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Gitano bows to the woman from the doorway, taking stock of the situation.
Gitano leaves his rapier sheathed and raises his empty hands out to his sides, in a nonthreatening gesture. "Good day, madame, be at peace. We are neither gardeners nor from Quantium. We certainly have no intention of harvesting you or your seeds."
"If you would permit us to pass, one or two of us would like to take a closer look at the fountain."
Hearing the tengu's diagnosis, Gitano asks the shaman, "Bukkah, is there anything you can do for her, if the rain is causing her distress?"
He addresses the woman again, "Alas, I can offer you little more than this song."
♫There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas♫
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Gitano recalls his nature studies and recognizes the strange plant lady as a ghoran.
She holds her hand club out threateningly as Gitano finishes up his song. "Lovely, but you Quantium scum will not trick me! A tour? My home isn't open for touring, you inconsiderate swine!" She shouts at Corona. "There is nothing for you to see here and I do not need the company. Please, turn back and leave," she walks to the garden next to her and lovingly cuddles with what appears to be a carnivorous plant. "Don't worry, pretty, I won't let them hurt you."
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Mort shrugs his shoulders and pulls out a watermelon and takes a bite, growing to a much, much larger size from which he starts hollering down at her "Look HERE woman. We've got a job to do and I'm more than happy to do it the fun way, but it'll be much easier on you if you just let us do our little search and tour in peace. Otherwise Mindy here is going to turn into a hellova big weed whacker!" He pats the now great, great sword on his back.
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The woman drops the plant she had been hugging and lowers her guard as Mort turns supersized. "V-very well... I see the Quantium have come up with some new tricks. Do as you must, but leave my garden alone." She stays close to her plants and warily watches you as you approach the fountain.
Pip can't help but giggle happily. "Wow, Pip wishes he could also become that huge and scare her away! Hehe!"
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Mort nods in agreement the her terms and stands watch over her and her plants with a wary eye while the others find what needs finding. Imagine how smoothy things would go if everyone just did what I asked the first time. Less fun, but smoother...
"Find what we were looking for so we can continue on our way."
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The ghoran stands firmly near the vegetation with her arms spread as Tanna approaches. "Stay back, I said!" Tanna gets the impression she won't be able to look through the vegetation to find anything that might help with the woman's ailment without angering her.
Gitano peeks under the red lion statue and notices that it's been hollowed out. Inside is a small package wrapped in many layers of wax paper. Unfolding it reveals three legible yet sloppily written notes.
Added as Slides 7, 8, and 9.
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"Well, that's the other way to get things done," Corona responds cheerfully as Mort's yelling seems to cow the plant-lady. "Either speak softly...or carry a big weapon and yell a lot!"
Content to stay out of the crazy plant-lady's way, Corona wanders over to Gitano as he pulls out the hidden package and reveals the notes. Standing on tiptoe she peers over his shoulder, reading along...
"Oh!" she suddenly gasps. "Um...New Friend Grishan, you sure did...learn a lot about people at school..." Corona stammers, shooting J a nervous look.
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While Corono reads through the notes, Gitano looks over the ghoran, careful not to increase her agitation. He sings a low, soothing melody to reduce the tension.
♫"When the spirit moves you
And it fills you through and through
Every morning and at the break of day
Did ye get healed?♫
He tactfully shares his prognosis with the patient and his colleagues.
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Once Corona has finished perusing Grishan's journal, Gitano returns to her side to take a look for himself.
His usual good humor vanishes, and his brow furrows as he reads through the entries.
"Absalom, we have a problem."
Gitano exhales slowly, waiting until he has everyone's attention.
"Grishan, this journal contains some very sensitive information. Some of it concerns you and J personally, and some of it has very serious, embarrassing, and potentially damaging implications for the Pathfinder Society, its leaders and factions, and nations of the Inner Sea region."
Gitano hands Grishan's notes over to the others, so that each can read them.
