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Drandle Dreng’s entrance is as understated as always at the meeting with him this morning. He carries stacks of papers and tomes, and shedding stray pages as he makes his way toward a large, cushioned chair; once seated, he greets you warmly. “Welcome, welcome, glad to see you’ve made yourself at home. No point in beating around the bush, since I’m sure you’re all very curious why I called you here today, hm?" he pauses for a moment, honestly waiting for someone to ask, though you are pretty sure from the party a few days back, and the recent rumors floating around the lodge, you know exactly what you are here for.
"As you may or may not know, the Society has been bolstering its influence with the esteemed Blakros family for some time now, and have assisted them and their famous museum with various incidents over the past few years—discovering several new levels of catacombs in the process. Just recently, the Blakros Museum’s curator, Nigel Aldain, informed us that he’d discovered a mysterious portal within the building’s vast catacombs, and sought information regarding how to open it. We sent one of our agents, a man by the name of , to help research the matter further, which involved delving into the various attics and crawlspaces of the Blakros Museum in search of clues that might lead to the whereabouts of the portal’s key."
Dreng again pauses for a moment, allowing it all to sink in, and for those taking notes (like good Pathfinders. . .), to catch up.
“Earlier today, Nigel showed up here, claiming that something was wrong with Anumet. It seems that the Pathfinder set off some sort of curse or trap while poking around in the place’s attics and was acting strangely, and now he can’t be found at all. I need you to head to Blakros Museum and get to the bottom of this. Find Anumet, and if he has gotten himself into irreparable trouble, you’ll also need to take up where he left off and find that key.”
Museum, which they purchased for just this purpose. The Pathfinder Society is interested in forming an alliance with the Blakros family to gain access to their extensive collection of historical and arcane treasures. Many pieces in the Blakros’s collection are connected to the Dark Tapestry or other otherworldly horrors studied by Ralzeros.
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At the mention of the Blakros museum, Darvan closes his eyes and puts his face in his hands. "I wonder sometimes if the acquisition of these items from the Blakros family is really worth it. This is my fourth mission out there - our arrangement seems to have caused no end of troubles." He shakes his head then sighs. "Very well. I will resolve this issue as I have worked to do so with the others."
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Arriving at the museum once more, you see Nigel is outside waiting for you. Unlike the prior visits, this one is actually in normal daytime hours as well. Nigel Aldain has a disturbed expression, but looks slightly relieved now that help is at hand. “Thank the gods you’re finally here. It would appear something quite bizarre has happened to my new Pathfinder-turned-assistant, , while we were researching the key to the newly discovered portal beneath the museum. I had warned Anumet that many corners of the museum hold mysteries that, as of yet, have never been looked into, but I’m afraid something got to him all the same, as the last time yesterday I saw him he was acting quite strangely, and he failed to return today. I fear something evil in the attics of the museum may have cursed him.” as he leads you inside, and more to the area of the museum he is referring to.
Nigel leads them down into the catacombs, revealing a passageway hidden behind apparently solid stone. At the passage’s end stands a gleaming doorway, copper in color, inlaid with malachite, and covered with intricate arabesques. No obvious handle or lock is visible. Those who study the portal for more than a few minutes have the uncomfortable sensation that its decorations are slowly moving.
[I]While the Blakros Museum’s major structural members are shaped from solid stone, the supports used on the upper levels are made of wood. Some of these beams are so aged and fragile that the museum’s upper chambers were sealed away years ago to prevent collapse. The stairs that
accessed the upper floors were removed and the exhibit halls remodeled to eliminate all sign of them. A rickety ladder currently stands in the museum’s storage room, leading up to a square hole in the ceiling’s
decorative plasterwork. "Anumet used the ladder—kept so workers could access the building’s decrepit upper stories—to explore the museum’s attics."
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“Anumet was exploring the museum’s attics and towers looking for clues about the key to a newly discovered portal in the museum’s catacombs. This morning, he went up to the attic for a long time, and when he came down, he acted strangely, as if he didn’t recognize anyone. His voice was hoarse and the words he used were bizarre and archaic. He kept rambling about Ralzeros the Overwatched, but nothing he said made sense."
“He made for the catacombs and stared at the portal we’ve been trying to unlock for some time. I don’t think he realized I was still there, and I followed him around the other areas in the catacombs, where he seemed to be desperately searching for something. When he couldn’t find it, he was furious. Anumet avoided me after that, but I saw him look something up in our copy of Jackdaw’s , a book about famous wizards and astrologers. He took the book with him and ran out of the museum. I didn’t dare follow him, and haven’t seen him since.”
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"Nigel!" The hulking duelist sweeps the elven gentleman up in a hearty embrace. "Be recognized, friend."
He releases his grip on the thin curator, and pauses to consider the account.
"You speak of a portal. We encountered such a thing, beneath the library, where the Blakros girl had been taken under a foul thrall. You have not been trying to reopen it, yes?"
