"Do I look like a girl who uses a hook?" Nadja shouts as she keeps attacking, unless the ogre surrenders.
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Jeni and Nadja slice Gorlak repeatedly, but despite his grievous injures, it seems like the ogre is too stupid to surrender. Zenobius bashes the giant in the face with the flat of his blade, and the ogre’s eyes roll up as Gorlak thuds to the ground, unconscious.
Kaz wrinkles their nose and begins magically scrubbing the cloak. "I don't know if one of you was willing to wear this cloak without it being cleaned first, and now I will never discover that horrible truth."
"No." was Jeni's answer. The way the Neat inclined woman frowns, there is a strong possibility she wouldn't wear it even cleaned. And she will NEVER get the image of tomato sized bed bugs scurrying away in a panicked swarm when they lifted the blanket.
Nadja turns up her nose at the initial state of the cloak. "Cool that it would help me be sneaky, but smelling like rotted gourds and ogre drool kinda defeats the purpose."
When Kaz finishes cleaning the magical cloak, she steps up to it with real trepidation. "Could you, ah, magic it again? Just to be sure?"
After it's cleaned a few times, she finally dares touch it. When Nadja catches a glimpse of Jeni's continued disgust, she throws it over her shoulders with a defiant smirk.
"Baby bedbugs" is all Jeni has to say about the defiant smirk. :)
"Yeah, they were really cute, weren't they?" Nadja replies. "If you want to collect some to take back with you to Sandpoint, say the word and I'll help catch a few for you."
Assuming that there will not be a bedbug-catching escapade, Nadja turns to Kaz. "So, back to Sandpoint now for a bit of a rest and restock?"
You make your way out of the Pit, escorting the cultist you've taken captive. You convince the mimic to adhere to the ogre and drag the big giant along behind it, slowly bringing it along behind you as you make the journey back to Sandpoint. It is late evening by the time you arrive. Sheriff Hemlock's deputies are surprised by the motley crew you've got trailing in your wake. They take the cultist and ogre into custody in the town jail, while you bring the mimic to Sandpoint Theater to convince its owner, Cyrdak Drokkus, of its potential usefulness.
When you finally make it to your quarters, you find several missives waiting for you. Vorvashali Voon runs the Feathered Serpent, Sandpoint's only curio shop. A message from him invites you to visit his shop, offering you a 5% discount during the visit. Father Zantus has also left a message asking you to pay him a visit at the Cathedral at your earliest convenience.
Jeni tenses at the missive from her adoptive father. The tension does not mask her desire to go. "The Father might have important information..." her deflection is weak since her friends know her past and her feelings on this matter.
Jeni's lack of enthusiasm at visiting Father Zantus is felt by Nadja. "He said, 'earliest convenience.' That has room for interpretation, right Kaz?" she nudges them.
Kaz reads Jeni's diffidence differently, and tries to find a way to yes instead. "Oh plenty, plenty. The good Father should stick to his god - he'd never make for a good advocate in the Hells with loopholes like that. I'd actually like to go though. Plenty of things the Father might have to say, right? Just since it'd be useful?"
"Right, but I'm just saying we don't have to go right now. Let's first get some drunkfish vittles, a little blackberry mead, something from Sandpoint Savories!"
To hopefully settle the matter, Nadja starts heading in the direction of Cracktooth's Tavern.
Zen helps their new friend get the ogre up to the surface, grunting during most of the trip, and then helps drag the ogre along, crafting a pallet and using his surprising strength to facilitate the movement.
He doesn’t say much in the process, but mostly because he just looks tired.
When they recommend going to the tavern, he glumly follows along, though when they get there, as soon as they sit down and start chatting, he’s nodding along to Nadja when he falls asleep in his seat, still wearing his armor.
Jeni stiffens at going to the pub, but sighs and joins. As Zen nestles into the rough wood of the tavern table, she takes off her cloak and covers him in it. "Tomorrow for the Father seems appropriate." she manages, sending a smile the others way and orders more cheese stuffed vegetables.
Clapping an arm around their more robust friend, Kaz helps walk along as though without a care in the world. "Not to worry, Jen. You've got to always leave 'em wanting more after all."
