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Andruss heals himself with his wand.
Once Jorah share the informations with the rest of the party, Andruss turns to Bakten, "well, as long as it's permited enter in the Court of the Ancestral Sky only the clans members, how will we get access to there? And what about this 'Festival of the Fortunate Moon'? It is close to occur?", asked Andruss.
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Andruss heals himself with his wand.
[dice=Wand of CLW]1d8 + 1
Once Jorah share the informations with the rest of the party, Andruss turns to Bakten, "well, as long as it's permited enter in the Court of the Ancestral Sky only the clans members, how will we get access to there? And what about this 'Festival of the Fortunate Moon'? It is close to occur?", asked Andruss.
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This sprawling, high-roofed grotto is a masterpiece of inversion. Exotic trees growing from the ceiling surround a gravity-defying lagoon. The floor is gently concave and painted the indigo color of moonlit skies. A few feet above the floor, lambent spheres evoke stars, while conjured clouds drift by on unfelt winds. A cave mouth fifty feet above joins a ramp, which spirals down the cave’s perimeter, connecting midway to a huge stone door. An enormous, mithral-plated mirror is affixed to the floor’s center. The elves of Jinin built this astonishing grotto to honor the skies of their ancient homeland on the far side of the planet.
Twice a year, when the heavens align, the three clans gather at the Court of the Ancestral Sky to observe the moon’s reflection; you happen to arrive on one of these fortuitous nights, though moonrise is still several hours away.
You arrive at a silver pagoda to behold a procession of elven nobles descending a gilded stone ramp into a cave. Four guards at the entrance callout to you in
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Jorah speaks to Andruss to translate to the Elven guards, "Hello there. We come on behalf of Baktan Shengrah, a samsaran, who in a previous life was Malash the Magnanimous, the Peacemaker that united your clans. We seek the skull of Haraka Sorin, his former friend that died at his side. We would be honored if you would allow us this."
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Andruss is able to negotiate well with the guards, and the offer to escort him and the party below for an audience with Daimyo Haraka Kasashige.
The hypnotic music of a mithral flute draws the guests toward the central mirror. An imperious elf, clad in the ceremonial armor of a daimyo, greets each family by name: “To the sagacious Mata, the perseverant Ishigo, and my own brethren, the decisive Haraka—welcome to the Festival of the Fortunate Moon. Tonight, the full moon will travel from sky to sky, and those who meet its pallid eye will earn the luck of dragons. Till moonrise, tales of honor shall remind us of our noble ancestry.”then, as an afterthought, he adds, "And perhaps these bold outlanders have a tale or two to share?”
As you request access to the Skull of Sorin, the Daimyo himself, excuses himself from the gathered guests, and escorts you to the Haraka shrine, but unfortunately, the Skull is not visible. Further requests to see the Skull of Sorin, the Daimyo's own father, make him uneasy, and he responds, "This is a tangled knot of honor. When he was Malash, this Bakten you seek to help, gave our families strength. Yet, even for his sake, can a son permit the desecration of his ancestor’s grave?"
He holds is hand up for silence as you perhaps attempt to persuade him, finally responding, "This is a matter beyond me. We shall allow the Clan Leaders to decide. Come now, my guests. We shall return. There is still some hours before the festival begins, and I much desire you to experience and take part in this holy time. It is there that the Clan Leaders shall pass their judgment on this matter, and we shall both abide by that decision." he says, making sure it is clear that was not a question.
He does take you back to the other guests, and as outlanders, gives you a brief introduction to many of the other honored guests and families, some of which will take part in decision of your request. Notably:
Daimyo Haraka Kasashige: Polite but indecisive, Kasashige is forever cowed by the weight of his ancestor’s legacy. The daimyo has spent decades engaged in spiritual introspection about the meeting between his great-grandfather and Malash, and feels as connected to the event as if he had witnessed it himself. He obsessively glances up toward his family’s shrine before answering queries.
Lady Ishigo Shiori: This lachrymose lady wears mourning white, including a broad conical hat that conceals her hair. She speaks lovingly, though somewhat vaguely, about her late husband.
Lord Mata Ryuu: A toothless, rambling elf reeking of sour wine. Whenever you approach him, he shrieks, “Welcome, outsiders!” as if he has forgotten who they are. His claw-like fingernails rasp against your skin as he clasps your hands in greeting.
Thick clouds pervade the cave, creating small clear pockets where the nobles congregate, regaling one another with legends of heroic deeds, then eagerly debating the finer points of honor that each tale brings to light. This ongoing celebration leading up to moonrise last for three hours, and throughout, you can drop in and out periodically to earn acclaim by contributing to the elves’ entertainment.
