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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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I like interesting and distracting side quests very much.

[X] Go around the unexpected scene, you do not need more trouble

This does not look interesting to me.
 
By the way, should we tell anybody and The Ring (my precccciousss) which we (hopefully) swapping daily?
 
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Arc 3 Post 30: Tiller's Tale
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    • Tiller's Tale​

    25 of Arodus 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    In the end you turn a wide arc around the shambling mound, no sense looking for more trouble with magic spent and fresh-healed wounds still twinging. As the arc of the sun mercifully descends below the horizon your find a small clearing, a gnarled and twisted giant of the woods that had fallen to age or mischance, leaving behind just enough room for a cold camp for your furtive company.

    Thankfully Iolda's charges all have decent cloaks, though patched and travel worn, huddling together for warmth or maybe just to keep away from strangers, scaled and not. It's only the sorceress herself who approaches you, throwing a curious look to the babe as she does so: "They're not usually so good with the cold, children that age."

    "He's an odd one alright, Desna's blessings on him," Mina offers, as Cob adds: "Sleeps good, eats good, lot of food, no fingers."

    "You know..." she shakes her head, reconsidering her words, and pulls out a water-skin, though you do not think there's water sloshing around in there from the sharp scent. "A drink to warm our bones and commemorate irrigating the crops."

    Gorok shakes his head. "Watch duty."

    His loss, you decide to take a sip and find it tastes of wood-smoke, fruits, nuts, and spices to do not know the names of, as far apart from shroon wine as this green world is from the tunnels below.

    Akorian Fortitude: 1d20+3 = 22 (Success)

    "Irrigating?" Mina asks, a touch confused.

    "That's what we Tillers of the Bellflowers call killing a slaver, it's watering the soil you see," the round faced stub nosed woman explains genially. "Don't know if he has slaves in his own name, but given the One he served—" she makes a odd three pointed symbol in the air— "it comes out to the same thing, doesn't it?"

    Mina Knowledge (Religion): 1d20+11 = 29 (Success)

    "Do you... irrigate often?" Mina hesitates. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I never heard of something like this. The news we got out of the Damned Empire was about mighty hellknights and foul devils everywhere watching the towns and roads, the fields and woods."

    "Where're you from lass? Up north round Lake Encarthan? You sound like it." After Mina's nod she continues. "Well that's what they want you to think, a man with his head bowed in fear can't see the cracks. Many a knight and duke or count will claim that they are strong through the power of Hell and its strumpet. Oh excuse me, Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune..."

    "I don't know what most of those words mean," you interject, to which Iolda laughs, though the crinkles at the corner of her eyes show it's not at you.

    "Means she's greedy for infamy and prestige as a pig is for slop. You know people come out basically good and then the ones' that turn wicked get that goodness peeled back, like an onion. Sometimes by others, sometimes they do it to themselves. But even the real rotten shits usually have some care for their own flesh and blood. Abrogail, she killed her own family and she doesn't care who knows it... as long as you don't say it. That's what this land is, a conspiracy of liars and cheats and the ones on top would like nothing better than to have it go right down to the ground, the slave on the work gang to sell his brother over another drink of stale water. That's what all us Tillers right up the Farmer himself are fighting for, to keep that off our door. Not many folk have it in them to get blood on their hands. Bloody for it and that's alright, but as for me..." she trails off with a meaningful look to Mina.

    "She worships Calistria, the Savored Sting." For some reason Mina is blushing as she mumbles the word out.

    "Oh lass, you're not long out of the temple door are you?" the sorceress slaps her knees good naturally before walking back to the others.

    After a long moment of silence Mina spews out, so fast you almost can't make out the words, "Calistria's the patron of bedmates-for-hire and the scorned."

    "That first thing sounds oddly specific," you offer. "Are there a lot of people who do that in the Burnlands?"

    That had apparently been the wrong thing to say since she stutters a goodbye and goes off to 'help Gorok keep watch'.

    On the next morning you find your way back into the cave and as you start to descend down the musty, moss-wrapped tunnels down into Nar Voth and of course some of that moss starts talking, the shroon man wants to know how your 'diplomatic mission' went.

    How do you keep up the lie?

