Katria inspects the portion of the fresco that glows.
Maya purses her lips at Bernal. The man seems to realize his words might be misplaced, but Maya decides to respond nevertheless.
"He was battling with the dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains. What did they ever do to him? Or, more likely, what did he do to them? We like to sugarcoat our past, because, you know, it's our own country's past. But our present should make it abundantly clear that Taldor isn't the bastion of magnificence many of its people claim it to be. Sure, there are good people in Taldor. Lady Martella and probably this Senator Voritas are evidence enough of that, but don't fool yourself into believing that Taldor's legacy is anything other than conquest, bloodshed, and tears."
Once she finishes speaking, Maya realizes she may have laid it on a bit heavy, but she can't do anything about it now. Instead, she just goes over to inspect the weapons and to see if she can assist Katria in her investigation.
The portion of the fresco looks unremarkable. Nothing seems to happen when Katria touches it. However, looking back into the crystal ball reveals another section is now glowing. Touching this section causes a third section to glow, and so on until six regions have been touched. Then, the fresco splits open, revealing a hidden niche. Inside is a small bag holding 20 magically charged coins marked with the symbol of House Voritas.
Katria's object reading confirms that these coins are keys to a phase door.
"Okay, seriously, who designed this place?" Doritan breaks his silent observation, now in the armor they had found, "And why did they make it such a puzzle to get out? This is not how you do locks. Was this place designed as a prison for those not clever enough to figure out the secret? Like really, was this guy a worshiper of Norgorber or something? Why is this entire place a giant puzzle?"
Maya stares quizzically at Doritan. She replies to him, "It seems quite well designed for what Voritas intended it to be: a safe haven for his servants. Sure, the way out is a bit convoluted, but we figured it out easily enough. I highly doubt he worshiped Norgorber. Why would someone like that care about his servants?
"This kind of noble is pretty refreshing, actually. Besides his ridiculous painting of that Maramaxus fellow, Voritas is perhaps the first decent noble I've heard of, save for Lady Martella."
The halfling is aware she may be excluding Doritan and perhaps Katria from her personal category of 'decent nobles.' She still knows so little about them that she finds it hard to justify adding them to the genre just yet.
"Anyway," Maya says to everyone, "With 20 coins, we can each take five in case some don't work. Should we try to get out of here now? I suspect our safety will be greatly compromised as soon as we step out of this place, so if anyone needs to rest or get something off their chest, now's probably the best time to do it."
Bernal refrains from replying to Maya the first time, instead furrowing his eyebrows in thought. The second time she mentions a "decent noble" he can't restrain himself anymore.
"Decent noble. These four rooms have been littered with mentions of the Fourth Army of Exploration. What specifically about a fresco of a war hero makes a noble less 'good'? What makes Lady Lotheed a 'decent' noble? That she cares for her servants? Trust me, Maramaxus cared just as much for each of his subordinates in the Army of Exploration. Or is it her support for Princess Eutropia? What makes Princess Eutropia good, that she wants to change the rules and restore Taldor to its former glory? What is Taldor's former glory? This Maramaxus fellow is, your so called innocent-dwarf killer. Think twice before you speak about 'good' and 'decent'. We aren't Iomedae and Sarenrae, beings of irrefutable good. We are mortals, creatures of convoluted morality and agendas, that require a bit more thought before sticking an adjective on them."
Bernal finishes venting with his face red, lips still parted as if he wants to speak more but cannot. He isn't a noble, and never was; his interaction with nobles during his Rondelero education did not do much to make him love the nobility. But he was always a Taldan, and he grew up on stories of glorious Armies of Exploration and of Taldaris and other Taldan figures. So what if the Fourth Army of Exploration fought the Dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains? That's how wars go. And if it was to expand his nation's influence and resources, he has no problem with that.
Bernal exhales for a long few second, then steps forward, grabs four of the magical coins and pockets them.
"By the way, 20 divided by 5 is 4, not 5."
Elif was silent for most of the exploration and simply watched, listened and moved along with the others. She was still trying to find her feet among the company and she had little to offer the more skilled among them.
She spied an Elven-branch spear in one of the crates and Elif immediately wondered if one of the servants hid it down here instead of the kitchens. Yet,when she picked it up, Elif saw that it did not have her initial engraved in the back. It will do until I can find mine upstairs. She placed the spear across her back and continued along.
