Dot here when notified.
All of you have received a letter from Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin .
The streets of Aspenthar showcase the trappings of wealth and militarization in equal measure. The main road cutting through the heart of the city is patterned with brilliant mosaic stonework, and to each side are seemingly endless rows of proud and opulent structures.
The neatly ordered streets give way to the city’s chaotic and bustling docks, where a Garundi woman waits wearing subtle but expensive-looking clothing. She extends her hands in a grand welcoming gesture.
“Welcome, Pathfinders. I am Gol Amri. I greet you as a representative of the great Prince Zinlo. Let us conduct our business! I am sure you are eager to search for hidden treasures, and I wish you no delay.”
The woman demurs at Chén fú's question. "Your guide can explain such matters...when he deigns to arrive, of course." Her tone shows her annoyance.
It is at this point that a dwarf bustles up to the group. His skin is darker than is generally seen in the Five Kings Mountains dwarves, and his hair is a vibrant shade of red. He bows low in greeting. "My deepest apologies, Pathfinders. I am Sefu Moyo, and I am to be your guide. Come, let us be on our way." Gol Amri sniffs, but regains her composure quickly. "Despite his lateness, he is quite competent."
In answer to the monk, Sefu smiles again. "The borders of Old Osirion included Thuvia, so the remains of that great empire can be found here as well."
|
Navo is a blonde-haired and blue eyed elf. He is dressed in browns and greens, typical of a forester. Hide armor shows underneath his black-bear skin cloak. He is armed with multiple weapons including a shortsword, hatchet and shortbow. His quiver is filled with fluflu-fletched arrows, and his bow has a pair of squirrel-tail silencers. He also sports a pair of cross-body bags which reek of herbs. For some reason, he always looks angry.
He nods to Sefo Moyo and says "Hallo. It seems like a good day to find new paths. I am Navo."
|
During the trip to Aspenthar you find Chen to be a studious, yet fun loving halfling. Not surprisingly he loves food and cooking (though he is not particularly skilled at it) and, as you might expect from a warrior monk, spends a fair bit of time working through practice exercises.
"And I am Chén fú. What kinds of trouble might we expect, good dwarf."
And polite.
|
Having spent another Society mission in Thuvia already, Herkemer recalls what he might have heard about Prince Zinlo or any other relevant history of Thuvia.
Herkemer greets Chen and Vivekandra who he has worked with before. He says hello to Navo as well. Herk is a blond halfling with a sense of curiosity that leads to trouble. He is nimble, graceful and quick, but not particularly strong or solid. Usually wears a rapier and a few daggers over his leather armor.
Herkemer listens to the guides response to Chen's question, as he shares the same curiosity.
The halfling doesn't recall anything useful about the Prince.
|
|
Vivekanandra is a Vudrani human woman with pleasant features and a cheerful, optimistic manner. She wears no visible armor, although her pouch of spell components suggests she might have magical armor empowered. She has a few weapons, spiked gauntlets, a dagger, a mace, and a crossbow, as well as gear most travelers carry. At her side is a female capuchin monkey named Chhaya.
She greets Gol Amri and Sefu politely, placing her palms together and bowing in standard Vudrani greeting. As she does this, Chhaya does the same gesture while sitting at her feet. "This is my first visit to your lovely country. I look forward to learning more about your people and your past."
By way of introduction to her fellow Pathfinders, she says, "As you may have guessed, I am a wizard. I'll try to have some useful spells prepared each day to help deal with the various challenges."
The wizard likewise knows little of the Prince.
"This part of Thuvia is quite peaceful, so the trip to the site should be uneventful. It is but an hour's walk from here--an hour for me, that is. If the elf knew the way, he could reach it sooner." He smiles a little at his own jest. "I have some supplies for you--the entrance to the site is on a cliff face, and I understand your instructions are to ensure that the team that follows you can easily reach it."
Sefu marches along the waterside edge of Aspenthar, leaving the city and continuing on for nearly an hour to a seemingly unremarkable stretch of land bordered by a cliffside overlook of the Inner Sea. The terrain grows gradually steeper, and by the time Sefu motions to stop, he stands in the biting wind as large waves crash and rumble against the cliff.
Leaning through the chill wind, Sefu points downward to a barely visible landing that juts out from the cliff face, about sixty feet down. He grunts lightly. "It’s not exactly what I’d call a fun climb, but that’s the site down there."
