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"Rusty lock on the door, papers piled up and yet Fimbrik is inside and it looks tidy within. I bet there is a secret entrance he uses and he has forgotten about the front door!"
Fargrim goes back to the window and knocks on it again, gesturing towards the doorway once she has the gnomes attention.
If he moves toward the door, she'll head back to the main door, otherwise she will continue around the outside looking for signs of another entrance.
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"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We can't just go breaking into someone's home! Especially not when they're inside, and we have no real authority!" What is with these people? As Fargrim heads back around the way she came, Silas looks at Lyoto and points in the other direction. "Go that way and see if you can see any other doors. Maybe one of them will be open." If I do it myself, they might bust the door down. He turns back to the main door and knocks louder and more forcibly than before. "Fimbrik, can you talk to us please?"
The rain is letting up, improving the overall visibility and your mood.
Fargrim continues her circle around the building, with Henry following. The next window seems to open into a study, with enough chairs and cushions for at least six people. There is a tidy desk against one wall, and several piles of papers are spread out on the rug, as if someone was sitting on the floor and sorting them.
As you watch, the door opens and Fimbrik enters, carrying a newspaper. He heads to the chair and sits down, nodding at you through the window and tipping his hat in your direction. He then opens the newspaper and begins reading. He makes no attempt to come to the door or let you in.
Fargrim completes her circuit of the house, looking in the next window, which opens into a large bedroom. Asleep in the bed is Fimbrik, his signature hat hanging on one of the bed's four posts. Standing by the door are two burly-looking men who appear to be bored guards.
Note that Fimbrik did not enter the bedroom; he was already in bed, sleeping, when you arrived here, despite it being just apst noon. In fact, although the room is somewhat lit through the windows now that the rain is letting up, Fimbrik and the two guards both appear to be in heavy shadow...
You realize that the Fimbrik in the bed, and the two guards, are an illusion.
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Lyoto responds to Silas. I made a suggestion, you act like I just started sawing away!
After he circles around back and spots the illusions, he calls out to the team.
"Guys those gnomes and gaurds are not real! and if those newspapers haven't been touched or this long maybe he's been killed or kidnapped!
If Niles successfully opens a window, Lyoto is jumping through.
If those are locked and there's a window he can see out the second floor, Lyoto is taking out his ladder, unfolding it and placing it on the so he climb and look through the second story window and seeing if anything is there.
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Fargrim returns to the main group.
"I think we need to get in. It could be that Fimbrik is in some danger. There are illusions of him all over the house.. at the same time. Something is very wrong here. It is almost like the house is abandoned..."
The light dawns.
"Unused lock, papers left on doorstep. A gnome who is a member of the Arcanamirium. That sounds like a wizards guild, and gnomes are renown as illusionists."
She considers and then addresses Silas.
"Silas. In her first act, did not Iomede herself rescue her sleeping allies from within the Beast? If this house holds the trapped form of Fimbrik, does not your faith insist that you try to emulate the example Iomede set her followers and rescue him?"
She points to the door.
Niles: the windows are indeed locked, although they do seem fairly easy to break.
Lyoto: unfolding the ladder and climbing up to a second-story window, you see an unfinished loft area which is empty save for a small stairway that leads down to the main floor. The upper floor windows are also locked, however.
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He pauses. "Well... Of course she did, but... If we're wrong, I mean, just because it looks suspicious doesn't mean..." But which way would you rather be wrong? a voice inside his head asks. Would you rather break into an innocent creature's house, or ignore someone in trouble?
Silas puts his hands on the front doors. Goddess, please let me be making the right decision. He exhales and slams his shoulder into the seam between the doors.
Silas easily pushes the doors open, as the rusty lock snaps with little effort. The doors open into the large sitting room yous aw through the windows. A large sofa sits awkwardly in front of the entrance, its back facing you. Alabaster statues of playful fey stand in the corners, and a comfortable couch and several chairs occupy the center of the room. A set of stairs across the room lead both up and down.
Despite the room's dust-free appearance, you get the sense that the room has not been actually used in a long while. The furniture shows little sign of wear. As you watch, the newspaper piled all over the front steps begin to rise into the air, slowly moving inside the house and stacking themselves neatly in piles.
What do you wish to do? Please move your icons on the map to show me where you are going.
Niles stops in the door, but Lyoto moves through to the library door. A flare of bluish light erupts form under the couch, as a magical circle flares into appearance!
Around the room, three blue glowing spots appear. The spots stretch into lines which then appear to tear open, revealing a dark space behind the tear in space. Dark material begins to flows out of the void and coalesces into a glowing, multi-legged insectoid creature, which chitter and move to attack!
Sorted initiative rolls: Silas, Fargrim, Lyoto, Niles, green bug, blue bug, red bug, Henry, Vasilios.
Round 1 - Silas, Fargrim, Lyoto, Niles are up!
Round 1 (partial)
Silas draws his sword and slashes at the nearest bug. His blade cracks the insect's carapace, and it dissolves into a foul-smelling cloud of black smoke that quickly dissipates.
Lyoto stomps a second bug into mush that also quickly dissolves into a cloud of black mist.
Niles, remembering that color spray does not affect vermin such as insects, steps back and delays.
