You have been summoned by Zarta Dralneen to her office in the Dark Archive within the vaults beneath the Grand Lodge.
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Furen arrives about half an hour before the designated meetup time. She has long blonde hair and ruby-colored eyes, wears a breastplate, and carries a wooden butterfly holy symbol.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Furen, and I'm looking forward to working with you," she smiles at those who are also waiting in the hallway outside Zarta's office, assuming they're also summoned by Zarta.
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Hello. My name is Mallycorn Tavee, and I am a servant of Pharasma. Nice to meet you, Furen of Desna.
The human male seems in his early twenties, and wears an old studded leather armor, which has seen better days. His silver holy symbol is indeed the spiral of Pharasma.
The man himself has a black beard and matching hair, grey eyes, and he's of average height. His smile is warm and pleasant.
Been a while since I've last gone on a mission, I should check my equipment before we go. I don't even think I still have holy water, or alchemical fire, both of them very useful.
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"Well met."
A young half-orc with rusty red hair and beard steps out of the shadows into the light of the hallway. He wears dark leather lamellar plates which appear well cared for. He returns Furen and Mallycorn's smile with one of his own, accompanied by a friendly gaze from his icy-blue eyes.
"Call me Azalmak. I must admit, I'm pretty green here, this is my first assignment. I'm eager to get out in the field, though."
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Been a while since I've last gone on a mission, I should check my equipment before we go. I don't even think I still have holy water, or alchemical fire, both of them very useful.
"Don't need much more than a solid piece of oak to deliver a good knock, I say!" bellows another half-orc with an unusually tall frame arriving on the seen. His dress is that of a simple farmer with a few pelts added for warmth and comfort. His hand rests round a sturdy wooden staff.
"They call me 'Crackin' John'," he continues, giving a nod to each assembled. "And most times, I even answer."
"Speakin' of answerin', its been some time since the Society's called upon my services. Wonder what manner of work one should expect from this Lady Dralneen."
The door opens and a beautiful Chelish woman in dark, flowing robes comes out. Seeing your group, she smiles and says “One moment, my tasty treats.”
She grabs the Do Not Disturb sign from the door and puts it away.
With a dramatic sweep, she says “Enter! I have a minor mystery and I’m hoping you are the agents to solve it.”
She does raise one eyebrow and asks “Aren’t there supposed to be more of you? I do hope Ambrus didn’t short me agents.”
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A feisty gnome with sparkling blue eyes and a full red beard and hair winks at Zarta and laughs.
"I don't think that Ambrus shorted you of agents but some of us are short."
Despite his diminutive status Relgar struts around with an enormous amount of self-importance as befits a sorcerer.
He nods and smiles at the other pathfinders looking ready for anything that the world might throw at him.
Inside the room you find a strange mixture of extravagance, archivist and mad scientist.
There are multiple bookshelves filled with scrolls, books, maps, and various items that would be appropriate for a wizard’s laboratory.
To one side of the room is a large desk, easily four feet wide and eight feet long. It is polished walnut with silver handles on the drawers and silver trimming decorating it. There is a very comfortable looking and elegant high-backed padded chair behind the desk.
In front of the desk are some chairs, a love seat, and some foot stools. Much nicer than the normal meeting area. There is a tea set off to the side of the desk as well.
Looking around the room, you see some sort of glowing crystaline arch, a couple of stuffed creatures, some parts from what you would guess was once a construct, and various other odds and ends. There are also two cases that are sealed with cold iron bindings and one sealed with silver bindings.
Quite the eclectic collection!
The woman gestures to the chairs in front of the desk and says “Please, have a seat.”
Smiling, she says to Relgar “I do like your wit, Relgar. Nice that at least one of the agents is familiar with our group.”
Looking to the rest of you, she says “I fear that I don’t recognize any of you. We will have to fix that!”
“I am Madam Zarta Dralneen and am in charge of the Dark Archives.”
Gliding over to the tea set, she does a half turn and asks “Would any of you like some tea? I just got a new batch from Amara Li and it is quite nice.”
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Relgar smiles back at Zarta and sits down on a foot stool with room to spare.
"I have my familiar Gregor all locked up this time. The sorcerer points to a tattoo resembling a winged dinosaur. Your place is far too nice for any of his shenanigans."
"What can I say. Boys will be boys."
The gnome's eyes light up at the sight of the two cases.
"Those look new, at least to me."
Zarta follows his gaze. “Yes, we just got a couple of new items to analyze.”
“One has been deep in our vaults for over three decades, we haven’t found the chronicles that should go with it. I will be constructing a full containment circle around it before we break those seals.”
“The other…” She shakes her head. “Yet another item from the Blakros Museum. We need to figure out what it does and how dangerous it might be.”
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Furen frowns, "The Blakros Museum...My son was sent there twice, and let's just say he didn't not give it a good review."
