GM Valen's 1-12 The Burden of Envy (A Table of an Old Favorite for New Players)(Table 1)

Game Master Lysle

Having only basic first aid knowledge and lacking a healer's kit, Redmond waits patiently for Modra and Father Emil to finish their initial examinations.

When Modra reports back and the group discusses the next move, Redmond again mentions going to see Flitch. "In my experience, planning a job like this, you start with the getaway and work backwards. The sooner we secure passage to Shard Cove, the better."

Emil explains to Yuleg that caring for someone with a disease takes time and constant attention. "If'n ya think Vurna kin make it ta curfew time, we should be back 'ere ta be indoors. I kin treat'er once we git back. "

To the others he says, "Since Vurna an' Flitch appear ta be friends, maybe we should git'im here early an' he'll stay outta trouble ta be with his girlfriend. If'n we make good time, we should be able ta git a second member o' the list an' git back'ere by curfew. Or we could play it safe an' jus' git one taday an' work on t'other three o'er the next two days."

Trying to make sense of Redmonds comment, what is involved in finding the way to Shard Cove? Is that outside the city? Would guards let us leave and return?

“Maybe we could learn from Flitch what he knows and any connections he has to our other clients. But whatever we do next we should make sure none of it catches the wrong eyes. The fewer trips we make across districts, the better. If we can pick up a second client today—good. But we don’t force it. The Emerald Guards may take interest since they maintain a presence around the city. Graft and corruption are rampant among the organization, and with everything happening in Xin-Edasseril right now, they’ll be even more on edge”

Modra listens thoughtfully to Redmond, Emil, and Alenor in turn. He recognizes this is a situation that calls for a kind of cunning that does not come naturally to him. Here to break laws and not get caught, but for a good cause. He's already seen enough to understand why helping someone escape from this city is the just thing to do.

"Gods only know what kind o' trouble these other folk we're supposed ta find might be in. We only just got here, came ta this inn almost by accident, an' what do we find? A sick lass who, if we waited two more days ta come here, might've been dead 'fore we came." He shakes his head ruefully.

Nodding to Alenor about her expressed concern, the dwarf continues, "There's risk in goin', an' risk in stayin'. I'm thinkin' Redmond's on the right track. We're gonna be needin' this Flitch fella fer this whole business ta work, so the sooner we know where he is, the better. We got a little time til this curfew today, best we at least try ta find 'im. If he en't home an' there's no sign, we come back here. The rest o' these folk'll just have to wait longer for us to find 'em."

@Emil The party's knowledge about Shard Cove and its role in the plan is in this comment. Flitch is the only one who knows the secret way there without guards getting involved.

"Since Vurna an' Flitch appear ta be friends, maybe we should git'im here early an' he'll stay outta trouble ta be with his girlfriend. If'n we make good time, we should be able ta git a second member o' the list an' git back'ere by curfew. Or we could play it safe an' jus' git one taday an' work on t'other three o'er the next two days."[/b]

Yuleg nods affirmatively at Father Emil's assurances, but visibly cringes at the suggestion that his daughter is Flitch's "girlfriend".

It appears the party consensus is to head to Flitch's flat.

Departing from the Rockfish Inn, the party takes nearly two hours to make its way to the flat in Envy Row East. The location is that of a rundown flat rather typical of the other nearby residences.

The front door facing the street stands shut. The windows of the flat have been boarded over, and fragments of a flowerpot lie beneath one of the windowsills.

A PC can attempt to Force Open a window for entry with a successful Athletics check.

What do you wish to do, Pathfinders?

Modra contemplates the scene in front of him. For a dwarf raised to appreciate good craftsmanship, there's something particularly heart-tugging about something built well that's fallen into disrepair. "Ye forget when goin' 'round doin' this an' that, that so many folk're livin' like this," he says philosophically.

The dwarf shakes his head out of this unnecessary maudlin feeling, then strides towards the closed door. "I'll do the knockin' as long as somebody else does the talkin'." He raps on the door three times with a leather-gloved fist. Once it's clear no one is going to answer, he sighs, muttering under his breath, Aye, why would it be easy...

Turning back to the others, "Ye think the lad's in there hopin' we'll go away, or that he's hidin' elsewhere?"

Can we try picking the lock instead of forcing open a window? It seems like it might attract less attention.

If so:

"I know one way to find out," Redmond says, producing a set of lockpicks from under his bracer.

He looks at the group and motions towards the door. "Any objections?"

Alenor gives Redmond a quick, decisive nod. "Go ahead"

"We do need to get into this place, one way or another," Tockit agrees. "Maybe someone should stand guard to watch for anybody watching us? And keep the weapons sheathed, right." She adds the last sentence as a reminder to herself, trying to remember the local laws.

