Officially a Pathfinder

Officially a Pathfinder, a new family! The wayfinders Sheila gave us are nifty, and we get to keep the Shard of Pride to boot.

A lot happened since last I wrote in here. Let's see, we were just giving chase to Natalia Vancaskerkin, who was fleeing down the dock ward well ahead of us. Those humans sure have long legs, good for getting away. We all built up steam and burst forth at full sprints. Cualli is quite the speedster, taking an early lead and gaining on miss Vancaskerkin fast. Viq and Divine saw where Natalia was headed and shot through a building, presumably on a short-cut, and Aurora and Jason hopped from rooftop to rooftop, trying to follow directly in Natalia's footfalls. I went with Cualli, rummaging through me pack for something to give me an edge, as me little Nezumi legs weren't built for the same speed all me companions were.

As Cualli gained further ground, with miss Vancaskerkin slipping on the dew moistened tiles. A few turns down the way, Viq and Divine's short-cut turned out to be true, and they popped out of an alley ahead of her! Aurora and Jason made some headway, as did I, but mostly I got caught up trying to pull some rope out of me bag.

With Viq Tik and Divine now up on the rooftop and Natalia surrounded, her hands went up and she accepted being bested. Here's where the Shard of Pride took hold, she wanted us to join her! Luckily that played right into our plans, and we produced the blue ioun stone miss heidmarch had given to us. Convincing miss Vancaskerkin that it was a gift which would improve the Shard, she accepted, the stone melding into the Shard. A long moment passed before the glint of hubris fell from her eyes and she resumed her more sane state of mind. ashamed of her actions, yet totally out of control of them, she was victim to the power of a malicious curse.

Before we could celebrate our victory, our guide to miss Vancaskerkin marched out with her mercenaries and demanded we turn over both the Shard and Natalia to her! Getting the wind back into me, along with a fair amount of vim, we weren't having any of that. I'd been at a disadvantage, trying to find me footing, for too long. Whipping out me trusted longspear, I charged in and dropped that ungrateful swing onto her ungrateful buttocks. She crawled to get away, but I'm well trained to keep an opponent off their feat, and hence off their guard.

Aurora and Jason provided cover fire a the mercs from high above, and Divine covered me own posterior. Sadly Cualli took a couple hard blows from those mercs, having to retreat to the backlines.

Unrelenting, that woman got what she deserved, a quick end to a poor lifestyle. Dispatched, her guards had no more reason to fight us and fled the scene.

Returning miss Vancaskerkin back to Heidmarch manor, we felt the pride of a job well done, not the false curse the Shard instilled when improperly deployed. Sheila thanked us for our service with the greatest gift she had to offer: companionship. We had finally proven ourselves to her, that, though our actions sometimes fell short, our intentions were noble. We are now officially Pathfinders of the Magnimar lodge.

The Shard granted us a boon, in addition to it's mystical bonuses: as Viq took hold of it, he had a vision of the location of a sister-Shard, which we presume to be the Shard of Greed. The location is nearby, also in Magnimar, within or around one of the broken pillions lightly out to sea, the one known as, "The Crow." That seems to be the next step for our small family, and gives us an overarching goal: to pacify these broken and cursed Shards and to help those innocents under the sway of their authority. I, for one, am excited to set out for our next quest!

Second Showdown with Natalia Vancaskerkin

We decided to tough it up and search for Natalia again tonight; how many hideouts could she have? A bit beaten and bruised from our fight earlier this evening, we made our way to a nearby temple, catching them at the end of their supper. It took most of the funds we had available to patch us up.

Hitting the mean streets of Magnimar again, we went back to where last we saw Natalia, seeing if there were any clues as to her next hideaway. We found nothing. Everyone bunkered down for the night in her room, hoping she might end up coming back. I sat outside in the rain. As an old friend named Ernest once told me, nobody knows your crying when it rains...

After a few hours of rat-napping, my allies came out of the house, bleeding in a few spots. Apparently some stirges were loosed into the house, and a goblin snake we had previously seen came back only to be skewered by Cualli.

