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he Blakros Museum rises into the night sky, its single black spire severing the full moon in twain. The black iron gates surrounding the exhibition hall grind in protest against the wind. Beyond, the museum’s large oaken doors stand wide open, a silver-gray mist belching forth from the cavernous darkness within. You wonder how you ended up here, standing at the precipice of unknown terrors, and instantly Venture-Captain Adril Hestram’s wide looming face is conjured into your minds’ eye. His booming words ring out from memory as clearly as he spoke them only one hour ago:
“The Blakros Museum is cursed. Some darkness has descended upon the place and those who enter are blasted with evil and left raving through its halls, more beast than men. The curator, Nigel Aldain, is an old associate of the Society, though he chose to leave our organization some years back after a disagreement.” Adril looked sheepish then, as if remembering some distasteful incident from his youth.
“Nigel has long denied the Society access to the Blakros Museum’s considerable collection of relics and scrolls, using his extensive contacts to nab several excellent finds right out from under us... he always had a nose for the hunt. Whatever is past between Nigel and the Society, he needs our help now. Perhaps if we can come to his aid, he may think on rejoining the Pathfinder Society, or at least offering to share his discoveries with us.”
“Apparently the trouble at Blakros Museum began this morning, shortly after a wayward Pathfinder named Lugizar Trantos returned to Absalom after months spent in the Mwangi Expanse. Supposedly, instead of coming straight to the Lodge to report in, he went to Blakros, sold his finds to Nigel, and then disappeared with a hefty sum of gold. The few who glimpsed Lugizar claimed he was much changed by his time in the Mwangi... gaunt, his eyes yellowed and unfocused, a strange rasping cough that seemed to wrack his now wasted frame. Whatever he brought back with him, we believe it is the cause of the Blakros Museum’s ills. Root it out and secure the Museum”
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You may also make the following checks to get more information about the Blakros Museum and local events
- Knowledge (history)
- Knowledge (local) or Diplomacy (gather information)
You are also given a map of the Museum
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Yaiho is a very imposing half-orc. Stands well over 6' tall and ripped with muscles. He has very long tusks extending from his lower jaw, that look like they could bite through steel. He wears a scale male that shows signs of many battles, several dents and blade cuts can been seen. Carrying in one hand is a maul, an earth breaker that is almost as tall as him. He often leans on it when not in battle or moving. He has a crude tattoo of a sword sticking in a field, a symbol of Gorum, on his right arm.
Yaiho stands before the museum. When the others arrive, he simply states his name. "Yaiho."
When everyone is gathered, he speaks again. "Hestram say those enter become like beast. Yaiho like that already. Use beast to fight beast. Yaiho victorious."
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A hulking man with rocklike skin wearing a well-crafted breastplate approaches the gates of the museum. He moves slowly, but with purpose, hands always close to the hilt of the greatsword in his scabbard. One look at the steely gaze in his eyes tells the story of a man eager for a fight.
The necklace around his neck depicts a sword sticking out of a mountain, he is clearly an adherent to Gorum, Our Lord in Iron. He speaks.
"I don't much about museums or history and I don't much care." He says in a low, but steady voice.
I joined the Pathfinder society because I need to raise money with my blade. Recently, preachers of this new faith of Razmir have been making incursions into my homeland. They're raving about a so-called living god are sacrilegious and I raise the money to raise an army and drive them out!" He continues in an increasingly loud voice.
He catches himself and takes a breath.
I got carried away again. I need to focus on what's right in front of me, not my long term goals.
He looks around to fellow agents, blessedly, they seem to be a capable bunch. He speaks once more.
"Anyway, so does anyone know what kind of evil in this museum? I've never been to a museum, I heard they just large building full of dusty old junk. What are we getting into exactly?
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A half-elf with hints of Taldan ancestry steps forward after taking a quick glance at his hair in a small mirror he pockets away on his approach. His manner of dress features a very fashionably styled blue and sivler tunic over a breastplate, a rose adorns his lapel while a longbow and a very well crafted elven branch spear are strapped to his back.
"Ah, the renowned Blakros Museum. The priceless works of art within are surely at risk along with any people within from this mysterious Mwangi expedition's finds. I've often admired the great Nigel Aldain for his keen curator's eye. So it's small wonder the Society called forth me, 'The Vanguard of Shelyn' for this task. My compatriots, you may call me Vogue."
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Nadric stands outside the museum gates, bouncing on his toes and looking quite eager to get going. He is a young man of average height, with olive-colored skin, long wavy brown hair, and clothes that are almost all the same drab brown color. He wears studded leather armor that is similarly non-decorative but appears to be well taken care of.
