Hammerhead
Explorer
Just finished Kingmaker, great read. You can't trust those female arcanists; they seem to be universally bad news.
Jack is a rogue, I assume?
Jack is a rogue, I assume?
JollyDoc's Serpent's Skull-updated 11/6/2011
WarEagleMage
First Post
Jack is indeed a rogue using the swashbuckler archetype from the APG. His player is new to the group. Serpent's Skull is off to an interesting start with a decidedly interesting party dynamic.
JollyDoc
Explorer
THE MONEY PIT
“So I hear you have a treasure map,” Arioch said unceremoniously as he sat down on the log next to Ishirou.
“Have many maps,” the Tienese shrugged.
“Yes, but Aerys mentioned one in particular,” the summoner winked.
“Women always talk more than they should,” Ishirou grumbled.
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Arioch chuckled. “Still, we’ve been wandering along this beach for days now, and haven’t found anything useful or even interesting. I think having a specific goal might go a long way towards improving morale, and if you ask me, Aerys has seemed a little depressed about this whole situation.”
Ishirou seemed to ponder this for a few moments, then he sighed and pulled a rolled up parchment from his pack.
“It say pirates bury treasure here,” he pointed to a spot south of their current location. “It say need many men to find treasure.”
“Well then,” Arioch nodded, “we’re in luck. We’ve no shortage of strong arms.”
Arioch was right. When he suggested to the others that they follow Ishirou’s map, they were more than eager. The monotony had been wearing on all of them. They continued along the coastline for another mile or so, and then turned inland, following what appeared to be a game trail. After another hour of back-breaking trekking through the dense jungle growth, the trail opened into a large clearing that allowed the sun to beat down upon a field of wilted-looking plants, their leaves a sickly, diseased yellow. Two men stood in the middle of the clearing near a large, bulbous plant with tall-stalked, twitching yellow flowers.
“You there!” Agnar called. “Who are you? What’s going on here?”
The men turned slowly, and as they did so, it became obvious that they were anything but human. Their empty eye sockets had diseased-looking vines growing out of them, and more tendrils pulsed beneath their rotted flesh. They moaned hollowly as they began shambling towards the castaways.
“These are no zombies I’m familiar with,” Agnar hissed, “and I’m familiar with ALL of them!”
“They still look like the brain-eating kind to me!” Zavasta snarled.
Arioch tended to agree. He summoned an eagle to perch on his arm, and as the zombies closed, he launched the bird towards the face of the nearest one. The creature recoiled, swatting at the eagle as its talons tore at its flesh. Gorak took advantage of its distraction to cleave it messily in two with his massive blade. Jack ran and somersaulted past the second zombie, but it still clipped the rogue across the head as he passed. Jack rolled to his feet shakily, his vision blurry. Two hazy zombies swam before his eyes, so he did the only thing he could and stabbed the one in the middle. The creature didn’t really seem to react to the pain, but it did obviously perceive the greater threat. It turned towards Gorak as the big half-orc charged, and slammed one fist into the barbarian’s chest. Gorak spun to the side, but still managed to drive his sword through the zombie’s chest. It collapsed to the ground, rotten vegetable matter spilling from its carcass.
“Watch out for the damn plant!” Zavasta cried out in warning.
The other looked to where he was pointing, and to their disbelieving eyes saw that the plant was MOVING! Zav had a bomb in his hand before any of the others could react, and he hurled it at the plant, where it exploded spectacularly, engulfing the creature in flames.
“So does this mean there might be more survivors here?” Jask asked.
“No,” Agnar explained, as if he were speaking to a dim-witted child. “It means that there were people here at some point, but now they’re zombies, and zombies, no matter if they’re created by plants or whatever, are theoretically immortal. These drones could have been standing in this clearing for decades, just waiting for us to come along and find them. Sorry to dash your hopes.”
Jask nodded. “You seem to know much about the nature of the undead,” he said sagely.
“Hold your friends close,” Agnar smiled, “and your enemies closer.”
___________________________________________________________
Jack dreamed that night. He was in a rowboat on the open ocean under the stars. Sitting across from him, rowing the boat, was First Mate Alton. He was obviously dead, with the wounds and stings his body had displayed on the wreck of the Jenivere, but still he rowed. Eventually, the boat reached an island covered with snakes. Alton waited on Jack to exit the boat, standing ankle-deep in snakes, and then he turned and rowed back out to sea, Jack assumed off to look for more survivors to ferry to shore. But Alton never returned, and Jack woke up just as the snakes started to bite…
_____________________________________________________________
The game trail continued to wind deeper and deeper into the heart of the island, so narrow as it pierced the dense undergrowth that the castaways were forced to walk single-file. Gorak was on point, being the only one among the city-slickers who had any real outdoor survival experience. So it was that his sharp eyes picked out the thin vine strung across trail at ankle level. He held up one big hand to bring the others to a halt. He bent down and traced the vine to a tree concealed in the undergrowth. It was bent double and the vine formed a snare at its tip. The trunk of the tree was studded with sharp wooden stakes. It was rigged in such a way that whoever stepped into the snare would be whipped into the air when the tree snapped up, and then slammed against the tree trunk to be impaled on the spikes. Gorak had to admire the craftsmanship. He pointed out the trap to the others and they all stepped over the trip wire.
“Hold up a minute,” Arioch said. “Does it strike the rest of you as strange that there was a trap laid on this trail? How long ago do you think it was set, Gorak?”
The big barbarian shrugged as he looked down at his fingers, his lips moving silently as he counted.
“Maybe quarter moon?” he grumbled.
“So a week,” the summoner said. “A week since someone laid a trap here. Surely not set for us, for who would have known we were coming?”
