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Kharg sees Smiley charge through what he thought was an open door. He is about to join the crazy dwarf when he sees Markus open the south door. Momentarily unsure what to do, Kharg decides to go to the south door. He waves his hand at Nella in an attempt to get her attention, then he moves quickly down the southside of the building to join Markus.
Smiley successfully bull-rushes his flatfooted opponent! The captive pathfinder agents watch in awe as Jillia springs through the window, shattering it as she jumps up onto the lectern, right next the the wine glass. Around her the students look at her with a mixture of shock, awe, and "get the wineglass! Save us!"
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Just as Smiley barrels forward into the surprised Aspis agent, Nella catches Kharg's wave and gives him a nod before she shrieks, "Oh my gods, he's right! LOOK OUT!"
Magic won't work with Smiley right on top of him gotta gogogogo!
For lack of any better solution, she dashes past Smiley and attempts to tackle the agent in an effort to 'save' him from the horrible Knid that's RIGHT BEHIND HIM!
The Hostage Taker's day started off so well. He got up, had a nice breakfast, and joined in his fellow Aspis Agents in attacking the vile Pathfinder Grand Lodge, subduing numerous of the villainous trainees in the process. After all, baby wyrms grow up to be vile drakes! They'd make a good exit strategy at the very least, as the rest of his team ran off and left him.
He'd just finished tying up all the captives and putting his fiendish trap in motion (in case those interlopers interfered) when suddenly he heard the most... odd... thing. What sounded like a dwarf attacking someone that... really wasn't there? Then a woman shouting out something about Vermin on the loose?
He'd heard that freeing some of the Pathfinder's pets was a possible plan, so he couldn't help but peek out the door.
That's when his day took a turn for the worst.
Out of nowhere, some insane dwarf came barreling into him, knocking him into the wall! Glass exploded behind him, and some ridiculously acrobatic halfling came somersaulting through the air, right by the wine glass he so carefully placed! Sounds of more agents rushing in from the South! He was just about to prepare his end-game, when some slight red-headed cleric came rushing through the door and grabbed tight against him!
While such an intimate encounter would usually be the cause for some celebration, it really just forced the fight to drain from him as he sighed. "The day started off so well. I surrender."
The freed captives rush around the dormitory and hastily gather everything they can find which may be of help, not even waiting for healing or other aid! You can hear whispers, "Did you see that!? That was the greatest tackle I've ever seen!" "Forget about that, how about that backflip?" "That's Table 224! I told you about them!"
One of the trainees approaches the group with a meager collection of potions, vials, and other supplies. "Here, take these, and get those Aspis bastards good!"
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Markus rushes into the main hall, dagger ready to cut the bonds of the captive initiates. "Quickly, get out!" he stage whispers at the initiates, pointing back through the door. "Before that Aspis..." His voice trails off as he sees Smiley and Nella sitting on the Aspis agent. "Never mind," he says sadly, and he begins to free the hostages at a more leisurely pace.
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"You've saved many lives today, including your own," Jillia informs the surrendered Aspis agent, picking up the chalice with the strange bead in it. Turning to assist in the release of hostages, "no time to celebrate, gals and guys. Meet up with VC Valsin at the south dorm, we're going to make it through this!" Jillia says with a genuine smile. "We'll get these supplies to the people that need them," she continues, looking off to the westward chaos.
"Let the VCs around Skyreach know what we found, ensure this Agent's safety, then head west? There's more work to do."
"Also, any idea what this bead is?" Jillia simultaneously asks everyone in the room.
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"I agree Jillia. Initiates, tell Venture-Captain Valsin what happened. We'll secure the prisoner, and remove his gear. Then we should move north west and assist there."
He turns to Jillia. "I'll have a look at that bead," Markus volunteers, carefully taking the chalice. He opens his eyes, takes a deep breath, and opens them again. His eyes have turned entirely green, and he focuses his sight on the chalice and the bead.
"Odhalit!"
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"Smart move," Nella replies as she and Smiley keep the Aspis Agent subdued and under control while the others free the initiates. "Sorry about the ruse by the way, but we couldn't let you blow up our initiates. Nothing personal." She pauses. "I'm not sure what will happen to you, but if you cooperate with our superiors then they'll likely go easy on you. I hope you do; you can still salvage your life and find a better road to follow than one the Aspis are on."
Once things are secured, she nods in agreement with Jillia. "You heard her! Oh and our friend here had better reach the base of Skyreach in one piece, even if you're tempted to allow otherwise. Let the Venture-Captains take care of him, okay?"
