Roll Inish: What Came Before

What has come before

Chapter 1 - Second Darkness

Initial Location Golarion, Avistan, Varisia, Riddleport
Time 4708 AR, 24th day of Pharast.
Players
  Vaelin (Rupert) Silvermoon, elf wizard
..... Jonathan Hood
  Esdar (Dar) Aearril, half-elf cleric
..... Mike Horrigan
  Jaxilendrilil (Jax "Ears"), elf rogue
..... Mick Hodorek
  Mal Mankavart, dwarf gunslinger
..... Aaron Collins
  Balto, halfing alchemist
..... Dave Black (NPC after first few sessions)

Part One

'Shadow in the Sky' begins at the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall, where the grand gambling event Cheat the Devil and Take his Gold looks to be poised to bring the game hall back in business after a long decline. Yet the gambling tournament is not the only thing going on in Riddleport, for a strange atmospheric phenomenon lately manifested in the sky above the city. The strange blot has hung in the air for several weeks, moving slowly in what appears to be a random pattern in the sky. At first assumed to be a dark cloud, it soon became evident that it often moved at odds with the wind. The blot itself resembles nothing so much as a shadow floating in the sky, almost as if some large but unseen object were partially blocking the sun's rays.

Riddleport already hosts a large number of scholars, but as word of the blot spread, additional investigators from locations as far as Magnimar came to witness the strange phenomenon, their numbers swelling the city’s population. Arguments over the source, nature, and implications of the shadow rage in areas where scholars congregate, but when it became apparent that the shadow was having little direct impact on the city itself, most of Riddleport's citizens moved on to other concerns, leaving the matter to the bookish sages in order to get on with the business of doing business. Of course, the majority of the city’s residents find the influx of new marks to be quite welcome, and both pickpocketing and the confidence business is booming.

The Shadow in the Sky

Strange days are afoot in Riddleport as an inexplicable shadow hovers in the sky over the city, attracting scholars and mystics to divine its meaning. Yet for most of Riddleport's citizens, the shadow’s significance, known locally as 'The Blot', is fleeting.

Wild Times at the Gold Goblin

Life continues on the streets of Riddleport, and at a local game tournament held at the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall. Participants of the event are required to sign an 'infernal contract' with the Devil.

Introducing Saul Vancaskerkin

As the windows begin darkening with twilight, several gamehall employees enter, carrying torches shaped like pitchforks skewering burning heads made of straw and cloth to light several large braziers, giving the hall a more infernal hue. A hush falls over the gathered crowd as a short man climbs to the central podium, accompanied by two gorgeous 'succubi', and stands before the gold, chain-shrouded chest there with a demoness on either side. He wears a formal suit, and his thinning black hair is slicked back. His left arm ends in a stump just above the wrist, and affixed to it is a bronze cap from which protrudes an oddly shaped key. This is Saul Vancaskerkin, the owner of the Gold Goblin and host of the tournament. He bows before the crowd and clears his throat before speaking. Saul Vankaskerkin

"Welcome, one and all, to the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall and your chance to cheat the Devil and win back not only your soul but all of his gold as well." He says this last as he pats the large chest before which he stands. "I hope you found your reception by the Devil's lovely temptresses suitably entertaining." This is met by a general murmur of laughter and a few catcalls. "Let's take this moment to thank Old Scratch himself for attending this event. Not only did he loan us these lovely, dark angels, but he also emptied the deepest vaults of Hell itself to provide the gold for this tournament."

With this, Saul directs the crowd’s attention up to the imp in the birdcage. At the sudden attention, Old Scratch flies into a flurry of rage, banging the cage bars, spitting, howling, and screaming vile epithets in Infernal at all assembled. His theatrics are received with guffaws and even a smattering of applause. As the crowd dies down, Vancaskerkin continues.

"Of course, he plans on replacing what he loses in gold with the souls of those of you who don’t win. The tournament rules are quite simple—as you play, you'll earn more chips. And with those chips, you'll be able to bribe your way out of the current Hell you're trapped in, working your way down deeper until you get to Old Scratch’s treasury. Currently, all of you are Old Scratch's prisoners in the first of the Hells, Avernus. If you want to work your way down to the ninth circle, you need to win games. Each time you win, you'll be awarded a golden eye. If you come in second, you'll get a silver tooth. And third place wins a copper heart. These bits of flesh and bone are what the devils use in Hell for currency, and they're what you'll need to pay in order to bribe your way into the next layer of hell. The first player to win a game after reaching Nessus not only keeps his winnings for that game, but also earns back his soul and the ten thousand silver coins that the Devil put up for this tournament. You can, of course, decide to cash out your winnings at any time you want, but if you do, or if you run out of money entirely… well, that means Old Scratch gets you."

Vancaskerkin grins evilly and the caged imp cuts loose with another profane tirade. "And that earns you the Devil's Mark and an escort out of the game hall until the tournament is over. What, you ask, exactly is this Devil's Mark? Well, it's something too utterly horrible to even contemplate. The forfeiture of your very soul, it is. But I suppose I can show you what it is—gods know I more than deserve the Devil's Mark. In fact, better make it two, girls!"

With that, the two succubi accompanying him lean over and each firmly plants a kiss on Saul's cheek with her ruby-red lips. When they pull away, their lip rouge has left clearly visible prints in the same shocking red on his cheeks. Saul beams as he cries out, "The Devil's Mark, everyone!" which is greeted by a flurry of shouts, catcalls, and hoots. "Now, let's cheat the Devil and take his gold!" which prompts one more rabid flurry from the imprisoned fiend above, and with that, the tournament begins.

Cheat The Devil…

There are numerous games available for the participants to play during the tournament. Some of these games are typical gambling games like poker, but there are four unusual regional games played at the Gold Goblin as well—'Bounder', 'Ghoulette', 'Golem', and 'Skiffs'.

The Gold Goblin Job

The PCs find themselves thwarting an attempted heist by one Angvar Thestlecrit his accomplice/lover, the one-eyed Thuvalia Barabbio and their four thugs.

An Offer You Can't Refuse

After the foiled heist the PCs are offered employment by its owner, Saul Vancaskerkin. Working for their new boss in exchange for an ownership interest in the game hall.

Part Two

Strange Days in Riddleport

During this portion of the adventure, the odd phenomena associated with Riddleport's shadow in the sky slowly increases. Several odd things happen during the next few days, and while each causes a hubbub on the streets, no one has any real idea of what they portend, so no cohesive actions are taken.

Small metal items (including weapons and armor) become slightly magnetized. The strange magnetism lasts for a few minutes.
All spells cast during a 79 minute period manifest a strange purple mist that incorporates into the magic of the spell—existing spell effects are not affected. The slight mist remains for several seconds before rising into the air and evaporating. After several occurrences, it is noted that the mist rises toward the Blot.
A sudden tidal surge hits Riddleport's harbour. The uncharacteristically large wave causes minor damage as ships are pushed against the piers and boardwalks strain under the sudden pressure. Water from the wave reaches Wharf Street, and several stevedores and beachcombers are washed out to sea and lost.
Flocks of sea gulls suddenly take to the air and begin flying in a growing cacophonous spiral. This continues for several minutes as large flocks wheel above the city in ever-gathering numbers. Eventually their erratic flight brings them into proximity to the Cyphergate, where they crash into it violently by the hundreds before the few survivors continue their ragged flight out to sea. For the next 2 days, crushed and broken bird carcasses wash up on the beaches around Riddleport and cluster as flotsam beneath the wharves creating a horrible stench over the south portions of the city.
A minor tremor strikes the city, causing only a little damage but shaking everything pretty well for a few seconds.
Every weather vane in Riddleport suddenly turns with a screeching of metal heard all across the port to point directly toward the Blot, even resisting the actual currents of the wind. After 10 minutes or so (during which several weather vanes are snapped off by cross winds to tumble to the street below), they are suddenly released from whatever holds them and return to normal.
A loud rattling and clatter is heard that proves to be tiny falling objects clattering on the roofs and streets of the city from a clear sky. At first assumed to be hail, examination reveals it to be tiny pieces of porous black rock—looking almost volcanic in nature but defying all identification. This initial storm does no noticeable damage, but after a couple of minutes, the rocks increase in size and begin cracking shingles, ripping awnings, and pelting anyone who remains outside. The bronze dome of the Gold Goblin rings like a bell during the onslaught. This larger hail of stones lasts for less than a minute. When all is said and done, there are several dozen casualties and hundreds of gold pieces of damage to property and ships. The stones themselves remain for a few more minutes, covering the ground before they suddenly evaporate into nothingness. Attempts to classify the material before it fades meet with failure—the stones feel like granite, but float in water and are strangely cold to the touch.

On the Job at the Gold Goblin

After the events of the failed heist, most of the staff has quit. Only the floor manager—Larur Feldin, the bouncers Hans and Beyar and Saul's bodyguard and beast wrangler Bojask have stayed. While Larur begins the restaffing process, the PCs fill in and besides being the troubleshooters, they also try to bring the Goblin back to profitability.

The First Night

The first night after the Gold Goblin re-opens for business, several surly customers who took part in the Cheat the Devil tournament and have been so far unable to cash in their winnings show up belligerent and full of drink. The PCs, watching for trouble, immediately notice the loud-mouthed individuals as they complain about the tournament and accuse the house of having cheated them. As soon as anyone moves to confront them, four of them suddenly lash out in a drunken brawl. The PCs take care of the situation peaceably (well mostly...)

After the battle is over, the local gendarmes cart away the unconscious brawlers. Saul Vancaskerkin comes out to the central podium and states in a loud voice that the Gold Goblin is under new management, pointing out the PCs as his "business partners." He states that no more criminal lawlessness is allowed on the premises and challenges any of his patrons who are actually spying on him for competitors to go back and tell their bosses that any further acts of hostility will be met with force. He goes on to say that starting immediately the Gold Goblin will enforce a no-weapons policy. This is met with some grumbling and a smattering of applause.

Afterwards, he thanks the PCs again for working for him and giving him the courage to finally stand up to Riddleport's underworld. After this, the security chief PC must see to it that all weapons are checked at the door and locked in the cashiers' cage until the owners depart the gambling hall. This goes smoothly for the most part, with the occasional particularly belligerent guest showing up once or twice a night. In any event, the no-weapons policy certainly doesn't apply to employees of the Gold Goblin.

An Unfriendly Warning

Later that week, Saul gathers the PCs and leads them up onto the catwalks above the main gaming floor to watch the crowd. He points out a bulky man with short hair playing at a Golem table and tells the PCs to keep their eye on him. Most of the other customers are giving him a wide berth and keeping an eye on him as well, and the man's croupier seems particularly nervous. Saul goes on to explain that the man is none other than Clegg Zincher, one of Riddleport's crimelords and Saul's greatest competitors. Clegg isn't known as a gambler, so he must be here either to send a message to Saul or for some other reason. Saul has no intention of removing the man from the premises, but wants the PCs to watch him and try to determine what he's doing here. Clegg Zincher

The PCs confront Clegg who feigns surprise at being singled out but does not pretend to be anyone other than he actually is. Since he's carrying no weapons and has broken no laws or rules of the house, detaining him in public is an unwise move. He claims only to be here to "check out Saul's newest project and meet his newest pals," at which point he nods to the PCs and says pointedly, "That means you!" He stays around to play a few rounds of Golem before leaving—as he does so, he leaves a generous tip with the bouncer at the door, instructing him to split the 20 GP between himself and the PCs "with Clegg's best wishes."

Later, a terrified and breathless cook seeks out the PCs with the news that a "big red snake's got into the scullery!" In this event, the snake already bit one worker, who is now unconscious in the scullery and bleeding. The snake is nowhere to be found so the PCs first stabilize the employee then heal her to wakefulness. She explains that she was getting ready to wash some dishes and flipped the wash tub over only to be bitten by the snake and passed out.

The PCs thoroughly search of the scullery for the snake, but instead find a scrap of paper under the tub where the snake was hidden. The scrap simply shows a crude drawing of Saul Vancaskerkin, now with both hands missing and a brief threat scribbled below: "Looking to go two for two, Saul? Pack up, get out of town, and you'll be fine!" When shown the note, Saul shakes his head but refuses to succumb to the threat.

A New Friend

One night a couple of days later, a young half-elf woman with wavy red hair and a few Varisian tattoos on her face and neck comes into the Gold Goblin. She stands out among the Gold Goblin's regular crowd—what with the combination of her cleanly attire, beauty, and quiet demeanour. Rupert greets her. She smiles at him (after looking him over) and introduces herself as Samaritha Beldusk. Samaritha isn't here to gamble, though—she's looking for a job.

Samaritha tells Rupert that she came to Riddleport several weeks ago, intrigued by the Cyphergate Riddle and harbouring hopes of becoming a full-fledged Cyphermage. Unfortunately, no Cyphermages were taking apprentices when she arrived, and now with the group so distracted by 'The Blot', she feels she has little hope of finding such a patron. With her funds running low, she resigned herself to a long wait with a mundane job until her prospects brightened. After having a tough time finding a respectable job that didn't require her to abandon her morals, she came to the Gold Goblin to apply as a waitress or greeter. If she can’t get a job here, she has resigned herself to spending the last of her money to return to Magnimar and abandoning her dream of becoming a Cyphermage.

Samaritha is not overly enthusiastic about this new job, but her natural friendliness and honest nature shine through. Rupert agrees to bring her in (she seems to have taken a liking to him) and after talking with the rest of the group, the PCs go talk to Saul. Convincing Saul to hire her is a simple task, and once she's on staff, her positive attitude, friendliness, and good looks do their work—profitability picks up slightly over the next few days. She serves quite well as a greeter/server and as a spotter in the catwalks. Samaritha doesn't have anywhere to stay in Riddleport, and Saul agrees to let her take one of the guest rooms as her own in return for lowering her weekly pay.

Later during one of the longer conversation between Samaritha and Rupert she professes that she doesn't really enjoy the prospect of 'adventuring' (she's got an aversion to filth and something of a fear of blood). But she tells Rupert that if he really needs her along at some point, she might just learn to put aside her fears to join them in their adventures.

A Missing Employee

During the third week of the PCs' employment, Vancaskerkin approaches them in the morning and states that the floor manager Larur Feldin has apparently gone missing. The last Saul knew, Feldin was going to stop by the office of a local moneylender to pay off a chunk of debt that Saul owed. When Larur didn't show up for work this morning, Saul sent a runner to Larur's apartment only to discover that his one-bedroom flat was empty—the front door hanging open and its contents burgled, with no sign of Larur at all. Saul fears that Larur might have met with some sort of trouble, and suspects that trouble might have something to do with Lymas Smeed, the moneylender Larur was going to visit. Larur Feldin

Vancaskerkin reluctantly admits that one of the ways he was able to finance the Gold Goblin's refurbishment was by taking out a loan from Lymas Smeed, using the Gold Goblin itself as collateral. The loan itself, Saul sheepishly explains, was for 2,000 GP, and he's barely been able to pay back any of it. Larur was to pay 500 GP of the loan yesterday evening, the largest payment yet—something Saul's only been able to afford with the PCs' help. He further muses that rumours hold that Smeed works for Clegg Zincher, and wouldn't put it past the man to ask Smeed to do something to Feldin as a warning to Saul

Vancaskerkin gives the PCs directions to Lymas Smeed's townhouse on Rat Street, and advises that they begin their search for Feldin there. First though, they stop by Feldin's house, and find the place has already been claimed as a home by a drunken squatter. After tossing his ass out into the street they give the place the once-over but nothing else is evident.

The Flat on Rat Street

Lymas Smeed occupies a townhouse crammed in among the tenements on Rat Street in a rundown section of Riddleport. There are two entrances to Lymas's home and place of business—a front and back door. A sign out front of Lymas's front door shows a stack of gold coins above a name: Rat Street Loans—by appointment only.

Going to the back door the PCs see a pile of barrels and old crates containing refuse and garbage. Looking through one of the barrels uncovers a poorly hidden green cloak trimmed in sable—Larur Feldin's cloak, instantly recognizable by the PCs. The cloak itself is slashed and bloodstained. The blood is still fairly fresh. The back door is locked and Jax is unable to pick it.

Going to the front door (locked), they pound on it until a metal plate slides open to reveal two piggish eyes, one of which bears a painful-looking sty. The smell of sweat and expensive cigar comes wafting out. Lymas says "I know who you are! Tell Saul that what he owes me is gonna double if he ever dares send his thugs to my place again!" Dar holds the cloak up and demands to know what he did with Feldin. Lymas denies knowing where it came from, but adds, "If it belonged to one of Saul's cronies, I say good riddance!"

Mal, having had enough, blasts the lock with his scattergun and kicks the door open. Lymas curses and falls back from the reception room through a door way, slamming and locking doors as he is heard fleeing to the upper floor. Kicking that door open, they are greeted by a room dominated by a fireplace, a long chain attached to it lying on the floor and an overly large baboon. It seems particularly ill-tempered and surly. Lymas doesn't live alone it seems—he has Otsk, his 'guard dog'. The PCs dispatch the baboon then Lymas having just enough time to clear out before the gendarmes arrive.

Back at the Gold Goblin they tell Saul what happened, who expresses sorrow over Larur Feldin's apparent death, but is extremely grateful the PCs managed to avenge him. He immediately promotes Rupert to the position of floor manager and renegotiates his deal with the PCs to express his gratitude and trust in them. He makes them full partners in the Gold Goblin, increasing their weekly pay from 10 GP to 25 GP, with the promise that if they remain working with him for a full year he plans on retiring and ceding full ownership of the Gold Goblin to them. He states he believes the success of the Gold Goblin rests on their efforts as he is just an old man long past his prime and hopes he can eventually retire and completely turn the day-to-day management of the gambling hall over to them.

A few days later, a man comes in claiming to have knowledge about Feldin's death, for a price. The PCs give him 5 GP and he says that he saw a man jump Feldin a couple of blocks from his flat before Larur got there. He thinks that it was the beggar thief known as the 'Splithog Pauper'. It is rumoured that this thief runs out of St. Caspierian's Mission, a run down 'temple' to Sarenrae.

St. Caspierian's Salvation

Soon enough, the searchers come to their destination. A beggar outside asked for gold, but the PCs simply present him with questions for which he has no answers. He advises they not go upstairs as any who go up there never come down.

Within St. Caspierian's wall, they see many people hunched upon the ancient pews that had been constructed from its founder, Saint Caspierian. There are many people, all taking refuge from the trials outside. One man, wearing only a soiled loin cloth and handmade angel wings, asks if he could save the PCs. He promises to give them Sarenrae's blessing like he had to so many others. Once received, their lives would be complete. The PCs refuse however, as they spotted a man praying by an alter that is clearly the high priest.

They approach Father Padrick and his adviser Jhonas. Upon the wall, Sarenrae's holy symbol is only barely visible as age and vandalism has reduced it to a faded outline. Questioning the father about this Splitstreet Pauper, he acknowledges that the man arrived some months ago. He is upstairs, but Father Padrick has not seem him since then. Like the beggar, Patrick advises they not go upstairs as there is nothing but trouble awaiting. Of course the PCs take the stairs to the second level.

They soon begin exploring rooms. The bash in the first locked door they come to-and come face-to-face with three small scorpions, and their handlers who are definitely not roguish. The scorpions sting and claw the PCs but are soon smashed. Moving into the confined room, the PCs deal with the human named Rasper. As they do so, Rasper's half-orcish friend Badeye almost caved in Rupert's skull with a vicious morningstar hit. Dar closes some of the elf's cuts as Mal used 'Take That!' to give Rasper a bad day, blowing a hole through the human with his scattergun.

Leaving Badeye as the only opponent remaining, and the half-orc is as tough as he looks. Mal gets knocked out, leaving Jax and Dar to deal with the half-orc. Badeye really gives Dar a good beating, but in the end, Jax finishes him off with a rapier to the spleen. Dealing with the two downed PCs, Dar heals everyone back to health.

Continuing the enter an unexplored room seeming to hold supplies and very minor stolen items. Leaving that room, the PCs enter a room with an elf archer and another man who seems to be a surgeon as he is standing next to a table with various instruments for the trade. Brandy the Surgeon was quick to fall from Rupert's magic missiles. That leaves the elf (he calls himself Garphael) who drops his bow and puts his hands to his sides, not wanting to fight anymore. After some questioning, he gives up the answer they want. This is the headquarters of the Splithog Paupers, run by one Beltias Kreun—the beggar at the front door. Yes they did dispose of Larur Feldin's body but didn't kill him-"we are not assassins!" Before giving up any more information though, a crossbow bolt flies into his neck killing him instantly. Turning, the PCs see this Beltias Kreun hanging from the window with a light crossbow falling from his hand. As they take flight after him, Kreun flips himself up onto the roof of the mission. Belias Kreun

The PCs split with Jax, Mal and Balto going out the window to climb onto the roof. Dar and Rupert go down to chase from the street level, and hopefully cast spells. After and extended chase, Beltias is obviously both more knowledgeable of and better at evasion than the PCs on the roof-tops. He escapes after Mal falls into an alley and Dar has to help him. Only Jax is able to keep up, but the cunning Kreun eventually out jumps him, leaving him alone on a roof 5 blocks from the Mission before disappearing into an alley.

Before leaving, the PCs head back in and inform Father Padrick that the Mission is now clear. If that "bastard of a rogue" comes back, to call the PCs at the Gold Goblin and they will deal with him. Both Father Padrick and Jhonas thank the PCs and, Padrick gives them a couple of cure light wound potions telling them that he can supply more later if they need it, with a slight donation, of course.

Attack on the Foamrunner

A week or so after the PCs handle Lymas Smeed, Vancaskerkin receives word that a shipment of exotic liquor has arrived at the docks, destined for the Gold Goblin. Saul placed the order many months ago, hoping that it would arrive in time for the Cheat the Devil tournament, but the shipment was delayed by several storms. It currently awaits offloading aboard the cog Foamrunner, which has docked at the wharves and waits for pick-up. Saul tasks the PCs with coordinating the transport of the four casks of exotic liquor from the docks to the Gold Goblin—they're welcome to take up to four of the Gold Goblin's six bouncers for protection and labour. Saul urges the PCs to hurry, since once word gets out that the rare liquor is in port, he wouldn't put it past several of the city's other crimelords, or even the Overlord himself, from attempting to claim the shipment for their own use.

Arriving at the dock, the PCs go talk with Captain Fizgabon of the Foamrunner and get the guards to help the stevedores begin loading the casks onto the cart. As soon as the first cask is loaded, a large man wearing what looks like Korvosan Guard armor comes around the corner with six other toughs riding on a waggon pulled by 2 horses. When the 'guard' sees the PCs he yells out "I'm Braddikar Faje and this cargo is being commandeered in the name of Clegg Zincher. Walk away and your lives are spared!"

Captain Fizgabon immediately orders his men back aboard the ship to wait and see who emerges victorious.

The PCs opt to fight off this act of grand larceny, telling their guards to "stay with the waggon," eventually dispatching all the thugs until only Faje remains. Faje tells them that killing him won't help, all it will do is piss Zincher off. They take him up on his word as Jax puts his rapier through the man's armpit and into his heart, killing him.

Fizgabon lets the PCs know that it was nothing personal "Business is business after-all." The stevedores loot the other bodies before dumping them in the harbour. Faje they leave to the PCs, but it is suggested that he also get 'deep-sixed'. With no other interruption, the waggon is loaded and the PCs make it back to the Gold Goblin without further incident.

Because of this really good liquor the following week does great business!

The Raid

During the next few days, the PCs hear from the clientèle of their increased reputation in running an honest establishment without having ties to any crimelord. This is a good and bad place to be.

It comes to a head one evening, just after closing hours, after the last customers of the night are ushered out of the building and the help is cleaning up the mess. The PCs are working their normal jobs until all done for the night.

Suddenly, a group consisting of four thugs led another break into the main hall by crashing through windows and immediately attack the four bouncers at work there. While the PCs help take care of the problem, one of the bouncers is killed before dispatching the rest. The leader-type has a note from Boss Croat telling him to cooperate with Zincher's men, and not to worry about the gendarmes tonight.

While this is being cleaned up, Samaritha (up on the catwalk) spots a group of three men at the top of the stairs. They look to be hunting (Saul maybe?) not concerned with the fracas down below. She whistles and the PCs take note. Dar and Jax are the first to head up the stairs when they hear a scream from one of the scullery maids from the hallway. Mal, Balto and Rupert are left to find that 3 more 'carpet men' have broken through the window in the hallway. The scullery maid vanishes. Dar, Jax and Samaritha deal with the upstairs group. Mal, Balto and Rupert deal with the downstairs group. The PCs have taken some licks from all this and in the middle of getting healed and the rest of the staff beginning clean up, the front door is bashed in with a ram.

A group of five burst in and head right for the cashier's cage and Saul! With a bit more difficulty the PCs finish cleaning house. In the end, Saul recognizes on of the upstairs dead as Jasker Gant, one of Clegg's lieutenants.

Knowing that there won't be any interruption tonight, the 'guests' are relieved of any valuables and brought down to the docks for late-night feeding to the local aquatic fauna.

Part Three

Boneyard Ambush

The next day, armed with information from last night's raid, Vancaskerkin reveals to the party that he has dug-up a plot between local crimelords and corrupt government officials to eradicate the Gold Goblin and its owners once and for all. Saul provides the PCs with the location of a meeting between these conspirators in the city's flooded dumping grounds. The PCs head there to set-up before the late afternoon meeting.

A New Ally

When the PCs arrive, set to thwart this plot and unmask the individuals behind it. However, they are warned of an ambush at the last minute by a strange wild elf from a distant land, Kwava. Turning the attack on the ambushers, the PCs learn that their employer is actually behind the treachery in an attempt to eliminate them from the partnership. Kwava

Back to the Gold Goblin

Returning to the Gold Goblin, the PCs find hired mercenaries barring entrance to the building. Inside, the PCs confront Saul Vancaskerkin and learn he is actually in league with a much more sinister force and has been using the PCs as pawns all along.

Part Four

Under the Gold Goblin

Through a secret door in the basement, they discover tunnels that lead to this new business partner, a wicked drow elf named Depora Azrinae.

Excavation

A climactic battle, with the drow scaling the Cyphergate itself and the PCs in hot pursuit, takes place. They are victorious and with the help of Samaritha, provide as much information as they have to the Cyphermages. As they recover from their battles, though, a final event strikes—a falling star streaks across the sky to strike the distant island of Devil's Elbow—a harbinger indeed of worse things to come. Though for the PCs, another call draws them away leaving others to deal with the situation. Battle Of The Cyphergate

Index: Chapter 1

Gold Goblin Gambling Hall
An Inn, casino and tavern found in Riddleport and currently owned by Vaelin (Rupert) Silvermoon, Samaritha Beldusk and Esdar Aearril.

Riddleport
A lawless port city at the northern tip of the Varisian Gulf in Varisia.

Magnimar
A large cosmopolitan port city at the southern tip of the Varisian Gulf in Varisia.

Saul Vancaskerkin
Deceased. Owner of the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall in Riddleport. 'Out of Favour' crimelord in Riddleport. Felled by the PCs.

Old Scratch
Deceased. An imp seemingly under the control of Saul Vancaskerkin. Felled by the PCs.

Angvar Thestlecrit
Deceased. A Chelish wizard who attempted to hold up the Gold Goblin on the night of the grand gambling event-Cheat the Devil and Take his Gold. Felled by the PCs.

Thuvalia Barabbio
Deceased. Accomplice to Angvar Theslecrit in the failed heist at the Gold Goblin. Felled by the PCs.

Clegg Zincher
Crimelord in Riddleport. Owner of the Arena. Business associate of Samaritha Beldusk.

