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Sirius is unaffected by the imp's poison. Voarima and Sirius both take swings at the imp, but it's so small that it evades their attacks.
[ooc]Remember that Bless is active. With this thing's AC, you'll need the help to hit it.
Round 2 (go if bolded)
Orin - Preparing weapon
Osamu - Move and search
Sirius - Hide dagger
Davor - Readied sling (miss)
Voarima - Readied chakram (hits for 3 HP)
Devil (-3 HP) - Appears and attacks Sirius
Gunthur
Round 3 (go if bolded)
Orin - Still preparing weapon
Osamu
Sirius (-3 HP) - Attack with silver dagger and miss
Davor
Voarima - Attack with short sword and miss
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"Well then, the box is yours. Take it back to Ambrus with my complements. But I don't suppose any of you would like to stay and help me keep my bedroom from getting too tidy when the servants clean up?"
It takes Sirius a second to figure out what Zarta's insinuating.
"Paracountess, in my line of work, I pride myself on leaving things as tidy as I find them. The room, that is...." He gives her a wink.
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You make your way to the rich estate of Grand Councilmember Dremdhet Salhar, and are greeted by a guard who is expecting them as they reach the tall, wrought-iron gate. Once inside, a servant tells the group Salhar is not present, called away on important Council business, but his most trusted advisor is available to negotiate any business they may require. The servant explains this while leading the group down well decorated hallways, past expansive rooms.
After a few minutes, the group arrives at a simple study near the end of a long hallway. Inside Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, a tan-skinned old man sits behind a desk flipping through pages in a large tome. Scraps of paper jut from the book marking over two dozen different places. As the group approaches the open door, the wise sage silently gestures the PCs into the study with one thin hand, while closing the tome with the other after finishing what he was reading.
“Good day to you, Pathfinders. I am Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, advisor to Master Salhar. I understand you were sent here to discuss archaeological permissions. Knowing this was coming, I spoke with Master Salhar at length on the subject and have this to say. ”
“Since Osirion was reopened to exploration a decade ago, adventurers, historians, and treasure-seekers flock to my country by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. While most families with ancestral burial vaults maintain guards and keep their sites out of the hands of casual thieves, not all families have the wealth or power to restrict everyone, and as we all know, not every defense is perfectly secure. Unscrupulous tomb robbers and maligned merchant organizations cause Osirion to bleed relics into the Inner Sea—something the descendents of Ancient Osirion cannot afford. We Osiriani have thousands of years of rich history coursing through our veins, and while that power has been out of focus in recent years, we are content to wait, knowing our enemies will wear themselves down. As they fall into arrogance, folly, or greed, we wait for our return to power, knowing we bear the riches of our ancestors at our feet. ”
“Master Salhar remains impressed by the Pathfinder Society, orating in their favor a handful of times in front of Absalom’s Grand Council, in fact. Due to previous relationships between him and the Society, Master Salhar has agreed to grant permission to the Pathfinder Society to explore his family’s vaults below Sothis. The only thing he requires is that you retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here. The servant will lead you to the basement and show you the room.”
The Sapphire Sage’s eyes twinkle as he smirks knowingly, then he turns back to reading his book as though he had never been disturbed.
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Voarima raises an eyebrow at the Chelish's remark of "staying".
We have other business to attend to as she walks out and down the street.
She wonders what the next 'issue' will be.
She walks into another plush house.
Holy crap?! Does everybody have AND flaunt their wealth?
So, all we need to do is grab the map. Easy-peezy, but that does raise a question. What is guarding the map, because last time we had to fight something called an "imp". Little devilish bastard got what he deserved though
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The servant leading you to the basement overhears your concerns, and smiles just a bit, rolling his eyes, but remains silent.
He brings the group back through the spacious estate, leading you down sturdy stone steps into the cool basement. Down a hallway, after a couple turns, the party ends up at a plain wooden door. The servant unlocks and opens the door, gesturing to the room with a bow, and waits silently for you to enter.
The plain stone room contains three chests: a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood; a red lacquered chest; and what looks to be a cube of solid steel. Behind the chests sits a low table holding a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket.
Once you all enter the room, the servant shuts the door and locks it behind you. Written on the back of the door is the message: “Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.”
Visual aid to keep track of the items you’re dealing with:
- [1] Copper banded chest
[2] Red lacquered chest
[3] Cube of solid steel
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid
[5] Covered wicker basket
What do you do?
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She enters, reluctantly after she doesn't get any response, he hand at her side ready to grab her shortsword just in case. As she hears the door lock behind her, she curses at in Elven.
Ughhh. Picking locks is not in my repertoire. I am gonna look at the chests, while you formulate a plan m
She goes up to the copper banded chest and looks it over.
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Voarima examines the copper banded chest. It's made of smooth wood, and has a keyhole, but there's nothing particularly interesting about it.
Sirius attempts to pick the lock on the same chest, but he can't seem to get his lockpicks to latch on to any of the inner workings to unlock it.
