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"Keep your distance, Apollyanna. I don't want that thing warping your mind."
Meredith grabs one of her shortspears and hurls it where Apollyanna notes.
The Eagle flies toward the shortspear.
A shortspear falls on the ground, while the Eagle's talon soars through the air.
"Are you sure it's there? You're not trying to trick me, are you? Excuse me, Pau."
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"I totally could. I'd just have to hide his razor. I think Pau would look totally fearsome with a purple Mohawk."
She steps forward as if to try and do something to his non-hair, and loses the color spray into the area indicated. Unfortunately it also gets Pau.
"Vibrant Rainbow Unicorns!"
She checks with Polly. "Did I do that right? I'm totally going to be an awesome Crusader"
The creature manages to turn it's eyes away just as Prisim releases her spell, and recovers, seemingly unaffected.
Perhaps annoyed by the color spray spell, the flying head appears next to Pau—right where Apollyanna said it was. It pulses for the third time, and a bust of light directs itself at Apollyanna.
This time you hear its voice in your head rather than out loud. "Stop trying to hurt me! What did I do to you? Friends, protect me!"
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Meredith sees this thing flashing Apollyanna. She leaps down.
She doesn't land well, making her even more annoyed. Lannior gives some good advice about regrouping and trying a better approach. But Meredith's patience ran out long ago, just like every human that elf has met.
"I have a better idea."
Meredith finally lands a solid blow upon the creature and smiles, satisfied. She looks back at the roof as the Eagle chirps and flies away , back to whence it came.
The creature screams in pain as it's severely wounded by Meredith's strike.
Meredith and Apollyanna both strike deeply at the creature. It screams in rage and pain, its voice penetrating your minds as well as your ears.
The floating head bobs toward Apollyanna moving in a long arch up and out of reach of Prism and Meredith as it does so, and tries to bite the paladin. She is able to barely deflect it off of her armor.
The creature drops at Meredith's feet.
After a few seconds, those charmed by the outsider return to their normal selves.
The body of the outsider quickly dissolves to ectoplasm, dries to powder, then disperses in the slight breeze, as if it had never been there at all.
You hurry back to Palhuna Murqual with news of the guardian's demise. The servant you worked with previously comes out with the Monadistic Archive. "Here it is, as promised." He answers no further questions about it, and sends you on your way. "Unless you're interested in performing additional favors, of course. ..."
You find Venture-Captain Yuul waiting for you as you return to Farseer Tower carrying the large chest with the Archive. You are quickly ushered back to the meeting chamber.
The room has undergone some changes over the past few hours. The furniture has been pushed aside, and the resulting empty carpet space has cushions laid out in a circle. Unlit candles stand in a silent circle around the cushions. The formerly open windows are shut, perhaps to prevent the candles being snuffed by a stray breeze once lit, not that it makes a difference on this still night.
Wulessa Yuul is eager to see you, and she’s positively ecstatic seeing you carrying the archive chest. She bids you to set it down against one wall. 'Over there, please. Don't damage those Tian plates, mind."
While she says the following, she opens the chest and sifts reverently through the scrolls, unrolling and examining several, holding a few up to her ears, and seeming to listen to them.
“Excellent work. I shall take a full account of your adventures this night shortly, but for now... I need some more of your assistance. As I said before, these scrolls are relics of the Jistkan Imperium from thousands of years ago. What information I’ve found indicates that the Monadistic Archive recorded the thoughts and minds of some of the greatest thinkers of that empire. Not merely recorded in the written word—supposedly they copied the very minds of these men and women. Some binding entity within the scrolls brings these minds together into a collective of wisdom and lore, where each mind is no longer a discreet part, but melded into a greater whole. The ritual I have prepared should allow me to open the archive, but the effort of doing so prevents much exploration on my part. If I include you in the ritual, you can be my eyes and ears. Of course, this is not a process that can be completed in one night. This could take years. In the long run, a full team will be assigned cataloging duties, but tonight I cannot resist at least one brief expedition. I have sought the archive for so long, and I would be honored if you would help me with this foray into the mind of the past.”
She looks at you, simultaneously hoping and expexting you'll consent.
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The body of the outsider quickly dissolves to ectoplasm, dries to powder, then disperses in the slight breeze, as if it had never been there at all.
You hurry back to Palhuna Murqual with news of the guardian's demise. The servant you worked with previously comes out with the Monadistic Archive. "Here it is, as promised." He answers no further questions about it, and sends you on your way. "Unless you're interested in performing additional favors, of course. ..."
"Ew."