Outside the house, deciding to head off in another direction, we met up with an associate of Natalia's from the Tower Girls, a lady named Tarisha. She had been tracking Natalia and knew where to find her, but seemed to want our help to make an approach. Tarisha brought with her three toughs, companions to keep herself safe.

Surrounding a closed tavern, Viq, Divine, and Tarisha went in through a side door, while the rest of us stood by at all the exits. Wasn't but a moment before we heard a ruckus within, Viq screaming out for meself and Cualli to come running. The scene inside was a maddening series of goblin shooting arrows, our guys scrambling this way and that, and, the last thing I saw, a spellcaster charging my way to blast me in the face with a spray of colors...

When I woke up, the scene was grizzly. Several dead goblins were nearby. Divine was pulling herself from the floor, a bloody mess. Cualli and Viq were rushing out the main doors, shouting at me to follow. Outside in the rain, we rounded a corner to see the last two goblins leaping into the water to flee. Natalia and Tarisha were fleeing them, but suddenly vanished! We'd all been tricked by some manner of illusion. It took only a moment before Divine screamed from within, "She's in here!" Turning tail back to the front entrance, I caught my breath and ran back.

That lasted a while; not. As soon as I burst through the double doors, Natalia goes running out another set of rear doors! I cannot catch a break, these humans are fast. We all run out the doors again giving chase. And what happened next? Oh... what happened next was a doozy....

The Guarded Hut and Natalia Vancaskerkin

Not our best day ever.

In my defense, I was under the effect of mind-altering magicks, not in my rightful mind.

Having dismissed through violence those that wished to do us harm, the guards previously mentioned in this journal, me friends and I scoped out the house they came from. Nothing in their guard hut.

Within the main house, the floors had long since rotted away, and the sewers below had been cracked into and emptied into pit below this shack. The smell was awful. Goblins crept out of the sewers once I entered the house, trying to knock us off a walkway and into the...muck. I ran ahead into the next room while my companions took care of the sewer goblins; with violence.

In the next room, the floor also had rotted away, a pit dug and filled with sewage. Two more goblins, these armed with bows, assaulted me. Now then, not to pull me own tail, but a Nezumi with a shield such as meself is nothing to be trifled with. I blocked the rain of arrows headed me direction and thought that I could jump over to the platform those two pests were on and tackle them head-on. I... misjudged the distance. And I tripped. Into the sewage...

Luckily for me, goblins are terrible shots. I gathered meself, pulled a rope and hook from me pack, and hooked on of the goblins by the leg. Pulling him down with me, and with the help of the rest of me companions, we dispatched these two goblins also. Which is to say we killed them and buried their bodies in the much.

The last two rooms of the house had pits also, but no more goblins. However, one of those rooms couldn't be accessed from within, and we all had to gather our wits to figure out an entrance. Checking windows, doors, trying to pick locks, nothing got us anywhere. Then I says to meself, "Look at that chimney up there, I bet a full sized human could squeeze his way down." AndI was right! not only that, a ladder had been built into the chimney to allow access, though it was boarded up and we had some trouble prying boards loose. Cualli had a crowbar, useful thing, and we eventually got inside.

Things get a bit fuzzy here as a lot happened in a short time, but here's how I can best figure it all out: While Jason and Cualli went down the chimney, Natalia Vancaskerkin, the target of our search who was inside the locked room, greased up the ladder and me rope I threw down the chimney. Cualli slid down first, Jason on top of him, Aurora next, and finally meself. Unbeknownst to me, by the time I got inside, Cualli and Jason were in a tough spot, unconscious and bleeding out in the fireplace below. Aurora and I got in a standoff with Natalia. Nati was under the influence of a magical item we now believe to be a piece of the Shattered Star of Zen, a Thassilonian artifact. This piece had a maligned affect, filling Natalia with a devouring hubris that had taken reason from her mind.

Next thing I remember, I'm doing me best to convince Aurora that we should all put our weapons down and march straight out of this house, leaving miss Vancaskerkin to her own ways. As i said earlier, magicks affecting me mind.