“The captain,” Nessalin offered.
“Even if we assume he and that Varisian bitch survived,” Arioch countered, “it’s doubtful that they could have rigged every game trail on the island. So, that means someone else is here. Now maybe they’re hunting animals, and maybe not, but whoever they are, they’ve been here long enough to be familiar with the lay of the land. Either way, we’re not alone, and that means we need to be a lot more careful. Gorak, I admire your skills, but I know someone who has a real talent for spotting hidden things.”
The summoner closed his eyes and gathered his focus.
“Minion, I have need of you,” he whispered.
A soft, blue glow formed in the air in front of him, and a moment later a diminutive, reptilian creature in a hooded, red cloak stood there.
“You call and I answer,” the eidolon hissed.
“Scout ahead,” Arioch instructed. “Keep your eyes sharp.”
“Don’t I always?” Minion smiled as he disappeared into the underbrush.
Arioch turned back to the others, who were all staring at him questioningly.
“A friend in need,” he shrugged.
It was perhaps an hour later when the castaways heard a high-pitched scream from a turn in the trail several yards ahead. Arioch ran forward, shoving Gorak out of his way. When he rounded the bend, he saw Minion dangling from another snare, his robes soaked in blood. The summoner knew immediately that the eidolon was still alive. If he were otherwise, he would have vanished back to his own dimension. Arioch cursed as he cut Minion down.
“Little lizard’s eyes not better than Gorak’s,” the barbarian snorted as he arrived on the scene.
Arioch ignored him, but when the others caught up, Jack stepped forward.
“You said these traps were set by someone else on the island,” he said in a tight voice. “I agree with you, but I don’t think it’s some stranger. I think that someone might be right here with us!”
He rounded and pointed his finger straight at Ishirou.
“Him!” Jack shouted. “It’s his map that we’ve been following to a treasure that happens to be conveniently located on this island in particular. An island we’ve been shipwrecked on! Who’s to say he’s not working with whoever was responsible for our being poisoned? Maybe he has cronies of his, smugglers who were already waiting here! He admitted that he worked for the Aspis Consortium, and we all know their reputation! This is a setup!”
Ishirou stepped forward, his hand going to the handle of the curved sword slung across his back.
“You insult my honor!” he snarled.
“Yeah!” Agnar laughed. “Are you gonna stand for that?”
“Stay out of this!” Nessalin snapped at the priest. “And you two,” he stepped between Jack and Ishirou, “need to stand down, now! We have enough problems without being at each other’s throats!”
Ishirou shoved him roughly aside and drew his sword.
“Not so fast!” Arioch snapped, and then he spoke the words to a spell.
Ishirou’s sword slipped from his fingers as a layer of grease suddenly appeared on the handle.
“Boy, if you do it,” the summoner turned towards Jack as the rogue’s hand went for his own weapon, “I’ll take you out! Don’t try me!”
“And I’ll kill both of you just on general principle if you don’t cut this crap out!” Zavasta added.
Jack apparently thought the alchemist was bluffing. He threw a punch towards Ishirou’s head, which the older man deftly avoided, his speed belying his age. Ishirou countered with an uppercut that smashed into Jack’s jaw solidly. He reeled back, and anger flushed his cheeks. He drew his rapier and lunged at the Tienese. Ishirou side-stepped, then reached down and recovered his katana. As he did so, Jack thrust the point of his weapon into his leg.
“Son of whore!” Ishirou spat.
He lunged just as Nessalin stepped in again, a spell on his lips to try and subdue the two combatants. Ishirou’s blade sliced across the magus’s belly, and he cried out in pain, his casting ruined. Jack saw his chance as Ishirou recoiled at what he’d done. The rogue darted in, but the last thing he saw was the flat of Gorak’s immense sword filling his vision. Then the lights went out.
“You next!” the barbarian growled in warning as he stepped menacingly towards Ishirou.
The old man dropped his sword as he raised his hands in surrender. He did manage to aim a kick at Jack’s ribs before he finally backed away, however.
___________________________________________________________
When Jack came to again, it was late afternoon. His head ached, and he felt nauseous as he slowly sat up.
“Not so fast,” Arioch said from where he sat nearby.
Jack realized that his wrists were bound…shackled with the same chains that had once bound Jask.
“What’s going on?” he demanded groggily. “Take these damn things off me!”
“In due time,” the summoner replied. “First, we’re going to get a few things straight. As long as we’re stuck on this island together, like it or not, we’re a team. If you can’t accept that, then you’re free to go your own way.”
He turned to regard the others. “Are we all agreed?”
His eyes pinned Gelik. Though increasingly more helpful, the dandyish gnome still preferred to lurk around the edges of camp rather than actively contribute.
The others grunted or nodded their grudging assent.
“So,” Arioch continued, “if we set you free, are you going to stop this nonsense, or do we set you adrift?”
“I was just trying to point out…,” Jack began.
“We know what you were trying to do,” Arioch cut him off, “and it’s over. Yes or no?”
Jack glared for a few more moments and then nodded his head once.
“See?” Arioch smiled. “Wasn’t that easy?”
The castaways made camp along the game trail that night. Conversation was rather subdued, and though several baleful glances were exchanged between Ishirou and Jack, there were no further disturbances. At one point, as Nessalin fed twigs into the fire, Gelik came and sat down across from him. For awhile he didn’t speak, but merely sat staring into the flames.
“Did you know I’m a Pathfinder?” he asked at length, though his eyes didn’t meet Nessalin’s
“Really?” the magus quirked one eyebrow dubiously.
“Well..,” the gnome dissembled, “I guess you could say that, technically, I’m sort of on probation.”
“I see,” Nessalin replied noncommittally.
