[7/31/2026, 5:12:22 PM] CBN
love scrolling my spell list. imaginging shenanigans
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:12:37 PM] Crion
imagine dragons joke in there somewhere
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[7/31/2026, 5:13:54 PM] CBN
people in the somethingawful pathfinder thread were talking about Lores as being more broadly-applied than i thought of them, so maybe i should start leveraging the uhhh 7 dubnoom has
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[7/31/2026, 5:19:20 PM] Dammitwho
pls do
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[7/31/2026, 5:21:55 PM] CBN
lore: goblin success: the target is not a goblin
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[7/31/2026, 5:22:31 PM] Gul Banana
lore: hotdog
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[7/31/2026, 5:24:35 PM] Nicolae
Lore: Lore
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[7/31/2026, 5:26:50 PM] Dammitwho
Ah! Banana is here!
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[7/31/2026, 5:27:23 PM] Gul Banana
that's true...
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[7/31/2026, 5:27:40 PM] Nicolae
Lore: Banana
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[7/31/2026, 5:31:47 PM] Crion
oim here
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[7/31/2026, 5:32:35 PM] CBN
i'm here, beef is in his window bed sleeping nicely. everything in its place
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[7/31/2026, 5:32:58 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
26
1d20 + 19 = 7 + 19 = 26
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[7/31/2026, 5:33:06 PM] Dammitwho
Alright, we begin. When last we left our heroes, Imran had just met with Hope, High Priestess of Nocticula in Absalom (and her ??? friend Ty). Tak was looking for work in the Volatile Annex workshop of the Gallery of Innovation. Lindal had just spoken to an old pirate acquaintance about getting an 'in' with Absalom's underworld-ish favor-trading cultures, and Dubnoom was in the Pyramid of the Dog, joining the Green Court to watch the Squabbles
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[7/31/2026, 5:33:11 PM] Dammitwho
Does that sound right?
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[7/31/2026, 5:33:27 PM] Imran Traveler
It does.
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[7/31/2026, 5:33:44 PM] CBN
yes indeed. squabbles!!
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[7/31/2026, 5:33:58 PM] Gul Banana
one ASSUMES they are both Squabbles and squabbles
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[7/31/2026, 5:34:21 PM] CBN
you do the lower case ones about the upper case one probably
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[7/31/2026, 5:39:04 PM] Nicolae
it does sound correct, i was looking at the logs which is why i did not respond
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[7/31/2026, 5:39:08 PM] Dammitwho
Having just granted Imran Nocticula's blessing, Hope runs her hands through her short-cropped silver hair. Turning to a nearby writing desk, she says (not without some affection): "Ty, scat."
Ty gives what would in another world be called a Bronx cheer, but obediently stands and wanders out of the room, picking up a carafe of wine and a goblet as he leaves.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:40:10 PM] Imran Traveler
Ah, the obligatory road wine. Hope he's not driving a carriage. Ty doesn't look like the type to drive a carriage.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:40:31 PM] Dammitwho
Apologetically, Hope says to Imran: "Sorry about that. Ty's reliable, but... artists. You know?" She sits at the writing table and begins swiftly scribbling a letter. "The people I'm going to put you in touch with are called the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. Do you know of them?"
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[7/31/2026, 5:40:43 PM] Crion
shall i roll for it
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[7/31/2026, 5:40:50 PM] Dammitwho
If you wish!
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[7/31/2026, 5:41:16 PM] Crion
SOUNDS like occultism, though it might be society
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[7/31/2026, 5:41:20 PM] Imran Traveler
22
1d20 + 13 = 9 + 13 = 22
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[7/31/2026, 5:41:24 PM] Dammitwho
I'll accept either
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[7/31/2026, 5:41:36 PM] Dammitwho
Imran has not!
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[7/31/2026, 5:41:56 PM] Imran Traveler
"No, but the name does set a certain mood."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:44:46 PM] Dammitwho
Meanwhile, in the Pyramid of the Dog: Dubnoom is in the stands of a great three-sided arena, among the impeccably(?) dressed(-ish?) goblin nobility of the Green Court. The highest seats are occupied by his 'aunt' "Six Duchesses" Grimbleshanks and what are apparently her cronies, with lesser-ranked goblins further down. In non-gob events, seats closer to the action are reserved for important and wealthy people, while the peasants get the nosebleeds. Not the case for goblins, apparently.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:45:50 PM] Dammitwho
A goblin in a bright white-and-red striped outfit with matching hat, carrying a tray of steaming sausages wanders the aisles and calls out "Safe dogs! Get your safe dogs here!".
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[7/31/2026, 5:46:19 PM] Crion
gahahaha
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[7/31/2026, 5:46:43 PM] Gul Banana
only good dogs for sale!
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[7/31/2026, 5:47:00 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom holds up a hand. "Safe dog! Safe dog!" One must experience all life offers, especially the contradictions.
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[7/31/2026, 5:48:47 PM] CBN
also, crucially, how close is dubnoom going to be able to sit? or how far away/better than?
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[7/31/2026, 5:50:20 PM] Dammitwho
In the Gallery of Innovation, in the carefully constructed Volatile Annex, Burbidge the goblin assistant strokes his impeccably waxed moustached. "Now, my dear fellow," he says to Tak. "There's a bit of a sticking point, I'm afraid. How are you with the old academic scribbling? Theses and papers and whatnot? We have to produce a bit more than our share, you see, in order to compensate for the occasional--"
There's a *clank* as Provost Marchen sets a bronze bowl down onto the counter next to her a little too sharply. Burbidge instinctively ducks and shields his head, then straightens up coughing embarrassedly.
"Yes. Well."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:50:19 PM] Nicolae
i suspect with goblins the answer to that question is a polynomial involving your Gumption and your Elbow Pointiness
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[7/31/2026, 5:50:57 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom may roll society or goblin lore!