He nods his head politely as the others introduce themselves. He deflates a little when one of the big guys says that he's not interested in the museum, but he rallies quickly and rubs his hands together, saying, "Nadric here. I for one am excited to have a chance to look around in the museum. We have a lot to gain, if we can get access to the discoveries that Nigel Aldain has secreted away in there. And to resolve this situation of the curse, of course."
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Danicka was a meek, waif of a woman, slender and scrawny, with bony limbs and freckled cheeks. Her hair was mousy brown, worn long and loose, messy more often than not. She wore simple spectacles over her dull brown eyes and clutched a fancy looking broom in her ink-stained fingers. She wore an odd, floppy hat on her head and her clothes were plain and poor-quality. The poor thing obviously had no head for fashion. This was to be her first mission, and she was clearly nervous. Her body shook like a leaf in the wind, and her eyes looked at her own feet more often than at anything.
Danicka had stuttered nervously in Adril's presence, "D-d-Dan-icka Raburnus reporting in... Sir," she squeaked.
Oh, how embarrassing! This was her first mission! She had to make a good impression. How could he trust her if she couldn't even speak to him? Working up her courage as he explained the situation, she thought of what she knew of the museum and the Blakros family...
After having received the mission details, Danicka squeaked out a meek "Thank you." Realizing she was whispering again, Danicka screws up her courage and exclaims loudly: "THANK YOU!" Realizing she's yelling now, which is just as mortifying, she raises a hand to her mouth and covers it. She blushes furiously, looks at the floor and finishes: "Sir... in a quivering voice.
How embarrassing! I've really messed up now! Oh, I hope he doesn't send me back to training...
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Now, standing outside the Blakros museum alongside her fellow low-ranking Pathfinder agents, Danicka shivered in fear. How ominous... But I have to be brave. She draws in a deep breath, clutches her mother's quarterstaff in her shaking hands and examines her surroundings.
"Shall...we?" she asks her companions nervously.
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@ Yaiho - Danicka's eyes widen at the sight of him and she shrinks under his gaze. "Danicka... she whispers meekly. "I doubt it's that simple..." she mutters, her voice fading away to quiet as she speaks. Oh, I hope I haven't offended him! He won't crush me, will he..?
@ Naseem - Danicka stutters out what she knows about the museum. Partway through talking she gets her courage up and speaks in a normal voice.
@ Vogue - Danicka eyes the half-elves fine clothes with longing, then looks down at her own drab garb. She blushes furiously and eyes the floor in embarrassment.
@Nadric - Danicka seems emboldened by Nadric's enthusiasm. She nods at him.
Realizing she has yet to introduce herself properly she blushes furiously. "I'm Danicka Raburnus!" she exclaims. Lowering her voice to a normal volume she finishes. "This is my first mission... I'm happy to meet you all...
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Nardic easily recalls the following. Danicka confirms some of the history.
Much of the Mwangi’s darkest interior worships a demon lord named Angazhan, who is described in the Book of the Damned as a thing of primordial darkness, a foul-breathed demon who grunts prophecies of blood to apes and madmen. The jungle is his beating heart.
The Gorilla King’s dread city was founded hundreds of years past by cultists who bowed to Angazhan. It is said they captured the souls of monkeys in the wood-grains of strange idols called Tik Taan. The monkeys’ tormented spirits became the slaves and playthings of Angazhan, who murdered their playful whims and replaced them with a deep-seated hate and wild madness. These Tik Taan are rumored to shred the sanity of anyone who spends too long in their presence.
The cultists who created the Tik Taan were hunted by a brave tribe of the Mwangi called the Jambala Jaeg. The Jambala Jaeg created ritual knives, crafted out of bone handles and obsidian blades, to slay the demons inside the Tik Taan. Legends speak of the deadly mists
of the Tik Taan, ill humors that invade men’s hearts by seeping into their mouths. Anyone wearing a scarf or other protection against the airborne menace is immune to its effects.
Lugizar Trantos spent the better part of a year in the Mwangi Expanse. At first he wrote letters to his brother and wife, but after a few months these stopped coming and most gave him up for dead.
His letters spoke of a lucrative find at one point, three idols of dark wood carved in the shape of bearded monkeys.
The last of his letters evidenced an unhinged mind, and was covered in strange sketches of monkey paws. He described dark eyes glaring out from the mists. Shortly after his return to Absalom, many of the monkeys and apes in the city’s menageries attacked their keepers
and fled into greater Absalom.
