GMTrex's PFS [CORE] Destiny of the Sands Trilogy (Inactive)

Game Master Andrew Trexler

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Linguistics: 1d20 + 9 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 10 = 27
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

"That's Nethys, the god of magic, of course," Kailun says in a flat tone, pointing to the figure in the eastern carving, "and these hieroglyphs are simple enough to translate. Give me a moment."

Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
"Oh, there is a seam? Where is it?"

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
"Wait, Numair. What is it? Point it out to me."

Heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
"Hmm, starved to death. I hope he or she was not sealed in this room." She looks at the fountain. "Although the water fountain would have helped."

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Lionel points to the pool. "Somethin's waitin' for us there. A bad surprise, as I mentioned.", he says as he moves closer to the lake, spear in hand.
He raises his arm and a swarm of wasps covers his arms and hands as he readies himself for the attack.

Casting True Strike
AoO: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (2) + 26 = 28
Damage: 1d8 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Eveline doesn't follow close behind, preferring to keep a distance in case something ambushed the group. She nods to Kailun's observation, surprised the team is this oblivious to one of the main deities of Golarion. She's also quick to notice the same seam as Numair.

"Let's never do anything hasty here. Starvation? That'd mean this chamber should have been locked tight, but we just walked right in. How's that possible?"

Kailun is able to quickly translate the cartouches set into notches on the wall (see Handouts):

On Nethys' whole side, the staff paired with the sun represents the release of power and the ability to destroy enemies -- literally, “Destruction.” The ankh over rising bread represents prosperity and abundance. The ankh before the arch represents protection of the land or home from enemies. It can be translated as “Rune.”

On the burnt side, the scepter paired with the Sun represents the control of power and its use in preserving the land -- literally, “Preservation.” The man before the scarab and cobra represents the knowledge of death and its many forms. The eye over water represents the knowledge of the world.

The archers gather around the body and discuss what might have led to his sad fate. A multitude of ordered scratches mar the wall in the corner, and the leather bits of his clothes appear to be chewed. A nearly illegible note curses the author's companions for abandoning him "to drown in a desert."

Numair observes that a water elemental shifts quietly at the bottom of the pool. While Lionel hurriedly prepares his spear, the elemental flows out of the water to stand near the fountain, watching carefully but not attacking.

"Do you speak Common?", Numair asks the elemental hopefully.

Seeing the elemental standing down, Lionel lowers the spear. "Ya know, it was kinda rude o' me, wasn't it. Sorry.", he says, sending a trademark grin at it. "So, it seems like there was a gracious host after all, huh.", he says, looking at Numair. "Think ya magical folk can ask, uh, it, for some directions 'round this place. 'Cause I don' feel like surprises."

Trex - do the cartouches seem like they're moveable, so they could be rearranged?

Pim looks up in alarm as the elemental flows out of the pool, wondering if his arrows will be any good against a column of water. He waits for the creature to reply to Numair's question, though he can't help but be slightly distracted by something that's occurred to him.

"Evie," he says quietly to his fellow halfling, not noticing he's once again called her by the nickname he has for her, "does what Kailun said about those cartouche things make sense? Why would the hieroglyphics on the god's whole side say things like 'destruction' and the ones on the burned side say 'preservation'? I wonder if we're supposed to put them in the right places?"

Eveline too watches as the elemental changes it place, wondering if it is tangible enough to be hurt. The thought quickly passes, as she is distracted by Pim calling to her with his nickname. She's accustomed to hearing Eve or Eveline, but hearing Evie almost always startles her.

"It does seem like one of those too simple to be true type of puzzles, which begs the question who set them in the wrong order," Eveline says to Pim, leaning towards him a bit to continue the would-be whispering.

Pim's eyes widen and his face turns just the slightest bit pink when Eveline speaks to him in their racial tongue.

Eveline looks at Pim's embarrassment with a hint of confusion. Her facial expression shifts from laughter to disgust, and vice versa. She's not sure how to think about this.

And just to prove everyone else she's still the bossy Eveline, she takes a look at Lionel, who was so eager to stab the elemental. "Aren't you a magical man yourself as well? How come the the elves can dig up information about them and you cannot?" she asks with a slightly mocking tone, maybe just to cover up with her and Pim's discussion.

Trex - do the cartouches seem like they're moveable, so they could be rearranged?

Yes.

The creature responds in a flowing, gurgling language. It sounds... petulant. Anyone here speak Aquan?

Nope.

Numair shakes his head.

"I am sorry, but I can't understand you. That said, unless you mean us harm, I mean none to you. Let's try to stay calm..."

He tries to keep his voice and facial expression friendly, and does his best to make calming hand gestures.

Pim's face falls a bit, as he was clearly hoping for a more positive response than he got from Eveline. Rather than responding, he turns his attention to the strange burbling speech across the room and speaks up, "I don't know how to talk to that thing, but it seems like the cartouches are lined up wrong, like it's a puzzle. Maybe we're meant to put them in the right places?"