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[7/31/2026, 5:53:07 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
24
1d20 + 12 = 12 + 12 = 24
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[7/31/2026, 5:53:16 PM] CBN
bleehee
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[7/31/2026, 5:54:53 PM] Gul Banana
success! this one IS a goblin
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[7/31/2026, 5:55:50 PM] Dammitwho
Lindal has just been given a helpful list of thieves' guilds and near-thieves'-guilds and basically-legitimates for him to look into! He also wanted to catch up with Captain Marcellus Drusus and Ionnia, and has just learned which repair dock they're moored at - he also has that letter of introduction the captain gave him after the party helped the Butterfly safely weather the storm, which would be useful to ingratiate the party with the Harbormaster's office.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 5:57:58 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak nods in understanding. "I will admit my experience is more practical than theoretical. But I can read and write, and back home they were pretty strict about writing up your materials and methods. Preferably in a non-flammable notebook on the other side of the lab. For the incident reports, you see."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:00:54 PM] Dammitwho
The safedog seller accepts a copper from Dubnoom, then jogs a decent distance away from him, carefully wraps a safedog innabun and then innapaperwrapping before winding up and tossing it to Dubnoom! It being thrown is apparently 'part of it'.
Dubnoom also realizes that as a newcomer, shoving his way into almost any seat will involve a certain degree of shoving and biting. He'd probably have an easier time getting to the seats around his 'aunt', though maybe he doesn't care about that. Also, your middle-tier striver goblins might be annoyed seeing Dubnoom stroll right to the top, albeit the kind of poisonous envy that comes when you're simply Great and Wise.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:03:24 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom will, wisely, take his dog and make it even safer (biting it), and jockey for the best seat he can. Those who mind don't matter and those who matter, won't mind. Wisdom.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:07:48 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"I wonder," asks Lindal of Ram Banaram, "Just how important is the Harbor Master's Favor? Do I bother with this? I guess it's right there. And perhaps we stay in Absalom a while, where approximately everything in the world passes through this port."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:08:17 PM] Ram Banaram
pobblebonk
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:09:34 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Indeed." Lindal holds a hairy hand to his hairy eyebrows, scanning the masts and the harbor-island(?)'s buildings. He'll head for whichever of the Butterfly and the official office is closer.
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[7/31/2026, 6:09:42 PM] Dammitwho
Hope finishes her letter and mutters some mystic phrases while contorting her fingers in sorcerous gestures - the runes that indicate spellcasting appear over the letter, and in a moment the paper begins folding itself! Very precise folds and creases turn the flat sheet of paper into an origami bird, which begins to flap its wings on its own, flying into the (extinguished) fireplace and up and out via the chimney.
"They're lorehounds out of Ustalav. Hidden stuff, things Man Was Not Meant To Know. Mostly academics with a few Pathfinders mixed in. They're a bit odd, but solid in a crisis." Hope explains to Imran.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:10:23 PM] Dammitwho
1
1d2 = 1 = 1
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:11:45 PM] Imran Traveler
"Ah. That's precisely the temperament I need. Ty, when you said he's reliable -- for business? Or just artistry." He's unsure how euphemistic he has to be about resistance activities in here.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:14:30 PM] Dammitwho
The Harbormaster's Grange is closer! I mean, it's right there. You're practically on top of it. Lindal might have trouble finding the appropriate person to talk to though... bureaucracy can be a bit of a maze. Roll Diplomacy, Society, a Lore, or pitch me something else!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:15:15 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
23
1d20 + 15 = 8 + 15 = 23
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[7/31/2026, 6:15:33 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
It's just talking to people. Easy as climbing.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:17:31 PM] Dammitwho
"Splendid, splendid!" Burbidge replies. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Ironflame!" He'll shake Tak's hand vigorously.
Tak now has the opportunity to Earn Income by working at the Volatile Annex, as well as an available workshop for his own crafting projects!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:18:51 PM] Crion
the next thing on imran's agenda after introductions to the resistance and introductions to scholars etc etc is working on our basebuilding module
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:20:03 PM] Dammitwho
"Ty's good with knives. And, he's good with knives." Hope replies.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:20:33 PM] Dammitwho
Where does Dubnoom consider the best seats to be?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:22:00 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak shakes Burbidge's hand just as vigorously with a wide grin on his face. "Excellent, that's wonderful! Thank you, sir!"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:24:51 PM] Imran Traveler
Ah, a "his art is death" type. Imran's familiar.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:28:45 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
The best seats are, inarguably, close enough to the top to LOOK important but not close enough that he'll have to talk to 'family.' But that they'll know he's there. Making an appearance. It's basically the same thing as making sure your bandit chief sees you running TOWARDS the fight even if you spend most of it hiding.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:28:47 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak asks to see more of the workspace in the Volatile Annex, and makes sure to ask questions to show his interest.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:31:19 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
But, the even-more-important thing, is to have a seat at all. So Dubnoom will settle if he has to. He wants to finish this dog before the squabbles!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:34:04 PM] Nicolae
okay, time to look up the Earn Income rules...
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:35:49 PM] Dammitwho
"Great model, though. Painters fight over him. He--" Another origami bird flutters down the chimney, alighting in Hope's outstretched hand. She unfolds it, scans its contents, and tosses it aside - the paper self-immolates in midair. "That was quick. The Order are sending Nimrith to take you to one of their safehouses. I always liked Nimrith. Anyway, from the way Futhark described you, I'd probably only have you and Ty working together if I expected half the Hellknight Orders to come down on us. Things tend to escalate, yes?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:37:05 PM] Imran Traveler
"Yes."
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[7/31/2026, 6:37:45 PM] Imran Traveler
"...Are they usually that responsive?"
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[7/31/2026, 6:39:07 PM] Dammitwho
Alright, Dubnoom can roll Intimidation DC25, or DC23 if he incorporates his great wisdom and arcane power alongside his proper elbow-throwing in order to shove his way into a decent seat.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:39:07 PM] Imran Traveler
The Palatine Eye, not the Hellknights. The Hellknights are incredibly that responsive.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:39:56 PM] Dammitwho
Is Tak looking for anything in particular?
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[7/31/2026, 6:40:29 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak is looking for any kind of alchemy work the Annex has for someone of his background and skill level.
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[7/31/2026, 6:40:42 PM] Nicolae
(i was just about to ask for a task level and dc. same wavelength)
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[7/31/2026, 6:42:43 PM] CBN
is there uhh any non-intimidation skill we can throw at that problem, owing to his +3 to intimidation
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[7/31/2026, 6:44:11 PM] Dammitwho
brb, getting my pot pie out of the air fryer. CBN, you can look at your skill list and pitch me something. maybe a magic tradition skill, if you intend to bully people by spellcasting and NOT being a wizard?