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Her name is Michellia. Mur smiles.
Sure portals, no problem. Hopefully somewhere less... shadowy; maybe a warm field full of benches, or a distillery begging to drunk dry.
It worked! Michellia slipped me a love note at the big party! Thanks for all your advice it really worked! You have anymore advice that can help me impress this broad? Not use to having proper women, and you seem kinda proper and respectable like; what do I do now? Normally I just pay for the room at the inn, toss her a few ales, and a quick slap on the bum. My better judgment is telling me a slap on the bum in public with this lass may be... not right. Being proper and all, do you like uh... slaps on the bum? Nevermind? What do I do!?
At this point the meeting is started and the uncomfortable conversation is left open and unquenched.
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"Do you have another copy of this book? I'm curious if this Ralzeros fellow is in it."
“It does discuss Ralzeros the Overwatched quite a bit, as well as most of the great wizards and mages of history. Anumet took our only copy, and the is the only other place I can think that would have a copy.”
"You speak of a portal. We encountered such a thing, beneath the library, where the Blakros girl had been taken under a foul thrall. You have not been trying to reopen it, yes?"
Darvan looks at the ladder, then at Sahba, then back again. "I don't suppose there's another way?"
Before reaching the museum, Morvius would like to buy 50' of silk rope, if that's OK.
As you make your way up, Nigel mentions "The attic and it's towers are too rickety and awkward for any practical use these days, but they’ve been there since the Blakros family bought the place. Tales say that Ralzeros the Overwatched put machines there that he used to observe the stars and heavens above. Judging by how strangely everything up there is laid out, I suspect that the stories are right when they say he was insane. But still, because it's not often used, you might be able to follow his trail in the dust. The attics are filthy"
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Reeking of vermin droppings, sagging walkways and cramped stairwells connect the museum’s winding upper levels. Stifling heat fills the sealed-off rooms and crannies, and cracked and rotten boards pop and creak at the slightest touch. Dry-rotted debris lies heaped atop broken furniture and shattered crates in the long-disused chambers. Boot prints make an uncertain and winding trail through the thick dust on the attic’s floors.
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"I would, but I have far too much to do here, and I really need to be around in case he comes back. Even in his normal state, he wouldn't know you, so maybe I could calm him down if he returns."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Turning back to Mur, she continues, "Most important, you need to be yoursel... umm, maybe that's not the best idea. You know what? The dashing hero really fit you, you should continue with that. Well, as dashing as you can manage, at least. Hmm, and as heroic as you can manage, I guess. But not too heroic! You do not want to keep her worried all the time! That would be very bad. Be her hero, not someone else's. You know what? You need a makeover! And I know just the place! Maria's Beauty Salon, and it's right here in Absalom. We'll make you look fabulous! Michellia will love it."
"Oh, we should probably head over to the...", she pauses as she notices everyone starting to clamber up the ladder and sighs. "Nevermind, let's just go in blindly. It's always worked in the past, right? If things start whispering to me in my head, though, I'm blaming each of you, I'll have you know."
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You notice boot prints in the dust leading from the ladder to the room, back out of the room to further down the hallway, and coming back to the ladder various times. Mostly from the ladder to that room, and all seem to be the same.
You also notice that two 5ft squares in front of the door are extremely loose from time and use, and that stepping on them might very likely be enough to cause that section of floor to fail.
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While Morvius scrambled to save himself from falling into the pit, Kurvast stripped off his chain armor and pushed past Mur to stand at the edge of the pit.
The Shoanti duelist bends over to touch his toes, then arches his arms behind his back, preparing for the daring feat of acrobatics is about to undertake. He takes a step back, crouches low, then springs forward...
...vaulting over the gap, and planting a graceful landing on the far side. He slings his backpack from his shoulder, and bends down to withdraw a coil of silken rope and a dagger. He knots the rope around the haft of the weapon, hefts it experimentally, then tosses the blade back towards the other edge of the pit.
"Tie that end to my chain armor," he shouts to the rest of the party. "Then, we will pull the rest of you across."
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Kurvast makes I across and Morvius climbs back up, allowing the others to make it across without falling. Opening the door you can see the room is an orrery. Strange, organic-looking patterns wind across the walls and ceiling of this chamber, and the stone walls look as though they had grown winding tendrils that enshroud the area. At the chamber’s center stands a massive, rust-covered device of gears and arms about fifteen feet across. The end of each arm supports a different colored sphere. Strange projections and barbed arrows point through each of the globes, their directions seemingly random. Opposite from the chamber’s entrance, a naked and clearly dead body is impaled by a rust-red arrow. The corpse faces a gray, wooden door, which stands ajar.
Suddenly, a waking vision floods your mind. In the vision a withered humanoid figure with an elongated, pointed tongue bursts forth from the gray door and grabs the then living Anumet, subsequently tearing him apart with its jagged claws and teeth. As the terrifying vision fades, the monster hisses, “The gate shall soon open!”