This session was recorded.

This session will be about merely meeting up to get to know each other and make initial plans. I (Ryan Heck) will be going over the Player’s Guide v1, which will give you a crash course of what to expect from playing this game. Coming to this session is for informative purposes only and will not lock you into a “YES, I am joining this game” decision. If you are interested in any capacity, even a year from now when work or family life allows, attend. If for some reason you can’t attend, this will not deter you from joining in the future.

Details
Thursday, May 16 at 07:00 PM to Thursday, May 16 at 08:30 PM
626 106TH AVE NE Bellevue, WA 98004-5003

“Jade Regent+” Interest & Expectations Meetup
7-8:30pm(ish)

• Get to know your fellow party members
• Get to know the player assumptions, house rules, and what is expected of you as a player.
• Let me know as a gamemaster what I can do to help you.
• Q&A on all things “Jade Regent+”… or as much as I will divulge :)

Please RSVP for this session in the Calendar.

Coming to this session means that you have a strong interest and you may or may not have a character concept in mind. Don’t fret, as this session is to answer questions and as a group, we will aid each other in creating our characters that will start this journey from concept to paper. If needed, this could be two sessions. After the Prologue, there will be time set aside to retool characters to your heart’s content with no restrictions.

You’ve met your fellow recruits, built character and camaraderie, and have been given your first quest. Get ready, pathfinder…

It is Starday, 13th of Eratus, 4713 by Absalom Reckoning.

The party consists of Haweeha Al-Abadar, the shamed Katapeshi cleric of Abadar seeking penance; Draugnir, the half-elf ranger looking for greater purpose; Emerassi, the gnome alchemist eager for adventure and the next big boom; Karata the pyrotechnic gnome with a peculiar cat; and the roguish, wisecracking sharpshooter Tengu Ebonwing.

Together you have been assembled just outside the city of Absalom, the mighty City at the Center of the World. In what is known as the Cairnlands. Before you stands an old siege tower. This tower, that has long been abandoned, was recently laid open by a minor earthquake. The Silver Crusade sees this as an opportunity to explore its dusty halls and perhaps claim any ancient treasures for the organization itself. As your first duty as a new field operative, you’ve been asked to explore this tower.

Before the party even could explore the ruined first floor, a pack of wolves nearby assault the players, but are quickly dismantled. Making their way in past the first room into the northern wing, they find a darkened room covered in cobwebs. A giant scaleback spider descends and attacks after being narrowly spotted. After an altercation ensues, the party continues and finds the center staircase blocked.

Just above the entrance outside, a ledge to the second level is reachable with a fairly easy climb. The party ascends to the second floor. The following takes place in the areas numbered in the figure below:

3. description to come
4. description to come
5. description to come

Upon clearing every area, they proceeded to the stairway that is clear on this floor. Rubble blocks the way to descend back down to the 1st floor but the way to the 3rd floor looks clear.

9. This was the first room explored upon exiting the center stairwell.
8. description to come
10 & 11. description to come

After rescuing Balenar, he leads the party up to Tasskar’s throne room, the top floor of the fortress (area 12).

more to come…

back half…

Balenar asks Tasskar one final time "Where were you taking me??’

Tasskar replies, “Haha, Fool! Why would I tell you that now?”

The tower floor begins to tremor.

Balenar, unbeknownest to the party, wants Tassgar to “kill” him and charges the troglodyte with his gentleman’s sword.

Tassgar ducks, and grabs Balenar by his tunic and tosses him behind the throne right out the window, falling to his ‘death’.

Tasskar cackles loudly, coaxing the heroes to come at him. "Tis a shame I couldn’t take him to Brinestump… But you five pathfinders will make fine replacements!"

He goes full on until the final blow.

The tremors force a cave in and the entire floor, walls, and what is left of the ceiling begin to cave in. The stringed instrument you heard playing earlier is now beginning to play even clearer and faster as if reaching a crescendo. You try to wrack your brains for any remaining spells you have at your disposal, but the words to release them are just not coming to you. All the combat training you received to pull off well-executed maneuvers are simply leaving your bodies feeling… frozen stiff. Any and all actions are fruitless and your vision starts fading to white.

Your vision, while still hazy, begins to clear and you feel a familiar leather chair underneath you, but you can’t quite place it yet. You see the rest of the party, all in chairs like yours, sitting before a long conference-like table. At the head stands the pathfinder you know as Balenar with a violin, playing, finishing the final note. He takes in a breath, then looks around at you, assuredly.

“Welcome back, everyone.” He then runs over to the nearest, quietest PC and grabs them by the shoulders. “Quickly! Before you forget… What did he say? What was he was going to take me?”

PC: “Brinestump.”

“Brinestump… interesting.” Cephor will smile and turn to towards the far end of the table, where you all notice that Tasskar is gagged and tied, but has just woken up himself. “Tasskar, on behalf of the Silver Crusade, I appreciate your assistance this evening. Guards, please take him away.”

Two nondescript soldiers,decked out silver plate-mail and brandishing spears, walk in grabbing Tassgar under the arms and walk out. “Wha.. wait! What is this? Who are you?”

SLAM! The door behind them shuts and locks. “Balenar” turns back to the team. It is at this point you all feel as if a spell that was cast on you has been lifted and your memory returns. You remember coming here on your own free will and allowing Cephor, Balenar’s real name, to caste memory lapse on you in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of a shared pocket dream, something of his own design, allowing those dreaming to enter one another’s dreams. In this case, you had been inside Tasskar’s.

“He’ll have no memory of giving away the whereabouts of his master, though for his species, he certainly did well to conceal that secret. I will have to look into this matter, but for now, I want to thank you and congratulate you on passing your final-final entrance exam. To the outside world, you are indeed now members of the Silver Crusade. What the world will not know is that you are part of a pre-emptive team specializing in recovering intelligence, location of important artifacts, and dangers to the Pathfinder Society and the known world. And you will do this under via travel and manipulation of pocket dreams under my tutelage. Welcome to the Resplendent Lodge. Here are your Resplendent Wayfinders.” he finishes as he hands each of you a wooden compass, white in color with silver inlays. See you in my office ‘Monday’ morning." Cephor picks up his violin again and plays a single string on his violin, causing your vision to white out once more and you wake up a final time in a confined room with a single Silver Crusade guard, deep within the cathedral.

When he notices you’ve awakened, he simply moves out of the way of the single doorway he was guarding and states, “You are free to go.”

PATHFINDER RESPLENDENCE

Stock Module was: Master of the Fallen Fortress

• DING! LEVEL 2 unlocked!
• Dreamspinning trained skill unlocked! Two free ranks!
• Resplendent Wayfinder received!
• Admittance and membership into the Resplendent Lodge!
• Free feat unlocked!
• Campaign trait slot unlocked!
• Hero Points unlocked! 1 awarded!

A few days have passed since you took on your first quest as a member of the Resplendent Lodge. You voluntarily allowed Cephor Uskind to cast a memory lapse spell on you to prepare you to understand the perspective of someone unknowingly inhabiting your dreams. While it’s quite a lot to undertake, you feel confident about this next meeting with Cephor. While inevitably an info-dump on your psyche, you’re excited, packing up your things for the day from your flat, including your new Resplendent Wayfinder.

Upon arrival at Cephor’s unassuming clerk’s office within the Temple of the Shining Star, the new operatives are presented with all the weapons, armor, and treasure they received in the dream. These were actually previously recovered during the actual mission by a group of Pathfinders, but many of them were in no need of it.

This loot included: Cloak of Resistance, Potion of cat’s grace, Potion of lesser restoration, Scroll of shatter, Scroll of shield other, Masterwork Scimitar, and Wand of summon monster I (CL 3rd, 9 charges, worth 135gp)

Info to be filled in soon.

to be completed

Arriving at the home of the Warden of the Swamps, our adventurers are not warmly welcomed. Brushing off pleas for assistance the, hobbit hermit slams the door retreating into his shack. Undaunted, the party send their bird man, Tengu Ebonwing onto the roof, cawing at the top of his avian lungs. Within minutes, the disgruntled half long throws the door open a second time. Upon threat of further annoyance, they are begrudgingly admitted to the home. Small talk continues on a fruitless path and the nervous nature of the swamp dweller makes clear that something is afoot. The warden appears to know nothing if the lands which have been his home for over 5 years.