Samaritha Beldusk
Elf Cyphermage. Wife to Vaelin Silvermoon. Co-owner of the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall. Business associate of Clegg Zincher.

Larur Feldin
Deceased. Dwarf Expert, Floor manager at the Gold Goblin.

Lymas Smeed
Deceased. Money-lender on Rat Street. In the employ of Boss Croat.

Father Padrick
An elderly man with a hacking cough and arthritic joints, cleric of Sarenrae and head of St. Caspierian's Mission.

Beltias Kreun
A beggar-master and petty conman also known as 'The Splithog Pauper' in Riddleport. Attempted to take over St. Caspierian's Mission as his hideout. The Mission was returned to the Church of Sarenrae, in the care of Father Padrick and his young caretaker Jhonas Astreson, after the PCs foiled Kreun—but not before he escaped.

Braddikar Faje
Deceased. Leader of the gang that attacked Saul's cargo delivery aboard the Foamrunner. Looked like an old Korvosan guard. Felled by the PCs.

Kwava
A wild elf of the Ekujae tribe of the distant Mwangi Expanse far to the south. He eventually found the small town of Crying Leaf at the edge of the Mierani Forest. Here, he first learned of the Shin'Rakorath. After hearing the company's rhetoric, 'to be the light against the coming darkness', Kwava took it as a sign and joined the mercenary company. His direct superior in the Shin'Rakorath explained that he feared a renegade elf from the Mierani Forest might have fled to the human city of Riddleport, where the renegade might have recruited the aid of one of that city's crimelords. Friend of the PCs.

Depora Azrinae
Deceased. Saul's silent partner and leader of the excavation team in Riddleport. Also the feared 'renegade elf' that Kwava was sent to find. Felled by the PCs.

Cyphergate
The enigmatic Cyphergate looms large over Riddleport's harbor, a constant reminder of the transience of life and even civilization, since few can even imagine what society might have raised this architectural wonder. The arch rises 350 feet above the water below at high tide, rising from the rocky crags on either side of the harbor mouth—its diameter is exactly 700 feet. Rectangular in cross section and 35 feet wide, the sides bear massive runes and glyphs. It is of an unidentifiable stone of almost supernatural hardness that resists most efforts at defacing or marking, and has weathered countless years amazingly well.

There is speculation that the arch is actually the upper portion of a great stone ring, the bottom of which lies buried beneath the harbor, and long-abandoned excavations have shown that it descends deeply into the bedrock, but how far down it goes and how it could have been implanted in the natural stone remains a mystery, as do the meanings of the runes on its sides. Some researchers note that these runes are similar to those that comprise the Thassilonian language, yet each bears subtle differences that make translation difficult, if not impossible. Most scholars believe that the runes have no meaning, and are simply decorative.

Magical attempts to decipher the runes have supported this theory, yet the Order of Cyphers believes that this simply points to the runes' mystic nature, that even magic cannot decipher their meaning or the Cyphergate's true purpose. Cracking this code has become the primary goal of the Order, yet they are no closer to solving it today than they were when their order was founded.

Cyphermages
Members of the Order of Cyphers whose ongoing mission is to unravel the mysteries of the Cyphergate. They are head-quartered at Cypher Lodge in Riddleport. Their current leader is Elias Tammerhawk, an accomplished wizard who has been elected as speaker of the order for the last two consecutive 8-year terms. Samaritha is one of their members.

Devil's Elbow
An island 18 miles south-west from Riddleport in the Varisian Gulf. Devil's Elbow is a mountainous island, heavily forested with pine trees, firs, redwoods, and cypress trees. Reefs and dangerous rocks surround the island except for one narrow approach to a sheltered cove on its northern side, and most of the island’s shores are rocky cliffs averaging 100 feet in height. The island terrain itself is rugged, with its highest peak being 800 feet above sea level. Birds, bats, and other flying animals are common fauna, and there’s a relatively large population of deer, wild boar, wild dogs, stirges, giant centipedes, snakes, donkey rats, and rabbits on the island as well. Most of these animals and vermin were introduced to the island by settlers from the south 5 decades ago.

Chapter 2: Seven Swords of Sin

Initial Location Golarion, Avistan, Varisia, Riddleport
Time 4709 AR, 21st day of Gozran (4th month), beginning of spring
Players
  Mersit Of The Raging Tree, catfolk swashbuckler/rogue
..... Aaron Collins
  Taarn, kellid barbarian
..... Mick Hodorek
  Ashen, elf bladebound magus
..... Mike Horrigan
  Rupert Silvermoon, elf wizard
..... Jonathan Hood
  Esdar (Dar) Aearril, half-elf cleric
..... NPC

Introduction

It begins, as with so many great stories, with a knock on the door after dark: a quiet summons; a plea for discretion. While the Church of Abadar is strong, there are times when brute force is less useful than guile; when the needle works better than the hammer. And more, there are times when to further your ideals you must look not to true believers, but to those who can make whatever compromise is necessary to get the job done.

We are in the Gold Goblin tavern/casino in Riddleport (north of the sea). It's been 9 months since the events of Second Darkness. Riddleport has the Cyphergate-a huge arc at the port of the city. Past disagreements have been resolved by now.

Rupert & Dar are approached by Mansir of Belagast, a prelate of Abadar (bank runner for the church) and an acquaintance of Dar's. He is enquiring about Rupert's group of adventuring friends. The church has a problem. Would we be willing to cross the gulf to meet with Wen Histani in Magnimar (south of sea) who can provide more info about this delicate affair. Rupert expresses interest. Mansir states that he would be looked upon kindly. There is a ship leaving soon that could be made available. Dar is already packed. Rupert says Mansir has to talk to his team. Taarn asks "How long is the ride?" Mansir answers "4 l/2 days-get to Port 4 by mid-afternoon, if you are interested. Then to Pier 6 and the ship, Vars Monumentus. Just state you are the company from the Gold Goblin." Rupert says "We will be there if interested." Mansir responds "May the light and keys of the exalted one be a blessing on you."

Magnimar is a city state similar to Riddleport & Korvosa-known as city of monuments. Magnimar has a gargantuan broken bridge known as the Irespan, jutting our half a mile before falling into the sea. The pillars are mini towns in themselves (within). One is library, another is the law enforcement headquarters. These are still on land, others are out in the gulf.

Wen Histani We get on and off the ship without incident. Arrive in Magnimar 26th Gozran. We then proceed to the first bank of Magnimar. It is morning and it is open. We inquire at the help desk and we are ushered in after stating we would like to meet Wen. We are then greeted by the beautiful Wen Histani. She is richly adorned (looks like a terrorist). She is grim despite her hotness.

"You have been chosen," she begins, "for a matter of utmost importance. All of you possess abilities that could come in handy in the task set for you, but before I go farther, I must reiterate again that this matter must be held in the strictest confidence."

"Just over a month ago, an item was stolen from one of our vaults. The break-in was an audacious one, and a vulgar display of magical power—the vault's guardians themselves, all priests of no mean strength, were overcome by enchantments that convinced them to open the vault, allowing the thief to simply walk in and take what she desired. By itself, that would be enough to concern us. But there's more."

"The item stolen was a powerful relic from the ancient past known as the Sword of Lust, one of a set of corrupt weapons known collectively as the Seven Swords of Sin. While by itself it might not pose an overwhelming threat, after the break-in whispers began to reach us of similar occurrences in private collections, government armouries, and so forth. People are naturally reluctant to talk about what has been taken, but it's our belief that the thief is foolish enough to try assembling all seven swords. Through our investigations and communion with our Lord, we've managed to trace the twisting paths back to a single woman, a powerful enchantress named Tirana. She dwells somewhere in Kaer Maga, a corrupt den of thieves and apostates located high on the Storval Ridge."

"We aren't certain what she plans, but it's easy enough to see that it bodes ill for Varisia. If she were to succeed in actually taking control of all the swords, the power she would wield would be immense. Cities could burn. Rivers could boil. Churches," she finishes with a grim smile, "could crumble."

"That’s where you come in."

Game Notes

The echoes of our laughter resound throughout the chamber when Rupert asks if the swords are magical. Ashen suggests that they are likely intelligent.

We need to take the Merchant Caravan inland to Kaer Maga—about l6 days travel. Wen arranges travel and some clothes to blend in. We will act as agents of procurement for a collector of antiquities. We are hoping Tirana will seek us out.

On the trip we keep to ourselves and Rupert tries to gain info without giving any away. At the approach, we see the creepy cliff side of haunting stone visages which appear to be added to the side not carved. The Storval Ridge is a cliff 3000' high of sheer drop stretching for hundreds of miles to either side of Kaer Maga. At the bottom of the approach there is a cave entrance—the Twilight Path.

We also see soldiers greeting us. After paying the toll, we proceed up a large corkscrew type pathway/stairs. It is a 5 hour trek to the top. In the middle of the night a lungbat (who can mimic a dragon) alerts Taarn who wakes the party. The caravan leader explains they are harmless. So we go back to bed.

We reach the top at pre-dawn. The city walls are of hexagonal structure are 8O' high, some 50' thick and a huge hole in one side allows access to the interior. We are at a small encampment area where we need to stay until the gates open at sunrise.

At dawn, as the city awakes there is pretty loud cacophony of noise. It appears to look like a sort of shanty town built in the walls at the entrance leading to the central core. It is an odd assemblage of buildings/structures built on top of each other—wherever they could hang something.

Kaer Maga As the caravans move in, the merchant groups hire kids to lead themselves in. When we head in, we select a young lad named Dart who is more then willing to help up (for a price). He suggests we go to the Tarheel Promenade. "Allow me to lead you—you don't want to get lost." Rupert requests a woman—which throws Dart off a bit (ok, a lot).

After some negotiating for side-trips, Dart leads us via The Bottoms for all our 'needs'. Afterwards, Dart leads us to a hospice () where we will wait for him to smooth the way with bribes (1 gold and 4 silver). He warns us to watch out for the Augurs—gross looking troll soothsayers.

We debate our cover story—we can't sell our fake gems and jewellery! Rupert and Ashen push Dart to appraise a broach. He seems confused but guesses 10 gold (a bad guess?). He does mention that this a haggling town. Rupert inadvertently reveals we don't actually have anything of value. We will pay him extra to remain silent.

We tell him our second cover story (not too believably though) about representing a collector who wants high end weapons—particularly ancient swords.

Dart is a bit apprehensive but appears to be able to help us. He leads us to our 'spot' in the Tarheel Promenade after taking a complicated path to get there and back to the hospice. A guide is very valuable in this town.

Our 'shop' is set-up and we make l5 GP for the day, though some customers were 'offended' by our cheap shit—but then everyone is offended by some merchant in this area.

Dart returns at dusk and we decide to leave the cart (paying night guards to keep watch) but bring our wares back to the hospice. You can't be too careful after all. Taarn complains that he is not a mule and isn't impressed carrying the crap.

The next day at noon, Dart reports that he may have a lead. A merchant here in town deals with items that move very quickly. Things no one should know about. He's two blocks away from our stall—a dwarf named Gadka Burtannon.

We ask how best to approach Gadka—can we just walk in? He also has a 'front' similar to us. Dart brings us to introduce us to Gadka. "Everything is for sale." he says, "for the right price!" We manage to get him to understand that we have a client looking for 'rare' (once a thousand years type rare) sword. He will help us if we help him with a gang problem—run by Tirana and The Splitstreet gang—extorting Gadka making it impossible to make a living. He has done business with Tirana in the past (acquiring items for her weird experiments).

He knows where to find her and needs us to handle the goons-but without making it look like Gadka's behind It. Gadka figures out we are looking for a stolen sword.

Game Notes March 23, 2014

Recap: About to battle!

We 'setup' in the street expecting to confront the 'toughs' at the corner of Half-Chicken Walk & Fever Street. At around 4pm, the thugs show up around the corner and start hassling orange/white tent guy-shaking him down right in front of Taarn. The audacity! He then challenges the thugs: "This is our land now! Step off!" This gets some of their attention (2) who look directly at Taarn. The others look around while 2 concentrate on the shake down. T1: "Get out of our face—we are protected, ...Splitstreet Gang" Taarn gives an awesome threatening speech involving fur and cleaving… This generates some confusion before they decide to inish.

Mersit moves up next to Taarn and hacks at a thug who tumbles up beside Taarn; Two others flank Taarn but don't do much damage; The others surround Mersit; Ashen hears in his head "Something hinky here boss" as he attacks and drops a thug.
Mersit moves and hits T2 while T3 flees from the battle, in fact, they all try to flee (and they seem slightly faster than would be expected!); Rupert fires some Magic Missiles at one of the thugs while Taarn warns them not to return; Ashen gets further mystery warnings in his head.

Looting: brown sashes; chain shirt +1; fine rapier (mtwk); comp short bow (str+2) w/ 20 arrows; potion of cure moderate wounds.

The populace is in shock from the sudden explosion of violence but some also express anger at the thugs (kicking the body).

We return to Gadka... who is very pleased with the comeuppance of the gang. "I am at your disposal." We are now given preferred customer access. (minor wondrous items). We sell chain shirt (625 GP); rapier 160 GP; short bow 110 GP

Gadka tells Dart where Tirana is located (entrance to get to her is south between the Bottoms & the Cavalcade near an old mill). We have apparently won new found fame—other shops might favour us with discounts. (Anything within 6 blocks give us 20% off).

We go back to our inn to get some food and drink and rest up for leaving the next morning. Ashen looks for a particular potion but Gadka could not get it in yet (perhaps tomorrow). Dart informs us that the Street gang has been chased off. He then leads us to Tirana's entrance. We arrive just before noon. During our trip we see the troll augers—gross. They use their own guts and entrails to tell fortunes. The dusk wardens look cool and swarthy. We also see 'blind' monks walking around—people get out of their way. We spy a big red samurai looking guy chained with a small fella in fine apparels (is the samurai a bodyguard? He was walking two paces behind and seemed to be on the lookout). Taarn and Ashen overhear a merchant: "those Iridian fold... so strange." means nothing.

We get near to the entrance of the old mill near the bottoms (people seem cheerier down here). Looks to be mostly human (Varisians) but some half-elves, elves, and a minority of other types. As we near the destination, we notice the streams/canals of water gathering in this location (source of the cliff waterfalls). On one side of a stream is the bottoms, the other is the cavalcade—in the middle is an island with the mill (with broken wheel). The upper portion has collapsed but the lower floor is intact. We get Dart to agree to come back at noon and 6pm every day until we return (1 SP per visit for him).

We approach the mill, 'unarmed', and are pelted by arrows (Mersit takes the brunt). Taarn and Ashen determine the attackers are on the roofs of the buildings leading to the mill.

Mersit climbs up to one of the roofs (almost makes it); Taarn climbs easier up to an opposite roof to take on other attacker-who rises and tries to bull rush at the barbarian by flipping and landing on Taarn's chest with both feet, he fails and flips back… uh oh; More arrows and attacking back by magic users.
Mersit does awesome kip up (panache), flip past, pull out cutlass and stabs his guy; Taarn rages at his attacker with great axe - huge spray of blood; Another attacker joins in against Taarn trying to bull rush but also failing; A guy tries to jump and stab Mersit but misses—jumps away; Rupert fires two scorching rays and red dots an archer on the roof—"Take that, mother fucker!"; Ashen uses lightning bolt wand to mess up the roof attacker stuck in glitter dust (fired earlier by Ashen); One of the attacker on Mersit jumps down and messes with Rupert.
Mersit moves over and puts the hurt on the attacker left; Taarn keeps missing; The attackers keep trying to push him off but fails and falls prone; Rupert uses shocking grasp attack on his thug—creating a skeleton; Ashen chases the running thug and tries a scorching ray attack; He creates a smoldering pile; Meanwhile, the thugs try to flank Taarn but miss... unfortunately Taarn keeps on missing also; The prone thug tries to get up but Taarn slices him in half sending his head into the air; Rupert fires a force missile; Thug runs!
Mersit runs him down but clumsy Ashen gets in the catfolk's way preventing his charge; Rupert fires another force missile into the runner; Ashen moves into position but misses; The thug keeps running... or tries to run.
Mersit gets another shot and cuts him dead.

Game Notes April 21, 2014

Clean up of roof top battle. Healing and looting is our next steps-Dar heals up Mersit & Ashen. We do a search and dump (in the river) of the bodies.

Looting Recap: 26 GP, 76 SP, MW Rapier x 5, MW Comp Short bow (+2 STR) x 5, 5x potion of cure moderate wounds—divided in the party.

We dump the bodies on waterfall side (south side of the tower), put good stuff in bag and tie then throw into the stream, and stack arrows near a refuse pile. We see ports on the north side but we don't see anyone. We approach the entrance and notice the symbol of an owl (Council of Truth) etched in the wall. Mersit examines the door for traps but doesn't detect any. The door is locked/bared however. Mersit then tries to unlock it but fails. Taarn (with aid) tries a couple of times to smash through but it's too strong (confirmed by engineering expert Rupert). Wise Owl

We attempt to climb over-Taarn will brace himself up the smooth walls but seems frozen as he starts up. Mersit fires a grappling arrow blindly and manages to catch something—Taarn is able to climb up to the '2nd story' area which would normally be a roof. He can look down to see the mill stone inside (but not the door itself due to the angle and beams). Then some arrows are fired at the barbarian from somewhere below. They hit Taarn—it's on!

Mersit climbs up to join Taarn on the beams; Another arrow is fired but misses; Taarn leaps down, falls prone, and kips up to face the attacker #1 with longbow (who steps back to draw his sword); Ashen starts climbing up the rope; Rupert and Dar wait for the door to open.
Mersit charges down and hits attacker #2 (16 HP); He also steps back and pulls out a rapier; Taarn does something cool—a dazzling display of axe wizardry—and this demoralizes the enemy; Ashen climbs the rest of the way and leaps down (falling down drunk).
Mersit moves up to attack #2 and gets attacked but Mersit avoids the blade, then returns the favour and bloodies the attacker; Taarn moves up on his attacker and in his haste #2 drops his weapon as he tried to attack the barbarian—Taarn hits him back hard; Ashen kips up and tries to open the door but strains his back trying.
Mersit kills his attacker, followed quickly by Taarn finishing off his man; Ashen tries again but strains his back again (second nat 1 rolled in a row).

Looting: 2x potion of cure moderate wounds; 27 GP, 66 SP.

Taarn and Mersit try to open the door but can't either (Ashen scoffs). Mersit notices some pins keeping the door in place which are easily removed. After that, Taarn is able to open the front door. Moving on: Mersit checks an interior door and it leads to a spiral staircase. We line up with Taarn and Rupert carrying light spells. It leads to an elegant room with a trough of water (koi pond) with orange fish. An assortment of pillows is on the ground; a lit brazier smokes in a corner; red velvet drapes on either side; a table in on the southern wall. The room is well-lit. The lanterns detect as magic. There is a door at the far end.

On a table is a wooden box and a small incense bowl. The box just contains incense for the bowl. At the far end is the oriental rug/pillow area. Ashen notices the smoke from the brazier goes into the wall at some point (secret door? peep hole?). Ashen sees a slit in the wall which would allow someone to easily see into the room-he then sees about 6 other similar holes.

We move and after checking for traps, Mersit opens the far door... to find an Inish; On the other side is a 10 foot corridor (perpendicular) with 3 toughs (green, yellow, red), they gang up on Mersit who tries and fails to acrobat over them-Mersit then retreats to draw them in (as does the others); Taarn issues a challenge to the toughs to enter but they simply close the door.

Rupert ties a rope around the door handle; Ashen used mage hand to unlatch the door; Dar pulls on the rope; allowing Taarn to charge into the fray; The toughs have aligned themselves with bows in anticipation—they stick Taarn with a couple of arrows who ignores this and brings the pain to red thug; Mersit moves in a slices green thug for 15 HP.
Rupert casts Magic Missile at yellow thug (who is now bloodied); Dar fires a Storm Burst over yellow thug which gives them some minuses to ATK for a round & NL damage; Ashen advances and using a flame sword on yellow guy knocks him down dead in a fiery husk (this description appended by Ashen); Red thug tumbles beside Taarn to draw his weapon—the barbarian misses on the AoO; Ashen's on Red on his attack; Green fails his tumble as well and Mersit makes him pay with his life (critical hit to restore a panache); Then Mersit moves to team up against Red.
Rupert moves in sticks red as well—a wall of death faces the thug; Beyond him, down the corridor, we see a massive stone double door; Ashen moves back to check a back corridor for any other enemies—he sees a long corridor with many doors (including a double bronze door); Red thug acrobats over Rupert and sticks the magic user; Mersit moves over to allow Taarn the kill but the barbarian misses; Mersit then finishes off Red.

Looting: mw comp bow +1 STR x3; mw rapier x 3; sap x 3; 6x potion of cure moderate wounds; 13 GP; 50 SP

Game Notes May 24, 2014

We dump the bodies into the koi pond, and then move to the northern double doors. Two great bronze doors with owl image on them with a dial circle in the middle. Trap check: none. Ashen sees a flash of someone sneaking down a side corridor. The bronze doors are locked but before Mersit can do more, Ashen notices a second monk-looking thug (mug?) sneaking down the first corridor we came from. INISH! Talisha

Ashen fires arrows at the mug-misses; Taarn moves down the side corridor and sees a third mug, he attempts to intimidate a mug (M3)—"You suck scissors!"—and is successful; M1 moves up to attack Ashen, gibbering something (some eastern dialect?) as he hurts Ashen with a rapier; Mersit moves to stab M1 and inflicts some hurt; Down the northern corridor, Esdar see a leather clad red whip carrying chick—could be trouble... Suddenly, Rupert is shiv'd and an invisible attacker appears—M4 (similar to other monk-like attackers); Esdar attacks M4 with a trident but misses; M3 moves (though shaken) and attacks Taarn—fails; M2 charges Mersit and misses; Rupert misses M4 and moves; Red Whip swings her whip around and creates tendrils of swirls, then begins to chant/sing and the mugs seem charged by her chanting.
Ashen moves back 5 feet, pulls out his sword, and casts Vampiric Touch on his weapon; Taarn power attacks and tries to sunder M3's weapon—succeeding in destroying the rapier! Taarn's second attack misses; M1 moves up and attacks Ashen with bluff attack but fails to sucker him in; M4 shifts in and attacks Ashen as well but 'just' misses; Mersit shifts to help Ashen and (using a Panache) does double precision damage to M1; Esdar shifts over and casts Bless on the party; M3 bluffs Taarn and tries to kick Taarn's kneecap—doing a little damage (more like bruising)—then moves back; M2 moves pass Mersit who misses despite a good swing, but then M2 misses himself against Ashen; Rupert shifts toward RedWhip and then fires Scorching Ray at her—hitting her with one of them; Redwhip moves closer and then whips Esdar—a kind of blurring, shadowy effect (which makes an odd rattling bone shattering sound)—the cleric feels a death-like effect but shrugs it off (fort save).
Ashen hits M1 with his Vamp Sword attack and drops his to the ground (the look of horror as M1 realized the face of Ashen is his last view of this world was very satisfying to the sorcerer); Taarn stops fucking around and hits M3 very hard—no longer shaken but very much hurt; M4 flips around to stand between Rupert and Redwhip—Ashen has an AoO but misses (as does Rupert and Esdar); M4 then sticks Rupert but it is only a glancing blow—no damage; Mersit chugs a potion of haste then tries to corner M2; Esdar shifted and threw his lightning bolt trident at Redwhip doing just a little singeing damage; M3 (tired of being played with by Taarn) tries to flee (leaving a piss & shit trail in his path); M2 hits Mersit for minimal damage but the cat is not fooled by his swordplay; Rupert attacks M4 for some damage then falls to the ground laughing his ass off (a spell attack by Redwhip).
Ashen uses spell recall to get Vampiric Touch back on his sword—he then moves to engage Redwhip—whose whip strikes at but misses the sorcerer as he moves in—Ashen also misses though; Taarn charges up the corridor and hits Redwhip very hard; M4 seems to be talking to M2 and Redwhip in their dialect, discussing a course of action—to flank Mersit; M4 and M2 surround the cat and do some damage; In response, Mersit unleashes some hasted damage on M2—making M2 bloodied, then Mersit moves in the corner (kitty corner); Esdar attacks M2 with lightning trident—hitting for some damage and killing the man; M3 continues to flee; M2 attacks and hurts Mersit; Rupert recovers from his laughing attack but is still prone; Redwhip holds up her shield and says a word, unleashing a flash effect that blinds the barbarian & Esdar, then she flees from combat.
Ashen gives chase but as he closes in (within 15') the whip springs to life and attacks for some damage; Ashen is able to reach her and do a little damage which somehow kills her—the smoke on the whip ceases; Mersit kills M4 then moves to meet up with M3 who was retrieving a sword from a body in the koi pond; Rupert stands up to find Taarn and Esdar annoyed at their blindness.
Ashen runs back to the corner telling everyone one that he dropped Redwhip along the way; Mersit drops M3 at the pond; By this time, Taarn and Esdar's blindness has faded.

Looting: M1-4: 4 x mw buckler, 3 x mw rapier, mw comp short bow (ST+1), 4x potion of cure serious wounds (one for each PC), +1 chain shirt x4, 30-40 arrows, 45 GP, 76 SP. Redwhip: +1 blinding heavy darkwood shield-(twice a day on command), +1 ominous scorpion whip, +2 mithral chain shirt (Ashen - we'll sell his shirt), ring of protection +1 (Rupert), 2x potion of cure moderate wounds (Ashen takes them), 150 GP, key on a chain around her neck.

Back to the bronze door; Mersit succeeds in disabling the lock and opens the doors. Inside we see a small stone room—dominated by a large pile of treasure. Things that make you go… hmmmm.

Ashen detects magic—revealing faint Illusion! There is a permanent image over a floor. He then throws a copper coin which looks like it landed on the pile (but we don't hear anything). Mersit thinks it's real but the others see through the illusion. They see stonework behind the treasure but nothing obvious as a trap.

Taarn walks into the middle of the gold pile which remains an illusion then the illusion disappears and the back wall explodes-Taarn see three pairs of glowing red eyes. A clawed hand reaches for the barbarian and in a Thassilonian language "Where is that wretched woman and her infernal lackey!"¹ The explosion of the wall puts some hurt on Taarn. Behind the wall a grey multi-eyed monster that can now be seen. INISH! Grey Render Attack

Esdar starts to cast a Call Lightning spell (full round); Rupert fires Magic Missile at Grey (who identifies it as a Grey Render though the red eyes & speech are odd); Taarn rages and moves forward (AoO from Grey misses) to attack—Taarn hits for some damage; Grey roars "Get out of my way—I have a mission!"¹ as he hits Taarn for bruising damage + some biting real damage, then throwing in some grappling of Taarn along the way, with one hand!; Ashen asks "Was Tirana the one who locked you in?"¹ , the reply "for 18 months I've been locked in that wall!"¹ Ashen "We'll let you go past—we don't want trouble..."¹ Grey "I can't, orders!"¹ Ashen then moves up and misses spectacularly.
Esdar calls down the lightning on Grey-doing some jolting damage causing something to ripple on it's skin; Mersit hits precisely but hears an odd clang sound from under the skin… some kind of robot Grey Render!; Rupert fires more magic missiles; Taarn tries to break his grapple… but cannot shake the big guy; Grey continues to try to squeeze the life out of Taarn; With it's other arm, it tries to smack Ashen, then tries to bite—putting in some toothy damage; Ashen "Ouchy" then successfully attacks but the spell is useless since the thing is an automaton so he backs up to pull out a wand and is greeted with a backhand pimp slap.
Esdar's lightning strike deals more damage; Grey "Yes! Keep hitting me with the power of life!"¹ ; Mersit's attacks go clang again for a little scratch; Rupert continues the magic missile barrage but using the single force attack; We hear some popping, grinding sounds coming from Grey; Taarn cannot break away again; Grey gives Taarn another squeeze for more bruising damage and then backhands Ashen who is sent sprawling back 10 feet, landing prone; Grey's bite misses Mersit; Ashen uses wand of lightning against Grey (& Taarn) which does a lot of damage since it bounces around for 100 feet in the small room until it stops; Taarn goes unconscious dropping his axe.
Esdar's lighting call continues to hit Grey until it's red eyes go out and it slumps inert.

