The Forgotten God (Table 5)

Game Master Rednal

Kozuri shook her head. "I've had enough of magic images of other places." she muttered quietly. "Besides, it might be cursed or something."

How brief? XD Notably, you'll need at least an hour to try and read it properly.

I figured it would take a while to do a proper reading, but I'll spend 10min to do a quick perusal of any chapter headings and whatnot. When I sit down with it later for a full read, this quick skimming should help guide my study. Once the 10min are up, Astoroth will put the book back in the extradimensional space and finish exploring the pyramid. If we've already looked at everything, we'll head back out the way we came.

As you open the book, it becomes clear that a quick perusal... isn't likely to happen. The moment you lose focus on the text - which happens repeatedly as you try to search for something resembling headings - the contents within shift about and move into new positions as if to resist being read. (And yes, it's actually like this in the module. XD)

It takes less than ten minutes for it to become clear that a quick perusal of the tome simply isn't going to happen - although, oddly, their movements do call to mind the star charts you saw at the auction house some time ago. Finally, after shutting the book and putting it safely away, you remember where you've been. There don't seem to be any other parts to this place, and it's not long before you're back in the first room with the bowl of potions. As you approach the wall, it glows green, then opens to reveal a portal back to the golem's chamber. Apparently, the guardian is there to let you out.

A book that actively resisted being read? Now THAT was intriguing. Putting it away for the time being, Astoroth continued to make his way out of the pyramid. The portal golem was quite handy.

As you moved forward, the golem returned to its seat, settling down to wait for the next time a person - welcomed or not - entered its chamber. That, of course, was the easy part. As you came to the entrance of the area, you saw nearly three dozen of the slave masters from the camp waiting by the ridges, with crossbows trained on your position.

"I hope you'll forgive the security." A woman who could only be Exemplar Khymrasa called down. "There are quite a lot of thieves in this land - but I am, of course, prepared to honor our agreement if you're doing the same."

Slowly, but calmly, Astoroth retrieved two containers from his pack. "A sensible precaution. I have three things for you: information about the inside of the pyramid and the location of the rest of the treasure within, a chest of rare seeds, and the other item you requested. Remove the archers, and I'll be happy to exchange them as previously agreed."

Readied Action: if they fire, I'll wild arcana for Kinetic Field. That would give me a 25ft plane across the pyramid entrance, with a Will DC 22 for any projectiles to pass through.

"I've got an alternative - my representative gets to go down and check them. If he authenticates them, my men will lower their weapons." the Exemplar answered, and she nodded to a thin man who carefully slid down the slopes. He drew out a pair of spectacles as he approached and began examining the containers.

"What are the traps inside?" the man inquired as he worked.

Astoroth draws a rough map of the pyramid's interior in the sand as he gives an explanation of the contents. He makes sure to mention the reincarnating girallon/basilisk, the portal golem, the heartbeat room, and the firefly reliefs. He also indicates the locations of the jeweled staves, the jade figurines, and the other treasures he'd left behind.

I'm forewarned, in case she fires at us.

"A reincarnating monster? Huh. Well, we've got slaves." the Exemplar said dismissively, listening from above as you described the situations. Meanwhile, her aide looked up once he was actually done examining the objects you'd brought out.

"These do seem rather potent, ma'am. The seeds are a bit mundane, but very much real, and the lost varieties in particular would be quite valuable to the right buyers. As for the other... it's certainly quite potent." he noted. The Exemplar nodded slightly and raised her hand. As she did so, the crossbowmen lifted their weapons and settled down, looking a bit relieved.

"All right, bring everything up. You, go get the oak box." she said, jerking her head at a slave who took off running.

Astoroth is content to wait, although he refuses to turn over the false Pact Stone until his promised payment is ready. The Exemplar clearly doesn't value the lives of those below her, so it's best not to trust that she'll keep her word.

It took a few minutes, but the slave came back with the box in question, then brought it down and opened it. Inside were a number of small gold bars, each stamped with the seal of Osirion’s current ruler, the Ruby Prince Khemet III. All told, their value was around 10,000 GP.

