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Hervey, reeling from the blow he took, manages to open the small etched vial. The fallen ceiling beams and piles of debris blocking the door, fade away into a green ethereal mist and disappear. That same mist seems to appear in the small vial, which now glows green.
J. brushes herself off and looks around the room for a bit, stopping to inspect the small memorials to the fallen students, before speaking to you. "Thank you for watching over me, and taking care of....whatever exactly that was. Hopefully those sprits can now rest in peace.." but her voice begins to trail off and grows distant, as if listening for a barely audible whisper. After a moment’s pause, "There is another restless force still calling to me from somewhere below, I'm certain of it. And it feels...vengeful. We must continue on."
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It was a haunt after all. Kelumur picks out his rugged looking wand, and passes it over to Mun. "Could you do the honors once more, for old times sake?"
After feeling refreshed, he offers his wand to any of those in need. "Heal up, there's something that gives me discomfort about this place, we should need all the energy we can get." He says as he stands ready to walk deeper into the haunted school.
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Mūn accepts Kelumur's wand, happily using its healing on his friend. Handing the wand back, he conjures an image of Ashava to his mind and uses his own healing abilities to fix some of the damage he sustained himself.
He then pulls out his own wand of Heightened Awareness, casting it on himself.
If this spell is active when you have to make an initiative check, you can instantly dismiss this spell and gain a +4 bonus on that check.
"Okay, I guess I'm ready. J, keep us informed of these feelings or impressions; they could be useful to know."
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Fung shakes himself free from the overwhelming fear. He similarly passes his own wand to Mun and requests for help.
"You have my thanks, friend. Let's move on," Fung says resolutely.
As the party sets off, Fung withdraws another wand, and miraculously, manages to activate it on his first try.
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The entrance to the necropolis is very different that you remember it. Picks and shovels are strewn about, as well as various notebooks detailing the excavation. Many parts are blocked off, as they begin the process of sealing up the areas they documented, to allow those interred here to once again rest in peace. As you descend the long hallway down into the crypts, something is off. The reek of death chokes this narrow stone corridor, where a trio of corpses slowly rots into the stone. You can hear the faint sounds of children laughing somewhere deep within.
Judging by what you find on the corpses, they appear to be the remains on the treasure hunters that ransacked the Society supply shed you visited earlier. Among their possession you find, three sets of leather armor, three short swords, three small vials of a clear oily substance, two vials of a blue liquid, a scroll, two different wands, and 105gp.
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Garekk hands off his wand for healing, and shakes the dust from his bloodied clothes. The wounds disappear under the magical ministrations, and he breathes much easier.
He nods as J says there is more to come below, and draws his sword as he takes the lead. As the smell of death violates his nose, he stops the party with a whispered word of danger before slowly advancing to find the cause. Once he is sure there is no danger, Garekk waves the rest forward and begins to search the dead. He opens the vials, and takes a sniff of each.
"These three are oils of magic weapons.. I will take one, and someone else can have the other two. I can't tell what these others are though."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Mun gives the corpses a cursory glance, but his untrained eye reveals nothing other than the obvious; they are dead.
He proceeds to examine the remaining items. Casting read magic, the scroll's contents become obvious. "This is a spell that will remove disease from a person. Based on our last excursion into these crypts, I have no doubt this will prove useful."
He then casts detect magic and examines the wands.
"Ahh, this first one here will help restore damage beyond simple physical hurts, though it only has a few castings left." "And this will protect us from evil creatures quite effectively."
Mun chuckles a bit to himself. "I just learned the casting of that latter spell in anticipation of this jaunt." He points the wand at Junia, and utters the trigger word to invoke the spell. "Before we go deeper, let's make sure that you at least have this protection, J."
"Should we just go ahead and grant this protection to us all?" Mun looks to the group for thoughts.
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Mun goes around and grants the protection to the entire party. "The spells won't last forever, so let's go ahead and be on our way while we have the protection."
gain a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures; immediately receives new save vs. spells or effects (mental control) with a +2 morale bonus (if successful, suppresses effect for duration of Protection from Evil); prevent bodily contact by evil summoned creatures
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Just beyond the hallway where the treasure hunters met their end, you come to a large chamber. The spirit of a young girl with blond hair sits in the center of the room. As J. and the rest of you approach, the spirit gets up, turns around, and addresses J. “I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Junia. Waiting for you to come back. Why did you leave me? Won’t you come back to me? Then we can all be friends again.”
J. is paralyzed by fear and guilt, and can only mutter “Cassiel, Cassiel, I’m so sorry, please forgive me!” As J. repeats herself over and over, Grishan manifests himself next to her, and whispers to the Pathfinders. "This is the spirit of our friend Cassiel Marlinchen, who died with us in the necropolis. I can feel the guilt inside J., and it is unbearable. She blames herself, since she managed to survive."
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Mūn looks to Junia with sympathy. "Junia. J. This is not your fault. The gods move in mysterious ways. I think you were meant to find that ring, and thus, meant to survive. I remember Cassiel from before. Focus your thoughts inside; I think the gods may have left you a message. There must be a way that you can help Cassiel, not by joining her, but to free her."
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Garekk once again lays a heavy paw on J's shoulder. "There is always guilt for the survivors of battle and disaster. You must find a way to release this burden if you are to grow as you must.. the alternative is a dark and lonely path." Garekk tries to comfort the woman, knowing full well the weight that hangs from her shoulders.
