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Irabeth is manning the table near Hilor and Seelah. We haven't heard enough tragic backstories yet this update, so let's go for another.

"There is as tiefling tied up in the Defender's Heart. What can you tell me about him?"

Irabeth shrugs scornfully. "Woljif is a petty thief from a gang of 'thieflings' operating in Kenabres. That's what we call them in these parts. They tried to rob a vendor of magical items recently. Unfortunately, we apprehended only one of them, and the rest managed to escape."

"We have nowhere else to keep him apart from the Defender's Heart, but that's hardly a prison. Woljif knows it, too — he's been begging us for days to let him go free or have someone vouch for him. He's already asked you to put in a good word for him, hasn't he?"

"Look, we both know it's only a matter of time before demons attack the tavern. He's dead if that happens. Plus is this really the time to be punishing someone for crimes they may or may not have committed in the past?"

Irabeth squints at you thoughtfully, then shrugs. "If you want to recruit Woljif and put him to good use — go ahead and take him off our guard's hands. We can ill afford to let a soldier spend their days watching over a middling thief. I hope the tiefling proves useful, should you decide to take him along."

"Tell me about the Eagle Watch."

"It was a small order, created to fight not only demons but also the enemy within. To maintain the purity of the paladin ranks, prevent heresy, and identify spies. And it failed miserably at that. The Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth infiltrated it and formed their nest within its ranks."

"After the Queen entrusted me with leading the order, Anevia and I practically built it from scratch. We got rid of dead weight, people who weren't committed. We organized ways to transmit messages and orders safely. We introduced reliable ciphers. We found tacit allies around the city — from crusader orders to street beggars."

"This was my personal crusade, to purge the city of the templars who had infested it. And I thought I was winning. I could feel it — we were so close to driving the cultists out of Kenabres. But..." Irabeth frowns. "It's hard to admit, but those successes didn't count for much once the demons entered the city."

"On the contrary, if it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be a headquarters at the Defender's Heart. The cultists would have served up the city on a platter to the demons."

"The lines on Irabeth's forehead soften. "Yes, that's true. It's a good thing we achieved something. Thank you."

Irabeth has a "confidence" stat, and we can start boosting it here. This will directly affect which ending she gets way down the road.

"Allow me to ask you a few personal questions."

Frowning a little, Irabeth nods. "Please. But I must warn you, there are some things I don't have the right to discuss."

"Where are you from?"

"I was born in Kenabres. I grew up on a farm just outside it. But my way back home lay at the end of a long and winding road. It took me years of traveling through foreign lands before I came to be where I've always belonged."

"How did you become a paladin?"

A bitter smile appears on the half-orc's face. "I don't much like to remember it... Believe it or not, the story of how I became a paladin is also the story of how I failed to become a knight."

"My parents were crusaders, may their souls stand together in Iomedae's celestial army. When I was born, they retired from the war and started preparing me to continue their legacy. But my father was an orc. You'd be pressed to find a calmer, wiser and more pious servant of the goddess than he. But still, all his life he was dogged by sideways looks and whispers."

"When I grew older and it was time for me to serve, I decided: anywhere but Kenabres. That was where my father had served loyally, and his only reward had been injustice. Besides, the witch hunters, led by the honorable Prelate Hulrun, stalked the city with a heavy hand. Who knows what they'd have done to a strange girl with green skin. Instead I went to..." A smirk that looks more like a painful grimace crosses her face. "You can laugh if you want, but I was young and foolish. I chose Lastwall, of all places. You can imagine how well I was accepted in a country that's been battling the orcs of Belkzen since its foundation!"

"There were many there like me, but we were all treated as second-class citizens. To the locals, my green skin was worse than leper scabs. Even my brothers in faith kept their distance. I took my vows, and the goddess granted me the powers of a paladin — but even then, not a single order would accept me into their ranks. I spent another six months knocking on doors before I realized a simple truth: I serve Iomedae, not these people. I don't have to prostrate myself before them. So I left — as a paladin, but not a knight."

"Things are bound to be tough for your kind, too — you belong to two different races but neither is willing to embrace you as one of their own. But at least relations between humans and elves aren't poisoned by centuries of mutual hatred."

"How did you come to join a knightly order?"

"I left Lastwall and went traveling. The goddess guided me, and my path led me to where atrocities were happening. I often fought in exchange for gold. But never for unworthy aims, of course. I wandered the River Kingdoms for a few years, killing monsters and tracking down criminals. Sometimes I thought I was just wasting time, that my true place was in Kenabres. But I pushed those thoughts away. I didn't even want to think about going back. But in the end, divine providence had brought me to my senses."

