Vuloo sighs, "Yes, well I suppose you're right. The relics have sat down here for thousands of years. I guess they can wait a couple more days."
Looks like the vote is to leave.
Straight out? How do you intend to get past the ants and where do you want to exit at? The beginning or one of the alternates you've run across.
Aidon huffs and puffs trying to keep up to reason with Brealex "Please, stop moving so fast, it's dangerous to just keep going like this without having a plan, you need to pull yourself together."
"I think there was an area by the cave fisher that we could rest at, there was some sort of a pool or something that had clear water and I think it was a dead end, we should be able to rest there and be safe. We should not try and get to the surface right now with us all so weakened, we have no idea what other horrors we may run into"
"You make compelling arguments, Braelex. I could use some rest", Fulmen says defeated.
"Shall we go back out the way we came or attempt one of the shortcuts? I don't think we're in any condition for a tough fight, so retracing our steps may be the safest way. The only question is do we turn in the crown? What will happen then? Can we trust the little blue people?"
The party heads back up to the Crow Dungeons on their way to the Catacombs where the mites laired. All the while they continue to discuss their plans, but forced to move since Braelex, engaged in the conversation doesn't stop moving backwards.
At the top of the stairs, BrikBrak, the party's mite guide, squeals when you return, "You gots Zuuga's sleep crown?"
Once the party replies in the affirmative, Brikbrak leads them back to the throne room, where the little blue mite king is pacing back and forth in front of his upside down skull, hands clasped behind his back as he yells and points and gesticulates at it.
He stops all of a sudden when you enter.
As the party makes its way back up from the depths Relan remarks Are you sure we came this way? Nothing looks familiar.
Vuloo pulls out the gauntlet and presents it to Zuuga. "You don't remember us? We were just here. You asked us to recover your crown. Brikbrak, what's going on?"
The little blue mite king squints at Andel as he translates and then hops up onto his upside down skull, toes tapping against the the nose bridge.
The little creature speaks with an imperious face and gestures while squeaking out his statement.
Brikbrak looks at Vuloo and shrugs, "Him king. Him do as him wish ... sometimes, him fall off skull and bump head. Him forget things."
Braelex pauses a moment to hand over the bag of rocks. "Here, wise one, are the treasures you sent us after."
Vuloo sighs and puts the gauntlet at his feet next to the bag of rocks, "Here is your crown. We'll be going now, but we'll back. I hope you remember this deed and continue to allow us free passage."
Zuuga scampers over and grabs the bag and cradles the bracer like a baby, sitting on the ground and cooing to it. He ignores the party.
Brikbrak tugs at your shirtails, "Best we go now."
Vuloo nods at Brikbrak, "Yes, let's leave at once. Can you lead us back through the giant ants?"
The mite nods, "Me get others to make noise and make bugs move."
He leads you back to the crawlspace and says to wait until he returns, and he runs back into the mite hive.
A few minutes later her returns, beckoning you to follow as you hear a ruckus of clanging metal and stone from the east. The little blue creature stares into the darkness of the ant room for several long moments and then hisses, "Now!" emphasizing his words by scrambling out into the room and sprinting ahead.
Assuming you follow, you make it to the northwest exit and back up the stairs to where you met Brikbrak without any incident.
Braelex follows through, gives Brikbrak a smile of thanks, then continues on towards the surface.
Relan follows, wondering what it would be like to have to fight all the ants. he shudders.
Both
Unless anyone wants to explore another chamber, I'll assume you head back out the way you came, arriving a the boat dock where you thankfully still have a rowboat left, although it's not the one you brought ... Braelex, however, does feel the magical compulsion fade as the party gets in the boat.
Returning to Heidmarch manor, you are greeted but the ever-present, Mandili, the manor's awakened mountain gorilla. Natalya and both Heidmarchs are in, and Sheila meets you in the foyer eager to hear of your discoveries.
Aidon would like to research the cave fisher if Andel and anyone else is able to assist.
I believe this is a Knowledge Nature check and since I completely forgot about this and we left the body behind I think I am at a -4 but not sure what bonuses I will get from help
Maybe if you could create a tab for this rule under the Campaign Info I won't have to keep asking you :)
Knowledge Nature Base Roll -
Relan can, and does help. You have a reasonably well studied fighter with you. :)
Fulmen will report on what transpired in the Crow to the Heidmarchs. He'll try to describe some of the symbols and statues we saw along the way since Mr. Heidmarch seemed interested in historical artifacts.
Fulmen will report on what transpired in the Crow to the Heidmarchs. He'll try to describe some of the symbols and statues we saw along the way since Mr. Heidmarch seemed interested in historical artifacts.
Which ones specifically? Others can jump in.
Braelex will spend the downtime crafting vials of silver weapon blanch.
Braelex will spend the downtime crafting vials of silver weapon blanch.
[dice=Craft (alchemy) DC 20]1d20+12
10 is fine.
Anything from anyone for Sheila, Natalya, or Canayven?