Fuck.

Game Notes May 19, 2014

Post battle pick-up: Taarn still unconscious… others hurting. Esdar casts a healing burst to get us up and on our feet. Taarn wakes up staggered then is fine after a few more bursts. We then move back into the secret room to rest up.

At 2am, Taarn and Ashen hear the sound of rocks dragging across metal (or vice-versa) from the direction of the door. The sound goes on for about 5 minutes then the sound of a huge door being closed is heard (bronze double doors?). Then all is quiet except for some water splashing from the 'koi pond' room. Something very large (draped by what looks to be a large curtain) is picking up the bodies out of the pool and placing the corpses on its shoulder. It doesn't make any significant sound otherwise. After a few minutes, it finishes and takes all the bodies away. Then we hear the sound of a stone door (from down the hallway) moving/opening then closing.

The rest of the party wakes up a little late and are told of the 'clean-up'. We try a middle room with doors on either side. The key we got from whip-chick fits and we can open the door easily. It leads to a same zigzag shaped room with a rocking chair, a desk (with unlit lamp) and a bookcase containing scrolls. Ashen tries detect magic which reveals no magic. Ashen takes a cursory looks at the books and realize it is of complex nature—cross referencing other books on the bookshelf.

Mersit checks a leather-bound box that closed—no traps so he opens it to reveal a scale, silver weights, magnifying glass, jeweller's loop, a book—Specific Weights of Known Metals and Gems of Golarion and other assaying items. Mersit packs it up and puts it in his haversack.

We move on to the big stone double door. These are massive doors of flawless marble with another owl symbol. We cannot open the door—it is magically protected (abjuration, transmutation, enchantment). We move on to a middle room which has an open door. Inside is a large room with many bunk beds (& footlockers); a separate section divided by a red velvet curtain has a bed with a masterwork mandolin, a bronze gong and a wardrobe (containing women's clothing of various types). The chest contains a old wool doll (40-50 years old), silver brush, mirror, comb & toiletries; a small book (in weird scribbles); parchment is a sketch of an old woman. Ashen thinks the book is from a far east language which he can't read. Ashen takes the doll and the book; Rupert takes the silver stuff (and panties?). Mersit takes the mandolin.

Footlockers: little value but 4 of them contain odder monk-type clothing; drawing supplies. One of the 4 has a booklet containing sketches—fairly large. They contain drawings of parts of the city, including a sketch of the thug extortionists as they went about their business. One sketch is of a temple with mountain background—very odd looking temple (eastern style); another is an elevated view to the entrance of a palace carved out of the face of the mountain side with what looks like a secret pathway.

We then move on to the first room to the right of the render construct room. It is a 15 by 10 foot room that is obviously a dining room. The second room to the right is locked but opens with the key. This room is also 15 by 10 (same as other one)—this one contains dry goods supply. The third room is unlocked and same size as the others. This one is a smoke house for meats with some hanging animals and is basically their kitchen.

We continue to the end where we have a choice of more doors and a set of stairs. We ignore the doors and proceed down the stairs until we get to a set of double brass doors with owl etchings (at the end of hallway). The doors are unlocked so Taarn pulls them open. It reveals a T-shaped room with three lit stone braziers; there are shut off wheels beside each one (on the wall). The floor is riveted sheets of metal—there are bronze doors on the other side of the room. There is a scorched area on the ground near the other doors (which radiate magic). There is also the owl symbol on the walls.

Ashen moves to check the far doors, which Mersit, Esdar, and Rupert go next to a valve. Taarn waits behind Ashen. The door detects as conjuration/summoning. Rupert checks the door as well but doesn't find anything else. Ashen tries the brazier wheel and finds it locked. Dar and Rupert step out of the room as Mersit tries the far door handle which drops a door trapping Mersit, Taarn, and Ashen in the brazier room. Mersit, Taarn, and, Ashen move to the wheels and in sync, they turn the wheels until the brazier go out. At that moment the scorched area erupts in flames from below and from the braziers, rise three large living flames (fire elementals). Large Fire Elemental

E1 attacks and misses Mersit who hits back with one of his attacks; E2 strikes at Ashen, slamming the sorcerer with fire damage but Ashen avoids catching on fire; E3 messes with Taarn, doing fire damage as well but Taarn starts burning; The barbarian starts raging and intimidates the elemental (!), then he follows up with a solid hit; The north door opens; Esdar sees the problem and casts Blessing of Fervor; Ashen takes advantage of extra attack to damage his opponent (E2) with a cold blade (using a sword pool point); Rupert uses Magic Missile to inflict some good damage on E3.
E1 attacks Mersit again but misses; Mersit returns the favour with some damage (taking +2 bonus for the blessing); E2 is shaken and misses Taarn (who is still burning); E3 successfully hits Ashen, slamming him again… Ashen starts burning; Taarn takes the extra attack and starts hacking at E3—his is able to inflict some damage, sparking the elemental until it disappears. Huzzah!; Esdar casts Gozreh's Trident and steps into combat against E2; Ashen takes extra attack while casting Vampiric Touch and frost effect on sword—causing sparking and weakening flame, his second attack vanquishes the elemental; Rupert steps up to cast more Magic Missile into E1 (the one on M).
E1 then swings at the catfolk again… missing again; Mersit takes extra attack and hits from some minor damage; Then suddenly, Taarn charges through flame floor to (!) bull rush (!) the elemental, slamming the fucker into the wall… awesome! "Get back in your brazier!"; Esdar moves in through the flames and delivers some real damage (with lightning); Ashen puts out his flames; Rupert belts a few more missiles into E1.
E1 reels around and slams Taarn; Mersit retreats out of harm's way, through the flame floor taking some damage; Taarn hacks at E1 until it goes poof.

BTW-the floor is still burning. Esdar bursts again for healing. Mersit moves over to one of the wheels…

Game Notes June 15

Recap: trapped in room with braziers and flaming floor. Can't turn wheels…

Mersit, Taarn and Ashen are at the wheels but they are jammed shut. We search the braziers—nothing odd except a faint odour (gas?). After debating options, Rupert decides to cast Dimension Door and bring Ashen and Esdar with him, to teleport to the other side of the door. Success: they find themselves in the middle of a long corridor with 3 other doors. They are able to open the doors easily to let Taarn and Mersit out. The flames are still burning. Ashen moves ahead to look down the side corridor to the east—more double doors. Mersit & Taarn are able to get out of the room—taking a little bit more fire damage. We close the doors afterwards. The doors along the southern wall of the corridor are large wooden doors with the owl symbol.

We check door #2 (going West to east)—no traps; not locked. Hundreds of flower pots in a neglected garden room filled with moss, tangle of roots on the ground, an owl-shaped fountain with running water leaking out. Very high humidity. The centrepiece of the room is a huge globe/dome like ceiling which resembles the open sky and sun.

We move in to explore—leaving Esdar at the doorway (see we do learn). Rupert: sees liquid from fountain has faint magic (faint universal from spellcraft). Ashen: trace of magic from pond; lots from the dome. Ashen suggests not to touch the liquid.

We leave the room because it's too creepy. Mersit searches door #1 and finds no traps again—it is also unlocked. Mersit opens the door to reveal a large room with plated metal floor—at the opposite end there is a raised platform; a statue, braziers and scuff marks. The room is bisected by a room-wide pit (20 feet wide). Rupert and Ashen cast Detect Magic and reveals moderate evocation coming from the brazier.

Rupert goes to check out the pit (curious). Taarn and Mersit hold open the doors. Rupert sees the pit is 20 feet deep and can see fires coming below the pit bottom (grate). There appears to be some remains at the bottom—bones, a longsword and a backpack. The sword detects as magic as well as something in the backpack.

Ashen uses Mage Hand to lift up the sword, +1 long sword. Ashen then uses Mage Hand to thread some rope through the backpack straps, allowing us to pull it up. We ignore the bones. Inside: a small bag with gems (3 small green gems); a small vial—a potion of maximized cure serious wounds—given to Taarn; bone dice.

Mersit feels fresh air from western corridor. Ashen goes to check it out… Another corridor (5 foot running south; 10' to the north). Randomly, we decide to check out the north-west door—there is a side corridor which reveals massive doors made of flawless white marble (same figure with owl head). Doors have faint abjuration—same as upper level door.

We decide to try Dispel Magic on the door: Ashen & Rupert can each try. Rupert: tries first but the door doesn't budge. Ashen decides not to waste his spell.

We move back to the north-west door: no traps, unlocked. Large open room (20' tall) with 16 carved runes on the floor in front of the doors (all different); attached on the walls are ladders from floor to ceiling; opposite the doors is an alcove.

Runes: sorta runes of power; sorta Thassilonian alphabet; strong transmutation (each). Mersit tries to walk around the runes to check out the alcove-at one point one of the runes blasts Mersit with electricity. Rupert suspects a will-o-wisp (invisible). Mersit continues to the alcove and the will-o-wisp blocks it tagging Mersit with more electricity. Mersit does notice the alcove has a set of stairs leading downward. INISH!

Will hits Mersit for more electricity damage-remains visible for a bit; Mersit tries but misses on both attacks; Esdar moves into the room and casts spell of joy* (Blessing of Fervor); Taarn moves in attack, triggering one of runes which reverses gravity in the room: Mersit, Taarn and Esdar fall to the ceiling; Now the ladders make sense...; Taarn lovingly sheathes his axe to regroup; Rupert fires Force Bolt at the Will-hitting for some damage; Ashen needs to go with something that doesn't have spell resistance—Glitterdust!, the W is not blinded but is now visible thanks to the glitter.
The will makes a bee-line out of the room, hitting Rupert for electricity damage on his way out; We win? Yayyy? Mersit climbs up the ladder to the floor and jumps into the alcove (pitch black down the stairs); Esdar stands up and moves to a ladder; Taarn invokes extra Fervor speed, climbs a ladder, jumps to grasp the top of the door frame, then pull himself up into the corridor (landing prone); Rupert fires 4 Magic Missile (defensively) into the will (who is still within reach)-W does not like that; Ashen moves up with extra attack Fervor and a keen attack doing some damage.
The w floats upwards to get away—going over everyone's head to end up near Mersit. Mersit tries to attack but the reverse gravity screws up his balance—misses twice; Esdar moves up the ladder to the floor (hanging on for dear life); Taarn stands up and notches an arrow. Rupert fires more Magic Missile into the will, doing more damage; Will shouts something in Necril language; Ashen readies an action to whack the will if it tries to get by again.
The wisp gets by Mersit on it's way down the stairs, turns invisible and seemingly disappears.

At this point, the reverse gravity ends. Mersit lights up his ever-burning torch to see down the stairs. The others move carefully around the runes to get to the alcove. Once there, Esdar does some burst healing to get us back into fighting shape.

We proceed down the stairs—goes down 15 feet until it comes to a spiral section. The stairs are moist. Mersit hears rushing water further down. We continue down until we come down to a underground chamber with a large pool of water with a beached row-boat on a shore. Down halfway we see a water fall feeding the pool. At the far end, we see a rock shelf.

We move to check the boat. Mersit examines the boat and it appears be in good shape and to have been magically protected from wear. It has been used fairly recently—several different marks in the sand indicate within the last month or so.

Esdar casts Water Walking and we take the boat towards the shelf (past the roaring waterfall). As we get near the middle of the pool, we briefly see the will-o-wisp on the far ledge. To the south, we see a small island with a bridge leading to a lit area.

As we decide what to do a wall of water comes alive…

Game Notes June 29, 2014

Recap: out on the sea… attacked by a water elemental? Note: water is nice and pristine not dark & muddy as previously described... fuck I hate taking notes. The wall destroys our boat but most of us land back on our feet thanks to our water walking spells-only Ashen falls prone. INISH!

Esdar who understands Aquan hears the elemental ask why we didn't sink, also we are not allowed on island without talisman (which we don't have); Taarn pulls his axe triggering an attack by Wawa but it misses; Taarn can't move effectively because he is blocked by Esdar—he'll have to wait.
Wawa attacks again and whacks Taarn for a couple of slams; Esdar moves to cast letting Taarn get in his attack which does some damage (some gets absorbed); Esdar casts Control Water which causes Wawa to be slowed; Mersit moves around and is able to do a little gooey water damage; Rupert hits it with Scorching Ray (the thief); Ashen gets up off his knees and also fires Scorching Ray.
Esdar hears the Wawa scream, "stop hitting me"² ; It suddenly sinks into the water; Taarn drags the boat remnants to land while Esdar also runs for land; Mersit heads for land and readies an action, as does Rupert; Ashen moves and also readies to attack.
Esdar checks the crevasse and sees a corridor on the other side of the rubble at it's entrance; Taarn drags the boat onto shore; Mersit stays put, Rupert & Ashen move further up the beach still prepared to cast a spell against the wawa; A swelling in the water appears but then heads back toward the centre of the pool; Ashen hears the will-o-wisp "Dammit" and launches another glitter dust spell to try to tag it again; The will re-appears—highlighted by the glitterdust—also blinded apparently.
Esdar attacks with crossbow and hits! The will goes down; Mersit charges to finish the will off; The others prepare for the wawa to re-appear; About 15 feet from Mersit, the water begins to ripple, crests then disappears.

Mersit heads back to land. The glitterblood spreads beautifully across the water. The wawa does not re-appear but Esdar does hear a final warning: "don't cross again."²

We have a camp-fire awaiting the night so we can rest again. On the far shore we see the grey render construct. It puts a black sack on the edge of the bank... "Kill her! kill the bitch!"¹ , "Go south! These are your kills, enjoy them."¹ Then steps back out of the light, leaving the bag on the shore.

As we decide what to do to get the sack, we then hear rock being torn on that far shore side. After Ashen shoots a flare, we can see a large hole in the northern wall of the shore (with the sack)—tunnelling? After about 4 hours we hear rumbling from the northern wall near where we were camping. We move towards the rubble tunnel. The render bursts through the wall and stops. Ashen, "Can we get the bag?"¹ Render, "Bag."¹ then it disappears back into the tunnel. A minute or two later, it comes back with the bag. Ashen goes up and opens the bag which contains philters of three different colours (1-3-4). The render points to the vials and states various names that have been 're-cycled'.

"Watch out for Upar—that sneaky kobold will tell you anything."¹ … "She is an usurper who just wants all the swords (council's chamber). The last one is there…"¹ pointing to the crevasse "that one she can't defeat."¹ … "I have fulfilled my orders—to fight and drag you down to be recycled, but you won. I have fulfilled my directive."¹ … "She found the generator—she controls the sphere." ¹ … "Shut it down and everything goes down—including her defence."¹ … "The chaos circuit will protect it for an hour—destroy it as well."¹ … "Generator is second level—west"¹ … "My name is Phoov—thanks to electricity you have repaired damage."¹ Then it disappears back into the tunnel.

Rupert tries to discern the nature of the philters but can only get a sense that they are some kind of maximized healing (though they radiate as Necromancy). 1- heals 30hp or gives 30 temporary HP for an hour; 4-25 and same; 3-20 and same. Made from the essence of the bodies (not actual physical). Split: 1x30hp - Ashen, 3x20hp - Rupert, 2x25hp - Ashen, 2x25hp - Taarn, Mersit and Esdar pass on the philters. Mersit is gay. Oh so gay. He love you long time.

We wait it out until 8pm so we can rest for the spell users. Finally it is morning...

We go to walk across the bridge to the island. There seems to be nothing amiss. Mersit can see some metal glittering about 15 feet under the water. Ashen Detect Magic—it is a sword. Ashen uses Mage Hand to pull up the sword. It detects as faint abjuration and something else: +1 keen long sword. Ashen continues to use mage hand to pull up the coins-platinum! 150 platinum; 600 gold. We pack it up. On the way back, the bridge seems to buckle and crack it bit. It does not have long to last it seems.

We think the best option is to shut down the generator and then seek out the bitch. We make our back through the tunnel, across the beach, then back into the rune room. We are able to avoid triggering the traps this time.

The western corridor leads to a north/south split—fresher air from the south. We go toward the fresh air to the south. This southern path also splits south and north again (west)-humming from the north and thumping (& sunlight) from south. We suspect we are on the other side of the cliff face carving (the mouth?). There seems to be huge fans pulling air in from outside—hence the thumping sound.

We then head west and north which leads to: stale ozone layered room—a ring of crystals fill the room with electrical arcs between the crystals—large bronze cup holding a shiny metallic sphere in the middle of the crystals.

Now how to destroy it? Rupert wants to investigate—he walks to a crystal unharmed. We can see a tunnel to the north of the room—leading to the actual generator? Rupert walks the room to check it out. They radiate strong magic (especially the sphere) abjuration, conjuration, transmutation. Ashen, Rupert, and Mersit search the room for some kind of shut off switch but none are found. Esdar decides to use icicle attack on the sphere to no effect.

Plan B: let the barbarian smash. Taarn hits the crystal and gets jolted. The crystal shatters! The broken crystal collapses; the arc re-forms to use the other crystals. The arcing jolts T again (though he was able to reflex the worst of it). The lighting in the room dims slightly. Taarn continues to destroy—getting zapped again (not as bad though). The second crystal shatters. Rinse & repeat. The sphere seems to be sparkling and starting to rise. Taarn can now directly hit the sphere itself. Taarn puts a scratch on it and it wobbles as Taarn takes more damage.

Meanwhile, the others detect a higher pitch to the humming. Taarn continues to scratch the sphere which wobbles off centre before righting itself. He continues to attack until the zapping causes him to pause. He comes around the corner smoking… Esdar comes up to start the healing process.

Game Notes July 20, 2014

Taarn continues to smash the crystal after being healed up. After shattering the last crystal around the centre sphere, a high-pitched sound rises until it becomes unbearable. Esdar becomes deafened from the sound! An arc of electricity shoots toward Taarn's axe inflicting some damage. The sphere then flies and hits Taarn square in the chest for more damage, then falls to the ground.

Rupert notices someone following us around the corner—this is considered probable cause so he fires some magic missiles into the stranger. INISH! Knuckles

Ashen goes down the corridor and notices it is a Black Panther man creature, Knuckles, and a weird guy wearing a soiled lab coat and goggles, Lessbin. Ashen fires an arrow into BP; Black Panther leaps at Ashen and inflicts significant damage; Taarn moves next to BP and hits hard—the BP looks to be raging; Mersit acrobats into a corner to prep for next round; Esdar cast freeze ray on BP; Goggles throws a vial into the fray near Taarn, Ashen and Esdar—Dar is nauseated.
Ashen moves back to heal up with cure potion; BP looks into Mersit's eyes and the catfolk realizes the BP is not kin. The BP then attacks Taarn & shifts; Taarn returns the favour… The BP dies; Mersit moves up to goggles and hacks him to death with his cutlass. Strangely his body collapses to a lump of flesh.

Looting: BP; Belt (magic)-belt of tumbling (wondrous +4 bonus on acrobatic)-Ashen will wear it for now, Goggles; Floating stone (magic)-everburning torch; lab coat (covered in blood) with padded armor; goggles are smoky like sun glasses; two bandoliers with various 11 vials all alchemical - 1=acid; 2= ?; 3=brood reek; 4=flash powder; 5=?; 6,7,8=pellet grenades; 9=?;10=?;11=thunderstone (box of ten tindertwigs); kukri (masterwork).

We decide to dump the bodies back in the garden room (as per our M.O.) where there's a stream of water. As we get back to the corridor, we see another goggles look-alike (with two floating stones orbiting around his head) with a very puzzled look on his face, Uzbin Perault. INISH! Uzbin Parault

Ashen pulls out a bow and more importantly gets out of the fighter's way. Taarn charges into Goggle #2 (G2), hitting for some damage but we see a shimmering defence. Mersit follows suit and charges & hits. G2 steps back, whispers something to the vial then hurls into Mersit. The catfolk feels himself devolving but is able to resist the effect thanks to Charmed life. Rupert uses dimension door with Ashen to appear on the other side of G2.
Ashen used force punch on G2—surprising the fuck out of the lab coat wearing mother fucker. Taarn moves up but misses on his attacks; Mersit advances and hits once for some damage. G2 steps back, speaks again, drinks a potion and disappears into mist. Rupert casts dispel magic to try to bring G2 back to solid form but it doesn't work. Esdar comes down the corridor to try to help. Though G2 is in mist form, he can still be attacked—Ashen tries a frost touch attack to stagger the mist. The mist collapses and re-appears as human form (does not turn to lump of flesh).

Looting: G2: kukri (magic +1); goggles (magic)- culling goggles: dark lenses constantly under the effect of death watch-3 times a day death knell; stone 1: floating light, (Mersit - dead stone); stone 2: scarlet & blue sphere +2 enh to INT & +2 Knowledge arcana (Ashen); potion: cure mod ; scroll of teleport (Rupert); another item winked out after detecting as magic - personal infusion that fades with death of alchemist. Also; 3xgrenades; thunderstones, flashpowder, tinder box; 1=?;2=troll styptic (field treatment for healing-fast healing 2 for 2d4 rounds dc 15 fort to avoid sickened); 3=?; 4=huge scorpion venom (poison v STR); 5=heathen snuff (dc 13 Fort save every hour for 4 hours-to give you the endure pain feat for 1 hour); 6=Daba spittle poison (acid/dex damage);7=?;8=black adder venom (1d2 CON damage); 9=alkalia flask (extra damage v oozes)

Mersit and Taarn retrieve the bodies and drag them into the garden room. We then toss the bodies into the water… Two shambling mounds rise up from the southern part of the room. INISH!

Taarn readies to attack; Ashen comes to the side doorway and looks in as SM2 splooshes to Mersit; SM2 hits Mersit and grabs him (grappled); SM1 moves to Taarn who misses on his prepared attack-SM1 hits and grapples the barbarian; Mersit tries to escape artist but fails; Esdar fires icicle attack which fizzles; Rupert fires scorching rays at the mounds.
Ashen lights up his sword with flames then cast scorching ray; SM2 continues to grapple Mersit and successfully starts to constrict and pull M into the water; Taarn drops his axe and starts to grapple in return; Mersit succeeds on escape artist and moves to the corridor to chug a haste potion; Esdar casts storm burst and does some non-lethal damage on SM2; Rupert uses lightning wand against SM2 doing some more damage.
Ashen moves in to attack SM2 with flame sword (adding shocking damage) but misses; SM2 hits Ashen with ATK1 but fails to grapple; ATK 2 hits and succeeds with grapple; Taarn pins his mound; SM1 unpins himself; Mersit chugs haste potion then moves past SM2 to Esdar; Esdar delays until after Rupert; Rupert cast lightning bolt against SM2; Esdar cast Blessing of Fervour spell... Yeah!
Ashen does a touch attack electric on his grappling mound-putting out his lights; Taarn pins his mound again; SM1 does not succeed in unpinning himself; Mersit moves around to poke at the pinned mound—doing 1 point of pathetic damage…; Rupert hits with lightning bolt again; Esdar lightning lords SM1 for some damage.
Ashen uses fervour movement to get to SM1 and attacks finishing off SM1.

Game Notes August 4, 2014

In the generator room—as we attempt to disable the console, a tentacled construct attacks Taarn from the room's pool (which had detected as magic by Rupert). The water is also churning and murky—we cannot see to the bottom.

Giant Squid

Mersit activates his pirate patch for expeditious retreat and moves to 'flank' the monster; Ashen does a range touch attack (scorching ray) for some damage; Two tentacles (20' long) rises up against Taarn who hacks at the appendages doing damage and revealing inner mechanical workings—The arm strikes and succeeds on a grapple. More arms (15' long) rise (we can see the beak now); Esdar delays to give us spell of joy… yeah!; Rupert casts lightning bolt against the construct doing some nice jolty damage.
Mersit flips and flops beside the construct allowing Esdar to cast spell of joy on the team (except Rupert who's too far). The catfolk ends up missing anyway (but he's there as fodder). Ashen casts shocking grasp on his sword and successfully hits the beast-dropping the tentacle… It then proceeds to sink into the water. Huzzah!

What to do now? Disable power and bring guards on us? Rest first? We decide to rest and heal and then destroy. Mersit disables the lock to block one entrance. The resting passes uneventfully and we heal to almost max. Mersit, Esdar, Rupert & Taarn move into the corridor while Ashen attempts to dismantle the generator. The dummy forgot what worked the day before so it's guesswork again. He managed to increase the output-overload? He went the wrong way… electrical blast!

Mersit notices that the tentacles have returned-erupting out of the water after Ashen pushes a button on the panel. Stupid ass continues to randomly hit buttons… He is getting seriously hurt from electrical discharges… also the tentacles are more active—feeling around the grating. Another charge erupts hurting Ashen and causing the tentacles to sink back into the water. Ashen moves back to the open corridor to the team for healing.

Mersit takes a look at the panel but it appears indecipherable to him-stupid cat. Rupert joins Ashen to check out the panel in tandem. They zap themselves again; then lights come on (); electrical discharge into the water (41;44;49;54;56;58); no effect (01-40); electrical blast (63;76, 67); field charge (81 - 97); After an eternity of trying, they are able to figure out how to disable the panel… the lights go out.

Mersit & Rupert go into the crystal room—Rupert notices the crystals have started to reform and extrapolates that it will take about 30 days to fully reform. Taarn stays behind to smash the console but it appears to be nigh-invulnerable. Taarn tries to smash other parts but it is all very well built, seemingly impervious to his adamantine axe.

The water does stop churning—allowing us to see into the murky water. We see pipes and some valve on the floor. Ashen tries to get more magic info but almost blows his mind due to the ancient power of the room. Taarn decides to try (& succeeds) in smashing the walkway leading to the console to slow down/prevent access. Mersit for his part sets up traps on the door and corridor leading back into the generator using grenades & a fuse). The team then moves downward to seek out Tirana on the 5th level.

We proceed back to the indoor lake, through the tunnel (dug by Phoov).

Game Notes Sept 7th, 2014

Housecleaning: correction to +2 Mithral Chain Shirt; (sell +1 shirt Mersit owns). We proceed south which changes from unworked tunnel to worked stone corridor. We see a thick leather belt that reveals as magic (via Ashen) - as well as the "dead" lamp above it. Belt: Moderate Abjuration; belt of Giant STR +4. Taarn takes the belt-giving his old CON +2 belt to Ashen. WTF?

The lights come back on! We can see clearly down the corridor (which slopes upward)—we can see an opening with red glow ahead. We move to the opening which appears to be like glass—through the glass we can see a grill, jets of fire, and a shaft going up into the ceiling (basically a window).

Onward: open set of double doors at end of the corridor (with owl symbols). Around the corner before the doors is a room where we can see some massive stone doors similar to above. Ashen will try to open using talisman—but despite extra CON he fails. Rupert then tries his luck—same result.

Returning to the open double door room, we see into the room which contains giant skulls used as cauldrons (creepy)—different colours are emanating from the skulls (yellow, blue, purple). There are a couple of sun rods mounted on the walls allowing for brighter room. There is also a massive cauldron & a shelf in the southern part of the room.

Taarn moves closer and notices three odd paintings on the northern wall across from each skull; RED (skeleton with a red apple, a blue jay and a gold ring in his chest), BLUE (a dark tower being shattered by a tidal wave; tallest tower in the shape of a rose), YELLOW (a demon drinking from a golden goblet while holding a heart).

