Thanks for playing, y'all1 I'll get something going soonish, but probably after GenCon.
Search Posts
The Pathfinders, being used to dodging balls of magical fire and the deadly breath of dragons, easily manage to grab hold of their travel papers as the gust of wind surges past. Hampton is even quick enough to secure his own papers and grab Flitch’s as they slip from the man’s hand and fly through the air! The refugees are all just breathing a sigh of relief that they’ve not lost their documents when they reach the head of the line. An Emerald Guardsman sitting at a table, with Ellvard standing nearby, says, ”Papers, please,” and holds out an impatient hand. The guard studies the documents carefully, matching the written description on each one to the travelers, holding them up to the morning sun to study the watermark on the paper, and generally giving each one intense scrutiny before setting it down and moving to the next. It seems he is satisfied with Filbert’s forged documents, though, and he hands the stack of papers back and nods his head to the side to indicate the party can pass, as he calls out, ”Next! Keep the line moving!” With that, the Pathfinders and the refugees, who appear nervously excited at the prospect that they are almost out of their oppressive homeland, are able to walk down the quay to the waiting Merry Mayfly. Everyone waits nervously as the ship prepares to make sail, but no further trouble appears, and soon the Mayfly is sailing away from Xin-Edasseril! The ship makes its way without incident to Magnimar. Once there, the Pathfinders meet with Sheila Heidmarch, Guaril Karela and Valais Durant, to discuss the outcome of their mission and receive expressions of warm gratitude from the refugees they have helped. Those who had escaped earlier aboard the Rolanna’s Prayer, including the giant Seddothrum, are also present at Heidmarch Manor and eager to exchange stories of one another’s exploits, and savor their new-found freedom. The freed refugees are grateful to the Pathfinder Society for their freedom and most pledge their services and good will for the benefit of the Society in the years to come. Guaril seems appreciative of the efforts the party has gone to, but focuses primarily on ensuring that all payments were collected, and that he can recover his portion of them.
Ellvard looks down at the paper in Hampton’s hand with a look of annoyance on his face, but his expression quickly shifts through horror to a sort of eager relief. ”I don’t know where you got that,” he says, keeping his voice low, ”but it looks to me like we could do each other a favor here. You leave that with me, and I’ll leave you alone.” He waits a moment, then slips the paper from Hampton’s hand. Laying a finger on the side of his nose, he says, ”A pleasant journey to you.” As he folds the document and tucks it into his jacket, a sudden, fierce gust of wind blows in off the bay, sending documents held by waiting travelers flying! The Pathfinders and their charges clutch at their documents, knowing they must have them to leave the city!
The guard is almost swayed by Karsus and Rax’s very convincing subterfuge, but Zandu’s wooden delivery actually makes the whole act less believable. ”Uh, Ellvard, can you check this out for me?” she says, speaking deferentially to the senior guard present and gesturing at the barrel. The man walks over, his eyes scanning the party with an appraising look. ”I’ll take it from here,” he says brusquely to the guardswoman, who strides off. With a smirk, Ellvard says to the would-be travellers, ”So, seems something’s amiss? I’d hate to have to detain your party, when you’re all packed up and ready to travel. Sometimes these things can get sorted out, often any abnormalities in paperwork or other problems can be handled, though there is usually an administration fee for that sort of thing.” He accompanies the words ‘administration fee’ with a not-so-subtle rubbing together of his fingers, demonstrating that that particular gesture has stood for ‘cash’ for thousands of years. .
The Pathfinders manage to convince, coerce and cajole Flitch into keeping his mouth shut, though he grumbles a bit, ”I wasn’t gonna start any trouble…” The line begins to move a bit more quickly, which means the pickle barrels get jostled a bit more on the wagon. A series of thumps comes from one of them, followed by a muffled voice from inside one of the barrels, saying something like, ”Get y--r elb-- out -- my ear!” A more mature voice says insistently, ”Be quiet!” At the same moment, it becomes clear that the bung at the top of the barrel has come loose, and a tuft of Daffrid’s auburn hair can just barely be seen sticking out of it. Another Emerald Guard passing by turns her head slowly, as if trying to locate the source of the sound, and stops when her gaze falls on the barrels.