How long are you staying in Magnimaar before you head back in to the Crow?
Anything from anyone for Sheila, Natalya, or Canayven?
How long are you staying in Magnimaar before you head back in to the Crow?
Which ones specifically? Others can jump in.
Rune Giant statuette in Collapsed Chamber that Andel has.
The many statues and images of a woman wielding a ranseur who we figured was Azlanist, Thassilonian Runelord of Wrath
The scene in the Victory! room with Azlanist standing over a hunched back man with demonic hands. "I don't think we ever determined who the slain man was"
The Ancient Doors we had to decode.
The Elemental Flame room with it's 30ft diameter circle of runes with a magical flame burning in the middle.
The Pillars depicting a history of the runelords.
"I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. We stumbled on a number of ancient books but I can't remember if any of them stuck out."
Rune Giant statuette in Collapsed Chamber that Andel has.The many statues and images of a woman wielding a ranseur who we figured was Azlanist, Thassilonian Runelord of Wrath
The scene in the Victory! room with Azlanist standing over a hunched back man with demonic hands. "I don't think we ever determined who the slain man was"
The Ancient Doors we had to decode.
The Elemental Flame room with it's 30ft diameter circle of runes with a magical flame burning in the middle.
The Pillars depicting a history of the runelords.
"I'm sure I'm forgetting some things. We stumbled on a number of ancient books but I can't remember if any of them stuck out."
After the party touches base with Sheila, Canayven pulls you aside and annotates your findings, making comments along the way. Andel pulls out his drawings in his journal as supporting material.
"Rune giants, hmm, yes ... uncovered living ones of those during the Karzoug debacle. Nothing new there. Puzzle doors, like the box, right ... standard Thasillonian locking mechanism. FlameStatues of Azlanist, check. Thought she may have been the one to build the Irespan ... wait, hang on, let me see that," Canayven pulls one of Andel's drawings around. "I'll be ... demonic hands, defeated by Azlanist ... this must be a drawing of Thybidos, the Runelord of Wrath before Azlanist. There are no known depictions of him, just a few mentions in books. This is an astounding find. Anything else of interest. Anything unique about any of these statues?"
Andel finishes his research on the magical pendant, grumbling about lazy tieflings who are equally capable of identifying magic items.
"This is the Pendant of the Souk! The beaten gold is of Qadiran make. The lanner falcon suspended on the gold chain here is the traditional badge of office for the Prince or Princess of the Market in Magnimar’s Bazaar of Sails. However, they sometimes given as rewards to those who are particularly helpful or well-liked by the Prince or Princess."
The wearer of a pendant of the souk gains a +5 competence bonus on Appraise checks. By holding the pendant to her brow, the wearer can gain the effects of an identify spell once per day. Finally, the pendant grows warm in the presence of illusions, granting a +2 insight bonus on saving throws made to disbelieve existing illusion effects.
You realize that this specific pendant was once owned by Nazir Kalmeralm, the first Prince of the Market in Magnimar’s Bazaar of Sails. If the PCs don’t make this realization, you can have an NPC notice the pendant (perhaps when the PCs try to sell it) and reveal this information. Nazir vanished nearly 28 years ago. His daughter Sabriyya is still alive.
Natalya comes out of a back room, stretching like a cat as she yawns. "Heard you all were back ... hey! That pendant was on the skeleton near where I found the shard! You guys find that there?" She looks excited and then her face drops, as she gets serious and asks in a flat voice.
"Did you find Ayala?"
Relan speaks up. Hey, I think I recognize that Pendant. I saw it in a book a while back. It was once owned by Nazir Kalmeralm, the first Prince of the Market in Magnimar’s Bazaar of Sails. He vanished almost 30 years ago, but his daughter Sabriyya yet lives.
Aidon nods at Natalya, "Yes we found her, did you know she was a wererat!? I asked her about Were-Gazelles, she didn't answer though, do you know if there are were-gazelles?" Aidon pauses briefly but continues without really waiting for an answer, "She was super mean too, attacked us and tried to kill us for what I felt, was a completely unjustified reason, it's not like she OWNED those ruins, they were squatters at best. Correct me if I am wrong but that seems like fairly anti-social, borderline retarded behavior...don't you think...?" Aidon trails off as he realizes he may be rambling a bit
Aidon shuffles his feet, "Ummm but yeah, we found her and sadly, we had to kill her, it completely ruined my day." Aidon pauses again, "Though not as badly as I am sure it ruined hers..."
Kidnapping quest still open.
Canayven Heidmarch's quest is above. Partially completed. Go back to my last DM post.
"Ummm but yeah, we found her and sadly, we had to kill her, it completely ruined my day." Aidon pauses again, "Though not as badly as I am sure it ruined hers..."
Natalaya looks visibily relieved and collapses into a nearby chair. "Yeah, I think I mentioned to you that she was a rat. Can't believe she's finally dead. It's like a great weight has been lifted off of me. I may go out to the bazaar today and not be worried about being stabbed in the kidney," she jokes weakly.
