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Capone provides divine guidance to Darven, who uses it well to revenge the strike on him, cleaving the offending beetle in half. He then clambers over the sofa, narrowing avoiding the attack from other beetle.
Faeria opens the door just in time to see Adinomo pierces with his rapier into the beetle. Shelby fires an arrow at the other beetle, similarly skewering it.
The two remaining beetles continue their attacks on Darven and Adinomo, but to no avail, clacking their jaws harmlessly in the air.
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Adinomo pierces his small but deadly rapier deep into the innards of the beetle. It twitches violently before it collapses.
The beetles disappear with a flash of light, like how they appeared. With the vermin called forth by the hidden summoning circle destroyed, you are able to conduct a thorough search of the house. In this living, you see a large sofa sitting 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.
Despite the lack of dust on many surfaces, you can tell from stale air, and the carpet and sofa showing virtually no wear, that no one has been here for years.
As suspected, the house is completely deserted and untouched, except for the large gaping hole in window of the southeastern room. The Fimbrik that Faeria tried to feed in the southeastern room is clearly is an illusion. Interestingly in the northeastern room, there is a similar image of Fimbrik. The real Fimbrik would not likely have made such a mistake to programme two images of himself, so there must have been some glitch .
The cellar is unnotable except for stacks of newspaper, while the stairs leading up reveal an unfinished second floor. Capone and Faeria occasionally sees a presence moving about the rooms, invisible if not for the magical aura it radiates. It floats into the living room, tidying the mess you made while fighting the beetle. It then moves into the southeastern to clear up the broken pieces of glass and remove the offending brick, but otherwise, ignores you completely. The invisible housekeeper has been keeping the house clean, and apparently has been moving the newspapers from the doorsteps to the cellar. It seems that the publishers in recent years have increased the thickness of the papers, and the servant has been having difficulty pulling the papers through the door slot, thus settling for stacking them neatly beside the door.
In the northeastern gathering room, you find two forgotten potions sitting on the windowsill.
potion of cure moderate wounds
potion of lesser restoration
In the same room, an examination of the table in the southwest corner reveals a neatly penned letter. Underneath the letter is a hastily scrawled note in similar handwriting, which contains the name "Karina Clamp".
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Faeria introduces herself to the various Fimbriks.
"Oh hello. That Fimbrik is one- pardon me, two tough gnomes. He refuses to divulge anything, and I doubt either of him would succumb to bribery or torture." There's a grudging admiration for the man's- men's gumption in her dreamy voice.
"Oh, and he- they've left us drinks. This first potion should pick you right up if you are feeling all bleedy though." She smiles glassy-eyed at no one in particular.
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You have uncovered all the clues that you can from the leads left behind by Foster and his assistant, Adolphus, and all of them point you towards the Shrine of the Failed in the Ascendent Court district, which is where you head next.
Along the way, there is great excitement and flow of human traffic along the streets, despite the incessant rain. It seems that Sir Reinhart has chosen this very moment to attempt the Test of the Starstone. People you pass by on the streets are exclaiming that the valiant knight is preparing to charge his steed across the chasm outside Starstone Cathedral. The crowds are clearly making their way there to watch the spectacle. That in turn have provided you unrestricted access to the Shrine of the Failed. The city guard and what few caretakers the shrine has have left to watch Sir Reinhart’s attempt.
Erected centuries ago by an unknown organization, the Shrine of the Failed is a dour complex that pays homage to those who failed in their attempts to overcome the Test of the Starstone. The building houses numerous altars, each dedicated to a specific failed aspirant. Black-robed acolytes are usually present to protect, clean, and maintain the halls as well as the few trinkets left behind by the aspirants, but they have now left. The shrine is a stone edifice with several levels that contain altars to the failed aspirants. You are able to access the Shrine via a large set of stairs at the side which leads to a basement annex.