As we enter, we see an alcove with shelves—containing 6 pouches (about the size of a grapefruit)-2 contain blue powder, 2 contain red powder, 2 contain yellow powder; 6 hunks of grey metal (lead according to Rupert); chunk of yellowish crystal (amber) containing a key. On the bookshelf seems to be typical alchemist paraphernalia. Rupert says this is a magical alchemy lab-the normal rules don't apply. FYI, the room detects as strong magic; in particular the cauldrons.

After analysing, we think we realize from the centre painting that we should use the liquid colour to determine if a colour should be used or not. We should put red in the middle, for example. The key itself is faint abjuration.

We are too scared to try something so we leave the room and go back towards the closed stone doors-to the left of those doors is a long corridor going northward. We can see a few doorways and doors though the hall leads to stairs going down-which is the direction we want.

We walk until we see an open room to the left—a large room with bookshelves overflowing with books, tomes and parchments. A table is covered with writing implements and papers. We move on (with Rupert complaining in the background)…

At the end, the corridor has a sliding door on the left a 40 feet corridor to the right leading to bronze doors (with the owl symbol), and stairs downward to the north. In front of the sliding door to the left is a strip of yellow along the floor edge of the door. We move down the stairs…

Stairway leads to a different layout—the floors are rough stone tiles; the walls are rose coloured quartz (highly polished). Lights are on at least. We can see a basic L-shaped corridors to the south and east with openings along each path. East ends in doors. We go east towards the larger opening—Taarn scouts ahead to look down a couple of other corridors leading off this eastern path:

To the north: opens up 15' wide, the floor looks to be pure white quartz; there is also an alcove is the far north-western part of the room containing a statue of a warrior in full plate holding a halberd. To the south: a corridor that seems to connect to the other southern path plus a set of big stone doors on the western side of this hall.

Ashen and Mersit move up the northern path to check it out. To the left, there is actually 15 alcoves (14 along the walls, 1 at the end); to the right is a large set of stairs (15' wide) leading down. The alcoves all contain warriors with various weapons pointing a different angles.

We are tired of guessing so we'll try to go back to the room with all the papers for some clues. Fragments of info: one set concerns Kaer Maga (the city we are in)—historical info trying to discern the origins of the cliff city. It also has notes about the different peoples and warrens of the city.

There is some Thassilonian writing (cursive, frantic style): a story about burying a sword into some chick's crotch and a mistress who wants it clean—looking for a champion. History of Asheia History of the Alara'hai… see something another fragment; 6 of the other swords were as strong as the lust one but after aeons of disuse they've been weakened. They require strong magic to restore them to full power.

Another doc: Council of Truth]; men of knowledge who left their homelands for a place to continue their research unencumbered. Some may have left on their own; some were chased out… but they all end up in this complex. the owl was their motif—wisdom of the council. Then about 50 years ago they all disappeared. The city leaders tried to close off all the entrances to the complex, The Chambers of Truth, that they knew of.

Another note states that they think they found the missing sword. Another notes mentions the sphere, the power up, the talisman—the door still wont open… WTF. One of the references that Rupert and Ashen notice, describes the swords: Sword of Wrath-a great sword, red tinged; Sword of Sloth—short sword; Sword of Envy—bastard sword, hard to describe since it changes hues from various gems and coral to precious metals; Sword of Greed—scimitar, golden; Sword of Pride—rapier, hard to see; Sword of Gluttony—falchion; Sword of Lust—long sword.

We leave the book room and return dejected to the wide stairs. As we reach the top of the stairs, the warrior statue at the other end of corridor steps down and asks in Thassilonian, "how can I assist you, my lord?" Ashen replies, "none needed, thank you."" The statue then returns to his position. Whew!

We head down the stairs, which go down for about 20 feet to a landing. The stone floors look even more weathered; the walls composed of bricks. We walk down to the landing which splits into various paths. To the west is a long corridor leading to a crane next to a railway with a hand cart. Mersit can hear a faint crystal-like sound coming from the crane area.

We head towards the crane. We walk by a couple heavy double oak doors closed on the north wall; big stone doors on the south wall.

The crane room has lots of shit… large laboratory; north are two towers soap stone with iron rods into the ceiling emitting electricity; on the floor are large chain winches; a table between the towers are on a swivel (construct assembly?). In the south, is a cauldron that is a big brass bell upside down (to dump its contents). To far end, is a mega deluxe alchemy lab area (Rupert finally cums real hard)!

Aside

When Ashen went to the locked stone doors on the third level. In fact, when he presented the amulet to the owl and spoke 'open' in Thassilonian, the doors DID open inward. Room description;

"This room is 40 ft square with a ceiling 20 ft high. The walls and floor themselves are featureless. A pair of 8 ft diameter, 4 ft high stone braziers are situated to either side of the doorway. The flame gives off a warming glow. However, the main feature of the room is a 15 ft x 20 ft brass looking metal grid sitting in the floor flanked on each corner by marble statues of pairs of male and female armoured warriors. In one of their hands, held at an upward angle, is a 3 ft brass rod with a brightly glowing tip. This room is very brightly lit."

Detect magic reveals area within grid is conjuration (teleportation). Not sure if we would teleport out or something would teleport in… (construct?). Nothing else of note. As we leave, the room doors automatically closes and locks.

Game Notes September 21, 2014

Recap: trying to figure out the weird crane/lab room - return to reading room and the newly-opened door.

We decide to go back to the lab/crane room—interestingly the statue did not ask Ashen if he needed assistance this time when we get to the top of the stairs. We go down the stair then to the right we investigate a hallway. We see a metal grid covering water—mist in the air—warm braziers on the other side a cavern.

Mersit advances and the mist covers him in water, then the braziers erupt to instantly dry the catfolk off—freshly cleaned. We enter the large cavern from the south. It is hot and humid inside with minimal lighting. We can see a large crane similar to lab room but larger with a ballast. Also a large kettle and other metal working equipment (forge, anvil, sand casting pit, water pump, etc). There is an exit to the north. There is a mysterious crack in the floor to the east which is too inviting to resist.

Narrow crevice opens to a large tube/cylinder running at an angle. We lower a rope and Mersit goes down to check it out. Completely smooth perfectly circular rock tunnel. Since nothing happens, the others join Mersit in the tunnel. We decide to move north by north-west...

After about 10 minutes we come up to a crack in the ceiling with a rope hanging down-some magic has brought us back to our exact starting place. With detect magic, Rupert senses a faint magic aura throughout the tunnel—universal. Basically an exercise tunnel.

We try some doors with owl symbols on them: Ashen opens the doors by approaching the door with his talisman and saying "open" in Thassilonian. The room looks exactly the same as the portal room on the 3rd floor. We all advance and step on the grid—Ashen tries a multitude of command words but nothing works. Suddenly it feels as if something is coming through the grid... We jump off the grid.

Phoov appears and says "It's about time. I've been waiting." in Thassilonian. "You should go to the harnessing room and then you can go to her (but I cannot fight for you due to her talisman)." ... "I am freed from from her orders but I cannot fight her." Phoov leads us to a secret door. It also explains the dormant army can come to your assistance but it would have attacked the party (anyone not wearing a talisman).

Apparently Mersit's traps did work to kill some of the enemy, specifically the kobold assistant, Upar. Phoov also explains the command words required to get up and down in the 'elevator'. We use the grid elevator to move up—weird that we feel nothing moving to level 2.

We go to the generator room—Ashen needs to leap over to the other side (we had broken the walkway). Mersit gives Ashen a jump potion and the catfolk and Taarn assist him to jump to the generator panel. He disables it and leaps back. We then move back to the elevator and step back to level 5. We see the Phoov no longer has red eyes and is inactive.

We open the secret door which reveals a natural steps/tunnel leading downward. Ashen buffs Mersit, Taarn, and himself with Bears Endurance; some of the party use their philters of Life to increase their hit points.

Floor of the cavern-shelves separated by a stream (with bridge); natural columns rise from floor to ceiling; there are three stone outcroppings looking like solidified liquid. Some crystals are just beginning to fade.

On the eastern shelf: a massive column; crystalline formations (usually with blue glow now faded). There are stairs leading to another level-5 feet off the floor. We see a woman standing in front of a brilliant marble table whereupon 6 swords are laid. INISH! Tirana

Mersit chugs his heroism potion and moves into the room-as he passes a column a huge rock elemental turns his attention to the cat…; Ashen moves towards the stream; Esdar moves forward to get in range for spell of joy*; Rupert moves closer to Esdar and reserves a Lightning Bolt; Tirana turns to the party and bellows "This day I establish a new empire! Kneel before me!" She opens her cloak and 4 man-sized flying nightmares (dragon-like) emerge; An Elder Earth Elemental rises from the cavern floor beside Mersit swinging—triggers Rupert's lighting bolt which hits it for pebble damage, 2nd swing at Ashen hits easily (and Hard); Taarn moves next Esdar which triggers spell of joy*, then moves to engage the elemental; Nightmare 1 flies over the bridge; Nightmare 2 flies over the bridge; Nightmare 3 flies over the bridge; Nightmare 4 flies over the bridge; [Statues start to move] Statue 1 starts to speak "The chamber is in use; please come back at a later time."¹ then moves onto the bridge; Statue 2 moves in front of the bridge; Statue 3 moves in front of the bridge; Statue 4 moves.
Mersit leaps across the stream and tumbles on the other side until he reaches Tirana; Ashen takes the +30 fervour and also leaps across the stream then moves up to flank Tirana with Mersit; Tirana attacks Ashen with licks of flame, Mersit with a mysterious green ray—Disintegrate which hurts like hell; Rupert casts Fireball on the bridge to try to damage the statues and nightmares (2 take lots of damage); Earth El swings at Taarn with awesome blow—pushing the barbarian back 10 feet then steps forward; Esdar moves behind Taarn and gives some healing; Taarn five foot shift and then attacks the earth el with power attack; Nightmare 1 Goes flying around; Nightmare 2 Goes poof; Nightmare 3 Goes poof; Nightmare 4 Goes flying around; Statue 1 moves to Tirana; Statue 2 moves to Tirana; Statue 3 moves to Tirana and grapples Mersit; Statue 4 moves to Tirana and grapples Mersit.
Mersit tries escape artist from statues (with derring-do) but 'just' misses!; Ashen uses up pool points to attack with frigid sword attack to stagger the bitch—he hits into stone skin but staggers her; Tirana cast defensively—steps through a wall in space—Dimension Door! Dammit!; Rupert using +30, he jumps over the stream and attacks the nightmares with magic missiles; Earth El continues on Taarn (after what appears to be a smile at the table's direction), sending Taarn flying back into Esdar who gets knocked prone; Esdar gets up and heals Taarn some more; Taarn charges into earth el and attacks doing some good damage (bloodied); Statue 1 goes back to bridge; Statue 2 goes back to bridge; Statue 3 releases Mersit and goes back to bridge; Statue 4 releases Mersit and goes back to bridge; Nightmare 1 bloodied, moves to Mersit; Nightmare 4 attacks and Ashen, missing.
Mersit attacks N1 and skewers the fucker; Ashen attacks N4, hits for damage killing the bastard; Tirana (still gone); Rupert fires magic missiles into earth el; Earth El looks at Taarn and says in a deep gravelly, slightly feminine voice "You survive… maybe you can take her out."

Post Battle. The bitch has fled so we check out the swords. They require a will save to handle—Ashen picks up the green one and passes but feels the weight of the weapon. Esdar fails at picking up the red one and is instantly stunned.

The Earth elemental is not attacking us but will have to become hostile if we try to take the swords out this chamber. EE offers us a diamond for every sword destroyed—Mersit appraises the gem at around 10K gold.

Each must be destroyed at Runeforge?

We can really pack up or destroy the swords now but we can pursue Tirana. Esdar does some healing to bring us back to fighting strength. There are too many possibilities of where Tirana could have dimension doored into so we investigate the chamber to get some info... no luck. We go back up the stairs to check out rooms we haven't been in yet.

At the first set of doors across the hall from the secret entrance we just exited. Mersit checks for traps. No trap and it's not locked-the cat opens it up. A circular shaped room with a round table centred—meeting room. We search the room but nothing of interest found. As we walk out of the room EE rises from the floor, lifting the table revealing a stone plynth. This is the sword destroying thingy? Taarn opens up the stone door which contains a portable hole… ooohs and ahhhs.

Inside is crossbow +1 (& 5x +2 flaming bolts)-Esdar, Circlet (Platinum-1500 GP), pouches (200 GP, 150 PP), Bracers of Defence +2-Rupert, Amulet of Silence (when we pull it out everything goes silent), broach shielding, gloves of dexterity +2 (Mersit), ring of sustenance (Taarn), ring of the ram (27 charges)-Ashen, 2x wands, one 'of blindness/deafness' (30 charge)-Rupert & 'of cure mod wounds' (30 charges)-Esdar, longspear +1 (party), horn of fog (party), +1 heavy ghost touch mace-Taarn, and more coins. EE then disappears.

We disperse the goods (Gloves for Mersit who fives the belt) and then move on to a different room. Merist checks for traps and then opens the unlocked door. Square bullshit room with goods.

We move on to check the mine cart tracks to the east. The tracks go north for a while before turning back west. A ways down the western track there is a 10 ft wide shaft going down for at least 60 feet (limit of light source). The odd part is there is no mechanics or means to bring things up or down from the shaft. Very enticing!

We decide to lower Ashen down the shaft-tied off with 200' of rope. After going down 50', Ashen sees no end to the shaft. We continue to lower. At twenty feet more (120') he sees the bottom-it's a 200 foot shaft… the 185 rope though so Ashen leaps down to the floor.

Shaft bottom reveals 4 directions. Next up is Esdar, then Rupert, Taarn and finally Mersit. We decide to move east to find Tirana but soon realize we are on a snipe hunt ...pointless. Rupert dimension doors back up with Ashen and Taarn and then Taarn pulls Mersit and Esdar back up… [I didn't have the area ready when they went down, but ran it at a later session].

There is one other place to check on this level—the southern door from the lab room. Trap check: no trap but pretty good lock that is unlocked. The room is an alchemist wet dream. Detect magic: none. There must more secret doors… We move back to check the throne area then the whole cavern then the pool room then finally back to the alchemy room where Mersit finds the secret door.

After checking for traps, we move into the tunnel to see a ten foot wide hallway. As we walk through the area we feel 'tingly'—there's a curtain in the way as well. Ashen suspects we stepped across a magical symbol trap. He checks, yep. A Symbol of Persuasion… Shit! Ashen tries to persuade the team to turn around and not go forward since the team (except Ashen) seem affected. Mersit & Taarn believe him. Rupert detects magic but doesn't believe he's been affected—neither does Esdar. Before we can leave though, the curtain and corridor bursts into flame. INISH!

A delayed blast fireball hits us! Rupert "What the hell hit us? Who did it? What's going on?"-does nothing; Tirana "Come on in, I've been waiting for all of you. I'd like to get to know you better." she waves at Ashen mumbling under her breath—Hold Monster and tells him to leave the others alone, they're fine; Ashen is now held!

Game Notes October 4, 2014

Recap: most of party is charmed; Ashen is held. Not good!

We are under the thrall of Tirana—she seems like an old friend inviting us in to her bedroom for a respite. We are grateful (& damaged) so we accept the hospitality. Tirana offers us potions saying they are cure serious—luckily they are. Tirana un-holds Ashen, warning him to behave. We start to believe Tirana was given the sword voluntarily. Ashen says "Fuck it!" and takes a hot bath and drinks fine wine.

Tirana "The problem I'm having is those swords. All the swords have to be linked—instead of seven individual swords causing destruction, one united sword in the proper hands can bring about order. I've been here almost eight years. I've read through much of the library including references to lost libraries in the Hook mountains (bastion of Thassilon). The last sword is in a chamber off 'the cavern' down below." She then asks if we can get the sword for her—the Sword of Envy, 'Tannaris' (sword of disruptive magic).

Ashen is causing some dissension in the group. We debate resting up before going for the sword—Taarn suggests signing a blood oath but we defer. We decide to rest up in the 1st floor bunks. "I like your amulet" says Tirana to Ashen. "I think someone was wearing it." says he.

We bid adieu and use the elevator back to the 1st level to rest up in the bunks. At our rest area, Ashen was able to free up Rupert from the charm spell but they are unable to free the others. We rest for awhile. At 10pm, Tirana arrives with drinks in a crystal decanter. Ashen pretends to be clumsy and spills the drinks (breaking the crystal goblets). At 4am, Tirana arrives to bring more drinks (in pewter) and Mersit accepts an invitation for cheap sex with her. Rupert tries to prevent Esdar from drinking but is unable to convince the cleric or knock the cup from his hand. But he almost starts a fist-fight with the cleric!

In the late morning, Mersit arrives back a little worse for wear (smitten and a wee bit of constitution damage). There's lots of contention and attempts to convince but to no avail. Rupert appears to be acting crazy (hearing noises). Rupert and Ashen talk in Thassilonian to keep the party from panicking. -- lots of stalling tactics from Rupert --

Two hours later—a knock on the door… It's Tirana wondering how we're doing. Rupert attracts her attention—she offers a spell and a heroism potion to help but Rupert is suspicious. Mersit says "Good news babe, we're going to get you that sword."

She leads the group to the third level via the elevator, arriving back at the cavern with the Water Elemental and over to the crevice with the rubble in front, points and then she leaves.

As we prepare to enter the crevasse, Esdar pretends to cast Bear's Endurance on Taarn but actually casts dispel magic on the barbarian. Who instantly develops an ulcer from trying to contain the anger and indignation of what he's been thinking about "that bitch" since last night! Not so lucky against Mersit whose compulsion is stronger (you know, having lost a point of Constitution during sex). The party still maintains the illusion of siding with Tirana while deciding how to break Mersit's hold.

We squeeze into the crevasse to arrive at a huge chamber (Ziggurat).

"This large chamber is hewn directly from the natural brown rock and is some seventy feet across. Its floor is of rose marble and is broken into three levels, the raised alcoves, the floor level mezzanines and a lowered central area, each being five feet from its nearest level. Above, its ceiling climbs in steps like a ziggurat, angling up to a fifty-foot-high apex above the central floor. On the floor in various positions are glowing blue sigils, the four in each corner of the lower section being larger than the rest. Also on the lower level is a complex arcane circle thirty feet in diameter, appearing to be etched into the marble and filled with lead. Narrow slits can just be seen in the central area of chamber both on the floor and ceiling. In the corners of the mezzanines, resting against the walls in ancient weapon racks, sit scores of slender, age-blackened longswords. A Statue of an ancient armoured warrior adorns each of the raised alcoves, a lit candelabra resting at their feet. The room is covered in what appears to be light fog with just a hint of dankness to the smell." Temple of Blades

We move up closer to the centre section—we can hear some strange sounds then the swords disappear from the racks. After perhaps a few seconds, the swords begin to fall from the ceiling, disappearing when they hit the floor, only to come back out of the ceiling like a rain of swords.

Swordpriest We hear a voice from the centre say "Welcome!"¹ In the centre of the room, a coiled figure with a bastard sword snarls, saying in that ancient language "Come here!"¹ His toofs are very very fangy! We all feel a force pushing us into the centre.

Ashen is moved 10 feet dropping down into the centre; Mersit & Taarn are moved 5 feet staying on the mezzanine; Rupert 20 feet and into the middle; Mersit shifts and attacks but misses due to concealment from the mist; Taarn misses also due to concealment & bad luck; Rupert uses the wand and casts lightning boltagainst Snarly.
Ashen shifts and attacks-missing; Esdar back steps and cast Gozreh's Trident spell; sword rain attack hits Taarn and Esdar; Snarly back step and compulsion-weight of the world on our shoulders; Mersit falls prone under the increased weight, uses point to kip up, shift and then miss; Taarn stays up, shifts to Snarly and hits 2 times; Rupert falls prone, uses fervour to kip up, shift and shout spell against Snarly.
Ashen falls prone, kips up with fervour, casts combat spell doing some sword/fire damage; Esdar stayed up, shifts and hits with a touch attack; sword rain attack hits Taarn; Snarly (some of the damage is healing) swings at Taarn missing, sword hit on Ashen; Mersit falls again, kip up with panache and gets one hit in; Taarn falls this time, kip up with fervour, hits for some damage; Rupert prone, kip up with fervour, hits with magic missile, climbs out of pit.

Game Notes November 16, 2014

Recap: In the middle of weird battle with vampire in a sword raining room.

Ashen forced to the ground, uses fervour to kip up, cast spell scorching ray against Snarly-one misses but the 2nd does damage; Esdar climbed out of pit, missed with trident; Snarly attacks Mersit-hits with his hand causing negative level drain, hits Ashen with sword; Mersit forced down, kips up, attacks twice—hitting once; Taarn hit with rain swords, attacks and hits solid once; Rupert uses scorching ray, hitting with one of them… it is appears to have vaporized him! Shit!

There is too much mist to discern him.

Ashen moves to east side and climbs out of pit; Esdar fails religious check! but cast positive energy boom; Snarly ?; Mersit moves to the south part to get out of pit; Taarn moves to eastern side and climbs out of pit beside Ashen.

Snarly must be trying to get back to his tomb in gaseous form.

Dar examines the large symbol in the centre-an ancient incantation dealing with death and concerning rebirth. We cannot find any secret doors or exits—our options are few. Ashen detect magic, rain of swords are not the most powerful magic effect; the circle in the pit is strong; multiple magical effects throughout the room-hard to pinpoint exact nature. Rupert attempts, most powerful effect is Enchantment, mind-affecting, compulsion; 2nd most powerful is evocation, force. The room itself is a minor artifact.

Those on the east and west side jump to the north section to have Esdar mass heal us. Ashen uses dungeoneering skills to determine approximate locations of rooms directly above and below the pit room.

We move down back to 4th level (via elevator). We move towards a door to the north. Mersit finds no traps and so opens up the unlocked door. It is a large dark room-rectangular room made of mosaic tile floor with a raised middle section (step up). In each corner is an alcove with statues resembling guardians elsewhere on this level. There are opposing 'windows' one with bluish tint (north), one with redish tint (south). The blue windows shows a vista of frozen land; the red window shows a desert land.

We move back to the southern area to a medium size room with similar guardian statues; light is coming from a raised podium in the centre are two massive pillars of bronze—hanging in-between is a giant 'mirror' whose surface looks like rippling water. Detect magic on water mirror: strong, conjuration, teleportation. Huh?

We decide the check out western area—the door opens up a semi-circular room—an amphitheatre. There is a balcony that overlooks a giant 'summoning' circle. In the ceiling are 6 lamps that are focused in a tight beam on the circle. When we enter, the circle shimmers, darkness starts to gather and the 6 lamps immediately focus on the darkness. We flee…

We get about 20 feet out when we hear a screech from the amphitheatre. INSIH: Vrock

Mersit moves 5 feet and preps an attack; Ashen moves next to Mersit; Rupert moves up the north corridor and preps an attack spell; Taarn moves south 5' and preps to attack; (Doors are rattled from within) A winged fiend emerges! A Vrock! Eeek!"You dare summon Me?" we hear in our heads.
Mersit swings and misses; Taarn hits with his attack; We flee!

We get to the elevator while Taarn holds off the Vrock for a bit. Then the barbarian runs and just makes it into the elevator while Ashen activates the doors as the Vrock reaches us.

On 2nd level now, phew! We go east and try a door (where goo doctor came from) that leads to an odd shaped room with odd instruments. There are empty philters in the room similar to the ones we received earlier. We go to the room south to the first room:

"This immaculately clean room is set up like an operating theatre. Near the west wall, a freestanding steel table with an inch-high lip around the rim contains the splayed and mutilated body of a dog-headed man, his skin flayed in long flaps and held open by metal hooks and clamps to reveal the organs within. Along the other walls, tables hold trays of gleaming knives and strange, barbed utensils. The room stinks of chemicals and blood."

It appears to be a Hound Archon (poor Kethras!).

Another room to south contains cells with slumped monstrosity bodies (ogres, minotaur, chimera, manticore, wyvern, cocatrice)—they have been freshly killed.

Northern path leads to a cavern where a water cleaning machine (currently off) sits. We search for secret doors but none are revealed.

We decide to go back to 4th since the Vrock should be unsummoned by this time. We get off the elevator and there is no fiend. We move to search this area for secret doors and we get lucky in the large room with red and blue windows. A tight tunnel leads south-east-looking like it had been scratched out. The tunnels divides into two areas: a cave-in to the south and a crumbled wall to the east. The smell of dirt and a chill fills the air to the east… we move that way! Lots of dog legs… Sarcophagus Room

Mersit opens the lock on the door. Taarn pushes the door open. More tunnels. There are runes on the floor with faint magic. Mersit chugs potion of heroism. Rupert, Taarn and Esdar dimension door into a sealed tomb where they find a sarcophagus.

Taarn opens it up to reveal Snarly. Esdar attempts to stake as Taarn goes to chop off the head. Snarly grabs Esdar as he is staked to drain two levels before turning to dust… We get the Sword of Envy.

Game Notes March 8, 2015

Recap: We gots da sword of envy (bastard sword) from the vamp. There is a skeleton with a stake through its heart and without a head.

Loot: deep blue sapphire 1000 GP; gem-encrusted holy symbol (?) ancient; scarab of golem bane; coffin is lined plates of 4inch tiles of gold (2000 GP), but really freaking heavy. We put everything into the portable hole (which Taarn is carrying). Taarn opens the eastern door of the sarcophagus room then slides the coffin over to take a better look at the tiles (runes of restraint). We rest and Mersit's ability drain is cleared. Esdar uses a couple of restoration spells to clear the negative levels on himself and Mersit. The others conspire to remove the love compulsion on Mersit.

Esdar finally figures out to try dispel evil on Mersit-cast secretly then touch Mersit. The cleric successfully releases the cat from the compulsion to trust Tirana-"That bitch!… I think she gave me cooties!"

We go back to generator to take it out prior to going back to Tirana. We think the best play is to send Mersit in first followed by Taarn and Ashen to absorb damage, then Rupert dimension door with Esdar. We get back to the bedroom but it is empty. We then go to the throne room to find the bitch at the altar. Tirana

Mersit runs forward to the bridge (so much for playing it cool); Taarn runs forward to the bridge; Bridge Guards (4) "This area is in use, please come back later"¹ ; Tirana cast a spell and Taarn's will save failed… held 'screeching sound' Nightmare Bats; 1-tries to bite Taarn; 2-screeches at Mersit who saves with charmed life; Rupert dimension door with Ashen and Esdar to the foot of the altar; Column knight 1 attacks Esdar—blood spray; Esdar steps back and heals himself; Column Knight (2) moves to Esdar & Ashen (Ashen hits with AoO) then hits Ashen for damage; Ashen casts accurate strike, moves up the stairs (CK 2 hits with AoO), attacks Tirana for some damage though a bluish flame erupted at same time (Ashen takes a portion of his own damage back).
Mersit leaps on bridge edge, jumps down between Bridge guard and bats and ends up planted between Rupert and a Column Knight; Taarn burst out of his hold; BG1-tries to grab Taarn but fails when he hits hard back; BG2-fails his grab; BG3-succeeds in grabs.

Game Notes March 22, 2015

Recap: In the middle of a battle...

