“As you know,” Venture-Captain Eras begins, idly fidgeting with some paperwork in front of him as he talks, “our audience with the city’s ruling council to discuss the possibility of reopening trade is tomorrow, and we must make a good impression. It seems that there are some here who feel that Ekkeshikaar has nothing to gain by trading with us–“
“Backwards isolationists! Everywhere has at least a few,” interjects Calisro with a snort, taking a swig of a colorful drink that nonetheless smells strongly of liquor.
“Yes, well.” Eras clears his throat. “In any case, this… reclusive sentiment is certainly not shared by all of Ekkeshikaar’s citizens, but it has a grip on enough of them that we feel some additional preparation is in order. To that end, we’d like you to take on a few tasks that will help give us an edge when the time comes tomorrow. First and foremost, we need you to recover some documents from the city’s Hall of Records. We’ve already identified the documents we need, which outline some of the finer points of local law, as well as the details of the original trade agreement with the people of Vidrian. We put in a request for the documents days ago, but we have continued to be met with red tape and bureaucratic delays.”
“He means they’re stalling, and don’t want to give them to us.” Calisro chimes in cheerfully, with a wry smirk.
“A tactic my colleague here is very familiar with,” Eras retorts good-naturedly. “Sadly, I’m beginning to think she’s correct. And without these documents, we’re essentially going into the negotiations blind. So, we’d like you to head down in person and sort these ‘irregularities’ out yourselves. How you do this is ultimately up to you, but by happenstance, we’ve already agreed to send a stack of Pathfinder Chronicles to the Hall of Records to be transcribed. These particular chronicles come with a rather complex index written in Hallit, which is not a language known here. Someone will be spending a fair deal of time assisting the clerks in translating, organizing, and otherwise sorting through the chronicles. If it’s you, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know these bureaucrats—and perhaps learn a bit about the iruxi yourselves.”
“Or,” interjects the half-orc captain, producing a small wooden box, stamped with a Taldan coat of arms and labeled ‘Voinarum Glade Winery: 4700 ar’ “I’ve never known a bureaucrat who would say no to a good bottle of wine. Just offer it as a thank you gift for ‘expediting our request,’ and try not to wink or nudge them with your elbow as you do it. That way, you don’t have to spend the whole afternoon
sorting papers.”
Eras sighs. “As much as I’d prefer we not start our relationship with Ekkeshikaar with bribery, it’s true that time is at a premium here. We do have other tasks we’d like you to attend to after this is done. I’ll leave how to handle the situation to your discretion, but please hurry back either way: Calisro and I will need as much time as possible to look over those documents, and you’ll need as much time as possible to complete the other things that need doing.”
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>>backflips through the window into the room where it happens<<
Clad in the two-toed sandals of the mysterious warrior mystics of legend, an armored hobgoblin with a wickedly large bow / crossbow hybrid and sporting a variety of dangerously sharp monastic weapons secured in clever sheathes girding his wildly decorated armor springs nimbly into the meeting room, and listens to the briefing in silence. He turns to the next pathfinder to arrive, delivering the great wisdom of a simple remark.
"Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose"
Sizing up the venture-captains, as well as the other pathfinders who consecutively arrive, he produces a small black folio, whose pages are covered in scrawl and diagrams with characters stolen from ancient languages - an obscure shorthand he created himself - and consults it, reading silently as he makes his assessment...
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A young human woman with long, dark-blonde hair enters the office. Her blue eyes have an unfocused look, as if she’s looking past (through?) everything. She wears a simple brown dress with a black hooded cloak. A red and black spider is perched on her head. Another spider, halfling-sized, brown with a silver chevron on its thorax, walks beside her.
She curtsies to the others. ”Flory Buntzer”, she says. ”These are my cohort, Lady Gwendolyn and Sir Miles” The two spiders bow.
"Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose"
She turns to Hisaki’s general direction. ”So if the enemy’s purpose is to kill us, we should commit suicide?”, she asks with a grin. ”Noted”
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Various forms of divination, but especially astrology, are of vital importance in iruxi culture. However, while they often have one eye on the future, they are patient and cautious, with strong ties to tradition that occasionally make them seem slow to act.
