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Xun touches his topper hat and his skin turns to pure blackness with his eyes shining as red lights, he hit the drum to shed the music in a quick and a bit haunting rythm
"Once upon a time a group of might adventurers were ordered to protect the firelight, but were they prepared for something to come?" He speaks the incantation and a translucent figure shows up, it looks more hilarious than scary but Xun makes it so that it advances
"Come on adventurers protect the Firelight!" says Xun as the spirit moves a bit closer forwards
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BakBat manages to snatch the brush from the jaws of the puppy. With the others yelling at it, it runs off.
The children cheer and Peyqua brings the game to a close by declaring. "The friendly fey spirits helped the people drive off the wanikkawi and they celebrated all through the night!"
With the preparations done ahead of schedule, Mayor Deyahi suggests you enjoy the hot springs and make yourselves ready for the festival.
Inside a hide-covered structure, a circle of stones surrounds a rippling pool of steaming water. Several townsfolk in soft-looking robes sit around the hot spring, talking quietly as they relax. “You can change into robes over there,” Whiirii, the famous syrinx gunsmith, declares, pointing to a privacy area off to one side. They quickly change and join the others, their beak clacking softly in pleasure.
"These springs have always been a place where the people of Niishan shared stories. Those that focused on unity were most prized as unity was key to their survival. Tradition says the first four explorers discovered this hot spring and stopped to cleanse themselves before deciding to spend the night nearby. Legend holds the four had grown frustrated with each other, but their time at the spring gave them a shared sense of purpose and unity again. In keeping with the spirit of these springs, please share with me a story of how you worked together with the Pathfinder Society."
As you begin to relate your stories, the smell of sulfur begins to rise within the tent.
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Tess says, "I was sent by the Pathfinder Society to help a village in Rasmir help build a fort to hold off an army of oncoming undead. We spent weeks working with the village to raise watch towers, rebuild walls, and digging wells to create a structure that could protect the entire village. If my team had not cooperated with each other and if the village had not rallied with us, we would have failed. But the Fort held, and then we fought three separate waves of undead with everything we had."
Tess spends time describing the shambling zombies and rattling skeletons, and then says, "Even the grannies of the town were helping. By the time we finished, burnt corpses of the undead lay all around us, and the town was safe. I have never been prouder to be a Pathfinder in all of my life."
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Brekovi immediately notices the smell and comments on it. “Is it supposed to smell so strongly of sulfur here?”
He manages to avoid the worst of the smell as he starts his story.
“I was there with Tess. Have any of the rest of you been to the new Ramiran lodge? It is a curious situation there, I do wonder how it is going to turn out. I liked Narsen quite a bit better than the local priest of Razmir.” His voice and gestures suggests he doesn’t like later person.
He then talks about the people he met and the work that was done to establish the Exalted Lodge. Some were trustworthy, others were not. “I wonder what Lady Gloriana Morilla would think of the situation?”
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Hot springs is one on Luna's guilty pleasures, whether it is by herself or with pleasant company.
Cooo .. this spring is a bit nippy isn't it? Still .. I think I rather like it. I wonder if my ancestors enjoyed springs like this?
Anyway .. where was I ... oh yeah ... helping out some iruxi types with a magnetic gargoyle in one of their ancient observatories. Basically we ended up bashing it to bits. That was really cool. Then we had to help with some trade negotiation which meant rounding up the delegates. We fought off some cockatrices and the ambassador got stoned, not the nice type of stoned either, but we were able to fix that. Then we helped out this astronomer iruxi do a ritual and ... well I learnt a lot from him actually, that was really cool but then we had to sit through all these loonnnnng negotiations and it was soooo booorring ... I think I went to sleep cause it was soooo tedious
Never been to Rasmir ... or what ever it's called ... what's it like?
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"Oh that smell it is something that one need to get used to."
He checks if covering his nose helps in any way, but decides to soldier through it.
"One of my first missions has taken me through the fields and hills somewhere north from Absalom, we ended up exploring a tower that as a result I ended up owning, along with a throne with some daemon bound to it. Venture captain promised an amazing view from the tower, but when I moved my things in, it turned out that they have been giving such tower to every agent in pathfinder society, and the valley is actually full of them. No view, no privacy nothing, and everyone got the throne with their own daemon, first I was furious, but with time I considered it hilarious."
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"Interesting stories. Do you feel relaxed yet?"
Brekovi notices the smell seems to be originating from a single point at the edge of the tent. Just as he considers whether to investigate, a creature with a eagle's head peeks into the tent right where the smell is comeing from. He glares at all of you.
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To Brekovi's surprise, the creature does not retreat, but joins you. The creature is humanoid with an eagle's head and talons for hands and feet. He sits down beside you and delivers a warning.
“Be careful what you agree to at the fire. Know that while some spirits speak the truth, only lies spill from the mouths of the cruelest of us.”
“The spirits have longer memories than the Niishani, and we know what they do not. When the founders came to this place—the last outsiders to stand in the firelight here—one of them betrayed their companions. Now you are here, but Anohatsa will not let Niishan suffer if the spirits are not dealt with properly tonight.”
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"Dear Anoshta, we might look like every other adventurers interested in money and not shying from backstabbing one of our own ..." Xun looks the spirit straight in the eyes
"But undearneath this whole look, we are something completely different, we can sense mischief and can understand when someone is trying to play us. We know each other strenghts and weaknesses and we do not backstab each other. We will handle this task as best as it can be ..." there is a very distinct edge in his voice
"Now that we cleared it, sit and enjoy the place"
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“Thank you for the warning, Anoshta.” Brekovi gives a small nod in acknowledgment of the spirit.
“The actions of that first group allowed them to establish a community here, in spite of lies and betrayal. Isn’t that part of what makes a successful community though, being able to handle such challenges?”