Tirana cast spell and Mersit is slowed, Rupert's wisdom is lowered; Bats attack Taarn & Esdar (Rupert gets in an AoO as well); Rupert gets a critical hit on a bat; BG2-steps forward and misses Mersit; Esdar steps back and casts ice/storm zone which catches many enemies including Tirana (who takes a bit of bludgeoning damage);
Note: when that spell was cast the orb in the corner sent out three rays of blinding light to Tirana, Mersit and the bat on Rupert-afterwards a daylight spell was cast, no affect on Tirana and Mersit but the bat on Rupert has been blinded, then a spark of light swirls around Taarn who is dazed.
C.K.: moves up steps (attracting AoOs from Ashen & Mersit) and misses his attacks; Ashen swift cast of Haste, shift, casts force punch on sword, then attacks Tirana—succeeding in some force damage but receiving damage from her shield again;
Note: when his spell was cast a blinding light effect appears on the top of the sword table.
Mersit shifts and takes haste potion to remove slow; Taarn saves from Daze; the swirling motes move to Bat #1 who is now dazed; Bridge Guards ungrapple and return to their posts; Tirana casts magic missiles which slam into Ashen, then cast another spell and more beams from wall of light—Mersit takes fire damage—CK1 takes damage—Taarn also take fire damage—Rupert's bat also takes damage, she then opens portal and disappears but is then dropped on the bridge 'confused'-more beams fire out towards Rupert (hitting CK) but missing Rupert; Nightmare Bats-blinded bird attacks blindly hitting Rupert (who saves from poison); dazed bird is inactive; bird on Taarn hits—the Barbarian saves; Bird #4 goes for Esdar—damage and is poisoned;
Note: the room attacks magic users and takes away their 1st level spells.
Rupert: using rod of selective metamagic, casts lightning bolt avoiding Taarn—blight bat is bloodied—Tirana is bloodied;
Note: the room attacks magic users and takes away their 2nd level spells.
CK1 moves forward and attacks Mersit but misses; Esdar moves to Ashen to heal using converted spell;
Note: the room attacks magic users and takes away their 3rd level spells.
Tirana's shield drops; CK2 attacks Ashen and gets one hit in; Ashen (feels his sword's conciousness being yanked)—critical hitting until the knight drops.
Mersit tumbles past enemies to get next to Tirana; Taarn picks up his axe, shifts and hits Tirana; Bridge Guards are done; Tirana shifts and casts a spell arc of lightning… going through most people—bat on bridge goes up in smoke;
Note: an explosion is heard—the power sphere is shattered.
Ashen's sword screams in his head “What is it doing?” as a white stream leaves it and goes towards the spot the sphere occupied—Tirana's sword energy, the others on the alter and even from Taarn's backpack also suddenly stream towards the same spot! Oh Shit!

Energy bathes the room in light and pain, knocking everyone prone… and unconscious.

We (just the party) wake up in a blank featureless plane (in the sword?)—just our consciousness it appears as we have no weapon, armour or gear, just the basic clothes we would define as culturally comfortable. In front of each of us, rising from the ground, are glowing replicas of each of us (we only see our own copies and the original essence of the others). Each copy appears to represent a distinct archetype; fighter (champion), fighter (guardian), rogue (trickster), mage (archmage), and cleric (hierophant). We can either pick one or walk away?

Meta: the complex has imploded infusing our bodies with major artifact level power, putting us at the 1st tier of mythic power and allowing us to chose a mythic path!

Index: Chapter 2

¹ translated from Thassilonian.

² translated from Aquan.

Vars Monumentus
The Vars Monumentus is a Sailing Ship registered in Magnimar. Her Captian is Hilian Drest. She travels by sail 48 miles/day. A trip from Riddleport to Magnimar and vice-versa is a 215 mile trip and requires 4 1/2 days sailing time under normal weather.

Irespan
The Irespan, sometimes called the Giant's Bridge, is the largest and most impressive monument in all of Magnimar and overshadows the city's poorest district known as Underbridge. The Irespan is actually the remains of an enormous bridge that stretches into the Varisian Gulf, standing over 300 feet above the sea and over 100 feet wide. It is, like most of the monuments that dot the Varisian landscape, a remnant of ancient Thassilon.

Wen Histani
Prelate of the 1st Church of Abadar in Magnimar. She is a beautiful human cleric of Abadar. Her tanned, olive skin and black hair hints at a southern heritage. She is the PCs initial contact for the adventure.

Gadka Burtannon
Gadka Burtannon is the owner and sole operator of Gadka's Magical Oddities, a magical trinket shop in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. Located in the Tarheel Promenade district, the shop is actually just a covered cart, semi-permanently parked on the corners of Fever Street and Half-a-Chicken Walk. Gadka sells both genuine magical items and worthless baubles designed the full the gullible. His numerous scars show where dissatisfied customers have come back for a 'refund', yet the price of his functioning magical gear is quite reasonable. Despite his ruthless attitude when it comes to making a profit, Gadka is generally a jovial dwarf, whose extroverted manner earns him friends in many places.

Knuckles
Knuckles was an advanced black panther that Uzbin acquired quite some time ago. Through his experimentation, Uzbin first awakened then anthropomorphised Knuckles to his current form. It is Knuckles natural ferocity that allowed him to reach farther and take on levels of Barbarian.

Though Knuckles does remember how Uzbin has caused him excruciating pain, he has also freed him and thus stays by 'The Good Doctor' as his bodyguard.

Lessbin
Deceased. A Lesser Simulacrum of Uzbin Parault.

Uzbin Parault
Deceased. Uzbin Parault, a once prominent anatomical scholar who has since slipped into obscurity due to 'unethical practises', uses this chamber and those immediately around it to further his necromantic research. The sage is a tall man with white hair and a bloodstained lab coat, with a collar that flips up to cover the lower half of his face. Over his bloodshot eyes rest a pair of leather goggles inset with dark lenses. Finding him both difficult to dominate and entirely uninterested in her own plans, Tirana has nicknamed Uzbin 'the Good Doctor' and left him to his own devices. Uzbin, for his part, uses teleport to come and go, and as such doesn’t mind her elaborate defences.

Tirana
Whereabouts unknown. Tirana is a striking Chelish Enchantress in her mid-thirties. She is the main villain of Seven Swords of Sin.

Merchant Caravan
The Merchant Carvan from Magnimar to Kaer Maga takes about 16 days in total. A merchant caravan has a travel rate of 32 miles/day. The trip to Kaer Maga from Magnimar has six stops in-between as follows; 140 miles (5 days) to Wartle, 95 miles (3 days) to Whistledown, 48 miles (2 days) to llsurian, 36 miles (1 day) to Biston, 62 miles (2 days) to Abken, 44 miles (2 days) to Sirathu, and 23 miles (1 day) to Kaer Maga.

Wartle
Though it is not a new settlement, the town of Wartle remains something of a frontier trading post, primarily populated by swampers and trappers who do not mind the inhospitable environment amidst the Mushfens. The buildings of the town rise out of the murky swamp water on stilts, connected by wooden boardwalks.[1] Major exports of the town are peat, fungus, and furs, mostly sent down the Yondabakari River to Magnimar. The town sports a few successful brothels and a precariously tilted tavern called the Lean-To, which serves a local liquor called Bog Grog.

Wartle was taken under Magnimarian control in 4611 AR.

Whistledown
The town of Whistledown is one of the few settlements in Varisia not affiliated with either Korvosa or Magnimar, though it is located almost exactly halfway between the two larger cities. Founded at the western edge of the Fenwall Mountains, where Lake Syrantula flows back into the Yondabakari River, the town is known primarily as the heart of the gnome population in Varisia, despite the fact that it contains just as many humans as gnomes. Nevertheless, much of the town's buildings and its white-walled cottages are sized for gnomes. Its name derives from the strange wooden charms which produce haunting melodies in the night winds off the lake, and this nightly music tends to put off most non-gnome visitors.

Ilsurian
Ilsurian is a small agricultural and fishing town situated on the northern banks of Lake Syrantula at the mouth of the Skull River. The town is on the Yondabakari Road, 64 miles northeast of Whistledown (and a total of 359 miles east of the city of Magnimar). The Yondabakari Road continues towards the town of Biston, 45 miles to the east.

Biston
Among ancient cliff-side structures (rumoured to have once housed a long-extinct tribe of harpies) in caves along the shore of Lake Syrantula lies the town of Biston. It was founded in 4574 AR by Jhenni Biston, who cleared the tunnels of their troglodyte inhabitants. The farmers and fishermen of Biston, while citizens of Korvosa, have long held a strong sense of independence and in 4658 Jhenni's grandson, Randas Biston, led a group of separatists in a revolt to cede the town from Korvosan control. The government responded in full force, sending half the Sable Company and an entire regiment of Korvosan Guards to maintain order. All the rebels were executed in Korvosa, and martial law was maintained in Biston until 4690 AR when it was lifted by King Eodred II.

Abken
One of the newest settlements in Varisia, the village of Abken was founded in 4668 AR as a commune by peace-loving, lower-class Korvosans. It is located on the banks of the upper Yondabakari River (before it flows into Lake Syrantula), about 45 miles northeast of Melfesh. The town is surrounded by a wooden palisade, and is fiercely protected by its inhabitants.

Sirathu
Sirathu has long been overlooked by its ruling city of Korvosa, holding the undesirable honor of being both the poorest and farthest removed of the city-state's holdings. It was a relatively late addition to Korvosa's realm, ceded from Kaer Maga in the Treaty of Sirathu in 4663 AR. The town is constantly reminded of their leaders' disregard for them by the White Prince's Fountain which sits in the town square. While the fountain was being constructed, nobles in Korvosa promised that it would be enchanted to provide a clean and endless supply of water for the town, so they would never be dependent on wells. The fall of the Chelaxian Empire diverted the Korvosans' attention, and the well was sadly never completed. In 4707 AR a local girl was found unconscious on the edge of the fountain, which was miraculously flowing for the first time. Since then, this young girl, blessed by Pharasma, has been a galvanizing force in a growing unrest among the citizens of Sirathu, prophesying that change was coming and that the town should break free of Korvosan control.

Kaer Maga
Standing atop one of the highest spots of the Storval Rise, the cliff-top city of Kaer Maga (pronounced kare MAH-gah) is built inside the ruins of an ancient fortress: a six-sided ring of 80-foot-high seamless stone, stretching more than a half mile in diameter and topped with towers of every shape and design. Also known as the Asylum Stone, Kaer Maga has served as a refuge for exiles, misfits, and ne'er-do-wells fleeing persecution and prosecution for thousands of years, and is known throughout Golarion as a place where anyone can fit in, and where anything can be bought and sold.

History

The stone ring of Kaer Maga is incredibly ancient. It even predates the Empire of Thassilon; the ring was discovered by the original Runelord of Greed during his first survey of his new kingdom of Shalast.

At that time the ring was inhabited by the mysterious creatures not found anywhere else. The Runelord named them the caulborn, and entered into an alliance with them. The Runelord supplied them with intelligent creatures on which they could 'feed', and the caulborn supplied the Runelord with prophetic visions of the future. The caulborn told the Runelord that the city was called Kaer Maga—a name which predated even them.

The Runelord populated the city with criminals, dissidents and any others he could readily spare. The population grew as new citizens were born in the city, and the Runelord decided to use vampires to police the ever-increasing population. Guided by the caulborn's prophecies, Shalast prospered.

The caulborn correctly predicted the arrival of the Starstone, and retreated beneath the city with some of the guards and prisoners. They did not bother to warn the current Runelord of Greed, the archmage Karzoug, of the impending disaster.

The fall of the Starstone broke the city's wards, allowing the inhabitants to come and go as they pleased. They somehow weathered the Age of Darkness, and the city gained a reputation for self-sufficiency and a willingness to accept all who came to the city seeking sanctuary.

Today, the city survives mainly on trade, as the surrounding lands are largely unsuited to agriculture. Its reputation for accepting all comers has resulted in an extremely cosmopolitan population, and the tradition of self-sufficiency has translated into an unwillingness to accept any central authority over the city as a whole.

Inhabitants

Though an anarchic 'civilization', a loose consortium of groups, gangs, and families rule the people of Kaer Maga. The entire city is a melting pot of citizens from all cultures, such as the Ardoc family of Bis; the Brothers of the Seal, who are ready to kill each other over whether they should open the great portal they guard somewhere deep in the caverns beneath; the gently whistling Sweettalkers of Tian, with their lips sewn shut to keep them from uttering the true name of their god; the Augurs, troll seers who predict the future by casting divinations with their own intestines; and the bloatmages, with the leeches that keep them alive attached to their bulging bodies.

Kaer Maga is one of the main halfling settlements in the Inner Sea region; halflings are the second most populous race in the city. Kaer Maga is one of the places escaped halfling slaves find welcoming. Halflings often join the Freemen of the Bottoms or live in the Halfway Houses in the Warren.

The city also has a sizeable population of mindless undead, sometimes referred to as the Twice-Born.

Religion

Worship in Kaer Maga is as diverse as the population. Any sect or cult willing to accept the city's "live and let live" philosophy is tolerated here. The most notable religions are described below.

The most popular faiths are those of Abadar and Asmodeus, as they both believe in the sanctity of contracts and the importance of meeting obligations—vital in an otherwise anarchic city that nevertheless relies heavily on trade. Both faiths in the city emphasis order and are much less concerned with ethics—something which can attract the ire of clerics from outside the city, who see this as unduly neglecting key elements of faith.

Calistria's sacred prostitutes can be found in the red light districts and especially in the Hospice section of the city, but the clergy stay out of the city's politics.

Worship of Cayden Cailean is common amongst the city's lower classes, and in the Bottoms in particular. The clergy is heavily associated with the Freemen, making them unwelcome with the slave traders. However, the religion is also popular amongst the local mercenaries, which discourages others from taking action against it.

The city's arcanists tend to worship Nethys. The faith's tendency to see all sides of an issue also gives it an advantage in Kaer Maga's constantly shifting political scene.

Worship of Pharasma is centred in the Godsmouth Ossuary in the Bottoms district. The bards of the Lyceum tend to revere Shelyn. Clerics of Shelyn also keep an eye on some of the more extreme establishments in the Hospice, to ensure they are not moved to the sado-masochistic faith of Zon-Kuthon. Worship of Urgathoa is common amongst the necromancers of Ankar-Te, and is particularly popular amongst the city's small leper population.

Two religions which are not welcome in Kaer Maga are the faiths of Sarenrae and Iomedae, as they are generally viewed as troublemakers. Worshippers are ostracized everywhere apart from the Bottoms.

Geography

The city is divided into 11 districts. Eight of them are contained within the hollow stone ring, and are known collectively as the Ring districts. The other 3 are in the city's open central area, and are known as the Core districts.

There is also a great network of underground tunnels and chambers known as the Undercity.

Ring districts

Ankar-Te, the most diverse of the city's districts
Bis, fabled for its ledge-manors
The Bottoms, home of the anti-slavery organisation known as the Freemen
Cavalcade, the city's industrial centre
Highside Stacks, the towers of the wealthy
Oriat, the entertainment centre
Tarheel Promenade district, magical centre, home of the Arcanists' Circle
The Warren, the shanty town in the broken section of the ring

Core districts

Downmarket, the city's main commercial district
Hospice, the hospitality district
Widdershins, a quiet neighbourhood where everyone acts correctly—or else!

Ankar-Te
Ankar-Te is the northeastern district of the Varisian city of Kaer Maga, located within its massive walls. As such, it is almost entirely 'indoors', with no access to natural sunlight. It is also the most ethnically and culturally diverse district in the already very cosmopolitan city, with groups from Garund and even far-away Casmaron or Tian Xia being the most common. Even though some of the organisations within Ankar-Te are almost as ancient as the city itself, it still attracts many of the new immigrants to the city. The district is home of some of the most bizarre and in some cases downright abhorrent practices and traditions. Ankar-Te is especially well-known for being the only part of town where necromancy is openly accepted with citizens referring to the undead as the "Twice-Born". In fact, it is not unusual to see the rich being carried about on palanquins by their undead servants draped in flowers to cover the appalling smell. The undead are regarded as property akin to an animal and, at any sign of free will or thought, they are mercilessly put down. This attitude is quite the opposite of those in the distant undead kingdom of Geb.

Bis
Bis (or the Balconies of Bis as it is sometimes called) is a neighbourhood in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. Located within the western wall of the city, it is home to a family of famed golem-crafters, the Ardocs, who also help run the district.

The Bottoms
The Bottoms is a southern neighbourhood in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. Located within the massive city walls, the Bottoms is situated on the edge of the Storval Rise, and is home to ex-slaves and abolitionist from all over Golarion. Fierce believers in the ideals of democracy, its citizens have taken to calling themselves the Freemen. They oppose forced labour in any form and support the rights of the oppressed and subjugated. As slavery is legal in Kaer Maga, however, this brings the Freemen into frequent conflict with its proponents.

Cavalcade
The Cavalcade is a neighbourhood focused predominantly on manufacturing and crafting in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. Located within the southern section of the city's massive outer walls, the Cavalcade is home to countless smithies, work houses, and mills, many of which are powered by the many streams, aqueducts, and canals that criss-cross this part of town.

Highside Stacks
The Highside Stacks is an upper-class neighbourhood within the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. Here the rich dwell in tall buildings overlooking the Core Districts, far removed from the chaos which characterizes the rest of the city. Some of the inhabitants of the Stacks sequester themselves completely from their neighbours, handling all day-to-day necessities through servant intermediaries.

Oriat
Oriat is one of the ring districts of the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. It is the primary home of the city's artists and free-thinkers, and a favourite among Kaer Maga's youth. Sadly, it has also played host to a decades-long sectarian street battle between two factions of an order of monks, the Brothers of the Seal.

Tarheel Promenade
The Tarheel Promenade is one of the ring districts of the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. It is home to the Arcanists' Circle, the most-respected school of magic in the city. Due to the high density of mages there, the Tarheel Promenade is one of the best places in all of Varisia to buy magic items. Tarheel Promenade is also the home to the majority of temples and other religious institutions within the city, as well as many businesses that deal in more mundane items.

The Warren
The Warren (sometimes called the Warrens) is the name given to the neighbourhood located in the break of the great ring wall of the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. It is the poorest district in the city, made up of poorly constructed, wooden buildings, some of them many stories in height.

Downmarket
Downmarket is the name of one of the core districts in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. It is the commercial heart of the city where countless foreign merchants set up temporary stalls and tents to display their wares and conduct business.

Hospice
The Hospice district is one of the core districts in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga. As its name suggests, it is home to the majority of the city's hospitality businesses (e.g., taverns, inns, and brothels).

Widdershins
The core district of Widdershins in the Varisian city of Kaer Maga is almost like a town unto itself. Unlike the rest of Kaer Maga, which is quite chaotic, Widdershins is a walled-off, aggressively-patrolled neighbourhood with its own elected government.

Council of Truth
Originally from Taldor, the Council of Truth fled to Kaer Maga more than a hundred years ago after an experiment gone terribly wrong got them on the wrong side of their royal patrons and resulted in bounties being placed on their heads. Upon reaching the city, the group was pleased to find itself met with indifference, and members quickly set up shop at several points around the city, the largest of which was inside an old water mill on the cliff-side border between Cavalcade and the Bottoms. They cleared out the uppermost chambers and tunnels beneath the buildings and turning them into vast laboratories.

For the members of the Council of Truth were no ordinary political exiles. Rather, they were some of the brightest spellcasters, engineers, and sages in all of Taldor, united by a shared fervour for unlocking universal secrets and hidden truths. In Kaer Maga, unbound by any societal conventions, the group was finally free to soar, conducting experiments of extreme danger and sometimes questionable morality without oversight or fear of persecution. Man and woman, gnome and half-elf, the 13 researchers worked tirelessly within their subterranean facilities, emerging only to purchase supplies and auction off their latest discoveries to the highest bidder. Together they made enormous breakthroughs, becoming daring planes walkers, supplying the Ardocs with secrets for cheaper golem-crafting, and contacting the gods themselves to solve great theorems. The discoveries flowed fast and furious.

And then, one day, they were gone. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but everyone has an explanation. Some say the council was destroyed by a final cataclysmic experiment, others that they were swallowed up by monstrosities rising from the dungeons and tunnels beneath the city as their punishment for ignoring the Duskwardens' warning. Still others believe that they simply left, travelling to other worlds in pursuit of further mysteries. Yet whatever the truth, whether they were completely destroyed, or unlocked the final secret to transcend the material world and transformed into godlike spirits of pure thought, the council's tunnels have stood empty now for years, their doors marked by the wide-eyed owl that is the group's sigil and looted only by the bravest and most desperate of thieves.

Chambers of Truth
For more than a generation, the enigmatic consortium of scholars and magic users known as the Council of Truth lived and worked in Kaer Maga, ignoring the baser commercial interests of groups like the Arcanist's Circle in order to focus on the great mysteries of existence—the nature of reality and the soul, the natural laws governing the relationships of the Outer Sphere and the Inner, the unknowable building blocks and animating forces behind life itself, and the blurred boundaries between magic and science. Unafraid of the petty beasts which lurked in the Undercity's topmost layers, they reclaimed several chambers that had lain fallow, blocked off by the Duskwardens, and conducted their research in these subterranean complexes, emerging only occasionally to obtain supplies or seek information at the Therassic Spire.

After the scholarly group's sudden and unexplained disappearance—a matter which still foments wild conjecture in those enraptured by such mysteries—the entrances to these research facilities were blocked up again by the Duskwardens and left to slowly gather dust, distinguished from other such blockades only by the chiselled owl symbol that remains the Council of Truth's emblem. Even the bravest of looters and tomb robbers quickly learned not to test their luck against the council's home, for though its members had left, it seemed that many of their guardians and defences were still in place, and it quickly became clear that those who succeeded in ignorantly dredging strange items from the depths were as likely to be killed by their prizes themselves as by their defenders. Of late, however, something has begun stirring in a Council holding beneath a water mill in Cavalcade, and many whisper that at least one of the group has returned to take up residence again within Kaer Maga.

Thassilon
Long ago, the region known today as Varisia was part of a single great empire called Thassilon. Seven wizards wielding almost godlike power ruled this empire, and indeed many of their vassals worshipped them as deities. Each of the wizard-kings styled himself after one of the seven different Virtues of Rule: wealth, fertility, honest pride, abundance, eager striving, righteous anger, and well-deserved rest. Yet disputes between the seven rulers, dubbed Runelords for the powerful sigils used in their spell casting, were common. Rather than wage war on each other, conflicts were settled via champions wielding magic blades, each tied to one of the seven virtues.

Over time, the power and decadence of Thassilon’s expansion corrupted its rulers, and the seven virtues became twisted mockeries of themselves—fertility became lust, abundance turned to gluttony, and so on. When a mysterious, cataclysmic event finally brought the empire to ruin, the swords and their creators disappeared. At present, most of those living in Varisia have forgotten all about the empire of Thassilon, looking on the immense monuments peppering their landscape with ignorant awe. The lessons of the past live on, though, in parents who instruct their children about the dangers of the seven deadly sins.

Asheia—The Sword of Lust
This beautiful blade is a 'flaming burst longsword'.

“Accepting the burning blade intended for her champion, Runelord Sorshen strode directly into her harem and buried it between the legs of her least favorite consort. To the hundreds of shocked courtesans remaining, Sorshen made a simple promise: whoever returned the cleaned blade to her in her private chambers would be deemed her most devoted servant and gain the honor—among others—of being named her champion. Shouts and shrieks followed the runelord from her seraglio. Few survived that night, and none save one were fit to please their mistress in the aftermath. When they emerged from the royal chambers days later, Sorshen dubbed the exotic swordswoman Asheia her champion.”

Baraket—The Sword of Pride
Although known as the Sword of Pride, in appearances, Baraket is nothing more than an elegant basket hilt seemingly made of glass or highly polished crystal with no blade, as the deadly length of this 'spell storing speed rapier' is invisible.

“Runelord Xanderghul had intended to personally wield the blade crafted by his servants at Runeforge. For weeks he studied the weapon, and though he would never admit a personal failing, he found his martial skills lacking. For a time he sought to further ensorcell the blade to allow it to wield itself, or create a simulacrum swordsman to wield it, but ultimately he settled on enslaving a peerless creature to serve as his guardian. The runelord conjured a princess of the ghaele azatas to his court, and for years subtly courted her while wrapping her in a phantasmagoria of masterful illusions and deceptions, twisting her perception of reality until she accepted the runelord as her master. Baraket rose as one of the most unlikely of the runelords' champions, a deceived celestial being whose consciousness lingered on even after she was slain over a century later by the agents of the empyreal lord Chadali—emissaries attempting to liberate her.”

Chellan—The Sword of Greed
A blade of magically hardened gold tempered to incredible durability, Chellan is a 'keen scimitar' that functions as an adamantine weapon for purposes of overcoming damage resistance.

“For centuries the transmuters of Shalast idealized the arcane pursuit of transfiguring lead into gold. Upon unlocking that secret, they sought even more challenging and dangerous transformations, among which was the quest to turn gold into living flesh. Presenting their master with the petrifying blade they'd created, the arcanists of Runeforge included a second wondrous gift, a woman of living gold they called Chellan. She excelled at all things—art, dance, song, magic, swordsmanship—and it seemed fitting that she would bear the blade that birth from Runeforge made her sibling. But Chellan's time proved short, and after 5 brief years of reducing the enemies of Shalast to rubble, her unperfected animating forces dissipated—all except for those vestiges of calculating fanaticism that imprinted upon the blade that came to bear her name.”

Garvok—The Sword of Wrath
This scarred piece of crimson stained metal functions as a 'returning throwing greatsword'. Instead of the normal benefit of the throwing weapon special ability, Garvok can be thrown with a 25-foot range increment.

“Garvok was merely the first wielder to be cremated by the blade that took his name and consciousness. A particularly brutal member of the Shoanti caste, he was granted the weapon crafted by the evokers of Runeforge and, to display its might to the Runelord of Wrath, entered the arena of Xin-Bakrakhan. Facing wave after wave of soldiers, Garvok was finally brought down not by the spears of his foes, but by the explosions of his own sword and the resulting collapse of the royal arena. When the sword was dragged from the rubble, drops of Garvok's blood still boiled upon the blade's shattered edge—a fitting christening for the sword of wrath.”

Shin-Tari—The Sword of Sloth
A scene of imperial decadences depicted in fantastically fine etchings—which seem to change upon each consideration—covers the surface of this 'bane short sword'.

“When the conjurers of Runeforge presented Runelord Ilthyrius with the blade he had bid them create, he immediately ordered their executions. The tales he had heard of golden weapons and fortress-leveling might far exceeded the stunted short sword his lazy wizards had presented to him. Unable to enter Runeforge himself, he unleashed a contingent of xill raiders into his own servants' midst, and bid the alien warband's leader personally gut his lead arcanist with the disappointing blade. The xill did as commanded, but in wielding the weapon, discovered the extent of its remarkable properties. After carrying out their murderous rampage, they reported their victory and the versatility of the extraordinary sword their leader had come to call Shin-Tari—the Quicksilver Talon. In a rare display of thanks, Runelord Ilthyrius commanded the new conjurers he installed at Runeforge to etch the blade with images of their slain predecessors, whose collective intellects had take up residence within the sword.”

Tannaris—The Sword of Envy
A purely cosmetic magical effect causes the elegant blade of this 'defending bastard sword' to cycle through distinctive colors and textures, making it appear to be crafted from massive pieces of gemstone, coral, or precious metals.

“One of the early bearers of the title Runelord of Envy, Runelord Tannaris sought to master every pursuit he applied himself to, harboring vicious jealously toward experts of fields he'd not personally conquered. Unwilling to let the skills of others exceed him in any capacity, Tannaris sought to prove his bloodline's endless potential, and upon having his first son left him in the care of Edasseril's most talented weapons masters. Raised to be a champion of envy—and a strong host for Tannaris's consciousness should such ever be needed—the child, named Tannaris as well, grew along the paths the runelord dictated, becoming both a phenomenally skilled warrior and devoted bodyguard to his father, eventually accepting his lord's newly crafted dispelling blade. Yet for all his son's talents, Runelord Tannaris could not share in his offspring's accomplishments, and grew resentful of his skills. Finally the runelord attempted to murder his son, but Tannaris the swordsman was prepared. Expecting his father's betrayal, he was able to catch the runelord off guard and instigate a lengthy battle that left both slain. Yet one consciousness remained, trapped within the blade of the champion of envy, though it remains unclear whether it is the intellect of the fallen soldier or the scheming mind of his runelord father.”

