You have been sent to Vellumis, the largest city within the crusader nation of Lastwall to meet with Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik. You were given directions to the Uscalin lodge, but the building is in fact a gambling house bearing the name The Ace of Dreams.
Perhaps Captain Besnik will be along soon to take you to the real lodge? Until then, the common room is bustling, and you think you've spotted a few of your fellow agents.
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First arrived is a blond man with perfect features. His broad smile enlightens his beautiful face, as he bows graciously to each newcomer.
With an angelic voice he welcomes his comrades.
Nice meeting you, I'm Nicklod, Nicklod Vassily from Westcrown, Cheliax.
Around his neck a golden key, holy symbol of Abadar.
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Next to enter is a halfling woman with a light brown skin tone, dressed in tribal attire including an ornate headdress with a spray of feathers at the ends of long sticks that fall from the top of her crown to the middle of her back along side flowing locks of dark hair. Armor made of leather adorns her torso, but her legs remain bare except for a series of anklet that sit above her lightly hairy feet. A dagger is strapped to her thigh and a club hangs from her belt where a couple of wands are tucked.
All around her small vines grow. Blooms blossom into flowers of blue and white and then fall as the growth shrinks back. This cycle repeating itself every hour or so. Her body exudes the smell of lush earth after a long summer rain.
"I am Flora, an explorer like my father before me, from the homeland of my mother's people of the Mwangi Expanse."
Her skin though darker than most halflings is quite a bit lighter than the typical tone of a Mwangi halfling. If her mother was a Mwangi halfling, the this likely means her father was from somewhere farther north.
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A tall and thin elf slips into the lodge. At her side a large wolf pads silently. She looks around the room with a sigh. Another human.
"Oleander" she says simply, no real sign of a smile on her face.
When Flora introduces herself, the woman has a small start, but says nothing about the name.
"I'm guide" she eventually adds. "And pathfinder, as is my brother and my daughter."
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Ash is a small red haired gnome (all thought his hair color is difficult to determine most of the time since he is covered from head to toe in ash, soot and other blackish stuff)
He walks in with a big smile on his face and holds out his hand for everyone to shake, then looks at his own hand..sees it's covered in grime and tries to wipe it off his clothes..which doesn't make it any better nor worse, it's still covered in the same black greasy soot and then extends his hand again
"Hi there! I'm Ashiel..you can call me Ash, what's your name? Did you ever see a fire bird? Do you know why we are here? Do you like it here?"
Ash rattles off a bunch more questions while hardly waiting for the response to his questions as he makes an introductory round
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The dwarf, with the unfortunate nickname of 'Little Foot' walks into the gambling hall and looks around with a disapproving frown.
Though his hair and beard are red, the former has receded to the point that there is little more then bald pate on top.
He wears bright silvery mail armor, of an exotic design, and sports a large metal-studded club.
He glowers around the hall, eyes taking in his surroundings, before finally lighting on the other Pathfinders. He frowns slightly, before starting over.
"Not what you expect for a Lodge." He comments, to no one in particular. "Anyone heard from Besnik?"
Surprisingly, his common is heavily Tien accented.
"Name's Theo." He adds. "Theo Rosevale."
He hesitates for a moment, before adding with a scowl. "Some call me Little Foot."
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The next person to walk in stands tall and proud. Mutton chops and buzzed hair save a proud row in the middle. Joining you at this table seems to be none other than Ambrus Valsin himself.
It gets boring managing all that paperwork in Skyreach damnit I am hear to get my hands dirty and so some honest to god Pathfindering. he exclaims and waiting a beat for people to take it in.
Then a higher pitched giggling comes out his mouth. And his form slowly shifts and his garments go from ghe grand and miltary red to the more functional leather garments of a traveler with stylish red silk flourishes.
