Master of Swords Marcos Farabellus meets with you behind closed doors at the Grand Lodge in Absalom.
Marcos Farabellus paces thoughtfully for a moment before rapping his knuckles on his desk to call the meeting to order. “Sometimes challenges force us to re-examine how we treat others, including old enemies. That’s a good thing, leading to growth and moments in which rising stars can distinguish themselves against dire odds.” He gives an appreciative bow before continuing. “I say this because we’re not alone in our struggle against the Korholm Agenda; they’re even more a thorn in the Aspis Consortium’s side than in our own. If we let those wounds fester, it will destroy us both. It’s jarring to work with the Aspis against a common foe, but their assistance might help us stop the Korholm Agenda before they could harm thousands more innocents.
“The Agenda was behind the recent events in Thuvia—again, well done on stopping that—and the team unearthed records of one Professor Kramolag, a member of the Aspis Consortium who has been supplying the Agenda with her technical expertise. When I discussed these findings with my contact in the Consortium, he seemed unsettled by the development but promised to handle the matter personally and relay his findings after the fact.” Farabellus smirks with chagrin. “We may be trying to mend some bridges with the Aspis, but I’m not so foolish to trust an Aspis higher-up at his word. I sent several agents to follow his team and observe from afar as they traveled to Nidal. Within a few hours, they had broken into an underground facility, left with bundles of strange relics, and set part of the nearby plantation on fire to hide their tracks. As you might guess, my Aspis contact politely informed me that the matter was resolved and that I didn’t need to worry about it anymore. Bullfeathers!”
The Master of Swords lets the affront sink in before reaching down and dumping a stack of papers on the desk. “What my contact neglected to mention is that they never found Professor Kramolag. Our own experts have tracked down where she’s hidden based on intercepted correspondence and questioned survivors of that Aspis raid. She’s set up a lab on a barren island west of Nidal known as Wingless Rock, and hopefully she still thinks she’s safe and hasn’t run off yet. We’ve also found she has one other intact secondary lab at the southern edge of the Uskwood, and there are still unanswered questions about the damaged site near the Mindspin Mountains.
“If Kramolag’s research is any indication, she’s armed, dangerous, and has been calling the shots for the past year. I’d like you to lead the expedition there, ensure she doesn’t remain a threat to the Society, and secure all other information you can on any other plans she’s set in motion already. I’ve gathered the teams you oversaw in Thuvia to provide you additional help, and I’m letting you call the shots on this Nidalese campaign. I recommend assigning one or two to check out the secondary sites, as it’s only a matter of time before the Consortium or the Agenda learns what we know and destroy any remaining evidence there.”
He straightens and concludes, “Not every agent has what it takes to lead like you do. It isn’t easy, so I’m here in an advisory role until I have to attend to other business. Good luck.”
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Kal’ryon nods as he listens, his eyes glinting with interest at the mention of a hunt.
“Master Farabellus, I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in us. It’s no easy thing to work alongside Aspis agents, but if it means crushing the Korholm Agenda before they do more damage, then I’ll swallow my pride.” He smirks, leaning back in his chair, one hand resting lazily on the hilt of his pole arm- the light catching against glossy black nails. “I'm happy to participate in the Nidalese mission, no problem. We’ll root out Kramolag and bring her schemes to light.”
He pauses, tilting his head thoughtfully before giving a shrug. “I’m no stranger to getting my hands dirty,so if these relics are as valuable as they seem, I’ll make sure they land in Absalom."
With that, Kal’ryon flashes a confident grin. “If it matters to anyone else, I think I would prefer a more spontaneous approach to this guarded rock. Our plans always seem to fall apart after first contact anyways...”
Farabellus nods briefly at Diazepane's comment. "I distrust the Apsis as much as the next Pathfinder, but I also trust them to always serve their best interests. The Korholm Agenda is an internal threat that could eat them up from the inside out, not unlike certain factions within our own organization at times. I have no doubts that we'll be opposed again, but for now, our goals align.
“Professor Kramolag has spent considerable resources researching otherworldly creatures and events, including the Astral Plane, teleportation mishaps, and cutting-edge alchemy. This is beyond the scope of one researcher, so she likely has capable assistants who know not to gossip. Go into Wingless Rock prepared for the worst, and expect the unexpected," he answers Svetlana.
"I don't expect any trouble from the Nidalese. Wingless Rock is far enough off the coast and so barren and uninteresting they've paid no attention to it...which is why it was a perfect place for a secret laboratory."
He taps the pile of papers on the desk. "You can read all the reports for yourself here. They have information about both Wingless Rock and Wirholt's Rictus, which is where we got our information about Wingless Rock and about the 3rd facility in the Uskwood."
The Aspis raided a research laboratory hidden beneath a Nidalese plantation known as Wirholt’s Rictus. Few of the workers there seemed to know anything about the facility below.