The Pathfinders meet up with the remaining refugees and lay out their plans. Daffrid and her family will be hidden from sight , while Farzin and Garrla do a clever disguise switch . The others will travel on the legitimate travel documents they brought with them to Xin-Edasseril, while being ready to bribe any guards who question them. The morning of their fifth day in Xin-Edasseril, the Pathfinders check the last details on their preparations, then head for the docks. There are a number of ships coming and going, and all would-be travelers have to be processed by the Emerald Guard before being allowed to leave the city. The party and their charges join a queue of hopefuls, and discover the line is slow indeed. After an hour or so, with the line advancing quite slowly, Flitch mutters, ”We’re never going to get out of here, I’m going to ask this fellow what’s taking so long. I thought the Emerald Guard were supposed to be super-efficient and effective and stuff.” Flitch turns and begins to raise a hand to catch the guardsman’s eye…
With the threat of the reefclaws addressed, the party paddles straight for the Rolanna’s Prayer and manages to avoid crashing into any more of the jagged crystal shards jutting up from the floor of the bay. Just as the rafts approach, a rope ladder is dropped down the side of the ship, and a couple of crew members lift their heads over the rail and wave to the refugees to begin climbing. After a few quick words of thanks, Themolin, Yuleg and Vurna scramble up the rope ladder. Seddothrum nods slowly at each of the Pathfinders, his gratitude clear on his face, then simply stands and reaches up to the ship’s rail and hauls himself up the side. The crew is clearly a bit surprised to see a stone giant among their passengers, but all are welcomed aboard and the Rolanna’s Prayer quickly weighs anchor and makes sail away from the oppressions of Xin-Edasseril. Paddling straight back, the Pathfinders manage to return to the tunnels without incident.
As Hampton and Zandu flail futilely at the curmedgeonly crustacean, Rax's verrrrrrry slow roundhouse swing catches it! His greatsword completely crushes the calcific carapace, cutting the critter clean in half!
Unfortunately, Rax's mad swings are slightly too mad, and neither penetrates the creature's armor!
DM Screen:
Farzin resists the reefclaw's toxins and squeezing! Unfortunately, Karsus is not so lucky, as he maneuvers his raft right into the crystal shard that Zandu spotted earlier!
The reefclaw proves both quick and tough, avoiding the brunt of each of Karsus and Farzin's spells!
Filbert tosses a salty snowball at the reefclaw, but it misses and goes bobbing off into the waters of the cove! He then grabs a paddle and moves the raft closer to the critter! The yellow-eyed reefclaw grabs for Farzin again, then tries to squeeeeze him!
DM Screen:
In spite of his panic, Farzin zaps the red-shelled lobster! It twitches madly as it dies, one of its clawing reaching out in a death frenzy at Zandu! Zandu and Rax strike at the yellow-eyed creature, but cannot pierce its thick shell!
The red-shelled creatures manages to dodge some of Karsus' zap, but the yellow one is not so quick!
As if the journey across Shard Cove weren’t already exciting enough for the refugees, another giant lobster critter surfaces , this one popping up right next to Farzin! The lobsters attack! The one holding Zandu squeezes him with its massive claw!
Rax paddles furiously to get closer to the fight, laughing with joy as he goes at how well his hand-built craft performs. He can't quite get close enough to attack the throbbing lobster, but he tosses a javelin at the thing! It's a powerful throw, but unfortunately it just misses!
Zandu draws his blade and flails about with it, but can’t penetrate the chitinous shell of the lobster! Hampton has slightly better luck, and one of his arrows just manages the penetrate the thing’s thick plates of armor.
Farzin is able to conclude that the creature attacking Zandu looks like a big lobster! It is wracked with illusory pain from Farzin’s spell, but manages to keep a hold on Zandu, even though Filbert has coated him in grease! Its wriggling wildly back and forth while holding on to Zandu with its massive claws causes Karsus' arc of electricity to miss the creature completely!
DM Screen:
Hampton and Zandu begin paddling their rickety watercraft into Shard Cove. As they move, Zandu’s sharp eyes pick out a strange distortion of light in the water to his left, as if there’s something massive and translucent jutting up from the rocky bottom. It appears to be an immense, jagged piece of clear crystal, some ten feet across and reaching forty feet up from the seafloor. It is not animate, but running into its sharp, crystalline edges would surely damage any vessel. As he considers this, he is taken by surprise, as a creature resembling a huge lobster surfaces and grabs at him with oversized claws! It cuts into him – and hangs on!
