Posts
[17
Neth 4707 to 29 Neth 4707]
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| Cyrdak Drokkus, Sandpoint's Virtuoso |
In
the days after the battle at the Shadow Clock, the adventurers find that their
reputations with the authorities of Magnimar have improved significantly. Although the blaze that started during the
fight soon destroyed the clock tower and spread to engulf much of the nearby
shantytown of Underbridge, the recovery of Xanesha’s body and the complete
cessation of Sihedron-marked murders have proven to everyone that the Skinsaw
Cult is well and truly destroyed. With
everyone having earned some rest and relaxation, the adventurers take some time
to pursue their own interests. Kang
prepares several potions (selling some to Briza for a modest profit) and scours
the city’s library for information on Irori.
Briza works out to stay in fighting trim while sparing time to research
the mysterious seven-pointed Sihedron rune and the vanquished Skinsaw Cult that
made use of it. Unfortunately, nothing
is known of the cult, and little information is available on the rune: it’s
clearly a symbol of power from ancient Thassilon and may have symbolized the
empire itself, while simultaneously denoting the seven schools of magic
recognized by its arcanists, the seven virtues of rule (wealth, fertility,
honesty, pride, abundance, eager striving, righteous anger, and rest), and the
seven failings of mortals (greed, lust, pride, gluttony, envy, wrath, and
sloth). Artemis continues fulfilling his
duties as a member of the Magnimar City Watch and commissions a new bow. Bey tells her companions that her immediate
future is in Sandpoint, and that she’ll take Arnald’s body with her in an
attempt to have it raised from the dead or put to rest.
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| Goragar, Warpriest of Gorum |
[30 Neth 4707]
The morning of the Lord-Mayor’s party sees the adventurers getting ready
for the evening’s formal dress requirements.
Artemis is fortunate enough to have recourse to his parade uniform, but
Briza receives bad advice from someone on the street and almost buys a wrinkled
frock from a rag shop in Dockway!
Artemis’ wife, Miryana, takes her out for an afternoon of shopping and
primping for the festivities to come.
Kang decides to simply have his everyday wear cleaned, considering it
quite sufficient for any occasion.
Across town, Goragar is the victim of a cruel prank that sends him to
Alabaster District to shop, and he’s turned away by a City Watch patrol
suspicious of the heavily-armed half-orc.
He manages to find something at a clothing shop so he won’t stick out
too much at the party, but he and Shalelu commiserate about how much they hate
aristocrats and their fancy dress balls.
Kozen leaves his dog, Tatters, with a friend while he procures some
comfortable performing clothes and then visits Cyrdak as the inn where he’s
staying. Cyrdak seems quite nervous to
be performing in front of the Lord-Mayor and his elite, wealthy guests, and is
sipping gin somewhat too freely. He
makes constant reference to wanting to show up “that hack,” Bodowen.
At
dusk, the time comes for everyone to leave for the party. Artemis, Miryana, Kang, and Briza travel in
an elegant carriage that Artemis hired for the night. Briza is quite disconcerted not to have a
weapon at hand, but Kang consoles her slightly by handing her a potion of
invisibility she can slip into her handbag.
The line of carriages slowly moves along the oval in front of Defiant’s
Garden, the Lord-Mayor’s residence, with each carriage stopping in front of a
red carpet leading to the front door so that servants can announce each
visitor. Goragar, walking to the
residence in his plain tunic and breeches, is mistaken for a liveried footman! Over an archway into the main ballroom, a
banner is hung with the awkwardly-worded theme of the celebration: “Magnimar Appreciates Its Holdings!” Artemis explains to his companions that
around tax time, the city makes a token effort to show it hasn’t forgotten
about the various far-flung towns, villages, and fortresses that allow it to
aspire to someday becoming a true nation in Varisia rather than simply a
city-state.
Canapes,
cocktails, and cliques are in abundance as the evening goes on. Briza confronts a pair of merchants making
racist comments about her Shoanti kin, Kozen joins Cyrdak in a room set aside
for performers to make their preparations, Artemis tries (unsuccessfully) to
avoid the adventurers he arrived with, and Kang ends up in conversation with
Goragar (as his companion, Shalelu, has slipped into the shadows to avoid her
fellow guests with a plan to leave as soon as decorum allows). Goragar expresses his hope of finding skilled
warriors to accompany him into battle against giants, and Kang (noting to
himself that the group’s resident “warrior psycho” just died), enthusiastically
invites Goragar to join the group on the promise that they will surely find
battle for him, even if not against giants.
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| Tillia Henkenseon, Schoolteacher from Turtleback Ferry |
A stirring in the crowd indicates that the Lord-Mayor himself has
finally made an appearance. Haldemeer
Grobaras shakes hands, pats shoulders, and makes his way to the front of the
ballroom where a stage has been set up.
The crowd hushes as he reiterates the theme of the celebration. As proof of how Magnimar takes care of its
dependencies, he beckons for Artemis and his “irregulars” to come on stage and
receive a (quite lucrative!) reward for their service in stopping the cult that
was preying on the residents of Sandpoint and Magnimar alike. Next, Grobaras explains that representatives
of three of Magnimar’s holdings have come to the city to bring “some of the
frontier” to the city. First, a
schoolteacher named Tillia Henkenson from Turtleback Ferry in central Varisia
reads poetry written by the village’s children.
