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1) I am based in Southeast Asia (UTC +8) so my posting hours may be unusual (especially for those in North America). I usually update at least one or twice per day. Just to keep the game moving, please post at least once every day and at least once during the weekend.
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Tuesday/Thursdays - all day, as they are the 2 busiest days of my work week
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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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You receive a missive to meet Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen’s trusted right hand, Lirall, on an urgent matter in the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Rather than the Iceferry Lodge in the north, you'll be meeting Lirall at an inn in Jol. You all arrive early and spend some time getting to know your travelling companions.
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Bramblespine slowly unfurls and rights themselves, raising up from what initially appeared to be a thorny rose bush into a rather thorny humanoid who's hands open up like petals on a rose while closed roses encircle their neck.
With a strongly arboreal voice, Bramblespine speaks. "I am Bramblespine. Once a guardian of Feathereyes' Maze, after nearly 200 years of service I have decided to commit a life to exploring The Universe, with the help of the Society for whom I have served for so long."
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A halfling woman with a red headcloth and regular clothes that smell of bread waves. There's a fish jumping out of a pouch dangling from her waist.
"I'm Glenda! Used to run a restaurant and it burned down. Was feeling sorry for myself and then was slapped in the face by this fish. Since then been using it for adventuring to raise some funds to open a new place! It also produces fruit and vegetables. Not sure where it gets them from, but they're pretty tasty."
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Acurius gives the fish a curious look, wondering if any of that is indeed true. People do lie. Then again, the world is full of strange things.
"I am Achurius." Proudly displaying his staff with a head displaying his holy symbol, he continues, "a cleric of Nethys. I assume you are both practitioners of magic?"
Then again, Achurius assumes everyone is a practitioner of magic. But it does come out as a question, inviting the others to describe the magic they use.
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Flory is a young human woman with long, dark-blonde hair. 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, human-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.
Turning toward Achurius, she adds, ”I am beholden to my fae liege, Princess Gossamer. She has granted me her gifts”
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A chipper gnome with brilliant blue-violet hair approaches your table and greets everyone. "Thank you for coming. As you were told, this is an urgent matter, so urgent that Venture-Captain Bjersig couldn’t even be here, so I’ll just cut to the chase. The Voll family is a powerful merchant family in Karlsgard. They did a huge favor for the Pathfinder Society and now they are calling in their marker. It seems several family members are missing." She pauses before continuing, "Some of the family local to here, that is, to Jol, have asked Bjersig—I mean, Venture-Captain Bjersig—to help find what happened to their family members That would be..."
She thumbs through a sheaf of notes before locating the information she needs. "Ah yes, Edvik Voll and his wife Rane. We’ve agreed to send a team to the Grungir Forest, their last known location, to look for Edvik’s brother, his wife, and their three adult children. Their homestead is the last known location where anyone saw them, most recently three days ago. Investigate and see what you can discover. If you locate them, aid them if needed. If they are sadly no longer with us, please return their remains for proper rights. And be incredibly careful. These were experienced herbalists who’ve made the trek to the forest’s edge time and again. If something happened to them, the threat is likely still there. Complete the mission and come home safely."
She sighs, clearly not accustomed to giving the briefings herself, and then smiles again. "Any questions? I haven’t been to the forest’s edge myself, but I’ll answer whatever I can."
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"Oh, I'm sorry," Lirall says, "I missed this in my notes. Raynorri Voll is Edvik’s brother. He’s the father of this particular branch of the family. Karitte Voll is his wife. The two have three adult children: Kolla, their eldest daughter, and the fraternal twins Bauni and Birtir."
"As for First World entities, we're not sure which, or, for that matter, any First World entities, have anything to do with the disappearance. If you need supplies, by the way, feel free to visit the quartermaster. Any more questions?"
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While there is some internal strife in the Voll family, the small branch in Jol has never been involved in the wider politics, mainly focusing on their own work and avoiding throwing their family name about, even going so far as eschewing hired help when gathering materials for their endeavors. The Voll family was one of the first to follow the Path of Aganhei north to Turvik and points beyond. They are well liked in cities where they have a presence.
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You proceed to the family house at Lirall's instructions. However, there is nothing at the family house except the trail leading towards the forest. It’s clear no one has been here in the time frame since the disappearances. There are no clues within, so eventually you follow the trail to the forest. As you enter the forest, you realize something is different...
This is the First World. Wherever this is within that realm, this domain is strongly controlled by a single immense will, as can clearly be felt in the flow of the nearby primal magic.
From up ahead the obvious sounds of a party. Leaves underfoot become paving stones. Columns begin to line the road, leading to steps formed by roots which ascend to two barriers of tightly woven vines covered in a riot of flowers. The doors open, revealing a feast underway.
At the head of a crescent-shaped trestle table sits the apparent host, who seems to be an androgynous elf until the antlers jutting from their head register as real rather than a headpiece. They are beautiful in an otherworldly, foreboding way, too perfect to be true, eliciting feelings of the uncanny valley. They regard the newcomers coolly as scattered performers of obvious fey nature dance and cavort, providing some sort of entertainment for those feasting. A pair of leshy guards move to intercept the intruders. However, at a gesture from the host, the leshy guards form up beside you and escort you to the table.
The host, who has been watching impassively the whole time, begins speaking. "Clyetus, We. Are. Bored. What more have you?"
