Lwaxy
Cute but dangerous
The following solo is an adaption of Pathfinder Society Scenario #18 from season 3. It originally plays in/under the PF lodge in Sothis in Osirion. It fits much better where Teltz is right now, and he needs to be occupied while the party is split.
The Trouble with Secrets
Linnie stood in front of a set of stairs leading down into the inn's basement. For a moment after they had arrived, Teltz had really thought she wanted him to oust some rats or other vermin. A task he would have been, ironically, well prepared for. But now it seemed matters were more serious.
"So, I did talk to the city officials," Linnie just explained. "They came and had a look, found nothing and left again, insisting my uncle must have run off with one of his many concubines. But in all his infidelity, my aunt and me are sure he did not. He is much to dependent on all the luxury my aunt can offer him. She would not kick him out because he is so good at predicting the best business deals for her. So really, no reason for him to leave. And the last I saw of him was him going down there. I never saw him come back out."
Teltz nodded. "And you have found something now?"
"Yes, there is a hidden door in the basement that recently has been opened." The girl lifted her lantern and led the way down. In the large wine cellar of the inn, one empty shelf where wine had been stored had been removed, and the wall now bare showed a simple iron door painted in the colors of the wall. In a barely discernible writing "jail" was written across in what might have been a yellow color once. It was easy to see that it had recently been opened.
"So you want me to investigate?" Teltz made sure. "Your family is fine with that? They do not want the guard involved anymore, or hire a group of armed men to be sure?"
"The guards won't come back, not right now, all the chaos about the Razmiran business is still high. My dad is in the council and has no ear for anything about his missing brother in law. My aunt is out for business for a while. I think she has given up worrying about uncle Fendel."
"I see. Has there ever been a mention about the basement extending under the street?" The bard moved a hand across the door. It felt ancient to his inborn time sense.
"There were some rumors about secret tunnels, interconnected halls from several buildings and all that, but never something definite." Linnie shrugged apologetically. "I was interested in that as a child, of course, but never really read up on it to find out if any of it was true."
"Of course." Having found the hidden opening mechanism at the right edge of the door, Teltz let his mind go over his equipment again. After he saw that his friends – silly thing to do – had left a lot of the magical stuff they had found behind when they set out, he did what every experienced traveler and adventurer would do. He packed it all. At his belt was a large pouch for spell components, sunrods, magic items and potions, the alchemist's fire Cajun had left behind and the occasional scroll he still had. He had his dagger and rapier at his side but had left his bow at his room. And because his busy past had taught him to be prepared, he had brought food and water, too. He did not expect to be long on locating someone missing in some vaults or tunnels, as his uncanny sense of direction had never failed him before. But a lot of things could happen – cave ins, monsters (they were everywhere in those troubled times) or even criminals. "I have everything I need," he concluded. "Keep the door closed until I knock in the pattern of a red wing's song. You know that one, right?"
Linnie nodded. Those birds were all over the place, especially now that it got cold, trying to get crumbs from the city dwellers. "If there is any danger, come back please. With your word we can get the guards to come back and help."
"Sure thing," Teltz agreed. He smiled and opened the door, finding it difficult to open. It made some screeching sounds and eventually, he could slip through. As the girl closed the door behind him, the bard quickly lit a sunrod and checked out his surroundings.
This room had obviously not been used for years. Battered chairs and tables dotted the chamber, the upholstery having rotted long ago. A set of closed double doors stood on the east side of the chamber, the words “Hall of Recognition” carved into the stone above the door. To the north were two closed doors, to the south a single closed door. The dust on the floor was the only indication of activity in the room, having been recently kicked up by someone or something. Several sets of foot prints could clearly be seen coming and going from the Hall of Recognition. Nothing had moved to or from the other rooms. Teltz decided to ignore the unused room and went towards the double doors when he stumbled over something on the floor.
The sunrod illuminated a binder with notes. The bard picked it up and found it to be a on an experiment. In the dim light, the notes were almost impossible to read and Teltz wished scientists would be required to have a neater handwriting. The notes were not all in the same writing though, some looked perfectly readable and female, referring to substances used on a test object and cultures of flesh subjected to poisons and molds and other things. It did not seem to make much sense. All Teltz could imagine was that these halls had been some sort of lab before and Fendel had found the notes and gone investigating on his own. The research notes dated back 60 years, that much he could make out.
The doors to the next room were party open, and so Teltz carefully peaked around to see if anything was moving. Like a giant spider, or centipede, or, what would not surprise him either, the animated remains of the girl's uncle. But there was nothing like that.