The gnome takes a few minutes to look around for tracks or other signs of people or creatures coming and going recently.

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Modra grins as he sees Redmond slide the lockpicks out from underneath his armor. "Aye, the quiet way in. Better'n me loud idea." He gestures towards the boarded up windows. "If'n yer way don't work, I'm tryin' out me crowbar."

While Redmond goes about his way of gaining entry, the dwarf turns his eyes to the surrounding area, making sure there aren't any patrolling guardsmen coming this direction, or perhaps too-nosy loiterers or neighbors who are interested in the party's arrival at Flitch's flat.

Father Emil surveys the street looking for guards or anybody paying close attention to the group.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18 or GM can roll secretly instead.

If there are no guards and no one seems to be watching:

Father Emil stands near Redmond, concentrates and reaches out with his will to draw the blessing of Erastil to aid the lockpick attempt, trusting Erastil will understand that his motive is to help the person inside, not any other activity that picking a lock might suggest. He also shields the rogue from view of the street to reduce drawing attention of any residents.

◆ Guidance: +1 status bonus to Redmond's action.

Redmond nods his thanks to Father Emil for the spell and gets to work.

Since we don't know the DC or the number of successes required, I'll just roll some thievery checks here and we can ignore any extras. Redmond has one set of thieves' tools and one set of replacement picks.

Thievery, trained: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25 (This one includes the bonus from Guidance)
Thievery, trained: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Thievery, trained: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Thievery, trained: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Magnus watches as Redmond tries to pick the lock. Without any skills in this area of his own, he is fascinated by the process. The gnome wizard does cast a quick detect magic on the door and house, just to see if there is something magical waiting for them in or around the area.

Given a sign by Father Emil that the street is clear, Redmond quickly unlocks the door.

With guidance, the first roll is a critical success and enough to unlock the simple lock.

Inside, the flat is spartanly furnished. A thin coat of dust covers everything. It is obvious that Flitch is not here and no one appears to have been here for some time. There is little of note to be seen wihtin the flat except for some haphazard graffiti scrawled along the southern wall.

Asking around the neighbor can be done to try and determine Flitch's current whereabouts. Doing so requires about two hours (unless you have a feat/ability reducing that time) and a successful Diplomacy check to Gather Information. This is a secret check, so please post your modifier if you wish to make the check.

What do you wish to do, Pathfinders?

"'tis nice ta travel with someone who's good at the quiet way," Modra says with a smile and nod towards Redmond as the man deftly unlocks the door to the flat.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Filing into the flat with his companions, the dwarf takes note of the dust. He offers the obvious, "Well, the man told us he hoped Flitch was layin' low, sure looks to be layin' low enough that he en't even home." Glancing around the room, he contemplates the wall of graffiti, and after a few moments, exclaims, "Oi! Am I the only one seein' his name in that mess? Maybe some kind o' thief code goin' on in the scrawl here?" He takes a few steps closer to the wall and tries to underline the name with his hand to make it clearer for the others. Sharing what he has spotted for the spoiler. Society +4 for his attempt to decipher.

How tight is the time accounting for movement/activity? Trying to figure out if it's "Two hours off the curfew countdown to get here, with more time off the clock for whatever happens after arriving at the flat" or if it's more "the two-hour increment includes travel and whatever incidental activity happens inside of the flat."

Codes are super interesting to Magnus, so he will spend some time try to decipher the writing in any way. If the others want to go question the neighbors, he nods distractedly but stays on task.

Society is +7 but LMK if there is some other stat for deciphering.

If all else fails, Emil can try the diplomacy route, but don't roll for it yet until we see what the society rolls produce and if the group decides we can afford the time.

He takes a few steps closer to the wall and tries to underline the name with his hand to make it clearer for the others. Sharing what he has spotted for the spoiler. Society +4 for his attempt to decipher.

Modra concludes that the markings are a secret message stating that Flitch is hiding out in the sewers. Magnus reaches the same conclusion.

How tight is the time accounting for movement/activity? Trying to figure out if it's "Two hours off the curfew countdown to get here, with more time off the clock for whatever happens after arriving at the flat" or if it's more "the two-hour increment includes travel and whatever incidental activity happens inside of the flat."

In short, the PCs can explore one location or gather information every 2 hours. They have 8 hours per day outside of lockdown/curfew to do so.

I have posted a chart on Slides that may be useful to help the party track. The party has time to explore one more location today before heading somewhere for the night.

Where to next, Pathfinders? The sewers? The Ministry of Tithes? The Arcanium Abjurant? The Emerald Guardhouse? Elsewhere?