“When I was in Magnimar,” Gelik continued, “I sold a Thassilonian relic to a local merchant, and it may not have been one-hundred percent…authentic.”
He glanced up to gauge Nessalin’s reaction. There was none.
“Anyway,” he went on, “things sort of got out of hand, one thing led to another, the city guard became involved, and I needed to find a fast way out of the city. That’s how I ended up on your ship.”
“Is there a point to this story?” Nessalin asked.
“It’s just that…,” Gelik explained, “I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and I wanted to apologize for my behavior. Sometimes I tend to use poorly chosen words to cover my discomfort. It’s not easy to know whom to trust.”
Nessalin nodded.
“Which brings up another matter…,” Gelik said cautiously.
“Of course,” Nessalin said wryly.
“I heard a story that a Pathfinder Society ship called the Nightvoice went missing in these waters years ago, and the most popular theory is that it ran aground on Smuggler’s Shiv or sank nearby. If I could somehow find out what happened to that ship it could go a long way toward clearing my record with the Society.”
“Convenient,” Nessalin said. “Seems like this little shipwreck of ours has presented unexpected opportunities all around. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”
Gelik remained silent.
“So if I help you with this,” Nessalin continued, “what do I get out of it?”
Gelik smiled broadly.
___________________________________________________________
Ishirou’s map eventually led them to a low hill in the middle of the jungle. Its crown seemed to be one of the few areas on the Shiv that was not jungle. The entire hilltop was an open area of tall grass that overlooked the island’s eastern shoreline.
“What now?” Arioch asked.
“Sunrise soon,” Ishirou said. “Map say when sun between two rocks,” he pointed out to sea where a pair of spike-shaped pillars of stone protruded, “then dig where sun touch hilltop.”
So they waited, and when the sun did rise several minutes later, there was indeed a point on the hill where the orb seemed to touch the land as it ascended between the pillars.
“Dig here,” Ishirou indicated.
Even with the shovels they’d recovered from the Jenivere, it still took over four hours of back-breaking work for the crew to dig down ten feet, where they hit a plug of hardwood. A squat skeleton, dressed in the rotted remains of leather armor, lay sprawled atop the plank.
“Bring it up,” Jask said as he stood at the lip of the pit.
When they did, he bent over the remains, examining them closely.
“This was made by a blade,” he pointed to a slash mark in the back of the armor. “And see these deep groves on the ribs? This dwarf was stabbed in the back. The blade went right through the heart.”
“Fascinating,” Agnar rolled his eyes. “What now? Is this what we came all this way for?”
“Everybody out of the pit,” Jack said. “Toss me a rope and tie me off. I’m going to try hacking through this wood. It sounds hollow underneath.”
The others climbed out, and Jack tied a length of rope around his waist. Gorak held tightly to the other end. Then, taking a wood axe they’d recovered among the supplies, the rogue began chopping into the plank beneath his feet. It didn’t take long for the partially rotted wood to give way, dropping the entire plug from under Jack. The rope went taught, and he found himself dangling over a deep pit.
“Hold still!” Arioch said.
The summoner cast a minor cantrip on a small stone. It began glowing like a torch, and he dropped it into the pit. It fell some forty feet before it struck water and disappeared.
“Looks safe!” Jack gave a thumbs up before he undid the knot at his waist and fell into the hole.
“Damn that boy!” Arioch cursed.
Jack managed to turn his body as he fell so that he struck the water feet first, knees bent to absorb the brunt of the impact. Still, the water was ice-cold and took his breath away as he resurfaced.
“I’m down!” he called back up. “I’m going to swim to the bottom and see if I find anything!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt something seize his foot from below. Then the biting began, and he began to scream.”
“He’s in trouble!” Arioch said.
“Big surprise,” Zavasta snorted.
“Gorak, get that rope down there!” the summoner commanded.
The big barbarian grunted as he tossed the coil back into the pit. At that same time, Arioch began chanting a spell. This time his portal appeared half-way down the shaft, oriented horizontally. From the bottom of it emerged a dolphin, of all things. It chittered and clicked angrily as it dropped into the water behind Jack. For a moment, the rogue felt himself released by whatever had hold of him. He grabbed the rope and began to climb for all he was worth. Below, he saw the water churning, then turn frothy and red as the dolphin surfaced once, its skin flayed from its body, and then disappear again. Then, a pair of pale hands with long, filthy, split fingernails grabbed the rope. The creature that emerged from the water looked vaguely humanoid, but its flesh was rotting and bore many open, ragged wounds. Its teeth were jagged and sharp, and insane hunger burned in its red eyes.
“Hah!” Agnar laughed from above. “A ghoul? How sinister! Whoever built this pit obviously didn’t trust his friends. He must’ve sealed a couple of them alive down below before he killed the dwarf. Ghouls are only created when a person eats the flesh of another.”
“Thanks for the history lesson!” Arioch snapped. “Do you have any practical advice on how to deal with this thing?”
“Things,” Agnar corrected. “Look, there’s another one.”
Jack continued to climb, both ghouls now scrambling furiously after him.
“I’ll see what I can do,” the priest sighed.
He extended his hand towards the closest ghoul and intoned, “By the Ferryman, I command you! Heed my words!”
The ghoul kept climbing.
Agnar shrugged. “Well, I tried.”
“Step aside!” Arioch snapped.
He opened another portal, and this time an eagle soared out. It dove at the nearest ghoul, ripping and tearing at the thing’s face with its talons. The ghoul shrieked as its eyes were gouged out and it let go of the rope, tumbling down into the darkness below. The bird then went for the second ghoul, but as it drew near, the creature snapped its jaws closed on one its wings. Instantly, the eagle went rigid and fell like a stone down the shaft.
