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Mr Peppers starts to look a bit miffed when Sugi waves off his magical aid, but he quickly lets it go as his two meats make quick work of the beast. "Looks like you two just earned your dinners and a drink. I guess next time I'll just focus on blasting." He starts prestidigitating himself, then Uesugi clean after the battle.
"Yes, what have you learned?" He then turns to greet the now awake Priest "Welcome back, what happened?" He casts detect magic to make sure he doesn't detect any more mental interlopers.
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Gallix rises to his feet and dusts himself off calmly, then moves over and extends a hand to help Uesugi up, then Mr. Peppers. "Good job, fellas. Looks like we made it out in one piece!" He turns to the other members of the Red Arm and heaves a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad to see you're alright. I didn't know what was going on, but for a second I swear I saw...I dunno like...a copy of myself? And he was all stained with blood. And somehow I knew it was yours. So strange." Gallix hangs his head for a moment before looking back up and addressing Brother Dunnamast, "I'm glad we could help you out too, Brother. Are you alright?"
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"The Brother needs time to recover. Let's let him rest," Osprey says with a glance at the High Priestess.
"Thank you for extinguishing that wretched demon," Dunnamast mutters, ignoring Osprey's concern. "I'm not sure how it got there. I met this pretty lass while out drinking, and she was interested in my faith. Speaking of which, I'm quite thirsty," lying on the ground, the cleric looks past Xersus towards a keg. "Anyway, I invited her to partake in the eternal celebration. After several drinks she became giddy and seductive. She lured me in here, kissed me, and I blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm in my own mind with a big tentacle demon!" He coughs out a low laugh.
Osprey folds his arms together. "The appearance of a primordial demon proves Baldimar's hidden archives do exist, and probably hold something of value. Something demons value more than risking an assault on our temple here."
"And in fact," Osprey begins to pace the keg room. "I was able to learn where the entrance to the Archives might be while in that realm. See, our Brother Dunnamast here knows things he isn't even aware he knows. A strange flagstone beneath the bench in the garden should reveal the way. If you're ready, I think you know what your next step is, Pathfinders."
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Mr Peppers listens on as 'Osprey' walks back and forth, voicing his musings to the group. What kind of name is Osprey... that's a damned bird, not a proper name.
"I'm sure we can figure things out quickly enough with that starting point. Your help has been much appreciated." He gives a nod to the man before turning to the others "Sounds like our direction is now clear, shall we do what we're best at?" He gives Gallix a look and a nod...
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Sirettis listens intently. "Whomever that woman was, you'll likely never see her again. She was trained to manipulate and extract information from you. Most likely Baldimar's hidden archives."
She's nothing more than a tool...
<Is that what you fear? Do you- think I'm doing that to you?>
Sirettis ignores the thoughts and stands up. "Yes, we should head to the garden quickly. Thank you for all of your aid." Sirettis curtsies as the priests aid her and restore her health.
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At the hint from the priest, Stali grabs one of the tankards that seem to absolutely litter the place and fills it. He hands it to the priest as Osprey starts his lecture.
Tilting his head, he does ask “You are a follower of the drunken god, Osprey?” Somewhat surprising. I never really saw him as being one of Cayden’s followers.
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"I'm sure we can figure things out quickly enough with that starting point. Your help has been much appreciated." He gives a nod to the man before turning to the others "Sounds like our direction is now clear, shall we do what we're best at?" He gives Gallix a look and a nod...
Gallix looks back at Peppers somewhat quizzically, "Peppers I'd love to party right now too, but don't you think we should go find these archives?" He pauses for a second, then smiles and shakes his head at his own stupidity. "Oh THAT's what you meant. Yeah, let's go."
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"A follower of the drunken god?" Osprey scratches his head. "I enjoy a good gin and tonic just as much as the next Pathfinder might, but I prefer spiritualism over monotheism. Gives me no excuse to blame a deity for failing me when things go sour. They often do." He grins. Stali doesn't get the sense than he's being dishonest - just good ol' vague Osprey.
