[Gameday XII] PFS1e #9-09: Beyond the Halflight Path (Core) (Inactive)

Game Master roll4initiative

Salvio tries to focus on the conversations, and manages to catch a few words here and there.

Diplomacy Aid Another: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Diplomacy plus 2 Aids: 1d20 + 10 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 4 = 29

"Hello, I'm Damiar, and might I say that your dancing zombie looks remarkably spry?" Damiar dimples. "I've never seen a twiceborn like this before!"

Farlen just stays close and listens to conversations. He might nudge aDamiar if something useful is over heard adn give her a report.
diplomacy aid attempt: 1d20 ⇒ 16

Meandering along the cobblestone streets, your group happens upon a bizarre sight. An Ustalavian street performer, dressed in formal undertaker attire complete with tie and top hat, cranks a street organ as one of his two zombie servants performs a song and dance routine to a somewhat cheery, upbeat tune. While the other zombie ambles through the crowd with a basket and moans for tips, the other shuffles and staggers as it tries to dance to the beat. It howls out the chorus, terribly off key, "Puttin' onnn daaa Riiiitz!!!".

Good one, though you could also have gone with this one as well, although it would have taken more zombies.

A salute to the old Gene Wilder movie, Young Frankenstein, nicely worked in.

Farlen keeps an eye on the crowd too.
perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17
He whispers to Damiar, "I don't see any blue people, but I'll keep looking."

Markus looks around, watching in both fascination and horror, This is not what I expected, I mean it is, but it isn't exactly....

"OooOhhh! Why THAAANK Yoouuu, little lady." he says to Damiar very flamboyantly with a tip of his hat.
"I'm just deLIGHTed that you enjoyed the show!" he squints with a wry grin and twirls one side of his waxed mustache.

After a bit of chatting and almost boring you to death with pompous discussions about himself and his undead performers, the only interesting thing he mentions that grabs your attention is...
"OooOOoo, Just between you and me though," he winks pretentiously, then leans forward to whisper,
"I hearsay some unfortunate chap was grabbed and almost pulled into the sewer by a tentacled beast." his eyes go wide in a theatrically fearful expression and he wiggles his fingers like tentacles in front of your face. He then continues,
"It left his face red and swollen like a turnip! His face was all droopy like it was paralyzed.”

"NowWW... If you'll excuse me, it's time for me to put on another show."

He turns to leave, then quickly turns back to you, cupping a hand beside his mouth to whisper,
"Seek the troll augurs. Or the Duskwardens." he winks.

He goes back to his street organ to begin another round of his show.
"Welcome paying gawkers and esteemed gutter filth!!!..."

Iovo waves goodbye to the performer.

Once he is gone, she says “Time to go find the augers!” It is clear she is looking forward to this.

After he leaves, Damiar sighs. "So there is a tentacled beast coming up from the sewers with some sort of acid attack? That paralyzes? That does not sound good." She turns to the others. "I guess it is time to find the augurs."

Looking back, Iovo says “Look on the bright side!” Switching to elvish, she adds “It isn’t some elemental lord or undead barbarian warrior.”

Although she tries not to show it, she is in a hurry to get out of the Ankar-Te district.

With a disappointed grunt Farlen states, "I prefer the duskwardens, over the trolls, but let's eat lunch before that all. The site may through us off food for a while."
Farlen niddles some dried beef and eats a little hard tack just in case the others are set on a fast dash to the trolls.

“So street vendor or look for a cafe or tavern?”

"Let's go with a street vendor!" Damiar says, adding, "But not in the Ankar-Te district."

Remember the chicken in Dorkness Rising?

Markus shakes his head in the negative, between the undead and future troll meetings, i think I’ll pass on food for now, come on Seelah, let’s get outta here and onto the next bizarre thing in this city.

Deciding on a bite to eat before continuing with your mission, you do happen upon a vendor and his cart selling meat on a stick.

Asking the vendor what type of grilled meat is served, he simply states, "Rat, bat, or cat? I really dunno," he shrugs.

Finding it rather unappetizing, you continue on your way. It isn't long before finding a quaint café in the Cavalcade district on your way to find the troll augers.
The slightly upscale café, run by a couple from Varisia, serve country-style northern Varisian cuisine. The place smells wonderful as you step inside.
After filling your bellies with a simple and quite delicious Varisian hunter's stew (or grilled eggplant and risotto with a sun-dried tomato sauce for you vegetarians), the proprietors are more than happy to direct you to where you can find a troll auger after leaving such a generous tip. One happens to be just a 10 minute walk away.

"Oh my gosh, this grilled eggplant and risotto is delicious!" Damiar eats every last bite of hers, it's that good. "My compliments to the cooks!"

