Introduction

Greetings, adventurers, and congratulations!

The spring is upon us and with it comes another graduating class of would-be heroes and heroines from the hallowed halls of the Pathfinder Society's Youth Chapter of Heroic Explorers, eager and willing to explore the great world of Golarion and all that comes along with it -- mostly, treasure, fame, and evil in need of smiting!

This year, as with seemingly every passing year since the start of the Age of Lost Omens, the number of graduates has dwindled to a mere 20. Rumors around the city have begun circulating that the world outside the walls is just too dangerous to submit youths to -- the monsters have become too powerful in the wake of Aroden's death, the animals themselves growing larger and more resolute in their ownership of the wilds, and rumors of evermore chaotic and evil forces rising from long-forgotten places. Only a paltry few remain who even know of the Pathfinders' academy, and fewer still who talk about its purpose in a glowing light. You, young fortune-and-fame seekers, are proud to count yourselves among those few. While most of your schoolmates have gone into apprenticeship in the workforce, trying to carve out a living as cobblers, blacksmiths, shopkeepers, etc., you've joined the ranks of those who one day hope to consider themselves Pathfinders.

Of course, no matter the size, 10-10,000, any group has its outcasts. This, friends, is where you find yourselves. A group of five, united by fate, separated from the rest of your class for various and sundry reasons, whether it be due to your age, your height, your skin color, or the prejudices others have learned from their parents about your heritage. Some of you may feel this pressure actively such as Raiden, (Rogue name), (Sorcerer name), and (Ranger name), others passively (Cleric name), and have, in the past, expressed your feelings toward this in your own ways. Over the course of your education at PSYCHE, though, you've come to recognize counterparts and cohorts in the other adventurers in your social group, and have learned to stick together in and out of class.




This brings us to the present. It is currently one week prior to your graduation ceremonies, an increasingly modest affair, no longer met by trumpeting throughout the main thoroughfares and streamers but instead a warm gathering of those closest to you, and your teachers from the Society wishing you well on your adventures. In the lead-up to your ceremony, the campus of the academy is closed in preparation for the graduation. Although the public may not take as much pride in the Society as they once had, the Society itself is a proud organization, and is prepared to pull out all the stops for its newest members. Because of this though, your lot finds itself a bit restless. Four days ago, the gods seemed to echo your restlessness with a strong earthquake north of the city in the Cairnlands.

Shortly following the last of the aftershocks, your innate curiosity gets the best of you, and you all decide that it'd be best if (Rogue name) poked around the academy to see what (he/she) can find out. Meanwhile, (Cleric name) asks (his/her) clergy if they know of any disturbances beyond the walls that your crew might handle. Your team is able to find a few things out in this:

1. The earthquake mostly affected the Cairnlands, and luckily no one within the city was harmed.
2. There were a few old ruins affected by the quake, including a ruin called the Fallen Fortress, rumored to have been sealed by magic centuries ago to keep whatever was entombed within it. Now, the whole front of the fort has caved in, allowing entrance... and exit.
3. Three days ago, one of the Pathfinder Society members entrusted with your education, a wily bard by the name of Balenar Forsend, had been sent out to find out what he could about the Fallen Fortress, and has yet to return, despite the trip being only 10 miles roundtrip, hardly a full-day's journey. Members of the Pathfinder Society are trading whispers of something befalling him, but also express a cautious optimism, and seem resolved to give Balenar a week to return before setting up a search party.

Fearing that the worst possible fate could have befallen Balenar, Raiden makes the suggestion that he may need assistance, and rather than waiting the week recommended by the Society, this would be an excellent opportunity for you to make your mark as a successful, new Adventurers Guild.

Our story picks up here, with our heroes and heroines sitting in a pub near the edge of the Wise Quarter.