Ruins of Azlant: The Lost Outpost [IC]

[lostsole31]

Trouble in Paradise!

The Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path begins with the adventurers standing on the deck of a ship ready to make landfall at their new home.
However, dread settles in as they notice that the colony is empty and abandoned.
Tasked with uncovering the whereabouts of the prior group of colonists, the adventurers go ashore and explore the deserted settlement. Uncovering strange evidence leads the adventurers across the island, where they encounter two survivors who can give them clues as to the fate of the rest of the first wave of settlers.
Can the adventurers survive long enough to discover what truly befell the fledgling colony?

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Character [Player]	Speech Color	AL	Faith	Race [Ethnicity] (Gender ID)	Side #1	Side #2	Campaign Trait
Arsenne [Danath]	Violet	LG	Shelyn	Human (m) [Chelaxian]	Cleric 2 [Sacred Attendant]	Monk	Set Mind
Eirina Silverleaf [Espeon55]	Teal	NG	Ketephys	Half-Elf (f) [Elf-Raised, Chelaxian]	Hunter 2	Rogue 2 [Eldritch Scion]	Seasoned Hunter
Kaen Silverleaf [digiman619]	Green	NG	Elven Pantheon	Elf (m)	Aegis 2 [Trailblazer]	Vizier 2	Azlanti Scholar
Mr. Luren Arvodair [NPC]	Indigo	??	???	Wut. (m)	???	???	???
Roran Westlin [rypt]	Dark Orange	NG	Desna + Nethys	Human (m) [Taldan]	Daevic 2 (Knowledge)	Investigator 2 [Antiquarian]	Expert Explorer
Thikha'Nes Meswad ("Thickness") [5ColouredWalker]	Blue	LG	Wadjet (& Osirian pantheon)	Sobek (m)	Bard 2 [Arcane Duelist]	Zealot 2	Healthy
Zeferin Voss [Moogle/ KupoTheMage]	Golden Rod	NG	Agnostic	Human (m) [Varisian]	Fighter 2 [Dragonheir Scion]	Rogue 2 [Bruiser + Rake]	Athletic

[lostsole31]

The colony of Talmandor’s Bounty is first and foremost a financial venture. The desire to spread freedom and democracy across Golarion is definitely part of the settlement’s mandate; nevertheless, the resources necessary to settle an island far from the mainland are not inconsiderable. Talmandor’s Bounty has two primary sponsors: the Andoren government, and a newly formed finance company named the Bountiful Venture Company. The Bountiful Venture Company is co-owned by House Naran and House Vaylen, two of the three merchant houses running Andoran’s major banks. Managing the colony through a company in this way protects the assets of both houses’ banks should the endeavor prove unprofitable and the Bountiful Venture Company go bankrupt. If the company were to go bankrupt, the colony’s business assets revert to the Republic of Andoran, subject to the People’s Council.

The Venture Company also provides both merchant houses a relative degree of anonymity. The Bountiful Venture Company wishes to export natural resources, such as agricultural staples, lumber, mined ore (especially lucrative skymetals), and recovered artifacts, relics, and other antiquities.

Spoiler: Kaen, Roran, Zeferin

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House Naran, however, also provides banking services for the Andoran-based Lumber Consortium, and its investment in a colonial lumber operation could be a significant conflict of interest—hence the need for anonymity. Were the Lumber Consortium to become aware of the relationship between House Naran and the Bountiful Venture Company, that conflict of interest would be exposed.

The individual colonists each have their own motivations for joining the colony, but certain incentives and potential rewards appeal to just about anyone. If the Bountiful Venture Company successfully exports goods from Ancorato, each settler in the first few groups of colonists is entitled to a small share of the profits. This occurs only after the initial costs of the settlement are recouped, which may take years. Additionally, these early settlers receive a land grant once the colony becomes self-sufficient. These benefits serve to make early settlers feel invested in the venture while motivating them to work hard to quickly build an infrastructure for future settlers and industry. Colony leaders Rayland Arkley (from the first group to arrive on the Liberty’s Herald) and Ramona Avandth (on the Peregrine) are promised marginally larger shares.

