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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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A weak sun glows faintly over the well-appointed courtyard surrounding royal summer estate of Queen Anastasia. Located a scant two miles from the western edge of Irrisen's Hoarwood Forest, the relatively modest manor has served as a quiet meeting place for many queens with business too sensitive for the machinations of Whitethrone. The warmth of the Irriseni summer has left the snow only ankle deep, with scant patches of frozen dirt and decayed pine needles littering the grounds. An impressive singular fountain stands in the center of the courtyard, the flow of water strong enough to prevent it from freezing over. Any noise it might generate is easily lost in almost a dozen different conversations dancing around from the several distinct groups, each parked in their own secretive corner of the grounds. Greeting all who enter the gates of the estate is a handsome young dromaar, impeccably dressed in a suit of icy blue and purple silks, complemented by a pair of dark leather gloves and a thin collar of white wolf fur. After greeting the others, he steps forward, giving a practiced bow that would put the politest Taldan courtier to shame.
"Good morning, Pathfinders," he says in a deep, calm, rumble. "I am Calix, advisor and gracious servant to Her Majesty Queen Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, Fifteenth Winter Queen of Irrisen, Mistress of Thronehold, and your host for this historical event. Prior to this post, I was a member of the Pathfinder Society and translator for my cousin, Venture- Captain Bjersig Torrsen. Her Majesty is awaiting your arrival with great anticipation. Given the vagueness of your invite, I am sure you have much to discuss with her. If you would be so kind as to follow me, we will endeavor to answer whatever questions we can."
As you follow Calix, you take some time to meet your traveling companions. As you pass through the courtyard, you think you hear a voice echoing in the distance "Remember the mushrooms!"
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Glinda actually looks like a Jadwiga, as there is Irrisen Winter Witch in her bloodline. So technically, she can claim Baba Yaga as an ancestor, and Queen Anastasia as a distant relative. Plus she is a winter witch with Baba Yaga as her Patron. She is currently dressed in a blue and white outfit with fur lining, has long blonde hair and ice blue eyes. Looking at her more closely will reveal sylph ancestry as well.
Awfully warm for Irrisen isn't it Calix? she says with a smile. I am Glinda and it is nice to be back in Irrisen again. And I look forward to finally meeting Queen Anastasia.
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A rather emaciated and elderly goblin woman enters followed by a slightly concerning-looking wolf wearing a riding saddle and thick leather 'armour' over its vitals. "Oh the children would love this place, it's like a fairytale palace"" - despite the faint raspiness like leaves blowing in the wind, she speaks with surprising gentleness and warmth, like an elderly kindergarten teacher about to read a bedtime story.
"I am Granny" she offers to no one in particular, broadly addressing the room, "...and this is Hungry, he's a friendly dog, you can pat him, go ahead"
"Glinda was it? What a striking outfit you have on, did you tailor it yourself?" - you notice Granny has a ball of wool and a bunch of knitting needles in her hands. Some appear to be cold iron, some silver?
She turns to Jessa, "I didn't catch your name, you must be very strong and eat all your dinner to be able carry all that around, have you always been a warrior?"
"Ahh yes. dinner. So hungry"
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Among the crowd of other Pathfinders is a young Tian woman, her white hair flowing behind her. A peculiar porcelain mask and set of healing tools are on her belt, the mask having the painted imagery of a tiger upon it. Her garments are the robes of a monk, although they are more ostentatious and colorful, whites and blues tied up in ribbons of red. The only sign of a weapon on her is a single dagger in it's sheath.
Being addressed, she gives a peaceful bow to Calix, responding "Greetings, Calix. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here. I am Claire. Yes, it is important we meet." before rising and walking alongside the others.
Her mouth curls into a slight frown at the mention of Irrisen, as if something about that place was digging up a memory of something unfortunate. Something...involving a dollhouse. The cold of Irrisen is slightly bothersome for the monk, but her robes are insulated about as well as any set of travel clothes would be. So long as she wasn't outside for hours and hours at a time, it would not prove to be an issue.
Turning her attention to her traveling companions, she greets the others in turn as well, "Greetings, Granny, Glinda. It is a pleasure to meet you. And you...the warrior. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name as well?, reaching over to pet Hungry.
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Bramblespine slowly unfurls and rights themselves, raising up from what initially appeared to be a thorny rose bush into a rather thorny humanoid who's hands open up like petals on a rose while closed roses encircle their neck.
With a strongly arboreal voice, Bramblespine speaks. "I am Bramblespine. Once a guardian of Feathereyes' Maze, after nearly 200 years of service I have decided to commit a life to exploring The Universe, with the help of the Society for whom I have served for so long."
Bramblespine is a Ghoran.
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Wearing a studded leather armor the dwarf with a brown-red beard is simply carrying a steel shield apart of his clan dagger hanging at his belt. But the special is more to be found in his history. Born in a maze under the Five Kings Mountains, where forge, fire and lava were omnipresent, he was imbued with fire. And he managed to dominate it.
