Kahwen lets an arrow fly at the undead attacking the librarians. His arrow flies true, and an enemy drops to the ground dead once again.
Oiur takes the opportunity to make her allies more effective in battle. She tries to get the enemies attention, but they seem fixated on the group they have.
The librarians do cry out with relief that help seems to have arrived in the form of Pathfinders.
The undead at the far side of the crowd attacks the group. Slashing into them with a sickle.
raging song! Allies can accept it (or abandon it!) at the start of their turn for a +2 morale bonus to Str/Con, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, a -1 penalty to AC, and a +1 insight bonus to AC against outsiders and aberrations. Also that whole "can't cast or do anything finicky" thing.
Kahwen: 22
Oiur: 20
Black Echelon Operative: 17
Eugressia: 15
Mely Ara: 12
Black Echelon Agents: 11
Librarians: 10
Nigel Flit: 5+
Kennick: 5
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Mely does fairly well trotting along with the rest of the group to the library with Oiur keeping half an eye on the merfolk. It might be best to avoid letting her try and tight rope walking, however.
When the group first reaches the archive she's first quiet, she knew what a library was, but books weren't common underwater so she didn't quite expect the sheer size of it all. And she has no time to gape about when the sounds start, instead being caught up with the rush inside to see what was afoot.
She pauses there, confused by the sights of the soon-to-be slaughter amidst rows of books and not quite certain what to do at first. But the mixture of Oiur's impressive display, Kahwen putting an arrow through the eye of one of the undead, and Eugressia's flash of magic snap her into motion. "Hang on, we're coming!"
Emboldened to recklessness, but worried for the library staff, she strides up beside Oiur and thrusts the tattooed palm of her hand towards the fighting, chin held high as she shouts. "Thundercat, ho!" A rush of holy energy pulses from her to burn the undead, and then her posture deflates noticeably when it doesn't seem to have much of an effect.
Eugressia's magic missiles fly through the crowd unerringly toward the operative.
Mely wobbles on her land legs up to the front of the battle. She calls upon her god of thunder and attempts to damage the closest undead enemy. The enemy manages to shake off the effects.
One of the undead creatures an area of fog around himself. It makes it difficult for people to see into the battle area.
The librarians follow Oiur's instructions and move toward the Pathfinders.
NE Medium undead Will best save DR 5/bludgeoning or slashing; Immune cold, undead traits
Deliberate (Ex) After centuries of waiting, Black Echelon agents are endlessly patient. They never charge or run.
Enshrouding Mist (Su) As a standard action, a Black Echelon agent can expand the fog that swirls around its body. This creates a pea-soup fog which extends around the agent in a 30foot radius, centered on its body as it moves. The mist replicates natural fog conditions; anyone attacking a target inside the mist has a 20% miss chance. Attackers inside the mist who are adjacent to their opponents, however, do not suffer a miss chance. The mist affects both normal and darkvision alike, and the agent has no special ability to attack through its own mist; it suffers the same penalty on its ranged attacks.
Silent Aura (Su) Black Echelon agents are perfectly silent. This silence dampens all noise in the agent’s own square as well as all adjacent squares, just as a silence spell. In addition, although it has no game effect, creatures caught within the silent aura have the creepy sensation that they are moving in slow motion.
raging song! Allies can accept it (or abandon it!) at the start of their turn for a +2 morale bonus to Str/Con, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, a -1 penalty to AC, and a +1 insight bonus to AC against outsiders and aberrations. Also that whole "can't cast or do anything finicky" thing.
Kahwen: 22
Oiur: 20
Black Echelon Operative: 17
Eugressia: 15
Mely Ara: 12
Black Echelon Agents: 11
Librarians: 10
Nigel Flit: 5+
Kennick: 5
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"Um, they're members of the Black Echelon the book we're after can boss around! They're pretty slow, but be careful Kennick, they have a silence effect around their bodies so you can't cast close up. Also..." Fog proceeds to fill the room around everyone and she pauses before letting out a flat, "...that."
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Christina give Nigel a dirty look, You told me this was a noncombat mission! I reuse to work under these conditions. Send me back... don't even think about calling me back till you clean up your mess. I hope this puzzle will at least be fun to make it worth it. She finishes with a huff. Her tail coils and uncoils that gives away her anxiety.
