[GM Striker's The Ruins of Azlant] Table 1

Game Master Sam Sturkie

Ouch!
Deth reals back a couple of feet from the wound, stepping next to Delia , hopefully for some healing. He quickly summons a spirit of fire from the elemental planes, coalescing around the evil skum.
5'step back towards Delia. Cast Flaming Sphere and move it over Urlgryber.
Flaming Sphere, Reflex DC 15: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 5) = 8

As the glaive bites into Deths side, Aenon lunges at the scum with a knee to drive it away. As soon as he's too close for the scum to hit him, he starts pummelling it with hooks and jabs to drive the creature away from his companions.

5' step, swift to use a ki point for an extra attack, First attack is a stunning fist (or knee) (Save: Fort DC 14).

Unarmed attack(SF): 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 1 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Nox begins casting his sleep spell, trying to end the fight almost as soon as it started.

Dc 14 Will to resist.

Round 1
Delia- Lullaby [ He shakes off the spell.
URLGRYBER [-32hp]- Lunges forward at Deth!Hitting him with the glave
Deth- Flaming sphere Reflex DC15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 The flames strike him solidly!
Aenon- Hits with all 3 strikes Fort DC14: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Nininox-The spell has no effect!
Momo - Hits him with an arrow!

Round 2
Delia-
URLGRYBER [-32hp]-
Deth-
Aenon-
Nininox-
Momo -

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 = 13
Damage: 1d4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 = 7

Seeing the hard hit Deth took from the monster, Delia slips up to the front-line with Aenon and attempts to stab the skum with her starknife!

Continue Inspire Courage; +1 Attack/Damage all!

Round 2:

Momo puts nocks another arrow to her bow and fires at the creature. "Scuddle-wuddles," Momo calls over her shoulder, "you'd better not have associated with this kind of creature or else we're going to have to sit down and have a chat about your 'friends.'" Momo's tone is motherly but firm.

To hit (Longbow): 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 1 = 21

Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 = 10

Round 2
Delia- Miss
URLGRYBER [-32hp]- He kicks open the doors and steps back into the central chamber his next swing is aimed at Aenon.
glaive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25 dmg: 1d10 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Deth-
Aenon-
Nininox-
Momo - Hit

P10
This enclosed area is an octagonal walkway illuminated by a soft, pervasive light. The overwhelmingly dominant feature is another chamber inside this area, which has transparent walls and appears to be filled with gently bubbling water. This cistern or tank appears to extend up into the next floor, although there is a stone ceiling 15 feet above this external walkway. At the north end of the walkway is a door that exits the enclosure. On the east side of the tank is a transparent door, complete with an opaque handle.

Within the tank is a wave-like creature with vaguely humanoid faces and smaller wave “arms” to either side.

Deth quaffs a potion and directs the whirling flames to follow the Skum.
Move action to move Flaming Sphere to Urlgryber, following the path he took (avoiding Aenon). Not sure if he can draw a potion as part of a move action, but if he can then he will get and drink a Cure Light Potion.
Flaming Sphere Damage DC15: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 3) = 11
Cure Light plus Fey Foundling: 1d8 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 2 = 11

So seeing how this dude hits like a freighttrain, this is probably a terrible idea.

Aenon growls as the glaive digs a deep gash in his chest. Seeing few other options, he once more dives closer to the scum to get away from the lethal blade, unloading another rapid series of punches.

And one more time: 5' step, swift to use a ki point for an extra attack, First attack is a stunning fist (Save: Fort DC 14).
Unarmed attack(Stunning Fist): 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 = 26
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 1 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7

Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 1 = 11
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8

Nox moves to see the enemy and pulls out his wand of Flaming Sphere as he did so. He was ready to bring down fire on the monster next round.

Round 2
Delia- Miss
URLGRYBER [-54hp]- He kicks open the doors and steps back into the central chamber his next swing is aimed at Aenon.
Deth- Directing the spell is a move action, so is drawing the potion. Sorry you don't have the actions left to drink it this round.Refelx DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18 He dodges the ball of fire.
Aenon- Follows in keeping up the pressure Fort DC14: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Nininox- Moves
Momo - Hit

Round 3
Delia-
URLGRYBER [-54hp]-
Deth-
Aenon-
Nininox-
Momo -

Round 3
URLGRYBER [-52hp]- steps back deeper into the chamber and draws out a potion, drinking it down. HP: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (5, 4) + 3 = 12
Delia-
Deth {BOT}- Drinks his own potion and directs the ball of flames. Recovers 11 hp Flaming Sphere Damage DC15: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 2) = 10 DC 16 reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Aenon-
Nininox-
Momo -

Nox burns a charge from his wand, and a second ball of flame appears and engulfs the enemy.