This large chamber was adorned with ornamental tracery carved into the walls and ceiling. Large bas-reliefs, each ranging from eight to twelve feet tall, adorned the long walls, four bas-reliefs on each side. These bas-reliefs depicted various figures: four humans, a dwarf, two elves, and a halfling.
Each was rendered in beautiful detail, showing their armor, weapons, and faces in stark relief. Six statues stoond scattered about the room. They depict humans, an elf, a gnome, and a dwarf, each statue bearing even more detail than the bas reliefs, depicting even the specific lines of body form and
facial features.
Coming inside, Teltz held the sunrod up high to see more. It seemed the bras reliefs were actually statues set in the walls. This seemed strange and rang an alarm bell. To the bard, this screamed 'constructs trying to crush you once triggered." The question was, what was the trigger? Could not be coming inside or passing through, as in that case, he would have found the remains of uncle Fendel in this room. He thought his best bet was to move carefully and not touch any of the statues.
The door at the end of the hall was also party open, and Teltz made it to there with no problem, although he felt stared at. The eyes of the statues did not seem to move when he looked but it was still a creepy feeling. A part of him just wanted to turn around and leave. He was sure to be very quiet, lest a sound activated those things.
The next room showed signs of horrible deeds performed both in the past and recently. A sturdy, wooden table outfitted with manacles and leather body-straps sat in the middle of the room, stained with old blood and bile. Rusty surgical implements and bones littered the floor. Three solid, metal doors stood on the north wall, each slightly ajar. A fresh, eviscerated corpse of a middle aged man was lying near the southeast corner of the room.
That had to be uncle Fendel, Teltz knew. His niece would not be too happy to hear what she had already feared was true, however, that was the bard's least worry right now. Something dangerous had killed the man, so he would not linger here. As carefully not to make any sound as before, he went closer.
A small, tattered book caught his attention next to the dead and already smelling man. Holding his breath,.Teltz retrieved it. A Pathfinder's diary. One Aygrim Bossel, a name Teltz had never heard. It was also dated back 60 years and ended about 10 years ago. The accounts were written in a much better hand. Skimming through, the bard was surprised to read that the inn above had once been a small Pathfinder lodge. This Bossel trapped several of their researchers down here when what he described as "ancient evil" broke free. After that, the Pathfinder disbanded his lodge and founded the inn to watch over what was down here and make sure it would never get out. It sounded as if the man felt guilty and didn't want to ask for help because of that. But the story was also somewhat disjointed, giving the appearance of someone who was already senile. The last entries were from 10 years ago.
Deciding he could read this later, the bard looked around once more. The doors to the north wall looked more like storage chambers or cells. They were all closed, but the dust was disturbed all over, likely when whatever was in there now had killed the poor man. And considering the lack of remains of the supposed researchers, it could also be reasoned that they had either been completely devoured or transformed into something else. He was not going to take chances with that. Moving as quietly as he could to the left door, he placed a hand on it while reaching for his spell components. He withdrew a small, golden likeness of a key and mumbled the words for the arcane lock to take. He felt the shift under his hand as the door magically locked, only to be opened by him or anyone able to break the spell. He then rushed to the middle door and repeated the process. By the time he had reached the last door, something was stirring inside, as he had not been able to avoid all sound, having had to talk to cast. He repeated the spell once more, and as the golden key figure kept shrinking with each spell, he also felt more and more drained of arcane energy. But he also felt elated, as he thought he had just defeated what someone missed to defeat 60 years ago.
A sound at his back made him turn swiftly. A secret door had opened on the south wall, and he cursed at himself for not having thought to check the area for hidden passages. There had been little time but still...
Two young men with cudgels, sunrods and wicked looking daggers at their side were now coming into the room. They seemed to be part of some gang or the other, but what Teltz noticed most in the now relatively bright light between their sunrods was the vacant look in the eyes of one of them and the confusion evident in the other. Either they were on drugs or influenced by someone. Almost automatically, his hands formed the symbol of magical detection while he spoke the necessary words. Immediately, he saw a sick yellow glow around the targets. They were under a spell, alright, some sort of influence, and from the looks of it probably a domination spell. The bard frowned as they lifted their cudgels and advanced. He now had the feeling he was in above his head with this. Ancient evils and probably dominated gang members... it spelled "vampire" to him all too clearly.
Now Teltz had no intention to hurt anyone who was dominated. The two advancing fighters looked well capable of being able to harm him though, and he would be hard pressed to defend against two cudgels with a rapier he had not used in a while. And from all he knew about vampires, the vampire dominating them had to be close by. Which might or might not be what he locked behind the doors. And he had to make a decision quick.
