The adventure begins as the Pathfinders are called to a private briefing room by Csilla, Eliza Petulengro, and Eando Kline.
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As usual the dwarf arrived soon. He's the first one indeed. So he simply take a seat to wait for the others and the beginning of the meeting.
A circle of smoke moves up in the air. With his cigar in the mouth under his hat the brown beard dwarf uses the time to quietly clean up his gun. A special one as it looks as a warhammer but can also fire rounds.
Once the first of his new companions will arrive he will introduce himself as Dran'Tilt.
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A scowling ratfolk with unusual metallic goggles and a pack full of clinking glass enters the room. She looks over the mostly empty seats and shrugs. Triune help me, does no one realize that a meeting time does not mean 'get here at this exact second'? And they never bother to put out refreshments...
Before she sits, she offers a paw with most of the chemicals wiped off to the dwarf. "Call me Qen," she says with obviously feigned cheer. "I'll be your volatile substances expert for today. Feel free to ask any questions about toxins, combustibles, or the many wondrous uses of thasteron."
The adventure begins as the Pathfinder field agents are called to a private briefing room by Csilla , Eliza Petulengro , and Eando Kline . All three Pathfinder agents are clearly perturbed, though Csilla seems the most uncomfortable.
Eando closes the door, ensuring no wandering eyes or ears follow into the room. Looking anxiously between themselves, Eliza and Csilla pull a shipping manifest out of a drawer and lay it out on the desk. A quick glance over the single page reveals that it details the delivery of a fossilized demon corpse from Sarkoris to Ember Manor, signed by Helsa Embersplitter.
“Khione somehow managed to get this into a messenger’s hands from... wherever she is... and I’m sure you can see why we’re concerned.”
Coming around the table to stand beside Csilla and place a hand on her shoulder, Eando taps the manifest. “Between Riftcarver and a fossilized demon, we can only assume Hesla is planning some sort of assault on Absalom as a show of her power. We need to know what that entails—with enough proof for the High Council to take the threat seriously.”
“And that’s where you all come in,” Eliza pulls out another document, a map of Eastgate with one property circled. “The manifest shows the fossil was delivered to Ember Manor. We need you to retrieve the fossil, along with any more clues as to what Hesla is planning.”
Csilla’s thumb rubs circles into the back of her opposite hand, clearly nervous, “We... we have reason to believe members of the Cult of the Screaming Grub may have taken up residence in Ember Manor. You will need to take care to avoid their notice—or deal with them if they get in your way.”
Eando and Eliza take questions while they distribute a few items to aid in stealth during the mission: a moderate eagle-eye elixir, an invisibility potion, and a skeleton key.
Quadennilia and Dran'Tilt both know that Hesla Embersplitter has gotten
quite close with Watcher-Lord Ulthun II over the past few months, explaining the quickness with which he came to her defense. The High Council is loath to lose favor with one of its wealthiest and most influential supporters and thus is reluctant to levy any accusation against Hesla without physical evidence.
Quadennilia further knows that Hesla has also been seen spending a fair amount of time walking the city with Falwynd of the Peacebuilder Alliance and likely has won her favor as well. The more pieces
of evidence that can directly link Hesla to the current situation in Sarkoris and threats to Absalom, the higher the chance that the High Council will believe the Society’s claims.
“We know they’re a cult dedicated to the worship of the dead demon lord, Deskari,” Eliza offers, consulting a previous mission report. “We also know that they’re supposedly responsible for the death of an entire Sarkorian clan, among other destructive actions.”
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Fossil? Screaming Grubs? Are they edible? This is from a late arriving Nephilim tiefling who is dressed as a Guardian of the Night, i.e' robes of midnight blue who strides into the room. Her fruitbat familiar sitting on her shoulder.
I'm Luna Moon, the Witch of the Night, here to protect you from the Nightmares. she announces. A demon lord huh? Sounds delicious
((Society +13))
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Fossil? Screaming Grubs? Are they edible?
The Tien-Hwan woman in the corner grimaces at the thought of eating fossils or screaming grubs. She wears a flowery surcoat over a breastplate and carries an ornate glaive, its shaft covered in carved dragons and monsters and the blade etched with chrysanthemums. She quietly introduces herself. "I am Song Jun-Mei, priestess of the Lady of Chrysanthemums and champion of the Everlight. You may call me Jun-Mei"
She turns to Eando. "Riftcarver?"
Luna is also aware of the watcher-lord's relationship with Hesla.
“We can tell you very little about the corpse, except that it was excavated from Sarkoris and delivered within the last month. We don’t believe that it’s Deskari’s corpse. That would have caused too much of a stir.” Eliza replies, a dry smile on her lips as she chooses to interpret Luna's remark as a question.
Jun-Mei knows that Deskari, the Lord of the Locust Host and Usher of the Apocalypse, was a very powerful demon lord who tore open the Worldwound in Sarkoris when he discovered a thinning of the veil between planes. After centuries of tormenting the people of Sarkoris and Mendev, Deskari was defeated and slain, ending his plot to reopen the Worldwound and consume the world.
She doesn't know what the connection is between Hesla and Riftcarver, but Csila is able to answer her question. “She has it. She’s currently on the run, no one has seen her since she disappeared with Riftcarver. The Godsrain imbued her with divine power, and we believe she intends to use that power to resurrect this demon and wreak havoc,” Csilla offers.
The leaders look at each other. "I've never been."
"I have, once, but only in the sitting room. There were no demons there at the time."
"I'm sorry, I don't think we know anything useful."
If there are no further questions, Eando reminds the Pathfinders as they leave that this mission must be kept secret until they present their findings to the High Council and sends his wishes that their mission goes smoothly. After the briefing, the party can take some time to procure supplies to prepare for the mission if needed.
As the Pathfinders round the corner of the wide lane leading to Ember Manor, they are greeted with the sight of tall hedges and the gentle bubbling of a fountain pool. Two guards with face coverings, most likely Screaming Grub cultists, are posted at the front doors, with a third making rounds of the garden.
It's even worse then that. Quadennillia spots an open window in the outside wall, on the northern end of the west side.
The Pathfinders sneak through the courtyard. The guards don't seem to notice them at all.
The servants' quarters are quiet. A collection of small rooms, each with a bed and washing area, open into a hallway that also connects to the manor’s large kitchen. It does not appear to get much use.
From the servants' area, the only way to go is through the door to the north.
This hallway features a bust of Hesla on a pedestal in front of the westernmost window. There's another door directly ahead, and a set of double doors to the right. Luna notices a tiny rune etched under one of the doorknobs of the doors on the right--a magical trap?
Dran'Tilt disables the trap, leaving two ways forward.
A modest collection of artifacts from Sarkoris are displayed here in glass cases, each with a metal plate detailing its origin.
The study is well kept with a mixture of books on art, history, culture, science, and other topics. There is an entire shelf focused on accounts of the Worldwound and the battles that led up to it, as well as historical texts from before the Scar was made. In the glass cases there are a variety of Sarkorian artifacts, including a knife carved out of bone, an intricately hand-beaded leather purse, and a very old woodcarving of Alglenweis. Each artifact has a metal plaque detailing where in Sarkoris it was sourced from. All of the artifacts predate the Worldwound.
There is a locked drawer in the desk.