"It happened in Tymon. I was tracking a gang of bandits, which my employer suspected was a cover for Razmiran spies. I managed to find their lair, but inside I found something far more dangerous than spies: an unholy temple to Zon-Kuthon! When I broke in there, the cultists were about to sacrifice someone — the person who was destined to become my wife. Anevia. But that's another story."

"After I cut down the cultists, I examined their papers and couldn't believe my eyes. A network of evil cults had spread through all of Avistan, including Mendev! Worse, the documents clearly showed that their allies — the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth — had infested my native Kenabres, and were even among the ranks of the paladins! After that, delaying my homecoming would be tantamount to desertion. Luckily, I was no longer alone. Anevia was as eager to destroy the cultists as I was."

"Anevia and I hurried to Kenabres. We couldn't trust anyone. The papers indicated that the cultists had infiltrated everything. Luckily, I had some experience in investigation, and my beloved..." The half-orc smiles warmly. "She knew her way around working locks, tailing people, and trading information with the city's bottom feeders. Soon we'd defeated... alas, not the whole hydra, but a few of its heads. Do you know who turned out to be the leader of the cultists? The commander of the Eagle Watch!"

"Can you imagine? While Prelate Hulrun was chasing witches through the city, the enemy had infiltrated the very order responsible for internal security! The scandal reached the ears of the Queen. At first she planned to disband the order in disgrace, but then she offered its command to me, and put its salvation in my hands. Of course, there was one small catch: I wasn't a knight. But I was made commander just the same, skipping the usual progression through the ranks."

[Lore (Religion) check passed] "I can't imagine the followers of Zon-Kuthon in alliance with demon worshippers. Shouldn't they hate each other?"

"They should. But Baphomet's minions are masters of deception — they manipulate Zon-Kuthon's butchers as eagerly as Iomedae's knights. The cultists from that unholy temple didn't know the true face of their associates in Kenabres. We ourselves learned the truth much later, after getting to the bottom of their nest."

"How did the people of Kenabres feel about your background?"

"They tolerated it surprisingly well. I shouldn't have been so wary. Crusaders don't tend to be prejudiced, as a rule. After all, heroes from all over the world, even from other continents, come here to fight the demons. Apparently the people were only suspicious of full-blooded orcs. There were already many like me here, and we don't have any problems... Though the locals do have their superstitions. Mendev is as merciless as Lastwall. They just have a different set of victims."

"I kept seeing those same sideways looks and scowls, hearing the familiar whispers. But where once they used to whisper behind my back and point at me, now they whisper in my ear and point at someone else. It's so strange — to be on the other side of humiliation. To wipe the spit from your face — and suddenly be invited to change position, and spit at someone else."

"You must have figured out by now that I'm talking about tieflings. It's true there are many of them among the cultists, and few among our crusaders — and our fighters do all they can to drive away those who would be our allies. People shun them, call them 'Areelu's spawn,' or worse — as if they chose to be born like that! I believe it's quite a feat to rise against the call of one's blood and join the forces of good. Still, most only see them as the enemy. I once saw a knight bleeding to death because he wouldn't let a tiefling priest touch his wound. Alas, I haven't been able to change this in all my time in Kenabres."

"Tell me about Anevia."

"We met in Tymon as I was wandering aimlessly from one ordeal to another. We returned to Kenabres together, to expose the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth. The day the Queen knighted me was the second happiest day of my life. The first was the day of our wedding."

"But Anevia isn't just my beloved. She's my staunchest ally. We share every victory and defeat. The best of me is alive thanks to her."

"Thank you for saving her back then, the day Kenabres fell. Before her return, the only thing giving me the strength to protect the Defender's Heart was the hope that I'd see her again. We are in your debt."

"Thank you for your answers."

Irabeth nods without saying a word.

Back down to talk to Woljif.

"I talked to Irabeth, and I've decided to make you part of my troop. We'll see how it goes."

We had an errand to free Woljif. It's done now, that's why we got a lot of XP for talking.

Delvan: "You're sure to regret this. This tiefling will fleece you for everything you've got, mark my words."

"You're a bitter little man, Delvan. Petty and mean. You can't even be happy for me, can you? I pity you. I'll leave you alone with your sad little soul. So long!"

