[PFS1] Redelia's The Devil We Know Arc (Inactive)

Game Master Redelia

Ah, I didn't know it was back to her turn.

Ela withdraws to the southeast corner of the room.

[full round] withdraw

Auray throws an Explosive Bomb at the enemy from outside the door, through Bagurm's cover, and excludes her teammates'.squares.
Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 1 - 4 = 22
critical confirm: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 5 + 1 - 4 = 17
Damage(if confirmed): 1d6 + 5 + 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 + (4) + 5 = 18
burning: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Auray obliterates the derro.

Combat over.

In the next room with straw pallets are stacks and stacks of cages full of normal rats. On a small table next to those cages is a small, shiny black rat statue—the jet rat. This artifact gives off a moderate transmutation aura. There is also evidence here—a ledger written in Undercommon—that the derro have slowly increased their slave sales over the last couple of months, with a huge surge in the last couple of weeks. Anyone who can read Undercommon finds a note in the ledger about a human woman who escaped not long ago and the mite slave that was beaten to death for allowing it to happen.

By defeating the derros here and taking the jet rat, you have slowed the derros’ plans for the future but not stopped them entirely. Kidnappings slow in the city, but continue to expand in the countryside around Cassomir. Rumors begin to circulate throughout the city that the derro menace has been stopped, but some whisper darker tidings, such as the recent spotting of a derro inside the walls of Swift Prison, a rumor the Taldan authorities heatedly deny.

===================== THE END OF CHAPTER 2 ===========================

Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, a petite, raven-haired, black-eyed Taldan woman, paces her office within the Pathfinder lodge in Cassomir.

"I am perplexed. A new kidnapping spree plagues my beloved city. It seems our citizens make easy prey to those who profit from such exploits. While this disturbs me, I am more troubled by reports that some of those kidnapped return to the city as undead monsters who accompany this Cult of Nature’s Cataclysm plague, a plague that I can’t seem to excise from my beloved city. This ends now! For a third time we battle Groetus-worshiping dogs and there will not be a fourth!"

Taking several deep breaths, Hestia regains her composure.

"I am sending you to Swift Prison to interrogate a cultist we captured who was trying to kidnap a local engineer. Meet my man Garver out front—he’ll take you in to see the Nature’s Cataclysm fool. Find out where the other cultists hide, where they’ve taken their recent victims, and how they’re turning them into skeletons. Free as many Cassomir citizens as you can—the good publicity never hurts. Any questions?"

Ela gives an appreciative look.

It's good that you caught one of them! Where did you find him? Near this engineer's home or work? What time of day was it?

"I though we're over the kidnapping..."

"What about the cultists? Does the Venture-Captain have a preference on what happens to them?"

Mmm... Undead. I do not like it. How gentle should we be when interrogating this cultist?

A delicate-featured blond elf woman attired in fitted, expensive-looking blue-and-white robes slips into the office behind the others. Closing the door quietly, she simply listens to the briefing in silence.

"I really don't care. Just don't give the Society a bad name."

also, an out of character reminder that your GM will impose consequences for evil actions

Neri listens quietly while holding a rather ornate shiny looking trident. She glances over to the new arrival wondering who this is.

"Undead, I like it. I'd like help them rest in tombs. We have to stop the cultists turning innocents into pathetic walking bodies and eradicate their influences in this city."

are any other questions answered?

The Venture Captain looks at Ela incredulously. "I have no idea. I did not enquire about such meaningless trivialities."

Just to be clear, she might be annoyed by the question, but your GM certainly is not. The adventure does not provide any such details.

Knowledge:local checks to know more aboout Swift Prison are welcome. I'll move us on tomorrow.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Anya tries to recall what she remembers about the prison that the Venture-Captain mentioned.

No trained knowledge local here

Swift Prison’s prisoners must pay fees for lodging and favorable treatment. These payments even include a “chains tax,” requiring a prisoner to pay 5 sp each month to avoid being shackled. Swift Prison has an unusual policy in which non-violent criminals who pay for the privilege are allowed to roam the streets surrounding the prison, so long as do not cross the invisible boundary known as the “Rules of the Swift” (which is what the prison calls the invisible boundary that surrounds the prison). Prisoners who cross this boundary are put to death when recaptured—very few have broken those rules in the prison’s history.

The wardens of the Swift are notorious for allowing unusual privileges in exchange for exorbitantly high sums. Prisoners who pay these extortions earn the right to reside in one of the Swift’s private apartments. Rich prisoners may also purchase the “Liberties of the Swift,” the right to walk the prison grounds and surrounding city streets freely. Wardens of the Swift are often replaced after being caught abusing their posts for personal gain.

anythinge else before we move on?