A thump comes from the upper floor and Tengu issues an ultimatum as Draugnir and Asadel make their way to the stairs. Give them directions to their target or they’ll scour the house and get to the bottom of the hobbit’s hijinks.

With a shriek, the visage of a hobbit melts away, revealing the creature to be the faceless stalker, Vallerag. Combat ensued and as most do before our powerful heroes, the beast was slain. A greatful Walthus, found in a closet in the upper floor, rewards the birdman with his trusted cloak of resistance and directions to the goblin menace.

Calling from his stoop as our heroes depart, Walthus warns our adventurers of their path ahead. A witch, the Old Megus lives enroute to the Licktoad Village. Darkness surrounds her home and many an adventurer has been caught in her tangled web of witchcraft and sorcilations.

(part 2 coming soon)

Coming soon.

Events to be detailed:

• Finishing off Chief Gutwad and the remaining goblins
• interrogating Chuffy about the skeleton attack on the village,
• returning to the Rusty Dragon that night
• selling loot in the town the next morning (including the bonus interaction in the sheriff’s office detailed below)
• finally setting out to explore the Kaijitsu Star, the Kaijitsu’s Blossom, and ultimately the caverns spelled out in Vorka’s map of the marsh.

Characters of note: Chuffy Lickwound
New locale explored: Kaijitsu’s Blossom

While in town, the morning before Asadel, Draugnir, and Tengu departed for the second time into the marsh, they visited some shops to buy and sell some wares.

In addition, they made a visit to Sandpoint’s sheriff, Belor Hemlock, to give him a very welcome ‘earful’. Prior to departure into the swamp to vanguish the marsh of their goblin menace, the sheriff had instituted a bounty for 10g per fresh goblin ear found, in addition to 300g for the head of their chief. (GM Note: I believe I forgot to repeat that last part the past few sessions, but I will assume you brought his entire head with you).

If you would like, let’s do a mini roleplay session of this now for the sake of filling in the story we did not get to in game. Please fill in your actions and words below in the comments, and do be careful to speak for everyone in your party.

After the brief bout with a few skeletons, our party searches the relic of Kijitsu Blossom, but comes up nothing of value, so we continued on to the cave entrance marked on the map.

Cleaving through the brier baring the cave entrance, we proceeded into the darkness, forcing Asadel to cast light. WIth Tengu quietly leading the way, our party navigated the twisting passages of the cave.

We immediately encountered a giant wolf spider as it fed on the rotting corpse of a troglodyte, which we dispatched with little trouble. Searching the troglodyte, we discovered a note written in Draconic which appeared to be a list of some sort, but being none of us could read it, the rest remains a mystery. It also carried a weathered and worn wakizashi, a blade of tian design, a clue that we are on the right path.

Continuing on, we came across a small pool containing a strange shapeless ooze of a creature, seemingly in the process of consuming a goblin. WIth little provocation, it attacked Tengu so we destroyed it as well. A small island in the pool was crusted with small crystals which Tengu was able to break free. Asadel appraised the six crystals to be worth 20 gp a piece.

Moving on, the party entered a much larger cavern, littered with the skeletal remains several humans, all appearing to be of tian descent, judging by what remains of their attire. Hugging the wall, trying not to disturb the remains, we entered a cavern containing a large jade and cherrywood chest, atop of which stood another skeletal figure.

Not wanting to take any chances, we set up to attack the skeleton, should it prove to be among the undead. Sure enough, as soon as Tengu unleashed his first volley, it began to move. Acting before the creature could even draw its sword, the party closed ranks and destroyed the creature. The dust of its bones not yet settled, we hear a familiar rattle come up from behind us. The skeletons we had passed earlier had risen as well began making their way toward us, blocking our exit.

Tengu, seeing that his crossbow bolts were having no effect on the bony foes, he relieved the skeleton of its femur bones to use as improvised clubs. As the skeletons entered the cavern, they quickly fell and soon were no more than a pile of dust on the cavern floor.

Going back to examine the chest, Tengu expertly unlocked the latch. It contained the following:
5 potions of Cure Light Wounds
2 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
3 potions of Lesser Restoration
1 Ring of Climbing
1 Wand of Identification (19 uses left)
1 Masterwork Chain Shirt
11 Desnin Candles
4 Skyrockets
3820 Silver Pieces
421 Gold Pieces
Various Gems worth 560 GP

In addition, upon examining the skeleton guarding the chest we found a bronze key (presumably unlocking the chest), and an incredibly Masterwork Cold Iron Wakizashi with the tian words Whispering Strike inscribed into the blade. The weapon appeared to be damaged and would require repair before being used. Upon further inspection, the pomel proved to be hollow and contained a small scroll with a rather lengthy message written from a Rokuro Kaijitsu to his son and heir.

Letter’s points:
-Rokuro kept secrets from son
-Son opened something called the “box of warding”
-Family enemies seek the contents of the box, “our family’s greatest treasure”
-Box in Kortun’s care, hidden in secret third vault under Brinewall Castle
-Tsutamu to deliver letter to son if Rokuro did not return
-Son instructed to destroy letter, flee to the south, not return to Brinewall
-some “truth” remains untold

We can assume the skeleton was the Tsutamu mentioned in the letter.

Having cleared the cavern, we packed up the chest and began the journey back to Ameiko to inform her of our discoveries.

… finding out what the draconic note said would probably not be a bad idea either.

… Also, getting Tengu some more diverse weaponry may be in order.

Later…

Your trusty boat’s bow makes a scratching noise as it collides gently with the embankment of the northern most shore of Brinestump Marsh. As you begin tying down the vessel for next group of explorers, you look back one last time and see the now familiar wildlife and hear the still eerily creepy sounds coming deep from within. But you now feel confident knowing that the worst of the swamp has been removed and it can now begin to heal from whatever taint may of befell it. All in due time.

Taking turns or sharing the load, you carry the large jade and cherry wood chest. A few hours after having left the caverns, you return once again to the gates of Sandpoint.

Players: continue filling in your actions and the story here, rather than the comments. Please refrain from Notifying ALL when saving this page. Keep it to myself and the current three PC’s. Thanks – Ryan

At the gates of Sandpoint, Asadel turns to the others. “If we can’t find a translator to decipher this note for us, purchasing a simple scroll when we turn in all of this merchandise should do the trick. I could ask Abadar for assistance tomorrow morning, but I imagine Ameiko would like to learn what we discovered right away.”
_____________________

(Comprehend languages is also a level 1 cleric spell) ;)

Draugnir agrees, saying “I can’t wait to see the look on her face. This is gonna knock her on her ass! But I also can’t wait to get rid of this ridiculously heavy trunk. It had better fetch a shiny copper cause my back is killin’ me.”

He begins making his way towards the tavern.

(Q: is there a more subtle way to reach Ameiko, rather than dragging treasure through the middle of her tavern, such as a back room with a back door? She may appreciate not having her entire customer base know her business and Draugnir would like it to be less well known that we often carry treasure.)
_____________________

GM: As you agree that heading back to the Dragon is the best course of action, you hear the faint nickering of a horse coming behind. Turning toward it, you see two horses pulling a covered wagon on the road, driven by a human male appearing to be in his thirties.
_____________________

(That was in fact the spell I was referencing, Mark. Good eye.)

Asadel steps aside, and with a gentle arm nudges Draugnir and Tengu to do the same, allowing the stranger to pass if his business is not their own.
_____________________

Mark

Draugnir, not paying much attention to a random wagon on the busy streets of Sandpoint, continues on with all due haste towards the Dragon.
_____________________
GM:

As the wagon passes by, you make notice of its well worn use. It has seen the road to be sure. The driver, a man nearing middle age, smiles and says “Thank you, gentlemen!” As the back of the covered wagon comes into view, you notice plenty of space in the back.
______________________

Draugnir examines the wagon as it passes (perception roll 30)
______________________

GM: Nice roll!

