The adventure begins at Anthusis Lodge in the capitol of Vidrian, where Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh has summoned you to meet him.
The office of Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh is densely packed with shelves of books, maps, scrolls, and even more esoteric methods of note-keeping. The room’s wide windows are open, allowing a cool breeze to pass through the office. As the venture-captain stands to greet the gathered Pathfinders, a small crystal ball that had been used as a paperweight rolls off of his desk, falling into a nest of scrolls that are covered in scribbled notes. “Whoops,” the venture-captain says with a chuckle, deftly navigating the mess to replace the paperweight.
Far off in the distance, a piercing screech can be heard. "Screech!"
"Screech." The cry seems a little bit closer.
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The archer turns and smiles sheepishly at her fellow pathfinders. "Erm...Sorry about that. We haven't had a mission in a while and Silence tends to act out when he gets bored. I think he might still be a bit upset that only one person participated in his ridiculous made-up holiday this year."
She frowns and stares out the window once more. Finally with a hugh sigh she reaches into a belt pouch and pulls out a piece of dried meat which she waves around just outside the window.
She slowly brings her hand to her mouth as though intending to eat.
Suddenly a snow-white bundle of feathers bursts into the room and lands atop Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh's desk knocking the paperweight over once more.
The owl flaps his wings.
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"Eek!" The young woman quickly tosses the meat at her friend and dives across the room, deftly catching the crystal ball before it hits the floor. She stands and carefully puts the paperweight back in its place. She shakes her head ruefully at the owl as he devours his treat and turns to the other pathfinders to introduce herself.
"Sorry guys. He's not usually like this." She rolls her eyes at her obvious falsehood. "Okay well maybe he is, but only sometimes, really. Anyway, I'm Meadow. I'm a scout. My annoying friend over there is Silence. He's an owl."
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The door flies open and a woman with a drawn bow rushes in. Upon seeing the elf yelling out the window, she immediately relaxes. "Goodness!" she says, lowering the bow and replacing the arrow in her quiver, "I thought someone was being attacked in here." Her voice has a slightly musical twang to it though she does not appear to be Elven
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"Well met. Maneki Pemanah at your service. What did you say your name was again?"
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A halfling, small but stout, wearing an armor of interwoven metal cables arrives at their meeting place. One can see that he has some tools at his disposal: a frying pan, a huge two-pronged fork, a long piece of wooden pole, and a Y-shaped staff. Stowed behind him is a steel shield.
"Basag Bungo, at your service." he gives them a courteous bow.
Having ensured no vital documents are at risk of blowing away, (and keeping a watchful eye on Silence), Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh addresses the group. “Pathfinders! Today, we have an opportunity to do some good for the people of Vidrian and earn a little favor with the government. Here, let’s take a look at this."
The venture-captain slides a narrow indoor curtain to the side, revealing a bell made of cold iron that hangs low from the ceiling. The bell is one foot in diameter and two feet tall. Intricate engravings depict crocodile-headed humanoids and normal crocodiles with monstrous features clambering out of a deep pool towards smaller humanoids on the bell’s crown. “The Society recently recovered this interesting object. I’ve been studying it, and it seems to have remnants of magic made for repelling bilokos. Or perhaps attracting them? Well, they’re awful things, and according to the old tales, they love bells—perhaps this object is a lure of some kind? According to my research, it belongs to a community of Song’o halflings, who must miss it dearly."
"This is quite curious, as Song’os typically craft more portable or temporary art to suit their nomadic lifestyle. This, however, is quite sturdy. I think there’s more here than meets the eye. How did we stumble across such an object, you ask? Now there’s an exciting tale! Recently, we learned of a band of mercenaries who tried to steal away with a ship and its cargo of cultural relics that need to be returned to their rightful keepers. We worked with the locals to stop them, rescue the ship’s crew, and recover the relics in a relatively good condition...” Finze pauses to closely examine the bell before breathing on the surface and wiping the spot with his handkerchief. “Make that pristine condition!"
“Unfortunately, the Imminent Laughter—that’s the ship—crashed during the pursuit. Our priority was rescuing the marooned crew, so the thieves escaped, and we didn’t have time for a thorough search of the wreck. We grabbed what looked important and got our people back to shore. There may be documents on board indicating where the bell came from—after all, the whole point of the Imminent Laughter’s voyage was to bring cultural relics back to Vidrian so they could be returned to their rightful owners."
“So, your mission is to head to the wreckage just up the shore and see what you can find. Report back to me once you’ve explored the wreck. Then, perhaps we can send you to return the bell and learn why it’s so important. If we can lend a helping hand and make some new allies along the way, all the better. Any questions?”
