LEARNING ABOUT THE SHARD

Here is the recap of what Sheila had said to you in the drawing room.

"What you have found, my friends, is nothing short of a miracle. Varisia has seen its share of miracles of late—the discovery of Xin-Shalast and the defeat of Runelord Karzoug, or Korvosa's release from mad Ileosa's rule come to mind—but this discovery will soon be remembered as an equal to those events. This is a powerful Thassilonian artifact, a fragment of horacalcum and a portion of the Shattered Star of Xin: to be precise, the Shard of Pride. I suspect that the shard's current carrier already knows more about it than I do, in fact…"

After the fracas with Rupert and the brief battle in the drawing room and outside with Taarn, Taarn marches back in with an unconscious Rupert tucked under his arm, enters the drawing room and deposits him on a settee. With a look of acceptance Sheila thanks you and looks ready to continue the conversation started earlier.

At this point Andalus (the butler) comes in with a gentleman in his early forties and a despondent and now awake Natalya Vancaskerkin. The gentleman comes over to Sheila while keeping his eyes on the party, kisses her on the cheek with "Hello love. These must be the adventurers you mentioned.". Sheila smiles at him and says "Yes they are, and they are quite something!" at which point she looks at all of you "I would like to introduce my husband, Sir Canayven Heidmarch." Canayven interrupts with hands waving off the formality "Just Canayven will do" and she smiles more brightly at him before continuing. She asks Natalya to have a seat and listen while she also instructs Andalus to fetch her something cool to drink. Natalya's head is bowed and she isn't looking anyone in the eye.

Canayven hands Sheila a small vial for which she thanks him and then presents it to you saying "These are smelling salts—a quick way to rouse your friend to hear the rest of our story." With that she presents the vial for one of you to take. Mersit immediately springs forward and takes the vial, thanking Sheila, and goes over to Rupert. With everyone watching he pops the top of the vial and with curiosity kicking in takes the first sniff. He gives off a yowl and waves his free paw in front of his snout, then with a gleeful trill and a devilish look in his eye sticks it under Rupert's nose. It takes a good three seconds before Rupert begins coughing violently and wakes in a fog. Mersit plugs the vial and looks to Sheila and Canayven and then the vial and they both nod so he puts it in his bandolier. Rupert sits up much the worse for wear so Esdar comes over and casts both lesser restoration and cure light wounds on Rupert just to get him to a more fit-full state.

Sheila goes on "Welcome back shard bearer, it seems you had as rough a time as Natalya over there." she points over to Natalya. "Perhaps we can hear from her first before we go on. Natalya, can you please tell us about your recent ordeal?" Natalya looks up at Sheila and sighs then goes on to say that the madness caused by the Shard Of Pride immediately stopped once the shard activated with an ioun stone. She is despondent and depressed not only by her recent actions but also by her failure to achieve her haunting dream of conquest. She is morose and communicates only grudgingly. Before continuing further however Sheila interrupts "That will be enough for now, thank you." so Natalya sits back down and drinks some more water. Andalus comes back in with a pitcher and goblet for Rupert plus a bowl of warm broth to help perk him up.

"Since we are discussing things perhaps you should know more about me and my interest in this business!" says Sheila. She goes on stating that "I was born the daughter of a Thuvian merchant and a minor Chelish aristocrat of Korvosa, Sheila Astimaris, my maiden name, knew from an early age that I was destined to spend my life exploring the wild Varisian frontiers that stretched beyond my city's walls, so fascinated was I by both the tactics of battle and ancient stories of Varisian legends. When I later met the well-known adventurer and successful Pathfinder Sir Canayven Heidmarch…" she looks over to Canayven and gives a big smile "…of Magnimar at a ball while visiting my distant kin in Cheliax, I knew I had found my match and life-mate."

"I lamented that the Pathfinder Society wasn't well known in my homeland of Varisia, and soon arranged with my doting father and mother for a visit to Absalom under the pretence of gaining exposure for some of my father's business interests. Once there, I quickly found my way to the Grand Lodge and secured admission as an initiate, soon receiving my commission as a Pathfinder field agent. I longed to journey back to the trackless reaches of my homeland, but the Pathfinder Society was more focused on central Avistan and Garund at the time, and thus I found my options limited. Not experienced enough to go it alone, I instead joined in with a Pathfinder expedition heading to my father's native Thuvia. Our adventures eventually took us into the Barrier Wall mountain range, where I encountered an awakened mountain gorilla who became a boon companion to me and my comrades, and something of a personal protector to myself. He called himself Mandali, and I declared that he must be a prince among his kind for his bravery and wisdom!" At that point Mandali comes in (its a big room after all) and adds "It was that declaration that won my loyalty more than anything else Sheila had done to that point." Then he goes to sit in an oversize chaise.