There’s definitely enough space for a lay a chest in there. You can either hoist it up into the back, possibly making a racket, alerting the driver, or… you could ask him for transport.
______________________

Mark: Still not sure why we care about this wagon (if a perception 30 doesn’t trigger anything, I’m not sure what will). Clearly its important, but character wise, its just another wagon on the streets. We’ve dragged this chest back through a swamp and we are steps away from getting it to the Dragon without drawing unwanted attention. Unless there is some other reason to stop, Draugnir is intent on lugging it the rest of the way, eager to hear what Ameiko has to say about it.
______________________
GM: The introduction of said wagon is my response to your question above about a more subtle way of getting to Ameiko. If you so choose to ignore, that’s just fine. I’ll provide more time for the others to respond differently.
______________________
Carlos: I’m willing to let it roll on if there is a consensus. It is nice flavor text for moving through the city.
______________________
Mark: Sure, I’ll bite.

Having carried the heavy cargo through swamps and bogs, Draugnir’s strength is waning. Seeing an opportunity, Draugnir attempts to flag down the driver of the wagon, asking him if he wouldn’t mind taking us and our cargo to the Rusty Dragon tavern, offering 1 SP for his service and discretion. (normal cost is 2 cp per mile for a light wagon).

Built the caravan and set out from Sandpoint.

Fill in any other details here.

A few days from Sandpoint, the Kobiashi Maru made way its way north up the Long Coast Road. During the journey, Haweeha Al-Abadar struck up a conversation with Jasana Nubella, the merchant Dakang’s daughter. She professed confusion and frustration that her father had become very interested in a recent purchase of Jasana’s, an old Tian tapestry. It was causing a rift between their already rocky relationship as both father and daughter and merchant and apprentice. Considering this, and that Dakang’s attitude could potentially jeopardize the health of the caravan so early on, he decided to seek out Cephor’s advice.

During a stop for lunch along the road, Haweeha informed the other Resplendent Lodge operatives of the situation and they agreed he would seek out Cephor for help, utilizing the Dreamliner. Playing coy, they guarded the wagon while Haweeha, with Jasana’s borrowed tapestry placed into the dream chest, entered a dream state to enter the Lodge.

Once inside, he retrieved the tapestry from the Lodge’s dream chest and met Cephor in the conference room. After a moment of inspection, Cephor realized he’d seen this tapestry before… or rather one like it. Moving into his library, he found a book with illustrations of items the Pathfinder Society has collected over the years. One such item was the Hao Jin Tapestry. The one found by the Society contains a pocket dimension, housing a hilltop temple built to meditate on the personage of the Empyreal Lord, Korada. The fact that not one, but at least a second of these tapestries could possibly lead to this dimension is quite fascinating. What this Dakang gentleman knows about the tapestry is uncertain, but it’s a good guess he knows of it’s power, as he’s a man that’s showing a lack of trust now. His mind could be infiltrated to help establish what’s going on. To ensure a clear answer is resolved, Cephor explained that certain objects nearby that have special acquaintance to the subject or event, much like the used firework was used to see from the eyes of the Licktoad Tribe. Haweeha left Cephor to return to the caravan, telling his fellow operatives of what he found out.

They agreed they should attempt this and filled in Ameiko of the situation. She agreed and worked to nonchalantly set sleeping spots so that the group would be near Dakang while he slept that evening.

Haweeha, Draugnir, and Tengu set their wayspinner needles towards Dakang, linking him to them in the Dimension of Dreams. Oro, due to his bond with Draugnir, was able to pass through with Draugnir.

Once within the dimension, the three found themselves in front of the Lodge as usual, but they heard footsteps among the crags to their left. There wandering about was Dakang. They convinced him to join them inside this “strange lodge” in front of them, playing dumb. Once inside, a Lodge guard came up from behind Dakang and pinched a specific nerve in the shoulder, rendering him unconscious. He then proceeded to carry him up to the conference room as if by reflex. Following the guard in, they found Cephor spreading the tapestry on the table and motioning to the guard to lay Dakang atop it.

“I don’t know why this works, but you could say there’s still some mysteries of dream magic even I don’t understand yet. What we’re about to do here is force a specific memory of Dakang’s, assumingly having to do with the temple found inside the tapestry, and you’ll have to find him there. Observe his actions and tendencies. Question him. Do whatever you need to do. If he’s hostile, don’t worry about killing him, though like with ”/characters/tasskar" class=“wiki-content-link”>Tasskar, expect the pocket to not last long. As for the temple itself, from what reports of the first tapestry, the place should be empty… but this will be a shadow of that dimension. Our dreams tend to skew, reshape, and recall things that may or may not have been there before." Cephor concludes his briefing and begins playing a tune on his violin, and the group drifts to sleep once again…

The party stands before a wide structure atop a forested hill. The graceful building has no sharp corners; the white marble walls are carved with soft, round edges. The edifice appears well-scrubbed, but despite this obvious care black flecks of mold cover its surface. A gravel path leads into an airy courtyard and up to a pair of large wooden double doors. The doors are carved with an image of four spheres resting inside an open lotus flower.*

The group begins exploring, noting an empty mediation room (A9). A2 was a stable with empty stalls. After hearing the footsteps inside, the party decided to enter. The main entry way appears to be a communal center of the temple with a spiral pattern. Haweeha recognized this as the Spiral of Korada. In a short time, a wandering human monk appears and is surprised but openly welcomes their new guests, inviting them to the refectory (A7) for refreshments. The massive darkwood table is set for autumn vegetarian feast. Human and halfling worshipers wander about this strange temple, all very cordial and eerily welcoming. What is especially troubling to the party is the notice that each temple patron is missing more than a few fingers on their hands.

Inside the refectory, a woman calling herself Di Duang greets her new guests, seated at the table. She explains that a meal is about to take place, and they are welcome to eat, followed by a tour of the temple grounds. Their master, who they call Dakang, is the master of the temple, which is of interest to the operatives. They asked if they could meet him now, but were denied.

Draugnir, grew curious about the adjoining kitchen, so while Di Duang turns her back to walk back into the kitchen, he observes the room. He observes a faint must smell and notices a massive stove with cooking utensils all about, with specks of mold and rust. Di, while working at the stove turns her head to the corner and with barely any emotion exclaims, “Oh, poor Wei… such a shame.” Draugnir looks in the direction she’s facing and notices hanging from the corner the hanging corpse of a halfling worshiper. Draugnir makes his presence known at this point, alerting the rest of the party, surprised that the woman isn’t phased at all that a dead halfling is hanging in the kitchen, yet she continues to cook! Crap has hit the fan.

Despite their pleas she shrugs it off. Suicides have been commonplace here for awhile now. The party decide they are no longer going to wait for any feast and begin searching the nearby areas, including the private quarters (A8) west of the kitchen and the guard quarters (A11). Both areas looked used, but were currently empty. Noticing a guard walking around the corner behind the guard quarters, the group decided to forcefully follow behind and watched the furthest door down the hall close behind the guard. They decided to open the door themselves, feeling some resistance, then it creeked open more revealing a concerned guard. While somewhat calm, he asked what the meaning of this was. The operatives responded that they wished to see Dakang immediately. The guard said he could not be bothered at that time. They pushed the door open further, revealing a bedroom/office with three aasimar guards near an obese figure sitting on the bed pouring over very marked up Korada sermons.

Dakang, now noticably obese, sits in a regal white gown and boots, clutching a staff with a cross-cept. Crowned at the top of the sceptre is a Spiral of Korada. He greets his new guests, despite the intrusion. The guards continue to stand between him and the operatives.

“Korada bless you all” Dakang proclaims.

Continued in Episode X: The Enlightened.

*Pull quotes by Ron Lundeen. Name of the scenario this is used from is being witheld to avoid spoilers. After Saturday’s campaign, I’ll return to this and give proper props!

The operatives of the Resplendent Lodge find themselves in the private quarters of Dakang, with four spear-wielding aasimar guards standing between them.

“Korada bless you all” Dakang proclaims, laying aside the sermon he was working on. Haweeha observed the scripts with notations and corrections in a language he could not decipher. Something was most certainly not right. The people of this temple were being fooled.

-

Carlos: On our way to Brinewall, we acquired 375g and 3 units of cargo, which currently leaves us with 31 units. Are we giving the gold that we find while traveling on the caravan back to Ameiko, or splitting that amongst the party?

