[PFS] GM Kyshkumen's Destiny of the Sands (Inactive)

Game Master Kyshkumen

With no objections from the group Dylara places the destructive tiles on the burnt side of Nethys and the creative ones on the whole side of Nethys. There is a loud click and the wall slowly swings out revealing a hidden chamber.

The puzzle is super easy with a good bard roll ;)

The rich scent of palm wine, cinnamon, and myrrh fills this magically illuminated storehouse. Each wall has deep slots filled with papyrus scrolls. A white-and-black marble altar enveloped in faint wisps of faerie fire sits squarely in the center of the room. A ladder to the south leads up to a walkway, with more shelves and a golden sarcophagus

Yes, figures. I'd be pretty grouchy if I were a water creature locked in a desert.

While the sun hangs in the sky and the desert has sand
While the waves crash in the sea and meet the land

What could please this creature? It has an ample body of water...

"I have some water in my wineskin," said Khismia, "but I don't think it will be enough to make any difference"

She took out the wineskin and made a gesture as she pours water into creatures pool.

This makes me want to take Tongues hex or bardic Share Language spell

I knew a player who made it a point to keep Scrolls of Comprehend Languages around. After this adventure, I'm going to pick one up.

Vyk first checks the belt on the dead man.

Spellcraft vs. Belt: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

If the Elemental doesn't react, he'll continue identifying the items in the following order.

Spellcraft vs. Sword: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Spellcraft vs. Pool Item #1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Spellcraft vs. Pool Item #2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Looks like I'll probably fail the sword.

No idea on the sword.

Looking down into the pool of water it looks to be about 6 feet deep. at the bottom of the pool are a wand and what looks like a wayfinder.

As Vyk starts to take interest in the items in the pool the water elemental begins bubbling again.

"000oOOO()() ()oooOOoOO0"

She pays no mind to Khismia dumping out her wine skin.

How does it do that '[]' bit? Miko says, fascinated as she is by the creature. OooOo{}{}? More guttural? Ooo99oo? Nasal? Oooo@@ooo?

"I have no idea, but it sure is a funny sound she makes."

Dylara takes a look at the sword when Vyk isn't able to identify it.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

"No idea either..."

"OK, you always say you know better, what should I do in this situation?" Khismia ran out of ideas and asked spirit behind her back.
"Look at that sword, it's magical... Just check that aura weave - I haven't seen that earlier" This time there were no mockery or shaming in haunts words.

Spellcraft vs Sword: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Still no info on the sword.

Tuich stood transfixed by the water woman from the moment it appeared.

"I've... never seen anything like this. I simply must start studying magic! Being able to use some powers while not understanding any of it is vexing!"

Seeing Kishmia pour water into the pool to no effect, Tuich shucks her pack and digs trough it -- grumbling about Tooley all the while -- until she finally, with a little sound of triumph, pulls out a flask.

"Maybe she's bound here against her will. I have some holy water, would that help? I know nothing about mystical bindings."

K. Planes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Whew! Barely.

"Holy water wouldn't affect a planar binding. So you should save it, Tuich. Hmm. The Belt seems to be one of mighty constitution (+2). The wand has a lesser restoration spell. And if I'm not mistaken that's a wayfinder in the water."

Vyk pulled out his own wayfinder from his pack to show it to the elemental. "Did someone with one of these come by here? Did they trap you?"

Vyk tries to express his ideas with hand gestures, but gives up. "Myko, do you think you can get that across?"

Maybe a performance acting check?

The water elemental tilts her head to the side as if trying to make sense of what Vyk Tyr is saying. After looking at Vyk's wayfinder she points to the body in the corner.

"000ooOoOOO() 0oo Oooooo"

Vincent slowly stumps around the room, increasingly annoyed at how no one else seems to be affected. Out of curiosity, he attempts to set down the stone of alarm that he'd picked up earlier. Maybe it weighs more than it seems.

