GM Aeon's The Wounded Wisp (Table 2)

Game Master d'Eon

Ignia, there is no response to your knocking.

"Haha! He's got quite an illusion set up." The undine chuckles. "It looks like he's on his chair, tipping his hat, but it's obvious he hasn't opened the door."

She walks up to Ignia, making sure she's visible. "No one's home." <Amusement>

"Anyone good at discreetly breaking into apartments? Usually one of my crewmen- I mean, teammates would handle this."

"He tipped his hat, just as if he saw me, but he made no move to leave the room and get the door. He doesn't LOOK like a recluse or anything... and obviously isn't getting his news, though I see no signs of any letters or mail piled up... Maybe we should go in and get to the root of whatever's going on here."

Before encouraging B&E though, Gribbl goes to the front door and shouts into it. "Mr Fembrik... Come to the door please!"

If no answer is forthcoming, he'll back away and nods in agreement with Aquavius. "I think we need to break in to find the truth here."

I could break the door, but it would hardly be discreet.

Aquavius shrugs.

Ignia purses her lips at the overstuffed mail slot, "It appears that no one has been home for quite some time, now. I'd rather exhaust our other options before resorting to brute force. A locksmith might have a skeleton key available, but they can be somewhat expensive." A skeleton key is 85gp

If anyone has a faction pin, they could attempt a Disable Device check as if they were trained

Crixus casually moves Aquavius to the side while hoping he isnt about to make a fool of himself.

"Stand aside watch the master at work"

Strength Check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Hope that works otherwise...

Steward sits astride his magnificent steed as the others discuss the door. The mare seems to be eyeing Ignia, but Steward pats the horse's neck.

"What do you think, Banshee? Bash the door down? The gnome could need some help, right?"

"Heh. Good job, master locksmith." Aquavius pats Crixus on the iron-plated shoulder and peeks inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Ignia sighs and keeps an eye on the street for any authorities. She ignores the horse, but keeps her distance.

He probably can't hear me through that helmet. We'll just put things back together before we leave. Why did I buy a potion and not a skeleton key?

"What do you see in there?"

A large sofa sits awkwardly near the entrance, facing toward the center of the room. Sets of chairs and tables are arranged throughout, and statues of grandiose gnomes occupy the corners of the room.

Aquavius takes a look around. "Huh. Not a lot of dust in here. The couch and the carpet look new. Obviously no one's lived here for years. Maybe this is a dead end-"

The undine's eyes stop when she looks under the couch. "Huh. There's an old Summoning Circle underneath the couch." She steps around the circle. "Try not to step in it. I've heard tales of nasty things happening if you do, like getting trapped with a devil or getting thrown into the plane of air, that kind of thing."

Ignia follows Aquavius's lead, stepping around the summoning circle. "This place is very clean, for being unused."

Eyeing the disorganized state of the mail slot she asks, "Where do you think he would keep his contact book?"

"Usually the office, or the bedroom. People always keep their goods there." <Joy>

"Well, let's start searching then." Starts moving around the room, looking here first... then off to find an office if there's nothing here...

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Crixus follows behind Ignia his massive tower shield kept very close as Crixus begins to slowly slide past the summoning circle Aquavius points out.

"I'll keep an eye out as best I can for this gnome, hopefully you can know what we need to find when you see it."

Steward dismounts his spirited mare and follows the others into the house.

"Of course I didn't talk to her!" he says to his horse as he starts looking around.

"Good gnome! I say, we're here to check on your welfare, and are sorry about your door."

You find no sign of the gnome, and all signs point to the home as having been vacant for some time. The basement is crammed full of piles of old newspapers, and the furniture and carpet bear no obvious signs of wear.

Poking around the meeting room in the north-east corner of the house, you do find a note scrawled in scribbly handwriting.

On the window sill you also find a pair of potion vials. You can attempt to identify them by giving them a taste and making a Perception check for each.

"That little-" Aquavius grins after reading the note. "Well, we got some more clues. And some treasure." She dips her finger into each potion, tasting a sip.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

"Huh. Fruity. Like rum. Lacks the same kick, though."

Once everyone has a chance to search, she says "Where to next? Gribbl wanted to look in the mausoleum."