Fire damage 3d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 1) = 6

DC 13 Ref to avoid.

Delia quickly moves into the room and glances up to see the strange creature in the tank as she rushes around to cut off any escape route of their enemy!

Round 3:
As Delia dashes into the room, Aenon locks eyes with her for a moment and with a nod dives back into his dance with the Scum.

You can probably guess this by now. 5' step, swift to use a ki point for an extra attack, First attack is a stunning fist (Save: Fort DC 14).

Unarmed attack(SF): 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 = 8
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 = 6

Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 1 = 23
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8

Round 3:

Momo is continuing her lecture to the metal arachnid as she pulls another arrow from her quiver. "...and don't you lie to me, Scuddle Wuddles. Even if you've been hanging out - being pals - with these aquatic thugs you gotta let Mama know. I'm not mad, I just need to know." Momo releases the arrow and it flies towards Urlgryber.

To hit (Longbow): 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 = 24

Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 = 11

With his escape cut off and the combined effort of the group, you manage to kill the Skum.

Tresure
Magical glaive, potion, keys (to area P4, area P6, the traps in area P3, and the clockwork servants in area P6)

The being in the water watches you with clear intelligence.

Any appropriate knowledge checks to identify the creature in the water?

Delia looks at the being in the water and waves to it with a smile. She will try to speak to it first in Common and then in Azlanti to see if it can understand her.

If there is no response to Delia’s Attempts to hail the creature, the gnome runs through the entire list of languages that he could speak, seeing if there was any glint of recognition in its eyes.

Knowlege planes to identify and Aquan to speak.

Know. Planes 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Nox notices the strange creature seems to understand a bit of the Aquan tongue. ”Greetings. We aren’t here to harm you. Was that awful monster keeping you captive? I susp3ct it was him that killed my uncle.”

Unable to speak to the creature and unsure what it is, Deth casts Goodberry once again while Nox opens a dialogue.
Goodberry: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6
Trying to reassure Momo he says. "Although I am certain the 'Scuttles' was made by these people, perhaps nurture can overcome nature in this case."
He offers some goodberries to Aenon.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you more in that fight. He was murderous ."
This now gives him 11 berries. Aenon can consume 4 of them before hitting his daily limit, curing 4hp and leaving Deth with 7 berries left.
"I am out of magical healing, but give me about an hour and I can sew you up. All my spells will falter during that time, however." he looks over to Delia. "Do you have anything left?" he asks the bard.

Aenon slumps down along the wall, his eyes following the creature in the water as they slip in and out of focus. With the gash in his side slowly staining his shirt red, it takes him a moment to notice Deth talking to him. "Worry not Deth, you did what you could." He gives the druid a brief smile of thanks as he is handed the berries, which he quickly wolfs down. "I am sure the battle would have been far more hard won had we not had your magic on our side."

As the wound closes up, Aenon slowly gets back on his feet"The healing matter I'll entrust to you. Apart from in water, I have next to nothing to contribute and I do not remember (or do I?) seeing any lakes or rivers nearby."

CLW: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 C'mon man...

Delia nods and turns her attention away from the watery person as Nox begins to speak with it in a strange, bubbling sort of language. "Yes, I have a few spells left for the day. Come here, Aenon. Let me see what I can do about those wounds." She hums a short tune and while some of Aenon's wounds seal, not all of them do. She looks at her work with a frown. "I can do more if needed, Aenon, but then I will be out of spells entirely."

Theres a giant tank of it in front of you, but you don't recall sing and nearby streams or bodies of water on your way up here.

Now that things have slowed down...
A brass plaque hangs next to the door to area P10 that reads, in Azlanti, “Lower Level Tank and Observation Deck.” An elaborate lock is set in the door. However, the key is inserted in the lock and has been turned to disengage the mechanism.

Its a medium water elemental.

In Aquan "My master compelled me here millennia ago, to maintain and power this chamber. Now I serve others. It is the way of things. "

”Is there a way to free you? It seems terribly boring to be here for so long, trapped by these awful monsters.”