Giving up on that one temporarily, Sirius moves on to the red chest. This smooth, red lacquered chest looks devious. The solid metal plate surrounding the gaping keyhole pulses with glowing amber runes. Sirius tries and fails to pick the lock.
- [1] Copper banded chest - Sirius unable to lockpick
[2] Red lacquered chest - Sirius unable to lockpick
[3] Cube of solid steel
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid
[5] Covered wicker basket
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Sirius looks at his lockpicks with a reproachful expression. "Well, THAT was embarrassing."
His attention then turns to the mysterious metal cube. "And what secrets do you hold, hmm?"
He gingerly attempts to pick it up, and not so much shake it as roll it about in his hands, to get some inkling of what may be inside.
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Orin examines the 5 containers and shrugs. "Not my bailiwick, you know? Still I suppose I can try to help... " He walks over to the glass jar and examines it carefully... picks it up and pours out the liquid in a corner of the room, carefully in case there is a key in it, he doesn't want to decant that with the water. Once all the water is out, he'll check for a key, both in the jar and on the floor...
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Sirius examines the metal cube closely. This steel cube has only the faintest crack where its lid meets the base, and would be completely featureless save for its narrow keyhole.
Osamu and Orin both get the idea of checking out the jar. This gallon-sized clear glass jar is about half full with clear liquid. At the bottom of the vessel sits a jeweled brass key that you couldn't see until you got closer.
Orin carefully pours the liquid out of the jar in a corner of the room. Unfortunately, some of the liquid splashes on to him as it hits the floor, and he finds out the hard way that it's acidic.
For his trouble, Orin manages to successfully recover the jeweled brass key from the bottom of the jar.
Items in the room (bolded still left to deal with):
- [1] Copper banded chest - Sirius unable to lockpick
[2] Red lacquered chest - Sirius unable to lockpick
[3] Cube of solid steel - Examined, has a keyhole
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid - DONE - Recovered jeweled brass key
[5] Covered wicker basket
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Gunthur taps the pair of chests with his weapon. He confirms that the red lacquered chest is just wood with a coating of resinous varnish, so he could probably break it open the hard way, though you don't know if that would damage the contents.
Surprisingly, he becomes convinced that the copper banded chest isn't actually there, and his weapon passes right through it unhindered. No wonder Sirius's lockpicks couldn't touch it the internal mechanisms!
Items in the room (bolded still left to deal with):
- [1] Copper banded chest - It's an illusion!
[2] Red lacquered chest - Sirius unable to lockpick
[3] Cube of solid steel - Examined, has a keyhole
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid - DONE - Recovered jeweled brass key
[5] Covered wicker basket
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Davor casts Detect Magic on the jeweled brass key. The key itself isn't magical, but scanning the room, he does discover some other magic items:
- [1] The red lacquered chest gives off an aura of faint illusion magic.
[2] The copper banded chest that you now know is an illusion is definitely giving off an illusory aura.
[3] The steel box seems to have both a weak universalist aura and a transmutation aura.
Orin picks up the wicker basket, and gives it a shake. This seems to be his day for walking into traps. A snake sticks its head out from under the covering and bites Orin's hand.
Surprise round:
Viper - Bit Orin
Initiative round 1 (go if bolded):
Davor
Voarima
Sirius
Osamu
viper
Orin - Need a fort save
Gunthur
... And Sirius still fails to pick the lock on the red lacquered chest.
Items in the room (bolded still left to deal with):
- [1] Copper banded chest - It's an illusion!
[2] Red lacquered chest - Mocks Sirius's rogue skills
[3] Cube of solid steel - Examined, has a keyhole
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid - DONE - Recovered jeweled brass key
[5] Covered wicker basket - It's a trap! The viper attacks.
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Sirius wounds the viper with his kukri, but the creature seems just barely able to continue fighting until Voarima finishes it off.
Inside the wicker basket, a blue stone key rests atop a pile of crumpled linens. It radiates faint transmutation magic.
Items in the room (bolded still left to deal with):
- [1] Copper banded chest - It's an illusion!
[2] Red lacquered chest - Mocks Sirius's rogue skills
[3] Cube of solid steel - Examined, has a keyhole
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid - DONE - Recovered jeweled brass key
[5] Covered wicker basket - DONE - Recovered blue stone key radiating faint transmutation magic
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Osamu inserts the jeweled key recovered from the jar into the red chest, and gives it a twist. It seems to fit perfectly and moves freely within the lock, but doesn't seem to interact with the locking mechanism at all.
When that doesn't work, he tries the jeweled key in the steel cube. Again, the key seems to fit perfectly, as the keyholes are about the same size. When he turns the key, it breaks, and unexpectedly crumbles to dust.
Items in the room (bolded still left to deal with):
- [1] Copper banded chest - It's an illusion!
[2] Red lacquered chest - Mocks Sirius's rogue skills
[3] Cube of solid steel - Examined, has a keyhole
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid - DONE - Recovered jeweled brass key, which has since crumbled to dust
[5] Covered wicker basket - DONE - Recovered blue stone key radiating faint transmutation magic