"Grishan, these notes are yours, but please hear our counsel before you decide what to with them. None of us would want this information to fall into the wrong hands."
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Gitano determines the ghoran is afflicted with the same disease Pip is as a result of the corrupting ♫purple rain♫. It is only different in that it's afflicted her with hallucinations and paranoia. The only way to treat it would be with a remove disease spell.
Grishan emerges from J's mind and peeks over his notes, looking visibly guilty. "I don't remember much of this..." he mumbles as he flips through them. "This is definitely my handwriting, though. This entry about my family... It can't be true?" He reads it again and again in disbelief. "As you said, Gitano, there are a lot of incriminating details in here. Unfortunately, my reading them has now automatically put them in..."
J shifts uncomfortably and gags as the entry about her mother sparks through her head. "... My mind. Er, nevermind that. It isn't important," she quickly dismisses the idea of discussing her mother's salacious past.
"I have no desire to spread this information, Gitano. However, my brother, Colson - he put me up to this. He's mentioned right here," Grishan points to the entry titled Case Maldris 8. "Might we be able to speak to him about this?"
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Gitano suggests taking some time to think the matter over. "Let's focus on the tasks at hand, and we'll decide later what to do."
He gestures at the arboretum's two chief residents. "We might be able to help the ghoran and Pip, if we could arrange for a couple of remove disease spells. But then, we'd also have to end their exposure to the toxic rain in this place, maybe try to convince them to leave or return to wherever they came from. Anybody got any ideas?"
He looks around at the other Pathfinders, and his gaze falls upon Junia.
"J, do you think your mother could arrange for a priest and maybe safe passage to their homes? Maybe if you thought it was necessary to help 'cure your obsession' with the Tri-Towers Yard?"
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Mort frowns a bit while the others are reading and discussing documents while they are in a not so friendly locale. "How about we take what we came for and leave these plant people to themselves? I'm sure they have lots of potting and fertilizing to do still today am I right?" He looks to the ghoran and Pip, then wags his head towards the door for everyone to head on out of here.
Lets not take all day on this, they can bring in some Holies later and see about fixing scrambled eggs.
Once they've left the area he'll take his turn reading through the notes. Holy hell! What did I get myself into with these Morillas... I hope she's cleaned things up a bit in the last twenty years. "Ok where to next J?" Its pretty evident that he isn't overly concerned with the two gardeners.
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Those of you who are members of Liberty's Edge surely recognize the name Colson Maldris as the leader of your faction.
At the suggestion of assisting Pip and Co. by leading them out of the greenhouse, the plant lady balks. "I would like to stay here. In fact, if you could keep my presence a secret..." She steps forward. "I would like my companions here to be able to sprout and grow so that we can establish a presence of ghoran here in Absalom. Get back.. NOW.." She winces as another hallucination of a daemon washes through her mind, but she shakes it off. "You seem helpful enough. I'm Khaya, by the way. With enough of us ghoran, we can petition the government here to help free my people from captivity in Nex."
J doesn't seem to mind one way or another, but Grishan speaks up about the next logical step. "Mort is right to stay on task. J wanted to go to the Drownyard and now it's suddenly all become about me and my past. My brother can wait."
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Holy hell, Liberty's Edge too? This much dirt has got to be faked.
Mort looks at Khaya as one looks at a crazy cat lady Don't make eye contact and slowly back out of the room before you get involved in some s**@ you don't want to get on your boots. He smiles and backs away heading outside to let the others deal with her and her make believe place... "Good luck with your plant people Khaya."
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Gitano remains troubled by Grishan's revelations about his brother, Colson Maldris, and what he'd asked Grishan to do on his behalf.
Grishan and I should definitely chat before we head back home. I'm a believer in redemption, but these are serious matters.
Gitano bows with solemn dignity to the ghoran before departing. "Khaya, we will keep your presence secret, and try to get you some help. I will reach out to my people--including Colson Maldris?--and their contacts, who seek liberty for all. Your people will not remain in bondage in Nex forever. On that, you have the word of a Varisian gentleman."
