GM Blood's Age of Worms in Golarion

Game Master David James Olsen

The chest is made of basalt and bound together with red gold, copper and rusted iron. The large key works without issue and Kelkzar opens it up. Inside is 2300 gp, a knitted copper draw purse containing 300 pp and 2 large golden honey topazes (both worth 600gp). and a narrow brass scroll case containing a wand of invisibility with 9 charges. The chest also contains four thick decanters of efreeti brandy called scarlet ambrosia (200 gp each) all four cushioned in a small portable bar of hammered brass.

"Not a bad cache, but not much that bears on our mission here. Shall we stow it so we can recover the wealth on the way out. I'm sure several of us could make use of that wand. If you want me to scout ahead anywhere, I could save my spells."

"Let's keep going. Still no sign of Allustan..." offers Trevor.

"Yes, let's move on." He pauses then says "Which way?"

"I'm thinking we check those double doors at the end of the hallway to the south next." If everyone is in agreement, Kelkzar will help look for traps moving forward.
Perception for hallway: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (8) + 21 = 29
He'll take 20 for 41 on the doors themselves.
BTW, I'm also fine if you guys want to backtrack and check out that room we crossed through earlier.

His courage bolstered by Kelkzar's confidence, Rauno smiles, nods and follows Kelkzar to the southern doors. As the astute warrior checks them for traps, Rauno casts detect magic on them for any trap of a magical nature that might be more insidious.

Heading to the south, the doors are fake doors. You think maybe it would be a way to trap intruders with either the black pudding if it pursued, or the fire salamander.

"Clever trick. Glad we didn't fall for it. I guess we're back to that other room before we follow Allustan down below." Kelkzar will lead us back to the other room. Search the path between the double doors to the south and the double doors to the west for traps and then very closely inspect the double doors to the west allowing time for Rauno to detect magic on those as well.
Perception on ground: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (15) + 21 = 36
Take 20 for 41 on the doors.

Quintus follows.

Did the channeling get everyone back to full HP?

I'm full.

Me too.

Tiptop!

]ooc]I'm assuming Kelkzar means the room that you fought the Black Pudding[/ooc]

The doors to the west are also fake.

"This is... Weird. Why so many fake doors? What's the point?" asks Trevor, puzzled and frustrated.

Quintus looks around. "I think it's so someone trying to run away from the black pudding would be trapped."

ETA: GM B, can you put x's or something on the fake doors on the map? Thanks!

There are red X's on the fake doors. There is one set of doors you have not checked out yet (upper right corner). Also remember along the dotted line you cam through a one way portal to get here.

"This is... Weird. Why so many fake doors? What's the point?" asks Trevor, puzzled and frustrated.

"In some cultures, tombs are decorated with false doors that represent passageways to the afterlife. Perhaps this complex is some sort of mausoleum. Or, as Quintus observed, to create confusion amongst interlopers."

Rauno is good.

"Let's see what's behind that last set of doors before we follow Allustan, then."

Thanks much for the clarification, GM B.

"Agreed. Let's do it."
Perception on ground: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (20) + 21 = 41
Take 20 for 41 on the doors.

Making your way back through the room you approach and open the doors to the east. There is a small room with fake doors to the south and another real set of doors to the north and open those. This rectangular room has small columns around the edges that partially hide the carvings along the walls. Pale white light glows from two large wheel-shaped chandeliers, casting overlapping shadows throughout the room. Blue metal double doors stand at the top of a flight of stairs opposite the main entrance, guarded by two warrior figures with raised double swords, as well as a single doorway to the south and double doors to the north, also guarded by warrior statues.

As you walk in you hear a raspy voice say, “Welcome to the Hungry Prince’s domain. Can I help you?” You can see a shadowy spider-like figure that sometimes seems your size, but sometimes bigger appear all over the room. You are not sure whether it is one spider or many in the room.

"Indeed you can! We are looking for our friend. Have you seen anyone pass by recently?" asks Trevor, a little nervous at the sight of the spider.

Strange beast live here...

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

"They ask me questions of which I have answers. Interesting that you should ask. I have been watching you and I 'borrowed' something from that person that you call Rauno. Something nice, something very special, yes special. A special little book of his that I know he covets.He loves it so much and reads it every day, yes very interesting that book! Remember to tell them about the other plane. Oh yes and before you try to take it back know that I have stored it on another plane, the ethereal plane. And the one known as Rauno knows if I don't retrieve it, it will be lost forever. Yes I know he knows that!"

"Flycatcher, tell him about the Marquis of the River. Yes of course I will hang on one second while the Rauno realizes I have his book and he needs me to get it back. Ok, looks like he has figured it out. Ok so Moreto the marquis of the River needs to die. He is an unliving evil being that has come from the White Kingdom in the Underdark. Now tell them where he is. Ok I know he dwells somewhere in a cavern deep below the tomb. You can get there by going down down down via the River of Blood. You kill him and bring me his head, and I will give you your nice little book back! Yes, that is a fair deal isn't it?"

Rauno your spell book is missing

Rowena glances at Rauno in shock and goes from as he confirms its loss.