Astoroth took the box, handed over his own, and prepared to take his leave.

I'll assume there's nothing else you wanted to do here, then. XD What's your destination?

Back to civilization so I can study the Last Theorem.

It was probably for the best that you and Kozuri wasted little time leaving the camp in question. From the looks on their faces, a few of the people there had wanted to simply 'hold' you, but their own man had authenticated what you'd brought back as being at least moderately magical - although it was quite possible they'd decide you'd tricked them somehow after they'd had more of an opportunity to study things.

Several days of journey through the sand later, you'd finally managed to get back to Sothis, Ulunat's distant shell rising over the horizon to serve as the first (and greatest) landmark of the city. Finding a place to read the book probably wouldn't be too hard... goodness knew a city of this size had your choice of places to settle down for awhile.

Give me a Concentration Check when you want to actually read that thing. Having studied the astronomical scrolls some time ago, you get a +4 bonus to the check. Also, give me three Will saves.

I'll also check out the Countdown Clock, as that was supposed to help me understand the book.
Concentration: 1d20 + 16 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 16 + 4 = 33
Will: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (9) + 16 = 25
Will: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22
Will: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (10) + 16 = 26

It takes nearly an hour of intensely concentrating on the formulas within the book to get them to hold still and turn into something comprehensible - but, eventually, you manage to pin them with your mind. There are very few books the God of Information-Gathering can't read when he really wants to... and the Book of Truths pulsed brightly as you finally comprehended what you saw. The Last Theorem simply faded from existence, and your own tome moved onto the table before you, flipping past several thousand pages that couldn't possibly have all existed between its covers - but 'normal' wasn't a good way to describe the tome you carried around.

The bright side? You could finally understand it properly - and the very first thing that became clear was that the parts of the Last Theorem couldn't be duplicated or transcribed unless the person doing it had the power to create artifacts. That was beyond even your considerable abilities, and probably explained why the Book of Truths had instead apparently absorbed them.

The Theorem itself is a hieroglyphic mathematical equation containing 11 constants, each of which is derived from the relationships between Aucturn and Golarion. (Just looking at this made your mind itch a bit as the foul knowledge here tried to seep into your mind - and with an effort of will, you managed to ward it away.)

Of course, there's not much point in having an equation unless it can be used for something - and after consulting the Countdown Clock, the actual purpose of the equation becomes clearer. It's used to both determine when the countdown started... and when it's going to end. (The essence of the equation continued to eat away at your mind as you pushed through it... only to be warded off again by your will.)

Something about the equation is still just a bit... off, though. If your understanding is accurate - and there's every reason to believe it is - the equation is actually capable of affecting the physical world... but there's a value missing, making it incomplete and preventing you from determining the exact end date of the Countdown Clocks, only a general period in which that end lies (sometime in the next three years, apparently). Without uncovering that value and plugging it into the equation, its power is quite limited. Of course, even limited power has its uses... (And here, the equation struck at you one last time, harder than before... but in the end, your will was strong enough to crush its efforts.)

By successfully deciphering the Last Theorem, you've obtained a permanent +1 enhancement bonus to Charisma. Remember, this doesn't stack with other enhancement bonuses (like headbands usually offer). You also know that it only works for any given person once, and only one person can benefit from this every 11 months.

This was definitely worthy of further study. It seemed that something noteworthy was going to happen soon between Golarion and Aucturn. And if the Last Theorem is capable of affecting the physical world, it would be wise to find out what COULD happen.

Is there a place in Sothis where I could conceivably find more information about Aucturn and its relationship with Golarion? Also, was I able to determine the Countdown Clocks START date? Methinks that would be significant. Unless you had something planned, I intend to spend some time conducting research and purchasing/crafting some gear.

The start date of the Countdown Clocks is easier to interpret than the end date - and you can peg it fairly accurately to -1498 AR. Information on Aucturn is somewhat limited... but you're in Sothis, the capital city of a rather old nation, and there are plenty of large repositories of knowledge where you can research almost any subject that comes to mind.