Their familiar trills. "We should get some ladyfingers for Astarion while we're there. He's a bit peckish."
A particular favorite of patrons of the Sandpoint Theater, Cracktooth’s Tavern is always full after the latest show at the Sandpoint Theater lets out. A large stage in the tavern’s common room gives actors, singers, musicians, poets, and anyone else the opportunity to show their stuff. Owner Jesk “Cracktooth” Berinni might look like a thug with his jagged chipped teeth and thickset neck, but he’s actually quite well read and has a scathing wit—nights when he takes the stage to deliver his observations on the political situation in Magnimar are quite popular.
Drunkfish Vittles: Strips of beer-soaked fish and potato strips fried in lard (3 sp)
Tooth Cracker: Exceptionally potent rum said to be able to crack teeth if you keep it in your mouth too long (1 gp per shot)
Understudy: Cheap ale with a shot of very cheap whiskey (2 cp per mug)
It turns out you are not the only adventurers at the tavern tonight. A group of four locals have just returned from Magnimar. The group is lead by Kaleb Valdemar, scion of the Valdemar family. The other members are Adimar Scarnetti, the nephew of Titus Scarnetti; Chertus Jheed, a small-time thug; and Arika Avertin, a rebellious woman who turned her back on her mother's candy shop in order to seek an exciting adventurer's lifestyle. You remember hearing that Arika was part of the last group of adventurers to explore the Pit.
When he spots you, Kaleb smiles and waves you over, speaking in a booming voice. "Hello, friends! We heard you've been off adventuring yourselves! Care to join us and compare stories?" Adimar is leaning back against the wall in his chair as he eyes you appraisingly, Chertus is eagerly digging into a plate of drunkfish vittles, and Arika is morosely staring into a half-empty mug of Director's Choice.
"Sure!" Nadja grins brightly and gives Zen an elbow to wake him up. Grabbing her Understudy, she maneuvers across the tavern and squeezes to sit between Adimar and Chertus.
"Cheers!" she says as she raises her mug. "Hell yeah we need to swap stories! Jeni! Tell them about the giant bedbugs!"
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"They were big" Jeni answers without enthusiasm, clearly not enjoying being part of this.
Soon after you take your seats, the tavern staff brings out more food for everybody. "I'd like to hear more about these bugs, and the other dangers you faced in the Pit," Kaleb says with a smile.
Discovery: Perception, Sandpoint Lore, Society
Influence: Arcana or Occultism (to “talk shop” a bit about magic), Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Soceity (to speak to him deferentially and to appeal to his sense of social superiority)
Adimar Scarnetti: Adimar is a thin Taldan man with a narrow face, a long nose, and beady eyes. He has a habit of making quick little “tsk tsk tsk” sounds with his tongue, as if chiding someone, and the leather armor he wears seems to have far too many straps and buckles for its own good.
Discovery: Perception, Sandpoint Lore, Society
Influence: Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Mercantile Lore (to share business secrets and information), Society (to share gossip and rumors about locals)
Chertus Jheed: Chertus is a tall, solidly built Varisian man. He carries his weight well, even though not all of his mass is from muscle. He cuts his own hair and has a short, scruffy beard that gives him a slightly unkempt look, especially combined with his dirty gear.
Discovery: Perception, Sandpoint Lore, Society
Influence: Athletics (to chat about the best methods for winning a fistfight), Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Performance (to regale Chertus with a rousing story of adventure)
Arika Avertin: Arika has dark hair dyed red, dark brown eyes, and pale skin. She wears practical clothing in dark colors and has a somewhat sad air about her—even if she smiles, it doesn’t reach her eyes.
Discovery: Perception, Sandpoint Lore, Society
Influence: Deception, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Performance (to compare interpretations about plays and operas they’ve seen or would like to see), Sandpoint Lore (to chat and reminisce about the past)
Jeni takes a slow long sip of her tea to let Gnat take over the telling of the story.
And pretty much pays attention to nothing else.
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Nadja stares at Jeni for a beat, nonplussed about her reaction to the bedbugs. "Why do I hang out with you?" she mutters under her breath with enough of a smirk to convey she's not serious.