When the bag with the magically charged coins was discovered in the niche behind the fresco, Elif grew more curious and took a closer look. The heated debate between Maya and Bernal was something she had no desire to involve herself with, except of course to recommend cooler heads prevail if it grew more impassioned.
When the coins were divided between them, Elif took her share and placed them inside the pocket of her skirt.
"Should we try to get out of here now? I suspect our safety will be greatly compromised as soon as we step out of this place, so if anyone needs to rest or get something off their chest, now's probably the best time to do it."
Quietly, Elif offered, "I do not need to rest. I elect to get out of here and see what lies in wait for us. We have some weapons at the very least and our talents. Let us work together."
"Oh, you're both looking at it all wrong. Sure, the Armies of Exploration weren't all good -- let's not even discuss the Sixth -- but they did a lot of good for Golarion and Taldor. They played a major role in the Age of Enthronement, helping unite the Inner Sea. If they hadn't gone forth, we might not have Taldan as a common tongue so we can all -- mostly -- understand each other," Katria explains, delighted to have a conversation about ancient history.
"Further, Maestra Miaena Viusenius wrote that though the Fourth's encounter with the dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains was relatively short-lived, it may have played a role in briefly stopping the Five Kings Wars, a pause that laid the groundwork for the Kerse Accords. Without that, who knows what sort of chaos might still envelop that region. Considering the instability in Galt (which you could argue was maintained in much better state for years when it was controlled by Taldor), it could have spread and destabilized the entire northeastern Inner Sea."
She pauses to take a breath and look around, to make sure Bernal and Maya are following and understanding how even some of these early imperial actions -- which might seem distasteful -- were so important in the formation of the world today.
"As for Eutropia, we certainly can't know what motivates her -- it's likely not as simple as inherent goodness (and while you mention Sarenrae, let's not forget that goddess has inspired plenty of evil from her followers, even if those cults are generally believed to be misinterpreting her teachers). Still, if she can bring Taldor back as a land of stability -- one where we do not, for example, venerate devils as part of our ruling monarchy, is that not an inherently good thing? At its height, Taldor played a major role in caging the Whispering Tyrant. Might we not do the same for Cheliax's ambitions. Would its people not be better served to be under Eutropia's guidance again, rather than the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune?"
As she's handed the coins, she cuts off her lecture, almost as if remembering where she is. She gingerly picks up one of the longswords and looks around.
"I suppose we might need these in case there's still fighting going on."
She doesn't look like she's any sort of an expert with it, but at the same time -- despite the incongruity with her dress -- she doesn't look as if she's never handled a sword either.
Maya lets Bernal and Katria have their say. She's actually much more interested in the little Elif says. The soft-spoken woman seems like a good voice of reason to have in the party.
The bard isn't ready to tell Bernal and the rest the real reason she knows Lady Lotheed to be good. But there's not a doubt in Maya's mind of that truth. The others can believe what they want to. They are entitled to their own opinions, however right or wrong they may be.
While Katria's little history lesson does appeal to Maya's academic side, since she has noted some of the same things in textbooks she's read, most of it seems of little use in this situation.
The halfling shrugs to Bernal, "Oops, you're right. 4 it is. Math has never been my strong suit. 4 should still be more than sufficient for our needs."
To everyone, Maya says, "Elif's right, we need to work together if we expect to get out of this place alive. I hope we don't have to agree on every particular for us to get along. There may be time later to discuss such things further if we survive this day."
After grabbing her 4 coins, Maya walks over to the niche in the wall and says, "Well, I suppose we have to try these out at some point. If no one objects, I'll go ahead and put a coin into the niche and see what happens."
Bernal listens to Katria's little lecture, her words of logic and objective truth helping to calm him down. While he usually prefers passionate debate over such academic speech, the stream of knowledge coming from Katria's mouth and the enthusiasm with which it is spoken strikes a chord with Bernal, perhaps reminding him of his lost brother.
"I object, Maya", he says quietly. "Not to dismiss your physical capability, but I'd much rather someone trained in melee combat such as Doritan or myself go first in case there is immediate danger outside. For your safety," he summarizes and draws one of his coins, holding it between his middle and index fingers.
Maya shrugs at Bernal and takes a step back before gesturing toward the niche in the wall. "Suit yourself. Assuming it works, I'll be right behind you."
When Bernal places a coin in the slot, a shimmering portal appears in the floor of the master suite. The duelist is able to remove the coin and the portal stays open.