"I think I should be getting back." Xersus dusts off his shoulders. "I'm not feeling so great after that psychic attack."
Osprey nods and the two walk out. "Report back to Grand Lodge once your investigation is complete. But you knew that already, Red Arm of Absalom!" He calls as they walk off.
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You make for the garden just south of the bonfire room, which has taken on a more somber-yet-peaceful vibe after the fire. Patrons sip on drinks and share stories calmly.
Just as expected, a large park bench sits atop a wide flagstone. This must be the entrance.
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Tall, dark and serious shakes his head in the negative as Gallix mentions partying. "I think we've partied enough already for one day." He scoffs as he remembers being carried about like a bundle of sticks.
He nods respectfully as the others leave, mostly in the direction of Osprey. As they head out through the main lodge he keeps his eyes peeled for that gnome arsonist.
Mr Peppers watches the hulk hair get to work "Your follicles seem to be growing in strength. Mind if I ask what conditioner you use?" He smiles, but you get the feeling he is still curious. As the group heads down he reaches out and casts Light on Uesugi's armor. "I hope you don't mind, if so I can cast it on Gallix instead?"
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"Oh, sure," Gallix says as Peppers dismisses the idea of another round of partying. "But maybe after we're done here." He follows the others up out of the cellar toward their next objective.
When Sirettis easily moves the stone bench aside with her hair, Gallix smiles and pats her on the shoulder. "Way to go, sis! Don't know if I could've even made it look that easy." He waits for someone to shed some light into the entrance, before entering by himself.
Once the team is ready to move and D has gone in to scout ahead, Gallix pops his signature cig between his lips and snaps the end to light up his mutagen. "Let's hope we don't spend more than a couple hours down here," he says as the transformation finishes. "You guys know this doesn't last all day." He hops down into the darkness and follows after D, his alchemically enhanced sight guiding him through the half-lit tunnels.
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High Priestess Saphira had accompanied you to the bench, and she gazes upon the open pit with her mouth agape. "Before you head in, I wanted to let you know I took a quick head count of our clerics, and at least four of them are missing. None of my other clerics or anyone who works in the fest hall have seen the missing clerics in at least 2 days. Please, keep an eye out for them. And if you could tell me exactly what is beneath my temple, I would be eternally grateful. This is my first time hearing about this place."
With that, Sir D goes into stealth mode, and begins to step down the long, spiral staircase. The bright sky soon fades to dimness, and finally to pitch darkness. He halts on the staircase, waiting for Mr. Peppers to join him with his magical light.
Stali detects a faint, strange smell on his way down.
Further down the stairs, Uesugi steps on something slick. Luckily, Stali had noticed the that the stairs are covered in blood. Closer inspection of the blood reveals four human fingers, and at the bottom of the curved part of the stairs lies a body dressed in the brown robes of one of Cayden Cailean's priests. He's missing four fingers on his left hand.
The stairwell ends at a small, curved foyer facing a broad set of heavy, iron double doors that block further passage. Shallow alcoves flank the doors on either side. Each boasts a statue of Cayden Cailean, one holding a massive flagon, the other hoisting a large sack. The latter is badly chipped and one of its arms lies on the floor, broken off at the shoulder. Across both doors is an illegible message scrawled in blood.
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Stali moves quietly down the stairs, keeping at the edge of the light and doing his best to keep to concealment where possible.
At the double doors, he pauses to inspect the alcoves and doors.
Perception Take 10, then roll twice. Do you want me to roll or do you do it. Perception for Traps +22.
If you want me to roll:
If he finds a trap, he would alert the others before attempting to disarm it. Provided there doesn’t appear to be anything light sensitive, he would use light from his Wayfinder to illuminate the area as he works.
If the doors are locked, he would attempt to open them.
Once again, Take 10, if that fails try twice. Disable Device +21.
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Gallix steps over the body of the cleric and grimly raises a finger over his head. "There's one," he says softly into the darkness. As the smell wafts over him from the tunnels, he thinks back to the Red Arm's time in Saringallow and recalls their friend Nixa, who knew some things about demons.
