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"Sixteen poses, screaming fear, spoiled rations and wastefulness... hey, y'know, this reminds me of the Test of the Starstone! Three people matching these descriptions tried and failed. Lucky there isn't an inscription here of "hold my beer and watch this", eh?"
Iddo stares at this particularly starable wall some more before adding, "and this could be a clue, I guess."
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Maya fails to smile at Tagir's remarks, the sad and solemn air of the grand monument dulling her mood. Being back out in the rain didn't help much either. She had wanted to visit the wall of names ever since setting foot in Absalom, eager to witness the memorial that spawned so many stories about great adventurers who had explored and protected all parts of Golarion. But actually being here was far more depressing than it was exciting - a grim reminder of the risks and dangers a fledgling Pathfinder like she would inevitably face.
"A clue, for sure," she mumbles, staring at Iddo from beneath the hood of her somewhat soggy cloak. "Any ideas as to what relevance these eulogies hold, Iddo? Many people die failing the Test of the Starstone, so it's not as if these particular tributes stand out. If we trust Adolphus' word and take their names to be fakes, then all we are left with are these overly cryptic phrases which mean almost nothing without context."
She sighs, turning to face the rest of the party. I'll draw these inscriptions out when we're somewhere less cold and wet...
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Maya furrows her brow and closes her eyes to think for a moment, opening them again when she speaks. "Clearly we need more information. From what Selmius and his assistant have left us, we have two reasonable leads. Adolphus mentioned in his notes that Arkath, the stonemason, was the more agreeable of the pair, and perhaps had something of importance buried alongside him in his mausoleum. With how Fimbrik the wizard was described, I'd rather seek him out last. Or at least after we learn how to better negotiate with him. If the great Selmius Foster was denied an audience, I don't see how we'd fare much better as we are currently."
She sighs again, squinting up at the grey clouds above. "A part of me is tempted to track down Drandle and demand an honest explanation as to what this is really all about, but..." Maya trails off, glancing hesitantly at each of the others. "I suppose now that we've gotten ourselves involved, aren't we obligated to see Foster's work through until the end for the good of The Pathfinder Society?"
I hope everyone agrees, at least a little...
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Sorry to have dragged you all out here for naught but cryptic riddles, somber moods, and pouring rain... Yuvonesom apologizes weakly, appearing to be a bit defeated by this revelation that he was so sure would be... well, something more, whatever it was.
The aasimar spends his own time staring at names on the wall, committing some to memory and vowing to overcome similar challenges that brought them down. Whether the vows are to himself or his god, he's not entirely sure, but he's not sure that it matters in the end. Yours seems to be a reasonable course of action, Maya. Perhaps this stonemason can give us context as to the riddles left on the wall.
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Maya flinches a little at the pinch. She shoots Tagir a glare which quickly dissolves into a warm smile as she nods at Yuvonesom. "There's no need to apologize, Yuvie-" She clears her throat gently. "Yuvonesom... We all agreed to come here ourselves. These riddles, as you say, will become clearer with time. I'm sure of it."
Maya glances up at Tagir, the grin on her face widening slightly. "And if you're serious about dealing with the wizard first, Tagir, then I wont object. Come night, be it scary spirits or undead, I'll try my utmost to protect you from them."
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The party heads to the Wise Quarter, where the Arcanamirium is located. It is not only the largest and oldest school in Absalom, but quite possibly the most prestigious arcane academy in the entire Inner Sea region of Golarion. Within the sprawling grounds are also the dwellings of a number of wizards, mages and sorcerers of respectable standing within the academy.
In Foster's notes is recorded the address of Fimbrik the Wizard. A good thing, too, because with the ceaseless rain, you could hardly find anyone in the grounds of the Arcanamirium to ask for directions. You do finally manage to stop a young apprentice boy rushing out for errands to confirm the address of Fimbrik is still correct after almost four hundred years. However, before he rushes off again, the boy shares that few have heard from the gnome in several years.
You arrive at the stated address - an impressive stone dwelling reminiscent of what one might expect from an eccentric wizard’s home. A brick step leads to Fimbrik’s front entrance. You all squeeze under the awning, which provides some shelter from the rain. Numerous stacks of newspapers are piled around the door and crammed into a thin slot at its base, all which despite the shelter, are getting drenched. Each rounded corner of the building has a large glass window of which, as you approach, appears to be unshuttered and the curtains drawn open.
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"So, we've arrived," Maya begins quietly, flicking down her hood and attempting to fix her mass of damp hair into something a bit more presentable. "I suppose we need a reason for being here; preferably one that doesn't involve a certain name that may reignite a conflict of old. Fimbrik may know more about the inscriptions but I suggest we be careful about mention of Eylysia until we can be sure of his cooperation. Any ideas?"