Stepping into the portal transports you to a 15-foot-wide tunnel. The magical doorway appears on the southern wall of the hall. A set of stairs descends into a briefly lowered hall, before a second set of stairs rises to the north. The northern end of this hall ends with an elaborate brass lever.
A single hooded lantern rests on the ground here, flickering with a magical blue light.
Katria leaves the room almost reluctantly, looking back several times as if she wished she could spend more time studying the quarters, but knowing that people may still be dying who knows how far above her. Hopefully she can find her way back here, under different circumstances.
She looks around, giving the lever a close look and checking to see if it's magical.
It looks like the lever operates a door hidden in the wall. It is not magical.
Maya follows Bernal and Katria through the portal into the new hallway. While she still believes, for now, at least, that magic is overrated, Maya's impressed with Senator Voritas's contraption.
Once they get to the lever, Maya looks over at Bernal and says, "You want to do the honors?"
Sensing an imminent end to their safety, Maya draws her longsword in anticipation of the door opening.
Elif moved along with the others; staying by Maya's side.
Her gaze took in the blue light flickering from the lantern and then to the elaborate brass lever. Elif drew the Elven-branch spear from her back and kept it in hand, in case of trouble or danger.
As Maya asked if Bernal wanted to pull the lever, Elif lifted her free hand first and quietly spoke, "Please give me a moment to check for traps before you pull the lever, Bernal."
The oracle steadily cast her gaze around the wall and along the lever itself, hoping to spy any nasty trap cleverly set in place.
Elif doesn't spot any traps. Pulling the lever causes a secret door to swing open. Chiseled stone statues of Taldan Phalanx soldiers stand atop plinths in the outer corners, visible from any point in this ominous hall. Sturdy wooden doors line the outer edge of the hall.
The fresh, bloody corpse of a noble man sprawls across the floor of the hall near the western intersection.
Katria is excited for a moment as she sees the statues, but her happiness fades again as she sees the corpse.
"Oh no!" she exclaims. "Maybe his badge didn't work in time? Or are the assassins already down here too?"
She looks around to see if there's any other possible explanation for the grisly scene. If she doesn't see anything obvious, she'll carefully make her way toward the corpse, sword up, though she does try to avert her eyes from the actual body.
Elif, from her position by the door, did not immediately see the bloodied corpse. Upon Katria's exclamation, Elif moved cautiously and quietly forward, Elven spear in hand, until she saw it. She then quickly cast her eyes about and listened intently for any sign of trouble or incoming threat.
Katria and Elif see no obvious threats, so the pair cautiously approach the man's body. The corpse bears evidence of deep, bloody claw marks.
Elif suddenly gets a flash of dread as she knows something bad is about to happen, but all she can do is stand and stare at the wall helplessly.
The story Katria overheard in the archives comes to her mind--how the workers who dug out the chambers below the senate were immured in the walls as a "reward." She glances at the wall in time to see a shape start to emerge. The torso of a humanoid figure with jagged claws extends outward from the wall, its features patterned with the texture of the stone around it!
Doritan, silver dagger drawn and ready, springs into action immediately at the unknown threat.
"It's a walcofinde!" Katria exclaims. "Oh, that's horrible! They're created when a living being is sealed within a structure, usually intentionally, and dies there. Oh, it must be one of the workers who built this place. If only we could talk to it! They can possess and manifest along the wall where it was imprisoned, but watch out because it can stretch!"
She swings wildly at the thing as she retreats, but her time spent in studying almost anything other than swordplay shows, as the blow almost comes closer to Elif than her intended target!
"Elif, move!" she calls as she realizes the elf seems to be frozen. "It'll try to kill you!"
She stops her retreat and goes to protect the frozen woman.
Bernal barely has time to assess the situation before the Walcofinde appears. He grits his teeth when Doritan charges at the thing, knowing that he should be next to do the same. To his surprise, Katria halts her retreat in the middle, only to move back in the undead's reach.
"No! Lady Katria, step back!", he cries as he moves to attack the creature. He goes around Elif, only noticing the bloodied corpse halfway there, and steps over it with falcata drawn. "I will guard Elif. Assist us from the back line if you can."
Elif's skin began to tingle and every fine hair on her arms raised as if electricity caused through her body. The strange yet familiar metallic taste came to her mouth and she was fixed with the single, pervading feeling of 'Danger' loud and clear in her mind. Yet, she could do nothing to prevent it before it came to be, as was her ill fortune.
