NotEspi's Evergreens (Standard) (Inactive)

Game Master NotEspi

"Money talks, does it?" Raman sniffs.

Eadric bursts out laughing "Money talks! Bro, that's awesome..." He continues to laugh as he leans in close to Cypher's Wayfinder, eager to hear what the coin has to say.

You gather around in a secluded spot, and ready your quills. Once you put the coin on a wayfinder, it starts floating above the compass, and gently spinning in the air. An elderly male voice can be heard: "The path and chamber are complete, hidden behind the nameplate of the requested aspirant and guarded by the word you requested. Fimbrik will add more."

Once the message plays, the coin drops to the ground, and remains without motion.

Cypher blinks at the coin, picks it up with intention of returning it to it's grave later.

So... you think that the magic word "Wiffle" is suppose to be said here in front of this plaque? They say, poking 'Doulgonlir Caskmail's name.

Raman tenses, ready for whatever happens when Cypher speaks the password.

You get ready for whatever happens once one of you speaks the passphrase in front of the plaque, when a sudden realisation hits you - Cypher already did. To no avail.

"I think we need to go check out that place with the aspirants. There's no place to have a path and a chamber created by a stonemason on this wall. Find the one we're looking for then we can say the password and see what happens." Helme suggests as she takes her notes.

I always envision the Wall of Names looking a bit like the Vietnam Wall.

"Totally!" Eadric agrees, then turns to Mori "So, err, you know where this shrine is? 'Cause all we have to do is, like, find out who likes drugs and just totally shout 'Wiffle' at their nameplate... Bro! We're gonna' have those docs in no time!" He slaps Mori on the back, excited that the puzzle is almost solved, and starts heading off in the wrong direction.

Edit: Totally forgot to say that I agree, the Wall of Names reminds me of the Vietnam Wall too... Just a bit wavier, perhaps.

Helme, I have a gut feeling that the wall was an inspired by it. But I don't have a source on that claim, so don't quote me on it.

Most Absalom residents know the exact location of the Shrine of the Fallen, and will share this information freely after being asked. Suffice to say, you don't really have issues

Moving through the Ascendant Court, it seems that the density of Absalom's residents and visitors increases with each step, with a huge gathering surrounding the Starstone Cathedral to witness the Mendevian's attempt at ascending to godhood.

Within the hour, you approach the Shrine - a multi-story complex only a few minutes of walk away from the Cathedral itself. Polished white marble floors and walls evocate a feeling of a temple, which is - sort of - is anyway. The usually busy halls are mostly empty now, with the occasional keeper peeking in and out once in a while. As a consequence, the opening leading to the upper levels is blocked by a large marble slab, slid up from the floor with some hiddne, but probably fascinating, mechanism. A large set of stairs leading into the underground sections of the complex seems to be the only unrestricted path.

Cypher looks at the shrine of the fallen and shakes their head.

So many good people lost... seems such a waste. I'm sure our Mendevian fellow will be here soon enough.

They sigh contemplatively and look at the only unrestricted path.

Well, we might as well see where we can go before we get in trouble going places we're not suppose to be...

Cypher pulls out the paper with the notes from the wall as they walk downstairs.

I'm willing to bet that our secret will be behind whichever aspirant matches the one that was on Doulgonlir Caskmail's plaque.

"Down we go, yes?" Mori says.

He nods in agreement with Cypher. "Probably."

It looks a lot like the Vietnam memorial in the artwork. Wall Pic

Descending into the depths of the building, the damp air hits your nostrils and skin. The air is humid, but otherwise pleasant in terms of temperature. Definitely better than the rainy -and- hot day you have been experiencing outside. To most, at least (cough serpents in the party cough). The theme of polished white marble is prevalent in this room as well. It stretches eighty feet across, and each wall, except the one with the wide stairs, contains multiple alcoves dedicated to individuals who have attempted the Ascension Ritual, but failed in one way or the other. While there is little to no dust on the floor in the alcoves, it is clear that some items have been moved from them recently. Circles -and various other shapes- of stains left by corroded metal are quite visible on the marble next to the altars themselves, some even on altars. All that is left for now, is simple wax candles, freshly lit.

"I'll check one side if someone else wants to check the other. We're looking for the name Doulgonlir Caskmail, right?" Helme makes her way down the right hand side of the building.

