Captain Flynn Braddock sat at the head of the table waiting patiently for all of League of Pathfinders to show up. As a special group of the Retriever's Guild, they were the ones most likely to be assigned to the more important retrievals.

"Most of you may already know this information, but I'm going to repeat it for those of you that may not know it," the Captain began.

"Some captains of Taldor's merchant fleet claim to be sailing under letters of Marque that gives them permission to attack the Golden Fleets of Qadira. Whether true or not, pirates have been attacking Qadira ships. Qadira finally had enough! They sent a small fleet to Taldor to put an end to the attacks."

"One of those ships was the Avenger, the latest and most advanced warship in the Qadira navy. It was under the command of Captain Slye. As the Avenger approached the Taldor Sea, a nasty fog set it and the Avenger became separated from the rest of the fleet. Most of the crew feared this was an ill omen, and they first recommended that the captain turn back, then protested against continuing. Bound for glory and treasure, Captain Slye had no intention of going back without a victory."

"Suddenly the fog cleared and the Avenger found itself facing ten Taldorian pirate ships. The rest of the Qadira fleet was nowhere to be seen."

"Whether Captain Slye truly believed that his ship could defeat the pirates or whether he was just too stubborn to admit failure, he command the crew to continue the attack."

"The crew, feeling they were sailing to their doom and under the prompting of the First Officer, Tarik Marwan, mutinied. After taking over the ship, the put the captain in a lifeboat and then fled from the Taldor ships."

"Captain Slye was 'rescued' by the Taldorians and they then ransomed him back to Qadira for 50,000 gold sovereigns, adding insult to injury."

"Qadira has put out a bounty on the mutineers... 20,000 gold for each of the six 'ring leaders' brought back alive so that they can be court-martialed and hung. The bounty is only 10,000 gold for each one brought back dead."

"There's an additional 20,000 gold reward if you bring back the Avenger, though most people think it's been sunk. There's also a 1,000 gold bounty on each of the other ten crewmen."

"Rumors have started that the mutineers have sought refuge in Absalom, despite the government's protests to the contrary. Lord Gyr requests that the Retriever's Guild find the mutineers before war breaks out. If they aren't returned to Qadira, Qadira will declare war on Absalom, or so the theory goes. They can probably get Geb and Katapesh to join them, and probably bribe Taldor to go along. Qadira's pockets are deep, and as a satrap of Casmaron, its potential army is even deeper."

"No one seriously thinks that Absalom could fall, but such a war could cause a lot of death, grief, and economic turmoil."

"The six men are Tarik Marwan, Umar Malik, Xavier Altair, Bari the Lynx, Kamal Kade, and Omar Ferran."

"So, that's your assignment. Any questions?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:41, Wed 04 Aug 2021.

"Any clues as to their whereabouts?" said the Tengu female from the corner.

She was garbed in simple if good quality robes, the hood casually draped over he head.

Arthur, ever keeping his face in the shadow of his hood, takes a moment to consider the question. "If they hired someone to squib the ship, they may have managed to hide in Absalom after all. Has there been any rumors of large new vessels coming into port?"

"Why are you asking me if there are any clues?" the Captain responds to Aikio. "That's your job!"

"I don't know about 'large new' ships, but ships come into Absalom everyday. This is the major trade port for entire sea."

"I suppose there's a certain amount of stupidity you could attribute to the mutineers simply because they mutinied. One could also argue that they'd have to be rather stupid to think they could get away with it."

"Then again, maybe they were a lot more clever that we're giving them credit for."

"I certainly wouldn't have sailed the ship into a port in the condition it was in. Banged it up some, changed the name, take down a mast... whatever I could to make it look like it'd seen better days. Nothing you could do about the size except try to make people focus on some other point."

"While there's something to be said for sailing into a busy port, they could also have taken it to a smaller port, like Diobel."

"I might have sold it to someone, or traded it for a smaller ship. Reinforce the 'hard times' angle."

"Anyway, that's what you'll have to find out. Where did they go? If they sold the ship... or scuttled it... they most likely would have scattered after that."

The Gray Mouser stood behind those that sat as Captain Braddock laid out what information he had on the mission they were to embark on.  She was covered from head to toe in the resplendent mithril full plate armor and helm sporting long red plumes which were the distinctive trappings of the Gray Maiden's, the all-female, elite bodyguard for Queen Ileosa Arabasti of Korvosa of which she had been its general before it had been disbanded after the Queens death.  A Longsword and Large shield were strapped to her back over a long red flowing cape.