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[7/31/2026, 6:44:40 PM] Dammitwho
(also i haven't forgotten about you banana. okay brb for real)
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[7/31/2026, 6:50:20 PM] CBN
pitch: dubnoom will invoke the names of various gods who PROBABLY definitely exist that he's either heard from imran or lindal or just ~around~ in articulating that in their divine wisdom, mirrored in his own, he must be seated Here in order to Witness. also with flashing lights.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:50:27 PM] CBN
(to roll religion)
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:50:52 PM] Dammitwho
Lindal reaches a desk, behind which sits an elderly man: The Harbormaster Lady Adrielle Neprathep's Underclerk of Berths, Onnick Vaile. He blinks owlishly at Lindal before carefully examining the document the vanara has brought him. After a moment, he takes out a large stamp, brings it down with a satisfying thump on the letter, and files it away.
"Looking for work, mrmmhm?" He asks Lindal.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:54:07 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Yes, but not immediately - I'm here with some friends. Pathfinders! They're taking care of that sort of thing. ...but if you happen to have a lead on adventure, Master Vaile, we're venturesome types."
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[7/31/2026, 6:57:33 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom, like any goblin except the youngest generation, who have no respect for their elders and frankly could stand to learn a thing or two, knows of the four traditional barghest gods of the goblins:
* Greatest Supreme Chieftain Boss Hadregash,
* Most Glorious Neverfull Venkelvore the Obese,
* Zarongel Dogfoe the Bark Breaker,
and
* Zogmugot, Queen of Drowning and Ocean Trash
These would be the deities most well known to the noblegobs he's trying to intimidate. While one of the reasons gobs are migrating to the cities at all is because the barghest creator-gods don't seem to be eating gobbos who get too big for their britches anymore, well... they're pretty scary?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:57:44 PM] Dammitwho
Roll religion, DC23!
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[7/31/2026, 6:58:10 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Lindal's mouth runs ahead of him sometimes. He sees no particular issue with changing his mind as he speaks, such that the end of his sentence contradicts its beginning.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:58:16 PM] Dammitwho
Tak can take up a task worthy of his skills: Task level 7, DC 23.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 6:58:20 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
1d20 + 13
1d20 4 4
17
1d20 + 13
1d20 2 2
25
1d20 + 13 + 10 = 2 + 13 + 10 = 25
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:00:48 PM] Tak Ironflame
1d20 + 11
1d20 8 8
19
1d20 + 11
1d20 11 11
22
1d20 + 11 = 11 + 11 = 22
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[7/31/2026, 7:01:06 PM] Nicolae
fuck. piss. shit. i talked a big game and embarassed myself in front of the alchemists. fuck
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:01:24 PM] Nicolae
tak is going to have to walk into the ocean now
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:01:30 PM] Crion
did you already hero point
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:01:36 PM] Nicolae
yes, it was a 19
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:02:04 PM] Crion
oh you got the evil 11
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:02:07 PM] Crion
rip.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:02:38 PM] Dammitwho
Hope replies: "The Hellknights? Oh, the Order. Usually it takes a couple hours to get a reply from them. I wasn't specific about what you needed researched, but we've worked together now and then, enough for them to get the gist... 'mysterious evil artifact' is right in their wheelhouse." She laughs.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:02:55 PM] Imran Traveler
Or they knew the request was coming.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:03:00 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran isn't conspiratorial out loud.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:03:51 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom elbows forward, tossing dramatic flares of Light up when he throws his hands up. The wind, as ever, is glamorously (and Glamorize-ish-ly) blowing through his beard and ruffling his hat but in a way that makes it stand up taller, not knocks it off of him. "By Venkelvore's Appetite and Hadregash's Reasonable Expectations of Basic Competence, Dubnoom the Wise MUST be seated over here! No here! Yes here." Standing on his bench. "Zarongel's Dulled Teeth clack ominously this day! For the Squabbles!" He doesn't bring up Zogmugot because he almost died on the water like a day ago.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:04:33 PM] Imran Traveler
"This Nimrith. You said you always liked her. Is that the same as trust, here? As limited as trust is in these circumstances."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:04:48 PM] Gul Banana
tak can just blow himself up to regain his honour
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:04:51 PM] Gul Banana
*honor
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[7/31/2026, 7:05:51 PM] Nicolae
they're gonna think i'm just some dumb hick from the sticks! D:
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[7/31/2026, 7:09:21 PM] Dammitwho
Tak does his best, but it's a new workshop with new procedures, and they take some getting used to for him. They're mostly minor mistakes, but at one point he does accidentally shatter a containment vessel, which takes a big chunk of his pay. However, he's well trained enough that he doesn't actually endanger anyone or the structural integrity of the Annex itself.
"Not great. Not terrible." Provost Marchen grunts in an Irriseni accent. "Try again tomorrow." Evidently Tak hasn't been kicked out, but he hasn't impressed them either.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:09:39 PM] Dammitwho
A princely four silver remain of Tak's earnings!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:11:02 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak accepts his failure with grace, apologizing profusely, and pocketing his earnings. He tries not to think of what the dwarves back home would say...