He pays attention to the water elemental, trying to figure out what message it's trying to convey without understanding its words.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

"Vyk, the elemental seems to have a link in its... her?... mind between wayfinders and that body in the corner there. She seems annoyed by the attention you're paying to the items in and around her pool."

Vincent checks his pockets and such to see if the stone is back on his person.

"I seem to have picked up a curse. I recommend not picking up unknown items for now, in case there's more."

"It is not your fault, Vincent. We all have our burden to carry and it is just a moment of time, when you find yours. Talk to your priest when we return back to city - she might have some advices for you" Khismia looked again in pool room and strange creature and than asked: "Might be creature doesn't like us walking there? Let's go further and return here, when we done. I don't think, it will go away from her pool anyways."

Yes, let's move on. Shall we try the next door?

Miko will have a look at the door out of curiosity, but make place for her more perceptive party members if they need space.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Dylara follows the others back into the previous room, and places hear ear against the eastern door.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

She relays whatever she hears, then slowly opens the door with her free hand. Once she can see into the new space, Dylara'll take a look around it.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Tuich looks at the water creature sadly. "I'm sorry. If you're trapped here, we'll try to find a way to free you," she says before following the others.

I think you all got really distracted by the water elemental and missed something important.

Didn't we look at that room?

So, anything interesting in that secret room?

Miko will have a look around, first trying to see if she can gleam something from those scrolls without disturbing them. She'd prefer not to be alone in that room though, this being a sarcophagus in an ancient Osiriani site after all.

Nope I opened it up and gave a description and everyone focused on the water elemental.

Remembering that Dylara opened up a secret room Miko rushes back and begins rifling through the scrolls. There are seven scrolls with arcane writing on them.

If no one has read magic.

Fortunately, Miko has read magic

Won't these come in handy. Miko says as she rummages through the scrolls, until she finds the last one Elemental Speech! GooOood morning Oo()sirion!

I will give Vyk the chance to react before I use the scroll (he might want to keep it to write down in his spell book)

If someone does decide to cast any of the last three scrolls it is a simple caster level check with a DC 6. Just don't roll a 1, bad things happen when you roll a 1.

Dylara shivers, and closes the other door again. "Corpses... Lots of them..."

She watches Miko rummage through the scrolls, cringing when Miko also discovers a scroll to talk to dead people. "Let's indeed first attempt to talk to the elemental again, before we talk to any dead person..."

Nah, that's okay. Let's bust open that scroll of elemental speech. I say we let Miko read it, since she'll likely have the better diplomacy checks.

Miko tries to read the scroll:

Caster Level Check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Wisdom check: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15

Heloo[][]ooo?! Drats, it doesn't work.

Trying again, Caster Level Check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

HelloooOOoo()()?

HellooOoo() mister. Missus? Have yoOou ben here foOor a long time? My name is Mik(). I was just w()ndering what y()u could tell us aboot this place. What were you trying to say earlier? Do you knoOow who that dead guy is? Should we take him out f()r you?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

I'm thoroughly amused now, thanks. :)

Nothing useful for Vincent to do at this point either. He'll stand around trying to find a way to get rid of the stone, I guess.

"Say them! Stay them!", haunt behind Khismia's back was excited to hear about more corpses.
"Stop it or I'll do something you will regret". Looks like treat had some power.

"Dylara, are those corpses dead or a bit undead?.." she asked to her friend, "when there were those zombies, it seemed one of them hesitated because of my... power. If we meet undead again, try not to destroy it... before the others."

"You! You tricked me!" haunt was disappointed of what Qadiran said to her friends.
"No! You don't know how powerful those souls might be. And you cannot walk the streets like zombie."

Sorry for slow-posting. Was distracted from laptop and just found drafted post

Wow, you guys got a lot of posting done since midnight my time! FWIW, Tuich also has Read Magic.