"I have something for you. I don't believe I'll be needing them again. Thinking of taking up life as a baker," Natalya reaches behind her chair and pulls out a box and pushes it towards you. Inside are a pair of black leather calf-high boots.
1/day as an immediate action, the wearer can reroll any one of the above skill checks taking the second result.
Natalya shows you a secret compartment with a set of MW thieves' tools. Normally it would take a DC22 Perception Check to notice
She turns to face the whole party, looking from one to the other, "What about the other Girls? Did any of them live? They weren't all bad, you know ...," tears well in her eyes as she trails off.
Anything unique about any of these statues?"[/b]
"The Rune Giant statue was found in a crate with Thassilonian coins all in pristine condition. We figured it was an indication that someone of importance was involved in the Irespan. As you surmise it was likely Azlanist. We found a magical Ranseur in a life size statue of Azlanist. Other than that I don't believe anything else was significant. Her image was all over the place."
"Flame statues? Are you referring to the room I described with the runes on the floor and flame burning? Any idea what that room might be about?"
Canayven contemplates for a bit. "If I had to hazard a guess, knowing Azlanist, it's either a trap or a summoning circle. Or I suppose it could be both."
You all also receive a Prestige Point for killing Ayala for Natalya.
Andel finishes his research on the magical pendant, grumbling about lazy tieflings who are equally capable of identifying magic items.
***
Relan speaks up. Hey, I think I recognize that Pendant. I saw it in a book a while back. It was once owned by Nazir Kalmeralm, the first Prince of the Market in Magnimar’s Bazaar of Sails. He vanished almost 30 years ago, but his daughter Sabriyya yet lives.
Braelex glances at the pendant in her hand and frowns. "I would guess that she'd want this back, then..."
***
She turns to face the whole party, looking from one to the other, "What about the other Girls? Did any of them live? They weren't all bad, you know ...," tears well in her eyes as she trails off.
Braelex nods, "A few, who had the good sense to flee when the battle was lost."
Natalya looks relieved that some of her previous cohorts escaped with their lives and sighs before bidding you farewell.
Later in the week, before you depart for the Crow again, Canayven corners you and says "I was discussing your endeavors and findings with a local alchemist who is sympathetic to our cause. When he heard that Azlanist built at least a portion of the facilities inside the Crow, he was hoping you might be able to find any remaining sinspawn, creatures created of pure wrath and who have no need to subsist on anything and are likely still alive. We've found them in previous Wrath-associated ruins, and he's paying 500 gold pieces per head that you bring him. His name is Aleric and he has a shop nearby."
His shopping complete, Relan is one of the first to report for the next phase of the assignment. Once everyone is there he quickly reminds the group of their status on outstanding missions.
Team, we have the following things still to accomplish. 1) Search the Crow for the next shard and report back to Sheila when we have found it. (reward 4 PP + shard) Note that we still do not know what kind of Ioun stone will tame it. 2) We have a request from Lord Heidmarch for any unusual/new Thasillonian artifacts. 3) Solve the mystery of the kidnappings -- report to Lord Mayor. And 4) A local alchemist named Aleric is paying 500 gold pieces per sinspawn, head that we bring him.
As you muster to depart, a slightly rumpled and somewhat bleary Sheila Heidmarch comes to see you off giving you a fatigued smile
"I've found a few things that might assist you. The Shattered Star consists of seven shards each attuned to a different school of Thassilonian Magic, each crafted from a different skymetal. Each also bears a unique curse that can be countered by affixing a specific type of ioun stone, which we've discovered through the Shard you currently have. For the rest, I have an ioun dealer I can put you into contact with. A reminder, though, that less than perfect ioun stones might not be fully capable of counteracting the curse. If I'm able to source an ioun stone through Pathfinder Resources, I'll be sure to make it available to you as a loan."
She continues, "The shards are linked in sequence with each shard pointing the way to one of that shard's oppositional school as defined by Thassilon's schools of magic. In this way you can use the shards themselves as a kind of... map to the next shard. But bear in mind that if someone possesses the Shard of Sloth, they may well be able to use that shard to find their way back around to your Shard of Pride – if indeed the Shard of Sloth is in someone's possession and not hidden away in some long-forgotten vault."
"In any event I've been able to learn the sequence of the remaining five shards along with their associated ioun stones. To completely suppress the curse, you need a perfectly flawless ioun stone. My research shows that flawed or cracked stones will work to a lesser degree although I'm not sure of the specifics," She hands you a hand-scrawled list
"Expect that each shard will have great powers to grant along with its curses. I find it very likely that their powers will at the very least match the shard you carry now."
She smile broadly, and, fatigued as she is, she shows a glimmer of excitement, "I've spent the better part of my time here in Varisia researching the Sihedron as nothing more than a legend. It is simply amazing that we may actually uncover it! Go, now, and find the Shard of Greed."
This is very good to know Sheila. Thank you for your hard work. Excellent research. Knowing a little about such research the Lore Warden is appreciative of her hard work.