Marnarius dawdles for a bit, weighing the risk of being caught against the benefit of the diversion. I'll have to show I can make things happen. It'll be worth it. Let's first test the waters.
Marnarius then cautiously makes his way to one of the cages, with some of the less ferocious animals. When he seems certain that he isn't observed, he tries to calm the animals. Let's see if we can make some ground here. "Come here, beasty," he whispers. If you can be patient, I can get you out. It's not right, being locked up in here. Can you wait until there's fire? Then you must flee."
"Ah, Thank you very much! A story telling contest sounds great! Do they have slots left? Nevermind, I will ask the host. Cooling those bites might help to calm down the itching. See you later at Farabellus' speech!" Shohiraj smiles and waves at the gnome and walks away towards the tower.
322 walks up to Zurnzal and whispers something in his ear.
"Would it be easier for me to drive one of them insane?" She whispers to Marnarius. "It could be a good distraction, but it will last about a minute. Maybe this is the distraction you will require."
Marnarius acts stealthily enough not to be noticed, but the animal in the cage immediately runs up to the vengeful looking for a handout.
When Marnarius is done, the ram headed sphinx speaks a few words at him. I can speak of what the future holds for one who would heed the wise words of a sphinx.
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Marnarius gives the animal a wary look. "Tell me what you have to say, and I'll decide if they're wise words. If what you have to offer is useful, I might set you free..."
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The sphinx, who has a lion's body with a ram's head, speaks: “A time comes when the shackled shall walk among men, voicing their grievances with a hundred horns.These children—who strain at false laws—know not that the time is not today, but no man can chide them, for he knows not their tongue. Their castle of chains shall fall away, and only a lion or sheep shall be their herald,calling out to let them know that their time in the sun has arrived.”
Okay, okay, no need to get cross. Arminaldi says as he hands over the intelligence.
[ooc]I've put a gray box on slide 3 of the maps and handouts. You may look behind it (by moving it). If you want to reveal it to the rest of the team, just remove the gray box and tell them the handout is there.
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Jorilyn thanks the man she has just met at the Wall of Names
"We will keep in touch" she says with a slight menacing undertone as she leaves to regroup with the others
"And if there's _anything_ else you can think of that you consider something you should tell me, please don't hesitate to let me know"
The professional arrives at the statue of Durvin Gest, just as the experiment and the ambitious are about to leave.
Already carved in larger-than-life proportions, the stone statue of Durvin Gest towers over the surrounding lawn on a pedestal flanked by angelic figures and carved with elaborate friezes depicting some of his most famous voyages.
Several dozen Pathfinders are gathered around the statue, swapping stories and participating in improvised competitions of braggadocio. A halfling - clearly Janira - is just giving and encore telling a stories, this time about a minotaur in the Kortos mounts.
---Phase 1---
Leader - Gathered info, success
Vengeful - At menagerie, in progress
Artist - At the wall, done/success
Professional - Locate target - success
Experiment - At statue, in progress
Ambitious - At statue, in progress
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Zurnzal looks around, trying to spot any outliers or lone Pathfinders he might pick off.
After locating the target Shohiraj tries to get closer to the halfling unseen, moving between Pathfinders, getting as close as possible. Once Close enough Shohiraj tries to get the object of interest.
Marnarius grunts as the sphinx speaks it riddle, he has little time for games and puzzles. Then some understanding comes to him and he whispers as he thinks, half to himself and half to the creature in front of him. "Wait, wait. Let me see if I got this: The shackled, that's you. Pretty soon, you'll be released and stir up a lot of ruckus. I'd like you to hold off for just another hour, but I have no way of making these animals understand that. Someone else has to let lead them, let them know when. And that someone is either a lion or a sheep."
Marnarius looks around the menagerie, looking for any lion or sheep. "Well, you're a lion and a goat. That counts as a sheep, right?" He gives the sphinx a leery smile. "So, do we have a deal?" he whispers. "If I sabotage your gate, you hold off for just a bit more, and then you lead the others here to freedom, causing as much confusion as possible in the progress?"
