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"There’s trouble at the Blakros Museum again," Venture- Captain Adril Hestram growled when you first entered the meeting room in the Grand Lodge earlier this afternoon. "The museum’s curator, Nigel Aldain, came to me this morning asking for help. Apparently, a wayward daughter of his illustrious patrons, the powerful Blakros family, has disappeared, along with a few of the museum’s watchmen who went looking for her. The Society has helped him in the past, and he wants us to find her, before he loses his job, or worse. Now Nigel’s an old friend, and a former Pathfinder, but this kind of missing person case isn’t really our bailiwick. Normally I’d tell him to find the district guard and leave the Society out of it. But then he made me an offer that was too good to pass up. Not only will he allow the Society access to the Blakros Museum’s extensive and very private library, but apparently this same missing daughter just returned to Absalom with a pack full of ancient relics collected throughout Osirion and northern Garund. And Nigel promised the Society first pick of any of those pieces that catch our fancy. I don’t need to tell you what those kinds of things might be worth, so it looks like you’re heading to the Blakros Museum tonight."
"The missing daughter is named Imrizade Blakros — half-Osirian herself and a pretty successful adventurer and fortunehunter by all accounts. She just arrived in Absalom out of the blue a few days ago, after a couple of years’ worth of tomb-raiding in the Osirian deserts, and carrying an odd metal cylinder covered in hieroglyphs, like nothing Nigel has ever seen before. Nigel says she went straight to the basement of the museum to do some research in the family’s library, muttering something about ‘whispers in the dark’ and ‘old tapestries,’ or something. He didn’t hear from her for a couple of days, which isn’t unusual when someone is deep into their research in the archives, but he got worried when strange noises started coming from the basement. He sent a watchman down there to investigate, and when he didn’t return, Nigel sent a few more. That was last night, and they haven’t come back up either."
"Go to the museum and find out what happened to Imrizade Blakros and the watchmen. Nigel would prefer them alive, of course, especially the Blakros woman, but the Society is more interested in what she brought back with her. I’ve got a hunch it wasn’t just grave goods and pretty jewelry. Whatever she found, the Society wants it, or at the very least some information about it."
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A sharply dressed halfling, Xavier has a bit of an "air" about him as he listens to the briefing, adjusting his monocle and tricorne hat while walking and assessing his companions. Even though his skin is a bit sun-worn, his accent is that of a high-born Taldan.
"Afllier, Wulbknavel - good to see you two chaps again. Hopefully this little jaunt will be as smooth as our last, hm?"
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"Oh, nice to meet you Prism! What do you say we go out for drinks if we both survive our mission? Not that I think we won't, after all, we have that big guy over there," points to Afflier, "and Xavier here is really smart and knows how to handle a lot of different situations."
Wink.
"Oh! Last time, there was all this mist and it was spooookeyyyyy!
He wiggles his fingers.
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Prisim wiggles her fingers... "Now... if you want to double in size.. I'm sure one of us can help with that."
She grins at the big man.
"What you tall folk don't know is we little folk like you being round. Makes for a good target for people who want to do the nasty."
To Wulbknavel she adds "Misty? " she looks out the window.
"Weather looks good today thank Shelyn."
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"So, what do you think happened? Do you think Imrizade uncovered the tomb of some long-forgotten pharaoh and got cursed? Oh, maybe she brought something cursed back with her from Osirion, just like that guy who brought those cursed things back from the Mwangi Expanse last time I was there? Hmmm.... Maybe they should have a quarantine for stuff that gets brought back? But then what would we do for adventures? Anyway, what sort of curse do you think she brought back with her? Do you think she turned into a... ?"
Wulbknavel makes 'spooky' sounds.
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Afllier tries to parody Wulbknavel's parody for elegant bow, but it looks even more clumsy coz of his armor.
"Nice to see again my little but brave friends!"
"Kambraxes, you'll get used to this feeling,"- Afllier answers with a smile, - "But don't underestimate them. I've already shared adventures with Wulbknavel and Xavier, they are great Pathfinders! And i'm sure Prisim, too," - he winks to Prisim.
