These are skeletons and zombies respectively. As undead creatures, they are both immune to mind-affecting effects, poison, disease, paralysis, sleep, and stunning.
Skeletons are immune to cold effects, and bludgeoning weapons are most effective against them.
Zombies are slow, and slashing weapons are most effective against them.
***
Valik moves forward, giving some advice that inspires the group.
Aurelia summons an eagle, which promptly attacks one the skeletons, slashing at the skull with a talon and snapping the spine with its beak. The undead monstrosity collapses into a pile of bones.
Ophelia bravely makes her way into the front line of the combat to confront the abominations directly as her goddess demands.
The remaining skeleton moves towards the living, directing its attacks on Valik. Its broken scimitar comes nowhere close to hitting the monk, but its free claw does find an opening to rake him.
The corpses limp and stumble laboriously towards the group, evidently not coordinated enough to move and attack at the same time.
Initiative (Round 1-2)
Zombies
Skeletons
Belroar (1 dmg) <= UP
Melufiuos <= UP
Moadis <= UP
Aurelia <= UP
Valik (3 dmg) <= UP
Ophelia <= UP
Effects
Advice (as Inspire Courage, All PC's): +1 morale bonus on saves vs. charm and fear effects, +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Shepherd bonus (All PC's): +2 insight bonus on a single check made to perform the aid another action in the next 24 hours.
Farmer bonus (All PC's): +1 luck bonus on Fortitude saves against poison for 24 hours
Tailor bonus (All PC's): +1 bonus on a single attack roll made against a flanked target within 24 hours.
Fisherman bonus (All PC's): +2 insight bonus on a single combat maneuver check made over the next
Mage Armor (Valik): +4 Armor bonus to AC.
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Aurelia's eagle turns on the zombie that just approached it, a little clumsy with its raking talons in the cramped quarters but finding the slow shambler easy to take a bite out of.
Aurelia moves forward, loading her crossbow, but realises that she just can't get a clear shot on the undead from here. So, instead, she reaches up places a gentle hand on Moadis' shoulder. The paladin feels a pleasant warmth spread through him from his shoulder down through his entire body.
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Ophelia shifts her position to allow others past her, eyes rolling back to show the whites. Holding her holy symbol high, she cries out in her mother's tongue, a wave of violent purple light surrounding her. The wave pulses outward, filling the cavern and the bodies of the walking dead, filling them with the hatred of Pharasma.
"Use blunt force on the skeletons!" she calls. "And the zombies can only be harmed by sharp blades!"
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The wise words of Moadis, both stern and gentle at the same time, strike a chord with Mel, snapping him back into a less casual mode. "Yes, Father Moadis , I have become too comfortable with my new found associates. I should not be so quick to give them new names. But the devil confuses me. Surely I do not want to show the creature fear and respect?"
As Ophelia and Belroar explain their faiths, Mel actually seems to be listening intently even though he's never had much use for religion.
The magus is clearly fustrated with his inability to see what his going on in the cramped quarters. Finally seeing his chance, he moves up between Moadis and Belroar. With a quick thrust forward of his hands, he unleashes raw magical forces upon the undead.
Valik's right fist connects with the remaining skeleton, spinning its skull around 360 degrees before it falls over.
Belroar rushes in to the fray, only to find his target skeleton destroyed.
Aurelia casts Guidance on Moadis, while her fiendish eagle tears into one of the zombies with a talon and bite, but the undead creature remains a standing threat.
Ophelia fills the area with positive energy, slightly burning both zombies, who both moan painfully in response.
Melufiuos attempts to fry one of the zombies with a ray of his own positive energy, but with Belroar and part of the cavern wall in the way, he can't get a good aim and misses his target.
Moadis moves into the chamber and swings his hammer hard into one of zombies. The blow seemed like it should have damaged the zombie more than it did, but the undead still falls down, inert.
The remaining zombie attempts to slam the fiendish eagle, but it's not nearly coordinated enough to hit.
Initiative (Round 2-3)
Zombie (Severely Damaged)
Belroar <= UP
Melufiuos <= UP
Moadis <= UP
Aurelia <= UP
Valik <= UP
Ophelia <= UP
Effects
Advice (as Inspire Courage, All PC's): +1 morale bonus on saves vs. charm and fear effects, a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Shepherd bonus (All PC's): +2 insight bonus on a single check made to perform the aid another action in the next 24 hours.
Farmer bonus (All PC's): +1 luck bonus on Fortitude saves against poison for 24 hours
Tailor bonus (All PC's): +1 bonus on a single attack roll made against a flanked target within 24 hours.