Aenon does some light streching beføre giving Delia a grin. "Dpn't worry, this will do plenty"

"None that I know of, mortal."

Explore the library, open the door in the tank, or move on upstairs?

Deth explores the library, doing a quick reconnoiter with Detect Magic active.

Examination of the library stacks may be disappointing for seekers of ancient secrets and lore, as nearly all of the books have disintegrated with time. However, two books made of engraved metal plates survive, as well as three others that appear to be standard paper and ink. One of the surviving books is a spellbook. It has 100 pages, 32 of which contain spells: three 1st-level spells, four 2nd-level spells, and seven 3rd-level spells. The book is worth 1,670 gp if sold

These “normal” books radiate magical auras,

The plinth holds a strange clockwork bust of a woman. A small slot is built into the forehead of the bust that looks to be the same size as a clockwork spy’s recording gem. If a gem is slotted into the contraption’s forehead, it replays the information stored in the recording gem as the bust’s mechanical mouth moves along with the words. The only item of interest that has survived the passage of time on the desk is a blue gemstone. This is a recording gem.

The gem and bust both have auras as well.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Deth frowns as he looks over the books. "Hey Nox, this one is a spellbook!' He explains excitedly. "I'm not sure about these others though." He then picks up the blue gemstone. "Anyone interested in seeing an ancient recording?" he asks, wishing he spoke the language.
Unless someone objects he inserts the gem into the slot. If anyone objects, Deth is willing to hear them out before taking this action.

Aenon is on his way towards the stairs when Deth calls out, curious about the potential recording from ancient times, he moves over to stand at the druids side.

Spellcraft 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

”Necromany and Abjuration spells are contained therein. That’s defintely something I’d like to study in further detail!”. If there is no objection, he takes the book and stows it away.

As his attention was drawn to the bust and he recording gems, he nodded excitedly. ”Play that blue one and we can also play the one from that other contraption,” he calls out.

Trying to reassure Momo he says. "Although I am certain the 'Scuttles' was made by these people, perhaps nurture can overcome nature in this case."

Momo lets out a small huff. "I just. I don't want to believe whatever gave life to Scuttles is evil." Momo turns concerned eyes to her pack where the metal arachnid nestled safely inside.

"Anyone interested in seeing an ancient recording?" he asks, wishing he spoke the language.

"Yeah. But how are you planning on playing it?" Momo has her arms folded across her chest, holding Scuttles. (The pose is reminiscent of Misty holding Togepi in Pokemon.) Momo narrows her eyes at the objects Nox points out, not fond of the mysterious magical items.

"I think you just insert it." Deth replies as he tries to put the blue stone into the clockwork contraption, then steps back to see what happens.

The recording gem found on the table contains information about the Spindle Solution. The voice on the recording is in Azlanti, and at the start of the recording, it issues a strong admonition: “This recording gem and the information it contains is for the organization’s internal use only and not for dissemination to the public, under penalty of law.”

The Spindle Solution, a division of the Ioun Imperative that served as the Azlanti Empire’s intelligence organization, was a group dedicated to improving humanity’s quality of life through the use of ioun stone technology. The organization created and specialized in the spindle series of stones, while also performing humanitarian research. Spindlelock Tower, and the facility it was a part of, was intended to be a research station.

This was the entirety of the organization as it was known to ordinary citizens. Behind this facade, though, the Spindle Solution was also a front for classified military and intelligence research and development. The recording goes on to mention that the group recently captured a spy. Originally suspected to be an elf from Celwynvian disguised as a human, the spy proved to be tenacious, resourceful, and dangerous. Once captured, the spy was placed in temporal stasis, and since the organization’s leadership was unwilling to house the prisoner at the Compass, the headquarters for the Spindle Solution, this facility was renovated in secret to contain the individual. Most of the other researchers here were unaware this was going on.

The recording continues, stating that the Spindle Solution leadership had recently determined that the Empire of Azlant had been manipulated by a hitherto unknown aquatic race. Some speculated that the spy might be related to these creatures, so a second series of renovations were performed on Spindlelock Tower to accommodate the spy’s release from stasis and eventual interrogation. The speaker ends the recording with a note that at the time of this recording, the general public is unaware of this aquatic threat.

Is the voice the same from the earlier recording? (at the excavation site Scuddles took the party to.)

”An aquatic race of spies that can appear as a human? That could be a problem, if they were still around. I wonder why there is no more recordings? Could there be more gems hidden in this place?”