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:14:37 PM] Nicolae
hm, does tak still have permission to use the alchemy lab to make some daily consumables
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:15:17 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran's mind goes back to that condemned basement in the sewers, the one that led into some lordly destroyed home. With the plague markers keeping out looters and prying eyes. That's the kind of safehouse he could sleep in. But if the adventurer-scholars want to spend an afternoon contemplating the orb in their own secure facility, that makes sense.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:17:15 PM] Dammitwho
"Nimrith's kind of like you, I think. You can trust her. I don't know for sure that everyone in the Order is trustworthy, but they're not mercenary, and they've had some harsh lessons with the Hellknights in the past. They won't sell you out."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:18:34 PM] Imran Traveler
"I don't know that it's the Hellknights we have to worry about with this. Something worse comes hunting out of Cheliax."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:18:37 PM] Dammitwho
Yes, Tak can still do that if he likes (in this case we'll just fold his consumable crafting into today's work)
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:19:23 PM] Imran Traveler
"Anyway. My aim is to put roots down here, something to come back to, then...make an end of this current business."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:20:13 PM] Imran Traveler
"There's a chance me and mine might be in and out of town. If that figures into how I can assist our mutual friends. Message delivering and such."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:20:26 PM] Imran Traveler
"I'll let you know more once I've spoken with the Esoteric Order."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:20:45 PM] Nicolae
ah, hm. hmmmm
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:21:35 PM] Nicolae
rereading the rules for daily consumables: they only last till the end of the day and also i know the recipe for black powder but apparently not for actual rounds? :I
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:21:56 PM] Nicolae
okay, we'll come back to the daily consumables on a day when we're planning on starting some shit
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:23:04 PM] Gul Banana
well, the rounds do require more stuff. like metal
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:25:58 PM] Nicolae
yeah. okay. i think 1) i can probably just ask the gm to learn the Round recipe instead of Dose, and then also 2) even though foundry lists different rounds for different firearms, i think they're supposed to be interchangable
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:27:13 PM] Dammitwho
"Hrmrm... mrmm... There's room for hired hands on pilot runs, steady work, mrm, not for adventuring sorts like you, hm?" Underclerk Vaile muses as he looks through the great ledger on his desk. "Ah, mysterious, just up your alley, right sort of thing, hrmrm? Ships that refuse pilots through the Flotsam Graveyard forfeit vessel and cargo to the primarch if they wreck, hrm? A day ago, ship ran aground near Candren's Rock, mrmhm, owned by Fairwind & Sons Maritime, hrmrmm... standard forfeiture BUT!" He raises a finger dramatically.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:29:33 PM] Dammitwho
"Hrm! Instead of handling, usual manner, ordinary business, cargo recovered and ship forfeit, monetary loss, hrmmm... Fairwind & Sons--" He claps his hands sharply. "Closed up! Hrm? Disappeared, gone, offices empty, ship still on Candren's Rock! Lady Neprathep, mrm, very suspicious? Needs brave sorts to investigate the ship? Hrm?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:29:52 PM] Imran Traveler
"Where does Nimrith want to meet?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:30:14 PM] Nicolae
okay, digging into the paizo forums a bit, i think the idea is that dose and rounds of black powder are considered mechanically the same so you don't need to fill your formula book with "boom" and "boom + metal", but also foundry gets finicky with the precise stuff
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:31:25 PM] Nicolae
i will need to think on this a little more...
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:31:41 PM] Nicolae
"you've had months to think about how your crafting works" look it just never came up, okay,
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:35:06 PM] Dammitwho
Nicolae: yeah archives of nethys has it as "dose or round"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:35:17 PM] Dammitwho
the item i mean
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:35:26 PM] Dammitwho
so you can just have both restipes
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:37:33 PM] Nicolae
noted! i'll deal with the specifics later
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:38:06 PM] Nicolae
what i'm seeing is that it's basically better to just buy the generic ammo and use my daily alchemical freebies for the fancy shit, which means i should probably look into formulas for the fancy shit
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:38:20 PM] Nicolae
besides the life shot, which i have and is hilarious
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:40:07 PM] Dammitwho
"Gyaaah! Don't push-shove me, I'm Three Knights!" "He's trying to call-summon the barghests, yes-yes? Quick! Bite him!" "No, he's a powerful wizard-beard! Give him a seat!" "Bite his legs!" "I'll bite-gnaw YOUR legs!" "Aaaargh!"
Dubnoom causes an argument among the nearby goblin nobles about how he should be dealt with, that results in furious slapfights and the occasional bite! This allows him to take his seat without being rudely shoved around, and gives goblins not in the immediate vicinity a bit of a show as well. Dubnoom glances upward, and sees "Six Duchesses" Grimbleshanks' pinched expression show an ever-so-slight tinge of amusement.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:41:17 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak has spent a day performing labor, feeling slightly disheartened but not letting it get to him too much, yet. About how much time has passed? (Is he going to have to occupy himself until the other PCs re-sync their time streams?)
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:41:25 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Wow, there could be anything on that ship. Probably something bad. Master Vaile, it's entirely plausible that I'll be backs here with friends and an explanation some time soon. But if others get to it first, fair play."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:41:48 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom nods respectfully (for a goblin, to a goblin) to Grimbleshanks, then throws one more at the crowd for good measure: "This is said like the barghests are not already here! aha!" Let em chew on that one for awhile if they want to bite something.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:42:27 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom! Roll Religion!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:44:28 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Are there maps about the harbormaster's office? If Candren's Rock is out in the Graveyard or the harbor entrance, Lindal's got something else to ask the Butterfly's crew: whether we can borrow a rowboat.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:45:04 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
23
1d20 + 13 = 10 + 13 = 23
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:45:11 PM] Gul Banana
bbiab
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:47:06 PM] Nicolae
okay, i'm going to have to think about various alchemical formulas to buy or perhaps obtain from my employers, but that can happen later, for now i will simply roleplay and not do mechanical crafting
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:49:03 PM] Dammitwho
"EEEEEAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Dubnoom's last mysterious occult utterance, a threat of divine being-eaten, panics a goblin a few rows further down to the point where he just straight up flees the Pyramid entirely!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:51:27 PM] Dammitwho
"Here," Hope tells Imran. "She's got cover doing licensed diplomatic courier work, so she comes and goes to a lot of the embassies. She's got a decent excuse to refuse work from the Cheliaxians, too. Their racism works in our favor this time."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:51:56 PM] Imran Traveler
"That works."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:52:11 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom feels a Goblin sensation for which there is no direct translation into most other languages, the closest approximation of which is "the smug joy at seeing a trivial foe disproportionately terrified at, or defeated by, a bit to which you were only a little committed." It's as intoxicating as ever.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:54:01 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
"Yaklapipiyatiii...." he whispers to himself. He spends too much time around tallerfolk.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 7:54:57 PM] Dammitwho
"Hrmrm, mrmm, very well." Underclerk Onnick Vaile returns to his ledger, evidently mentally dismissing Lindal.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:01:05 PM] Dammitwho
Tak has spent the day working, and the sun is going down, but he's still got time to kill - or rather, the other players haven't decided to join the party back up yet, so Nicolae would be sitting on his hands waiting for them. Does Tak have anything else he'd like to do?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:07:13 PM] Tak Ironflame
The merchants of Absalom are no doubt burdened with so many wares that Tak would be interested in... He'd have to think about what exactly he wants to buy, but he can at least walk the merchant districts with an eye out for places that look like they sell the best quality armor, weapons, and the like. Or at least... the best quality armor he can afford.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:07:44 PM] Nicolae
i.e. roleplay walking around town except looking for Deals instead of Jobs, but also mostly just browsing since, again, i don't want to spend too much time delaying my scene by looking through gear lists on AoN
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:08:12 PM] Nicolae
or, alternatively, he finds a tourist trap and buys some ridiculous geegaw he had no idea he needed
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:08:32 PM] Crion
we should prrrobably get at least two of us in the same scene to start next sesh to ease GM overhead
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:08:40 PM] Dammitwho
There's three good, solid knocks on the door to the Nocticulan shrine. Hope stands and briskly goes to open it, revealing a tiefling woman with a pair of curled ram's horns sprouting from her forehead, the right one snapped off halfway. Her hair is cut short to just a few centimeters, and she wears white leather armor with a battered sword strapped to her waist and a thin pack on her back.
