GM Lorenzo's #6–15: The Overflow Archives (Tier 4-5) PbP Gameday VI Session II (Inactive)

Game Master Lawrence Smith 2

The Lady Catherine gives Nixie a nod of approval as the two fey begin gushing about her performance. The dear does have some talent. Surely nothing in comparison to what I would have achieved had that been my interest given my natural gifts, but still worthy of praise. I will mention it to her after our task.

She then starts guiding Mr, Collins towards the staircase that she might finally find out what this Big Sleeper is.

"Wow! That song and dance was amazing, New Friend Nixie!" Corona claps happily, though it's a bit awkward for her to do so while holding tight to Stuffing. Her mood now brightened, she ceases her odd flickering and returns, fully, to the present. "I meet so many neat New Friends in the Society. Joining was the best thing ever!"

As the group debates on where to go next, she shrugs. "Up sounds good to me New Friends. Hopefully the Big Sleeper will be as nice as New Friends Owl and Albatross!"

An iron staircase connects the the flooded floor of the stacks to the mezzanine. Its wooden floor rises 10 feet above and overlooks the stacks. Most of the water generated here flows freely through the railing, so not enough accumulates to impede movement.

As you ascend the stairs and step out onto the mezzanine, you see an odd, man-sized creature resembling a giant mutant goldfish. Several water-dripping tentacles sprout from this four-eyed fish's belly, while long fins protrude from its back. It periodically vomits gouts of seawater onto the floor, which cascades down into the stacks below.

Map & Image

In loud voice evoking equal parts Julia Child and Mrs. Doubtfire, the creature blinks three of her four eyes in surprise at the sight of you.

"ʻAe, aloha, e nā keiki, he meaʻoliʻoliʻaʻole i manaʻoʻia ka poʻe malihini mai kahi e noho ai i lalo e noho mālie iāʻoe. e hoʻomākaukau pono no nā malihini."

Her tentacles point to several soaked spots near her. Then, her eyes blink in a random sequence.

"E ka mea aloha, i hea koʻu mauʻano, a poina paha au e hoʻokomo iaʻu iho?"

The Owl and the Albatross hide behind you in uncharacteristic silence, too frightened for words.

"Wow.. U-g-l-y..." Tiffany speaks quietly as she walks in, then clears her throat and steps up to the mutant goldfish. "Hi there! Do you speak Taldane? Because I have no idea what you're saying. I mean, it shouldn't matter so much, people everywhere would recognize my face even as far off as Tian Xia! I'm Tiffany - Trade Princess Tiffany," she curtsies. "These are my friends, Corona, Nixie, Kaya, Ebonwolf, and the cool-but-not-quite-as-high-fash Lady Catherine de Bourgh!"

Turning then to the others, Tiffany shrugs. "Um, I guess that intro was pointless given our current communication barrier. Does anyone understand this fish face?"

Kn: Arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21 Resistances? I assume that is what DR would be under.

“She is Mistress Koi. She is a grodair.” Lady Catherine says pointing to the fish-thing.

“She has apologized for not having tea and cookies for us. She also asks that we introduce ourselves. One moment while I do so.”

Lady Catherine then turns to the fish and says “ʻO wauʻo ka Lede Catherine de Bough o ka Hale Arpadors. Ke hopohopo nei au e pono iaʻu e unuhi i nā mea'ē aʻe no ka meaʻaʻole lākou e'ōlelo i kēia'ōlelo. E noi wau iā lākou a pau e haʻi i ko lākou mau inoa i hiki ai iā lākou ke hōʻano iā lākou iho.”

Turning back to the group, she says “Please each state your names as a way of introducing yourself to her.”

—

Once all introductions are done

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

“I’m going to ask her to stop flooding our library now.”

“E kala aku iaʻu, e Koi Koi, akā, hiki anei iāʻoe keʻoluʻolu e hoʻopiha i kēia wahi? Ke hopohopo nei wauʻaʻole maikaʻi ka wai no nā palapala.”