Woljif is freed from his shackles and rubs his chafed wrists. "And now, chief, straight down to business." He glances around, making sure that no one is listening in. "You see, I'm one of those guys that people around here call 'thieflings.' We just call ourselves the Family. After we knocked over that shop and I got stuck here in the Defender's Heart, a little bird told me that Big Sister Kerismei wanted to see me, that she had some questions to ask me. You following?"

"Now she won't be asking me questions like: 'Woljif, how'd you manage to get out of this one?' or 'Woljif, you're so thin, didn't they feed you?' No, something serious has gone down, and I just know they want to try to pin something on me, I can feel it in my tail. So I knew right away that I couldn't go alone. You turned up just in time, chief. You don't need to do anything when we get there, just stand behind me and look mean, and I'll handle the rest. Somehow. Let's go, I'll show you the way."
Thieflings Hideout has been revealed!

There's three levers here in the basement.

We also need to grab this trash shield. Alright, time for a puzzle. With the camera facing due north, the lever on the left should be up, and the other two should be down. Then hit the button that was hidden behind the shield.

We still can't identify items (yet) but that helmet is gonna be handy, I can feel it. We also got scrolls of Shield, Mage Armor, Restoration, Lesser, and Magic Missile.

You know what they say about Magic Missile, right?

You'll cast it 'till they put you in your grave~
It hurts them just a bit~
But you never roll to hit~
And your victims do not ever get a save~

I can't read any spell names in this game without thinking about this song.

Anywho, up here in the fireplace room we find Woljif hanging out. Let's bug him because we can't go five minutes without hearing about some tragic backstory, and now it's his turn. Mercifully, he's the last guy we have to talk to in the update.

Woljif gives you a friendly wave. "Hey, chief! Wanna talk?"

"I wanna know more about you."

"Are your family tieflings too?"

"My family... it's an interesting story, actually, but I don't tell it to just anyone. My father and mother had a bakery, their life was great but the gods never blessed them with any children. One day my mother went to the river to wash some clothes and saw a basket floating downstream. Inside the basket was a baby, adorable and chubby and fast asleep — it was yours truly. In my hand was a note spritzed with expensive perfume that said, 'Take care of my little angel.' My mother brought me home and she and my father realized right away that I was Heaven-sent."

"They raised me as their own. When I turned fifteen, my mother showed me my baby blanket — it was embroidered with the coat of arms of an unknown kingdom, all in gold thread. Ever since then, I've been looking for my real parents... but it's not easy, traveling takes money. So if you have a few gold coins... I'll pay you back as soon as I find my real family! I give you my word!"

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter."

"Seriously? Usually everyone just believes everything I say. People love stories like that: you know, a cute baby, a basket, a blanket, what's not to love? They look at me differently, as if I'm worth more just because the sheets I spit up on might've had a fancy coat of arms on 'em." Woljif laughs bitterly. "If I was really a prince, I wouldn't be sitting around here, I can tell you that much. I'd have already gone to take what was rightfully mine. And then I'd come back with an army, so I could watch the guards and merchants who pushed me around all my life bow and scrape before me. But that's not gonna happen. Wanna hear the real story?"

"The true story is boring: my family is human, both my father and my mother. They used to live in a village nearby, I forget the name. When my ma had me, my old man got so mad, he almost killed her. Pinned her to the wall and started asking questions, like why his son had horns and a tail. Well, my ma told him that her mother, my grandma, used to fool around with a demon. When he heard this, daddy dearest got drunk, trashed the house, and then took off."

"I don't remember any of this, of course, my grandma told me. I was about three years old when my mother brought me to Kenabres and left me with my grandma. She said to her, 'You and your demon have ruined my life, now you handle him.' Then she left. I haven't seen her or my dad since. She did leave a blanket though, that part was true! But my grandma burned it because it was infested with lice. It wasn't even good enough to use as a rag."

"You think after all that, my grandmother saw the light, felt rightly ashamed, and kissed my horns? I wish." Woljif grins nastily, his yellow eyes flashing. "People used to give her trouble for fooling around with a demon, she wasn't welcome anywhere, so she got angry. Normal kids get bedtime stories, see, but the only tales I got told were how my dad was worthless, my ma was a slut, and I was demon spawn that no one cared about. She only kept me so I could help around the house and steal things she needed. So that's the truth."

"How did you become a thiefling?"