Ryan: @Carlos – the funds you got can be split among the four of you. Ameiko doesn’t need it.

Carlos: That’s 93g and 7s for us all.

Continuing on to Brinewall Castle, Ameiko became very ill and soon fell into unconsciousness. Entering the dream state, we conferred with Cephor and he advised us not to attempt to go deeper into her unconscious mind. The castle seemed to be the source of the problem and we could neither advance towards it nor retreat from it without worsening her condition. It was decided that the caravan would hold position while the four of us would continue on towards the castle. As soon as we left toward the castle, we found that Tengu was no longer with us and could not be found. We had no choice but to continue on without him and hoped he would reappear soon.

As we approached the castle, we encountered a derelict lighthouse along the river bank. Searching the structure, we found a badly decayed lockbox containing 93 gold and a rusty key which looks like it could still be used but may need mended long. The staircase leading towards the top of the lighthouse was badly damaged and any attempt to reach the top was deemed to hazardous to attempt.

Beyond the lighthouse, a small bay could be seen. We proceeded down a trail leading around the bay and entered an abandoned village, presumably a port for the bay.

Along side the village sat a graveyard. The gate into the graveyard was flanked by two columns topped with stone sculptures of butterfly-like beings. The images were familiar to Hawe, though he could not pinpoint their exact meaning. Upon entering the gravesite, we found it to be well maintained and contained several grave stones and one crypt, apparently holding the remains of the village’s founder. A small shrine rested adjacent to the crypt, consisting of a copper bowl containing holy water. We unceremoniously emptied the water into our waterskins and replaced it with normal water, which itself turned to holy water.

Exploring the rest of the village, we found little of use. The buildings were in poor condition, having been abandoned for many years if not decades. A couple piers jutting into the bay were collapsing, but there was still one ship moored to one of the piers. Upon closer inspection, the boat, while old and unseaworthy, did not appear to be nearly as decayed as the rest of the village.

Along the shore of the bay, a rotting carcass of a creature was discovered and as soon as we closed in to investigate, three creatures attacked us from the water. They were quickly dispatched.

After killing the beasts, Draugnir noticed a shimmering glint of movement. After a few moments, something like a large firefly appeared near Oro and a short chase began. Determining it was likely harmless, Draugnir called off Oro and we were able to speak with the creature, which was also butterfly-like. It introduced itself as Spivey, a Lyrakien in the service of Desna (“Desna… of course!” cried Hawe) and grateful for our victory over the river creatures and determined us to be potentially friendly.

We told it that we were headed toward to castle to put an end to the power that was harming Ameiko, preventing her from continuing on towards the castle but also from retreating from it. The butterfly informed us about birdlike creatures that occupied the castle and that they were up to no good.

While the butterfly could not come with us to the castle, it assured us that the cemetery would be safe haven and that our wounds would be healed if we returned there.

After a short rest, we began making our way to the castle.

(please feel free to edit/add info, as my notes were not with me at the time -mark)

- We also found 93g along with the single rusty key, but if you could double check that Ryan, that would be great. We also found out that the crypt in the cemetery read “Admiral Mercatio Kiameleu, Brinewall Founder,” and received a riddle (I do not recall where):

93 gold confirmed. And the rusty key is usable, but you can tell it may not last too long, thus the mention that Mend may be your friend soon. – Ryan H
(paraphrasing) “You will find the key in the palm of the 10-fingered one, and the grandfather can not remember who he once was.” Again, if Ryan can double check that for us, I would appreciate it.

Brief version:

Thordok smashed lizardman. Then pummeled big spider. Then eviscerated puny spider-owner. Then annihilated larger lizardman. Water-man and Arrow-man helped.

Slightly Expanded version:

WIth Beakman still nowhere to be seen, the intrepid threesome proceeded toward the fortress.

With a giant iron door blocking entrance into the castle, Water-man suggested searching the parameter for another point of entry, to which Arrow-man whole-heartedly agreed. That being settled, Axe-man climbed directly up the side of the castle wall. Water-man and Arrow-man shrugged and followed suit.

Atop the gatehouse, the party somehow managed to get the drop on two minimum wage guards, who were soon joined by a third. They were soon turned into feathery piles of goo.

The triumphant trio descended to the courtyard below in which they observed large piles of bird poo the sized of a human head (along with some signs of a battle long since concluded).

It was then that a loud boom of a gong rang out into courtyard. Doing the math, Water-man decided to duck into the closest doorway rather than become poo. Unfortunately, his exit was rudely interrupted by the presence of a giant spider. The fearless former foursome fiercely flattened the foolish foe, followed by a muffled shriek from within the building.

The group entered, but no source for the outburst could be found. Water-man rushed heedlessly forward, followed by Axe-man. Arrow-man, bringing up the rear, keenly observed a trap which both of his party members had somehow managed not to set off. Leaving the trap behind, we attempted to exit the building, but the source of the former utterance, a half spider-half human abomination, chose that moment to reveal itself. It chose poorly.

WIth the less than amazing spiderman smashed into tiny bits behind us, we exited the building and soon heard yet another peel of the gong.

Once again, Water-man ducked into the closest door, where we found a molting lizardman…thing atop a pile of cots it had made into some sort of nest. Thordok crushed it. Bad.

At this point, the trio decided to take a moment to reflect upon their experiences thus far….

What was that gong sound?
What horrible creature was responsible for all the poo?
Where the hell is Beakman?

Feel free to fill in.

Write up session notes here.

Treasure found in the small cell of the dire corby cleric’s despoiled shrine:
4x +2 Evil Outsider Bane Arrows
Scroll of Cure Moderate Wounds
Scroll of Remove Disease
Scroll of Restoration
Phylactery of Faithfulness

Operatives run into the elusive Kikonu once again discover the dungeon below.

The intrepid adventurers continue to cleanse the castle of the bizarre squatters that have taken up residence in the abandoned fortress. Its a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

The most challenging so far being a single quickling holed up in a room at the end of a hallway. The room was filled with bizarre taxidermic experiments. We cornered the blurry beasty and slaughtered it (after giving it a reasonable chance for diplomacy, of course). Area clean….ish.

After determining that the first floor of the castle had been thoroughly explored, we descended down a stair leading to the lower portion of the castle, starting with a huge kitchen with many many doors leading in and out of it. This is gonna take some time.

More troglodytes were encountered, including some sort of leader. They were quickly dispatched. Area clean.

Much loot was found, exemplifying the fruits of proper exploration, despite the dwarf’s impatience.

One night ago…

The Kobiashi Maru caravan, according to Sandru, was just one day out from its destination of Brinewall Castle. Everyone settled in for the night, including Tengu.

That night he dreamt a particular dream.

It started in a damp, dungeon. Next, he saw a wagon wheel begin to spin. As it spun faster and faster, ice began to build up around it. The frost grew ever increasingly larger as the wheel spun until finally the wheel slowed from the build up. The ice begins to crack and the entire wheel shatters with the sound of a bird shriek. Obstructing his view of the now exploding wheel, a black raven flies straight up. This sudden burst of movement jolts Tengu awake immediately, drenching him in sweat. What did it mean?

The next day of traveling came and went as the days preceding. The sun was beginning its decent.

Sandru called out the top of the castle, seen in the distance. That’s when Ameiko fell into her coma. When the operatives thought to consult Cephor on the matter, the four brought Ameiko in. After he suggested that some spell or curse which felled her was connected to Brinewall, the others agreed to head for the castle. Cephor however, made notice of Tengu’s reluctance. Something was on his mind. He caught Tengu’s attention as the other three were leaving the lodge.

“Mr. Ebonwing, you look troubled. Is there something about this quest that’s bothering you?”
“Nope. Had a wierd dream.”
“Last night?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you see?” Tengu recalled the story of the dungeon, the frozen wagon wheel, and finally the black raven.

Cephor took it in and considered what he had been told. “I’m no reader, but in my research on future events… fate, if you will, images like that are often tied to not only your possible future, but of the past. I won’t pressure you to go into this castle right now if you are not up for it. Though because the Kaijitsu girl is my friend, I’d hope you’d consider it anyways. Sometimes visions like these, while they could just be our imaginations cobbling memories together, they sometimes can help guide us down a certain path that we’re meant to take.” At that, Tengu departed the Resplendent Lodge for the Material Plane once again.

