Ordinarily I'd wait, but with all the blackouts, I want to keep things moving. I'm botting Felix and Lydia.
Angie-Sen dives down into the water while Lizbeth cheers him from the boat, but the deep-diving samurai just can't...quite... reach... the book.
Lydia and Felix go looking for The Tome of Stars and Moons said to be hidden among the stacks. A librarian by training, Lydia has an idea where the book might be. And they find it! Just as the books around them begin to shift into positions determined by researching powers elsewhere, Felix and Lydia manage to snatch the vital tome off the shelves. One success!
You have 8 hours and five books remaining. What's your pleasure?
Here are some clues:
Luminous Libram - Acrobatics Slates of Kador - Swimming Asaru's Grimoire of the Planes - Intelligence Elgar's Forgotten Compendium - Climb Incanabulum of the Ages - Escape Artist
|AC 15, T 11, FF 14|HP: 21/21|F +2, R +2, W +7 (+2 vs disease/MA, -1 vs attribute loss, +4 vs reading/writing)|Init +1, Perc +4|CMB +5 CMD 16|3/3 dooms 1/1 Guiding Spirit, 3/3 Sense Bond, 6/6 Manifestation, 1/1 ES
Yeah, don't feel too bad about sending down the puppet strings.
My Boon is one of those pick-one-out-of-three "Niche Specialist" ones: It pertains to some "Research" subsystem I don't know much else about, and grants +2 to "Research" checks (and similar, subject to DM discretion), and I always roll a minimum of 1d8+Intelligence modifier when reducing a library's "knowledge points"
Lydia looks to what under some circumstances would be called the horizon, and upwards.
"I think that's where Elgar's Forgotten Compendium is...."
Once they get there, she doffs her armor (I forget how long that takes, but it's light armor) and begins scuttling up the shelf...
Male Human Samurai-4 HP 32 /32 AC 24 ( Touch 14 Flat 21) / Fort +6 | Ref +4 | Will +3 / CMB +8 | CMD 22 / Init +2 / Perception +2
Holding on to the side of the boat Angie Sen nods
"It is dark down there,let me have my magic tourch."
After he attaches the everburning torch to his belt. He goes back down in the water. Knowing his Honor is at stake he redoubles his efforts.
Swim:1d20 + 7 - 1 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 7 - 1 + 4 = 16 dice+skill-armor+Honor in all things
Lydia climbs an impossibly tall bookshelf (over one hundred feet high!) and manages to recover Elgar's Forgotten Compendium. Meanwhile, Lizbeth and Angie Sen manage to dredge up the surprisingly heavy Slates of Kador, the samurai gasping for air as he heaves the slates onto the boat. At the same time, Felix squeezes his body into an narrow, difficult corner, pulling forth the Incanabulum of the Ages!
From time to time, you spot Kitarlo, busily seeking his own tomes as the clock ticks by.
Heaven has smiled upon you! Seven hours and two books remaining!
|AC 15, T 11, FF 14|HP: 21/21|F +2, R +2, W +7 (+2 vs disease/MA, -1 vs attribute loss, +4 vs reading/writing)|Init +1, Perc +4|CMB +5 CMD 16|3/3 dooms 1/1 Guiding Spirit, 3/3 Sense Bond, 6/6 Manifestation, 1/1 ES
I forget; what happens in 7 hours?
DC 13 Profession (Librarian), Oh god...I'm in Heaven!:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
All organizational systems are ultimately arbitrary; none are more 'true' than any other, and Lydia knows that - but the trouble is, Heaven doesn't know, and the elaborate but strict filing system that the locals no doubt find so blessedly easy and natural is of less than no help to her...
Intelligence check, What kind of Heaven is this place?!?, burst of insight:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
...just the same, it takes more than the judgmental gaze of Heaven to stop Lydia Stillbourne from getting her hands on a (literally) occult grimoire!
Your passes are only good for 9 hours total. Angels make very efficient hall monitors.
By thinking carefully and quickly, Lydia manages to find her way through the ever-shifting maze of books to secure Asaru's Grimoire of the Planes!
