Skye studies the swarm of glowing glyphs, his arms tracing their patterns of movement in order to disrupt them.
Xuan just matter of factly blasts the swarm, while 575 gleefully stomps individual runes. Corona stares for a few seconds in fascination as the swarm dances around the fountain.
The runes turn, suddenly facing Xuan, their strange characters flickering like glowing eyeballs.
Then they spin again, casting a spell!
Suddenly the grass in front of Xuan and Ezren erupts into a cone of flame that engulfs them both!
Strangely, while the flames wash over you, they are non-lethal. Though you can feel the pain lance up your bodies, your skin and clothes are not burnt.
The whole party is up!
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The sudden burst of flame from the trap behind her finally seems to grab Corona's attention. "Oh! Right, disarm! Sorry, New Friends!" she squeaks with embarrassment as she turns her attention to actually studying the runes and trying to help deactivate them.
"And...there! And right here, too!" she continues, talking out loud as she pokes and jabs at the runes with her index finger.
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Flames erupting from the weeds were not at all what 575 was expecting from the runes. He would look disappointed that they chose to attack Ezren and Fung, if he knew how to look it.
Instead, he takes another step, away from Corona, and prepares to stomp on it again, but at the last moment, he stops, looking at the runes with a strange expression... puzzled maybe?
I know nothing of magic
Such things were not taught to me
But those I do know...
His voice trails off, as he points at a few of the runes off to one side.
(+2 if Codebreaker applies!)
"By the Hells, watch yourself!" Ezren exclaims disgustedly as the flames was over his body. "That's an Alarm spell so we may have company...unless it was tied to that trap..." He quickly hobbles over next to the fountain and studies the runes closely...
Hmmm...this is harder than I thought...
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"Look out! There's something in the grass!" Fung spots it too late to do anything about it, however, as a wave of fire wash over him. He manages to duck behind the bushes, escaping some of the heat.
Worried about triggering the trap, Fung skirts around. Not being able to reach the rune like many of his teammates, he decides to let loose another blast of electricity at it.
Skye, Ezren and Zavubak get momentarily confused by the fast swirl of runes in front of them. Oddly, 575 catches another clue about how to break the runes.
Then Xuan Fung blasts the swarm, temporarily frying the little pieces of paper. Smoking runes fall from the sky like drifts of snow. Though as you watch, you notice that some of the smoking and crumpled runes that have fallen to the ground are starting to unfold and recover themselves....
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"Oh! You blew them up," Corona marvels at Fung, stating the obvious as bits of paper waft down to the ground. "That's a really neat power you have, New Friend Fung! Tell me about how it works sometime, okay?"
As she watches the runes, even Corona can't help but notice as they slowly begin to reassemble themselves. "Um, but not right now. I think we need to finish taking them apart for good!"
Kneeling down, she begins trying to sift through the runes even as they start to mend, flipping bits and pieces of paper this way and that as she works...
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Flapping down from her perch on Corona's head, the chicken begins pecking at the bits of paper still drifting through the air and settling on the grass.
Glowbugs! I was getting ready for another snack anyway.
However she quickly seems to realize that the papers are neither glowbugs nor particularly tasty and utters a rather irritated, "Bawk!"
These aren't glowbugs at all! What sort of cruel joke is this!?
Ezren notes the rune swarm assembling itself with a look of concern but stares at the bits and pieces of paper with grim determination. "OK everyone let's follow Miss Corona's example here..." He motions as he again begins studying the intricacies of each rune...
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Click. Whirr.
Zabubak picks through the unfolding papers, the last of the puzzle coming clear for him. "Oh! Wait! I got this, guys! Those herbs Skye has given me... They've shown me the connections! We're all connected! Whoa..."
Collectively, you managed to solve the issue of the wards, and as you do so, the moving pieces of paper flatten out and stack themselves into a neat little pile by the fountain, ready to be activated again when needed.
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With the runes safely deactivated, Corona takes the opportunity to take a breather as well and flops down beside the fountain. "Snacks? Uhm...well, we've already eaten most of the cornbread I made, but...oh!"
She rifles through her pack for a few moments before pulling out a small bag. "Would crackers work, New Friend? I made them myself and they travel even better than cornbread does!"
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As soon as he disperses the runes, Fung runs forward, trying to see how he can help to bring the runes down permanently. But his teammates with their magical training figures it out in very short order. He sighs a sigh of relief.
"That's a really neat power you have, New Friend Fung! Tell me about how it works sometime, okay?"
"Um, I'm not so sure myself. It just started happening when I was in my teens. It started it small things, getting mild shocks when I come near an anvil, for example. But it got stronger and stronger as time went by. One day, the neighborhood bully called me a mutant. I got so angry and suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out from me. Thankfully, it missed him. After that, my master brought me to Grand Lodge to figure out how to control my powers. Although I am no closer to understanding it, at least I have better control of it now."
