Zero's Season 5 Intro: Year of Unfettered Exploration (Inactive)

Game Master Super Zero

Gwen flips her hair and looks to the tough robber in green. "Hey, hot stuff! Quick, run! We can only hold them off so long!"

Bot Mot vs Green Will DC: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

◆ Bot Mot vs Green
◆◆ Charm Green (Will DC18)

Successful Bon Mot.
Will: 1d20 + 6 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 4 - 2 = 17 And a failed Will save.

The guard looks confused and lost for a moment, though he seems to be struck by a sudden recognition. "Oh. It's you!"

Fernán's turn.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage)
Blue Novice Robber
Fernán (16/16)
Gwendolyn (20/20, Stealthy)
Yellow Robber Novice
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice
Hallow (17/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber

Fernán will swap to his shortbow and try to fire off two nonlethal shots at the yellow thug but without much success.

Shortbow, nonlethal: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 7 - 2 = 9 for 1d6 ⇒ 5 piercing plus 1d6 ⇒ 2 precision damage (nonlethal)
Shortbow, nonlethal,MAP: 1d20 + 7 - 2 - 5 ⇒ (1) + 7 - 2 - 5 = 1 for 1d6 ⇒ 5 piercing plus 1d6 ⇒ 2 precision damage (nonlethal)

The first arrow is close the to mark; the second arrow... is not as close.
A failure and a critical failure.

The robber in yellow, possibly unaware that she's been attacked, moves up towards the closest target--Gwen. She socks her pretty good--these guys might not have weapons, but they clearly know at least a little about fighting.
◆ Stride, ◆ Stride, ◆ Strike Fist: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 hit for nonlethal bludgeoning: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"No!" shouts the charmed guard, looking as distressed as he is confused, "That one is--you know her--my friend--er--she's with us!" The thugs look a little perplexed. Moving away from Gwendolyn, the brute instead moves around to strike at Fernán and stabs him brutally with his dagger.
◆ Stride; ◆ Feint Deception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20 miscounted, he needs to Stride; ◆ Strike Dagger: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 crit for 2x(piercing damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 and precision damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3)

The criminal in red hurries across the room to get closer to the fight.
◆ Stride, ◆ Stride, ◆ Stride

Hallow, Dakon, and Siyokoy's turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage)
Blue Novice Robber
Fernán (8/16)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Yellow Robber Novice
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice
Hallow (17/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber

don't forget Inspire Courage!

Gwen scowls. "Hey big guy, get him off me!"

She turns to the Pathfinders. "This one is an old friend of mine, done hurt him!"

Green is my friend

Dakon nods to Solveig and unleashes a flurry of arrows from his right to left.

Targetting Yellow, then Blue.

Courageous arrow: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 = 24
Piercing: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

More Arrow: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 - 5 = 19
Piercing: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

Even more Arrow!: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 10 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 - 10 = 3
Piercing: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6

The first arrow hits the robber in the shoulder and leaves a nasty wound. The second just grazes her. The third is embedded in the door.
First hits and bloodies (shorthand for "half HP or less," if you're not familiar), second hits, third critical failure.

Hallow and Siyokoy's turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage)
Blue Novice Robber
Fernán (8/16)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Yellow Robber Novice (-9, bloodied)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice
Hallow (17/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber

Sorry about the lack of posting, my summer classes are approaching finals and as such have been somewhat draining.

Hallow, with the rest of their allies, draws their warhammer upon seeing the empty lodge.

They are slow to react, first taking a moment to adjust their armor, causing it to whir to life, before running towards the action, footsteps thundering through the lodge. They swing at one of the robbers in a single mechanical movement with a lot of power behind it.

◆ Overdrive, Crafting DC 15: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
◆ Stride
◆ Warhammer vs Blue, Courageous Anthem, Overdrive: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 6 + 1 = 20, 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 12

Gwen scowls. "Hey big guy, get him off me!"

She turns to the Pathfinders. "This one is an old friend of mine, done hurt him!"

Green is my friend

The leshy looks confused, but slowly nods, seeing Green's reactions. "...Understood."

The robber crumples. The one in red is looking a little nervous, glancing at his injured and fallen cohorts.

Siyokoy's turn.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage)
Fernán (8/16)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Yellow Robber Novice (-9, bloodied)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice
Hallow (17/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber

Siyokoy opens the gate to the Water plane and smacks Yellow with cold pristine water!
Elemental Blast Impulse Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20 | Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2 cold damage

He then steps closer behind Fernan and douses him with the same water to refresh his vitality.