She had no questions.  She was not an investigator.  That was the strength of other's of the Retriever's Guild.  She simply listened and waited for this meeting to end and for her team to start their next assignment.


This message was last edited by the player at 13:42, Thu 05 Aug 2021.

Jarinvar sat by the door of the building his Master had entered.  He wore leather barding, a saddle and saddlebags.  He remained alert as was his training, ready at any moment to respond should he hear his master's call for his aid.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:01, Fri 06 Aug 2021.

"If there’s no more information than the existence of mutineers and their names, then we’ve got a lot of work to do," she said, more to her fellow Pathfinders than the captain. "Any volunteers to do a bit of research? We need more detailed individual history on the mutineers, names of any family or known associates and their locations, potential places of refuge they might seek either individually or as a group, and as mentioned a list of any other nearby ports where they could have had the ship altered, etc."

Carissa gave a languid shrug.  "For those who wish to hunt these down, I'd suggest we start at the port.  They likely wouldn't be the only Quadiran's in port, but that helps narrow down what we are looking for.  If can find more information about them, that may be enough for one of my spirits to scry on them.  Find one, we might find clues the rest."

She gave a slow smile.  "Find somewhere where there are even a few Qadirans gathered, and I might be able to tempt a few to talk to me while some of you keep a keen eye out."

"You're right, it's as good a place as any." Arthur stands. "I'll pay a visit to the harbor master. If they came here, he's likely to have seen them, even if he didn't notice them."

The Gray Mouser looked to Fafhrd who had remained more silent than she would have expected and said in a powerfully booming voice, Perhaps we should check out the local taverns and pubs and see if we can find out anything from some drunken sailors and ship workers

She was not much for information gathering but knew her diminutive companion could get the job done if anyone could.  She only offered to go along in hopes of a stiff drink and a good bar fight.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:01, Fri 06 Aug 2021.

Fafhrd made eye contact with his good friend Mouse as she spoke to him and offered nothing more than a simple nod of agreement.  They had been given very little to go on and he felt that there wasn't anything that could possibly be asked that would garner any additional information.  He rarely spoke for the sole purpose of hearing his own voice.

Though local taverns and pubs were likely the best place to start Fafhrd couldn't help but roll his eyes at the suggestion.  He knew there was a high likelihood that Mouse would end up drinking too much, which would likely result in her smashing a few heads together.  The woman loved a good barroom brawl.  Though, her fights usually succeeded in drawing attention away from his efforts to gather information.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:19, Fri 06 Aug 2021.

With Fafhrd onboard she looked to the other's, Anyone else not 'investigating' up for a few drinks with me?

She knew that not everyone's strength's laid in seeking information and unless there were tasks that they were suited for to be done then a few might as well come along and help provide a distraction for and to possibly protect those who were.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Fri 06 Aug 2021.

He was late for the meeting and found others rushing out as he was rushing in. If both sides hadn't been in a hurry, there might have been an issue between Jak and the Gray Mouser's overly large kitty-cat.

"So, what'd I miss?" he asked those still there.

There were a couple of new faces that he didn't recognize, but he spotted Carissa. After he got caught up, he then asked:

"What does that leave us to do? Some went off to the Harbormaster and some went off to the docks to check out the dives."

"Anyone else know what to check out? Do you think they would have stuck together or scattered? One of them could have gone into the city and disappeared amid the teeming masses. Should we try looking for them there?"

"Oh-oh! What about a fortuneteller?"

Did she ignore him because she thought he was a talking animal?

Did he stutter?

Did she not understand him? Was his accent that bad?

Well, it was too soon for him to get upset. He was already use to that sort of treatment.

"Guess I'll go join one of the teams," he said to those still hanging around.

No one objected, so he headed out the door.

"Let's see... where were they going? Oh, yeah! The Harbormaster!"

So that's where he went.

Unless you wanted to meet somewhere else, everyone meets back here.

Once you compare what information you found, you can figure out what step to take next.

"So, you haven't found a lead yet," Captain Braddock says when everyone's returned and made their reports.

