As she and Rataji mill about Gest's statue, Shohiraj mutters quietly to the mission leader. "So, she's the one who's got the keys we need, or so my intel goes. I can likely slip them off her, but there's enough people around a distraction would help greatly."
As 322 approaches and gives her suggestion, Shohiraj gives a thin grin. "I guess we'll make it a Big distraction then. Anyone seen our other two?"
Rataji nods at 322's and Shohiraj's words.
"Rather than creating a distraction, how about we use stealth? I can turn one of you invisible; does anyone else have a means to turn the other one invisible? That should make both of their plans a heck of a lot easier..."
The Ambitious meets at the pre-appointed time and place.
"And what of this man at the Wall of Names? He would not be missed, would be easy to take down, and I believe I could assume his identity to further assist our mission. I can complete this alone, or with assistance," the half-orc suggests.
Rataji nods.
"That sounds like a reasonable plan."
Making his way back to the meeting place, a mischievous smile on his face, Marnarius shares what he has learned.
"I cannot turn invisible, as you say, but I am good at hiding when I don't want to be seen. I can help out in the distraction department."
Turning to the half-orc, "Can watch your back, unless you feel you have this in hand. Your call."
---Phase 2--
Profesional - Statue
Leader - ?
Ambitious - Wall of Names
Vengeful - ?
Experiment - ?
---
The Professional investigates her target before she strikes. She notices that Janira's hand occasionally move to her jacket, as if checking something is still there. Sure enough, there's a bit of a clinking sound coming from it.
"Please make me invisible. We ... I mean I will sneak to the statue, activate my little toy and things will get very exciting then. Of course, I'll wait until the best possible time to turn it on!" The Experiment smiles broadly.
She turns over her left shoulder before adding, "That's the plan..now hush up. No dissension!"
Shohiraj grimaces. "That could work for him then, I suppose," the Kelshite says while glancing at 322, a bit unervered by his odd actions. "But it looks like there's a complication with Janira. Keys're in her jacket by the looks of it. Worst case I can still try to filch them, but it'll be tougher."
"Any of you got any thoughts as to a way we might get the slip to take off the clothes first? Setting the cloth on fire doesn't scream subtle. Gril likes telling tale tales: maybe someone could get her to decloak in the heat of a story, maybe challenge her to a story duel, have each side take off all 'potential magical aids'? I'm spitballing here, but if you've got a thought - or a way to 'port the keys to us yourselves - I'm all ears."
"Very well. I'll make 322 invisible, then challenge Janira to a 'story duel'. That should give Shohiraj the distraction she needs to lift the keys."
The leader steps up to Janira for storytelling contest. A contest! Of course I accept, but I insist that you go first.
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"Very well. Let us begin! Our story starts several years ago, when a bunch of Pathfinders stole a rather unusual key from some Aspis Consortium agents, and headed off to a lost Azlanti ruin buried deep within the Mwangi Expanse..."
Rataji then goes on to tell a rather improbable (but nevertheless entertaining!) tale about a lost Azlanti weapons complex being excavated by a Pathfinder expedition, forced to fight for their lives against wave after wave of Charau-ka, led by a terrifyingly huge four-armed Angazhani.
The Experiment tries to sneak through the gathered agents and apply her keypad to the huge statue.
Stealth
Shifty Pathfinders. Which one of you have that key. Like the ambition of this group though, animating a statue. That takes guts. Preferably theirs on the floor and not mine.
Taking one last look for the key to the zoological garden .
The Ambitious lets the others know he would accept any help if any do not have other plans.
Returning to the wall of names, the half-orc stalks the lone humanoid, hoping to knock him out with a single blow.
Rataji spins a great story about the Mwangi desert, and gathers a good deal of applause as he finishes. Not to be outdone, Janira stands up and starts telling a story of her own, gesturing wildly and working up a sweat in that jacket of hers. She launches into a stirring rendition of how Durvin Gest threw the Lens of Galundari into the Nemesis Well.
Meanwhile, the experiment has no trouble whatsoever affixing the device to the statue. As the device is set in place, a sentence in Aklo appears on the cosmic conduit’s mirrored surface: “The Stars command you, Durvin Gest.”
Looking around, the vengeful spots one of the zookeepers with the keys to the cages.
The Ambitious manages to sneak up to the lone man, then lands a stunning blow on the mans temple. The goes down in a single blow. The sudden crashing sound causes some bird to flutter up, nervously.
"Gest was in the Mwangi!" Shohiraj calls out to Janira, jovially prodding the halfling. "Heavy clothes like that would have slowed him down. C'mon, really get into character and do him proud!"
She keeps a smile up as she lightly heckles Janira, trying to act enraptured in the tale.
322 steps away from the statue, smiling from ear to ear. "I told you all we could do this," she whispers to all the voices screaming at her. She moves back to the area where the group had previously met, and finds a spot waiting for the rest of the group to return. She keeps the invisibility up as long as possible...it might come in handy yet again before it wears off.
Janira's concentration breaks for a moment as the professional heckles her. She nod in agreement, takes off her vest and continues ...as I was saying, the day was hot, and the trail slithered through the deep dark forest, a slushing sound marking every steps up the road...
With those words, Janira looks over the crowd, and unseen to her, the Professional has just snatched the keys.
