Tortuga sees nothing of interesting on the door to the ballroom. Opening it up he sees an unusual sight. The room is lined with iron stands displaying massive scrimshaw tusks from great woolly mastodons, each engraved with thousands of tiny pictographs. Canvases displayed about the room depict artistic renderings of the pictographs along with their conceptual meanings. These translations tell the histories of various tribes living in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords.
Kalendir sees a curved corridor going left. There is a open archways leading into another room to the right.
He quickly looks in the room. Facing north, its broad windows allow viewers a stunning view of Absalom and the surrounding isle. The walls are decorated with framed maps of the Inner Sea, sky charts, and various instruments of astronomy and navigation. Three dead Pathfinders lie strewn across the furniture, their throats slashed and their equipment stripped.
Alie jumps back at seeing the corpses. ”I wonder who they were? Maybe they have some identifiable information. They deserve to be taken back to the Lodge and given a proper rest,” she whispers, aghast at the violence.
Opening the door he finds another lightless room. However with his darkvision he can see...
This room is entirely lightless. Within the center stands a massive, metal-framed cylinder filled with strange black liquid. A plaque upon its base reads “The Orvian.” The strange liquid within the cylinder seems to devour any light and gives off an eerie chill.
The other side of the room has another door in it.
Alie stares at the weird Orvian, checking to see if it detects as magic or if her True Seeing shows anything else. ”Does anyone know anything about this stuff? It’s definitely strange alright.”
Alie thinks hard. The darkness and the cold remind her of something she heard about very deep down in the Underdark. It is called Black Blood and can act as either unholy water or as a booster for necromatic spell casting. It is very dangerous to use.
Alie tells the others what she remembers. ”I don’t think it is worth the risk. Makes me afraid there is a necromancer running around here, though. We need to be very aware.”
Alie claps her hands in glee. "We've found them! Boys, get ready. There's no telling what is waiting for us in these rooms. Prepare for trouble," she warns upon seeing the Pathfinder faction runes.
Fletch and Wynnreyell find the door marked for Liberty's Edge and enter it.
It is a small hexagonal rooms with a single entrance. The interior is furnished with runes of freedom, famous speeches about emancipation and a portrait of your leaders!
There is a small library containing general information as well as a dozen or so pre-published journals, rough drafts, and similar works in progress. Another shelf holds ledgers with an array of names and dates, presumably signed by visitors. Some of the names have numbers referencing journals or notes supposedly filed elsewhere within the chambers. Also within each room, one half of a small, rough-cut geode rests on a brass stand.
You recognize this as a Geode of sending, which you can use, presumably to get a communication with your faction leader.
Fletch hears a far voice, somewhat vague that quickly fades. You quickly tell him of Adril. Mission for Liberty's Edge and Silver Crusade
"Fletch? Fletch? Are Nine fingers.. So you have found your way into Skyreach? Somewhere within the upper levels is displayed a disturbing piece of art known as the Pillar of Screaming Angels. I have recently learned that not all the screaming angels within are illusory. One was sculpted from the tortured psychic essence of an Eagle Knight named Aistor Garislog. Find the pillar, and attempt to free Aistor’s essence by hosting it within in you and returning to Almas once you defeat Adril."
And to speed this up in PBP In turn you try the other faction rooms.
Alie:
In the upper levels of Skyreach hides one of our people’s most beloved artifacts, an intelligent greatsword which was once wielded by Sir Wouden Vothuemont, a valued servant of King Stavian I. For reasons we know not, Vothuemont shamefully broke his service to the crown and ended his life in the service of the Decemvirate. He took his sword with him, though few outside our kingdom were aware of its great powers. When he died, all his belongings were sent back to his family in Taldor—all except his sword. The Decemvirate claims they have no knowledge of the weapon, and for years, we’ve been unable to locate it on our own. Given Vothuemont’s loyalty to the Ten after he turned his back on the throne, we suspect that he bequeathed it to the Decemvirate. If so, they likely keep it in a place of honor in their private sanctum. If you come across the weapon, please attempt to recover it and return it to its rightful place in Taldor, but ensure that any secrets it might reveal about its dishonorable past are hidden from your companions.
Morrin:
In the upper chambers of the Sanctum of the Ten sits an impressive guardian of Osirian origin known as t he Copper Sphinx. I regret that you shall have to face this creation, for it was a gift given to the Decemvirate over two centuries ago. Upon defeating it, please honor us by delivering to me the heartscarab within its breast, for it contains the last vestiges of the creature’s soul, which should be taken back to Sothis. Be careful, for the whatever life-spark remains inside the heartscarab will begin waning once you remove it. If you can, attempt to deactivate the device to conserve the energy within.