One book left! The Luminous Libram its on a floating bookshelf high above. Only by leaping from shelf to shelf can you acquire it before the library shifts again. Lizbeth, Angie Sen and/or Felix?
The azata looks around and notices you've retrieved all six of your own books. "Well," he says, looking frustrated, "I could use someone to help me figure this place out, thank you. I've found most of the books I need, but one eludes me. It goes by the amusing title of Destruction and Creation: Careful Experiments with Contained Chaos. I have no idea where to find it."
You can help Kitarlo find his book with a successful Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (religion) check.
|AC 15, T 11, FF 14|HP: 21/21|F +2, R +2, W +7 (+2 vs disease/MA, -1 vs attribute loss, +4 vs reading/writing)|Init +1, Perc +4|CMB +5 CMD 16|3/3 dooms 1/1 Guiding Spirit, 3/3 Sense Bond, 6/6 Manifestation, 1/1 ES
Yeah. If ever there was a time that skill is useful, it's surely now.
Lydia, having begun to fathom the rules at work here, manages to deduce the probably location of the dangerous-sounding volume and helps Kitarlo locate it!
And you've so much time to spare! It's almost like it was easier because there were only four of you...or something. :-)
"Now come, my friends. There's no time to waste. I must read these books and learn if they do contain the elements necessary to save young Valais."
Kitarlo leads you to a small reading room near the entrance and begins to pore over the books. The azata has an amazing affinity for the written word and reads at an incredible pace, finishing whole books in mere seconds. A raelis azata can read 100 pages as a standard action...
At last he looks up, his face grave. "I have found it. The ritual is one of mortification, which requires that each participant in the ritual sacrifice to achieve the common goal. It so happens that each volume you have recovered will offer an additional choice of mortifications."
The ritual itself has three phases, with each phase requiring each PC to succeed at one check. After sketching an intricate diagram on the floor, Kitarlo places Valais at the center and joins the PCs in forming a circle around her. Kitarlo explains that each successful mortification lends strength to Valais, while each failed mortification lends power to her demons. If the demonic influence grows stronger than Valais’s spirit, the ritual will fail. You may switch mortifications between phases and cannot aid each other.
Because Kitarlo has plenty of time to help you prepare, you all gain a +2 bonus on all the mortifcation checks!
The available mortifications are:
Starvation (The Luminous Libram): This mortification mimics fasting to purify the spirit.
Faith (The Slates of Klador): This mortification tests the faith of the ritual performer.
Humility (Asaru’s Grimoire of the Planes): This mortification tests the vanity of the ritual performer.
Blood (The Tome of Stars and Moons): This mortification transforms the pain of the ritual performer into a holy sacrifice.
Weakness (Elgar’s Forgotten Compendium): This mortification offers the strength of the body up as a sacrifice.
Charity (Incunabulum of the Ages): This mortification tests the charity of the spirit.
____________________________________________
THE RITUAL PHASE ONE
You may each choose a mortification. Once all have chosen, the form of the mortification will be revealed.
Female Human Occultist (battlehost) 4 | HP: 15/15 | AC 16 (T12, FF 15) | CMB: +4 CMD: 15 | F:+6* R:+2* W:+5* | Init +1 | Perc +4, SM +0, Social +0 | Speed 30 ft. | Spells: 1st: 3/3 | MF: Abjuration: 5/5, Conjuration: 2/2 | A Sure Thing: 1/1, Pharasma's Blessing: 1/1 | Active Conditions: Warding Talisman +1, Sunrod, Shield (2 min), Resistance, Nauseated (1/5 rounds)
Lizbeth speaks in a calm, serious voice.
Tien:
"I would give away everything so that others can live. I shall perform the mortification of charity."
"What?!" Lizbeth complains. "No! You--" She cocks her head as if listening to something. Then she groans loudly. "Fine! But not that one. I'd rather starve."