“Fire in the hole!” Zavasta shouted.
Jack heard the warning and pressed himself to the wall of the pit as the flaming bomb dropped past him. He looked down and saw the explosive strike the ghoul directly in its upturned face. Liquid fire drenched the fiend and it plummeted, burning, after its partner.
Jack was pulled, dripping, scorched and bleeding from the pit by Gorak.
“You’re a fool!” Arioch snarled into his face. “Do something like that again, and you’re on your own! Got it?”
Jack nodded sullenly. He didn’t have the strength nor the will to argue. Arioch stood and called Minion to his side.
“I want you to go down there and see if you can find anything valuable,” the summoner instructed. “It should be clear.”
The eidolon looked dubious as he peered over the edge of the pit.
“Trust me,” Arioch said in exasperation. “I wouldn’t knowingly put you in danger.”
“It’s the ‘knowingly’ part that worries me,” Minion said.
Nevertheless, he allowed himself to be lowered by rope down the shaft. When he reached the water, he dove beneath it, carefully avoiding the floating corpses of the ghouls. The water was no more than ten-feet deep, and at the bottom, he found a small tunnel that ran for a short distance before taking a sharp turn upwards. Swimming up, Minion surfaced and found himself in a cramped air pocket with a narrow ledge carved just above the water line. Atop it was a locked chest.
A short time later, Ishirou and Gorak hauled up the chest attached to the other end of the rope. Minion pulled a set of lock picks from his robe and made quick work of the lock. What lay inside made Ishirou’s eyes go wide with awe. It was filled with coins and gems, as well as a finely crafted buckler and a bejeweled dagger. The most valuable treasure of all, however, was found in a water-tight scroll case. The scroll inside was inscribed with a prayer that would allow a priest to raise the dead!
Ishirou turned to the others. “We rich!” he laughed.
He stood and gave Jack a friendly punch on the shoulder.
“You not so bad after all,” he smiled.
Jack nodded and extended his hand. “I guess I was wrong about you to.”
“So I hear you have a treasure map,” Arioch said unceremoniously as he sat down on the log next to Ishirou.
“Have many maps,” the Tienese shrugged.
“Yes, but Aerys mentioned one in particular,” the summoner winked.
“Women always talk more than they should,” Ishirou grumbled.
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Arioch chuckled. “Still, we’ve been wandering along this beach for days now, and haven’t found anything useful or even interesting. I think having a specific goal might go a long way towards improving morale, and if you ask me, Aerys has seemed a little depressed about this whole situation.”
Ishirou seemed to ponder this for a few moments, then he sighed and pulled a rolled up parchment from his pack.
“It say pirates bury treasure here,” he pointed to a spot south of their current location. “It say need many men to find treasure.”
“Well then,” Arioch nodded, “we’re in luck. We’ve no shortage of strong arms.”
Arioch was right. When he suggested to the others that they follow Ishirou’s map, they were more than eager. The monotony had been wearing on all of them. They continued along the coastline for another mile or so, and then turned inland, following what appeared to be a game trail. After another hour of back-breaking trekking through the dense jungle growth, the trail opened into a large clearing that allowed the sun to beat down upon a field of wilted-looking plants, their leaves a sickly, diseased yellow. Two men stood in the middle of the clearing near a large, bulbous plant with tall-stalked, twitching yellow flowers.
“You there!” Agnar called. “Who are you? What’s going on here?”
The men turned slowly, and as they did so, it became obvious that they were anything but human. Their empty eye sockets had diseased-looking vines growing out of them, and more tendrils pulsed beneath their rotted flesh. They moaned hollowly as they began shambling towards the castaways.
“These are no zombies I’m familiar with,” Agnar hissed, “and I’m familiar with ALL of them!”
“They still look like the brain-eating kind to me!” Zavasta snarled.
Arioch tended to agree. He summoned an eagle to perch on his arm, and as the zombies closed, he launched the bird towards the face of the nearest one. The creature recoiled, swatting at the eagle as its talons tore at its flesh. Gorak took advantage of its distraction to cleave it messily in two with his massive blade. Jack ran and somersaulted past the second zombie, but it still clipped the rogue across the head as he passed. Jack rolled to his feet shakily, his vision blurry. Two hazy zombies swam before his eyes, so he did the only thing he could and stabbed the one in the middle. The creature didn’t really seem to react to the pain, but it did obviously perceive the greater threat. It turned towards Gorak as the big half-orc charged, and slammed one fist into the barbarian’s chest. Gorak spun to the side, but still managed to drive his sword through the zombie’s chest. It collapsed to the ground, rotten vegetable matter spilling from its carcass.
“Watch out for the damn plant!” Zavasta cried out in warning.
The other looked to where he was pointing, and to their disbelieving eyes saw that the plant was MOVING! Zav had a bomb in his hand before any of the others could react, and he hurled it at the plant, where it exploded spectacularly, engulfing the creature in flames.
“So does this mean there might be more survivors here?” Jask asked.
“No,” Agnar explained, as if he were speaking to a dim-witted child. “It means that there were people here at some point, but now they’re zombies, and zombies, no matter if they’re created by plants or whatever, are theoretically immortal. These drones could have been standing in this clearing for decades, just waiting for us to come along and find them. Sorry to dash your hopes.”
Jask nodded. “You seem to know much about the nature of the undead,” he said sagely.
“Hold your friends close,” Agnar smiled, “and your enemies closer.”
