Monolith begins here.
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The party returns to the good Doctor Quolorum, delivering his etheric compasses. He eagerly accepts them, his wild, uncombed hair wisping frantically around his head as he bobs it up and down in excitement. "Oh yes.. these will do.. these will do quite fine... You've all done so well, you deserve a good rest... Come back in the morning though, I've another bit of exploration and research for you to undertake, and it really can't wait.. no that wouldn't do at all... but you can't go as you are... you need baths and sleep, I'm sure... Well? What's keeping you!?!" he exclaims excitedly.
After a moment's pause, he goes on: "Off with you now... I've got to work on these compasses and research notes... so hurry now.." He nods toward the door, and rapidly says, "Door. Open door, through door, close door... Sage and Mug doesn't serve dinner all night... "
He turns his attention to the compasses and seems to almost forget the party is still there, expecting them to be gone already. He is obviously so absorbed in his reading of Lady Illirigarde's notes now that he seems unaware of anything else.
*****
At the Sage and Mug, you can get rooms, baths, and a hot meal, and of course drink, strong or mild, as to your taste. The curly-haired, busty halfling serving wench weaves her way through the room with a light step, almost like a well-practiced dance. The stew she serves is hearty, if uninspired, and the yeasty brown bread is hot and fresh, served with butter and honey. The halfling, Mindl, who seems genuinely warm and smiling all the time, is apparently the only server on duty but acts like it's no problem keeping up with orders and refill requests.
The locals frequenting the Sage and Mug eyed you suspiciously when you first entered, but they went back to their quiet conversations and their own affairs after a moment or two. Adventurous travelers aren't common in Dunhob, but this is not your first time at the inn, so they don't pay you TOO much attention.
Mindl spots Mr. Sunshine and breaks into a wide grin... "Why hello, you... what's your name? I bet you'd like something too... I hope that's okay.".... She looks to the party questioningly. "Anyone object if I feed your kitty?" She runs off and gets a small bowl of stew for the kitty, with most of the vegetables removed, so it's just broth and meat, which somehow she's managed to cool off enough for it to be edible. A second bowl, this one filled with cream, is set next to the stew bowl on the end of the bench seat. "There you go, puss-puss... eat up... and tomorrow morning I'll have some fish for you! I promise."
*****
Nothing overt disturbs your slumber that night, but none of you passes a comfortable night either... Strange dreams of tentacled humanoids and little demons that crawl effortlessly on the vertical walls and ceilings of rooms with randomly changing architecture plague your sleep. Still, you each manage to rest well enough to recover spells and abilities.
*****
Morning arrives none too soon. The inn serves a breakfast of warm porridge and the spicy scent of cinnamon buns fills the common room. The buns are served dripping with butter and complement the porridge nicely. Mr. Sunshine indeed gets the promised fish!
*****
After the meal, you head back to see the doctor as per his request. When you arrive, there is a note tacked to the door and no one answers if you knock. The curtains are pulled closed, the shutters drawn and you hear nothing from inside.
Mr. Sunshine headbutts her leg, then dips a paw in the bowl before neatly licking the stew broth off it. "Mrow!"
That will do. You may pet me. Now.
Mindl says, "Awww.. such a cutey-pie and with such good manners too!... she reaches down and rubs Mr. Sunshine behind the ears.. and so soft!"
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Erasmus lights a candle and sits still at one end of the common room.
Even in a sleepy town as this, the inn has seen its share of drunken fights. None would offer a challenge to my dear Nissa.
"Good morning, Nissa. Let us see what another day will bring"
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Erasmus is a young noble from Caliphas, the capital of Ustalav. When the others arrive, he greets them, "Good to meet you all. I expect you are the others Dr. Quolorum hired to investigate the Kellid ruins." he nods sharply at the group, "My name is Erasmus, and I have some sensitivity to occult emanations. I believe I will be of assistance."
Mindl returns to Gulch, despite his gruff manner and speech, with a smile and a large bowl of stew, bigger than anyone else's, and indeed near her maximum capacity to handle safely. She carefully deposits the bowl in front of him... "Here you go! Enjoy!" She places a large spoon by the bowl as well.
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Once the rest of the party returns to the Sage and Mug that evening, Fran comes rushing down to meet you. "There you are! And there's my kitty! I've been worried sick all day," she exclaims as she kneels down and scoops Mr. Sunshine into her arms. "You shouldn't venture away without me! I know everyone here is really strong and brave but what if something had happened and they couldn't have protected you?" she chides, hugging the cat to her briefly before setting him back on the ground. "Try not to do it again, okay?"
With their little reunion out of the way, she turns to the rest of the group and joins them at the table for dinner. "How did it go today at the manor? Were you able to find what Dr. Quolorum was looking for?"
