Alright, I'm closing this game for now. I'll bug everyone near the end of the PbP Gameday to see if we can get the group together for more shenanigans!
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Gob decides to let Nethys' faithful take care of him while Marduk tries to exercise and recover naturally, trusting his Iroran training. The first day takes some adjustment, the half-orc overexerting himself, but within two days he finds a pattern that allows him to naturally attack the plague from the inside and flush them from his system.
"That's Tseka? ", Yrishi bobbing her head up and down looking over the ratfolk. "Much smaller than I thought, given her reputation.", she analyzes. At Gob's request, her eyes glow wide with excitement. "You mean, you'd take me on all of your cool adventures and learn things. That would be ", her tail happily wagging in the air. Returning to the Lantern Lodge, Amari Li is pleased at the group's success. "Well done, Pathfinders!", Li then snapping her fingers to get two other agents to escort Makino and Tseka into interrogation. "Your skills and ingenuity have brought an enemy of the Society to answer for her crimes and hopefully help us unravel how their attack on the Grand Lodge was organized. Thank you for putting an end to her schemes and sending a crippling blow to Aspis operations in Goka." Li bows as she suggests the party take some much needed rest, also calling for attendants to look over Marduk and Gob.
On the way out, it doesn't take long for the party's inquisitive guide, Yrishi, to reappear. "Wowee! You guys look beat... but who's them people with you?"
Hakime searches the Aspis thugs, finding several interesting items , but the real treasure is the intel on Tseka and in the room. Realizing that the hidden ratfolk is the real Tseka, she has a note in her breastpocket wrapped around a silver badge. Letter on Tseja:
Tseka, For a supposedly bright agent, you seem to be struggling with a basic truth: you are a silver agent. You are not a gold agent and have never been a gold agent, and you are doing a fine job of campaigning against your own promotion with your childish antics. If I catch you stepping outside the bounds of your authority again, my next letter to you will contain your shiny new bronze badge. Do I make myself clear? As for your latest request, the patrons are not prepared
A. X. Adrius
DC 15 Kn: Local:
You recall that A.X. Adrius is the public face of the Aspis leadership and that he's on par with the organization's shadowy board of patrons. Also within her belongings is a gold badge that looks somewhat similar to the one found on Yekai: it is also a forgery. On the stage where the fake Tseka was talking is a letter addressed to someone named Marnarius. Marnarius note:
Marnarius, I am growing increasingly concerned that I haven’t heard from you since the report on your glowing success at the Pathfinder’s Grand Lodge. I have tried to supply you with the means to rebuild your life, but I’ve heard rumors that your desire for vengeance is preventing you from accepting my help. Take some time to enjoy your accomplishments and revel in the harm that you have already caused to the Society. Don’t let the Pathfinders drive you to throw your life away chasing wild schemes, and please, Marnarius, stop placing your trust in the hands of people who have already failed the Consortium in the past. Regards,
The maps within the room show several locations in Goka, in particular, there is a sketch of the interior of the Lantern Lodge and a detailed drawing of a familar multicolored tapestry covered in abstract patterns: the Hao Jin Tapestry!
Makino takes the blow, but is still standing. He then tries to cast a new spell...
But the spell fails!
The party gangs up and beats the traitorous Makino down. The ratfolk trio scoff at the party as they eventually come up topside and surrounded. "Heh, you fools; you think just taking me will bring your precious Grand Lodge safety?", the sneaky ratfolk scoffs. "Sorry boss...", the other two pout.
The one hiccup is that Marduk's muscles have nearly given out on him, the half-orc barely able to walk.
The pillar provided ample cover, protecting the aggressive wizard from Hakime's volley!
Marduk punches and kicks the newest ratfolk to enter the fray, severely injuring him.
Aspex's pit appears and a tremor of squeaks are heard as not two, but three figures land in the pit! "Dammit!", yells the sneaky ratfolk that Wyeth and Marduk struck. "You win you Pathfinder louts... I surrender." "We do, too!", the other two ratfolk squeak in unison. The human, Makino, shakes his head. "Ha! I'll never go down for treason!" EDIT: Marduk forgot his Fort save! I'll roll it now.
Marduk feels more of his strength fading to the toxin coursing through his body.
Init Order (bold = up)
The entire party feels more rapid when ANOTHER ratfolk dashes out from under the stage! It moves into the same area as Tseka and also stabs at the weakened Marduk!
Seeing how hard Marduk can hit, it plays defensively and its blade doesn't even get CLOSE to the wounded half-orc! Init Order (bold = up)
Makino, knowing what's coming, closes his eyes, but Tseka isn't so lucky! "Kill them! Kill them all!", she squeaks in rage! Marduk then follows up with a tiger knee, the crack audible as the no-longer hidden ratfolk is dealt a nasty blow! Tseka leaps down from the stage and slowly joins over to where the hidden rat folk is, both of them moving strangely and aiding the wounded ratfolk's attack!
