Water laps steadily at the pier as sailors, laborers, and merchants rush busily around Absalom’s port. The venture-captain’s summons called for a meeting aboard the Sixwing Drake, a sleek sailing ship. The Drake’s captain, a Varisian woman and fellow Pathfinder named Zarah Zendrani, stands at the helm of her vessel. “It’s not like Valsin to be late,” she mutters, furrowing her brow.
As if on cue, a tall and meticulously groomed man pushes his way through the crowd and up the gangplank, cursing audibly. “Whoever supervises this mess of a port needs to be dumped in the sea!” he grumbles.
The tall man looks around at those gathered before him. “Just the group I requested. Perfect. I’m Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin, and I took great care in selecting just the right Pathfinders for this assignment.” Valsin reaches into his belt pouch and withdraws a small, folded paper before continuing. “A few days ago, I received a curious note from a rather unexpected source. It’s not every day that I get a request from an agent of the Aspis Consortium.” Captain Zendrani’s eyes widen, and Valsin smiles knowingly. “But Magali Delroya does not appear to be your typical Aspis agent. As you surely know, the Aspis Consortium pursues a variety of activities across the Inner Sea that the Pathfinder Society finds abhorrent. It seems that Delroya has been working with them for some time, but can no longer stomach the snakes herself. She wants to stop a shipment of an experimental drug from leaving Diobel later this week. It’s bound for a number of locations across the Inner Sea region. According to Delroya, she can’t ask the local authorities for help, because the Aspis Consortium has already struck a deal with a faction of the Kortos Consortium, a powerful merchant collective. Her hands are tied, so she’s come to us for help. In this note, she outlines three different tasks that would help to disrupt the Aspis long enough for her to move the shipment to a secure location, out of the clutches of the consortium. Once you accomplish two of these tasks, she’s willing to meet with you, but not before.
“Normally, I wouldn’t trust an Aspis agent at any hour of the day. But our sources in Diobel have confirmed the Aspis and Kortos consortia’s activities. Everything checks out, so we are presented with a unique opportunity. If we help Delroya, we might not only strike a financial blow against the Aspis Consortium, but we could also reveal their dealings with the Kortos Consortium—and possibly prevent their arrangement from turning into a more formal alliance. Furthermore, we hope to stop this drug from spreading across the Inner Sea region, and if we—if all of you—do a good enough job, we might even
convince Delroya to join the Society. A turncoat agent would be a valuable asset in our ongoing run-ins with the Aspis Consortium.
[b]“Take some time to look over Delroya’s note and the tasks she has set for you. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask. Remember, the Aspis Consortium is a long-time enemy of the society, but the Kortos Consortium, while certainly suspicious, is not our enemy. It is a complex organization with many factions, and we should avoid antagonizing any of them, except when necessary to oppose the Aspis Consortium.”
With that, he hands over the two folded pieces of parchment he has been contemplating.
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Maddox screens his eyes from the blazing sun with his hand as he walks down the dock.
"Ah, Valsin, late again I see. Don't worry, we have things well in hand here," he quips, making sure to maneuver out of arms reach of the notoriously prickly Venture Captain.
"So we're to go to Diobel and do a few tasks for this Delroya person? You picked the right kobold for the job. I'm so good at handling errands, they used to call me Taskfinder when I was in Pathfinder school."
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The bugtalker stumbles a little bit before she finds the gangplank, then carefully and deliberately walks up it holding onto any railings. If there are no railings she scoots down really close to the plank and almost crawls on board the ship.
It becomes obvious after a few moments why she's having such issues... she's got a pair of really dark-tinted lenses on her eyes to try and help cut down on the glare some.
[color=olive]"Hello, Mordant!"[/color] she offers to Kaidynn. [color=olive]"Hello, Kaidynn!"[/color] she offers to Mordant.
When the tall no-scale starts talking, Gynnezz listens. [color=olive]"Are there any truebloods in the area we need to respect the territory of on this mission?"[/color] she inquires thoughtfully.