While Koya and the rest would care for their patron and friend, Haweeha, Draugnir, and Thordok chose to head towards investigating the castle. Tengu, on the other hand, just perched atop the Roach Coach, looking more solemn and contemplative than usual.

“Hey guys, you go on ahead. I’ll… help keep an eye on the caravan this time around.” The others seemed baffled their friend decided not to join them, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to scout on ahead. Traveling for weeks on the road can take tolls on different peoples. Additionally, who are they to know the peculiarities of tengus?

As the sun began to set, Tengu felt ready and more focused on the task at hand. Maybe there was something to this raven image that he couldn’t shake off. Maybe something about this old castle had something for him…

So he nodded to Sandru as he grabbed his gear, and hopped off the wagon, heading towards the village. Following the road in a hustle, he passed the ruins of an old lighthouse, abandoned village homes, and an oddly well kept cemetery, he eventually came across the road leading up to the front gate of Brinewall Castle.

His instincts however, especially considering hearing squawks and shouting from inside, gave him the impression that knocking on the front door was not a good idea right now. Instead he hugged the outer wall and moved his way to the northwest, between the walls and the embankment to the Bunyip River. After observing the cliff side, he noticed a peculiar inlet. Sliding and carefully hopping down the cliff, he discovers a damp cavern. Lighting a torch, he makes his way along a tight path along the southern wall until he comes to the end.

With his keen eyes, he spots a locked secret door, which he successfully opens to reveal a small L-shaped hallway, leading to another locked door. On the other side of this room, he finds a large kitchen that doesn’t look like it’s been used in decades. Dust is caked all over the utensils, broken tables and chairs. Tengu decides to quietly stealth over to the door to his left. Listening, he hears nothing. Opening it, he sees a winding hallway with some lit sconces on the wall. Moving forward, he sees a door to the south, with another door at the end of the winding hallway to the east. He opts to listen at the door that is slightly ajar, and where the air is a little more foul. He peers through the opening and sees pillars and iron cages. A large horrible face gets in Tengu’s view and before he can react.. blackness. And a ringing in his ears. Then nothing.

Opening one more of many doors leading from the kitchen, we were met with the foul stench of damn rot and neglect of what appeared to be the filthiest laundry room of all time. Like many of the other rooms in Brinewall, a bizarre creature never before seen by any in our party had taken up residence, this one happened to be a Phycomid. And, of course, it attacked us immediately, spitting some sort of acidic projectile at Thordok. Draugnir lept into action, firing two arrows at the creature..and failed epically, serving only to rupture some poisonous mushroom sacks in the room causing toxic fumes to fill the room. But despite the setback, the creature was dispatched and we closed the door.

Taking the next door, we found a hidden cove with secret doors leading into the castle, with wet birdlike tracks leading towards the kitchen, but nothing more of note.

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, Tengu wakes up from a prolonged nap to find himself in a jail cell. A strange Ulfen woman occupies a cell across from him, but wants nothing to do with him. Tengu proceeds to craft a doll of the woman and begins talking to it in a mocking fashion. This also fails to win over the uncooperative female.

A large ogre enters the room and Tengu convinces it to throw him the remains of a giant centipede that was laying on the floor. After snacking on the rotting remains, Tengu attempted to fashion some lockpick tools from the creature’s shell, but to no avail.

Not long after, Draugnir, Thordok, and Hawe happened upon the dungeon, but also the ogre. Draugnir and Thordok kept it busy while Hawe grabbed the prisoner’s equipment. Sadly, Oro the wolf died during the skirmish right before Thordok dealt the killing blow to the ogre.

Hawe cast a spell that would preserve Oro’s body, just in case means of reviving the animal could be found, but nothing else could be done, so the party continued, now joined by the Ulfen raider, Kelda Oxgutter.

The party proceeded, discovering a vacant crypt. As the adventurers explored the room, blue lights began to coalesce into a ghostly form. It offered us some sort of reward if we agreed to drop our weapons and follow it. Sensing something was not right, the party attacked the image only to find it was a trick used by a creature, a decapus, hidden among the stalactites above. After throwing javelin after javelin at the horrid beast, the party finally dispatched it as it cried out to Pazuzu for help.

Beyond the crypt, we found another hidden entrance to the undercastle and a treasure horde consisting of some gold and jems, a light steel shield with the image of Brinewall Castle on it, a pearl of power, a Ring of the Ram, and, upon closer inspection, a darkwood/silver disc decorated with an intricate etching of Brinewall under the midnight moon and a stone statuette of Pazuzu.

There our day’s adventure ended….

GM note: I made a boo-boo and forgot two mention two other items that were amid the treasure hoard found of Nindinzego, which we’ll start the next session examining. One is a darkwood-and-silver disc decorated with an intricate etching of Brinewall under the midnight moon. The second is a stone statuette of Pazuzu. Like I said during our session, this part of the book is poorly worded and hard to track it all, so I missed this detail.

Building blocks for the adventure post writeup:
- The operatives finished clearing out the dungeons below the castle, as well as the upper floor.
- A new uneasy alliance has been formed with a muted harpy to bring down Kikonu.
- Brought down an ogrekin family.

GM Notes:
- DING 6! You gain a level.
- Check out the updated Maps of Brinewall.

Plug in story details here… You don’t need to keep the lists below as they are. Feel free to fill in the story around them.

In the visions, the PCs see:

An army of terrible fiends—with burning skin, glaring eyes, and sharp tusks, wearing strange armor and wielding exotic weapons—emerge in a storm from a vast forest, then descend upon a nation populated by Tian people.

This vision is swiftly followed by another: a young man dressed in royal robes stands over a simple well, a friend at his side. Suddenly, the friend grows nearly three times in size and is sheathed in a frightening suit of jade armor. The jade warrior draws a sword and strikes down his royal friend, then holds the bloody sword aloft in triumph.

A third vision follows, this time of a young Tian man handing a beautiful sword to a richly dressed Ulfen man in exchange for a bag of gold.

A fourth vision, though brief, depicts a blue serpentine dragon moving through simultaneous murky waters and thunderous clouds.

Finally, this vision fades, and the PCs see their friend Ameiko waking from her deep sleep, but she is dressed in the finery of an empress. She rises from sleep not in a humble Varisian caravan, but from
a resting spot within the arms of a jade throne.

Items of note:
Amatatsu Seal (I didn’t get around to reading the full description of what all this does, so please take a gander at it. We can discuss it in-game in our next session – Ryan H.).
Warding Box
Dancing Wasp
Secretive letter with a black raven seal – in Tengu’s possession

People of note:
Rokuro Kaijitsu (deceased)
Ameiko Kaijitsu – Heiress to the throne of Minkai!
Kikonu (deceased)
Zaiobe
Five Storms

Oro was revived by Spivey, encountered a burning wagon with the goblin we should have killed (along with Aurim and I guess his wife and child?), and met with our faction leader Ollysta and Cephor with Ameiko to discuss Ameiko’s fate and began heading… duh duh duuuhhh… NORTHBOUND! Our new party member and Aurim’s ally will be awaiting a rescue when we arrive.

I believe we also split treasure at 3,186 gp, if Mark can double check that for us.

Description of travel, according to Sandru Vhiski
The route from Brinewall to Kalsgard passes through the Nolands and enters the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, where it joins an existing trade route between the dwarven mine at Kopparberget and the city of Jol before continuing north into the Grungir Forest. The caravan road crosses the eastern neck of the Grungir until it reaches the bridge to Losthome, at which point the route follows the western bank of the Thundering River as it meanders north, connecting the many small settlements and steadings that stand upon the river’s banks. At the confluence of the Thundering and Rimeflow rivers, the trade route branches again, with one trail crossing the Skalsbrïdge and heading northeast toward Trollheim while the other continues along the Rimeflow to Kalsgard. The total distance from Brinewall to Kalsgard is about 440 miles; the time it takes to travel between them depends on the speed of the PCs’ caravan, but is likely around 2 weeks.