Following someone else’s storytelling, you may attempt a Bluff, Knowledge (nobility), or Profession (barrister) check to debate a point of honor.
The elves are curious about the your abilities, and welcome any non-violent diversions to pass the time. Particularly your stronger foreign magics, and what sorts of visual displays you can weave with them.
You may attempt a Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nobility), or Perform (oratory) check to impress the nobles with a tale of honor.
The elves enjoy watching reenactments of their own past glories.
Doing well at these tasks ill certainly earn you some esteem with the Elves, and possibly also with the Clan Leaders you wish to speak with later.
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"Don't be so hasty, calm down!", he says to his comrades.
Andruss was clearly tense with the situation, any slip could be crucial, but with the help of his teammates, he could translate well what was said and they were unharmed.
Andruss will try to remember some of those tales he read in the Pathfinder Chronicles, about this people and its glorious past. He will exalt great things about the three clans, remarkable histories of them, showing that he knows them, and he interested in interact with them peacefully, using all of his diplomatic abilities.
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Victoria will engage in storytelling (via translator) and using hand gestures.
Thunderbirds are enormous avians similar to rocs that dwell in remote mountain and hill regions across Golarion.
She will build up with small arcs of lightning
An adult thunderbird is constantly surrounded by a lightning storm and strong winds, and are venerated
as bringers of rain in arid regions but always feared for their destructive potential...
And will enhance with a lightning bolt (spell) launched into the air as the grand finale to emphasize the story of the sky storms as part of her story.
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As Jorah moves around the cave, he makes a point to show off the fact that he is always levitating .
He gathers a small group of their hosts, "You must see this, this magical light show is one of the most amazing things you will ever see and experience. Prepare to have your senses dazzled and excited." He recites a small prayer to Desna in Celestial and unleashes the show.
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No one seems terribly impressed with Rivani's parlor tricks and the group around him quickly disperses, though Victoria's display draws a crowd. Andruss also manages to win a few hearts with his storytelling abilities. Jorah's own magic captivates them, but only as long as he speaks, and once the spell is over, thy quickly loose interest. Seinaru teaches a story from his faith that the Elves find interesting, as it is a foreign faith, but still holds some deeper meaning with them, and Eric, a bit crudely debates the value of stealth and offense in combat, attempting to apply it to social situations as well with some success.
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Later, the time of the Moonrise comes in but a few moments, and everyone begins to gather to witness the special event. A mellifluous wind abruptly clears the grotto of all clouds. The elves place themselves around the mirror in the floor, whose surface is reflected in turn within the pool suspended magically overhead. A ceremony as ancient as the elves of Jinin, the Fortunate Moon occurs when the full moon strikes the mirror through the cave mouth, then reflects into the pool on the ceiling. The reflection appears twice a year for three minutes only; during that time, anyone standing within 10 feet of the mirror supposedly receives good luck.
Just before the event itself, the Clan Leaders gather, promising to discuss allowing you, outsiders, to enter the sacred family shrine and enact a ritual upon the Daimyo's ancestor's skull. Many are gathered, some interesting in the voting, but most waiting for the beams of the rising moon to flood the room. Kasashige promises positive relations between the elves of Jinin and the Pathfinder Society, and goes on to praise you as “the hands of Malash,” come to reforge the bonds between clans. "We where unanimous in this. It is our discussion that you be allowed to enter the shrine, and do what this Bakten has asked you to do. Do so with the reverence and honor that is expected. After the ceremony, I will lead you there myself. Until then, join us as we await this holy time and strengthen the alliance we have all sworn towards each other."
After this is proclaimed, there seems to be some discontent from within the crowd. Some of the elves seem to be suspicious of the meddling of outsiders. Someone in the crowd calls out that the Daimyo is a fool. From another side of the room come insults at the Ryuu Clan, then from somewhere else a claim that the Shiori Clan are seducers and deceivers.
Others try to stand, hoping to stop the fighting, but it just seems to grow worse. Just as the first rays of moonlight begin to inch closer to the mirror, the enmity between the clans boils over first. One of the men that Jorah and Rivania had spoken to in secret only minutes before stands up and throws a stone at the Daimyo, accusing him of being weak and cowardly. The Daimyo stands, holding back his own anger and trying to keep himself from drawing steel, but is suddenly hit by a rock in the chest as someone shots "You are not worthy of the ancestor's blessings. He falls quickly, landing hard upon the mirror and shattering it.
The room then goes silent, as everyone seen the ritual not foiled, but utterly destroyed. Reacting to this disgraceful act, Kasashige stands, drawing his blade and slicing his own hand as he looks around the room, both at some of the younger elves and also at each of the other Clan Leaders in the eye before simply declaring [b]The Alliance is severed!" It is not a question, nor an accusation. Simply a statement.