Lizbeth joins the circle. "I choose the mortification of starvation."
|AC 15, T 11, FF 14|HP: 21/21|F +2, R +2, W +7 (+2 vs disease/MA, -1 vs attribute loss, +4 vs reading/writing)|Init +1, Perc +4|CMB +5 CMD 16|3/3 dooms 1/1 Guiding Spirit, 3/3 Sense Bond, 6/6 Manifestation, 1/1 ES
Male Human Samurai-4 HP 32 /32 AC 24 ( Touch 14 Flat 21) / Fort +6 | Ref +4 | Will +3 / CMB +8 | CMD 22 / Init +2 / Perception +2
"Small question Kitarlo. There are six mortifications, and" counting on his fingers "Lydia is one, Felix is two, Lizbeth is three, Kitarlo you are four and I am five. I assume Valais can not preform a mortification. So that leaves one Mortification still need to be done by someone. Am I correct in this?"
"So the last three that are remaining are the Blood, Humility and Weakness Mortifications. If someone needs to take two I will take Blood and Weakness to save Valais. And Humility can be yours."
Kitarlo responds soberly. "We must each choose a mortification, but not all of them need be performed. It is the sacrifice that matters, not checking off a laundry list. Had we not recovered all six books, the ritual could still have been completed, only with fewer choices. However, there will be three mortifications for each of us, so we can cover all six if you wish."
"As for me, Humility does seem to be challenge, so I accept."
Kitarlo seats a nervous Valais at the center of the diagram and each of you at five points around her. He intones a prayer to the great judges of good and begins the ritual. Wind begins to rise, fitfully toying with your hair and garments.
Lizbeth - Starvation As Kitarlo intones the words of the ritual, Lizbeth finds herself immensely hungry, as if she had not eaten in several days. She feels a tenuous link between the strength of her body and that of demon-ravaged Valais. Lizbeth, make a Constitution check, please!
Felix - Charity Felix, you sense the needs of others and know that you can assuage suffering by offering up something of value. What do you offer, and how much is it worth?
Lydia - Faith Lydia, you feel your soul in danger as your connection to cursed Valais deepens. Do you have her strength of spirit? Do you have the knowledge necessary to call on the strength of the gods? Lydia, please make a Knowledge (Religion) check!
Angie Sen - Blood Angie Sen, you feel intense physical pain as Valais's body is wracked by the struggles of the demons she is bound to. Your blood literally becomes a holy sacrifice as you cry tears of blood. You automatically succeed, but you take [dice]1d4[/b] points of Bleed damage.
|AC 15, T 11, FF 14|HP: 21/21|F +2, R +2, W +7 (+2 vs disease/MA, -1 vs attribute loss, +4 vs reading/writing)|Init +1, Perc +4|CMB +5 CMD 16|3/3 dooms 1/1 Guiding Spirit, 3/3 Sense Bond, 6/6 Manifestation, 1/1 ES
I'm left dazed the next round, in case that matters.
Spiritually grueling though it is, Lydia finds that just as Heaven can judge her, she can judge Heaven right back. As she remembers reading several years ago in some penny-dreadful, 'salvation and damnation can be much the same thing.'
Felix, I feel that the scenario is being unfairly vague with the Charity mortification. While your sacrifice is nobly done, it's also far beyond what the author was thinking. A donation of 25 gold value will do. Plus, you're gonna need that sword.
Angie-Sen and Lydia, the length of time each mortification takes is vague. I'll give you each a round to recover (or do whatever else) between each phase of the ritual.
I mis-spoke before. The rounds of the ritual are consecutive, so there is no time to eat your loaf, Angie Sen, and Lydia, you'll be unavailable for the second round of the ritual.
Angie Sen, you can attempt to stop the bleeding with a DC 15 Heal check. Don't ask why there's time for that. I don't know.
As the ritual proceeds, the wind whips up and swirls around the room, becoming insistent. Kitarlo remains impassive - whatever battle he faces appears to be internal. From each of you, glowing wisps of light emerge and whip away in the wind to settle into a pleasant, shining cloud around Valais.
THE RITUAL Phase Two
Everyone but Lydia, please choose a mortification for the second round. It can be any one, including the one you just finished.