___________________________________________________________
Jack dreamed that night. He was in a rowboat on the open ocean under the stars. Sitting across from him, rowing the boat, was First Mate Alton. He was obviously dead, with the wounds and stings his body had displayed on the wreck of the Jenivere, but still he rowed. Eventually, the boat reached an island covered with snakes. Alton waited on Jack to exit the boat, standing ankle-deep in snakes, and then he turned and rowed back out to sea, Jack assumed off to look for more survivors to ferry to shore. But Alton never returned, and Jack woke up just as the snakes started to bite…
_____________________________________________________________
The game trail continued to wind deeper and deeper into the heart of the island, so narrow as it pierced the dense undergrowth that the castaways were forced to walk single-file. Gorak was on point, being the only one among the city-slickers who had any real outdoor survival experience. So it was that his sharp eyes picked out the thin vine strung across trail at ankle level. He held up one big hand to bring the others to a halt. He bent down and traced the vine to a tree concealed in the undergrowth. It was bent double and the vine formed a snare at its tip. The trunk of the tree was studded with sharp wooden stakes. It was rigged in such a way that whoever stepped into the snare would be whipped into the air when the tree snapped up, and then slammed against the tree trunk to be impaled on the spikes. Gorak had to admire the craftsmanship. He pointed out the trap to the others and they all stepped over the trip wire.
“Hold up a minute,” Arioch said. “Does it strike the rest of you as strange that there was a trap laid on this trail? How long ago do you think it was set, Gorak?”
The big barbarian shrugged as he looked down at his fingers, his lips moving silently as he counted.
“Maybe quarter moon?” he grumbled.
“So a week,” the summoner said. “A week since someone laid a trap here. Surely not set for us, for who would have known we were coming?”
“The captain,” Nessalin offered.
“Even if we assume he and that Varisian bitch survived,” Arioch countered, “it’s doubtful that they could have rigged every game trail on the island. So, that means someone else is here. Now maybe they’re hunting animals, and maybe not, but whoever they are, they’ve been here long enough to be familiar with the lay of the land. Either way, we’re not alone, and that means we need to be a lot more careful. Gorak, I admire your skills, but I know someone who has a real talent for spotting hidden things.”
The summoner closed his eyes and gathered his focus.
“Minion, I have need of you,” he whispered.
A soft, blue glow formed in the air in front of him, and a moment later a diminutive, reptilian creature in a hooded, red cloak stood there.
“You call and I answer,” the eidolon hissed.
“Scout ahead,” Arioch instructed. “Keep your eyes sharp.”
“Don’t I always?” Minion smiled as he disappeared into the underbrush.
Arioch turned back to the others, who were all staring at him questioningly.
“A friend in need,” he shrugged.
It was perhaps an hour later when the castaways heard a high-pitched scream from a turn in the trail several yards ahead. Arioch ran forward, shoving Gorak out of his way. When he rounded the bend, he saw Minion dangling from another snare, his robes soaked in blood. The summoner knew immediately that the eidolon was still alive. If he were otherwise, he would have vanished back to his own dimension. Arioch cursed as he cut Minion down.
“Little lizard’s eyes not better than Gorak’s,” the barbarian snorted as he arrived on the scene.
Arioch ignored him, but when the others caught up, Jack stepped forward.
“You said these traps were set by someone else on the island,” he said in a tight voice. “I agree with you, but I don’t think it’s some stranger. I think that someone might be right here with us!”
He rounded and pointed his finger straight at Ishirou.
“Him!” Jack shouted. “It’s his map that we’ve been following to a treasure that happens to be conveniently located on this island in particular. An island we’ve been shipwrecked on! Who’s to say he’s not working with whoever was responsible for our being poisoned? Maybe he has cronies of his, smugglers who were already waiting here! He admitted that he worked for the Aspis Consortium, and we all know their reputation! This is a setup!”
Ishirou stepped forward, his hand going to the handle of the curved sword slung across his back.
“You insult my honor!” he snarled.
“Yeah!” Agnar laughed. “Are you gonna stand for that?”
“Stay out of this!” Nessalin snapped at the priest. “And you two,” he stepped between Jack and Ishirou, “need to stand down, now! We have enough problems without being at each other’s throats!”
Ishirou shoved him roughly aside and drew his sword.
“Not so fast!” Arioch snapped, and then he spoke the words to a spell.
Ishirou’s sword slipped from his fingers as a layer of grease suddenly appeared on the handle.
“Boy, if you do it,” the summoner turned towards Jack as the rogue’s hand went for his own weapon, “I’ll take you out! Don’t try me!”
“And I’ll kill both of you just on general principle if you don’t cut this crap out!” Zavasta added.
Jack apparently thought the alchemist was bluffing. He threw a punch towards Ishirou’s head, which the older man deftly avoided, his speed belying his age. Ishirou countered with an uppercut that smashed into Jack’s jaw solidly. He reeled back, and anger flushed his cheeks. He drew his rapier and lunged at the Tienese. Ishirou side-stepped, then reached down and recovered his katana. As he did so, Jack thrust the point of his weapon into his leg.
“Son of whore!” Ishirou spat.
He lunged just as Nessalin stepped in again, a spell on his lips to try and subdue the two combatants. Ishirou’s blade sliced across the magus’s belly, and he cried out in pain, his casting ruined. Jack saw his chance as Ishirou recoiled at what he’d done. The rogue darted in, but the last thing he saw was the flat of Gorak’s immense sword filling his vision. Then the lights went out.
“You next!” the barbarian growled in warning as he stepped menacingly towards Ishirou.
The old man dropped his sword as he raised his hands in surrender. He did manage to aim a kick at Jack’s ribs before he finally backed away, however.
___________________________________________________________
When Jack came to again, it was late afternoon. His head ached, and he felt nauseous as he slowly sat up.
“Not so fast,” Arioch said from where he sat nearby.
