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You all gather yourself outside the Overflow Archives, one of the Grand Lodge’s outbuildings, at the request of the Master of Scrolls, Kreighton Shane. Kreighton Shane however is not alone, Paracountess Zarta Draineen, and an inexperience looking fella, he clearly is one of you as he has a wayfinder visible in his upper right pocket.
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A man strides into the room, wearing well appointed and fitted clothes of the latest style. A red and black blazer with white necktie beneath, carry a slight backpack over his shoulder. Once he sees who's in the room his posture straightens and demeanor gets a bit more serious.
"Ms Draineen, Mr Shane, I had no idea! My apologies for my state of dress. I was told to report here to help catalog some iiiiitems." He forces himself to stop stammering and regroups. "How can I be useful?"
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Looks lie Kreighton Shane is lost in thought and has not really taken account of your arrivals. “I have no love of puns,” announces a peeved Kreighton Shaine, the Master of Scrolls in the Grand Lodge, “Yet it cannot go unremarked that the Overflow Archives have begun living up to their name.” The pale elf gestures across the library’s stone lobby toward a pair of shut double doors from beneath which water steadily seeps. He is only one of the midnight visitors bearing witness to this disaster.
Next to Shaine, Paracountess Zarta Dralneen stands with folded arms, glaring at an initiate whose hair and clothes are utterly drenched. All three speak at once, but Shaine’s shrill voice rises above the din. “Magical shenanigans in the archives are prohibited, especially this soon before the Grand Convocation!”
“Let us prioritize,” Dralneen suggests. “Are the artifacts within the vaults in danger?”
“How should I know?” Shaine barks back. “This delinquent initiate— what was the name? Wormell?”
“Virml, sir,” replies the sodden Pathfinder.
“Virml says he sneaked into the archives on a dare,” summarizes Shaine, painfully emphasizing the initiate’s name with scolding disdain. “Presumably, he thought the holdings would be harmless. Instead, in his naivete, Virml triggered some dormant curse or other. So, yes, thanks to Virml here, the archives and the vaults below continue to flood, threatening all the books therein.”
Miserably, Virml holds up an armload of soggy manuscripts. “I salvaged a few, sir.”
Sighing, Shaine leads Virml towards the stairs. “Take them up to the scriptorium. Start making dry copies.” Then, turning to survey the rest of the room, he continues issuing orders. “The remainder of you should wade in there and plumb the origins of this deluge. Stop it, if you can. I must report this debacle to my colleagues and begin organizing the cleanup.” Abruptly, he seems to notice the paracountess for the first time. “What are you doing here, Dralneen?”
Zarta smirks and shrugs. “Unlike you, Shaine, I love a good pun.”
All three NPCs look like their in a hurry to leave, you better ask them questions before they dart!
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A blonde, tall young woman wearing a brand new breastplate and some weapons enters the room, and stops when she spots the elf.
She seems impressed by Kreighton Shaine, but keeps away from the Paracountess.
I was asked to come as quickly as possible. Fortunatly, I was only a few streets away, in the Blue... Rabbit? Mermaid? I don't remember the name of the tavern, and I guess it's not that important! Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Drusilla. But everyone calls me Dru. So, what can I do to help? Get down in the flooded vaults and secure some particular items? Try to find where the water comes from and build a dam? Do we have any clue about where the water come from?
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Virml feebly volunteers that he rescued a few texts before Shaine interrupts. “Don’t waste your time with the individual pieces. You must arrest the flood at its source—or reverse it, if possible.”
Shaine reports, “Our delinquent initiate here is vague on the details. But clearly, some unclassified item in there must have borne a well-concealed curse that created the water.”
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Hanlin taps his chin as he listens to the goings on between Shane and Dru.
"Reversing a curse you say? If I do say so, and I think I remember correctly... aren't curses reversed or nullified with high level spells? Are either of you going to be casting the required spells? Or is there a scroll I could try using when we find this likely problem?"
