(-5 if changing her hair color doesn't count as minor details)
Before they head out, Evander takes the time to disguise everyone - that way, should they encounter anyone who could recognize them, they wouldn’t be recognized.
Once outside the Phantasmagorium, Evander stands with the others before taking out the key and saying, ”Shall we?”
"She is Jaya. And Jaya wrote me that she found the whereabouts of Master Jalpur and the other Masters. And that she's going to get them out of Thrune's grasp. And that I shouldn't worry. Because, after all we've seen together, what's there to worry about right?"
"That's stupid. You should be worried."
Willfully ignoring the man's sarcasm, the words came with all the tact of a sack of bricks, and the armiger's grey eyes were rather stone-like themselves in delivering the verdict.
"If she intends to jailbreak your master, then she places herself in grave danger. It was difficult enough for us to rescue Crissali, even with our resources. The odds of a lone woman doing the same are slim. I won't lie to you and say otherwise."
The hellknights' philosophy of 'no mercy' extended beyond crime and punishment. Brutal honesty was also considered a virtue; carefully choosing one's words so as not to upset or offend another weakened both parties. Better to let the truth be the truth, no matter how painful; better to be hurt by the truth than comforted by lies. Truth elevated the strong and exposed the weak. 'Reason's flame consumes the shadow of corruption.' Didiana could recall the maxims of the Measure and the Chain by heart.
"But you must realize that she chose not to get you involved because she wanted to protect you. Because she knew it would be dangerous. Just as you clearly want her safe," (the sorcerer's eyes roamed over the brawler fidgeting form) "she no doubt wants the same for you. Scouring the city for her now would be doing her a disservice. I don't know this woman, but all she's asking of you right now is to wait. Perhaps that's a foolish choice but it is hers to make. Be honest; if the situation was reversed, would you not do the same if it meant protecting her? And don't lie to me because I think I know you well enough by now."
Truth be told, Didiana was speaking from a somewhat personal place now, although she only realized it halfway through her spiel. The lictor of the Torrent, her leader, had been missing for weeks now. She had no idea if he'd been imprisoned by Barzillai, like Matiscio's master, or if he was conducting some clandestine investigation into Kintargo's many disappearances, much like this Jaya. Abductions were the Torrent's specialty, after all. But in either case, she had resigned herself to the fact that she couldn't and shouldn't, respectively, do anything about it. If her leader needed her, she was already helping him in the best way she knew how. And if he didn't want her help, then she would leave him to his own devices. No matter how much that pained her.
"Just... just extend her the same courtesy you would want of her. Your options are either to focus on your own solution to your common problem, or tearing yourself apart in anxiety. And we need you right here and now."
Hell's below, what is with me lately...? I've never given so many pep-talks in my life before joining the Ravens...
----------
At the so-called phantasmagorium, the armiger nodded to Evander and readied herself to enter by pulling out her mace. Somehow she expected trouble...
Didiana doesn’t notice anything funky about the building other than its general lack of upkeep.
Evander and the rest of you walk up to the Fantasmagorium’s entrance. The mithral key from Rexus easily opens the large lock on the front doors.
Upon opening it, you find yourselves in the Fantasmagorium’s main entryway. To your left, a large room holds various theatrical costumes, ropes, posts, blank signs and banners, paints, and some well-worn musical instruments, as well as an open cashbox for the daily ticket receipts. This appears to have been the Fantasmagorium’s box office.
Directly ahead, macabre taxidermy and menacing skeletons line the walls of this fifty-foot circular chamber. A middling-quality fresco of terrifying and fantastic beasts lines the domed ceiling overhead. Large double doors lie to the northeast, southeast, and northwest. The northwest doors hang wide open.
Matiscio touts his lips and exhales. The mountainous shoulders slump down and, with the help of this simple technique, some of the stress ebbs away and out of his system. "You're right. The path is clear and all that is left for us to do is to traverse it. One can only set the road he or she takes. Jaya chose hers."
He then nods as if the matter has been dealt with and is ready to move on. After all, every step he takes forward is one step closer to finding out how Jaya is doing. "Let's do this."