Unfortunately, Gallix can't recall Nixa saying anything about particular smells associated with demons, so he can't help out for the time being.
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Stali feels around the alcoves and doors for any sign of traps. He finds that the set of double doors is rigged with a mechanism set to release a wave of negative energy to any unsuspecting trespassers. Luckily, he noticed the trap before it could cause the party any harm, and spends time removing the components and disabling it.
The bloodied doors open inwards to a series of wide, interconnecting hallways with high, arched ceilings. Long, stone-topped reading islands run down the center of the halls, dividing them. Dust and cobwebs cover everything, easily marking the recent passage of several large creatures. Tall shelves line the walls, filled with assorted tomes and grimoires. Some of these bear recent damage: shelves smashed and singed, and books lying in scattered piles, torn, tattered, and burnt.
Just ahead of the doors you'd opened sits a large desk covered in dusty tomes.
... And then, everything goes supernaturally dark. Dark enough that you can't see your hands when held in front of your face.
-- Bold is up --
Gallix, Sir D
???
Mr. Peppers, Sirettis, Stali
??? 2
Uesugi
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As the light suddenly go out, D. whispers towards his comrades.
"We're at the disadvantage. Can Peppers dispel this?
If not, maybe a backtrack to more favorable conditions could be beneficial to us."
Assuming something will arrive at the bottleneck to get them, something D. would do in these conditions, he readies an attack, matched upon hearing either Gallix or 'sugi take a hit.
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When he realizes what the trap does, he mentions it to the others.
“A negative energy trap, so not something I would expect a follower of the Drunken God to use in protecting their temple.”
He deftly deactivates it and allows others to step to the front when the door is opened.
——
Stali doesn’t make a sound when the lights suddenly go out. This is inconvenient. I wonder if any of them have a better way to deal with this?
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Mr Peppers completely ignores the pools of blood and missing fingers "Eww." He mutters as he lifts his precious robes and steps over the body. "My condolences to his friends and family." He replies as Gallix counts down the remaining lost clerics.
He watches their new companion work on the door, disabling the energy trap. "Well done. Please teach Gallix some of those skills would you? I don't think he trains hard enough in that regard." He turns and gives their resident brawler a serious look "Sometimes I think he enjoys ale more than learning."
As his light quickly dims, and darkness surrounds the group, his brow furrows in annoyance. "Magical darkness, I will remove it, be wary." He prepares to impose his magical will on his enemies.
On his turn Mr Peppers attempts to dispel magic on the darkness, if of course it is dispellable (based on his K Arcana results).
I love seeing a nat 20 on any check he makes related to magic. It is priceless.
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As Stali disables the trap and Mr. Peppers comments on his lacking of academic rigor, Gallix turns to his elven friend and remarks back to him in his own language,
Once the team enters the next chamber and the room goes dark, Gallix's senses go on high alert. He begins to bounce on the balls of his feet to better improve his chances to avoid an incoming attack and goes into a defensive stance.
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Stali pauses as Tall, Dark and Clueless suggests he teach Gallix how to remove traps.
With a wave towards Gallix, he admits “I don’t know what he said to you, but I hope it included something about respecting another’s skills. I’ve spent quite a bit of time learning how to find and manipulate traps. Deactivating a magical trap isn’t something that can be taught in a single weekend.”
He then returns to disabling the trap.
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Sir D and Gallix prepare themselves offensively and defensively for whatever might be around...
As Mr. Peppers gazes into the void, he senses that this is the magical effect of a deeper darkness spell. Rather than panic, the arcanist focuses on the arcane magic lingering around him, and snaps his fingers to dismiss the spell. The dark cloud fades, and you again see the tables and shelves just in front of you - but still no enemies in sight.
-- Bold is up --
Gallix, Sir D
Mr. Peppers, Sirettis, Stali
???, ??? 2
Uesugi
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"Thank you, Mister Peppers. I will try to look for invisible foes."
Sirettis casts See Invisibility and looks around the room.
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Sirettis imbues her eyes with magical vision, and a distortion appears in the area just ahead of her. The translucent shape of a bat-winged creature hovers just above the ground.