For a request, Lady Catherine did make it sound rather demanding.

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Oh, how perfect! It’s an extraplanar aquatic creature, so of course Nixie actually knows about it! Also, her nature makes Aquan likely. Special abilities please. And culture, if any is to be known.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

Nixie’s eyes widen with delight. In Aquan, she asks, “ನನ್ನ ಮಹಿಳೆ, ನೀನು ನೀರಿನ ಸಮತಲದಿಂದ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೀಯಾ? ನೀವು ಸಮುದ್ರದಂತೆಯೇ ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ!” She curseys. “ನಾನು ನಿಕ್ಸಿ ಅಟ್ವಾಟರ್.”

She also turns to the Owl and the Albatross. “Can you guys help translate? I’m sure the rest of the group would love to converse with this beautiful Grodair.”

Corona looks around, feeling a bit lost as she has no clue what Nixie, the giant goldfish, nor Lady Catherine are saying.

"Um...hi?" she waves, when the Lady asks that they introduce themselves. "I'm Corona Merrion and this is Stuffing," she explains, hefting the chicken with her other arm. "I bake things and she eats them. Well, not always, but quite often. Anyway it's very nice to meet you, New Friend Mistress Koi. Um...why are you here, though? This doesn't seem like a good place for you to be, out of water and all."

Diplomacy (Aid): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

For her part, Stuffing shakes her head. Being wet was not agreeable to her and neither were all these animal-faced freaks, no matter how nice they might be.

"Bawk!"

Are you sure this is safe? If she swallows us whole I'm going to be very cross with you and everyone else in this room!

Know. Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 Its a Fish!!!
Linguistics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Ebonwolf does his best to mimic some of the Sylvan dialect but comes across as a broken variation of Sylvan.

"Aloha .... .... koʻu inoa ... ebonwolf ... i .... .... .... .... .... wau e hālāwai meʻoe"

I have a new language to throw a rank into Ling. for now

"Oh Nixie you speak the water tongue? Might you be teachn' any time soon?"

Ebonwolf digs around in his bag for a Comprehend Language Scroll. It's in here some where

Looking to Corona, Lady Catherine says “I can translate the Sylvan for you. I’m not quite sure what that gurgling that Nixie was doing is, but it isn’t any language I have learned.”

Feel free to assume that Lady C will provide an accurate translation for the Sylvan.

Now, this - this was something that she could tell stories about. Kaya was bemused by the fish-creature's pleasant greeting and behavior. Despite its appearance, it (she?) was apparently quite attuned to etiquette. Ah, and there it was - Mistress Koi, was it? The stories she could tell!

"Aloha," Kaya greeted her. "Kāheaʻia wauʻo Kaya." Smiling, she adds, "ʻAʻohe pono e hopohopo no ke kī a me nā pōkō. Ke hana nei mākou me ka palena manawa."

Gesturing towards water and its evident relationship with the literature in the room, she adds, "E kala mai iaʻu inā hoʻohenehene kēia kumu, akā ke manaʻo nei wau he kai kou,ʻa ...ʻAʻole maikaʻi no nā puke."
Diplomacy (Aid Another): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

As Lady Catherine and the fey translate, Nixie suddenly looks startled. “Wait,” she says in Taldan. “We’re trying to stop the flooding in the library?” She looks out over all the lovely, lovely water and sighs. “I guess I should have paid better attention to the briefing, but Shaine blathers on sometimes.”

Turning to Ebonwolf, she grins. “Of course I speak the water tongue! I’m an undine, and I’d love to teach it to you.”

Lady Catherine stops what she is doing and stares in amazement at Nixie. Is she kidding? Where does she come from?

It takes her a moment to regain her equilibrium.

In a voice like someone would use with the daft or a small child, she tells Nixie “Yes, dear. The books here are being damaged by all this water. Books don’t survive such treatment very well.”