A known member of the Korholm Agenda would occasionally visit the site, but it is believed that person perished during the raid.
It appears the site enacted containment procedures during the raid, destroying some of the evidence before the Aspis team intervened. The Aspis agents left carrying a collection of magic items, documents, and even a few biological samples (all of unknown provenance to the Society).
Initial forays into the damaged facility found signs of occult research, but utterly alien creatures chased off the Pathfinder agents before they could learn anything of substance.
The secondary facility just inside the Uskwood seems to be the smallest of the three, but any defenses it has are likely still operational.
The main facility is 40 miles off Nidal’s coast, on a black skerry known as Wingless Rock. It’s a small, barren island partly surrounded by dangerous reefs and other mundane hazards that discourage visitors.
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Nadya had been busying herself with a Harrow reading at a small reading table in the corner of the room for the last half hour, since before the Master of Swords even entered the room, and at first seemed to be paying little attention to his briefing. But now she finishes, packs up her deck and wraps it up in a brightly-colored silk Varisian scarf.
"Master Farabellus," she says in her careful Ustalavic-spiced dialect. "Perhaps I did not read the journals we discovered in the dragon's lair under Abadar's Temple closely enough. It was clear that the Korholm Agenda seeks to learn more of cosmic secrets and extraplanar paths. We know they were cooperating with the Aspis Consortium in the theft of the Sun Orchid Elixirs and used those extraplanar bandits to try and snatch us. But why are they the enemy and not the Aspis?"
"You say their efforts could lead to the loss of many innocent lives. What do we know of their goals? Do you prefer this Professor to be captured, turned, or eliminated?"
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Not a fan of briefings, Daedin arrived early and hid in the back corner. Not much of a talker per se, unless sarcasm comes into play, he silently listens…then when he has a nugget of information to relay he steps forward out of the shadows…
”My intel tells me Nidalese sailors give Wingless Rock a wide berth, not because it poses any serious danger, but because it’s not on the way to anywhere in particular and has a reputation for bringing misfortune to anyone who sets foot upon it. Supposedly, even birds refuse to roost on the unlucky rock…”
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”...Supposedly, even birds refuse to roost on the unlucky rock…”
Mother Nadya had listened blandly until this last statement, then makes a snorting sound.
"What do birds know of luck?" she says with a dismissive wave. "This is fairy tale most likely. Or there is something that physically repels them, yes?"
Nadya sighs and crosses her arms.
"Nidal. I hate Nidal. My first husband was from there. Our worthless son Fyodor too. The place breeds navel-gazing sociopaths."
To his credit, Farabellus does not jump in surprise as Daedin appears, though he does reach for the hilt of his sword, for a moment. He relaxes when he realizes it is one of the agents he was expecting.
"The Apsis Consortium has been our enemy for quite some time, admittedly, but we are making inroads toward coming to an understanding with them. Besides which, while their tactics are often ruthless and reckless in their pursuit of profit and power, they pale in comparison to what we know of the Korholm Agenda's goals are. At best they are dabbling with things that they cannot control and cannot fully understand. At worst, they don't care and are trying to deal with them for their own aggrandizement and their own power. They need to be stopped for that reason, if no other."
Farabellus waits for any further questions.
Before you leave the Grand Lodge, the Pathfinder Teams assigned to your command report to you. The faces of the Axe-Fixers, Kernaug Group and the Scroll Seekers are familiar and welcome. They look on you with varying degrees of respect and pride.
"Where do you need us?" Janira Gavirix, a woman that has lead uncounted Pathfinders on their Confirmation and leader of the Scroll Seekers asks.
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"My read is the Axe Fixers and Kernaug group should combine efforts on the Uskwood, there is enough of a mix of skills to deal with tricky fey, traps, and anything requiring a more bladed solution"
"The Scrollseekers can investigate Sundersun"
"My learned colleagues can brief you on what you may find"
Not even worthy of being called an island, Wingless Rock rises hardly more than 20 feet out of the water—far less at high tide—and measures all of 100 feet across at its widest point. Aside from algae and the inhabitants of sickly tide pools, nothing naturally lives upon the eroded, volcanic
heap.
Ahead, a resigned pile of blunt black rocks endures the thrashing sea. Its shore is irregular and inhospitable, which might matter if anything of interest stood upon the barren heap.
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Nadya shrugs and puffs out her lips in a sputter of insouciance.
"I cannot read the riddle of such things, but clearly there is some hidden opening nearby down into this rock leading to some evil lair. Which scares away birds."
She reaches into a belt pouch and goes to one of the tidal pools, then tosses in a handful of what look like tea leaves. She kneels down and stares at them intently, her hand hovering just above the surface, fingers fully extended. She begins a low hum as she does so.