Between them, Hampton and Farzin are able to get the last raft through the tight spot and continue on their way. As the Pathfinders come to the tunnel mouth, they can see the calm waters of Shard Cove. At the mouth of the cove, probably a couple of hundred feet away, floats a ship matching the description of the Rolanna’s Prayer. The ship appears unoccupied, but that is likely because the crew has remained below deck to avoid drawing attention. In any case, there is no one visible on the ship, and thus no one likely to provide any assistance, so the Pathfinders will have to escort the refugees across open water. Fortunately, the water is calm, pure, and appears to be about forty feet deep. The party divides up amongst the rafts and takes up the crude paddles they’ve fashioned, ready to lead the first group of refugees under their care to freedom.
Initiative:
Karsus manages to pop the raft free! It sails through the air a moment before landing and sliding some ways down the tunnel on an unpleasant slick of mysterious, highly viscous, fluid.
Rax is easily able to flip his sturdy raft on its side and slip it through the chokepoint in the tunnels!
An early morning walk through the sewers is no one’s favorite way to start the day, but Vurna and Yuleg move with an eagerness fueled by hope as they join the Pathfinders and make their way to the nearest sewer entry in the first moments after curfew is lifted for the day. As planned, the group meets Themolin along the way, and the giant Seddothrum soon after. The stone giant grumbles and complains as the group moves through the sewers; the ceilings are too short for his head, and walls are uncomfortably close together for his great bulk. Still, he isn’t willing to let a bit of discomfort get in the way of rescue from a life of cruel servitude. More challenging than placating the giant is moving the rafts, as the party attempts to negotiate tight turns and narrow stretches of tunnel on their way to the outfall at Shard Cove.
Rax's raft is a work of art, clearly inspired by his careful, deeply focused study of the label of Grogram's Firewater, a cheap, diluted rum with an effervescent touch of lime. It's sturdy enough to hold a couple of extra passengers, and the inclusion of two small casks built into the structure under the stern and bow (which Rax envisioned could be used to carry grog, but which he's forgotten to fill before sealing them up) will add buoyancy to the handsome little vessel.
Farzin's second raft, while not elegant in its form, looks like it will at least float - though he's a little leery of putting a stone giant in it. Still, it's significantly better than Hampton's raft. As the Osiriani finishes his work and gives it a satisfied thump on the keel, the raft's rather clunky bow falls off! Filbert feels pretty good about the falsified travel documents, though it's tougher to gauge how good they are than it is to judge a raft.
In spite of Zandu's struggles with treating her, Vurna manages to fight her way back towards health on her own.
With their plans laid, the Pathfinders split up and make their way to tell the would-be travelers where and when to meet them to begin the journey to freedom from the repressive Xin-Edasseril. With these messages delivered, the party reconvenes at the Rockfish Inn, to work through final details and prepare themselves for the morning journey through the sewers to meet the Rolanna’s Prayer.
Zandu’s attempt at wrapping the notebook in his travel papers is good, but not quite good enough for the sharp-eyed guard at the door. ”What’s that?” he asks, pointing at the corner of the notebook sticking out of the papers. ”Garrla, this fellow is walking off with something of yours!” Garrla approaches and extracts the notebook from the papers, rolling her eyes and saying, ”It’s amazing how poor these new recruits are at following instructions! Not to worry, Kielan, just a misunderstanding.” She returns to her desk and gestures at the Pathfinders, clearly dismissing them.
Zandu’s study of Garrla convinces him she is on the up-and-up as she takes the proffered travel documents from Farzin. Flipping through them and scanning with a practiced eye, she casually mentions, ”Hmm, there’s a guard named Ellvard who is scheduled to work at the docks.” As she hands back the travel papers, she lifts a small black notebook off the desk and smoothly slips it under the stack of documents. “Hope you have what it takes,” she says, as she points briefly at the guard stationed outside the door.