She could not hear or see them - her companions - until the prophetic fog cleared and their voices finally registered. All Elif could do was move sideways ten feet and press her back against the solid wall; catching her breath while holding the Elven-branch spear before her.
Doritan's blade scrapes against the walcofinde's stony body, and Katria misses by a wide margin. The undead lashes out at the occultist, its jagged claws tearing her dress and cutting into the soft flesh of her side.
Round 2
Elif called out to Katria, "What are its weaknesses?"
Elif, regaining control over her senses, watched as the creature's claws raked Katria's side and quickly moved forward 5 feet and then thrust her spear (reach weapon) toward the walcofinde.
Grunting at the sight of the direct blow dealt to Katria, Bernal swipes at the outstretched hand with his falcata. They didn't teach me how to fight walls at the School.
,
HP 14/17
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [1/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
"Ow!" Katria yelps as the thing claws her, splashing her blood over her dress.
"Hit it with things!" she calls back to Elif. "They have no special protections, even though they're sort of stone!"
Biting her lip as she remembers old lessons, she ignores Bernal's suggestion to flee and slashes, more to distract the creature than actually hit it.
Doritan moves around the undead, flanking with Bernal, and strikes again.
Maya hustles to catch up with the rest of the group, stopping behind Elif. Katria distracts the walcofinde with her blade, allowing Bernal to score a telling chop with his falcata. Stone flies from the strange manifestation.
Elif stabs the creature with her spear, punching a hole in its torso. Doritan slashes again, scoring a light injury.
The creature shifts its attention to Bernal, reaching for the duelist with its claws. It rakes him twice, cutting bloody gouges in his flesh.
The wall next to the walcofinde begins to extend outward as a second undead monster manifests!
HP 14/17
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [1/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
"Another one!" Katria exclaims, slashing again to distract the thing as she steps back.
Bernal winces against the pain of the walcofinde's claw attack, eyes widening at the sight of his own blood. The scale of the situation suddenly strikes him: this is his first life or death battle. Leveraging what he sees as another misplaced swipe from Katria, Bernal attacks his undead enemy.
,
"Doritan, Elif, I'll handle this; fend off the second one!"
Bernal keeps his eyes on the hand's movements, prepared to block any additional attempt at his life with his sword.
Round 3
Upon Katria saying she should just keep hitting it and then hearing Bernal instruct her to deal with the second walcofinde which had suddenly appeared, Elif responded with "I will!" and moved ten feet down and thrust her spear toward the second walcofinde,
Doritan swipes at the undead and steps back, hoping to draw it out of the cover the wall provides.
"My lady, you may want to step back slightly, I'd hate for you to be hurt," he tells Elif.
Katria assists Bernal's attack again, stepping back as the duelist deals another solid chop to the walcofinde. Elif thrusts her spear at the second creature, but fails to punch through its stony manifestation. Doritan slices the wounded undead, and it thrashes as it is absorbed back into the wall.
Maya loads a bullet into her makeshift sling and hurls it at the monster, but it doesn't hit hard enough to deal damage.
The remaining walcofinde stretches its claws to attack Bernal. He parries the first blow and dodges the next!
Bernal breathes a sigh of relief when the first undead falls, though not enough to distract him from dodging the other's attacks. Until this point, he didn't even know whether the walcofindes could be defeated. In a move similar to a dance step, he circles around Elif to reach the second undead and slash at him.
,
HP 14/17
AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10, CMD 13
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +3
Inspiration (Knowledge/Linguistics/Spellcraft checks): 0/3
Mental Focus: 7; Abjuration [1/1]; Divination [2/2]; Enchantment [4/4]
Resonant powers (+1 Perception; +2 Charisma checks)
Spells/day: 1st [][][]
Effects:
Katria again jabs with her sword and slashes at it, trying to help her companions end the threat.
Doritan steps back up, striking at the wall again.
Round 4
Elif, with renewed determination, thrust her spear forward, toward the remaining walcofind.
Then took a 5 ft step back away from its long reaching claws.
Bernal dodges as he darts in and chops at the walcofinde, aided once more by Katria's intervention. Elif thrusts her spear right up into the manifested undead's neck, driving the point deep into the wall. The monster slumps over and recedes until only bare stone remains again. You wait for several tense seconds, but no more creatures manifest. It seems it was only the two that haunted the hallway.