Jack realized that his wrists were bound…shackled with the same chains that had once bound Jask.
“What’s going on?” he demanded groggily. “Take these damn things off me!”
“In due time,” the summoner replied. “First, we’re going to get a few things straight. As long as we’re stuck on this island together, like it or not, we’re a team. If you can’t accept that, then you’re free to go your own way.”
He turned to regard the others. “Are we all agreed?”
His eyes pinned Gelik. Though increasingly more helpful, the dandyish gnome still preferred to lurk around the edges of camp rather than actively contribute.
The others grunted or nodded their grudging assent.
“So,” Arioch continued, “if we set you free, are you going to stop this nonsense, or do we set you adrift?”
“I was just trying to point out…,” Jack began.
“We know what you were trying to do,” Arioch cut him off, “and it’s over. Yes or no?”
Jack glared for a few more moments and then nodded his head once.
“See?” Arioch smiled. “Wasn’t that easy?”
The castaways made camp along the game trail that night. Conversation was rather subdued, and though several baleful glances were exchanged between Ishirou and Jack, there were no further disturbances. At one point, as Nessalin fed twigs into the fire, Gelik came and sat down across from him. For awhile he didn’t speak, but merely sat staring into the flames.
“Did you know I’m a Pathfinder?” he asked at length, though his eyes didn’t meet Nessalin’s
“Really?” the magus quirked one eyebrow dubiously.
“Well..,” the gnome dissembled, “I guess you could say that, technically, I’m sort of on probation.”
“I see,” Nessalin replied noncommittally.
“When I was in Magnimar,” Gelik continued, “I sold a Thassilonian relic to a local merchant, and it may not have been one-hundred percent…authentic.”
He glanced up to gauge Nessalin’s reaction. There was none.
“Anyway,” he went on, “things sort of got out of hand, one thing led to another, the city guard became involved, and I needed to find a fast way out of the city. That’s how I ended up on your ship.”
“Is there a point to this story?” Nessalin asked.
“It’s just that…,” Gelik explained, “I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and I wanted to apologize for my behavior. Sometimes I tend to use poorly chosen words to cover my discomfort. It’s not easy to know whom to trust.”
Nessalin nodded.
“Which brings up another matter…,” Gelik said cautiously.
“Of course,” Nessalin said wryly.
“I heard a story that a Pathfinder Society ship called the Nightvoice went missing in these waters years ago, and the most popular theory is that it ran aground on Smuggler’s Shiv or sank nearby. If I could somehow find out what happened to that ship it could go a long way toward clearing my record with the Society.”
“Convenient,” Nessalin said. “Seems like this little shipwreck of ours has presented unexpected opportunities all around. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”
Gelik remained silent.
“So if I help you with this,” Nessalin continued, “what do I get out of it?”
Gelik smiled broadly.
___________________________________________________________
Ishirou’s map eventually led them to a low hill in the middle of the jungle. Its crown seemed to be one of the few areas on the Shiv that was not jungle. The entire hilltop was an open area of tall grass that overlooked the island’s eastern shoreline.
“What now?” Arioch asked.
“Sunrise soon,” Ishirou said. “Map say when sun between two rocks,” he pointed out to sea where a pair of spike-shaped pillars of stone protruded, “then dig where sun touch hilltop.”
So they waited, and when the sun did rise several minutes later, there was indeed a point on the hill where the orb seemed to touch the land as it ascended between the pillars.
“Dig here,” Ishirou indicated.
Even with the shovels they’d recovered from the Jenivere, it still took over four hours of back-breaking work for the crew to dig down ten feet, where they hit a plug of hardwood. A squat skeleton, dressed in the rotted remains of leather armor, lay sprawled atop the plank.
“Bring it up,” Jask said as he stood at the lip of the pit.
When they did, he bent over the remains, examining them closely.
“This was made by a blade,” he pointed to a slash mark in the back of the armor. “And see these deep groves on the ribs? This dwarf was stabbed in the back. The blade went right through the heart.”
“Fascinating,” Agnar rolled his eyes. “What now? Is this what we came all this way for?”
“Everybody out of the pit,” Jack said. “Toss me a rope and tie me off. I’m going to try hacking through this wood. It sounds hollow underneath.”
The others climbed out, and Jack tied a length of rope around his waist. Gorak held tightly to the other end. Then, taking a wood axe they’d recovered among the supplies, the rogue began chopping into the plank beneath his feet. It didn’t take long for the partially rotted wood to give way, dropping the entire plug from under Jack. The rope went taught, and he found himself dangling over a deep pit.
“Hold still!” Arioch said.
The summoner cast a minor cantrip on a small stone. It began glowing like a torch, and he dropped it into the pit. It fell some forty feet before it struck water and disappeared.
“Looks safe!” Jack gave a thumbs up before he undid the knot at his waist and fell into the hole.
“Damn that boy!” Arioch cursed.
Jack managed to turn his body as he fell so that he struck the water feet first, knees bent to absorb the brunt of the impact. Still, the water was ice-cold and took his breath away as he resurfaced.
“I’m down!” he called back up. “I’m going to swim to the bottom and see if I find anything!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt something seize his foot from below. Then the biting began, and he began to scream.”
“He’s in trouble!” Arioch said.
“Big surprise,” Zavasta snorted.
“Gorak, get that rope down there!” the summoner commanded.