Still, it's his book, so she figures he should take lead on its recovery.

Rauno reaches back to his havesack, but his hand returns empty. His jaw gapes open in surprise and dismay. After a moment, he collects himself enough to say "If what it says is true, retrieving it from the ethereal plane without knowing where to look is theoretically possible, it would be easier to find a specific grain of sand on all of the beaches of all of the worlds."

"Kill the Marquis for me and bring his head and I will give it back to you. If that one," He motions to Trevor, "swears an oath to me by the warrior woman he follows I will give it to you now, as I know he will keep to his word. Moreto is evil so it benefits us both!"

Trevor puckers his face in a pensive frown. He's obviously torn as he looks to Rauno: "Can't you just... Buy a new one?"

"Are you?" Rowena asks the voice, giving Trevor a meaningful look.

"Well, we could. I'm just wondering how it could have stolen it from him. How and when?!?"

Rowena rolls her eyes at Trevor and gives Kelkzar the meaningful look.

"All right. All right. I'll pay for the book then."

Rauno finally recovers from the shock of the theft and says "Mysterious thief, we will not assault the Marquis without just cause. Pray tell, why should we turn our righteous wrath to the Marquis, instead of someone that has clearly wronged us by theft?"

Mustering his will, he adds defiantly "I would rather lose all that my lifetime of effort has wrought then wrongly assassinate anyone."

Kelkzar grins at Rowena and then uses his detect alignment ability to detect evil. Then he switches to attempting to discern lies once the spider figure responds.

Flycatcher rambles on about how Moreto has tormented him for ages and he wants revenge (Both lies) but he does talk about how Moreto is evil and undead and that Flycatcher knows that Moreto has done horrible and evil things (all true). Once again it is done in a rambling stream of consciousness way that clearly indicates that his thinking patterns are very foreign to regular humanoids or that there is something wrong mentally with him.

He also does not detect as evil by Trevor and does detect as Lawful by Kelkzar.

Kelkzar fixes on eye on Flycatcher and asks "Why do you really want Moreto dead? What will you gain?"

"He stole from me! From my tomb that I guard! It is mine to keep secure and he stole it! I found this place and I keep it safe! But he and his undead minions took the crystal went below the Falling River before I can stop him. But I can't leave this place alone, I have to keep guarding it! Someone else needs to get it back and it has to be you!"

"Why does it have to be us?! We are looking for our friend, for we fear for him. Why do you trick us into your service?" asks Trevor with an angry edge in his voice.

"There is no one else but you. It must be you. It has to be you. Surely your deities would want you to wipe this undead scourge off the face of the earth and return what was stolen?"

"Surely perhaps, but certainly not that way!"

"You didn't tell us of this crystal before. Only that you wanted us to return with his head. What is the crystal?"
Is he telling the truth this time?

Quintus nods. "Undead are an affront to my goddess. Tell me, though--whose tomb do you guard?"

Back from vacation

In his rambling way he describes stumbling upon this place by accident and deciding to protect it. He says it is a tomb of a long dead general named Icosiol. What the crystal was for he doesn't know, but he knows it is powerful and was on a platter on a pedestal next to a statue below. He is telling the truth here, though at times seems very confused

The way he describes the crystal sounds like what you discovered on the frescoes in the Black Pudding room, see below

The frescoes and wall decorations show a lumbering inevitable with three ancient Vaati runes spilling from its mouth while reaching for a square stone covered with symbols on a platter carried by small glowing creatures. Rauno translates the runes from Vaati as Aaqa (The ancient civilization of the Wind Dukes), Icosiol (The Wind Duke General), and Pesh (The site of the final battle of the Wind Dukes vs the forces of Chaos).

Rauno will cast detect magic on the crystal, to see if he can discern what power it holds.

I'm not 100% sure Rauno, but I think the crystal was stolen and we just saw images of what it looks like on the frescoes. At this point, while I don't trust him, I am inclined to go after Moreto.

Kelkzar is right, the crystal was stolen. What I re-pasted in was what you saw on the frescoes in the room with the black pudding. The frescoes were not magical if that is what you meant

"Icosiol's tomb, you say? What do you know of Zosiel?"

Rauno says to his friends "I would be glad to rid the world of another undead menace, but Allustan is still out there somewhere."

Trevor blushes slightly as the conversation wanders, in his opinion. He's deeply worried. He tries not to show it, but he fails. He turns to Rowena, eyes pleading.

Quintus ponders Rauno's words. "Allustan may have gone the same way we would take to reach this 'River of Blood.' If that's true, we can do both."

Rowena pats Trevor's arm. "I know it just sounds like a book, but it would be like if creepy voice stole all your weapons and armour. You would be so handicapped. That's what it's like for Rauno. I know you hate being used this way, we all do, but really, we would probably have encountered and fought this undead anyway. If you don't want to swear the oath to this creature, then we'll just make sure to come back and get Rauno's book."

Trevor looks at Rowena with anger first, but it swiftly shifts to sadness: "You don't understand. It's not my toys you're depriving me of. It's my soul..."