"I was starting to suspect something along those lines, Gray. It wasn't making any sense otherwise. No reason Qadira wouldn't have just hired bounty hunters. And that's only because of the humiliation... perceived humiliation, I might add... of having to pay to get Captain Slye back... if only to find out what happened to their pride-and-joy warship."

"I think it's safe to assume that Slye probably didn't give an accurate or truthful account. Hell, he may have blamed Absalom as a way to divert attention from his own ineptitude."

"Actually, now that it's come up, it wouldn't surprise me to find out that some one in the Qadira government might not have encouraged him to tell that particular lie."

"So, the ship never sailed into Absalom. Doesn't surprise me. Seeking asylum here probably wouldn't have worked out well for them anyway. As liberal as Absalom can be, mutiny isn't something a seafaring nation can tolerate."

"Not sure why Qadira thinks we would. Somebody behind the scenes wants something rather badly--that's my guess. From here on out, you should definitely watch your backs. Someone with power and influence... and probably wealth... doesn't want the mutineers to be found alive."

"Also, if you're not careful, you could get drawn into this web of intrigue... as collusion or scapegoats."

"The mutineers would have had a hard time going to any port along the Inner Sea. We should probably consider islands. They could have decided to settle on one of them, lived on the ship's supplies for a few months... even dismantled the ship to build houses."

"You might try checking out Diobel first, though. They could have put in there in the dark to resupply. Better quality and prices to be had in Absalom, but far greater risk."

"Anything else?"

The Gray Mouser was not happy with the lack of real leads.

It appears our only recourse is to acquire a ship and head out and start searching and seeking information at ports along the Inner Sea.  Diobel is as good a place to start as any.  Does anyone else feel they have a better plan?

---

The best Map I could find of the Inner Sea Region:

MAP Deleted
This message was last edited by the player at 22:47, Wed 01 Sept 2021.

"And it seems this Sirdar Ormizd is quite eager to see the muteneers silenced... making me all the more eager to have a chat with them."

At Gray's comment, Arthur asks "Wasn't Ochnam working on a ship? Perhaps we could use it for this expedition?"

"As sound a plan as any," said Aikio.

Her attired had returned to fine yet simple robes.

"Diobel is a good place to start."

Nice map, but it looks to be some future version of Golarion or someone's alternate universe. I can't find any reference to 'New Absalom'.

Western Absalom is Andoran at the present time, and Eastern Absalom is Taldor.

Kass counts out the gold that had been stored and looks at it for any distinguishing features. He asks "this Dagger was with the letters of Marque. It is magical, but I am not able to Discern its properties. Perhaps it is an aid to finding the ship or the mutineers? Can someone find out?"

"Allow me," Arthur says, whispering a quick spell to examine the item's magical aura.

OOC: Casting Detect Magic, and using my Spellcraft to identify the item. And I can identify an item that's level... 6 or lower. Not too impressive. I make sure to check for marks or writings too, in case there's something to identify the owner.

10:11, Today: Arthur Spellseeker rolled 21 using 1d20+17.  Spellcraft.

Fafhrd ponders upon Diobel in an attempt to share anything of interest or importance about the journey there and the place itself.

---

OOC:

16:23, Today: Fafhrd rolled 28 using 1d20+25.  Knowledge: Geography.

And this is why I prefer to stick to taking 10 when possible...the die roller roles shite too much of the time lol.

Carissa nods with Aikio. "I agree.  Let's follow where the clues lead, or even the faintest whiff of one."

After following Arthur back to the guildhouse, Jak listens to others' ideas before giving one of his own.

"It's starting to sound like some nasty plot against Absalom," he says. "Don't think the mutineers were in on it, but I can see someone setting up Captain Slye to go down the rabbit hole. Then, they just took advantage of it."

"D'ya think they are really trying to take down the city? Or are they just jockeying for better trade conditions?"

Diobel is another city on the Isle of Kortos, the same island that hosts Absalom. Diobel is maybe 20 miles away to the west, also on the coast and also a harbor. It is often referred to as the 'backdoor to Absalom' because it is used to move illegal or restricted goods into the city to avoid the watchful eyes of the Harbormaster, Tax Collector, and City Watch.

It's a trading port in its own right, but doesn't have the restrictions that Absalom has. It's also not as 'shiny and new' as Absalom.