After the group had notified all their superiors, Alie looked to the boys. "Ok, our warnings have been taken care of. Where to now, do you think? I'm guessing we need to go through all the remaining rooms, to be safe. "
One thing you do notice is that each faction room is a small hexagon, and they don't seem to "fit" into the tower. Either illusions or extra dimensional magic is at play in them.
Checking out the rest of the hall you eventually come to a door that doesn't have a faction marking on it. Just beyond that is another room.
Ten on map
A towering stone totem pole serves as this hall’s centerpiece, its faces consisting of various jungle animals with anthropomorphic features. A bronze plaque set into its display base reads, “The Mwangi.” Framing the totem, and set upon a backdrop of colorfully patterned cloth, hang an arrangement of wooden masks and shrunken heads. Eerily, the heads are enchanted such that when they are addressed, guests can converse with them, though they express mere pleasantries and offer no real information.
In the center of this small circular chamber rises a pillar of pale white ether. Within the column twist the ghostly forms of thousands of silently screaming angels.
You think if you stand near it and concentrate you will be able to allow the spirit to enter you, but it may be disturbing...
You may make a save, but if you succeed you won't have the spirit within you...
Fletch screams in metal agony for a moment as the spirit and memories of the eagle knight invade his mind. It only takes a moment for Fletch to exert control again, but he is sure the dead man is inside now.
”No way I’m doing that. That looks awful! Let’s go back and check out the Mwangi exhibit. Anyone know what we might need to do there? Any of you that are Good at
Noticing things want to give it a once over?”
You head back to the Mwangi exhibit. Checking for magic, you detect none in particular in the exhibit.
That leaves just two doors in the exhibit and the curved passage around the outside. Quickly checking the curved passage you determine it ends back in the room with the murdered pathfinders. Before then though, there is a large set of double doors.
Male CG Human (Taldan) Kineticist 11 / Unchained Rogue 3 | HP 235/235 42 Non Lethal : 26 Temp | AC 25 T 19 FF 18 | CMB +10, CMD 32 | F: +20, R: +23, W: +8 | Init: +9 | Perc: +14 | Speed 30ft, Fly 60ft (Good) | Burn 3/11 | Darkvision 60ft | Defensive Abilities danger sense +1, evasion, fortification 15%; Resist negative energy 10, positive energy 10
Sorry about my lack of posting, retail is picking up!
Morrin winces at the screams of his companion before placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Are you okay friend? That didn't look pleasant."
Looking about, the man looks at the double doors before pulling out a tool set from his haversack. "Think it's trapped or locked?" he asks while approaching the doors.
Normally I'd get someone to open the door, but dungeon crawls can take forever so..
The walls of this wide hallway are hung with hundreds of exotic masterwork swords, daggers, and other bladed weapons from distant locations within and beyond the Inner Sea region. Small placards beneath each provide the weapon’s name and details on its use, history, and country of origin. To the west, the hallway ends at the foot of a massive, curving staircase. A hall to the south leads to area 10, while the double doors at the eastern end of the hall open onto the outer walkway that encircles this floor.
Alie takes a long look at the weapons, specifically looking for a Taldor made greatsword. If she sees an interesting one, she looks for the Vothuemont name, or at least picks it up, to see if anything interesting happens.
”It’s a greatsword. A big ole blade. It’s a Taldorian special. A guy by the name of Vothuemont wielded it long ago. It’s been lost for ages,” she describes.
Tortuga spots a greatsword that fits the description. However when he reaches out for it, the sword jumps to its... well, point. Hovers in the air and states in a very posh Taldane accent "You? I hardly think You are worthy of wielding the blade of Vothuemont!"
”He was just helping me out. I’m a true Taldane native. I’m here to bring you home! May we speak in private,” Alie asks the sword, wanting to move it out of earshot of the others in Case secrets were to be spilled.
"On guard! Rebel! You are no Vothuemont!"
Being a chivalrous weapon, it will give the option of first blow to Fletch.
To make this a bit quicker, I'll get you to do three rounds at a time, just break your attacks up to make it obvious to me which happens in which round. And to make it easier still, it is only AC10, so you'll probably hit on everything other than a 1. It does have quite impressive hardness though, but I'll not scare you with that number until after your first set of attacks. Feel free to make any pre-combat buffs you want before commencing battle.