From his pack he produces a sixty-foot rope ladder (treated to resist attack by the salt-laden onshore wind) and a bundle of steel anchors. "This ladder needs to be anchored to the cliff face all along its length, or it will dance a not-so-merry jig when anyone wants to climb down. That means you won't be able to use it for your own descent--you'll have to climb down a little ways, fasten the ladder, climb a little further, and so on, until you reach the landing. Good luck!"
|
|
Herkemer looks down, thinks about the strength it will take to hold the ladder while fastening it, and quickly defers to his halfling companion. "Not my forte, Chen fu. Be my guest. Though I do have some rope to secure you so that if you slip, you do not fall completely."
Herk offers 50' of rope to the mix, but he's not really a solid anchor point either...
|
|
Vivekanandra shakes her head at the prospect of climbing the cliff without the aid of the ladder. "I will be no help when it comes to such a task. I can cast a spell that allows me to use telekinesis to manipulate objects up to about 30 feet away, so maybe that will help. Once the ladder has been anchored part of the way down, could it support someone if she stays above the anchored points? If so, I can descend on the ladder and continue helping with my TK hand from the ladder. I could, for example, hold a piton so the climber could hit it with a hammer without having to hold the piton."
With Vivekanandra's help, Chen succeeds in emplacing the first set of anchors. However, from here on down it's going to be a two-person job.
The first part of the descent goes smoothly for both Chèn and Navo. Then things get sticky for the monk.
The monk's careful preparations pay off when a handhold crumbles in his grasp; the pitons he drove in hold his weight and keep him from a long fall.
Navo moves down the cliff face like a machine, reaching the small landing without a misstep. Chèn fù continues to have a hard time with the one area, though, almost falling again before finally finishing it. While he's doing that, Navo gets the base anchored firmly, allowing Herkemer and Vivekanandra to join the vanguard easily.
A tunnel that once was finished leads into the cliff, winding slightly before opening into a relatively intact chamber. Scattered bits of ancient armor lie discarded haphazardly around the room. Ancient tools, some plainly built for alchemy or armor maintenance and others much less clear in origin, are stored on shelves along the walls, which are adorned with carvings of figures in ornate plate armor.
The room you're currently in looks like various vermin have gotten in over the many years; the doors in the room look like they haven't been opened in some time, and may in fact be a little difficult to force because of settling-induced distortion of the frames.
|
|
Herkemer looks around at the ancient carvings. He doesn't know much about Osirian ruins so is taking it all in, but one thing stands out in his mind as he sees the figures in heavy armor. "Uhhh, I thought most Ancient Osirian armor was light, but these figures are all wearing plate armor and such. hat seems odd..."
He moves to the other door which are up some stairs, listening to the other side, just in case movement or other noise gives something away.
The door opens onto a larger chamber that looks like it was once another entryway, with stairs leading down to the north and up to the south. However, all of the other accesses to the room are blocked by collapses that would take considerably more time to excavate than you have (not to mention requiring better tools and more hands).
Navo gathers up pieces of armor and finds that although the metal is largely intact the leather straps and cloth padding have long since decayed or been taken by vermin. In the course of his search he finds a sealed vial that seems to still contain liquid.
Herkemer hears nothing at the other door.
The door sticks briefly, but the monk is able to lever it open after a couple of tries.
On the other side, several small rooms line a long hall. A cursory examination reveals that each contains what anyone with the Crafting skill will recognize as the by-products of ancient alchemical experiments or broken mechanical devices. Two of the three exits from the room are blocked with too much rubble to easily remove. There are no signs that anything besides small rodents and insects has disturbed the area in a very long time--the air is stale, with only a hint of the smell of the sea.
|
|
Vivekanandra concurs with Herkemer's comment about the heavy armor in the wall carvings being odd.
Upon entering the room with the remnants of alchemy work and other mechanical crafting, Vivekanandra says, "The ancient Osirian culture was not given to alchemy or mechanical devices, if memory serves. I have seen books on both topics, however, based in ancient Osirion's rival state, the Jistka Imperium."
Chén does not get his face eaten by anything, and doesn't find anything not already described.
Herkemer has heard of the Jistka Imperium, but remembers little more than what Vivekanandra said--they were known for their alchemical and mechanical expertise, but that didn't keep them from being destroyed by Ancient Osirion and allies.