You heard an aged human voice, very altered "Uh? Ah! Don't kill me! Go! Go away! I don't want you to beat me more! Go out of here!" he starts sobbing.
"W-What? You killed Kadarnik and Yannis? Ah! Ah! Ah! Help! Help! Help!" the man gets even more nervous than before, not answering Shagruk's question.
More calmer the man answers "Are you sure you are on your cabals? Those mists are taken the mind of everybody in the museum. I just locked me in here when they tried to catch me and beat me down. How do I know I can trust on you and you are not going to become an ape-brutish like them?"
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At the man's mention of the two men Etiana let's out an involuntary "oh no!" as she races out to check on the two bodies Uncertain as to whether they've been claimed by the gods, Etiana channels Calistria, and hopes to save them if there's even but a non-misted breath within them.
The halfling cleric returns to the group, and sits close to the man, close enough for him to realize the woman that she is. "I am sorry about your friends. I've done what I can for now. As for us..." she looks at Ragnar sorrowfully, "...we too were victims of the mist. Though only one of us were affected, the dissention it caused lead to a bloodbath almost as bad as what happened here."
The servant of Calistria pauses, as much for effect as to gather her thoughts. "We did manage to save a guard along the way. And we would like to save you, if you would let us. If you would help us."
Etiana stabilizes with his healing one of the men. The other is past away her clerical capabilities.
There is a long silence after Etiana stops talking. Then, a sound of metal grinding metal follows and the cabinet opens.
A blubbery scribe appears, his obesity surely the result of too many hours spent at a desk and his fondness for sweet cream pies or similar things. His jowls quaver and shake with terror as he talks with you.
"My name is Saldak. The offices suddenly flooded with a strange mist early this morning, and that tendrils of it seemed to pour down Kadarnik’s and Yannis’ throats moments before they went stark mad and beat Milgen to a pulp." he points to a body cruelly smashed next to a desk nearby, then follows recounting his tale "I am glad you saved Nigel, he was taking stock of the pieces in storage in the East Exhibit storage room when it happened."
Another silence, then he continues on, a bit doubtful if he should say this or not "I am fairly certain the Tik Taan idols are responsible for the museum’s current predicament. I smelled something wrong with those hideous monkey-faced things as soon as Lugizar brought them out of his pack. I’ve a nose for trouble, I do! No one listens!"
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Etiana comforts the poor distraught man as he speaks. "You were very brave to speak up. I believe you..." The cleric of Calistria grins slyly at Saldak. "...and your nose for trouble. We've seen plenty of it tonight."
"We are listening, dear Saldak. Are the Tik Taan idols in the storage room across from us, or in the Grand Exhibits Hall? Do you know if there's anything we can do to end this? I'm afraid I don't know much about the idols or the mists, and I'm not sure what to do with them even after we retrieve the idols."
"Oh, and is there anyone else in the museum we should be on the lookout for?"
"I know almost nothing about the idols. They were brought from the Mwangi Expanse... that's for sure. I don't know what the Mist is, but I am pretty sure it is related to the idols. I have no idea on how to stop it." Saldak thinks a bit "Perhaps if you shatter them... what a loss... but I cannot think of anything else. What a loss..."
He steps to the desk "Oh! Yes! There was some kind of parchment with some old tongue written in there... but... this is a total mess now... perhaps you can help me search for it..."
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Eager to be helpful, Etiana jumps up and tries to help Saldak.
The papers she comes across all contain gibberish, and Etiana's speed slows as she struggles to piece out whether each paper contains what Saldak was looking for. Embarrassed by her lack of education, the cleric flushes as she struggles but presses on, intent on helping the man uncover what may help them solve this problem at hand.
Etiana looks around the desk for something that might be what Saldak pointed out but finds nothing after some minutes.
Saldak, finding out the party is now distracted, tries to cowardly flew from the museum. "That's all I can do for you guys. I hope you can understand that parchment case you find it, I was not at all. Good luck, I hope the magic is with you today guys. Thanks a lot for helping me out of here." and the old scribe walks out running out of the museum.
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"Right. Destroy the idols. Let us go, and try to read this if we can. Shagruk and everyone else in this museum, in this town, needs us. Our lives begin to end when we are silent about things that matter. For Tal--er, for Society, friends."
Xoricon retrieves his bow and stows it, leaving his sword ready to judge the idols on the content of their character.
Shagruk finds scraps of Mwangi cloth inscribed with strange writing and decides this is more likely what Saldak was referring to.
