San Xiao shares the following about the strangely evil outsider hound.
San Xiao hits the creature with a bow shot (?)
The Hound howls as it is injured by San Xiao.
The Marut ignores the hound, but has switched its focus from
negotiations to Savage being in his "personal space".
Marut to Savage DO NOT interfere with my interrogations, mortal!\
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Conan looks deeply conflicted when combat breaks out.
"Iiii..... feel..... I shouuuuuullldd..... leeeeeend my... sword buuut... perhaaaaaaaps more.... talkiiiing.... is.... good.... fiiiiiirst...."
Talking feels like pushing through treacle. Everything does, actually. Conan grinds down.
"Loooord.... Marut... He meant no... disrespect... necessity... impelled him?"
The 15-foot-diameter, semi-transparent sphere of force appears similar to a resilient sphere surrounds the beacon.
You suspect you can destroy this barrier by dealing enough damage to it , dispelling it, or disable it as if it were a magic trap.
Conan continues his diplomatic assistance, but in slow gear.
The hound burns with the bomb hit, howling in pain as the smell of burning dog hair lingers.
The two Zelekhuts enter the portal gate and disappear.
The Marut regards Savage standing next to him as he continues to listen to Noisy and Conan's argument against incarceration of the Sage and party.
It looks up to the skydisk moving on its collision course then back to San Xiao holding the gem. It scowls.
"Your time runs out mortals. Provide an accurate accounting of your purpose here and relationship to the criminals.
Any subterfuge will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the LAW!
DO NOT TAMPER WITH THE BEACON UNTIL WE HAVE RESOLVED YOUR LEGITIMACY"
=== Combat Round 2 (Round 9 in the place) ===
5. Noisy(), Saruna(flying)
1. Fredrick(dismissal, SLOW), Luisila(dupe, BoF), Savage()
2. Hound(-28)
3. Conan(SLOW), San Xiao(GEM)
4. Marut(Readied)
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Noisy scowls back at the Marut, stomping one foot to send echoes through the cavern, and raising his voice to be heard.
"The question of legitimacy can be asked of you as well." He says. "As it can of your claims... and your trespass.
"Loud words do not make truths." He adds. "I would know."
He continues arguing negotiating with the Inevitable.
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Luisila single-moves 40’ courtesy of BoF, shoves her scroll in her belt and resumes assisting Noisy’s Diplomancing.
“We are explorers of rightful knowledge.”
“Our relationship with the falsely accused is to bring justice to her. Free her from unlawful imprisonment, cure her of the curse of immortality imposed upon her and return her to the normal time stream, as efficiently as possible.”
“Lord Marut of exacting precision and perfect truth, when will your brethren return? Assuming you are an Outsider of Perfect Logic and Law, you MUST know.”
“Surely resolving this matter as swiftly and as efficiently as possible is of prime concern? Otherwise you would be ignoring your programming.”
Savage sprints across the water and tackles the visible hound, hurting it with a grapple.
Noisy and Luisila keep negotiating with the Marut.
Saruna seems to be doing something with the Thoth statue in the corner. Fredrick moves up slowly.
The grappled hound takes great exception to Savage holding it back.
With a snarl, it disappears for a split second, then seems
to emerge from the edge of the platform and tries to maul the grappler.
Zharzbite!"
for
The other hound (which only some can see), walk-flies directly towards San Xiao and its eyes burn
violet and San Xiao can feel the gaze almost tearing his flesh.
DC20 Fort to negate.
The creature appears visible now for everyone.
Rifzbite!"
=== Combat Round 2 (Round 9 in the place) ===
3. Conan(SLOW), San Xiao(GEM) <= go
4. Marut(Readied)
5. Noisy(diplo, bard+2), Saruna(flying)
1. Fredrick(SLOW), Luisila(dupe, BoF), Savage(airwalk)
2. Hound1(-40), Hound2()
San Xiao steps forward and unleashes a trio of bombs, the first two hittin the new hound squarely and the other sailing into the water below.
Conan hits the hound by Savage, cutting it with his black blade.
