Goodbye Hrol...? (Neth [November] 4707 AR)

While the heroes were on the main floor, they heard from nearby a voice cry out, "For Father Grim, for Fel Bustrani, consume them and multiply!"

When they investigated the voice above, they found a pack of theatergoers, backed into a room, frightened and pushing those at the front towards a Zyphus cleric and her pack of zombies. The room was tight, with the intended victims tightly packed and the zombies closing in.

When the heroes arrived, the cleric ordered the zombies to attack them instead, screaming, "Kill the usurpers, my minions, for the glory of Zyphus and the glory of Fel Bustrani!" Zyphus is an evil (but minor) god of accidental death and his followers keep to themselves, guarding forgotten graveyards and abandoned barrows.

One of the cowering opera aficionados was none other than Emperor Stavian III's consul for the Fourth District of Oppara Prefecture, Magistros Sebastus Hustavan. Hustavan is a tall, frighteningly thin man of advanced age. His short, gray hair stuck to his head as if it were bathed in cooking oil and his thick, white beard, meticulously trimmed and braided, positively glistened with wax. He wore the finery of his office, a blue silk shoulder sash over long white robes, and his fingers were encrusted with bejeweled rings. In short, Hustavan felt he had a lot to live for and begged incessantly during the battle for the heroes to save his life. He didn't get anywhere near the zombies or their insane cleric master, but he moved closer to the heroes when he could, shouting out such niceties as, "I outrank everyone in the room, your Emperor requires you to save me!" and "A glorious strike, peasant! The divine hand of Emperor Stavian has guided you here to save me!" and "For the glory of Taldor, you must free me from the bowels of Hell!"

The cleric of Zyphus used cause fear immediately to scare away Hrol, not knowing he was immune to fear. She preferred to keep the zombies between herself and the heroes and to fight with her heavy pick at close range. She used inflict light wounds to heal the zombies during the fight. A fierce and devoted loyalist, the cleric of Zyphus fought to the death.

After the heroes managed to slay the cleric and her minions, they found a holy symbol of Zyphus and a letter from Fel Bustrani to all of his followers in the cleric's belt pouch:

"Loyalists of the Grim Harvestman, our time has come!

My plan to recover the stone, blessed by our beloved Harbinger of Unexpected Tragedy Himself, has succeeded beyond my wildest hopes. The fool Pathfinder I convinced to journey here has fed the strength of our Lord by encountering an unexpected tragedy of his own. His hard work for Grim was not in vain! Come to me at once, at the appointed hour and place, and we shall lay out a bounty for mighty Zyphus that He will not soon forget. When Pharasma, hated cretin, lies slain in the bowels of Hell and out mighty Harbinger rules the afterlife, He will reward His faithful few with everlasting life and power of unspeakable might! Come to me, brothers and sisters, come to me!

Fel"

Since Hustavan managed to survive the encounter, he latched onto the heroes like a lost puppy and he spent the rest of the day equally declaring them his saviors and reminding them that he is their superior. The rest of the theatergoers rushed off into other parts of the opera house, seeking an exit - or perhaps hoping to rid themselves of Hustavan's company.

The heroes continued their exploration of the main floor. On the marble floor lay the entwined bodies of multiple combatants. The hands of noble corpses gripped daggers, makeshift clubs, and even a gem-encrusted rapier. Mixed in were the twice dead bodies of zombies, their gray skin fetid and rotting.

Deanaris Quint, loyal follower of Zyphus, led a small band of warriors in a meandering circuit of the opera house, looking for anyone brave enough to put up a fight. The heroes heard Quint's band ahead of time.

Quint and her boys had already put down a couple of resistances and sought another to slay in the name of their grim lord. The heroes found slain bodies gripping makeshift weapons and torn by the puncture wounds of a heavy pick throughout the rest of the day. The heroes and Quint's band run into each other near an open door.

Deanaris Quint drank a potion on her first round of combat. Quint and her band worked well together and focused on one target at a time. Fierce and devoted loyalists, they fought to the death. All of the cultists carried a copy of the letter found previously.

As the heroes continued exploring the main floor, they found various parts of a dozen corpses lying strewn across the floor. Blood and gore stained everything, making the floor slick and filling the room with a metallic aroma. Bodies lay askew, mouths hanging open in silent screams, faces contorted in fear.

Immediately upon finding the scene described above, the heroes saw the human zombies among the carnage before they rose and acted as the zombies struggled to stand up. All of the zombies were freshly risen members of Taldor's nobility. Another humanoid zombie was not mixed into the carnage, but instead wandered in from another area during combat. The heroes defeated the zombies and moved on.

The heroes eventually descended to the basement on the opera house. Used primarily to store larger set pieces, this musty basement was now the home to a dig project that extended into the bedrock east of the room. This room was well lit by standing lamps.

Glistening with water, the slick walls and floor of the cavern were recently carved from the thick bedrock beneath Oppara. Well lit by standing lamps, the tunnels stretched into an adjacent chamber, seemingly carved form the bedrock as well. However, the adjacent chamber was made of smooth walls, covered in strange glyphs, and also lit by the same standing lamps. At the center of that chamber stood a tall stone dais. In the middle of the dais was a huge boulder which, by all appearances, fell a great distance before crashing here. The boulder glowed with an eerie green light.

