Netopalis' Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment (PFS 2013 PBP Game Day) (Inactive)

Game Master Netopalis

Hawk will attempt to discretely mention to the assembled Pathfinders that this meal is not what it seems to be.

Don't eat this - there seems a poison in the food, but I can't determine what type.

Hawk clearly doesn't eat the food, but will still attempt to sit and be polite.

More and more...unusual

Tamerius sat himself at the table, eating nothing, trying to find how magical food could be poisoned.

Know. Arcane: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Mizunoken watches Hawk study the food and recognizes the change on his face and sudden loss of appetite.

It's nice to have an extra set of eyes looking after you. The people here don't appear malnourished... docile or impressionable... what purpose would poisoning your own followers serve...

"Aikio, would you be a dear and pass some of that yellow grain my way? Mother always said, 'Jistivaw bogħod xi ikel. Għandna jistgħu jeħtieġu li dan l-istudju.'"

Your sense motive indicates that, as you were told earlier, the leader of the community is not present. You were told earlier that Dakang was the abbot, not Zhuang. Sorry, I know it can get confusing with all of these names up front.

And now...11 perception checks.

Di: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Zhuang: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Hamada: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Ziya: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Miryia: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Wei: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Liso: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Pualo: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Xifen: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Tamtei: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Gastidem: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Di says, "Poisoned? Never! The food is perfectly safe!"

Gastidem shakes his head. "There, there, Di...these are newcomers. They are not yet in tune with Korada, so they may have a different reaction. You probably do not remember it, for you were born here, but the food tastes different to outsiders..."

"You were born her Di?" Aikio asks passing a plate down to the ranger. "Where you not Gastidem? When did you come to this temple then? We were told this place has been abandoned for centuries and that its inhabitants were... well not human." The tengu nods to the Lily. "Obviously our intelligence is lacking."

Mizunoken musters the extent of his table etiquette and lays a napkin on his lab. Upon receiving the plate of food, Mizunoken shovels some onto his own servingware, making sure to "accidentally" get some on his lap napkin in the process.

Di nods. "Yes, I was born here. We all were, save Gastidem and Dakang. We rarely leave the temple, for our duties here keep us quite busy.

Gastidem adds, "If you are curious, I am a follower of Korada who was accidentally brought here during one of Hao Jin's other acquisitions. During my wandering through this plane, I happened upon the temple, and they embraced me with open arms. That was some...150 years ago? Time flies by, you know."

Hawk muses to himself I guess it's a good thing to remember that there are ears everywhere here.

Lily smiles, declining any offers for food, "If you don't mind me asking, where is your abbot? We, and others like us, are very curious about your temple, and we were hoping he would be able to answer some questions."

Lily takes some herbs from a pouch on her belt and begins to absently feed Daisy as she converses with the temple's inhabitants.

Shan will quietly eat the meal when the other inhabitants begin to do so. The dwarf isn't one to allow a little poison to interupt a finely presented meal.

A reminder, I'll be going out of town this weekend. Posting will be spotty until Sunday.

Di nods. "Yes, I was born here. We all were, save Gastidem and Dakang. We rarely leave the temple, for our duties here keep us quite busy.

"Dakang? And the rest of you: were your ancestors simarly caught up by Hoa Jin?"

Lily:
Di responds, "Oh, Dakang, our abbot, does not generally dine with us. Due to Korada's blessing, he no longer requires material sustenance."

Shan: You choose a ripe-looking apple and bite in. Expecting the sweet and tart taste of fruit, though, you are shocked to find that your mouth is filled with a substance that has the taste and texture of volcanic ash.

Aikio: Wei, the halfling father, says, "I'm afraid I'm not exactly sure how my ancestors got here...all I know is that my whole life has been spent in this temple."

Tamerius doesn't eat anything but sit with the others.

150... years ! But it's a gnome

Intrigued, Tamerius ask Gastidem. You don't seemed as old Gastidem ! Is it common for a gnome to live so long ? Or does the teatching of Korada permit such miracle ? then after a short pause he added
Do you think it could be possible for us to speak with your abbot after your meal ?
We have so many questions to ask.

I keep forgetting who Dakim is... :p
Aikio listens to the stories of the others. "And are you ancestors buried here then? We have been tasked to give our utmost respect to the deceased and make records for posterity". Aikio tries to steer the conversation to the crypts unless it detracts too much from the other's questions of the Abbot.

She otherwise quietly waits for dinner to finish.

Mizunoken shifts in his seat, noticeably uncomfortable with proceedings.

I can't recall the last time I wished dinner to be over so quickly...

Gastidem responds, "My friend, you clearly must not have met many gnomes in your lifetime. We live until we are tired of living, and I am far from that."

Di says, "In regards to speaking with Dakang, he rarely accepts visitors. However, you would be welcome to hear his sermon. Our daily worship service will start when the chapel bells ring. And yes, our ancestors are buried here, but we are forbidden to go to the crypts. They are an unclean place."

