The heroes spent some time researching Luna Aldred before their meeting. Luna Aldred happened to be in Olfden during the Night of the Silver Blood, and in that night she single-handedly held back one whole flank of attacking werewolves just long enough for the town to defeat the rest of the lupine army. Although Luna fell in battle, the high priest of Sarenrae returned her to life the next day. After her death and resurrection, Luna established a Pathfinder Society safehouse in Olfden. A plaque dedicated to Luna at the site of her heroic stand and unfortunate fall commemorates the event.
At the time of the meeting, the heroes were seated at the main hall of the Sitting Duck, waiting for the arrival of Olfden's Pathfinder, a tall, light-haired and fair-skinned woman named Luna Aldred. Renowned for her composure under pressure and as the Protector of Olfden, she appeared in the hall suddenly, wearing fine leather armor and holding an elaborate quarterstaff, and introduced herself before getting to the point.
"My greatest pupil, Pathfinder Bodriggan Wuthers, has gone missing. He followed a cleric contact back to Wuthers' home city of Oppara to work on a massive dig beneath the House of the Immortal Son, Oppara's famed opera house and once temple to the dead god, Aroden. That was a year ago. He sent monthly reports, hoping to see their publication in a chronicle, before all contact dried up a few months back. I'm worried something has gone wrong, and the Society has a vested interest in the artifact he was researching and seeking. I want you to travel to Oppara and find Wuthers. I'd like to know exactly what he was seeking, too, since he neglected to inform me through his monthly correspondence. He hinted only that the cleric of Irori he was working with told him the object was the world's greatest 'living' artifact - whatever that means."
The heroes accepted her mission for a reward plus their travel expenses. They spent their time in Falcon's Hollow gathering information about Irori, the god of knowledge, and Taldor, the nation whose capital Oppara is. The introspection and decadence of Taldor dooms its relationship with Andoran to a minor irritant, at best. The Taldan nobles spend their time plotting against each other, against Qadira, against Cheliax - in short, against nearly everyone on Golarion. They are in no danger of uniting to face Andoran, and until they do, the worst they can offer is a series of raids and border skirmishes, which the Andoren militia guards against with fervor and dedication. Andorens can trade in Taldor and travel freely, though of late more Andorens have been disappearing in the cities and villages of their ancient mother country. After preparing for their journey, the heroes accompanied by Seoni and Savram, escorted Luna to Olfden (4 days wagon ride south from Falcon's Hollow), where their paths split. Luna had a few more advice for them before they separated:
"I have a few tidbits of information to pass to you before you go: the House of the Immortal Son is nearly impossible to access. It took Wuthers months and countless bribes to get where he did. For you, I have a much simpler idea. Go to an opera, wait for an opportunity, and then exploit it to find Wuthers and his dig site."
"Be sure to wear something festive - the Taldan nobility are arrogant on their best days and if you arrive dressed like that," she waved her hands at them "they'll surely lose your tickets or regret to inform you that the opera house is oversold."
"Go and I will contact you in three weeks to learn what you find."
The heroes reached Oppara four days before Luna would contact them, and got to work gathering information about Bodriggan Wuthers and the House of the Immortal Son. They learned that Bodriggan Wuthers was an orphan of unknown ancestry, found 20 years ago on the doorstep of the Pathfinder Lodge of Taldor's capital, Oppara. He was raised in an orphanage, but the Taldan Pathfinders made it a point to look in on him from time to time, encouraging the boy's curiosity and pushing him towards the life of the vagabond scholar. They got what they desired. When Wuthers turned 16, he left the orphanage behind and traveled to Abalom to join the Pathfinder Society. After a few years of training and following Luna Aldred, Wuthers settled easily into his routine, travelling Avistan and Garund seeking greater glory for himself and the Society through treasure hunting. He quickly made a name for himself, battling through a host of demon-possessed apes in the Screaming Jungle at age 18 to recover the Garls Harp, an Azlanti musical instrument thought lost to time and memory. His tale of that finding saw his first of many reports appear in the Pathfinder Chronicles and his fame as a Pathfinder was sewn into the fabric of the Society. They also learn of the history and inaccessibility of the opera house.
Once a temple to Aroden, the House of the Immortal Son has, since his death, been Taldor's most opulent and expensive opera house. It is a large, windowless, cylindrical building made of polished marble and granite and surrounded by thick, finely-carved pillars. Built in the earliest traditional styles of Aroden temples, the opera house lacks windows and its roof is a complicated piece of stone statuary that replicates the complicated symbol of Aroden, a steady winged eye gazing forever toward the heavens.
Though the House of the Immortal Son has a reputation for opulence and excess, it didn't turn away the heroes when they displayed an obvious amount of money. Mrunk and Seoni dressed in courtier's outfits and jewelry, while Hrol and Wrack were equipped as their guards. Savram stayed behind at their inn.
Among the Living, the title of the Opera the heroes attend, debuted the night they visit the House of the Immortal Son. It's an epic tale of a lone Ulfen warrior named Victory who sails to the end of Golarion, crashes off the edge of the world, and finds himself in a gothic paradise where he falls in love with the undead queen of a jungle kingdom.
The interior of the House of the Immortal Son is full of expensive carpets, excessive gilding, and ridiculously large candelabras and chandeliers. The other atendees present an excess of wealth and an unparalleled level of opulence has gone into their outfits, wigs, hair styles, and jewelry.
The heroes entered from the Green Entrance, a rather plain, marbled hallway filled with simple granite pillars. The floor is split by a bright green carpet, indicating that this entrance is reserved for commoners when they are allowed to attend.
Filled with classic church pews now covered in the finest silks and cushions, the main room of the opera house is what the heroes would expect from a temple-turned-theater. An odd mixture of religious symbols (all of the deceased god Aroden) and modern theater tropes cover the walls, ceilings, and finely-carved pillars.
The wooden stage was painted black and currently decorated to look like a jungle underworld, with fake plants, vines, and a backdrop of jungle scenery. An orchestra pit separates the stage from the main opera house and a thick, red velvet curtain conceals the back of the stage.
Once the heroes settled into their seats near the far back by the doors, the opera started. It was melodramatic, over-acted, gaudy, and tasteless. As yet another twirling dancer in a brown costume festooned with bright pink, flowing silk scarves spun across the jungle set at the front of the stage, the orchestra reached a screeching crescendo that crashed the entire opera to a halt. The dancers stood quietly for a moment, breathing heavily and listening to the scattered applause across the obviously bored Taldan audience. Suddenly, a sound like a thousand gongs shook the entire building to its very foundation and the audience murmured in a mixture of delight and fear. The actors and orchestra, however, fled the stage, disappearing behind the curtains.
Hrol and Wrack took a few moments to detect evil and magic, respectively. Moments after the gong, the doors leading into the opera house crashed open and a horde of zombies flooded in, immediately attacking any nobles too shocked to run. The heroes were concerned with the zombies that came in from the nearest door, as they moved directly toward them and attacked. The zombies all fought to the death.
Once the action got started, all of the interior doors the heroes found were ajar. Signs of battle are everywhere - blood, corpses, abandoned clothing or refinery, torn wallpaper, broken mirrors, shattered chandeliers, chipped marble, etc.
Once the zombies were defeated and the nobles had fled their zombie attackers, the heroes found the opera house empty. Bodies of several dozen dead lay scattered about the room and signs of carnage stretched out of every door in every direction. Screaming, moaning, and the sounds of combat could be heard from every corner of the opera house.