If the mutineers sailed there, the most likely scenario is that one of them had been to Diobel at some time in the past, probably as a crewman on another ship, since the Avenger was too new to have ever visited Diobel before.

Having taken time to consider the possibility of Diobel being a destination for the mutineers he speaks to the group:

"If the mutineers did sail to Diobel it is highly probable that at least one of them has been to Diobel before though most likely as a crewman on another ship as the Avenger is too new to have ever visited Diobel before.

Diobel is a city located along the coast of the Isle of Kortos and is about 20 miles to the west of the city of Absalom.   Diobel is a trading port in its own right but doesn't have the restrictions that Absalom has, and it also acts as a gateway into Absalom for those moving illegal or restricted goods into the city.  This 'backdoor' entry point allows the movement of such goods to avoid the watchful eyes of the Harbormaster, Tax Collector, and the City Watch."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:12, Mon 30 Aug 2021.

"You don't need to sail to Diobel. You can walk or ride there," the Captain says. "If you don't find anything there, all sailing would do is save you time from walking back."

"You should probably consider a couple of options."

"One, if the ship put into Diobel, how much supplies did they take on? That might give you an idea of how far they were planning on sailing."

"Two, did any of them disembark and head out into the countryside to become a farmer or something. Or did they sign on to another ship maybe?"

"Three, you might give some thought to where the mutineers would have sailed. Katapesh maybe? Cheliax? Some obscure isle? Perhaps even to the Shackles to become pirates."

I think going by ship is our best option.  If we find any good leads we might not be returning to Absalom.  As you said, their are other ports on the mainland or islands within the region.  If we have access to a ship here then that would be easier than acquiring one in Diobel.  Returning here could just be a waste of time.  She looked to Ochnam Is your vessel ready to set sail?

"She was ready last week" Ochnam said with frustration. "Who could've known paperwork would be harder than building a gigantic self sailing adamantine vessel. And after we dealt with all the paperwork, I was told since she is technically an unintelligent construct I had to make my registration at Arcanamirium, because they also act as the mages guild here. But Arcanamirium officials had sent me back to Harbormaster because my ship was only going to be used as a ship, and was not fit for their criteria of servant constructs. After several visits to both, Harbormaster agreed to register my ship. by the way my ship is also the captain and the crew of her own. And I own a trade company now and my ship is technically an employee. Don't ask that part I wasn't paying attention." Ochnam took a deep breath then he continued his rant.

"And when I thought everything was done, Harbormaster told me that since I wrote 0 gold as my ship's salary it was technically slavery and since slavery is illegal here, I needed a proof showing that my ship is an unintelligent construct. He was just messing with me at this point. We could've just changed the salary but no, he demanded us to hire some experts from Arcanamirium to perform an inspection. At that point I may or may not have drawn my weapon and threathen him with cursing his bloodline. So I kicked out from Harbormaster's office" he said sheepishly.

"But Isandros handled it. He somehow calmed down the Harbormaster in my absence. And they are most likely doing the inspection right now. He would be here soon with necessary papers. Then we can sail wherever we want.

"Just be glad we're not in Egorian. Half their paperworks requires devil witnesses." Arthur says with a disgusted scowl. "Either way, the worst is done. All we need is to gather the supplies, and we can head out to Diobel. That little trip will give us a chance to check the small islands near the coast."

Isandros enters the meeting, his expression is weary for a second but quickly changes into a wide smile. "It's done!" he exclaims while walking closer to Ochnam. He turns to the rest of the team and says "Sorry about my tardiness, busy day." and takes out a stack of forms and certificates from his bag. "Here is the inspection report, the revised vessel and construct documentation, the ship's license to operate itself, and finally the port clearance papers so we can actually leave the port. Thank your stars I didn't need another set of signatures." He whispers as he hands the stack to Ochnam.

"So what are we up to now?" he asks no one in particular so that he could be caught up to speed.

The Shadovin offered Isandros a smile and a nod of greeting, "It seems you've arrived just in time for us to leave.  We are heading over to Diobel to see if we can get any leads as to the whereabouts of our quarry."

"We should be on our way soon," said Aikio. "But would it be advantageous for some of us to arrive by land?"

Carissa nodded to Aikio. "That would make sense. I am willing go travel overland if needed, but we would need to ensure we arrive at least within a day or two of each other."