"It saddens me that your ancestors are in an unclean place. Perhaps we could do something to fix that for you after we have had the chance to learn more of your ways?"

Hawk nods at the suggestion of Aikios I suspect that we will be able to do much good while we are here as we have much to see and do.

When dinner is over Hawk will then eat part of his rations for the day.

Di responds to Aikio, "No, no, no, you misunderstand...Members of our faith do not handle the dead if we do not have to, for they are unclean. We take them to Dakang, who performs the final rites and lays them to rest."

I'll be wrapping up dinner soon unless anybody has any further questions. Please feel free to let me know.

I'm definately ready to move on from dinner :)

Ha ha, I think we all are, just trying to figure out how to do it gracefully!

Well, with that, the monks start breaking up. Zhuang invites you to the meditation room later to learn more about the teachings of Korada. You are reminded that when the bells ring, the church service will start. Soon, you are alone in the dining room again.

Before everybody leaves, Shan just asks one more question "So do we have permission to walk through the entire temple, is there anywhere off limits, or would you prefer for you to give us a tour first?"

Shan tries a few other pieces of food to see if he tastes the same results.

Di responds, You may feel free to go anywhere in the temple, save the crypt or Dakang's private quarters. You are permitted to visit any other area."

You attempt to taste a few different items. All of them taste like ash.

"Thank you.

Shan moves toward the curtain and pulls it back.

Behind the curtain is a door. You saw Wei, the halfling, go in there earlier.

Shan opens the door.

Ok, so I'm going to assume that you all go into the room unless you say otherwise within the next 24 hours.

"Wise of you to ask Shan," Aikio says following the dwarf's lead.

Nothing says one is going into the room when one is just looking through the doorway. ;)

Thanks you all for your kindness and your welcome

Said Tamerius when the meal finished.

When their hosts were all gone Tamerius said to his companions.

Something is strange about this place. But may be it's Korada's way ?.
Anyway, we have a mission to carry out.

Tamerius will go to the meditation room

Hawk will approach Shan If you will permit I'd like to examine you to see if you have suffered from any ill effects from the food that you consumed.

Heal check to treat poison: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

"The food was horrible. Tasted like ash. If you have any water, that would be the best cure."

Mizunoken speaks in low tones to his compatriots.

The respected captain sups with his crew; the feared, alone.

I'd trust his benevolence up until the next available port...

Mizunoken will follow Shan for the time being

Shan my friend, there was something about that meal that involved more than just bad tasting food. My magic indicated actual poison. I realize that you are are the most experienced Pathfinder here but I don't want anything to happen.

Tamerius: To confirm, you are splitting the party?

"Oh! I've been wondering what's behind the curtain, too. Reminds me of a story I read when I was younger."

She calmly pets Daisy, "No, darling, you can't be Tao-Tao in this story. We're on a mission now. Perhaps later, when we're finished here."

Lily and Daisy walk towards Shan and the parted curtain, "Do you see anything, Shan?"

Since all players have posted, I will say what you all see from opening the door.

The door opens into a spacious kitchen, which is conspicuously empty. It appears to be long-abandoned, and smells faintly musty. There is a large cooking hearth, as well as hanging cooking implements, all quite rusty.

The halfling from earlier, Wei, is in this room. He is swaying back and forth. His eyes are bulging, his face blue.

A stool has been tipped over at his feet. He is hanging by his neck from a rope. He appears to be quite dead.

Shan rushes into the room while drawing his dagger, jumps to cut down the halfling and bring him to the ground. While he maybe too late, Shan tries to determine if Wei just passed on or if he has been dead for some time.

Heal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Wei has been dead for a few minutes.

Anybody stepping into the room, please make a perception check.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19 +2 Stonework

"We have stumbled into something most disturbing."

"Oh, how awful! You don't... you don't think our questions about his ancestors caused this, do you?", Lily asks her companions with a worried expression on her face.

Lily's Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Daisy's Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Mizunoken recoils slightly at the sight, though regains his composure quickly.

Besmara, guide us...

"This is mighty strange, though methinks that goes without saying."

Mayhaps we should offer to take him to the crypts ourselves once whatever form of rites they practice are performed...

Seeing everyone else rush in Hawk will guard the back.

This just happened so if there is a culprit involved Hawk will keep a lookout trying to make sure that no one will get away.

Perception from just outside the room: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Tamerius was going to the meditation room when he heard the cry from some of his comrades !

He stopped and asked out loud What's going on ?

"Tamerius, I'd recommend staying close, at least for the time being."

You all see that a rusty knife on the island in the island at the center of the kitchen is starting to twitch and move about of its own accord.

Rolling Initiative:
Shan: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Lily: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Mizunoken: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Tamerius: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10
Aikio: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16 (Assuming this modifier, as I cannot see anything increasing it.)
Hawk: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Knife: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6

This is a surprise round. You may take either a move action or a standard action on your turn.

The initiative order will be:
Lily
Mizunoken
Shan
Aikio
Tamerius
Knife
Hawk

What foul magics possess that blade?

Is Mizunoken within five feet of the knife?