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Diligent Ally,
Dark days are ahead for Varisia. As I am sure you are aware, the cult of Lissala has nearly concluded its millennia-long plans to awaken a runelord. Confronting the cult’s leadership will be extremely dangerous, though not as dangerous as it would be for us to stand idle; in the coming days, bolster our role in the Society by standing alongside your allies, but come back alive.
Some congratulations are in order. Despite the Shadow Lodge’s perception as outsiders, the rank-and-file Pathfinders respect our efforts. Even so, we receive little recognition from the leadership—more disdain than anything—and the threat of slumbering Thassilonian evil has overshadowed that of the Aspis Consortium. How the Decemvirate and the Heidmarchs can so blindly throw well-trained Pathfinders at one task while so blatantly ignoring another is inexplicable and inexcusable!
Still, don’t let this discourage you! We have acquired several excellent allies and a few promising leads that I believe will pan out in the near future. When the time comes—and it shall be soon—be prepared to act as my hand in crushing one of the greatest threats to the society: the very ones who set Pathfinder against Pathfinder several years ago. When we stand before the venture-captains with proof in hand, they shall have no choice but to honor our efforts and listen more intently when we speak.
For now, stay vigilant.
Your strongest advocate,
Grandmaster Torch
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Grandmaster Torch
I have little time to spend on the missions of the Pathfinder Society these days. My time is spent sailing the oceans of this world. Living and loving life.
I remember my time supporting the ideals of the Shadow Lodge fondly and if you need to call on my services again, I will be there to help.
Stopping ancient evils is something that I feel strongly about. Such things cannot be allowed to rise again. What needs to be done must be done.
I have never been anything like a perfect adventurer for the society, but I am ready to bear my sword and bow again.
Your friend
White Tail of Mordant Spire
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So, If i work for you, do i get to kill the Aspis?"That's the plan man, and rogue shadow lodgers too if we're lucky.
That will suffice.
I can tell you my friend that though we may be going away soon by the time that fateful day comes we will make sure all of the society remembers our names."
You will be here to tell them your name yourself.
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Ah yes I was a little disappointed in our sudden change of priorities, as tracking the Aspis Consortium is boundlessly engaging, and it's always hilarious to see the expression on their face when we catch them completely off guard. Tracking the cult of Lissala can be a little predictable, and since they are all certifiably crazy, fighting them multiple times can get boring. I guess, however, that if the world needs saving that we can just get the job done so we can move on to something more interesting.
It's always fun to work with you Master Torch, and it was your methods that captured my attention and kept me working for this lodge. Keep the assignments coming; I'm looking forward to seeing how the Shadow Lodge grows and what challenges the future will bring.
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To my allies of the Shadow Lodge,
I wish to send greetings and my gratefulness in the aid we have received in countering the evils located in Varisia. I was born and raised in Korvosa and any threat to my realm is ever so near and dear to my heart. The aid of your fellow members in the region of Varisia was imperative in protecting not only Varisia but possible the world as we know it.
I know that some members were a bit hesitant but after the first engagement they were as strong a supporter of a safe and secure Varisia as I am. I wish to continue a relationship of good will and friendship with your faction and mutual aid in times of trouble. I had reservations at first when working with the Shadow lodge but now I would stand by any one of your members in duty after so many of your members paid in blood, sweat, and tears to aid my homeland.
Thank you, Very Respectively
Sven Von Jeggare of the Noble House of Jeggare,
Noble of Korvosa, Defender of Korvosa,
Servant of Cheliax faction, may the Noble House of Thrune rule with wisdom and honor.
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Posting as Kryie Ebonblade (Gunslinger/Alchemist) Former Shadow Lodger.
Found on a note in one of Torch's lairs in the Puddles. Nailed to the wall of his bathroom with one of his bodyguard's bloody gurkas.
Torch,
You came to me when I was young and vulnerable, a waif on the streets of the Dutchy and gave me news of my mother and father. You handed me my father's broken musket and my mother's bloody kapenia. You told me you'd help me learn the path to vengeance. Then you taught me how to be a pathfinder and took a young girl's anger and made a guardian. You taught me honor and loyalty all, not simply The Ten. Help your fellows. No one left behind. Protect the name.
I stood in the shadows and helped you bring down the Spider's rogues one after another. I shot a man in the middle of the street to keep him from ruining the reputation of the Society after he refused to believe the truth I brought with me that it was Spider, not the society, that had killed his clan. You helped me put the name of a fallen Master of Blades I killed on the streets of an Ustalav town to protect the innocent on the wall of names with my mother's and father's name. So he could be remembered for the good he did, rather than the evil he had become.
Riddleport showed me your true colors Torch. You looked up at us and smirked, tossing aside those you had manipulated as masterfully as any corrupt Venture Captain and callously as you accused The Ten of being.
I recall your mirth at my concerns of the Red Mantis's assassins coming for you, and how you bragged at me that you had.. 'measures' in place. So I doubt you are dead, despite assurances by those who say you are.
Be smart, stay in the shadows and do not come back at the society. You've earned that much from the good you've done by me. If you do come back..
I'll kill you.
Kyrie Ebonblade, Pathfinder.
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You saw something better in me, and personally recruited me to a cause larger than myself. We fought against the tyranny of the Decemvirate until they admitted the error of their ways. It was you that convinced me of the worthiness of joining with this Pathfinder Society, of expanding our trust to include these strangers from other lands with their various petty allegiances.
It was you that taught me the value of teamwork, to think beyond just myself, to leave no one behind. These things I came to embrace and value and believe in wholeheartedly. Many of those Pathfinders I once would have thought of as enemies have now come to be called friends.