Next time I believe I need to choose my missions more wisely... dealing with a water leak is much more the work of a lowly plumber than a respected merchant!
"Umm another question... are there any tall water proof boots available? I just bought these shoes and would hate to ruin the leather."
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You do not recognise what curse this could be however, if it is even a "curse".
Kreighton Shaine in his upset mood is about to make a comment but the Paracountess steps in before he says antyhing. "Surely, the pathfinders are capable to stop this without any worry, find the source first. Unfortunately you'll need more that water proof boots to keep your feet dry." Giving you some indication of how deep the water could possibly be.
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"Apparently Pathfinders are prone to getting cursed. Just a few months ago our team helped Skelg the Ripper escape a freezing curse," taking a momentary pause to ponder, while idly tapping the end of his paintbrush against his lips, "although too bad we couldn't harness that to assist here. Freezing the overflow would at least buy us some time."
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Hanlin nods in agreement with Dru. "Yes. Tell us all you know. Don't leave out a detail, it could save a life." Hanlin gives him a smile.
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Virml's attitude doesn't improve, however he does respond.
Virml sheepishly relates, “I…I merely picked up a wee scroll, read part of it aloud for fun— some kind of riddle about birds and fish? And then it flew to bits in my hand, and I caught the quickest glimpse of a handsome man…and then ker-sploosh! I washed out here!”
Virml sheepishly produces a dripping fragment of a scroll. Shaine snatches the parchment and hands it over, saying “It appears to be one of the rhymes from The Name of the Fox. It’s an odd little scroll of Varisian doggerel, scripted in Sylvan. There’s nothing remarkable about it—” “Nothing until now, perhaps?” quips Zarta Dralneen.
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A thin slate-skinned tiefling opens the door to the room. His appearance is alien, even compared to common tiefling features, as if an offspring of a daemon or distant plane creature. His head is a thinnish oval tapering at the top and chin, pointed nose and ears, almost fey-like thin lips, serpent eyes with nictitating membrane completes the unsettling look.
Before stepping across the room's threshold, he tightens his clasping grip of the strangely tailored oiled-cloak then pauses before the footfall like a cautious cat making sure the room is safe. Turning back to look at the entry door, he takes a backward step out of the room, looks around the door frame, scratches something on it, then steps back in the room.
"1,052", he quietly says wistfully to himself and sounding almost apologetic to the attendees.
"I am Sigias of the Freelea-, he stutters, -of the Dark Archive."
~~~
After the mission is explained and the man questioned, he leans towards the other Pathfinders, including Kreighton and Dralneen, whispers, "This berk is more clueless than a Clueless.
He takes the parchment from Shaine and waves in cantrip over it.
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The Parchment is indeed magical, however it is beyond anyones ability in the room to understand what type of magic it holds.
Virml gleefully explains to Velinov what the handsome man looks like, Velinov sketches a kitsune, wearing fine clothing, he looks matured, with a little white hair on him, with experienced eyes a white fur moustache.
Virml feebly volunteers that he rescued a few texts before Shaine interrupts. “Don’t waste your time with the individual pieces. You must arrest the flood at its source—or reverse it, if possible. We've not invesitaged the extent of the damage, but I highly doubt you'll need to breath underwater”
Zarta Dralneen answers in respond to the archives, “Oh, they are merely an annex of Master Shaine’s vast libraries. Specifically, this is where he stows the oddities he doesn’t know what else to do with.” Kreighton Shaine frowns at the blunt admission and begins to relate that the building was once a temple dedicated to Desna before it collapsed and the Pathfinders built the Grand Lodge, but Dralneen chides him after a sentence or two, claiming this is no time for a longwinded history lesson.
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Hanlin starts to look a bit agitated at the situation, looking frequently to his fine new shoes. "So I'm making the assumption that this soggy fellow here is going to be assisting us in cleaning up HIS mess? We're going to need a gopher to trudge through flooded rooms and reach into murky water." He glares at the man who's about to ruin his day.
