You've all gathered before the Maze of the Open Road and are about to be sent away for a mission. This might be a good time for character introductions.
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...A ysoki of medium proportions emerges from behind a cluster of barrels, munching on some dried salted cheese, and feeding little bits to a rat upon his shoulder, who snatches the pieces and crawls back into one pocket or another.
Looking left then right then left then right ”I think we are the first people here, Freerat!” wrinkling his nose causing his whiskers to whisk to and fro...
...popping out from the pocket once more, hunk of cheese in cheek, the tiny rat looks left then right then left then right and nods his head before scurrying back into the pocket...
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A wild puff of hair bobs down the path, quickly resolving out of the crowd as a halfling with light brown skin, dark brown frizzy hair, and a gleaming short sword at her hip. Her armor is a faded fuchsia that seems like it aught to be violence on the eyes, but somehow makes her seem to blend into the background a bit.
She saunters up to the other two and grins. "Heya. Looks like I'm on time, for once!"
She gives an elaborate bow. "Bina Sevencloaks, at your service. Sharp blades and sharper dance moves."
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She purses her lips. "It's kind of... freestyle? I grew up performing on the streets of Bloodcove for coppers. A lot of Sargavan and Jalmerayan influence. Never got into underwater... well, anything, really. Not a strong swimmer. I only dog paddle." She makes the motions with her hands.
"Anyway, I'm sure you'll see my footwork eventually. I've been doing this a while now, and I can't say I've ever taken a job for the Society that didn't end in a fight. Not that it's their fault, per se, just sorta the nature of what we do, y'know?" She shrugs. "I always come back wondering why I keep doing it. Sticking my neck out for a fistful of gold and all that. I've thought about quitting so many times. But I'm still here, so I guess at this point that settles it. Besides, if I'm being honest, it's just... fun." She grins up at the sorcerer. "And what's life without fun, right?"
"It's kind of... freestyle?...
Thinking he heard his name called, our tiny rat hero pops his head out, peeks at the two ladies talking, then pops back into the pocket once more...
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That's exactly what my undine mom says. Life isn't worth living if you don't have fun. She used to be a Pathfinder too and I am beginning to discover what she meant. She was also into underwater performing and I guess ... I sort of followed along, being part undine myself
Although I am not sure I would like to date a dhamphir dominatrix like she did.
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A young and handsome Varisian male enters into the room. He is dressed in blue and black leathers with a pair of sturdy boots. He carries a few daggers and 2 light clubs on his back. He has a few pouches as well. He nods in greetings.I am Graeyson, acrobat and ranger he says But more acrobat he states with a smile.
A fellow Pathfinder leads you through the Maze of the Open Road until you reach a portal, and instructs you to step through and go visit Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen. She activates the portal and you step through. Immediately, the temperature drops to almost freezing levels, and another Pathfinder at the other end offers you warm blankets and guides you out of the Maze. You reach the Pathfinder lodge and you enter. Bjersig Torrsen welcomes you and leads you to a roaring hearth fire. His interpreter, a gnome called Lirall, and his dog Mahki are also present.
Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen’s oversized gestures convey his excitement. “Welcome to the far side of the map! I don’t know what I was expecting to find here, but it sure wasn’t the hospitality that the locals have shown us. I mean, just look at this new lodge! It’s like we never left home!
“Speaking of leaving home, we’ve worked alongside Rahaksenwe and other Port Valen leaders to link this lodge to the Maze of the Open Road. They helped us set up the portal so that future Pathfinders won’t need to cross monster-infested waters to get here like we had to. That help wasn’t
free, though.”
Rahaksenwe nods and explains, “The portal could not have been completed without the blessing of Viltydus, the fey guardian who guides travelers through the Forest of Trials. Viltydus has a keen eye for heroic potential, and their one condition for building and maintaining the portal is that Pathfinder agents must assist them regularly to foster greatness in this region. That’s why you’re here: to hold up your end of that bargain.”
Torrsen jumps back in. “So, wash up, get what you need from the quartermaster, and follow the footpath just outside the town gate right to
the stump at the edge of the forest. Viltydus will meet you there—somehow, they can always sense when Pathfinders are on the way! Any questions?”
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Betel shivers for a bit when the cold hits and casts Endure Elements on herself.
Two questions Venture Captain she says. Actually make that three. First off. Where exactly are we? Secondly do you have any idea what it is he wants us to do and thirdly ... she hesitates a bit. I've heard a lot about the northern lights that sometimes appear in the sky. What are the odds of witnessing them from here?
Bjersig Torrsen smiles. "Ah, I forgot. The whole portal thing is a bit disorienting if you don't know where you're going. We're in newly-settled Port Valen, on the western continent of Arcadia! The trip would've taken months by boat, but thanks to the Maze, we can cross hundreds of miles in a matter of seconds!"