"You will have to pardon my compatriot, he has not mastered the art of conversation. But that is only to your advantage, as he has hired me to do his talking for him. My name is Bruce and this well armored and wall armed (at this he gives Hancock's arm a pinch) is a fine warrior. Though not keen on subtlety, so I'm not sure your advice will do any good."
At this, Hancock turns his scowl on Bruce, but the man is unfazed, apparently inured to the hostility or just too well mannered to care.
"Did someone say legal issues?" Bruce gives a sharp whistle though his gapped front teeth. "I'll have you know that Hancock's day job is legal paperwork. What luck, huh Hancock!"
At this Hancock seems ready to cry. It is quite apparent that he hates his day job. The moment passes quickly and an even more fierce scowl is produced even as Bruce chuckles. Apparently the 'hireling' loves to torture his boss.
An elf in green o-yoroi armor stands in the background.
Forewarned and forearmed with a potential bribe, you walk to the Hall of Records.
The Ekkeshikaar Hall of Records is an imposing stone building with a massive central dome of blue-green glass. Surrounding the main building are several tall, spiraling minarets that transition at the highest levels from smooth stone to gleaming glass. The interior is no less impressive, with the glass-filtered sunlight creating beautiful patterns on the stone floors, themselves engraved with different patterns, that complement and seem to change with the light as it moves across the floor with the time of day.
A bureaucrat named Narsha is in charge of the Pathfinder paperwork. She greets you pleasantly and politely explains that your paperwork has been entered into the queue. There is nothing to be done except to wait since every filing is important.
Hancock can tell that Narsha is not entirely forthcoming.
The Jinin elf steps up behind Hancock and adds gently, "I believe it appropriate to give gift of appreciation, is it not?"
"Very well," Narsha politely accepts your help. Many of the documents are in Hallit. Since none of you speak Hallit, Narsha sends a messenger who eventually returns with Mirian Raas and Jekka, her adopted iruxi brother, from your ship to assist with the translation. You do your best to win Narsha over the next several hours.
"I see you are very determined," Narsha says with a polite and toothy smile. "That is plenty of help. Let me get those papers for you." You get the sense that she is assisting you to get you out of her space more than because she particularly likes you.
You return to the Pathfinders' quarters.
“Wonderful,” exclaims Eras as he sets the papers aside after a glance through them. “I’m sure these will be invaluable tomorrow. But our work is far from over. There is a visiting diplomat of some renown, known as Kesstraka, who is visiting on business from further south. If we could convince her to help represent Vidrian’s interests or at least argue in favor of the trade deal, her words would certainly carry a great deal of weight during the negotiations. As luck would have it, she’s staying here in the same embassy building we are. She’s asked to meet with you in her garden quarters just outside.”
Calisro speaks up, waving a drink in the air as she speaks to underscore her point. “If you ask me, your best bet is the old ‘stick and carrot’ approach: talk some big talk about the last guys who didn’t want to trade, maybe drop a few hints that Vidrian’s navy is a bit bigger than it really is, and get her to agree to help out. You can always smooth things over later by holding a couple minor trade concessions up your sleeve.”
“Alternatively,” Eras interjects, mildly frustrated, “if you don’t want to risk starting an international incident, you could simply tell her a few tales of derring-do and adventure, and once she’s warmed up to you a bit, broach the topic of her aid then.”
“The important thing,” says Calisro, lounging back and taking a long sip of her drink, “is to get her on our side and come right back here, because there’s still one more job we have for you today.”
Inside the embassy is a sprawling and luxurious courtyard and garden, including several chairs and tables on a terrace overlooking a stream. Although the area seems peaceful and idyllic--with no sign of anyone else in the garden--a loud hiss draws attention to a hideous lizard-like creature with eight legs and an unsettling gaze.
Standing in front of the creature, slowly backing away from it, is an iruxi woman, whose faded green scales quickly turn to grey, and then her body completely transforms to stone.
Despite Hisaki shouting a warning, the octopedal lizard scuttles toward you before you can react. It pauses at the top of the stairs to stare at Cercuciel. As Flory begins to react to the situation, the lizard glances at her.
Combat! Round 1
Lizard Monster (-0 hp) (conditions)
Hisaki (35/35 hp)
Cercuciel (66/66? hp) Fortitude DC 22 vs. Slow 1
Hancock (90/90 hp)
Flory (26/26 hp) Fortitude DC 20 vs. Slow 1
>Companion Spider
>Familiar Spider
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The failure bruises our brazen hero's ego. But he recovers after a short prayer. To the venture-captains, he adds his insight "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting" Then demands they "Direct us to the embassy quarters of Kesstraka" No nonsense, this guy.