As soon as Marnarius consents, the Sphinxs lets out a series of growls, quacks, grunts and snarls, communicating with each of the dangerous and less dangerous creatures in the menagerie. As if on command - or perhaps on command - the zoo comes alive with activity: pigeon start to coo, monkeys are frolicking around in their cages, and larger animals starts rearing or growling. The place is a lively chaos, and both the zookeepers and the visitors are very distracted.
Shohiraj gets near the halfling and fumbles in her pockets, but she finds nothing. Fortunately, the halfling doesn't notice anything. Finally, Shohiraj notices that the keys are in the halfling's jacket, nearly impossible to reach for as long as she's wearing it.
Marnarius grins as the cacaphony unfolds. And so it begins. The beginning of the end.
Marnarius then puts his mind back to work. If Shohiraj were here, maybe we'd be able to grab the key chain. Guess I'll have to work this one solo, the old-fashioned way. He then studies the two closest caretakers, noting their movements and mannerisms to give him an edge. He starts tampering with on the cage locks, trusting on his skill to get him through.
Marnarius silently moves from cage to cage, quickly disabling every lock. When he is done, the sphinx speaks some more, and the beasts quiet down some, not moving from their cages just yet...
---Phase 1---
Leader - Gathered info, success
Vengeful - At menagerie, success
Artist - At the wall, done/success
Professional - Locate target - success
Experiment - At statue, in progress
Ambitious - At statue, in progress
---
Great! Marnarius returns to the safe house, bragging about his success and awaiting any further instructions or plans they might come up with.
-Posted with Wayfinder
At the statue, 322 wraps the cloak around herself. She takes a deep breath, she draws the shadows around herself and sneaks toward the statue. She tries to hide the pad where no one will notice it.
She hesitates as she reaches the statue, but ultimately plants the pad near the statue's leg. She eventutally returns back to the safehouse, shuddering as she removes her cloak. "Okay. I've set up a distraction for later, if we need it."
Rataji shares the Information he gathered during his hour and taking careful report of what the others have accomplished.
Although both Kreighton Shaine and Marcos Farabellus have made appearances, nobody has spotted the Master of Scrolls Aram Zey. It’s not especially surprising, given Zey’s dislike of crowds and dealing with the public.Although nearly every Pathfinder at the Grand Lodge is allowed to wander about and relax, several dozen are on guard duty on the walls and in Skyreach. Most of these assignments are punishments for debts incurred to the Society or bungled expeditions. Part of the reason that Aram Zey hasn’t been seen yet is because he is supervising these patrols.
322 pays careful attention to Rataji as he explains what he heard about the master of scrolls, Aram Zey. "What a shame," she starts. "If we catch him when he is most vulnerable, I can sabotage his spirit. I am no good at finding people who do not wish to be found, however."
"From what I have heard we may yet run into this man. However I believe that we should refrain from seeking out powerful enemies if possible." Rataji speaks with caution and hopes that the gravity and importance of the mission is understood.
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Joliryn returns to the safe house as well and shares the information she gathered
"Arem Zee's office is protected by powerful wards and glyphs, it's best to avoid entering unless we are invited in"
"Does any of the others require any assistance? Or does one of you have an idea on what to do now?"
Joliryn looks at Rataji, the leader
The ambitious, in fact, does spot a reasonably experienced Half-Orc away from the crowd, talking to a turtle. Zurnzal vaguely remembers some stories about this man spending some time in the north, then briefly joining the expedition in the River Kingdoms whose aims was to recover two lost wizards.
He is away from the crowd, but still in plain view. If you can somehow lure him away into the bushes, you might be able to overpower him.
As the experiments plants the device on the statue, a sentence in Aklo appears on the cosmic conduit’s mirrored surface: “The Stars command you, Durvin Gest.”
Marnarius finds himself shaking his head at their leader's insistence. Such a shame. So close, and we can't really touch him. I'd give a pretty penny to watch one of these 'masters' taken down a peg. Still, you're right. There are more important matters. Taking the tapestry and the Key will be a real blow. And there will be enough casualties before the day is done, anyway..." Marnarius seems lost in reverie before he turns his mind to the matters at hand.