Turning to the others, she once again finds herself nodding in agreement with Smiley. "The Repository should be our next destination, yes. Good idea, Smiley! And that was a great job, everyone. Jillia, they'll be talking about your entrance for years to come," she smiles, unable to help herself.
As they discuss where to proceed next, Nella notices that Kharg still carries a rather nasty-looking wound from their earlier encounter with the fire beetles. "Kharg! I am so sorry, I didn't realize that you were still injured! Please forgive me!" she exclaims as she busies herself with tending to her teammate.
Between Spellcraft and interrogation, you determine that the two items were a Hand of the Mage and a Bead from a Necklace of Fireballs .
With some parting thanks, you make it uneventfully to the Starhall.
The outside of this large keep was designed with Azlanti architecture in mind. Two wings extend from the center structure, with a domed tower at the end of the east wing a smaller patinated bronze dome over the center hall. Starhall serves as an observatory, library, and museum for otherworldly and extraplanar objects and lore.
Inside the main entrance is a library with several display cases of objects recovered from Numeria, as well as a curator’s desk and a staircase to the eastern tower.
As you enter, you see several strange, winged, owl-like, winged humanoids searching through bookshelves and desk drawers, though they stop their search and brandish quarterstaves when you enter the room. They do not make immediate hostile actions though.
The owl-like creatures confer to each other in what sounds like a hooting bird-sing language for a moment, then one speaks out in common, though strangely accented. "We expected mindless violence from our cursed captors, though perhaps the rumors we were told are wrong. I and my wingmates are of the Hhruul tribe. We seek means of passage from our prison in the Tapestry to our home! A map of the stars to follow so our elders can bridge the Dark to our homeworld! He gestures at one of the astrological charts. "We have no cause for violence if you permit us to continue our search!"
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"This bead is explosive, and can create a ball of fire when thrown. This hand," Markus says, holding the mummified hand away from him by its chain, "allows even those without any magical skill to move items around at a distance. I'd rather not carry either of them." Markus shudders at the thought of the hand dangling from his neck.
On entering the Starhall, the presence of the winged owl people is something of a surprise. Today is just an endless parade of strange stuff, Markus thinks, shaking his head. "How did you get in here?" he asks the owlmen.
The owl-man twists his head in a decidedly avian fashion. "We syrinx have been kept as curiosities and trapped within the Tapestry. Almost a year ago, a group of men with the heraldry of snakes approached our leaders and offered us the chance at freedom and to find our way home from the bloodthirsty captors and stealers of knowledge. An opening in the Tapestry was forced, and here we came" His head bobs a bit as he looks at all of you.
"But enough talk, it is time for true intentions to show. Will you permit us to search for our way home? Or will it come to blows?" He hefts his quarterstaff, his strange owl eyes wide and with an alien sense of emotionless. Around him the other syrinx tense up.
The syrinx makes an irritated hooting sound. "Our home can not be found with your magnets or maps!" The stars are not right! They have moved! We come from a world far in time and space from this Go-lar-i-on." He pronounces the word slowly and precisely. "We seek a trail through the stars to find our way home, but this storing is so strange!
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Jillia scratches the back of her head with an embarrassed smile.
"I'm not the best source as far as star-navigation goes, especially when the stars are wrong. But we- -the Society- -teaches things like that, so if you're willing to stick around long enough for us to stop being attacked by those schemers with the snake heraldry, we can probably find you an expert or seven. I know of one particular fellow that we just rescued who could likely help."
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"Look, I can't guarantee I'm an expert on the subject, but I'll help you in any way you can. Can you sketch out the stars as you're used to seeing them? I might be able to suggest a translation or a workaround or something. I'm no expert on this, but the guy whose lecture I dozed through sure was. There's a slight chance I remember a little of it...," Jillia trails off, half-embarrassed, half-hopeful.
To inquiries as to the syrinx homeworld, the leader appears to be getting visually more irritated as time goes on. "Our homeworld is:" and begins to utter a set of hoots and a whistle. "The words lose their meaning in your tongue. Here, though, look! Here are the celestial arrangement of there!" He sketches a set of constellations and planetary configurations in a blotter of sand that had been unceremoniously dumped onto the table.
From the blank looks the group gave him, the syrinx neared hositility, before something about the arrangement of stars jogged a memory for Jillia. Her unbelievable Halfling luck holds and after 10 minutes of searching, (with a little help from Smiley), she's able to find an exact match to the diagram drawn by the syrinx leader on one of the Starhall's charts! It and another book you are able to reference look exactly like what they were searching for.
The syrinx all hoot and exclaim excitedly, though the leader's eyes narrow slightly. "You will give this to us. We will use this to find our way home!"