Sheila nods her head at Mandali then continues "When I learnt that Sir Canayven Heidmarch was going to be a part of a Mwangi expedition to the ruins of Jah, I planned my own field assignment accordingly, manipulating my own team to head in that direction as well. Soon enough, my team 'accidentally' met up with Sir Canayven's, and we joined forces to expedite their exploration of the ruins." Hearing this, Canayven gives a 'humph' sound and strokes his beard, his eyes slightly out of focus as if remembering that time. Sheila laughs and goes on "Though the expedition proved to be only a qualified success, the headstrong and decisive Sheila, me, accomplished my actual mission catching Sir Canayven's attention. We grew increasingly close thereafter, and soon departed from our respective teams and began our own missions of exploration and adventure, accompanied only by my stalwart ape guardian Mandali. At some point along the way, we two quietly got engaged, and soon thereafter were married. We, now both Heidmarchs, grew increasingly homesick for our homeland, and increasingly intrigued by the fact that the Pathfinders seemed not to realize the potential Varisia held for exploration. Indeed, it was viewed by most in the society as a backwater wilderness with little to offer but giants and goblins."

"I petitioned the Decemvirate to open a Pathfinder lodge in Magnimar, and was soon granted that honour. My husband and I returned to his manor in the city, and I became Varisia's first venture-captain, immersing myself in all the frontier wonders that had so enthralled my in my youth. Now I am seen as the Society's steady hand in the North, bringing ever more fresh recruits to our lodge to plumb the secrets of ancient Thassilon."

"Which brings us back full circle to the Shard of Pride and its full incarnation as the Sihedron."

What is the Shattered Star?
The Shattered Star was a powerful defensive item created well over 10,000 years ago by the founder of the empire of Thassilon, an exiled Azlanti named Xin. At that time, the item was known as the Sihedron—a seven-pointed star made of the seven skymetals infused with powerful magic. When the runelords rebelled against him, this item was broken into seven parts (at least, according to the legends), and the runelords each claimed a shard for their own. In the 10 millennia since Earthfall and the end of Thassilon, the shards have shifted locations, yet they have never been reassembled into the Sihedron.

How did you know what the shard was?
Over the past several years, Sheila's become something of an expert on Thassilon—the legacies of this ancient empire and its monuments and magic are, after all, the primary reason that the Pathfinders have become interested in Varisia. The story of the Shattered Star is one of the most oft-repeated legends of that time among those who write about ancient Thassilonian artifacts—surpassed only by the Seven Swords of Sin in popularity. Even so, the Shattered Star legend is still relatively obscure, yet Sheila has long hoped to stumble across the location of a shard. Never in a thousand years did she even dare to hope that a shard would simply fall into her lap like this.

How can we find the other shards?
The most important thing that Sheila can tell the PCs is that the Shattered Star represents a powerful defence against the dangers that seem to be rising up against Varisia, and that rebuilding the artifact will give the region a powerful defence indeed both in terms of the item itself and the heroes that the quest to recover the other six fragments will doubtless produce. As the interview comes to a close, she invites Rupert to hold the Shard of Pride and concentrate on the Sihedron's shape. In doing so, Rupert receives a powerful vision of the Irespan and Magnimar's harbour, around one Irespan piling in particular—the Crow. At this point she looks at Natalya who returns a positive nod. Sheila then explains that each fragment of the Shattered Star is linked to one more fragment in a set sequence, and that by concentrating on the Sihedron while holding a shard that's been 'awakened' with the proper ioun stone, one can receive a vision of the region in which the next shard in the sequence is located. Unfortunately, the location isn't completely exact—but it should be enough to set the PCs on the right course.

What does this all mean? Sheila finishes by telling the PCs that they have in their hands an opportunity for great glory. By questing for the six remaining shards, they can rebuild the Shattered Star into the Sihedron and give Varisia a powerful defence against the dangers the region will doubtless face in the future—and in so doing prepare themselves to be some of Varisia's great defenders! Questing for the shards of the Shattered Star allows the PCs to bolster their reputation in the Pathfinder Society as well, and while Sheila can't promise specific rewards for the PCs, she notes that, as word of their quest spreads, their growing fame will bring with it its own rewards.