The moving seems to have shaken the sparkles from her eyes, too! "Go get him!", she shouts with glee! The no longer hidden ratfolk in retaliation then slices at Marduk with her blade, before disappearing into the shadows!
The ratfolk retaliates in kind, her blade slipping in between two of Marduk's ribs. While blade injury stings, a painful burning then ensues as it feels like something is trying to melt the half-orc's muscles from within!
GM Dice:
DC 31 Perception:
You find the hidden ratfolk 5' back from the pillar, still lurking in shadows against the wall. To add more to Marduk's woes, the sparkly man moves to the side, moving his arms in some strange fashion before taking a deep breath and spewing fire at him and Wyeth! DC 19 Spellcraft:
That was fire breath
Marduk slips to the side, using the pillar for cover while Wyeth's gimped leg prevents him from evading the flames! Init Order (bold = up)
"Boss!", yells the ratfolk on the stage as Wyeth's blade cuts into the supposedly stealthed opponent. "You fool!", she hisses back before glaring at Wyeth. "Get him! Get them all!", she commands! DC 15 Sense Motive:
You get the idea that the ratfolk that Wyeth hit is the real leader... she must be Tseka!
Init Order (bold = up)
"Very well.", Tseka relents as she shows a toothy, malicious grin. "Then I'll see how much you are worth, dead or alive!", the human in the back beginning to move with arcane intent as the ratfolk leader pulls out a crossbow! Inits:
Wyeth:
You happen to see another ratfolk hiding behind a pillar 3 squares down from you, pair of blades already drawn!
Init Order (bold = up)
Tseka seems surprised, but smiles. "I pay well for those who earn it, unlike this man here.", the ratfolk looking over to the human at the side. "You may recognize him, a former agent of yours named Makino. He joined the Aspis over three years ago, but recently has made some bad dealings that have me doubting his worth. Here's what I propose. You get to take the traitorous Makino and will be contacted for a lucrative contract in exchange for my freedom." GM Dice:
Marduk: You can tell that something's up, Tseka was thrown off as if Gob's reply didn't follow a script she was expecting.
Unable to decipher the note, the party pockets it and continues on.
The party heads towards the next room from the lab. This large chamber’s walls are covered maps, documents, notes and missives. Pins and daggers jut out of the maps in different spots. A raised stage takes up the southeast corner of the room. Four pillars support its lofty ceiling. As the party enters the room, they see a man unarmed against the back wall, while a haughty ratfolk speaks from a raised stage in the southeast corner of the room. "Welcome, Pathfinders. I can’t say I’m glad to see you. Are you more of Colson Maldris’s lackeys, here on another one of his murderous missions? Everyone’s heard about what you did to Ascalar Vruul. I assure you, no one here has bothered to blackmail that lout with evidence of his many indiscretions. Perhaps instead you are here to pledge your services to a far more lucrative organization? After all, you have shown some skill in locating this place." She laughs, "It only too you, what, three years?"
I know, same with mine :( And no worries, the chronicle doesn't have to be on Gob to count for something in this scenario :)
@Gob: Yes and interesting :)
Hey guys, have any of you played Serpent's Rise as Marnarius (The Vengeful) and have its boon on ANY of your characters? Also, do any of these PC's have previous credit as Lantern Lodge while it was still around?
Both Marduk and Hakime wound the rat-beast while Gob's magic missiles render Yekai unconscious! The rat-beast, shocked at the fall of his master and upon its own injuries first snorts, then exhales a sickening burp of noxious gas!
Hakime seems find, but the half-orcs feel uneasy as they breath in the horrid gas. DC 17 Heal:
Marduk and Gob were probably diseased...
