Please dot and delete here.
As each of you is going about your business in Absalom one morning, you receive a letter from Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin (Slide 4). A hastily scrawled postscript on the back side of the parchment indicates that you should meet your team at the entrance to the Grand Lodge in time to travel to your destination by noon tomorrow.
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A gnome stands in the deepest shadows she can find in the bright noonday sun. A giant rabbit crouches behind her, gathering wide eyes and terrified looks from the passers-by. Nibbling on the grass, The Black Rabbit grumbles, "Where is everyone? I thought we were leaving at noon."
Inlé grins wryly. "They'll be here. The kind of message we got usually gets your your attention. Maybe they're picking up something extra." She leans against the bunny, and scritches their forehead. "I hope we aren't heading for some place cold. I might need to have you grow some fur."
The Black Rabbit gives Inlé a scathing look. "I don't think so. Have you seen what a furry bunny looks like? I am *not* a mop." Inlé just chuckles.
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a soft skinned elf that seems to be more concerned with reading then with some appearances, looks around the room and notices a bit of people already before her
"I mean its not everyday with that type of wording, sounds like they aren't sure exactly what is even out that way"
"though an abandoned tower associated with the name Karamoss should prove informative"
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A man in a cloak with Eastern markings, in addition to a bow slung around a shoulder, arrives at the entrance to the Grand Lodge and bows to the two ladies present. He pulls back his hood to reveal a youthful face with Tien features and a bald and smooth pate. In broken Common, he says, ”Greetings…I Egg Fu…friends call me..Egg…”
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A grippli with bright green skin wearing foreign-looking banded mail and carrying a trident with runes etched into the side approached the Grand Lodge. Although it's hard to tell due to both armor and species, something about the frog seems feminine. She stands stiffly at her full height of 27 inches and gazes upon you with eyes that seem just a hair bigger than is comfortable.
"Good day," she says in a voice that carries more than one would expect for her size. "Art thou the Pathfinders summoned by Lord Valsin this fine morning? Mine name is Gozrog, and I look forward to journeying with thee."
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A very young man shows up to meet with the others. He's wearing quite fashionable clothing, like a courtier outfit with cuffs, a fancy belt, a reversible cloak, an adventurer sash with a number of alchemist fires strapped along it and two belt pouches.
He gives everyone a greeting smile. "Hello, my friends. Lanel Brandain, nice to meet you," he makes a small courtsey. "I can't deny this exercise should do for a nice change of pace... at least for me. I've been caught up in too many assassination conspiracies lately. Missed the good old dungeon crawl.,. speaking of which," he looks at the people present. "Anyone here is good with traps? Seems like we'll need someone to cover that role."
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A tall, broad, and burly woman carrying two shields that somehow manage to seem too big for even her frame bumbles through the crowds of Abasalom's foreign quarter. Her fire-red hair was a beacon of her approach easily spotted in a sea of humanity. The warm smile she wears across her face tries its best to make her appearance less imposing. Lifting a hand in a casual wave as she finally clears the crowd"You all got a letter too yeah? Names Maddie." She frowns briefly before continuing "I ain't much for damned puzzles, Hope one of you lot got lots of them wrinkles in yer noggin. People always tell me mine must be smooth." She chuckles the smile returning to her face.
Once everyone is ready, you set off for the Red Redoubt. The weather is clear and crisply cool, with a stiff breeze blowing down from the north. It’s a relatively short jaunt from Absalom to the abandoned siege tower northwest of the city. Those of you who have knowledge to share about the Red Redoubt have ample opportunity to do so.
Diplomacy (gather information) or Knowledge (local)
Inquiries about current inhabitants of the Red Redoubt turn up the following details:
Knowledge (arcana)
While the name of Karamoss is well known, the PCs might know more in-depth information about the builder of the Red Redoubt.
Knowledge (engineering)
The Red Redoubt is a fascinating subject for those interested in architecture and engineering.
Knowledge (history)
Details of the Karamoss’s siege of Absalom are well known, even a millennium after the fact.
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"Well, some unsavory people and monsters tend to call that place home from time to time. Usually, one would let them fight it off between them, which leaves their threat at a manageable level. In fact, I heard the 'Blood-Red Raiders' moved in a while ago. They are a small gant but we should keep an eye out for those, even if they mostly rob lone travelers... You never know when they might get a bit too bold."
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"seems there is A young human man with pale skin and odd tattoos—supposedly a student expelled from the Clockwork Cathedral—has recently joined the Blood- Red Raiders."
"but as for the place itself, its kinda fascinating, The Red Redoubt of Karamoss was a siege castle created more than 1,000 years ago by the “machine mage” Karamoss in a failed attempt to conquer Absalom.
Karamoss’s armies included initial waves of hobgoblins, followed by legions of strangely intelligent constructs. After several years and some close calls, the fight turned against Karamoss and the Redoubt fell."
"oh now this will be a fun trip and things to definately learn along the way'
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Egg’s eyes go wide with awe as Maddie introduces herself. ”Girls much smaller in Tien Xia…then again, so are guys. Where you hail from?”
"I ain't much for damned puzzles, Hope one of you lot got lots of them wrinkles in yer noggin. People always tell me mine must be smooth." She chuckles the smile returning to her face.
”Same with Egg. Master Wanyi always say Egg know two things: shoot bow and religion. I did learn little ‘bout locks ‘n traps though”
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Inle nods a greeting to her companions. "I'm all for ending villains. That's what The Black Rabbit is for."