Leading from the rear - lest an ambush make the best of an otherwise well-armored front - Hisaki leaps into action!
"If you surround your enemy completely, give them no chance to escape, offer them no quarter, then they will fight to the last" the symbol of General Susumo brandishing clearly attached to a polearm among Hisaki's effects - it emboldens his squadmates to fight without fear "The Black Daimyo brooks diplomatic efforts no bodies of water nor men nor beast"
~) Commander's Banner
~) Drilled Reactions
◆◆) ???
A commander needs a battle standard so their allies can locate them on the eld. You start play with a custom banner that you can use to signal allies when using tactics (see below) or to deploy speci c abilities. Your banner can be af xed to a weapon or shield you are wielding, or held in one hand and attached to a simple pole. Feats and abilities with the banner trait require you to be holding your banner or wielding a weapon or shield it is attached to.
As long as your banner is visible (such as by being affixed to your weapon or worn attached to a pole alongside your backpack), you and all allies in a 30- foot emanation gain a +1 status bonus to Will saves and DCs against fear effects. You pause or resume this effect as part of any action you would typically use to stow or retrieve your banner, such as Interacting to stow it. If your banner is destroyed or stolen, allies within 30 feet become frightened 1. This effect has the aura, commander, emotion, mental, and visual traits.
Some abilities allow you to place your banner in a specialized manner; as long as you have placed your banner in this way, any banner abilities originate from your banner’s space instead of your own.
Tactical Time
Cercuciel (bonus reaction to Stide within Hisaki’s aura)
Hancock (use reaction to stride as above or pass)
Flory (use reaction to stride as above or pass)
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Hancock will use the Form Up! to engage red. Then he will rage and pound it a couple off times to the cheering of Bruce.
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4 additional damage with electrical, arcane, and evocation traits on a hit, shove on a crit
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4 additional damage with electrical, arcane, and evocation traits on a hit, shove on a crit
Cercuciel marches closer at Hisaki's command, his halberd at the ready. His marching and armor seem to be intended to attract much attention. When he arrives into position next to the ferocious dwarf, he lowers his halberd and begins to make attacks and big sweeps, not affording the strange lizard much opportunity for movement.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success Until the beginning of your next turn, the creature gains a +2 circumstance bonus to attack rolls it makes against you and to its DCs of effects that target you (for area effects, the DC increases only for you), but takes a –1 circumstance penalty to attack rolls and DCs when taking a hostile action that doesn’t include you as a target.
Failure As success, but the penalty is –2.
Critical Failure As success, but the penalty is –3
You cannot stand still while your comrades might be in danger. Stride, and you must end your movement adjacent to the triggering ally; you can use Intercept Foe while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if you have the corresponding movement type. That ally gains a +2 circumstance bonus to their AC against the melee Strike.
You fling yourself in the way of oncoming harm to protect an ally. You take the damage instead of your ally, though thanks to your armor, you gain resistance to all damage against the triggering damage equal to 2 + your level.
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"Quickness is the essence of the war"
Hisaki urges his squad unto tricky footworks "Seize the doorway!" as he speaks his banner to the Black Daimyo menaces from it's position attached to a polearm strapped to his backpack. Preparing, too, to engage, he pulls a kama attached to a length of chain, and begins swirling the deadly weapons in circular motions with the easy prowess of extended practice.
◆) Form Up!
◆) Interact to Draw Kusarigama
Cercuciel resists the basilisk's gaze for the moment, and the Pathfinders move into position.
Hancock slams his maul into the lizard's muscular fore-sixteenth with a flash of electricity, which leaves a dent . His follow-up swing glances off of the thick scales .
Cercuciel tries to get the basilisk's attention, but that strategy fails . He begins effectively hampering the beast's many legs with his halberd but fails to actually damage anything other than the fence .
Flory's spectral claws skip across the armored scales as her muscles begin to stiffen.
The basilisk stares at Hancock, the only one to harm it so far. Then it tries to bite him. However, Cercuciel checks the lunging basilisk at just the right moment to save Hancock from injury .