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Hanlin believes that Virml is just a very careless delinquent, does not sense any hidden motives.
Virml is about to feebly reply when the Master of Scrolls intercepts, "He's done enough damages for one day, he's punishment is to copy every single soaked parchment. Bring whatever you find to him in the scriptorium."
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The half elf who spoke up slouches in a corner of the room, appearing gloomy and unkempt with messy dark hair. He is garbed in studded leather armor, with various assortments and tools about his person. On his back a single scabbard lies horizontally, with a blade hilt on each end. He has been listening to the questioning the whole time with a bored expression, but finally speaks up again.
"Time is of the essence here. Is there anything else you can think of or aid you can provide before we head off?"
While he speaks, Eraith tries to get a sense of the people in the room...
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Something is wrong here.. Maybe it's all this talk about water, cause I smell a fish..
Dru looks at the Paracountess and "Virml", growing suspicious of the man.
Then she looks at the portrait, and puts herself near the door
Thats a wonderful drawing, man. I hope you'll have time after this mission to draw a portrait of myself. I must say I am impressed too Virml, by your memory and attention to detail. I wouldn't be able to describe someone so accurately if i only catched a "glimpse" of him. It's almost as if you knew this fox-man from a long time...Care to explain?
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The doors of the archives are opened to you by Master Kreighton Shaine, he points the delinquent pathfinder to the stairs on the east of you as you enter the place, there's not much to see here save some shelves with scrolls, and a giant mahogany door where water is seeping from underneath. You open the door to reveal the main library.
This spacious library is a damp catastrophe. A lake of dark water clogged with books, scroll cases, and a few overturned shelves obscures the floor. Steps descend into the brine from the western doors, while at the far north end of the room a spiral staircase rises from the water to a mezzanine above. The same metal staircase must descend into a basement below as well, for the water there burbles downward in a dark, lazy whirlpool.
There is a small drain on the west of the room, near the entrance, it seems to be clogged with papers/scrolls
In the distance, near the spiral staircase, you notice two figures on a makeshift boat, created by one of the shelves in this area nonetheless, they look to be fishing?
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[dice=sense motive, Alertness feat]1d20+2
Something is wrong here.. Maybe it's all this talk about water, cause I smell a fish..
Dru looks at the Paracountess and "Virml", growing suspicious of the man.
Then she looks at the portrait, and puts herself near the door
Thats a wonderful drawing, man. I hope you'll have time after this mission to draw a portrait of myself. I must say I am impressed too Virml, by your memory and attention to detail. I wouldn't be able to describe someone so accurately if i only catched a "glimpse" of him. It's almost as if you knew this fox-man from a long time...Care to explain?
"Certainly, although we'll have to find a different location. This backdrop doesn't really suit someone of your profession. Although I must protest any desire for a portrait while horseback. I find the convention so Chelaxian and uncreative."
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"M'lady...", Sigias bows offers a ghost hand to Dralneen as she exits. After she leave, he shudders, No blades but almost as scary.
"Well-", he addresses the Pathfinders, "The man said plumb, so let's plumb." He follows Bokkah into the water, then steps onto the other floating shelf nearby for a closer look at the figures. "Anyone seen a fox swimming by?"
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Before entering the library, the Paracountess pulls aside her faction members for a little pep talk.
“The Dark Archive thrives by the good graces of the Decemvirate and Ambrus Valsin, yet I can tell that some still doubt our ability to handle truly dangerous relics and the rare disaster like this. As a result, there remain many storerooms barred to our comprehensive study, including the Overflow Archives—until today, that is. It is critical that you minimize the damage to these archives and do so in as professional a manner as possible. If I can demonstrate that my agents are capable and trustworthy, we may win permission to study the truly mysterious treasures beneath the Grand Lodge.”