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

Once the meal is done and everyone is washed up, she happily strolls with the others to find the augurs. "It's kind of nice that this city has found a way to live with its trolls and gainfully employ them. I think that other cities could learn from this."

Seeing a troll up ahead, Damiar waves. "Hello, are you the local augur?"

“The eggplant sounds good, but I’ll have the hunter’s stew today.”

Iovo seems to enjoy the food just as much as her sister is enjoying the eggplant dish.

——

Heading towards the auger, Iovo keeps an eye out for charlatans. There just seems to be something about actual diviners that attracts the fakers!

"Oh! Wait a moment!" you hear the woman of the café call out just as you're heading out the door.
"These are for you. Adventurers always need something sweet once in awhile to round out the rough life." she says as she hands you a small burlap sack with a dozen delicate, scallop shaped cookies wrapped in parchment.
"Varisian butter cakes." she says with a warm smile. "Good luck on your travels, friends. And be careful."

"Oh, miniature butter cakes! Thank you! This is the best trip ever!" Damiar offers cakes to everyone in the party, but saves some to offer to the troll and the Duskwardens.

Iovo waves goodbye to the woman from the cafe. “We will be careful! Thank you!”

She gladly accepts one of the cakes from her sister, asking “Does anyone want to split it with me? That stew was filling!”

Farlen, who waited outside eating hard tack and drinking from his rusty canteen, frowns and shacks his head. "Well, off to the trolls then?" He follows the group to the auger. He mumbles to himself, "I should learn to loosen up. Stop adventuring on a budget."

Damiar pats Farlen's arm. "You can join us for dinner there after we explore the vaults. Deal?"

Seelah orders the vegetarian option. "My appetite for meat has currently dropped to zero..." After trying the first bite of her meal she smiles broadly at Damiar. "I concur, this really is delicious! I should eat vegetarian more often." She, too, eats every last bite of hers. "My compliments to the cooks as well!"

She gladly accepts one of the cakes from her sister, asking “Does anyone want to split it with me? That stew was filling!”

“If these are as good as the main course I cannot imagine anyone would want to share one...”

With renewed energy and in good spirits from a hearty meal, you follow the directions to the end of an alleyway along a main avenue. A female troll auger with large yellowed tusks and long, matted black hair sits cross legged in front of her small tent. Her eyes are closed as she meditates.

Seeing a troll up ahead, Damiar waves. "Hello, are you the local augur?"

The troll's eyes pop open as you approach.

Damiar bows to Nuregore. "It's an honor to meet you. So far, we have learned that there is a creature that seems to be coming out of the vaults to hunt. Some sort of tentacled beast is coming out of the sewers and attacking people. These people are no longer conscious and are paralyzed. The creature is interfering with food shipments in the Warren and hunting in numerous locations, including the Warren and Ankar-Te."

"Also, Maran the smith saw a hooded death-like figure heading off to Ankar-te with undead servants. He also spotted three small creatures that were blue with bulging eyes. They also have been disappearing back into the sewers."

Then Damiar offers Nuregore a delicious varisian butter cake. "We also discovered a cafe near here that has the best grilled eggplant risotto that I have ever tasted. They gave us some cakes to share. Want one?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

“Pleased to meet you, Nuregore. I’m Iovo.”

“We were asked by Regnald Ardoc of the Bis district to find out what was disrupting food shipments in the Warrens. His suspicion was that it had something to do with the vaults under the city.”

Turning to Damiar, she says “The tentacled beast was attacking from the sewers in the two cases we heard about, sis. First a tentacle came out of a sewer grate, then a tentacled beast in Ankar-Te. Hopefully it is the same creature, would hate to fight two different creatures that can do that!”

“Also the three small blue-skinned creatures were seen by someone else, not Maran. It was in the Warrens that they were spotted.”

Turning back to Nuregore she says “I completely agree about the cafe and cakes.” In spite of what she had said about sharing it, her own cake is almost gone.

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

"Oh, you're right!" Damiar exclaims. "My sister takes better notes than I do. It's a wizard thing."

Smiling, Iovo says “My sister tells better stories. It’s a bard thing.”

"We're twins, can you tell?" Damiar continues to offer the cake to Nuregore.

At hearing Nuregore's cryptic request, Farlen snorts a little. Then he mumbles softy to himself, "Yeah, how do we know which information is hiding and which is pretending?

But he smiles and does his best to remain positive that something useful will come out of this visit. He thinks, "Wonder if we will get anything actionable? And how much time and gold will it cost us?"

Markus watches the exchange with a smile, knowing he can't add to the confusion and mirth which is happening around him. He sits back, waiting to see the troll's response.

Salvio has remained silent, continuing to look around and count his steps to refine his mental map of the city. The butter cake, washed down with a swallow of tea, leaves him in an even deeper reverie...I remember my aunt Leonie, and how I would go up to see her on Sunday mornings...she would give me a piece of Varisian butter cake after dipping it in her tea....

