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8) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.
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Your adventure begins at the Open Road Lodge located in northern Mwangi Expanse. As you enter a meeting room, Venture-Captain Sigvard Tornkvist peers at you through her eyeglasses and greets with a stoic nod, introducing herself. There’s a large table in the center of the room, and along the walls are several bookshelves and a few display cases with maps and other items of archaeological significance. As you get settled in, you get to know your travel companions.
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Despite the fact that the Maze has been mostly stable in recent years, it can still grow new connections to not only locations across Golarion, but also to dangerous planes and planets. Furthermore, the Pathfinder Society has also intentionally extended the network to better enable rapid travel to new regions and lodges around Golarion.
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The half-elf was sure not to be late. He's never late. He can't be late. He would wrap space to go ahead if he would be late. But he didn't expect to be the first one arrived.
Wearing simple explorer's clothing he puts down his elven branched spear before to sit down around the table and introduces himself to the venture-captain.
Hello, my name's Elduin Nerifiel. I hope not to be late.
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"Oh, there's no hurry, dear," a wizened gnome wearing a patchwork coat settles spryly into one of the chairs. "We won't get started until everyone arrives. Relax while we have the chance." She settles into a chair and pulls out a tangled skein of knitting.
"The name is Incendia Pyreclast, but you can call me Aunt Cindy, of course."
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The vacation was nice. Jiggo suffered many sunburns traveling around the Mwangi Expanse, meeting new people, new cultures and helping write treaties between cities, villages, tribes and nations.
His daughter wrote plenty of letters to the nearby lodge, informing him of her adventures. She's able to pay for the house cleaning and visits occasionally to make sure it hasn't been ransacked. Luckily no thieves in sight, and she continues to recommend guards. Jiggo sighs. The urban life spoils her.
After reading today's missives, one Pathfinder member gets his attention: he's been requested by Venture-Captain Tornkvist. "Oh! I guess it's time. Hey honey, come on." He waves his wife over and enters the meeting room.
A man with simple white robes and a wooden staff enters the room. His sunburnt skin is almost as red as the bush of hair atop his head. "Hi, I'm Jiggo Maeleranti. A pleasure to meet all of you. This is the love of my wife, Salera." He points to the feminine figure behind him. "Come on, say hi."
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"Hi." Arms crossed, Salera simply grunts and finds a good section of the wall to lean against.
Her gray skin, razor sharp nails and silver horns atop her head hint towards some kind of Abyssal heritage. But you notice her bat-like wings are covered in feathers. There's a story behind all of that, but you also notice a glowing sigil on her ankles. An glowing golden arc that matches Jiggo's glowing necklace.
She sighs. "I'm called Sal'era. Salera is fine. You can call me Sal. Just don't me Sally." She finds a spot near Jiggo and calms herself.
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Right after Jiggo and Sal another gnome sneaks into the room, she wears traveling clothes and a coat of vibrant dark colors. Patches of grey, brown and dark red mixes in her clothing and on her shoulder suits a dark raven
"Jortix, at your service, it is my first time in Mwangi, is it always that humid here?"
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Venture Captain Tornkvist begins the briefing:
"You’re all here. Very good, let us begin. What I’m about to tell you concerns the Maze of the Open Road. Some of you may have already traveled through it, but for those who don’t know, it’s a network of magical portals, which Pathfinder agents use to quickly reach lodges and other sites across Golarion.
"[b]Recently, our field agents assigned to missions through the Maze have started reporting strange happenings. On many occasions, Pathfinders using well-known routes and portals have exited the Maze in completely different locations than they expected. What’s more, several Pathfinders have encountered traps and other dangers that certainly were not there before."
She sighs, removes her glasses and places them on the table, pinching her brow in an attempt to avoid a headache, then continues, "Thankfully, there have been no serious injuries yet, but many missions have been delayed or gone wrong. I’ve collated the reports, and it seems obvious all these incidents are connected. I don’t know what is causing it, but I’ve come to the conclusion that something or someone is altering the landmarks our agents use for navigation."
Sigvard opens a scroll, which seems to contain a list. "I need you to enter the Maze and study at least three of the landmarks in this report. Find out what the source of these issues is and, if possible, put an end to it. Any questions?"
LANDMARKS
Challenge Style: Combat
Sigvard’s Report: Something sinister is lurking in this area, scaring off travelers.