Having the Shard of Pride in your possession 'feels' right, like something else will come about by continuing this quest.

Is there anything else you can tell us?
Sheila promises to do some more research about the other five shards and the Sihedron itself, and should have the results of that research for the PCs to use in several days or a few weeks. For now, she advises the PCs to remain low-key about their goal. The longer they can keep the fact that they're rebuilding the Shattered Star a secret, the bigger head start they'll have against possible competitors for the prize, after all!

However, Natalya has more to add at Sheila's persistent request; Natalya admits that she found the shard on a skeleton inside a secret chamber she discovered in the Crow. She further confirms that the Tower Girls have since moved their hideout to the Crow. She provides a rough map of the parts of the Crow piling that she is familiar with along with information about numbers and locations of her former gang members. She knows that the Tower Girls hope to find more rare and powerful items in their exploration of the Crow. Perhaps the most important bit of information she can convey to the PCs is the fact that the leader of the Tower Girls, Ayala Javeski, is a wererat—she's turned a few of her favourite underlings into wererats as well. If the PCs are thinking of confronting her, they should bring some silver weapons.

Mithril and Silversheen also count as silver.

When the PCs ask Natalya where she found the Shard Of Pride, she tells them she located it in a secret room inside the Crow, further explaining that there were other treasures in the room but that she didn't have time to gather them-the shard's curse compelled her to abandon her allies immediately. There are a dozen Tower Girls in the Crow at any given time and at least as many in the city. Ayala is almost always in the Crow. Sentries are posted and any attempted entry during the day will be spotted, bet to go very late at night with no light and quietly. There are big rats as 'pets' as well. Sentry posts inside the Crow are usually limited to 1-3 Tower Girls in any one spot, but raising an alarm can get all of the ones inside into a defensive position-plus they would rather have you leave than fight you. Natalya goes on to give those assembled her background as well.

Natalya's Story

Natalya Vancaskerkin is the daughter of one of Riddleport's most notorious figures—Saul Vancaskerkin. Half-Varisian, Natalya was born of Saul's first wife, a beautiful Varisian harrower from Magnimar named Adreea Valitrosa. Unfortunately for the star-crossed lovers, the Sczarni to whom Adreea belonged did not approve of this relationship, and a month after Natalya was born, the gang attempted to 'reclaim' the babe as payment for Adreea choosing Saul over the Sczarni. Saul's criminal contacts warned him in time, and he and his family fled to Riddleport to escape, but not before Adreea took a poisoned bolt to the back. She died soon thereafter, leaving Natalya entirely under her father's care.

Saul mourned, but eventually remarried—a marriage that produced Natalya's half-brothers. Eventually, they left home for their own reasons, leaving Natalya alone with her father and his third wife, Bertrida—a woman who despised Natalya. Feeling neglected by her father and persecuted by her stepmother, Natalya sought solace with some of Riddleport's Sczarni, who happened to be bitter rivals of her father's own criminal enterprises. When Bertrida discovered Natalya's activities and then gleefully revealed them to her father, Saul was outraged. At Bertrida's urgings, he disowned Natalya, turning his daughter out into the street with orders to never return. Saul never saw his daughter again.

And so Natalya returned to Magnimar. As she began to build her new life, the only thing she retained from her time in Riddleport was her father's name—something she kept out of a mixture of guilt and shame. She resigned herself to what would likely be a short life working with the Tower Girls, one of Magnimar's more notorious gangs.

But Natalya was impatient. She wanted to be the one in charge—the one who was making the most money and drawing the most respect. In the Sczarni, she grew increasingly frustrated at how much of each take got kicked up to her superiors. When the Pathfinders entered an alliance with the Sczarni in Magnimar, Natalya saw a chance to pad her pocket and, just perhaps, build her reputation in another group as well. She approached Sheila Heidmarch in secrecy, and Sheila recognized Natalya's potential and hired her as an informant on the spot. Still part of the gang of second-story burglars known as the Tower Girls, Natalya used the skills and knowledge acquired in each organization to benefit the other as well.