After a few moments, you hear a voice call out from the western hallway. "Hello? Is...anybody alive out there?" Those of you who choose to look down the hall will see a nervous nobleman peeking out from the second doorway along the hall.
"Yes," Katria replies. "Several of us are in fact alive."
Going to clean her sword, she realizes it doesn't actually have any blood (or a sheath, for that matter), so she continues to hold it as she looks down the hall.
"And you clearly are alive too," she adds. "Who are you? Are you alone? How did you get here?"
"Yes, we are alive! Thank the gods!" After a short pause, the door opens fully and two frazzled noblemen and one lady emerge into the hall. The men look sadly at the mangled corpse, while the woman gasps and covers her mouth with a handkerchief.
"I am Lord Wilfen Botoles, and these are Sir Gryphus Plastion and Lady Gael Urbaen. When the fighting began in the senate, we suddenly found ourselves down here. Then those horrid wall things attacked! Poor Lord Manshum here didn't make it. We hid in that room. There were others, but they ran in another direction. They are probably in one of the other rooms in this hall."
"Please, you must get us to safety!" Lady Urbaen pleads. "Lead us from this dreadful place and we shall reward you handsomely!"
"No need for reward," Katria says offhandedly. "Just appeared down here, you say? Do you by chance have a Senate aide badge?"
"Why, yes. We do." The three nobles display the badges on their clothes.
"Fascinating. That must explain it," Katria murmurs. "If you don't mind?"
She inspects the badges to confirm they are indeed what she suspects, at which point she explains in full detail the details of how they work to their fellow escapees.
Once she's done, she looks around.
"But you said there are other people down here too? We should probably make sure they're OK..."
She follows her slightly longer-term companions to any other other doors .
Elif was glad when the last of the walcofinde was felled. Then she heard the voice and Katria's answer.
When the trio mentioned there were others, although dispersed and possibly in one of the other rooms in this hall, Elif said to Katria and the others, "I will go to see if I can find them," and moved prudently along the hallway, Elven-branched spear in hand, listening carefully when she arrived at a door (for any movement or voices within) and casting her eyes about for other threats - such as other walcofindes.
In a discreet voice, but clear enough to still be heard through closed doors, she spoke, "We are aides to Lady Martella Lotheed. If you are in hiding, please come out into the hall. We will help you get out of this place."
The nobles' badges are similar to yours, though each one bears the crest of a different senator.
There is no response from the nearest door, so Elif heads east and tries the next door. This time, the door opens to reveal a small room with a dusty table and chairs. Inside the room are two women. The first is a Mwangi woman in gold and white robes, with the holy symbol of Abadar around her neck. The second woman is none other than Dame Malphene Trant!
"Of course, it would be you of all people," Malphene says with a scowl. Her makeup is running down her cheeks--it appears she has been crying recently. "You are the ones who interfered with the task my father charged me with. I am not going anywhere with you."
Maya frowns at herself. Despite managing to cobble together a sling, she hadn't managed to do even a smidgen of damage to the walcofindes. Worse, based on what Katria had said, Maya knows her satire will prove ineffective should they encounter anymore of the undead things.
After the encounter, Maya's conviction of the ignoble nature of Taldor's past only increases. No one of sound or good mind would wall-up people inside the senate building. It's abhorrent.
Maya's a bit upset when Katria indicates that no reward is necessary for them to escort the nobles to safety. After the day they've had so far, Maya wouldn't mind a reward in addition to what Lady Martella has already promised.
The halfling decides to let the matter rest for now when she hears a familiar voice coming from beyond one of the doors Elif opens. The bard rolls her eyes.
Of all the people who had to survive...
Still, it won't do to leave Malphene behind. Better to keep an eye on her rather than let her wander.
Maya walks up beside Elif and says to Malphene, "You don't have to like it, but for the sake of the woman with you and the other nobles we found, I suggest you come along without complaint. It's the least you could do."
Finishing up her examinations of the other survivors' badges -- "You're quite lucky; I think the high prince meant to kill everyone there!" -- Katria joins the others.
"Oh. ... Well, this is a bit awkward. Really, though, if you think about it, considering what happened there, your task was probably a moot point," she says. "Plus we're all down here now, and unless you'd rather stay here until some more of the walcofiends sense our presence and come along to finish the job that everyone seems to be trying to do -- killing us all -- you probably should come with us."