“Oh,” Nixie says, sadly. “I thought this was a new remodel.. Oh well.”

She turns to Mistres Koi and bows. “ಓ, ಮಿಸ್ಟ್ರೆಸ್ ಕೋಯಿ, ನೀವು ಪ್ರವಾಹವನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಲು ನಮಗೆ ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಬಹುದೇ? ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು? ಅದು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು, ನಾವು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಯಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.”

The Lady Catherine de Bourgh recalls that a grodair has no special resistances to spells, energy or any type of weapons.

Nixie Attwater recalls that a grodair has a special ability called Muddy Field (Su). As a standard action when on sand, soil, or other types of loose earth, a grodair can gush standing water into the area surrounding it. Upon doing so, the land within 15 feet of the grodair is treated as a shallow bog (Core Rulebook 427). This water remains as long as the grodair is within 15 feet and wishes to maintain the water. The bog instantly disperses as soon as the grader is killed or moves out of the area.

Nixie also understands that a grodair is intelligent, but extremely absentminded and careless. Its memory is poor, and it has difficulty remembering things it was told even 5 minutes prior—though it can recall some events of the distant past with perfect (and often frustrating) clarity.

The Lady Catherine, Nixie, and Kaya, greet Mistress Koi in Aquan and Sylvan. A good thing, too, because your volunteer interpreters, the Albatross and the Owl, are too terrified to speak.

Mistress Koi rejects Lady Catherine's demanding request to turn off the waterworks with half-lidded, slow blinks of her second and fourth eyes.

After Lady Catherine translates, Mistress Koi reassures Corona, "A grodair is never out of water for long; as you see, we can make our own."

The grodair Mistress Koi preens at Nixie's flattery.

"You should know that the fey riddler created me and the other denizens of The Name of the Fox in order to punish 'Whatshisname'—that dreadful, haughty fox'—after he insulted them during a riddling contest."

She begins crying great gouts of saltwater tears, "'Whatshisname' outwitted me with some fiendishly clever magical ruse, and now he runs riot in the vaults below."

Her tears stream to the floor of the mezzanine and cascade onto the stacks below.

"I appointed myself warden of the extra-dimensional jail, and I feel terrible about my inmate’s escape. I believe it's impossible to catch him on dry land. So, I decided to expel thousands of gallons of seawater in order to flush the fugitive out of hiding."

Nixie, aided by the charming Corona and the eloquent Kaya, pleads for her to stop the deluge. Eventually, the tears cease. Mistress Koi sniffles and then blows her gills with a great flapping noise, grabbing several loose scrolls in her tentacles to wipe them dry.

"I will agree to stop, only if you promise to recover all the fragments of The Name of the Fox and bring them to me. I know its magic can recapture the fugitive. Furthermore, I vow to remove all the water I've already released, so long as you deliver 'Whatshisface—that whiskered riddler'—to me alive."

Her voice rises, "Well, do we have a deal?"

"That sounds like a deal to me, New Friend Mistress Koi," Corona responds without thinking. "Um, I mean if everyone else is okay with that too and why am I still talking New Friend Catherine has to translate this anyway...."

She stops for a moment but then actually thinks of something useful to ask. "Um, should we know anything about this whiskered riddler?"

"This fox guy, what was his name again?" Tiffany quips. "He sounds like a big jerk. Don't cry, Madame Fishface, we'll find the fragments! It's the only noble thing to do!"

She nudges Lady C, "Try not to directly translate Fishface, okay? I mean, she was crying..."

Lady Catherine is greatly relieved when Princess Tiffany gives her permission to slightly alter the translation. I do like Princess Tiffany, but at times her informal style can rub one the wrong way!

Between the translations, she asks "Mistress Koi, what exactly do you mean by fragments of 'The Name of the Fox?'"

