“Have you been keeping secrets from us, Gilstrom?”
Gervase raises an eyebrow along with her harpoon. “What the statue is suggesting you do seems anatomically impossible to me.”
Arcilde steps up alongside the gnome. I guess there's no tryin' t' talk wit' them...
The statue looks at Gervase, and says a brief phrase that she can just make out. "דע את האמת."
The statue then backs away slightly, putting a standing section of wall to its back.
Don't you touch her! Lily shouts, firing off another bolt.
A moon-white light *explodes* before Gervase’s eyes. When the lunar ⚡ flash ⚡ fades, she catches a glimpse of a slender women, armed with a bronze-tipped pilum and carrying a metal buckler. She wears a light azure tunic over a snowy toga and leather sandals, whose thin lacings climb her calves to her knees. Her head in covered by a bronze headdress, styled like an open-faced helm. While her dark hair is styled in ringlets that fall to her shoulders and catch before her ears.
With an imperious expression, the goddess stalks a rocky twilit landscape. Though the most disturbing aspect of the scene is the bright, blue-green ball hanging in the night sky at the same elevation of the full moon Gervase views from the shore of Talmandor’s Bounty.
“I’m OK.”
Using the harpoon’s haft to steady her, the dive ranger staggers 20’ to the right of Arcilde.
“But I’d suggest dropping the celadon sooner rather than later.”
Arcilde swings at the statue-thing again.
With a swing from Acilde's axe and another of Lily's thorns, the statue falls to the ground, inert.
You carefully pick around the ruins, and find that both buildings have pitched stone roofs and columns on all four corners, with open window spaces that admit light and air. Each has a single door that faces the other structure. Inside each is a simple stone table flanked with stone benches, suitable for temporary gatherings or prayers. The northeast building contains a metal telescope, but its crystal lens is shattered. The northwest building contains a modest-sized darkwood chest.
The chest is made of darkwood, and is in excellent shape despite not being magical. Inside is a stone tablet beautifully engraved with a picture of a strange tower on an island, a small pile of gold coins bearing Azlanti markings, and a crystal with an unusual magical aura.
Lily runs up to Hawk as soon as the thing crumbles and clasps her hands on Hawk's face, looking at her intensly, and holding her eye open.
Hawk, are you alright? Oh blast it, did that thing scramble your brains? Turn them to mush?
Satisfied for a moment, she coughs as she realizes just how worried she was over Hawk getting whammied for a moment.
Er... I mean, more mush than usual.
As they look through the ruins, the little rabbit appears on Lily's shoulder and whispers something. Lily nods.
Flower says it's Mordant Spire.
“The goddess returns!”
Gervase’s eyes glaze over. “But I don’t remember her looking like a hick from Andoran.”
*SNAPS* out of it and smiles. “Lily, if you’ve finished mind melding with me, can I have my face back?”
embrace later. “I love you too, Lily. But it’s dangerous lives we’re living.”
“You have my blessing to enter an Erastilian Convent and uphold a vow of chastity for the rest of your life.”
Gilstrom stares in awe at hte statue, then Gervase, and then back to the statues. "Wow! That was neat!" He turns to see Lily tenderly trying to de-mush Gervase's brains. "Let's hope that thing didn't lay eggs in her brain. My third cousin Milton had that problem with a statue."
Once its clear Gervase is as sane as she'll ever be he totters over to the chest to poke at it.
"Eh, Mordan Spire sounds right. I never went to map class. Do we have a safe way to open this aside from 'let it blow up the gnome'? Because if we don't, I recommend that approach."
Lily gives Hawk a small shove as she blushes bright red, and turns to taking care of the things in the sack. Lily moves the things into her sack.
I'll carry all this for now...
She holds up the shining stone.
Arcilde, can you make hide or hair of this? I mean... seems important. Maybe it's one of those Ioun stones? Oh, or maybe a seer stone? Or maybe it's just a glowing rock.