Heehee just kidding I am Kintargo- and perhaps now world - famous Opera Singer Kato Koisumi. Renowned for being able to play ANY part. But I have always loved history and travel - did you know the Society sends people to the Elemental planes now! They love me in the Elemental Plane of Air. And now we are headed to somewhere new and I am so excited to help with my...awesome skills. Ever the showman the Foxy man ends with a flourish and firing off a sparkler.
He walks around and slaps hands with the whole team and sits at the table ordering a round of drinks for the team.
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"Why?" she asks. Her eyes however can't avoid glancing down his body to check out his boots to look for any obvious difference in size between them.
Theo almost instinctively starts to push his feet further underneath his chair, then stops himself, scowling slightly.
"Because some folks think they're funny." He says, finally.
"And have long memories." He adds.
A door in the back of the common room opens, and a slightly seedy looking adventurer pokes his head out. Sorry, sorry. Lodge is back through here.
He gestures you through to an office that is carefully organized but three sizes too small. I'm Shevar Besnik, and this room is the Uscalin lodge!
Loud and raucous conversation filters through the door even while closed, but Besnik doesn't seem to pay it any mind as he searches for something.
I know it’s here. I had it just a moment ago. He lifts piles of papers and numerous boxes off of his desk, stacking them on various side tables and chairs throughout the overly cluttered office. The tall, Varisian man’s face parts in a toothy grin as he lifts up a solid oak box. Found it!
As if to punctuate his discovery, a crowd of players in the gambling hall erupts in cheers. Distracted for a moment, Besnik stares at the
closed office door that leads to the common room. Desna laughs. Well, she laughs at me, but she smiles on them. The venture-captain shrugs. All they have is gold; what I have in here is far more valuable.
Besnik opens the box’s lid painstakingly slowly, careful to keep the contents out of sight. With reverence, he lifts a large tome from the box and gently sets it on the table.
Careful, the binding hasn’t held up well. This is one of the few Tomes of Righteous Repose left in the world. I’m pretty sure there’s one in the library of the Sancta Iomedaea in Vigil, but I’m—well, let’s just say I’m no longer welcome there. That’s a story for another time.
Up until today, I’ve only skimmed the pages. I didn’t want to damage it, but now that you’re here, I can’t wait any longer. Care to plumb the depths of this most ancient and wonderful storybook?
Oh, the marvelous adventures we will soon read! This tome is a collection of tales describing how various crusaders died gloriously and honorably. I’m hoping to find some clues in the text that will lead us to an as-of-yet undiscovered site or relic. Maybe we can trade a bit of what we find with the Knights of Ozem and earn ourselves some goodwill. After what happened last time, we need it.
Care to peruse the pages with me?
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"Do you like being called 'Little Foot'? asks the puzzled elf? I would guess so, as you told us of it. But then you seem not to. I'm afraid you don't behave at all like an elf."
"Some things won't die... so you learn to embrace them." He says, with a noncommittal grunt.
_______________________When the Venture Captain finally shows up, he frowns again, though remains silent as they're lead back to the 'office'.
"All this for a book?" He mutters, puzzled.
Nothing about it seems familiar to him at all... though not surprising given he was not raised in Avistan.
Well the Tome isn't just some book - it's important!
Y'see, early crusaders had amazing adventures fighting the Whispering Tyrant, orcs, and a whole host of other threats, but they don’t have very many records that aren’t as dry as an Iomedan’s hip-flask. This book should give us important insights into the crusaders’ adventures.
Rellakarabee Fustbickle, the gnome author, interviewed dozens of crusaders and wrote about the most heroic and tragic deaths in this book. It wasn’t very widely published, so it’s been difficult to get my hands on it. The poetry is a bit purple, too. Not really my style—but well, that's why I asked Old Mutton Chops for some experienced agents - should be something you’d be able to interpret, right?
And yeah, the pictures are pretty too.
As he says that he looks more closely at a picture Oleander's eyeing next to one of the poems, depicting three samurai in a Minkaian art style.
