Dot and delete here when notified.
The party has recently arrived in Niswan, the capital city of the Island of Jalmeray, on a routine courier escort job. Just before you’re about to leave, though, you’re summoned to the local Pathfinder Lodge by Venture-Captain Rashmivati Melipdra. An aide greets you at the entrance with a bow. ”The Venture-Captain sends her apologies for not meeting you here. Please follow me and I will take you to her.” She leads you deep into the lodge. The further you go, the stronger the smell of smoke and hot metal becomes. Eventually you reach a room that contains what was once a heavy brass vault door, now blown off of its hinges and still smoking from supernal heat. Inside the artifact vault (for so the room is) beyond, the floor of the chamber is covered with debris not unlike the aftermath of an earthquake; broken and overturned shelves, daises, and display cases, as well as scattered sculptures, paintings, and talismans litter the floor. A handful of Society scribes carefully clean up the mess, sorting through relics while recording observations on scrolls of parchment. Amid them, Venture-Captain Rashmivati Melipdra, a husky, middle-aged Vudrani woman with broad shoulders, kneels down to pick up the shards of a shattered glass obelisk.
The woman starts, nearly dropping the glass pieces. "Ah! You're here. Thank you for coming on such short notice, Pathfinders. As you can see, somebody did a number on our artifact vault. We’ve been storing several historical relics here owned by the Monastery of Unblinking Flame as part of a standing agreement that I negotiated. In exchange for curating these treasures, the monastery gave the Society access to its archives, trainers, and other resources. Unfortunately, someone burglarized our facility. Though we didn’t have any idea it happened until two days ago, we suspect the break-in occurred a few weeks ago while I was away. It's a little troubling that whatever they did to the door left it still too hot to touch, but that's not the worst of it. Several important artifacts are missing, including an ancient statue known as One-Who-Waits, which I happen to know is treasured deeply by several masters at the monastery. You’ll know the statue when you see it—a heavy basalt sculpture of a monk meditating while sitting atop a bed of flaming coals. I need you to track it down. If you don’t, I fear our arrangement with the monastery may go up in smoke. As it were.”
"I wouldn't turn you loose without something more to go on, though. The captain of the Obsidian Owl--a sailing vessel that ferries cargoes around the island--sent me a message that a Vudrani woman exchanged a few historical relics for passage to Vedeesha, a smaller island just northwest of here. her description of the relics matches some of what was stolen from the vault. I've already arranged for the Owl to take you there after her. From there you'll be on your own, though."
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The next Pathfinder is not an elf. He is, instead, some kind of plant. Branches twist around a globe of darkness with points of light like a starry sky, forming a wooden exoskeleton and limbs.
"Understood, Venture-Captain. We will apprehend the thief or thieves."
The conrasu turns to acknowledge the others. "I am vanizadi. I am a healer and medic, and I will attempt to keep you alive, or undead in the event you are already undead. I have some command over elemental wood."
He turns back to the Venture-Captain. "A thought occurs. How large is this statue? Is it something we can carry with us?"
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A small goblin joins the group. She looks normal, if one can be called that. She shyly approaches the group chewing on a large green ... something...
"Hullo. Are yous Paffinders? I's called SiaoSiao. I's priest of Teki Stronggut. Maybe you's hear of my cousins. They's famous Paffinders called Lokoloko and Lokaloka..." Rummaging in her pack, she approaches each one of the assembled Pathfinders and offers them something large, green and dripping with something... "Pickle?" she says.
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Chén, who prides himself on his openness to new foods - after all he is a halfling - also has the wisdom (and experience) not to try anything a goblin offers without waiting for someone less wise to try it first.
Chén turns a dear ear to the goblins offer and offers up a single comment.
"An inventory list along with descriptions of all the items stolen, along with some proof of ownership of some sort so that we may engage the authorities if we need to regain any such items would be nice. Failing that, cash to repurchase the items if sold to some merchant or collector. I would STONGLY prefer not to have to steal the items back."
"The statue can be managed by one person, if it's packed properly or they're strong. Chén, I'll see to it that you have a copy of the most up-to-date list we have--we're still working through the inventory and checking what's missing."
