From one perspective, each of you are here for the same reason: you received a polite missive from Sheila Heidmarch requesting your presence.
Greetings fellow seeker of adventure!
I am Sheila Heidmarch, Venture Captain of the newest Pathfinder Society lodge-and the only such lodge in Varsia at this time. You have come to my attention as someone who possesses a certain amount of skills and interests that make you an excellent addition to a highty specialized team Im putting together for a matter of grave import, not only to the Society, but to Varisia as a Whole. Please report an hour before noon to Heidmarch Manor -you will be compensated for your visit, but that reward will pale in light of the riches that await you should we come to an agreement on my proposition to you I look forward to meeting you soon!
-Sheila Heidmarch
From another perspective, each of you are here for your own reasons. Some of you may already be members of the Pathfinder Society. Some of you may have recently applied to the Society. Some of you may simply have become noticed by a Pathfinder, who has recommended your name for membership to the Venture Captain. Or perhaps, she has sources beyond your knowing, and has her own reasons for summoning you. In any event, each of you has at least a positive opinion of the Pathfinder Society, and are familiar with the name of Sheila Heidmarch and the significance of Heidmarch Manor.
Regardless of your particular path to this room, you have come together at Sheila Heidmarch’s estate in Magnimar at the appointed time. After a brief bit of confusion, one of you went to ring at the front door, but it opened before you could pull the rope for the bell. A well dressed butler, of seeming human ancestry, answered the door and introduced himself as “Sebastian.” He invited you inside the foyer and said he would be right back, as soon as the Venture Captain finished an impromptu meeting with an unexpected visitor.
You find yourself with four others standing in Sheila’s foyer. Some of them are, perhaps, friends. Others are possibly strangers, and of a race you have never seen in your life.
Please take a moment to provide descriptions and introductions of yourself to the others.
The room quiets as Caius Emberborne steps forward, his molten orange eyes flickering with a subtle, inner fire. He scans the group, his gaze intense yet steady, before he begins to speak, his voice low and resonant.
My name is Caius Emberborne, though some call me 'The Ember Blade.' I hail from the streets of Magnimar, where I’ve spent years as a bounty hunter and monster slayer. My father was a guard in the city’s militia, and my mother… well, she left more questions than answers when she disappeared. I've inherited my father's discipline and my mother’s fiery blood, which runs through my veins, though you’ll find I’m mostly human.
*He pauses, his expression hardening as he continues.*
My life has been one of battle—against creatures of darkness, against criminals who prey on the weak, and against the unknown that lurks in the shadows. The scars you see on my skin are trophies of survival, reminders that I've faced death and refused to fall. My greatsword and I are well-acquainted with the heat of combat, and together, we've brought justice where it was lacking.
He steps back, folding his arms across his chest, as if his words have settled like iron.
Caius Emberborne is a tall, muscular man with warm bronze skin that seems to glow faintly in the light. His most striking feature is his molten orange eyes, which reveal his Ifrit heritage and burn with a quiet intensity. Despite his otherworldly lineage, Caius appears mostly human, with a rugged, angular face that bears the scars of countless battles.
His hair is short, thick, and black, with hints of red that catch the light, cropped close to his head in a practical style. He wears a well-crafted breastplate, dark and battle-worn, with subtle flame motifs that nod to his fiery ancestry. A deep red cloak is draped over his shoulders, its edges singed and frayed, but still intact—a symbol of the many trials he has endured.
Caius's build is powerful and imposing, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame that speaks to years of rigorous training and combat. His arms are long and strong, ending in calloused hands that grip his greatsword with practiced ease. His stance is always alert, his movements fluid and controlled, like a predator ready to strike.
There is a sense of honor and determination in his presence. Caius is a man driven by a desire to uncover the truth, protect the innocent, and destroy those who threaten the balance of power. He carries the weight of his past with him, but he stands firm, ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead.
The room quiets as Caius Emberborne steps forward, his molten orange eyes flickering with a subtle, inner fire. He scans the group, his gaze intense yet steady, before he begins to speak, his voice low and resonant.
My name is Caius Emberborne, though some call me 'The Ember Blade.' I hail from the streets of Magnimar, where I’ve spent years as a bounty hunter and monster slayer. My father was a guard in the city’s militia, and my mother… well, she left more questions than answers when she disappeared. I've inherited my father's discipline and my mother’s fiery blood, which runs through my veins, though you’ll find I’m mostly human.
He pauses, his expression hardening as he continues.