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"Excuse me sir, but might I speak with you about the finer points of the enchantment of hats?" Yuvonesom speaks in an exaggeratedly posh tone with a silly grin on his face. His face falls when he finds he can't locate a hat on his person, though. Well, I'm sure any garment will do. Whatever the case, wizards tend to love talking shop, and I'm not completely inept at that, so perhaps I can pose as some sort of potential apprentice or some such. Or perhaps someone better at misdirection should and I can coach them beforehand.
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Tagir steps deep into Maya's personal space, "You can't get too far away then. I wouldn't want you to feel guilty if something attacked me and you didn't get here in time. And I must say, you handle that spear very well. Are you as skilled with all types of . . . spears?"
Tagir pulls out a very nice looking harmonica and speaks to Yuvonesom, "Master Fimbrik, Sir. I am a bit of an amateur comedian, and would like to enhance my performances by enchanting this harmonica. I admit to a woeful inadequacy in knowledge of your arcane arts, but perhaps you can educate me on the full power and variety of enchantments available. For example, would it be possible to magically create the sounds and smells of flatulence?" "How does that sound, Yuvie?"
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How forward! Maya groans faintly in irritation at the question, shuffling back a step or two to press against the wall of the house and create some semblance of distance. "O-of course not," she mutters, averting her gaze to observe Yuvonesom's funny impression and reaction to Tagir's charade.
After a while she nods to both of them. "Jokes aside, enchantment seems reasonable. Would it sound too far fetched for a band of lowly apprentices to come seeking advice? Or at least seeking his well-being, seeing as Fimbrik has been awfully withdrawn for quite some time." It's not far from the truth...
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Yuvonesom gives a stern look to Tagir for his brashness with the Maya, but chooses to let the comment slide for the time being. The lady was a Pathfinder as well, after all, she could probably handle herself.
He does smile, though, at the suggestion of enchanting the harmonica to make ridiculous noises when played, Yes, I think that could probably work. May even play to his sensibilities, if the stereotypes of gnomes are to be believed. He pauses when Maya speaks, listening to her input before replying, I believe either of those could work as well. Perhaps we should open with the enchantment request and then switch to the apprentice ruse if that fails us.
The alchemist takes some of his hair in his hands in an attempt to wring the water from it, looking less than pleased by what little he can actually remove from it. Unrelated to that, I loathe the feeling of wet hair on my neck and back. Drives me up the wall for some reason. I probably wouldn't dislike the rain if it weren't for that fact, truthfully.
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Seoni who has been following the conversation between her comrades thus far (and wincing internally at Tagir's clumsy attempts with Mayu), speaks up now "Well, we have ourexcuse for being here. Should that fail, I suppose we could always take the novel approach of just asking him directly. However, based on the pile of newspapers around the door, I surmise that our gnome might be missing from the premises. However, a quick recce might be in order..."
That said, Seoni moves to the large glass window to look into the house.
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Maya's eyes linger on Yuvonesom's wet hair for a moment before she turns to smile at Seoni, nodding. "Agreed. I'd love to be honest with Fimbrik, but it's worth being cautious just in case he reacts poorly to our investigation. Thank you for discussing this," she adds, bowing her head towards the group in thanks. "Unless you wish for otherwise, I'll leave conversing to the rest of you until I am called upon. And yes, rainfall is wonderful in moderation, but I know exactly how you feel, Yuvie."
Maya's soft chuckle is cut short as she quickly bites her tongue. Tagir's nickname for him is surprisingly compelling, I hope he doesn't mind... After a few seconds of awkward fidgeting, she sneaks after Seoni, letting her curiosity to get the better of her.
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While most of the party continues to converse at the footsteps of Fimbrik's house, discussing musical instruments, apprenticeship and wet hair, Seoni steps back into the rain and paces over to the southeastern window, with Maya quietly creeping behind her.
They see through the window what appears to be a study, containing a round table surrounded by chairs, and the walls replete with tome-laden bookshelves. In the room is an elderly gnome garbed in noble attire with a dapper rounded hat on his head and a cane tipped with a brilliant glowing gem in his hand. He appears to be perusing his book collection, with his back facing the window, and does not appear to have noticed Seoni, nor Maya.
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As soon as Seoni steps away from the window, Tagir starts to knock a tune on the door. Like a rookie too eager to score, he takes his eye off the ball before actually catching it, and cuts his hand on the ornamental knocker. Damn, Seoni looks good in that dress. Especially the parts of her that are falling out of that dress!