The Marut moves south and 20' up and retakes his readied stance, continuing to listen to Noisy's noise.
This fight with vile hounds is merely a distraction. I will not relent until your innocence is proven. DO NOT provoke me, mortals!
Noisy continues his legal defense.
Saruna meanwhile stands ready at the statue of Thoth.
Try to get one of the hounds closer to me!
The sun disk continues it arc towards the beacon, impact could be in the next minute or so.
=== Combat Round 3 (Round 10 in the place) ===
1. Fredrick(SLOW), Luisila(dupe, BoF), Savage(-19, airwalk) <= go!
2. Hound1(-67), Hound2(-58)
3. Conan(SLOW), San Xiao(GEM)
4. Marut(Readied)
5. Noisy(diplo, bard+2), Saruna(flying, readied)
I aammmm onnnn iiiittt.Fredrick states as he slowly moves towards Savage.
Savage has no problem smashing the first hound with the first two of his punches. The out-worldly hound falls into the water below the library.
Luisila delays.
The second hound sees the first drop in the flurry of blade and fists and decides to slow down the prey.
The hound then disappears and reappears next to the corner of the building to the south.
Saruna cackles as she hoped for such a blunder.
A thin ray of light shoots from the Thoth statue, hitting the hound...it howls and disappears in a flash of extra-dimensional light.
Excellent. They still work after all these years!
=== Combat Round 3 (Round 10 in the place) ===
3. Conan(SLOW), San Xiao(GEM) ,Luisila(delayed, dupe, BoF) <-- go
4. Marut(Readied)
5. Noisy(diplo, bard+2),
1. Fredrick(SLOW), Savage(-19, airwalk), Saruna(flying)
As San Xiao starts to get out his tools to disable the beacon, the Marut booms.
DO NOT TAMPER with the Beacon until I agree you have sufficiently proven your claims!
Saruna flies over to another statue to the southeast...trying to stay out of the discussions, as the Marut obviously took exception to her presence.
The negotiations continue and the skillful arguements of Noisy, bolstered by Luisila and Conan, manage to convince the Marut you are not aiding and abeding the fugative Sage.
Very well. Proceed. I will continue my search for the criminal Sage elsewhere. He will be brought to justice.
San Xiao begins his work to disable the force field as the skydisk continues to plummet.
He drops the shield and picks up the gem and commands it to control the skydisk and Beacon, a few seconds before impact, it stops short of hitting. A pair of distortions were just beginning to open to release more hounds.
The Marut plane-shifts away and Saruna breathes a sigh of relief.
The destruction of the Beacon and the entire contents of the Sky Vault of Ra in the library has been saved. However there are still unanswered questions remaining to be solved.
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Noisy, watches the Marut leave before adding emphatically: "What a dick."
As San Xiao manages to bypass the purple barrier, and command the Vault to stop... which does so moments before impact, the dwarf breathes a noticeable sigh of relief.
"Now that's how you do dramatic tension." He adds, his mood suddenly improving as he claps the alchemist on the back in congratulations.
"But who was taking all the items?" He asks. "The inevitables didn't have anything I could see , and there's no one else here..."
"Do we have to go inside?" He adds, glancing up at the burning disc-like vault.
"Can we?"
The inevitables appeared to be only interested in the missing Sage (and not liking Saruna). They did not have any of the library objects.
San Xiao seems to be staring into space....
The Crystal Beacon is the focal point of the library. The statues surrounding it depict the first two mortal pharaohs, Azghaad I and the Naga Pharaoh, and Nethys, who guided them.
By adjusting the lenses around the crystal and focusing their light on different columns, one can access the Sky Vault, either storing an object in the immediate area within the vault or withdrawing a known, stored object. The scrolls stored within the columns cataloged the Sky Vault’s contents as well as the precise lens configurations needed to withdraw each relic, but when the Amethyst Sage fled, he took most of these with him. It is possible to pull objects from the vault through extensive trial and error, but the array of lenses and their sensitivity make most attempts fruitless. The beacon has a second use triggered only by the command of a Jeweled Sage: it can sense the general location and condition of other sage jewels. The beacon illustrates their geographic location by dimming the Sky Vault’s light slightly, causing stars and constellations to begin glowing across the cavern’s ceiling, and sweeping the sand below into a coarse image of the gem’s immediate surroundings.