And that brought us back, limping along, to Heidmarch Manor and Sheila Heidmarch, our sponsor within the Pathfinder Society. Sheila was not pleased at what we had to say. Apparently, Cualli leaked to the city guards whom it was we were looking for and the Society's and Sheila's involvement, after we were warned to keep them out of the affair. Sheila was given a warning by the guard to keep her nose clean and of course this all comes back to our group.

For reparations, we agreed to help out Sheila and the guards both in discovering the mystery of some missings persons and missing memories, pro bono.

Sheila gave us some more information about the Shattered Star of Zen, including a Scarlet Blue Sphere Ioun Stone which, she believes, will neutralize the effects of the Pride-Shard and bring Natalia back to her senses.

As for our case of missing persons, what we know is thus: the victims are from higher society or wealthier neighborhoods. They seem to disappear at night, and reappear some days or weeks later in the Underbridge portion of town, their memories of whom they were before stripped away. We've been given a writ of authority to pursue this mystery also.

Oh, and something about little blue men running through the city at night? Possibly they're involved with these disappearances.

That's all I have to write for the night. In the morning we'll collect ourselves, heal up, gather some gear, and hit the streets to first try to find Natalia again and then in the nighttime to investigate the missing persons.

-Skrivven Alone

First Meeting of Future Allies

I've been in Magnimar for a few months now, having heard of the opportunities present within the city. The Pathfinder Society, a group dedicated to exploration and cataloguing the events of our world, has always intrigued me, as I heard tales from various merchants and travelers. With no friends to go to, no family with which to be at home with, I quickly got me name in with them, eager to prove meself with me new company.

While I've been waiting for an assignment, I've spent time at the Serpent's Run, trying to make some coin and keep me skills up. It started fun, but the nature of the stadium was overly safe, I constantly felt like I was being held back. I did get pretty good at using two weapons in addition to my tailspike though.

At last! Sheila Heidmarch, the local contact, known as a Venture Captain, here in Magnimar, has sent out letters of opportunity to any willing to respond. I'm heading that way after I write this. She would like me to be at Heidmarch Manor on the east side of town an hour before noon, but I'll get there early, just to be sure.

Five others answered the call Sheila sent out, a motley crew to be sure. First impressions make a lasting mark, here is what I've observed of this group.

• Cualli, a lizardman whose place in the world is in the natural Druidic arts, seems very much the outsider, much like meself. One of the humans berated him with questions about the carnivorous nature of lizard folk. While not quite as impartial as Cualli seems towards death, I respect his people's commitment towards letting no edibles go to waste.
• Viq Tix, a human whose skills make me imagine he's of the rogue variety, was the aggressor towards Cualli. While not physically violent, he definitely has a grudge against those who are not of his "race." Not all humans are this way, but here is one.
• Divine, a holy aasimar wielding the mantle of a Paladin, seems quick to pass and hand out judgement. The world is black and white to her, good and evil, without room for space in between. People like this need to be carefully watched, they tend to be quick to provoke those who live in the gray.
• Aurora Bayleaf looks human at first, but there is a gaunt, not quite sickly nature to her that's hard to pin down. I believe her to be a dhampir, the offspring of a vampire and human, but I cannot be sure of that. She is very quiet.
• Jason the Red, another human in the group, is also quiet and hard to judge. He may be a Fighter, possibly a Ranger, but he has yet to show his true nature to meself and the rest of the company.

Shortly after meeting up, Sheila gave us a puzzlebox to test our wits, something I'd helped recover a week ago in my first efforts to join with the Pathfinder Society. Despite me best efforts, I'd been unable to open the box, as it was magically sealed.

The group figured out that the runes on the box could be rearranged, swapping one letter position with another. I believe it was Divine that solved this mystery, swapping the letters to spell "Lucre," a term I'm told refers to money. Cracking open the box, Cualli shouted a warning to "run," a moment before some magical effect happened. Two, dog-like creatures appeared amongst the group, Pugwampi's we'd later find out. Armed with daggers and savage temperaments, they proceeded to ravage the room and destroy anything nearby.