Each of these chambers contains a small stone altar to one of the failed aspirants. Each altar stands upon a raised dais and bears a small brass nameplate identifying the aspirant and the would-be-god’s areas of interest.

None of the name plates contains the name Doulgonlir Caskmail, however. the names on the altars (starting northeast, going counterclockwise) are:

I've put the names on the map in case you need them.

• Demuren - Sacrifice
  
• Gobru - Fish and Bountiful Sea
  
• Mellag - Rot
  
• Oggo - Sixteen Poses
  
• Silmor - Blades
  
• Spuchasta - Hallucinatory Incense and Herbs
  
• Yepyari - Clouds and Tornados

Eadric takes a look around in the opposite direction of Helme "Doulgonlir? Nah, I thought we were looking for drugs?" He doesn't find anything about excess or drugs, but one nameplate does stand out "Hey guys, look! This one is totally the one! Spew... char.. star... No drugs or excess, but, like, it has hallucinations and stuff." He says pointing at the altar to the south "Do we just shout 'Wiffle' now?"

Eadric speaks the passphrase, but besides his voice echoing in the large empty room, you can only hear tumbleweeds rolling in the wind and crickets chirping. Somehow.

"Maybe we need another coin to talk to." Raman starts sniffing around the altar to Spuchasta, hoping to catch a scent of gold.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Helme moves up to Spuchasta's crypt. She looks at it carefully and Detects Magic in the area.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

"The coin said the path is hidden behind the nameplate," Mori says. "Maybe see if it opens or some such?"

"Maybe..." Eadric firmly grips the nameplate with both hands, and pulls as hard as he can.

Cypher looks around, detecting magic as they do so, the little bird joining in.

Cypher: 1d20 ⇒ 2
sweetsong: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

The little bird chrips in Cypher's ear for a moment and they nod. They pull out the coin and walk over to the wall and stare at it for a moment.

Wiffle?

They also try it at the faceplate, tapping the coin against the plate.

If neither of those work, they scratch their head a little.

I... must say, I'm a little stumped.

Helme and Cypher detect magical auras in the room, and Eadric takes the nameplate and removes it from the altar. Underneath, you see a small black desk and a piece of chalk.

"I suspect that wasn't how they planned on that happening," Mori chuckles at Eadric.

Cypher raises their eyebrow and takes the chalk, and writes "Wiffle" on the black desk.

What, it couldn't hurt. I hope.

As Cypher finishes writing the passphrase on the desk, the western wall of the altar "disappears", and reveals a stone slab. The slab starts receding into the floor, revealing a cavernous area beyond.

Exploring the area shows a rather interesting repository of scroll and journals at the end - several desks are arranged along the northern and eastern edges of this small stone alcove. Whereas the stonework leading to this chamber is rough, the walls in the alcove are polished. A single gem rests among the neatly filed papers on the desk, emitting a soft luminescence that brightens the small room.

Eadric smiles at Mori "You sure, Bro? I mean, like, I totally didn't pull that hard..." He gently places the nameplate down next to the altar and makes his way through the new tunnel "Most excellent idea with that chalk, Cyph! I never would have thought of that." When they finally arrive at the chamber he cheers and claps his hands triumphantly "Woah! That's a major collection of secret stuff..." He takes a quick peek at one of the papers, but is unable to make any sense of it "So, like, do we just bung it all in a bag and report to Dreng, or do you want to, like, read it or something?"

Cypher grins as they walk forward and start looking.

Always read stuff first. You never know what fun stuff you can find...

Spotting the gem, Cypher looks to see if it's anything interesting, detecting magic as they do so.

knowledge dungeoneering sweetwong: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (9) - 2 = 7
Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

"This is a nice find," Mori says with an appreciative whistle. "Let's get to work packing this for the Lodge. The library there is a better place to read than this cave."

He moves to the table and begins to carefully stack and pack the repository.

Raman takes a look at the gem. "Handy thing."

Appraise: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 2 = 23

You go through the documents in the room. While most of it is in a quasi-dead language (Anyone here speak Azlant?) and seem encrypted, there are a few pages describing what you have found in common. It is Elysia's "personal stash" of notes on various archeological sites throughout Avistan. Given the effort the woman made to hide this information, it will probably not be documented by the Society - yet.

Given the amount of paperwork present, six backpacks probably won't be enough to carry all of the papers back to the lodge. (Unless someone has some sort of extradimensional container.)

No Azlant, no container.