Challenge Style: Combat, Outdoors Skills
Sigvard’s Report: Something is interfering with the magic of these standing stones in a dangerous way.
Challenge Style: Combat, Obstacles
Sigvard’s Report: Someone has been digging holes and building barricades in this area.
Challenge Style: Puzzle, Knowledge Skills
Sigvard’s Report: Someone has moved the four druid statues, which were used for navigation.
Challenge Style: Physical Skills, Social Skills
Sigvard’s Report: Elemental energies have taken over this area, causing a feud between two factions.
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"Oh! Oh, dear! Oh, dear me!" shouts Thevenin, running in late. They're a pint-sized leshy hopping in on both feet. "I apologize, the sun is so magnificent here and I was outside getting some sun and ... and ... I guess the site didn't give me a notification about this briefing."
"Elduin ... Cindy ... Jiggo ... Salera ... Jortix ... Topias ... I'm Thevenin!"
Thevenin feels confident that they can handle any of the challenges.
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"Hello Thevenin. Welcome! We're just getting started." Jiggo bends down to offer a hand to shake.
Once the Venture-Captain continues, Salera pipes up. "Sounds like sabotage. Or a trap." She glares at Jiggo and sighs. "We're doing this, aren't we?"
"Oh, of course we are!" Jiggo stands up. "We can't just wait for... whoever to stop sabotaging our landmarks. Besides, maybe they actually want our help and this is how they communicate."
Jiggo ponders for a bit. "Elemental Discord, Stone Temple Pilgrims and... FeyHenge. I think these are the most important tasks we should tackle."
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Sigvard gestures you to follow her. She shows you to the portal at the lodge. She suggests that you first head toward the maze’s central courtyard and gives directions on how to find it. "Good luck!" she bids you farewell.
Beyond the portal’s threshold, the sounds and sights of the Open Road Lodge quickly fade into a muted darkness, but just as suddenly, the darkness unravels as the twisted branches of a hedge wall rustle and uncurl to create a round entrance into a hedge maze. The air carries the scent of freshly cut grass, mixed with the sweet aroma of bright red roses that sporadically dot the lush, green maze walls.
The hedge maze’s manicured plant walls stand 20 feet tall, though near any places on Sigvard’s report, the walls look overgrown.
You soon discover that the the walls are impenetrable. This includes overgrown areas and clusters of trees
After a few minutes’ walk and a series of turns and short dead ends, you eventually arrive in a wide central courtyard. The twisting path of the hedge maze widens to a long stone causeway roofed by marble arches. The causeway leads to a courtyard surrounded by ancient stone structures, the largest of which must have been a palace. An enormous marble statue of a robed figure stands on a pedestal at the center of the courtyard, and a garland of red flowers adorns the statue’s brow.
If you critically succeed the check
The large statue depicts a bearded, balding man in a rustic, voluminous robe. He carries a staff made from a gnarled oak branch in his right hand and has a sparrow sitting on the left hand’s palm.
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"Wow..." Jiggo admires the shrubs. "I had spent a few years in a manor, helping a minor nobleman with his garden. I was always impressed by the hedges, although it felt like a lot of work to make it look like that."
Salera shrugs. "You should maintain a rose garden, Jiggs. It's... calming."
Jiggo quietly nods along until the team reaches the courtyard. "A robed figure... No idea who this is. Must be pretty important."
"And who is this? Nice staff."
"Ah! It's Forest King Narven. He created the maze, right? The roses are used to make the garland he's wearing."
Salera stops him. "I'll grab it. You wait here. Don't want to risk you falling." She stretches her small wings and starts climbing up.
She climbs back down. "It's... pretty." She holds out the rose garland for anyone to look at or take.
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Cindy gathers her knitting (which looks a lot like balling it up and shoving it in her bag) and heads through the portal.
"Oh, how nice!" she exclaims as they enter the maze. The flowers and vines of the maze seem to bend toward her a bit as she walks in. She slaps away a vine that touches her wrist, "Fresh! Keep your leaves to yourself"
"My, my. I can never get my roses so nice. And no wonder! This species has been extinct for 200 years. Narven's Tears, I think they are called."
As they walk through the sculpture garden, she stops and lays an ear against one of the stone structure, then listens as she knocks her knuckles against it, "Hmm. Medusas, that's for sure. I believe there was one named Condria that used to live in the maze." She looks around, "Looks like they've moved most of her handiwork out of here. Hardly any statues."