◆ Channel Elements
◆ Step
◆ Ocean's Balm, Fernan regains 1d8 ⇒ 7 Hit Points and gains resistance 2 to fire for 1 minute.
↺ Deflecting Wave (gains Bludgeoning / Slashing resistance 2 or Acid or Fire resistance 4 if attacked. If the effect deals more than one applicable type of damage, apply the highest resistance, but apply it only once)

The water blast is enough to overwhelm the injured robber.

"Do everything myself..." mutters the purple-clad guard as she stomps over towards the Pathfinders. "Stop it!" she snaps at Hallow, jabbing him with her dagger. She's skilled at pressing him towards her teammate, which lets her jab with more precision... however flustered that teammate may be. "Those are expensive to replace!"
◆ Stride, ◆ Stride, ◆ Strike (Hallow is Off-Guard to this attack because he is adjacent to both Purple and one of her allies) Dagger: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22 hits for piercing damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 and Sneak Attack damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Solveig's turn.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice
Hallow (10/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber

Don't forget INSPIRE COURAGE: +1 STATUS BONUS TO ATTACK AND DAMAGES (even magical)

As her song lingers in the heart of her comrades, Solveig moves to red and strikes with her fist.

Unarmed Strike vs Red: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 1 = 11
Damages, B (non-lethal): 1d4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 = 6

Then she raises her shield.

Use non lethal action, they're not here to kill. but her words are moot as one of the robber is down bleeding and their leader just hit with a dagger one of her comrades.

◆Stride
◆Strike
◆Raise a shield
↺ Use Shield Block if the damages are 5 or less

Don't forget INSPIRE COURAGE: +1 STATUS BONUS TO ATTACK AND DAMAGES (even magical)

Solveig isn't able to connect this time.

Whoops, also Fernán and Gwendolyn's turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice
Hallow (10/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber

Gwen suddenly seems excited at the violence that erupts around her. She gives a hungry smile, stepping through the doorway. "Oh now for a bit of fun!" She tugs and loosens the scarf around her neck and lightning sparks out to two of the robbers.

Electric Arc on Red and Purple (Reflex DC18): 2d4 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3

◆ Step
◆◆ Electric Arc on Red and Purple

Fernán feints with his sword, slips it to his off hand and punches purple.

Deception to feint: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Fist (Agile, Finesse, nonlethal): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14 vs off-guard purple for 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 bludgeoning plus 1d6 ⇒ 3 precision
____________

◆ Feint
◆ Swap weapon
◆ Strike
↺ Nimble Dodge A creature targets you with an attack and you can see the attacker. You deftly dodge out of the way, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against the triggering attack.

don't forget Inspire Courage, it works on spells too! :)

Right! A big 4 electricity damage

Fernán's trick throws his opponent off enough that he's able to land a hit.
22 is a successful Feint. 14 15 hits Off-Guard.

Neither thief is quick enough to avoid the brunt of the spell. The one with the dagger, already hurt, is starting to look rough.
Red Reflex: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 and Purple Reflex: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Both fail. That bloodies Purple.

Green and Red's turn, but I need to run so I'll have to finish this in a bit.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice (-4)
Hallow (10/17)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber (-12, bloodied)

Sorry, "a bit" turned out to be a bit longer than I expected.

"No, stop!" the robber in the green hood seems distressed as he watches his friends stab each other, "Just go. Go. I said GO!"
This last he punctuates with a thrust of his dagger that was never going to hit anyone, but the sudden rage is startling all the same.
◆ Demoralize Hallow Intimidation: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18 Success for Frightened 1. ◆ Demoralize Fernán Intimidation: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 Success for Frightened 1. ◆ Strike Hallow/Fernán: 1d2 ⇒ 1 Dagger: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12 Fails.

The thug in the red jacket takes a swing at Solveig, though she manages to avoid it. She avoids, too, his other hand that swipes at her bandolier while he's trying to keep her attention on his punch.
◆◆ Combat Pickpocket Thievery: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8. Failure. ◆ Strike Fist: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15 Fails.

Hallow, Dakon, and Siyokoy's turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm, Frightened 1)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice (-4)
Hallow (10/17, Frightened 1)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32)
Purple Tough Robber (-12, bloodied)

"No one is going nowhere." Siyokoy declares while stepping back, although he might not make any sense. He then blasts Purple to knock the enemy out with the water he douses Fernan with, adding more from the Water Plane.
Elemental Blast, Nonlethal: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 2 = 23 vs Purple
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6 B damage

The water returns to him to provide elemental protection.