My life has been one of battle—against creatures of darkness, against criminals who prey on the weak, and against the unknown that lurks in the shadows. The scars you see on my skin are trophies of survival, reminders that I've faced death and refused to fall. My greatsword and I are well-acquainted with the heat of combat, and together, we've brought justice where it was lacking.
He steps back, folding his arms across his chest, as if his words have settled like iron.
Caius Emberborne is a tall, muscular man with warm bronze skin that seems to glow faintly in the light. His most striking feature is his molten orange eyes, which reveal his Ifrit heritage and burn with a quiet intensity. Despite his otherworldly lineage, Caius appears mostly human, with a rugged, angular face that bears the scars of countless battles.
His hair is short, thick, and black, with hints of red that catch the light, cropped close to his head in a practical style. He wears a well-crafted breastplate, dark and battle-worn, with subtle flame motifs that nod to his fiery ancestry. A deep red cloak is draped over his shoulders, its edges singed and frayed, but still intact—a symbol of the many trials he has endured.
Caius's build is powerful and imposing, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame that speaks to years of rigorous training and combat. His arms are long and strong, ending in calloused hands that grip his greatsword with practiced ease. His stance is always alert, his movements fluid and controlled, like a predator ready to strike.
There is a sense of honor and determination in his presence. Caius is a man driven by a desire to uncover the truth, protect the innocent, and destroy those who threaten the balance of power. He carries the weight of his past with him, but he stands firm, ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead.
The second figure to walk in is an unusual sight for normal Magnimarians. A Wyvaran strolls in almost unphased by the gasps and stares as if he is used to this treatment in a mostly human settlement.
"I hear that my unique skills are required for this mission. I've also heard the words....Justice...Balance...the greater good...or other favorite words of the day....There are those that call my kind an abomination and do not give us a chance to prove otherwise. My heritage comes from a noble history of Verilich the Wise who aided a Marshal of great renown. I intend to uphold his and my namesake by continuing to honor the call in whatever way my fists can be helpful."
the crossbreed of Wyvern and Kobald stands before you as a large kobold with wings. No armor is worn and only a couple of exotic weapons hang on his belt. His purple eyes scan the room and take account of his fellow new party members and he takes up a position that is not prominent as to represent the group as the leader but also does not turn his back to the door until the full group is met.
Gundar eyes the Caius and Verilich with suspicion. I guess I ain't in Janderhoff anymore! he thinks to himself wryly. Seeing that both had finished their introductions, Gundar steps foward. Me name is Gundar Ironbeard of the Ironbeard dwarfs! He proclaims and pauses for a sense of recognition. When there isn't any he adds, Ye might know me kin, Cordwin, Searok and Fergus Aye? Again he pauses for some recognition and again he sees none. He sighs audibly. Me kin has fought the good fight all across this here land and I am to make me own legacy. He smiles pleased at his pronouncement. Not one for additional small talk he steps back. As he steps back he turns to Caius, Jest so ye be knowin' I ain't calling ye whatever blade name ye go by. I be callin' ye Caius if it be all the same fer ye.
He then looks for that Sebastion fellow to see where the ale is at.
Caius nods knowingly at Gundar's remark. Know, ye of the House of the Beard of Iron, that name is meant to strike fear in my quarry rather than impress those on our path. You may address me as Caius.
Gundar nods approvingly at Caius, Maybe this one's all right after all! he thinks to himself.
Next to speak is a large odd looking human wearing a breastplate and carrying a pole-arm with a nasty looking hook on the end.
Khalid looks around and raises a sheet of parchment. I got an invitation! Is this the right place? He mumbles several inaudible things to himself and seems surprised that people are still looking at him. Oh, I go by Khalid. He seems satisfied that he has successfully executed this social requirement.
Yeah, Ye be in the right place, an' the lack of ale is disturbing! Gundar says with a nod at Khalid as he continues to scan for the butler.
As the last tone of the eleventh bell fades, a tall figure separates from the bright sunlight shining upon the wide-open front portal of Heidmarch Manor. He strides into the foyer to stand amidst his fellow guests, after a few whispered words to Sebastian that inexplicably left the butler smiling upon his departure to seek the Venture Captain.
In truth, with this last arrival the light of the sun indeed seemed to accompany him within, captured in the metallic copper sheen of his swept-back, shoulder-length hair, and concentrated in the iridescent glow of his luminous eyes. His manner was casual, however, with an easy smile as he listened to the introductions among those gathered, appreciating the breadth of expertise and experience here assembled. He nodded with understanding and respect to each of them in turn.
