The fourth and final day of training has come to a close at the GrandLodge of Absalom, heralding the end of this year’s Torchbearing.
Pathfinders the world over attend this annual symposium to share their knowledge, teach each other new skills, and reinforce their connections across the Inner Sea and beyond. To celebrate the end of festivities, the lodge has hosted a grand banquet in the visiting agents’ honor. A refreshing winter breeze blows through an open window, flickering torches and sending papers scattering. The smell of freshly baked desserts fills the air while initiates clear away the remnants of the first course.
The Three Masters, along with other notable Pathfinders, taught a variety of classes, from Golarion’s history to spellcasting techniques, and ran obstacle courses and a triathlon.
The Three Masters use the event to keep an eye out for particularly talented agents that embody the Pathfinder Society ideals: Explore, Report, and Cooperate.
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Kitajo sits in a chair at the side of the room. He is not avoiding people but simply resting his weary body. He has been working quite hard on his physical endurance and acrobatics. In the interest of that he just today completed an obstacle course set forth by the Masters and has tired and aching muscles and his fair share of bruises, grazes and cuts. Nevertheless he feels that he is more acrobatic that before.
Standing from his seat he adjusts his monk's robes and begins to mingle. He walks with an ever so slight limp.
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The front doors of Skyreach burst open with a loud crack. Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin strides to the edge of the platform, with a slender elf dressed in practical but expensive clothing trailing meekly behind. The red-faced venture-captain addresses the crowd in a booming voice.
“Pathfinders, I regret interrupting the festivities, but we have something of a situation. Approximately twenty minutes ago, unknown forces invaded the Blakros Museum. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Torchbearing is about cooperation and helping our colleagues, so let’s think of this less as an inconvenience and more as an opportunity to practice what we preach.”
The elf, Nigel, exhales sharply, then speaks, “Now, Ambrus, I’ve spent a king’s ransom fortifying the museum from all sorts of invaders: sentinels from the Golemworks, magical wards from the Arcanamirium, and even contracts for guard beasts, both magical and mundane—spared no expense. I didn’t want to come here, but I’ve got no choice.”
Valsin’s forced smile cracks slightly, showing his annoyance. “Out with it, Nigel. Get to the point.”
“Someone broke into my museum and set off the magical protections! I was preserving priceless Shining Crusade pieces for our new exhibit when the first alarm activated. I sent for district guards and went to investigate, but by the time I arrived, the thieves had already locked themselves in my study. They somehow caused the Shining Crusade relics to fly around the museum and attack my sentinels. Everything is going haywire! The magical traps started to target me, the sentinels are not responding to my commands, and—”
Valsin holds out a hand to steady the increasingly agitated elf. “The last you knew, the thieves were still in your study?” Nigel nods. “Very well. Pathfinders: the Seekers should prepare to teleport directly into the Blakros study—“
“That won’t work,” Nigel interrupts, “The study is magically sealed. After that dreadful Numerian exhibit, I turned it into a magical safe room. The robbers must have figured out how to activate it; no one can get in or out while the wards hold. I can work on breaking the wards, but meanwhile my sentinels are smashing up the collection. Some of those priceless relics are on loan from your own Society lodges, so helping me is really helping yourselves.”
“Fine.” Ambrus Valsin takes a deep breath and then turns to the assembled Pathfinders. “Pathfinders, go to the Blakros Museum, secure any relics you can, disable the security systems, and apprehend the looters if possible. Stay safe.”
While you take the last bites of your desert your brain starts working on what you know of the Blackroses, their museum and the half-elf Nigel Aldain.
You make your way to the museum. Dozens of Wise District guards surround the Blakros Museum. The sergeant nods to Ambrus Valsin as he approaches, a subtle smirk dancing across the venture-captain’s face. The museum itself is alight with swirling whorls of color and the sounds of metal andstone clashing. Occasionally, brief flashes of light burst from the front entrance, illuminating a toppled banner that says “Legacy of the Shining Crusade.”