Ignia swirls the vials and smells each delicately.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15
Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19

"Hmm, that's cherry, I believe. This second one will restore body or mind from the damaging effects of poisons or curses." lesser restoration

"Let's go to the houses of the dead, then. We may find more about where these missing reports are hidden."

"And after the mausoleum, we can go to the wall of names since we have a clue leading us there as well.. "

"Sounds like a plan..." Steward says, then goes to explain it to Banshee.

Crixus nods once. "Agreed, perhaps the mausoleum will give more clues to go by."

Details left by Selmius Foster indicate the location of Arkath’s burial site: a plot of land in Eastgate operated by the Sarenites. Buried in a mausoleum on the church’s property, Arkath paid a substantial sum to have his remains guarded. A fence surrounds the necropolis grounds, and although members of the faith and city guards routinely patrol the property, it is still legal to enter the grounds to respect the departed.

As you enter the necropolis, a woman garbed in the vestments of Sarenrae calls out to you, her scimitar already drawn. "Halt, who goes there? Why do you trespass on these grounds?"

"Hi! I'm Gribbl, and my friends and I have come to pay our respects to the dead... we are from the Pathfinder Society, and mean no harm to people here, or the remains of the deceased."

Oh yeah, I assume you have your horse with you Steward.

The priestess frowns. "The Society? Graverobbers more likely, and in the company of a beast!" She points her sword at Abdul. "Who exactly are you here to pay respects to, and how do you know them?"

Gribbl, make a Diplomacy check. Anyone can attempt the following check.

sense motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Gribbl notices nothing out of the ordinary... but he does note her attitude is unfriendly and does his best to mollify her.

"We are NOT graverobbers... I assure you... We are simply here to observe and report, as all pathfinders are SUPPOSED to do."

diplo: 1d20 ⇒ 4 oops

sense motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Crixus halts in with the rest of the group and very slowly drifts toward the front. His massive tower shield held loosely in front of him and his sword remains drawn despite the priestess's aggressive approach.

I'll wait to see if anyone else can calm her down before she reacts to Gribbl's attempt.

Id roll for it but with a -2 modifier im not liking my chances and id rather leave this in a recoverable state then a complete loss if roll and get a 2

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19 Arrr, I can't wait for next level.

"Beast? Whoa, whoa. Steward here brushes his teeth twice a day, and bathes regularly!" Aquavius makes a joke at horse whisperer's expense, hoping to calm the woman down.

"Like my friend said here, we're here to respect the dead. We're on official Pathfinder business, and we're here to observe and respect Arkath. Now put that sword down."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15 Now, if I had to intimidate...

The peace of the Dawnflower be unto you, guardian. It is true, we are Pathfinders sent to unravel a mystery of the past whose clues rest with one here.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Going to use my folio reroll.

"We can show you if you like. To see what we know so that you know our purpose is not a lie."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 1 = 24

"Yeah, we're not grave-robbers," Steward says from astride his magnificent beast.

He strokes Banshee's neck as the steed eyes the Sarenite with malice.

sense motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

"Say...isn't a follower of the Dawnflower supposed to be a lot nicer than this? Helpful, even? Maybe you're the grave-robber...if you really followed that religion, I don't think you'd talk to us like this..."

Well Abdul, you should be proud of yourself. You talked down someone who despises orcs.

The priestess still keeps her sword out, but doesn't move towards you. "Oh, the beast can speak. I thought you lot preferred to eat fresh corpses." She frowns at Steward, "I am Onyeka, priestess of Sarenrae. I will ask you again, who are you here to see?"

"Did I not say Arkath? Because I did say we're here to see 'im." Aquavius takes a curious look at the woman. "And watch your tongue. You can't throw around words like that on people you just met."

Aquavius takes a step forward. "So then, who are you here to see? Or do you just enjoy spitting at Orcs?"

"I would assume she is the caretaker of this graveyard. Now, could you please direct us to Arkath's tomb?"

Ignia watches the conflict in mute horror.

Crixus stands at a loose attention his massive shield up but not held totally in front of him to avoid appearing more aggressive then he already is.

"You may join us if you wish, there is no need to spill blood this day."

