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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.
2) Please keep all posts and communication in all channels limited to a PG-13 level and be both positive and inclusive.
3) Please label all three of your actions. Even if you think what you are doing is obvious.
4) If I am unavailable for longer than 24 hours, I will let you know in the Discussion Tab. Out of respect for your fellow players and myself, I ask that you do the same. Real life happens, and real life will always take priority over the game, but out of fairness for your fellow players, please let us know if you will be unavailable for an extended period of time.
5) Please note that on the following days, my posting can get unpredictable:
Tuesday/Thursdays - all day, as they are the 2 busiest days of my work week
6) Please complete the Macros and the Slides linked at the top of the page.
7) Questions, concerns? Feel free to share them in the Discussion tab.
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 have been asked by Venture-Captain Rahaksenwe, who leads the first Pathfinder lodge in Arcadia, to represent the Society in Niishan’s Festival of Fire.
The town of Niishan is bustling with people—mostly Mahwek humans, but also halflings, beastkin, and several small wooden humanoids, among others. Children run through the dirt streets, dodging around grown-ups, their happy screams adding to the calls and chatter of adult voices. Smiles abound, though some seem to carry a hint of anxiety or trepidation, maybe even just a touch of fear.
Star-shaped gourds and stalks heavy with scarlet corn wait to be harvested in small gardens that surround the circular earth lodges where townsfolk live and work. Smoke rises into the crisp autumn air from the homes’ dome-like roofs.
You arrive in town late in the morning before the start of the celebration. As you meet your fellow Pathfinders, you take some time to get to know each other.
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A tall elven woman arrives with an owl perched on her shoulder. Her facial expression is rather serious, and she walks slowly, as if she has all the time in the world.
She nods to the next Pathfinder and introduces herself.
"Avery," she says, her tone carrying a sense of seniority. "This is my trusted companion, Sophia." The owl hoots softly in response.
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The goblin's expression is much less serious. He wears scruffy brown robes and looks absolutely thrilled to be here, munching on whatever local food he could get his hands on.
"Hi, I'm Zibini!" he says, "I do magic!"
He's accompanied by another goblin, who looks rather nervous. "That's my cousin. Don't worry too much about him."
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"Oh, isn't it amazing? Have you ever seen such vibrant corn in all your life?!" Gushes a female gnome with wavy aquamarine hair, amethyst eyes, and golden oak skin. "Hi everyone, I'm Salaish. I've got the music covered!" She conjures a viola and begins playing a vibrant tune, weaving hints of what local ditties she's heard the children singing along the way.
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A grey furred Ysoki in a thick cloak is hunched over a staff that they seem to be gnawing on, eventually they look up and you can see little starfields where their pupils should be.
"Yes... yes.." they pause to sniff at their fellow pathfinders, balancing their staff for a moment as they rub their front paws together before regripping it.
"Hello. yesss... hello fellow Pathfinders. Tarki... yes Tarkii is here."
Looking around at their companions with furtive glances Tarkii continues "Yes.. yes.. I believe we can help here, the gourds, the call to me, yes... YES... they call to me!"
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A rather dour dwarf joins the group. Well, not dour for a dwarf. Perhaps even slightly jovial in a dwarven manner. But for our purposes, and as nobody else had the good sense to be born a dwarf, he is kind of dour looking.
"Khaul" he says, introducing himself. He wears heavy armour and a large hammer swings at his side. His arms are the size of a normal person's legs, and sticking out of the top of a rather overloaded pack is what appears to be an anvil. Who carries an anvil around with them?
"I'm a smith." he says, as if that explained everything. "And while what I do may be lookin like magic, he just be skill and the gift of tha Gods."
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Tarkii's introduction is certainly memorable. Welp, he's weird. But he's got wicked-cool eyes! "Hi Tarkii! Welcome to the party!" Salaish chirps, switching her melody briefly to evoke a vast starry sky and endless space.
"Good to see you again, Khaul! You're chipper today!" She teases her old pal.
When Chupko shares his information, she cocks her head and stops playing. "Huh. Wanikkawi? If the Society's taught me anything, it's that some legends have roots in reality. That would be a fun mystery to solve: how real are those stories?"
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"Though" points out Khaul. "The term spirit guide might mean they are not necessarily malevolent"
He ponders matters for a moment or two. "I'm thinking that perhaps we should be askin a few questions about these local spirit guides."
He offers a nod to Salaish. "I am overjoyed." he says with flat intonation. However he does peer closely at Zibini, as if wondering he has met this particular goblin before. They all look so similar...
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Your arrival attracts interested stares from the locals. A halfling approaches you and introduces herself.
"Well met! You must be the Pathfinders. I am Mayor Deyahi. Let us adjourn to my house so we may speak in private."