-----
Whatever mix of stoicism and despondence washed over Matiscio's features during their trip to the Fantasmagorium disappears upon entry. Clear disgust and bewilderment replace it in the blink of an eye. Whoever thought a place like this was a good idea?! Ugh, it gives me the creeps. Perhaps the man's fascination with this revolting place makes his eye catch every hidden detail: from the forgotten trinkets and coins to the .. WAIT A SECOND!
"Those skeletons will soon be upon us, to arms!" comes the call to battle from the Chelish brawler as he digs his heel into the ground.
Gregor looks pensive, before offering, "I know of this 'Fantasmagorium' it was the passion of a struggling stage magician and salesman named Braedan “Hocum” Azperex. The man had the building constructed a year after the Chelish Civil War ended, with the goal of “bringing whimsy and joy back to Kintargo.” His plan was to have the Fantasmagorium serve as a museum of fantastic oddities and “authentic” magical phenomena. His charm and showmanship transformed the bizarre concept into a minor success for many years, but when the exhibits (many of which were either grossly exaggerated or utter hoaxes) began to lose some of their novelty, the Fantasmagorium struggled to make ends meet. It finally went out of business 20 years ago, and Hocum died not long thereafter. The building has remained closed ever since."
He shakes his head disdain. "Whimsy cannot fix the issues facing Kintargo, but be wary, as what lies within may be tricks and sideshow shenanigans. Remember, this is an investigation of something possibly hidden away, let us not bring too much attention to ourselves."
As soon as they arrive at the doors to the building, he adopts the posture of the skulk, slinking about low under his cloak's donned hood.
In response to Matiscio's dislike of the place, he offers, "Fools like to distract themselves with flights of fancy, of things strange and from places beyond, because they lack the sight to truly see the very city within which they live."
He looks over the place with a keen eye as he speaks, and spots them as well, but rolls his eyes at Matiscio's shout. "They are only two skeletons, and should be little problem for us. We have been training and have grown in functioning as a working tactical team."
Didiana's critical gaze wandered from the group's tacky surroundings to the copper ring the others had found among the Fantasmagorium’s misplaced earnings. Her opinion of the 'museum' war largely the same as Gregor's; while the artistic and liberal side of Kintargo wasn't something she indulged in, the armiger at least found something to appreciate in the arts every now and then, albeit from a distance. This, however, was just silly. And Didiana didn't do silly.
What she did do was Detect Magic. The sorcerer intoned the cantrip over the ring resting on her palm as they all entered the circular display chamber. It seemed a bit paranoid, even to her, but the group had already come across a fair few innocuous items that had turned out to be enchanted. No harm in checking. Except when it distracted you from noticing rampaging skeletal monkeys, of course. Didiana looked up with a start at Matiscio's warning.
What?! Where?!
She cursed her own carelessness, even as she wondered at what kind of Iroran scholars kept the undead as guardians? No Irorans she wanted to associate with. Or was this something left behind by the late Hocum?
Evander is distracted by Didiana's study of the ring and shifting the coins into a pocket for distribution later, so he also misses the skeletal creatures approach before fumbling for a weapon at Matiscio's cry of alarm.
"What skeletons? Where?"
Gilda seems to be practicing a cooing sound as she fiddles with her oversized pockets, presumably seeking to soothe Sprinkles, but strangely pigeon-like.
Her attention is restored she gazes about the foyer of the Fantasmagorium.
"Hey, lookie at that thing, ya think..."
She's cut off mid-sentence as Matiscio charges ahead.
"... GIANT MONKEYS!?"
Leaping backwards, she glares at the nearest such, hoping that Kintargo itself will work ill luck into any strike it should make.
Gilda and Gregor both know that the two creatures poised to attack are skunk ape skeletons.
Gregor looks over the place with a keen eye as he speaks, and spots the skeletons, but rolls his eyes. "They are only two skeletons, and should be little problem for us. We have been training and have grown in functioning as a working tactical team."
Matiscio says, "Those skeletons will soon be upon us, to arms!" The call to battle sounds from the Chelish brawler as he digs his heel into the ground.
Gilda
Blue Skunk Ape approaches Evander and attacks before the investigator has a chance to react. It lands a solid blow on the man.
Red Skunk Ape nears Matiscio and attacks him. It barely manages to hit the brawler and also lands a solid blow.
