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Laeron reaches across the pair of pirates and tears into the Green-tinged rock monster. It’s barely holding cohesion when Corelion comes around the building and slices apart the last bits of magical energy holding it together. It crumbles into a pile of rocks, still animate and still hungry, and Black Molly finds herself free of its grasp.
Round 4
The Docks
Conditions: Bright light; Courageous Anthem!
BOLD May Act
Sunshine
Klara
Black Molly
Shayna
Corelion
Laeron
Green Bruiser Swarm
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Klara falls back to safer ground, and Shayna sends a barrage of force bolts into the swarm. But it has so much hunger and there’s so many tasty treats nearby. The pebbles roll and bounce forward and clamber all over the Captain, Molly, Shayna and Laeron’s left leg.
But everyone is able to tough it out and escape unscathed.
Round 5
The Docks
Conditions: Bright light; Courageous Anthem!
BOLD May Act
Sunshine [ooc]
Klara
Black Molly
Shayna
Corelion
Laeron
Green Bruiser Swarm
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Black Molly soothes what ails the Cap’n, and the rest of the team put an end to the swarm.
Black Molly
Laeron
With the eerie quiet broken only by the lapping of the waves at the stone shoreline, you have a few minutes to recover your wits. A second look at the bodies reveals a sealed envelope tucked in the hand of the man with the contorted face, addressed: “To the Pathfinders, should any survive...”
“Revel in your perceived victory. You have survived, but you still have burgeoning unrest in Taldor. I’ll be moving on; my work here is done. I skulked into this land, I extracted what I needed, and I left chaos in my wake. What happens with the Ninth Army isn’t my concern, and you’ve made lasting enemies. You’re welcome.”
“My mother sends her regards.”
Within a few minutes, a clockwork boat piloted by Muesello’s female kobold apprentice, Lolly Adafish, scuttles and puffs its way to the dock. She tells you that she received a magical message from Muesello about the situation. ”C’mon, get aboard. I’ll get you back to the manor in Westpark where you can do your debriefing with the Lady.”
The clockwork boat speeds along the waterways to Gloriana’s manor. Lolly urges you all to keep your heads down and act inconspicuous. When you arrive, Muesello is waiting at the dock. He thanks Lolly for her help and apologizes that he hasn’t been able to do more to help around the lodge. Lolly smiles sullenly. Muesello escorts Lolly and you all to a receiving room where Lady Morilla nervously pets her cobble mite.
”We’re both eager to learn what you’ve discovered,” Lady Morilla states as Muesello nods in anxious anticipation.
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Laeron adds some additional bandages over his wounds as he speaks. “The letter we found was from a third party, the Peddler maybe, bragging about causing unrest but noting they were moving on from Taldor. The Ninth Army is a problem but Mr. Muesello’s involvement seems to have been a deliberate attempt by this Peddler, I guess on behalf of their mother, to stir up trouble for the Pathfinders, and Taldor.” He eyes Lady Gloriana’s pet cobble mite with suspicion.
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Gloriana accepts the evidence that you present, but then when Shayna and Molly mention the cobble mite, she picks up her pet rock. The Lady examines it closely and screams shrilly as she drops it to the floor. The mite’s mouth is wide open, and behind its quartz teeth, an eyeball scans the room.
It locks eyes with Laeron before Lolly throws an oily rag over the creature. It starts to roll away toward a nearby sewer grate as the Lady shrieks a command, ”Someone catch it before it escapes!”
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Sunshine cuts off the cobble mite’s escape route as Shayna makes an incredible acrobatic one-handed catch. Lady Gloriana comments that it must be some kind of spy, and then startles as she realizes how many of the upper class have them in their homes. Lolly offers to take it and study it, promising to ensure it can’t gather any more intel for whomever was controlling it.
Gloriana takes a sip of tea and considers all the evidence recovered from the prison, and a look of relief washes over her. “Thank you, Pathfinders. What you’ve learned should exonerate Venture-Captain Muesello. I knew I could count on you. I don’t know who this “Peddler” is, but their withdrawn support for the Ninth Army is a good omen. We’ll continue our investigation into this insurgent group...”
“Not me,” interrupts Muesello. “I think it’s best for me to lay low for a while longer. I’m an inventor. I’m not cut out for all this subterfuge. Not anymore.”
Gloriana nods and replies, “I understand. This has been difficult for you. I have ample leads to pursue, and I’ll coordinate with the Pathfinder Society to root out further corruption in Oppara. Take care, my friend.” She rises and takes her leave.
After the Lady departs, Muesello slumps in the high back chair. “I can’t begin to thank you enough for all you’ve done. I’ll be honest with you all. I’m tired. I miss my workshop. I just want to...” he pauses and takes a long, deep breath. “I need a change, but I don’t know what to do. I could travel north to study Stasian coils in Ustalav, perhaps, or across the sea to study black powder. There’s also a whole world out there I’ve not seen yet. I don’t know. What do you think?”
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Klara points out there were other compasses created or/and altered.
As for Muesello she thniks just bit before answering:
- Dear Muesello! Sometime retire is a good option. Surely contimue doing fulfilling things will be still important, right?! Ustalav is not the best, but likely fine option for blackpowder researches.
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"Very well, Ustalav it is," Muesello states in a tone of conviction at a decision made. Miss Lolly smiles tightly, though she also appears relieved that he'll be moving on from the spy business. The master craftsman rises from his chair and nods once to you all. "And with that, I thank you for your time and effort and for your service to the Society and the city of Oppara. Best of luck on your next mission."