From where you are the mist quickly dissipates as it leaves the confines of the museum. From what little Danicka can tell it is "odd"
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Nadric grins approvingly at Danicka as she shares what she knows and seems to gain confidence in the process. He gives her a gentle clap on the shoulder and says, "Don't worry, it's my first official mission too! We'll be just fine if we all stick together."
The young man sobers slightly and adds, "So, here's the deal. Venture-Captain Hestram told us about this Lugizar Trantos fellow, but there are a few more details to the story. His letters to his family said that he found three idols shaped like bearded monkeys. He also seemed to be, well, going a bit insane."
Lowering his voice slightly, as if to share a juicy bit of info, he goes on, "I was out in the city this morning, visiting one of the menageries, and suddenly the apes and monkeys went crazy and started attacking the keepers. Some even escaped out into greater Absalom. That must have been right around when Lugizar got back to Absalom. I think there's got to be a connection with these Tik Taan idols and the evil monkey spirits."
Nadric sees Danicka inspecting the mists, and he uneasily eyes the fading substance. "I've never been to Mwangi myself, but I've heard they tell stories there about mists of the Tik Taan, that can creep into your mouth and take over your heart. A scarf to cover your mouth should keep it out, and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't bring one along. A Varisian, without a scarf, really! I'd never live this down back home." He shakes his head gloomily, but then smiles as a new thought occurs to him. "Oh, there was another story though, about a tribe called the Jambala Jaeg who fought the demons inside a Tik Taan with special knives made from bone and obsidian. I don't have one of those either, but maybe it'll help to know about it!"
He beams around at all of them, and then drops a flourishing bow to Naseem. "Does that satisfy your curiosity about what we're getting into?" he asks with a twinkle in one eye.
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Naseem cracks a smile when notices the tattoo on Yaiho.
"Always good to work with another who understands that the closes we come to divinity is in the heat of a good battle."
He then turns over the others and listens as Danicka explains to him a little bit of the history of the Mwangi expanse.
So this place is a haven of not only demon worshipers, but there idols with monkey spirits in them?? Is she serious? Whatever, Gorum will guide my blade to slay whatever demon lies before us.
"Appreciate the info, but you'd stay behind us once we get in there. You look a stiff breeze could knock you over. Hopefully, you have a couple tricks that make you more effective in a fight than you look."
He begins to examine the map and motions toward the gate.
"Anything else we need to know about this place, or should we just head in?"
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"Oh, dear..." Danicka mutters nervously, placing a hand over her exposed mouth. "I didn't bring a scarf either..."
Danicka looks down at her long, simple robes sadly. "Does anyone have a dagger?" she asks shyly. she rips a strip of cheap fabric off the bottom of her robes and wraps it around her mouth like a scarf. "Does... anyone else want... one?" she squeaks nervously.
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Entering the museum, you take the precautions that Nardic recommends and enter the misty room.
An unnatural cold permeates this chamber and the tendrils of silver-gray mist flowing out the front archway into the courtyard beyond seem to effortlessly pierce the flesh and gently caress the bone in a cold embrace. The grand entranceway’s vaulted ceiling is supported by six great pillars of hewn black stone. Braziers mounted on the pillars cast white radiance from balls of continual light. The light glimmers eerily in the silvery haze that fills the atrium, giving the impression of something alien watching from the glowing fog.
Keeping your nose and mouth covered, seems to keep the mist from being inhaled.
At the other end of atrium is a hallway.
Immediately to your left and right (west/up, east/down) are two doors. At the end of the hallway to the north is a third door.
Which door?
Left: labeled in blood red calligraphy The Honored Dead
Right: labeled in great block letters Hunting Beasts of Legend
Far End: The door has no label but you know to be the main exhibit hall of the museum.
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Danicka cuts off strips of her long robes for anyone else who wants a makeshift scarf, then blushes furiously at her exposed ankles and calves. She returns the dagger and draws a scroll from her bag, casting mage armour on herself.
Thus prepared, Danicka heads into the museum, clutching her 'broom' in her hands tightly.
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Upon entering the spooky mist, Danicka ensures her scarf is properly covering her mouth.
Danicka would prefer to enter the 'Honoured Dead' exhibit. "Should we go left..?" she suggests meekly.
If anyone expresses a different opinion Danicka doesn't argue, instead letting the people in front (or with the loudest opinions) decide for the group.
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Vogue sifts through the outfits contained in his courtesan's kit, selecting an ascot tie appropriate to the current fashion trends of Absalom to set in place over his mouth before entering. He unfastens his elven branched spear as he steps into the museum entry room and lets loose his ioun torch from his pocket to provide more light in the room.