DM Screen:
The party joins the fairly short recruitment line, just as the mysterious guardswoman – who Farzin has correctly deduced must be ‘Garrla’ – makes an announcement. ”We want to keep this line moving smoothly. Those of you with questions, remain at the back of the line and we’ll move the easy ones through first.” She then takes a seat at the recruitment desk that the line leads to, as a number of potential recruits obediently move to the back of the line to wait their turn. With the process expedited in this way, the Pathfinders soon find themselves standing in front of Garrla. Gesturing at her uniform, she says, “If you like it and you have what it takes, it can be yours one day soon. Just tell me the time and the place.” She continues to speak, emphasizing the words “time” and “place” again, even raising an eyebrow occasionally to convey the significance of what she is saying – and carefully not giving away to other guards nearby what she is talking about. Garrla then adds, ”Since you are not from here, I’ll need to see your travel papers as well.”
Their arrangements made with Flitch, the party makes their way to the Emerald Guardhouse, the headquarters of Belimarius’ feared city watch and secret police. Despite its name, the place is far grander than a guardhouse – the tall columns along the frontispiece of this wide building are carved in the likeness of Runelord Belimarius. Its wide courtyard is filled with practice dummies and other evidence of martial training. Guards and officials are beginning and ending their shifts, making it a busy place. A short line has formed outside the door of a recruiting area, where a guard stands stationed. As Farzin puts on his most innocent air and asks around for “Garrla,” he is told that nobody by that name is known to have ever been at the guardhouse. After a few attempts by the party to find Garrla, Rax is bumped by one of the Emerald Guard as she passes by. The guardswoman states very simply, “It is a good time for recruiting,” then continues on to the recruiting area. DC 15 Perception: You notice a crumpled piece of paper on the ground that was not there a moment ago, and which must have been dropped by the guardswoman. The paper reads, “Ready to join.”
”Garrla? Oh, that note I found?” Flitch replies. ”Nope, don’t know anything about it but the note, and that I gave it to Guaril. I figure you’ll have to go to the Guardhouse to ask about it.” With a cheerful wink, he adds, ”And the day after tomorrow works for me!”
Flitch is a bit crestfallen at Zandu's assessment of his forged papers, but he quickly sees the bright side, despite hiding in a sewer from a despotic regime of unimaginable power. "Well, if those are a good start, maybe you can get some really good ones together!" He turns to Karsus and says, "I'm here because I didn't think I was safe at my place. I was talking with Guaril about getting out, and then he disappeared. I figured the Emerald Guard found out, and disappeared him, and that I'd probably be next. So the sewers seemed like a better place to be. A friend, sweet girl named Vurna who's got a big crush on me - who's also supposed to be leaving with you, by the way - knows the sewers pretty well and showed me tunnels that go out to a place called Shard Cove. So I came down here to hide - and luck brought right you to me!" Looking around a bit, he says, "I'm pretty ready to get out of here, though. When do we leave?"
The young man relaxes visibly and a broad smile crosses his face at the mention of his uncle’s slippers. ”I’m glad to hear that,” he says, ”I’m Flitch. I’ve got my payment all set, and some pretty good copies of real travel papers to help get us out of the city. Take a look.” He holds out a sheaf of papers, as well as a few items to count as his payment for being smuggled out of Xin-Edasseril. Perception or Society, DC 17:
You recognize that the forgeries are of poor quality.
"Hmm, interesting," Flitch says, still a bit wary. "Did he have any messages for me?"
Amazingly, Hampton’s recollection of the sewers of Ancient Osirion is remarkably informative in a city that’s been trapped out of the normal flow of time for millennia. He seems to know instinctively which way to turn at each juncture of tunnels as he follows Flitch’s trail, and he soon leads his companions to a small sewer maintenance chamber, where a humble campsite has been set up. A youngish human man rises to his feet as the Pathfinders enter. His wholesome face is accented by dark hair and a single curl, dangling over his forehead, which he routinely brushes aside. ”Who are you?” the young man asks suspiciously. DC 15 Perception as you make your way through the sewer: You find a low-grade silver shield and 25 sp in loose coins in the sewers.
Leaving Vurna in her father's care, the party follows the map they found earlier in the graffiti in Flitch's pad. A well-oiled grate at a nearby crossroads leads down into a twisting sewer system. Descending into the sewers, graffiti covers the walls at nearly every intersection of the labyrinth.
Zandu's ministrations don't seem to help Vurna much, and by morning she's had a bit of a setback in her battle against the illness.