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The creature drops at Meredith's feet.
After a few seconds, those charmed by the outsider return to their normal selves.
"FINALLY. Wasting my time like that. At least the eagle was cool." She looks at Pau and Gallen. "Oh get over it."
You hurry back to Palhuna Murqual with news of the guardian's demise. The servant you worked with previously comes out with the Monadistic Archive. "Here it is, as promised." He answers no further questions about it, and sends you on your way. "Unless you're interested in performing additional favors, of course. ..."
Meredith simply glares at the servant until someone gets her attention.
"If I include you in the ritual, you can be my eyes and ears. Of course, this is not a process that can be completed in one night. This could take years. In the long run, a full team will be assigned cataloging duties, but tonight I cannot resist at least one brief expedition. I have sought the archive for so long, and I would be honored if you would help me with this foray into the mind of the past.”
"When you put it that way, how could I ever resist?" Meredith, full of sarcasm, sits down at the ritual circle.
It's not like I could be fighting slavers right now. Palhuna Murqual and his errand boy were already getting on my nerves.
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Wulessa Yuul is eager to see you, and she’s positively ecstatic seeing you carrying the archive chest. She bids you to set it down against one wall. 'Over there, please. Don't damage those Tian plates, mind."
While she says the following, she opens the chest and sifts reverently through the scrolls, unrolling and examining several, holding a few up to her ears, and seeming to listen to them.
“Excellent work. I shall take a full account of your adventures this night shortly, but for now... I need some more of your assistance."
Yep. Here it comes. Demon summoning ritual.
"As I said before, these scrolls are relics of the Jistkan Imperium from thousands of years ago. What information I’ve found indicates that the Monadistic Archive recorded the thoughts and minds of some of the greatest thinkers of that empire. Not merely recorded in the written word—supposedly they copied the very minds of these men and women."
"Uh huh."
"Some binding entity within the scrolls brings these minds together into a collective of wisdom and lore, where each mind is no longer a discreet part, but melded into a greater whole."
"Uh huh."
"The ritual I have prepared should allow me to open the archive,
"Uh huh."
"but the effort of doing so prevents much exploration on my part. If I include you in the ritual, you can be my eyes and ears."
"Well good luck with that. Bye."
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Listening to all that is said, he can't help but echo Prisim's enthusiasm.
Most fascinating, what are you expecting will happen when you activate the archive?
Lannior is more than willing to participate, his free-spirited nature, could never resist such a chance as this whatever this is. He nimbly plops down on a cushion. Then gesturing for the gnome to sit on the cushion next to his.
Join me here, Prisim.
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Pau was t too happy with anything that had transpired today. He'd been hit by spells form both friend and foe, been mind controlled, and now someone he doesn't even know wants him to go plane hopping? "This is outside the scope of our mission, I'm afraid. I'm with Apollyanna. I think this is a poor idea."
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"But isn't being a pathfinder all about Exploring and Cooperating? Yuul said she needs us. This is part of the mission. Just thing, we could be among the first to see the contents in thousands of years! So, we had some trouble with a floating head. But obviously that was a guardian creature. As the guardian was still there, it must be tougher than anything in the chest, so we should be fine, right?"
Venture-Captain Wulessa Yuul looks at you with a mix of expressions on her face. None of them are amusement.
"Perhaps I simply need to be clearer. I understand the Monadistic Archive to be a mental realm, one only our minds enter. Our bodies remain here. The doors are warded, and my servants trustworthy. No one will harm our bodies while we are away.”
The Venture-Captain coaxes you into a circle, and invites you to hold hands. She speaks an incantation you can't follow from the center of the circle, and closes her eyes.
As Wulessa Yuul nishes her invocation, she bows her head over the unfurled scroll, and the room falls silent. The only thing breaking the quiet is the snapping of the curtains, billowing in a heavy wind. Curiously, the breeze does not stir any other fabrics in the room; even the Monadistic Archive’s scroll lies at on the floor. The doors remain sealed, and there is no sign the seance achieved its goal.
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Lannior leaps to his feet and gives a stretch. Watching Prisim cross over to the windows...Wait, weren't those closed just a few minutes ago..
He trails off looking around wondering if this is in his mind, it doesn't appear to be, but still how did the window get open. And that breeze would surely blow things around.
You have little time to ponder on the oddities of the windows and the wind.
As Meredith and Prisim head to the window, Wulessa Yuul turns toward you from the center of the room. She is no longer a beautiful Venture Captain, but a hideous hag. Her claws grow and she raises her arms to attack.