Rahaksenwe then interrupts. "As for your second question, first off, Viltydus identifies as 'they,' please keep that in mind. They're a powerful fey guardian, and ticking them off could result in some nasty surprises in your oatmeal if you're not careful. But they will provide the details when you meet with them. They care deeply about legendary exploits, so your tasks won't be chopping wood or other mundane work. I doubt you'd have made it this far if you didn't have the skills to handle whatever Viltydus needs, though."
"As for the northern lights, you can't go much more 'north' than here, I guess. Not unless you want to travel across the Crown of the World, that is. But yes, we do see them from time to time, if the weather is right."
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As soon as they're through the portal, in the half-second it takes to get wrapped in a blanket, Bina is already shivering so hard she's practically vibrating. "Oooh gods, that's awful," she mumbles through chattering teeth.
During their briefing, she tries her best to focus on the Venture-Captain and his translator's words rather than her clicking teeth. She slowly manages to warm up enough that she doesn't immediately start shivering again. "I can't imagine how you could make oatmeal worse," she interjects, "but I take your point."
After gathering a few supplies she balances on the balls of her feet. The boots of her new digs are significantly thicker than her usual soft leather shoes. She has no idea how she's supposed to manage any footwork in these clodhoppers. "Guess I'll just have to stick to upper body moves," she grumbles. To Bjersig, she says, "Ready when you are, hoss. Which way to this Trial?"
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Bangy shivers but goes without saying anything until the VC comes over and bestows his a thicker jacket to wrap around his hoodie.
"Thanks!"
He checks to make sure that Tanglefoot Bag is still in his pocket from earlier... it is...
"You ready Freerat?" he says, taking off one of his woolen socks and wrapping his companion in it!
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Now wrapped up in a thick fur coat and for all the world looking like a shrub made of furs, Bina waves a hand at Betel. "Naw, this should do me! I just take a little longer to get used to the cold than some folks. I grew up in Bloodcove. We didn't have winters. Or weather in general, besides 'raining' and 'not raining.' Not a bad way to live, weather-wise, but it does make places like this a little hard to adapt to." She pauses a beat. "Also hurricanes. We had hurricanes. I guess those might take getting used to, if you're not from the coast."
Now that the rune has been placed on her shortsword, she admires the weapon's new sheen in the light. "Magic swords need names, right? Hmmm."
She raises the blade aloft and intones solemnly, "I hereby name thee... Stabitha." Nodding curtly to herself, she slips the blade back into its sheath.
Betel and Bangy Piper know the following about Port Valen:
Valenhall is a legendary warrior’s paradise glorified in Ulfen fables, able to be found only by those beckoned to it by a mythical call. Scholars disagree as to whether it’s a real place or an aspirational metaphor, a mystery the Pathfinder Society hopes to solve. Last year, a Pathfinder expedition crossed the ocean to the seaside Arcadian town of Port Valen, a waystation on the path to Valenhall, and established a new lodge in the former feasting hall of King Sveinn Blood-Eagle—where this meeting is taking place!
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”Heard some sailors talking about Valenhall on my trip here - sounds important!”
A full head shorter than the rest, our peppy ysoki hero tracks the conversations of the others with shifting head movements, but remains patiently quiet. When the team looks ready to head out, he pulls his short bow from his back and keeps it close.
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Bina watches Betel use the wand with mild curiosity; she's never had any kind of inherent magical talent, so seeing others do it is always interesting.
It takes her a second to realize she was asked a question. "Oh, sorry. Ehhh, not really. Port Peril is clear on the other side of the Shackles from Bloodcove. You have to sail through Dahak's Teeth and part of the Fever Sea to get from one to the other, it takes a hot minute by sail. By land, I couldn't even tell you. "
After you gather your supplies, you set out for your mission. You leave town and follow the indicated road. The plants and earth seem to naturally direct your focus towards a giant tree stump.
A lithe Mahwek individual stands atop a giant stump, their average height magnified by an awesome presence of personality. Their fingers, lips, ears, eyebrows, and nostrils are richly adorned with dozens of rings, each one made of a different material and etched with varying pictograms and sigils. They speak with a voice like wind in the canopy. “The portal already beckons souls destined for greatness! Welcome, Pathfinders, to the forest of Trials, a noteworthy juncture in your travels across this vast, beautiful world.”
...springing from the pocket, Freerat stares at the figure, and once implied that he extols greatness, bows with humility, and dips back into his pocket...
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Bina finally manages to pry her eyes off the stranger's impressive jewelry. "Oh, uhm. Thanks. So, ah, what do we..." She waves a hand vaguely, not exactly sure of the word. "..., er, do? To start, I mean."