Matiscio gasps as he finds himself connecting with the ground after that terrible blow. "Irori fend! Focus the left one!" A hop, a vicious kick forward; in a split second the brawler is standing once again and mixes a web of offensive and defensive styles, confounding both himself and the enemy.
After offering words of encouragement, Gregor steps forward and puts his back to the wall at Evander front left flank. Drawing the oft unused morningstar as he moves, he waits until at least one of the things gets close enough. When it does, he swings with the still unwieldy weapon, with its heavy spiked head.
"Take your stinking paws off him, you damn dirty ape!"
Seeing the brutal onslaught the skeletons brought to her compatriots, Didiana responded in kind, unleashing her most powerful magic missiles yet.
Caught completely off-guard by the skeletal attack, Evander is quite slow to react. Finally, he fumbles free his light mace and takes a step to the side, striking at one of them from a defensive posture.
Gilda briefly has an image flash through her mind the one time she tried her "mind tricks" of doubt and self-worth on the recently deceased Thorny Thea. No matter how many times she insulted the woman's life choices, they seemed to no longer illicit the same reactions they did in life.
Sighing, Gilda instead implores Kintargo to curse the first of the ape beasts with ill luck before turning that same ire towards the second.
Gregor takes a roundabout path to get on the other side of the skeletal ape facing Evander. Using it to his advantage, he swings hard at the thing from behind, aiming for the bony spine of the creature.
Gregor, after offering words of encouragement, steps forward and puts his back to the wall at Evander front left flank. Drawing the oft unused morningstar as he moves, he waits until at least one of the things gets close enough. When it does, he swings with the still unwieldy weapon, with its heavy spiked head. The skeleton dodges out of the way of Gregor’s blow.
Evander, caught completely off-guard by the skeletal attack, is quite slow to react. Finally, he fumbles free his light mace and takes a step to the side, striking at one of them from a defensive posture. His strike connects, injuring the skeletal ape.
Matiscio gasps as he finds himself connecting with the ground after that terrible blow. "Irori fend! Focus the left one!" A hop, a vicious kick forward; in a split second the brawler is standing once again and mixes a web of offensive and defensive styles, confounding both himself and the enemy. Matiscio’s first blow connects, but his momentum throws his other attack off at the skeleton ape easily dodges out of the way.
Gilda, sighing, implores Kintargo to curse the first of the ape beasts with ill luck before turning that same ire towards the second. Both skunk ape skeletons succumb to Gilda’s ire.
Didiana, seeing the brutal onslaught the skeletons brought to her compatriots, responded in kind, unleashing her most powerful magic missiles yet. She sent them in both directions and one managed to destroy the blue skeleton ape.
Gregor takes a roundabout path to get on the other side of the skeletal ape facing Evander. Using it to his advantage, he swings hard at the thing from behind, aiming for the bony spine of the creature. His blow strikes true and the skeletal ape crumbles to the ground.
-----
With the skunk ape skeletons’ destruction, the Fantasmagorium once more falls into silence. Three ways forward still exist: open doors to the northwest and closed doors to the northeast and southeast.
For anyone who’s ever been to the ocean, you notice that the room beyond the open doors to the northwest smells faintly of salt water. You can’t see enough from where you’re currently located to know more than the fact that there’s another hallway beyond the open doors.
"I need a breather," groans Matiscio as he feels up his ribs. The soft connective tissue was going to hurt like Asmodeus' kiss come tomorrow, but perhaps some magical healing could help prevent that. "And perhaps some divine assistance in the form of healing. Are you ok, Gregor? I fear what else we might stumble upon if this is just the welcoming party."
"And, perhaps, some healing for the two of you?" Evander glances at Gilda. "You both look to be in rough shape at the moment. Once you feel up to it, I think we should check out the open doors - unless you think it best to clear the other rooms first?"
"Seems this is where you get to test out that fancy new wand, Ms Grabapple."
Seeing the hefty bruises they'd left the two men, Didiana was glad the group had dealt with the skeletons so quickly. But that relief aside, nothing about their situation sat right with her.
"What welcoming party?" she asked in response to Matiscio. "What sort of Irorans employ the undead as door guardians? Or is haunted taxidermy just a common occurrence?"
The sorcerer wandered the room as she spoke, looking over the displays to make sure they weren't about to be ambushed by a stuffed ostrich next.