“Have you guys heard of the Pathfinder Society? I knew an Eagle Knight during my Academy days that swore they looted everything not nailed down.”
“But that’s NOT what we’re doing here, right?”
Gervase nods curtly. “It’s just that Talmandor’s Bounty has more use for these items than the poor forgotten Azlanti moon goddess.”
“It’ll be fun to take Carver and Perell to see this site. You know, I’ve always wondered if someone in the village was secretly a Pathfinder agent. Ancient Azlant is probably one of the few places they haven’t plundered.”
She helps Lily load up looking a little concerned. “How are you going for carrying capacity, Lily? I don’t want you weighed down by all this stuff if we need to go underwater beneath the ‘+ower’”
Lily shakes her head and smiles.
Yup. Just supporting the colony, that's all.
She shifts her pack around.
I'm still fine for the moment... remember, I'm not as strong as you but I also don't have to carry as much junk either. Heaviest thing I have is my armor.
Lily looks at the stone tablet after the coins and gem are put away.
Well... that's to big for me... maybe we should leave it here for now? Let the others take a look when we get back?
Arcilde sizes up the chest. If one o' you can carry my weapons, I think I can handle this chest.
“I’ve got your longbow, if Lily handles your axe and spear, Arcilde.”
While the logistics are being organized, Gervase tries her wand of goodberry on some of Modern Azlant's bounty, gathered on the way to the +.
“Took a while, but this should help our healing resources out a little.”
Gilstrom looks affronted. "I would NEVER steal something that was not mine. But as an adventuring hero looking for the good townfolk, knocking over an ancient shrine and taking its stuff is sort of par for the course."
That sounds like something a Pathfinder would say!
Gervase narrows her eyes and (not for the first time!) gazes suspiciously at the cavalier. “What do you think about my hidden Pathfinder theory, Gilstrom?”
“Anyone immediately spring to mind as a likely candidate?”
Lily shakes her head.
Better Pathfinders than Aspis. I went to a few libraries that had Pathfinder society sponsors, lots of interesting old tomes, even if they didn't help me out at all with how my powers work.
She shifts her pack.
Should we take the thing back to town first before we go for the tower? I'd hate to force Arcilde to have to carry that thing while we run around fighting fish men. Gotta admit, it feels a little silly not just hiding it and picking it back up on our way back... it's been here this long after all.
"Hrm? Splendid bunch! Was considering joining them if I got bored playing on the coast. Always something new to do. Oh boy do I love Pathfinders! If I was a Pathfinder I'd tell everyone I met five times over."
Gilstrom nods over to Lily. "It'll be here when we get back. It's not like there's marauding hordes of bandits around. Just weird goblins and fish who probably kept a long ways way from this place because of the statues."
"If I was a Pathfinder I'd tell everyone I met five times over."
He's got a point there ...
"What Gilstrom says makes sense to my egg-addled brain, Lily."
Lily nods.
We'll hide it and come back for it later then. In the meantime, I don't wanna stop what may be a rescue mission over some old text.
She takes the slab from Arcilde with a grunt, and takes it just outside. There, she scoops a shallow hole for it quickly and covers it up before holding her hand out over the freshly turned dirt. After a few minutes, it's covered in fresh new grass, and it would take a keen eye to even notice the turned dirt under the undergrowth.
There, that should do it. Just everyone remember where it is for later.
She shoulder's her pack.
Any luck with figuring out that shiny stone Arcilde?
You pack up the valuables and mark the location on your map, both for recovery of the items and for possible study of the ruins.
Continuing north, after another couple of hours the forest gives way to shattered fragments of rock and stone, the barest recognizable remnants of a lost civilization. Jutting from the grass and shrubs is a stone promenade, ten feet wide with intermittent flights of short steps that climb up a gentle slope—miraculously unchanged despite titanic upheaval of the past. Walkways extend east and west briefly before terminating into hills of wind-eroded stone rubble that might have once been buildings. A solitary, seemingly intact tower is visible on the northern horizon, approximately a mile away.