Recently, the Tower Girls fell out of favour with the Wreckwash Blades, another Sczarni gang. Forced to relocate their hideout, the Tower Girls spent a few miserable days squatting in Underbridge at Fenster's warehouse. This changed when Natalya found a hidden sanctuary for the gang within an Irespan piling locally called the Crow for its signature exterior carvings. The Crow contained undiscovered chambers within it, and Natalya led the exploration of the chambers within the upper levels that then became the Tower Girls' current hideout. When exploration of their new hideout led to the discovery of a shard from an ancient Thassilonian artifact, it was Natalya who took possession of it. She intended to return to Sheila Heidmarch at that point, hoping for a big payday, but hadn't planned for the artifact's curse. She soon fell victim to the full influence of the Shard Of Pride.

While fully under the Shard of Pride's spell, Natalya's set her sights even higher. No longer was she content with the idea of running a Sczarni gang. That's just a stepping stone now—a stepping stone to progressively greater positions of power. If she can rule her own gang, why not all the Sczarni gangs in Magnimar? And if Magnimar's Sczarni… why not Magnimar itself!

Sheila thanks Natalya for her honesty, it will help if she is to become a Pathfinder. Sheila then asks the PCs to provide a relatively accurate map of the interior of the Crow and the chambers below (the players don't need to physically create this map)—the map does not need to be particularly artistic. Once the PCs have explored the Crow, taking a few days to organize their notes is enough to earn them another reward from Sheila. She will give each PC a Wayfinder.

This next bit is from Canayven Heidmarch's point of view—"The entrances to the Irespan's internal chambers are well hidden—they almost seem to prefer to be found by accident rather than by design." So after Natalya tells the PCs of a way into the Crow—one of the Irespan's pilings—he became excited. "Alas, other responsibilities prevent me from joining you or mounting my own expedition!" And so he settles for the next best thing—he'll reward the PCs for every significant new piece of information they can learn about the ancient empire of Thassilon while they're exploring the Crow. For each significant find he will award 500 GP once they're reported in writing—with illustrations if possible.

Sheila adds "Finally, but not to be forgotten, there is still the issue of the missing people. People go missing in a big city like Magnimar all the time, but lately, they've been doing so more often. The majority of these folk who go missing do so from the waterfronts and under the Irespan—neighbourhoods without a strong city watch presence. Despite the fact that the majority of missing people eventually turn up (although living as vagrants with no memories of their time spent away from Magnimar—if indeed they ever left or in mental distress), rumours are spreading that the city has no interest in solving the mystery and preventing future disappearances. Lord-Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras has grown frustrated with these rumours and with the city's apparent inability to explain the mystery, and has approached the us—the Pathfinders of Heidmarch Manor with an offer of reward if the problem can be solved; A reward is posted of 2,000 GP for solving the mystery and finding out what's been happening to the missing people. Anyone rescued earns a reward of 500 GP per victim returned to Magnimar.

Index

Shard Of Pride (Major Artifact)

Aura overwhelming illusion; CL 25th
Slot none; Weight 1 lb.
DESCRIPTION
The Shard Of Pride is made of coppery horacalcum (a skymetal). As long as the Shard Of Pride is carried, its owner can use major image as a spell-like ability once per day, gains a +2 insight bonus on saves versus illusion spells, and gains a +2 insight bonus on all skill checks.

Curse: The owner suffers delusions of grandeur, and is sickened whenever she must serve another creature as a subordinate of any sort for as long as that arrangement persists. She cannot gain the benefit of the aid another action, nor can she take the aid another action.

Neutralization: The curse is neutralized once a scarlet-and-blue sphere ioun stone is placed in the indentation. As soon as one is placed it fuses with the shard and becomes the same material. All benefits of both the shard and ioun stone are active as long as it is carried (even in a Handy Haversack).

Scarlet and Blue Sphere (Ioun Stone)

Aura strong varied; CL 12th
Slot —; Price 8,000 gp; Weight —
DESCRIPTION
This stone grants the wearer a +2 enhancement bonus to Intelligence. This stone has one skill associated with it, as a +2 headband of vast intelligence ( in this case Knowledge:History).

Cracked: This stone grants a +1 competence bonus on one Intelligence-based skill. Price: 200 GP.

Flawed: This stone grants a +2 enhancement bonus to Intelligence and a –2 penalty to Constitution. Price: 6,000 GP.

See Inferior Ioun Stones for details on cracked and flawed variant stones.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Wondrous Item, creator must be 12th level; Cost 4,000 gp.

Wayfinder (Standard)

Aura faint evocation; CL 5th
Slot none; Price 500 gp; Weight 1 lb.
DESCRIPTION
A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of a long lost civilization, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself.

CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Wondrous Item, light; Cost 250 GP

Adventure Path and Module specific information © Paizo.