    [] You slew a great and wicked foe
    Try to distract the Leshy with talk of battle

    [] You met up with your allies in the Bellflower network
    Maybe Iolda can help with this. She called herself a Tiller right, surely she has some skill with talking plants

    [] Write in

    OOC: Rolls were pretty easy this time around, but it would have been funny if Akorian somehow failed DC 5 on the drink.
     
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    • Good bit of character development and background info for Iolda in this chapter. I wouldn't have guessed she would worship Callistria, but that just makes her more interesting. Still hoping she joins the party.

    Mina is just precious. Her reaction to Kori's innocent question was good for a LOL.

    As for the Leshy, I don't know if talking about the battle will be helpful to distract it, but that's a better option than talking about the Bellflower Network, IMO. Anything we tell it could be shared with others, and that doesn't seem like the kind of intel the Bellflowers would want spreading around, at least not when one of them is in the middle of a mission in Cheliax.

    [X] You slew a great and wicked foe
     
    [X] You slew a great and wicked foe

    And we indeed slew a great and wicked foe (we only need to exaggerate his greatness and wickedness for it beeing a lie)! Look, we even saved pure and innocent baby from him! :V
     
    [x] You met up with your allies in the Bellflower network

    Finally, someone to do all the talking for us.

    Our knowledge of the Bellflower network is that it exists, so I am not too worried about it spreading.
     
    [X] You slew a great and wicked foe

    I like Akorian telling tall tales. Also doubles as intimidation so that the leshy doesn't think about opposing us eventually.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    After a long moment of silence Mina spews out, so fast you almost can't make out the words. "Calistria's the patron of bedmates-for-hire and the scorned."

    "That first thing sounds oddly specific," you offer. "Are there a lot of people who do that in the burnlands?"

    That had apparently been the wrong thing to say since she stutters a goodby and goes off to 'help Gorok keep watch'.
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    HA! Oh man that is priceless, lol. So innocent!

    [X] You slew a great and wicked foe
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Update tomorrow. You guys might want to think about what you could do/buy in Cauldron, the group will be swinging by there
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    Beyond more travel supplies to replace those used on our trip to the surface, we should always be on the lookout for enchanted stuff, Alchemical items, etc.

    Maybe Kori will be able to find some heavy duty sunglasses for surface travel now that he's gotten a taste of sunlight?

    BTW, how much are the Halflings paying per person for their passage to Andoran?
     
    Goldfish said:
    Beyond more travel supplies to replace those used on our trip to the surface, we should always be on the lookout for enchanted stuff, Alchemical items, etc.

    Maybe Kori will be able to find some heavy duty sunglasses for surface travel now that he's gotten a taste of sunlight?

    BTW, how much are the Halflings paying per person for their passage to Andoran?
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    They are paying a lump sum, not per person and it's 1300 Gold.
     
    Arc 3 Post 31: Herbs Fair and Foul
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    • Herbs Fair and Foul ​

    25 of Arodus 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    In dripping hall by lichen draped you now recount, with Mina's aid, a tale almost accurate. After all you had slain a mighty foe and even tore a ring from his dead finger to show for it. As for the reason well you are sure the elders of Cauldron would have wanted Vicio dead if they knew he walked above their heads. The Church of Asmodeus in Cheliax has little care for the lives of 'lesser creatures' according to both Mina and Iolda who were born far closer witness to the fact, more so than she might like most like. Some of the other halflings still bear the scars of whip and cane.

    Akorian Bluff: 1d20+12 = 20 vs Leshy Sense Motive 1d20+2 = 10

    The lichen keeper sees them too as they take the chance to bathe in its waters, the first time they have had the chance in weeks, a troubled rippling across the deep green pools of his eyes. He vanishes for a little while before returning with clumps of brown and green, miming to use them on the scars which, after a nod from Iolda one of the more daring elders tries.

    " A worthy deed," Gorok comments, his tail no longer slashing from side to side in impatience and worry for the first time since they had decided to linger here.

    The paste seems to help, encouraging Cob to buy some of it for later, though that might just have been a general urge to get in on smearing himself in green goop. Perhaps had you been further from a friendly town you or Gorok might have spoken up against trading away a full half of the party's remaining duergar rations, but dried jerky and coal-black trail bread isn't going to plug a gut wound and this stuff will.