Just let me know what kind of information you're interested in. XD And this is downtime, so feel free to craft.

Significant events from 1498AR, any linkage between Aucturn and Golarion, and any predictions or cults related to the planet. Also, I'd like to do a little looking into the true names I copied to see how noteworthy/powerful the creatures are. I doubt the specific individuals are mentioned, but maybe there are standard naming conventions that could help me make an educated guess. Finally, I'd like to look into Aboleths - particularly the known Veiled Masters. I'm fairly certain that Nia's one of them.
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Gear updates will come in the next couple days, as I'm perusing my 3pp library for minor situationally-useful items. XD

Given the fact that you were looking over several thousand years of history... there were a lot of significant events. The rise and fall of nations and dynasties, the founding of Absalom and its subsequent impact on the Inner Sea region... details were pretty scarce from the early years, though, and got more complete as time went on.

As for Aucturn, the most notable thing you could find was referred to as the 'Aucturn Enigma'. The first widely read modern scholar of the Aucturn Enigma was a Chelish Osirionologist, Paracount Imivus. Written in 4657 AR, the original text of his seminal work, the Aucturn Lexicon, still remains under lock and key in the restricted section of the Grand Athenaeum in Egorian. Imivus was not the earliest researcher into the Aucturn Enigma, but he's nevertheles s considered the most authoritative contemporary scholar on the subject. Imivus is widely credited with the discovery of the peculiar recurrence of the numbers 11 and 56, their special connection to the planet Aucturn, and the method of summoning the Four Pharaohs' burial pyramid (which you'd benefited from quite nicely earlier).

The much-debated Calosian Manuscript, written by a native Osirionologist centuries after the end of the Second Age and actually present in the library you searched, is the most forthright in its description of interactions with creatures from Aucturn. According to it, floating creatures referred to only as "the Emissaries" gave the Four Pharaohs 11 gifts. Three of the 11 gifts were cited outright as the Pact Stone, the Aqualinth of Tumen, and the reality-altering mathematical concept known as the Final Theorem.

As for the true names you found... the city doesn't really have much information on those. Devils are the type to jealously guard such information to prevent it from falling into the hands of the unworthy, although more information might be available in a place like Cheliax, especially if you could talk with one of the Thrune family's ranking diabolists.

The Veiled Masters are more rumors than anything else - but multiple sources point to them as the puppet-masters of ancient Azlant, beings who even now continue to manipulate civilization from the shadows. As for what ends...? Well, there are a thousand theories, each more outlandish than the last. Any and every possible goal of a conspiracy was attributed to them... which mostly just served to drive home the point that nobody truly knew for sure.

During his evenings, Astoroth worked on several projects. By the time he was done, the Infernal Engine rod had been reconfigured into an item of great utility. Although it possessed only a small fraction of the power he once wielded, this Revealer of the Hidden would go a long way toward ensuring his safety on future exploratory journeys. The Book of Truths also grew in power as Astoroth worked and researched. Its newly-revealed pages contained many pieces of lost information. Rediscovering them was almost ... intoxicating.

During his research in the library, Astoroth uncovered two pieces of information that held particular interest. This business with the Four Pharaohs of Ascension and the Pact Stone appeared to have a personal connection with him. After all, the Pact Stone had housed one of Book's lost pages, and it seemed an unlikely coincidence that he'd awoken from his fall only a few short years before the Countdown Clocks ceased their time-keeping. Not to mention the fact that Nia, a being of incredible power, had personally come to stop Exemplar Khymrasa from possibly unlocking the Pact Stone's secrets. Perhaps it would be in his best interests to study the Aucturn Lexicon and the Aqualinth of Tumen.

As for returning to Cheliax to learn more about devils: that would be delayed until Astoroth had recovered enough of his power to possibly enact some changes to the region. The enormous amount of censorship and information-suppression was rather enraging, but he knew better than to go up against the legions of Hell in his current state.