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Despite the melodious, or not quite so, knocking, Tagir does not get any response from within the house.
Seoni and Maya, still at the window, sees the the gnome seems to be ignoring the knocking.
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Maya frowns when she hears knocking and looks expectantly at Seoni, mentally and silently urging for the sorceress to return with her back to the front door. I'd rather not be out in this rain for much longer, and much less be caught spying on a wizard! She peers around one edge of the window, hoping that the gnome wouldn't be glaring right back after being roused by the knock at the door. Seeing the fellow apparently captivated by one of his bookcases however, she instead directs her frown at the woman beside her.
"Perhaps Fimbrik is hard of hearing?" she whispers to Seoni.
Or perhaps that bookcase is just that interesting. I wonder what's in it...
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Maya flips down her hood once under shelter from the rain, still frowning as her attention is brought to the lock on the door by Tagir.
"How strange," she mumbles. You'd think a mage of any repute would take good care of their dwelling's security, more so than anyone else. Mother always went to great lengths to protect the shop...
She continues quietly, mostly whispering. "The apprentice we met on the way here mentioned the gnome hadn't been heard from for a while, so I had feared he might be away on a journey of some sort. A rusty lock is certainly fitting for a house this old, and would suggest that this place has been unattended to for quite a number of years. But, Fimbrik is right there! Negligence of a simple lock isn't what I'd expect from a wizard of the Arcanamirium!"
Maya pauses for a moment, her eyes lingering on Tagir's knocking hand. "He may be deaf or absorbed in thought. Try knocking again. If he doesn't respond, I'll try to get his attention from the window." And this time, try not to injure yourself...
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Tagir turns to face Maya, leaning his back against the door, "Now, don't go doing anything to get his attention that you wouldn't do for me first." He repeatedly slams a boot heel into the door, "Besides, if that doesn't get his attention, something is definitely wrong."
"In fact, I feel certain enough that something is wrong, I am starting to worry for Fimbrik's safety. Perhaps he has fallen and can't get back up. It would be irresponsible of us not to check on him, in light of the danger he is definitely in."
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He has a point. A strange illness? Frozen in place by an enchantment spell gone horribly wrong? Wouldn't be unheard of for an elderly gnome, or an eccentric wizard, or both. Dammit, we're so gonna get in trouble for this...
"Fine," Maya sighs, her growing concern made obvious by the fidgeting of her hands. "We should... check on him, sure. But if it turns out all is well and good, I'm leaving the explaining to you."
She glares at Tagir for a moment, still a little irritated by his earlier comment, before turning with evident agitation to look at the others.
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Yuvonesom tries the door and finds that it is indeed locked. However, the lock is so simple and rusted that he figures it would not take much to break it down.
Tagir circles round the house past Maya and Seoni, seeing the gnome still perusing his shelves in the southeastern room. He reaches the northeast room, and through the window, he sees that it appears to be some kind of meeting room, with enough chairs, pillows, and desks
to accommodate at least six visitors. Through the window, Tagir sees the gnome sitting in a chair reading a newspaper.
After a short check among Maya, Seoni and Tagir, you realise that there are two Fimbriks, one in each room!
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Maya silently watches Yuvonesom try the handle, still frowning to herself. When the door fails to open, she pipes up, starting off in the direction of the recently gone-missing Tagir. "I'll... go check on him." And make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble.
She follows the path around to the north-eastern part of the house. "So this is where you went off to," she mumbles, drawing to a stop behind Tagir. Her eyes drift to the window in front of him, gazing into what lies beyond. "Wait a second, didn't we see Fimbrik in the other room just a moment ago? There's no way he-"
Her speech is cut short by the shattering of glass and she stares at Tagir in disbelief for a moment before blinking away her surprise. Well, no going back now... If the gnome really is in trouble then we'd better get to investigating!
She fakes a smile at Tagir's wave and nimbly hops through the broken window, tugging her spear free from her back when she lands and holding it in one hand. Just in case she thinks to herself, scanning the room and watching the sitting Fimbrik guardedly. I guess I should head for the door in case the others didn't hear that...
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Yuvonesom shrugs as the door remains closed and follows after Maya around the house, following in the party's footsteps through the window. So I'm not the only one that noticed that there were two Fimbriks, that's good. It's also possible that he could have set illusions to keep out intruders, rather than there being twin gnome wizards. I can't detect whether there is magi though, so I can't confirm my hypothesis.
