I'm Saldak, I'm a scribe here for the museum.
Saldak is a blubbery scribe, his obesity the result of too many hours spent at a desk and his fondness for sweet cream pies. His jowls quaver and shake with terror as he recounts his tale.
"Early this morning, these strange mist flooded the offices. Kadarnik and Yannis were caught by it. They went mad! Mad!.. Like your friend there. At first its ok, but it took them only minutes before they went berserk. They also beat Milgen to a pulp in the lavatories. Can you check if he's ok? I fled here because I didn't want to beaten as well."
"I think the Tik Taan idols are responsible for the mists. I smelled something wrong with those hideous monkey-faced things as soon as Lugizar brougth them out of his pack.
I’ve a nose for trouble, I do! No one listens!"
He roots around the ransacked offices and produces a piece of cloth with words written on it in a strange tongue.
"Maybe this can help. It spells out a warning against the idols, but its written in poem so maybe one of you can use it as a magic scroll?"
If/when you have no more questions, the three scribes flee the museum.
As Thran looks at the scroll, he realizes the words have a rhythm that contain magic. If he uses his countersong ability to sing these words, the scroll will retain its power, but will dispel the enchantment.
The magic isn't just tied to the sound, but to the bards innate magical abilities as well. It'll required focus.
As Thran hums the rhythm, he focuses on Andrezi. As he finishes humming the spell, she's returned to his normal self. He waits a bit, either to see for possible side effects or just to tease Larkson, but he hums her back to her normal elf-self again as well.
The papers aren't orderly organized at the moment, so Osborn looks around. He finds some other interesting 'papers' when searching through them. 3 scrolls:
Scroll of Cure moderate wounds
Scroll of false life
Scroll of dispel magic.
And a box containing some gold, probably for museum expenses (500g).
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Osborn continues to search through the papers and cabinets. He is searching for any other papers of interest, maybe a transaction log or account journal. His interest is peaked as to who would place these misty idols in the museum.
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"Heh, heh man singing real well." Andrezi shakes his head back and forth as clarity returns to him once more. "Thank Nethys! Thran I owe you a debt of gratitude, that was a nightmare I thought would never end. Eugh! There's even blood on my club and my robes now! I much prefer the stink of ozone or bit of char."
Andrezi begins dabbing at the blood on his robes and pulls out his wand once again. "Now then, if my memory is not savaged by my experiences as a, uh, savage it was these Tik Taan idols that are causing the mist. Perhaps if they are destroyed everything will go back to normal around here."
Shouldering his pack Andrezi looks ready to set off once more.
I take it you go on towards the last room? If not, ignore this for now.
Mock vines cling to the wall of this grand exhibit hall, and huts of grass are strewn about the open area. At the center of this sprawling chamber, a great stone ziggurat rises out of the mist, almost scraping the 50-foot-high ceiling. At the top of the ziggurat, a rail thin elven gentleman is strapped to an altar, his bare chest painted with strange sigils and monkey paw-shaped blots of paint.
A band of savage primates are snarling, spitting, and cavorting madly about the ziggurat. Nearly 20 apes, baboons, and other monkeys revel here, but a terrifying howl shatters the revelry after the group arrive and the primates scatter into the mists, making way for their champion, a large dire ape.
Its a Dire Ape, it has a special attack:
Special Attacks: rend
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Andrezi turns to Thran, "Thran allow me to repay you now."
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Thran nods his thanks to Andrezi
"No repayment is needing amongs friends, but I welcome any help you can provide."
Thran flexes his muscles as he grows and puts on more weight..most of it all muscle
"Be careful, it can rend!"
Thran moves up next to the giant ape and swings his falchion at the great beast
Andrezi begins casting Enlarge Person , while Azar's buff works immediately. Thran walks up to the Gorilla and attacks it.
Korvan then shoots the injured Gorilla.
It looks at its wounds, shrugs, and attacks Thran.
He misses and faints, blood gushing from its wounds.
The monkeys and apes around you keep shouting, some now even throwing feces at you.
You notice some of the monkeys aren't monkeys, but rather statues. They resemble the description of the Tik Taan Idols
As Andrezi gets closer, the Tik Taan idol seems to be spewing out more mist, driving the monkeys nearby into frantic screaming. Andrezi's spell scorches the idol, but doesn't seem to do much damage, its hardened wood protected against such flimsy flames.
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"The man hiding in the closet said that all of this weirdness came about because of the Tik Taan idols, so I figure destroying them will stop the mist." Andrezi looks at the man atop the pyramid, "It doesn't look like he's going anywhere and he's not hurting anyone for now, so lets deal with the idol first."
The man on top of the pyramid is tied to an altar. He's cursing at you in seventeen different languages, some of which you even understand. He's currently not going anywhere.
The slashing of the rapier doesn't seem to do a lot of damage either.
The combined team effort gets the idols broken. Especially Thran's Large size swinging his Falchion makes short work of them. The mists seem to be dissipating and the man on top of the ziggurat seems to have quieted down.
A minute or so later he starts yelling again.