He then turns to the spectre, and says "Cassiel. You know that Junia nearly died with you. It was not her choice to survive, indeed she thought that she had died! What can be done to ease your passing, and allow you to rest?"
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The spirit of Cassiel seems to be on the verge of getting aggressive, and a pair of ethereal children manifest next to her. But something Hervey says sounds appealing, a permanent respite from this place. "You...you are right. I can see the pain and grief, feel it even, inside J. I've had nothing to do since that day but to cling to my anger and the feeling of abandonment. But now that she is here, I know deep inside that I need to let it go. Grisham I am glad you found her. Stay with her and keep her safe."
J. pulls herself together and looks up at the spirit. "I truly am sorry Cassiel, I wish you could have survived this place too. Please forgive me." Cassiel returns a smile, and she and the other two children fade away.
J. turns to the party after the spirit of Cassiel is gone. "This is why I want to be a Pathfinder. I want to help all of the lost spirits I can and let them rest in peace. I now know this is what I was meant to do here. Somehow I knew I needed to help Cassiel's spirit find peace. We must help Grishan find his peace too."
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Garekk stares in awe as the spirits dematerialize and move on... to wherever they were meant to go. "That is a relief." he sighs, turning back to J. "There are many definitions of "lost spirits" in this world, little one. Remember that, and let your heart guide your hand and you will do well."
With these words, he turns back to Grishan and asks "We have solved J's riddle.. it is now time to see to yours. Can you lead us to wherever the documents are hidden? We will decide what course to take from there once we have looked them over."
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As J explains her stance, Kelumur relates that of those marginalized and victimized that he wants to save. "Clearly, your goals are of noble intent, the Pathfinder society can be a means to that end, but the journey will never be easy."
Agreeing with Garekk, Kelumur follows the spirit to his hiding place.
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Mūn's shoulder relax after Cassiel and the extra apparitions disappear. "J, you've done well; the Pathfinders will be enriched by your joining. When we are done here, you and I should discuss the work of the Silver Crusade. I don't know if you have your heart set on a specific path within the Society, but much good can be done under our banner; your skills would be put to good use."
"I agree, though, we should now seek to find peace for Grishan--though I hope you'll not abandon your friend when the quest is complete; you too make a pair."
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Fung sighs a deep sigh of relief when the ghosts disappears. Undeads, ghosts. What's next?
Once his beating heart has settled somewhat, Fung listens in and adds on, "Yes, Lady Junia, that is indeed admirable. We have helped one of your friends. Let's go and help Grishan, too. If the package does not lead to more harm, that is."
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The Arboretum Arcanis is located a short distance from the Drownyard. It was once a haven of exotic trees, bushes, and flowers from all over Golarion. The enigmatic wizard Beldrin built the Arboretum in ages past, covering it with a crystal dome that let through light while keeping everything inside safe. Inside the dome, each greenhouse had its own magical temperature and moisture controls, and was watered by artificial clouds that rained only at night. The crystal dome is cracked, with a large central portion missing at its apex. Vines have grown through the cracks in the dome, so thick that the interior of the dome is shrouded in perpetual dim light, even on bright, sunny days. Large skylights in the Arboretum’s greenhouses open the interior to the corrupting rains.
As you approach the outside of the Arboretum, Grishan collapses to the ground, or what you think it would look like if he could, since he floats. He grabs his head and screams out in agony. "Ahh! It hurts." After a moment he collects himself and appears to stand. "The package is here, I've had a flash of a memory. It's in a red lion statue that is part of a giant fountain. I dont remember where the fountain is but I know its here."
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"There is twisted magic involved in these clouds." Mūn points upwards as purple lightning arcs from one dark mass to another. "We would do well to avoid any rains should they discharge. They're responsible for all of this decay. I don't believe it would happen quickly, but the rains could effect us all with a long exposure as well."
He begins scanning the arboretum for signs of a fountain or anything that looks like a sculpture.
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The foyer of the Arboretum Arcanis is in shambles. Debris and dead or dying plant matter cover the mosaic-tiled floor. A gnarled black thorn tree still clings to life in a giant masonry planter. Two massive skylights in the ceiling afford a view of low-hanging, purple and black clouds above; the crystal dome is completely obscured. Piles of rubble obscure most of what once may have been doorways, but a door to the west is free from debris.
Once you enter you see a short, gnarled, gnome-like figure with a beard of green mold, an oversized, misshapen and bulbous head, and long, branched fingers. On his back he has numerous small sack-like growths about the size of a child’s fist. He comes right out of the roots of the tree in the entry way and makes a low bow, greeting you politely. "Hello there friends, my name is Majordomo Pip and this is my green house. What can I do for you?"
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Garekk pulls back in shock as the creature pops out of the woodwork.. literally. He regains himself though, and smiles bemusedly as the creature introduces himself with a bow. Garekk returns the bow, stepping forward to speak. "Hello there! We are Pathfinders, and are looking to help lay some of the spirits of this area to rest. Currently, we are trying to help the spirit of one of the students who left some documents here before the school collapsed. You haven't seen these, have you?"
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Fung stares as the ... creature approaches. Shortly, he recalls his master, in the course of sharing on the various exotic herbs, having mentioned a plant creature called a mandragora, which matches what he is seeing now. He remains quiet, fearful of offending him, and possibly jeopardising their mission.