The tall, pale figure’s garb was mundane, relative to his appearance and presence, lightly armored in studded dove-gray leathers, although the copper hues of the greatcloak flowing around him with each stride inexorably drew gazes to its movement…and away from the number of discrete weapons harnessed among the belts of the leather armor beneath.
“Hail and well-met, friends; surely we shall be in the days ahead, if our separate causes are fated to unite, under the auspices of this Pathfinder summons we have answered! I am Ghaernan Barova of Magnimar, an aspiring master of my arts, The Word…and The Way…”
The effect was subtle, but deliberately just enough to be apparent. Both Ghaernan’s enunciation of “The Word” and the shifting of his form and posture with “The Way” were performatively laced through with arcane energies…magic…
“I look forward to the Venture Captain’s proposition, friends, and the multitudes of 'words and ways' I perceive lie ahead in our journey…”
"Well met new companions. I see we all received the same invitation. Might I inquire if you are all pathfinders? I, myself, am not. So it was quite strange for me to receive this invitation, and as such, all them more compelling to answer its call."
"Quite right, Verilich; seemingly strange, especially coming from a Venture Captain herself. Perhaps it has something to do with this new Pathfinder Lodge as the first of its kind in Varisia, however, and their interest in drawing the most capable of adventurers to their cause. This call may well be one such invitation and opportunity."
"To your question, though, the answer is yes; the Pathfinder Society recruited me in recent years, trained me in certain useful skills at the Grand Lodge in Absalom, and returned me to serve amidst the ancient mysteries and wonders of Magnimar and my Varisian homeland, with the establishment of Heidmarch Manor as a Pathfinder Lodge. Words and ways ahead of us indeed..."
Seemingly at the behest of some unheard summons, Sebastian leads you through the next door, and makes a right through another door and into a well appointed library. Inside this new room you find two women.
The first is an attractive human with black hair, and wearing a dress of green and blue. Her air of competence and authority is unmistakeable. You have no doubt that this is Sheila Heidmarch, your hostess, and the Venture Captain.
The second is an equally attractive half elven woman dressed in leather armor and armed with a distinctive-looking mithral-and-redwood aklys (a hooked club attached to a cord) and a bastard sword (both weapons are currently sheathed or hanging from her belt).
The human female begins the conversation, "for those that are unaware, I am Sheila Heidmarch, Venture Captain of the Pathfinder Lodge here in Magnimar. I very much appreciate each of you answering my summons. I would like to introduce Koriah Azmeren. She has just returned from an expedition to the Darklands below Varisia, having successfully scouted out a new route down to Nar-Voth from the Fogscar Mountains."
"Koriah has returned with a surprising number of Thassilonian artifacts from this expedition. She and I must spend a few more moments discussing the implications of this discovery. I apologize for the further delay." She gestures towards the various tables around the room that are heaped with scrolls and books. One table, however, supports only a single object— an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with Thassilonian runes. Sheila asks for you to have a seat around the table while she speaks.
“I apologize for the delay, as I must conclude my business with Pathfinder Azmeren before we meet. In the meantime, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue. This stone coffer is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box. As you’ll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves—there’s no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened. Essentially, a paradox box substitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock. This particular box was among those items recovered by Koriah—the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she’s not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing. So... why don’t you put your heads together and see if you can’t do that for me? Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I’ll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open! Think of this as an audition, if you will—because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!”
Her speech completed, she takes Korea's elbow and guides her out of the room.
Caius inclines his head slightly, drawing on his knowledge of lairs deep and dangerous in an attempt to recall what he can about the Darklands, Nar-Voth, and the Fogscar Mountains.
Verilich is a little more hands on. He picks up the box and begins to roll it over and over, scanning for crevasses and mundane ways to open the puzzle box.
Seeing nothing. He places the box down and declares, "It must be a magical device which is beyond me."
I know nothing of this Dirklands... But let me gaze upon the test, um, paradox box.
Hmmm, I think I recall reading about this somewhere. Let me think.
Yes, well met Koriah Azmeren! As I remember you are one of Varisia’s most famous Pathfinders and a well-renowned expert on the Darklands.
I will be very interested to hear any stories you care to share about your exciting trip!
Loving puzzles of all sorts, Khalid then turns his attention to the puzzle box. Perhaps it needs a good cleaning. Khalid takes soap out of his pack and prepares to clean the box once the others have had a look at it.