Blood-feather raven
This creature was spotted flying overhead along the trade route the caravan is riding on. Koya Mvashti believes that this particular raven has been thought to be an evil omen and is often thought to be in the service of dark powers.

When the caravan came to a stop, Kelda Oxgutter recognizes tracks found in the dirt.
“My kin. They are close.”

This session took places at the Skalsbrïdge, where Kelda Oxgutter’s observance of the tracks before them in the road made note that an Ulfen raiding party was very close.

Along this part of the road, a small group of acid-spitting forest drakes attacked the caravan, damaging part of a wagon, but were eventually taken out. Waiyn Noblestep immediately took to his job and began repairs, but explained that full repairs would need to be taken care of once they reached Kalsgard.

A large raiding party attacked the caravan party as they camped for a misty night by the Skalsbrïdge. The ship they came in fled once most were taken down by the Operatives and other defenders of the Kobiashi Maru.

The Ulfen killed had standard Ulfen armlets with a lion’s head symbol engraved on them.

GM Note: Moving Carlos/Haweeha’s notes to the end of Episode IV’s adventure post.

The operatives finally reach the capitol of Kalsgard.

People of note:
Fynn Snaevald
Kei

GM note: A lot happens during this session that I don’t have the time right now to fill out, but wish to in detail. If you’d like to fill this in with your own notes, you may do so in 3rd person like you would a wiki entry. thanks!

The operatives, after successfully taking out the guard at Asvig’s farm. Surrounding the perimeter, they crash the party of drunken Ulfen and a battle breaks out. What seemed insurmountable turned achieveable due to Draugnir’s casting of Entangle on about 85% of the room. Not long into the battle, the tall, and drunk, Azvig appears, along with his wife from their bed chamber.

The wife though, after casting a few spells to counter the attack, sees that it is not going well and flees after Asvig falls. The operatives find chest, as well as various items on Asvig’s person (see below for contents).

Additionally, you find clues in the farm house that would suggest that this was the raiding party that attacked the caravan at the Skalsbrïdge using a rented boat called Aril’s Hammer from Kalsgard’s Rimerunners Guild and that an heirloom sword was taken from Fynn Snaevald’s home, but no clue as to where it is. As to Asvig’s wife who fled, you find nothing that could identify her or suggest where she could have fled to. Additionally, you see what looks to be mention of funeral ceremony preparations.

Treasure found and dispersed:
Several chests in area A6 hold the following
items: a masterwork short sword with a walrus ivory pommel
cap (worth 330 gp), a pair of boots of elvenkind, 19 gold lion’s
head arm-rings (worth 35 gp each), a jeweled box brooch
(worth 150 gp), three fine felt cloaks (worth 15 gp each), five
copper neck rings (worth 2 gp each), five silver ringed pin
brooches (worth 10 gp each), five silver pommel caps taken
from defeated rivals (worth 10 gp each), an ornate whalebone
tally stick (worth 75 gp), three small bales of fine angora wool
(worth 15 gp each), and a felt bag holding 258 sp and 47 gp. In
addition, stacked about the room are two chain shirts, three
light wooden shields, two masterwork battleaxes, five short
swords with silver pommel caps (worth 20 gp each), and nine
spears. In addition, each of the thralls at the farmhouse wears
a copper neck ring (worth 2 gp each).

On Asvig’s person:
1 potion of divine favor and one recently drank vial; Other Gear
masterwork chainmail, masterwork heavy wooden shield,
+1 shortspear, throwing axes (2), platinum lion’s head armring
(worth 350 gp), fine felt cloak (worth 10 gp), gold neck
ring (worth 50 gp), gold ringed pin brooch (worth 25 gp)

Each dead raider had a gold lion’s head arm-ring (worth 35 gp). There were 17 in all.

509g divided among each player.

Carlos/Haweeha’s notes:
I feel we had to do a little backtracking since it was a while after our previous session, but the Oni of the Five Winds are after us since we touched the Amatatsu Seal. They’ve been using intimidation tactics to let us know they’re on to us, but we may have discovered a connection between them and the lion tribe of Ulfen that could give us the upper hand. We’re currently en route to recover Sushen, the sword Ameiko’s grandfather passed on to the merchant Fynn Snaevald. Fynn wants us to recover his honor by recovering the sword and teaching them a lesson.

One item of note is that the Warding Box that holds the seal prevents any sort of scrying attempts. So they may know we have it, but not where it is. Who do we have protecting the caravan?

Upon returning to Kalsgard, the operatives begin heading back to the Bone Quarter, where the caravan is staked out. In the Oak Quarter, they began moving through but are attacked by a female human assassin, firing arrows from the rooftops. After giving chase, she relents, and explains that she was simply hired to take out at least one member of the party, but had no knowledge as to why. Simply business.

After letting her go, an Ulfen woman appears, noticeably intoxicated, by the name of Uksahkka. Her business partner, another guide, turned up missing a week ago after taking on the “job of a lifetime”. She didn’t like the idea, but swears that the Rimerunners Guild were related somehow and things went sour. When that happens, people disappear. She has a sinking suspicion he could of been placed on the funeral ship for a recently departed Ulfen named Snorri Stone-Eye. She’s asking you to find her friend, dead or alive, and recover him in a stealthy manner by kayak that she is providing.

After a short lesson of how to properly man a kayak, Uksahkka departs the operatives, giving them a clay token with an image of a songbird as something to give the to the priest at the shrine of Shelyn in the Fire Quarter. Once recieving this, the priest will lead the party to Uksahkka’s safe house. Before departing the beach, an unwelcome visitor attacks: a huge shark-eating crab! Upon dismantling the crab, the realization that there’s quite a nice bit of crab meat to grab later for selling does not go unnoticed, but will have to wait.

The operatives sneak aboard the ship, which has had it’s funeral pyre just recently lit. The time is now ticking. They find a hatch down to the belly of the ship. But just to verify, they want to make sure Ulf Gormundr is not actually alive and being disguised as Snorri. It turns out that the body on the pyre is that of a wooden doll. They make their way down below into the dark, hearing chains being dragged along the wood floor. From the bow of the ship, attacks a rotting draugr of an Ulfen, tied down by a chain. From previous descriptions, it appears to be the Mad Reaver himself, Snorri!

He attacked the party until destroyed, but didn’t go down without a proper fight. He was indeed buried with a massive amount of loot, proper for a longstanding viking captain, save for a peculiar yet ornate golden-laden viking helmet with backswept wings on its sides lays near the hatch door. This item, the operatives feel, is best left left alone.

After the encounter, the operatives hear the sound of a thump above deck, as that being the sound of a lamp falling over, ensuring the boat would be set ablaze. They should begin leaving the ship soon to avoid burning to death or drown in the water. Will it be so easy? Find out next time!

Carlos’ notes: We encountered ninja on the funeral boat, an intelligent helm informed of us the connection between the Rimerunner’s Guild, Frozen Shadows, and Oni of the Five Storms, and when heading towards the guide’s safehouse we encountered a summoned earth elemental. I dispelled it. Piece of cake.

After the earth elemental summon was dispelled, the operatives headed into the shrine’s ruins. They found the priest, Yin-Po, who explained that the elemental appeared suddenly, wrecking the shrine before he could stop it. He does note that he saw a large raven just before the attack began, but it flew away, in which direction he knew not where. When shown the clay chit that Uksahkka gave them to show Yin-Po, he quickly leads the group behind the shrine to a back alley where a hidden cellar remains. However, the door is battered and Uksahkka is not to be found. The elemental’s destructive attack was a mere diversion to get her. Hergarval recounts that a blood feather raven is the familiar of a local spellcaster named Goti Runecaster, a close associate of Thorborg Silverskorr, head of the Rimerunners Guild.

Helgarval relays more important information to the party about the Rimerunners Guild. It is actually a front for the Frozen Shadows, a thieves guild being run by agents of the Five Storms. Preposterous turn of events!

So their guide is kidnapped.
The guide to lead to that guide is kidnapped.
The ancient sword is stolen.
And the empress to be has been kidnapped.

Such kidnap. Much sad. wow.