Nuregore gladly accepts the butter cake.
"Mmm. Mmmm. These are good..." she says after chomping it down.

"Well, that's a lot of detailed information you've given me. Plenty enough for me to go on. Usually I charge a hefty amount, usually upwards to a hundred gold pieces or more. Since you offered so much detailed knowledge, I will lower my fee to a measly 5 gold."
She gazes at each of you in turn.
"Is that a deal?"

I'm going to assume you accept the offer...

Nuregore places the coins in her belt pouch.
“I can tell you something of where you should go,” says the troll, who then gets out of the lotus position and kneels forward, draws a long knife from her belt and, with a powerful swipe, slices the blade across her belly. She carefully reaches inside her abdomen and draws forth her glistening internal organs, lifting them to her eye level. She does not respond to the powerful odor that wells forth, and instead studies her intestines intently. “They change colors,” she breathes quietly, “shifting about in the light.” She looks intently at the party. “The place you search for. A place beneath and below. But there is more here,” she turns her head to the side like a curious bird. With the claw on her smallest finger, she pierces the intestine and watches carefully at what oozes out. “The waters are changed.” She shivers and hesitates a moment, “They carry something from far beyond.”

With careful skill, Nuregore places her innards back into her belly and presses the skin together. Her greenish hide knits together quickly and she stands. “Those are the visions I see.”

“Seems a more than fair price!” Iovo says, paying the fee.

She watches with rapt attention as Nuregore does the divination ritual. Although it is not a divination method she would ever want to use, it also isn’t one that she is likely to see enacted very often.

Once the divination is done, she thanks Nuregore.

Seelah stays in the back with Markus, not wanting to be near the troll.
Watching the divination ritual it takes all her Fortitude not to barf.

Iomedae, please give me the strength to endure this!

Damiar moves out of the way. "I'm sorry Seelah, I've been blocking your view!"

Farlen moves to keep Damiar blocking the troll's 'hari cari'. If she moves he moves to keep the block in place, dancing around as necessary. "And you are doing a fine job. Keep it up!" He continues to do so. "Oh, were you meaning to get out of the way?" Farlen holds his nose all the while, "Now, if there was something to block the smell ..."

"Oh, you're very light on your feet!" Damiar compliments Farlen. "Have you considered dance lessons? I think you would be a natural."

Noticing all the movement behind her, Iovo turns around and says “This isn’t one of the rituals that uses dancing.”

Salvio studies the troll intently, oblivious to the byplay around him. It would probably be rude to ask her how she knows what all that means...though I wonder if a change in diet would give different results. How would I test something like that? I could probably make a group of identical trolls by successively cutting one in half and letting it regenerate.... So engrossed is he in his probably unethical plan* that he misses what the party is saying. "Oh! I'm sorry...lost in thought. So we need to talk to the Duskwardens about going underground, right?"

*The average IRB member at the Arcanamirum probably lasts no longer than a few months before needing to retire to a nice calm farm out in the country for a while.

“Yup! We want to find Talbren and talk to her.”

Thanks to the divine grace granted by Iomedae Seelah manages to hold in her risotto - in spite of Damiar's shenanigans.

“Let's go find Talbren then.”

Walking out with Seelah, That was two firsts in one day for me... So I guess we're going to find Talbren. And see, that's why I didn't eat anything...

After hearing some insightful rumors and visiting Nuregore to witness her gruesome method of augury to get some answers, the group still doesn't have much to go on. They decide to visit the Duskwardens...

Finding the guildhouse is an easy task. The first person you happen to ask points you in the right direction.
The Guildhouse itself is a squat and solid structure with a placard bearing the group’s twisted-arch insignia in blue and gold. Two guards stand at the entrance.
"Welcome, travelers." one guard says in a friendly tone. "What business do you have with the Duskwardens?"

Salvio looks over at the charismatic elf bard.

Farlen just smiles and turns to Damiar. "Do you address the guards and guardman or duskwarden?" knowledge local: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

Farlen just smiles and turns to Damiar. "Do you address the guards and guardman or duskwarden?"

Being pleasant is always nice. The guards at the entrance are usually hired commoners, experts, or warriors. (Similar to our real world security guards.)

The Duskwardens themselves are skilled rangers and warriors that escort travelers along the Halflight Path.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

"Oh, hello there!" Damiar says. "We've been hired by the Ardoc family to look into some strange occurrences in the Warren. Something with tentacles has been coming out of the vaults and attacking locals. We're hoping that the duskwarden can help us find out more information, and guide us down to the vaults so that we can investigate further and hopefully solve the problem. Would you two be able to help us meet with Duskwarden Talbren?"

Seelah adds: “Help us help you and bring us to Talbren.”

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27