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"What's this I hear about a bell?"
Short by the standards of his own people, Fjorn makes up for his average human height in midway heft. He is surprisingly nimble for a thick-bodied and heavily armored warrior - sporting a sturdy wooden buckler with a sapling glyph on his ample forearm, and carrying a modest ulfen axe in his right. His thick beard and full head of hair a dirty blond finds itself loosely bound into multiple moderately kept locks; a few of which are indeed well groomed and arranged neatly into ropey braids, whereas others seem to have taken on an orientation of their own, unruly, unwound, unorganizable.
Though his manners are polite, they stand in contrast to his wild eyes which dart around, as if to signify he is experiencing a mild hallucination at all times. This isn’t far from the truth, for beneath his warm furs what looks like a portable laboratory is stowed in horizontal and vertical rows across the inside of his garments and around his waist - liquids of nearly every spectra visibly within reach of his ordinary sized hands.
He looks around the group - two halflings, a skinny human - oh, and an owl "It'll have to do. We would be the lookers then. Who knows how many'll lay claim to this wayward trinket! And the thieves still lurk, you say?" he pauses, perks his ear "Do you hear that? The distant chime? Are you prepared to listen, or do you plan on fighting your way out?" what is he even talking about!
Either way, he quickly downs a cloudy-yellowish draught - nary a sip, really - and his forehead expands into a prominent, erudite lump, simultaneously shrinking the circumference of his biceps, which noodle into soft flippers, and slouchens his posture to an aging stoop. Next, a secondary hump emerges tectonically upon his upper back! And finally, all the hair on his head, that isn't his hair-hair - eyelashes, eyebrows, nose hairs, etc - grow profusely and whiten as if he had biologically aged 50 years in a second... he ponders in thought rubbing his just-receded chin...
◆) Versatile Vial ➤ Moderate Cognitive Mutagen
◆) Inbibe
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to RK about bilokos
"I parted ways from my tribe some time ago to pursue my dream to be an adventurer..." Basag reminisces being with them in the past, but pauses.
"I might have missed some tales about bells... Hmmm..." he tries to think how the bell might be related to Song'os. And the bilokos. Perhaps it is from another community but still within Mwangi Expanse.
Everyone knows Bilokos are cunning hunters who like to use tricks to single out victims and lure them away from their companions. They subsist entirely on humanoid flesh.
Meadow thinks about the bell and realizes Bilokos have a fascination with bells, often using them for hunting and setting traps, but they can also be tricked by these covetous instruments. Bilokos who eat spellcasters can become more powerful creatures known as elokos, and rumors tell of powerful eloko leaders with connections to primal forces deep within the jungles of the Mwangi Expanse.
"Whales? Are you thinking of Echolocation?" The Venture-Captain looks at Meadow as she muses upon the situation. "Ah, welcome Fjorn. Thanks for joining as with so little notice..." He pauses as Fjorn seems to be focused elsewhere.
"Well, take your provisions and then head to the Imminent Laughter. It's partially submerged, but there may be something on it."
After about 2 hours of uneventful travel north along the shore of Desperation Bay, you reach the wreckage of the trade vessel Imminent Laughter.
Driftwood litters the sandy beach, still flowing freely from the bisected remains of a trade vessel resting in the shallows. Smooth rocks break the surface and surround the wreckage, as if the land itself reached up to tear the boat to pieces before clumsily grasping its prize.
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Fjorn's mental experiment is cut short as he heaves the contents of his handsomely round belly onto the ground - spewing forth the cloudy-yellowish substance with it - and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, turns to Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh, heartily shakes the man's hand with both paws "Glad you can accept me on your mission. We will find the bell and bring it home" he turns to Basag Bungo "Your home, amiright?" he laughs good-naturedly.
"Such a tragic name" when he sees the wreck "Well then, let's get started!" he heads forward, buckler raised!
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"Whales? Are you thinking of Echolocation?" The Venture-Captain looks at Meadow as she muses upon the situation. "Ah, welcome Fjorn. Thanks for joining as with so little notice..." He pauses as Fjorn seems to be focused elsewhere.
"No I was thinking of beluga whales. Beluga, biloko. They sound similar." Meadow shrugs.
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Fjorn's mental experiment is cut short as he heaves the contents of his handsomely round belly onto the ground - spewing forth the cloudy-yellowish substance with it - and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, turns to Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh, heartily shakes the man's hand with both paws "Glad you can accept me on your mission. We will find the bell and bring it home" he turns to Basag Bungo "Your home, amiright?" he laughs good-naturedly.