Good to go
"We shall see how rich this cultist is."

So, could you tell us what this Garver looks like please ma'am?

Anya recounts for the party what she remembers of Swift Prison (see GM Redelia’s post).

“Ah, but where are my manners?” she says. “My name is Anya, and I will be accompanying you there.”

Good to go here, as well.

It sounds like we'll want to pay attention to who might be privileged in that place. Ela muses.

Ready to go!

Neri introduces herself to Anya.
Neri Silvermist ma'am she says, very politely and a bit shy.

Is also good to go

"Greetings. William Dass Martin. You can call me Dass."Dass nods toward his new teammate.
Good to go

Hey! Bargurm here, says a dwarf wielding an axe.

The Venture Captain provides you with a straightforward description of Garver, as requested.

Swift Prison’s formidable gates loom over those who pass beneath them. Out front, a gilded statue stares uncaringly at those who serve time beyond her sentry-like gaze. The wrinkled, dirty faces of Cassomir’s prisoners are briefly illuminated behind the bars of the ground floor begging cells. Their pathetic drone as they beg for coppers fills the courtyard in front of the prison.

Hestia’s man, Garver—a tall Taldan man with a slim physique and plain peasant’s clothing—approaches. “You made it. Good. Follow me.” Garver turns and enters the prison, marching through myriad hallways that twist and turn and finally end at a plain but thick wooden door. Garver produces a key and says, “Our captured cultist enjoys visitors, and if you like his work, it’s all for sale.”

(pausing for any reactions or any questions you want to ask Garver)

Anya raised an eyebrow at Garver. “Er, what work? Is he an artist?”

Neri can't help herself and gives each of the beggers a copper coin each.

She then follows Garver to the door, and waits for an answer to Anya's question.

An artist in prison? I thought I had seen it all... What kind of art?

Garvin shrugs. "We call him the 'crazed painter.' He refuses to tell anyone his name."

Ela frowns slightly and exhales.

If it helps loosen his tongue, sure somebody can buy a piece. Mostly, we should focus on the questions.

Anya nods in agreement with Elsa. “We’ll figure something out.”

She looks at Garver and motions to the door. “By all means, let’s have a look.”

Garver through the door and down several stone steps into a dingy, shadowed room with three cells. He gives the two guards there some coins and they head back up the stairs, closing the door behind them. In the center cell, covered in paint, a man dressed in torn beggar’s rags, his feet shackled to the floor by a 3-foot length of chain, throws color onto a dirty canvas. The man stops painting when you arrive, looks through the bars, and exclaims with a toothless grin: "For you, my master, always for you!" He then lays the painting atop a small pile of recent works and sets up another blank canvas, madly attacking it with his brush.

So he does abstract art?

Firstly, Ela takes a close look at the piece he finishes and throws on the pile (and maybe the one at the top of the pile just before this?).

Does she notice any theme or depiction of recent events that might provide insight into his state of mind, or (better) any plans.?

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

"I'm not an artisit, but..."
Is there anything worth-noting?
Percption: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

The canvases are all tilted in a way you can't see what's painted on them right now.

Anya takes a step closer, watching the mad man as he paints. "Master is pleased, I'm sure. What are you making for master?" she asks.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Bagurm is not the best with words and leaves the chat to his companions.

Sorry, I've had difficulty to post during the last few days due to personal circumstances.

Diplo: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32 Specter tries to get the guy to talk about the cult

Yup, glad to let the faces take over here :)

"Friends! Did the Master send you? Yes, he must have. Praised be he who ends the days! Do you seek my secret? Soon enough—but in return I ask something from you. You must give it to me as I need it to complete my collection." He points to two paintings hung in a shadowy corner of his cell. A third canvas hangs next to them but is blank. "If you go outside this very prison you’ll find a statue covered in gold. You may have already seen her! Describe this statue to me in exquisite detail and I will tell you all I know."

Erm .... does anyone here do illusion magic?

Anya shakes her head at Neri's question. "Not unless you count a few cantrips, none of which I prepared for today. Why? What did you have in mind?"

Somebody wears an illusion of the statue so he can see it for himself basically.

Do we remember the statue, or do we need to go outside to have a look?

Laurentina looks clueless at the mentioning of this gold statue

Anya furrows her brows. "Was there even a gold statue on the way here?"

Neri goes back out to have a look. A really good look.

Ela frowns and follows Neri out. She really hopes to rely on Neri's power of description and hopes she isn't called on to remember the details of... some work of art.

Verily, it is very golden (Perception): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15