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The slimy arm slams into Markus' side and he feels the wind knocked out of him as pain sears across his chest. The sensation of the grotesque oozy appendage is unnatural, but the ongoing threat focuses Markus away from his disgust. Stepping back, he unleashes more acid at the nearest creature.
"Rozpustit, you freaks!"
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Nella quickly steps back as the melee comes creeping dangerously close to her position. Although she'd dearly love to finish what she started and put the remaining ectoplasms out of their misery, she can see that her companions need her more and calls upon the last bit of her divine power to heal them.
"That's all I can do! It's up to the rest of you to take them down!"
Markus' acid and Smiley's slash rend the ectoplasmic monstrosities, though they both remain standing! Purple and blue alike turn to the injured half-orc
The purple ectoplasmic monster drives its fist into Kharg's face, and goo dribbles from the half-orcs nostrils as he falls down unconscious, perhaps even dying! The party can barely recoil at the sight, as the Sky Key hums, and suddenly the scene shifts to just a moment ago, where, as if it was right, what was meant to be Smiley slips behind the purple undead.
Kharg, with the added distraction of Smiley's flank, actually hits...
and brings his axe head down heavily, completely obliterating the purple hued monstrosity in an explosion of goo! Only one battered shell of ectoplasm, and possible lingering effects of the ancient artifact, remain!
Only a little shaken by the scene shown by the Sky Key, Kharg shows his determination and grit as the final ectoplasmic entity is obliterated by the somewhat sickly half-orc! Only the dull hum of the Sky Key remains to remind you of the peril that will be faced if the Aspis manage to fully disrupt your activities here.
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"I like this time better than the one where Kharg was getting splattered," Jillia says, weakly pumping her fist in half-hearted celebration, given the circumstances that lead to this point.
Master Zey is dead. The Sky Key is stolen. And the spire is floating. This is the most stressful third day on the job I've ever had.
"So now what?" Jillia despondently asks anyone who cares to listen. "Have we lost?"
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The strange humming of the Sky Key and the shifting timeline make Markus feel a little sick. He leans over, hands on his knees, and takes a few deep breaths. "That was unpleasant," he mutters as he straightens up and retrieves his morningstar. "Are there any more of those healing potions going spare? he asks, wincing at the pain in his chest.
As you catch your breath and try to treat your more grievous wounds with precious healing potions, other Pathfinder agents begin to move in, reinforcing the corridors and strongholds within the Lodge. You receive word that the looters you interrupted in the Hall were apprehended before they could do further harm, and the Sky Key chamber is being sealed off until the dangerous residual energies fade.
More somberly, an honor guard of pathfinders forms up to collect the body of the the Master of Spells, escorting it away to a safe place away from the machinations of the Aspis Agents. You hear whispers that despite powerful restorative magics that were cast by a few Seekers, the body remains cold and lifeless.
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"I...I think we have one or two left, Nella replies, as she digs into her pack and passes Markus the one remaining potion they had from their earlier battle with the syrinx.
When whispers are overheard that even powerful restorative magic has failed to return Master Zey to life, the priestess looks positively ill. "That shouldn't even be possible! They have the body; what on earth could be causing the magic to fail?"
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"Thanks Nella," Markus says gratefully, reaching out for the last potion. Unstopping the bottle, he drinks down the soothing liquid in one gulp.
The feeling of warmth that spreads across his chest is short-lived, quickly replaced by a cold emptiness at the news of the inability of powerful Seekers to return Master Zey to life. "I don't understand how that can be happening. Why can't be be brought back? What did those owlmen do to him?" Markus wonders, a mixture of anger and grief clear in his voice.
Kreighton Shaine finishes giving instructions to one team before sending them into Arliss Hall and turning to greet the new arrivals. “Ah, you received my message?” he asks eagerly while pulling out a small notepad and making a single tally mark. “Excellent, I was uncertain whether recent events might block communication as well. We have a theory that the northwest tower’s new floating status may be the result of the Sky Key and Hao Jin Tapestry coming too close to one another, much like two extradimensional spaces placed inside one another. Thus far, all of our more conventional attempts to reach the tower have been repelled, and admittedly the whole thing could just rocket into the Irorium any minute.” He squints to the north before adding, “That would be unfortunate, as there’s a rather big match over there today. Best we take control of the tower before it misbehaves further.”
“The good news is that we have a permanent portal to that section of the tower. Since the link is between two objects—a pair of full-length mirrors—it should be stable and safe to use. The only catch is that one of the mirrors is inside Arliss Hall. The hall has several extradimensional properties, and with so many visitors, it’s been changing its internal layout constantly. Rather than waste time sending you to figure out a puzzle, I’ll lead you to the portal myself. We venture-captains are fairly used to it.” Absently, he turns and walks off towards Arliss Hall, not turning to see if you all follow him. ”As Drandle Dreng says, ‘No time to rest!’”
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"A little good news. It's about time," Jillia blurts out, a bit of optimism inching its way back into her demeanor. "Zey woudln't want us to sit around moping, I guess."
Back to work. If there's a way up there, we haven't lost yet.
Jillia hustles after the Master of Scrolls, waving for the group to follow.