    Cob Appraise: 1d20+7 = 27 (Critical Success)

    Gained 4x Healing Lichen
    Rubbing this stinky green paste into wounds promotes rapid healing. Applying the salve is a full-round action. One dose cures 1d8 points of damage to a living creature. Only one dose may be applied per round, and there is no limit on how many salves can be applied over time. An application of this salve can also remove mundane though not magical scars

    Lost 20 Days of Trail Rations

    ***​

    26 of Arodus 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    Thus you set out with bags and hearts lighter, making swift passage on the first day. The most trouble to had was one of the halfling children wanting to climb Warty only to be warded off by Gorok least they spook the slurk, or more likely look a bit too much like a meal to him. At evening time you make a fire, too large and too bright for your eyes, though perhaps a comforting sight for those used to the great lights above and Iolda picks up a song of unfamiliar things, bright colors dancing at the edge of memory and sigh of wind in trees, as though the sunlit world had come itself a visiting in tunnels dark.

    The sun is gone down and the sky it looks red
    And down on my pillow where I lays my head
    I lift up my eyes for to see those stars shine
    And thoughts of my true love still runs in my mind

    The sap is gone up and the trees they will flaw
    We'll branch them all round, boys, and clap in the saw
    We'll saw them asunder and tumble them down
    And there we will flow them all on the cold ground

    Our scythes we will handle and boldly will swing
    Till the very next meeting that's now coming on
    We'll cut down our grass, boys, and carry it away
    We'll first call it green grass and then call it hay...    ​

    Weary and content to let the song lul you to sleep you choose to take the third shift, bundling yourself up in your cloak, taking in the light of the flames through your face and hands in place of the stew the others are having.

    Now haying is over and harvest draws near
    We will send to the alehouse to brew some strong beer
    We'll cut down the corn, boys, and roll it along
    We'll take it to the barn, boys, to keep it from harm

    ***​

    When you wake it is not with the touch of a familiar hand shaking you awake, but with a odd feeling of heaviness in your chest. You know that smell, it's...

    "Chokeweed!" you half-shout reverting to the tongue of the People. An old ambush strategy when dealing with a large and powerful quarry, wait for it to lodge itself into a place between narrow passages, both of which a hunter can block, then fill the entrance and exit with the poisonous weed and set it alight. If enough of the smoke gets in one might even rush in to find everyone in the trap already passed out, and if not the smoke can still disorient and sicken a foe before the attack.

    Akorian Perception: 14+7 = 21 (Success)

    Even as Grock and Mina turn to look at you and Mina start to cough. The halflings are not looking any better, struggling to stand, including, you notice with worry, Iolda.

    Mina, Cob, Iolda, and one of the Iruxi warriors are sickened from the smoke

    Where do you try to break out of the trap?

    [] Forward towards Cauldron

    [] Back the way you came

    [] Split up and deal with both at once
    -[] Write in how

    [] Write in

    OOC: That salve is worth five times what you paid for it, it is canon healing salve basically. Cob can be quite canny when he puts his mind to it.
     
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    • If they're springing the ambush now, whoever is using the Chokeweed will have probably blocked off the path behind us to prevent an easy retreat. It seems like it would be more simple to have a small group come up behind us and block the path rather than sneak a more sizable attacking force in that could catch us in a pincer maneuver. Going forward is likely moving us directly toward combat, but that seems preferable to getting caught up against a barrier or prepared defensive position, then having the main force of our attackers hut us from behind.

    [X] Forward towards Cauldron
    -[X] Kori activates his Cloak of Darkness, Mina and Iolda cast Mage Armor on themselves. Ask Iolda to cast Mage Armor on Warty, too.
    -[X] Warty and Gorok will lead the group forward while Pepper ranges ahead as a scout. The pair of Iruxi who were not affected by the Chokeweed will guard the rear, along with Cob who will remain in stealth for now. The casters will stay in the middle with the civilians, ready to respond as needed.
    -[X] At the first sign of combat, Kori will cast his Bless spell.
     
    Sooo...

    We will either be attacked from the front, as the first people exiting the smoke get shot at, or from behind, if our foes can protect themselves from the effect.
    We can't really know which.

    So I'd say gorok and the Iruxi take the front and charge out, while we and Cob hide in the smoke to ambush people trying to attack from behind.
    If we are not needed here, we can catch up with the main-group a round or two later.
    If there's no enemy ahead, the fighters can go back to support us while leaving the civilians in relative safety.
    If there's foes on both sides, this minimizes the chance of loosing our most vulnerable.
     
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