"I have heard of this Karamoss before. He was called the Machine Mage, from Numeria, of course. Lots of knowledge about mechanical constructs, from studying in the Silver Mount. He was said to be part machine himself, which sounds uncomfortable at the very least."
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"They don't make 'em like me anywhere, or shouldn't in any case. Let's leave it at that for now." Maddie's brow furrows exaggerating the asymmetry of her face. She remains quiet until Inlé mentions the machine mage. "I'd wager everything he got to make that choice for himself." Her comment radiates frustration and her grip tightens on her shield causing it to tremble.
"Bah, I need some raiders to smack. They will indeed be blood red soon enough."
After an uneventful hike, you arrive at the entrance of the Red Redoubt. The noonday sun shines brightly in a cloudless sky, but the rugged landscape diffuses the light as if through a stained glass window composed entirely of crimson panes. Deep red metal walls, broken but mostly untouched by rust even after a millennium, form an obstacle course through the landscape. Clearly, when the Red Redoubt of Karamoss was named, it was not done ironically.
The marked path through the siege castle’s ruins leads to a large central chamber open to the sky above. Aside from the metallic flooring, walls, and rubble, nothing remains of the so-called “machine mage” Karamoss or his lost armies. Refuse, old campfire rings, and other signs of life attest to the place being a haven for scavengers and vagabonds.
The chamber is filled with a large, circular shaft in the metal floor (about 30 feet in diameter), with smoothly rolled edges that demonstrate superbly uniform craftsmanship. A rope ladder descends into the pit, anchored by pitons hammered into the floor panels. There is no sign of a light source at the bottom.
Gozrog can easily see into the dark pit. It looks like a deep, dark hole in the ground, though it's hard to gauge exactly how deep it is. Good thing there's a ladder here, so no one has to climb. A fall from this height would almost certainly be deadly.
The entrance shaft opens into the center of a red steel chamber cloaked in darkness. The floor beneath the shaft is canted at a slight angle; it seems to have originally been a circular platform that fit flush with the rest of the room but at some point unevenly sank a foot or so. The floors around the room’s perimeter are solid and even, with a textured surface to give better footing on the solid metal. The room is about 50 feet square, with a 10 foot ceiling (except where the hole through which you entered is). The walls are riveted metal plates, fallen or torn off in places to reveal solid rock behind. Recessed slabs of metal with adjacent panels, presumably exits, are centered on each wall. The northern panel glows dimly, illuminating scorch marks and glistening red stains around it. The other four recessed slabs are marked with the “Do Not Enter” symbol.
(Knowledge (engineering or arcana) DC 25)
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Lanel will use a charge of his Wand of Mage Armor and Light on the cuff of his outfit before going down. "Okay! Ready!"
We should have regular light centered on Lanel. As he arrives at the bottom, his eyes grow wide.
"Guys... something is definitely up. This place is charged with some kind of magic energy. Kinda nice, actually... Huh, I wonder if this is meant to help with traps?"
Lanel will bring out Maggie, his Hawk Familiar, from a tattoo on his arm, and cast Detect Magic around the room."Remember to stay clear of the marked doors."
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"Is it just me or does this look like a pit trap that went wrong somewhere along the line?" The gnome looks around dubiously, then relaxes slightly as the magical ambiance reassures her.
"You're right, Lanel. There's something almost calming about this place." She smiles almost warmly at him. As Egg mentions the track, The Black Rabbit lollops in that direction.
Keeping their ears and eyes peeled, the rabbit moves in the direction of the tracks, sniffing as they go.
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"Sure hope these red-blooded whatevers are down here and not out there. Climbing back up this could be... It's just a training exercise, probably fine right?" Maddie grumbles as she attaches a shield to her pack securing it then pulls out a torch holding it in her teeth as she clambers down the ladder lighting it after her feet reach the floor of the redoubt once more.
Braheyndaea does not notice any traps. What she does notice, however, is that the still-wet red stains around the northern door aren't blood. They're dye. Curious.
The hallway leading north is perfectly square: 10 feet high and wide, though some of the metal panels have been pulled away from the wall to expose the rock behind them. After about 5 minutes of walking, you come to an intersection. The corridor ahead branches in three directions. North and west, the tunnels continue unobstructed, but the eastern branch is blocked with a stout metal grating marked with three crimson circles within a triangle. A large, white “X” is scrawled in chalk on the floor in the center of the intersection.
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Lanel will keep his distance from the X. He casts Detect Magic.
"Do you think that's a trap or just a sign to keep us from attempting to breach the blocked way? Mmmh... " Lanel will approach just a bit to take a quick look at Gozrog side, then return to the back.
[ooc] If we are in bright light, +3 from his Hawk familiar[/b]
Upon casting Detect Magic, Lanel notices an aura of illusion along both walls of the hallway in which you stand.
Everyone is still convinced that the walls have to be real. Maybe the illusion Lanel detected is just changing their color or something? However, when Lanel touches the wall, his hand passes through without issue. Behind the surface of the wall, he can feel what seems to be woven wicker and little...waterskins? They feel kind of squishy, and they seem to be tied to the woven wicker.
Sniffing the air, The Black Rabbit tries to stick their head through the wall to see what Lanel found. "Dye? There was some red dye at the entrance."
"but who leaves Dye just laying around like this, its a bit of a waste"
The Black Rabbit pokes their head through the illusory wall. Despite being able to feel other things in there, they can't see anything but the inside of a real-looking wall.