The remaining bug scuttles forward to bite Lyoto! The creature stumbles against the couch and misses, buzzing its wings angrily. From under its neck, you can see a pale reddish glow light the floor under it.
Fargrim enters the room and kicks the last insect. . The final insect goes up in smoke, fading away and leaving only a slight stain upon the tiled floor.
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Lyoto was startled, but happy his fighting instincts kicked in when he needed them.
That was close and really weird. Still, why would set a trap that only creates bugs that just be stomped on?
First he'll ask.
"Does anyone have any idea what the hell just happened?"
Lyoto will looks around the room and checks if there are anymore traps or surprises.
If no further traps in the room he'll go pick up the papers and such on the desks in the room and hand them to Niles, who he hopes will find a clue or something in them.
Then he'll suggest that Niles use his cool spell to open doors to open the door to the library.
If he spots another traps he will alerts the party, then draws his temple sword.
You search the house now that the bugs have returned to whatever plane they were conjured from. The library still contains an illusion of Fimbrik looking at his book, but he doesn't appear to notice you - apparently the illusion only reacts to people looking in the windows.
The bedroom and its two illusory guards and duplicate Fimbrik contains nothing of interest, but the study with the table and chairs does. Sitting on the windowsill are two bottles of liquid, each sealed with a rubber stopper (and radiating magic, when you check). There is also a letter on the small table, which reads:
Letter from Fimbrik
"Well, you got me!
"I’m not here anymore, and my house is filled with an incredible array of illusions to discourage the curious. But you just had to break in. I respect your gumption and assume you’re either a petty burglar or someone looking into Eylysia’s affairs.
"I’ve left Absalom to look for my friend, for she’s been missing for some time; however, I’ve attached the name of a particular Pathfinder you’ll want to investigate at the Wall of Names at the Society Grand Lodge. I assure you, it’s quite important, but I’ll leave you to figure out why.
"Oh, and the password. It’s ‘Wiffle.’ You’ll find it important, should you learn where to use it.
—The Illustrious Fimbrik"
Attached to the letter is a scrap of paper with the hastily-scrawled name: "Doulgonlir Caskmail".
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Vasilios hides a wry smile on his face as he sees the note. While frustrated that Fimbrik had easily foiled attempts to be questioned, Vasilios usually had little time for illusionists, hating trickery in any combat situation - in this case he had to admit himself, that he like this characters style. Shaking his head slightly, he checks that his sword remains strapped to his back while he lets the more intelligent members of the party attempt to discover anything substantial from the given note.
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Silas turns to Fargrim. "You see, he wasn't in danger at all, he's not even here. Those were meant to keep people from breaking into his house-- which we did anyway." Goddess, forgive me. No doubt his actions were justified, but it didn't change the fact that he'd just broken into someone's house uninvited, and had nothing to show for it.
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Fargrim looks sadly at Silas.
"Indeed. It appears I was wrong. On the other hand, the owner was expecting us to come and left a note for us even. If not quite an invitation, it at least means our arrival is not unwelcome."
She looks at the second sheet of paper. "Doulgonlir Caskmail. Deceased 4332 A.R. Wrote in solitude for 101 days. Lived a long life of silence and serenity. The portfolio of the Muted God. The threads are tangled, but at least seem to be part of the same rope."
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Seeing his comrade hesitating to go to the shrine, Henry said
If you want, we can review the clues we've already found.
First, the notes in the Wounded Wisp.
Three clues are in it :
- the one about the wall of names and the tree names Eylysia added.
- the one about a "key clue" in the Mausoleum of the stonemason Arkath
- the friendship between Fimbrik and Eylysia and his adress here.
Second, the epitath under the false names in the Wall of Names
One clue is here, the fact that the eptitath are somehow linked to the Shrine of the Failed, not far from the Starstone Cathedral.
Third, Fimbrik's note where two clues are in
- One particuliar name "Doulgonlir Caskmail" we found on the Wall
- A password "Wiffle"
After a short silence, as he seemed to think, Henry continued
It seems that nowhere the Shrine of the Failed is directly mentionned in all the clues we found. So, may be, the Shrine is where Eylysia work is hidden and we need to found what clue is hidden in Arkath's mausoleum.
You head towards Starstone Cathedral, the heart of Absalom. As you make your way through the streets, they seem unusually crowded for this time of day, especially given the rain. From passersby you are given to understand that there is a Mendevian crusader by the name of Reinhart who intends to take the Test of the Starstone, and people are thronging to watch either the ascension of a god, or the demise of a fool.
The Shrine of the Failed is a dour stone complex with several levels and a below-ground annex, housing numerous altars to failed aspirants. In front is a large plan of the complex with labels of each of the shrines listed by name. Black-robed acolytes are in the process of locking up the main building, in order to attend Sir Reinhart's test at the Cathedral proper. Luckily, the three names you found on the Wall of Names are located in the basement annex, which is guarded only by a thin black chain across the top of the stairs.
What do you do?
Just waiting to see if you are going to hop the chain and enter the shrine or not, and what precautions you use... right now you are standing outside.
Lyoto: it seems that the acolytes seem to be heading off to watch the imminent Test of the Starstone, so the place looks like it is clearing out.
Please put yourself on the map.