"Came I as soon as thy message was received, noble Hope. Seek'st thou aid for a friend?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:09:14 PM] Dammitwho
Tak! Roll 1d100!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:09:30 PM] Nicolae
yeah, worse case scenario, i can look through item lists on AoN, dammitwho can abandon me to focus on you three, and then next session we can pretend i came back to the hostel
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:09:35 PM] Tak Ironflame
90
1d100 = 90 = 90
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:09:40 PM] Nicolae
oh NOW i get the big rolls
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:10:00 PM] Dammitwho
There are maps in the office, and Lindal can tell that Candren's Rock is in the Flotsam Graveyard - just where you'd expect a pilotless ship to run aground.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:12:32 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran will let Hope do the introductions, and stands off to the side. She looks like a serious person. She should, given her vocation.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:13:53 PM] Gul Banana
b
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:14:04 PM] Gul Banana
love a good 1d100
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:14:32 PM] CBN
hell yeah
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:16:47 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Out in the harbour it is, along with all the other wrecks. Presumably it's easy to hire a dinghy around here, but perhaps we have enough leverage with the Butterfly's crew to ask... Lindal will amble on that way to say hello.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:19:27 PM] Dammitwho
Dubnoom's attention is directed to a small, rickety wooden tower built next to the arena floor at one of the points of the triangle. A smartly-dressed goblin has awkwardly climbed to the top and casts a brief spell - suddenly, a slick, confident voice resounds throughout the Pyramid of the Dog!
"LADIES AND GENTLEGOBS! I am Wimble Rooftooth, representing the Puddles' very own CRACKLE, the ONLY televox station that gets you round-the-clock Ruk and Roofrunner scores, analysis, and play-by-play! But TONIGHT we're going to experience an INCREDIBLE event that WILL! NOT! BE! BROADCAST!"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:20:05 PM] Dammitwho
The crowd is hooting and hollering.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:20:55 PM] Dammitwho
"LADIES AND GENTLEGOBS..." The runes around Wimble's head shift slightly, and his amplified voice gets some more bass to it. "ARE YOU READY TO... SQUABBLE!!!!"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:23:50 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Dubnoom adds his voice to the chorus of hoots, hollers, assents: "OBVIOUSLY YES"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:26:20 PM] Dammitwho
Tak is walking through the streets of the Coins District. He's found a few deals, a few interesting items, and now he's found himself on an empty side-street, having gotten a bit turned around. He's about to retrace his steps, when from a nearby alleyway with scaffolding built up for workers (not present at the moment) to repair a nearby roof, Tak hears a short, high-pitched scream, sharply cut off!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:26:33 PM] Gul Banana
televox?!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:29:10 PM] Dammitwho
Lindal finds Captain Marcellus Drusus stroking his beard as he watches men and women swarm over his ship, mending and repairing the damage from the storm.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:30:44 PM] Tak Ironflame
!!!
Tak, as mentioned previously, keeps that thing on him. His hand hovering near his holster, he approaches the alleyway quietly and peeks in. Hopefully nobody's getting murdered back there.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:32:21 PM] Dammitwho
"That's right," Hope replies. "I'll introduce you and get out of the way - I'm sure you want to move fast. Nimrith, this is Imran Traveler, the one I wrote you about. Imran, this is Nimrith, of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye."
Nimrith sizes up Imran with a swordswoman's eye, then nods and says "Well met, sir. I am to take thee to a place of safety, where thou may not fear thy burden being discovered. Wilt thou come?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:33:10 PM] Dammitwho
Tak! Roll Perception, DC 21!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:34:17 PM] Imran Traveler
"I wil-- I will. Yes. I won't ask the place, you may lead me there via whatever your institution deems as procedures, but I will say: I bear a thing that when unveiled and studied will make that place unsafe."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:34:23 PM] Imran Traveler
"You and yours must prepare for this."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:34:24 PM] Tak Ironflame
21
1d20 + 17 = 4 + 17 = 21
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:34:33 PM] Nicolae
:I
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:35:00 PM] Imran Traveler
"You may wish for me to bring my people with me. You may also not trust them; they are not vetted."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:35:06 PM] Nicolae
lol oh right, i have bloodsense now. probably something i picked up in the sewers?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:35:34 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
Is Drusus aboard? If so, Lindal will leap to the side of the ship and pop his head up over the railing to get the captain's attention. Otherwise he'll just walk up and wave (given the lesser opportunities for scampering afforded by a pier).
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:35:47 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"It's not just I! All of us made it."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:36:46 PM] Dammitwho
In that case, Tak can sense two creatures with blood ahead of him - wait, more like ten? No, two.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:37:55 PM] Tak Ironflame
It's still altogether new to him. He might not even fully realize it's what he's sensing.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:41:22 PM] Dammitwho
It doesn't help him though, as his bloodsense doesn't tell him exactly where they are - and so the two robbers (a human man and woman) jump out from behind some construction debris, knives drawn! Their clothes are shabby, but they have wicked smiles. The woman laughs. "Come to rescue me, have you, sir? How kind! I was in terrible peril of not having your gold!"
These two... they're kind of disgusting. It's not just that they steal and kill for coppers, maybe even for fun. it's that they think they can take him! Tak could have his pistol from his holster and drop them both before they'd even realize what was happening. Suddenly, he feels he could end this right now, just by wanting it.
