Library of the Lion (Inactive)

Game Master Netopalis

"Let us be systematic about this, as we enter the hall, we should check the next door, following the left wall."

I assume we are down in 11 right now since that thing on the far left of the room looks like it might be the lion's head. LEt's go back to the hallway and take the first left. It's dark, but it looks like there should be a room right beside 10. Let's try it and move further left from there, until we check all those rooms.

Perception 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 on the door

Disable Device 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15 if necessary

Hessiel nods at Haldan's words and follows on silently, his large eeyes scanning carefully as his mind races.

Tamerius draw his rod and followed his comrades

When you step back out into the second hallway, you see a woman standing there.

Picture

"Who's there?", she asks, "I thought you were all supposed to be at the gala!"

Fendahl followed the others back out...until they are greeted in the hallway by the woman.

Is she really wearing a blindfold? Assuming yes.

The druid waits for one of his Taldor allies to respond to her question.

"Sister, I am a Taldan soldier sent to retrieve valuable information, hoping to stop the demons flowing out of the Worldwound. The prior history of our great land's battles there hopefully can lend some knowledge about how to strike at their vulnerabilities."

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Fendahl: She is indeed wearing a blindfold.

Shel: The woman raises her eyebrows. "Taldan soldiers? Under whose orders? I certainly hope you have some sort of royal authorization.", she says with a mixture of surprise and affront.

Tamerius stay silent hoping his comrade came to a peaceful understanding with the blindfolded woman.

"Lady Morilla has sent us to research on her behalf. Glory mane has decided to allow his safe passage in this place as well."

She scoffs. "Lady Morilla? She has no authority to send troops here - this is the property of the Lion Blades! Is she conspiring against the Emperor?! And you listened to that old rock out front? He's addled by the passage of time."

Not sure going with the truth was the right path to go here...

Rysalius sighs. "Obviously we're not fooling one so wise as you, Milady. We can't say too much, but know this - Lady Morilla's actions are fully sanctioned by Princess Eutropia herself - our Lady acts as the Princess's loyal servant, no less. Our beloved Princess has had reasons to believe that the documents regarding Grand Prince Stavian III's lineage may have been compromised - and with it her own chances of rising to power unchallenged one day. As for Lady Morilla, she accepted to send her best agents here on the condition that we should be given access to vital information regarding the history of the Shining Crusade to aid her own agenda, mounting a crusade against the Worldwound. Surely the Lion Blades are aware of her plans, and of the fact the wardstones are failing."

Bluff: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

Hessiel remains silent, relieved and impressed by the more experienced Pathfinder's skills.

Nice roll!

Fendahl stands quietly, waiting for the response from the blindfolded woman to Rysalius's entirely convincing explanation of their purpose.

The lady looks even more incredulous. "Princess Eutropa?! She has no more right to send soldiers here than Lady Morilla! This is remarkable! Is Princess Eutropa trying to undermine the emperor?!"

Unfortunately, bluff isn't really applicable there, I don't feel.

Rysalius shakes his head. "I did not say that our patron would grant us rightful access here, since this is obviously an area controlled by the Lion Blades. I was only counting on your good will to let us go about our business in the interest of our Beloved Princess, that's all. You don't look like a Lion Blade yourself, you could simply not reveal our presence here in the interest of political stability, and for Princess Eutropia's sake. We wouldn't like her to be put in trouble by the Lion Blades. She's just a child."

What skill would be more appropriate? Diplomacy to make her friendlier to our cause perhaps? If so, could people aid another me before I roll? I have the Year of the Risen Rune Taldor boon that gives me +4 instead of +2 when the aid another is provided by a member of the Taldor faction.

Haldan shakes his head, "Milady, you seem to only hear what you want to hear. The princess wants no such thing, unless you know something that would place the Grand Prince's claim to the throne at risk. We only want the best for Taldor, and if you do not allow us access, you are only aiding those that would see Taldor remain the empty shell that it is today. I beg of you, please let us fulfill our mission, and not only save countless lives, but confirm that the Grand Prince is the rightful ruler and silence his enemies once and for all."

Aiding Ryalius, success even if I roll a 1.

I rolled a 25 on Diplomacy earlier. I'm not sure how we get by this lady.

Oh sorry, missed it! Shall I roll to aid you then, even if it's after the die roll? I'm not sure this is allowed. That being said if neither diplomacy nor bluff work, I'm at a loss as to how to deal with this woman in a nonviolent manner... She might as well have attacked us at the start.

Yes, she is I'm sure.

Tamerius stay quiet, his presence as an asmodean priest wearing mendev colors could be misinterpreted. Hoppefully the woman was wearing a blindfold so not speaking could spare his comrades numerous other explanations... as his mendevian accent could ruin their effort.

Sorry for the delay - my computer exploded, so I lost a lot of my notes for the scenario.

The lady smirks. "Ah, excellent. You're correct - I'm no Lion Blade myself, nor do I feel a strong allegiance to them. After all, they did take my sight..."

She trails off as if lost in thought.

Also, Diplomacy works, you just have to say the right things in conjunction with a good roll. She started off as unfriendly, and what you are asking is being treated as requesting aid that could result in punishment - severe punishment. Bluff would normally work against her, Rysalius, but you weren't lying.

I think I was lying - I made up the part about being sent by Princess Eutropia, as I was trying to give false leads. But I see your point, seeing the way the conversation goes, diplomacy would be a sounder choice. I'll post a longer reply in a few hours with a diplomacy check since I'm on my phone now, so if people want to aid another me, it would be greatly appreciated. I'll go along the lines of how we commiserate with her and that we have nothing to do with these horrible Lion Blades.

sorry for your Computer Netopalis, hope you could salvage some of your HD !