Having carefully presented - meaning he did nothing special as usual - he inquiries: My name's Benkost. Should we really meet a queen?
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"Didn't we meet on the transport? Sorry, I'm Jessa Stanton. Yes, I learned from my father. He's a retired Pathfinder and adventurer himself. So is my mother, though she's a wizard and I'm afraid that bounced off of me entirely."
Jessa shrugs. "My family has been through a lot, but I was just a kid when all of that went down and I didn't really have a role in all of that drama. Unlike my mother's apprentice and our brother, I was the one who always intended to join the Society."
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Why thank you Granny. But no. I had it tailored for me. I figured since we're meeting her Royal Highness. I should dress up a bit for the occasion.
Besides, I'm hoping to ask her about those magical dollhouses. One was found in our Vaults a while back full of poppets. I wonder if Sweeper made it here?
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That's right. Queen Elvanna created them as prisons over a hundred years ago but, for some reason they fell into disuse and the prisoners were removed to an unknown fate.
I actually have an interest in Irrisen and it's history.
As for Anastasia herself, she has my support and loyalty. Her ... story is rather interesting too.
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Claire is quiet for a few moments, taking in what she overheard. Eventually she speaks up to Glinda, "Yes, so did I. It is terrible, what happened to those left behind. Poppets just left to...break down. It is a terrible fate. Nobody should ever just be....abandoned to a fate like that. I...I suppose it could not be helped, however."
"Still, though, I hear it all worked out for those poppets. And thank goodness for that. I....well....", the monk goes on, her voice trailing slightly before she catches herself.
"I hope you don't mind me saying this.....but frankly, I think that might be my worst fear. Being alone. Isolated, or...or stranded someplace. It feels....it feels soul-crushing."
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You need a hug? Glinda asks. Cause I like giving hugs
But yes ... I can understand what you mean. Hopefully, in the Society, you're never alone. And out here, we're expected to watch out for each other. So we all make it back.
She then frowns. If someone feels alone in the Society ... something is very very wrong, and it needs fixing.
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You need a hug? Glinda asks. Cause I like giving hugs
But yes ... I can understand what you mean. Hopefully, in the Society, you're never alone. And out here, we're expected to watch out for each other. So we all make it back.
She then frowns. If someone feels alone in the Society ... something is very very wrong, and it needs fixing.
Claire hesitates slightly before giving a slight giggle in response. "Oh, no...I don't need one. Even if it would help keep warm.", she teases, waving bashfully to the sylph. "It just....it really makes me think. I am usually working with at least two or three other people all the time. And...there is Tyrus, as well. Keeps me occupied with all sorts of little tidbits."
Claire drifts a bit closer to Glinda now, smiling gently. "Thanks for the concern, I appreciate it. Sometimes, the Society feels like family. Even the more unusual agents."
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Wearing a studded leather armor the dwarf with a brown-red beard is simply carrying a steel shield apart of his clan dagger hanging at his belt. But the special is more to be found in his history. Born in a maze under the Five Kings Mountains, where forge, fire and lava were omnipresent, he was imbued with fire. And he managed to dominate it.
Having carefully presented - meaning he did nothing special as usual - he inquiries: My name's Benkost. Should we really meet a queen?
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The inside of the estate is a maze of winding corridors and antechambers, each filled with finery such as gilded chandeliers and portraits of previous Winter Queens.
Calix is a former Pathfinder himself. If you have questions for him, you may ask (and retcon it in).
Calix leads you in a straight path through the courtyard, past the fountain and up the polished marble and slate steps of the estate. After a few hallways and turns he pauses at a door carved out of blackened oak. The dromaar knocks ceremoniously before swinging it open and bowing deep in a single, effortless motion.
"Your Majesty, the analysts from the Pathfinder Society, as supplied by Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen, have arrived." Calix raises his head to peer into the room. After seeming to confirm something, he stands and motions to be followed. The room beyond is a spaciously appointed council chamber, complete with a meeting table made from lacquered cedar with matching chairs to seat a dozen. From a chair toward the center of the table rises Winter Queen Anastasia. A slim human woman with an ageless quality, her grace and complexion mark her as very young, while the streak of ice white hair and naturally weary cast to her face hold years of strife. She wears an elegant dress of deep blue, hemmed with white and cerulean, and an angular crown made of solid ice.
"Welcome, Pathfinders," she says, giving a shallow curtsy. "We apologize for the lack of information, we asked Venture- Captain Torrsen to keep his dispatch to you brief. Allow us to reveal why you're here. Our father ruled over a very large nation on our home planet of Earth. We didn't have any magic to speak of, such as you are accustomed to here, so to travel great distances we devised all manner of technologies from steel and other resources. One of these was our father's great passion, an invention called the ‘train.' It was like a linked stream of iron carriages that moved along a track, pulled by a device of fire and smoke at the front. We wish to bring this wonder to the people of Irrisen, and later, we hope, to the rest of Golarion."