Fisherman bonus (All PC's): +2 insight bonus on a single combat maneuver check made over the next
Mage Armor (Valik): +4 Armor bonus to AC.
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Overcome with the thrill of battle, the magus rushes past Belroar in an attempt to engage the last zombie, pulling out and swinging his hand axe.
Unfortunately, the overzealous elf stumbles slightly as he tries to maneuver in the confined space. As a result, his swing is wild and misses the slow moving target. A quick curse escapes his lips in fustration.
The summoned eagle quickly finishes the last zombie off with its talons.
When the group searches the room, they find nothing of value on the undead remains. The body of the long dead dhampir, however, contains a note that details plans to start an army of undead made from the “fish people” who have been frequenting this cave. Also on that body, a magical pearl and ring are discovered. If not immediately identified here, they are later deciphered to be a Pearl of Power (1st-level spell) and a Ring of Protection +1.
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"O Lady of Graves, let these souls find peace at last. Let their bodies return to the dust from which they were created. Let their taint no more befoul this holy place." Ophelia's eyes close as she speaks her prayer, clutching her death-spiral over her heart. She refuses to search the dhampir's remains, but when the note is found, her eyes flash with hate.
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With the undead dispatched, Aurelia's eagle flaps over to rest on her outstretched hand. For the remaining short duration of her spell, Aurelia gently pets the devilish bird's feathers until it finally disappears in a puff of smoke and ash.
Upon finding of the note, she arches an eyebrow. "Hmm. How very odd indeed." Aurelia scribbles a few things in her journal at that for the benefit of the Society. Apparently, gillmen make rather ineffective undead servants, for they appear to have killed their master.
Further exploration of the caverns does not lead to any new discoveries. When the ready, Janira leads the expedition back to Absalom without further incident.
Once safely back in the Grand Lodge, Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine inquires excitedly about what the group found and asks to see your notes. He compliments Valik, Aurelia, and Ophelia for their note taking skills, and merely looks bemused by the notes taken by Melufiuos. For the others he underscores the importance of writing down ideas and observations while the thoughts are fresh, observing that it’s difficult enough to remember what one had for breakfast the day before as it is to recall exactly what one was thinking while studying an inscription. The elf also compliments Janira for her guidance and assistance, much to the halfling’s delight.
As the group is now the foremost authorities on that cave and what it contains, Shaine invites you to come up with its name.
Three days later, the Master who best represents your individual interests confirms you as a full Pathfinder field agent. As part of the ceremony, that mentor also gives you a personalized wayfinder, reminding you that this is not only the symbol of the Pathfinder’s trade but also a reminder of the three principle duties: explore, report, and cooperate.
The Penumbral Accords
Several weeks later, Venture-Captain Drandle Drang looks tired as he calls an emergency meeting in the middle of night at his chambers in the Grand Lodge. “I’m sorry to call you in on such short notice and on such a dark night, but a friend of the Society needs your help immediately.” From an adjoining chamber, an elegantly dressed woman of middle age with olive skin and long, straight black hair and piercing eyes steps into the room. “Allow me to introduce to you Hamaria Blakros, of the esteemed Blakros family, whose name I’m sure you all know.”
Hamaria sits at Dreng’s side, smooths her satin dress over her knees, and speaks in a clear though pained voice. “I’m afraid my forebears made a terrible mistake, and I need you to help remedy the situation. When the Blakroses were first gaining a financial and social foothold centuries ago, my ancestors made a pact called the Penumbral Accords with a strange organization on the Shadow Plane called the Onyx Alliance, which granted us trade routes through its dark realm to avoid unpleasant searches, tariffs, and questions among the many parties with whom we traded. At the time, this was an invaluable service, but as our wealth and influence grew, the benefits became less pronounced. Now, almost five centuries later, we no longer want to pay the ongoing price of this agreement. Since that time, we’ve been providing a steady stream of slaves to the Onyx Alliance... including the eldest of our daughters each generation. This year we have two eldest daughters—my twins Eleanir and Michellia and I refuse to let them be taken!”
“But we can’t actively break the Penumbral Accords ourselves. We don’t know all the details other than our end of the bargain, which requires us to deliver slaves to our very own Blakros Museum on the night of each new moon—and to deliver the eldest Blackros daughter of each generation on the new moon after her 21st birthday. We are told to stay away until dawn, and have honored this command thus far. In every instance for generations, we’ve returned to find no sign of the slaves or our own heirs left in the building. They’ve got some device that lets them take our daughters to their plane, something that only functions one night a month, and only until dawn. That night is tonight, and my Eleanir and Michellia are already there! I need you to get in before the sun rises and deactivate or destroy whatever allows them to keep stealing our people. If that prevents them from ever threatening us and holding the Penumbral Accords over our heads again, even better.”