The Venture-Captain jolts upright. Minkai art! Let’s see, the Minkai Empire was founded in uh... 3619, and the empire’s first explorers didn’t reach the west coast of the continent until at least 3691 AR, which leaves only sixty years before the beginning of the Shining Crusade itself.
These women could have been among the first Minkai citizens to reach the Inner Sea! Let's give that poem a special look!
Feeding on peasants' fear and woe.
The god's faithful set a border,
Shielding with their knightly order.
Hidden beneath Gydular's snow
[illegible text] shining glow
[illegible] darkness he would sow,
[illegible] Minkai warder.
Still the Tyrant lurks below.
Only few, the location know,
In case Tar-Baphon's power grow
And find [illegible text]
Trusted few knew [illegible]
But they were [illegible]
Still the Tyrant lurks below."
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Oh yeah Fustbickle! I have read his stuff a time or two. Super tragic. All melancholy tragic heroes and stuff. Borrowed some of them from the Shining Crusade. In most storytelling circles hes considered something of a tragic figure himself. The poems are interesting but dreadfully boring to perform. The Kitsune will pass on what he has learned from his time as a traveling performer.
Kato puffs up his chest I will have you know my family were once proud firework makers from Minkai. It would be my honor to help track down these Minkaian sisters and properly learn their stories and fates. Awesome!
He listens to the poem and practically gags Someone needs to teach him a bout meter. Badly. But that kinda sounds like...lastwall right? The Tyrant still lurking below?
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Clearly disturbed by all the noise of the other room, Nicklod has difficulties to remember much about the book and the history of this place.
I know some of the fact about Lastwal. In fact Lastwal was established in 3828 ar, when it seceded from Taldor. It is a military dictatorship, primary focused on keeping the Whispering Tyrant locked away and the orc hordes of Belkzen at bay. Lastwall originated from the remnants of crusaders living in the area after the conclusion of the Shining Crusade, the great war against the evil wizard-king Tar-Baphon, also known as the Whispering Tyrant, who rose after his death as a lich, for your information.
After a short silence to listen to his comrades he adds.
Is this poem has anything to do with what we must do? Minkai seems far away from here...
Captain Besnick gives Nicklod a very dry look. Minkai is very far away from here, but they're in the book because they made the trek all the way out here, apparently to fight the Whispering Tyrant.
We may not be able to read every word of this poem, but what we can read is more than enough to tell us that we need to investigate this site. What is clear to me is that the poem references some sort of protection against the Whispering Tyrant.
The Knights of Ozem have always been secretive about the many and varied ways they keep that old lich locked away in Gallowspire, even among themselves. It’s possible that they have no idea this particular protection exists. Whatever Gydular is, it must be important.
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"These are not nice areas. Virlych is a desolate, mountainous county of Ustalav where nothing natural lives. The weather is punishing and the ground rocky. Travelers do sometimes pass through the accursed land, though. Most just vanish. Gallowspire is the Whispering Tyrant’s former fortress. When the Knights of Ozem imprisoned him there in, it marked the end of the Shining Crusade. They placed numerous secret wards and protections over his prison so that he could never escape."
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Kato shutters but puts on a brave face. His fellow Minkaians held this duty and it fell to another Minkaian like himself to see it through. Besides Ustalav wasn't THAT different than Kintargo right. They enjoyed opera and lived in fear of monsters just the same way.
We should be very careful then. I have silver magic and cold iron weaponry in case anything from the countryside attacks. Perhaps we ought to pack stuff like wolfsbane and holy water too in case we run into lycanthrope or undead in these weird unnatural places.
Kato of course had most of these things already but it was good to voice it just to make sure others were well equipped too.
Besnik nods, Ustalav can be pretty nasty. Lemme see if I can dig up anything helpful... After a few moments finding a cache of gear in his office, he fishes out a traveler’s any-tool, and two carefully labeled wands, one of "cure serious wounds (5 charges remaining)", and the other of "protection from evil (7 charges remaining)".
Any other questions before you head off to Gydular's?