"So, where are we on our preparations? We know that most of the guard are incompetent, put there because they couldn't handle their tasks in the field. Seems like they're practically begging for a beating! We know not to go into Zey's office. Do we know where it is? Do we have a map of the Skyreach interior?" Marnarius gives Rajai an expecting look. "We have some diversions and if I'm not mistaken we will have colleagues to cover our entrance, but once we're in, where do we go? Do we need to find out more information, while we still can?"
"We do not possess a detailed map of Skyreach and only know that we need to get the notes in the Antarnicus Wing Vault. If we cannot break in and get the notes we will not be able to open the gateway with the Tapestry." Rataji ponders "Perhaps I should spend a bit of time gathering information specific to Skyreach?"
Zurnzal approaches the other half-orc. "Greetings!" he says, in a friendly tone.
This half-orc is tall and lean,with short bushy black hair and a full beard. There's a scar running down his right cheek. He seems to keep mostly to himself, and not mingle with the crowd as much as the other pathfinders. He looks up somewhat disturbed Oh, hello he answers.
"What are you doing here all alone? Me and my friend are looking for someone to swap stories with, are you interested?" Zurnzal asks. He points at 322 and smiles.
322 keeps quiet, but waves hello at the half-orc.
I guess I can drive this target insane...hopefully the darkness doesn't get to me first...
Hm, how do I get the halfling to take off the jacket? I will watch her for a few more minutes, maybe she takes it off... Maybe I have to join this braggadocio...
Shohiraj stands in the first row and applauds at the story.
Hmm. Not in the mood, really. Would you mind leaving me be? The half-orc says staunchly, wandering off in the direction of Skyreach.
Janira is sure enjoying the attention, and it certainly looks like she would mind another opportunity to perform.
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..seems a bit odd that the guys been asked to file the scroll...and doesn't know (or tells me) what spell it was
322 looks at Zurnzal, wondering if she should reach into the darkest depths of the Pathfinder's mind.
Zurnzal nods to 322. Meanwhile he studies the target in case he has to knock him out.
322 hopes no one is looking (cause she she has to be within 30 feet of her target) and her eyes grow black as she reaches into an unknown force. Is it the stars? Is it some fiendish patron? Is it the madness beyond understanding? She's never sure.
The half-orc's head turns black, briefly as an unknown force taps into his mind.
It's hard tp make up from the description the cleric gave, but the Artist knows of illusion spells coming in gradations, starting with the familiar minor image.
The experiment tries to put the madness of dreams on the half-orc, but he just shrugs it off.
Damn. I shall be marked a failure! Intolerable.
Zurnzal decides to try to tail the scarred orc, hoping he will go somewhere out of sight.
The half-orc moves on, toward a group that consists of a female sorcerer with a little dinosaur at her side, a guy in a cape, a seemingly deaf nagaji, an elven bowman and a gnome. It seems to be a family reunion of sorts, but then again, most of the activity at the Lodge is.
322 sees the darkness surround the Half-orc's mind, then repel off. "Oh...Perhaps he is too strong?" She speaks to no one, as Zurnzal has already snuck off.
Still clapping her hands and smiling at Janira Shohiraj says to her "Please tell us another story! Something about Osirion!"
I hope she takes off her jacket if she tells stories about hot places. Maybe she starts sweating.
"I may be able to support your endeavour Zurnzal provided I can cast spells without being noticed or provide you with a short letter of summons for the individual. Drawing him away from the crowds to a quieter area."
"Well I already spoke to him. Perhaps someone else can deliver the summons for me? I will wait in ambush, and knock him out. Then I will impersonate him and we can continue our work."
And indeed she does. She starts telling about the blistering heat of the Pillars of the Sun, and the mythical creatures that live there, and sweat starts gushing from her brow. After a while, she takes off the jacket, and puts it at her feet.