Well that is the problem, Toff! on of the higher officials present shouts, this man cannot guarantee the security of the Acadamae! Several diffuse shouts for Toff's resignation.
I will not have this on my grounds! Toff exclaims, I am the sole master of the arcane, what do you people know of running an Academia! The thought alone!.
Toff seems very defensive of his position, and quite unwilling to resign.
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"Do not think of it as resignation but early retirement. Many governing officials resign or retire after a catastrophic event whether it was in their power to prevent it or not. The ultimate responsiblility of the Academia's safety is yours. Failing to adhere to its standards and principles deems you unfit for the position. Retiring with dignity typically comes with a better benefits."
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"Yes, you can retire with honor now, or I have a feeling you will be ousted by these lovely people in the next few days. The choice is yours."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Abandom the Acadamae? The Ornelos have built the Acadamae, and under my supervision, it has become what it is today! Only the best and brightest study here, and the Acadamae is know throughout Avistan as the most powerful school of Golarion! The academae is Ornelos! You expect me to abandon that!
No! Master Cangi should be stripped of his title. He is the master of wards, and most closely involved in the organisation of the breaching festival. He must pay for this disaster. Ornelos says, obviously trying to scapegoat the man.
The calls for Toff's resignation subside, but the reputation damage has been inflicted. With that, the guests return to their homes or lodgings after a long and traumatic day. In all the confusion, the city as a whole nearly forget about the contest entirelu, until the next day.
The following morning, a banquet is held for the victor of the tournament, Jebediah! Though less exquisitie than originally planned, he is still honoured as the victor of the tournament by Toff Ornelos. The headmaster speak some words about the extraordinary accomplishments of "Jebediah and his group of aides", though his heart is clearly not in it.
Ornelos guides the party to his private study and says Once more, my congratulations, as he opens a secret safe in the wall. Immediately, coins and gem and trinkets of gold start pouring out, in a seemingly endless avalanche of wealth. I see this is quite a load. My practical solution would be to appraise the total value of the items in this vault, and hand you the equivalent in gold.
It takes quite some time to inventorize and appraise all this wealth, but clearly the amount falls short of the 153000 crowns promised at the start. The value is closer to two-thirds of that.
When confronted with this fact, Toff hesitates for a moment, then says That may very well be correct. Given the unlikely nature of a winner emerging, we have decided to fund Academy operations with the deposit. After all, what good is money in a vault, gathering dust?
This is where you may be wrong, druid. Your spoils are the contents of the vault. Nothing more, nothing less.
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"It sounds to me like you may owe us a prize from your personal staff of magic items to make up the difference, my good man. Perhaps you have a prized tome or staff that you would be willing to part with?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
I shall not. I owe you nothing but resentment for besmirching my name. Now collect your belongings and leave my office.
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"Well, aren't you just a nasty Nancy? We of course did not mean to besmirch anything... your actions did an excellent job of that, all on your own. We just brought to light your transgressions. I hope to see a stronger and more capable leader for the Acadamae chosen in the near future. Perhaps once I tire of adventuring, I can come back here and take over. I need to decide where to open my permanent lodge anyway... perhaps a Society lodge run from within the Acadamae would prove useful. I couldn't possibly mess things up more than you have, sir. Good day."
Taldor, land of political intrigue and fallen glory. In the mighty jungle of the political arena, complete oblivion is just as far away as the whim of a ruler. Near the peaceful village of Zimar is an inn called 'The Lion Sleeps'. Tonight, this place is the meeting point of some very familiar characters, and one merchant named Hanoris Bellum.
Drawing the pathfinders with promises of wealth and glory, the merchant has chosen this backwater inn to explain his predicament.
I may very well be the last surviving member of the Adellas family.
He waits for effect, as none of the pathfinders have ever heard of the family.
Indeed. Not many other have heard of the name either. Damnatio - the complete eradication of the memory of a family, has befallen the Adellas. Complete and utter erasure from memory, destruction of all public and even private records.
I've recently found one place that has escaped this terrible fate. A place called the 'Tomb of the iron medusa'. It is rumoured to be the Adellas' secure and remote boneyard, a place so secret it has escaped the attention of even the most zealous Damnatio effectors.
I tell you, the Adellas family has been framed! Fallen prey to a conspiracy, an enemy of power that has constructed the families' downfall. Of course, proof is lost forever. Damnatio, that is why it is important to uncover the secrets hidden in the tomb.
The treasures buried would make any adventurer rich. All I need you to do in return, is find proof of the falsehoods that were stacked against the Adellas, and retrieve the family sword Infensus Mucro. I care not for gold and silver, but for the cleansing of the family - my family's - name!
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Glaurung nods and smiles along with the story. "Tragic! And yes, of course we can take up the job! A noble cause I suppose, in more than one sense of the word. Say, hon, how many rooms do they have in this place? Doesn't seem like quite enough for all of us.... Perhaps you'd care to share a room?" Her boot may or may not be running up his leg from beneath the table.
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"Yes, we can take on this task. Though, I hope you are ready for anything we find there... there is no guarantee that we will find proof of your family's innocence... in fact it is possible we'll find damning evidence against them. As a Venture Captain of the Society and a Professor of the Acadamae, I give you my word that in either case we will report the results to you, but will not unlawfully falsify or ignore any proof in either case."