Jiggo freezes when Aunty Cindy mentions medusae and statues.
Salera takes a moment to ruffle her hands through his hair. "Don't worry, Jiggs. I'm here now. I'm never leaving your side again."
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vs DC 13
"Ooh, yes!" they echo Incendia's description. "Poor Narven."
Thevenin begins digging into the foliage, but maintaining his manners. "Excuse me," they say to the plants. "Pardon me!" But the plants are obstinate.
"Hmph," Thevenin frowns. "Quite a rude lot."
vs DC 13
Thevenin remembers the bit about the medusa, but doesn't want to speak her name.
vs DC 13
Thevenin recognizes King Narven as well, but has nothing to add.
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Salera climbs up the statue. However, when she touches the garland, it suddenly turns into a flock of red sparrows, which fly off in different directions.
You head to one of the clearings to begin your first task.
In this clearing, vines cover an ancient shrine built from stone. Four stone pedestals surrounding the temple stand empty, while four stone statues depicting humanoid creatures are lying in the grass and leaning against the temple’s pillars. Inside the temple is a large bell, and a text on the wall above it reads: "Sound the bell to greet the pilgrims standing tall and proud and be greeted by four echoes." A faint scent of incense emanates from the shrine.
Each of the four pedestals has a plaque that describes the pilgrim.
Top-left "Sunsear, the Healer"
Top-right "Green Ghost, the Traveler"
Bottom-right "Midwinter, the Hunter"
Bottom-left "Stoneroot, the Gardener"
Statues:
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"Huh, red sparrows. Odd." Jiggo watches the birds fly. "Wait, I thought you said we couldn't really fly over the maze?" He shrugs.
As they see the statues, Jiggo investigates the statues with a mix of fear and intrigue. Are these real people or sculptures? He moves in towards the Donkey Headed statue.
"Uh... I think I'm onto something!"
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group hailing from the frozen north of Golarion.
The Donkey Headed statue does not belong in the Bottom Right or the Bottom Left (extra hint from the Crit Success)
Thevenin and Topias study their respective statues but don't find anything remarkable.
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"Ah, the sun... I think this is Sunsear, the Healer. I'll move her to the Top Left corner."
"And I know the Donkey has to be on top, so this must be on the Top Right corner."
Salera holds Jiggo back and moves the statues in his stead.
"Well... that leaves the human and the elf. Did anyone figure out those spots? Or did I get something wrong?"
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Thevenin will share anything they know. Heck, Thevenin will share things they know that are unrelated to the task at hand!
"I met a dwarf once! They had a beard. Do all dwarves have beards? I don't know. Most of the dwarves at the Grand Lodge have beards. I think beards are funny. All you humanoids just make a bunch of hair and push it out of your bodies slowly. Ha, ha, ha! Anyway, so this dwarf had a beard so long that it ..."
"... so I asked him, 'Droskar? I didn't recognize them without the beard!' Wait, what were we looking for, again?"
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"So Elduin, the Human statue gather herbs, right? Sounds like a gardener to me. Let's put this Human statue in the Bottom Left corner."
"That means the Elf statue should be in the Bottom Right corner. She depicts a group from the Frozen North? Sounds like Midwinter to me."
Once Salera finishes moving the statues, Jiggo moves to the bell. "I think that's the statues positions. Does anyone disagree with the placement? Otherwise I'll ring the bell."
Jiggo nods along with Thevenin. "I've heard hair is just tiny pieces of skin. It does keep my head warm when it snows!"
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Jiggo rings the bell...
You hear...
bong bong bong bong
As the remaining echo dies down, Jiggo finds a silver incense box sitting in the shrine, its intricately carved lid featuring a stunning image of an imperial dragon.
You also notice that the Donkey head reverts back to an iruxi head and the landscape appears to return to its perfectly manicured state.
You proceed to the next landmark.
Deep within the hedge maze, a small clearing holds a ring of eight standing stones. Each stone is five feet tall, three to four feet wide, and arranged in a perfect circle with a diameter of 20 feet. The stones are rough and weathered, covered in ancient symbols that pulse with a faint green light. From the center of the circle, a green mist emanates, swirling and dancing above the grass. You remember that Forest King Narven created the standing stones in the maze as a focal point for his druidic powers, drawing power from the First World and lending protection to the maze.