"To... to the Witch Tower," says Mathezic. "He...he made a deal with those vile kobolds to undermine the foundations of the Witch
Tower. He was obsessed with destroying it and was furious when he couldn't have it removed it by legal means."
The servant looks frightened. "He made other deals, too. With monsters. It was something to do with his research into the stars."
Mathezic continues to look frightened. "I never saw them. But I heard them. They had strange voices. He called them and they came." His face is quite pale.
"They spoke of trading information. That's all I know."
"The stars? I don't know much about kobolds, but I've never, ever heard of them being interested in any stars or even the sky, I heard they stick to caverns and such." Liam scratches his chin, thinking.
"We've kinda figured out that Hunclay wanted to collapse the Witch Tower, and that he dealt with the kobolds to do that, but why? Was it blocking his view of something?"
"I don't know. I don't know. I wish I had never signed on with him. I'll never be able to forget those voices. Horrible..."
"Yea, we could use the help of someone who knows the place well. I don't mind paying you for your time and help. How does five... no, ten silver sound? That's not bad at all for an easy half-days worth of leading a guided tour, right?"
"If the wizard setup the tower to fall, why was he in it?"
"I don't know! It's not like he confided in me!"
Eliastra starts looking around. "Can you help us catalog all of this stuff for the estate?"
"Yea, we could use the help of someone who knows the place well. I don't mind paying you for your time and help. How does five... no, ten silver sound? That's not bad at all for an easy half-days worth of leading a guided tour, right?"
Mathezic looks like he might be about to get ill. "Don't make me go with you! No, just let me go! Let me go!"
He tries to bolt for the door.
"Hey, relax, we're not holding you hostage. Even offered to pay you for help..."
Liam looks to his friends, "I really don't think we'll be able to convince Mathezic to help at all, he's too fearful and not saying anything about why. Best leave him be, and let him go. We're going to need to be on our guard a lot more."
He stows the journal away, taking on a steely demeanor
"Plenty of time to document each room after we've uh... pacified them."
"Beware of traps! Traps everywhere! In the study, in the bedroom, everywhere! But the worst is Lodo. He tried to get in here this morning. He pretended to be my friend but I knew better! Earlier, he pretended to be Linus and Saba, but I was on to him!"
Mathezic takes his leave, and moments later you hear the front door slam on his way out.
Liam moves over to the only unopened door remaining in the room, "OK, so... like he said, huh? Look out for lots of traps. Eli? You seem to have the keenest eye for this kind of thing, do the honors?"
"Ok. Someone or something named Lodo. Also a Linus and Saba. So at least three possible beings in addition to the traps. I don't think we're going to be paid enough for this."
She looks around the now empty room where Mathezic was hiding, and casts Detect Magic.
Valena finds nothing of value in Mathezic's room.
Finding no traps, Eli opens the next door only to discover a well-stocked pantry devoid of any real wealth or surprises.
Seeing nothing untoward, Eli opens the door, revealing a hallway with two doors, one leading north and one south.
Eliastra finds no traps and opens the north door. Beyond, she finds a sizeable chamber. In the northeast corner of this parlor is a huge globe of Golarion cradled in a polished mahogany stand. Sextants, astrolabes, and paintings of unearthly landscapes are hung on the walls.
To the south, she finds a dining chamber. This dining room’s long oak table is surrounded by ornately carved oak chairs. On each wall hangs a large, framed painting of a desert landscape.
Liam takes an interest in the northern room with the globe, "Very nice," he observes, "and these other instruments, I think they are used for navigating using the stars placement, and to clock the rotation of the planets and stars. Hunclay was quite the astronomer. And dedicated or obsessed enough to risk death collapsing the tower just to clear his view."
"The paintings are odd... maybe other lands?"
Liam sets about trying to find any titles, labels, markings indicating what the landscapes are, then, curiosity getting the better of him, tinkers with the globe itself.
Those paintings might be mere flights of fancy, Liam, but they could also be visions of other worlds... or other planes. The globe is well-made and contains fantastical lands you've probably never heard of. Places like Casmaron and Tian Xia. What's 'the pit of Gormuz'? you wonder.
Everything looks okay to Thorny!
There was plenty of good food in there! Bread, cheeses, smoked meats, some pickled vegetables and a nice array of spices, too!
"Ummm, do you really think we should? I mean, I guess it would just go bad if it's left there. Still, wouldn't we be looting stuff that ain't ours to take?".
This lushly furnished library features three tall bookcases running north to south down the center of the chamber and another bookcase of iron in the northeast corner. A stuffed grizzly bear towers in the northwest corner, its claws and fangs bared aggressively. The east wall features sixteen paintings of various planets in gilt frames. A ladder in the west side of the ceiling leads up to a trap door.
Liam waits on the staircase looking over the room, "Now THIS is what I would expect from a wizard! Remember to check all around for those traps the guy said, Eli. Maybe that bear will attack without a trigger word or something." It dawns on Liam how enraptured he is by the appointments and almost optimistic he is sounding, "I mean, I really hope not, but, be prepared I guess..."
With the prospect of a having to fight a grizzly bear on her mind, Eliastra thoroughly looks the animal over, but can't see how it might be trapped. It just seems like a stuffed bear.
Val grabs a hunk of cheese and follows Eli upstairs to the library. She starts detecting magic on the shelves moving from one to the other.
"Let's see if there are any magical things in this room."
Oh yes. There are several books locked away in the iron bookcase which detect as magical.
Trying hard to muzzle his disappointment, Liam follows Val, scrutinizing the books.
"Wow. Looks like Hunclay really did not want anyone to get into these. I mean, it's like a see-through safe, isn't it? Can you make out the titles on the spines, Val?"
Liam moves to examine the paintings, "These are neat. Completely appropriate for his interests. One, two... Is there sixteen planets around our sun?"
There are sixteen books in that locked case. Thirteen appear to be related to astronomy, but the other three are magical. Only one of those has a title legible on the spine. It's The Book of War.
"Book of War… Why would Hunclay need to lock that up?"
Overflowing with curiosity, an idea strikes Liam, and he pulls out the journal and starts pacing to measure the room and mapping it out, mumbling to himself, listing the contents as he makes a display of writing them down, "Hey, umm, I need to catalog these books, too. Could we give this case the once over to see if its trapped? I'd imagine it is, with some of the books being of a magical nature."
|
Thorny finishes the fist-sized hunk of cheese he found in the pantry. He cocks his chin to read the title of "The Book of War" on the spine. "Now THAT is a book I'd love to read." He wipes his hands on his pants and continues to cautiously meander around the room, looking for dangerous things. He heads to the stuffed bear and looks it over.
The bear looks fearsome. But dead.
"Eli any chance you can open this case? Make sure it isn't trapped. I'd like to examine these books so we can log them properly."
Eli, you hear a small click.
A small needle stabs Eli's fingertip. It burns with a fiery pain.