Hanoris smiles at the interest of the pathfinders. Let me reveal what I have gathered so far. This very inn here as he points around used to be Adellas'. A hidden panel is the wall contained this, he says as he produces a white funerary baton.
This is the only physical object connected to the Adellas that I managed to discover, and I believe it holds the key to entering the necropolis. Look, he says as he twists the top of the baton, revealing a parchment. My best guess it that, in the Adellas’ last days, one of their members wrote the lines on the parchment as a sort of guide or map, in the hope that they could guide future descendents through the wards and defenses of the tomb so that proof of the falsehoods could be found.
Here, have a look,
The parchment reads:
Set thee off from Slumbering Cat
Seeking where the Dead are at
Journey north and east apace
To find Medusa’s iron embrace,
Follow now the Spider Star
Behind the Wall that hides its Face
To our Sad, Abandoned Place
If visit ye the Long Deceased
Find the Will to Feed the Beast
Then Begin where all Men End
Light go out and Breath Suspend
Egress through the Stony Door
After turning Face to Floor
Each Adellan Branch has Room
In its Silent, Musty Tomb
For at least one Careless Soul
Wouldst thou fill that Empty Hole?
I have been researching the area around this tavern, and finally found the necropolis in the foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains. From there, I have not had the courage to enter.
Look for the sword. I do not know what it looks like, but I suspect the design is at least similar to this funerary baton.
I will be staying at the inn, my room is upstairs, he says, with a subtle hint toward Glaurung in his eye, I will be here awaiting your return.
he Adellas were an old Taldan noble family who disgraced themselves and were stripped of their title many years ago.
The Adella house symbol was the medusa, said to have been derived from the family’s patriarch, Marcus Junius, who according to stories was so feared by his military subordinates that a mere glance from him would turn an unruly recruit to stone. The three branches of the clan each developed their own variation of this emblem: the howling medusa (Sardisi), the mocking medusa (Voxus), and the cross-eyed medusa (Daellum).
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Jebediah looks thoughtful for a moment.
"You know... I *think* I remember reading something about the Adella family a while ago... From memory, they were an old Taldan noble family who disgraced themselves and were stripped of their title many years ago.
The Adella house symbol was the medusa, said to have been derived from the family’s patriarch, Marcus Junius, who according to stories was so feared by his military subordinates that a mere glance from him would turn an unruly recruit to stone. The three branches of the clan each developed their own variation of this emblem: the howling medusa (Sardisi), the mocking medusa (Voxus), and the cross-eyed medusa (Daellum). I guess that explains why the place is called 'The Tomb of Iron Medusa."
Later that night, while Glaurung tends to the merchant's needs, the pathfinders meet three men sitting by the fire. Two of them tell high tales of their exploits as shepherds. ...so I snuck up on the wolf, with the glowing piece of coal still held in between those tongs, then launched it at him. I swear, the seared meat smelled a bit like chicken, and the howl... the two are all to eager to spin their stories with the pathfinders as audience.
The third of them is a bit more distant, and finally interrupts enough of your silly tales. These men can understand you've made them all up.
And while you two talk this banter, a darkness looms over the countryside! My daughters are still missing, and you two are pissing about like this!
Their moods soured the two men slink off, leaving just the third man, who introduces himself as Lucius
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Pad sets down his goblet of wine and brushes the cheese and cracker crumbs off his robes. He waddles closer to the fire turning his girth sideways between the tables and chairs careful to not disturb other patrons.
"Good evening Lucius. What this you say about your missing daughters and a darkness? My name is Pad. My friends and I maybe interested in hearing more about your problem."
They've disappeared about two months ago. I tell you, there's something foul afoot in the countryside. They are good girls, they would never just run off like that! Lucius says. He seems to have very little idea about what could have happened.
They would know their way around here, they would. I cannot believe they would wander off on their own, though.
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The old Adella necropolis is located a day's march from the Lion Sleep Inn. The necropolis itself sits in a hidden dale in the foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains, surrounded by a fifteen-foot-high wall made of tightly fitted gray stone blocks. Wider sections resembling castle watchtowers are spaced along the wall.
A masterfully wrought iron relief of a medusa’s head, ten feet in diameter, decorates the stone wall between the two nearest towers. A circular hole about an inch and a half in diameter sits at the back of the sculpture’s open mouth.
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"We'll keep an eye out for your girls and return them if found. There is always hope."
Pad pats Lucius on the shoulder.
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He examines the iron relief in the old Adella necropolis after a day's journey.
"She looks hungry, but not as hungry as I am after such a long march. I've heard tales that a Medusa can turn you to stone by simply looking in your direction. I've been carrying around these smoke goggles since I first started adventuring. Does everyone carry protection?"
*snickers*
Pad casts a series of buffing arcane spells, checks the gate for traps and slips on his smoke goggles. Once everyone is ready to proceed, Pad uses the key and inserts into the Medusa's mouth.
Pad searches the area for traps, but doesn't find anything. The culture's open mouth seem to hold a mechanism of sorts.
Amsheagar inspects the mechanism from his experience as a dungeoneer. Though that doesn't give him any insight on how a mechanism would would, it does appear to him like a lock-key kind of device. Probably, something has to be inserted.
The dimensions of the opening and those of the end of the baton seem to match.