zarzan describes are most likely
sewer oozes, which commonly plague the tunnels beneath cities and spray filth to hinder their prey.
Most oozes are mindless creatures driven only by hunger. They can survive lengthy periods on minimal food. Oozes have no discernible anatomy and lack vital spots to attack.
Society check
Many of the islands near Magnimar still hide ruins from ages past, some as old as ancient Thassilon. Piratesand smugglers sometimes use them as safe havens and hidden caches.

"Sewer oozes?" Ironwolf wrinkles his nose, already dreading the upcoming mission.

"Ulvard wonders if we should take food to distract oozes." ponders the big man.

"Ulvard thinks that such a distraction may be helpful while Cleanup happens."

Geshko wrinkled his nose at the mention of sewer oozes, which brought a vivid mental picture of semi-sentient balls of excrement rolling around. Another drawback of so many people living so close together. Likely created by a wizard playing a prank or witch cursing someone.
"Alright, let's get a move on. Does anyone know where we could get a boat? Also, is anyone allergic to cats?"

Isder is aware he may need to clean his clothing after.

"Let's go. Cleanup time," says the kobold as he remembers his previous martial training.

"Presumably, Zarzan has access to a vessel as he has been there previously." Rethersfell say. "But, I agree, that which must be cleansed should be cleansed quickly."

However, if we have a day before we go, Rethersfell will switch out spells.

You all arrive. Map
Place yourselves on the map and make perception checks

Perc: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

perc: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Ulvard looks around, eyeing up the terrain suspiciously.

The gnome does the same.
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Isder Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Mark Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Bob Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

You all notice nothing out of the ordinary. The door to the place is unlocked. What shall you do?

"If you don't mind, I can go open the door slightly." says the kobold as he approaches the door.

"Wait. Let me" Ironwolf draws his sword and positions his shield and charges at the door, striking the door with his shield, hoping to knock down anyone positioned behind it.

Think of it as the hero in those action movies hitting the door and rolling behind furniture to surprise the bad guys! :)

Ulvard raises an eyebrow and draws his sword, ready for action if something should emerge from it.

Geshko makes a wide berth from the building, scouting away from the rest of the party. He is accompanied by an orange and white striped wildcat about the size of a large dog. The pair move together, as if one being, and survey the building for danger.
Geshko Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Animal Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

As the others smash through the door, Geshko draws his bow and nocks an arrow.

"By all means, after you," gestures Rethersfell.