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"No time to rest..." Nella huffs as she hurries along with the rest of the group. "I agree with that, but I hope we can put an end to the rest of this craziness and soon before my get-up-and-go decides to well, get up and go! And I remember Brob also said something earlier about people getting lost inside Arliss Hall because it kept changing so much to accommodate all the visiting Pathfinders, so we'd better stick close to Master Shaine."
Kreighton Shaine holds open the door to the Lodge and moves to follow you inside; however, when the group turns around, the elf has disappeared!
“Of all the luck,” the Master of Scrolls voice echoes from thin air. “We must have exceeded some capacity limit for this version of the hall and it moved me over to another… iteration of itself.
I’ll try to find my way over to you, but look for the mirror! It is in a private room that is reserved. We call it the Lost Room. The chamber will be hidden in plain sight but there’s always some sort of trick to find it. Hurry and I’ll try to join you soon!
His voice begins to fade, but you make out, "One last thing—rarely can anyone find the Lost Room alone, so work together!”
The room that you are in appears to be some sort of a lounge / reception area: there is a small desk with a bell, a mix of plush comfy chairs, several tables, and a couch in front of a flickering fire.
You also know that the second floor is where the rooms that typically house visiting Venture Captains (and perhaps even the Decemvirate!)
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Even though she knows the situation is still quite serious, Nella can't help but smile slightly as Smiley wanders round calling for the Lost Room. "Well, that's one way to do it. And considering how strange the magic is acting in this part of the building, we may as well try whatever comes to mind, obvious or bizarre."
For lack of anything better coming to mind, she walks over to the desk and rings the bell.
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"Oh balls," Markus exclaims as Master Shaine disappears, leaving them alone in the middle of Arliss Hall. The lounge appears relatively ordinary, though every Pathfinder initiate knows that the building is anything but. "It could take forever to find the right way to access this room."
As Smiley and Nella start to spread out, Markus heads towards the fireplace to look for anything out of the ordinary. He moves closer, expecting to feel the heat of the fire, and looks around at the fireplace for any evidence of magical auras or secret passageways.
Markus notes that the fire doesn't actually cast off heat, and that an aura of magic permeates the entire building. There are definitely varying levels of magical aura, but nothing immediately stands out in the main room.
As Jillia carefully opens doors, she's startled as a cat jumps out at her! A completely mundane calico cat, that "Mrrows", looks her over, then goes back to sleep on top of a pillow.
Nothing happens when Nella rings the bell, but as Nella and Kharg look at the desk, they note that there is a guest registry near the entrance, identifying which rooms are available.
At the top of the page are words written in delicate penmanship and red ink. “Arliss Hall values your privacy. Simply lock your door and we will see to it that you are not disturbed.”
Beneath that is a list:
Room 1: Ambrus Valsin
Room 2: Drandle Dreng
Room 3: Nieford Sharrowsmith
Room 4: Haela Brightaxe
Room 5: Sheila Heidmarch
Room 6: Calisro Benarry
Room 7: Wulessa Yuul
Room 8: Osprey
Room 8A: “Reserved— do not use.”
Edit: Forgot to add: Smiley... is Smiley.
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Smiley takes a look at the guest book and discovers an important clue.
See here? All of the entries use the same ink! Ah-ha!
Feeling inspired by this important revelation (despite the clear presence of a pen and inkwell set by the guest book for just that purpose), Smiley closes his eyes and walks confidently into the fireplace.
I know how to find things that can't be seen. Don't see 'em! Har!
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"Odd...is Osprey a person or an actual osprey? And what's the deal with there being a Room 8 and a Room 8A?" Nella muses as they read over the guest registry. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches movements and turns to see Smiley waltzing right into the fireplace.
"Wha-SMILEY! I didn't mean that bizarre!"
As Smiley walks into the fire, he notices that it feels warm, but the flames are completely illusory. Almost immediately he walks into a solid black wall.
As Jillia noted, there are only 8 rooms on the second floor. Each has a room number, 1-8 on it.
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Shaking his head at Smiley's antics, albeit with a smile on his face, Markus walks over to the desk to join the others. "So there are only eight doors, but the register lists a room 8A. Can I interest anyone in a wager that there is a hidden entrance to room 8A upstairs? I can offer very favourable odds!" Markus laughs.
There is no response at the door, or any indication that it occupied. In fact, the door is part-way open and you can see inside to the plush comforts that are inside, including a king sized bed, a full length mirror, and a small reading table and chair supplied with books. There are no obvious personal effects in the room.
One thing slightly odd that Markus, Nella, and Smiley notice is that there is a large brass key inserted into the lock on the door from the inside of the room.
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"Huh...odd to have the key on this side of the door," Nella muses. "And there's a full-length mirror like what Master Shaine described for the portal...but somehow that almost seems too easy? Markus, you know something of magic; do you think maybe locking the door from the inside, with all of us in the room, and then opening the door again would do anything? Activate a portal or some such?"
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"Perhaps we have to lock the door from this side to turn on the portal thing," Markus muses, agreeing with Nella's line of thinking. "It sounds too simple, I wonder whether there will be more steps to it. Worth a try though."
Markus steps over to the door, pushes it firmly closed, and turns the key to lock the door.