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"Ahhh, yes, nice to see you two again. The guy that talks to ghosts and the other guy that talks to bugs. Did you enjoy your time off? Meet any nice cockroaches? I like the new glasses. Might have to pick me up a pair next time I get paid. The sun out here is killing me."
After prattling for a bit, Maddox checks his pockets and after not finding anything more interesting than some lint and a few copper pieces, he begins to tap his foot impatiently on the boards of the deck. "It's not just the three of us, is it? Hopefully they're sending someone big and strong that we can trick into carrying our gear for us this time. I'm not really made for lugging around a backpack full of stuff, if you know what I mean."
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"Ssssoon you'll be talking to ghossstssss too if you don't watch that mouth of yourszzz Morrrrrdant! but yessss thanksss for assssking... I did enjoy my time off... and think I've found a way to make you all lissssten to the ancssssesssstorszzz ssso that you sssee I'm not crazy! I'm still working on it... when I fine tune the frequencssssy, I will invite you to my morning ssssseance. You'll have to bring fresh eggszzz. That'sssss the payment."
After Mordant's prattling, Kaidynn adds, "I'm ssssure our gloriousss leader Zorndessssk will arrive soon, heavy with prayerszzzz, and itching to bring down the sssword on unworthy foeszzzz!"
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"Ahhh, the one that talks to gods. That leaves just me to be the one to talk to people, I guess."
Maddox behind to casually toss globs of corrosive acid across the water the same way another person may skip stones. "By the way, who elected goody two boots to be our glorious leader. I should be the one who's in charge. I'm the oldest and the best looking. Not that I'd want to decide it by voting. I'd never win that way. I'd prefer being your unelected despot. Ooh, then I'd rule this team with an iron fist," Maddox muses.
"Guys something the fashionable rakes in the River Kingdom say. You are either a guy or a goyle, I guess. There's also guy goyles, but no one ever really notices them until it's too late."
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"Yessssssss... you are good at wagging your chin about, no doubt about it. I don't mind if you do sssssso in our name with the longshanksssss, asz long as you don't intentionally put your foot in your maw and have our common goalszz in mind."
Kaidynn puts a well-trimmed claw on Mordant's shoulder, and continues, "As for who elected Zornesssssk as our leader, I guessss you can blame me for that... it waszz... a ssssssspur of the moment thing, baszed on my percsssssseption of who is ssssssstrongest among usssss."
Kaidynn smiles, exposing his freshly sharpened teeth.
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"I can assure you, Kaidynn, when my foot ends up in my mouth, it is always unintended."
Maddox grins back nervously at the smiling kobold, taking several quick steps backward. "Is that new dental work I see there? Very nice. I imagine you're just wanting to show off the impressive work they did, because I'm sure you wouldn't be so crude as to threaten a great and powerful sorcerer such as myself."
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[color=olive]"Would you two please cut it out? We are truebloods and better than the old time long-leg no-scales that used to murder Pathfinders who got out of line! Much like snarl we Explore. We COOPERATE. We Report."[/color]
Then, almost as if realizing that Ambrus is there for the first time. [color=olive]"Sorry, tall important-looking long-leg no-scale. No offense!"[/color]
Gynnezz looks for any briefing materials and reads them over.. well, she *looks them over* at least... given her eyewear she can't make out the details very well.
She then lets out a little bit of a whimper as the bright hurtful daystar nearly blinds the eye that she removes a lens from to get a better look. Wetly, she reads the words quickly before dropping the goggles back into place.
[color=olive]"Are there any other truebloods in the sewers of Diobel? Do we need to bring an offering to keep the peace and keep their snarl from attacking the Pathfinder snarl when we do this work?"[/color]
Ambrus watches the group of kobolds talk and squabble with open amusement. It's not as though he's seen other groups of Pathfinders of other races deal with each other in much the same way. It is a sign of powerful personalities and those are a necessity to do what Pathfinder agents must do.
"Yes, deal with these issues for Magdali so that she'll meet with you and then you can work with her to further disrupt the Apsis activities in Diobel...or two of these issues. All three being disrupted would raise suspicions," he answers Mordant's first question.
"As far as I know, there are no other...Truebloods in the area, only various kinds of...Longshanks," he answers Gynnezz's question.