Ramona Avandth is the acting leader of the colony. Ramona’s role is to facilitate the adventure and not impinge on their character’s agency during the course of events in the upcoming adventures.

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The Peregrine is a three-masted sailing ship with a spritsail on the bow. The vessel is 100 feet long and 25 feet across at its widest point. There are three decks and the ship can accommodate a cargo volume of 180 tons. Two ship’s boats, used to ferry passengers and cargo ashore, are stacked on top of each other on the top deck. Each ship’s boat is 10 feet by 20 feet, and is capable of transporting eight Medium creatures without squeezing.

The Peregrine’s cargo manifest is not listed in detail and will be handled in an abstract manner, particularly if the items are mundane and common in nature. The Liberty’s Herald brought numerous tools, such as wood axes, shovels, saws, barrels of nails, and an anvil—everything necessary for multiple work crews to perform carpentry, farming, masonry, and smithing work. Foodstuffs, including grains, hardy vegetables, preserves, and salted meats, were also transported to help the colonists in their first few months while they planted crops, assessed the lay of the land, and located reliable game. The Liberty’s Herald also left one of its ship’s boats at the colony so the first group of colonists could move around the island by water. The Peregrine also carries supplies and materials, but as it was anticipated that the tools from the first ship are still available, its cargo contains much more food and a small herd of goats.

If the PCs require basic tools like hammers, rope, and iron spikes, they should be available within reason. Though the supply of materials is not inexhaustible, as long as the PCs don’t take advantage of their fellow settlers, these items are loaned out to them for the purpose of helping the entire colony. Specialized equipment like alchemical weapons, rarer adventuring equipment, and magic items are typically not available except where specifically described, although individual PCs can certainly bring those items along with them as part of their starting equipment (and most of you have).

---

There is no societal infrastructure to support the PCs in their endeavors on the island beyond their fellow settlers. There are no taverns, inns, or merchants, nor anyone to buy their treasure and sell them equipment upgrades. After 6 weeks, the Peregrine is scheduled to return to the colony (or another vessel if the crew of the Peregrine has cause to decline). Captain Jacob Markosi will anything the PCs wish to sell, and will purchase any equipment and magic items they want from Almas to be delivered on the next return trip. This can even include new formulae or spells transcribed into spellbooks from city-based arcane casters and alchemists.

[lostsole31]

After six long weeks, this morning the crew of the Peregrine sighted land to the west. A few hours later, the Peregrine sails into a natural bay with a sandy beach within rowing distance for the ship’s boats. As the crew begins to untie one of the smaller boats to lower it into the water, the sailors pass a spyglass among themselves and finally hand it back to the captain. Captain Jacob Markosi peers at the island for a moment before grunting and handing the spyglass to expedition leader Ramona Avandth. “You should see this,” he says quietly. "Take the coxswain."

Ramona accepts the spyglass and peers toward the shore. When she lowers the scope, she is clearly distressed but trying to hide her worry. She approaches and motions toward the far side of the deck, away from where most of the other colonists have congregated. “Can I have a word with you?” she asks individually of six of the colonists - the PCs, in fact - pointing to a mustering spot.

She then gestures for the PCs to follow her, and for the coxswain to follow as well from the rear.

“We have a problem,” Ramona says bluntly, once she and PCs have some relative privacy. She offers the spyglass to the party and explains, “Something is wrong. Nobody’s in sight. There’s no smoke from cook fires or the smithy. Some of the buildings look burned out.”

Assuming some or all of the PCs look through the spyglass, they can confirm these observations for themselves.

Ramona continues, her voice low. “Sailors can’t keep their mouths shut. No offense, Mr. Arvodair."

"None taken, where there is truth," comes the deep grumbling of the coxswain.