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With the nagging eidolon, Nigel begins his incantation that dismisses her back to the weird plane she is from, Maybe someday I will be able to visit her home. With that the serpentine woman vanishes. If she wasn't so obvious about it, I could of played it off like I made her invisible. Maybe that will be a trick for a different day.
The other closest undead ignores the channel, but the furthest away turns his head toward the pathfinders.
raging song! Allies can accept it (or abandon it!) at the start of their turn for a +2 morale bonus to Str/Con, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, a -1 penalty to AC, and a +1 insight bonus to AC against outsiders and aberrations. Also that whole "can't cast or do anything finicky" thing.
Kahwen: 22
Oiur: 20
Black Echelon Operative: 17
Eugressia: 15
Mely Ara: 12
Black Echelon Agents: 11
Librarians: 10
Nigel Flit: 5+
Kennick: 5
Nigel's companion disappears back to her home where there is tea and safety along with many sudoko puzzles for her to work on while she waits.
Kennick casts Shocking Grasp and the spell. Then he moves forward into the fray.
raging song! Allies can accept it (or abandon it!) at the start of their turn for a +2 morale bonus to Str/Con, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, a -1 penalty to AC, and a +1 insight bonus to AC against outsiders and aberrations. Also that whole "can't cast or do anything finicky" thing.
Kahwen: 22
Oiur: 20
Black Echelon Operative: 17
Eugressia: 15
Mely Ara: 12
Black Echelon Agents: 11
Librarians: 10
Nigel Flit: 5+
Kennick: 5
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Kahwen puffs up again, his feather's standing on end, not unlike when he spoke to Christina. As he looks around at his fellow Pathfinders after downing one of the undead creatures with one shot, there is an obvious gleam of pride in his eyes and it is obvious that he is now puffed up with pride.
But he takes only a moment to enjoy his success before turning to the remaining villains. As the fog rises, he reaches for his sword, once more, for the close up work. But all the enemies are too far away so he moves in closer and pulls out another arrow, this one plain and boring. It's not nearly as interesting.
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Suspicious of the spreading mist, Oiur takes up their earth breaker in a guarded stance. Their eyes flick between Mely and the settling cloud. "Silence? Well, if you can't hear me, you'll know why."
They slam one foot agains the ground, their throat swells with droning song, and they dive into the fog. At first they can't sense anything but the music in their body and the droplets on their skin, but the hazy shape of their opponent soon appears before them.
Oiur closes to striking distance. The world goes silent. But they can still feel their beating heart, the thrumming of the song in their chest, and the weight of the weapon in their hands.
The crimson tattoo on their throat twists, and they crash the earth breaker against undead flesh.
Kahwen almost does the closest enemy in, but the piercing of the arrow doesn't quite do as much damage as he thought it would. That's all right because Oiur moves in and they attack with a vengance crushing the undaead before their rage.
The operative moves into to attack Oiur. She swings with her sickle. Her attack just misses the skald.
raging song! Allies can accept it (or abandon it!) at the start of their turn for a +2 morale bonus to Str/Con, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, a -1 penalty to AC, and a +1 insight bonus to AC against outsiders and aberrations. Also that whole "can't cast or do anything finicky" thing.
Kahwen: 22
Oiur: 20
Black Echelon Operative: 17
Eugressia: 15
Mely Ara: 12
Black Echelon Agents: 11
Librarians: 10
Nigel Flit: 5+
Kennick: 5
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"Don't stop, book keepers! I'll distract the one over there!" Mely snaps her wand of cure light wounds into her hand from her wrist sheath, then she mutters something in aquan to activate it and encase her palm in holy energy. "I'm going to regret this!" She declares and stomps off into the mist with much less gusto than Oiur, to where she thinks the green undead is 'hiding'.
When she manages to find it there's a moment hesitation before she steps in and flails at it with her holy backhand. She shouts something, but it's lost in the silence.
Both attacks hit, but the don't do enough damage to drop the enemies.
The agent looks at Mely, and attacks. His sickle just glances off of her armor. His attack is eerily silent.
The heard of librarians run right over and around Kennick. They are still screaming and crying.
raging song! Allies can accept it (or abandon it!) at the start of their turn for a +2 morale bonus to Str/Con, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, a -1 penalty to AC, and a +1 insight bonus to AC against outsiders and aberrations. Also that whole "can't cast or do anything finicky" thing.