The more you learned, the more things there were to study, it seemed - a thousand threads, but with the information you had here, it was hard to tell which (if any) were going to bring you closer to your true goal. In the midst of your deliberations, however, there was some yelling from outside - an old, hoarse voice shouting wildly at something, although who he was yelling and (and what he was saying) was unclear at this distance.

With a quiet sigh, Astoroth reshelved the book he was currently studying and walked outside. Whatever was happening could almost certainly be resolved without much effort, and he could then resume his research in peace and quiet. ;-)

Outside was a small, shaven-headed old man in torn black robes. One bony hand clutched a wooden stick, and he let out a ferocious battle cry entirely at odds with his frail frame as he lashed out at a group of thugs, thumping them on the heads with his makeshift weapon. "Back! Back, you ruffians!"

"What the- ow!- hells is wrong with- ow! you, old- OW! man!?" one of them cried, covering his skull as the elderly figure kept smacking him.

"I know what you did last Gozran! And what the lady said afterwards, too!" the old man hollered. The miscreants(?) spat out a few curses, then hightailed it out of there as the man shook his stick after them. "Bunch of no-good scorpion suckers. Bah, I say. Bah! I'd curse your fathers for raising you so poorly, but the lot of you never had 'em!" He finally lowered his stick and looked around curiously. "Oh! There you are. Good, good. You're that new fellow asking about all the things on the Pharaohs of Ascension, yes? You're getting quite popular in town."

"That is correct. Do you have information for me?" Best to get straight to the point with this individual. He obviously had a temper, so it was probably best to keep interaction brief.

He had indeed seemed vexed at the other people - but now that he was calming down, he seemed far less likely to start whacking people. "We all have information... but whether or not it's for you... hm, well, probably." he twirled his stick around a few times. "I am Taibhill - servant of Pharasma and student of Fate. Inebni Andebar has requested your presence at the High Temple of Pharasma." He raised one finger and pointed into the distance, towards the second-tallest structure in the entire city - the Bone Spire of the temple in question, whose height was dwarfed only by the shell of the great beetle Ulunat.

Entering the temple of another deity was fraught with risk, but potentially offending a High Priest of the most powerful member of the Pantheon would be just as bad. As past experience had shown, though, as long as he didn't draw on any of his divine power, he shouldn't attract the goddess' attention. With a nod of assent, Astoroth made ready to follow Taibhill.

If Kozuri's around, she's welcome to come along, but as she wasn't mentioned, I figure she's off doing her own thing right now.

As it happened, Kozuri had been off earning money for her own expenses - Ifrit were fairly popular in desert lands like this one, and she hadn't hesitated to leverage that to her advantage and charge scholars for interviews with her. Taibhill just smiled and led the way - and the temple in question looked even bigger up close. But then, it was the largest temple to the Lady of Graves in the capital city of an ancient land, and most citizens were interred there. It had survived many attacks on the region for the simple reason that even invaders often needed to bury their dead, and people of most nations were very hesitant to anger the Goddess of the Dead.

Taibhill led you inside, waving cheerfully at the guards as he passed. The hairs on the back of your neck prickled as you first stepped through the gates - with more of your power returned, you could feel the presence of Pharasma here. It would likely be the same in any other church you visited - even with an invitation, it was like being in a stranger's house. No matter how many times they told you to relax, you couldn't help but remember that it belonged to someone else.

Unaware of all of this, Taibhill took you into the offices - which were simple but functional. The main offices were in a single large room with three desks, two of which were occupied. An old female dwarf sat at one of them, working on something, but you were led to the other occupant - a middle-aged Garundi man who looked up and nodded at Taibhill. He didn't smile, but the man - clearly Inebni Andebar - looked like he was a fairly somber sort to begin with. Your guide scuttled off, and the priest stared at you for a few moments.