Fung smiles when Corona starts offering food. "Yes, crackers would be nice! Those electric blasts take quite a lot out of me. I'm famished!"
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"Huh...that sort of sounds like what happened to me," Corona muses as she begins passing around crackers to anyone that wants them, even crumbling up a few for her feathered friend. "Strange things happening like stuff moving around on its own and hearing weird noises even when there wasn't anything there. Then the magic came not long after that. That was when my parents left me at the temple of Pharasma; I think they thought that maybe I was possessed or something," she states in a matter-of-fact manner.
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Sova peers at the gluttonous chicken, then stares at Skye and blinks. Once.
Seriously, crackers? Do I look like a parrot?
Indignant, she ruffles her feathers and rolls her neck. "Hoot."
The team munches on Corona's crackers in the rune garden, enjoying a moment of cameraderie. Svaralk of Asleifar, Sergeant of the Learned Guard, and his ulfen companions, even come to enjoy some of the crackers, munching happily. Then Svaralk clears his throat. "Good job taking the wards down," he nods to the stack of papers in the garden, "with them down you should be able to get into Nigel Aldain's office upstairs."
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When the guard captain stops in, 575 addresses Svaralk with a question.
All this excitement
Said caused by forces unknown
Do we know who, now?
At least it seems like a question. It's hard to tell sometimes, with his weird rhythmic wording and often incorrect facial expressions.
Can you give us a sense of the passage of time? Trying to calculate the remaining duration of active buffs. Expect that bless and shield of faith have expired, but barkskin with a duration of 40 min is still active.
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After a loud crack and a ripple of arcane energy, silence falls across the museum as the construct guards freeze in place and haunted relics drop to the ground. Nigel’s voice rings out, magically projected throughout the museum: “We’ve disabled the magical security measures. Since we haven’t found the thieves yet, they must be hiding in my third-story study. Please subdue them; they have much to answer for!”
Nigel Aldain’s announcement echoes through a museum littered with shattered clockwork and toppled exhibits. There’s no question that the Pathfinders have quelled the building’s defenses, and perhaps the peaceful silence will set whoever hides on the third floor at ease.
The mahogany walls and domed, plaster ceiling both show signs of heavy damage. Most of the luxurious furniture and the crystal chandelier are intact. The contents of cabinets and bookcases lie strewn about the floor. A small wooden panel near the door hangs open, revealing an arcane sigil covered in scorch marks.
A Kellid woman dressed in furs with intricate scars all over her body steps forward. She holds a hand up and says, “Stay back. We are members of the Twinhorn following, and we have only come to retrieve what was stolen from us.”
A towering figure steps forward; his translucent red form is that of a man clad in heavy armor and wielding twin warhammers. “Medda, they must be in league with the thieves; they should die for crossing us.” The man’s voice sounds hollow and unnaturally loud, and as he speaks, the chandelier glows with a dull light.
The woman, Medda, puts a hand on the figure’s arm and says, “Maybe we should give them a chance to explain themselves, Anok.” She looks at you expectantly, but with narrowed and suspicious eyes.
What do you do?
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"Oh!" Corona gasps as they finally make their way upstairs and into Nigel's study. "Um..." she looks at the rest of the group and then back at the pair, Medda and Anok. "Well, we're supposed to be here to put things back in order again but we weren't really expecting to find you two here - or at least I wasn't. Personally, I was expecting it to be ninjas again."
She pauses for a moment and then coughs. "So, um...you said you're looking for something that was stolen? Stealing definitely isn't nice! What did they take?"
"Ninjas?!" Medda raises her eyebrows and responds with forced calm, “We are from the northern lands—the Realm of the Mammoth Lords to you southerners. Our following, or tribe, has been searching for our stolen heritage for months.”
She grimaces. “These Blakros people stole our most precious heirloom.” Medda retrieves a bundle of bloody bandages, then unwraps it to reveal a dagger hilt with only the fragment of a black blade. “It belonged to Ivvora, a champion of Vildeis who vanquished the great black evil from our land over 900 years ago. We kept it safe until the Blakros agents stole it three months ago. Are you their lackeys?”
Then she looks you over again. "No, you at least seem to lack the gleam of unbridled avarice that I would expect from a Blakros."
Kellids...By the Hells, what are THEY doing here? The Blakros greediness must have overwhelmed their good senses...again.
Ezren hobbles next to the young woman, unwilling to leave her alone to face the Kellids. "No, we don't believe in theft. Blakros asked us for help in dealing with the defenses that were triggered...somehow. Once we have figured what happened then we can see about this relic that was stolen from you."