Their one lead is that of Thorborg Silverskorr, who has close ties to Linnorm King Sveinn Blood-Eagle. They decide the next best course of action is to seek the king’s presence in hopes of getting support. After hours of persuasion and discussion with the king’s constable, they were finally lead into the king’s court. Sveinn agreed to providing help by having the Kalsgard authorites ignore any potential break ins of the Rimerunners Guildhall that evening, including providing a key to most of the rooms, should they need it.

After successfully accessing the first floor of the hall, the operatives were able to find Uksahkka tied up in one of the guest rooms. Upon release, she exclaimed that she was fleeing Kalsgard. She no longer wanted business there as long as the RImerunners were in charge. Before she leaves, she did provide detail that her captors spoke of transferring her to a place called Ravenscraeg, where Ulf Gormundr is also apparently being held. Their next course of action is to quickly explore the second floor.

The operatives took to the second floor of the Rimerunners Guildhall and found the remaining sleeping Frozen Shadows members in the sleeping quarters. Rather than alert them, they quietly exited, but not before finding a room with a small strongbox containing a wealth of materials including gold bullion and coins totaling 2,000 gp, as well as important ledgers and paperwork. This includes: many mundane business documents and financial records of the guild. With time to go through the documents, the PCs can easily confirm that the [[Aril’s Hammer]], the ship carrying the marauders that attacked them at Skalsbridge was rented to Asvig Longthews. He contracted by the guild to acquire “a Tian antique” from Fynn Snaevald’s house. More importantly, ledgers are found with financial transactions over the last few years to a place called Ravenscraeg, all personally approved by Thorborg Silverskorr.

Leaving the guild members asleep in their barracks, the operatives snuck back out and reported to Linnorm King Sveinn Blood-Eagle the next morning. Dismayed with the findings, but pleased with the work, Blood-Eagle gifts the hall to the operatives and the Kobiashi Maru caravan to do as they wish. The guild members staying within the hall were to be tried and interrogated for any part they played in the actual Frozen Shadows threat. Clues point to this Ravenscraeg, so the operatives take off for this lone fortress.

While tracking along a path along a forest clearing, they are ambushed by a ninja assassin. Fending off her attack, she flees, at least for now.

Using intelligence found on the streets of Kalsgard, they head towards the entrance that would appear to be the least protected…

Feel free to fill out

Ravenscraeg
Rimerunners Guild
Rimerunners Guildhall
Frozen Shadows
Thorborg Silverskorr

-
Fyi, we can only use Burst of Radiance from our Resplendent Wayfinders 1/week. Also to correct my last statement, I do not have a scroll of Remove Poison. We’ll have to use one of our Restoration items on me after the poison hits. Hooray!

Ninja!
Giant Creeping Hand!
Zombies!
Samurai statues!
Half-troll!
Blindheims!
Treasure*!

Such crazy dungeon encounters… met with fruit of the operatives’ labor: the rescue of a blinded Ameiko Kaijitsu AND Ulf Gormundr!

and Ulf asks a startling question as his vision returns to him to Draugnir….

“Son?”

Find out his response and more next time!

Kimandatsu’s Treasure:
Three chests, each weighing 50 pounds, hold
gold and silver brooches and arm-rings worth a total of 2,100
gp. Five crates hold copper trade bars stamped with the rune
of the Rimerunners Guild. There are 20 trade bars in each
crate, and each trade bar is worth 5 gp and weighs 10 pounds.
A sixth crate holds 20 silver trade bars, similarly stamped.
These trade bars also weigh 10 pounds, but are worth 50 gp
each. There are total of 23 gilded drinking horns of various
beasts, each worth 15 gp, and one made from an aurochs horn
and set with citrines worth 135 gp. The coffers hold a total
of 850 gp, 1,975 sp, and 3,000 cp. These are all assets of the
Rimerunners Guild that Kimandatsu has been skimming
off the top and storing here for her own personal use.
In addition, one chest holds all of Ulf Gormundr’s gear (see
page 58). If Ameiko (or another significant NPC) is being held
in area D19, then her possessions are here as well.

A stores room contained the following:
One of the bins holds three bottles of
Korvosan wine worth 20 gp each, and two f lasks of aged
sake imported from Minkai worth 50 gp each. The Tian
spices are worth a total of 40 gp.

Goti Runecaster (half-troll spriggan spellcaster in the dojo), had the following on his person:
[[fugitive’s grenade]], wand of command undead (10 charges), deathblade poison (1 dose);
masterwork heavy crossbow with 20 bolts, masterwork heavy pick

OOC: Level 7 achieved!

Carlos: Man, if only I could use that Wand of Command Undead.

I have completed my leveling. I picked up Power Attack, have a couple more spells, and can now affect 3 allies with my Inspiring Command (so that’s Aurim, Draugnir, AND wolf!). I also have some Kelish nicknames for you! I will call Aurim “Saif” for sword and Draugnir “Sahm” for arrow!

Once we find the sword and complete our rescue, I would like to ask Draugnir’s helmet to use its Commune ability. It’s a long shot, but perhaps Desna is aware if Haleen is alive and well (my NPC backstory). She was supposed to be raised by the Trade Princess in Legacy of Fire, but I was hit by an undead’s fear and ran so far I’m in Jade Regent! I cannot yet use Commune to ask Abadar until later.

To be filled in.

-

Carlos: I’m definitely eyeing some antitoxins when we get back into town.

To be filled in.

-

Carlos: I took a look at the Downtime and Organization rules from Ultimate Campaign. The system is primarily a way to ingrain yourself into the campaign’s society, using an abstract system of goods and labor to acquire influence and resources. In regards to earning income, it’s little different than rolling for your craft or performance skill to make a living, or your day job skill in PFS. If we started an organization it would basically run itself, but feels more like a roleplay thing than anything else.

Items I am buying before next session – +1 enchanting my rope gauntlets, glyph of warding components (separately on my chest I am keeping the warding box in – I don’t want to bring the warding box around town), scroll of restoration, and 7 antitoxins – 4 for us, 3 for Ameiko, Ulf, and Kelda. I will not be buying magical boots. They are super expensive for what I want them to do.

The Glyph of Warding allows me to set a condition to bypass it. What would you like that to be and which kind of energy damage would you like it to do (3d8 in a 5’ radius) – acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic?

Before the caravan continues it’s trek into the Crown of the World, Suishen requests to be unsheathed, gathering everyone around the fireplace within the Rimerunners Guildhall one evening. His old, gruff Tian voice speaks as if transcribing an ancient long lost tome.

Hundreds of years ago in the distant land of Minkai, a powerful cabal of evil spirits known as oni emerged from the mysterious Forest of Spirits. Intent on seizing control of a land they felt they deserved to rule, these oni, known as The Five Storms, began a covert war against the five royal families of Minkai, for by obscure but nonetheless binding divine laws, only once all five families had been wiped out or controlled could the Five Storms take control. By 4652 AR, the Five Storms had come close to their goal. Yet when the oni turned their attention to this last family of nobles, the Amatatsus, they discovered that the family had fled Minkai over the Crown of the World, the inhospitable northern continent at Golarion’s north pole.

When the exiled Amatatsus emerged from the Crown of the World and staggered into the Linnorm Kingdom city of Kalsgard, their numbers had been reduced to a small fraction of a once-grand dynasty. Led by the youngest and only surviving son, Amatatsu Tsutoku, the exiles sold their legendary family sword… me, Suishen, to finance a stealthy integration into an alien society. In order to finalize their hidden exile and throw off further pursuit from the Five Storms, the Amatatsus changed their family name to Kaijitsu, and the exiled royals chose new names and switched their order to match Avistan’s naming conventions. Thus did Amatatsu Tsutoku became Rokuro Kaijitsu. Using some of the money they’d received from the sale of Suishen, the Kaijitsus secured a home in the small town of Brinewall and paid to have the only remaining proof of their royal lineage, a minor artifact called the Amatatsu Seal, held in a magical warding box that blocked divination magic in a secure vault under Brinewall Keep. The Kaijitsus became merchants and glassblowers, hoping that the very idea of a royal family changing itsname and working as common merchants would be all but unthinkable to the Five Storms. For several years, it looked as if these drastic steps would work.