She's slowly feeling the anxiety build in her solar plexus, a tightening of the guts as she wonders if she isn't maybe in over her head. She's been a lot of things, but 'hero' isn't really one of them.
It's probably hyperbole, she thinks. I'm not gonna get smited--smote?--smitten?--whatever, blasted by the gods if I'm not pure of heart. She then remembers her line of profession and gulps. I hope.
Viltydus smiles a bright smile at Bina's question. "Ah, great question! See, this land is new to you, right?" He makes a grand gesture at the forest around him.
"But people need a collective history and heroes to look up to, if you want to form a community. You are going to become those heroes, and as the generations pass, local legends who rose to the challenge for people in need! Though the tasks might not involve defeating a terrible villain or overcoming great odds, every hero has to start somewhere, right? Though your stories have only just begun, I sense greatness in all of you. Yes, even you, little one," Viltydus says as they point at Freerat.
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Before Freerat rises once more out of the pocket, Bangy intercepts his head with a firm finger, smunching him back down before he can respond ”Freerat is lucky” apparently speaking for the rodent familiar with perhaps a tinge of... is that jealousy or annoyance? ”I saved his silly hide from a warehouse that was conducting experiments on various animals - all his kin were slain by a slow painful oozing death* - he has since never left my pocket except to eat cheese!”
Viltydus claps their hands. "Well then! Every community needs their heroes, and every hero needs an origin story! Let's get everyone in Port Valen familiar with yours, shall we?"
They hop off the tree trunk and lead you back into Port Valen and into a feasting hall that is packed with people having lunch and sharing drinks. Viltydus walks towards the hearth and calls for the crowd's attention.
Viltydus’s eyes flash with genuine joy and playful mischief. “We consume food and drink for our bodies, we consume books and studies for our minds, but we consume tales and stories for our souls. Stories allow us to share our common love of life and remind us why we press on even when our bodies and minds beg us to turn back. Pathfinders gather stories from across the whole world, farther than the sight of a humble villager or even an Arcadian fey. Therefore, I task you to share your most exciting tales with us so that we may for a moment share in your greatest achievements!"
A cheer erupts from the crowd.
"What kind of tales would you like to hear, dear listeners? Stories of swashbuckling action, political intrigue, or of our heroes on the brink of defeat, only to rise to the occasion and overcome after all?" Viltydus plays to the crowd and is clearly having a great time.
"Tales of action and derring-do," comes from the crowd. "The bloodier, the better!" Another cheer erupts from the crowd as they pound their chests and high-five each other.
"Well then," Viltydus laughs as they make space for you. "Your first task is to show how heroic you have been and stoke the hearts of future heroes!"
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Bangy re-enacts the sad sad story about how one of his sisters was lost at sea, going overboard during a viscous storm, and how despite watching her drift away as the boat capsized, he swam to save as many of his other shipmates as he could while trying to look for her, ultimately unsuccessfully, and how he prays now to Gozreh that he might find her again some day...
...a somber note, he moves himself to tears while Freerat fetches him a rag...
...ripping it from his own pocket...
...which seems to annoy our ysoki hero into laughing despite himself as the two of them embrace with simple care and understanding...
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With an acrobatic tumble, the acrobat will use his skills to enter into the area where he is going to tell his tale to catch people and make them oohh and ahh
acrobatics
He will tell the story of his a troup of Varisian acrobats, as he climbs up on a poll. and how they trained and trained daily to be the best acrobats they could be, They were amazing and were the highlight of the circus they were members of
athletics to climb up a poll or a building
until one day a jealous circus rival cut the acrobatic swing in such a way that it would break mid swing, and without a net, the youngest member of the troup would fall to his death and be the ruin of the troup and the circus.
As he acts out the story, he takes a leap to show this part of the story.
But just as he is about to hit the ground, he does another acrobatic move to land unharmed on the ground, with a ta-da stance.
And this is what happened to me and how I was able to defy death in so many ways from that day forward!
acrobatics
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Bina pauses thoughtfully, trying to plan out her routine. "Anybody got a lute?" If there's someone who can play, she requests a specific song, an old pirate shanty called "Seven Bloody Treasures." As she moves sinuously between tables and chairs, a strange rhythm to her steps, she tells her tale.
"You never quite know what to expect, growing up on the streets of Bloodcove. An infamous den of scum and villainy, the city is ostensibly ruled by pirates. But!" She hops forward, jabbing a finger at a random patron like a cutlass. "It's also the city's worst-kept secret that the dreaded Aspis Consortium is the shadow power there! Cross them, and you're like to be found face-down in an alley with a slit throat!" She grasps her neck, crosses her eyes, and sticks out her tongue as she prat-falls backwards, landing flat and stiff hard against the floor before kicking into a backward somersault.