Onyeka grits her teeth and sheathes her weapon. "The Dawnflower does counsel compassion and respect, even for orcs. Follow me, and I'll keep an eye on you while you pay your respects. No grave robbing, or you will answer for it." As she turns her back to open the tomb, you notice a few doves landing on the roof.

The interior of the stonemason's tomb is rather barren except for his skeleton. You do notice that there is something in the corpse's mouth.

Gribbl, being short, doesn't mess with the skeleton because he likely can't reach it without climbing, but he does nudge Steward and whispers... "There's something in it's mouth... "

Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 Oh come on

"See? No biggie." Aquavius shrugs and enters the mausoleum. "There's nothing to steal from here, anyway."

Gribbl informs her that is not true, and she can't help but chuckle. "I'll give you guys some time to look around."

Perform(Oratory): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
"Say, Onyeka. You're a Dawnflower, riight? You ever hear of the tale of the Frontier Dawnflowers versus the Swamp Goblins of Osiris? The flowers were trying to build a new temple in the far off realms. Little did they know the swamplands there were full of flammable oil. The goblins in a nearby swamp, though, treated the oil like gold, and the Dawnflowers as thieves. So began the hundred year rivalry."

I'm using Perform to distract her. If I can't use that, my Bluff check is a +2, giving me a roll of 12.

In that case, while the woman is distracted, Gribble will climb up the side of the slab and using the distraction as cover, not to mention the intervening bodies of his fellow pathfinders who are grouped around the body, he removes whatever is in the mouth and examines it without disturbing the skeleton any more than absolutely necessary.

stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 (plus any bonuses for distraction/cover)

Know(religion): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 whelp

Ignia watches Aquavius's words with fascination.

Perform(dance): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Picking up the rhythm to the undine's words, she does a little dance to herself.

know religion: 1d20 ⇒ 4

"Hey look...doves," Steward says.

Crixus shifts in place idly trying his best to keep his hand off his sword.

knowledge religion: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (17) - 2 = 15 super lucky...Im scared now

"Wait aren't doves a sign of sarenrae's favor? Who is Sarenrae showing favor to?"

Onyeka listens rather grumpily to your tale, Aquavius. "Yes, yes, are you done yet? You never did say how you were related to this man."

Gribbl, you find a small golden coin placed in Arkath's mouth. Just then Onyeka spots you and pushes Aquavius put of the way. "I hope you aren't thinking of taking that! What exactly is your purpose here, and no more half truths please!" She stands in front of the tomb exit and taps her foot.

Sarenrae is pleased with you and Onyeka. The priestess is a bit angry for a Sarenite, and Sarenrae figured you guys could be a test of her patience. Since no one came to blows, the goddess is pleased. It doesn't have any effect other than warm fuzzies. More of an explanation for the cleric's odd behaviour.

Gribbl, seeing as he's been spotted, stays on the slab and squats, examining the coin, both sides, committing the images to memory as best he can, which probably isn't very good. "Not planning on taking it, no. That would be kind of sacrilegious. Just examining it to try to discover it's meaning and why it would be in the skeleton's mouth." He shows it to the others so that they can examine it too...

perception on coin if nec: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

"Pfft. I gotta be related to the guy to pay respects?" Aquavius shrugs. This woman's logic confused her, but her ship mates often got sentimental back on the ahip. Nonetheless, this woman's patience was clearly running out. So it was time to defuse this using the best weapon: the truth.

"If you want to know the details, though: we're here because Arkath too a secret with him to the grave. A secret that may lead us to a clue to the last whereabouts of one of our own Pathfinders. He was pretty legendary, and before he died he left a note telling us Arkath may have a clue. My plan was to peek inside, take a look for a clue and be on our way."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

"So, we good? Can we take a look and be on our way?"

Assuming the ornery priestess calms down, Aquavius take a good, long look at the coin.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Ignia casts detect magic on the coin.

"This might be the clue we are looking for."

Aquavius, you do manage to calm Onyeka down again. "Pathfinders, always sticking their noses into other people's business. Do as you must, but please, do not take anything from the crypt if you can help it."

Ignia, you sense a faint aura of magic, which then focuses on the coin itself.