Does he want it?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:43:20 PM] Dammitwho
Captain Drusus looks startled as Lindal pops his head above the railing. "B'gods! If it isn't the vanara what saw us through the storm! Ye've come to see the old Butterfly, have you? Aye, she's seen better days, but she'll be right as rain soon enough."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:43:57 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tricked! By appealing to his better nature! Those assholes!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:48:20 PM] Dammitwho
Hope bids the two of you farewell, and urges you to keep safe. Nimrith beckons Imran out of the shrine and takes him down a side passage different than the way he came in that leads quickly out to the street. "Fear not, for we know well the dangers of being scryed on, and the means by which such spells may be foiled. Our destination is in the Wise Quarter, amongst the libraries and scholars. Know you of Ralzeros the Overwatched?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:48:38 PM] Crion
lemme roll on it
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:48:48 PM] Crion
though the name seems descriptive.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:49:15 PM] Dammitwho
Magical tradition roll or Absalom history
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:49:32 PM] Nicolae
i'm looking at dongun hold and alkenstar to get an idea of what kind of moral background tak would have re: plugging two thieves who jumped him in an alley without even giving them a warning shot
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:49:54 PM] Imran Traveler
15
1d20 + 13 = 2 + 13 = 15
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:50:05 PM] Crion
good dice tonight.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:50:16 PM] Imran Traveler
"I do not. I gather he was watched a great deal."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:50:22 PM] Nicolae
like he's from Fantasy Wild West, this kind of thing probably happens on the regular, but i feel like ooc i should think about avoiding the path of the murderhobo as much as possible
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:51:00 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"You're very kind captain - I did little compared to my companions. And it is therefore on their behalf that I'm passing on our welcome to the city, congratulations on your survival, and one small question: if you're tied up a while, do you need all your boats? We could use a small boat. To go look at something out in the harbor, maybe."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:56:59 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak was raised on dwarven ideals of justice in Dongun Hold, and dealt with crime and lawlessness on the streets of Alkenstar City on a regular basis. There is a dwarven aphorism for this situation, suggesting that if the two thieves here had simply made different, better, choices, they wouldn't even be in this position in the first place. It translates roughly as "They should not have been standing there."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:57:33 PM] Gul Banana
lol
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:57:37 PM] Tak Ironflame
Unfortunately for the two thieves, Tak has brought a gun to a knife fight.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:57:56 PM] Tak Ironflame
He does want it.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:59:45 PM] Dammitwho
Make a Will save, DC 25!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 8:59:57 PM] Tak Ironflame
30
1d20 + 15 = 15 + 15 = 30
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:03:20 PM] Dammitwho
just a sec, getting an image
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:07:15 PM] Dammitwho
There's a moment - just a moment - where Tak feels himself on the cusp of a giving-permission, an inviting-in, of letting the disgust he feels for these people wash through him and solve the problem for him. But then he doesn't. The two snarling muggers leap for him, knives raised, intent on stripping his rapidly-cooling corpse bare of valuables. With the quickdraw speed he learned in the Mana Wastes, Tak Ironflame clears leather and fires two shots.
Once the deed is done, Tak feels a change in his emotions. The unnatural contempt that he felt for the two muggers dissipates. Not that he thinks he did the wrong thing - indeed, they should not have been standing there - but he regards the act more like the typical frontier justice he's accustomed to dealing out.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:08:34 PM] Dammitwho
For a moment, again, he senses what must be something like ten people further in the alleyway with his bloodsense. If he squints, for just an instant, he can see...!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:08:46 PM] Tak Ironflame
He blinks a few times, holstering his pistol. What came over him?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:08:49 PM] Gul Banana
?!
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:08:52 PM] Dammitwho
Then there's nothing there at all.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:08:53 PM] Tak Ironflame
Oh.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:09:16 PM] Dammitwho
Tak was made an offer by something horrible, and without knowing it he was able to refuse.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:09:30 PM] Nicolae
can tak roll something to have heard of such a thing? i'm guessing nature doesn't quite apply here. that shit don't look natural
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:10:12 PM] CBN
buge.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:10:51 PM] Nicolae
i would like to thank the gunslinger Stubborn feat for giving me expert will save. *tips hat*
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:11:23 PM] Dammitwho
I'll let you roll Lore: Shadow Plane, but at DC 28
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:11:40 PM] Crion
UGH
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:11:48 PM] Crion
a roll i could help with...but alas
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:12:08 PM] Nicolae
i see
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:12:17 PM] Tak Ironflame
4
1d20 = 4 = 4
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:12:30 PM] Nicolae
so, tak doesn't know what the fuck this is
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:12:42 PM] Dammitwho
Tak did a thing, so I'll let you have had a hero point if you want to reroll
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:13:08 PM] Nicolae
that was mostly a goof roll, he's got no training in shadow plane lore so there's no way he could get a 28
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:13:49 PM] Nicolae
but maybe later he can mention it to the gang and imran can roll...?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:14:00 PM] Nicolae
should probably start thinking about learning about his Actual ancestry, too
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:15:01 PM] Tak Ironflame
Tak shudders as the thing comes into view and fades out again, and he quickly departs the alleyway.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:18:51 PM] Dammitwho
"Ralzeros was the mad astrologer and mage who did build the great building of volcanic stone thou mayest know better as the Blakros Museum. We go not there, however. He didst study the great dark space between worlds, and in time was seen in turn, and was given strange powers. A duel he lost, with the great wizard Beldrin, long centuries ago."