"Soon all the other colonists are going to hear about this—if they can’t see for themselves already—and things could become… tense.” She takes a breath. "I would like to know if the six-" and she sees Ambyr looking off bored "-er, seven of you would be willing to go ashore and check out the settlement. I'm going to ask Captain Markosi to sail north along the island's coast to a secondary landing site determined by the expedition's surveyors as an alternative spot to found a colony. The site was later designated as an emergency extraction point should any danger befall the first wave of colonists. After you've had a chance to check out Talmandor's Bounty, the ship will rendezvous with you at this secondary location, whereupon I will make a final determination on where the rest of the colonists should embark.

"If you agree, Mr. Arvodair will take you in one of the ship's boats to transport you to the shore, where we've seen a deserted dock."

Do you each agree?

[5ColouredWalker]

"Wadjet would forsake me should I back down now. I marked myself for such tasks for good reason. We might not find much unless they... Departed recently."

Thickness takes a while to think, then pipes up again looking at Ramona.

"I dont think we do, or at least I was told no when asking earlier, but we dont have a copy of the island surveys do we? I dont recall there being any particularly aggressive animals or tribefolk meant to be here, but if we have some records we can check it gives more of a guess as to what we might be getting, beyond maybe the ruin seekers hitting something bad."

[lostsole31]

Ramona shakes her head, "We don't have anything like that because what has been done in that regard has been done between the Liberty Herald's drop and this ship's arrival."

[Diavolo]

Arsenne looks quickly at his companions, nods at Thickha'Ness and says: "Of course I agree! And thank you for choosing to place your trust in us. When we have more time, I would love to know on what basis we six, er.... seven, earned your confidence in this way. But right now, I think we should hasten to pack our belongings and be ready to row. I trust that the Quarter Master will release my glaive from his stock rooms now ...."

He mutters to himself: "No matter how emphatically I apologized for practicing with it on the deck, he still would not listen to reason! Some people are just so rigid!"

[digiman619]

Kaen pursed his lip as he overlooked the situation. "Clearly something has gone wrong here. Even if it turns out that the sane course of action is to head back, we need to figure out what happened to the previous colonists." He shook his head slightly in distaste "To prevent the company from sending more people in after us, if nothing else."

[Espeon55]

Eirina listens to Ramona, Thikha'Nes and Arsenne as well as her Uncle's opinions before looking out over the water again.

"Ambyr and I are excellent trackers and I trust his nose to help us find out what happened." Eirina States confidently "Don't worry ma'am you can count on us."

[rypt]

Roran is surprised to be selected by the expedition leader, looking to his left and right at her initial summons. Surely she must have been gesturing to someone beside him. "Oh, y-yes, certainly."

After taking a look for himself through the spyglass, he is slow to hand it off to the next person, clearly troubled but what he's seen. Or rather, what he hasn't. "Oh dear. How many were delivered ashore by the Herald?"

[KupoTheMage]

Zeferin pops his head around to look at the group, then to Ramona. "Don't worry Miss Ramona, you can count on us to find the colonists! I'm sure of it!" Zef begins rummaging his pockets in a sort of last minute checks ordeal before nodding to himself. "And when we return, we can all celebrate the start of something new!"

[lostsole31]

After taking a look for himself through the spyglass, he [Roran] is slow to hand it off to the next person, clearly troubled but what he's seen. Or rather, what he hasn't. "Oh dear. How many were delivered ashore by the Herald?"

"I think it was in the nature of some 50-100 souls," she says.

Arsenne's glave is retrieved.

Everyone else, do you wish to put anything into storage on the Peregrine, and or take anything out? Please specify that if you do or don't here, and give a line-by-line list, not a wall of text.

[KupoTheMage]

• Artisan's Tools: Craft (Armor)
• Artisan's Tools: Craft (Weapon)
• Artisan's Tools: Craft (Blacksmithing)
  
  (Leaving these behind)

[5ColouredWalker]

Looking over what he has in storage, he doesn't grab his lesser used tools or long term items... He does however, grab his extra rope and pitons.