"With the rain outside, I would suggessst we send for sssomeone to come pick up the papersss. Carrying everything without better preparation could be problematic."

Cypher nods, still trying to read through papers. Sylvan, Celestial, and Shadowtongue, though Shadowtongue is said to have a bit of azlanti mixed in, maybe I could glean a few things?

I agree, that's a good idea... wish we had some way to grab a messenger. This makes me nervous for some reason, and I'd rather no-one go alone.

Eadric nods "Yeah, that totally makes sense, Bro." He takes another quick look around at the substantial collection of lore "If you're nervous, Cyph, I'm sure we could totally get someone to run a message for us! I mean like, if we gave passing kid a gold coin and promised a second, I bet they would be most eager to help us."

"It's been here this long, it can wait a bit longer. I expect erasing the password will hide the passage again." Raman opines.

Cypher sighs and pockets the stone.

I suppose your right Raman, it just makes me nervous... let's go get someone to run a message for us real quick, and let's close this place up as we go... I'm not leaving this shrine until it's safe and secured though.

If everyone else is willing, Cypher leaves the room and wipes the board clean as suggested. If that indeed closes the door as expected, they replace the plague, then go to find the first urchin that will take a few copper to run and get Janira or someone at the pathfinder society to send a team who can get the documents.

Having been one of the last in, Ssarandu leeds the way out of the passage to wait for it to be secured.

I moved everyone into the passage...just in case it becomes important as we leave.

Mori looks disappointed relents and leaves the documents in a neat stack on the table before heading back to the shrine.

Busy Monday yesterday. Apologies.

Eadric, satisfied that yet another mission has ended in success, follows closely behind Ssresrandu while whistling a happy tune.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Cypher: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Sweetsong: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Cypher, Engrossed in the gem and few documents they kept, pays no attention to anything.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Raman turns his head to one side. "We've got some unexpected visitors."

"Visitors?" Eadric unslings the shield from his back and straps it to his arm "But the place was deserted before..." He continues cautiously moving forward.

No surprise, I suppose. Map updated.

As you leave the altar room, you notice three figures in black robes staring you down from between the columns, weapons drawn - a halfling, a half-elf, and one human. Immediately upon seeing you, they show their teeth in a series of malicious smiles, and attack.

The half-elf runs towards one of the columns, turns towards you, and unleashes fire from his fingertips after a few muffled words and a shout: "For Blackfingers!"

Fire damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Ssresrandu and Helme get hit - Reflex DC 13 for half

Turn 1 - Go if bolded
Evo - spells and stuff
Helme
Mori
Cypher
Slicer
Touched
Ssresrandu
Eadric
Raman

I knew it Cypher mutters, but then flips their hair, giving a supernaturally beautiful smile. Cypher shifts their body, stepping a leg forward and raising their arms, revealing tantalizing skin as they begin to whisper and chant something in a beautiful language.

Beginning sleep spell. Assuming these guys are Humanoid, the DC will be 18 when the spell releases at the beginning of the next turn.

The human and half-elf listen in on Cypher's chanting, but they seem none-the-wiser.

Reflex: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Helme manages to jump out of the way of the fire, and moves out of the hallway to give her companions room to work. She unslings her longspear from her back and readies it.

Move, and draw weapon.

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

"Norborger? Bah!" Mori stomps out of the alcove and moves around the nagaji. "Take that to your Blackfingers!"

He swings his pick at the half-elf.

Heavy Pick: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Cold Iron, P: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Mori swings the pick and hits the half-elf good. Pretty sure you heard a few ribs crack in the process. Mori's target is clearly not happy with the situation. The hooded halfling in the room launches herself at Ssresrandu with her rapier. She strikes a mean wound, too.

She confirms a crit with SA and does a whopping 5 damage. Unreal.

A cloaker figure emerges from behind the column next to the half elf. This time, a human woman. She touches the half-elf, and the man is suddenly able to breathe perfectly fine. He looks at Mori with eyes full of hate. It used to be a combination of anger and pain, but it's just pure hatred now.

Turn 1 - Go if bolded
Evo - spells and stuff
Helme - draw | -1 HP
Mori - pickaxe
Cypher - casting
Slicer - acquainting her rapier with Ssresrandu's scales
Touched - the good kind of a bad touch
Ssresrandu | -5 HP (in addition to the 3 or 1 from fire, depends on your reflex)
Eadric
Raman