DM Screen:
The Pathfinders make their way through the city and back to the Rockfish Inn uneventfully, though they can't help but be struck by how strange it is to have a curfew limiting their movement, when they are accustomed to the freedom to move around the wide world of Golarion. Surely, for at least some of the party, this strange feeling serves as further motivation to successfully smuggle out those who wish to leave this oppressive place. For others, it underscores that there is money to be made in that endeavor. Back at the Inn, Yuleg greets everyone and again prepares a simple meal. Vurna's illness lingers, though she is better off than when the party first met her. It is clear that Yuleg is still rather concerned about her.
"I will do that," Themolin replies.
"So, where and when shall I meet you, to leave the city?" Themolin asks, still focusing most of his attention on Farzin. "What's the plan?"
The tension visibly eases from Themolin, and he collapses back into his chair for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he looks up at Farzin and says, ”Thank you for your kindness, old woman. I’m not sure why you’re here with these fellows, but I’m glad you are. My life has been terrifying for the last month. I discovered an accounting error made by Belimarius herself, and I’m terrified that she’ll somehow find it too and have me imprisoned or killed or worse. So when Karela offered to get me out of here, I jumped at the chance, and then he disappeared, and I didn’t know what to do, and then these guys showed up at my office, and Barralbus jumped me here, and now he’s dead…” He trails off, scratching his shoulder nervously as his situation weighs heavily on him. ”I don’t know what your plan is,” he adds after a pause, which he spends looking around the warehouse as if seeking a way out of his dilemma, ”but if you need to use this place to stay in, or to plan, or store things, I own it and you’re welcome to it. Most of this stuff is mine, but I’ll be leaving it all behind when we leave.”
Themolin's eyes go wide in indignation at Zandu's questions and Hampton's implication! Overcoming his inherent timidity, Themolin responds angrily, "I'm offering a horde of valuable art as payment! I had an arrangement with Karela and he disappeared without a word, and now you accuse me of shorting you on payment! To think I thought, because you saved me just now, that I could trust you, that we could work well together to get us all out of here...if I had any choice in the matter, if I believed I'd survive if I stayed in the city, I'd walk away from you right now!" More calmly, and perhaps rather coldly, he continues, "I have held up my end of the deal, and you must hold up yours."
As Zandu gets back on his feet, Farzin manages to give Themolin a gentle shake and return him to consciousness. Hampton has no such luck with Barralbus, who has succumbed to his wounds. Themolin, however, mutters in confusion, ”What happened…? Did Barralbus let me go?” He tests his bonds and finds he is still tied fast to the chair. Once freed by the Pathfinders, he rubs his wrists and looks around a bit, spotting Barralbus’ body on the floor. ”Is he dead?” he asks in alarm. ”Oh, now I really need to get out of the city. The ambitious fool was mad enough to think he’d become Minister of Tithes one day! He suspected me of being up to something – I’m a bit of a nervous sort on my best day, and arranging with your man Karela to leave the city, only to have him break contact with me, that didn’t do my nerves any good. So Barralbus thought he’d find out what was going on, and that’s why he took me by surprise here, and tried to beat the information out of me, to use it against me. I guess he got a bit too eager, though, knocked me out before I told him anything. So he had no idea I’d arranged with your man Karela to leave Xin-Edasseril, which can’t happen soon enough now.” Themolin takes a deep breath after so much exposition, then continues, ”So, you’ll get me out of the city, right? My reasons for leaving have nothing to do with Barralbus, or at least they didn’t before his death. My deal with Karela is still good? There’s quite a bit of valuable artwork in the crates here, that I intend to pay with, but I need to be gone before anyone finds out what I know.”
Zandu, though still singed and smelling of smoke from his burned clothes, regains consciousness. Barralbus does not.
Farzin and Zandu both fall to the floor, though for different reasons, and one in more definitive fashion than the other. Rax, ever the tactician, hustles around to the warehouse yard to block Barralbus’ escape! As the officious fellow struggles with the heavy warehouse door, Filbert’s rather filthy snowball catches him in the back of the head, sending Barralbus crashing to the dusty floor! The chaos of combat makes enough noise that Themolin stirs slightly, though he can’t move much, being tied to a chair.
Barralbus screams in pain as Karsus' flames strike him, leaving the man barely standing as he struggles to open the door blocking his escape. Hampton helpfully peppers the door with arrows, almost silhouetting Barralbus with their fletching.
|