◆ Step
◆ Elemental Blast
◆ Hydraulic Deflection (+1 to AC)
↺ Deflecting Wave (gains Bludgeoning / Slashing resistance 2 or Acid or Fire resistance 4 if attacked. If the effect deals more than one applicable type of damage, apply the highest resistance, but apply it only once)

Don't forget Inspire Courage bonus! :)

She doesn't look like she can take another hit like that. Or any hit really.

Hallow and Dakon's turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm, Frightened 1)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice (-4)
Hallow (10/17, Frightened 1)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32, Hydraulic Deflection)
Purple Tough Robber (-19, bloodied)

Despite being somewhat shaken, Hallow steadies themself. They raise their non-weapon arm towards one of the thieves, and as they do, the mechanical hand transforms a bit into a complex toolset, and as they swing at the thief, it grazes by her jacket, taking a few threads and bolts with it. They then take another swing before their other arm transforms back into a hand to reach inside their gourd-head and pull out a shield.

◆ Tamper, Purple, Armor (if she's wearing armor, otherwise weapon), vs Reflex DC: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 7 - 1 = 15 On success: -10 penalty to speed, off-guard until start of my next turn
◆ Warhammer vs Purple, Inspire Courage, Overdrive: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 15, 1d8 + 3 + 2 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 + 1 - 1 = 12
◆ Raise Shield, +2 AC (Gourd Leshy: If you store a single object inside your head, you can draw it as a part of an action to use it)
↺ Shield Block, Heavy Shield

Dakon squeezes between the pillar and the statue, trying to keep Hallow from getting smashed.

battle medicine DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

But his ministrations are of help help in patching up the pumpkin.

From there Dakon takes a courageous shot at red.

shortbow vs red: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 = 13
courageous piercing: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

The robber narrowly avoids Hallow's manipulation and attack.

The novice similarly dodges the arrow.

"What is with you?" the guard in purple snarls at her companion, "Or YOU? Pumpkins are for carving!" While Hallow isn't thrown off by such petty insults (at least not twice in a row), the dagger makes a more compelling argument. She also swipes it towards Fernán, but he easily avoids it.
◆ Demoralize Hallow Intimidation: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 Failure. ◆ Strike Hallow Dagger: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 crit for 2x(piercing damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 and precision damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6); 22 damage, which I assume you don't want to shield block after all since it won't help). ◆ Strike Fernán Dagger: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 7 - 4 = 5 Critical Failure.

Solveig, Fernán, and Gwendolyn's turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm, Frightened 1, Reaction used)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice (-4)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32, Hydraulic Deflection)
Hallow (0/17, Dying 2)
Purple Tough Robber (-19, bloodied)

"Hey, what's with slicing up my friend there! You need to back off right now!" and then will feint with the pommel of his rapier and punch purple twice (or once and step over purple if that takes purple out).

Deception to feint, frightened: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 3 - 1 = 16
Fist (Agile, Finesse, nonlethal), CA, frightened: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 - 1 = 21 vs off-guard (?) purple for 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6 bludgeoning plus 1d6 ⇒ 1 precision

(If purple is down then step over purple to make room, otherwise)
Fist (Agile, Finesse, nonlethal), CA, frightened, MAP: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 1 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 - 1 - 4 = 19 vs purple for 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3 bludgeoning

↺ Nimble Dodge A creature targets you with an attack and you can see the attacker. You deftly dodge out of the way, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against the triggering attack.

With one encouraging word, Solveig casts a spell to help Hallow to get back on his ... apendices.

Raise!

Soothe: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Then, raises her shield again.

◆◆ Cast A spell: Soothe level 1
◆ Raise a shield

Though she seems wise to his tricks, there's nothing the burglar can do about Fernán's sword and she collapses. The other two are looking increasingly nervous.
Feint misses due to Frightened penalty. But she only had one hit point left.

Hallow regains consciousness.

Gwendolyn's turn.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice (-4)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32, Hydraulic Deflection)
Hallow (12/17, Wounded 1, Prone)

Gwen moves and hurls fire at the last thug.

Ignition on Red (Reflex DC18): 2d4 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6

Reflex: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
The remaining novice bursts into flames and collapses.

"Hmph." The final thug backs away a little, though he looks poised to strike at a moment's notice. "All right, waddaya want?"
The Tough Robbers are supposed to fight to the death (the Novices would have run away if both Toughs were defeated), but he's the last one standing and he's charmed so...

Someone pounds on the door that the guard was standing in front of, and the muffled voice of a woman calls out from behind it. "Hello? Is someone there?"