Eventually, the Kaijitsus’ artistry and skill at glassblowing attracted the attention of several merchant nobles in Magnimar, who offered the family a small villa if they would relocate to the larger city and join Magnimar’s growing aristocracy. Rokuro Kaijitsu accepted the offer, reasoning that belonging to Varisian nobility could only further hide the truth of his family’s legacy from the Five Storms. Rokuro left most of the family servants and business concerns (including the Amatatsu Seal) safe and secure in Brinewall, but moved himself and his wife to Magnimar. Over the next several years, the Kaijitsus had a son named Content Not Found: Lonjiku-Kaijitsu, helped found the town of Sandpoint, and saw their fortunes as minor nobles in a frontier town rise.

It wasn’t until Rokuro turned 60 in 4687 that he finally allowed himself to believe that the Five Storms had given up on chasing him. With most of his business concerns now focused in Magnimar and the recently founded town of Sandpoint, he decided to return to Brinewall and recover the Amatatsu Seal. He also brought his son Lonjiku with him, finally ready to reveal to him the family legacy. As father and son arrived in Brinewall, a series of powerful storm hit the Varisian coast. Rokuro loaded his extended family, servants, and all his belongings onto three ships, but the storms prevented their immediate return to Magnimar. Stranded in Brinewall for days, Rokuro agonized on how best to reveal the family legacy to his son, and this hesitation soon stretched Lonjiku’s patience beyond its limits.

Long frustrated at his father’s silence regarding his ancestry, Lonjiku took matters into his own hands and opened the warding box containing the Amatatsu Seal—and in so doing, exposed the seal to magical observation. Horrified that this act might have alerted the Five Storms and that oni agents would soon come to Brinewall to finish things off, Rokuro ordered his bodyguard Tsutamu to organize the return to Magnimar with his family and belongings, then to prepare for a new relocation farther south. Once he could be sure that the Five Storms had not noticed the opening of the seal’s case, Rokuro would follow later. As the three ships sailed south into the storms, Rokuro returned the Amatatsu Seal to its warding box in the secure and hidden vaults below Brinewall and alerted Brinewall’s commander, a man named Andril Kortun, that dangerous foes might soon strike. But Rokuro never learned of the loss of his ships in the storms off Varisia’s Lost Coast, or of his despondent wife’s suicide not long after, for the Five Storms struck far more quickly than even he had anticipated.

The Five Storms had lost track of the Amatatsus in Kalsgard many years before, but they left a small group of oni and ninja there to keep an eye out for any sign of the missing family. When Five Storm seers back in Minkai noticed the Amatatsu Seal’s brief flash of power, they sent orders to the Kalsgard group, now known as the Frozen Shadows, to mobilize and investigate. The Frozen Shadows swept into Brinewall, using the storms still pounding the town to great advantage. They devastated the town, setting its buildings on fire, and by the time the castle’s troops were organized to launch a counterattack, the Frozen Shadows were already inside the castle walls. They murdered the entire population of Brinewall in less than an hour, so quickly that they didn’t discover the hidden vault that held the Amatatsu Seal. Rokuro was killed in the battle, but learning that he had sent his family and belongings into the storms to Magnimar, the Frozen Shadows moved farther south in pursuit, leaving Brinewall empty.

But while the Frozen Shadows were numerous enough to overrun Brinewall, they could not do the same to the much larger city of Magnimar. Instead, they infiltrated Magnimar in disguise and learned that Rokuro’s wife had committed suicide upon learning of the loss of her husband’s three ships at sea. Assuming that the Amatatsu Seal was on board when the ships sank, the Frozen Shadows returned to Kalsgard with news that the family had finally been wiped out. The Five Storms could finally begin the last stages of their plot to seize control of Minkai. But here, through the whims of fate, the Five Storms made a critical error. For not all of the Kaijitsus perished in the storms—Lonjiku Kaijitsu survived after spending several weeks adrift in the Varisian Gulf, and eventually returned to Sandpoint to rebuild his family.

These events transpired almost 25 years ago, and the Five Storms have finally reached their plot’s end game. Following the secret assassination of the Minkai emperor just a few years ago, one of the Five Storms now rules Minkai in all but name as the empire’s Content Not Found: jade-regent. When the proper time of mourning has passed, and no true contenders step forth to claim the throne, rule of Minkai will pass to the oni of the Five Storms. But Lonjiku Kaijitsu’s legitimate heir, Ameiko, is still alive and now we make our way over the Crown and into Minkai to reclaim her heritage, as she is the only person who can challenge the Jade Regent….

Before leaving Kalsgard, Draugnir wanted to spend some time training Oro to experience the dream plain. While Oro was able to join him in the dream state, it was not without difficulty. So, as Oro fell asleep by the fire, Draugnir coaxed the wolf to join his dream and soon they were bounding through the forest on their way to the Resplendent Lodge.

As we approached the lodge, we were greeted by Cephor, softly playing his violin on the front steps.

“Ah, Draugnir, my friend. What brings you to the Lodge?” he said, subtly looking around clearly expecting to see the rest of the party approaching.

“Just getting Oro here more acquainted with life on the other side”, the ranger replied with a wink.

“Very good”, Cephor said with a smile, scratching Oro behind the ears, his expression changing curiously as he examine the wolf. “Forgive me for asking, but how is he eating? I had expected him to be a bit larger by now. You will both need to be at your best in order to face the challenges ahead.”

“I appreciate your concern, but eating is not a problem. In fact, it’s a full time job keeping him from eating everything in sight. But Oro was the runt of the litter, you see. It may take a bit more time for him to get full size.”

“Ah, that explains it”, Cephor remarked thoughtfully. “Go to your room and sleep. I think I may know someone who can help.”

Draugnir did as instructed and soon found himself transported to the land of his youth, standing in a clearing deep within the forest, a familiar site where he had spent many hours training with his uncle. Not long after, a figure appeared from among the trees. Though the man resembled his uncle in form, even wearing the same old ragged cloak, his face was obscured in shadow.

“There you are. I had thought you were not going to make it”, he remarked. “Follow me… if you can”, and with a leap, disappeared into the dense forest.

Draugnir started after him, Oro at his side. The chase began simple enough, following natural paths through the underbrush, but soon, following the mysterious figure became increasingly difficult, the landscape becoming less and less familiar. Through rocky streams, deep ravines, and dark caves, Draugnir and Oro had to depend on each other’s senses more and more in order keep up.

The sun went down, yet the hunt continued. All through the night and into the next day, the chase did not let up, becoming more a test of endurance than skill. The sun set and rose yet again, but the chase continued without rest. Entering a state of focused delirium, Draugnir and Oro pursued their prey.

Exhausted well past his mental and physical limits, Draugnir clung to Oro for support, fearing he would collapse without his support.

Oro. He had not noticed, but during the past few days, Oro was not the same as when they had begun. Not only had he appeared to have nearly doubled in size, his fur had turned almost pure white. He looked up and he was no longer in the dense forest, but back in the clearing in which he had started, now covered in a deep blanket of snow as white as his companion.

With a crunch of snow, he looked up to see the shadowy figure standing in front of him once again.

“There you are. I had thought you were not going to make it”, the man said, clearly enjoying himself.

Before he could reply, Draugnir collapsed, falling soundlessly into the soft snow.

He woke up to Oro liking his face. Opening his eyes, Draugnir found himself back in Kalsgard, next to the fire. Taking a look at his faithful companion, expecting to see a large white wolf, he was disappointed to find Oro exactly as he had left him before entering the dream state… a medium sized timber wolf. Hiding his disappointment, he gave Oro a scratch behind the ears and got along with the business of preparing to leave town.

But over the next few days of preparation and travel, Draugnir couldn’t help but notice Oro did appear to be growing. Was he just imagining it? But as the white patches of Oro’s coat began to take over the brown and grey, there was no doubt.

Oro would not be the runt for long.

Treasure that remained after defeating Masami:

The scrying mirror is high-quality silvered glass worth 1,000 gp
and a masterwork calligraphy set (worth 55 gp) sits near the portraits. On a
low side table rests a magical paper fan that functions as a feather token (fan).
In a small lacquered case is a pair of magical chopsticks that function similarly
to a sustaining spoon except that the chopsticks create grains of rice and can
only produce enough food to feed one person per day.

Caravan-ing north!

Adventure details here