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Tall for an Elf, Rayna joins the briefing a little bit late. Her hair is a dark shade of brown almost green-ish in appearance, her eyes the color of beryl. She is clad in light chain armor accented with forest colors, bearing a simple bow.
"Greetings. I am Rayna Melethainiel. This is my first assignment as a Pathfinder agent of the Grand Lodge, but I will do whatever I can to perform my duties to the mission and to you all."
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Kambraxes, who is holding Prisim's hand like an indulgent older brother and jingling along in chain mail with a shield slung over his other shoulder, regards Rayna.
"No one could promise more," he says. "Welcome to our company. We were just headed over to the Museum. I'm sure our irrepressible friends will fill you in our mission as we go."
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Once you are finished with Hestram, you proceed to the Blakros Museum where you are greeted by a clearly flustered Nigel Aldain, the curator of the museum. He ushers you straight away to the North Exhibit Hall and opens a secret door in the ziggurat there to reveal a ramp down into the library below. The basement’s walls are hewn stone, carved from basalt, and mirror the gothic architecture found in the rest of the museum, though of a simpler design.
"Welcome! I'm glad Hestram could find a group of Pathfinders so fast. Please follow me down into the basement." Aldain says and moves down the ramp.
The 50-foot-long stone ramp concealed beneath the miniature ziggurat in the museum’s North Exhibit Hall descends 25 feet to the basement. Wide enough to accommodate a draft horse moving large exhibits to and from the basement storerooms, the ramp ends at two sets of double doors, facing each other to the east and west. Wooden placards on the doors are marked “Storeroom 1” and “Storeroom 2.”
"They are all somewhere inside. Since I already sent in two groups of guards the others refuse to enter the storerooms beyond these doors."
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"I sent them down to investigate. To be honest, I have no idea which way they took. The rooms behind these doors are used as storerooms for different exhibits like stuffed animals, statues and armor from other countries, rare tomes, old documents and so on. Nothing special, just things we store here from past eshibitions until they are needed again. Behind storeroom 1 is a small room for copying texts from the library which is beyond the scriptorium. Past storeroom 2 is a room filled with crates. Please be careful, they contain priceless treasures. Both ways finally end in the library at the other side of the building." Nigel answers.
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The doors open with a grinding creak, revealing a large room filled with monsters of all shapes and sizes. Giant skeletons and stuffed taxidermic monstrosities are frozen in poses of snarling ferocity, while mummified corpses lie in sedate repose in ornately carved sarcophagi. As silent as a tomb, the air in the hall is stale and musty.
This chamber has a 20-foot-high ceiling and contains the assembled skeletons and taxidermic specimens of a variety of beasts, dinosaurs, and other monstrosities. Two large wooden signs lean against one wall, inscribed with the captions “Hunting the Beasts of Legend” and “The Honored Dead.” Unlit oil lamps hang from brackets in the center of each wall. A door in the southern wall holds a sign labeled “Storeroom 3.”
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Before going in, Prisim will have summoned light onto Kambraxes's sword.
"A light in the darkness for us all!" she giggles.
Then the dead owlbear starts forward. The little gnome sqwarks in surprise, Stepping forward for a good shot, she waits until it is in range and then summons a small globe of acid over it's head.
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Kambraxes moves closer to the stuffed owlbear while Prisim giggles and prepares to shoot an acid splash at the undead owlbear.
Unaware of the threat the owlbear moves closer to the paladin and Prisim releases her acid splash. She hits, but the owlbear continues attacking Kambraxes.
Kambraxes
Prisim
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Owlbear -4HP
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Afliier
Xavier
Rayna
Wulbknavel
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Afllier swings his warhammer at the undead owlbear, but misses. Wulbknavel starts to sing a song about bravery.
The owlbear swings its claws at Kambraxes and finishes its attack with a bite, but all attempts to hit the Paladin fail.
Kambraxes
Prisim
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Owlbear -18HP
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Afllier
Xavier
Rayna
Wulbknavel