The different families leave quickly, knowing that nothing can be done now except to make matters worse. The Daimyo then looks at you, "Come. I will keep my word. Let us go now to the shrine." As he leads to open Sorin’s crypt, he laments that “Bakten would weep to see his greatest deed undone.”
The inside the Haraka Shrine is lit with multiple continual flame
torches, and has a normal light level. This chamber contains the crypts of several dozen deceased elven nobles, including Daimyo Haraka Sorin,
whose skull you need to examine using the candle of conveyance. The crypts are dug into the stone walls and covered with inset metal screens, allowing visitors to view the revered remains. However, seismic shifting has caused the skull of Haraka to roll out of sight, so to complete their mission, you need to remove the screen.
But as you do, you get the sudden sense of a rush of,. . . something. Life, magic, something you can not totally put your finger on flood the area. Some of it gathers around the skull, while some of it gathers around a small stick near the corpse of Haraka Sorin. The candle in your hands suddenly begins to glow green.
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Taking hold of the Candle for a moment to meditate on it's magic display, and the sheer power unleashed her, Andruss discovers the existence of a rare phenomena known as a Dragon or Ley Line.
Little is known about these mystical locations. Some believe that it is untapped divine powers within the world, others places where the fabric of magic runs deep, and others that it is simply small pools that magical and otherworldly energies gather naturally.
Your simple attunement to the Ley Line suddenly awakens an understanding of the candle's powers while you are linked to it.
PROGNOSTICATION (SENSE MOTIVE)
You are skilled in means of folk divination. The most
common methods are
cheiromancy (reading a creature’s palms), crystallomancy
(crystal-gazing), extispicy (reading animal entrails),
horoscopy (reading a creature’s birth stars), oneiromancy
(interpreting dreams), osteomancy (reading cast bones),
and
Check: Once per day, you can predict a creature’s fortune
for the near future. You spend 10 minutes interpreting the
divination means at your disposal. The GM then attempts
a secret Sense Motive check with a DC modified by the
subject’s Hit Dice (see the table below). The result of the
check can give you basic insight into the subject’s nature,
including its alignment, class, and levels or Hit Dice, and
might reveal clues to the creature’s immediate future.
Determining the immediate future as an augury spell has
a chance of successfully interpreting meaningful readings
equal to 60% plus 5% for every point by which the check
result exceeds the DC (to a maximum of 90%). With a single
check, you determine all the information whose DC you meet.
For instance, if you had a result of 22 when telling the fortune
of a creature with 2 HD, you would learn that creature’s
alignment and class, but not its level, HD, or fortune.
Task DC
Determine alignment 15 + creature’s HD
Determine class 20 + creature’s HD
Determine level or HD 25 + creature’s HD
Determine fortune as augury spell 25 + creature’s HD
Action: Reading a creature’s fortune requires 10 minutes
of uninterrupted contemplation, and the subject creature
must be present.
Try Again: Yes. You can attempt to read a particular
creature’s fortune repeatedly, but only once per 24 hours.
Special: Specially crafted items purchased for the
exclusive use of this skill grant a +2 circumstance bonus
on Sense Motive checks to prognosticate.
PSYCHOMETRY (APPRAISE)
You can read the psychic impressions left on objects or in
places by previous owners and events.
Check: Once per day, you can concentrate for 1 minute
while in physical contact with an item or location, during
which you receive f lashes of insight regarding the subject’s
nature and ownership. After 1 minute, you attempt a DC 15
Appraise check to decipher the visions. You gain one piece
of information about the historical significance or the
last previous owner—such as a glimpse of the last owner’s
appearance or its emotional state when it last used the
item—determined by the GM. You learn one more piece of
information for every 10 by which your check result exceeds
the DC, as long as you concentrate for 1 additional minute
for each piece of information. If you fail the check by less
than 5 or the item has no significant psychic imprint, you
don’t learn any information. If you fail this check by 5 or
more, the item appears to be psychically significant even if
it’s not, and the information you gain is wildly inaccurate.
If you attempt to use psychometry on an item affected by
charge object or implant false reading, you automatically learn all
information imprinted by the spell. You must also attempt
a Will save. If the item is affected by an implant false reading
spell, on a success, you realize the information was false, and
can determine the true information as well. On a failure, or
if the item is affected by a charge object spell, you believe the
information is true.
Action: Reading an object requires at least 1 minute of
uninterrupted concentration.
Try Again: Yes. Multiple readings on an object or place
always give the same results unless its circumstances or
ownership have changed, but additional checks might
reach further back into an object’s history. You don’t reroll
the saving throw to determine if a psychic imprint is false.
You can still use psychometry only once per day.