Cualli blinded one with a ball of mud, I then disarmed and dispatched it. We definitely are a ragtag bunch, as the second creature took a bit to take down, and several of the company ran out of the room for lack of better options. They went to summon Sheila, whom had left us on our own. A good idea, but may dispatching the threat should have taken priority. Either way, the Pugwampi's were both killed and had disappeared by the time we reconvened.

Sheila approved of our quick reactions to dispel the threat, and set us about our true mission: Natalia Vancaskerkin, a contact for the Pathfinder Society to the Skizzarian Gang, has gone missing. She may have absconded with a valuable artifact. Mrs. Heidmarch would like us to

1. Figure out what item has been taken
2. Find and return Natalia Vancaskerkin, preferably alive
3. Keep secret Mrs. Vancaskerkin's true relationship with the Society.

• Our reward will be 500 gold coin, doubled if we can manage to bring Natalia back alive.
• We've been told there are six parts to the Skizzarian Gang: the Creepers, The Gallowed, the Washside Ringers, the Ragwash Gang, the Dolands, and the Towergirls.
• Lastly, we were given a name, The Amazing Zorgath, and a location, Washer's Row, as a potential lead for Mrs. Vancaskerkin's current whereabouts.

Cualli went out to the local garrison to see if Mrs. Vancaskerkin has been taken in by the town watch. We later learned, when next we met up with him, that the guard did not have her, but recommended looking in the Underbridge region of town, an area under the claim of the Towergirls.

Meanwhile, the rest of us went first to a market to appraise items we were given from inside Mrs. Heidmarch's puzzlebox. We exchanged several gems and coin to discover the nature of a ring we are carrying. It is a Ring of Feather Fall, and I'm honored that my new company has seen fit to allow me to carry it. We left, gave a small offering at the Our Lady of Blessed Waters statuary, and proceeded to Washer's Row.

Gypsies, carnies, and gang members make up this area. Viq Tix seemed to take point at this point, buying in to the Amazing Zorgath's schemes, presumably to get on his good side. Viq took some powder from him, some manner of intoxicant, and began questioning... everyone. He challenged everyone in the company to arm wrestling contests, then random strangers on the street, and didn't calm down until he had been beaten. He then began harassing folks, including one child, for information. The results were two-fold: one, we discovered for ourselves that we should be searching in the Underbridge district, and two, we were forcibly removed from Washer's Row and told not to come back. Our reputation seems to have taken a fall among that portion of the gang.

Getting to the Underbridge district, we were clued in to meet up with a few of the lowly laymen nearby. Following the lead, we ended up outside of a warehouse, where we hope to find Natalia inside, unharmed if the gods smile upon us. I see a couple of thugs coming out now, by the looks of the situation this is about to get hairy. Will write more later.

-Skrivven Alone

Introduction of the Blog

This blog will be the tale of a group of adventures traveling in a dangerous world, along with a group of friends meeting up on Roll20 to play through the "Shards of Sin" adventure path.

The intention of this blog is, rightfully, three fold:

• One, to catalogue and record the story following the adventures of Skrivven the Ratfolk Brawler, Cualli the Lizardman Druid, Viq Tix the Human(?) Rogue, Divine the Aasimar Paladin, Aurora Bayleaf the Dhampir Cleric, and Jason the Red the Human Ranger, along with any new characters and/or replacement characters as time progresses.
• Two, to allow the Players of this Pathfinder campaign to keep track of important events that have happened throughout the adventure, in order to look back and be able to rightly tell who, what, and where we have all interacted and been associated.
• Three, to allow any Players that missed a game session, had to leave early, showed up late, or in some manner of distraction missed out on part of the tale, to become fully caught up and aware of what has transpired.

There is not yet a name for the group, though I imagine there will be shortly.

With these intentions, the blog shall commence. This shall likely be "my" only post, as the pacing and tone of this blog will be through the eyes of Skrivven Alone, the outcast searching for a new family. Enjoy!

-S.C.Wood