Dreng leans forward. “You understand, I’m sure, how valuable our relationship with the Blakros family is to the Decemvirate. Their assets at the museum are immense, and assisting the Lady Hamaria tonight will go along way to ensuring that both her family and our organization can form a long-lasting alliance that will benefit all parties.” He glances at Hamaria, who nods once in agreement. “Hurry to Blakros Museum, friends. There isn’t much time!”
In recent years, the Blakros Museum has been the site of a number of strange occurrences, many of which were handled quietly in the dead of night by agents of the Pathfinder Society.
As above, plus in the early days of Absalom, the Blakros Museum was originally the stronghold of an eccentric wizard. Abandoned for centuries, it was later bought by House Blakros, who turned it into a museum for their impressive collection of curiosities from across Golarion.
You learn the information in the previous two spoilers, plus the mad astrologer Ralzeros the Overwatched built what is now the Blakros Museum thousands of years ago as an observatory to study distant worlds and even other planes of existence (and some say, to be studied by them). He later disappeared following a mage-duel with another of Absalom’s early wizards.
The wealthy and prominent House Blakros is a large, extended clan of eccentrics with trade contacts rivaling those of the Aspis Consortium, who made most of their money selling valuable antiquities across the border between Taldor and Qadira. Their daughters are known far and wide for their beauty, and marrying a Blakros woman is a sure path to power and riches.
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Out of one of the dark corners in the room steps a young male human. Dressed in greens and browns and carrying a longbow, he is a shade over six foot tall, in good shape and when he pulls the hood back you can see, very young. He clears his throat and then speaks in a cracking voice,
"Good evening everyone. My name is Halkale Timarson. I was asked to join your party by Major Maldris. The Grand Lodge was scrambling to find a replacement for the one you lost and didn't have an agent close by. I've been asked to step in. I'll try to be of some service, I am sure we'll have time to get acquainted later." He exhales as he finishes what seems to have been a practiced speech, a bit of red touching his cheeks.
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The elven magus glides into the room. The smells of a tavern seem to come with him although his steps are not those of one who has been drinking too heavily. His pleasant smile not completely masking his displeasure of having been 'interrupted'.
His demeanor changes abruptly at the mention of Eleanir and Michellia. "Twins?" quietly escapes his lips as she speaks and his eyes focus on Hamaria more steadily, as if appraising. When she is done, he stands quickly, puts his arm to his chest and bows deeply, "I assure you my Lady, we will rescue your daughters."
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Valik, sits and listens intently to the woman. He scans his memory bank for anything useful he might remember.
Hmm, my master has taught me much. I recall him telling me about this now museum and how Ralzeros built the museum but had list a mage duel against an up-and-coming young mage. He used it to study other worlds. We need to go prepared. Let's make haste all.
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The slave trade is a blight in Golarion's history milady. Its disheartening to learn that a house of such renown as the Blakros have been involved with such filth for centuries! Shame on yours, shame on your family. The paladin says with severity, anger barely hidden behind his words.
Thank Shelyn you are a better mother, and human being, than your forebears milady Moadis continues on a more placatory tone. We will do our utmost to bring your children back and end this horror lady Hamaria, you have my word.
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Aurelia sits in Dreng's office, one leg crossed over the other, smiling pleasantly at Hamaria Blakros as they are briefed on the mission. She's on her best behaviour, of course--as would any noble girl with half a brain, for everyone knew the Blakroses and just how important they were in the food chain of Absalom's upper eschelons. ...Not even just Absalom, really; Aurelia would go so far as to say the family was one of the most important in the entire world. She would do anything to get the Ciucci name well-known and favoured by the Blakroses, as it were... and if that also helped her goals within the Pathfinder Society, then all the better!
"Lady Hamaria, I swear that I will do my utmost to return your daughters from the clutches of this... Onyx Alliance," Aurelia informs the matriarch with a pleasant smile--only to be interrupted by Moadis idiotically shaming the Blakros line. She shoots him a withering, venomous glare before adding, "Difficult times call for difficult choices! Sometimes, one must do something not entirely... clean to achieve one's goals. I certainly can't fault the Blakroses for anything."
"M'Lady, do excuse the old man's grumpiness. He clearly got out on the wrong side of bed, is all..."
They had a new member, too, it seems. Aurelia allows her burnished gaze to wash slowly over Halkale, not hiding signs of her obvious appraisal. Ah... how cute, she smiles to herself, toying with a lock of her hair as the young man blushes over his introduction. "A pleasure, certainly, Halkale. It shall be good to get to know you... quite closely, yes."