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Tanna nods in agreement at Gitano's promise. Maybe this human isn't like the rest.
As the group as leaving, Tanna speaks up: "We will come back. Those poor creatures - Pip and Khaya - need our help. It's our duty as members of the Pathfinder Society to help those in need."
Although, we never did discover what was causing the rain...
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Khaya warily thanks you for your promises, but Pip stays put in the entrance foyer, still fearful of her outbursts.
The trip from the Arboretum to the Drownyard is short, and you soon come across the entrance, which is surrounded by a tall, wrought iron fence. The front gate is wrapped tightly with a chain and lock. What do you do?
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"Right, we can't leave poor New Friends Pip and Khaya all alone in that place with the crazy-rain," Corona agrees with Tanna as the group make their way out of the Arboretum. "We have to use our powers in the Society to do good, like Tanna says! And freeing the plant-people sounds like a good thing to do...once we finish helping J and Grishan, I mean."
When they reach the Drownyard, Corona looks up at the gate and then over to Mort. "Alternate?" Corona asks curiously, then suddenly nods in understanding. "Oh! You mean break in! I've never actually broken in anywhere before; is it fun?"
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As he's digging around in his pack he comes out with a crowbar, quickly followed by the large iron key Dreng handed him in the estate. Ah s~&!, totally forgot he gave me a key, guess I can't flex my muscles snapping this pathetic chain.
"Oh ya, Dreng must have slipped this key in my pack. Looks like it fits too. You all ready to go? J? Keep your wits about you and if you do have to fight, be defensive in your swings ok?"
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Mort doesn't see anything particularly interested outside the gate, and with a nod from J signaling her readiness, he walks up and unlocks it with the key provided by Dreng.
The grounds of the old Tri-Towers Yard have been cleaned up in the last several years, and several old ruined school buildings that stood too close to the cliff's edge were demolished. All of the gnarled old trees were removed and new flowering bushes and trees have been planted in their place. Despite these efforts, the few ruined classrooms that remain look sad and forgotten. Just inside the gate sits a small, locked storage shed marked with the Pathfinder's Glyph of the Open Road.
J. falls silent as she steps on the grounds of her old school. "Please, a moment of silence to remember the children and adults who have died here."
A moment later, she nods firmly, as if she had decided on something. "I sense something in the classroom over there," she says, pointing off to one of the ruined buildings. "I need to go in there. There's something in there that I must learn, I can feel it!"
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"J, let's check the storage shed first."
Gitano steps over to the locked shed and points, "See that symbol? It's called the 'glyph of the open road,' and it represents the Pathfinder Society."
Although, no one's ever told me what it means. 'Abstract art,' I suppose, no meaning necessary.
"Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng asked us to check it out when we set foot on the school's grounds."
"You got the key, Mort?"
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"Alright, but let's be quick," J says. "The classroom beckons for me!"
Gitano finds that the lock is actually broken, and the door opens easily. The shed contains various supplies used by the archaeological teams that work here, including large rolls of twine, wooden stakes, brushes, sacks,shovels, trowels, and various measuring implements.
A large sign hanging on the back of the shed reads:
Entry to above ground structure in the ‘Yard is strongly discouraged. It contains an dangerous supernatural force. Items in the yellow box are for emergencies only.
Signed, V-C Dreng
Below the sign is said yellow box.
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Gitano glances at the sign and grins. "Santa Drandle left us some presents!"
Ole Cabbage-Hands wouldn't trap the box, would he?
Gitano lifts the lid and takes a look inside. Before touching anything, he utters an incantation and wiggles his fingers. "Always a good idea, J, to detect magic. It only takes a few seconds, and it can reveal quite a bit about enchanted items."
"Then, if you have the appropriate skill, you can also try to identify the properties of such goodies."
"Uhm... Sometimes the items are crafted by such a powerful mage that even my skills are insufficient."