He looks around the docks thoughtfully then turns back to them. "I'm expecting a couple more agents but I have other issues I must deal with. If there are no other questions?"
He waits to see if there are and if not says "Good luck. Oh, and one more thing, by the time you get there, you'll have only a day to act, maybe two before it will be too late," before departing.
Captain Zendrani and the crew of the sleek Sixwing Drake steer the ship up to the massive barrier of broken war-barges, crumbling walls, and jetties of iron and wood that protect the port of Diobel after sailing up the Kortos Coast. “Well, here we are,” says the captain. “I’ll make sure everything is in order with Diobel’s inspectors and charter you a barge to the port. You aren’t carrying anything particularly valuable, so you shouldn’t draw much attention from the inspectors or pilots, so long as you don’t run your mouth. My crew and I will wait here with the ship. You can return here to rest, if you need to, but remember—there isn’t much time!”
She's correct, you've arrived at daybreak the day before your potential meeting so you have only the day to complete your tasks. Zendrani slips some gold to a barge captain. The stocky captain nods to you tersely, confirming that he'll transport you through the wrecks to shore.
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Because just one new Kobold isn't enough, a second one also appears, seemingly out of nowhere. "Skithryx," the white scaled reptilian says by way of introduction. "Sewers good, no sun, fewer fleshies, and plenty of places for traps!"
He looks at each of the other Kobolds from beneath the cowl of his cloak. More variety than the last fake-tribe they cobbled together, and one of them even has a sword! "I do traps. What do each of you do?"
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The rule of 3 takes hold and...
Delroya’s directions lead to an isolated alley in the Bristles, and then down into the sewers beneath Diobel. The stench of sewage mixes with the sharper odors of chemical fumes and decay and permeates the damp tunnels. From this intersection, tunnels lead west and south into the darkness. A third tunnel heading east is filled with detritus, filthy beddings, food scraps,broken glass, and rotting furniture. An alcove lies beyond a collapsed portion of the tunnel’s southern wall, and further east, a statue of a giant rat rests in the dead-end passage. Countless empty flasks and discarded alchemical ingredients lie on the floor around the statue. On a nearby workbench sit several organized but empty flasks and jars.
Two humans, a half-orc and a half-elf wander around or lay listlessly on the filthy pallets in the alcove. They are emaciated and sickly looking and have vacant gazes that don't seem to take in any of their surroundings.
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Answering Skithryx, "Oh, I juggle, tell jokes and sometimes compose a naughty limerick. And when that doesn't work, I can always fall back on my bountiful arcane powers."
Looking around at the vacantly staring humanoids, Maddox remarks, "These guys might be using that drug they mentioned in the letter. They definitely seem to have consumed something strong."
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"And more than once," Skithryx adds. Unfortunate for them, but they aren't a threat to us anymore. A win! Catching them a trap wouldn't be sporting... or would it? Cautiously, he approaches each of the addled addicts and checks them over.
Part way through inspecting, he points over at the statue. "Hanspur. Waterways and smugglers. Heard drowning is important to the god too. Watch your backs..." he explains ominously. Center of the pack from now on, not dying with fleshy s$$@ in my lungs.
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Skithryx gets a little jolt as one of them who he is inspecting turns abruptly at him and mutters something indistinguishable. In fact, a moment later, it becomes evident that the woman is looking over his head and is still lost in her own unreal world. It was only a matter of coincidence that she happened to look in his direction.
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The begoggled kobold glances in the general direction of the two new arrivals and waves, adjusting the lenses slightly.
[color=olive]"Gynnezz Bugtalker, Apprentice Bugtalker on assignment to the Society."[/color] she offers as she listens to the others discuss the course of action.
[color=olive]"Getting out of the bad light sounds like a good idea. Who knows, there might be some bugs to talk to down there if we're lucky and they're not angry at us for disturbing their rest?"[/color]
Taking care to not go swimming in the gunk and also avoid the shuffling not-zombies that are down here, Gynnezz moves along with the party. Now that she's in a blessed place of darkness and no hateful orb in the sky, she takes off her goggles and takes a look around with the rest of the party.