"Thank you for coming - I appreciate it." he said, pushing a few papers aside. "We're a little bit pressed for time, so I'd like to keep this brief. There has been an... incident... in the Boneyard. Several soul gems have been stolen from the Keepers of the Vault by a wizard - this is an abomination, a perversion that cheats souls of the fate that the Lady of Graves has ordained!" His knuckled whitened slightly, and he visibly forced himself to relax. "I apologize for that. We all have very... strong... feelings about situations like this. Your name has recently come up as that of a man who's capable of getting things done. The thief, a wizard named Khandescus, lives in a tower a few districts from here - and I'd like you to get those gems back. I won't tell you to do anything, but... I'm not going to ask too many questions as long as you succeed. And as for the seriousness with which we're taking this matter..." he closed his hand. When he opened it again, an iridescent disc marked with the symbol of the Lady of Graves was lying in his palm. "Should you succeed, this token will permit you - one time - to call upon any member of our church for a great boon. Even resurrection at no cost to you, should you meet an untimely end someday, is permitted." He briefly closed his hand again, and it was gone. "May I count on your assistance in this matter?"

That boon's making me leery. Given Astoroth's unique situation, how would it affect him? Is it even a good idea for him to take it, or does it risk drawing divine attention?

Well, if it was a divine Miracle in talisman form, that might be a bit worrying - but it's really more of a particularly hard-to-fake IOU, which says to members of the church "this person did something the church valued, so give them the help offered by this grade of token". They're most frequently given to people who the church wants to reward, but who may not be in the region long enough to be compensated properly - doubly so because they usually don't have huge amounts of cash on hand. Unless they're a Church of Abadar, anyway, but he's the God of Banking. XD Lesser and greater versions of the talisman exist, although yours is fairly high up the scale (roughly one use of 7th-level spellcasting at no charge if there's someone there who can do that, or similarly-valued help). The real value is what you can exchange it for, not the talisman itself.

Incidentally, there's some backstory I made for churches and expensive material components if you're interested. o wo/ It's not particularly relevant to this game, but it's occasionally taken into account when determining what's possible.

That sounds interesting. Send it my way, and I'll look it over. XD

"What can you tell me about this Khandescus? If I were to undertake this errand, it would be unwise for me to enter a mage's sanctum unprepared. I would also need to know exactly how many soul gems were taken and what they look like."

"The gems are about so tall-" Andebar gestured, "-and fairly hard to mistake for anything else. They are not of this world, after all, but I don't know exactly how many were stolen. I'm afraid I don't know Khandescus personally - wizards rarely spend much time in church, you see - but he's said to be sociable enough to go out for food and drink in public on a regular basis. As foul as I believe his acts were, please understand that I don't think he's an inherently horrible person. Some people will go to almost any lengths for the sake of their studies, after all. I think he's willing to be reasonable if somebody can offer him a good reason to stop."

Okay, time for some background! XD So, the majority of established churches offer spellcasting services, which sometimes includes material components. Expensive material components, which the church might find hard to obtain on their regular budget. Most aren't specifically focused on making money, after all, but they have many good reasons to want their services to be as available as soon as possible. It's hard to prepare a 10,000 GP diamond "just in case", though. That's some serious cash.

Enter their ongoing agreement with the Church of Abadar, per a contract among the gods that most have signed. Those that haven't tend to not have established churches in the first place (i.e. stuff from the Dark Tapestry, the Maelstrom, or the Abyss, usually), so they're discounted from this. Essentially, Abadar's faithful maintain a private transportation network for moving spell components around and taking money in return. When a church is established, the headquarters of the church in that region (usually continental, but occasionally for a full world) essentially pays for a selection of components that would allow for any spell up to the abilities of the most capable member of the church in question, which is almost always its head.

In return for this, the church sends in part of the cost of spellcasting services (including ALL costs for material components, when relevant) back to their headquarters, which then replaces the components through the Abadarian network. The network takes a small percentage of the money sent back to pay for the upkeep of the system (always from the spellcasting service cost, never from the material component cost). In effect, when people buy spellcasting services with expensive components, what's really going on is that they're indirectly buying from the Church of Abadar (who gets the components for everyone else in Axis) and are only seeing the front end of a fairly complex shuffle of money and materials.