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Smiley whispers to Jillia, who seems to have taken on the role of Chief Negotiator.
A map and a book seem a small price to pay for freedom. As Elder Kronk'kk said, "An ally is worth his weight in stone, an enemy..." no, wait..."Better a friend in the trees than a..." uh,...
Well, they're not hurting nothin'! I say we let 'em take them.
There is a frenzied amount of talk between the syrinx, hooting and whistling excitedly, as they grab at the star charts begin to hastily make their way out. Before leaving, however, one turns to you and says, "You have acted with far greater honor than we were lead to expect. Here, take these supplies as a reward for your honor, may they serve you well." With that he turns to leave.
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"Good job you two," Nella sighs with relief once the syrinx are gone. "I really didn't want to have to fight them if we could help it...they looked pretty tough!"
Peeking back outside, she frowns. "Since things seem pretty calm here for now, we should probably keep making our way south. The Mausoleum is just over there..."
Leaving the Starhall behind, you head towards the Mausoleum. This enormous, columned stone structure is both temple and fortress. Two wings flank an open courtyard. The imposing structure is adjacent to a thick copse of trees.
You notice two bodies slumped down on the ground near the entrance, laying in a pool of blood. Per your previous SOP, you go to investigate, and note that they're alive, but barely.
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Markus stands quietly through the exchange with the owlmen, baffled by their talk of tapestries and stars. Fortunately, Jillia seemed to have been playing attention, and the owlmen seem happy with the book that will guide them home. Today is just getting stranger and stranger.
"I agree with Nella, we should make sure there's nothing fishy going on at the Mausoleum before we head further south," Markus says as they leave the Starhall.
As the group approaches the huge imposing structure of the Mausoleum, Markus spots two bodies. On further inspection, their chests seem to be moving, but only just. Marlus rushes over. "Quickly!" he calls to the others. "They're still alive!" Trying to recall the 'First Aid in the Field' course he took, Markus looks for and attempts to stem the source of the bleeding on one of the bodies.
"There's too much blood, I can't see anything! Nella, help!"
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"I'm no expert here," Jillia states with a hint of slight panic, ans she awkwardly cuts strips of her bedroll to use as makeshift wound dressing. Fashioning a crude tourniquet, she does her best to try and keep the blood on the inside.
"You're going to be okay," she explains, half to the victim and half to herself, forcing a smile. "Hang in there."
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Hurrying over, Nella pales at the sight of so much blood splattered about but she manages to keep calm as she kneels down next to the two wounded people. "Shh...it'll be okay. We won't let you die."
Focusing her mind, she opens a small conduit between herself and her goddess to heal everyone's wounds.
She frowns slightly as the healing effect didn't seem to be as powerful as she'd been hoping for.
Although Nella's healing and Smiley's failed attempts to render aid aren't quite as successful as they would like, they the combination of a Channel and Jillia’s resuscitation does manage to stem the bleeding and revive them. One of them looks up, his face still bloody, and draws back.
”You! You’re not more of them, are you? Well, I suppose not, if you’re not stabbing us and all. We were just minding the entrance, Neb and I, when the explosions started. A group of men dressed up like Pathfinders, Wayfinders and all, came towards us, then one ran me through! Not a word!” He reaches down to his side, which while still bloody, is knit whole. ”Thank you, thank you so much for keeping me and Neb out of Pharasma’s book for a bit longer now.” Neb speaks up. ”If you make it into the Mausoleum, and get past those hooligans, I left some potions under the far right Slab. The potions are yours if you give those ruffians a sound thrashing!"
As you venture into the Mausoleum, there is dim light from various windows and hooded lamps, casting shadows over the rooms dedicated to preparing the dead and necromantic experiments. You pass by several dissecting tables and a small storage room, only to hear the sounds of movement coming deeper within.
A dagger goes flying by Smiley's face. He sees a human down the hall from him.
Smiley's initial charge missed the hooligan, the hooligan misses Smiley. However, another hooligan draws up from the south and throws a dagger at Kharg!
It drives deep into Kharg's chest!
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"Dressed like Pathfinders? Figures...striking from the shadows and using disguises!" Nella scowls. "At any rate, we're glad we got to you in time! Thanks for the tip about the potions, because I think we're going to need them," she adds. "If you think you can make it, you and Neb should make for the entrance to Skyreach, that's where other survivors and some of the Venture-Captains are rallying. If not, maybe hide somewhere until we can come back for you?"
Nella cries out with shock and horror as the dagger buries itself in her companion. "No, Kharg!"
Frantically, she once more opens a conduit to Shelyn's power in an attempt to heal the half-orc. "Hang in there, we're with you!"