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Seoni takes in all that the group has seen so far "I agree with Yuvonesom, it would be a simpler explanation that the gnomes we are seeing are but illusions...it requires some knowledge of magic, but nothing too strenuous. Furthermore, gnomes are known to be masters of illusions. Far simpler than 2 persons pretending to be the same man. That lacks a certain...prestige"
"A moment" Seoni extends her arcane sense, probing the building for any signs of magic
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Maya nods to Seoni and Yuvonesom, feeling reassured by their presence. "You can add my agreement to that as well. Illusions are a more reasonable assumption, and that would make a good deal of sense in our current situation," she responds quietly, carefully advancing towards the occupied chair and waiting for Seoni's magic to take effect. Now to turn that into more than an assumption...
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As the party climb into the meeting room through the broken window, you are thankful that the incessant is keeping people largely at home and the streets deserted. Otherwise, you would have a difficult time explaining yourself.
The gnome on the chair simply turns to you as you approach, tips his hat, and returns to his newspaper. Seoni can see a magical aura around the gnome, and eventually figures out that it is of illusory magic. This is pretty much confirmed when you find that you can stick you hand through the gnome.
While Seoni examines the gnome, the rest of the party examines the room. On the sill of the window through which you just came through, you find two forgotten potions.
An examination of the table that the illusory gnome is sitting at reveals a neatly penned letter. Underneath the letter is a hastily scrawled note in similar handwriting, which contains the name "Karina Clamp".
To the west stands a strong oaken door that leads presumably to the rest of the house.
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Maya sticks her hand through Fimbrik's phantasmal chest, smiling to herself a little when the image flickers around her skin but otherwise remains intact. Quite impressive, master Fimbrik. I do hope you'll share with me some of your secrets when we meet, or at the very least a story or two.
She nods at the others before turning to inspect the contents of the newspaper and the surface of the illusory gnome's table. "An illusion it is," she says softly, "To think for a moment we were almost fooled back there like everyone else. It's a tad embarrassing..."
Maya pauses when her hand finds the letter, lifting it away from the remaining clutter. She frowns, reading it over once internally, then a second time aloud for the rest of the group to hear. A slight feeling of disappointment fills her for a moment in the realization that they wouldn't be running into the real wizard any time soon.
"One clue leads to another, it seems. If it's alright with you, I'd like to take a look around on the off chance any information of use shows up. I-I mean, we've come this far so it shouldn't hurt... I wont take anything aside from notes, and who knows how much knowledge about arcana is stored within these books? We also cant be entirely sure that Fimbrik's letter will lead to anything of worth. I'm... I'm just a little curious, y'know?" She averts her gaze to stare at the letter, trying not to sound overly eager in her request. I wonder who this friend of Fimbrik is...
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It would be prudent, if nothing else, Yuvonesom agrees, picking up one of the potions and taking a sip. His face screws up into a grimace at the taste of it, and he holds it out at a distance, Potion for curing moderate wounds. The alcoholic base is a bit strong for my tastes, but it could come in handy.
He re-corks the vial and places it on one of the newspapers nearby before unstopping the next. Maya, it was your suggestion. If you would like to lead the way, just say so, he says to the half-elf as a way to brace himself before taking a sip of the other potion. Rather than grimacing, has face falls back to neutral as he clicks his tongue a couple times. Absinthe? I've never heard of that used as a base before... he mumbles to himself before announcing, this potion is for restoring lost vitality that goes deeper than mere wounds. I don't know when this will be helpful, but I suppose we should keep it anyway.
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"Alcohol based potions? That's too bad. I don't drink alcohol."
Iddo smiles in Yuvonesom's general direction, not looking straight at his face.
"My mum said it's bad for me. Well, if I'm in need of a potion to cure moderate wounds, I guess there could be worst than getting a bit tipsy, eh?"
After a short scan of the illusion and the notes, the young bard seats himself on a couch and sighs.
"Well, when you're done burglaring, I think we should go visit the wall of names again. More clues are on their way."
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Yes, it's one of the kinds of bases for potions. One of the most common, helps preserve the reagents better than most bases, the alchemist explains as he tries to either hand off the potions or store them in his own pack, there are other types of bases, of course, glycerine being chief among them, followed by vinegars and brines of different types. It all depends on your preference, really.
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You gingerly open the door and indeed it leads to the living room. A large sofa sits awkwardly near the entrance, facing toward the center of the room. Sets of chairs and tables are arranged throughout, and statues of grandiose gnomes occupy the corners of the room. A set of stairs at the northern edge of the chamber leads downstairs, while a second set of stairs leads up.
You wander around the room for a bit. Just as Maya approaches the door to the study, what had initially appeared to be a circular design on the floor below the coffee table suddenly starts to glow ominously and in a flash of green light, 3 beetle-like creatures appear and attacks the intruders!