In the room was a cleric of Zyphus and his giant zombie minion. Once the cleric saw the heroes, he immediately ordered his minion to attack anyone entering the room and positioned himself on the dais next to the stone. He fought to the death to protect it.

When the cleric saw the heroes coming, he cast desecrate to strengthen the giant zombie, drank his potion of invisibility, and cast divine favor on himself. He cast cause fear on Hrol, not knowing he was immune, and then waded into combat, breaking away and drinking potions as needed. Throughout combat, he was mindful of how hurt either himself or his giant were and used the appropriate spells to heal himself or the zombie. He fought to the death, but not before his zombie killed Hrol.

Dead Men Walking (Neth [November] 4707 AR)

The heroes decided to pay off the rest of Hrol's debt to Lady Cirthana in order to be free to adventure as they please. Before Hrol moved out of the temple, he received a letter addressed to him and his adventuring companions from Luna Aldred of Olfden. who wanted to meet them in a week's time at the Sitting Duck.

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.

Intermission (Sarenith-Lamashan 4707 AR) [June-October]

Mikra seemed to recover quickly from his harrowing experience and soon began to exhibit magical abilities under the tutelage of Seoni (the boy is a natural sorcerer and his exposure to magic in the ruins awakened his talent).

Savram turned from his study of necromancy when he got back to Falcon's Hollow. His traumatic experience in the ossuary left emotional scars and a phobia for undead. Savram's father, Sharvaros, was disgusted with the boy and threw him out. The necromancer even blamed the heroes for his son's newfound distaste for undead. Hrol arranged for the boy to stay at the Church of Iomedae under his wing.

The heroes spend the next several months in Falcon's Hollow, getting to know the people in the town and becoming involved in the community. During this time, Hrol has payed off almost half of his debt to Lady Cirthana. Wrackomelor bought a cart with horses, out of which he started a brewing business.

The heroes also had the opportunity to participate in a number of major and minor holidays in the region:

Sarenith 3rd. Liberty Day. Marks Andoran's independence from foreign rule.

Last Sunday in Sarenith. Goblin Flea Market.

Last Sunday in Erastus. Goblin Flea Market.

Arodus 16th. Armasse. A holiday at the Church of Iomedae, where commoners are trained in combat and learn from history.

Last Sunday in Arodus. Silverglazer Sunday. Two-part fishing festival involving swimming contests and huge puppets.

First Sunday in Rova. Silverglazer Sunday. Second half of the festival.

Second Oathday in Rova. Signing Day. Marks the day Andoran broke from Taldor.

Rova 19th. Day of the Inheritor. A holiday at the Church of Iomedae, which marks the absorption of Aroden's faithful into her church.

Second Moonday of Lamashan. Harvest Feast. Celebrates the harvest and the end of field work for the year.

Lamashan 6th. Ascendance Day. A holiday at the Church of Iomedae, celebrating Her divine ascension.

Lamashan 27th. Jestercap. Day of pranks and practical jokes. Particularly favored by gnomes.

Concluding the Adventure (days 12-13)

The heroes encountered a familiar group of drunk human hunters before they returned to Falcon's Hollow, but the rest of their journey was quiet.

Most of the children saved and the dangerous kobold king slain, the party returned as heroes to Falcon's Hollow.

Mikra's father Colbrin was overjoyed at his beloved son's return and showed his gratitude any way he could (meat is on the house at his butcher shop from here on out).

Kimi's mother Kitani became obsessed with Hrol and attempted to begin a relationship with him. She is a beautiful and charming raven-haired half-elf well practiced in seduction. So far, Hrol resisted...

Thuldrin Kreed, the Gavel, initially angered at his son's loss, advised Hrol to remove himself from Lady Cirthana's service, and even to leave town, telling him that she is not what she seems. He refused to elaborate further...

Savram returned to his hermit father.

Hollin's sister Ralla thanked the heroes profusely for their help but tried to distance herself from the adventurers.

Purchasing Items

There is a 75 % chance that any item worth 880 gp or lower can be found for sale with little effort in Falcon's Hollow. In addition, Falcon's Hollow currenlty has a number of other items for sale:

• scroll of break enchantment (1,000 gp)
• ring of protection +1 (2,000 gp)
• wand of darkvision (4,500 gp)
• wand of ghoul touch (4,500 gp)
• wand of resist energy (4,500 gp)
• wand of scare (4,500 gp)
• wand of tree shape (4,500 gp)
• wand of heroism (6,000 gp)
• wand of misdirection (6,000 gp)
• bracers of armor +3 (9,000 gp)
• wand of wind wall (11,250 gp)
• ring of minor electricity resistance (12,000 gp)
• small +1 buckler of arrow deflection and light fortification (16,155 gp)

Nonmagical items and gear are generally available in Falcon's Hollow unless the item costs more than 880 gp.