"Help, is someone there? Can you help me?"
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Andrezi starts climbing the ziggurat, carefully placing his hands and feet on the steps and making sure the structure can take his weight before continuing. Upon reaching the top he pulls out his dagger and smiles without showing too much fang.
"Evening my good man. I do believe that you and I were under the same curse before my large friend over that smashed those despicable little idols to pieces. I can say it was not a pleasant experience.
Now, if I do recall correctly there were several employees here that were also suffering, and one portly fellow who was not. Luckily we allowed them to escape without any permanent damage, other than a few nightmares of course, though I do say I'll be having some myself. What name do you go by sir? I am Andrezi Nichols, a Pathfinder Agent. My compatriots and I were sent by Venture Captain Adril Hestram to investigate the strange goings on at this establishment. And a good thing too, who knows what those infernal apes were planning with you strapped all the way up here."
Andrezi finishes releasing the man from his bonds and helping him make his way slowly down the ziggurat, chatting inanely all the while so the poor fellow doesn't go into shock.
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Larksong picks up various pieces of the idol, examining their insides. She curses a moment as she looks at her pack, then around the room looking for a magnifying glass.
"Why do I always forget the stupidest things? Don't answer that. I'll have to drag this back to my lab to work out how it created more than it's mass in fog."
As the man begins hollering, she looks up, then seeing that andrezi has it she tucks the piece away for study later, and ambles towards him.
"I say, did you happen to have an aqueous intensifying spell on the museum? Perhaps a fire deterrent? The mist was quite humid."
You hear the sound of a window breaking. The monkeys that were around are now escaping the museum.
As Thran gets up the stairs, a rather frail elf is tied to the altar. Thran gets him free without much problems.
"Thank you, thank you. Pathfinder agents you say?"
He seems a bit in doubt, but still very grateful. As he slowly climbs down the ziggurat he looks around, at the damage done to his muzeum.
"Careful, these stairs can be slippery. Oh my. Some damage these idols did."
Downstairs he seizes up the rest of the group, he laughs only mildly at Larksongs joke, unsure if it is one at all.
"Explore, Report, Cooperate right? Now, as a thank you, I have something nice you can report back for your supervisors. Mr. Hestram still works there, right?"
He scurries to the back of the exposition, opens a door and then comes back with a spear. "This spear is an rare, and incredibly ancient Mwangi spear that Chelish explorers found near the colony of Sargave during the reign of the expansionist Chelish Prince, Haliad I. It would be worth a great deal to the Pathfinder Society and they’d hungrily pay to include it in their collection." It is a bejeweled masterwork spear with brittle, white bird feathers tied with crumbling leather straps beneath the still sharp spearhead.
"The trouble at Blakros Museum began this morning, shortly after a delivery from the Mwangi Expanse arrived. I'm afraid the seller didn't know what he was handling, now that I think of it. Unfortunately, the Idols are property of the Blackros family and I cannot hand them over to the society. But we might figure something out to have a more active and fruitful colaboration between the society and the blackros muzeum."
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"I'd like to at least examine the shards of this one we broke to determine the enchantment. I'm sure a replica could be reassembled that would serve as an acceptable display piece while we work to analyze their strange curse. I would only need a small sample to begin the analysis, and the findings would of course be shared with you."
"That would be no problem, of course. Maybe I shall send an invitation to one of the venture captains to arrange a mutual beneficial cooperation".
Your trip back to the lodge is uneventful. Adril Hestram seems delighted at the news of a restored cooperation between the museum and the society. He laughs loudly at the report of Andrezi and Larksong being transformed into some monkey-men. He even asks you to sketch the look the two pathfinders had.
As you bring the shards of the Idols to the Dark Archive offices, a man signs you to bring them over to him in an adjacent office.
"Good work young pathfinder, Paracountess Dralneen is pleased with your work. How fortunate you were affected by it as well, that will spare us a first test subject when testing this piece. Can you describe the sensations and experiences you've had?"
The man notes down everything you say. As you leave the room, you notice an odd glint in the man's eye. Something to keep in mind for the next time...
When you report in to Captain Calson Maldris, he seems saddened by the death of the half-orc guard.
"Could his key-ring be recovered, though? That was your mission in case the man had fallen."
You make your way to the societies treasuries. There's a small office, unknown to most pathfinders, where information is traded and secrets can be sold without the risk of being overheard. Here you supply your contact with the financial information you've gained from the Blakros Museum.
"The Blakros family is rich indeed. This information is very valuable to the Exchange. You've done a splendid job. I will report on your success to Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri"
You bring the masks to Baron Jacquo Dalsine's chamberlain.
"Why thank you good sir. The master will be delighted by these masks. They do seem unlike any he'll have seen worn by other dilettantes of Oppara this season."
You're uncertain if the chamberlain really approves of the masks, but as long as the Baron is happy, he'll be greatful to you. The baron itself is known to remember those who've aided him. Maybe next time he'll receive you in person.
"Now, take a few days off and then you can return here for further training until we've found you a mission again"