He scratches his head a bit, then says, "I'm probably not the best brain for this task, but it seems like the burned side of the god should have the bad stuff, and the whole side should have the good stuff. So on the whole side there should be the ones about prosperity and abundance, and protection of the land, and preservation of the land. And on the burned side, it should be destruction, and the knowledge of death - and I guess knowledge of the world? Does that make sense to you guys?"

Lionel continues his smile towards the elemental, pointing the spear upright in a sheathed position.

Not turning towards Pim, he says. "It don't real make sense to me, but poor Lionel ain't tha sharpest dagger in tha corpse. If ya think it gonna work, give it a try, brotha.", he says encouragingly. "Whatcha two bigheads think 'bout this?", he says, turning briefly towards Numair and Kailun.

I do think that this is the solution to the puzzle. Lionel isn't going to have a strong opinion on it, however.

"It's worth a shot. Can someone try it our?"
Appraise: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
"Quite a beautiful statue. Luckily no one has tried to pilfer it, yet."

As Pim turns away, Eveline actually feels a little sorry. She places her hand on his shoulder.

She quickly focuses on the task at hand and nods at others' assumption. "That sounds like a solution. Do try that."

The Maiden observes that the warrior-maiden statue is bearing a real sword, not a stone one. Its gilded hilt is shaped like the head of a dragon. The elemental watches her carefully.

I need to know the exact order in which you are removing/replacing the cartouches.

Pim smiles at Eveline's words, then takes a couple of steps toward the cartouches, his hand raised. He pauses, uncertainty clouding his face, and he turns to Numair and Kailun, "You guys have any better ideas of how to do this?"

Anyone want to suggest anything about the order? I think I get which ones need to be on which side, but don't have any particular thoughts on the order they should be moved in.

Kailun is able to quickly translate the cartouches set into notches on the wall (see Handouts):

On Nethys' whole side, the staff paired with the sun represents the release of power and the ability to destroy enemies -- literally, “Destruction.” The ankh over rising bread represents prosperity and abundance. The ankh before the arch represents protection of the land or home from enemies. It can be translated as “Rune.”

On the burnt side, the scepter paired with the Sun represents the control of power and its use in preserving the land -- literally, “Preservation.” The man before the scarab and cobra represents the knowledge of death and its many forms. The eye over water represents the knowledge of the world.

The archers gather around the body and discuss what might have led to his sad fate. A multitude of ordered scratches mar the wall in the corner, and the leather bits of his clothes appear to be chewed. A nearly illegible note curses the author's companions for abandoning him "to drown in a desert."

Numair observes that a water elemental shifts quietly at the bottom of the pool. While Lionel hurriedly prepares his spear, the elemental flows out of the water to stand near the fountain, watching carefully but not attacking.

"Would destruction really be on Nethys's whole side?" The Maiden ponders. "As well, the Preservation rune feels like it's in the wrong location. Switch those two first, start with removing Destruction first."

She peers at the statue. "That sword is real... Hmm. " She pulls her silver nunchaku.

Gah! I skipped over the Treasure section of this room for some reason. There are a couple of items visible at the bottom of the pool: a wand and what looks like a compass. Additionally, the corpse is wearing an ornate leather belt that seems to have avoided any chewing.

The water elemental churns furiously at the Maiden's exposed weapon but stays put. For now...

Pim gives the suggestion a go and is startled when the door opens after just the two cartouches have been exchanged. The rich scent of palm wine, cinnamon, and myrrh wafts in from a magically illuminated archive in the next room. Each wall has deep slots filled with papyrus scrolls. A white-and-black marble altar enveloped in faint wisps of faerie fire sits squarely in the center of the room. A ladder to the south leads up to a walkway, with more shelves and a golden sarcophagus.

Pim smiles broadly and even gives his small hands a couple of excited claps, saying, "Oh, that was great! I've never been good at puzzles, I'm so glad that worked! Good thinking, Charis!" He peers into the room beyond, taking a deep breath and exclaiming, "Wow, it smells nice in there! But it's full of scrolls, definitely not my department. And a sarcophagras - er, sarcuphigis - big stone coffin. That's a little alarming."

He holds up his right hand, the fingertips calloused from years of practice with his bow, and goes silent, sensing for the presence of evil in the room beyond.

Detect Evil, just in case. I'll let the magic types sort out what the treasure is.

"Scrolls?" Numair says brightly. "Let me have a look..."

"I'm guessing this is some sort of a secret library. Just the type we pathfinders are keen to stumble upon," Eveline says, still wary of the elemental in the water. She prefers to stay closer to the exit, in case the elemental decides to make a move.

"Ah, the door opens! Music to my ears." She looks around a bit. "Poor man. He was unable to escape this room. We should give him a burial after we finish exploring."

She peers at the man's leather belt. "This man's belt was undamaged, despite his hunger. Could it be magical, perhaps? I'll let you elves figure this out."

Kailun determines that the belt in question is magical. Its leatherwork includes several motifs of a bear. Need a Spellcraft check to identify.