Tockit perks up with excitement when the group discovers a secret code, but she does not have Mangus's focus and quickly loses interest while they puzzle away. However she is certainly interested when they crack the code and find a lead for where to go next.

She glances outside to see the sun dropping all too quickly in the sky. "So we should go look in the sewers right now, yes? As we said before it's important to find Flitch if we're to rescue all the others. There's not much time before curfew but I would really like to locate one more of our targets before the day ends."

Thank you, that chart helps a lot to keep track of what we're doing.

Satisfied, Redmond pushes the door open. The feeling subsides quickly, however, upon view of the dust-covered interior.

Redmond is impressed when Modra discovers and decodes the hidden message. "Well spotted! Though I begin to wonder if I may be in disreputable company," he jests.

"If the trail leads to the sewers," he says, adjusting a scarf around his neck so it can be easily pulled up over his mouth and nose, "Then I guess we don't have much choice. Better to get it over with, I say."

Magnus pats the clever dwarf on the back after confirming his decoding of the graffiti-code. "Indeed. The deciphered graffiti provides a clear and, I must admit, compelling vector for our next investigation. Given the constraints of the curfew, a prompt descent to the sewers is the most logically expedient path."

Do we have some form of anti-plague? Sewers means rats, and rats means filth fever...

Alenor listens as each of her companions comes to the same conclusion.

"If we’re going into the sewers, we better to get it done now while we’ve still got time before curfew"

Going back to when the group received its briefing on the Merry Mayfly, Modra has been looking uncomfortable. The sneaking and the pretending required on this mission don't come naturally to him. The dwarf wondered why the Pathfinders sent him and not someone else and the uncertainty showed in his demeanor.

Spotting the message in the graffiti and then huddling together with Magnus to piece together the hidden meaning sparks a cheerfulness in him. He's beaming behind his mustache at the words of praise from Magnus and Redmond and he grins at the thief's jest.

"Aye, gonna have ta try the sewers. Can almost hear me ma now," here his voice shifts as he tries to convey his idea of an older female dwarf's scolding voice, "Modra Boeske, nobody likes a dirty dwarf unless he's covered in soot!" Returning to his normal voice, he continues, "En't our first time hearin' about them either. Wonderin' if that poor lass got herself bit down there sneakin' down to the same secret hideout we're lookin' for now. Kids," he says with a shake of his head, though this dwarf does not look so far beyond the equivalent of a human's teen years himself.

Mindful of the curfew, Modra stands ready to move out when the party is organized to go.

The sewers it is...

You are able to locate a well-oiled grate that not far from the flat that leads down into a twisting sewer system.

Here, beneath the streets, graffiti covers the walls at every intersection of the labyrinth. Within a short time, you realize that the sewers must stretch for miles. Further, portions of the tunnels are dislocated or collapsed, undoubtedly the result of the same catastrophe that had befallen city and left parts of its skyline in ruin.

PCs who wish to change their Exploration Mode to Search or Track may make a check to Seek or a check to Track. Otherwise, I will assume that eacj PC is using the same Exploration Mode listed previously on Slides, and resolve those activities accordingly.

Switching to Track (Survival +5, trained) for the sewer excursion. Updated the slide and my profile display.

Emil agrees with pursuing the lead to try to find Flitch in the sewers. he gets out his compass and keeps it in view as the group moves through the sewers.

Emil will stick with the exploration activity of sensing direction, trying to keep track of which direction they are headed to aid in retracing steps and perhaps having an idea of where a different sewer grate might lead in the city.

Redmond will switch to searching for his exploration activity. Perception +6 (+7 for traps)

Redmond descends slowly and carefully into the sewer, his single eye continuously scanning back and forth.

"Watch your step," he says, "No thief worth their salt would leave their bolthole unguarded and untrapped.

Tockit looks at the sewers stretching on and on with some dismay. "These things are huge! Searching it could take longer than I thought. Best get down to it quickly. I'm not sure if we'll make it out of here without getting a bit dirty." She eyes Modra, thinking about his mother's advice. "I wonder if the same rule goes for dirty gnomes," she speculates with a grimace at the unpleasant smells drifting from the sewers toward her sensitive nose. But they're here for an important task, so she shrugs and turns her attention to scouring the place for any useful details that might lead them to Flitch.

Switching to Search for exploration. Perception +7 (expert)

Alenor crouches slightly as the party descends through the well-oiled grate. Her gaze darts along the twisting tunnels, scanning for movement, unusual shadows, or any signs of Flitch—or danger.

Alenor will stick to her exploration activity, Investigate: Perception +6 (Pursue a lead: +1 Investigation bonus)