All PCs' turns.
Initiative:
Solveig (18/18, lingering inspire courage, Shield Raised)
Fernán (15/16, resist 2 to fire, immune Ocean's Balm)
Gwendolyn (15/20)
Green Tough Robber (Gwen's Bon Mot, charmed and Friendly to Gwen)
Red Robber Novice (-4)
Dakon (17/17)
Siyokoy (32/32, Hydraulic Deflection)
Hallow (12/17, Wounded 1, Prone)

"What is with you?" the guard in purple snarls at her companion, "Or YOU? Pumpkins are for carving!"

Hallow gets up and picks up their shield, giving what you would assume is a dirty look to the unconscious robber. "Racist."

"Hmph." The final thug backs away a little, though he looks poised to strike at a moment's notice. "All right, waddaya want?"

"You're raiding a Pathfinder lodge. We're Pathfinders. I would assume you can figure the rest out on your own." they say, a hint of passive-aggression sneaking through their usually flat voice. "What do you want?"

They stay near the remaining robber, holding up their shield in the event of an attack. "I'll stay on him, someone get the door." they say, cocking their head towards the noise.

◆ Stand Up
◆ Pick up shield
◆ Raise Shield

They nod to Solveig. "Thanks."

Gwen turns back to the robber in green. She beams at him and comes up to stroke his cheek. "Thank you, my dear! I'm so sorry about your friends. But what on earth were you doing here?"

"Looting the place," says the thief a little incredulously. "S'not like I knew you'd be here." He scuffs his shoe on the ground. "Boss said it's Arclord's orders. All I know."

Someone continues knocking from the other side of the side door.

Solveig lets her comrades deals with their "prisonner" and moves to open the side door.

Siyokoy joins the shield maiden because he has no interrogation skills to deal with the robber.

"We're coming! I hope you are not one of these thieves!" he responds to the woman behind the door.

While the door’s locking mechanism has been broken, the robbers brought their own set of poor quality locks and have closed the door with a padlock.

The Pathfinders could try to pick it, or they could just break the door open; this amount of property damage is, by Pathfinder Society standards, acceptable.

Fernán takes out his own tools and works to undo the padlock "Almost there, just a second"

Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Fernán makes progress.
Locks usually require multiple successes. I'll just Fernán Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

The door opens, and the woman pounding on the other side almost falls out. This room is an archive of correspondences, administrative paperwork, and manifests of items that have come and gone.

The occupant, who almost resembles a willow dryad, is a woman in a green dress who looks mostly human, though parts of her body are made of wood. She looks exhausted and is visibly injured, and introduces herself as Selan Lin, a Pathfinder and kineticist.
Image on the Slides.

"I was babysitting some elemental wisps at the Woodsedge Lodge for other elemental scholars who were attending the big party. I spilled some ink, and some of them slipped away from me while I was distracted cleaning it up. Unfortunately, they wandered into the Maze of the Open Road... I've been going portal to portal looking for them for hours. I was pretty tired when I got here, and then I ran into those thugs who had me a bit outnumbered on top of everything. They attacked me and shoved me in here. You have good timing, though. That wasn't very long ago."

Selan winces, and cradles an injured arm.

Dakon wonders outloud [b]"I wonder if our escort is okay?"[b]

In the meantime he does what he can quickly for Selan's arm

Battle Medicine for Selan DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

But his quick splint is not much help.

Does either Gwendolyn or Hallow want patching up? We've got some time constraints but I suspect spending 10-20 minutes treating wounds isn't going to be a problem.

"Looting the place," says the thief a little incredulously. "S'not like I knew you'd be here." He scuffs his shoe on the ground. "Boss said it's Arclord's orders. All I know."

"Arclord's orders? Ok, sweetie, you better get out of here. If they find out you're still around, you could get into trouble. We don't want that, right? If anyone asks, tell them the Pathfinders came back to claim the lodge."

Yes to healing please, although Hallow is a priority with that Wounded condition.

Dakon looks to Hallow "Sorry I couldn't get this to work in combat, let me give it another try."

treat Wounds Hallow DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
healing: 2d8 ⇒ (7, 7) = 14

Siyokoy opens the gate to the Water Plane once more and douses the dryad with cool and pristine water from the Plane to heal her with 1d8 ⇒ 6 HP. He also splashes some to Gwendolyn but with saltwater for 1d8 ⇒ 7 HP. They become immune to Ocean’s Balm for ten minutes.

”We can help you but we are currently on tour with our new friend here, unless he does not mind us helping you, like sidetracking to a small quest in finding the elemental wisps.”

Fernán will duck outside to see where Taiwalei is and bring him back in with the group. "Its all safe now, Taiwalei. We've dealt with the lowlifes who were turning the lodge over while the party was going. We did find one pathfinder locked inside and the others are treating her wounds."