Ungarato—The Sword of Greed
A 'ghost touch vicious falchion', Ungarato has a misty, ethereal quality that makes it appear to be spectral in nature despite being perfectly tangible to the touch.

“With the completion of their work, the necromancers of Runeforge set forth for Xin-Gastash amid a contingent of their most potent—and conspicuous—undead attendants. While skirting the northern ridge of the Kodars, the necromancers fell under attack by savage northland barbarians aided by ferocious white dragon twins. Few of the wizards survived, and those who escaped lived only long enough to report to Runelord Goparlis the loss of their masterpiece and the name of the blood-haired barbarian dragon master: Ungarato. Runelord Goparlis sent a legion of his finest soldiers in pursuit of the blade, and when they fell, he sent a contingent of slaves and necromancers to reanimate their bones so they could march on. Ungarato's forces struck like axes of glacial ice—lethal, but melting away after every attack. The runelord spent much of his remaining reign pursuing Ungarato, but never captured the savage warlord or laid hand upon the blade crafted for him. Goparlis's distraction and obsession eventually cost him his rule, when his apprentice, Krune, betrayed him and took up the mantle of Runelord of Gluttony. Soon after Runelord Krune's ascension, Ungarato sought to meet with the new tyrant. Exposure to the twisted energies of the evil sword, the endless assault of Goparlis's magic, and his own drive for vengeance against the runelord—who for so long had harvested the northland tribes as materials for profane experiments—had warped Ungarato. Upon a chariot pulled by twin skeletal dragons, Ungarato revealed that he had fallen years ago, but conviction and rage had restored him as a graveknight. The warlord offered to trade his Thassilonian blade for Goparlis's body, so the northlanders might have a trophy of the tyrant's fall. Although impressed, Runelord Krune proposed a different exchange: his predecessor's corpse in exchange for the blade and Ungarato's service as his personal champion. The graveknight accepted and took the fallen runelord's body north. When he returned, he did so at the head of an army of his kinsmen, who to show their devotion had sacrificed themselves upon his blade so they might follow their master even in death. Centuries later, when Ungarato finally fell—bearing with him a portion of his master's final creation, the Gluttonous Tome, amid the ruin of Thassilon—his essence and devotion passed on into the foul blade that now bears his name.”

Alara'hai—The Seven Swords of Sin
The Alara'hai, or Seven Swords of Sin, or Seven Blades of Conviction, are seven legendary swords wielded by the champions of each of the runelords of ancient Thassilon. Forged by the respective runelord, each of these blades embodied the power of the runelord and were used by each champion in combat against another. When the ancient runelords went into hiding the once tremendous power of these weapons also diminished until there power was comparatively mundane.

Still, they have circulated among weapon collectors and relic dealers as historic curios, for while their power diminished, their legend has not. At the height of their power, these swords were incredible weapons; Chellan, for example, was known to turn those it struck into crystal statues sometimes with only a single blow.

Swords

The seven swords of the Alara'hai are:

Asheia, Sword of Lust
Baraket, Sword of Pride
Chellan, Sword of Greed
Garvok, Sword of Wrath
Shin-Tari, Sword of Sloth
Tannaris, Sword of Envy
Ungarato, Sword of Gluttony

History

During the destruction of Thassilon, during Earthfall, the Alara'hai went into a dormant state, much like the runelords who forged them. While they retained certain magical properties during their dormancy, their powers were greatly reduced. Tirana has been slowly awakening them with a diabolical purpose in mind.

Storval Ridge
The Storval Ridge (or Rise as it is lately called) is a cliff of immense proportions which stretches across the width of Varisia, dividing it in two like an unavoidable facial scar. Reaching heights of over a thousand feet in the south, the Rise begins as low as only a few hundred feet in the north, by the Velashu Uplands. It is here, at the cliff's lowest point, that ancient giants built the Storval Stairs, which still provide the easiest access from the fertile lowlands to the harsh Storval Plateau above. Much of the cliff face is filled with ancient statues and monoliths, relics from the long-lost empire of Thassilon. One such ruin is the mysterious hexagonal city of Kaer Maga, which sits atop the edge of the Rise at the falls created as the Yondabakari River plummets to the land below.

Chapter 3: Interlude

Initial Location Golarion, Avistan, Varisia, Magnimar
Time 4709 AR, 15th day of Desnus (5th month)
Players
  Mersit Of The Raging Tree, catfolk swashbuckler/rogue
..... Aaron Collins
  Taarn, kellid barbarian
..... Mick Hodorek
  Ashen, elf bladebound magus
..... Mike Horrigan
  Rupert Silvermoon, elf wizard
..... Jonathan Hood
  Esdar (Dar) Aearril, half-elf cleric
..... NPC

Aside

The cavern area bellow Level 5 of the Council Chambers in Kaer Maga were, in fact, explored. Here is what you found. The tunnels branch into three main cavernous areas with the main tunnels cut 10' wide and at least 8' high. There are miles of tunnel. The caverns appear natural but have obviously been worked, there are carts, picks and lanterns littered in the area. The cavern walls contain coal with clay parting under twelve to fifteen feet of limestone and clay parting under limestone and one foot of bituminous shale. It looks like whomever was excavating was pulling out coal, limestone, clay and bituminous shale.

Coming out of the northern-most cavern, an adit leads in a meandering path to a breakthrough into a cavern roughly 80' at its widest by 50' at the narrowest.

“As you come to an opening in the passage, you see your breath as you feel an abrupt drop in temperature. There appears to be circular seal made of shiny brass embedded right into the cavern floor. It is some 40' across and occupies all of the floor space in front of what looks like a gigantic stone well. The lip stands 6' above the floor and the stones themselves are almost 8' across. It is 30' in diameter and has an 15' diameter shaft leading down. A dull glow emanates from the well. Peering over the edge, you can make out a 10' circular disc of bronze covered in sigils that give off a slight glow. The seal appears to be at floor level.”

Game Notes April 6, 2015

Recap: we have chosen mythic paths and then wake back at the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall.

Six of the Seven Swords of Sin are missing from the portable hole, the sword of lust (Asheia) is inside though it doesn't appear to be magical anymore. We need to get the sword back to Magnimar (bank) to give it back to Wen.

List of loot in the hole: +1 long spear, +1 ominous scorpion whip, 7x masterwork composite short bows (Gold Goblin), +1 hollow pommel kukri, 7 masterwork rapiers (Gold Goblin), light crossbow (Gold Goblin), 20 bolts (Gold Goblin), 140 arrows (Gold Goblin), +1 keen silversheen longsword, masterwork hollow pommel kukri (Gold Goblin), +1 bastard sword (Taarn), +1 blinding heavy darkwood shield (Taarn), 7x +1 chain shirts, +2 mithral chain shirt, 4x masterwork bucklers (Gold Goblin), +1 full plate, +1 heavy steel shield, broach of shielding (68) (Rupert), culling goggles (death watch sight ability) Ashen, horn of fog (Rupert), portable hole (Taarn), mess O mundane gear, 200 gold, 150 platinum, smoked goggles, Uzbin Parault's alchemist journal/spellbook (56 pages) (Rupert), alchemical stuff (2 vials of acid, alchemist fire, alkalai flask, 1 liquid ice) (Rupert)

Date: Desnus 15 4709 AR (seems to be a gap of 15 hours).

We head to the pier to try to charter a trip to Magnimar-we find Josper Creesy, Captain of The Flying Cloud, who is an old contact and friend of Dar's. She leaves at sunset so after getting things set-up at The Goblin we head out. We arrive early morning on the 19th. We are back in Magnimar—head toward the 1st Bank of Abadar. We ask for Wen (who was our initial contact).

We meet with Wen who remarks that there is something different about us. She then asks if we were successful. Ashen "We were… but it's not magical anymore." Taarn climbs into the portable hole, we have a ladder in there now, to retrieve the sword and hands 'Asheia' over. Wen: "It's not magical so we'll have to lore the truth. As it now appears to be just a masterwork longsword and priceless relic of history." We are to return the next day. She gives us a contact to sell our wares.

Next day we get paid 10000 GP in gems and platinum in payment for the sword. Also as a boon, we can now sell at 60% through Wen's contact (or 50% directly through the bank) limited to 12000 GP every couple of months. We split the shit up.

We end up staying at The Old Fang. Owned by Ol'Mam Grottle (old varisian female). As we drink we hear rumours of murders near the docks area (The Dockway) in the last few days. Usually in the pre-dawn hours. The City Guard has so far been unable to get any clues as to how to stop the murders but there are postings looking for adventurers. The name to contact is recognized by Esdar-a Lieutenant Kasadei. It's a seedy area but not as bad as Under Bridge or Low Cleft.

Index: Chapter 3

Magnimar
The city of Magnimar (pronounced MAG-nih-mahr) stands as one of the two major city-states of southern Varisia. Founded by Korvosan dissenters in 4608 AR, the City of Monuments now stands as a rival to Korvosa in an open war of coin and words. The people of the city are termed 'Magnimarians' and they call Korvosa 'Little Cheliax'.

Geography

Magnimar is a large city located on the southwestern coast of Varisia where the Yondabakari River empties into the Varisian Gulf. The city is surrounded by the mostly inhospitable Mushfens. The city itself is defined by two colossal landmarks which predate modern civilization by thousands of years or more. The Irespan is an ancient Thassilonian ruin, the easternmost end of a giant bridge which has now crumbled into the sea. This enormous relic stretched from Magnimar's other most noticeable feature, the three-hundred-foot tall cliff which cuts the city in two known as the Seacleft.

City districts

While these unavoidable monuments provide natural dividers to the city's three major districts (the Summit atop the cliff, the Shore below, and The Shadow under the Irespan, residents recognize nine city districts within Magnimar.

The Summit

The wealthiest communities in Magnimar are located in the Summit atop the rise of the Seacleft, as are the city's centres of government, education, and arts. The Summit contains the following three city districts:

Alabaster District, incorporating the neighbourhoods of Marble District and the Stylobate
Capital District, incorporating the neighbourhood of Bridgeward
Naos, incorporating the neighbourhoods of Grand Arch and Vista.

The Shore

Home to the majority of Magnimar's working class, the Shore contains Magnimar's coasts and docks, and the following five city districts:

Beacon's Point, incorporating the neighbourhood of Rag's End
Dockway, incorporating the distinct neighbourhood of the Bazaar of Sails.
Keystone, incorporating the neighbourhoods of The Marches and Silver Shore
Lowcleft
Ordellia, incorporating Kyver's Islet

The Shadow

The Shadow district is the most derelict in the city and houses only the single city district of Underbridge. It is home to the seediest of Magnimar's inhabitants and most members of the government take an 'out of sight, out of mind' approach to the district's problems.

Holdings

Magnimar has begun to slowly expand her sphere of influence to encompass many nearby settlements and communities. These communities tend to be healthier than those of Magnimar's main rival Korvosa.

Galduria
Nybor
Ravenmoor
Sandpoint
Turtleback Ferry
Wartle
Wolf's Ear

Government

Magnimar is ruled by two official political bodies: the Council of Ushers and the Office of the Lord-Mayor. This two-tiered system was established at the city's founding to ensure that no single person ever had too much control. Despite the idealist intentions of the city's founders, over the last century both offices have become more power-hungry and less effective at representing the needs of the city-state's citizens.

The Council of Ushers

The Council of Ushers serves as the legislature of Magnimar and currently contains 117 members. Of these, many are nobles whose families have held seats for generations, back to the time when the Council was but fifteen members large. With many more seats now that there are noble families, dozens of seats are filled with scheming merchants and greedy power-seekers, as well as a frustrated number of genuinely altruistic activists and honest merchants all vying to have their personal causes (many of which are entirely self-serving) heard and passed into law. The Council meets in austere Usher's Hall in Capital District.

The office of the Lord-Mayor

In theory restricted by the council of Ushers the Lord-Mayor is by far the most powerful person in Magnimar. This immense power normally result in a corruption and the current Lord-Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras is no exception. Many of Magnimar's political matters are determined not by who is right or at least most persuasive but who brings the Lord-Mayor the most lavish and impressive gift (bribe). While in theory the Lord-Mayor must uphold the mandates of the Council of Ushers Grobaras has frequently ignored them when they have not been to his liking.

Justice Court

When legal arbitration is needed above and beyond what the city guard themselves can handle, the legal system of Magnimar calls upon the Justice Court. This body of thirteen Justices is the highest court in the city state and rules on disagreements as well as the guilt or innocent of those accused of particularly heinous crimes. The Court meets in the Pediment Building also serves as a prison for the city's most hardened criminals, located in a dungeon deep beneath the building called 'the Hells.'

History

Magnimar is a very new city by the standards of the Inner Sea region, having only been founded by disillusioned Korvosan settlers in 4608 AR.

The Eyes of the Hawk adventuring group famously defended Magnimar from shriezyx freed from the Irespan in 4623 AR. Several monuments in the city, including The Guardians, Eyes of the Hawk monument, and Grand Arch district, commemorate this event.

Inhabitants

Ethnic Varisians tend to encounter less prejudice in this majority Chelaxian city, although they do tend to be segregated to certain neighbourhoods.

Economy

Compared to its sister city Korvosa, Magnimar tends to put few restrictions on trade and traders. It openly encourages the formation of trade guilds, and generally is a place where almost anyone (given good connections and a healthy amount of luck) can make something of him or herself. Because of these attitudes, even though Magnimar is still smaller than Korvosa in terms of both population and trade, it may soon grow to outstrip its neighbour.

Religion

Temples exist to Calistria, Desna, Erastil, Iomedae, Norgorber, Pharasma, and Sarenrae. Some Empyreal lords are worshipped, but not in formal temples. Private meeting places revere Arshea, Ashava, Ragathiel, Sinashakti, Soralyon, and Ylimancha.

Josper Creesy
A local man in his early twenties, Josper was born in Riddleport. He’s always eager to talk about his desire to set sailing speed records between Varisia and Andoran, but admits he's still months away from making the attempt. He claims that the FlyingCloud is "The Fastest Hunk of Wood in all Golarion".

The Flying Cloud
The Flying Cloud is a Sailing Ship registered in Riddleport. Her Captian is Josper Creesy. She travels by sail 52-55 miles/day. A trip from Riddleport to Magnimar and vice-versa is a 215 mile trip and she can make it in 4 days flat, under normal weather conditions.

The Flying Cloud is a four-masted vessel built for speed. With a narrow beam, sharply raked stem, and square rig, the distinctive design (itself based on the design of the larger Chelish clipper) gives the ship great speed on the waves when under full sail. The Flying Cloud flies the flag of Riddleport on her mainmast (although the captain keeps a dozen flags in storage and feels no real ties to any one port). Captain Josper Creesy, a relatively young man, seeks to make a name for himself and his ship by setting speed records all along the Arcadian Coast.

The Old Fang
A cheap and cheerful shore front inn and taproom in the Dockway region of Magnimar, the Old Fang tavern, sometimes just called the Fang tavern, is typical of the many inns that crowd that part of the city. The taproom of the inn is decorated with all sorts of nautical paraphernalia courtesy of the owner's late husband. The Old Fang is run by a woman called Ol' Mam Grottle and is a particular favourite drinking hole for many of the locals.

Ol' Mam Grottle
The owner and patron of the Magnimarian inn known as the Old Fang, Ol' Mam Grottle is a well known local figure. The Old Fang is a popular local watering hole for the hardy sea folk of the Dockway district. A big part of the establishment's appeal stems from Ol' Mam Grottle herself. She is a burly, no-nonsense woman who has decorated her inn with nautical mementos of her late husband.

The Alabaster District
Once called the Stylobate, this district is home to Magnimar's richest and most elite. Separated from the lower districts by steep, marble walls, access to this district is limited to a few prominent avenues marked with long, well guarded stairs.

The richest and most prestigious district in all Magnimar is known as the Alabaster District. The district is home to Magnimar's elite and is cut off from the rest of the city by a large marble wall that is only interrupted by a few well-guarded sets of steps that lead to the wide avenues of the Alabaster District. The district's most prominent feature is Fort Indros which looks out north over the seas of the Varisian Gulf.

The Marble District
Second only to the Alabaster District in prestige, this district features stately townhouses, villas, and manors of local nobleman.

Located atop the Fogwall Cliffs within the Alabaster District of Magnimar the Marble District is one of the most prestigious areas to live in the whole city; the only area more prestigious is its northern neighbour, the Stylobate. The residents of the Marble District are very well off; the district contains beautiful town houses, small villas and even the estates of some of the city's noble families. The biggest and most famous building within the district is the largest building in the entire city, the huge arena known as Serpent's Run.

Stylobate
Located within the Alabaster District of Magnimar the Stylobate is the most prestigious area to live in the whole city.

Capital District
The seat of the Magnimar government is housed is situated here, as well as the only prison in the city, known simply as 'the Hells'.

The home to some of Magnimar's most important buildings, the Capital District serves as the political heart of the entire city; it is sometimes referred to as the Artisan's Quarter or the Irespan District. It lies in the Summit region of Magnimar and is north of the "new-money" area of the Naos. The buildings of the area are as ornate as they are important, the Usher's Hall, which sits opposite the monument known as Indros cul Vydrarch, is home to the Council of Ushers and is the place where many of the city's most important decisions are made. Nearby stands the Pediment Building, the home of justice in Magnimar; the above ground floors are home to stern faced judges and large courtrooms, while below the ground is Magnimar's main prison, the Hells.

Bridgeward
This district is home to fine artisans, with sculptors, jewelers, woodcarvers, and even crafters of magic making homes here.

Most of the other areas of the Summit region of Magnimar are residential but Bridgeward, within the Capital District of the city, is the exception: while most industry takes place in the Shore, Bridgeward is home to the most refined crafts like jewelers, sculptors and other artisans. It is also home to one of Magnimar's most rare industries, the Golemworks, which creates many types of golems for its incredibly rich customers. Bridgeward also contains the Cenotaph and the surrounding Mourner's Plaza where Magnimar's social elite are buried in the shadow of the monument to the town's founder.

Naos
The old nobility refers to this district disparagingly as the 'New Money District', but lovers of culture and arts flock to its many playhouses, concert halls, and art houses.

Naos is actually one of the nicest, best maintained parts of the city. It lies in the wealthy area known as the Summit and is centred around the Avenue of Hours. it is bordered by the Alabaster District to the north, and the Capital District to the north west. The rest of the Naos borders are made up either by the natural barrier of the Fogwall Cliffs to the east or the city walls to the south. The district is home to both great public spaces like the Starsilver Plaza and the Lord-Mayor's Menagerie and great buildings like the Triodea and the Heidmarch Manor which serves as a lodge for members of the Pathfinder Society.

Grand Arch
The biggest district in the Summit, and home to many middle class and shopkeepers, Many foreign businessmen also keep houses here. The most notable aspect of this district is the 200-ft tall colossi known as 'the Guardians': the brothers Romre Vanderale and Cailyn Vanderale, facing each other with weapons held aloft, forming a gigantic arch that can be viewed from miles around.

Although Grand Arch is not the wealthiest district of Magnimar's prestigious Summit region, it is the largest. Grand Arch, which lies within the city district of Naos, stretches from the Twins' Gate monument to the north for most of the length of the Avenue of Honours, while to the east it engulfs most of the length of the Lord-Mayor's March. The area is home to middle class merchants and respectable shop owners. While not as affluent as some of the nearby districts, Grand Arch is still a respectable place to live. Many of its homes stand vacant for much of the year as most of the travelling merchants who visit Magnimar keep their homes in the Grand Arch district, swelling the population for parts of the year while leaving the area relatively empty at other times. The district is named after its most famous sight, the twin statues known as The Guardians.

Vista
Home to the Aspis Consortium, the Vista district also keeps top-tier shops, restaurants, and businesses. The mayor, Haldmeer Grobaras, has an lavish eight story castle/mansion in this district, ostensibly to become more "intimate with his work", but wags are quick to point out its luxurious salons, lounges, and quick access to the local gold-palming, conscienceless, globe divning merchants in the district.

A part of the wealthy city district of Naos in Magnimar, the neighbourhood of Vista is home to high-class businesses of all types. Vista is sandwiched between the road known as the Avenue of Honors in the north and the vast cliff known as the Seacleft to the south. Not only is the district home to wealthy businesses but it also houses several powerful trading organizations. As well as businesses, Vista is also home to the estates of many of the city's well-to-do nobles who enjoy the breath-taking views over the shore region below. All of these estates are overshadowed by Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras estate, known as the Defiant's Garden.

Beacon's Point
Beacon's Point forms one side of Outcast's Cove, the harbour that forms the heart of Magnimar's nautical trade. It is sometime called The Shipyard or the Worker's District, and contains Magnimar's poorest neighbourhood, Rag's End. As may be expected of a district that deals with hardy sea folk it is loud and raucous. Beacon's Point is home of many hard working dock families as well as numerous sailors and other ocean goers, it also houses numerous warehouses, shipping concerns and other such businesses. The most famous landmark of Beacon's Point is its statue studded lighthouse, the Wyrmwatch, which was supposedly built upon the very spot where Alcaydian Indros vanquished the Vydrarch.

Rag's End
The poorest, most wretched area in all Magnimar is found in the Beacon's Point city district and called: Rag's End. Its desolate tenements are a far cry from the city's grand title as 'The City of Monuments'. The maze-like alleys and slums of Rag's End are home to only the most desperate of Magnimar's working class as well as a host of homeless people, addicts, cripples and vagrant wanderers. Most people only get by through begging, temporary work and the charity of the churches of Iomedae and Erastil. Much of this desolate slum is owned by a much loathed Varisian slumlord named Rassimeri Jaijarko, who uses the Sczarni gang The Gallowed as his hired muscle.

Dockway
The city district known as Dockway forms the heart of Magnimar's maritime activities, nestled round the shore of Outcast's Cove in the city's Shore region. It sis sometimes referred to as the Eagle's Quarter, or as the Trade District. Dockway never sleeps. The constant flow of trading ships and local fishing vessels keep the docks busy at all hours. Much of this part of the city is home to businesses that cater to the hardy sea folk who spend their earnings here. A few blocks inland from the salt-soaked dock fronts, there are a host of more comfortable inns and taverns that try to cater to the exotic tastes of Magnimar's foreign visitors. The most famous of these Dockway sanctuaries is probably the Fang, a cheap dockside inn run by Ol' Mam Grottle, its no nonsense proprietress.

Bazaar of Sails
The Bazaar of Sails is the largest free market in the whole of Varisia. Located in Dockway, in the Shore region of Magnimar, the Bazaar of Sails is adjacent to the waterfront, wedged between the Seacleft and the Varisian Gulf and is nearly under the Shadow of the Irespan. The Bazaar of Sails is probably the busiest district of the city; it is filled with the hustle and bustle of traders from dozens of nations all competing for space, attention and profit. From Osirian spices to Andoren wood to Chelish clothing, the markets are filled with goods of every sort. With such a variety of wealth on display one might imagine the district to be riddled with crime, but it is well policed, though not by the Magnimar city watch. Sabriyya Kalmeralm bears the title 'Princess of the Market', which she inherited from her missing father Nazir Kalmeralm; with the title comes the responsibility for keeping the markets reasonably safe through whatever means necessary. Some critics view Sabriyya as little more than Magnimar's most open crime boss, but those who trade in the Bazaar of Sails understand the service she provides even if it sometime requires unsavoury methods.

Keystone Magnimar's central district of Keystone flows south-west from the mysterious and beautiful Seerspring Gardens that sit almost exactly at the centre of the Shore region and the whole of modern Magnimar. Keystone is surrounded by other districts with the salt encrusted Dockway to the north east, artistic Lowcleft to the east, while the poorer Beacon's Point stretches to the north. Central to the city of Magnimar, Keystone still manages to maintain its own unique feel and, thanks to Seerspring Gardens, is a surprisingly peaceful district.

The Marches
The Marches serve as the entrance to Magnimar for most of the land-bound traders who enter the city. The Castlegate is the first sight many traders see when approaching Magnimar and is one of only four gates which penetrate the city wall and is almost as large as the Twins' Gate in Grand Arch. The Marches are west of Lowcleft and east of the wealthier Silver Shore neighbourhood. The Marches are home to many content but not particularly wealthy folk: lower class shop owners and less skilled craftsmen. The Marches, thanks to the location next to Castlegate, are quite a busy district bustling with traders, but the neighbourhood is given no extra funding for security: it is filled with Sczarni gangs and other such thieves and conmen. Luckily the local churches of Iomedae, Erastil and Abadar all provide manpower that helps keep the district safe, or at least safer than it would be.

Silver Shore
The wealthiest district below the more well-to-do Summit region, Silver Shore is far more affluent than the rest of the rough and ready Shore region. Within the city district of Keystone, it is mainly home to well off merchants, members of the Council of Ushers and several noble families who have decided to base themselves by the shore. The reasons why the wealthy choose life down by the shore are myriad: some want to stay close to their water based businesses; others want to stay close to the people themselves; while some just prefer the view. As well as for its residents, Silver Shore is renowned for the bizarre Aquaretum created by gnome inventor Nireed Wadincoast to serve as something half way between a museum and an aquarium.

Lowcleft
The district of Lowcleft, or The Rubble as it is often disparagingly known, sits at the bottom of the imposing Seacleft, and is considered one of Magnimar's most vibrant neighborhoods. Lowcleft is bordered by the Seacleft to the east, while to its west lies the district of Keystone. To the north lies the Dockway, and to the south the city walls. Lowcleft is the home of avant-garde artists and performers of all sorts, and is filled with small theaters, tap rooms, hookah bars, dance halls, and even brothels. Venues in this part of town tend to show performances too innovative or shocking for the more famous Triodea theater, though there is still a connection between the Triodea and Lowcleft performers. One of the Lowcleft's most infamous nightspots, the Gilded Cage, is run by the ex-Triodea prima donna Jayleen Mordove.

Ordellia
Separated from the rest of Magnimar by the Yondabakari River, Ordellia has always considered itself somewhat apart from the rest of the city. It is termed the Foreign District or the 'Mush', depending on the kindness of the speaker. Ordellia is the western-most district and is the only one on the western side of the Yondabakari. It is connected to the rest of city by a bridge to Kyver's Islet (which, in turn, is then connected by bridge to Silver Shore). Ordellia serves as a hotbed of dissent and new political ideas, the people of the district view themselves as embodying the spirit of freedom that led Alcaydian Indros to originally found Magnimar. The people of the district are proud of their community, organized militia and other services, viewing themselves as a separate entity to the rest of the city. The beating heart of this community-wide spirit is The Rose and Rake Theatre, renowned for it satirical and often scathing plays which target local political figures.

Those seeking potions and alchemical products are regularly directed to Billivin's Benevolent Balms and Effulgent Elixirs, though there are those that doubt the reliability of his wares.

Kyver's Islet
One of Magnimar's most heavily industrialized districts, Kyver's Islet is almost entirely taken up by loud or heavy industry. Kyver's Islet itself sits in the middle of the Yondabakari River where the river empties into the vast Varisian Gulf and the islet is surrounded by patches of sandbar and shallow water. The shore of this small island is almost entirely covered in lumber mills and shipyards, all vying for the limited space. The only real building of note in this otherwise uninteresting district is the small lighthouse at the northernmost tip of the island called the Floodfire, which serves to warn ships away from the dangerous sub-aquatic terrain which is near Kyver's Islet.

Kyver's Islet is governed as part of the city district of Ordellia.

