Opening the northern door, This room once served as the master’s quarters. Shang Xu, the devil creature has made his nest in this room and a pile of filth covers the once-fine mats laid upon the floor. It seems to be empty for the moment.
Perception DC 15:
The nest is made from pieces of cloth, mattresses, and drapes, and all sorts of material found throughout the temple, mostly all thrown together, and filthy. However, one single item stands out. It is neither filthy, nor even old or tattered. A small braid of hair stands out, and as you pull it free, you also notice a few shiny things hidden beneath it. An antique Iroran silver holy symbol, four jade gemstones, a magnifying glass, a set of silvered
armbands depicting pouncing tigers, and a bejeweled ceremonial masterwork temple sword.
Male Dwarf Inquisitor 10 [HP: 75/75 | AC: 24/13/22 CMD: 24 | F+12 R+8 W+12* (+5 vs. spells/spell-like, +2 vs. Necromancy, +1 vs. Evocation) | Init +4 | Perc +12 SM +16 Darkvision]
Perception:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Torean steps into the large room. "It's a nest for whatever has taken-" He cuts off and then points to something in the pile. "There, a braid of hair."
He walks slowly over to the nest and tries to pull it free without disturbing anything else. "Here. Some other things. They look like they could be from the monks who lived here." He tries to remove the Iroran holy symbol, then a set of silvered armbands with pouncing tiger inlays, a jeweled temple sword, four gemstones, and a magnifying glass.
Stepping into the last room, you discover that this one seems to have escaped the distruction found throughout the rest of the monastery. A statue, leaning against the northern wall, appears of place amongst the rest of the rooms contents - clay pots, ruined sacks, and aged tools. The statue, made of finely carved stone with jade inlays, depicts a man with a serene face, standing in a meditative stance.
The statue is indeed magical, and stuns Torean for a round as he casts the spell, breaking his focus not long after the magic comes into effect,read Det Magic for what that means. . ., though nothing else in the room seems to have an aura.
Aeden:
As you begin to inspect the statue, you see that it is such great quality, that even some of the individual hairs have been sculted to perfection. It's so accurate that you begin to wonder if this where actually once a living being somehow turned to stone by a medusa or the like. Running you hand along the the face, you feel the stony hairs of what might have been a "5 o'clock shadow", and then suddenly you feel your mind being assualted by something. . . A small snap of divine static electricity jolts your hand away, and looking around, you see that it only seems to be you. "Bah weep grana weep ninny bon".
Male Dwarf Inquisitor 10 [HP: 75/75 | AC: 24/13/22 CMD: 24 | F+12 R+8 W+12* (+5 vs. spells/spell-like, +2 vs. Necromancy, +1 vs. Evocation) | Init +4 | Perc +12 SM +16 Darkvision]
Detect Magic doesn't explicitly call out being stunned by 'Overwhelming' magic (That's Detect Evil), but I get the point.
Torean nearly collapses as he tries to view the magic of the statue. He stumbles and has to take a knee to catch his breath. "Whatever made that statue is of huge magic power. Like magic from the gods. If it's still living here, we don't stand a chance against something like that."
I'm not sure what is going on. I was checking back to see why no one had posted in awhile and see that my last two posts had not gone through. I'm not sure what the deal is, because I double checked that they went through, (poor internet means a lot of stuff gets eaten, I've learned to copy/paste everything on Paizo).
Can I get some Spellcraft checks for anyone trying to study the magic.
Aeden, you do not sense any sort of malice or evil from the statue.
I have literally tried about 10 times today to update and it is not working. I have no idea what is going on. It has got to be an issue on Paizo's side, as I have tried different computers, my phone, and it will not post. Maybe I can not post as DM Beckett for some reason, I don't know.
Aeden tells the party that as he was trying to get a feel for the worth and craftmanship of the statue, he felt something touch his mind. He claims it said "Bah weep grana weep ninny bon", bonus points for reference, but as he reactively pulled away, he felt a slight jolt, and the presence was gone.
Tien:
"Bah weep grana weep ninny bon" means "Greetings guests, to the Monastery of the Clouded mind."
Male Dwarf Inquisitor 10 [HP: 75/75 | AC: 24/13/22 CMD: 24 | F+12 R+8 W+12* (+5 vs. spells/spell-like, +2 vs. Necromancy, +1 vs. Evocation) | Init +4 | Perc +12 SM +16 Darkvision]
"Maybe you should try talking back. It didn't seem like an attack, right?"
Even though the power of the magic is enormous, Torean has some misguided faith his training will still protect him. He touches the statue, thinking Can you understand me?
"Ah. Outlanders. Yes, but I was not expecting that. How did you come to find your way here? " it replies, this time less in a language and more in a way that you simply understand what it is "saying".
“I am Jiang Dan, a simple servant of the Master of Masters.
And as for what happened here, a petulant student believed he knew better than his master. The student proclaimed that the master unfairly gained power from the Braid of a Hundred Masters, cheapening the path to self-perfection. He challenged the master to remove the braid and compete against him without its power. The master did so and, in the process, defeated the student.
Once the master had proven himself to the student, the master left the braid at the student’s feet, then turned away, leaving the monastery, never to return. The master took one student with him that day, the young disciple, Ying Pei, while the remaining students squabbled and fought over the braid. None could call upon the power of the braid and so they left the monastery, one by one, once again seeking their true paths to perfection. Eventually, only the petulant student and the braid remained. Here he stayed, until the day he died, contemplating the significance behind his master’s actions. Perhaps, through searching for the master and his last disciple, you may uncover the answer to the Braid of a Hundred Masters.
Male Dwarf Inquisitor 10 [HP: 75/75 | AC: 24/13/22 CMD: 24 | F+12 R+8 W+12* (+5 vs. spells/spell-like, +2 vs. Necromancy, +1 vs. Evocation) | Init +4 | Perc +12 SM +16 Darkvision]
Torean looks back to the ruined temple. "And what happened after that? It looks like something else made it's home here." He pauses and looks back to the statue.
"Jiang Dan foolishly asked for wisdom. In response, I was given time to find that wisdom for myself. I have been trapped here for many years, so I am not sure. As I said, the last master, Li Yao, left here long ago. They should not be difficul to find."
Suddenly, a loud crash outside shakes the room. Something large sreams a bloodthirsty battle yell. Stepping outside you see a massive Yeti, having crashed through the outer wall (to the top right of the map). The demon has returned.
Aeden draws his weapon and moves outside to see what's going on. The creature continues to break it's way through the wall, and screams in furry once more, now able to come slaughter those that would despoil it's home, (you).
Gunnar draws his battleaxe and moves next to Aeden, ready to attack or defend, as needed.
Move Action move next to Aeden and draw weapon, Standard readied action to attack any enemy that comes within melee range. I will spend an AoO to give an ally a +4 untyped bonus to AC with bodyguard if possible, and my immediate to use saving shield to give them a +2 Shield Bonus to AC as well.
Aid Another from Bodyguard:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Male Dwarf Inquisitor 10 [HP: 75/75 | AC: 24/13/22 CMD: 24 | F+12 R+8 W+12* (+5 vs. spells/spell-like, +2 vs. Necromancy, +1 vs. Evocation) | Init +4 | Perc +12 SM +16 Darkvision]
I'm still here. I think the GM is too, though he's having a tougher time with internet than expected. I was hoping to go through all of these scenarios, but we might need to call this one...