"Anyway," she then smiles to Zarta, "It's an honor to meet you, lady Dralneen. I'm Furen E Lustario, priest of Desna from Tian Xia. You might not heard of me, but surely you have met my husband and his sons. Does the Rosenthal family rings any bell?"
Her husband, Lv10 archer druid Colin Rosenthal, played #7-18(The Infernal Inheritance) in which Zarta asked he and his teammates to performed a jailbreak in Cheliax. He also accompanied Zarta to Hell in #10-09(What Prestige is Worth).
Her son, Lv5 summoning druid Colin Mercer Rosenthal, played #4-11(The Disappeared) where he sneaked into a embassy to gather information about Zarta's disappearance. He is the one that played #0-05(Mist of Mwangi) and #9-05(Call of the Copper Gate).
The other son of Colin, Lv9 investigator Korin Rosenthal, used the documents his brother gathered to gained Zarta's freedom from the Hellknights in #4-13(Fortress of the Nail) and bridal carried Zarta out of her imprisonment in hell after a bloody fight. He then worked under Zarta in #7-25(Orders from the Gate).
A well-dressed, well-groomed Taldan man enters the room, "Greetings all my name is Gaius Marius, Inquisitor of Hathor. My apologies, the Society's business in Taldor took longer to finalize than we expected. Nonetheless yet another success thanks in no small part to my contributions. But enough of my successes, what brings us to this meeting today Lady Dralneen?"
He gives the Lady a courtly bow.
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Looking to the rest of you, she says “I fear that I don’t recognize any of you. We will have to fix that!”
“I am Madam Zarta Dralneen and am in charge of the Dark Archives.”
Gliding over to the tea set, she does a half turn and asks “Would any of you like some tea? I just got a new batch from Amara Li and it is quite nice.”
"Always happy to make a new acquaintance, Madam Dralneen," John replies with a toothy grin. "Especially one so easy to drink in."
He turns a gaze towards the woman, then takes a sip of the proffered tea. Easier to drink in than this tea, he nearly says aloud, having never found the taste much to his liking yet too polite to decline. He chokes down another sip, hoping the day will bring something stronger with it.
Furen frowns, "The Blakros Museum...My son was sent there twice, and let's just say he didn't not give it a good review."
"Anyway," she then smiles to Zarta, "It's an honor to meet you, lady Dralneen. I'm Furen E Lustario, priest of Desna from Tian Xia. You might not heard of me, but surely you have met my husband and his sons. Does the Rosenthal family rings any bell?"
She arches an eye brow at mention of the family name. “Yes, the name is familiar. Perhaps after this mission you can tell me more of the family.”
She greets each of the late arrivals, providing them a cup of tea if they wish.
At mention of the objects, she gives a dismissive wave and says “Oh, those aren’t what I wish you to investigate. Sorry for the confusion.”
Looking at each of you again, she says “Seems we finally have the full group I was promised.”
She moves over and closes the door, then goes behind the desk and sits in the high-back chair.
“The task I’m going to ask of you is to investigate a mystery.”
She pulls out a map and spreads it on the desk. Standing and leaning over the desk she says “You will be going to Saringallow, in Isger.” She points on the map to the location.
“Isger is yet another vassal state of Cheliax. It has little in the way of redeeming qualities, lacking any opera houses or other civilized facilities. Some of you may have heard of the Goblin Wars, those were in Isger.”
She points on the map to the Chitterwoods. “Most of the goblin problems came from this forest.”
With a gesture at what looks like a prism and some crystal and glass wind chimes hanging nearby she says “We’ve indications that there is a problem brewing there. If we act quickly, we can prevent it from becoming a large problem. If left alone, it would likely fester and grow.”
“My divinations do not give any specifics of what the problem is. That is fortunate, because it means it is likely still small.”
Sitting back down, she adds “I want you to go to Saringallow, find out what is happening, and stop the problem before it has a chance to spread.”
She adds “I would suggest you start by contacting the mayor. My sources tell me the current mayor is still Sandra Trinelli. She might have heard rumor of some strange happenings. You can also ask around the town, see what the townsfolk know.”
“The Isgeri people do not care for Thrune. It would be more appropriate to call their servitude passive aggressive than loyal. As such, I doubt any will care should you wear your wayfinders openly.”
“As I’m sure many of you know, House Thrune has little love for the Pathfinder Society.”
She takes a sip of her tea, then says “So, I imagine you have questions.”
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To compensate for her not-so-reliable memories, Furen takes out her journal and start writing notes, "Investigate mystery...Saringallow, Isger...go find mayor Sandra Trinelli..."
She then raise her hand and ask many questions, "What sort of troubles should we expect down in Saringallow? Goblins? House Thrune? Does the mayor know that we're coming? Could you tell us what Saringallow is like?"