"Okay, no s&~+, it was wild," she begins, shifting her demeanor back to her usual chipper one, "there was this mountain of an ogre, and he was all like, 'fee, fi, fo, fugg, you're no match for my bed bug!' And then he lifts up his giant belly and a swarm of these tomato-sized bugs rushed at us! Jeni was amazing. She just said, 'Stand back! I'll take care of these pests!' And she splashed water over not just the bugs, but the ogre as well. And he was like, 'Nooo! A bath! I have never felt clean water before! My life is changed forever!' And he gave us a key to the Golden Treasure of the Pit! It was only a couple silver pieces, though."
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Zen wakes up with a start, ”wuh…?” and tries to make himself presentable when the others introduce themselves, ”uh, sorry. My name is Zenobius.” and he steels himself obviously to exert patience when listening to Nadja.
When she finishes, he turns to the others with a plated fist with some water insiflde, adding, ”for my part, I’m just a sandpoint guard, you know? But we ended up helping a few other folks down there and managed to make some friends along the way. It isn’t as bad as everyone says…”
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"Hey Avertin - have you not shared what you saw down in the pit with your new friends? This is classic actually, remember back in the day when you'd heard that there was some sort of dragon beneath the playhouse. And then the next thing you know there's four kids trying to pull out old Birch Sterglus out from the under-bits of the building with a fishing line cause he saw a big snake and fainted dead away!" They smile in reminiscence. "Might've gone a bit easier if you'd just told someone you weren't still down there, but then what would we have a drink over?"
Jeni seems oblivious to the social niceties happening around her. Zenobius is relatively quiet, too, studying Arika as the gloomy woman stares into her drink. Her expression sours whenever talk turns towards adventuring, and the champion gets the feeling that Arika has grown unhappy with her adventuring lifestyle overall. He also recalls that her mother has express concern for her wayward daughter and would welcome her back, should Arika choose to return. Perhaps telling Arika about this would make her realize she still has an option for a good life here in Sandpoint...
Kaleb laughs at Nadja's tall tale. "Ha! Truly you had a rather unique experience there. We've had a few run-ins with ogres ourselves. Smelly, unwashed louts. I'll keep an eye out for any giant bedbugs in the future, though."
***
Kazumi's reminiscing seems to get through the Arika, starting to rouse her out of her funk. The ghost of a smile crosses her face. "Heh, yes, those were the days. How young we were then, and innocent. We didn't yet know the world's cruelties, or the true dangers that lurk in the dark." She takes a long draught of her drink, wincing slightly.
"I'm not quite ready to talk about what happened in the Pit. Not without a few more drinks in me, at least."
Zen looks sad for Arika, and says to the young woman, ”you know, your mother think wants you to come home, and while we didn’t have a bad time in the pit… I… I guess it was pretty scary now that I think about it.” He scratches his horn, ”I guess sometimes I’m just… too thick to get scared. You know, when I should. There were a lot of monsters…”
He fumbles clumsily with his plated fingers at his holy symbol, until he grips it, ”Faith doesn’t help everyone, but it can help some people. Like… an anchor, to hold on to. If you feel lost, it can help to find an anchor somehow, some way.” He clenches the fist around the small metal trinket, ”sometimes I get mad at stuff but then I draw a picture. Or pray. I don’t get a response or anything but it’s the same function - it um… breaks up the intrusive thoughts.”
Jeni seems to wake up when there is a disbelieving tone in Kaleb's response to Nadja. "Maybe not all of that was correct, but we did face a orge, defeated him with ease and a lot of that was Nadja here sneaking in and taking his weapon away while he slept. Oh and the bed bugs were HORRIBLE!"
"Truer words, Arika, truer words. Another round?" They raise a glass. "To simpler times."
Nadja eyes Adimar as another round comes and they all raise a glass. "Hear hear," she says. Then her eyes go bright as Kaz reminds her of another tale.