Crown of the Kobold King (day 11)

Before leaving the dungeon, the heroes released all of the captured kobolds and Wrack said his "goodbye" to Vreggma, after tricking her to stay behind and wait for him. Before heading out in to the forest, they searched for Jeva's tracks one last time, without finding any,

On their way back, the heroes encountered and killed a zombie kobold who wore a crude wood sign bearing the word "shaman" in Draconic. Later that night they found the body of a half-elf adventurer clad in masterwork leather armor with a masterwork longsword strapped to his hip. His body was slumped between a pair of large oak trees, his skull bashed in. A bulky sack stained with gore and bits of brain, tightly tied shut, sat nearby. The sack contained a haul of three hefty dwarven iron goblets set with fire opals. One of them was animated. When it detected the heroes it lurched about, trying to slay them too, but the heroes destroyed it.

Crown of the Kobold King (days 10-11)

A fissure opened into a crevasse within a stalagmite cave. Navigating the crevasse required climbing. A medium character must squeeze to fit through the crevasse. The heroes sent down Edgrin, who told them the cave was inhabited by a giant bat. The heroes decided to ignore it and look for the last child.

They found him in a dark and cold ossuary which was full of the sound of dripping water. A dark corridor ran north down the center of the room, while to either side two large bays opened into small niches that contained ancient dwarven skeletons. At the far end of the corridor rest a large iron anvil. All of the niches were once barred with locked iron grates. The grates were rusted and broken along the far east and west walls. The ones that sealed the alcoves directly adjacent to the corridor, however, were still solid. The sealed alcoves contained dwarf skeletons, five on either side of the corridor. These bones did not animate until the heroes tried to traverse the hallway. Small openings between the backs of the niches and the hallway allowed the skeletons to reach through the wall to claw at the heroes as they passed. The heroes destroyed the skeletons. Savram Vade lay behind the anvil on the opposite end of the corridor. He ran down the corridor, receiving a vicious cut on his arm from a skeleton's claw. Other than that wound and the fact that he is dehydrated and hasn't eaten in days, the boy is alright. With all the children accounted for, the heroes rested before heading back out of the dungeon.

Crown of the Kobold King (days 8-10)

Hollin stayed catatonic after his freakish reptilian captors were slain. They boy had to be picked up and carried off. He came to after a few hours but remained withdrawn and never really recovered from the horrors of his capture.

The next cozy chamber was heated by bricks of mold-ridden incense. A tousled wolf-skin bed lay in one corner of the room, a stone table piled high with poorly crafted necklaces, rings and bracelets of gold in another. Several chucks of obsidian were stacked haphazardly on one wall there as well, forming a bizarre half-mirror. Vreggma was the consort of Merlokrep and a particularly stunning kobold female with shiny blue scales. Her grief over her king's demise was particularly short-lived, and she immediately attempted the coquettish seduction of Wrackomelor. In the end, Vreggma followed the heroes through the dungeons, fawning over Wrackomelor.

The next tunnel was blocked by a massive cave-in. Near the stone rubble the corpses of two kobolds lay stretched out on the floor, seemingly uninjured and yet stone-cold dead. Angular letters on the wall above the heads of the dead kobolds spelt out an inscription. This lonely stretch of corridor led to a now sealed cave. The splattered graffitti was a warning in rhyming Draconic: "Darky-dark below, and whispers soft and low. Evil lurks, its lipless mouth smirks. Do not go! Only death below!" Three shadows floated here in the dark. When the heroes approach the caved-in section, these incorporeal undead foes emerged from the walls to attack. After almost making Hrol their spawn, the shadows were destroyed. After that fight, the heroes needed an extended rest to recuperate. They returned to the first room of this level to rest, where they realized that the cauldron that had carried them down had been transported up by someone, possibly a fleeing Jeva.

After their rest, they gave up the search for Jeva on the second level of the dungeons and Mrunk and Edgrin climbed up to the first level to lower the cauldron again. They then set forth to find Jurin. Unlike the rest of this level, the next area featured rough stone and undressed rock reminiscent of a mine shaft. The tunnels divided and rejoined several times, making it difficult to maintain a sense of direction. Compounding this confusion, thick acrid smoke filled these tunnels, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few feet. These rough-hewn tunnels led to a great hall. All creatures in the tunnels had concealment. The forge spurned in the great hall kept a hell hound there to maul tresspassers. When the hell hound detected the heroes it stalked them, concealing itself until it could catch them in its breath before charging into melee. It fought to the death.

A loud crackling sound filled the next room. The smoke that poured from it was blistering hot and lit with a strange orange light. Inside stood a massive anvil, and nearby rested hammers, prongs, and other blacksmithing tools. A roar of flame issued from further inside the room. An undead monstrosity was left here by Droskar's wrath. The smoke was even thicker here, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few feet. Jurin Kreed, the young scion of Falcon's Hollow most powerful family, was sequestered here by an evil undead dwarf called a forge spurned. The forge spurned had already been hard at work at the anvil beating a new link for its soul-forged chain. When the link had been complete the creature sucked Jurin's soul into it, adding the boy to his gruesome menagerie. When the heroes entered the room, the forge spurned flew into a smoldering rage and leveled its hatred at the party. Eventually, the heroes destroyed it and its soul chain, releasing the souls of Jurin and the other victims.