The water elemental gets very excited when Miko begins to speak to it in a language it understands. It replies in a rapid string of bubbling as if it's been holding on to something for a very long time.

The water elemental points to the body in the corner before proceeding to rapidly bubble.

She then points and Vyk before bubbling some more.

Miko tries to remember what it would take to release an elemental from its service. Would a bluff work?

K(Arcana?): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Miko shudders in horror to think what the water creature may have done to the pathfinder.

Who were your masters, then?

This friend of yours was a friend of ours as well. Is there a way in which you would allow us to take that compass, so his family can know of his fate?

"They were the kind of corpses that didn't move," Dylara explains to Khismia. "The room itself is charred black, and has broken bits of wood lying around. I really have no idea what happened there."

Dylara ponders for a bit, tapping her foot until she realizes the sound her tapping produces may be a bit annoying.

"If we're going to use that one scroll to talk to the spirits of the corpses, perhaps we can also try to talk to the dead Pathfinder? I'm curious to learn what drew him to this place, and what he was able to discover. And, of course, we could ask him if there's anything he'd like his next of kin to know."

Tuich looks back and forth between Miko and the water creature. "What, what?"

"I did as you asked me. I said about them no killing undead if you posses the body. Will you return favour for me now?" oracle asked spirit.
"OK! I can do, what you want me to, but I am not a fond of the idea"

"Oh, those were dead bodies. I can ask some questions from body without spending a scroll. I've been dealing with spirits some time... But if it refuse or answer those questions, it will take about week to build enough power to speak with it again. That's why we need to decide on questions we ask first. And you will help me to bury it afterwards, because nothing disappoints Pale Lady more, than disdain to dead bodies."

Khismia has Voice of the Grave revelation, which allows her to do speak with dead 3 rounds.

Tuich looks at Khishma a bit enviously. "Pale Lady? You can talk with your spirit? That must be nice. Tooley and I... we sort of get our points across, but we can't talk to each other."

She returns her attention to Miko, still intrigued as to what the elemental is telling her.

The jewelled sages were your masters? Do you have any idea where they are now? Where they went?

Miko briefly pauses to recount what the elemental said.

If you guys have any questions...

Tuich ponders what Miko finally relays of the conversation. "'Wasted away'... does it understand that people have to eat? No, not important, ask if it knows a way we can free it. I don't think those masters are coming back, and it's not fair for her to be stuck here like this."

I went ahead and read all the Aquan spoilers that Miko would have understood and translated for us.

"Well, if we can't take things from the pool, could she give them to us? Perhaps one of them would be the key to sending her back where she's from."

"I also could not do it... understand it..." Khismia shook her shoulders as sudden rush of bad memories ran along her spine, "but we found a common point, that brought us together."

"Stop whining! Let's finish with that search and found your mystical jewel mage, that will return me a body!" the spirit was not very interested into remembering days that passed.
"Hey, if you have nothing to do, speak with Tooley, he might learn you how to behave yourself even if you don't like the only person you are connected to.."

How long ago is it that you've last seen the sages?

So, if you're bound to protect the contents of the pool, what would happen if you took those things that have fallen in, and put them ashore? Would you still attack us if we took it, then? It seems to me that including those items was not in the spirit of of your agreement?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30 Probably counts as asking for some favor

With almost everyone talking to someone she can't understand or even hear, Dylara turns to Melon. "Hi girl. How are you holding out? we won't be inside this building for that long. You'll be able to fly again soon."

Dylara pets Melon just below her beak.

Melon closes her eyes and softly presses her head against Dylara. She looks like she enjoys being petted.

It appears the water elemental is to distracting again.

Yea, sorry about that. Miko is having too much fun talking to strange beings. She'll depend on the others to drag her away :-)

So the only one to go into the secret room was Miko and all she did was look at the scrolls. That means most of the room has been left untouched.

Vincent goes into the secret room and examines it, since he can't participate in the conversation actively.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24