The orientations and positions of these stars reflects those visible from the named sage jewel’s location, and a PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Knowledge (geography or nature) check can calculate the approximate location of the jewel named. Any tool or effect that grants a bonus on any skill check related to tracking the stars also grants its bonus on this check. This effect functions in many ways like a divination (scrying) spell, and methods that block such magic also stymie the beacon. Activating this second ability draws heavily upon one’s sage jewel, and unless the creature has a genuine jewel, the beacon sustains the sand image only briefly and then is unable to track other such gems. If the PC tracks the sapphire sage jewel, the sand shows Amenopheus poring over a scroll before noticing the scrying sensor, and the stars indicate that he’s in Absalom. Tracking the diamond shows Tahonikepsu in soaring dragon form, and the stars gradually shift as though she were traveling at great speed.
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“I am 100% in accord with your assessment, Noisy Entity.”
Luisila grins in relief as she passes a hand in front of the alchemist’s eyes. “You still with us, San Xiao?”
The priestess also checks to see if there are any changes to Saruna.
“There’s still that chamber in the south to check out, Noisy.”
Luisila hikes a thumb over her shoulder in the relevant direction. “That vault might solve the mystery.”
"Fredrick, do you need any help getting everyone healthy?"
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Noisy snorts in amusement.
"And what was all that 'You gootta speak the language' stuff?" He adds, grinning.
"Nae o' me kinsmen spik loch 'at!"
He pauses for a second, before amending with a chuckle. "Unless they're sheets to it, I suppose."
He gets to looking around with the others.
"Don't suppose we can back that up some?" He says, indicating the Vault mere seconds from colliding with the Beacon.
"Saruna, what was that you shot the hound with?" He asks the sphinx. "Good timing that."
The room to the south, once opened, does not hold much of interest.
This rest area provides water and bathing facilities for sages and their acolytes. Cabinets hold incense and soap for ritual cleansing before handling any of the materials in the library. A metal mirror frame depicts men and women in erotic and tortured poses.
You can trace the work to the reign of Ahabaris I, the Pharaoh of Long Shadows
Searching the bookshelves, you find...
Several spellbooks remain on the shelves near the statue of Isis.
A Pathfinder who searches through them finds the Journeyman Book of Rul Thaven (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 123), complete with its preparation ritual. You also find Insights of Far-Seeing Taernis (Ultimate Magic 124) with its preparation ritual.
Scattered throughout the library, there are also seven tins of unguent of timelessness used to further preserve valuable relics as well as numerous valuable scrolls and historical records.
Searching around the beacon...
You find a pair of magical reading glasses on the altar.
A magical bead set in the floor beneath the beacon, one remains intact and can probably be pried loose.
Saruna, for her part, is just happy to be here after so many years. She starts to tidy the books and mess that the outsiders made.
In her raspy voice.
It is a crime! Such destruction. But if they do not have the missing tomes? Where are they? I have checked the library...and strangely, nothing is disappearing...or rather the theft seems to have stopped.
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Noisy frowns at Saruna's observation.
"Was there someone else in here?" He looks around puzzled. "And where exactly is here?"
"Underground..." He muses, "But doesn't seem extra-planar... could someone have accessed this from elsewhere?"
"Any way to tell what was taken?" He asks Saruna. "With the catalogue back in the archive maybe?"
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Luisila detects magic. “Looks like some spellbooks and scrolls on the shelves, but nothing that makes much sense to me really. I’ll grab it all anyway.”
The priestess frowns as she tries to work out if there’s anything the party’s missed. She will try to speak to the others out of earshot of Saruna. “There was that passageway on the First Floor that led us away from where we wanted to go.”
“Also we haven’t checked Saruna’s private chambers. Should we check both of those on our way out?”
Luisila calls out loudly. “What do you plan to do with your freedom, Saruna? I assume you are free to leave now?”