Per the contract all signatories adhere to, supporting the spellcasting services of churches is the only thing the network can be used for, and this is divinely enforced. It can't be used to send messages, call for help, move things other than components, et cetera. They have to use mundane means for that. Basically, the gods kind of got together and agreed that cheating this way was in everyone's best interest. XD Good or evil, lawful or chaotic, most of them DO want to genuinely support their churches, even if their tenets vary - and ensuring the churches can offer divine magic to others, or at least its own members, is a major part of that.

*Has clearly put far too much thought into this*

Astoroth nods. "Very well. Is there anything else I should know before I begin?"

Once getting all relevant information, I'll head to Khandescus' tower.

The priest almost shook his head, then thought better of it and gave you the actual directions to the tower in question. It was relatively modest as wizardly towers went, only five floors high, but it was surrounded by a wall a good distance on each side. There was a single archway with no gate, a footpath leading up to the entrance, and a few large windows dotted the sides.

And - as a quick check of the area showed - the entire tower positively thrummed with magical energies. Like most wizards, Khandescus clearly believed in living in a well-secured building.

Successful wizards tended to be rather paranoid and plan for as many contingencies as they could think of. As such, the easiest way to get through their defense network was to be invited inside. As Andebar believed that Khandescus may be able to be reasoned with, that was Astoroth's first choice of options. After all, while his research was doubtless incredibly important to him, only a great fool would continue it after he realized that it had angered the clergy of the most powerful deity.

I'd like to try to walk through the archway and knock on the front door. I don't have my normal sense talents active right now, as I don't want to be perceived as a threat when he inevitably scans me for active spell effects.

A few moments after you knocked on the door, it creaked open to reveal an older man in the suit of an upper-class servant - which was actually fairly light, given the climate you were in, and not quite as formal as was seen in colder climates. "The Master doesn't have any appointments schedules right now... may I hear the purpose of your visit?" he inquired. One hand remained out of sight behind the stone walls.

"My name is Astoroth - a fellow seeker of knowledge. I've learned some interesting information about some items your master recently acquired and was hoping to speak with him about it."

The valet considered for a moment, then opened the door a little while and gestured to one of the couches. "Wait here, please. I'll see if the Master is available." He bustled through a door, leaving you in the entry hall. About five minutes later, Khandescus (for it was definitely him) descended. He was about 50 years old, of medium height and build with a dark complexion, and sported a black goatee and graying hair. His eyes were serious and thoughtful, and he looked like he'd never smiled in his entire life.

"Not many people care about my business." the Wizard noted. "What brings you to my home?"

"Information regarding the soul gems you recently acquired: The church of Pharasma wants them back. I realize that whatever project you're using them for is likely important, but High Priest Andabar is extremely upset - enough to hire me to retrieve them. His exact words were, 'I won't tell you to do anything, but... I'm not going to ask too many questions as long as you succeed.'"

"I believe you to be a reasonable man, and I'm sure that you have no desire to unleash the wrath of the Pharasman clergy upon yourself. Or, perhaps your project is of sufficient importance that that possibility doesn't concern you. Regardless, I felt it best to inform you of that fact."

Astoroth gives the mage a minute to consider his options.

Roll Diplomacy, please. ^^

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 20 = 25

"Feh, bloody priests." the wizard grumbled. "Like to think the whole world revolves around them, and they know how to make everyone else miserable. I'd rather not have the lot of them bothering me for too long, though." he sighed heavily. "May as well dismantle it, then. It'll take a bit of time - I suggest going to wait at the Hobbled Goat, the tavern across the street. Ain't the finest the city has to offer, but I'll be able to reach you quickly enough once I'm done."

"A wise decision, I'm sure. I'll wait for you there - unless you'd like some assistance."

If he doesn't want help, I'll get a time estimate from him and wait at the Hobbled Goat.