The Trouble with Secrets
Linnie stood in front of a set of stairs leading down into the inn's basement. For a moment after they had arrived, Teltz had really thought she wanted him to oust some rats or other vermin. A task he would have been, ironically, well prepared for. But now it seemed matters were more serious.
"So, I did talk to the city officials," Linnie just explained. "They came and had a look, found nothing and left again, insisting my uncle must have run off with one of his many concubines. But in all his infidelity, my aunt and me are sure he did not. He is much to dependent on all the luxury my aunt can offer him. She would not kick him out because he is so good at predicting the best business deals for her. So really, no reason for him to leave. And the last I saw of him was him going down there. I never saw him come back out."
Teltz nodded. "And you have found something now?"
"Yes, there is a hidden door in the basement that recently has been opened." The girl lifted her lantern and led the way down. In the large wine cellar of the inn, one empty shelf where wine had been stored had been removed, and the wall now bare showed a simple iron door painted in the colors of the wall. In a barely discernible writing "jail" was written across in what might have been a yellow color once. It was easy to see that it had recently been opened.
"So you want me to investigate?" Teltz made sure. "Your family is fine with that? They do not want the guard involved anymore, or hire a group of armed men to be sure?"
"The guards won't come back, not right now, all the chaos about the Razmiran business is still high. My dad is in the council and has no ear for anything about his missing brother in law. My aunt is out for business for a while. I think she has given up worrying about uncle Fendel."
"I see. Has there ever been a mention about the basement extending under the street?" The bard moved a hand across the door. It felt ancient to his inborn time sense.
"There were some rumors about secret tunnels, interconnected halls from several buildings and all that, but never something definite." Linnie shrugged apologetically. "I was interested in that as a child, of course, but never really read up on it to find out if any of it was true."
"Of course." Having found the hidden opening mechanism at the right edge of the door, Teltz let his mind go over his equipment again. After he saw that his friends – silly thing to do – had left a lot of the magical stuff they had found behind when they set out, he did what every experienced traveler and adventurer would do. He packed it all. At his belt was a large pouch for spell components, sunrods, magic items and potions, the alchemist's fire Cajun had left behind and the occasional scroll he still had. He had his dagger and rapier at his side but had left his bow at his room. And because his busy past had taught him to be prepared, he had brought food and water, too. He did not expect to be long on locating someone missing in some vaults or tunnels, as his uncanny sense of direction had never failed him before. But a lot of things could happen – cave ins, monsters (they were everywhere in those troubled times) or even criminals. "I have everything I need," he concluded. "Keep the door closed until I knock in the pattern of a red wing's song. You know that one, right?"
Linnie nodded. Those birds were all over the place, especially now that it got cold, trying to get crumbs from the city dwellers. "If there is any danger, come back please. With your word we can get the guards to come back and help."
"Sure thing," Teltz agreed. He smiled and opened the door, finding it difficult to open. It made some screeching sounds and eventually, he could slip through. As the girl closed the door behind him, the bard quickly lit a sunrod and checked out his surroundings.
This room had obviously not been used for years. Battered chairs and tables dotted the chamber, the upholstery having rotted long ago. A set of closed double doors stood on the east side of the chamber, the words “Hall of Recognition” carved into the stone above the door. To the north were two closed doors, to the south a single closed door. The dust on the floor was the only indication of activity in the room, having been recently kicked up by someone or something. Several sets of foot prints could clearly be seen coming and going from the Hall of Recognition. Nothing had moved to or from the other rooms. Teltz decided to ignore the unused room and went towards the double doors when he stumbled over something on the floor.
The sunrod illuminated a binder with notes. The bard picked it up and found it to be a on an experiment. In the dim light, the notes were almost impossible to read and Teltz wished scientists would be required to have a neater handwriting. The notes were not all in the same writing though, some looked perfectly readable and female, referring to substances used on a test object and cultures of flesh subjected to poisons and molds and other things. It did not seem to make much sense. All Teltz could imagine was that these halls had been some sort of lab before and Fendel had found the notes and gone investigating on his own. The research notes dated back 60 years, that much he could make out.
The doors to the next room were party open, and so Teltz carefully peaked around to see if anything was moving. Like a giant spider, or centipede, or, what would not surprise him either, the animated remains of the girl's uncle. But there was nothing like that.
