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Many adventurers have dared to explore the Mwangi Expanse. Some die, others recover valuable treasures, but almost all of them pass through the walled city of Kibwe. Kibwe is a flourishing center of trade, home to tribal folk from a plethora of races. Humans, elves, and even a few lizardfolk merchants wave to passersby, eager to scam gold from unwary travelers.
A Mwangi Pathfinder named Tuukna waits beneath the central pavilion just up ahead.
“Good to see you, Pathfinders! I bring dire news from the Expanse.” Tuukna gestures to seats on benches beneath the blossoming trees before continuing his story. “I just received word that a band of traveling merchants was found dead after exploring the nearby ruins of the once proud city of Dokeran. Our agents across the Mwangi Expanse claim an eerie song echoes from the ruins, which were previously assumed to be abandoned. We have reason to believe this song was responsible for the destruction of Dokeran decades ago."
“If this region is ever going to be a safe place for travelers and explorers, I need you to find out what still lurks within the ruins. Head northwest, toward the rivers flowing out of Lake Ocota. I’ve arranged for you to meet a witch doctor named Nangi along the River Bdonge. This ancient mystic knows Dokeran well. I believe he will be willing to serve as your guide through the ruins. Give him this copper coin and tell him Tuukna sent you."
“Should you come across a physical copy of the song heard from within the ruins—be it sheet music, a cursed instrument, or anything else unusual—return it to your venture-captain immediately. If this song is the fabled Song of Extinction, we may have some hard times ahead of us.”
Tuukna gives the you an old coin engraved with a towering temple as a token for the Mwangi mystic. This copper piece was once the most prevalent form of currency in Dokeran, but it is now a rare treasure to collectors. Handing over the coin to the witch doctor will prove your identity as Pathfinders.
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Warpac is the quintessential dwarf, with plate armor and a dwarven built waraxe. Unlike most dwarves, though, he has chosen to serve Desna.
"Ah, good. A bit of travel suits me fine just now. How soon before we go... Ah, but I forget myself. There are questions to ask. Tell me more about this song of extinction. Does NOT sound pleasant. I'm not quite ready to be extinct."
The dwarf laughs at his own joke, then looks around to see if anyone else appreciated it. Frankly he was not sure it was all that funny himself. This whole joke thing is a bit new for him. Part of his training in diplomacy he decided to take up after pissing Torch off. The tutor said that a good joke is a nice way to open things, though the jokes he told did not seem all that amusing to him. What's so funny about a goblin stuck in a water wheel? Any dwarf that led a speech with a joke under the mountain would have become the joke. Speeches are serious business. But them other folks are different, or so he was told.
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At first, Sickly seemed an odd name for a dwarf... well anyone really... but then you met him, and traveled with him for a bit... and soon came to realize it was perhaps all too apt.
Constantly sniffling and coughing, his nose has been red and runny the entire time you've been together, with all manner of unknown effluviants crusting up in his beard. Even the smallest of mosquito bites seems to swell up far more then they should, and he is constantly rubbing on various ointments and sipping unknown tinctures in response... though none of them seem to make much difference. Just walking into the markets of Kibwe seemed to have set off some sort of allergic reaction, as his eyes almost instantly puffed up and turned red, and he has been sneezing constantly since you arrived.
Despite his apparent poor health, he continues on doggedly. Bristling with weapons of all sorts, the most notable of which is a large hammer of dark adamantium on an overly long haft. You wonder if there are perhaps too many... as if overcompensating for something.
He is mostly quiet, as he does his his best not to draw attention whenever possible, clearly with some serious self-confidence issues. Unfortunately, the various symptoms combined with the constant wheeze of his breathing makes him hard not to eventually notice lurking nearby.
He seems like he wants to say something to Tuukna, then stops himself, as Warpac starts to speak.
While the others chat Adowyn keeps petting her wolf, Leryn, scratching him near the ears and cooing softly to soothe him.
"This place is so damn hot and damp!" she claims raising to her feet.
"Leryn isn't accostumed to such climate and he will need time to adapt or better yet we could find this song, musical instrument or whatever else is causing trouble and take it out quickly so we can get back to more temperate weather conditions"
As Adowyn speaks Leryn whines piteously apparenlty in agreement with his human friend.
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"I'm not familiar with this song. Would earplugs help prevent being affected by the tune," the elf sniffs, as he intertwined his fingers, considering the task at hand. He was tall and slender, with a wicked looking spear at his side. Various flasks and containers tinkled as they rubbed against each other, as he sat.
During the travel, he kept to himself. He was clearly more used to silence than being a functioning member of a group. "Those ruins sound quite intriguing. I can't wait to get in there and see what time has forgotten."
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Tell me more about this song of extinction. Does NOT sound pleasant. I'm not quite ready to be extinct."
“You’ll know it when you hear it—if it’s real, it will chill you to the bone. You must follow the sound to discover its source.” Tuukna explains in further detail.
