Pathfinder 1E [IC] Pathfinder: Iron Gods

Iron Gods Adventure Path [IC]:

You have come together to plan your next move as a group. Although most do not know everyone there are enough acquaintances that everyone can introduce those that are unfamiliar with some. You have decided to meet at The Copper Coin tavern. It is mid morning. After a short comparison of what everyone knows you have come to the conclusion that there are three courses of action:
1. The violet flame that has burned atop Black Hill for over a century has gone out, leaving a strangely seeping pit of rubble and bubbling fluids where the town’s livelihood once glowed day and night. An investigation of the site might provide information about what has happened to the flame.
2. Ever since Councilor Khonnir Baine, one of Torch’s more powerful wizards and a well-liked individual, went missing on his second expedition under Black Hill, the citizens of the nervous town have edged closer to outright panic. With their hands full handling the growing refuse and waste problems in town now that their primary disposal method is gone, the town council is eager to find out what happened to Khonnir and rescue him— they’ve made public a reward of 4,000 gp to any group that can recover Khonnir’s body; if he can be returned alive, they’ve promised to throw in the scroll of resurrection they’ve been holding on to in case they need to revive him. Interested parties are invited to speak to the council at Town Hall.
3. Khonnir Baine discovered the signs of unusual traffic on the banks of Weeping Pond, and shortly thereafter, the submerged tunnel that provides access to several heretofore unknown tunnels under Black Hill. His emergence from the caves with a deactivated semi-humanoid automaton sparked worries that something strange might be going on in the caverns, but when he failed to return from his second expedition a few days ago, those worries turned to outright fear. Several other adventuring parties have gone missing in the caves, and Torch finds itself running short on new volunteers.
Now all that must be decided is what to do first...

Each of you has also head a rumor:
[sblock=Aja]"I always figured Black Hill was hollow. There’s probably some big ancient ruin under our very feet connected to whatever machine makes the violet fire on the hilltop."[/sblock][sblock=Haley]"My cousin says his friend saw a monster snake in Crowfeather Lake, a beast big enough to swallow a wagon!"[/sblock][sblock=Olrich]"Jhestine over at Tempting Tonics is hoping to sell all of her stock so she can leave town—my wife says she’s taken a lover in Chesed and is moving north!"[/sblock][sblock=Twist]"The Technic League is behind the problems in town. One of their agents put out the torch so we’ll all go broke and they can take the place over for free!"[/sblock][sblock=Vandor]"The mechanical creature Councilman Baine found under the hill wasn’t the only one. Others have been crawling out of the ground around town and attacking people!"[/sblock][sblock=Zeta]"Wonder what happened to that good-looking woman with the purple hair? Doesn’t anyone else find it strange that she showed up a few days before the torch went out, and that no one’s seen her since?"[/sblock]

OOC
RG

For dice we are using:
Primary: www.invisiblecastle.com
Secondary: www.coyotecode.net

Hailey Navare


Hailey drank some coffee as it was still only mid-morning, avoiding the watered down ale. She had heard the information others had reported and there was an obvious choice on what they should do. She only hoped the others would see it that way.

She was tilting back her chair, her hat shading her eyes, with her feet propped up on another chair, legs crossed at the ankles.

The gunslinger set her mug down and got straight to the point. “4000 gold is more than enough reward. We need to find Baine anyway and we might as well get paid well for the honor of risking our lives to do it.”

[sblock=Mini-stats]Hailey Navarre
Init +6, Speed 30
AC 18, Touch 14, Flat-footed 14 (Chain shirt) , CMD 16
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3
HP 12; Current: 12
Conditions in effect: Rapid Reload, Point Blank Shot
Grit: 3
Deeds: Gunslinger Dodge, Quick Clear, Up Close & Deadly

Weapon in Hand: None[/sblock]

[section]Twist eyed Hailey but said nothing for a moment, rubbing instead at his face where whiskers were disguised to the lay eye. Nervously looking around the taproom of the tavern, Twist pursed his lips. "I worry for Khonnir. But that seeping pit of rubble and fluids is dripping into the sewers, and some of my kin have had to move their hidey holes because of it. I wouldn't mind us going down into the tunnels beneath the city to look around, see if we can stop the leaking from where the beacon used to be. If that leads us to Khonnir, so much the better. It's decent odds that he's somewhere beneath the city, anyway." The ratling looked at the others, hoping for agreement.[/section]