Dispite his fear to threaten his comrades try to bend the will of the woman, Tamerius spoke.

Our greatest ennemy are the worldwound's demons, as the Wardstones in Mendev are falling to protect it, one after another. I witnessed myself the attack of the Horde on Nerosian, Mendev's capital. Only the fierce determination and the alliance of the mendevian crusaders and the men and women of the Pathfinder Society have permited the victory over the demons.
History here is the key of future victories. History where Taldor was the brightest exemple. Please, help us save the world by helping us in our quest.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

"What they say is correct, ma'am. It is imperative that you allow us to access your trove of information. Without that key knowledge, we might fall into the same traps that we have before. The demons must be stopped quickly, and Taldor just might have the knowledge of how to pull that off."

Caretaker Roll: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

She seems to be a bit more relaxed, but still nervous. "Your stated intentions are good, but...I fear for my own safety. What will happen to me if you are caught, eh? What will happen to my family?!"

"We don't want any harm to come to you. We are countrymen, and would never mention you. We are here for one reason and one reason only...to find our information. We have tried to not leave any marks of our passing, so I am confident that we will not even have to worry about this matter."

We could, with a sap made you incounscious or bound you as if you were attacked ?

Proposed Tamerius

But as my friend said, we hope we will do no harm nor alarm anyone with our presence here.

he added after Shel speech.

The Taldan Baron takes a commiserating tone with the blind woman. "Alas, poor woman, your tale is not an uncommon one. Though a fervant servant of great Taldor, I found myself at odds with the Lion Blades' violent politics more than one, and can only offer you my sympathy for your family. As my friend told you we need your help direly, thus you could decided to grant us the aid we require as a sort of vengeance against the Lion Blades, without fear of reprisal. Neither our lips nor your need to unseal and let known the fact we helped one another. We have been cautious here and haven't left tracks of our presence. With your help, we could be done in our paramount task before the Lions' gaze turns to either of us. What say you, good woman, will you aid us in this hour of need? You can make a difference today, and I promise you that your family won't suffer the consequences if we stick to my proposal."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 + 4 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 4 + 2 + 4 = 27

Haldan frowns slightly, Making promises that we cannot keep... I must do my best to protect this woman and her family. But how?

Fendahl remains quiet, letting the Taldorians settle on a mutually acceptable solution.

"What is your name, milady?" Haldan asks, trying to suppress a seething anger. He had always looked up to the Lion Blades, wanting to become one, someday. To see the cruelty that they would visit on their own people is unforgivable...

Hessiel remains silent somewhat in awe of his companions diplomatic skills, and feeling that as a none Taldan his input might not be appreciated by the Lady.

Sorry for the delay, today's been busy and, like I said, I'm missing my notes. Update in a few hours.

The caretaker's face softens. "I suppose you're right. As long as you're good about keeping quiet and cleaning up after yourself...But, the less I know of it, the better. My name is Iliyana. If you need me, I will be back in my quarters. Please, don't make me regret this decision."

"Our thanks Lady Iliyana, we will do our uptmost to see you have no cause to regret your decision," Hessiel says, moving over to the next door an assisting looking for traps upon it, and with any lock picking required.

Perception Aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Disable Device Aid: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Rysalius breathes a relief. "I thank thee, I assure you you won't regret your decision. Before you go, would you know anything about the four lion statues we found in the other room?"

Fendahl nods silently, hopeful the woman has some suggestion to offer.

The woman starts to head back to her room (room 1 in this hallway), before turning around and saying, "Four lion statues? What on Golarion are you talking about? There's the talking lion, then there are several lions in the architecture of these rooms, but nothing more."

As you chat with her, some of you may notice another painting of Stavian in her room. He is smiling serenely. The inscription reads, "In the end, loyalty is its own reward."

A spark of understanding can be briefly seen in the nobleman's look. "You... you must be correct, I was mistaken."

When the woman is gone, he whispers to his companions: "This motto... could it be a hint for the position of the fourth statue? Which one would fit loyalty best? And would the other portraits of Stavian give the hints for the other statues?"

"I bet you are right, Rysalius. We need to follow up and find all them before chancing our luck with the statues."

Yes, may be we must find other portrait of Stavian ?

Tamerius came back to Iliana and asked her

Lady Iliana, could you help us in any way to find what were looking for ? Or do you have any advice for us who could help us ?
Do you know if other portrait of Stavian could be found around here ? I know you couldn't see but may be people talk to you about them ?

Shushing Tamerius the Taldan archaeologist speaks, "The less she knows the less she can be implicated. We must do this on our own."

"Now before we get distracted, let us finish exploring to see if there are more clues to be found," Haldan continues quietly, "We'd best not go in half-cocked, for I am sure that the Lion Blades have a nasty trap in store for us if we fail with the statues."

Taking care not to bother Lady Iliyana in her quarters, we should systematically continue checking rooms.

But if she can be convinced to help us, she could be of great help to let less clues of our passage, to clean behind us as it's her duty here. If we know where looking we will gain time and time is the essence here, don't you think ?

"But how will she know which paintings are of the Grand Prince?" Haldan points to his eyes.

Someone else could talk about it

"Hrrmm, I would think any Taldor patriot to recognize the grand prince in a portrait."

Fen, she's blind. The Lion Blades took her EYES... Bastards...

lol - I was not talking about her, but those of you with gold crowns next to your names . I would think you could tell A crown prince if you saw one...
Like a kn:local or kn:nobility of dc1 or something:-)

Shel listens to the others argue and waste time. While they were doing so, she proceeds down the hallway, and listens at he next doorway, and checks it for traps.

Perception 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14 to check for traps