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The next morning, Fran and Mr. Sunshine make their way downstairs to meet the others for breakfast and to see what Dr. Quolorum has in store for them today. She looks up with surprise as a strange man approaches them and introduces himself as Erasmus.
Oh wow, Dr. Quolorum's got all kinds of people working on this doesn't he?
"Um...hi," she responds shyly. "I'm Fran and this is my kitty, Mr. Sunshine. It'll be good to have you come along with us; Dr. Quolorum seems to have all sorts of friends dropping by to join the rest of us on these trips."
Fran also couldn't help but notice that their new arrival was actually rather handsome as well, despite his slightly haggard appearance.
He looks like he's been through something trying recently.
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Once introductions are made and breakfast is had, Fran joins the others as they venture to Dr. Quolorum's room - only to find the note tacked to the door.
"I guess he's really busy working on those compasses you brought back yesterday," she muses. "So it's up to us to go have a look at this monolith place...oh, I hope we don't run into anything too dangerous..."
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Mindl is returning to the table with several bowls as Mathos enters the room. He is neatly dressed and immaculately groomed. He seats himself at the table and waits a little impatiently for Mindl to come and take his order.
Porridge, fresh bread, butter and some ale if you please.
He turns to the party.
I see that we are all gathered here. Shall we go and visit the good doctor and discover what impossible task he has set for us today? Well, once I have broken my fast.
When his breakfast arrives Mathos eats at a stately pace. Once he is finished he waits for the others to finish and be ready to depart.
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Elena looks around the Sage and Mug. Hmm, back to this place again.
in an uncharacteristic bout of almost childish excitement, Gulch bounds to the nearest table, pushing over all in his way, and patiently waits for the biggest bowl of stew the halfing can carry. I' the one thing Go'arian can do r'ght.
Elena pays and eats a serving of the stew and cleans her bowl using a slice of the yeasty brown bread. She occasionally glances over at Rhasuel, is he… humming while he eats?
Once the rest of the party returns to the Sage and Mug that evening, Fran comes rushing down to meet you. "There you are! And there's my kitty! I've been worried sick all day," she exclaims as she kneels down and scoops Mr. Sunshine into her arms. "You shouldn't venture away without me! I know everyone here is really strong and brave but what if something had happened and they couldn't have protected you?" she chides, hugging the cat to her briefly before setting him back on the ground. "Try not to do it again, okay?"
With their little reunion out of the way, she turns to the rest of the group and joins them at the table for dinner. "How did it go today at the manor? Were you able to find what Dr. Quolorum was looking for?”
Elena brightens slightly, ”Yes, we did. We found her tools and her notes.” Elena’s face sobers: Unfortunately the Lady was murdered by her creations, but we served justice to them.” Elena bangs her fists on the table, Will prevail.” Elena picks up her spoon and continues eating like she didn’t just shout across the room.
*****
Elena is early to bed but early to rise. She practices her swordsmanship in the courtyard outside for an hour before breakfast. Entering the tavern, Elena pulls out her signature pink hankie tucked inside her breastpocket and wipes her forehead and neck. ”Morning!” She sits next to anyone already at the table and requests a glass of juice and protein to start her day.
Erasmus is a young noble from Caliphas, the capital of Ustalav. When the others arrive, he greets them, "Good to meet you all. I expect you are the others Dr. Quolorum hired to investigate the Kellid ruins." he nods sharply at the group, "My name is Erasmus, and I have some sensitivity to occult emanations. I believe I will be of assistance."
"Um...hi," she responds shyly. "I'm Fran and this is my kitty, Mr. Sunshine. It'll be good to have you come along with us; Dr. Quolorum seems to have all sorts of friends dropping by to join the rest of us on these trips."
A noble! ”Glad to have you joining us Erasmus. My name is Elena White.” Elena gives a regal bow, ”At your service.”
“I see that we are all gathered here. Shall we go and visit the good doctor and discover what impossible task he has set for us today? Well, once I have broken my fast.”
Elena nods and places a hand on the hilt of her longsword. ”I’m ready to go whenever you all are.”
*****
Elena reads the note tacked on Quolorum’s door twice. She knocks, no answer. ”Well I guess this is all we get. No use standing around waiting on the professor. Let’s head out to this monolith.”
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Mathos looks about at the others as they stand outside the Doctor's office.
Does any of you know anything about this "Monolith". Perhaps someone could ask around for any information that teh locals may have that would be of use to us.
Mathos doesn't want to approach the locals himself. They throw shoes and he doesn't want to get hurt again.
*****
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"I shall speak with a few of the locals. They are my countrymen, after all. Mathos, would you join me? To impress upon them the potential legal ramifications of omitting crucial information."