Kahwen: 22
Oiur: 20
Black Echelon Operative: 17
Eugressia: 15
Mely Ara: 12
Black Echelon Agents: 11
Librarians: 10
Nigel Flit: 5+
Kennick: 5
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The shock of the blow runs up Oiur's arms, and the undead figure careens backwards into the fog. Sound returns moments later: panicked librarians, the scrape of weapons against armor, but below it all, the steadying drone of Oiur's song.
Steadying enough for them to just dodge the sickle blow. They square off against the new foe, weaving inelegantly away from further swings, then deliver a haymaker counterattack.
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Nigel takes a few steps forard,Looks like we could use the help of one of my more... combat ready friends! With that Nigel draws a circle in the air with his finger while saying a few arcane words. Out of the circle he drew comes an earth elemental, still in the process of forming. It pops up to flank with Mely.
The earth elemental finishes entering the plane near the enemy Mely is attack. The earth elemental then tries to slam it, feeling enraged by Oiur's song.
The last undead falls.
The surviving librarians show you the vault where the dangerous codebook is stored. Unfortunately, Sandaril was the only ranking librarian on duty who knows how to open the vault, and he’s been
missing since the attack began.
The door to the vault has three locks on it, which you can attempt to open in any order.
The Invisible Lock A symbol depicting a closed eye adorns this brass-colored lock. The lock doesn’t seem to have a dial, keyhole, or other means of opening it.
The Dragon Lock A symbol depicting a flying dragon adorns this gold-hued lock. The dragon’s mouth is wide open.
The Spider Lock A symbol depicting a spider adorns this lock made of dark metal. The keyhole is perfectly round, with a diameter slightly larger than that of a human’s index finger.
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Nigel thinks for a moment about the fire breathing dragons for a moment. I got an idea, but it is hard to say if it will work. You should back up in case this showers me in flame! After giving everyone a moment to back up, Nigel uses his natural gnome magic to cast prestidigitation.
DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGER IN THAT HOLE!!! It is trapped, and I do not want anyone to lose their finger. Anyone handy with disabling these kinda of things? If not, I can call Christina back to help.
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Kahwen is a bit slow in following everyone, still surprised over how effective his bow was. He carries it along as they make their way, wondering if he's made poor choices in favored weapons.
He looks abashed at Nigel's warning. "Of course I wasn't going to put my finger in that hole. Who goes around randomly sticking their fingers in holes?" He curls his pointer finger back into his fist when no one is looking and hides the gesture by reaching into his backpack.
"I can do it, Friend Nigel!" he declares confidently as he brandishes his rolled up set of thieves' tools.
He waits until fire comes out of the dragon...or not before kneeling down to examine the spider hole and get to work.
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The energy of Oiur's song hangs in the air for several moments after the threat is defeated. They let memory of that steadying beat ease them out of the adrenaline rush, clean their hammer, and join the others.
"Seems like you've figured everything out without me! Well done! " They smile at their capable companions.
You open the vault with a creak, and the large room is filled with tomes and books of all sizes. Luckily for our Pathfinders the shelves are well labeled and you soon find the the yellowed codebook with relative ease.
You rush bak to Zarta Dralneen "Thank you. Let's see what we can do with this thing." She quickly identifies a few key entries with which she can disrupt the attack on Absalom. She and her assistants set to creating bursts of light that begin leading Black Echelon operatives into ambushes and to sites they cannot easily d
destroy.
Your handler is standing by with the list of missions. "Where to next?"
You have to go looking for Ollysta Zadrian, leader of the Silver Crusade faction. She is not in the Grand Lodge. You come across her finishing off a skeletal Black Echelon operative. She then motions for a group of citizens seeking refuge in an alley to move to a safer part of the city before she turns to the you and idly cleans her sword.
“I’m pleased to see you have come to Absalom’s aid in its darkest hour. As you may have heard, undead creatures have attacked various locations within the city, and scouts have reported that an army of demon-flesh abominations is assembling in the Cairnlands. The holy warriors of the Ascendant Court would be instrumental in a war against such holy creatures, and I have begun coordinating the faithful."
"I know Absalom is home to more of the faithful than I have seen. Most notably absent are Sarenrae’s blades, and my close ally Scion Lady Xerashir of House Shamyyid at the Temple of the Shining Star has not answered the call to arms. I can only assume that something has waylaid her and her comrades. My presence is required here, but I am trusting you to investigate the matter and lend any aid necessary.”