"This was bad news for Yours Truly. I never could keep my nose out of trouble, and one day that trouble turned out to be an Aspis assassin!"
She flips a stool with one foot, kicking it up into her hands, and uses it like a shield to fend off an imaginary attacker. "Blades in the dark, left of me, right of me! I swear, you cut one little purse from an assassin and he acts like you took his firstborn!" She snorts a laugh, then flips the stool with one hand to make it land on the floor upright, then rests one foot on it in a classic pirate captain stance.
When she tries to flip the stool, it catches on a bangle on her wrist, whacking her in the cheek. She stumbles from the hit and almost goes toppling over, but manages to catch herself at the last second on the stool, which is now laying on its side instead of upright. It looks awkward as Hells, but at least she didn't faceplant.
"As you can see," she continues smoothly, "Things did not go at all according to plan." She pauses to let her joke sink in before straightening up. "But I am nothing if not an improviser. I've been using dance to make a living since I could walk, and no one can ever predict quite where my little waltzes of death will lead next..."
She seamlessly flows into a wild dance of looping limbs and jingling bangles, flipping across stools and pirouetting past patrons, as she tells a harrowing tale of swordfighting, terror, and survival, all through her flowing, rhythmic steps and spins.
She tries for a triple-gainer off a table, but it's not quite high enough and she lands face-first in a puddle of beer on the floor.
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Betel looks rather sad as Bangy tells his story, wishing she had been there to help save people - especially Bangy's sister.
I hope you find her. Maybe she got saved by a mermaid
When it is her turn, after helping Bina off the floor.
Erm ... I am not sure I would count myself as a hero but my mother was a Pathfinder and I hope to be a good one too she starts shyly. I actually started off as a librarian in a magical library
Anyway ... erm ... there was this heavy rainstorm and the water started pouring in. I was frantically trying to save as many books as possible, as well as the more important and fragile ones ....
... chest deep in water and having to dive underwater to retrieve some of the heavier books ...
((Hero Point))
.... desperately fighting off or dodging these frantic rats that were trying to swim out past me ... and all I was armed with were cantrips ......
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Mik-Mek tells the story of his earlier missions for the Pathfinder Society. Allies of the Society, the Sewer Dragons, reached out for help when the Venture Captain they were supposed to meet never arrived. He reenacts his first battle using acrobatic flips.
"I was able to kill two of the enemy. But the enemy was fierce! The next time we ran into them I was in front and got badly hurt!"
"After the battle we had to navigate the streets of Absalom heading towards this museum where many many bad things happen. There was a big confusion with many smoothskins running this way and that. I had to push my way through to get to the museum."
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"We were protecting a caravan, when we were attacked by gnolls. I jumped right into the midst of the gnolls," leaping from one place to another. ( )
"I tumbled through the group of gnolls," rolling around the ground. ( )
"And then, through a terrible fight," battering himself in the process of enacting the fight ( ) "I tripped the gnoll leader and ended the fight!" ( )
Bina steps forward first. After her request for musical accompaniment, someone grabs a lute and plays the requested song. The crowd is at the edge of their seat all the while Bina is telling her story. They clearly love the pirate theme and the hero with a dark past. Though she gets a little lost in the theatrics of her performance, when the story concludes, she is met with a thundering applause and cries for more stories.
Yakuthiel steps forward to tell his story. Though his tale is short, the performance is lifelike and the crowd oohs and ahhs as he dodges his opponents and winces when he gets hit, and once again the crowd gives a big applause when the story is over.
Graeyson then steps up. After the first two tales, the crowd seems a bit underwhelmed by the story of a circus, until the sabotage part and the life of a young acrobat is in danger. The twist that that acrobat is Graeyson himself has the crowd agape, and once again cheers and applause fill the feasting hall.
The other Pathfinders then tell their tales, but the people are clearly too pumped up and boisterous to pay much attention.
After the performances are over, Viltydus approaches you again and beams, "What wonderful performances! I dare say you stoked the flames in the hearts of several of the locals. I wonder if they're going to be the next generation of Arcadia's heroes. Well, have a drink and something to eat, and we'll continue with the next task."
Viltydus also gives you a pair of Tracker's Goggles as a thank-you present for impressing them.
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Bangy eyes the Tracker’s Goggles, and if nobody else swipes them, sends Freerat over to make the scoop!
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Bina flinches as she touches the bruises on her face where it met the floor violently, but frowns when she sees Mik-Mek had it even worse. "We truly suffer for our art, huh?" she says with a grin. "Anybody good with a healer's kit? Mik-Mek could use some salve on that. No telling what we're gonna come up against in this trial."