Combat! Round 2
Lizard Monster (-27 hp) (conditions)
Hisaki (35/35 hp)
Cercuciel (76/76 hp) Fortitude DC 20 vs. Slow 1, applies to next turn
Hancock (10+90/90 hp) Fortitude DC 22 vs. Slow 1, applies to this turn
Flory (26/26 hp) (slow 1)
>Companion Spider
>Familiar Spider
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"You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended"
Moving into position instructing his squadmates unto exposing their enemy's weaknesses in stance and position, Hisaki whirls the attached blade around his head, and lashes through his squad from the rear!
◆) Stride
◆) Strike
You signal an aggressive formation designed to exploit enemies’ vulnerabilities. Signal all squadmates affected by your commander’s banner; each can Step as a free action. If any of your allies end this movement adjacent to an opponent, that opponent is off-guard to melee attacks from you and all other squadmates who responded to Pincer Attack until the start of your next turn.
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In spite of his mighty constitution, Hancock is stiffened by the gaze of the odd looking beast. Undeterred (much), Hancock takes advantage of the guidance from the tactician and steps to the side to make a surprise attack and swings his maul mightily.
4 additional damage with electrical, arcane, and evocation traits on a hit, target is off guard due to pincir attack
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4 additional damage with electrical, arcane, and evocation traits on a hit, shove on a crit, target is off guard due to pincir attack
o Step, free action from pincir attack
* lost action due to slow
* attack
* attack
Hancock steps to the side as his muscles stiffen, distracting the basilisk. Hisaki attempts to take advantage, but the kusarigama blade catches on the fence .
The dwarf hammers away at the eight-legged lizard. His next blow knocks off a scale. The one after that completely glances to the side .
Combat! Round 2
Lizard Monster (-42 hp) (conditions)
Hisaki (35/35 hp)
Cercuciel (76/76 hp) Fortitude DC 20 vs. Slow 1, applies to next turn
Hancock (10+90/90 hp) (slow 1)
Flory (26/26 hp) (slow 1)
>Companion Spider
>Familiar Spider
Cercuciel feels his joints stiffen as he sweeps more with his halberd.
Cercuciel calls for the basilisk's attention and then earns it with a powerful slash that cuts deep across the beast's scaly face. Flory empowers Sir Miles.
The basilisk turns its angry gaze toward Cercuciel before biting... .
Combat! Round 3
Lizard Monster (-88 hp) (conditions)
Hisaki (35/35 hp)
Cercuciel (76/76 hp) (slow 1) (Fortitude DC 24 vs. petrified)
Hancock (10+90/90 hp) (slow 1)
Flory (26/26 hp) (slow 1)
>Companion Spider (runic body)
>Familiar Spider
Though Cercuciel barely fights off further stiffening, it does hamper him enough for the lizard monster to get a good bite in. He grunts in pain as the teeth sink in hampered only slightly by his composite armor.
The lizard's chomp sets Cercuciel up for a strong stab with his halberd, sinking it into the creature's back, near the spine.
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"The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent”
Guiding his squadmates into creating an opening, Hisaki fills it with his flying blade!
◆◆) Strike x2
You signal an aggressive formation designed to exploit enemies’ vulnerabilities. Signal all squadmates affected by your commander’s banner; each can Step as a free action. If any of your allies end this movement adjacent to an opponent, that opponent is off-guard to melee attacks from you and all other squadmates who responded to Pincer Attack until the start of your next turn.
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Hancock forgoes the advantage of the advice and sloshes through the eater to get into a flank with Sir Miles. Then comes the inevitable swatting.
4 additional damage with electrical, arcane, and evocation traits on a hit, flanking
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4 additional damage with electrical, arcane, and evocation traits on a hit, flanking
Hisaki's tactics momentarily confuse the beast. Cercuciel decapitates the basilisk in a dramatic fashion.
Before you have too long to think about what to do with the petrified diplomat, a half dozen iruxi wearing gleaming brass breastplates over dark blue robes arrive, announcing that they heard a disturbance and came as quickly as they could.
They explain that they are members of the Ekkeshikaar city guard. Their captain, Hazar, assesses the situation. Even before you are able to explain yourself, he says, "Clearly you are here to rescue Kesstraka and not the perpetrators."