Next, a gnome from the town of Whistledown demonstrates the settlement’s
unique form of haunting music made from wind chimes. Last, Cyrdak comes on stage as a
representative of Sandpoint and sings an aria, with Kozen’s delicate ballet as
accompaniment. The two work together
masterfully and are a hit, receiving several offers and invitations afterwards
from the aristocrats and wealthy merchants in attendance. Kozen slinks into the shadows (and lets Cyrdak
handle the attention) so he can find and personally thank the most enthusiastic
member of the audience: Briza! The two
strike up a conversation and become fast friends. During the aftermath of the performances,
Grobaras’ personal assistant seeks out Artemis to convey a message: the
Lord-Mayor would like to see him and his “irregulars” after the party on a
matter of some urgency.
The partygoers gradually move from the ballroom into the extensive and
beautiful gardens that are accompanied by elaborate topiaries, bubbling
fountains, and priceless statuary. Not
long after some guests begin to make their goodbyes, a commotion can suddenly
be seen coming from the far edge of the gardens. Shouts, shoving, a tree cut down, a huge
scythe whistling through the air, blood!
Briza’s worst nightmare locks eyes with her and advances, the relentless
and indefatigable flesh golem from the Shadow Clock having finally tracked down
its prey. Realizing his companions are
unarmed and unarmoured, Kang shouts for everyone to run. Briza knocks back the potion of invisibility and
races away, one of dozens fleeing the scene.
Kozen takes cover behind a nearby tree, but Goragar gets in the golem’s
way as it tries to follow Briza, and the half-orc receives a deep cut from the
creature’s scythe. Artemis dashes into
the undergrowth and tries to draw a bead with his bow, while Kang takes to the
air and prepares to hurl explosives at the golem from a safe distance. The alchemist’s unerring accuracy with hurled
bombs damages the creature severely, but it dispassionately chooses the only
other target it can reach from the night when its mistress was slain: Artemis! One cut leaves a deep gash in the archer’s
chest, and as Artemis tries to escape, a second gash opens up in his back. Artemis collapses, mere instants away from
death! A final explosive from Kang
reduces the golem to a burning, sickening pile of flesh. Luckily, Goragar is close enough that, with a
whispered prayer to Gorum, sacred light emanates from his hands and closes up
the worst of Artemis’ wounds. The
watchman will live, battered but alive.
Before
the smoke fully clears, other members of the Watch arrive along with the
Lord-Mayor’s bodyguard constructs. Soon
after, Briza appears, fully armed and ready for battle. Artemis is helped inside after receiving
additional healing from Goragar, and, ever true to his duty, reminds Kang and
Briza that the Lord-Mayor would like to see them. The three meet with Grobaras in his private
chamber, and the tired politico explains that the Council of Ushers is pushing
for him to take action on a call for help from Turtleback Ferry delivered by
the schoolmarm they saw read poetry earlier.
Grobaras explains that Turtleback Ferry, a remote village perched on the
northern edge of Claybottom Lake in central Varisia, is guarded by a company of
rangers based out of Fort Rannick.
Apparently, the rangers have failed to make any contact with the village
for weeks now, and a messenger sent to the fort from the village never
returned. Grobaras says the trip is
probably pointless, but that if Artemis and his Irregulars are willing to go,
they’ll be well-compensated. The trio
agree and later make arrangements with Grobaras’ assistant for travel expenses
and the name of the location where the schoolmarm from Turtleback Ferry is
staying (an inn in Naos called the Glowing Embers). When the three adventurers leave the mansion,
they see that Kozen and Goragar have been waiting for them. Explanations are made and invitations are
accepted.
With
a journey of days, if not weeks, ahead of them, the adventurers must prepare to
venture forth from civilization into the untamed wilds of Varisia. The only thing certain is that the journey
will not be a sedate one . . .
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Director's Commentary
One of the things I've liked about each chapter of the AP (so far) is that there's been a natural break to allow the PCs some Downtime (using the rules from Ultimate Campaign). It's good to give the PCs a chance to retrain, craft, earn some coin, etc., and the passage of time quickly in-game helps solve the "Level 1 to Level 18 in three weeks" problem that some campaigns have.
With Arnald's and Bey's players moving on due to work and childcare commitments, this session was the first for two new players who would run Goragar (Half-Orc Warpriest) and Kozen (Fletchling Bard/Shadowdancer), respectively. Goragar would prove just how awesome a self-buffing Warpriest could be in battle (as long as the buffs hold out), while Kozen was a bit harder to get a handle on (he had a lot of focus on stealth and rarely used the special bardic abilities) but I liked his relationship with his dog.
This session was the kick-off of Chapter 3, and I fleshed it out a lot more from how it was in the AP (which basically amounts to "Grobaras offers the PCs money to investigate Fort Rannick"). I really liked the idea of an encounter at a fancy garden party, something inspired by an encounter ("The Garden") in Volume 3 of the Pathfinder collected comics; that encounter gave options for various creatures that could attack, but I decided to make use of the dangling hook of the Scarecrow from the end of Chapter 2. I thought the encounter, and the entire session, was a great success and started things off quite well.
As I write this, we're well into Chapter 4. All I'll say now about Chapter 3 is that it was a brutal one for the PCs!
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