Once satisfied she joined the others in walking through the open doors, although not before reminding herself to check that ring for magic first.
While no one’s able to track the three sets of footprints, Didiana does spot them with her well-trained eyes. They appear to be three sets of human footprints. Nothing else in the room appears poised to jump out at you.
Didiana does detect magic on the copper ring. It has a faint transmutation aura.
From the hallway with the now-destroyed skunk ape skeletons, you travel northwest through the open doors to an aquatic-themed room.
A briny odor wafts from a dozen water-filled cases in this room, each a display of strange, colorful sea creatures. Puddles of water cover the floor alongside shattered glass and fish skeletons. A ten-foot-square tank of murky water stands to the northeast. The tank is marked with the label “Quadclaw Marauder.”
A smaller adjunct room to the southeast contains several other tanks, one of which is labeled “Arcadian Mermaids.”
To the northeast, you can see part of a room that contains a rather large display of a spider in one corner.
Gregor attempts to wave of the healing just yet, citing that he isn't too bad off just yet, and that they just got the jump on him.
He indicates the footprints heading the same direction they are going, "It looks like there are others here before us, we would be best to be on the lookout and move with caution, in case these others are not the ones we seek." He moves slightly hunched and in a manner that allows him to pad softly about.
"Those are no mermaids, they are some manner of undead thing known as a ningyo, said to revert to life... well unlife, at night. Let's ensure nothing else looks like it will spring up from it's current state before moving on." He scans the contents of the tanks, room, and adjoining rooms as best he can before proceeding.
"This Hocum was clearly either evil or insane. Still, I suppose the Irorans found it a useful cover. Who would dare come here - apart form those 3 human footprints we see"
Like Gregor, he will also attempt to move silently and scan the room before proceeding.
Things weren't getting any better it seems. "Okay, this place is starting to creep me out more and more. Let's keep moving because whoever those footsteps belong to, they might still be around."
"Ugh, these... not a real mermaid but some sorta necrophiliac's fancy."
Gilda shudders.
"They might come back to life when it's dark out. Burn 'em and that ain't happenin'.."
She looks hopefully to the others, remembering that day when the temple was almost sold to new ownership with revolting taste.
"There's some faint enchantment on this ring, but I can't work it out... Sigh."
Deciding to focus on the more pressing dangers of the Fantasmagorium, Didiana pocketed the copper ring. She'd give the thing another once-over later, when the group wasn't under attack from moldy museum displays. Or indeed by whoever left those foot prints, she thought darkly. She didn't like this place one bit.
"Ugh, these... not a real mermaid but some sorta necrophiliac's fancy."
"'Necromancer', Ms Gra... Pigeon. The term you're looking for is 'necromancer'. ...Or at least I hope it is. Ugh."
The sorcerer sneered looking at the dried-up fish people; the mental imagery she'd conjured was revolting. Upon hearing Gregor and Gilda explain the ecology of a ningyo, her first instinct was to alert the authorities. Seemingly dead fish-ghouls sitting in a display tank? This was a zombie jack-in-the-box! Someone was bound to get seriously hurt. Then she remembered the current state of what passed for authority in Kintargo these days and the reason why she was even in this sorry excuse for a museum. Heck, even as a lowly hellknight armiger, she herself had a more legitimate claim to authority than Barzillai's regime. But then again, the hellknights had been founded on the idea that law without the power to back it wasn't worth much at all, and the lord-mayor had certainly proven that point over the past few weeks...
"They might come back to life when it's dark out. Burn 'em and that ain't happenin'.."
"Well then. Let's."
Didiana walked up to the tank whilst retrieving one flask of oil and another of alchemist's fire from an inner pocket. As a hellknight in training public safety was her concern.
Gregor’s able to follow the tracks into the aquatic room and notices that they continue on into the room with various arachnid displays. Gregor doesn’t notice anything alive or particularly dangerous in the aquatic room, despite some menacing labels, other than possibly the ningyos.
Using a flask of oil and an alchemist’s fire, Didiana’s easily able to burn the two ningyo corpses, ensuring they won’t return from the dead at night to menace the living.
Leaving the aquatic displays, you enter into a much different room. Plants, rocks, and hundreds of motionless specks fill the countless glass cases throughout this long hall. The preserved husks of giant insects and arachnids - including a ten-foot tall spider - leer over the displays. A dead man’s body, swathed in red-and-black robes and covered in welts, lies on the floor.