"The resources and technology of Earth are not the same as that of Golarion, and so we don't expect trains to be the same either. In fact, we can give little more direction on how it should work. That is why we have assembled a host of minds and peoples from across the Inner Sea to offer their ideas. You, as Pathfinders who have seen all parts of Golarion and know its peoples, are to help us judge which proposal has the most potential to succeed."
"Questions?"
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Claire gives a courteous full bow to the queen, and drops onto one knee after, making sure to be as respectful as possible to the queen, not lifting her head, and not standing back up or even so much as nodding until Queen Anastasia has finished speaking.
Claire's face suggests she's struggling to grasp the full scope of what the queen is going for. Once she feels it is safe to stand back up and address the Queen, she does so, clearing her throat, "This...'train' you spoke of....is this some sort of battle engine? Or a war device?....Or....or is it, transport? I'm trying to understand what it's purpose was, back on this...'Earth'.
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The dwarf is surprised to be called analyst. What should he analyse in fact? The explanations of the queen -yes he met one like this ! - where clear as a good lava heated at good temperature.
So he tries to tell to Claire with his legendary tact: Not at all! It’s something invented to help the miners to extract the mineral. It’s for working people.
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Queen Anastasia smiles and turns to Claire, "As we said, think of it as a group of linked carriages in a line, that is pulled along a prescribed path," Anastasia offers. "The carriages were called ‘cars,' each of which was quite large and could house twenty people or more." She pauses for a moment before clarifying, "Twenty human-sized people, that is. When we rode in them, they had small rooms and hallways inside them to accommodate many separate groups traveling in the same vehicle. They were limited to moving across a pair of iron tracks, like a road all to itself."
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"If there are no more questions, you may proceed to the courtyard and peruse the various designs and speak to the designers."
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Claire takes in the explanation from the Queen with an appreciative nod. The concept of twenty carriages linked together end to end was an amusing one, but it seem to give the monk the perspective she needed to comprehend it. "Ohhh. I see. I think I understand now. This should be interesting, then, yes."
Once the queen dismisses everybody, Claire makes her way to the arcanist. Even as a fan of brightly colorful clothing, the emerald robes the man wears seems to make her eyes sting slightly. Still she approaches from the side and gives a polite bow, before introducing, "Good day, sir. What are you working on there? It's quite the unusual device."
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Bramblespine, Claire and Benkost walk up to the Godless Arcanist. He appears to be shivering uncontrollably, stamping his feet and griping about the cold.
He turns and growls "Too cold here! Yes! If you could get rid of this stupid weather, I would be most grateful!"
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The woman hears some subservient words and begrudgingly waves her bodyguards to let Glinda approach. Adopting a nose-high air of superiority, she sniffs. "I'll have you know that I only respond to my full title, which is COVEN MATRIARCH SZVETNEERA, which is what you will address me by. Now then, I will allow you to try again."
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"Hrmm, yes. You are correct. The pack is our strength."
***
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A team of wargs, and a team wearing warg furs.
They haven't attacked each other yet, but Jessa still thinks it might be good to position herself between them. She initially decides to do so by approaching the men in furs, but decides she doesn't have any interest in that when she hears COVEN MATRIARCH SZVETNEERA speak ("Isn't she supposed to be trying to impress us?") and veers the other direction.
The wargs seem more personable, if competitive. But at least that's a competition she can win.
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Jessa immediately wrestles with some of the wargs in the pack. Danixki looks impressed as Jessa manages to subdue his strongest packmembers without breaking so much as a sweat. "Hrrrr... our design is an easy one. Our pack is more than capable of pulling a "chain of iron boxes" across ice, so long as well-waxed skis are laid beneath the cars."
Danixki also whispers to Jessa. "Hrrr... a small gang of winter goblins have been causing mischief in the Hoarwood recently. I scared them off when they started getting too close. You might want to be wary of this."
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A female hobgoblin salutes Granny as she approaches. "Lieutenant Surkzin of the Oprak Engineering Corps!" Her speech is direct and clipped, but is nonetheless eager to show you her designs. She holds the salute until Jessa barks from another position, "At ease, Lieutenant!" at which point she lowers her hand but otherwise maintains her formal posture. The rest of the hobgoblins in her party enclose around the group, facing outward and scanning the horizon.
"Have a look at my design. What do you think?"
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Bramblespine builds a fire and the arcanist immediately relaxes.
"AHHH! That's goooood! Nothing like a good fire to warm the bones. But where are my manners?! I am Firozet Botosar of Rahadoum. My specialty is applying minor elemental spirits to power machinery. Have a look at these designs, what do you think?"