Noticing the keys hanging from the Pathfinders belt, and the crowd around him, Marnarus decides that it would be best to work on the lock himself.
He quietly approaches and drops a parchment, Bending over to pick it up, he pulls his tools and quickly begins to work on the lock.
Marnarius starts tampering with the lock, and just as a guard is about to notice him, he hears a 'psst' fro the ram headed, lion-bodied sphinx inside the cage.
Would you like to know what the future hold for one that heeds the wise words of a sphinx?
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.”
The Sphinx is trying to convey that he has a way of both causing a distraction, making stealth easier, and also has a way of calming the animals until the right time has come.
The ambitious manages to hide the corpse in the overgrowth near the wall of names, where is should be safe - for now.
As the vengeful accepts the offer of the sphinx, the latter makes some grunting, growling and squeezing noises. All of a sudden, the zoo comes alive with animals frolicking, growling menacingly, performing tricks. In the distraction this chaos creates, it is easy-peasy for the vengeful to disable the relevant locks. None of the animals are making any moves to escape, leaving the zoo primed for chaos.
He also looks for any distinguishing characteristics on the nude corpse that he would need to eliminate so the identity is never discovered, even after they are gone. Once that grim task is completed, he moves to rejoin the others.
Shohiraj claps politely as Janira wraps up her tale, then sidles over towards Rataji and praises him as well. "And a fine tale for you too sir! That's a story that will not soon be forgotten"
With a quick glance to make sure none (especially the halfling) are looking too closely, she gives the man a hearty slap on the back, leaning in to whisper quickly as she does so.
"They're secured. Give a signal when we should move, boss"
She then turns, still smiling, and lingers near the edge of the throng by Gest's statue, slowly making her way towards the side of the Main Tower while still keeping an eye out for the others.
322 whispers in the ears of the others. "We're here! I mean, I'm here. Mission was a success. I'm still invisible! It's a pretty nifty trick."
Strutting back to the group, the Vengful looks around him. Hearing screams and cries as onlookers ogle at the animals in the menagerie, he addressed the group.
"Animals in the menagerie, they are free to go at their leisure. Made a deal with a sphinx, first time ever that. Once everyone is set I am ready to hit."
Ushers move across the ground, telling everybody to gather on the north lawn, where Marcus Farabellus is about to give his speech. A huge glyph of the open road is suspended in midair, and the master of swords appears: Greetings pathfinders! ...
This is the key moment the infiltrators have been waiting for. Now is the time to sneak in!
A cold chill touches your side, and you feel your pockets becoming heavier. When you inspect them, you see a small lantern has been deposited. By someone...
Rataji casts Disguise Self to look like a Pathfinder.
As the giant glyph hangs in the air. Shohiraj smiles and laughs along with the others as inside she mentally rolls her eyes at the display's ostentatiousness.
Seeing Rataji start to move and his appearence shift, the thief slides away from the crowd and does the same.
The still invisible Experiment was whispering to the others. "Should we, I mean me create a distraction so we can sneak in easier? I really want to see what happens when the statue comes to life and I tell it to run amok. Of course, it mig be better used to occupy them while we try to make our way out. What do you say, Boss, now or later?"
Rataji looks thoughtful.
"If we don't reach our goals, this will all have been for naught. We should use it now, to cover our entrance, and trust that the chaos that will be caused by our deeds will cover our exit."
322 cackles. if anyone could see the crazed joy in her face, it might have made them uncomfortable. "Watch us go, she tells the others. She concentrates on making the statue animate and start striking out at all the surrounding Pathfinders! "The stars command you, Durvin Gest!
Dressed as the scholarly Pathfinder, The Ambitious prepares to follow the others.
"Time is right boys, and ... well ", looking at the experiment, he just shakes in head. Trying to blend in, he heads for the entrance to Skyreach.
--Disguise or stealth checks---
Vengeful - 22
Ambitious - 24
Pro - 14
Leader - 30
Experiment - ??
---
The group manages to sneak in through the door of skyreach, gaining entrance to the large tower. The professional seems to have some idea of the basic layout of the tower: there's some vaults in the basement, and the location of tapestry and sky key should be further up.
Stealth
The party enters skyreach unseen, save for the Ambitious, who receives a courteous nod from a 'fellow' pathfinder.
Skyreach is a huge building, with uncounted areas marked as restricted, or off-limits. Ducking into one the many dark alcoves, the party manages to avoid a pathfinder patrol - three adventurers looking a bit sullen and depressed. The group then makes its way into the basement. Winding corridors, uncounted doors and staircases and basement within basement within basement, there seems to be no end to the underbelly of the tower, until finally a corrdior dead-ends into a door, which has a name shield bearing the name 'Antarnicus Vault'.
"Hmm, this the vault we're looking for boss?" the thief whispers as she examines the doorway while fishing out Janira's key ring. "If so, guess it's time to see if the slip's keys were worth the effort."
"Ok, I'll tell him. Randolph says you should check for traps even with that key," 322 whispers. She's never mentioned a Randolph before that the rest of you can remember.
Rataji nods.
"Agreed. I think it would be entirely in keeping with what I know of the Pathfinders, for them to have trapped the door to their special vault..."
Looking at the opulence around him only fuels the hatred Marnarius feels for the Pathfinder Society.
"Let me take a look. I am usually good finding traps and the like."