The Hobbled Goat is unremarkable, with its scarred wooden walls, dirty floors, and filthy windows that look out onto the street. The tavern keeper is a squat and powerful man named Lenguel who used to work as a city guard; he doesn’t take kindly to brawls in his establishment and makes a point of telling you that as you walk in. Khandescus’s tower is visible from one of the taproom’s windows. An hour or so passes - with help from a not-too-terrible drink. As you keep an eye on the tower, however, something catches your eye.

A group of eight people in hooded cloaks gather at the gate to Khandescus’s tower. One of them gestures, and the gate flies open, with the electricity running along it dissipating immediately. As one, the group races for the tower door and, with a bright flash and a clap of thunder, blasts the door from its hinges.

What's the magic?
Spellcraft (gate opening): 1d20 + 23 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 23 + (6) = 30
Spellcraft (door breaking): 1d20 + 23 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 23 + (2) = 26

That was a troubling sight. Either the Pharasmans had grown tired of waiting, or someone else was after Khandescus. Therefore, identifying this group of newcomers was in his best interest - although their obvious magical prowess meant that stealth was probably the best tactic for the time-being. Tossing a few coins on the table to cover his tab, Astoroth made a speedy exit.

Once all eight of the group has entered the tower, I'll warp to the entrance. 170ft is a decent distance, after all, and I'm fine letting the sphere recharge for a few rounds. Actions next round will depend on the Spellcraft results.

The magic is... not actually explained in the book, but clearly explosive. XD Let's go with a kind of Destructive Blast. The electricity around the gate seemed to be some kind of permanent defense, possibly a custom working.

As you reach the street in your rush out of the building, the entire top floor of the tower detonates and bricks shower down all across the street. Three smaller explosions follow, and as the dust clears a little, you can see that up on that floor stand seven of the eight hooded figures. Around them are three rents in the air, rapidly closing. The seven confer quickly among themselves and then step into these rents, which seal shut behind them. Khandescus dragged himself into view a moment later, waving for help from the now-gone top level of his tower.

Whoever they are, they're incredibly speedy. They've entered the grounds, penetrated the tower defenses, and ascended five stories in no more than two to three combat rounds total. ;-)

That was ... unexpectedly quick. Either the hooded figures are incredibly powerful, Khandescus' defenses were significantly weaker than predicted, or some other factor was at work. Time to find out what was going on. Moving quickly, Astoroth headed to assist Khandescus.

How long does it take me to travel from the gate to the top of the tower with my 40ft Movement speed? I'm trying to get an assessment of the hooded figures' movement speed.

Hey, that's what the adventure says. XD It actually addresses that rather specifically. ...Although when you think about it, double Move Actions CAN take you quite a distance...

Given that you were just across the street, it only took a few seconds to cross the path and reach the base of tower. Heading upwards took a little bit longer, but the doors were no longer in your way, so ascension was quick. Khandescus was lying on the ground, a fair bit of red liquid seeping onto the ground around him.

"Those... dung beetles..." he panted out. "Burst in right when I was in the middle of dismantling the wards and disrupted the whole thing. Friggin'... amateurs..." he winced in pain. "Couldn't do anything else while I was taking them down, but at least... they vaporized the idiot who got grabby. There was a... resonance of some kind. Magic of the wards hit the gems - blew 'em right into the Outer Sphere, I think."

Very true, but to climb a five-story building in (at most) a single Double Move implies teleportation magic or a dramatic speed increase. Unless they're disguised Quicklings, these mysterious figures were probably heavily buffed. Astoroth would definitely be subconsciously analyzing this (and the destructive magic used + a host of other things), so I wanted to make a note of it. XD

A quick burst of healing magic should be sufficient to stop the worst of the bleeding. Then it was time to find out what happened. "Amateurs or not, they were too quick and efficient to be random thieves. I know the Pharasmans aren't happy with you, but they've elected to work through me, and it's doubtful they'd switch tactics so quickly. Who else would be after you?"

If he'll let me, I'll restore 2d8+7 HP.