I've only played part 3 of that trilogy due to the fact that the group I played with have already gone through the first 2 scenarios before I joined them. I will add them to my scenario wishlist! Zarta is a certainly a interesting character, much more so than her "questgiver" colleagues.
“Honestly, I’ve never been to Saringallow. I can only tell you what I’ve heard from others.”
“It is a modest size town, about two thousand people. Mostly human, a fair number of half-elves and gnomes, a sprinkling of other races. Although you could get most common equipment there, don’t expect it to have more exotic or magical goods.”
“It was originally the holdings of House Sarini. That was before I was born, to my knowledge that house is no more.”
“I doubt you will find any part of the Chelish government active in the area. Although they claim Isger as a vassal state, mostly all they do is collect taxes from the area.”
“Goblins? They seem to be everywhere. In my experience, they are usually the servants of somebody or something else. Much too disorganized to be a threat by themselves except in great numbers.”
“Given the divinations, I would expect some sort of occult or mystical danger. I do not know if it is in the town or just nearby and have no specifics on what to look for.”
“My advice is to investigate, hunt down anything that seems odd.”
“No, the mayor doesn’t know you are coming.”
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Relgar's mind begins to drift at the mention of the goblins and the potential mischief they have been up to.
"Well, the one good thing I can say about goblins is that they know how to set things on fire. In fact they are almost as good as gnomes in that regard ... almost."
He looks at Zarta trying to be more helpful.
"Not to worry. We will straighten this little mess out for you. A little travel and investigation should be no big deal. We can handle it."
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"Goblins? Simple enough to handle. Occult or mystical happenings? Less so," John concludes with a pensive look. "However, if it is simply 'anything that seems odd' that you wish to hunt down, you need look no further than your present company, I would think!"
The half-orc releases a deep belly laugh with enough force to throw his head back.
"We shall have fun on our adventure, I think!" He gives the gnome a solid pat on the back with a tremendously eager exertion that proves to be even greater than that of his laugh.
Zarta asks “Anything else? If you have everything with you I can send you now.”
Drinking some of the offered tea Gaius stops to reply, "I believe you have supplied us with the information we need to begin the investigation. Thank you for your belief in us."
Zarta waits a few moments and when no one speaks, she says “Good, it appears you all came prepared.”
Standing up, she glides across the room to the crystaline arch.
“I’ve decided it is best if we avoid the delays caused by more mundane means of travel.” Gesturing into the arch she continues. “Try to stay at the center of the pathway. You may experience some dizziness or nausea during transit. By my calculations, the trip should only appear to take about ten minutes.”
As she is saying this, she adds a few crystals to the arch which activate it. It starts to glow and the pathway within the arch becomes a kaleidoscope of colors. There does appear to be a focus point at the center which you can move towards. It is where all the colors merge, but with the way they turn it is disorienting.
“Come along, no time to waste. You will need to use overland travel to return, but at least we can get you to Isger today.”
Put any rolls in spoilers, but have fun with your description of coming out the other side.
Go ahead and give Fortitude DC 12 and Reflex DC 15 saves to avoid the nausea and to keep oriented correctly when everything around you appears to be spinning.
Failure on the Fort save
Failure on the Reflex save
You will be coming out near a dirt road through fields. You can see some scattered trees nearby.
Survival DC 12
Zarta says in a teasing tone “It seems you need to clean your ears, Mallycorn. I said you would need to use overland travel.”
“I recommend a boat for the last leg of the journey back.”
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Furen's prepared spell:
Orison: Create Water, Guidance, Detect Magic, Stablize
Lv1: Bless, Bless, Remove Fear, Liberating Command
Furen will go grab a few alchemical items before going in just in case: Antitoxin, Antiplague, Stillgut, Meditation Tea
Furen comes out of that colorful gate just fine. "It's the afternoon now, we better hurry and find the mayor during their business hour."
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"Never travelled by colors before," grunts John. "The adventure BEGINS!"
The half-orc confidently strides into the archway.
The half-orc emerges unwell, disoriented, and apparently dangling upside from a tree.
He manages to free himself and drop to the ground with a prodigious *THUD*!
Rising to his feet, he assumed the sound would draw the others to him.
Thankfully, he notes to himself. I did not have an audience.
Coming out near a dirt road through fields, he spots the remainder of the party. "Good of the rest of you to catch up!" He laughs. "The sun indicates it is about two or three hours after noon. It would seem we have lost a few hours in transit."
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Azalmak follows Furen and John in, trying to mimic the other half-orc's confidence.
Less confident on the other side, he pauses after emerging from the gate for a few beats until the world stops spinning, and his stomach settles. He realizes immediately that he has no idea where they are, but he's glad he arrived in one piece.
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"Interesting shortcut and colorful as well."