"The monolith is rumored to have a Kellid burial complex beneath it, though the few villagers brave or foolish enough to venture nearby haven't seen anything more dangerous than a few bugs. As we investigate, we should keep on the lookout for glyphs of great power that are said to be inscribed on the monolith, designed to keep a great evil within that would sweep across the land and lay waste to everything."
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"I shall speak with a few of the locals. They are my countrymen, after all. Mathos, would you join me? To impress upon them the potential legal ramifications of omitting crucial information."
Elena can’t let Eramus handle all the public relations so she follows Eramus and Mathos, and any others to populated areas in the village to talk to the locals.
"Eramus is right," Elena adds lamely.
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Rhasuel waits one a bench made from a plank and two barrels while the kids do the leg work. While he waits he tells a small group of children who gather to see whether their friends were right about the size of his beard a take ali how said beard once held off an entire goblin war party while Rhasuel himself remained asleep.
When the report comes back he dismisses his like gathering and joins the group again. And do you suspect that the rumors of this great evil are true? He asks.
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Elena perks up, "Evil," she seethes, "is everywhere. As members of the Pathfinder Society, we must remain It's more obvious than ever that we must go to this... monolith and eradicate any and all evils should they exist there." Elena stands at her full six-foot-something height and places a hand on the hilt of her longsword. "And, in my opinion, rumors are enough to warrant a visit." Elena looks around at each of her companions, listening for their own opinions.
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The children seem entranced with Rhasuel and his beard... the story of the goblin attack elicits ooohs and aaahs of excitement and a couple of sneers from two older children who just shake their heads in disbelief... One intrepid youngster walks over the Rhasuel and asks "Is your beard really real?" and reaches out and gives it a tug. His eyes grow huge when the beard definitely seems attached to Rhasuel's face. He runs off with the others when Rhasuel shoos them all away but he looks back from a safe distance and flashes Rhasuel a big smile, then runs away. The rest of the children disappear into homes or alleyways in ones and twos and threes...
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Rhasuel is in a much better mood after his children's time. He stares into discs for a moment after asking his question and proceeds to answer himself.
The folks here believe in sprinkling iron shavings in front of the ruins protects you as rye monsters within are compelled to count the filings before chasing you.
Kellid barbarians ruled this land before it was Ustalav, and depending on the tribe, they both worshipped and warded against powerful ancient evils.
When the undead Whispering Tyrant conquered this part of Ustalav, he killed all the living but left many of the ancient Kellid sites untouched. After he was defeated, the Ustalavs reclaimed the land.
Tales tell of a group of Ustalavic nobles who fled deep into the earth through a well below the monolith to escape the Whispering Tyrant - a well that the ancient Kellids knew to be a gateway to evil. After the Whispering Tyrant was defeated in the Shining Crusade, crusaders sealed the well, trapping any surviving nobles below. We should be careful when were out there.
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Determined to try and do her part to help with the preliminary research, Fran heads out into the small village and tries to drum up some information about the ruins that they'll likely be heading to. Although too small for a proper library, Dunhob at least has a small town hall where records of births, deaths, and other important and interesting events are noted.
Unfortunately, she's not able to learn much and is forced to admit as much when the group reconvenes later that morning. "I found mention about the iron shavings in some old notes," she agrees, "but that was about it. I'm so glad that the rest of you had better luck! Mr. Sunshine kept trying to eat the papers, play with the papers, lay on the papers...it was hard for me to get much done."
She bites slightly at her lower lip, clearly thinking on something. "Do you think we should take some iron shavings with us? I mean, that rumor probably isn't true...but it never hurts to be prepared, right?"
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She bites slightly at her lower lip, clearly thinking on something. "Do you think we should take some iron shavings with us? I mean, that rumor probably isn't true...but it never hurts to be prepared, right?"
"I'm not the superstitious type, but I don't know much about the otherworldly." Elena adjusts the strap on her shield. "It couldn't hurt, but where could we procure iron shavings?"
Mindl overhears your conversation, and says in what she hopes is a helpful tone, "The blacksmith, Johnny Warleggan, is just down the road near the edge of town. Folks use metal shavings to ward their homes from evil and fey creatures, and he's always happy to oblige for a very small fee... just pennies for a bag of the stuff."
A short walk down the street brings you to Johnny's smithy, where he admits "I've only got 2 bags of the stuff right now... HOw does three pennies a bag sound?"
The road out of town then leads past an old, unused path to the monolith if you are so inclined to head there now. The way there is overgrown with clingy thorn bushes and weeds, but it is not unpassable. As you approach the barren hillside on which the monolith sits, you can see it even from a distance as it towers above other features of the land here. The ancient Kellid structure is limned in red light as a flash of carmine lightning illuminates it. The flash of light reveals a gaping hole in the slope, looking much like a toothless mouth in the hillside. Several dozen feet away rises a low mound of dirt and loose rock.