As you approach the steps, Lily notices a small hole near the base of one of the bushes that resembles the holes you found in the farmland where you encountered the "scorpi-ants". She suspects that means there are tunnels below the ground level.
At the same time, Arcilde hears a faint "whirr-click whirr-click" sound from the north.
“Unless someone thinks it’s a bad idea, I’m going to chug the potion of enlarge person.”
Gervase draws one of Alba’s potion vials and likely does just that. “The terrain’s set out like the bugs are going to make us want to climb the hill.”
“Any ideas how they’re gonna do that?”
The ranger nocks an arrow and shakes her head. “I’m thinking it would be better to let them come to us and smash them from range. What we need is some way to draw them out.”
“Lily, do you want to send bunny to the edge of one of those holes, have her make a sound like a tasty treat and then rush back to us?”
Lily listens for flower and then gives a shrugging smile.
Flower is rather against the idea... but we could give it a shot.
Flower appears on her shoulder and gives a glaring look at Hawk before hoping forward, sniffing.
“I was just kidding about using Flower, Lily.”
Gervase makes a face at the enchanted rabbit, behind her friend’s back before continuing.
“What about if we lob a few rocks down those holes to draw them out?”
Arcilde draws her battleaxe and prepares to cast a spell.
“Hellooo, Lily.”
*snaps fingers in front of face* “Where were you? And are you back now?”
“We were discussing rocks. That’s right, rocks. Something to flush the ant-bug beasties out of their holes.”
Lily shakes her head from the random earth shattering loss of existence that seemed to occur.
No need for rocks.
She turns and holds out her arm, launching a pellet of wood the size of a fist into the ground a couple dozen feat away, hitting the ground with a "TWUMP!" of sound as it hits.
Gilstrom snaps out of a trance that lasted, in his mind, for days and days without release. "Whuh? What? RIGHT!"
As LIly starts the aerial bombardment, he just stays put with his shield up, waiting for the baddies to come at them.
Nothing happens as Lily throws pieces of wood toward the nearest hole. The whirring sound starts to get louder, and is apparently coming from up the hill.
Lily grits her teeth and looks up the hill, walking slowly forward.
Oh I don't like the sound of that...
Gilstrom holds out a little arm. "Allow me. It is my duty to get hit in the face by whatever is making that noise."
A pace ahead, Gilstrom starts moving up the hill.
Are we just plannin' t' sit here, then? Arcilde walks up to a hole and looks in, her battleaxe at the ready.
Don’t like this set-up much.
Despite her misgivings, Gervase understands the urgency to make something happen.
Putting away Alba’s potion vial, she again takes up her bow. “I can cover you for a bit, Gilstrom.”
“But please don’t get too far ahead, in case we need to support you in melee.”
Arcilde moves up to the hole to peer in. As she does, the sound reaches a crescendo as she sees thousands small metal creatures, about the size of the one you found in the colony, crest the hill. Instead of being eyeballs with legs, however, these look more like a crazy gnomish creation that packs every sort of tool into a single device.
Looking like a swarm of giant metal ants, they start moving toward you.
Gilstrom
Lily
------
Swarm
------
Gervase
Arcilde
Lily shrieks and takes a step back, firing her blast as a stream of small wooden chunks.
Lily calls up a swirl of grass and branches from around her and hurls them up the hill. Unfortunately, they don't quite reach the target.
Gilstrom stares at the swarm and at his pointy, stabby weapons. "WOW! THAT'S NEAT! I... don't have much I can offer here guys!"
He sees the kinetic blast thump into the hill. "Wait for them to come in - now... little to the left. Don't worry madam I'm a professional."
Realizing that his advice is just confusing Lily, he instead just shuts up and uh, waits.
The small constructs all turn toward you, and in a mass they begin coming down the hill. When then get to the edge of a tier, they do an odd thing: they squeeze together and come down the stairs, rather than descending the sleep slope. Because of this, they don't quite make it to Arcilde before everyone is able to react.