“Rumors swirled for years about the Song of Extinction. They say it draws on the power of a dark god to wipe out entire civilizations, but you’ll have to investigate for yourselves to find out if there’s any merit to the stories.”
Would earplugs help prevent being affected by the tune,"
Little more is known of this Tune, though I would doubt that earplugs will make much of a difference if it is able to wipe out entire civilizations, though you can always be prepared and hope for the best."
Adowyn chuckles dryly at the Venture Captain's words:"In my experience in these kind of missions it's always better to expect the worst and be prepared for it!"
Then she turns serious:"You mentioned a band of travelling merchants who were slain near these ruins... Who or what do you think killed them? What kind of wounds? Arrows? Magical means? Or were they just terrorized to death just hearing this baleful song you are sending us to retrieve?"
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Then she turns serious:"You mentioned a band of travelling merchants who were slain near these ruins... Who or what do you think killed them? What kind of wounds? Arrows? Magical means? Or were they just terrorized to death just hearing this baleful song you are sending us to retrieve?"
“The merchants were on an expedition to search for lost treasures in the ruins, but they never made it there. Scouts found the men dead in the swamp, their bodies feathered with arrows. It seems the ruins are occupied again.”
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”Could you tell us more about Nangi? It'd be nice to know more about our contact,"
“Witch doctors are rare Mwangi mystics who possess power over nature. He can answer your questions better than I can.”
"Which dark god is associated with the Song of Extinction?"
Tuukna grabs a small book from a shelf. "Dieties" and takes a few moments flipping through the crisp pages.
"The deity Zon-Kuthon possesses one of the most twisted and evil minds in the Great Beyond. His position as god of pain is well earned, and he has been the root of countless tortures, murders, and worse throughout time.
One of the myths told of Zon-Kuthon, is that at the beginning of time he was known as Dou-Bral, a good deity who shared the portfolio of beauty, love, and the arts with his half-sister, Shelyn. During the Age of Creation, Dou-Bral was among the original gods who battled the Rough Beast who sought to destroy Golarion, and were eventually able to contain him in the Dead Vault. When Dou-Bral grew jealous of his sister's talents, he abandoned Golarion for the dark places between the planes, and there was tormented and possessed by an alien being. Upon returning to our reality, Dou-Bral as he had been known was gone, replaced with the twisted, malevolent soul known as Zon-Kuthon.
When Shelyn saw that her brother was forever changed, and not for the better, the two battled, her pleas and tears met with a violence Dou-Bral would never have been capable of. Shelyn finally wrested the golden glaive known as the Whisperer of Souls the two had shared (a symbol of their power) from her twisted brother's fingers, and established a tenuous truce that held in place more by silence and avoidance than any desire to actually coexist.
A second myth speaks of how Zon-Kuthon first came into conflict with Abadar, the god of culture, wealth, and stability. Seeing the crimes Zon-Kuthon committed in Golarion, Abadar knew that he must be punished, and made a bargain with the evil god. Zon-Kuthon agreed to go into exile on the Plane of Shadow for as long as the sun hung in the sky in exchange for an item of his choosing from the First Vault. This imprisonment was not meant to be over as soon as it was, though, and when the sun stopped shining upon Golarion during the Age of Darkness, Abadar reluctantly honored the deal, giving Zon-Kuthon the first undead shadow, which the Midnight Lord has used to craft evil creatures in his realm of Xovaikain ever since."
She closes the book. "Though that is not to say that the Song of Extinction is directly related but merely a rumor that has not been set as of yet due to the dire circumstances."
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Sickly stays out of the conversation, his new companions asking everything he might have thought of. Instead he stands out of the way, unconsciously scratching at some itch or other, listening to what is being said.
He looks a little worried as Tuukna mentions that the artifact they seek might be the work of Zon-Kuthon.
"Well I'd rather not have to deal with Zon-Kuthon and his spawn as creepy gods of pain and suffering are REALLY not my thing... But I suppose stopping this song or at least these archers is important enough to be worth the risk" says Adowyn sighing.
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Before you can meet the witch doctor, you must cross the swamp bordering the River Bdonge. The river Bdonge is only 20 feet deep, though it moves rather quickly. Once more than 5 feet into the river it begins to push the barge as it picks up pace over the next several days.
Soon the forest thins and a narrow river is visible ahead. Damp swampland runs along either side of the riverbed. The barge stops with a clearing to the south.
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Sickly has had a rough time during the swamp portion of your journey. Somehow he seems to have managed to get bitten by every type of insect, or exposed to every exotic plant, the jungle swamp had to offer. He spends most of the barge ride applying ointments and salves of various sorts, in vain attempts to stem the tide of rashes and irritations.
"Ahh tink ahm awergic ta junglz." He mutters piteously, revealing heavy congestion as yet another symptom.