The party gets a list of items.
The Obsidian Owl is currently docked in Niswan's port district. Her captain, an iruxi going by Zazzander Scarscale, welcomes you aboard. "It's good to see Pathfinders here again after so many of your number were slain in the terrible fight against the Whispering Tyrant!" A white-furred ferret perches on one of his shoulders, occasionally slinking across to the other shoulder. "The trip to Vedeesha should take around five hours, barring sudden storms or sea monster attacks."
He bares his teeth, startling the ferret. "Sorry, Parrot. She was...not the best passenger I've had aboard. Not the worst, but kind of prickly. She insisted that we call her 'Master Sanvara' all the time. Oh, and she brought along a big bundle wrapped in a fur. My cargo master--" He smiles, as if at a private joke. "--stowed it for her, and she took it with her when we docked in Vedeesha."
The captain looks down sideways at the ferret. "I didn't see it. Did you?" He emits the wheezing sound of iruxi laughter. "Sorry, private joke. Officially my only job is command, but in practice I do all the other odd jobs." Behind him, one of the crew rolls her eyes. "I heard that, Flora. Most of the other odd jobs, all right? Anyway, the owners get twitchy if the same name shows up on the roster doing too many jobs, so Parrot, here, is officially the cargo master even though I...all right, Flora. Even though we share the duty among the crew. But I did it this time."
The captain describes a Vudrani woman looking strikingly like the image in the fourth slide. Flora pipes up, "I saw her in the last Challenge of Sky and Heaven. She was representing the Monastery of Unblinking Flame, I think. The only reason she stuck in my head is that she was taken down early in the first round by one of the disciples of the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves." One of the other crew members gasps. "Wait, Unbreaking Waves was just restarted a few years ago, wasn't it? That had to be embarrassing."
For anyone used to the hive of activity that is the Port of Absalom, Vedeesha's port is something of a shock. There are two other ships docked there, and one of them looks like it'd take a couple of months' work to get her seaworthy again. The few dockworkers there are cheerful enough, though, and seem to know the Obsidian Owl's crew well. In the exchange of pleasantries, the party is able to determine that 'Master Sanvara' is staying in an old dojo on the edge of town. There are one or two others living there with her.
The building is only a single story tall, with stone walls made of a hodgepodge of limestone and basalt blocks that are somehow arranged in an esthetically-pleasing pattern of black and what would be white if the walls were scrubbed down more often. The roof is a pagoda of thatched bamboo that looks newer than the rest of the building. There's no one inside the walls on the ground level, and none of what you see has been particularly well-maintained; there's a stone courtyard, two crumbling shrines to Irori, a large training yard littered with rusty athletics equipment (none salvageable), and several chambers filled with musty bedrolls. The largest such chamber has an obvious opening in the floor connected to a set of winding stone stairs that descend into the lower level of the building.
At the bottom of the stairs is an apparent entryway, with open doors leading to the north, south, and southwest. There's a set of brass double doors to the east. The room is lit by torches in sconces on the walls.
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"Hm."
Vanizadi focuses for a moment, then with a crackling sound hard bark grows over his already-wooden body. Roots spread out from him along the ground in a geometric pattern. As he moves, they grow in front of him and wither to nothing behind him. The occasional blossom appears in the air near him, also withering away as they fall. A wooden shield forms over one arm-like branch.
"A thief who tells everyone her name and where she lives, but lurks in hiding in the basement below the building? An odd person, I think."
As the group moves into the room, Ka'elen drags the butt end of his fauchard on the floor, the hard wood scraping loudly against the stone. Ma'elo turns back to shush him and runs into the brass doors with a metallic clang. From the open doorway to the south, a woman's voice is heard. "We seem to have visitors! Come in and be welcome!"
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Vanizadi moves forward, since they've been noticed anyway. "Greetings from the Pathfinder Society."
Something occurs to him, a possibility they should have considered: Master Sanvara may be a real person, but not the thief. The criminal could have given someone else's name to mislead pursuers.
But either way...
"I am afraid that as visitors go you may not wish to see us. We pursue a thief to recover stolen items. We know she came in this direction, and have reason to suspect she came to this location. If you happen to be the thief, ma'am, I must request that you return what you have stolen. Otherwise, we apologize for the intrusion and ask if you might have any information that may help us."