The sergeant provides you with an overview of the museum’s layout and lets you know that there are animated relics, guard animals, and clockwork creatures skirmishing with each other within.
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Xathos, a tall, lithe, dark haired elf clad in very dark green robes sips from a goblet of sangria as the incompetent museum administrator begs for help yet again from the Pathfinders.
He drinks deeply from his sangria as he ponders the information which he knows about Nigel, the Blakroses, and the Museum.
Blakroses:
Museum:
Nigel Aldain:
"Zis Nigel ees nothing but bad news. Zis ees not ze first time zis man has come to ze Pathfinders for help after one of hees exhibits has run amok. He ees also a dealer who cuts corners and makes enemies through hees bad decisions. I fear zis weel be another one of hees disasters which ze Pathfinders clean up for heem."
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"It is quite dangerous. A human woman dressed in a fine green silk jumper says matter of factly "We should respond quickly or it will spiral out of control. Be ready to anything, but given his recent activities, I assume Nigel may have magical traps and mechanical guardians waiting for us. I'll change and grab my bow, meet you all back here soon."
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Xathos will pass along what he recalls of the Blakroses, Nigel, and the museum to the others in a disgusted tone. He makes it clear he dislikes all three.
"Zis Nigel could not cut eet as a Pathfinder and married hees way into hees position. Why Ambrus continues to help ze fool out of hees eediotic deesastors ees beyond me. What does he do? Sends in more Pathfinders to get ze fool out of another jam. Bah! Let us deal with ze guard creatures first. Better to have zem out of ze way so we can deal with ze wards without interruption."
He drinks from the goblet of sangria which seems to be the same goblet he had at the banquet.
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A red-headed halfling in shiny mithral armor makes his way about the place with a small plate piled high with cheese.
"I am Odo, servant of Sarenrae, and at your service, my comrades. As much as I am willing to help anybody in need, if the museum administrator is as incompetent as they say, perhaps helping him is only enabling him to stay in a position well above his ability. But even so, I will not consign him to so cruel a teacher as his failures." Odo transfers the cheese from the plate to his belt pouch.
"I too think we may find that dealing with the guardians will make other activities smoother and easier..or at the very least, less opposed."
You enter through one of the side doors into the main hall of the museum. Long shadows cast by ruined displays and broken furniture litter the floor. A humanoid-shaped figure made of shattered clockwork lies slumped over a bench. Above, an elaborately painted sign reads “Crusader’s Chronicles.”
While your eyes get used to the dim light you suddenly see a huge black cat coming from the shadows. Stars seem to traverse over it's skin while it slowly moves towards. Strange syllables flow from it's mouth.
"നിങ്ങൾ ആരാണ്, എന്താണ് നിങ്ങളുടെ ഉദ്ദേശ്യങ്ങൾ?"
The cat sighs ”What I said is, who are you and what are your intentions?”
"Hmm, it seems you speak true. You could call me an associate of Mister Aldain. We have an agreement of sorts. Of late things started to be weird in the museum. I have been watching and learning."
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"What have zou observed happening een ze museum recently? We are tasked weeth putting an end to ze madness wheech ees taking place in zere now. What can zou tell us about ze magical wards which we weell have to negate? Do zou know anything about what ees on ze upper floors? Monsieur Aldain has asked ze Pathfinders, of which we are of course, to help heem save ze museum. So we are trying to do zis for heem."
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Odd doesn't have any particular questions for the dweomercat, but he puts his head together with the others about where to look for trouble next.
"I have no strong preference where to go next. I may not be able to help much with a magical ward, but I may be able to help defensively with my divinely given power."
"Oh no, I am not going to take you anywhere. The magical wards that master Aldain had placed in the garden have gone haywire, statues are coming to live in the large room next to this one."
The cat pounces at a speck of light moving over the floor "And what's worse is that upstairs some guardina automations have decided that everyone is an intruder. They can't be reasoned with..."