Aja Reinfall, human female
[sblock=MiniStats][SIZE=+1]Aja Reinfall[/SIZE] Human Cleric 1
Initiative: +3 Perception: +5

AC: 15 (13 touch; 12 flat-footed)
HP: 10 Current: 10
CMB: +2 CMD: 15 Fort: +3 Ref: +3 Will: +6

In Hand: Bread and Cheese
Conditions: None

Skills:
Diplomacy +6, Handle Animal +7, K(Religion) +4, Perception +5, Ride +4

Attacks:
Morningstar: Attack: +2 [0 BAB, +2 Str], Damage: 1d8+2, Crit: x2, Type: P/B
Longspear: Attack: +2 [0 BAB, +2 Str], Damage: 1d8+3, Crit: x3, Type: P
Sling: Attack: +3 [0 BAB, +3 Dex], Damage: 1d4+2, Crit: x2, Type: B, Range: 50

Channel: (5/5) 1d6 DC12

Spells Prepared:

• 0 - Create Water, Detect Magic, Light
• 1 - (D)Protection from Evil, Bless, Divine Favor

[/sblock]

Aja sits with the group, enjoying some fresh bread and cheese with her divinely provided water. The cleric ponders the two apparently conflicting suggestions as she tears a small piece of the bread to eat with the cheese. Feeling for the ratling and his kin, Aja nonetheless sides with Hailey.

"If Councilor Khonnir Baine went looking under Black Hill, he must have believed there's something there worth investigating. I have heard word that a ruin may exist under Black Hill, which may be connected with the fire somehow. If that were the case, then an expedition of our own after Councilor Baine may bring us to an answer."

[sblock=OOC]Will try to insert smaller picture with next post. Dropped image for now.[/sblock]

Vandor

Vandor knew the Ratfolk Twist. They had met several weeks ago and had gotten to know each other fairly well. The woman sitting in front of them he knew less well but she had a reputation around town. Nonetheless, he was here with a few others to decide what to do about the missing Councilor.

"I agree that discovering the whereabouts of Councilor Baine should be our first priority. Once we discover his disposition, we can then proceed with other avenues of investigation. The flame must be returned for the sake of the town. These strange creatures must be dealt with as well. If they can be reasoned with, we should make contact and discuss a truce. If they cannot be reasoned with, they must be taken care of."

Hailey Navare


Hailey remained tilting back in her chair and nodded as Aja and Vandor agreed with her.

She added, “Better to at least know what the town council says and more than likely the trouble with the flame lies in the tunnels below Black Hill. So really no matter why each of us want to go, ultimately we could be furthering all of our goals at the same time.”

[sblock=Mini-stats]Hailey Navarre
Init +6, Speed 30
AC 18, Touch 14, Flat-footed 14 (Chain shirt) , CMD 16
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3
HP 12; Current: 12
Conditions in effect: Rapid Reload, Point Blank Shot
Grit: 3
Deeds: Gunslinger Dodge, Quick Clear, Up Close & Deadly

Weapon in Hand: None[/sblock]

It was an eclectic gathering, but even so there was an odd one out. The others had at least been born of a mother and a father. By the strange, dim blue marks on her skin though, one had not. She identified herself as 'Zeta,' though it seemed very likely that it was a name she'd chosen after embarking on her relatively new life path. Most of those gathered had seen her around Torch here and there, sometimes working at this very tavern in fact under yet another pseudonym.

That she appeared here unmasked was a token of the esteem and trust she had in Twist; upon whose invitation she'd come.

She had a face and form that were pleasing for a human to look at, but there were touches that reinforced her otherness. Pale, smooth skin that was perhaps not quite 'real' looking in its lack of flaw or blemish. Eyes that gleamed a dull red color, and faded blue-white hair that she kept short and somewhat untidy. She was dressed in simple, functional garb with a heavy overcoat of weathered leather. Her mask; a featureless white thing with only eyeholes, was close at hand in case someone uninvited showed up, and her fencing sword was at her hip for much the same reason.

Zeta kept her peace throughout the conversation, but decided now to take part.

"I've heard of a newcomer to Torch, a stranger, who appeared just before the fire died and now hasn't been seen," she said. "She might be connected to all this. The only unusual feature people agree on is that she has purple hair."

She surveyed the others with those ruby eyes. "Have any of you heard anything about that?"