Ghaernan’s brow rises slightly at his recognition of Koriah Azmeren’s name and her significance among the Pathfinders, and still further at his new companion Khalid’s recollection of the same; impressive. His gaze further appreciates Koriah herself as she’s guided from the room…
Reflecting upon that unexpected encounter, his attention turns swiftly to the Thassilonian paradox box and the challenge laid down by the Venture Captain to attempt discerning the secret of its opening. Ghaernan observes his companions’ ongoing assessment of the box, then focuses himself on the scrolls next to the box, Koriah’s “preliminary notes” on the matter, to determine if he might gain advantage against the box’s secret opening method from their study…
Verilich, Caius, and Khalid begin to investigate the box itself.
Ghaernan begins to scan through Koriah's scrolls.
After about 10 minutes of this...
Can you give me a DC 10 Linguistics Check, or a DC 12 Intelligence check? I'd give you +4 for speaking/reading Thassilonian.
For those inspecting the cube itself, can you give me some checks of either DC 13 Linguistics OR DC 16 Intelligence checks. +4 if you speak/read Thassilonian.
While scanning through Koriah's scrolls...
Ghaernan looks up from the scrolls after around 10 minutes have passed...
"Perhaps I've found something, friends - one of the scrolls describes the various runes on the outside of the box, which on five of the six sides are the same. The sixth side, however, also has a rune not found on the other five sides. This would seem to be the rune for the word "CRUEL"."
"The scroll also notes that each of the individual runes in the word "CRUEL" can be reorganized by touching two runes at once. Doing so causes the two touched runes to exchange places for an hour, according to the scroll, before reverting to the original spelling of “CRUEL". The anomaly is intriguing... Would this then call for the spelling of a new word from these letters?"
What, like ulcer? That doesn't sound too pleasant.
Khalid chuckles at his own joke as he continues to ponder the box .
Exchanging the E and the L keeps the same phonetic pronunciation of the word CRUEL. Otherwise, it could be a Thassilonian rune order thing and the new order may be another of the Runelord sins (or even simply spell OPEN).
If they be wantin' us ta open tha box, they should have provided us with ale methinks! Gundar grumbles under his breath.
The dwarf makes a good point. I kind of like him.
Ghaernan definitely thinks that the group is headed in the right direction with this. Some sort of anagram solution is the way to go.
I see the aforementioned Ulcer and Lucre (which are ill gotten gains) as the only possibilities...
Ghaernan looks up again from his study of the scrolls...
"Excellent; please attempt them each as anagrams of "CRUEL", if you would...
Well Ulcer can be formed without imposing a one hour wait to rearrange the swapped letters again. Simply exchange the U and C then the R and L. Cauis thinks that Koriah knew this and would certainly have tried it.
Khalid will try to arrange the ruins is these alignments. First ulcer (since he thinks it's funny), then lucre, then crule. If these don't work, he will set it back to cruel and try the soap and water while waiting for more rune alignment suggestions.
When Khalid sets the runes to spell out "lucre," the box warms slightly, and you hear a couple loud pops. A quick scan of the room identifies two small creatures that were apparently summoned, or teleported into the room. These two creatures are small, mean dogfaced looking critters.
Initiative Order:
23 - Blue
21 - Red
15 - Verilich
12 - Caius
9 - Ghaernan
6 - Gundar
4 - Khalid
The two creatures immediately take to destroying the library. Tearing books and scrolls apart, slicing the cushions open with their claws, smashing candlesticks etc.
The party is up. Please roll 2 d20s should you do anything that requires one.
Not knowing what to make of these small creatures, Caius presumes they are dangerous. You demons seek death? It shall be granted! He strikes out at Blue with his mighty blade (of steel).
Caius' blade bites into the creature, although it seems to immediately heal some of the damage from the blow.
So not knowing what in the world these things are, and it is rude to begin destroying the venture captain's things, Verilich will reach out and grab the little beast next to him.
Verilich manages to grapple the creature.
Khalid will 5' step and attempt to trip the other (red dot?) dog creature.
Khalid trips the second creature.
Khalid also shouts in Common and Sylvan, You better stay down and stop destroying things is you want to live any longer!
Gundar will try to pound one with his warhammer!
Ghaernan swiftly but carefully sets aside Koriah's scrolls, considering the small dogfaced beasts...
"These beasts are nasty little fey gremlins known as pugwampi, lads."
Ghaernan casts Prestidigitation to immediately move a pound of library papers or books beyond the grasp of the tripped pugwampi to the north, deeply troubled at the gremlin’s wanton destruction of knowledge…