We had gone so far together. There was still work to do, but to my eyes we surely seemed to be making a difference; to be making the Pathfinder Society a better place for all its members, despite the intractability of the Decemvirate.
And now this. You have abandoned the Pathfinders. This I could almost understand. Had you asked I would have stood by your side and left them as well, such was the faith I had in you.
But you also abandoned me. And ordered your mercenary thugs to murder me – it was obvious they targeted me especially in that bloody chamber of betrayal. This I understand least of all. This I doubt I will ever reconcile.
You are guilty of the ultimate betrayal.
For a moment I thought of just giving up, so shattered was I. My mind teemed with emotions I could not contain. And upon returning to Absolom I found that even the Shadow Lodge itself is to be dissolved. My base, my foundation, is gone, my friends within scattered to the winds. Some are so broken that they have left the Society altogether. This is something I considered as well.
But I have always been a fighter. I never would have made it out of the Puddles otherwise. I will not be broken by this.
The greatest lesson I learned from my time with the Shadow Lodge is the value of teamwork. Of having others at your side that you can trust when things get tough. I am not the only one who feels that way. There are others within the Society that seek to be more than just adventurers doing the bidding of the Decemvirate and the venture-captains. Who look beyond the petty infighting of selfish factions or individuals. I speak of that organisation known as the Silver Crusade. While I am no crusader, it is clear they uphold those very ideals which you used to espouse.
It was you who taught me to look beyond myself, and to try and make the world a better place. Even though you have shown the greatest hypocrisy in betraying those ideals, I will not. I will remain a Pathfinder, and continue to do what I can to fight for what is right.
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After Rivalry's End:Torch, We're am amazed that you actually pulled this off. We will continue to work with you in the Shadows where we belong. Our Time with the Society is done. We owe you too much. You helped me find what happened to my parents, and you helped me come to terms with the creature living inside of me, accept him, and make myself stronger by allowing him free reign every once in awhile. We eagerly await your summons.
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Torch, it would seem that you don't trust me anymore. That is fine, after what you've done I no longer trust you either. I've lied, cheated, and stolen for you, and while it has been great, understand that if I ever see you again, you are dead.
I read the list, and I now know that my true master, Razmir, is one of the ten. Knowing you, he will likely become your first target, and I will not stand by idly.
In Razmir's name I decree, Torch must die...
There also seem to be at least a handful of people around the city at the center of the world lately sporting tattoos (that they likely didn't want.) saying "#Torchmustdie"
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"Dreng showed up after his escape, and said nothing. The leaders of the Society have still given no reason to trust them any more than I do already. I know not what path I will walk now as I care nothing of the politics of the civilized world, and I fear I need find one before I become without patron, though I know one thing; Had Torch asked me to leave with him, I would have. Instead, he abandoned me and my allies, like some mad druid who burns down his own grove. Had he not cut his ties, he would most likely fare better. I know not what I can trust in the world anymore..."
Divergent Paths
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"No one plays me Torch. No one. I joined up with this outfit for the cash and the fame, to have my exploits penned in tomes for all time. You, you convinced me that this whole adventure was worth it out there on the Shoanti plains, that you were here to represent and protect the people the Deciemverate wouldn't bat an eye at.You promised that you would look out for me and your people when no one else would. Now I sit here, a dead bounty and a crew in shatters, all because you were willing to burn thousands of your own people to get back at the men you claimed wouldn't give us a second chance.
So now I got a new idea Torch. I'm gonna finish off some work I have with the rest of our lodge, help the crew that's still alive pick themselves back up aft this mess you made. Then, when I find you, me and my littl' friend Mr. Hoots are gonna maul and peal every bit of that burned flesh from your traitorous face."
Harsk stands up from his seat and heads over to the note stuck to the wall and reaches for something in his pocket. He stands there for a moment, hammering something into the wall. When he steps away a bloody Orc ear hangs beneath the note with a message, "That's one. Tell Pharasma I'm coming for you."
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"And it was Torch..." She pauses a moment. "They told me later that he came back. That it didn't take. And they told me what he d-did. Ruin for Everything; after all the times he sent me to bring back someone who'd fallen. That every person needs a chance to decide for themselves if it's time for the soul to the boneyard and the body to the Moon. So what could I do? I brought his body back to the lodge."
Her hair goes limp. "Torch, on my first m-mission, you s-showed me that pathf-finders look out for each other, no-matter w-what. I will keep d-doing t-that. D-do as you w-will. I'm sorry you a-aren't here to teach me mo-ore."
{OOC: Natalya was my GM credit. She made a cameo in the casino, then was instructed to stay in a warehouse aiming at a certain point, then blast whoever appeared there (think of the movie Looper). Torch used his cape to Dimension Door away, where she lit him up with both guns. Thus, she gets the Unexpected Prestige boon when the party didn't. Whether it was her god that instructed her, or an agent of Torch, or someone else, I haven't decided yet.}
These Rivalry's End spoilers are getting rather annoying. Couldn't we have just started a new thread?
These Rivalry's End spoilers are getting rather annoying. Couldn't we have just started a new thread?
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q0hk?After-Rivalrys-End#1
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These Rivalry's End spoilers are getting rather annoying. Couldn't we have just started a new thread?New Thread Linkified
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*Stands*
LONG LIVE TORCH!
LONG LIVE THE SHADOW LODGE!
No matter where I go from here, I will always be a proud member of the Shadow Lodge.
Any tips where I can get all my gear etched/embroidered/etc with our logo... hopefully somewhere that does quality work but I can save a few coppers...
*Sits and orders another beer*