The big barbarian grunted as he tossed the coil back into the pit. At that same time, Arioch began chanting a spell. This time his portal appeared half-way down the shaft, oriented horizontally. From the bottom of it emerged a dolphin, of all things. It chittered and clicked angrily as it dropped into the water behind Jack. For a moment, the rogue felt himself released by whatever had hold of him. He grabbed the rope and began to climb for all he was worth. Below, he saw the water churning, then turn frothy and red as the dolphin surfaced once, its skin flayed from its body, and then disappear again. Then, a pair of pale hands with long, filthy, split fingernails grabbed the rope. The creature that emerged from the water looked vaguely humanoid, but its flesh was rotting and bore many open, ragged wounds. Its teeth were jagged and sharp, and insane hunger burned in its red eyes.
“Hah!” Agnar laughed from above. “A ghoul? How sinister! Whoever built this pit obviously didn’t trust his friends. He must’ve sealed a couple of them alive down below before he killed the dwarf. Ghouls are only created when a person eats the flesh of another.”
“Thanks for the history lesson!” Arioch snapped. “Do you have any practical advice on how to deal with this thing?”
“Things,” Agnar corrected. “Look, there’s another one.”
Jack continued to climb, both ghouls now scrambling furiously after him.
“I’ll see what I can do,” the priest sighed.
He extended his hand towards the closest ghoul and intoned, “By the Ferryman, I command you! Heed my words!”
The ghoul kept climbing.
Agnar shrugged. “Well, I tried.”
“Step aside!” Arioch snapped.
He opened another portal, and this time an eagle soared out. It dove at the nearest ghoul, ripping and tearing at the thing’s face with its talons. The ghoul shrieked as its eyes were gouged out and it let go of the rope, tumbling down into the darkness below. The bird then went for the second ghoul, but as it drew near, the creature snapped its jaws closed on one its wings. Instantly, the eagle went rigid and fell like a stone down the shaft.
“Fire in the hole!” Zavasta shouted.
Jack heard the warning and pressed himself to the wall of the pit as the flaming bomb dropped past him. He looked down and saw the explosive strike the ghoul directly in its upturned face. Liquid fire drenched the fiend and it plummeted, burning, after its partner.
Jack was pulled, dripping, scorched and bleeding from the pit by Gorak.
“You’re a fool!” Arioch snarled into his face. “Do something like that again, and you’re on your own! Got it?”
Jack nodded sullenly. He didn’t have the strength nor the will to argue. Arioch stood and called Minion to his side.
“I want you to go down there and see if you can find anything valuable,” the summoner instructed. “It should be clear.”
The eidolon looked dubious as he peered over the edge of the pit.
“Trust me,” Arioch said in exasperation. “I wouldn’t knowingly put you in danger.”
“It’s the ‘knowingly’ part that worries me,” Minion said.
Nevertheless, he allowed himself to be lowered by rope down the shaft. When he reached the water, he dove beneath it, carefully avoiding the floating corpses of the ghouls. The water was no more than ten-feet deep, and at the bottom, he found a small tunnel that ran for a short distance before taking a sharp turn upwards. Swimming up, Minion surfaced and found himself in a cramped air pocket with a narrow ledge carved just above the water line. Atop it was a locked chest.
A short time later, Ishirou and Gorak hauled up the chest attached to the other end of the rope. Minion pulled a set of lock picks from his robe and made quick work of the lock. What lay inside made Ishirou’s eyes go wide with awe. It was filled with coins and gems, as well as a finely crafted buckler and a bejeweled dagger. The most valuable treasure of all, however, was found in a water-tight scroll case. The scroll inside was inscribed with a prayer that would allow a priest to raise the dead!
Ishirou turned to the others. “We rich!” he laughed.
He stood and gave Jack a friendly punch on the shoulder.
“You not so bad after all,” he smiled.
Jack nodded and extended his hand. “I guess I was wrong about you to.”
Hammerhead
Explorer
Right now the party dynamic seems to be yelling at Jack when the rogue does something of questionable wisdom 
.
Is it just me, or are rogues pretty gimped in PF, even with their fancy rogue talents and ability to sneak attack undead? With the increased Tumbling DCs, getting into a flank becomes very hazardous.
On the other hand, there's Offensive Defense...
. Is it just me, or are rogues pretty gimped in PF, even with their fancy rogue talents and ability to sneak attack undead? With the increased Tumbling DCs, getting into a flank becomes very hazardous.
On the other hand, there's Offensive Defense...
fludogg
First Post
Jack here- this is a great group to be playing with. I just hope to add some interesting moments to the story. By the way, great read so far. And yes the party "dynamic" has been very interesting. I look forward to seeing how it all plays out.
Hammerhead
Explorer
Jollydoc, I've a question for you and some of your players: you've been through a great deal of Paizo Adventure Paths...which one did you guys enjoy the most?
JollyDoc
Explorer
Now if you're talking Paizo AP's, and not just Pathfinder, I think our all-time favorite was Savage Tide, with Age of Worms being a close second. For Pathfinder, I liked Rise of the Rune Lords, but with a technical TPK happening, it was disappointing for the players. I think we all liked Curse of the Crimson Throne. Council of Thieves was disappointing all around. Kingmaker was good, but it was almost TOO sandboxy. Too many one-shot encounters. So far, Serpent's Skull looks very interesting to me, but I'm really looking forward to running Carrion Crown.
WarEagleMage
First Post
I would agree with Jollydoc on almost all counts - except I joined the group after Age of Worms.
1.Savage Tide: Compelling story with lots of travel/exploration elements. Absolutely epic finale. Truly a case of PCs saving the world.
2.Curse of the Crimson Throne: Basically set in a single city, but done in such a way that it really hooked us in and we truly cared what happened to our town.
3.Rise of the Runelords: Old-school AD&D feel. Epic overall storyline with a fantastic beginning, and some truly memorable elements like the Skinsaw Man and the Hook Mountain Ogres. Somewhere along the way we kind of lost the plot, and then we had an unfortunate incident (not a true TPK - since only half the party got ganked, but the rest of us were pretty much stranded). I have heard rumblings that Paizo may officially update RotRL to Pathfinder rules at some point. This is one I would like to revisit sometime.