Hamaria glares at Moadis, clearly affronted by his words.
"Oh my, it seems the paladin has quite a wry sense of humor!" Drang says in a vain attempt to defuse the tension. As it becomes clear the Blackros matriarch isn't buying it, he gestures the party quickly to the doors, ”Oh yes, before I forget, I have some missives for each you from some important personages regarding your work for the Society!” He hands sealed envelopes to each of you.
Defender of Liberty,
Word comes to us of a harrowing development among the nobility of Absalom. I have just heard that the powerful House Blakros, owners of the famed Blakros Museum, have been using the facility to engage in the interplanar slave trade. Reports indicate that they’ve been doing so for generations, always in secret, and always when the moon is dark in the sky. I understand you’ve been asked to assist the Blakroses this very night. While assisting them, do whatever you can to free those imprisoned within the museum.
Furthermore, our cause can be greatly augmented if we can irrefutably link the Blakros family with particular cruelty in their slave trading. Bring me any evidence you can obtain so that we may wave their foul deeds before the eyes of our allies and bolster support for freedom’s cause.
Be our shining brand of liberation,
Major Colson Maldris
My Delectable Aurelia,
A lady hears many things whispered in her ear, and my newest bit of news is that you are headed to Blakros Museum. I’ve had an agent watching the building for quite some time, and I believe that on the night of the new moon the lines between the planes blurs within the museum, perhaps some residual effect of some arcane ritual performed in there long ago. While you are there, find me something beautiful from whatever planar beings you may encounter: a bracelet, ring, or necklace will suffice, but it must epitomize its home plane in some way. I trust your taste won’t disappoint.
Additionally, I have reason to believe at least one slave entangled in this Blakros affair, a man named Zelius Jagrah, was bought at a slave auction from someone with friendly ties to our interests. It would be best if no proof of that sale were available to embarrass us—ensure that Zelius understands the importance of his silence.
With baited breath I await word of your success,
Paracountess Zarta Dralneen
Worthy Valik,
Agents of the Ruby Prince have uncovered a sinister truth about one of Absalom’s most powerful families: House Blakros has a connection to the evil denizens of the Shadow Plane! Your assistance tonight at the Blakros Museum will likely include some aspect of that dark realm, providing an excellent opportunity for us to learn about Shadow Absalom. If you encounter any creatures native to the Shadow Plane, retrieve a sample of the body for further study. Additionally, I believe many of Shadow Absalom’s inhabitants are members of the foul cult of Zon-Kuthon. If you find any literature associated with his faith, bring it to me. I don’t want unholy symbols or implements of torture, though, just words.
With the Thanks of a Thousand Years,
Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage
You are to assist Valik Frost in his tasks detailed by Amenopheus.
--Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin
Valiant Moadis,
Please assist Mr. Halkale Timarson in whatever tasks the Andorans ask of him. Their intentions are noble in this case.
Thank you,
Ollysta Zadrian
***
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As they walk to the museum Moadis approuches the newcomer. It is nice to meet you Mr Timarson. Allow me to properly introduced myself, my name is Moadis. I am a paladin of Shelyn and if you need any help please do not hesitate to ask. Here, this is for you. The paladin gives Halkale his open envelope.
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Ophelia sits in a chair, weariness clear on her face, as she rubs Desna's footprints from the corners of her eyes. Her dreams since the last mission had been plagued by whispers, by haunted faces - she was no stranger to death, having sewn her share of shrouds and sung her share of requiems... but actually killing someone was a new thing. A living person, not just a reanimated corpse... she'd begged her Lady for guidance, but Pharasma had been silent. She hadn't tasted grave-soil in her mouth yet, which was said to be a sign of her displeasure, so she'd spent the last few days convincing herself that it had simply been Belroar's time to go. He was in Elysium now, on Gorum's eternal battlefield. She was sure of it.
Sitting there in her worn scale coat, and her deep purple and blue robes, her morningstar hanging from her belt, she listens to the briefing. The signs of sleep show clearly on her face - the drooping eyes, the drawn lips, and the messy way she'd pulled her hair back. But she listens attentively to the briefing, though her distaste at the family's dealings with shadow-beings is clear.
She bows to Dreng as she takes her envelope, opening it and reading it. Oncve she can approach Valik, she says quietly to him, "I am to help you with your mission from Amenopheus. What are we to do?"
She gives Halkale a smile - "No need to be flustered. Welcome to our... little group of Pathfinders," she says warmly. "I am Ophelia, and my duty is to keep you from the Boneyard for as long as possible. My Lady wills it."