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Having decided to quickly go and pick up a bag of the iron shavings (just in case), Fran smiles. "Oh that's fine, sir! Just one bag will do; it wouldn't be very good if we bought the last of your supply and then no one else here could have any," she says as she pays the three copper and hurries back to meet up with the others.
Maybe it's just a story...but even if it is, I'm sure these shavings will come in handy at some point!
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"Oh my...at least it's easy to spot out here?" Fran comments as the group approaches the monument. "Dr. Quolorum wanted us to look for runes or the like, ri..." she stops as Gulch immediately runs ahead to have a look at the hole leading further into the nearby hillside. "Uh, what did he say, Wormling? I couldn't understand a word of that..."
She shakes her head and moves to examine the monument more closely. "Anyway! Runes or glyphs, right? Let's see what we can find, okay kitty?"
Johnny, a youngish man with a mop of brown hair and a gregarious smile, happily sells one of his last bags of iron shavings to Fran, pocketing the coins in his smith's apron as she walks away with her bag. "G'day to ye, Miss... you be careful out there, there's no good to be found in the wilds. Why, our old smith Seb, went out there weeks ago and never returned. It's a dangerous place. I wish ye well."
Anyone examining the monolith does spot some signs carved into it:
Anyone who approaches the monolith and the digging near it:
When nearing the monolith, if you can cast psychic spells:
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Mathos will examine the monolith, inspecting the carvings and runes upon it.
See this right here Mathos indicates a glyph of an eye in an elongated hexagon This is an ancient Kellid glyph of protection called Gorum's Eye. These surrounding it look like protection, stone, grave, pit and evil. Must we enter this place?
He makes a dive for the iron filings. Quick sprinkle me with those shards
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"A protection glyph? Oh dear," Fran responds, glancing nervously around. "Here, there should be enough iron shavings for anyone that wants some," she says as she passes the small bag to Mathos. "We just might want to be sure to give our clothes a good shake later to get them all out."
"And it looks like we don't have much other choice but to see what's in the hole," she sighs. "Back in Dunhob their current blacksmith told me that their old one, Seb, came out this way and never came back...so we should probably be ready for trouble," she adds as she edges close to Erasmus.
Fran looks in the bag and notes is at least half full of iron shavings... indeed enough for everyone if they all want some.
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Elena follows her companions to the area and takes an assessing glance around the area. She doesn't have the skills required to really be of use while they explore the ruins.
“See this right here” Mathos indicates a glyph of an eye in an elongated hexagon “This is an ancient Kellid glyph of protection called Gorum's Eye. These surrounding it look like protection, stone, grave, pit and evil. Must we enter this place?”
Rhasuel's disapproval'o'meter starts tapping rather rapidly. “Let's get it done, then. The faster the better.”
“Let's get this over with.”
“If evil resides here, perhaps I should go first,” Elena nobly offers. ”Does anyone have a light?” What I lack in knowledge, I'll make up in bronze!
Elena pulls out her longsword and holds up her shield for protection. Elena cautiously approaches the area, making sure her companions aren't too far behind her.
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Erasmus approaches the monument after others have a chance to look around. He puts both hands on the stone, closes his eyes, and spends a minute focusing on the psychic impressions left in this area.
"I can sense fearful determination from the Kellids who built this. It is as though they needed its power to keep whatever lived below from emerging."
The recently-dug tunnel leads northward into an actual hallway that goes both east and west... HOwever as soon as you get into the hallway proper, you can see that to the west, the passage turns to the northwest where it is choked with fallen rubble... it would take weeks, at the very least, to clear, and looks like it hasn't been disturbed in a very long time. To the east, the hallway extends for some distance.
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"Here, I'll light a torch for now and then when we have some magical light we can just pass the torch to the back so we'll have some light there," Fran offers as she takes a moment to dig into her pack and pull out a torch and some flint and steel to light it with. Moments later the torch flares to life and Fran moves up to stand behind Elena.
"I can hold it for now unless you think someone else should," she explains softly. Erasmus' words had only served to add to her growing trepidation about entering the narrow hole in the hillside but she knew she needed to be brave.
"Ready, Mr. Sunshine?" she whispers.
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Mr. Sunshine comes in, tail iup and in the air. He makes no sound but the soft pad of his paws. His ears pricked, he looks around, ready for anything.
Ready? I was born ready.
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”Thank you allies – for the light.” Elena commends Fran and The Herold. ”Please follow closely so that I may have vision of whatever may lay ahead.”
Elena continues to progress deeper into the cave(?) cautiously taking one step at a time since the closest light source is behind her. Elena has her shield raised and her sword at alert.