As you explore the island the shack's inhabitant bursts forth.
The woman has salt-blasted skin and woolly gray dreadlocks, features you notice only if you manage to look past her linen rags and loaded crossbow.
"Get off my island unless you want a kiss from my crossbow, or worse myself!" she exclaims.
"I've got the cracks you know! The craaaacckks!" she continues.
"As long as you're here, you're breathing in my crack dust! I think I can see it affecting some of you already!"
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Nadya pulls outa handful of gold coins (10g) and takes a couple steps toward the woman, seemingly not worried about her threats.
We are sorry for our intrusion, but we don't mean you any harm. We have no interest in taking any of your things, I assure you. Please accept this as a token of uur respect for you."
She holds the coins out with one hand, and indicates her holy symbol with the other.
"I am a healer. Perhaps I can be of service to you?"
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"Thank you Daedin, all I needed to hear" Svetlana smiles then turns back to the woman to listen for the answer "I'm nit a healer, but I am a Hellknight, and in my experience an encounter with one may lead to an encounter with the other - and by your actions you will determine the order today" Svetlana smiles a completely manufactured smile.
Nadya is pretty sure that she's lying.
She's also pretty sure that she actually does have leprosy.
Which may be a bit unsettling as the woman snatches the coins from her hands and lowers her crossbow.
Her posture changes, standing upright and stopping her shrieking. She looks across the group then jerks her head toward the cabin.
"Be my guest. Just don't mess with my stuff," she says. "I live there, after all."
Once inside, the wind whines eerily through cracks in the shack’s gray
timber walls, blowing in salt that encrusts the room—especially the heap of rusty junk upon a splintery table. Along the rear wall, damp sheets smother a bed frame inexpertly cobbled out of driftwood.
Diazepane's keen eye spots a metal mechanism connects the bed frame to the wall or something beyond. This mechanism connects to a well hidden switch within a knot on the bedpost, a control he only uncovers by continuing to search for 1 minute. Flipping the switch causes the shack’s east wall to slide open.
Battered timbers slide away smoothly, revealing a wide door of polished steel set within a sheer metal wall, entirely out-of place compared to the rest of the surroundings.
The mad leper hardly seems mad any longer. She lowers her crossbow and watches the group but more because there's nothing else of interest on this barren island than any more serious motive.
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"So... now we know that you know, and you have tried to mislead us, do you want to volunteer some useful information before I get really mad about being misled? Is there an alarm or signal or the like you want to tell me about NOW before I find out later and have a reason to come find you with some unpleasant motives?"
"Now, now, no need to get huffy. You're the one breaking into my house, after all. Some law and order Hellknight you are," the woman responds.
"But, since you found the door, I'll tell you, I don't know anything about anything beyond it. I do know I've been told that if I touch it, I'll die and not in the by someone who found out I touched it way but in the something about touching the door itself will kill me way."
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Diazepane nods his head towards a muffled, but constant, irritating bell ringing, and the noise seems to be coming from behind the now-exposed door.
Diazepane points a finger menacingly. "If you're scared of the person who told you not to touch the door, you should be even more scared of the people who ignored the person who told you not to touch the door."
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"Now, now, no need to get huffy. You're the one breaking into my house, after all. Some law and order Hellknight you are," the woman responds.
"Come now, this is about as much 'your house' as it is a Temple to Abadar, and pointing a crossbow in our direction in Cheliax would have seen far worse than some pointed questions. Good sense to share what you know, but now i suggest you find another place to be a long way away as we are heading in and nothing good will happen from there"
"Come now, this is about as much 'your house' as it is a Temple to Abadar, and pointing a crossbow in our direction in Cheliax would have seen far worse than some pointed questions. Good sense to share what you know, but now i suggest you find another place to be a long way away as we are heading in and nothing good will happen from there"
"And yet, in you go," the hermit says, but she does wander away, heading toward the coastline, such as it is on this gods forsaken rock.
Though she can be heard muttering. "It IS my house. Or was. Just because there's a hidden door doesn't make it not my house."
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"Screams? Why should they be screaming?"
She thinks a moment and listens again. But she shakes her head. "Your ears are better than mine."
"There is more to this than meets the eye, yes? I think perhaps something is happening down there that is unrelated to our visit."
Nadya steps back outside. "You! Woman with cracks! Has anyone else landed on this island and gone down below in the last several hours? Or the last day even?"
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"Yelling is something one does to raise an alarm or communicate commands on a battlefield, screaming is something one does when being entertained by the Order of the Rack or when being devoured by blasphemies from beyond the Gate" Svetlana offers in an upbeat and chipper tone "so from our perspective yelling suggests we need to be concerned about them, whereas screaming might mean we need to be concerned by whats concerning them"
"No! And for people who wanted me to go away, you sure have a lot of questions!" the hermit woman says.