"Don't forsee much climbing. But best have it in case we have to walk a bit."

Spoiler: Inventory Changes

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Add to Storage:
None.

Remove From Storage:
50ft Woven Kelp Rope.
4 Pitons

[Espeon55]

• Backpack
• Bedroll
• Spellbook
• Longbow
• Arrows
• Elven Thornblade
• Waterskin

(She will be taking these with her and leaving the rest in storage )

[rypt]

Roran will store his crafting tools before heading ashore.

Spoiler: Inventory

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Deposit Tools, Artisans [Craft: Wainwright].

[Diavolo]

I put nothing into storage.

I take my backpack and all my belongings.

I ask if I can also keep the bedroll that I have been using on the ship, since I came without one.

I ask if I can have couple of empty sacks, perhaps former containers for flower or onions that have been used up in the past six weeks. I explain that I want to use these to cover the blade on my glaive while we will be in tight quarters on the ship's boat. I don't want anyone cutting themselves accidently.

*Once Arsenne has his belongings together, and as the Island grows larger in the distance with the approach of the ship, Arsenne takes out his 'Fine Journal', ink and pen to do a quick sketch of the Island from this vantage point. He an outline of the island with emphasis on the relative dimensions and distances of various rises and landmarks. When someone looks over his shoulder to see what he is doing he causally explains:* **"I just need three more minutes to catch the important details. This sketch may become become the basis of an important painting some day!"**

[digiman619]

Kaen leaves the following in storage:

* Bedroll
* 10 Torches
* Iron Pot
* 50 ft of Hemp rope

That done, he will gather the remainder of his supplies and makes his way to the rest of the group.

[lostsole31]

Arsenne is NOT permitted time to draw. Everything is moving at a rush, and all his time is spent requisitioning a bedroll and single sack from the quartermaster's office. (He slept in a hammock on the trip here, not a bedroll, as he would just be underfoot.)

There is no time for anyone to skylark or anything as there is so much activity on deck. Mr. Arvodair comes out in gleaming breastplate, arrayed with trident and shield. The boat is lowered to the water ... the passengers (you) are lowered into the boat ... and the boat leaves the Peregrine.

The bay’s waters are calm, with only a gentle rocking of the ship’s boat. The shore is approximately three hundred feet to the east, where a lonely dock is built off a sandy beach.

Does anyone do anything at this time or say anything? Arsenne, do you do your drawings now?

[5ColouredWalker]

While the group descends Thickness speaks up.
"If theres no objections I'll swim ahead for a slightly earlier look. I can use the water be be inobvious, and one of my whistles as a danger warning on the chance someones setting something up."

[lostsole31]

"Who're you taking with you?" asks the boatman. "If you don't have a buddy that can go with you, I'm responsible for your safety until I put you ashore. So, unless someone is going in with you, that's a no, shipmate."

[Diavolo]

Arsenne aborts his motion to pick up one of the oars, and backs up to the middle of the boat.
Once the ship's boat is under way and Mr. Arvodair has a steady rhythm going...

... Arsenne takes out his 'Fine Journal', ink and pen to do a quick sketch of the Island from this vantage point. He draws an outline of the island with emphasis on the relative dimensions and distances of various rises and landmarks. When someone looks over his shoulder to see what he is doing he causally explains:* "I just need three more minutes to catch the important details. This sketch may become become the basis of an important painting some day!"

Spoiler

Show

[I am taking it for granted that the boat is small enough and that there is manifestly enough time for all this. Otherwise, he keeps his journal safe as he can inside the backpack]

[5ColouredWalker]

"I would have none. Very well, ashore together."

Thickness settles into his seat on the boat, eyes roaming in the direction of the settlement.

[Espeon55]

Eirina looks over to Kaen with worry. "Are you going to be alright? You didn't exactly handle motion sickness well while on a big boat and now we're in an even smaller one and this is going to be an even rougher ride I fear."