Another individual with a blasé countenance, vaguely elven features, and bright green hair steps forward to speak to the host. "Well my Thane, these mortals happened upon your invitation. Near as my magic can tell, they seem to be something called Pathfinders." He gestures toward you. Suddenly the doors slam shut behind everyone, preventing exit.
"Just another mortal faction, Clyetus," the Thane says with a sigh. "Mortals, mortals, mortals. The ones from this era seem so much duller than those who attended our last feast. What are we to do with such boorish guests?"
"Perhaps we should ask them, my lord." At this suggestion the Thane nods, and they turn an intense and chilling stare upon their new guests. They make no attempt to hide the fact that all who arrive here are but entertainment in their ancient eyes.
"So then," they say, "who are you, and why do you deserve a table at our Elsewhere Feast?"
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"Mortal I may be, but long lived, and I share blood with the fey as I am an elf. I take it you are finding the entertainment a bit repetitive and are looking for something different? Personally, I am not an entertainer, but perhaps one of the others in my group is. I do have an interesting collection of magical knowledge though."
Looking around, he adds "It seems like we are in the First World. An honor. Did we pass though a portal or have you brought the first world to our plane?"
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"How is it possible that we are now in the First World? Is the forest a part of it?" Lesley is somewhat worried to be at another plane of existence.
"Lesley Hart. And yes, we are Pathfinders." she introduces herself. "And what is this Elsewhere Feast?" she asks. "I can't remember I received an invitation to such a feast."
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"Please direct your questions to Clyetus." the elflike being says, bored.
Clyetus, the bland, green-haired individual, steps up. "I am Clyetus. I have served the Thane longer than any. You must be referring to the last batch of mortals. They arrived some decades ago—yesterday or the day before perhaps—but their crying of lost time has grated on the Thane, and they tire of such rudeness. I have put those mortals to work as they were no longer fit to be a guest"
"The Elsewhere Feast is a celebration in the First World. Our Thane has grown bored of his solitude and has transformed his realm into a place of wonder. Invitations were sent out to the First World and beyond. You must have received one. You are here, after all. Understand that nobody goes home until the Feast is over. You can either join the festivities or become part of the entertainment. Our Thane has manipulated time so that each day lasts a decade."
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Flory and Achurius draw a slight smile from the Thane's lips. "You have spunk, I'll give you that. However, why not just be sensible like your friend here, " he points to Achurius, "Join the feasting. You'll feel better."
"Are you allowed to do that, 'put the mortals to work'?" Lesley air-quotes the words for emphasis. "Sounds like slavery to me if they do not consent."
"Of course it's allowed. The Thane's word is law. There is nothing he cannot do here. You'd best remember that!"
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Clyetus speaks up. "Whatever a Pathfinder is my lord, they'll all be little more than weeping babes once some decades have passed. We might as well use them as scraps for the hounds." Suddenly, a large rabbit with dun-colored fur hops into view, and then walks on two legs into the center of the room to face the Thane.
"Oh grand Eternal One I know the world from whence these mortals come. The Pathfinders have done me a favor in the past. I owe them much, and your radiance has always demanded debts be paid. Treating them as scraps would leave my debt unfulfilled." The rabbit regards you with a sympathetic look.
Clyetus interjects, "Summer Storm, you forget yourself. This is your first Elsewhere Feast. Mortal debts hardly matter. In fact—" at that, the Thane's face darkens, and he raises a hand. Clyetus, sensing the Thane's displeasure, immediately ceases speaking.
"All debts matter," the terribly beautiful fey lord proclaims. "What do you propose, our newly awakened friend?" The Thane asks.
"A wager my Lord, a game."
"Oh, a new game! Excellent. What are the stakes?"
"Grant me time with the newcomers. If they prove entertaining enough, then you return them to their lands as they were before arriving, along with those they came to seek, the weight of years removed."
"And should they fail?" The Thane gives a harsh look. Summer Storm turns and looks upon the party wistfully "My name and my freedom. I only have both because of their Pathfinder Society."
The Thane ponders the request for a moment and nods. "Done! Have your conference."
The rabbit approaches you and introduces himself. "My name is Summer Storm. Your kind helped earn my freedom years ago from the Thorned Monarch, a fey lord defeated by the Pathfinder Society. I owe the Pathfinders and I can help you—I will help you. The Elsewhere Feast is under the complete control of the Thane, but we can escape. I have a plan. Some of the guests will aid us if you can win them over. Buy me time to get my preparations in place and be ready to run when I give the signal."
"I've been here for decades now, and I've seen the magic used on the invitations. I think I can mess with them just enough to create a way out. I need you to do what you can to distract everyone. Mingle. Entertain the Thane. Whatever it takes to keep focus off me. I wouldn't recommend starting a fight without their permission, though. They won't let that work. And I guess I could use some help finding inconspicuous places to do what I need to do. Oh! And if you want to bring anyone else back, be sure to find them ahead of time. Questions?"
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"The timing of your arrival is perfect, I could have..." Lesley trails off, forgetting about her plan.
"Find the family, distract Thane. Pretty easy, I suppose. I have one question though. What entertainment does Thane like, if you know?" she asks.
I have another actually, sorry. How are you sure your plan will work? They are the Thane, as they claim," she adds.
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"I would not judge him too harshly, Glenda. The ways of the Fey are very different, and for good reason."
Examining the rabbit-fey, he responds, "We will do what you ask, for we have no choice, do we. I fear we may not be the best at this tough. I think the society prepared us for combat. No bards or such in this group. You may have made a poor choice gambling on this lot. Hopefully, though, our other talents will make up for that."