"Curious, this mist..." he says in a muffled voice. Vogue then intones the words to a spell to detect magic in the area.
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Yaiho reaches into his pack and pulls out a dirty, blood stained, rag and uses it to cover his mouth and nose.
Looking at the doors and reading the messages on them, he nods with Naseem. "Hunting Beasts of Legends. Yaiho agrees. Tough monsters probably there. Kill strong monsters first." Yaiho grips the handle of his earth breaker tightly with excitement of a nearby battle.
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Nadric shivers slightly at the cold touch of the mist, but is glad that none of them seem to be affected by it. He gawks upwards at the impressive ceiling for a minute, and then around his own protective cloth he says, "I hope we can at least look into each of the rooms before we leave, so the exact order doesn't matter too much to me. Beasts of Legend sounds like as good a place to start as any." He unstraps his shortbow and readies it with his right hand just in case.
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A massive and muscular half-orc wearing well worn and smelly hide armor jogs up towards the museum stairs. He slows down as he notices the five figures peering into the mist filled lounge and grins, "Sorry I'm late... First time in the city and this place is confusing", he says in a deep baritone voice.
He retrieves a massive axe that he carries strapped on his back. He pulls out a rag and ties it across his face after seeing a few of the gathered protecting themselves.
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Danicka lets out a squeal at the sudden arrival of the half-orc behind her. Mortified, she blushes furiously. "I... oh my..." she stutters.
He scared me half to death! How embarrassing! Enough snivelling! Be brave!
"Danicka Raburnus!" she exclaims suddenly, extending her hand for a handshake. Then she turns back to the way forward. "Yes, let's... go."
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[ooc] Apologies for late arrival. I am in a glacier in Patagonia! No wifi until a few minutes ago.
If there was an award for coolest reason for post delay, this gets my vote! My compliments on fitting in some PFS play in while also amid adverse conditions. Just further reinforces the variety of people you can meet in Society play, which I dig.
A moment of ambivalent conflict crosses Vogue's face as his nose crinkles at the newcomer's earthy aroma in conjunction with an admiring raise of the eyebrow at the heft of the axe that will surely be put to great use this day.
"Vogue," he says with a nod and tapping his chest.
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Zane wipes his hand on the cleanest part of his breeches and heartily grabs the young girls dainty hand, "Nice to meet yuh!", he beams his friendly grin, which is still terribly intimidating, "I hope I did not scare yuh miss".
He nods at Vogue and grins again. It is clear that he is excited and a little overwhelmed by the sounds, sights and smells of the City.
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Entering the Eastern Exhibit Hall: Hunting the Beasts of Legend
This gigantic chamber is relatively free of mist, and darkness is held at bay by braziers of radiant light. Behemoths occupy these halls, great taxidermy nightmares such as a two-headed bear easily taller than an ogre; a great desiccated beetle, its carapace larger than the face of the clock tower of Absalom’s Clockwork Cathedral; a massive specimen of chimera, its jaws open in a mock roar; and an assembled skeleton of a tyrant lizard. The walls here are studded with strange masks, staves, spears, and other implements of long forgotten cultures, most likely used in ritual hunts of the beasts preserved here.
The room has a 50 foot ceiling to accommodate the various large creatures. A few crates from the recent Mwangi expiation are opened and look to have been in the process of being unloaded before whatever befell the museum happen.
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State of the Room: Naseem, Zane, Yailho, Vogue:
The room seems abandoned quickly. Tools and packing materials are still scattered near the crates. Faint laughter can me heard from far eastern (lower) door.
Masks Cracking: Naseem, Nardic
Aside for the various trophies in the room, a mask on the north eastern corner of the room (lower right) begins to shake and crack. You are able to alter the rest of your party as small bat winged creatures are seen as the burst forth from the mask.
ROUND 1
Zane
Yaiho
Naseem
Nardic
Danicka
"Bat" Grey
Vogue
"Bat" Red
Everyone except Vogue can act while the "bats" break from the mask but are still flatfooted and have not moved. They are currently 5 feet off the ground as they burst from the mask
No need to post in order, I will resolve everything in order and will adjust to most favorable changes if needed.
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Danicka lets out a shriek of alarm as she notices the 'bats.'
If she learns anything helpful she shares it with the group (exclaiming as loud as she can).
She hurries forward and squeaks out some arcane words as she points at the nearest bat, firing a beam of cold from her fingertip directly at it.
cold damage