Woljif grins happily. "I already was a tiefling, and life made me a thief. I've been in this business since I was a kid. My grandma used to say, 'if you don't work, you don't eat,' and she gave me as an apprentice to Yger, a tiefling neighbor of ours. He was a cunning old geezer, he knew how to take a purse off somebody's belt, how to cut open bags undetected, even do some magic. I used to climb through basement windows and open doors from the inside while I was still small enough. And when I grew and stopped fitting through the windows, I decided I was done with my education."

"I repaid my grandma for everything she'd done for me, which was absolutely nothin'. Why would I feed her if she wasn't bringing me any money? If you don't work, you don't eat. So I took off. I got bored of my teacher too, but when I as much as hinted at leaving, he said I owed him for my education. So I just nodded, and then I joined the Owlbears — the gang that ran our district — and told them that Yger was working their territory. I don't know what happened to him, but I stayed with the Owlbears. Then their leader started giving me the cold shoulder. I did steal from him, but never that much! So I had to rat them out to the guards. Then I joined the Golden Hands, that was a good time, rich pickings."

"I would've stayed with the Golden Hands, but the Northmen promised me a bigger cut if I told them where the Golden Hands kept their loot. I'm no fool, of course, so I told them. After that I only had one option — to join the Northmen. And then the Family came. At first, no one took them seriously, calling them thieflings and all that, but I felt it right away: they had power behind 'em, and they had more money. I'm always on the winner's side, chief, that's why I joined the thieflings. And right on time — some thugs came from the capital and made the Northmen leave. The ones who survived are in the Family now too."

"Tell me about the thieflings."

"All right. I won't tell you everything, mind, but I can tell you a little. The thieflings are Mendevian thieves. The gang was started in Mendev's capital by someone or other, and soon after they'd spread all over Golarion. They're also called the Family. You know why? Because us tieflings are easy to spot. Wherever we go, guards always hassle us, asking, 'Are you lost or summat, horn head?' We usually say we're visiting 'family.' And if they say, 'Oh yeah? Who?' you give 'em the name of a local thiefling, who confirms everything, even if he's never seen you before in his life. That's why we're all brothers and sisters."

"There are rules: who does what, who gets what cut. I won't say it's a lot, but they make it worth your while. They'll even heal you if you take an arrow. But the biggest no-no is this: you don't steal from the Family. If you don't contribute to the shared pot, you'll get the cold shoulder, you won't be treated like family no more. And then everyone'll hear that you went to visit some relatives who have a farm someplace. My best guess? The farm is in some underground well beneath Kenabres where they breed grave worms. Heh, if Sister Kerismei, our boss, looked the other way more often, I'd really be able to spread my wings!"

We could moralize at Woljif, but the choices are "YOU COULD KILL KERISMEI" or "STEALING IS BAD

" So let's not and say we didn't.

"What do you think of Kenabres?"

"It used to be such a hole, then the crusaders and refugees came here, and things started looking up. Although it depends who you ask, I suppose — witches better steer clear of here, because Iomedae's followers are ferocious. Especially Hulrun Shappok, the local inquisitor, he's a tough old goat. I didn't see it myself, but a serving girl at the tavern told me that her second cousin's son from his third wife is a paladin, and she said he said that Hulrun takes an unsheathed sword with him even to the privy, and when he sleeps, he puts it on the pillow next to him, and when he's in his cups, he strokes the blade and whispers sweetly to it, 'You are my one true friend, you are the only one I can rely on.'"

"Irabeth's given us a hard time too: you as much as look at some nice little bauble, and before you can think of taking it, before your fingers even twitch, she's coming for you, with her nostrils flaring and her fangs glinting. Scary woman."

"But even she's better than Sister Kerismei, our boss here in Kenabres. By 'our' I mean the thieflings' boss. If you get caught by Irabeth, it's all out in the open: you go to prison or you end up as worm food. But if you step on Kerismei's toes — poof! You're gone. Just like that. No one ever sees you again. All you'll hear is, 'He went to the family farm,' even though he's never had a family or a farm."

"You have demon blood in you. Do you feel drawn to the Abyss?"

Woljif's tail whips back and forth nervously, raising clouds of dust. "Why, are you an inquisitor or something? What's it to you? If I've wronged you somehow, just come out and say it, don't ask me trick questions!"

"I know how it happens. I used to know a fella, he was married to the sister of a guard. Some shady types got him drunk one night and started asking him suspicious questions about the gods, about the Queen. So he wakes up hungover, with a headache, someone's mumbling something, it smells like smoke, and his feet are kinda hot. He looks down, and there's a fire under him, and the Prelate is reading out his sentence!"