A pair of iruxi guards take your statements while the others gather basilisk blood and smear it on Kesstraka. The iruxi returns to flesh and takes a moment to come to the present. The guards take her statement and then confer.
Hazar approaches you and says, "Thank you for assisting one of our citizens. We will take the investigation from here." He gathers his guards, and they depart.
Kesstraka approaches and thanks you for your rescue. She offers you an onyx statue of a tyrannosaurus with emerald chips for eyes as a reward. She engages you in small talk for some time. When you try to turn the conversation towards business, she diverts into some question or observation about your homelands or your custums. However, after what seems like a rather lengthy expenditure of time, she does allow you to get to the point of your visit.
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...your best bet is the old ‘stick and carrot’ approach: talk some big talk about the last guys who didn’t want to trade, maybe drop a few hints that Vidrian’s navy is a bit bigger than it really is, and get her to agree to help out...
Consulting his briefing, Hisaki gets down to business, eschewing small talk altogether.
"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near”
"It is through cooperation that peoples can best thrive. Each of our talents can coalesce into a greater whole, covering each other's weaknesses instead of exploiting them," Cercuciel delivers stoically as if reciting the words of another.
At the end of your discussions, Kesstraka agrees to accompany you to your negotiations tomorrow and lend her support.
When you return, you find Eras and Calisro hunched over a table, reviewing the documents you procured earlier.
“Well, seems you’re pretty fair diplomats yourselves,” Calisro remarks by way of congratulations, raising her glass as though in salute. “Having Kesstraka’s support will go a long way towards getting this trade deal in the bag. But the day’s not done just yet. We have one more lizardfolk for you to wrangle.”
Eras rolls his eyes and sighs slightly at Calisro’s comment, before resuming his previous pleasant demeanor. “Other than the fact that they prefer the term ‘iruxi,’ and that we wouldn’t want to imply any disrespect by comparing them to farm animals, my colleague here is correct: there is one more local whose support we hope you can secure. It’s one of the members of the Council of Stars, the ruling body of Ekkeshikaar that we’ll be arguing our case to tomorrow. His name is Lashweather—apparently he gained it in his youth, when he served as a weather mage aboard an iruxi…” he coughs meaningfully “…shall we say, ‘privateering vessel?’”
This time it’s Calisro who rolls her eyes, jabbing Eras playfully in the ribs. “The word you want is ‘pirate,’ Eras. No need to dance around it here.”
Eras frowns uncomfortably. “If we’re too loose with our words in private, it becomes all the easier to slip up and say it in person. And the last thing we need is to offend the man.”
Calisro snorts. “I’ve never known a pirate who couldn’t handle being called a pirate. Hells, it’d probably be a good way to win him over.”
“With any luck,” Eras retorts, “we won’t need to win him over. Our sources indicate he’s predisposed towards our cause, the problem is that he apparently hasn’t been seen in days and isn’t responding to messengers. We’re worried he may not show. Apparently, it wouldn’t be the first time. So, we want you to head to his observatory—it’s a tower on the edge of the city, you can’t miss it—and make sure he’ll be there tomorrow.”
“And try not to do anything that’ll make him change his mind about voting our way, yeah?” Calisro adds playfully.
The observatory takes the form of a spiraling white stone tower, worn smooth by age or craftsmanship, that rises some forty feet into the air before widening rapidly to create a circular platform, covered by a glass dome, creating the overall impression of a giant egg in a stone nest. A set of chimes made from hollowed bones hangs next to the only visible entrance, a round stone door at ground level.
You arrive after sunset.
The door is locked.
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”Now now”, Flory says to Hancock. ”That would be rather rude, no?”
She looks down at the spider perched over her heart like a brooch. ”Perhaps Her Ladyship could take a peek for us”
She extends her arm to the wall, and Lady Gwendolyn crawls along it and up toward the lit window.
Cercuciel looks to his allies with a confused expression. After a moment, he steps up to the door, lifts his arm, and knocks on the door. "Is this not the normal way of announcing one's presence?" he asks, clearly still confused.
While Lady Gwendolyn climbs, Cercuciel attempts to gain the attention of the occupant within the conventional way. There is no immediate answer to Cercuciel's knock. Lady Gwendolyn makes her way down and onto Flory's arm, and still there is no answer.