The disappearance of the mage and the extinguishing of the eponymous 'torch' were of secondary importance to Zeta...but if there had been sabotage and kidnapping, it could mean the Technic League was involved. And that would be of great importance to her indeed.

Olrich had moved his chair back a short distance from the table and was sitting with legs crossed one over the other and a disinterested look on his face as he slowly and deliberately wrote in some sort of journal he held in one hand. Every so often he would move to dip his quill in the inkpot he had placed on the table.

It was a motley bunch that was for sure. But it would likely suit his needs well enough. Upon arriving in Torch the arcanist had relaxed a bit before getting down to business. A newcomer, after all, should not seem too over eager in asking questions about people. That would invite unwanted scrutiny.

Olrich had scoped out the general store first. Inconspicuous enough, as everyone tended to have business at the 'general' store. He had crossed paths with Vandor Corthe, now sitting across from him, at that time. Though he had not firmly made he connection that this was the man he was looking for until arriving at this meeting to see him among the others.

No, his real introduction to this band had come from a most unexpected source: while inquiring after Khonnir Baine he was intercepted by the diminutive rat-man Twist, Khonnir's associate. During the course of a very guarded conversation he had learned of the wizard's disappearance. He had thought that lead might be a dead end, but when Twist mentioned gathering a band of folks to investigate things happening in Torch of late Olrich had cautiously voiced interest in joining.

So while the arcanist feigned disinterest in truth he was taking his measure of the others. The woman Hailey carried some sort of experimental weapon he believed might be what one of his cousins had referred to as a 'pistol' . He thought the design had originated in the South, so it was interesting to see one being carried in Numeria, though perhaps not that incredible given some of the tales he had heard already in his short time here. If its origin was not Numeria though it fell outside the scope of his mission to study its workings except maybe in passing.

Vandor was apparently some kind of divine savant, though he had arrived with a more traditionally trained priestess, Aja. Certainly skills that would be invaluable if they got into any scrapes, but both of them seemingly had a 'virtuous' streak that he could have done without. No one in his family would be making any money if they thought in that sort of way.

What Twist, the rat-man, or 'ratfolk' as he apparently preferred to be called, brought to the table was a bit of a mystery, but if a wizard of Baine's caliber had trusted him then he must have his uses. Who he brought to the table though, now that was a most delicious question. Who should turn out to be 'bested bud' in the whole World but the mysterious anti-Technic League agitator Zeta?

That she was different anyone could see when she was not wearing her mask. But while Olrich had seen maybe amazing (and horrible) creatures and species in his time, she was different someone. And he had a feeling that figuring her out might be as useful to the Henderthanes as any cache of exotic weapons.

Now was not the time to press the issue though, not if he expected they would be working together. Why intrude with ugly questions right now when he could learn the answers just by watching. No, Olrich Henderthane, or rather Olrich 'Kentarre' as he introduced himself these days, played the long game.

As he follows the conversation his lips turn into a very slight frown as he confesses, "I am afraid that in my short time in your luxurious town I have not heard anything more than the gossip of idle serving wenches and rag washers. So for leads I must, alas, defer to the rest of you." After a short pause he quips, "If anyone is looking to stock up though before venturing into whatever hole seems most opportune then I hear there might be a sale at Tempting Tonics."

Appearing to be the agreed upon course of action (let me know if i got it wrong; I show option #2) the group leaves The Copper Coin tavern (5 on the map from the player's guide) and heads east toward the Town Hall (15).

[section]On the way to the Town Hall, Twist trundled along after Zeta, unable to stop himself from repeatedly looking up and beaming at the android's shock of white-blue hair. "Hey, Zeta! Hey! Wait up!" The ratling boy took two steps for every one of Zeta's.

"Hey! I heard something today. Well, two somethings. Wanna hear?" Twist looked sideways at Zeta and smiled, continuing to ramble before the android could respond. "So, first...The Foundry's been closed. You know the place, it's that tavern we went to three months back. You know, the one Val runs. Khonnir's daughter? Yeah. She closed it! Just like that! No warning or nothing! Think she's missing too?"

Twist was so full of energy that he started to bounce, but he made himself lower his voice and lean in before delivering his next bit of news. "Oh, yeah! And today, while I was making my rounds in the market, Lil' Mickey told me something juicy. She said the Technic League is behind the problems in town. One of their agents put out the torch so we’ll all go broke and they can take the place over for free." Twist nodded conspiratorially at Zeta, and--unable to contain his excitement--started hopping from foot to foot.[/section]