Looking unwell, and less confident, Gaius tries to mask his condition by pointing out to the others, "It's about two or three hours after noon and we were in Lady Dralneen's just this morning. Quite the timesaver if not a bit...disconcerting on the senses."
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Zarta says in a teasing tone “It seems you need to clean your ears, Mallycorn. I said you would need to use overland travel.”
Mallycorn answers with a smile and a bow
Madam, your beauty and charisma are enough to trouble the wisest men. And I'm not the wisest man. But you are right, I should have paid more attention to your words.
He goes through the portal
Although you all go into the archway together, when you come out only Furen, Azalmak and Gaius are in a group. Gaius looks nauseous.
You are on the side of a dirt road through some farmer’s fields. Corn on the left, cabbage on the right. There are trees at the edge of the fields that provide a windbreak. The road turns to the right ahead, but the trees prevent you from seeing where it goes.
You do hear a loud THUD! from those trees, as if someone had just dropped a heavy sack on the ground from several feet up. You also hear some groaning and rustling from the fields to either side.
Looking at the sun, Furen notes "It's the afternoon now, we better hurry and find the mayor during their business hour."
Gaius agrees with Furen’s observation, adding "It's about two or three hours after noon and we were in Lady Dralneen's just this morning. Quite the timesaver if not a bit...disconcerting on the senses."
Azalmak is glad someone seems to know where they are and what time it is. Although he didn’t have any trouble with the transit, he has no idea where he is.
As you are looking around, Relgar comes out of the cabbage patch. He looks a little queasy and still has some leaves stuck to his clothing. He speculates “It feels like we went back in time. But that cannot be right?”
Shortly after that Mallycorn comes out of the corn field. Although he looks fine, he also has no idea where he is.
Just as you are starting to wonder where the last member of your group is, you see Cracking John ahead of you at the turn in the road. He looks cheerful.
He calls out "Good of the rest of you to catch up!" He laughs. "The sun indicates it is about two or three hours after noon. It would seem we have lost a few hours in transit."
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"Say, now? Do see how that bluff in the distance aligns in the direction of this furrow before it makes a slight break towards that field?" notes John, pointing to the features. "Unless I'm mistaken, the same could be found on Zarta's map. Which means..."
The half-orc momentarily shields his eyes from the sun overhead, so to better scan the horizon. "Which means, the town must be further along the road in this direction," drawing a line in the air from his brow to a position in the distance where the road dips behind a small hill.
Hefting his staff in hand, he starts heading along the road in the direction indicated, putting up a brisk pace.
"Come now!" he calls back to the others, having already strode a sizable distance ahead of them. "The town can't be more than another few miles from here!"
Gaius doesn’t see any threats in the immediate area.
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The gnome winks at Mallycorn. At least someone around here has a sense of humour or some perspective at least.
"That is the spirit."
Relgar chuckles at Azalmak's comments.
"If it was important they would have sent some experienced Pathfinders and they would have used some proper teleportation magic or a trip through the Hao Jin Tapestry."
"I like Zarta, she has style but this planar arch leaves much to be desired as a mode of transportation."
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"Last time I heard, the Hao Jin Tapestry is breaking apart beyond salvation due to poeple keep wanting to use it as teleport shortcut, and the Society end up having to relocate thousands of its residents because of it. Usually, proper teleportation magic is something we can expect from our wielder of the arcane art here, right?"
As you discuss the sun’s position, the advantages and disadvantages of various magical means of transport, and who is the longest lived you make your way along the road.
The point where you arrived was obviously farmland, but as you make your way along the road you notice there are also grazing fields with sheep being watched over by shepherds.
Soon the Conerica River comes into view. The road follows the river and soon after that you see the walls of Saringallow. The walls are quite extensive, even enclosing some farmland. There are almost no buildings outside the walls and few near them on the inside. It would be a long patrol for any guard that wanted to walk the full length of the walls.
There are gates with two guards currently on duty. The gates are open and traffic is allowed to pass freely in and out of the town. It would appear that the guards are watching for obvious threats rather than worrying about pedestrians entering the city. They are not challenging anyone at the gates.
Just inside the gates you see a community notice board.
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Relgar spends a minute to straighten himself out to make himself more presentable. He then confidently strides into the town now that the momentary disorientation from his travelling has passed.
He approaches the community notice board to see what might be posted.
"I think that this is a good place to start."
The community board has the type of notices you would expect. Traders listing goods they need transported, request for someone to gather herbs, a bounty on a debtor, notice about missing sheep, and various other such flyers.
There is a general bulletin reading Adventurers looking for work should contact the mayor’s office. It doesn’t list any jobs, seems to be just a general notice.
There is also a map of the town showing the community center, apothecary, general store, a shrine to Erastil, tavern and stables. It isn’t a very detailed map, but good enough to find the buildings.