Underbridge
By far Magnimar's most seedy, dangerous and dirty district, Underbridge is the only district in what is known as the Shadow area of Magnimar because it lies beneath the shade of the Irespan. Rat infested Underbridge is filled with gambling dens, rancid brothels, cheap flop houses and decrepit tenements serving as a collection of the worst vices of the city.

While the Magnimar government has pledged to clean up Underbridge, many members of the Council of Ushers realise that the vice-filled district actually helps attract business to Magnimar and that shutting it down may adversely affect the rest of Magnimar. Despite being a shore-side district Underbridge does not have the bustling docks of the Bazaar of Sails or Dockway but there are a few places to dock.

These Underbridge docks are inevitably used for smuggling, the most infamous of which backs on to the Friendly Merchant: a shady tavern whose owner charges extortionate rates to use his smuggling dock.

Members of the Magnimar city watch who patrol this district call the people who attack from its darkness "living shadows".

Arvensoar
Arvensoar is the tower built by local Varisians and the citizens of Magnimar to replace the Seacleft Spire after it was destroyed by an angelic being. It took over 18 years to create the tower, but it now stands as a symbol of the city's receptiveness to the guidance of good spirits.

The tower is approximately 400 feet in height, towering over the districts of Lowcleft and Naos and is, indeed the tallest structure in Magnimar. The tower serves as the barracks and fortress for the local city watch and is defended with eight powerful trebuchets able to target any attackers of the city regardless of the direction from which they attack.

Mushfens
The Mushfens are a vast swamp on the southern coast of Varisia, and the largest marsh in all of Avistan. Despite being located in close proximity to both the cities of Magnimar and Korvosa, the Mushfens remain a trackless wilderness filled with many unpleasant creatures.

Seacleft
The Seacleft is the name for the limestone ridge which divides the city of Magnimar into two parts: the upper-class Summit district above and the poorer Shore below. It rises to a height of up to 300 feet and is marked by two architectural features:

The Arvensoar is a great tower reaching up another 100 feet, which serves as a watchtower for the city.
The Irespan is a cyclopean bridge of massive proportions which extends out from the end of the Seacleft into the Varisian Gulf.

Varisian Gulf
The Varisian Gulf, sometimes called Varisian Bay, is one of the most prominent features of the Varisian landscape, providing the border for most of the western edge of the land. Formed when the empire of Thassilon shattered over ten thousand years ago, the gulf is all the remains of much of the western holdings of the once-great nation. In modern times, few know of the Thassilonian relics that rest beneath the waves, yet the few remnants of the lost empire that still stand on dry land on the gulf's edges, such as Hollow Mountain and the ruins of the Irespan in Magnimar, remain as reminders of nations lost to the depths.

Separated from the Arcadian Ocean on its western edge by a large archipelago, the waters of the Varisian Gulf are relatively calm, leading to the establishment of a number of large port cities on its shore. Both Magnimar and Riddleport rest on the gulf, and trade is heavy through its waters, as are pirates looking for plunder.

Chapter 4: The Scarlet Son

Initial Location Golarion, Avistan, Varisia, Magnimar
Time 4709 AR, 23rd day of Desnus (5th month)
Players
  Mersit Of The Raging Tree, catfolk swashbuckler/rogue
..... Aaron Collins
  Taarn, kellid barbarian
..... Mick Hodorek
  Ashen, elf bladebound magus
..... Mike Horrigan
  Rupert Silvermoon, elf wizard
..... Jonathan Hood
  Esdar (Dar) Aearril, half-elf cleric
..... NPC

Introduction

We meet up with Kasadei the next morning. She immediately embraces Dar "Good to see you again, I could use your help. Here's what we know; For the past few days, the city of Magnimar has been in the grip of terror. A murderer stalks the city's streets in the gloaming pre-dawn hours, and each morning it seems a new and freshly mutilated victim appears in an alley. There have been four bodies discovered to date—all worshipers of the goddess of healing and redemption, Sarenrae. We desperately want to catch the murderer, yet he is a cagey and elusive foe. In order to expedite the search, we are turning to known allies of Magnimar and strong heroes of the people to aid us in stopping the culprit before he slays again. That means you. The Company of the Gold Goblin!"

She provides a map, pointing out the murder areas. Rupert asks if we can check the bodies. The corpses were interviewed post-death she relates, each one stabbed multiple times then the hearts cut out. All were travelling worshippers but no real connection otherwise. All were stabbed from behind. Some corpses remember it going very quiet just before the strike (silence spell?). The most recent victim described a motif on the knife, there was a white feather dipped in blood.

Rupert recalls the symbol as identified with Shax, the demon lord of lies and murder.

Kasadei suggests that we set ourselves up as bait. One of us will disguise ourselves as a worshipper-Mersit using the Cap of Human Disguise. The walk is a random act so we can set up a trap. During the day we go over to the area to scope out a good location in Dockway. We'll come back later tonight.

Game Notes April 5, 2015

The team set up on the roofs overlooking the alley that Mersit will walk back and forth from. Mersit walks back and forth between two manhole covers when at one point near the eastern end, all goes silent. Taarn noticed the source as a rock falls silently to the ground (from the south). Taarn then sees a half-elf assassin (with Varisian tattoos) quickly sneaking up on and successfully attacking Mersit (not a very good assassin). inish

Mersit shifts to get weapon, mythic to move and attack using fleet charge; Assassin runs and hops over the fence pass Taarn (going North); (a darkness spell descends); Rupert casts Dimension door - north 70 feet, uses arcane surge to blast her with quickened scorching rays; Ashen takes Haste and rushes to meet up with Rupert and the assassin; Taarn stumbles to get out of the darkness spell, then uses fleet charge to attack.

Game Notes April 19, 2015

Recap: Found someone who could be the murderer( ess? ) as she attacked Mersit just like the previous murder victims!

Zadendi takes fire damage from Rupert then hits Mersit with a negative energy burst also affecting Rupert and Ashen. Dar readies a spell; Ashen hits hard; Taarn hits hard; dropping out of the sky, a red-hued gargoyle charges Taarn.

Mersit catches up catching her with a good skewer in the back; Zadendi burst again causing damage to all the PCs then runs; AoOs miss; The gargoyle (Scarlet Son-SS.) Gores Taarn; Rupert fires more scorching rays causing little damage to the half-fiendish gargoyle; Ashen attacks hitting hard 3 times in a row; Taarn catches and grapples Zadendi causing non-lethal damage.
Mersit pokes at SS. scratching it up some more; Zadendi escapes Taarn's grapple and heads for the roofs; Taarn follows in hot-pursuit.

Game Notes May 3, 2015

Recap: In fight with half-elf assassin.

Mersit criticals the Scarlet Son who looks wounded now; Scarlet Son attempts a double rake of the catfolk with its claws, missing, then takes off into the air; Mersit misses his AoO; Zadendi bursts negative again catching Mersit, Dar and Taarn; Rupert casts fireball at Scarlet Son who takes some damage; Dar 'Spell of Joy'; Ashen keeps up on the ground with Taarn, Mersit and Zadendi on the roofs but casts Glitterdust on Scarlet Son blinding it; Taarn tackles Zadendi again putting more non-lethal hurt on her.
Mersit climbs down and pulls out his longbow; Scarlet Son is flying blind; Zadendi blasts one more negative burst hitting Taarn who doesn't release her; Rupert casts a 2nd fireball doing spectacular damage and getting past Scarlet Son's magic resistance again-Scarlet Son is unconscious and falling from 60' up; Ashen smiles and ask Taarn if he needs help "wif da wittle half-elf feeeemale"; Taarn grunts and puts the sleeper on Zadendi who happily obliges, falling unconscious; The Scarlet Son plummets to a bone crunching impact with the cobblestone-dead.

Looting: Zadendi: cloak of elvenkind (Mersit), +1 spell storing dagger with Shax engraving, masterwork studded leather, buckler, ornate brass key. Scarlet Son: amulet of natural armor +1 (Taarn).

Dar looks at the dagger and lets the party know that it is her divine focus and very evil (also, the murder weapon). The party bring Zadendi off the roof and bind her before they begin healing up, leaving her unconscious. They drag her ass back to The Arvensoar and Lt. Kasadei. There, they receive the bounty of 3,000 GP for turning in Zadendi and the murder weapon (yes Rupert we gave her the +1 spell storing dagger). Kasadei says that if we want we can try to question Zadendi to find out more information, like where the key leads. Think along those lines though, Dar identifies some of the faded etchings on the key as being those belonging to the Dawnflower, Sarenrae.

The interview starts with Dar healing Zadendi back to consciousness and giving her a chance to 'catch up'. While seemingly set back by being captured she shows no remorse over the murders only the loss of the Scarlet Son. With that last piece of information Kasadei figures that Zadendi was carried to-and-from the murders. That's why the attacks were sudden, brutal and done without a trace. Zadendi only goes on to proclaim that followers of Sarenrae are false, that she follows the true scion of the Dawnflower, then remains silent from that point on.

Zadendi is taken to the 'cells' for processing. Dar asks if a priest of Sarenrae could come visit her as he believes some great evil now controls the half-elf and she may yet be saved. The others, including Kasadei, scoff.

Once Zadendi is gone, Kasadei asks about the key and Dar says he thinks its for a church of Sarenrae, but there are none here in Magnimar. Kasadei tells the group that while interviewing one of the faithful a few days back, the priest made an off-hand comment about how disheartening it is that worshipers of Sarenrae are still being treated so poorly by Magnimar's criminals after 'all these years'. When pressed he bitterly complained that the one attempt to establish a proper shrine in Magnimar fell apart 80 years ago. This attempt was made by a man named Volsten—and that Volsten and his two acolytes were murdered by thugs, and the shrine—more than church—has remained abandoned ever since. The whereabouts of this building are part of the public record and it won't take her log to get the details.

An hour later, Kasadei comes back with the location of the 'church' as an abandoned building in Underbridge. The party collects themselves before heading to the shrine.

"The shrine itself is in bad shape; its stone walls still stand, but the wood-shingled roof that once sheltered the single-story building has fallen in almost completely. The shrine’s front door has fallen away as well, and the stained-glass windows lie shattered, covering the ground nearby with colourful shards."

On initial investigation, the shrine looks completely abandoned, The rubble within the shrine building itself makes the area therein difficult terrain. Having a key, the PC's are confused at first by the apparent lack of a door lock to fit the key into.

The graveyard out back contains only three graves—one for Father Volsten and two for his acolytes, all murdered 78 years ago by the Sczarni. Mersit notices that all three graves have been excavated and refilled recently.

Near the back of the shrine, not far from the graves, lies an overgrown door in the side of the ruined building. This door is in excellent condition, and is locked; the key carried by Zadendi opens this door. Beyond is a narrow staircase that leads down to the shrine's catacombs.

"Filaments of pale fungus grow along the brick-lined walls of this catacomb. A thick layer of mud lies on the floor, numerous human-sized footprints running along the centre while tangles of pale yellow mushrooms grow near the edges."

Coming to the bottom of the staircase and turning right, Mersit sees two armed and armoured undead (Wights? Yikes!) Inish! Order: A, T, WF, R, WR, E, M, WC.

Ashen moves in missing the figure wearing scale mail and shield using a heavy pick (Wight Cleric-WC.); Taarn Rages,moves up and hits the one wearing breast plate and wielding an Earthbreaker (Wight Fighter-WF.); WF. attacks Taarn back with a critical on the first attack, followed by two other mighty hits (each feels like extra magic is at work inflicting more pain)-Taarn is taken aback by dropping half his HP in one attack; Rupert moves to the back wall and casts Magic Missiles at the WC.; Esdar moves beside Rupert and casts Bless; Mersit goes to acrobat through CF. to get on the other side-a Wight Rogue (WR.) hits him by surprise going by the first alcove and nearly cripples Mersit-massive damage, Mersit halts and tries to flip back out of the way instead; WC. defensively casts Contagion reaching out with a disembodied spectral hand (appearing from nowhere) on Mersit (who fails... no wait... Mythic surge... saves-Whew!).

Ashen lays more hits on WC.; Taarn smash!; WF. attacks Taarn hitting 2 out of 3 times; Rupert uses Force Missile; WR. hits Mersit twice inflicting more damage; Esdar casts Disrupt Undead hitting WR.; Mersit hits WR. then runs back to Dar and Rupert-WR. misses AoO; WC. hits Ashen and steps back.
Ashen steps up and hits WC. more; Taarn attempts to sunder WC.'s armour-it gains the broken condition; WF. steps back beside WC. gets on hit on Ashen with earthbreaker and slams Taarn (who resists Negative Level Drain-NLD.); WR. tumbles through Taarn and Ashen to other side of WF.; Esdar casts Ice Storm; Mersit pulls out and drinks a potion of cure serious wounds; Wight Cleric bursts negative energy healing itself, WF. and WR. while harming everyone else.
Ashen hits WF.; Taarn hits WF.; WF. hits Taarn with earthbreaker and Ashen with slam (who also resists NLD.); Rupert more Force Missile on WR.; WR. ducks around corner; Dar bursts positive energy healing all and damaging WC. and WF.; Mersit uses longbow on WF.-fumble!; WC. bursts negative energy healing its side, hurting the PCs.
Ashen hit WF. twice; Taarn smash WF.!; WF. nails Ashen twice; Rupert Force Missile WF.; WR. tumbles through Ashen and Taarn hitting Mersit hard; Dar bursts positive energy healing the good-guys, hurting the bad; Mersit hits WR.; WC. bursts negative energy healing bad-guys, hurting good.
Ashen keeps hammering WC.; Taarn steps away from WF. and lays into WR. twice; WF. says something in Aklo and steps back; Rupert uses another Force Missile on WF.; WR. tumble past Taarn-fails; Dar bursts positive heal living, hurt undead; Mersit skewers WR., putting 'The Hangover' through its skull dropping it!; WC. steps back and casts Deeper Darkness.
Ashen readies to hit anything that comes near and steps back; Taarn does same; WF. ?; Rupert casts Protection From Evil; WR.-dead (again); Esdar bursts positive energy healing good, hurting bad; Mersit drinks potion of heroism; We hear a rasping voice then everything goes quiet! Silence—double Fuck!

Game Notes May 17, 2015

New mission - Catacombs of an old ruined church looking for evil cultists.
Recap: trouble immediately as we try to fight in the dark & silence—Mersit once again tagged for neg levels.

Ashen uses Strike from his blade to get more damage, Hasted Assault from his pool to be 'Hasted' and readies for an undead to step out of the darkness; Taarn readies; CF. charges at Taarn hitting hard-both Taarn and Ashen nail CF. who staggers for a second; Mersit uses Assured Drinker mythic power, to drink two cure mod potions; CC. comes out of the darkness to attack Taarn with a touch of its hand now glowing sickly purple-Taarn saves against purple feeling the poisonous coating of effect slide off him, then against NLD.
Ashen uses Energy Attunement from his blade turning it into a weapon of fire, uses Arcane Pool to give the sword the 'keen' ability then multiple attacks against WC.-lots of hurt!; Taarn axes WC.-splitting the villain in two, then mythic charges CF.; CF. hits Taarn back; Rupert steps forward and flings a bunch 'o magic missiles at the CF.; Esdar healing surge; Mersit attempts to acrobat back into the fray but can't get past Ashen to get to CF., stuck in the back.
Ashen repeat of last type of attack against CF.-collapses into dust.

Loot the bodies then drag the items back up top to examine. Rogue: ring of ferocious action (5 charge per day) ignore staggered condition; chain shirt +1, mithral short sword +1, cloak of the sneaky scoundrel (shifts hue and pattern-granted +5 stealth + concealed light blade; spend 1 panache to vanish-invisible for 1 round), snakeskin tunic (grants +1 AC, +2 to DEX enhancement and +2 save versus poison). Fighter: vambraces of defence (+1 deflection bonus plus 1 per day grant deflect arrows with free hand); mithral breast plate +1; +1 human bane earthbreaker; earth root boots (gains +1 to CMD to max of +10 for each round immobile on solid ground). Cleric: scale mail +1 (with broken condition), ring of force shield, +1 heavy pick, tunic of careful casting.

Mersit takes cloak of sneaky and vambraces of defence. Taarn took ring of ferocious and gets gloves of dexterity +2 from Mersit. Ashen got tunic of careful casting and +1 mithral breastplate, Esdar gets ring of protection +1 from Mersit.

We return to Kasadei to report on the graveyards and the guardians there we faced. We warn her to quarantine the area until we can return. We rest at the Inn Of The Severed Arm.

Mersit buys 2x mod cure (600); 1x cure serial (750); 1x heroism (1500).

The next day, we go back to the scene of the crime. Carefully moving down the corridor-checking alcoves on our way. We eventually come to a large door with well-maintained (oiled) hinges. As Mersit & Taarn move to check out the door they trigger a flash sonic trap. Mersit doesn't find a trap-we decide to try Zadendi's key which works (huzzah).

“Whatever purpose this vaulted, brick-lined chamber may have once served, today it is obviously the inner sanctum of some depraved cult. Unnerving, spiky runes have been painted on the brick walls with blood, between which dozens of mutilated birds—gulls, falcons, ravens, and a particularly large number of doves—have been impaled. The foul stink of rotting meat emanates from these grisly trophies. Opposite the only visible entrance, a jagged boulder with a bloodstained cloth draped over it serves as an altar, several fly-covered, foul-smelling lumps of meat sitting atop it. The wall just beyond the altar has been painted to depict a single curved white feather sitting in a pool of blood. To either side of this symbol yawn archways set with barred doors, turning the alcoves beyond into prison cells. The eastern cell's door hangs ajar, but deep shadows obscure what might be found in either cell.”

In between the cells stands a Babau-demon, (need cold iron, resistance to electricity, covered in acidic slime, Ick!). INISH:

The demon casts Darkness—fucking us over again, then it moves to western door; Mersit hears muffled "help me" from door protected by demon, fleet charge but misses, decides to try normal attack and gets in one good attack with double precise damage; Rupert moves up and casts Magic Missile; Ashen hits with 'Frost & Force' damage (more arcane pool points used); Taarn Mythic charge in but misses, sticks around to Full Attack, The Demon Is Toast!-disappears in puff of smoke...Summoned!

There is a young human in ratty clothing in the cell—wearing a mask and gag (partially spat out) & tied. Mersit tries the 'key' which fits and opens the cell. We un-gag and unmask-a young male human named Lex Avai who is an acolyte of Sarenrae and he thanks us for his rescue. He was taken by some red flying creature a couple of weeks past. He heard many profane rituals led by two females. When one spoke (hollow echo-y voice as if it was two voices at once) it was a cold feeling that filled the room.

They described a ritual to open a gate to release a demon lord (Shax) they needed 13 hearts - he was supposed to be last sacrifice. He heard the name Zadendi.

Taarn and Rupert walk Lex back to the front entrance and then to a guard on the cordon—Mersit, Ashen, and Dar stay to search the shrine.

Taarn is affected by Dominate Person (SP) on his way out by Lex who asks him to grapple Rupert. We were tricked! Rupert manages to dimension door back to us screaming about an insane barbarian.

Meanwhile, Dar finds a loose stone in the eastern cell with a bed. Mersit checks it out and finds a coffer (with coins) and scrolls. After the nonsense with Tirana—Dar had memorized the Suppress Charms and Compulsions spell to combat this sort of thing.

Ashen moves up to the door; Mersit moves up 60 feet; Rupert pulls out his Rod of Selective Meta-magic; Dar moves up behind Rupert and Ashen; Taarn double moves back toward the shrine room.
Ashen moves up shouting "Take care of Rupert!" as he nears Taarn; Mersit moves past Taarn shouting "Take care of Rupert!" then moves up to Lex and attacks with Mythic charge doing some damage; Rupert moves up and around the corner; Dar moves up to be near Taarn; Taarn tries to bull rush Dar but he fails; Lex makes to cast, AoO from Mersit hits but Lex still affects Charm Monster (SP) on Mersit (who saves)… but Lex absorbs the damage—Shit!.

Game Notes May 31, 2015

We may be in deep doo-doo this time! The young Lex Avai has 'Dominated' Taarn getting him to grapple our Wizard! After a bit of quick thinking to lure Taarn to Dar, Mersit gives the old swashbuckler try to put the hurt on Lex-but it didn't, hurt that is, it certainly hit!

Ashen hits with his sword still in 'Frost & Force' mode and it seems to cause some damage to Lex-though the cold seems to be ignored; Mersit runs up the stairs to get outside; Rupert casts Dimension Door to go to the lot entrance of the shrine; Dar defensively casts Suppress Charms and Compulsions on Taarn opting to suppress the effect while he continues to concentrate; Taarn, shakes of the spell and RAGES! charging Lex and grappling him-and fails to save against an NLD. Crap!; Lex Avai looks at the remaining PCs and says with an eerie double echo to the voice (one male and another female) "How nice of you to disrupt my little ritual. While fighting down in this dingy catacomb may seem like rote for you, I prefer the sky. I'll meet you upstairs if you're willing to press your luck!", he then seemingly fades away to nothing.
Ashen runs up the stairs into the sunlight only to see Rupert and Mersit; Mersit looks about wildly and ask why Ashem came up-when told he turns a 'whiter shade of pale'; Rupert readies to cast Lightning Bolt; Dar asks Taarn if he wants to have Restoration cast on him now-but it takes 3 rounds to cast-Taarn says he can take her, Dar heads up; Taarn heads up; With everyone up and waiting (only Rupert can really 'do' anything right now) a figure begins to shine near the graves-Esdar swears it looks like all depictions of the Dawnflower herself---only to have that thought broken by the laughter subsequently coming from a materializing form of a beautiful red-haired female warrior holding a flaming scimitar… with a tail, horns and bat-wings as well… kind of like a demonic version of the goddess Sarenrae… Rupert lets her have the Lightning bolt which 'selectively' avoids hitting Taarn, Ashen and Esdar-and does absolutely no damage whatsoever even though she stood there and took it (oh shit she's a succubus)-"That was entirely rude! Here I was getting ready to make a grand entrance and you go and ruin it!" she says with a divinely seductive feminine voice and pointing at Rupert. Then she clears her throat and with the weird double male-female echo again says "I guess I'll have to punish you first!" and launches herself through the air at Rupert striking him once with the flame blade-burning him badly.

Ashen rushes over and manages to hit her twice, the 'Force' affect causing damage; Mersit uses fleet chargeto attack Avalexi-and misses-but uses a Mythic Surge to boost the roll, and still misses; Rupert steps back and fires Force Missile at Avalexi; Esdar casts 'Spell Of Joy' and moves towards Rupert; Taarn uses fleet charge and hits her hard-to which she smiles at the barbarian "You're next" to which Taarn responds "Bring It On!"; Avalexi hits Taarn with her flaming scimitar three times burning him quite a bit.
Ashen uses Pool Strike to charge his sword with MORE cold damage and manages to hit—the force damage still hurting and the extra cold damage seemingly affecting her as well—Avalexi snaps her head his way and lets out a scream that is born of frustration and pain; Mersit moves to flank her and succeeds managing to also cause some damage; Rupert continues with the Force Missile barrage, though this time it fizzles as it strikes her; Esdar uses Channelled Shield Wall and moves closer to the fight; Taarn being tuned into 'Tenebris' attempts Mythic Power Attack and uses both a Legendary Surge from the axe and his own Mythic Surge thus increasing the die to +1d8 (for attack of course) and hits! HARD!; Avalexi takes one swing at Ashen burning his ass a bit then begins to fade out again (drawing AoOs all over but only Ashen hits) and says "You may have won this round, but you haven't seen the last of me and I'll remember you! Count on it!" and with that she's gone.

Loot from cache in cell; 2,500 GP and 201 PP, a scroll of cure critical wounds, a scroll of remove disease, a scroll of divination, and a scroll of restoration. Scrolls to Dar.

Index: Chapter 4

Lieutenant Kasadei
Female Varisian human fighter. Lieutenant in the City Watch of Magnimar. Neighbourhood friend of Esdar Aearril.

Zadendi
Currently in custody. Female half-elf (Varisian human) cleric of Shax. Possibly an acolyte of Sarenrae corrupted by the succubus Avalexi. Murderer of 12 faithful to the Dawnflower.

Scarlet Son
Deceased. Half-fiend gargoyle, hence the red skin. Companion and accomplice to Zadendi. Watcher of the Shrine.

Lex Avai
Disguise. A supernatural disguise of a human male in his early twenties. This is the form Avalexi used to lure the PCs to split the party in order to better Dominate one of their number.

Avalexi
At large. A succubus bearing an uncanny likeness to a demonic-vision of the goddess Sarenrae. Claims to be the true Dawnflower, luring Sarenrites to their doom. Attempted to complete a ritual involving the murder of 13 Sarenrites for her Lord Shax, whose purpose is currently unknown. Claims to be an enemy of the PCs who will one day even the score.

Earthbreaker
The earth breaker is a 14-pound hammer brought into battle by the Shoanti tribes of Varisia. It is swung with two hands, and the power generated is channelled into the blunted spikes on the weapon's head. It is part of a Shoanti fighting style called 'Thunder and Fang', in which a warrior wields both an earth breaker and a klar quite effectively.

Demon, Babau
This emaciated figure looks like a horned human skeleton smothered within a bone-tight hide of slimy leather.

The babau is an assassin, a murderer, and a sadist—certainly not traits unusual in the demons, yet the babau’s penchant for stealth and surprise sets it apart from its generally less-subtle kin. With no need to eat (although most babaus relish the flavor of mortal meat on their thin, raspy tongues), a babau can wait in ambush for years or decades—their inhuman patience in anticipating a well-conceived murder also setting them apart from the other denizens of the Abyss. Babaus obsess over the act of killing and take great pride in their grisly art, often leaving behind some form of grim marker or obscure signature, whether it be a distinctive modus operandi, an unnerving token, or other profane evidence.

A babau typically carries a longspear or other weapon with which it can strike at foes beyond its normal reach, but given the opportunity, a babau prefers to fight with its teeth or claws. The foul, caustic sludge that constantly seeps from their flesh prevents them from wearing armor unless it is specially treated or resistant to acid.

A babau is 6 feet tall but weighs only 140 pounds. They form from mortal souls of lone killers—those who, in life, took pleasure in more personal and intimate murders. Loosed upon the Material Plane, a babau often finds itself in the same role, haunting the shadowy corners of the world as remorseless assassins.

Chapter 5: Shattered Star; Shards of Sin

Initial Location Golarion, Avistan, Varisia, Magnimar
Time 4709 AR, 26th day of Desnus (5th month)
Players
  Mersit Of The Raging Tree, catfolk swashbuckler/rogue
..... Aaron Collins
  Taarn, kellid barbarian
..... Mick Hodorek
  Ashen, elf bladebound magus
..... Mike Horrigan
  Rupert Silvermoon, elf wizard
..... Jonathan Hood
  Esdar (Dar) Aearril, half-elf cleric
..... NPC

Wrap up

Standing in the ruins of the 'Shrine' after the battle with Avalexi. The PCs double check the underground complex for any other hidden secrets or information they missed in the heat of battle. Between Esdar's knowledge of religion, Ashen's knowledge of History and Rupert's, well, scholarly abilities they come to the conclusion that if the ritual had succeeded, Avalexi would have opened a 'Gate' to the Abyss. How long it would stay open and what would come through is unknown. But it wouldn't have been good for Magnimar!

The PCs tell the constables on guard to watch over the area for now while they return to Kasadei. Which they do and pass along all the information they've gleaned (but not the contents of the cache, Come On!). Kasadei tells the party that she will talk to her superiors about the events after Zadendi's arrest and see if she can't scrounge up another 'consulting fee' for the PCs. In the meantime, they should get some rest, looking like shit as they do, and she will get in contact with them in the next few days.