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The rakish elf swaggers through the southern doorway and into the room. "My lady," he says with a bow. "As my wooden ally says. Someone has taken some things, and we here to retrieve."
As he speaks, shadows subtly play over his torso and arms. The strangeness of the shadows is predominantly there being shadows where there shouldn't.
The room is filled with several small stone pillars that stand approximately four feet high, each topped with a fire pot containing red-hot coals. Each of the pillars bears a small, recently carved inscription with a phrase in Common such as “Forgiveness is weakness” or “Do not suppress your anger, for it is the flame that burns forever.” A muscular Vudrani woman in tan robes is apparently the one who spoke; along with four other humans, dressed similarly, she holds a combat pose while standing in a pile of coals on the floor. The welcoming expression on her face vanishes at the conrasu's words.
"Thieves, is it? The Monastery of Ignorance and its Pathfinder lackeys will never take anything that rightfully belongs to my family ever again. They’ve already stolen too much! At them, my disciples! Show your worth!"
Round 1 (ongoing):
Initiative order
Meleeka-acted
Ma'elo
Chén fú
Magenta monk
Red monk
Green monk
Ka'elen
Siao-Siao
Vanizadi
Na'ilath
Black monk
Meleeka moves through a kata, her hands trailing smoke, before advancing on Vanizadi and Ma'elo. A clawed hand lashes out and hits the conrasu .
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Ma'elo deftly steps away from the master and toward one of the disciples. As he does so, the shadows rush to his right hand and coalesce into a black throwing dagger. He then sends a stab with the dagger, and then a surprise with another.
Immanence You can Interact to draw a weapon from the shadow sheath as a free action. Your Strikes with a weapon produced from the
shadow sheath deal 2 additional spirit damage per weapon damage die, which increases to 3 per die if the target is off-guard.
Transcendence— ◆ Liar’s Hidden Blade
(spirit, transcendence)
Requirements
Your previous action was an unsuccessful Strike with the weapon from the shadow sheath;
Effect The shadow weapon you threw fades, the distraction covering your true intention all along—a second strike in hidden in the blind spot of the first! Interact to draw another weapon from the shadow sheath, then Strike with it at the same multiple attack penalty as the unsuccessful attack. The opponent is off-guard to this attack. This Strike counts toward your multiple attack penalty as normal. After the Strike resolves, you can Interact to draw another weapon from the shadow sheath.
Round 1 (ongoing):
Initiative order
Meleeka-acted
Ma'elo-acted
Chén fú-acted
Magenta monk-acted
Red monk-acted
Green monk
Ka'elen
Siao-Siao
Vanizadi
Na'ilath
Black monk
Chén fú moves up and strikes at Meleeka, but the agile enemy dodges both blows. Ma'elo cuts down the green disciple before she can act.
Two of the three remaining disciples draw their scimitars and advance on the rogue. Ma'elo easily dodges the first attack, but the second one lands a solid blow with his blade .
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"Perhaps you simply misheard me. We are not thieves, we are seeking a thief. I can heal your disciple if you stop attacking us."
While he tries to stay polite, the conrasu also cannot ignore that the Pathfinders are under attack. Nor that the monks have so kindly arrayed themselves in front of him. He pushes his elemental aura forward, all the roots and bits of wood exploding away from him and showering the monks in a hail of splinters. As Vanizadi reopens his connection to the plane of elemental wood, his aura reforms. This includes a thick branch in the shape of a heavy cudgel punching up at Meleeka from the ground.
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Na'ilath casts shield before dropping into thier arcane cascade. Then with a flourish of their gleaming sword they launch into the air flying to the opposite side of Meleeka from Cen Fun. They swing their blade to strike Meleeka before the flight ends dropping them to the ground by Meleeka
◆ Cast Shield... Raising their AC by 1
◆ Enter Arcane Cascade.
◆ Cast focus spell "Sky Laughs at Waves" to fly up to their speed and then strike an adjacent creature.
for (4 force from arcane cascade, 2 spirit from gleaming blade the rest is slashing)