4.Kingmaker: Cool concept, but maybe not the best execution. We all liked the story, but with the long timeline there was little sense of urgency, no reason to husband resources, and frankly after crafting all the magic we wanted over literally years of in-game time - we were so overpowered that the ending was rather anticlimactic.
5.Council of Thieves: Just a mess. There were some cool elements - the Pathfinder Lodge in particular - and most of us even liked the in-game opera, but the Council itself was a joke. After a while, we just got tired of the thing and simply finished it out of a sense of duty.
We didn't play Second Darkness or Legacy of Fire because those were still 3.5, andwe jumped ahead to play using the new Pathfinder rules. I've heard mixed reviews on the former, and mostly good to great reviews on the latter.
One thing that sets the old Dungeon APs apart is the high-level play. In Shackled City, Age of Worms, and Savage Tide, the AP went to level 20 or so, and you fought truly epic villains. Paizo has rightly recognized the difficulties of high-level play, but has yet to really come up with a way to handle it. The newer APs tend to cap from level 15-17. Also, it is just my opinion, but it appears that Paizo is keeping the scope of things a little smaller these days. By that I mean that your party is not saving the world, just maybe a small part of it. I don't know if this has to do with a lvl 17 cap (kind of hard to finght CR 25 demon lords at that lvl), or with the fact that they don't want to disrupt the canon of their game world. The storytelling is still first rate, and I love reading the books when we're done just due to the fantastic background material, but I miss the epic endings to some of the old APs.
1.Savage Tide: Compelling story with lots of travel/exploration elements. Absolutely epic finale. Truly a case of PCs saving the world.
2.Curse of the Crimson Throne: Basically set in a single city, but done in such a way that it really hooked us in and we truly cared what happened to our town.
3.Rise of the Runelords: Old-school AD&D feel. Epic overall storyline with a fantastic beginning, and some truly memorable elements like the Skinsaw Man and the Hook Mountain Ogres. Somewhere along the way we kind of lost the plot, and then we had an unfortunate incident (not a true TPK - since only half the party got ganked, but the rest of us were pretty much stranded). I have heard rumblings that Paizo may officially update RotRL to Pathfinder rules at some point. This is one I would like to revisit sometime.
4.Kingmaker: Cool concept, but maybe not the best execution. We all liked the story, but with the long timeline there was little sense of urgency, no reason to husband resources, and frankly after crafting all the magic we wanted over literally years of in-game time - we were so overpowered that the ending was rather anticlimactic.
5.Council of Thieves: Just a mess. There were some cool elements - the Pathfinder Lodge in particular - and most of us even liked the in-game opera, but the Council itself was a joke. After a while, we just got tired of the thing and simply finished it out of a sense of duty.
We didn't play Second Darkness or Legacy of Fire because those were still 3.5, andwe jumped ahead to play using the new Pathfinder rules. I've heard mixed reviews on the former, and mostly good to great reviews on the latter.
One thing that sets the old Dungeon APs apart is the high-level play. In Shackled City, Age of Worms, and Savage Tide, the AP went to level 20 or so, and you fought truly epic villains. Paizo has rightly recognized the difficulties of high-level play, but has yet to really come up with a way to handle it. The newer APs tend to cap from level 15-17. Also, it is just my opinion, but it appears that Paizo is keeping the scope of things a little smaller these days. By that I mean that your party is not saving the world, just maybe a small part of it. I don't know if this has to do with a lvl 17 cap (kind of hard to finght CR 25 demon lords at that lvl), or with the fact that they don't want to disrupt the canon of their game world. The storytelling is still first rate, and I love reading the books when we're done just due to the fantastic background material, but I miss the epic endings to some of the old APs.
Joachim
First Post
+1 to what WarEagleMage said.
Age of Worms was fun, but the random monsters that Jacobs came up with that had random abilities (see: immunities) because very tiresome. Punking Dragotha was effing epic.
Savage Tides...what can I say? Brilliant execution.
Rise of the Runelords...the lamia at the end of the third module was ridiculous, but Hook Mountain Massacre may be my single favorite small module (The 2E Rod of Seven Parts still being my favorite long module) of all time...except for the part with the dam. (I am a dam engineer and that whole situation was just too implausible for me to ignore)
Curse of the Crimson Throne - Decent
Council of Thieves - Tripe. Repetitive encounters with a bunch of rogues. At 10th level a cadre of CR4 rogues is not challenging or fun...just boring.
Kingmaker - Nice idea, but the kingdom-building was tiresome (and was broken, by the numbers) so we just stopped. You never got the feeling that you were ruling a kingdom...just an adventuring party with some interim module fluff.
Age of Worms was fun, but the random monsters that Jacobs came up with that had random abilities (see: immunities) because very tiresome. Punking Dragotha was effing epic.
Savage Tides...what can I say? Brilliant execution.
Rise of the Runelords...the lamia at the end of the third module was ridiculous, but Hook Mountain Massacre may be my single favorite small module (The 2E Rod of Seven Parts still being my favorite long module) of all time...except for the part with the dam. (I am a dam engineer and that whole situation was just too implausible for me to ignore)
Curse of the Crimson Throne - Decent
Council of Thieves - Tripe. Repetitive encounters with a bunch of
rogues. At 10th level a cadre of CR4 rogues is not challenging or fun...just boring.Kingmaker - Nice idea, but the kingdom-building was tiresome (and was broken, by the numbers) so we just stopped. You never got the feeling that you were ruling a kingdom...just an adventuring party with some interim module fluff.
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