Getting Wyeth out and making it to the other side, the party finds:
Loots:
DC 19 Spellcraft w/ Detect Magic @ Flask:
This is a flask of reconcoction. If a level 1 potion is placed into the vial, the flask analyzes the makeup of the liquid. If the potion is drunk, it is refilled automatically 1 week later. DC 23 Appraise or Craft: (any metal), or DC 18 Kn: Local @ Badge:
Oddly, the Aspis Consortium badge you find is a knockoff; a well-made one, but a knockoff nonetheless. Looking over the lab itself, there are reams of paper that litter the area. Most are crammed into drawers haphazardly and are covered with blood or alchemical stains. The notes roughly explain the construction of a magic flask that can refill its contents as well as the procedure for creating the multilegged rat-beasts you encountered. DC 15 Kn: Arcana @ Notes:
Mixed with the alchemical notes are trade documents for the purchase magical reagents... conjuration ones in particular. DC 15 Kn: Local @ Notes:
Hidden among the notes are also some trade agreements between Tseka and a local thieves guild dubbed the Dragon Fangs. You see several arrangements for the Fangs to beat up Tseka's enemies and to replace local merchant trade documents with forgeries. DC 15 Profession (merchant) @ Notes:
Within the stacks are documents showing Tseka gathering magical reagents through a variety of means, legit and otherwise. You can tell that one document compares the prices for goods across dozens of different merchants and you recognize some shorthand on the same page that suggests Tseka is planning on starting her own business and undercut the competition. DC 18 Appraise @ Notes:
Hidden underneath a stack of notes is a box with narrow bars of a dull, dark gray metal. The metal is glaucite, an adamantium/iron alloy that is only found in Numeria. Finally, one drawer mentions something about the Korholm Agenda with several other interesting tidbits. These include schematics of several rooms of the Grand Lodge, plans to have someone named Marnarius lead an army out of the Hao Jin Tapestry. DC 10 Perception ONLY if you have the Keen Senses racial trait or scent:
One of the pages is marked with various odors... like a code of some sort, maybe even some olfactory writing.
DC 25 Linguistics if you made the above check:
This is actually a letter, in the language of Dark Folk! It reads: The other members of the Agenda were no fools. They all took great pains to conceal their identities. Disguises and illusions dancing through the meeting chamber make the task of identification more difficult, but here is what I know for sure. The leader betrayed a hint of a Thuvian accent in an otherwise carefully flat tenor voice. The leader has clearly taken precautions against divination magic. One woman spoke with a voice I have heard only rarely, from the Iblydan archipelago. Another woman’s voice was distant, as though she were in a trance. There was something eerie and unnatural about it that I couldn’t quite place. Whatever language is the source of her accent, I have never heard it. Perhaps the easiest to track down will be the Varisian man, who allowed a distinctly Sczarni turn of phrase slip into his speech. Varisian contacts have confirmed his identity: Madreki Gael.
Party status:
Wyeth lobs a vial and it smashes on the wall, but not close enough to harm him or anyone else. Aspex looks on with envy... The rat creature continues to snarl, just waiting for someone to foolishly cross over the pit... Init Order (bold = up)
Hakime's arrows go wide this time while Marduk and Gob continue to pelt Yekai with their projectiles. Yekai tries to move behind his trusty large rat-beast...
... then lobs a bomb overhand towards Hakime!
But the pet in the way throws off the alchemist's aim!
Hakime avoids the acid, but Marduk's reflexes are thrown off by the bomb's poor trajectory! Init Order (bold = up)
Unfortunately, other than the skeletons of some smaller multi-legged rats, nothing else remains here. The rat beast stands in front of the other side of the pit, snarling ferociously! Init Order (bold = up)
Init Order (bold = up)
-Posted with Wayfinder
Gob and Marduk continue to hammer on Yekai, who is looking worse for wear. He grabs a vial and chugs it, looking much healthier.
GM DIce:
Init Order (bold = up)
-Posted with Wayfinder
Grease appears on the floor underneath the little man!
As Wyeth moves up to give the little man the scare of a lifetime, he feels the floor beneath him give way!
Before his spell goes off, Wyeth falls to the ground below, landing with a thud as he is 30' away from the party! The large rat-beast moves up and waits, ready to defend its master! Hakime fires a pair of arrows, the first one striking Yekai in the arm! "Let's see if you can resist my goo!", the small 'doctor' giggling. Init Order (bold = up)
Gob hits Yekai with his missiles and incurs the little man's wrath. "Bah, let's see if this half-orc is as nimble!"
Gobs of acid hit Gob, ruining portions of his 740gp suit. Marduk evades the blast, already seeing the attack coming! Init Order (bold = up)
Yekai must have laughed before he looked, not realizing that Marduk's quick reflexes smacked the bomb away from him before it exploded!
The half-orc's deflection sends the bomb into the corner of the wall where Marduk can duck under the worst of the blast, avoiding the painful gobs of acid!
"Wait, what? No fair! You should be dissolving... DISSOLVING!", Yekai shouts angrily. Init Order (bold = up)
When the party returns to decline the small man's offer, he grins maliciously as he palms a small bag in his hands. "Not so stupid are you? Then have at you!", hurling the bomb immediately!