She shrugs and smiles before continuing. “That said, I know that there is more than junk beyond those doors. I’ve heard that someone squirreled away a copy of The Darklands Precepts somewhere in there, and it’s far too dangerous a tome to leave lying about. Get it out of there and return it to me, no matter what excuse Shaine might make to toss it back in the pile.”
As you approach the figures, you notice that they don't look like normal creatures, they can only be described as medium sized creatures wearing grey and green light armor, they have grand wings, and one of them has the head of an owl, and the other one, an albatross!
Prior to your approach, you hear them bickering with each other, over a scroll. "Hey I caught that! This should be mine!" the owl bickers.
"YEAH, but I saw it first! You didn't even notice it!" Rebukes the albatross.
You recognized these creatures as Gathlains.
According to some fey ballads, gathlains were one of the first peoples awakened in the primal world of fey. They were created from the seeds of an enormous magical tree, with the tree’s mistletoe grown into their flesh forming their strange wings.
Mischievous and capricious, these creatures have discordant temperaments. They act purely to entertain themselves and sate their immense curiosity about the world around them. That very curiosity has caused many to migrate to the Material Plane and adventure there. These gathlains seek out and attempt to mingle with gnomes. However, gnomes often find gathlains too undisciplined, random, and foolish for their tastes.
As the party approaches them, they both stop bickering towards each other and take out their anger on you! Hey Hey! Don't come any closer! You're spoiling our spot, you'll chase away our fish!" They start waving their fishing spear and rods angrily at you!
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Wow wow wow... Calm down. We have absolutely no interest into taking your fishes away.. We're here for another matter, and we could even be helpful to each other. We've been asked to put an end to this flood. So if we manage to do that, the water will go, and you will be able to pick the fishes right on the ground... What do you think?
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Hanlin bows to the Lady and Master as the leave, sending the miserable wretch that got him into this along with them. Once the door is opened and the small lake of water revealed a look of increasing horror crosses his face. What did I do to deserve this...
Seeing the two odd creatures on the 'raft' he gets a puzzled look on his face. "Odd seeing a couple of erratic fey here, but I suppose this whole thing is some big wet joke to someone." He clears his throat in an attempt to gain their attention. "Why don't you two love birds point us towards the source of all this water otherwise 'spear lady' here is going to steal your spot from you."
So far Hanlin has avoided getting into any water.
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The albatross and owl cowers in fear, with the owl speaking back. "Hey man! not cool. Just chill OK? It's coming from up there." He points at the spiral staircase behind him. Almost as if by fate, a spurt of a large volume of water flows down from the steps of the staircase, as if like a waterfall, but stops after half a minute.
The albatross gives a stink eye to Hanlin, but stays quiet.
x10
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There was no need to be rude...
Dru tries to get back into the odd creatures goodwill
so you are feys? I've never meet feys before. You think my spear could help you catching fishes? I'd gladly give it to you both, if you promise me not to argue about who will use it first. Take turns with the spear, and I hope you'll catch plenty of fishes
Dru gives her spear to the man-birds, in the least threatening way possible, winking.
I called my spear "Britney". Ho, while we are here, may I ask you a little something? We're looking for a fox man. One of my companions
she points at Velinov
has draw a magnificent portrait of the fox-man we're seeking. Have you ever seen him around, per chance??
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They both look at other in confusion. "Cross? We're both angry if that's what you mean. But my name is Sweet, and my albatross friend here is Dude."
"Yeah, we are Feys I guess, it's cool, we have plenty of fishing gear." Holding up a spear and a fishing rod of their own, proudly.
After taking a look at the portrait drawn.
"OH THAT GUY! The smarty pants dog-cat. Yeah he was here a while ago, he spoilt our fish and went down the fishing hole!" He points to the lazy whirlpool around the spiral staircase.
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Still standing on the raft, Sigias pushes off the pillars towards the birds, "Ssso you'd say he was a fox in disguise" He holds out the fragment parchment and shows it to them asking, "What do you make of this doggerel?"
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