Mistress Koi explains, "A powerful fey from the First World, the Fey Riddler, created The Name of the Fox, ostensibly a mundane collection of nonsensical Varisian poems written in Sylvan. In fact, the scroll is a unique magical prison. It's been ripped apart, freeing 'Whatshisname.' Find the six poetic fragments comprising The Name of the Fox. Bring them to me."

The Owl finds his voice, "We know the dogcat. We'll point him out to you."

The Albatross adds, "We promised to introduce you."

"ʻO lākou nā'āpana o ka poem, e like me nā'āpana pepa?" Kaya asks, flicking an ear. "A ke nānā nei paha mākou i nā hiʻohiʻona, e like me ka owl a me ke kuʻemaka maʻaneʻi, ua ola nā poho o ka poemaka?" She smiles, a bit embarrassed and adds, "E kala mai iaʻu inā maopopo, akā makemake wau e hoʻomaopopo i kekahi hana aʻu e hoʻokō ai."

Apologies for the delay! Didn't think the session today would run so long! @_@

Nixie turns to Kaya and Lady Catherine. “Do either of you think that you can write our agreement on the wall, here? Grodairs are notoriously forgetful.”

“I am sorry, I was expecting to save books not write them. I don’t have any writing supplies with me. If we can find some, there should be no problem writing the message.”

“A place like this surely has some sort of writing supplies.” she says, as she looks around.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"Neither do I," Kaya admits with a frown. Taking the Lady Catherine's advice, she begins looking around for some writing tools - if it comes to the worst, she supposes she could go the rather gruesome route of pricking a finger and writing it on the wall, but... That was probably best avoided. Assuming she finds something useful, she does as Nixie suggests and notes the agreement on the wall.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

"If no one's got anything to write with like ink then we could always try crushing some berries, if anyone has any of those, and using the juice to write with," Corona suggests, trying to be helpful.

"Oh? Something you write with? Let me check." Ebonwolf pulls his pack from his back. Starts digging through pulling out all manner of things and finally pulls out an Inkpen and a ink refill. "Will this work?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

Looking at the ink pen, Lady Catherine nods "That should work."

Looking to Nixie, she then suggests "Perhaps a shorter message would do? Something like 'Stop flooding the library so we can bring Whatshisname to you'?"

"Um, yeah, Corona's berry ink idea was way cooler, but I guess a miserable ancient pen will also work," Tiffany sighs. "Well, with that written, we should get to our gilled friend's request and find those fragments!"

"Aw, it's okay Friend Tiffany," Corona smiles, patting the grippli on the shoulder. "Maybe we can do the berry thing some other time!"

Huh. Maybe I should've used berry juice instead of charcoal earlier?

"Uh anyway yeah! Once we've got our message written then we should get to paper-hunting! How hard can it be?" she asks, though whether she's being serious or sarcastic (given where they're at) is unclear.

Mistress Koi eyes the writing on the wall, eyes blinking in rhythmic concentration. "Ah, a contract, how delightful." The grodair smiles. You think. "People are always trying to take advantage of my short-term lapses in memory."

The antagonizing Albatross turns to the Owl and whispers, "So very grateful they had a quill of their own. I was going to suggest they use one of yours."

The outraged Owl shouts back, "One of mine? How dare you, sir! A fine feathered pen you'd make!

Where to next? Down the dogcat hole to the Understacks below?

Looking to the others, The Lady Catherine says “We found one scrap on the first level. Should we spend the time looking for others, or rush downstairs to follow Whatshisname?”

Looking at Mr, Collins, she admits “I may have to leave Mr. Collins behind. The water is likely deeper down there.”

She seems to be studiously ignoring the antics of the fey Nixie fan club.

Nixies eyes widen. Good! Now she’s leaving that scary pig behind.

You have a wand of air bubble....

But to use it... on a PIG??

But Lady Catherine might be sad without that pig... And Pathfinders COOPERATE.

In a very small voice, Nixie says, “I have a wand of air bubble. Can Mr. Collins swim?”