The cloth, made from beaten bark, seems quite ancient, and its original inventory tag states that it was catalogued along with “Tik Taan Idols, courtesy of Lugizar Trantos”.
The script on the cloth may be read only by someone trained in the art of deciphering ancient languages.
Within you find a warning against the idols’ corrupting powers, but also a powerful chant that dispels their influence over men.
A bard with the countersong ability may speak the chant aloud (using countersong while doing so) to break the hold of the Tik Taan over any listeners. When employed in this manner, the cloth is a reusable item, allowing a bard to use it for as many rounds as he can countersong. Any humanoid transformed in an ape-brutish who hears the chant gains another saving throw against the mist each round it hears the countersong, but it must use the bard’s Perform skill check result.
A spellcaster who deciphers the writing may also read it as a
scroll of break enchantment. This too ends the Tik Taan’s infuence on any one subject, but doing so causes the writing to vanish as a common scroll, which can never be used again.
In addition to the cloth parchment, Shagruk also finds a metallic tube with 3 scrolls within in the top shelf of the cabinet Sadak was hiding in.
Scroll of cure moderate wounds.
Scroll of false life
Scroll of dispel magic
There seems to be nothing more of interest in the office.
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"I didn't knew this parchment was going to be useful.." Shagruk take out a parchment of comprehend languages. "Xoricon, take it. I bought this piece of paper in a camp before enter in a mountain fortress where were a multitude of dark dwarfs... Perhaps you can understand the scripture."
Shagruk begins to pronounce a strange words.
After healing the party and readying themselves in the door, Etiana casts guidance on Ragnar.
Then, Yakanzi opens the door at the same moment Etiana casts bless and Xoricon makes invisible one of his companions.
The show behind the door is macabre. Mock vines cling to
the walls and hang from the fifty-foot-high domed ceiling,
and huts of grass are strewn about the open area. At the
center of this sprawling chamber, a miniature replica of a
traditional Mwangi ziggurat rises out of the mist to a height
of nearly twenty feet. At the top of the ziggurat, a rail-thin
elven gentleman is strapped to an altar, his bare chest
painted with strange sigils and monkey paw-shaped blots
of paint.
A band of savage primates came from all over Absalom,
are here snarling, spitting, and cavorting madly about the
ziggurat. Nearly 20 apes, baboons, and other monkeys
revel here, but a terrifying howl shatters the revelry
after the door is open and Yakanzi enters the room,
the primates scattering into the mists and vegetation, making way
for their champion, a large ape, as they shout a sound
like "Da’Tunga".
Among the primates you see a minuscule idol that catches your attention.
Ragnar's first arrow goes through the zigurat cover and hits the large ape.
You hear some arcane words from south of the zigurat.
Suddenly Ragnar's bow starts to comb and gets warped around himself, totally ruined.
The ape walks forward, clearly choosing the strongest in the team, decided to demonstrate whom is the alpha male in the museum.
"Muuhaaaaa! Bruaaaah!"
But his attempt to punch Yakanzi fails miserably.
Etiana suddenly becomes invisible upon Xoricon chanting.
The door cover protects Ragnar from the ape's attack of opportunity as he runs towards the enemy drawing a new weapon. The club though hits the floor in place of the giant ape.
At the same time Yakanzi hits the ape but gets surprised at how hard the beast skin results. That is unnatural!
Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll.
You can only trip an opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you.
The whip is treated as a melee weapon with 15-foot reach, though you don't threaten the area into which you can make an attack.
When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has cover if any line from any corner of your square to the target's square goes through a wall (including a low wall). When making a melee attack against a target that isn't adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.
Shooting or Throwing into a Melee: If you shoot or throw a ranged weapon at a target engaged in melee with a friendly character...
You can't execute an attack of opportunity against an opponent with cover relative to you.
Etiana tries to hit the ape with the whip to bring it down. The whip though, hits Ragnar's armor deflecting the whip, but as the ape does not see the whip coming, it is just too late he feels the whip going around him. Etiana suddenly becomes visible, and when she pulls from his weapon, the ape loses the balance, just enough for the big animal to fell down with a big BROOOM!
The silence is made and all the small monkeys looks astonished as their champion fells to the floor.
Greatly damaged in its pride Da'Tunga stands up. He tries to demonstrate he can fight at same time both warriors.
Seeing the Mwangi warrior unarmed, the ape decides he can trip it with ease.
The second hand goes towards Ragnar.
But the fighter easily dodges the enormous punch.
The creature steps back 5 feet.
You notice a small idol moving below the ape's legs. He suddenly throws a splinter towards Ragnar.