"Keeping track on long distance is easy. We just have to curse each other! I can prepare weapons right now." said Ochnam with enthusiasm.

OOC: This is the spell
https://www.aonprd.com/SpellDi...me=Mark%20of%20Blood

"Are you cursing us or yourself or your weapon?" Jak wondered.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be cursed! On top of that, you have to strike each of us? All of us? Or just one of us?"

"Good point, Aikio! If some of us travel by land, we might be able to find out if any of the crew left the ship and took up farming somewhere in the interior. Or hunting and trapping maybe."

"It looks like it's only about a day's travel to Diobel overland, maybe two days if we move a bit slow and talk to people. Let's make it three days then. We'll meet the ship in Diobel in 3 days."

"So, I'm willing to travel by land. If we don't get there in three days, then what? Does anyone have the ability to scry or otherwise communicate with us?"

"Ideally we would curse one people from each group so we can both track each other. It is a perfectly safe process, except getting hit by a weapon but don't mind that part. I can be the one cursed in the ship group. Ochnam wiped his glasses while obviously thinking about something. Most likely money.

"I can provide a single scroll of sending if you can give me two hours, and I can perform sending myself, though it also costs a bit. Same is also true for scrying but it is rather unpractical for communication."

I will go with those by land.  My skills are more useful in the wilderness and Jerinvar is not so keen on ocean travel.

She said as she pet her feline companions head.

I will also volunteer to be the target of your spell.  I do not fear being struck by your weapon, it will only add to the plethora of scars and wounds my body is already marred with.

I have my own mount.  Do other's need to acquire horses or are we planning on walking? Two to Three days is not a very long hike to be done on foot.  I will need to purchase a few items before we leave Absalom.

Let us divide ourselves and begin our preparations... Jak and I will go by land, Ochnam by sea, what say the rest of you?  We gain nothing by tarrying any longer here than we have to.

"I will also come by land. I will manage without a mount," said Aikio. "It leaves me more free to scout ahead. And I can keep pace well enough."

"I'll join the land team as well, in case they need access to a scrying spell." Arthur says. "I'll get myself a horse as well, so I don't slow you down."

Kass says "I think I'm better off with the land expedition. My mount is a hippogryph, and she needs to land every so often. Kind of hard on a ship to be suddenly burdened with an extra 1000 pounds suddenly  And my Dino companion would rather run than swim."

"As an investigator,  traveling by land would allow me to employ my trade upon any we cross paths with along the way."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:30, Tue 14 Sept 2021.

"Well, now, that's just about everyone going by land," Jak points out. "I suppose, in a way, that's probably a good idea. We can get used to working with each other."

"The problem with horses is what to do with them when we reach Diobel and have to board the ship. It doesn't sound like Ochnam's ship will have any problem with a hippogriff unless its wings would interfere with the rigging... or vice versa."

Indeed Jak. My ship has 2 decks, 20 ballistae, and 150 tons cargo capacity. It would've needed crew of 20 sailors if I hadn't built it as an autonomous construct. So we have a lot of space." Ochnam puffed as he talked about his ship.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:28, Wed 15 Sept 2021.

"Well, I'll be on the ship. As much as I'd like to wander the countryside, I feel like my efforts would be more fruitful at Diobel." Isandros pauses and turns his head towards Ochnam. "Plus, somebody has to act as a liaison for Ochnam here if we don't want a repeat of today." He adds with a smirk.

"Also, I don't think having a sizable team scanning the land would be better. Large groups of travellers can attract considerable attention and we look like a platoon of misfit adventurers already." He says while gesturing widely around the room. "If your rumours outpace you, anyone that doesn't want to be found would disappear" He snaps his fingers before continuing "just like that."

Kass says "well, that does make a difference. Then I and my animals will travel by sea. I may not be a skilled sailor, but it sounds as if you don't require any. But I can still serve as airborne scout and offer my other abilities.  Spotting and identifying ship's colors before you interact with other vessels has its uses."

A delay of a day while supplies are gathered isn't going to make that big of a difference since the chance of you actually encountering the mutineers at this point are pretty slim even if they did make port in Diobel. It's been nearly a month since the mutiny--it takes a long time to get around between countries.

So, at this point, we have...


Unspecified yet: Allen Ramey, Banett Alrog, Dorlan Tsung, Hernak Glaiber, Myles Garrett, and Zaira Zatara.