As Nimrith leads Imran through the streets of Absalom, expertly avoiding Hellknight patrols until their area of influence is left behind you, the ambiance and the people around you start to change. Fewer diplomats and merchants, more hurried students and plump, self-satisfied wizards.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:20:12 PM] Imran Traveler
"Ah. Then he knows the value of great walls. You will need a room of lead to contain this thing. Thick walls."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:22:32 PM] Dammitwho
"Indeed so. Much of what Ralzeros left behind was obliged to be sealed away, and formeth it the basis of the Collection Esoterica of the Museum. We go, however, to the Steeping Owl, a pleasant tea-house. I shall say no more in the open."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:23:07 PM] Imran Traveler
"That is wisdom. I will move in silence."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:27:21 PM] Dammitwho
Captain Drusus looks thoughtful. "Aye, we can lend ye a launch [a type of ship's boat] if that's what ye need. Will ye be needing a navigator?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:31:07 PM] Dammitwho
"RRRRREPRESENTING THE GREEN COURT, WE HAVE... 'SIR' NABNAT SQUINTWICK!" From a tunnel in the walls of the arena, a goblin in finery, a great curled wig, and a long rapier charges out. He waves his sword high, and the goblins around Dubnoom cheer, while the Goblindustrialists and the Sages boo and throw garbage onto the field.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:34:08 PM] Dammitwho
"FROM THE GOBLINDUSTRIALISTS, PROPRIETOR OF GRISLIP'S TANNING AND TANNING FINE LEATHER GOODS AND SKINCARE GET THEM WHEREVER QUALITY PRODUCTS ARE SOLD, GRISLIP'S SIMPLY THE BEST EVERY TIME, IT'S.... GRISLIP 'FAIR-SHAKE' SMOOTHGAB!"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:35:42 PM] Prabesh Pranavikram Lindalsivranragdya
"Technically, no. I've consulted the harbor bylaws and such a thing is required when you have *six* people on the boat. Tell you what, though: if there's anyone among your crew who wants to join us in a salvage investigation, we'd be happy to deal them a share of the reward!" It's occurred to Lindal that none of them actually know how to navigate among the wrecks and rocks, or even whether specialist knowledge is required.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:35:42 PM] Dammitwho
A goblin toting a clockwork crossbow, wearing a wig with so much grease in it it might as well be lacquered, dressed in a suit that attempts to show class, wealth, and sophistication, saunters into the arena from another tunnel.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:38:54 PM] Dammitwho
"AND LASTLY, MADE FROM PARTS UNKNOWN, THE DREAD SORCELOR VOZZLE GRIMEFINGER....
......'S GOBZOMBIE BATTLER!"
A hideous undead goblin, sewn together from pieces of what must be a dozen other goblins, lurches into the arena. Above, standing on the arena wall, a goblin in black robes embroidered with mystical signs waves his arms frantically, commanding the undead creature.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:41:33 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
!!! Does this seem reminiscent of the golem we fought in the sewers...?
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:42:54 PM] Dammitwho
No. Much weaker, for one, and far less intelligent even in flesh-construct terms. Also, the skin and flesh on the skinstitch creature was hideously alive, while the gobzombie is visibly rotting.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:44:33 PM] Dubnoom "The Wise"
Good. Good. Dubnoom relaxes.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:46:30 PM] Dammitwho
The Steeping Owl occupies a narrow three-story house wedged between a bookbinder and a student dormitory. Outside, a small sign advertises it as being open from dawn 'til dusk. Nimrith leads Imran inside, where a few weary students are studying books or rolls of parchment - none of them even look up. A handsome Osirion man in fine robes is holding court with a few other people of the same ancestry - he glances at Nimrith, who takes no notice.
Behind the counter, an aging Osirion woman tends a few warming-kettles.
"Hail, Auntie Maza," Nimrith says. "Two small cups of the green, if thou would. My friend wisht to see the orrery, for he is new-come to our city."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:47:11 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran bows his head slightly, says, "Yes, thank you," and nothing more.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:49:47 PM] Dammitwho
"Take care you don't damage the springs, young man." The woman Nimrith called 'Auntie Maza' says, with the accent of her homeland. "Who keeps them oiled and in repair? Only old Maza!"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:50:31 PM] Dammitwho
She pours two steaming cups of tea. Nimrith hands one to Imran and beckons him past the counter, into a back room.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:51:07 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran carefully controls his face in response to a proprietor telling him not to "damage" the springs" the company of a woman. She surely means something else.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:51:26 PM] Imran Traveler
He takes the cup and absconds.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:53:00 PM] Dammitwho
Indeed she does, for in the back room stands a person-high brass orrery of (Imran knows, with his fancy education) Golarion's solar system. Clockwork mechanisms, powered by springs but currently disengaged, would cause the intricate system to swing its representation of the planets around Golarion's sun.
Nimrith makes sure that the door is firmly shut behind you.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:53:40 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran takes a deep breath in, and then out.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:54:01 PM] Imran Traveler
"You know, this is the second great examination of these bodies I've run into recently."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:54:26 PM] Imran Traveler
"First was in a mine, falling apart, run in the past by a parochial wizard."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:55:51 PM] Dammitwho
"Is that so? Ralzeros didst make this, and for all others know 'tis decorative only, and not of much matter. Yet in fact 'tis the opening mechanism for thine hiding-place. In future thou will come in the back way - we didst come by the front that Auntie Maza and Dremdhet Salhar should know you, for Maza will be thine watchful eyes on the outside, as well as keeping the mechanism in order as she has said."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:57:12 PM] Imran Traveler
"Cecillus Highleaf. That was his name."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:57:43 PM] Imran Traveler
He blinks. "The opening mechanism?"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 9:59:44 PM] Dammitwho
"Highleaf..." Nimrith frowns. "That name doth tickle at my mind... nay, 'tis gone. Ah, yes, the mechanism." She kneels next to the main spring, and picks up a large winding-key. "Though shalt take this when I am through. Watch me close - first I windeth the spring ten full turns, not one more or less." She demonstrates.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:01:23 PM] Imran Traveler
"Take the name and run with it. There was more to him than we were able to discover. Ah." He watches her close.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:04:15 PM] Dammitwho
"Then do I arrange Golarion's moon such that it is at its zenith above our sphere - the midnight configuration, ay?" She gently pushes one of the orrery's arms to move the small sphere that represents the moon into place. "Then I arrange Aucturn, the furthest sphere, such that its orbit is at aphelion closest to the door, thus. Finally do I take hold of the counterweight chain, thus, and pull once--" She tugs on a chain deep within the mechanism, and a clattering sound emerges from the orrery.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:04:36 PM] Dammitwho
"Then when the sound quiets, do I pull again. Stand thee back, I prithee."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:05:14 PM] Imran Traveler
He stands back.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:05:57 PM] Imran Traveler
This is a devilish puzzle for the regular armsmen squad of shaved head drunks. The question is if an ogre with captaincy could just rip it out of the floor.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:06:55 PM] Dammitwho
A geared ring set in the floor begins to rotate with a sound like a purring cat, and eight thick interlocked stone wedges spiral open like a camera iris, revealing a brass-railed stair.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:07:48 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith swiftly moves to descend the stairs, calling to you: "Come ye, swiftly! For in one minute the mechanism will close once more of its own!"