The large monumental antechamber that you enter first stretches eighty feet from end to end, with a ceiling suspended thirty feet from the floor by great pillars. Seven arched passages lead to humble rooms, each of which contains a polished stone altar dedicated to one of the failed aspirants. Each altar stands upon a raised dais and bears a small brass nameplate identifying the aspirant and his would-be portfolio. Glancing at each of the alcoves in turn, counterclockwise starting from the northeastern one, you see the following names in this order:
- Gobru, god of fish and the bountiful sea
- Mellag, god of rot
- Oggo, god of the sixteen poses
- Spuchasta, goddess of hallucinatory incense and herbs
- the Muted God of silence and serenity
- Plokkis, god of spoiled food and wastefulness
- Zimpar, god of the screaming fear
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The small alcove dedicated to Plokkis, god of spoiled food and wastefulness, is no more than a plain stone hole in the wall. Other than the altar with the small brass nameplate sitting on stands a raised dais, the alcove is desolately empty.
Darven speaks the word, "Wiffle" which briefly echoes in the small alcove. Darven waits a few heartbeats, and is disappointed nothing seems to happen.
You find a door hidden by an illusion against the room’s west wall! Unfortunately, you can’t see any means to unseal the door. However, further searching reveals that the altar’s nameplate slides to one side, revealing a miniature chalkboard and a thin piece of chalk.
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The building is quiet and Capone notes that the area around the building is still largely deserted. He hears cheers in the distance towards where you figure the Starstone Cathedral is. He quickly joins back the party.
With Darven leading the way, you enter with great trepidation into what appears to be a large natural stone cavern beyond the secret door. As you round the corner...
you find the cavern completely empty as far as your light shows. However, although this cavern is dark, illumination emanates from the northeast. You head towards to light and enter cautiously into an alcove but do not spot any signs of life (or unlife).
Whereas the stonework leading to this chamber is rough, the walls in the alcove are polished. Several desks are arranged along the northern and eastern edges of this small stone alcove. A single gem rests among the neatly filed papers on the desk, emitting a soft luminescence that brightens the small room.
Looking through the paperwork left behind, even the unschooled can tell that they are priceless collections of Pathfinder Society lore and information describing dozens of unexplored sites. Most are written in an Azlanti dialect, but appear further encrypted. This collection is clearly a goldmine of great scholarly importance, but understanding the true scope of the discovery would require several weeks of careful study by researchers at the Grand Lodge. Amazing discovery!
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"That gem seems to be worth quite a lot, what do you think Shelby?"
Adinomo looks if there is any traps or other way out of here
"Seems we are done here, shall we grab the most important documents and get back to the grand lodge to report? With any luck we might be able to catch a glimp of this sir Reinhart while we are walking past the Starstone cathedral."
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Relieved that you have found Eylysia’s notes without opposition, you quickly gather up all the notes that you could as well as the glowing gemstone, and make your way out of cavern back to the shrine. However, just as Darven is leading the group to exit the alcove, you are ambushed!
A halfling woman dressed in red leather is pressed flat against the wall on Darven's right, while a tall hulking human female in blue chain shirt stands near the entrance of the nearby alcove, both ready to ambush the party as you exit. However, the ever attentive Darven and Adinomo spot them in time.
The halfling woman nonetheless has quicker reaction. She calls out in a shrill voice, "The Aspis Consortium sends its greetings! as she stabs at Darven with her rapier. The thin blade pierces into Darven's side but does not go deep.
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The towering woman to Darven's left snorts as she laughs. "Ha! He wants us to surrender, Shellie!" She charges at Darven and swings her greatclub at him. However, Darven just manages to raise his shield in time to deflect the mighty blow.
At this time, a male half-elf dressed in green robes steps out of from a corner of the alcove. He waves his hand at Darven as he mutters some arcane words. A magical bolt flies out and smashes unerringly into him.
Shellie the halfling calls out again in her shrill voice. "Leave behind what you found, and we'll let you leave with your lives!" She tries again to skewer Darven with her small rapier, but it bounces off his armor this time.
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"Dividing them up would be ideal."
Capone casts Cause Fear at the enemy in Red Leather.
He creates a Copycat.
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Shelby starts an inspiring tale, this time about the stomping on and crushing off snakes. Darven steps further out of the alcove to give his team space to move out. He swings at the tall woman and he quite sure he would hit, but the blow seems to deflected by some magical force. Greenwillow, despite the tight corner she is in, manages to find an opening to create a sudden storm burst, battering the tall woman. Capone, however, focuses his attention on the halfling, He summons divine magic, striking fear into her heart!