You make your way through the dark, quiet streets of the Wise Quarter to come to the Blackros Museum--a large and well-furnished gothic building that rises out of the night like a great looming shadow.
Great pillars of hewn black stone support the vaulted ceiling of the Blakros Museum’s grand entryway, visible through its wide, double doors. Braziers mounted on the pillars cast white radiance from balls of continual light. A fossilized dinosaur skeleton occupies the northwest corner of the room.
Upon crossing the threshold, the air ripples and all visible surfaces shimmer as if they were momentarily composed of still, reflective liquid. As soon as the effect manifests, the strange sensation ends, leaving thick shadows covering all surfaces. The white light of the braziers glows an arcane shade of blue, illuminating the shadowy form of a different skeleton that overlays the more solid dinosaur from moments ago.
A shadowy plaque on the southeast column declares the shadowy version of the building to be “Wightir House, Experimental Laboratory of Onyx Alliance, Authorized by Order of Argrinyxia, the Shifting Lady of Ebony Scales.”
The museum is experiencing a planar overlap of the Material Plane and the Shadow Plane. While here, you exist on both planes simultaneously, and so does everything else you find here. Objects from the Shadow Plane are dark and insubstantial, allowing you to easily tell them from objects from the Material Plane.
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A high pitched "Freeeeeekyyyyyy" rises up and escapes from the young elf as he crosses the threshold and everything turns to shadow. One hand reaches into his pouch to pull out a sunrod, holding it up absently "in case any of you humans need it". But his eyes are elsewhere, trying to pierce the shadows. His ears are listening for the cry's of damsels in distress. He also casts detect magic as he looks around.
When he sees the plaque, he quietly asks if those names are significant to anyone, specifically glancing at Valik and Ophelia.
He also whispers, "Hey, can anyone tell if that skeleton is as dead as it should be?"
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The names don't ring a bell, but the setting is particularly unsettling. So, where should go to first? he asks as he pulls out his weapon.
After retrieving his weapon, he searches his backpack for a stoppered vial with opaque liquid. He then drinks it, and for a shear moment a translucent shimmer surrounds Valik then fades away as quickly as it appeared.
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Aurelia peruses her letter with the slightest hint of a bemused smile tickling the corners of her lips. She neatly folds the letter back up and slips it into her belongings without a word. She bids Hamaria Blakros adieu with a brisk courtsey and nods to Dreng before following her companions across the shadowy night city of Absalom.
Upon arriving, Aurelia conducts her summoning ritual just inside the towering gates of the Blakros Museum. The brilliance of burnished hellfire is in stark contrast to the umbra-wreathed form of the museum, although Malgorrak's charred body matches perhaps a little too well in some regards. Drawing out a wand of crimson and gilded silver, she encircles her devilish companion with a breastplate of polished black steel that quickly fades into his body.
Aurelia blinks and frowns as they cross the barrier between worlds, raising a hand to pull the group to a halt. "This place has become coterminous with the Shadow Plane. The dark and transparent things are from the other plane..." Her fiery eyes drift on over to the dinosaur skeleton, "Like that, I suppose. Be careful."
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Malgorrak enters this world with a dark scowl, so natural on his face so as to be undistinguishable from a neutral expression. He glances around in apparent confusion before his glowing, pupil-less eyes land upon Halkale. He smirks, almost knowingly, but says nothing on the matter.
As they progress into the museum, Mal takes a forward position in case of danger.
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Halkale follows the group trying to figure out what each of his new companions provide the group. As they approach the museum and the redhead stops and summons the fiend, Halkale watches with a careful eye. When the fiend looks at him and smirks, Halkale frowns.
As they enter the museum and Aurelia speaks, Halkale leans over to Moadis and asks, "what does cotermious mean?"
He then pulls his bow and nocks an arrow, holding it at the ready.
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Seeing the shimmers and ripples, Ophelia shudders, drawing a death-spiral on her chest, a prayer already whispering its way past her lips. She stays close to Mel, especially once he lights the sunrod. "I do not know the names," she murmurs to the elf, "but this place unsettles me. A merging of planes... no good can come of this."
Melufiuos strikes his sunrod, beating back the shadows around the group as more light fills the room.
As Moadis begins to step into the hallway, the shadowy dinosaur skeleton suddenly becomes animate and snaps its jaws aggressively a few times in the direction of the paladin.
Initiative (Round 1)
Halkale <= Up
Valik <= Up
Aurelia/Malgorrak <= Up
Melufiuos <= Up
Moadis <= Up
Skeleton
Ophelia