Mayor Deyahi greets you by name, welcoming you back to Niishan, and kissing you on both cheeks.
The mayor leads the way to her home, stepping down onto the sunken floor of her earth lodge and gesturing for everyone to sit on the cushions scattered around the fire. "I’m so glad you’ve come," the mayor says as she hands out flatbreads filled with meat, squash, and herbs. "Our Festival of Fire starts tonight when we celebrate the turning of the seasons and our town’s continued prosperity. When Niishan was founded, a group of four brave explorers were the first to spend the night in the area. They lit a fire and through the night battled or befriended all manner of spirits from the prairies until sunrise, allowing them to make peace with the spirits of the land and start building the town."
"Each year, we honor their memories with a great fire, and honor the four people who have done the most for the town over the last year by giving them the Fire Watch. They protect the fire—and the town—from the prairie’s spirits, soothing those they can, and fighting off those they cannot. This year, the year the star gun Hatahasi came back to us, we have decided this honor, one of the greatest we can bestow, can only belong to the Pathfinder Society. We have also decided, in the spirit of understanding, that we will honor the Pathfinder Society’s traditions—though there were only four heroes on our first night, we know the Society traditionally sends four to six agents together, and so the town’s people agreed that all who came would be allowed to participate in the Fire Watch.
Normally, those who will be in the Fire Watch also lead our festival preparations. Though you have only just arrived, I hope you will help with the final details. This will also let you get to know our town, and for our people to better know you. You may even see some of the spirits that have decided to join Niishan at previous Festivals of Fire. Please know that though these spirits may look monstrous to you, our relationship with them means a great deal to the people of Niishan."
"There is much to be done before the Festival actually begins."
"Any questions for me?"
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"Legend has it that when Niishan was founded there was a fifth explorer who plotted against the Fire Watch standers. Wanikkawi sought glory and conspired with malicious spirits, hoping to emerge a hero when they single-handedly drove off the spirits. Unfortunately, the Fire Watch standers were experienced adventurers and drove off the malicious spirits. Wanikkawi realized they had no chance of winning and fled into the forest. Since then there have been sightings, or so they say. I've personally never had anything unusual happen do me while standing the Fire Watch."
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"Now then, if there's nothing else... I've asked my daughter, Peyqua, to help keep the town’s children occupied and out from underfoot while the adults finished their preparation for the Festival of Fire. Would you help her please? She's about a block away. I would greatly appreciate it."
A halfling girl who bears a strong resemblance to Mayor Deyahi and a group of other children gather on a side street as a few adults swing wide around them. They hold various play weapons as they stand around a pile of brush, which they appear ready to defend with their very lives. "My mother, the mayor, told me I have to keep the kids busy," she declares. "So we’re playing Fire Watch. You be bad spirits! You have to attack us, and we fight you off, like when the founders met a wanikkawi for the first time and drove it away!"
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"Oh, this'll be fun! Hmm... One of the most dramatic things I've ever fought looked like a twisted, thorn-covered butterfly standing over twenty feet tall, all made up of roots and brambles!" Salaish assumes a position mimicking a butterfly and utters a surprisingly deep, resonant bellow.
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"Oh grow up." snarls back the dwarf.
"Yer ken sit on me back an from there offer suggestions to the kids." he suggests.
Turning to Peyqua he asks "[b]Ken I be borrowin some ask. Ta make meself look suitably deadly and spirit like?[/.b]
He hauls Myrsa onto his back, and then makes sure his hammer is well secured as well. Using the ask he darkens his face and beard trying to give the impression of a burned zombie.
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"I am a scary, evil, um.. GOBLIN! Oh, no that's not a spirit."
Zibini has encountered a lot of undead, but those might be a little too scary. Are fey "spirits"?
Waving a hand, an ominous red cap appears on his head , though getting it to stay on is a problem and soon the hat falls away. Giggling menacingly, he says "It is a sinister redcap! Here to draw blood!"
Hang on, is that less scary? Oh well!
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Avery does not speak but nods at the request. She begins to untie her long straight hair and poses where her long hair covers her face. she then walks with a slow, shuffling glide, her limbs hanging limply as if pulled by an unseen force. Her feet barely lift off the ground, creating a soft scraping sound, while her hair obscures her face, adding to her eerie, otherworldly presence.
An old man, resembling a butler, suddenly emerges from the woods, as if waiting for this precise moment to intervene on behalf of his master.
"Hello, children," he begins, his tone polite but firm. "I hope my sudden appearance has not startled you. At the behest of my master, Lady Avery Wings, I am Ivan. I speak on her behalf with the utmost sincerity, urging you all to stay. The Pathfinders here, along with Lady Avery, wish for everyone to remain, as they believe there is still more they can share with you." the skilled assistant addresses the children.