Walter cautiously approaches the next open door. In this small room he sees:
Scattered scraps of parchment and torn bindings cover the floor of this small chamber. Scratched glyphs cover its stone walls and even span part of the ceiling. A foul reek hangs in the air, like the stench of something long dead.
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Dimitra gets closer and then retrieves a pinch of soot mixed with salt from a tiny pouch. She makes some arcane gestures and reads the words again, now nodding to herself.
"Apparently a creature was imprisoned here that called itself the Devourer of Reason. Its greatest desire seems to be to unleash further horrors from the Dark Tapestry upon Golarion, though there is no plan here how it intends to do that."
Dimitra shrugs "Seems like that thing escaped, guess it is up to us to put it back into captivity. Shall we check that other door?"
The other room proves empty, and the group returns to report their findings to Nigel Aldain.
The curator urges the party to find out what the murderous thing masquerading as Anumet hoped to find. He offers to search for more clues in the Blakros archives and recommends you either find Jackdaw’s History of the True Art in the libraries of Forae Logos, or visit the Arcanamirium to consult Maren Fuln, a wizard who has become quite well
versed in Absalom’s history in the past few years.
The party makes their way to the Forae Logos, and once they arrive are asked to wait for Brivit Nae, the Head Librarian and Guildmaster of the Scrivener's Guild.
After about ten minutes she appears and asks your business.
"Ah, the History of the True Art. Yes, we have at least one copy that I am aware of. Far too ancient and fragile to allow in untrained hands, though. However, for a nominal fee I can have a scribe copy the relevant passages for you. Our standard rate is 5 gold pieces."
After a long wait, the scribe appears and you can glean the following, piecing things together with what you learned in your earlier information gathering:
Absalom legend tells that Blakros Museum was once the mighty stronghold of an astrologer called Ralzeros the Overwatched. He watched the stars with his weird machines, and some say he was able to communicate with the otherworldly beings of the Dark Tapestry, the black spaces between the stars.
Ralzeros’s rival was a prominent mage named Beldrin. After a significant feud between the two, Ralzeros disappeared. It is thought that this feud arose when Ralzeros accusing Beldrin of stealing a key to one of Ralzeros’s many chambers, which contained the wondrous magical tools he used to watch and be watched by the stars.
If Beldrin did steal a key to Ralzeros’s magical chamber, he most likely hid it in one of his three towers, which once stood on a promontory near what is now the Precipice Quarter. Only one tower remains standing — the Tower of the Broken Shield, commonly called Beldrin’s Tower. The Tower of the Candelabra has sunk deep beneath the water. The Tower of the Horn fell to the base of the bluff; it remains half-flooded at all times and is only accessible during an extremely low tide. He most likely hid it in the Tower of the Horn, which is said to have held the keys to many of the chambers in his other spires.
The Tower of the Horn, being partially underwater during high tide, would likely be home to aquatic monsters like merrows and reefclaws, or the like. Other defenses established by the original owner are far less certain.
You can access the tower at low tide, but only then.
The group makes its way to the Precipice Quarter as the noonday sun begins its descent. Getting there is easy enough, but this abandoned section of Absalom is not a safe place for travelers during the night.
The Eastgate’s Post Guard warns you that nobody is allowed out of the Precipice Quarter between dusk and dawn, so if you go in now they’ll likely have to wait until morning to get back out.
As you approach the tower:
Churning waves break against jagged rocks where the Precipice Quarter meets the sea, a chaotic maze of stone and coral with neither level ground nor shelter from the ocean’s destructive power. In the midst of this chaos lies the fallen Tower of the Horn jutting out of the shallow surf, its smooth, ivory surface now adorned with seaweed, coral, and barnacles.
With the blessings of Abadar, and the help of strong rope, the team makes tje descent easily, though their animal friends must remain behind.
-Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
The tide is going out by the time the party reaches the base of the tower, and the entrance to the tower — a jagged breach in the wall — soon becomes visible. Any other entrances the tower once possessed now lie choked beneath tons of debris, hidden deep beneath the sand.
Moving ahead, the party enters the tower.