He is all to happy to finally get off of the barge and onto dry land.
"Mahby da withdocter cahn hep." He adds hopefully, looking towards the nearby clearing for signs of their expected guide.
"It's not the jungle... it's the creatures living in it and the plants... and the heat... Yeah... to think of it you are right Sickly, it's basically the jungle" comments Adowyn while checking the undergrowth for traces or hints about enemy activity...
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The Pathfinders set up a small camp as this is the location to meet the Witch Doctor. Though it is humid the temperature doesn't seem as if it will be too bad of an issue as a slight breeze blows through the river.
Sickly and Adowyn look about for tracks and find little to follow as noone has passed through here recently, though the pair does notice that the jungle seems abnormally quiet.
The Pathfinders quickly find out why as a wild elf leaps from the trees, a longbow in his hands. A trio of dog-like creatures emerge from the jungle as well as the elf gives a low whistle. These vile predators have a hide as thick and tough as leather. Wicked ebony quills run from their head, tail, and back.
Narika
Adowyn
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Wild Elf
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Ruprecht
Sickly
Warpac
Kyra
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Monsers (DC 13 Knowledge Planes)
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Adowyn sighs, takes out her bow and shoots at the wild elf up in the
Adowyn sighs, takes out her bow and shoots at the wild elf up in the trees.
Leryn growls at the incoming dogs...
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Drawing his bow Adowyn pelts off a pair of arrows at the elf. Each one visibly wounds the elf as they stick into his thigh and wing his ribs.
Narika releases a tiny bead that rushes across the ground before exploding in a brilliant ball of fire.
The elf and hounds nearly succumb to the blast as wisps of smoke float into the air. The aroma of burnt flesh is almost enough to make someone sick as it become pungent and thick.
The elf's bow is at the ready as he releases his own wave of arrows back at Adowyn.
Adowyn is met by two arrows of his own as they draw equal amount of blood.
Narika
Adowyn (40/52)
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Wild Elf (-35)
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Ruprecht
Sickly
Warpac
Kyra
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Monsers (DC 13 Knowledge Planes)(Red -24)(Green -24)
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Sickly looks at the strange bristly creatures dubiously, trying to remember if he's allergic to them or not.
Not wanting to let them get too close, he steps forward and brings his hammer down on the nearest one. Using the weapon's longer reach to stay away from the dangerous-looking quills.
, for damage.
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Warpac uses a fervor to cast Channel Vigor, casts shield of faith on himself, and plods up to cyan.
"I'll deal with this one!"
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Ruprecht pulls out one of his bombs designed against the undead and hurls it at the closest dog-like creature. Though it is weaker against living flesh the acid still proves quite effective as the quilled dog disappears into a congealed blob, back to its own plane of existence.
Sickly instantly recognizes the quilled dogs as Howlers.
The howler is a native to the Abyss, an Outer Plane where madness is the norm and cruelty is expected and often rewarded. The howler prowls these Abyssal realms, serving the role of a hungry predator like a lion or tiger, save for the fact that the typical howler is much more intelligent than a big cat. Worse, howlers have little interest in eating their prey—they need not feed to live, but rather enjoy the process of stalking, mauling, and killing living creatures. In a way, the act of inflicting intense pain and madness upon mortal life is what fills a howler's life instead of the desire to feed.
The howler's mane of razor-sharp quills makes it a poor choice of mount for most creatures, but it serves quite well as a guardian or sentinel—especially for outsiders, who may not enjoy the creature's constant howling, but aren't adversely affected by the supernatural sounds. When a howler sees prey, the tenor of its howls changes—howlers cannot speak, but they can use their howls to communicate quite a bit of information if required. They understand the Abyssal tongue, and when serving demons as guardians, their howls can not only alert their masters to the presence of intruders, but also to their number, appearance, and weaknesses.
A howler is about the size of a tiger—12 feet from snout to tail and weighing 6,000 pounds. They are normally pale in color, with darker quills and milky eyes.
Sickly knows that a howlers howl can curse even the most stalwart warrior and that the quills can be just as deadly. If striking the howler with a non-reach weapon or unarmed strike you will be damage by the quills as well as a few quills breaking off as the barbs attach to you.
Warpac asks several small favors of Desna as she looks down on him in his time of need.
Narika
Adowyn (40/52)
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Wild Elf (-35)
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Ruprecht
Sickly
Warpac
Kyra
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Howlers (Red -24)
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Kyra lets loose a bolt at the nearest beast, though it falls short and sticks into the rocky soil instead.
The southern Howler begins to bay which sends chills running down everyone's spines.
The blue Howler pounces on Warpac as the outsider bites the dwarf.
The dwarf's defenses prove to be far superior as the Howler isn't able to penetrate them.
Narika
Adowyn (40/52)
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Wild Elf (-35)
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Ruprecht
Sickly
Warpac
Kyra
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Howlers (Red -24)
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