The smell of incense is heavy in the air at the Temple of the Shining Star, but it is ominously quiet in the vast Sarenite prayer room. Statues and other religious objects have been placed in concentric circles atop a massive sundial. Opposite the sundial is a portable lens-like device that seems to focus light like a magnifying glass.
You may examine three areas.
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I think I found something, friends. She points to the tracks. Footprints and small objects littering the floor suggest a powerful and sudden force dragged people within the temple toward the sundial, but the tracks suddenly end 10 feet short of the sundial.
This is a mystery for sure... if only Nigel could carry his weight in the group... She smiles at the frustrated gnome.
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Mely proves to be of very little use in the library, for after providing medical care to the caretakers she becomes heavily distracted by the sheer volume of paper all in one place. You didn't see a lot of that back home and her goggling has to be interrupted by the rest of the party to drag her back to more important matters.
She gives Ollysta her best salute, looking pleased with herself for being no worse for wear after their first foray. She trails after the rest of the party and shuffles her way into the Temple of the Shining Star in quiet reverence for being in a place of power for another deity. Once Christina cracks the silence with her comments, Mely follows right along and chirps up beside the snake woman.
"I think you're right. It looks like they were preparing for something and were dragged off..." She wanders around the sundial, leaning in to examine a few with delicate fingers. "I think... the sundial was a focus for a spell, and everything else was intended to be a giant foci for a conjuration spell. Basically setting up how and what was summoned..."
She kneels down on her borrows knees and stares at the spots Christina pointed out again. "If they were all dragged away... maybe the spell went backwards and summoned them somewhere instead?"
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Kahwen scratches his head, thoughtfully. Nigel will seem more useful than him, at least since he either has no clue about what's happening or is too late to notice it before someone else points it out.
"But how do we figure out what to point it at to bring them back?" he questions, before going around to examine the objects.
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How did I miss that? Conjuration is literally my specialty! That being said, there is a form of conjuration I have not touched on yet. Not only can it be used to summon things, but also very useful in travel. A sub-school of conjuration is teleportation magic. Maybe that is what happened here? It is hard to say... maybe if point the lens at the sundial? But I am scared of us getting teleported as well...
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—Oiur: +1 ooze bane arrow
—Kahwen:
—Mely: fins-to-feet, cure serious wounds
—Oiur: displacement, cure serious wounds
—Kahwen: haste, cure serious wounds
—Kennick: oil of align weapon, cure serious wounds
"Come, Mely, there's plenty more paper in the Grand Lodge! Easier to read if we defend the city, too!" Oiur makes sure the librarians are safely evacuated before hustling to catch up with their companions.
Oh s#@*, Zadrian! Remember—formal, regimented!
They adopt a stiff, uncomfortable parade rest while they listen respectfully to the briefing. Once on their way and out of sight, they visibly relax. "Stars, I'll never get used to southern military etiquette."
At the temple grounds, they stop in the towering doorframe, suspicious of the expansive quiet inside. They tap their knuckles against their chest, twice, and a curt, low whistle echoes through the space.
Awe is clear on their face as they explore the sanctuary. They gape about them at the high ceilings, colorful windows, and intricately arranged religious paraphernalia. They stop beside the giant focusing apparatus and run a hand along a shining lens frame.
"That sounds like a reasonable line of thinking, Nigel." They turn to face the others, reflected light shining through their bright red hair. "Who knows where we'll end up, but..." they dip a slender hand into their pack and produce a small satchel of waxed cloth tied with twine, "I imagine the transportation process is easier than going to the First World! Spinning around in wells, popping out in a freezing lake. If we're lucky, we'll come out of the Plane of Lenses and Sunlight without any lasting phenomena." They bounce the satchel on their palm, releasing little puffs of pine scent into the room.
Grinning, they return it to their pack, then make sure their other equipment is in order. They heft their earth breaker and step onto the sundial, careful not to disturb the assembled icons. "Ready when you are."
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Kahwen pats his pack and his armor and the mace at his belt as though double checking everything was still there. He reaches over his shoulder and draws his sword half an inch before sliding it back home.
Content he is ready, he steps in place and nods, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
"Let's go!...or be ready for them to come back, I guess..."