The Owl and the Albatross exchange a gleeful glance. "Sir Swine won't have to swim, and he won't have far to travel. Just has to hop into the middle of the whirlpool and mind his head on the way down."

They can barely stand, they're laughing so hard. "Fey giggle, giggle, a pig and a wiggle."

Lady C asks Nixie a few questions about the spell.

After a little consideration, she says “If the water is deep enough to be over his head, I’m not sure how he would react to being submerged with a bubble of air. I imagine he would find it quite unnatural.”

She pauses to consider a moment longer, then says “I do not consider it worthwhile in this case. We can check how deep it is, but if he couldn’t stand with his head above water I think it would be best to leave him at the entrance with Mistress Zarta.”

Looking at the boar in question, she adds “He wouldn’t be able to charge an opponent anyways, and we can leave the banner with him so it doesn’t get soaked and dirty.”

“Let’s check how deep the water is down there first.”

If Mr. Collins would have to make swim checks to keep his head above water, I leave him and my banner at the entrance where we talked with Zarta and Shane.

She does give an annoyed glare to the fey Nixie fan club and their little rhyme.

...but the player loved it!

The Owl and the Albatross pause. "Oh. Lady C has a point. Mistress Koi's been busy. Could be deep."

The pair look down chagrined as sheep. After a moment's sober reflection, the Albatross looks up. "I'll go down and check it out. Let you know in a jiffy."

He grabs some braided twine, wraps it around his waist and ties it off. He hands the other end of the twine to the Owl. "Pull me back up when I tug on it three times."

The Albatross comes to attention and salutes Ebonwolf. "If the Owl forgets to pull me back up, I'm counting on you, Sir Half-orc, to get me out of there." He casts a meaningful glance at the Owl. "Then stuff the Owl up the pig's holy of holies."

The Albatross steps to the spiral staircase, peers down into the swirling water, and dives headfirst over the railing.

He enters the maelstrom with nary a splash, and the trailing twine snakes after him.

A few seconds later, the twine jerks thrice. The Owl pretends not to notice, but a swift kick from Ebonwolf Metalbender reminds him of his duty. He grudgingly hauls the Albatross back up to the surface.

The Albatross gulps a fey lungful of air, sputtering and spitting out seawater. "Deep it be, near twice as deep as me," says the two-foot tall gathlain. "But if you're careful, you might could walk along the tops of the stacks."

Deep Bog: A square that is part of a deep bog has roughly 4 feet of standing water. It costs Medium or larger creatures 4 squares of movement to move into a square with a deep bog, or characters can swim if they wish. Small or smaller creatures must swim to move through a deep bog. Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.
The water in a deep bog provides cover for Medium or larger creatures. Smaller creatures gain improved cover (+8 bonus to AC, +4 bonus on Reflex saves). Medium or larger creatures can crouch as a move action to gain this improved cover. Creatures with this improved cover take a –10 penalty on attacks against creatures that aren't underwater.
Both shallow and deep bogs increase the DC of Stealth checks by 2.

“Do you want me to lead the way?” Nixie asks, brightly. “Also, I have a wand of air bubble for any who want it.”

With a sigh, Lady Catherine says "Yes dear, you may lead. I will go take Mr. Collins to the entry and then will join you." If it weren't for needing to save the books, I might be tempted to complain about the indignity of all this.

I've placed Mr. Collins where I would leave him on Slide 3, The Lobby.

Once Lady Catherine comes back, Nixie asks, “Does anyone want to be in a message spell before we start heading down?”

Understacks Map
You all make it safely down the drain to the Understacks. Place your PC's icon where you'd like to be within 10' feet of the spiral staircase to begin.

The spiral staircase descends from above, a deluge of water cascading down the steps.

The Understacks are unlit, and the subterranean walls are masonry. Flooding from the library above has turned this storage chamber into a treacherous bog, and the ceiling is 15 feet high. Rising above the black lake, the flat tops of many rows of shelves create a makeshift maze of causeways. Four narrow corridors channel rivers of seawater off into the darkness.