[digiman619]

Kaen sighs as he is squished between Messrs. Thikha'Nes and Arsenne. "I will be fine. This isn't going nearly fast enough to cause discomfort. Though the sooner we're ashore, the better."

[lostsole31]

Eirina finds out that she was dead wrong about what the roll would be. There are gentle rolls, true .... but it is a calm day. Also, Mr. Arvodair - though a fine boatman to give him some credit - doesn't move a rowboat as fast as a ship under full sail, which significantly cuts down on motion sickness. The ship is some 250' behind you now, and the pier around 50-60' away.

Surprise Round ...

S19/5: At the same time, there is water splashing upwards and everywhere as a figure shows from each side of the rowboat. One appears right by Arsenne, and the water complete waterlogs and destroys Arsenne's initial notes and sketches, colored ink running everywhere. A small spear catches Roran along the side of the ear and temple for 4, while Arsenne gets speared in the right hand for 6.

End Surprise Round, Begin Round One ...

R1T19: Roran's attacker strikes again, but the creature's own movements pitches the boat side-to-side and it misses.

R1T20: Eirina, you are seated at the port-bow of the rowboat, with Ambyr sort of cramped at the very bow section. You look into the water and see a small-sized creature with an unusually large head with numerous teeth on a too-wide mouth, something along the lines of an aquatic goblin. What do you do?

[Espeon55]

Eirina spots the creature and the words to one of the spells she has prepared comes to mind. She casts Web Bolt at the creature whom attacked Roran defensively.

"I'll trap it! Someone attack this thing!" She shouts to the others.

Spoiler: Web Bolt

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(1d20)[20]

[lostsole31]

R1T20: Eirina spots the creature and the words to one of the spells she has prepared comes to mind. She defensively casts web bolt at the creature whom attacked Roran. "I'll trap it! Someone attack this thing!" she shouts to the others as the sticky glob is sent forth but the monster ducks its head quickly underwater, and the glob dissolves almost instantly in contact with the seawater.

R1T17: Instead of rowing faster, Luren locks the oars and then rubs the lamp at his side as if a truly treasured item. He begins speaking in a strange language as if to someone in another room, but looking down at the lamp ... not at the other PCs or even the enemy. The language seems to use a lot of vowels that flow into each other, some voiced fricatives, but then including glottal stops and gutterul consonants and even the occasional creak, squeak, or pop. <*"Aissah, rakas, herää! Taistelu on määrätty!"*>

Spoiler: Roran, Thickness

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Aquan: "Aissah, beloved, awaken! Battle is enjoined!"

R1T13: Kaen, you are seated. What do you do?

[digiman619]

Kaen 'unsheathes' his curveblade as he unsuppressed the veil, as well as summoned his armor in its astral skin form. Bringing the sword down on the closest foe, he shouted to the coxwain "I don't care what that chant is, get us out of here!"

Spoiler: OOC

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MA: Unsuppress slashing volley.
SwA: Summon astral skin.
SA: Attack blue. (1d20+7)[26] (1d10+1)[10]. Note that this should be getting a +1 to attack, as I am currently getting a +2 enhancement bonus to my Dex via the astral skin. And it should boost my AC by 1 as well.

[digiman619]

Spoiler: Confirmation roll

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Extra text!
(1d20+7)[20]

[lostsole31]

R1T13: Kaen 'unsheathes' his curveblade as he unsuppresses the veil, as well as summoning his armor in its astral skin form, covering from head-to-toe in a lambent green glow. Bringing the sword across the closest foe's throat for 11 + (1d4 bleed), he shouts to the coxswain, "I don't care what that chant is, get us out of here!"

Meanwhile, the enemy gurgles noiselessly and slumps below the water, filling up the area with blood.

R1T10: Zeferin, what do you do? You are seated on the rowboat bench. Nothing is in hand.