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Skye reassures the woman Medda and her companions in Hallit. "Jag är också från Land av Mammutherrar." He holds up the stone fetish of a sabertooth tiger on the leather thong around his neck. "Mitt andedjur är smilodonen."
Skye holds out his empty hands in a gesture of peace, "Vi vill bara hjälpa."
"My father was from the Lands of the Mammoth Lords. My spirit animal is that of his following. We wish to help you resolve your claim peacefully. Please tell us everything you can about what happened."
Skye slowly pulls aside his robe and carefully withdraws a pipe and a small pouch. "Here, let us smoke some herb and discuss this like civilized Northerners."
Medda inclines her head, and picks up the pipe of herbs in wonder. "Dreamsmoke! I had not thought to see this since leaving the northern lands!"
Anok frowns at the pipe, his red ghostly form standing in frank disapproval. "Dreamsmoke is for peacetime. Let us not have our minds clouded when we still have not found what was taken from us." His voice is booming, deep and hollow. He turns to Zavubak and the dubious 575. “The Blakros scoundrels came into our camp asking about Ivvora. Medda gave them shelter and told Ivvora’s story, but we would not part with the hilt.”
He pauses to look at 575, his face full of anguish. “The next morning the hilt and the Blakros agents were gone. We tracked it here, to this building.” The ghostly figure paces, agitated, as his gaze searches the office. “Where did they hide it? It must be here. If we do not find it...” His voice trails off.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Medda waves the hilt at Anok. "You can't find it because I am holding it, O great Warrior Spirit!"
Anok pauses before Medda, nonplussed. "Oh. Then if you hold it, I will allow the passing of the Dreamsmoke pipe." Anok turns back to you. “Medda is the guardian of Ivvora’s hilt, passed from keeper to keeper for generations—or for her, from parent to child. She is the first evening’s daughter in decades,” he boasts, earning him a withering look from Medda before he adds, “And it is she who can sense and wield the hilt’s power properly.”
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Skye tips his wineskin and pours a little water down the pipe's tube, packs a little herb in the receptacle, and fires up the pipe. He offers the first hit to Anok. "Chillax, Bro'. Didn't mean to disturb your chakras."
As the pipe makes its way around the circle, Skye turns back to Medda.
"Before you ask, Zavubak, an 'evening's daughter' is *not* the same thing as a 'lady of the night."
Skye asks, "Medda, can you explain to my friends what Anok means by 'evening's daughter'?"
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Corona's eyes narrow slightly and she glances around the room. Her gaze settles on what she had at first thought were finely-crafted mannequins but upon further scrutiny she realizes that they aren't mannequins at all.
"If we're going to be passing this pipe around then be sure to let them have a puff on it too," she smiles, nodding at the two individuals. "We wouldn't want to forget anyone!"
Ezren raises an eyebrow at Skye's words, then swivels to give the 'mannequins' a look-over.
Well, if they don't want to talk... He shrugs slightly the gladly accepts the pipe, taking a deep draw.
"Ahhh...You honor us by sharing your pipe with us. I do not like hearing there is a missing blade, especially for such a valuable relic. Could you describe the blade to us? Does it have any unusual runes or markings on it?"
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Fung, in his agitation, takes the pipe from Corona and takes a puff before he realises what he has done. "Oh, no! My master has warned me against taking this. He said it dulls the edges." He waits a little, then adds in a more neutral tone. "Hmm, it's not that bad." He takes another puff before passing it on to the two quiet individuals at the back.
Medda shoots Anok a scolding glare before explaining. “An evening’s child is one who realizes and expresses their true identity later in life. I am an evening’s daughter because when I was born, my tribe mistook me for a male child. My connection to our ancestral spirits has helped me transform in body, not just soul. As you are strangers, I would rather leave it at that.”
Anok pales to a rosy hue before muttering an apology: “I misspoke, Medda. I forget that few are as open as I am about one’s past lives. Perhaps it is time for us to leave, as we have smoked the peace pipe...”
But as the Twin Horn warriors are preparing to pack and go, there is a sudden CRA-A-ACK! as the chandelier bursts open, revealing an extra-planar horror!
For every 5 that you beat the DC, you may ask for one piece of information from this list.
Shards of chandelier fall throughout the room, but most of you had been milling around on the edges, so are missed.
Everyone but 575 and Zavubak can act!
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When the creature burst forth from the chandelier right in front of him, Fung stares at it for a while, wondering if it is the effect of the peace pipe. He shakes his head to clear it, and realises the creature is indeed there. Immediately, he summons a bolt of electricity to fly at the extraplanar being, then quickly retreating to the edge of the room.
Please don't be immune to lightning...
Fung, may I have a caster level check for your energy blast? This creature appears to have some sort of spell resistance.
Bold is still up!