The shape extends an arm and points at Sirettis. As the shadowy creature's true form is revealed, the entire party feels their mind fill with fright...
From the north of the shelves echoes a wicked woman's cackle...
-- Bold is up --
Gallix, Sir D
Mr. Peppers, Sirettis, Stali
Winged Creature, ???
Uesugi
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Mr Peppers takes a step to better see inside the room, furrowing his brow at the familiar creature he sees. He holds a hand at the ready should one of his remaining associates decide to flee in a panic.
FAIL
Spell Disruption (Su): The arcanist can temporarily disrupt a spell by expending 1 point from her arcane reservoir and succeeding at a dispel check against the spell, as dispel magic. This ability suppresses a spell effect for a number of rounds equal to the arcanist's Charisma modifier (minimum 1). If the spell affects multiple creatures, this ability only suppresses the spell for one creature. At the end of this duration, the spell resumes and the suppressed rounds do not count against its total duration. This ability can be used on unwilling targets, but the arcanist must succeed at a melee touch attack, and the target may attempt a Will saving throw to negate the effect. This ability has no effect on spells that are instantaneous or have a duration of permanent.
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Gallix stands stalwartly through the demon's attempt to magically frighten him and his allies. As the spell grips Sirettis and Stali, he swears under his breath, but knows this isn't a fight he can back down from. "Come on, Peppers! Just like earlier today. Let's take down demonic bastard number two for the day!" He waits to see who else will be staying in the fight with him before jumping prematurely into the fight.
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"Alright! Nice one, 'Sugi! Now let's go get 'em!" Gallix follows in after his heavily-armored buddy and steps up alongside the desk. Even from this distance, he is able to strike at the demon's eyes and face with a quick, yet defensive strike. "You try to put us in the dark? Let's see how you like it?"
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Sirettis and Stali can't help themselves at the sight of another demon. The two turn and dash back upstairs.
Mr. Peppers gets a closer look at the shadow demon, and knows that it's incorporeal, and that has DR 10/cold iron or good, resist acid 10, fire 10, and SR 17.
D tosses two kinetic blasts at the shadow demon, and Uesugi slashes with his adamantine blade. All three attacks land, though with limited effectiveness.
Gallix collects a nest of webs and dust from the desk and adds it to his fist, attempting to blind the demon with a punch to the eyes, but alas, the creature's half-visible body proves difficult to hit.
Then the cackling lady makes her appearance just north of you: A winged, horned demon who seductively bites her lip as she eyes Uesugi down. "My, my, more play things have arrived. And not just some boring clerics. I do hope I can make your stay... enjoyable." She giggles as she begins to move her hands... arcanely.
The shadow demon goes full-out on Uesugi, lashing at him with its shadowy grasp...
-- Bold is up --
Gallix, Sir D
Mr. Peppers, Sirettis (panicked, 9 rounds), Stali (panicked, 9 rounds)
Shadow Demon (-37, shaken), Lady Demon
Uesugi (-3)
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Mr Peppers, ready to cast his meat shield's favorite spell hears something. Arcane words of magic... His long, pointy ears twitch and turn to take in the sounds. Dominate person! We have our source!
He rushes forward, drawing out a little used, and lately forgotten wand. He reaches out and lashes it against Uesugi's back. "Easy friend! I hope I'm not too late!"
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Uesugi watches as his blade barely cuts through the black mist of the shadow oni. He turns to look at the speaker and cannot help but feel a lust towards the creature. 'Your beauty is true. But even it cannot hide the evil which spills from every word that comes out of your mouth."
Ueusgi's words are cut short as he feels the shadow oni's touch cold tendril cut through him. The intensity of cold is so powerful it almost burns. "Your guardian will be of little help to you."
He lets loose a miniature blade from his helmet that manifests into a hovering blue blade that immediately strikes at the shadow oni.
Uesugi continues to let the hovering blue blade attack the shadow oni.
With each strike from the hovering blade Uesugi strikes at the shadow oni with his own katana.