You exit the museum to enter the museum garden. Thousands of glowing glyphs form a protective shell around the outside of the museum, casting a sparkling aura of light that bounces off the fountain’s waters.
Initiative
Chankotu
Keriassa
Kitajo
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Sparkles
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Xathos
Odo
The runes also have control over the museum’s magical traps; the activation area seems to be a 20-footby- 20-foot space centered on a swarm.
Due to the swarms’ resilient nature, the easiest way to permanently shut them down is to disable the runes. A PC that is adjacent to the runes can attempt to shut them down by performing an Average Disable Device, Knowledge (arcana), Linguistics, Spellcraft or Use Magic Device check. It takes multiple successes to destroy a swarm. Casting dispel magic, erase, or a similar effect on the swarm earns a number of successes equal to the spell’s level (minimum 2).
The runes have fast healing, permanent see invisibility and have construct traits
Initiative
Chankotu
- - -
Shifting Runes
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Xathos
Odo
Keriassa
Kitajo
The runes move towards you, engulfing Chankotu and Kitajo! Their erratic movements make it difficult to pinpoint their location. Chankotu and Kitajo are engulved in tiny runes, battering and bruising them. This battering is followed by an explosion that engulves all the pathfinders!
Initiative
Xathos
Odo
Keriassa
Kitajo: 4 NL damage, Fort DC 14 vs distraction
Chankotu: 10 NL damage, Fort DC 14 vs distraction
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Shifting Runes
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Odo manages to hunker under his shield and armor to reduce the effect of the ball of flame, but is nevertheless a bit confused about what exactly is going on.
"That's not normal fire," Odo calls out then realizes that sounds silly. "Well, not normal magical fire... oh, you know what I mean. I can fix people up but there's precious little I can do to stop this."
Odo intercepts Chankotu to lay on hands since he took a massive blow.
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Xathos attempts to dodge the fire as it flows by him.
"Comrades, while we can eliminate ze runes through ze application of force, ze majickal spells required to blast zese things into tiny bits may be needed to oppose greater foes. Zese are just a nuisance that can be dealt with via using our superior intellect. Come, listen to what Keriassa has told us about zem, and use zour skills to negate shut zem down."
Xathos first uses his wand of Mage Armor on himself so as to provide a modicum of protection versus opponents even though he knows it will not help against swarms. Then he moves forward to runes that just delivered a fiery blast against the party and attempts to begin to shut them down.
"Come comrades, apply zour skills and let us sojourn forth against ze swarms!"
Despite the burns Xathos quickly starts disabling the floating runes while Odo heals Chankotu. Kitajo hits the runes, and two fall down to the ground, only a few thousand to go!
Initiative
Keriassa
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Shifting Runes
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Odo: 25 NL damage
Kitajo: 25 NL damage
Chankotu: 19 NL damage
Xathos: 10 NL damage
Click... whirrr... botting Keriassa ... Warning.... botting might be less effective than playing your own character....
Keriassa joins Xathos in disabling the runes
The runes float over Odo and Xathos, bruising and potentially distracting them.
Initiative, round 2
Odo: 29 NL damage, Fort DC14 vs distraction
Kitajo: 25 NL damage
Chankotu: 19 NL damage
Xathos: 16 NL damage, Fort DC14 vs distraction
Keriassa: 10 NL damage
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Shifting Runes
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After a loud crack and a ripple of arcane energy, silence falls across the museum as the construct guards freeze in place and haunted relics drop to the ground. Nigel’s voice rings out, magically projected throughout the museum: “We’ve disabled the magical security measures. Since we haven’t found the thieves yet, they must be hiding in my third-story study. Please subdue them; they have much to answer for!”
Nigel Aldain’s announcement echoes through a museum littered with shattered clockwork and toppled exhibits. There’s no question that the Pathfinders have quelled the building’s defenses, and perhaps the peaceful silence will set whoever hides on the third floor at ease.