Down the hallway to the southeast, you see a stone statue of a man. It’s hard to tell more from a distance.
"No, no, no, no! What is this madness? Who would enjoy this?!" Matiscio hisses under his breath. "Oh, gosh, I think we found one of the intruders ... poor thing. Going by the red-and-black of his robes, I don't think it is a stretch to imagine they're Asmodeans."
What with the welts and the nature of this room, Matiscio isn't exactly feeling like checking out the man's corpse from up close.
Evander looks about the arachnid room and mutters, "Who would this bring joy too? Hocum was a madman."
Evander, too, keeps his distance, studying the man's corpse form afar. The shattered glass plus welts meant something may have gotten out.
Gilda groans as she sees the spider.
"Bigger than any we had back in Ol' Kintargo.. 'n we had some big ones up in the attics!"
She takes a couple steps over and peers upward.
"Looks like it was made outta beetles n' fur. Looks pretty real though, eh?"
Gilda nudges Matiscio and Evander ahead.
"Whaddya 'fraid of? Ya think he's just gonna stand up and start groaning like an ape?"
Gilda looks over to Gregor or Didiana to be practical and investigate the corpse while she "supervises".
"No, I just think he bumped into a glass case, shattered it, and whatever was in there climbed out and killed him."
Didiana was inclined to agree with Evander.
"Oh, if this Hocum wasn't already dead, I'd have him tried. This place is a death trap. Should have just burned down the whole building while I had the chance..."
The sorcerer was not overly pleased with the newly discovered corpse for reasons beyond affirmation of the deadliness of the museum. Namely, why was it even here? Judging by its dress the deceased was not an Iroran. Why was a non-Iroran here? Why would anyone but the Archivists be here? Was this just some sort of looter or had the organization been found out? And if so, was this corpse an indication of a successful counter-attack? She couldn't determine if the cadaver was good or bad news for the Ravens.
Well, they weren't going to find out hanging about here. Returning Gilda's look with a annoyed glare, Didiana walked over to the corpse to get a better understanding of what transpired here.
"Maybe this place is just getting to me. Okay, have my back and I'll have a look."
Evander knows that red and black are the colors of Cheliax. For someone to wear red and black robes, it means they are either very patriotic, a member of the Chelaxian government, an Asmodean, or perhaps all of the above.
As Didiana is about to go inspect the body, Matiscio steps in and goes to look instead. He’s able to get a good look at the corpse and can tell that the man is well and truly dead. As Matiscio begins prodding the body with a nearby stick from the broken terrarium, two swarms of spiders rush out from behind the broken glass case and from the other side of the room. They appear to be moments away from attacking.
"I HATE SPIDERS" squeels Matiscio as he starts hot-toeing about. If only there weren't so damn many of them!!! Fire, use fire! Whose voice was that? Master Jalpur's? Jaya's? No, you idiot, this is your own common sense yelling AT YOU TO USE THAT ALCHEMIST'S FIRE YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU FOR THESE SORT OF OCCASIONS.
Right. Perhaps Matiscio shouldn't have aimed at his own feet however.
A direct hit deals 1d6 points of fire damage. Every creature within 5 feet of the point where the flask hits takes 1 point of fire damage from the splash. On the round following a direct hit, the target takes an additional 1d6 points of damage. If desired, the target can use a full-round action to attempt to extinguish the flames before taking this additional damage. Extinguishing the flames requires a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground provides the target a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a large body of water or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire.
Gregor waits with mornigstar still in hand, as Matiscio goes to check over the body, his own attention solidly on the large spider in case it too rises up. As the swarm of spiders rush out, he looks about frantically for any signs of aid. "None of my weapons are going to be any use, need some means of dispersing them." The room they are in has nothing useful, but then he spots the big tank of murky water from the previous room.
Moving back to stand beside the back end, he calls, "Someone help me out. If we can dump this out on them or break the side facing the door, the wash and force should break up the mass of it. Scatter them maybe."
Gilda arches an eyebrow at Didiana's 'burn the whole building down' comment, surprised that Red would even imagine such a lawless action when Kintargo was so awful at stopping any burning blaze.