"You should have seen Kazumi down there in the Pit! So, we found this strange entity that was, like, a remnant of something. I don't really know the details. But it spoke into our minds and said that it was vexed by a Stain that it wanted removed. And Kaz was all, 'We're great stain removers, but you'll have to tell us where it is.' And the remnant said, 'The Stain that's a pain lurks mainly down the drain.' So Kaz said, 'Not a problem.' Then they sent their little helper Astyanax down the pipe where none of us could fit. It went back and forth, pulling up more and more of the Stain until it was all gone! Then the remnant was all like, 'Well done! You can clean my pipe any time!"
Kaleb smiles at Jeni's enthusiasm. "I am inclined to believe you. It seems you've had some rather impressive accomplishments so far. I recently acquired a token of my own that you might find useful in your future adventures. Consider it a gift towards future friendship." He offers you a skeleton key.
***
Adimar guffaws at the dirty joke at the end of Nadja's tale. "'Clean my pipe'! Ha!"
***
Zen's words on faith don't seem to strike a chord with Arika, but his mention of her mother hits home. She seems a bit more wistful as she drinks another round with Kazumi and reminisces more about the old times in Sandpoint.
Finally, Arika takes a dep breath. "Okay. You want to hear about what happened in the Pit?" she says quietly. Her other companions suddenly become quiet and alert, for despite their attempts to get her to share, she's never told them this story.
"Things started off simple enough. We descended into the Pit's uppermost reaches, dealt with a few pesky goblins, giant insects, and other minor threats. Perhaps the lack of danger lead to our overconfidence, but we soon decided that we were ready to delve below the fog line within the Pit and see what we could find in its depths.
"We climbed down nearly a hundred feet down the slick ledges. And there, in the dark, amid the cloying fog, the Sandpoint Devil attacked us. I could barely see it, but I heard its bloodcurdling howl, felt the heat of its flaming hooves, smelled its fetid breath. And I saw what it did to my friends." Arika shudders. "Our leader, Olsemper... there was barely anything left of him. His face was smashed to pulp, his skin charred and blackened until it flaked away like paper. As the others screamed and died around me, I did the only sensible thing. I fled. The only reason I was able to get away was because the Devil was too distracted with feasting on my friends' bodies."
Arika pauses and takes a long swig of her drink. She reaches into a pocket and pulls forth a strand of holy prayer beads. She regards them for a moment before handing them to Kasumi. "These once belonged to Olsemper. I've kept them all this time, but the only thing they bring are bad memories. Maybe it will bring you more luck in the Pit than I had."
Kaz nods over the beads in gratitude. "Always good to hold more luck, Arika, thanks."
"What's your take, Valdemar? This is your area of expertise, correct?"
Jeni's eyes light up at the gift. Not that opening locks was her thing, but seeing what was behind them Was. She smiles, a real one at the man. "Um, you want to hear about the mimics we fought?" if he shows interest she tells him without adding embellishments, but with delightful enthusiasm.
Zen nods in thanks to Arika and takes a look at Kaleb, ”I haven’t gotten my tattoos yet - I’m so anxious about what to get. I think it should be something that respects our heritage, you know? But I don’t have a lot of space,” He reveals the runes he has on his arm after unlatching his plate, ”I had these show up on their own - isn’t it strange that our people have such a connection to this land that our markings can have magic?” He closes it off and shakes his head in wonder.
”We saw some interesting magic down in the pit - but other than runes, I’m not an expert. Maybe Kaz could speak more on the issue.”
Nadja moves subtly to sit closer to Adimar, pleased that he laughed so hard at her joke. Her companions either didn't get it or were so focused on Arika that they were ignoring her.
Turning her attention back to Adimar, she absently twists a lock of hair around her finger. "Oh, yeah, those mimics were rough. I got stuck to one, and the only way to get it off me was to rip my clothes off! Fortunately, they got so distracted since they've never seen such perfection that finishing them off was easy."
Kaleb politely indulge Zenobius as he looks at the arcane tattoos, but he doesn't seem to be too impressed. Fortunately, Jeni and Kaz do a better job of getting on his good side. He listens to Jeni's musings about mimics and seems pleased when Kaz defers to him.