The shelves require no Acrobatics check to traverse while moving at half speed and only a successful DC5 Acrobatics check to walk along at full speed.

Deep Bog: A square that is part of a deep bog has roughly 4 feet of standing water. It costs Medium or larger creatures 4 squares of movement to move into a square with a deep bog, or characters can swim if they wish. Small or smaller creatures must swim to move through a deep bog. Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.
The water in a deep bog provides cover for Medium or larger creatures. Smaller creatures gain improved cover (+8 bonus to AC, +4 bonus on Reflex saves). Medium or larger creatures can crouch as a move action to gain this improved cover. Creatures with this improved cover take a –10 penalty on attacks against creatures that aren't underwater.
Both shallow and deep bogs increase the DC of Stealth checks by 2.

Ebonwolf makes his way down the spiral staircase making a brief comment "This is noh what I was expectin' when sent inta a library. I be feelin' many o' literary gods are having a field day with what has transpired so far."

Continuing onto the shelves he says "I be hopin' these'll be support'n me weight." Ebonwolf stands ready with his Dwarven Waraxe and Shield at the ready.

Is it safe to assume I can take a 10 on Acrobatics?. If so that puts me at a 6 with my shield out.

The Lady Catherine makes it down and immediately swims over to one of the shelves. Climbing up, she balances on top of it.

Swim +5, take 10 for 15. Acro +2, +3 to Jump. Will move half speed until there is a reason to go faster.

At Ebonwolf's comment, she replies "Please don't collapse the shelving...there is enough damage here without our adding to it."

"Aye. I shant be doing it intentionally. I just was never granted the grace with water many o' present company have." Ebonwolf does a quick scan about the room to see if anything is out of the ordinary, well any more than a flooded library can be out of the ordinary.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

"HEY THIS PLACE IS COOL!" Tiffany excitedly shouts as she hops into the water, practicing her breaststroke from shelf to shelf. "WheeeeEEEeeee... Kinda reminds me of that dirty tunnel of fun under Absalom. What did you call it again, Corona?" She asks between treading water.

Take 10 on Swim for 15, and little Bebop can take 10 for 16, but he'll generally stay on Tiffany's shoulder

Nixie swims happily, looking for things beneath the water.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Detect magic

Thank you HMM I forgot about detecting magic. have been busy at work, and the fires are almost contained! yay!

In the middle of his searching Ebonwolf will also scan for magical auras. Even on himself and his companions should anything look wrong he will verbally report the difference.

"Uh...turd tunnel! It was the turd tunnel," Corona responds as she splashes down into the water. "This place is nicer though, but...um...swimming in armor..."

Swim: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (18) - 3 = 15

"....huh. Doesn't seem too bad!" she announces happily as she manages to make some progress in the water - not as much as her amphibious friends and not as gracefully, but good enough. She heaves herself up onto one of the shelves.

"So...papers! Friend Stuffing, let's get to looking! Keep your peepers open!"

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

From her somewhat shaky perch atop Corona's shoulder, Stuffing offers a disgruntled cluck as she turns her head this way and that.

"Bawk!"

You're going to owe me *all* the cornbread after we get out of here.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Sorry guys, had a death in the family. Will be a bit sporadic this week, so feel free to bot me as necessary. @_@

Kaya pushes her way through the water with the others, trying to keep her eyes open for any other pieces of poem they might find.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

"Think they'll all just be scraps of paper?" she asks, wondering what they'll find. Their experience so far suggested that they'd be encountering creatures such as the Owl and the Albatross and this.... dog-person they'd mentioned. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask, right? "Or do you think they've all come to life?"

“They look like scraps of paper with some prose to me, but then I would have expected some water damage.”

Looking to Ebonwolf (since Nixie is underwater) she asks “Is there anything magical about the slips of paper? Can you tell us anything more about them?”