READ AURA (PERCEPTION)
Your psychic sensitivity allows you to read the psychic and
magical auras of creatures and objects.
Check: Once per day, you can examine the natural aura
of a creature or object to discern the subject’s alignment,
emotions, health, or magic. This requires 10 minutes
of concentration, after which you attempt a Perception
check. Each time, you must pick one of four auras to read:
alignment, emotion, health, or magic. The result of the
check applies only to the selected aura. You must be within
30 feet of the subject at all times during the reading.
Objects typically have only magic auras, though some also
have alignment auras (and intelligent items have emotion
auras). You can still attempt to detect a type of aura an
object doesn’t have, but you get no results. The DC varies
depending on the aura, as shown on the table.
Read Alignment
Aura: You attempt
to read the alignment
aura, learning the alignment
and its strength. An alignment
aura’s strength depends on the
creature’s Hit Dice or item’s caster
level, as noted in the description of
the detect evil spell.
Read Emotion Aura: The colors within the
target’s aura reveal its emotional state. If successful, you
learn the target’s disposition and its attitude toward any
creatures within 30 feet of it. For a number of rounds equal
to the amount by which you exceeded the skill check’s DC,
you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy,
Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks against the target.
Read Health Aura: Viewing the f low of vital force, you
assess a creature’s physical condition. You learn if the
creature is unharmed or wounded, if it is poisoned or
diseased, and whether it is affected by any of the following
conditions: confused, disabled, dying, nauseated, panicked,
staggered, stunned, and unconscious. You also learn the
total number of points available in its ki pool, grit pool, or
similar resource.
Read Magic Aura: You attempt to determine the number
and power of all magical auras on a target creature or object
(see detect magic to determine a magic aura’s power). If the
check is successful, you can attempt Knowledge (arcana)
or Spellcraft checks to determine the school or identify
properties of a magic item, as normal. If the item is affected
by magic aura or a similar spell, you can realize this and
determine the actual properties of the item if your check
result exceeds the DC by 5 or more. If the spell is of a higher
level (such as aura alteration), increase this threshold DC by
2 for every spell level beyond 1st.
Task DC
Read alignment aura 15 + creature’s HD or item’s caster level
Read emotion aura 20 + creature’s HD or item’s caster level†
Read health aura 15 + creature’s HD
Read magic aura 20 + creature’s HD or item’s caster level
† Intelligent items only.
Action: Reading an aura requires 10 minutes of study.
Try Again: Yes. You can read a
creature or object’s aura more
than once, whether you read
the same aura or a different
one. You can still attempt
only one skill check
to read an aura
per day.
Finally, Andruss explains that by performing a complex ritual, not to dissimilar to the one you performed earlier with Bakten, you can permanently attune yourselves to this Ley Line, awakening an inner power and also gaining the ability to draw upon it's resources while near it. The ritual takes 2 Hours to complete, but in doing so you gain a permanent +1 to all Caster Levels (including Spell-Like Abilities) while you are in the region.
With that ritual complete, you are able to bring the skull near to the candle, and as you do so, the candle flairs to life for just a moment, and you can sense the Bakten has likewise some how connected to it as well. With your mission complete, you return to the Daimyo to thank him for his aid, then set off to your next destination.
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Your next assignment takes you to a farming community called Dallo in the western panhandle of Wanshou, about 80 miles from New Oppara. Wanshou is a cursed and superstitious land, although the influence
of the nation’s kraken tyrant, Zhanagorr, is mercifully distant in this region. It was in Dallo that Jujanil’s soul reincarnated, manifesting as a paralyzed and anguished girl named Malikeen. According to local legend, the child wept for a hundred days, creating a flood that threatened to destroy the townsfolk’s rice paddies. But then the child
brightened and spoke with ageless wisdom, overseeing the construction of a dam that persists to this day.
The Dam at Dallo: An earthen dam nearly 80 feet wide interrupts a river in its decline from the Zi Ha Mountains. A reservoir forms to the west. To the east, cliffs overlook the dam’s shallow runoff, which feeds a field of rice paddies before curving south. A clay dome, topped with a 20-foot spire, crowns the dam’s platform. Roads lead north into the mountains and south into the village of Dallo. Dallo’s peasants built this dam nearly 250 years ago to fertilize their rice paddies. The peasants try to keep the dam well maintained, but. . .
Not too far in the distance you also spot a tranquil-looking temple, and some of you can feel a certain holiness emanating from it. It especially calls to Victoria, but both Jorah and Seinaru can also feel it's lingering majesty below the surface of the physical world. This tranquil temple features a humble altar bearing a clay statue of a child surrounded by candles, offerings, and relics. Faded murals cover the walls and ceiling. Only candles light the windowless stupa, bathing it in dim light.