Gynezz is wise to avoid the gunk in the middle as it seems to be even more virulent than one might expect to find in a sewer. Though, in a different way. It's not full of disease as one might think but rather disgusting chemicals, no doubt runoff from the experiments done here.
As Maddox approaches the workbench he finds that a rather large tube comes out of the wall. He also finds a set of compound eyes peeking out at him from within the tube as a rather large beetle is hunkered down in there.
There are a few vials and flasks with a little bit of material in them but no notes evident and nothing large enough that could be considered a viable sample.
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Gynnezz carefully makes her way all the way back around -- part of what triggered the fleas during the Confirmation mission was invading their territory -- and slowly pulls out some food that would be good for a beetle.
[color=olive]"Tk chk chrk klikikikik"[/color] she begins, slowly, carefully, politely respecting the beetle's home.
The beetle is about the size of a housecat and glows faintly, though it is deep enough in the tunnel the illumination can't be seen from the outside until you stare straight in.
It's light flares slightly as Gynnezz sticks her face into the tube but it fades again as she begins to speak in a language it can easily understand.
"Tchk ckt krrk chch," it responds, it's faint sounds echoing out into the larger tunnel.
Zornesk wanders into the "living" quarters if the cavern can be called that and starts searching around. Buried in the mass of blankets and rags that one of the people uses as a bed he finds a small vial full of a shiny white powder.
When he reveals it, the two people in the room with him perk up and reach for it, though with only the faintest of direction and almost no strength.
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Gynnezz, being about four times the size of a housecat, is immensely respectful of the space of the beetle might feel.
[color=olive]"Krrk chch. Klk chk chk chk. Ckt *purr* ckkkk..."[/color]
The big beetle creeps a little further down the tunnel until he sees Gynnezz's friends then scoots back some, hunkering down again. It's legs and mandibles wiggle and click as it settles down.
Kkkch ckr rrk. *buzz* ck chk ckt. vrr vrr."
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[color=olive]"Kkk. Chk clik grumble clik clik chitter, vrr?"[/color] the bugtalker replies, pointing to herself and the other truebloods in the sewer.
Gynnezz continues to discuss and possibly negotiate with the bug, getting a non-toothy serpentine grin -- teeth would be scary and possibly indicate eatings.
The beetle's carapace rattles as it raises the two shells that hide its wings then lower them back, one of the lace like appendages underneath not quite settling in place right and peeking out - the buggy equivalent of a shrug.
"*buzz* clk krz tk tk tk kachk."
Skithryx is pretty sure the vial he's found is full of Whip. He cannot tell if it unrefined or not as requested by Magdali. Maybe someone else can examine it.
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[color=olive]"Tkkk clik kk."[/color] Gynnezz offers politely to the beetle before heading out.
After she gets a good distance away she talks to the team. [color=olive]"The beetle did ask for food, but we should be wary around its pipe if and when we come back, because it seemed a bit 'off'. Also, is there any way to stay in the sewers while we go to one of the other spots? I like being able to see."[/color]
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"Wait a second! We have only accomplished half the task by retrieving a sample of Whip. We also need to get the alchemist's notes, and I didn't see them lying around. I bet we're going to need to pry them out of his or her cold dead hands. Luckily, we're all kobolds, so ambush is our specialty."
Maddox thinks for a bit then says, "I have an idea of an ambush. I can use my powers of illusion to make it look like a fire started up in his lab. I can't make smells or heat, so it won't fool him for long, but I bet it'll get him running to us. That's when we all jump out and hit him at once! Zorn the Cowslayer can smack him with his sword, and the rest of you guys can turn him into a pin cushion."
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Skithryx shrugs his shoulders. "We can try running in sewers, but don't know where they go. Worth a try," he concedes. "Back in sewer then? Maddox not coming."
Climbing upside down on the ladder (to make sure the coast is still clear), he eventually tosses the vial to Demm. "Is it the good Whip or the bad Whip?"
"I set traps all the time, ambush is easy. Are notes not on the table? Gynnezz, does bug know when Whip-maker comes home?"
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