GM Dice:
The little, dark-skinned man cackles as Marduk is covered in acid, the bag hitting him square in the chest as his skin sizzles; Hakime is splashed with some of the blast! "That's what you get for trying to mess with Doctor Yekai Deathhand!", he shouts triumphantly as he prepares another 'bag', the rat-like beast snarling at the party. Inits:
Init Order (bold = up)
GM Dice:
It is hard not to notice the devilish smile of the small man, as if he wants you to step juuuuuuust forward.
"Oh, in that case, come on in!"
This wide, open chamber smells of rotten flesh and harsh chemicals. A curved workbench with dozens of drawers sits against the southern wall of this room, its surface covered with surgical tools, body parts, and alchemical items. On the workbench, a hairless six-legged rat the size of a housecat floats in a vat of blue liquid. The creature’s body is covered in surgical wounds that have been carefully sutured shut. A small, dark-skinned man with elongated features quizzically and annoyingly replies to the party's presence, although the six-legged rat-like creature next to him hisses in anger. "Who are you? I was not expecting guests!" DC 17 Kn: Arcana:
The six-legged rat creature is a kirrix, a strange monstrosity of alchemy and dire rat mutations. It's bite is virulent and can inflict strange diseases almost willingly. Worse, it can exhale infected pathogens into a conical area to spread its plague to a larger number of people. The kirrix can 'clease' diseases from others, though, and harbor the viruses and bacteria within their bodies to infect others at a later time. They have blind sense, darkvision, and can burrow and climb with moderate efficiency. DC 15 Kn: Local:
The person talking to you is a wayang, a strange group of humanoids seemingly aligned with shadows, but not like fetchlings. They are often irrational by human standards and can blend in the darkness sometimes.
Gob can tell that the fungus makes an effective barricade, although otherwise seems to be not dangerous. It was definitely cultivated at first, but has since grown more naturally. Not hearing any noise or noticing anything strange about the other door, Hakime opens it. This storage room contains various tools, barrels, and other mundane goods. There are three doors in this chamber as well as a passage that winds around to the southwest.
Hakime, not finding anything of interest around the door, shrugs and opens it... A flourishing mass of purple fungus separates the western portion of this room. Two cages lined with straw and fungal spores sit ajar against the north wall. To the east, smooth stone covered in scorched images of screaming faces gives way to rough stone. There are two doorways, one that would appear to return you to the entrance, and the other heading south.
The party then berates and bluffs the pair of now bewildered guards. They look at each other briefly and shake their heads. "I ain't paid enough for this...", one mutters to himself. "Just get in there!", the other guard thumbs as he opens the central door to a large, circular room with some design cut into the floor. "Don't be getting snoopy in there.", the first guard chimes in as the door closes the behind the party. The walls of this circular room are covered in painted scenes of fear and torment. The stone ceiling rises in a craggy dome that is haphazardly carved with disembodied eyes, talons, fangs, and other monstrous features.
DC 15 Kn: Planes or Religion:
Yup, that's the unholy symbol of Lamashtu there.
Aspex quickly gets a brief vision of terror flash before her eyes before the effect fades. She seems to be the only one fallen to such an effect.
Thanks for the heads up!
-Posted with Wayfinder
While Wyeth still seems to fit in, Gob dour nature and arcane staff seem to throw off a vibe to the Aspis guards. "One second, sumptin feels off...", the lead ratfolk placing a hand inside a coat.
Hakime seems to assuage their suspicions, but Aspex and Marduk get their attention, being eyed carefully.
One of the ratfolk's ears perks up as Hakime says the correct phrase. "Well then, what trade goods you brought to offer?", the other eyeing the party suspiciously.
The party, ready in their plan of action, head towards the Aspis base. The tunnels open slightly into a small cavern that ends in a wall of worked stone. An iron door bearing a raised image of a three-eyed beast
DC 10 Kn: Religion:
That is the unholy symbol of Lamashtu. Nothing bad could be inferred from that. Four exits lead out of this sparsely furnished room—an iron double door to the northwest, and three wooden doors leading south, east, and southeast. Worn wooden benches line the walls, and discarded bottles are scattered across the floor. A pair of ratfolk sit near a table closer to the east door. One squeaks, "Passphrase. Now.", wasting no time with his demand.
The small communities of recently constructed, shoddy structures give way to large caverns with dilapidated buildings. While there are some finely dressed merchants about, most wear dark, dingy clothes to blend in with the large number of squatters, beggars, and destitute too poor to be anywhere else. Unlike the cheery, inquisitive self she normally is, Yrishi is quieter, pausing occasionally to look one way or another to see if anyone is eyeing them before moving forward. Eventually, the winding tunnels end at an ancient building nestled against a rock wall. "That over there is the Aspis base. Please take care! I'll be waiting for you where we met so you can tell me about all the cool things in there!", Yrishi smiles before slinking back into the shadows.
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