Three days later, the PCs are resupplied as much as they can get when Kasadei catches up with them. She has another 3,000 GP stipend from the City Watch, with thanks and they are sure to contact the PCs again if another situation arises. In the interim however, Kasadei tell the PCs that she was presented with a letter from the local Pathfinders Chapter to give to them. It seems that events of late are increasing the PCs reputation as the letter is from Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch herself. After passing off the letter, Kasadei wishes them well and heads back to work.

Part One: A Game Afoot in Magnimar

It is now the 29th of Desnus, 4709 AR. The PCs have an invitation from Sheila Heidmarch.

Guests of the Lodge

Heidmarch Manor is located in the Alabaster District of Magnimar, not far from the city's easternmost gate. The manor grounds are surrounded by a stone wall, but the front gate hangs open during the day—visitors are always welcome to the manor, which has recently come to double as the first Pathfinder Lodge in Varisia. When the PCs arrive, they are asked to wait in the foyer, as Sheila Heidmarch is finishing up a meeting with an unexpected visitor—a relatively well known Pathfinder named Koriah Azmeren. Two women step into the room. The first is Sheila Heidmarch, while the second is her guest, Koriah.

Sheila greets the PCs in an unusually deep voice and with a no-nonsense attitude, thanking them for answering her summons. She then introduces Koriah, an attractive half-elven woman dressed in leather armor and armed with a distinctive-looking mithral-and-redwood aklys (a hooked club attached to a cord) and a bastard sword ( both weapons are currently sheathed or hanging from her belt). Rupert recognizes Koriah Azmeren as one of Varisia's most famous Pathfinders and a well-renowned expert on the Darklands. Sheila explainins that Koriah has just returned from an expedition to the Darklands below Varisia, having successfully scouted out a new ( but relatively minor) route down to Nar-Voth from the Fogscar Mountains. Sheila goes on to explain that Koriah has returned with a surprising number of Thassilonian artifacts from this expedition, and that she must spend a few more moments discussing the implications of this discovery with Koriah. She apologizes for the further delay, then pauses for a moment as if in thought. She then asks the PCs and Koriah to accompany her into an adjoining room.

This chamber is the lodge library and study. The walls are lined with bookshelves, while several tables in the middle of the room are heaped with scrolls and books. One table in the centre, however, supports only a single object an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with Thassilonian runes. Sheila asks for the PCs to have a seat around the table while she speaks to them. Sheila Heidmarch

“I apologize for the delay, as I must conclude my business with Pathfinder Azmeren before we meet. In the mean time, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue. This stone coffer is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box. As you'll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves—there's no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened. Essentially, a paradox box substitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock. This particular box was among those items recovered by Koriah-the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she's not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing. So… why don't you put your heads together and see if you can't do that for me?”

“Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I'll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open! Think of this as an audition, if you will—because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!”

What's in the Box?

Koriah's notes are an invaluable resource for PCs, the scroll lists translations of the central runes on the box-and what she can make of the remaining individual runes. The most repeated symbol is the rune for 'wrath', which Koriah also notes is associated with evocation magic, and in the earliest days of Thassilon with the word 'kindness'. Her notes indicate that this rune merely marks the box has having once belonged to a citizen of the Thassilonian nation of Bakrakhan, and that the rune likely has little to do with the method of opening this particular paradox box.

Another of Koriah's scrolls lists a few other key observations; the runes on each face may be depressed, but once done will not reset for an hour; the runes must be pressed in the order of face sequence listed or again, it will take an hour to reset; looks like the key observation being that the runes of each side may be reorganized along a face using two fingers, once moved they stay for one hour before resetting.

After taking half an hour to discuss the philosophies of the Thassilon language and reviewing Koriah's translations, Ashen and Rupert-the resident scholars think they have the answer to the puzzle box. They opt to go with a single rune (the answer to each face's riddle) in sequence and… It works!

Maybe too well? Some smoke comes from the box before the PCs have a chance to look inside. Shapes solidify from the smoke leaving 2 pugwampis standing on the desk. They immediately pull daggers and start slashing at the nearby notes. With a bit of shouting and some fancy footwork, Mersit leaps up onto the desk and, when landing, impales one of the pugwampis making it vanish. Rupert uses Scorching Ray on the remaining creature roasting it until it also goes poof!

Loot: three garnets worth 50 GP each, a masterwork silversheen dagger, and a ring of Feather Falling.

A Special Assignment

After the PCs defeat the gremlins, Sheila and Koriah return to the room, drawn there by the sounds of battle. Sheila demands an explanation, but despite her apparent anger, she's more angry at herself for leaving a possible dangerous item unattended. She quickly makes it clear to the PCs that she's quite pleased with their ability to not only open the paradox box, but also dispatch the pugwampis. Sheila tell the PCs to keep the spoils.

Sheila bids farewell to Koriah; the half-elf bows to the PCs as she leaves and wishes them luck in their endeavours as Pathfinders. Once Koriah has left, Sheila asks the PCs to take their seats again, and then informs them of the true reason she's called upon their services.

"First, allow me to apologize for that unpleasantness regarding the gremlins-but it does provide an excellent object lesson. The life of an adventurer is not one for the weak-hearted. That you not only took care of the gremlins but also got the box open in the first place is all the confirmation I need that my gut was right-you're the perfect group for the job I have in mind."

"You see-I've recently had trouble with one of my informants here in Magnimar, Natalya Vancaskerkin. She's a half-Varisian who recently approached the Pathfinder Society with an offer to serve as a street informant. She runs with the Sczarni—l'm not sure with which group. A week ago, Natalya sent me a cryptic hint that her gang was on the verge of uncovering an item that would be of great interest to the Society. Since the Sczarnis' methods of uncovering something often involves an armed robbery or breaking into somebody's personal chambers, we thought it prudent not to press for further details and instead wait to see what it would produce. Suffice it to say, she hinted strongly that it pertained to Thassilon, and promised to meet with me to discuss this find three days ago."

"She never kept that promise—instead, she seems to have simply vanished. Initially, I assumed that the acquisition of this item was simply taking longer than expected, but now I'm hearing rumours that the Sczarni are looking for her as well."

"It seems likely that Natalya has absconded with this item she's discovered. And this is where you enter, my friends. I want to know what it was that Natalya and the Sczarni found. In fact, I'm more interested in that than in what happened to Natalya herself. For now, I'd like to keep all of this quiet—if you can find out what happened to Natalya without letting a lot of people know she was also working for me as an informant, that would be preferable—that's a big part of why I'm coming to you, as potentially new members of the Pathfinder Society, with this task. You seem to have a bit of a rep in Magnimar, and as such, the lowlifes and criminals you are likely to encounter may be more easily persuaded to talk."

"So… go out there and look for Natalya. Find out what happened to her, and to this item she and her gang discovered. If you can secure the item, all the better—bring it back to me and I'll have a reward of 500 GP each for you. And if you can bring Natalya back alive for me to speak to, I'll double that!"

Sheila Heidmarch would like for the PCs to begin their investigation as soon as possible, but she doesn't mind if they take a bit of time to prepare themselves. If they were injured during the fight against the pugwampis, she'll give the PCs up to four potions of cure light wounds to help repair the damage. If the PCs ask for an advance on their reward money, she'll agree to give them 100 GP each early to help them buy needed gear.

Starting the Investigation

Sheila unfortunately doesn't know much about Natalya, other than that the woman approached the Pathfinders and offered to be a sort of double agent among the Sczarni. As the Pathfinders have recently forged alliances with the Sczarni in many cities throughout the Inner Sea region, Sheila knew that having a member of a Sczarni gang as a double agent could be useful-the Sczarni have yet to fully earn the trust of the Pathfinder Society, after all. Unfortunately, one of Natalya's conditions for entering this alliance with the Pathfinders was that she wanted to retain a good amount of anonymity and autonomy, so she'd be free to handle things as she saw fit. Sheila now realizes that agreeing to these terms may have been a mistake-but until she knows more, she's not willing to write off Natalya as a traitor.

Before the PCs leave, Sheila gives them some information that The Sczarni have been a part of Magnimar from the start—they're not the most dangerous or powerful of the city's criminal organizations, but they are the most visible. The Sczarni generally don't involve themselves in particularly violent crimes, and in many cases in Magnimar, they actually help to protect and police less fortunate neighbourhoods, and as such are often well regarded by the lower-class. There are six major Sczarni gangs in the city: the Creepers, Doolun's Lads, the Gallowed, the Tower Girls, the Washside Wringers, and the Wreckwash Blades, with the Gallowed being the most powerful Sczarni family in the city.

When Natalya initially approached Sheila with the offer of serving the Pathfinders as an informant, she engaged the aid of a man known as the Amazing Zograthy, a Varisian who keeps a permanent tent and fortune-telling business in Washers' Row in Dockway—specifically, at the end of a narrow alley that serves as a permanent street fair. From what Sheila has been able to find out, the Amazing Zograthy often works as a sort of middle-man between Sczarni and outsiders, but he expects gold in payment for his services.

Sheila has little more information for the PCs, unfortunately—there are rumours of Nidalese slavers prowling the streets of late, and if these are true, being abducted by a slaver in the middle of the night would certainly explain Natalya's absence. She might even have been picked up by the city guard for some reason, in which case a visit to the Arvensoar, the garrison for the City Watch, might yield some clues. Beyond this, she can offer nothing but wishes for luck.

Lead 1: The Amazing Zograthy

The PCs head for Washer's Row to question Zograthy.

At the southern end of Washers' Row, a tattered banner hanging over the entrance to the small side street advertises "Professor Callivario's Stupendous Exhibition of the Outrageous and Sublime." Beyond this overly exuberant advertisement is a squalid set up consisting of little more than a series of rundown sideshow booths and carts with assorted games and amusements of the meaner sort. To one side, urchins pitch pennies at lily pads floating in a small, scum-covered fountain while a bored carnie looks on. Nearby, the sound of cats hissing and fighting a rises from behind a cart where a small crowd of ne'er-do-wells has gathered to cheer and place bets. Everywhere lurk faces pinched with suspicion or hunger expressions worn by carnival workers and visitors a like. This is not the sort of place to be careless with a coin pouch.

By talking to one of the questionable carnies, a stooped old barker with a retching cough, the PCs are quickly pointed to the abode of the Amazing Zograthy, Seer of the Dark, a small, well-patched tent crudely painted with mystical symbols and decorated with chicken bones and other oddments.

Within the stuffy, cluttered tent is a table covered in blue velvet stitched with moons, stars, and arcane symbols. A dusty crystal ball and a dog-eared harrow deck sit upon it. Behind this table sits an aged, bald, Varisian man with threadbare purple robes and piercing eyes-the one and only Amazing Zograthy. Upon the PCs' entrance, he gestures broadly and states in a tremulous voice, "The Amazing Zograthy sees all and knows all. A double fist of silver for a turn of the cards or a vision in the crystal; a treble fist of gold for the secrets of the multiverse."

Dar notices the tall-tale sign of Pesh addiction on the man and figures he'll tell the others after. The PCs just want to talk, Zograthy leans back in his rickety chair and says, "Aaaah… Secrets! Perhaps my greatest trade!" He then flatly demands a fee of 50 GP. Everyone looks at Ashen, who grumbles then coughs up the coins.

The PCs ask about Natalya Vancaskerkin and her 'discovery'. Zograthy knows nothing about any supposed 'discovery' she may have made, but he does confirm that she hasn't been heard from among the Sczarni. Zograthy adds that many folk along the waterfront, both here in Beacon's Point and over in Dockway and Underbridge, have been disappearing of late-a few each week, in fact, with many simply vanishing out of their very beds at night. He suspects that Natalya is among those who have disappeared in this manner, and bitterly adds that as long as only poor Varisians and other destitute folk are being targeted, the chances of the city doing anything about the disappearances is nil. He does know that it's not a Sczarni plot-indeed, the Sczarni seem quite interested in solving the vanishings themselves, but are not seeking aid in that effort. If anything, it's harder to contact actual Sczarni leaders these days than it is normally. The leading theory on the street is that the vanished folk are the victims of slavers who then secretly sell them offshore at night to Nidalese ships—but Zograthy doesn't put much stock in such rumours.

Before the PCs leave, Zograthy clears his throat and extends his empty palm one more time. Ashen digs in his purse and put 1 GP in Zograthy's palm. Zograthy quickly adds that Natalya was, at least until recently, a member of a Sczarni gang known as the Tower Girls, a group of cat burglars. They are themselves searching for Natalya, and word is that when they find her, she'll be in deep trouble. He doesn't know exactly what is going on with them but has heard them say that Natalya went mad before her disappearance.

When the PCs attempt to learn of the location of the Tower Girls or other Sczarni, they receive only a cold stare in response and Zograthy adds "Such information is not suitable for sharing with gorgios!"

Lead 2: Nidalese Slavers

If the PCs track down rumours of Nidalese slavers, and manage to gather a rumor that a pickup for one of these slave runs has been scheduled for this very midnight at an old, boarded-up shoreline tavern in Dockway. The tavern was once known as the Puffy Pelican—a faded painting of a fat pelican still graces the facade of the empty building, and the building's back features a half-collapsed wooden deck that hangs over the high-tide mark.

A preliminary investigation of the building during the day reveals nothing out of the ordinary the tavern truly looks abandoned, and bears no signs of having been used recently. The PCs return at night, at or near midnight, and note what appears to be the dim light of a hooded lantern inside the tavern. The PCs move around to the back where the boards over the building's back door have been recently removed.

Entering through the backdoor, the PCs find the tavern littered with a few broken stools and the remnants of a bar. The light inside the tavern is in fact nothing more than a Dancing Light. At this point a thin man with a weak chin and a ratty, self-inflicted haircut appears from thin air. He wears once-fine noble's clothing and carries a wickedly curved dagger, he's also just cast Colour Spray.

Taarn looks at the little man, laughs once then asks "Are you fucking serious?" right before he 'Rages' and tackles the man commencing to pummel him soundly! Ashen comes over to give the man a kick and Mersit lays him out with his sap.

While tying him up, Taarn recalls that there's a 100 GP bounty on this man, one Plutivarch Dremis, for various minor crimes! Leaving him tied up, the PCs search the derelict tavern for other clues only finding a bedroll behind the bar. From the looks of it, Plutivarch was operating alone.

The PCs camp out for the night so they can hear what their prisoner has to say in the morning.

When the sun breaks, Plutivarch wakes up horrified to find himself tied and gagged and surrounded by five not so cheerful 'easy marks'. When asked to 'fess up' he eagerly spills the beans "In truth, there are no Nidalese slavers operating in Magnimar—I started the rumours hoping to impress the local branch of the Aspis Consortium by capturing a batch of Pathfinder recruits for ransom. I paid a network of agents well to spread the word of Nidalese slavers through the city, and whenever the city guard followed up, they simply found no evidence of slavers."

"So if there are no slavers then who is behind the disappearances?" ask Rupert. Plutivarch wryly invites the PCs to talk to the City Watch. "They're the ones who are supposed to be watching over they city after all, shouldn't they know why citizens have been disappearing?" That draws another trip to snoozville for Plutivarch Dremis!

Loot: 2x potion of cure light wounds, potion of cure moderate wounds, a potion of invisibility; Other Gear maserwork dagger, darts (6), pouch with 35 GP and an amethyst worth 250 GP.

Lead 3: A Trip to the Arvensoar

The PCs head to the city watch with an unconscious Plutivarch in tow—it gives them a chance to talk with Kasadei and see what the watch knows about the disappearances or whether Natalya was arrested.

The Arvensoar looms in the southern part of the city, high above the districts of Lowcleft and Naos. The tower itself is about 400 feet tall, with the lower portion built into the side of the Seacleft that splits the city in half. The watch officers stationed at the Arvensoar have busy schedules, but are recognized immediately and with another criminal in tow, Kasadei is called down. She greets them again and complains that they are going to put the City Watch out of business. Then she pays them the 100 GP bounty, arranges accommodation for Plutivarch and brings them up to an interview room.

Amongst the myriad of questions Dar first asks "Do you know where Natalya Vancaskerkin is?" Kasadei confirms that Natalya Vancaskerkin is known to the City Watch—"She's a petty burglar known to run with the Tower Girls. That she has vanished is news to us, she hasn't been picked up by any patrols either. I'm not surprised that Natalya's disappearance hasn't been reported—the Sczarni tend to try to solve their own problems. If anyone knows more, it's probably the Tower Girls."

So Dar asks the obvious "How can we contact the Tower Girls?" Kasadei's response is "That could be a problem—tracking down any of the Sczarni gangs is tricky normally, but as far as I knows, the Tower Girls themselves have recently changed their headquarters. No informants have yet been able to update the City Watch as to their new headquarters, but I do know that a few months back, the Tower Girls had a falling out with another Sczarni gang, the Wreckwash Blades. For several weeks after that, rumour was that the Tower Girls were slumming it in an abandoned warehouse in Underbridge that they shared with a disreputable local by the name of Fenster the Blight—he may know where the Tower Girls (or perhaps Natalya) are located now." Kasadei provides the PCs with directions to this warehouse if they want to check it out.

Ashen presses on with "What does the City Watch know about the disappearances?" Kasadei bristles slightly then she admits that she's frustrated at the persistent rumours that the City Watch is doing nothing to solve the disappearances—especially considering that they've confirmed that the rumours of Nidalese slavers are false, and that the majority of those who vanished have actually been found. Kasadei muses that rumourmongers don't find happy endings nearly as fun to gossip about, and as a result news that the vanishings have been solved isn't nearly as gossiped about as the vanishings themselves have been. In fact, as far as the City Watch is concerned, the investigation into the disappearances is concluded.

One final question comes from Rupert"Why has the investigation into the disappearances been closed?" Kasadei relates that many of those who went missing have been found, with the few remaining missing cases likely the results of mundane misadventure. The fact that Natalya is not among those who have been found is of little concern to the Watch-as was mentioned, she is a Sczarni, after all. She goes on to say that many of those who had disappeared were not vagrants, but rather were gainfully employed merchants, fishermen, shopkeepers, and labourers. In many cases, they were found days or weeks after they vanished, living as homeless wretches in the city slums. Those who were questioned proved to have amnesia and had no idea of where they had been during their disappearance. They seemed none the worse for wear other than their amnesia and the effects of their deplorable living conditions. Kasadei is baffled as to what may have caused the amnesia, but since most victims seem to have returned safe and whole otherwise, the Watch has declared the spate of vanishings to be a closed case. At this point, Kasadei lowers her voice "I'm worried that whatever's been going on in these cases, the city of Magnimar's not seen the last of it, and if you can figure out what's been causing hard-working citizens to abandon their lives and become amnesiac vagrants, I'll see to it that you get a 1,000 GP reward." When the PCs ask to speak to any of the amnesiacs, Kasadei is hesitant to give out names, saying that they've been through enough already and that she doesn't expect that the PCs will be able to extract any more information than the City Watch has. "I could be wrong, but maybe we should just let them have their lives back."

Lead 4: Fenster the Blight

Fenster's home is a partially collapsed warehouse-the building has a relatively large open area within, but he keeps to one corner. Here, he's made a sort of crude shelter from rowboats (one or two of which might still be almost seaworthy) and timbers leaning against the warehouse's frame. The entrance to this hovel consists of a pair of skiffs leaning against each other to create a triangular 'arch' from which a mouldering remnant of a ship's sail hangs like a curtain. Sitting next to the entrance is an old sea chest with a broken lid. A sign leans against the front of the chest—"LEEV A GIFT AND WATE OUTSID" A dented tin platter sits on the ground before the sign.

Fenster The Blight The PCs put an object on the platter and wait about 30 seconds. Fenster comes creeping out of his hovel to examine the payment-(it was good enough), he pockets it and then sits down on the broken chest and says "What yew want Fenster ta'do?"

He claims to have seen those responsible for the disappearances, though. He calls them the "blue dwarfies" and states he has seen them skulking about the alleys of the waterfront now and then, though he does not know where they come from or go to (nor has he seen them in the past several days).

When asked about the Tower Girls, Fenster proudly claims to be their landlord. If a PC points out the Tower Girls aren't around, he shrugs and claims, "They'll be back... they always come back ta ol' Fenster!"

When asked about Natalya, he grows wary, then brags that he knows where she is but won't say more without a better payment. After some haggling, they give him his coin! 100 GP, jeez!

Fenster admits that he's seen her lurking about in a nearby building-and that she's no longer hanging out with the other Tower Girls. In fact, she seemed to be doing her best to stay unobserved-here Fenster proudly points out how "Nuthin' in th'Shadow gits by me good peeper!" as he taps the sallow cheek under his non-clouded eye. So they ask for directions and he gives it to them.

Index: Chapter 5

Sheila Heidmarch
One of the two venture-captains who founded the Pathfinder lodge in Magnimar, Sheila Heidmarch is a seasoned but now retired adventurer. Sheila and her husband (and lifelong adventuring partner) Canayven Heidmarch acquired their private estate in Magnimar's Naos district after retiring from a life of adventuring. Seeing value in their homeland, Sheila and Canayven have established the first Pathfinder Society lodge in Varisia, granting the Society access to the relatively unexplored wilderness region rich with ancient Thassilonian artifacts ripe for the plunder.

Venture-Captain
Venture-captain is a position of regional authority within the Pathfinder Society. After surviving long, esteemed careers as Pathfinders, members of the Society who choose not to retire are honored with their own lodge, and a handful of Pathfinders who report to them. A venture-captain receives his or her orders directly from the Decemvirate, passing these on to their assignees. In return, Pathfinders submit detailed notes, maps, and relics from their adventures to their venture-captain in the hopes of reading their exploits in the pages of the Pathfinder Chronicles.

Decemvirate
The Decemvirate is the ruling body of the well-known Pathfinder Society and is headquartered in the Grand Lodge in Absalom. As per the name, it is composed of 10 experienced Pathfinders. The identities of the Decemvirate are a closely guarded secret, and their motivations are often shrouded in mystery. Pathfinder members often shrug off strange orders from above as simply the "will of the Ten". Nevertheless, members of the Society are sworn to absolutely obey the will of the Decemvirate, or risk expulsion or an even darker fate.

Koriah Azmeren
Koriah Azmeren, one of Varisia's most famous Pathfinders, is considered an expert on the subject of the Darklands and is a member of the Sihedron Council. Koriah's exploits were chronicled in Volume 44 of the Pathfinder Chronicles, where the confirmation of the existence of the drow was first published.

Azmeren has a very low opinion of the Chelish city of Vyre, and a reputation for scandal within the Pathfinder Society.

Fenster The Blight
Fenster is a wretched creature, more skin and bone than meat. His flesh is clammy and gray in places, one of his eyes is clouded over with a white film, and his clothing is caked with filth. His breathing is raspy and gurgling and smells of bad meat-he's plagued by a wet, hacking cough. Fenster is a truly vile wretch, likely a carrier of several diseases.

Pathfinder Lodge
Pathfinder lodges, also known as outposts or chapter houses, are the accommodation build by the Pathfinder Society to house its members, their research, and artifacts found during their explorations. The basic purpose of the lodge is to provide support for Pathfinder Society members: a place to sleep, a library for research, meeting rooms to converse and plan, and mechanisms to communicate with other lodges.

Pathfinder
A Pathfinder is a specially trained and certified member of the world-divning Pathfinder Society. Often working and travelling solo, these adventurers dedicate their lives to uncovering ancient secrets, lost artifacts, and general knowledge of the world's most exotic locations and cultures.

Pathfinder Chronicles
The Pathfinder Chronicles are a multi-volume series of chapbooks published by the Pathfinder Society recounting the most notable journeys and discoveries of the order's membership. While Pathfinders the world over submit accounts of their deeds to their local venture-captains, the books themselves are published by the mysterious Decemvirate in Absalom, and they alone make the final decision of whose adventures grace the Chronicles' illustrious pages. They serve not only as a record of accomplishments, but inspire young and future Pathfinders throughout the world, while increasing the renown of those whose journeys are detailed within.

Copies of the Pathfinder Chronicles are intended for sole consumption by members of the Society, although some volumes have made their way into the public sphere. There is a great demand for copies of the Chronicles among the general public, as they recount exciting and hair-raising tales of adventure. Others (such as the Society's rivals, the Aspis Consortium) scour the volumes to glean information on the location of great treasures or secret magic. The demand is so great, in fact, that reproductions and even counterfeits of the most popular volumes are not uncommon.

Aklys
A hooked club attached to a cord. An aklys has a maximum range of 20 feet, allowing the user to retrieve the thrown aklys as a move action. The hook allows you to make trip attacks at range.

Darklands
The Darklands are an immense series of caverns, vaults, and passages under the surface of Golarion. While entrances to the Darklands can be found throughout the world, it is not common for travellers to venture into the almost universally unsafe depths, making the subterranean realm almost a world unto itself.

Nar-Voth
Nar-Voth (pronounced nar-VOTH) is the uppermost region of the Darklands, loosely defined as descending from the surface of Golarion to a depth of about 2000 feet. This region consists of countless interconnected cave networks, some of which are connected to one another through lengthy, twisting passages. While the caverns are immense and div great distances, they do not div the length of entire continents. For a cave system to be considered part of Nar-Voth, there must be a passage leading down to Sekamina, where such vast systems can be found. When surface-dwelling races talk about the Darklands, they are generally referring to Nar-Voth, as this is the only section most of them have visited, and the region from which most of the Darklands races seen on the surface originate.

Fogscar Mountains
The Fogscar Mountains are a coastal range in central Varisia, bordered by the Varisian Gulf to the west and the Churlwood to the east. It is a wild region inhabited by countless bands of goblins who constantly fight amongst themselves over control of territory and resources. Those few travelers who do brave the narrow roads, perhaps as a shortcut from Magnimar to Roderic's Cove, are strongly advised to carry trinkets to pay off the scavenging natives. In 4707 AR, giants of the Storval Plateau used the mountains as a blind to enter central Varisia undetected in a failed invasion attempt.

What Came Before

What has come before

Chapter 1 - Second Darkness

Part One

The Shadow in the Sky

Wild Times at the Gold Goblin

Introducing Saul Vancaskerkin

Cheat The Devil…

The Gold Goblin Job

An Offer You Can't Refuse

Part Two

Strange Days in Riddleport

On the Job at the Gold Goblin

The First Night

An Unfriendly Warning

A New Friend

A Missing Employee

The Flat on Rat Street

St. Caspierian's Salvation

Attack on the Foamrunner

The Raid

Part Three

Boneyard Ambush

A New Ally

Back to the Gold Goblin

Part Four

Under the Gold Goblin

Excavation

Index: Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Seven Swords of Sin

Introduction

Game Notes

Game Notes March 23, 2014

Game Notes April 21, 2014

Game Notes May 24, 2014

Game Notes May 19, 2014

Game Notes June 15

Game Notes June 29, 2014

Game Notes July 20, 2014

Game Notes August 4, 2014

Game Notes Sept 7th, 2014

Aside

Game Notes September 21, 2014

Game Notes October 4, 2014

Game Notes November 16, 2014

Game Notes March 8, 2015

Game Notes March 22, 2015

Index: Chapter 2

Swords

History

Chapter 3: Interlude

Aside

Game Notes April 6, 2015

Index: Chapter 3

Chapter 4: The Scarlet Son

Introduction

Game Notes April 5, 2015

Game Notes April 19, 2015

Game Notes May 3, 2015

Game Notes May 17, 2015

Game Notes May 31, 2015

Index: Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Shattered Star; Shards of Sin

Wrap up

Part One: A Game Afoot in Magnimar

Guests of the Lodge

What's in the Box?

A Special Assignment

Starting the Investigation

Lead 1: The Amazing Zograthy

Lead 2: Nidalese Slavers

Lead 3: A Trip to the Arvensoar

Lead 4: Fenster the Blight

Index: Chapter 5

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March 10th, 2019