Silence flaps his wings and begins to make a strange sound.
"Hooaaak, hooooaak, "
The owl seemingly takes a cue from the ulfen and spits a pellet of fur and bones onto the papers on the venture-captain's desk.
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Meadow's eyes go wide. "Oh no!"
She quickly grabs the pellet and throws it out of the window. She smiles sheepishly and slowly backs out of the room.
"Hehe well...good briefing everyone...erm...let's...erm...head out now."
She lets out a surprised "Eek!" as she backs into the doorframe. In a panic she turns and and bolts out.
Silence remains on the desk preening his feathers, seemingly unbothered by his recent faux-pas.
"Screech!" Silence takes flight, knocking the crystal ball and several papers to the floor as he departs through the open window.
You have time to make your purchases before heading to the wreckage.
Maneki keeps a look out for danger while Fjorn takes a defensive position on the ship.
Basag keeps his shield ready as they climb onto the wreckage, while Meadow and Silence keep quiet (for once.)
Did you notice that crate shake? Dammit, natural predators think you're a snack! 3 crocodiles swim through the wreckage towards you.
"Screech!" Silence flaps his wings as he alerts everyone to the approaching predators.
"Screech." Silence shrieks in acknowledgement and takes to the air.
Meadow studies the crocodile and sends an arrow right between the eyes. It stops moving and gravity pulls its lifeless body underwater.
That leaves 2 more.
Meadow
Basag
Fjorn
Maneki
White
Purple
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Basag tries to recall if he can easily deal with White or Purple. "Crocodiles?"
◆ Recall Knowledge
He then curses White, so that it will be weary to attack him, hopefully.
◆ Jinx
He then raises his shield for added protection.
◆ Raise a Steel Shield (+2 circumstance bonus to AC)
↺ Shield Block w Steel Shield (Hardness 5, HP(BT) 20(10))
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◆) Moderate Juggernaut Mutagen from Horn of Plenty
◆) Raise Sapling Buckler
◆) Stride
↺) Shield Block
”Milady, your arrows are deadly - Let me be your shield!”
Reaching into his mighty Horn, our psychonautical hero quickly pours a dark orange-ish red-ish fluid from a just-unstowed bottle into his bearded mouth, causing a Mutation: His body convulses a little from the effect, the veins in his neck visibly expanding in width and network, the ridges of his bones bulging at odd angles to protrude with increased prominence, his light colored eyes filling with a malefacient orangish-red tinge. As all the softness drains from his demeanor, all that is left is a large, wide, hulking brute!
Raising his ridiculously small shield, which nearly loses itself barely covering his now-broadened forearm, he stands before the ranger and her owl interposed, and braces!
Benefit @ +2 to Fortitude and +10 temporary HPs which regains when at max HP 1-min
Drawback @ -2 to Will, Perception, and initiative
While Meadow argues with Silence over what they are, Basag is certain they are alligators. Their jaws are strong but ultimately distracting, if they bite someone they will try to swallow them whole and ignore the rest of the combatants.
Basag calls upon a curse, but the alligator is uninterested.
Fjorn takes a deep swig and bulks up, using his shield to intercept and protect.
Meadow
Basag
Fjorn (Juggernaut Mutagen, 10 temp HP, Shield Raised)
Maneki
White
Purple
Maneki shoots one of the gators with an arrow. You all notice these alligators must have raided some kind of paint store or something, different colored stripes trail down their tails.
The one with a White stripe boards the deck and has enough time to bite Basag.
The other one leaps out of the deck to bite Fjorn
The alligators aren't ready for such strong defenses.
Meadow
Basag
Fjorn (Juggernaut Mutagen, 10 temp HP, Shield Raised)
Maneki
White
Purple (6 damage)
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◆) Raise Shield
◆) Interact to grow Sapling Shield: Tower Mode
◆) Strike
↺) Shield
The gator snaps ineffectually behind Fjorn's wee shield and massivized frame - he laugh with jolly aplomb! - and keeping his shield up, it suddenly grows to match him in size, branching and rooting to do so, springing a single flower atop, bulwarking him (and the ranger) against further punishment. And, he delivers his own in the form of a modest ulfen axe!
Maneki's first arrow sinks into the beast's hide but the second one fails to find purchase.
Fjorn's shield grows even larger as he digs into the alligator hide.
Meadow
Basag
Fjorn (Juggernaut Mutagen, 10 temp HP, Shield Raised, AC 23)
Maneki (Monastic Archer Stance)
White (4 damage)
Purple (14 damage)