"The Pit could very well be the lair of the Sandpoint Devil, as all the stories say. I would not discount Arika's story out of hand. I have heard some rumors that the deepest caverns of the Pit connect to the Darklands themselves. I would very much like to learn the truth of those rumors. If you can kill and bring back evidence of a creature native to the deeper reaches of the Darklands—a drider, perhaps, or something similar—I will gladly pay you a bounty of 200 gp."
***
Adimar's eyes widen slightly and Nadja catches his eyes roaming over her body, as if imagining her fighting a mimic unclothed. He makes a quick little "tsk tsk tsk" sound with his tongue. "I would very much like to see a display of that 'perfection,' should the opportunity arise." He smirks and wiggles his eyebrows.
After taking a long drink, he chuckles. "Y'know, I'd heard a lot of unflattering chatter from my family about you. But it turns out you're not as bad as they say you are. Maybe Charn's got it wrong."
***
As the hour grows late, Kaleb stands and spreads his arms. "My friends, this has been an enjoyable evening. We shall take our leave now, but I'm sure we will see each other again in the future. Until then!" His companions rise and follow him out of the tavern.
Adimar's eyes widen slightly and Nadja catches his eyes roaming over her body, as if imagining her fighting a mimic unclothed. He makes a quick little "tsk tsk tsk" sound with his tongue. "I would very much like to see a display of that 'perfection,' should the opportunity arise." He smirks and wiggles his eyebrows.
"Depends on how sticky your hands are," Nadja giggles as she stretches her lithe dancer's body.
When the other adventurer group gets up to leave, she squeezes Adimar's upper thigh. "Let's work on making that opportunity, and see what arises, okay?"
She watches them go, looking to see if Adimar glances back at her before he steps outside.
"That was fun."
Jeni bumps Zen's shoulder with her own and tells him "spontaneous tattoos are cool" then rolls her eyes as she sees Nadja squeeze the guy's thigh. Not in a reproachful way, more of a 'great we're going to have another mopey guy in our small town once Gnat is done with him' way.
"Careful if you're going to mess with a Scarnetti," Kaz warns Nadja. "They don't always have the best tempers when things don't go as they wish."
"Oh, he'll get what he wants," Nadja answers Kaz with a smirk, "so long as I get what I want." She gives her shoulders a shake as she huffs slightly. She'd become resigned to the fact that her friends will always view her as the gawkish tagalong child that she was when they first started their adventures. It was a blind spot to them that Nadja had become a young woman with grown-up desires of her own.
She rises from her seat, checking the coins on the table to make sure they cover the drinks and food that had been consumed that night and adds whatever is necessary to make up the difference.
"Good night, guys," she says.
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Nadja slips into the small apartment in the back of the theater, her excitement rising despite the fatigue of the long day. She spots her mother, still awake and sitting next to the small lamp throwing a reddish light through the room.
She rises from her chair to embrace her daughter, then steps back to get a look at her. "Not the worse for wear, I see. How were your adventures?"
"Lucrative," Nadja replies with a grin, fishing out a handful of the coins they had recovered. Then she produces the gloomblade and presents it to her mother for inspection.
"A fine weapon," Astrid apprises, then sets it aside to study her daughter. "What's happened? You look especially happy."
Nadja's eyes light up as she grabs her mother's hands. "We took a contract. I asked for more, like you instructed. And then we carried it out. My very first ritual assassination!"
Astrid's eyes go wide. "That's wonderful, Tith'Kali, but you said 'we'? Did you tell your friends?"
"No, they still don't know. But we met a goblin who wanted another one dead. We all agreed as a group to take on his job. But it still counts, right? I mean, I can call forth the Crimson Shroud now!"
Her mother gasps at this revelation. "You-- Achaekek has blessed you with the Shroud?!? Tith'Kali, this is... this changes everything!"
Nadja nods giddily. "I know, right? I was attacked, wounded, but then the Shroud surrounded me like a mist of blood! It felt as if Achaekek was in the room with me!"
Blinking hard, Astrid pulls her into a desperate embrace. "My wonderful daughter. My Tith'Kali."