The remaining thug accepts Gwendolyn's invitation. Looking back suspiciously as though he expects the Pathfinders to betray her word and prevent his escape, he flees towards the Lodge's main gate.

"I found the guards and other staff," Taiwalei answers Fernán as he hurries over with a few others in tow, "No fatalities, though some of them are recuperating now. Oh, well done in here."

The guards the Venture-Captain brought with him check on the fallen thieves, disarming and tending to any that are still alive. He offers his own services as a medic, while asking Selan to recount what happened to her.

“Lin Selan, or is it Selan Lin in Avistan? Pathfinder of the 4723 ar cohort, currently active at Woodsedge on a project to locate some elemental portals. And before you guess, no I’m not a dryad. I’m an ardande, an ancestor of mine was a wood genie.” Selan says without batting an eye. “I’m a kineticist. Move the elements. Make them into other things or each other. All that exciting stuff.

“I was babysitting some wisp familiars for my teachers and coworkers. I had a chronicle to finish writing, so I offered to stay and watch the rascals. Got outsmarted though. The wisps took off for the maze, I ran in after them. I have been looking for the past... five hours or so?” A slight shade of despair falls over Selan’s face. “Ashasar is never going to let me live this down.”

“I feel awful, thank you.” Selan smiles, clearly in pain as Siyokoy heals her. “That's a big help... Could you perhaps find the wisps for me?”

"Elemental portals in the Maze of the Open Road? I've gotta see that!" Taiwalei grins up at the Pathfinders. "I know you're supposed to be my tour guides, but as I understand it you only learned about that within the last hour. You probably don't actually have any particular sights in mind, right? Can we go look as part of the tour?"

"I can ask the trees for directions!" Selan offers.

The guards come over with some items they collected from the bandit leader.
You let the right one go--the text specifically says the loot is on the bandit who was guarding the door!

They give the party two minor potions of retaliation and 10 gp. The potions look a little... odd, with their energy in flux as the liquid in the vials changes colors unpredictably.
"Huh, weird," says Selan, "As an elementalist, I could probably stabilize those for you, if you want."

When you use one of the potions in flux, roll a d4 to randomly determine the energy type. Or you can choose (an) energy type(s) and Selan will set them in advance as normal.

Siyokoy picks one of the potions and requests something to Selan. "Please, turn this to some fiery for me." he says with a grin.

"And I am Siyokoy, by the way. Also a kineticist, but I bend water." he adds.

"I found the guards and other staff," Taiwalei answers Fernán as he hurries over with a few others in tow, "No fatalities, though some of them are recuperating now. Oh, well done in here."

"Well, I'm glad they didn't leave the lodge completely unattended during the party!" Fernán will comment dryly as they return into the building.

"Elemental portals in the Maze of the Open Road? I've gotta see that!" Taiwalei grins up at the Pathfinders. "I know you're supposed to be my tour guides, but as I understand it you only learned about that within the last hour. You probably don't actually have any particular sights in mind, right? Can we go look as part of the tour?"

Looking interested at the idea, Fernán will reply "Well, we weren't given any specific highlights to show you so the portals sound as good as any! We just need to make sure you aren't back too late. So if we can fit it in then sure."

"I can ask the trees for directions!" Selan offers.

"Oh, how does that work? Do they know about the portals?" he will ask.

“The trees give hints if you’re friendly enough, though that might just be the wood genie in me. They were kind enough to help us find some elemental portals days ago, at least."

Selan gladly goes and speaks with the trees (in Muan, the elemental language of wood) and obtains the instructions for three portals. Directions to the right part of the Maze are simple enough, but there are additional hints that seem more like perplexing riddles.

She writes them down, but warns the party that the trees’ instruction shouldn’t be taken at face value, as they do like to see people get lost sometimes.

To find the land of growth and decay

Ignore the spring but not the fray

Choose the spring if you seek summer
But step back if you’ve gone three steps further

Step back from the growth and the harvest
Winter awaits in the opposite forest

Caution, mortals! To not fall and drown.
You must remember, do not look down!

Also on the handout on the Slides.

If the Pathfinders agree to look for the wisps and have no other questions for her, Selan stabilizes the retaliation potion as requested and excuses herself to return to the Woodsedge Lodge and rest.

Between the brief investigation, the battle, Selan's conversation with the trees, and Taiwalei's efforts to make sure the situation is stable, about 20 minutes since leaving the Maze of the Open Road before the Venture Captain is ready to depart again.

Anything else you'd like to cover before departing the lodge?

"So are you passing on seeing the other lodges?" Gwen shrugs. "This does sound more fun, I agree. Just checking though"

Would somebody else like to treat wounds on Gwendolyn while I was doing Hallow, or should we spend another 10 minutes?