Pim doesn't smell any evil among the fresh scents wafting his way. The library is large -- there are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of scrolls -- but a detect magic spell from Kailun helps identify the immediately useful ones. Numair identifies them as:

scroll of bless
scroll of magic weapon
scroll of ghostbane dirge
scroll of resist energy
scroll of remove disease
scroll of speak with dead
scroll of elemental speech

A chest on the walkway above also contains some useful gear: five bottles of holy water, five spell component pouches, several ancient platinum coins, and a trio of scholars outfits (one red, one gold, and one green) of a style not seen in centuries.

"Ah-hah!"

Selecting the Scroll of Elemental Speech, Numair uses it so that he can speak with the water elemental.

"Greetings! My name is Numair. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

Kailun mutters an arcane spell and inspects the belt with shimmering eyes.

"I agree, Charis, we should lay him to rest," Pim says, "It's good of you to think of that."

He waits as his companions study the scrolls and the belt, and Numair begins to chat in a burbling, liquid tongue with the water creature. Pim keeps his attention focused on the sarcophagus, just in case.

Kailun is unable to decipher the belt's magics, though it is clearly of the transmutation school.

The gilded sarcophagus does not open, explode, or move in any way. Nor does the shrine next to it begin to glow or otherwise do anything odd.

Numair rallies magnificently.

As Numair chats animatedly with the water elemental, Pim collects the items they've found in the chest, handing them out to the others and keeping a flask of holy water for himself.

"I wonder who made use of these scholars' outfits?" he muses. "We're supposed to be looking for one of the sage jewels, maybe these clothes belonged to a sage?" With his collection and distribution complete, the earnest young archer turns his attention to the sarcophagus. "I don't detect any evil from this thing, so it doesn't seem like there's a horrid mummy about to leap out at us or anything. Should we see what's inside? I'm reluctant to disturb the dead, but we were sent here to explore and investigate the place."

Sellena froths quietly for a long moment before bubbling back to Numair.

The shrine next to the sarcophagus has some notes in Ancient Osiriani, in fact. Kailun announces them to be gibberish but takes a second look. Make a Linguistics check (anyone can make the check).

Numair nods.

Numair clears his throat, before addressing the rest of the party.

"The water elemental's name is Sellena. She is apparently bound to this room, and will be required to attack us if we damage the relief, or steal from the fountain."

He then returns his attention to Sellena.

"A guardian then? What about the dead body then? What happened to him?" Eveline asks, glancing at the library room intermittently. "Kailun, I imagine that place to be more of your expertise."

She decides to walk up to Pim and peers into the room. At the mention of a mummy, Eveline's eyes squint. She kneels down and begins to look about the room for signs of undead.

Survival (undead): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 2 = 16

"Ah, that explains a lot, Numair. She must have fended off the looters who would sack the statue, sword and the compass. I'll leave her be, then." The Maiden looks around for a bit.

"We may as well check the sarcophagus." The Maiden proceeds to open it unless stopped.

Str check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Eveline finds no sign of undead in the library, and the Maiden puts her hand to the gold to push it open. Without other prompting, the visage on the sarcophagus lid opens its mouth and utters a single word in Ancient Osiriani. Kailun translates it as "Ready." The conjurer feels the strange urge to ask it questions...

Numair has a sudden unpleasant premonition.

Oh dear...

Sellena considers that for a moment.

What's the plan here folks? Numair is chatting with the enthralled elemental and you have a talking sarcophagus in the next room.

Kailun raises his eyebrows at Numair. "Well?"

"What did it say, Kailun?" The Maiden points at the open mouth as it speaks. "What is its purpose? Can you ask it that?"

Numair shrugs, and responds to Kailun.

"Apparently, the elemental has no conception of what starvation means - it doesn't need to ingest food to survive, after all..."

He then turns his attention back to the elemental.

Lionel jumps hearing the sarcophagus talk. "Think there's someone alive in there? Or, ya know, a talkin' undead? Or is it haunted?", he asks, clearly perturbed.

He turns towards the coffin and begins speaking. "Hellooo! Doo youuu understaand Taaldaan?", before looking around. "Wait, Kailen, ya talked the local language, right?", he says as he leans on his spear. "This s!++ gettin' too weird for me, to be honest. If ya need me ta give you a hand with tha lid on tha casket, gimme a shout!" He says, staying on edge.

Kailun relays that it stated the word "ready" in Ancient Osiriani, but no more. Can make a Spellcraft check to figure out what's happening, or a DC 25 Linguistics check to decipher the notes etched into the sarcophagus.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Kailun has a hunch that it's something in the Necromancy school. Something about the sarcophagus speaking to him... bad roll but hint hint :)

Numair raises an eyebrow, and informs the others:

"Apparently, the elemental is trapped here, and is supposed to keep the room pristine, and the fountain flowing (although it does not know why). Apparently, the Sages living here long ago quarrelled, and are now dead..."

He then turns back to Sellena.

"What about those scrolls we found? Some of them help here?" Eveline asks, making cursory investigations of the books in the library. "Here'd be a year's worth of reading, we've got no time for such right now. Glance at what you can and let's move on."

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 For anything else worthwhile.

Eveline has to pull herself from getting lost in the scrolls. She finds nothing else of immediate note.

Where to?