Jeni bumps Zen's shoulder with her own and tells him "spontaneous tattoos are cool" then rolls her eyes as she sees Nadja squeeze the guy's thigh. Not in a reproachful way, more of a 'great we're going to have another mopey guy in our small town once Gnat is done with him' way.
Zen nods, reproachfully, then sighs. He drinks his water, then retrieves his sketchbook and starts a new drawing, taking in the scene around him.
When the other adventurers leave, Zenobius waves meekly, "um, bye everyone. It was nice meeting you," and returns back to his drawing.
When the night grows late, he stretches his sore muscles, and stands up, patting Jeni and Kaz on the shoulder, "be careful - I think Sandpoint is growing less safe again. I'm going to go on patrol for a few minutes."
He grabs his gear and makes some rounds before heading to the guardhouse and retiring for the evening.
That night, as Zenobius rests, he is awakened by a loud thump, followed by the sound of hoofbeats on the roof above where he's sleeping. Quick to the window, the champion catches a glimpse of a large flying shape retreating into the foggy night. An investigation of the roof reveals strange scorched hoofprints...
***
The next morning, rumors begin to spread of more scorch marks being found on barn roofs on outlying farm and a few other houses throughout town. Dread begins to build as the citizens fear the infamous Sandpoint Devil may be stirring once again!
Aside from those rumors, there's still the invitations from Father Zantus and Vorvashali Voon to consider...
Zen moves in the morning to try and clue the others into the possible presence of the sandpoint devil. Stoically, he notes, ”and I intend to speak with Father Zantus, it does not do to keep him waiting.”
Nadja barks out a sharp laugh at the scorched hoofprints. "Maybe there's no need to go back to the Pit. We can just wait for it to come to us... though are you sure it's not a prank?"
She looks over to Jeni when the idea of going to Father Zantus is mentioned again. "Well, we've put it off for a while. Though we could go to Voon's shop first."
Jeni knows they have to, so steals herself "Father Zantus is expecting us. Especially if the Pitt is coming for us."
"Pranks are always possible, but the Sandpoint Devil is... almost certainly real. "
"Then what we totally should do is prank the Sandpoint Devil. We could do up some scorched hoofprints, and then it'll be like, 'I wasn't on this roof last night. What's going on?' Ha! Gaslight the Sandpoint Devil!"
Zen pauses, ”we’ve made friends with a few monsters, but it seems like the Sandpoint Devil may be a little hard to trick or negotiate with. Um, especially since we don’t know where it is.”
"And if we get caught, EVERYONE thinks it was us all the time." or at least Jeni would be blames, Assimar the evil.
When you arrive at Sandpoint Cathedral, Father Zantus welcomes you warmly, though he looks haggard. He gives Jeni a tight smile as he serves you each some warm tea. "Thank you for coming. I do hope you slept well last night, as I slept quite poorly. I have ben haunted by Nualia's words. While I worry about the seven dooms that she mentioned, what is really getting to me is the fact that she thinks all of Sandpoint hated her. I think that to finally allow her soul to find peace, we need to convince the people of Sandpoint to forgive her. We must own our past shame so that we can learn from it."
Frequency: once per day
You spend 4 hours wandering Sandpoint, during which time you strike up conversations with locals about Nualia while also attempting to convince folks to set aside their anger and to forgive her. Convincing the locals to admit to themselves that the town had a role in cultivating the events that led to Nualia’s violent actions is difficult, and requires a DC 22 Diplomacy check.
Critical Success: The PCs earn 2 Forgiveness Points.
Success: The PCs earn 1 Forgiveness Point.
Failure: The PCs earn no Forgiveness Points.
Critical Failure: The PCs lose 1 Forgiveness Point, and also lose 1 Reputation Point with the Townsfolk.
You will need to accumulate 10 Forgiveness Points to be successful.
Jeni holds her tea, looking into the slight swirl of the dash of cream he poured into it.
'Tainted whore, just like HER'
she remembers the old woman hisses that at her when she was just a girl, she didn't even know what most of that meant. But she knew hate already, had seen it in people's eyes way too often.
"Wouldn't it be better for this to come from you?" she asks her father in a soft hesitant voice.