Half of this chamber’s floor is covered in seawater, and the tower reeks of brine and the lingering smell of death. Three doorways lead to other chambers in the tower, the wooden doors having long rotted off their hinges. The southernmost portal is almost half-submerged beneath the cold water. A large, circular hole gapes from the ceiling to the north, with a long rope dangling down from the dark chamber above, and another hole opens in the floor directly below it.
Walter detects an evil aura in the southern portion of this chamber - where the water is deepest! He can just make out where the ghoul's tracks were leading - towards the center of the chamber and ending near the rope!
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Walter begins to moves toward the rope.
He points his long spear ahead of himself, being aware of any threats.
Beware the water. There be evil lurking over to the South.
Walter then prays to Abadar for His Shield of Faith.
Walter makes it to the rope. He can see that it looks old, but sturdy enough to handle one person at a time safely.
It is NOT knotted, and is too far from a wall to brace one's feet, so the climb up would be difficult.
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Johann looks through his formula book for an extract that will help him climb, but finds nothing. "I hate climbing!" he exclaims as he moves over to the rope and looks up, trying to spy where it leads.
"Before we go climbing up this, perhaps we should secure this lowest floor, make sure nothing cuts us off? Especially if there's something evil over there, as Walter says. I'm quite curious as to what it might be. Perhaps a ghoul! If so, I look forward to burninating it!"
As the party approaches the area, a Large creature appears. This giant has pale green, scaled skin and large, webbed hands and feet. On either side of its neck are slotted gills.
The thing moves to attack Walter, heedless of his spear!
The big warrior misses and now the thing attacks with its claws!
It also misses!
Round 1:
Creature (Knowledge Local to ID)
>>Pathfinders
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You can use this skill to cause an opponent to become shaken for a number of rounds. This shaken condition doesn’t stack with other shaken conditions to make an affected creature frightened. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target’s Hit Dice + the target’s Wisdom modifier.
Success: If you are successful, the target is shaken for one round. This duration increases by 1 round for every 5 by which you beat the DC. You can only threaten an opponent this way if it is within 30 feet and can clearly see and hear you. Using demoralize on the same creature only extends the duration; it does not create a stronger fear condition.
Fail: The opponent is not shaken.
Action Demoralizing an opponent is a standard action.
Shaken
A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened or panicked.
Johann, Walter and Gunther recognize the creature as a young saltwater merrow, and evil aquatic humanoid creature.
Johann's bomb just barely manages to hit the creature's leg!
It is entangled, but not glued to the watery floor!
As Walter's roar shakes the creature
It tries to swipe at Walter despite all the effects on it.
The claw rakes deeply into Walter's tough skin.
Then it tries to grab on with the claw!
Walter barely squirms out of its grip and moves back!
Then Gunther's sword tears a huge gash in the thing's side, though it doesn't hit any vital areas.
Walter and Johann remember a little about the creature. It is a young saltwater merrow. Merrows are best described as the aquatic cousins of ogres. Although their green, scaled skin and webbed hands and feet make them appear different, merrows are just as cruel, savage, and wicked as their ogre relatives. The saltwater variety grows much larger than the freshwater variety, but the behavior and society of the two types are otherwise similar.
They are not weak against anything in particular, and have tough hides as well as a long reach. They can grab anything that their claws hit . Their intelligence is, one the whole, well below that of an average human, but also well above animal intelligence.
Dimitra begins to sing a bawdy Varisian ballad!
The beast swings both claws at Gunther, looking to pay him back for the nasty sword cut!
Both claws manage to connect and it tries to latch on with one!
He twists out of its clutches!
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"It's like an ogre, so, probably pretty dumb! Maybe some kind of spell will work on it! That's right, tall, green, and ugly, I called you dumb!"
Johann lobs an normal firebomb over Gunther's head, angling it so that all of the blast will focus on the merrow.
Johann's well-aimed bomb explodes directly in its hideous face!
The bomb blasts the merrow's face, but doesn't send it down! Walter heals, Gunther swings and misses, and Dimitra casts a spell.
The merrow does not fall!
It claws madly at Gunther with no one else close by!
The gods smile on Gunther and he avoids further harm!