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:10:07 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran takes a little bit of time to examine the mechanism as it moves, open. Then he follows.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:14:11 PM] Dammitwho
You both descend a spiral staircase to a large domed chamber built under the stone. The ceiling is lined with star-charts inlaid with silver wire, but the rest is largely empty save for a few workbenches and cold-boxes - Imran can see a room that must at one point have been a cistern converted to hold bunks. A grinding noise above you tells you the iris mechanism is shutting once more.
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:14:48 PM] Imran Traveler
"A compelling ceiling."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:14:56 PM] Imran Traveler
"You have a...what is it called."
---------------------------
[7/31/2026, 10:15:03 PM] Imran Traveler
"Not a safe room."
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[7/31/2026, 10:15:10 PM] Imran Traveler
"Clean! A clean room."
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[7/31/2026, 10:16:53 PM] Dammitwho
"'Tis clean enough, though it has not been used in some-- ah! I take thy meaning. Yea, the shadow-lacquer of House Blakros is used here, and it doth ward this place from magical prying eye and pricking ear. Thus do we keep hidden that which should remain hidden."
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[7/31/2026, 10:18:39 PM] Dammitwho
"I admit, 'tis largely empty, but thou may fill it as thou wish. See you this crank?" Nimrith gestures to a large crank at waist-height, set into the wall. "By this means canst you open the iris once more. When it is open, insert this pin--" She picks up a finger-width pin hanging from a chain connected to the wall. "Into this hole in the crank--" She points. "And it shall remain open, denying the one minute timer."
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[7/31/2026, 10:19:14 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran nods. "When we are within the most controlled and strangest sanctum that you have, then I will open this box for your sages and wizards. And they shall examine its content there. And they shall not remove it from there."
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[7/31/2026, 10:19:59 PM] Imran Traveler
He faithfully follows the crank demonstration and acknowledges it before saying this.
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[7/31/2026, 10:21:29 PM] Dammitwho
"It shall be as you say. Lastly notice this pawl." She pats a metal pawl in an inset in the wall. "Slide it down so that it connecteth with the gears, thus--" She demonstrates. "And the iris mechanism shall not open, nay, not though it is engaged from either side. Thus you may seal the gate in times of need."
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[7/31/2026, 10:22:15 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran registers, and nods.
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[7/31/2026, 10:24:32 PM] Dammitwho
"Arrange this place to thy liking, then alert Auntie Maza (or myself, should I be present in this teahouse) when you wish your box studied, and she shall pass on the word to those that should know. Fear not - it shall not be moved from this place once it is put here, nor opened save when the iris is shut and the shadow-lacquer's protection is complete. Hast thou questions for me?"
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[7/31/2026, 10:28:14 PM] Imran Traveler
"Yes. We have not developed such trust that I would leave the box here without myself, and so I shall not do that. I think that is a fine thing to set between us, and won't lead to mistrust; it simply is what it is. But you are trusting me a great deal with this place's operation. It is not because you know anything about me. I would ask: Is it because you trust the organization, or because you trust Hope?"
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[7/31/2026, 10:31:56 PM] Imran Traveler
He pauses. "Also. Is there a backdoor to this place I should shepherd my people through?"
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[7/31/2026, 10:36:33 PM] Dammitwho
"The Order hath said that you are to be given every security, and thus do I convey you here. I am a warder of their libraries and repositories, as I have been since I was young. Yet it is true if I hadst spoken against you, your welcome might not be so great." She pauses in thought. "It pleases me to see those who would fight the sons of Cheliax, who holdeth me in contempt for my heritage. Yea, as a child was I even spat at by their sort. Hope trusteth thee, and so I trusteth thee. More - things liketh that which thou carry, it is our charge to understand, and to keep safe from those who would misuse. Thou art from the Night Lord's lands, art thou not? Yet the lady blesses thee?"
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[7/31/2026, 10:39:04 PM] Imran Traveler
"I am Nidalese. I am from the land of chains and slights. The Void Prince chuckles over the death of my fathers five generations past. No light falls upon the crevices of my peoples' hearts. But my goddess trusts me still."
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[7/31/2026, 10:40:53 PM] Imran Traveler
"There is a reason for that. Because once you leave the land of chains and slights, you realize you don't have to carry yourself that way. There's other options. There's other paths."
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[7/31/2026, 10:41:50 PM] Dammitwho
She nods solemnly. "It is well. I would not allow even the smallest thing to be grasped by the sons of the King of Torture, for who might know what they would do with it? Thy homeland's foul reputation works to thy advantage, for there are none in the Order who would willingly render this thing up to them, who peel flesh from bone and bone from soul."
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[7/31/2026, 10:42:08 PM] Imran Traveler
"You explore those. You enjoy a world that exists around and outside of those places and those principles. And then when the shitheads with chains come across you with their slights, you know just how weak they are."
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[7/31/2026, 10:44:29 PM] Dammitwho
Nimrith grins at that, the first change to her solemn demeanor that Imran has noticed. "Just so! Take thou care outside the bounds of this place - at the doors to the teahouse our guard ends. Come, I shall show thee the back entrance to the teahouse, that thou might enter and leave unremarked."
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[7/31/2026, 10:44:33 PM] Imran Traveler
Imran nods. "That is good to hear. But this thing, when released from its chamber, has already driven men to madness in how they were tracked and chased. We need full seal. We need removal from the senses of the monsters that track it. We may not get it; perhaps that's fine. But everyone upstairs should be ready."
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[7/31/2026, 10:45:09 PM] Imran Traveler
He nods again, and follows.
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[7/31/2026, 10:45:17 PM] Dammitwho
Imran has found a safehouse for the party! Will you reconvene there and consider? Perhaps... NEXT WEEK!
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[7/31/2026, 10:45:28 PM] Nicolae
gg!
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[7/31/2026, 10:45:32 PM] Crion
ggg!!!!!
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[7/31/2026, 10:46:11 PM] Dammitwho
chears!
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[7/31/2026, 10:46:19 PM] CBN
gg! thanks for running!
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[7/31/2026, 10:46:39 PM] CBN
squabbles (minigame to badger our way into participation) AND a base...