Next the party travels to see Grandmaster Torch, the mysterious information broker, ex-Pathfinder, and leader of the Shadow Lodge faction of the Society, who operates out of a network of subterranean tunnels beneath the water-logged Absalom district of the Puddles. Finding the Siphons requires no special skill but does take the party though the Puddles’ rough-and-tumble, flooded streets and into the sewers below.
A gruff half-orc guard grants the group entry into Torch’s audience chamber in the Siphons, a large stone room that has been magically rid of all standing water or even airborne moisture. Torch, a dark-haired, burn-covered man in his late-middle years sits in a large bathtub, and two attendants continually pour cool water over his cursed, festering wounds. His half-orc bodyguards eye the party warily as the Grandmaster rises to greet them and speaks.
“Well met, Pathfinders. I see you have survived as the Decemvirate’s pawns thus far, and for that I commend you. This next task they have for you is more dangerous than the venture-captain may have told you, so let me give you a word of warning. I have made it my life’s work to ensure Pathfinder agents are given all the tools they need to return home from their myriad adventures, and this map is the tool I give you. Follow the directions on my map as strictly as you can. Deviate from this path and you may encounter challenges far beyond your abilities. Many would paint me and those who believe like I do as betrayers of the Society, but it is the corps of the organization that I am completely loyal to. Each and every one of you.”
“If you believe you have been mistreated by the Ten or their representatives, don’t hesitate to let me know upon your return from Escadar. My network of agents and spies if vast, and I am a powerful ally to have on your side.”
”Now be off. You have a long journey ahead of you. And remember, don’t deviate from this map—it’s designed to get you there and back safely!”
What do you do next?