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Nicklod completes Oleander's knowledge adding Yes, they placed numerous secret wards and protections over his prison so that he could never escape. But now the forces of Lastwall no longer have a direct presence there, having been expelled by cultists and the unholy presence of the Whispering Tyrant, even in dormancy.
I'm Ready captain
Turning to his comrades he says I can use both wands, I can take care of them and uses them if needed.
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When asked if there any questions Ash raises his hand and start to ramble of a whole list of question, most of them not relevant to the task at hand
"Where did you get the wands from? Can we keep them? What do you think we can expect on our way there? Will there be lions? Or tigers? Or bears?.."
Ash merrily keeps asking questions until after he sees the others depart at which point he hurries after them
As you travel through the lifeless Hungry Mountains in Virlych toward your destination, a drizzle transforms into an ever more aggressive snowstorm, as if the weather itself were trying to keep you away, and strange whispers fill the air.
As a small consolation, the tedious climb is relatively shallow - you don't have to deal with the dangers of altitude sickness!
Eventually, you are able to find a toppled obelisk on a peak marking the entrance to the underground fortress. A staircase descends 30 feet into the mountainside.
It's pitch black down there...
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"When we all move together, I would tend to stay near the rear of the group, but if you need some advance scouting I have a few tricks for that as well. I could sneak around myself, I know how to do it, but I have something even better in mind."
Flora concentrates on her connection to wood and the sticks that compose much of her headdress start to vibrate slightly, then shudder, soon the entire headpiece undulates in a motion like flapping wings and the headdress takes off on its own, circling around the mountainside.
After it completes its circuit the headdress lands atop Flora's head once more and relaxes to its natural state. She takes a moment to hear what it might have seen.
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Kato nods at Flora in regards to scouting and quick changes form into a small orangish fox and circles the group quietly
He then transforms back.
If you need I can always sneak ahead in this form....very quiet and small. it sounds like if we try we can get the drop on anything!
He then takes his spot in the order in the second or first rank I am not the strongest fighter, but I hold my own. But really I am an expert trappist.
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Leaving the gambling hall in Vellumis, you are surprised to see a large bird with long taloned legs and a vicious axe-like beak. It towering over the locals who are all giving it a wide berth. The creature wears wears some carefully designed armor, clearly not wild.
Little Foot walks up to it, and it ruffles its feathers and gives a squawk of greeting.
"This is Fairbeaks." The dwarf says, curtly. "Not so good with people, but behaves himself most days."
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The trip to Ustalav, Little Foot spends as much time as he can, ranging ahead, the axe beak continuing along beside the rest of the party, seemingly unconcerned... though snapping at Oleander's lupine friend whenever it comes to near.
He glances back, to make sure the others are ready, before starting down, not at all concerned by the lack of light.
As Theo and Kato carefully lead the way into the tunnel their steps are often accompanied by dull scraping sounds, metal on stone.
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As they descend, Flora will cause light to shine from her wayfinder as peer into the hall.
This place is strewn with debris. Be deliberate with your footing.
Her eyes widen as her ears pick up as a sound.
Something approaches.
Assuming she has time, Flora will pull out a wand and attempt to activate it.
Spirit of the great oak give up your magic.
The great oak appears to be a bit sleepy at the moment...
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Kato feels the rushing oncoming cloud of spores coming this way.
Its the plantlife....someone with magic - or fire! - should use some to catch this wave of spores before they can infect us!
Kato takes the precaution of holding his breath as he produces his weapon in case there are more enemies beyond these spores...
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Flora has bring light, but if needed I can bring the light of the sun but for a moment only.
After observing the area and hearing something approaching as well as his companions' warning he adds.
Be careful, do not move too fast, you could fall.
Having nothing to deal with spores he waits until he is able to see something else.
The Pathfinders aren't taken unawares by the gigantic ball of fungal goop, and are able to respond before it cannons into their midst!
Flora - Illuminated
Oleander - Illuminated
Giant Ball of Fungus
Little Foot
Nicklod
Kato
Ash