Smirking, as she has no personal qualms herself against such chaos, Gilda cracks her knuckles and wiggles her fingers at the approaching spider swarm.
"Aww, no big deal. We dealt with a bigger swarm of these last year after all them termites infested that tenement down the block!"
Didiana swore under her breath. Her feelings on the arachnids mirrored Matiscio's, albeit less so for the squick factor and more for practical reasons. How the heck did you fight a 1000-strong swarm of spiders? Well, fire was a start. The brawler and shaman had that right. Didiana started speedily rummaging around her backpack for her torches and flint & steel.
Matiscio squeels, "I HATE SPIDERS", as he starts hot-toeing about. If only there weren't so damn many of them!!! Fire, use fire! Whose voice was that? Master Jalpur's? Jaya's? No, you idiot, this is your own common sense yelling AT YOU TO USE THAT ALCHEMIST'S FIRE YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU FOR THESE SORT OF OCCASIONS.
Right. Perhaps Matiscio shouldn't have aimed at his own feet however. The alchemist’s fire lands on the body of the man beside the shattered glass case. His clothes catch fire and start to burn. Some of the flames do lick the spider swarm and it takes a bit of damage. The flames also graze Matiscio.
Gregor waits with morningstar still in hand, as Matiscio goes to check over the body, his own attention solidly on the large spider in case it too rises up. As the swarm of spiders rush out, he looks about frantically for any signs of aid. "None of my weapons are going to be any use, need some means of dispersing them."The room they are in has nothing useful, but then he spots the big tank of murky water from the previous room.
Moving back to stand beside the back end, he calls, "Someone help me out. If we can dump this out on them or break the side facing the door, the wash and force should break up the mass of it. Scatter them maybe."
Gilda arches an eyebrow at Didiana's 'burn the whole building down' comment, surprised that Red would even imagine such a lawless action when Kintargo was so awful at stopping any burning blaze.
Smirking, as she has no personal qualms herself against such chaos, Gilda cracks her knuckles and wiggles her fingers at the approaching spider swarm.
"Aww, no big deal. We dealt with a bigger swarm of these last year after all them termites infested that tenement down the block!" Both spider swarms seem to be minimally affected by Gilda’s spell.
Didiana swore under her breath. Her feelings on the arachnids mirrored Matiscio's, albeit less so for the squick factor and more for practical reasons. How the heck did you fight a 1000-strong swarm of spiders? Well, fire was a start. The brawler and shaman had that right. Didiana started speedily rummaging around her backpack for her torches and flint & steel.
Evander, uncertain what he can do to help, remains where he is, but draws his weapon just in case.
Red Spider Swarm engulfs Gilda dealing damage to the shaman.
Blue Spider Swarm engulfs Matiscio dealing damage to the brawler.
Matiscio staggers backwards and is unable to do anything as the carpet of spiders rolls over him. "Evander, catch!"
> nope
> noper
Evander grabs the Alchemist's Fire out of the air and says, "Hold on, guys!" He then chucks the flask at the swarm engulfing Gilda, hoping the splash will affect the other.
He then pulls out his own torch and touches it to Didiana's.
Gregor calls out, having no other recourse, "Stop running into the spiders, conventional weapons are no good, actually move AWAY from them. Use what little terrain we have to our advantage, like funneling them through the doorway. Basic tactical maneuvers, people." His frustration at being unequipped to directly affect them is evident in his voice, but he does not give up his position or plan.
C'mon... C'mon... C'mon and light, you little... There!
The sharp sound of flint and steel striking together could be heard several times before Didiana rose from her hunched position with her hard-won prize in hand: a lit torch.
Now on how to best utilize it.
Gilda, engulfed by hundreds of spiders, opts to taunt them.
"Ahh, is that the best ya got! I got bedbugs that bite worse than you all!"
Gilda reaches around in her oversized dress, quickly pats Sprinkles Too on the head and withdraws a flask of her own.
"I broughtcha some medicine too! Ha!"
Stepping back from her own pile of spiders, she times her throw until Matiscio is free of his own pack.
EDIT: Re-read above. Looks like Matiscio is trying to use his move action to toss to Evander. Gilda will still toss her own flask, which means some splash damage for Matiscio (she'll stitch him up in a minute).
for