’If there are more gems to be found, they would no doubt be invaluable to our research into the lives of the azlanti. But remember that we’re searching for the colonists, research will have to be a secondary objective.’ Aenon says calmly, brows furrowed in thought. ’You don’t suppose that the Compass mentioned could be some sort of prison? If it is, we need to find it as soon as possible.’

After conversing with his companions, Aenon walks over to the tank and asks the water elemental if it knows anything about this compass or prisoners.

As Nox translates the recording's voice, Deth seems visibly upset. After Aenon mentions the colonists, Deth agrees. "Yes, we should look for the original colonists."

Not the same voice. Did you guys locate the other gem in P6? If I didn't mention it I should have.

The elemental seems to ponder and deliberate for some time. "Nothing of this compass you speak of, but long ago they imprisoned something above us. It has since fled this place. "

I looked back to the P6 posts and you did mention it
Curious and at Nox's urging, Deth puts in the recording gem they found in the downstairs room into the slot.

“I want it on record,” begins the first voice, “that I, Albrust of Havenvine, stand opposed to this decision to send this facility’s golems—“

“We don’t have time for this, Albrust!” a second voice interrupts. “I know you’re committed to protocol, but they can’t even estimate the potential damage!”

The speaker suddenly lowers his voice. “They don’t know if the bunkers are going to do a damn bit of good, my friend. We may be lucky to survive at all. That survival could depend on the golems being able to dig us back out. They need to be redeployed where they might do some good. Our scouts report the elves are… evacuating.”

After a moment, the first voice says quietly. “What about the spy? We still don’t know for sure.”

“And we’re never going to know, Albrust. He’s likely going to die like millions of others. They only difference is that he probably deserves it.”

Momo stands, holding Scuttle in her arms. "Well. That is... something, isn't it?" The ranger isn't sure what to make of the recordings. The more knowledge the party gains, the more complex their situation seems to get.

"So there are aquatic creatures here and now. Perhaps the cause of the original colonists' disappearance." Momo motions a hand to the empty air to her side, "and before now, there was an elvish spy who was imprisoned here? And the people - who the ruins belong to - found the elf and assigned golems until...?" Momo seems to be overwhelmed and buries her face in Scuttle's back.

She lifts her head after a minute, "well, whatever happened, it doesn't concern us now.... These are just ancient relics from another time. We should get on our way and try to see if any of the original colonists are alive."

”If there are shapechanging spies, I think we are all going to have to stay together from now on. But, Momo is right...we have a mission to keep track of. After we finish, we can take care of all the things that must be done,” Nox says, trying to push his uncle’s funeral out of his mind.

Aenon can barely hold back his excitement at the thought of untouched vaults of azlanti relics buried somewhere on the island. With visible effort, he refocuses his attention back to the problems at hand.

"If there really was such a spy, we should probably have a way to tell if we're really talking to one of us or a stranger in disguise, but as far as I understood the recording, the spy would have to be millennia old by now, and I do not believe that even the elves are that longlived." (or are they? I'm honestly not entirely sure about the lifespans of pathfinder elves)

After the discussion, and remembering the trapped elemental, Aenon once more slips over to the tank to ask about the owners of the facility and anything it can tell about the earthfall and life on the island before it. As the questions shift to a more anthropological or historical nature, Aenon gets visibly more excited and only after a moment to gather his thoughts does he remember the one question he was there to ask."How long ago did this captive escape? And if it was after the earthfall, how did they survive?"

"I don't think elves can live that long, but I'm not sure that this was an elf. And it was put into suspended animation until recently." Deth replies.

"Long ago, there was a panic and evacuation. darkness came and there was much shaking and destruction, I survived through the magic of this tower, but much seems to have fallen to the ages of time. I know of no captive.

I believe the absolute maximum age of an elf is 750 years in Pathfinder. Ready to go upstairs?

Momo carefully deposits Scuddles back into her pack so the metallic arachnic can peep out from under the protection of the flap. The ranger pulls out her bow, and stands by the door, waiting for someone to take the lead upstairs. She follows behind, second, and looks around as they enter the new area.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

"Long ago, there was a panic and evacuation. darkness came and there was much shaking and destruction, I survived through the magic of this tower, but much seems to have fallen to the ages of time. I know of no captive.

I believe the absolute maximum age of an elf is 750 years in Pathfinder. Ready to go upstairs?

Yes