Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

Season of Rushing Waters

"Hear now the words of the tribe strange-scale, warm bloods..." Like the shaman before him the cook's words strain for neutrality, but it is a hard farrow to till when one is tied up and surrounded by armed strangers. "Know that great Sshesh works ever for the good of us all and so our teeth and our claws, our fangs are ever raised to his defense. Never will you find him weak to such feeble arms as yours. To be near him is to fall in propitiation from his presence alone..."

Mina, who had been recounting all this suddenly stops, nose scrunched in disgust. "Ew... That's... Did you know the words for body odor and presence are the same?"

"That does make sense," you say thoughtfully. "The smell of the xulgath is more than most the result of being none too fond of water, it is part of their magic. If this ancient has greater mastery of that magic and is using it to control them then of course they would think of him as the most odorous."

"Makes sense ta me," Cob nods reasonably at this state of affairs

Alas for all his boldness you do not just listen with your ears. The silver band unseen wraps around your temples, a buzz just on the edge of pain that revolves into a voice:

Xulgath Will Save: 1d20 = 13 (Fail)

"...spirit speaker gone, did they take it. Was it the weak-guts water thieves? A curse, a curse on all our people? No... no... will be great, will be best season of tribe, we will feast on their stores and toss their bones to the lizards." It looks like the xulgath, or at least this particular one does not like eating people who can talk back. Not that you imagine it would be much comfort to the people of Cauldron or to the merchants and travelers who had fled expecting the city to fall. Thankfully feverish wonderings as to the fate of the missing shaman give way to something more useful: "Sshesh is beating on sacred drum, listening for echoes like shaman, will learn of He Who Lurks above. Will be strong with tribe spirit, old and new together soon."

That last thought has more the air of desperation than it does certainty. Oh you have no doubt the old chief is looking though the shaman's rooms, but more likely trying to claim the arcane accountants of his rival than call back the tribal spirit he had banished. Though that does give you an idea. He would not really want to meddle in odd magics were others can see him.

Akorian Bluff: 1d20 +7 = 26 (Success)

"Where does he gather his warriors for raids and at what time does he set out?" you bark out the question. As the cook babbles on about the genius of his chief his mind wanders to said chief's comings and goings. He has not been on many raids, in fact he had spent most of his time in seclusion or with Tezarss... From the way the prisoner's mind flinches at the name you guess it is the fellow you dropped into a cauldron.

Meddling with the holy things of an absent shaman and speaking in secret to the head cook who became a mad abomination. Though you are no lover of the xulgath nor respecter of the things they usually worship that does not add up to a pleasant picture.

Gorok changes the subject and asks what was behind the barred doors and for that matter why they are barred. That at least the prisoner does not try to hide, they were the places where the tribe kept the first of all its treasures, food, and more recently the plunder of its raids, but you also catch sight of something else.

Every watch the head cook would personally bring food to the chief, personally. there is a direct path from the food storage to the egg room and from there to the chief's room. You had been so close...

"I could probably get them to unbar the passage," Mina speaks up suddenly. She tops her chin towards the prisoner. "Pretend to be him and that I've caught..." she considers it for a moment. "Cob, that's more believable, we break though the egg room into his quarters at watch-end when he is supposed to be sleeping k...kill him and take what we can."

"Or we go down into main tribe hall, from there to shaman cave, catch him when he is alone and beating spirit drum," Gorok interjects

What does Kori think is best?

[] Use Mina's disguise self to try to trick your way into the store room and from there into the egg chamber and the chief's chambers

[] Try to sneak into the old shrine chambers when you think Sshesh will be there

[] Write in