This large chamber was adorned with ornamental tracery carved into the walls and ceiling. Large bas-reliefs, each ranging from eight to twelve feet tall, adorned the long walls, four bas-reliefs on each side. These bas-reliefs depicted various figures: four humans, a dwarf, two elves, and a halfling.
Each was rendered in beautiful detail, showing their armor, weapons, and faces in stark relief. Six statues stoond scattered about the room. They depict humans, an elf, a gnome, and a dwarf, each statue bearing even more detail than the bas reliefs, depicting even the specific lines of body form and
facial features.
Coming inside, Teltz held the sunrod up high to see more. It seemed the bras reliefs were actually statues set in the walls. This seemed strange and rang an alarm bell. To the bard, this screamed 'constructs trying to crush you once triggered." The question was, what was the trigger? Could not be coming inside or passing through, as in that case, he would have found the remains of uncle Fendel in this room. He thought his best bet was to move carefully and not touch any of the statues.
The door at the end of the hall was also party open, and Teltz made it to there with no problem, although he felt stared at. The eyes of the statues did not seem to move when he looked but it was still a creepy feeling. A part of him just wanted to turn around and leave. He was sure to be very quiet, lest a sound activated those things.
The next room showed signs of horrible deeds performed both in the past and recently. A sturdy, wooden table outfitted with manacles and leather body-straps sat in the middle of the room, stained with old blood and bile. Rusty surgical implements and bones littered the floor. Three solid, metal doors stood on the north wall, each slightly ajar. A fresh, eviscerated corpse of a middle aged man was lying near the southeast corner of the room.
That had to be uncle Fendel, Teltz knew. His niece would not be too happy to hear what she had already feared was true, however, that was the bard's least worry right now. Something dangerous had killed the man, so he would not linger here. As carefully not to make any sound as before, he went closer.
A small, tattered book caught his attention next to the dead and already smelling man. Holding his breath,.Teltz retrieved it. A Pathfinder's diary. One Aygrim Bossel, a name Teltz had never heard. It was also dated back 60 years and ended about 10 years ago. The accounts were written in a much better hand. Skimming through, the bard was surprised to read that the inn above had once been a small Pathfinder lodge. This Bossel trapped several of their researchers down here when what he described as "ancient evil" broke free. After that, the Pathfinder disbanded his lodge and founded the inn to watch over what was down here and make sure it would never get out. It sounded as if the man felt guilty and didn't want to ask for help because of that. But the story was also somewhat disjointed, giving the appearance of someone who was already senile. The last entries were from 10 years ago.
Deciding he could read this later, the bard looked around once more. The doors to the north wall looked more like storage chambers or cells. They were all closed, but the dust was disturbed all over, likely when whatever was in there now had killed the poor man. And considering the lack of remains of the supposed researchers, it could also be reasoned that they had either been completely devoured or transformed into something else. He was not going to take chances with that. Moving as quietly as he could to the left door, he placed a hand on it while reaching for his spell components. He withdrew a small, golden likeness of a key and mumbled the words for the arcane lock to take. He felt the shift under his hand as the door magically locked, only to be opened by him or anyone able to break the spell. He then rushed to the middle door and repeated the process. By the time he had reached the last door, something was stirring inside, as he had not been able to avoid all sound, having had to talk to cast. He repeated the spell once more, and as the golden key figure kept shrinking with each spell, he also felt more and more drained of arcane energy. But he also felt elated, as he thought he had just defeated what someone missed to defeat 60 years ago.
A sound at his back made him turn swiftly. A secret door had opened on the south wall, and he cursed at himself for not having thought to check the area for hidden passages. There had been little time but still...
Two young men with cudgels, sunrods and wicked looking daggers at their side were now coming into the room. They seemed to be part of some gang or the other, but what Teltz noticed most in the now relatively bright light between their sunrods was the vacant look in the eyes of one of them and the confusion evident in the other. Either they were on drugs or influenced by someone. Almost automatically, his hands formed the symbol of magical detection while he spoke the necessary words. Immediately, he saw a sick yellow glow around the targets. They were under a spell, alright, some sort of influence, and from the looks of it probably a domination spell. The bard frowned as they lifted their cudgels and advanced. He now had the feeling he was in above his head with this. Ancient evils and probably dominated gang members... it spelled "vampire" to him all too clearly.
Now Teltz had no intention to hurt anyone who was dominated. The two advancing fighters looked well capable of being able to harm him though, and he would be hard pressed to defend against two cudgels with a rapier he had not used in a while. And from all he knew about vampires, the vampire dominating them had to be close by. Which might or might not be what he locked behind the doors. And he had to make a decision quick.