The Path Not Taken posted:
"If it was anybody else askin', I'd keep my mouth shut. But you're a tiefling, so... Yeah. I feel the pull. Sometimes. My mind starts buzzin' with all kinds of thoughts, but it's all nonsense. I don't wanna go to the Abyss. I wouldn't last a second."

"Your shadow looks strange, what kind of magic is that?"

"It doesn't do anything, it just looks scary. I remember when I was little, an old beggar showed me and my friends how to make shadow puppets: you put your fingers together in front of a light, and it makes the shadow of a deer or a dog or a dove on the wall. I tried so hard, I wanted to make the best shadow... and I did. It just happened." Woljif chuckles sadly. "Funnily enough, that's the last time I had any real friends. They tried to stone me later, screaming at me, calling me a demon."

"A tiefling is always a demon to these wimps. Even the lowest-ranking drunken gnome thinks he's better than me, just because he hasn't got horns or a tail. The poorest beggar in the filthiest gutter thinks he's better than me. Most people would never show their shadow again after that first time, but I don't care. If stones start flyin' again, I'll just run, I'm used to it by now."

(Chaotic) "Looks formidable. I like it."

Woljif chuckles, pleased. "What about the blue fire? That's my favorite part! And it doesn't burn at all. If I had a coin for every time I've caught a beating for my little show here, I'd already be proposing to Galfrey! But still, I don't want to give up something so beautiful."

We're finally done with discussions. For now.

We're gonna be talking to Hilor about some mercenaries. Out of a lack of better options, I'm going to be using the two characters that didn't win the vote earlier in the thread. So, Zenic and Kiyomi.

This is the same as making your character. You just don't have access to as many portraits. I'm not gonna walk through the process, because a lot of it is pretty self explanatory.

First up is Zenic. She's much the same as her main character counterpart, the only difference is she's gonna stick to hitting shit really, really hard. She's a Mutation Warrior, which is a fighter archetype that gets access to some alchemist self-buffs.

Speaking of alchemists, Kiyomi is going to serve double duty as our skill fox and potion brewer. Alchemists get access to some really powerful buffs, and with a couple levels of investment, they can not only use potions at their own character level, but use them on other party members. So if we have her make a haste potion, she can apply it at her CL to anyone in the party.

She's a grenadier archetype which means she throws bombs. A lot of bombs. By level 7, she will basically be able to main bombs as her primary source of damage.

As for alchemist spells, she's got 7 at level 1 -

Bomber's Eye - +10y throwing range, +1 insight bonus to thrown weapons including alchemist bombs
Expeditious Retreat - +30ft base land speed enhancement bonus
Enlarge Person - Double size, +2 str size bonus, -2 dex size penalty, -1 attack roll penalty, -1 ac penalty
Reduce Person - Halve size, -2 str size penalty, +2 dex size bonus, +1 attack roll bonus, +1 ac bonus
Long Arm - Increase reach by 5 foot
Targeted Bomb Admixture - Bombs do not deal splash damage, Damage = 2(Base Damage) + 2(Int Mod)
True Strike - +20 insight bonus to next attack roll made before end of round, no penalty for attacking a target in concealment

I'm sure you can guess how most of these can be quite useful!

Mutagens are alchemist buffs. The upshot here is that Zenic can buff her already impressive strength by taking a small malus to her intelligence. You basically always want to have this running if you're in combat.

At level 2, Kiyomi can infuse her weapons (and bombs!) with fire or acid damage. She also gets the Infusion discovery, which lets her share her potions with the party like I talked about up above. She also gets access to Cure Light Wounds, so that's handy. Finally, she gets Precise Bombs which means she will no longer deal AOE damage to the party when throwing bombs. That's kind of important for a grenadier, and it comes automatically!

At level 3, she gets the Shield spell, which does what you might imagine. She also gets the Precise Shot feat, which lets her throw stuff or shoot into the melee pile without taking a pretty hefty accuracy penalty to her roll. Thanks to her pretty high Dex, she's gonna be toting a bow around as a backup weapon. So being able to actually contribute to a fight will be helpful.

And that's finally, finally the end of all this talking. Next time, we're gonna set out from the Defender's Heart and go do shit!

Encyclopedia Golarionnica

Avistan
Erastil
Garund
Hilor and the Spinner of Nightmares
Hold of Belkzen
Jistka
Mendevian Witch Hunts
Osirion
Pathfinder Society
Qadira
Razmiran
River Kingdoms
Sarenrae
Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth
Zon-Kuthon