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Mort looks down over Gitano's shoulder as he's waving his lady fingers over the box "What's the hold up? And what sort of supernatural force do you think it is J? More ghosts like Grishan? Or those allips or something?"
I still never got a straight answer on what sort of weaponry I should be using against this stuff..
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Inside the box is a vial held within a stylized cold-iron casing. The casing is etched with strange runes and necromantic designs. Gitano senses a faint necromancy aura emanating from the vial. He isn't able to determine its effects, but luckily, there's also a note inside the box.
Either there's an emergency, or you're a little too curious. No matter. Explore, report, cooperate, right? Anyhow, the encased vial is called a haunt siphon. These things are actually able to capture supernatural beings! To use it, twist the metal casing to open the vial when you notice the haunt. Powerful positive energy will suck the things in and hit 'em where it hurts! Use wisely.
V-C D.D.
"A haunt siphon?" Grishan looks at the note "Let's hope it doesn't work on phantoms! I don't think I could live in a tiny bottle..."
J nods. "Dreng seems to be suggesting a haunt infests the Drownyard... We can't see them, nor touch them. That big sword of yours may not work so well," she says to Mort, eyeing Mindy.
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Mort gets a dejected look flash across his face "I was starting to think that would be the case J. Hopefully someone else has a good idea on how to deal with them. I've got this healing wand that I can't use.. and some holy water and.. acids?" I wonder if you can use that vial more than once... guess we'll find out.
He leads the way to the building J suggested when everyone is ready, keeping a watchful eye out.
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At J's mention of haunts, Gitano scratches his head, thinking deep thoughts.
"The Venture-Captain gave us a tool and instructions on how to use it. Now all we need to figure out is who can best employ it."
Gitano looks around the group.
"We need to spot the haunt, preferably before it spots us, and use the siphon before the haunt can spook us. That calls for sharp eyes, knowledge of haunts, and cat-like reflexes."
Gitano clears his throat and arches his eyebrows.
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Tanna is warming up to Corona and Gitano due to their concern over Pip and Khaya.
"We need to spot the haunt, preferably before it spots us, and use the siphon before the haunt can spook us. That calls for sharp eyes, knowledge of haunts, and cat-like reflexes."
Bukkah picks up the other haunt trap and holds it up. "Bukkah take? Use if necessary to and find bad haunts?"
”I have a sharp eye and reflexes, but I can’t say I know what a haunt looks like. I might be more useful shooting an arrow at it.” Tanna doesn’t move to take vial. Instead, she looks over to the tengu shaman.
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"Um...maybe someone else should hold them," Corona responds, holding up her hands in a 'halt' gesture. "Sometimes when things get ugly my legs and arms don't want to work right away; Friend Mort and Friend Gitano know what I'm talking about."
She offers an encouraging smile to Bukkah, Tanna, and Gitano. "I think any of you would be better for the job, New and Old Friends!"
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Gitano pulls one of the haunt siphons out of the crate and tosses it to the tengu. "Catch, Bukkah!"
Gitano grabs the remaining haunt siphon and stands up to leave the storage shed.
As J heads to the classroom, he follows the slayer, but too close. Don't want to make the big guy uncomfortable.
Gitano carries the siphon at the ready, in case anything spooks him.
♪♫Whiskey and wine
Night after night
You haunt me
Losing my mind
Set it on fire
You haunt me♪♫
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You leave the shed and make for the classroom. The small classroom is all that remains of a once great school. School benches and chairs are scattered about in a haphazard fashion and a chalkboard hangs crooked from a single nail on the western wall. The sound of the ocean beating against the cliffs in the distance is the only thing that breaks the silence.
J and Grishan walk over to one end of the classroom, where several small memorials sit with portraits and names: Badru Ahnkamen, Grishan Maldris, Cassiel Marlinchen, Stilonius Morilla, Anaretta Nimz, and Jaran Shamyyid.
Gitano, Tanna, and Mort suddenly feel a strange, slight vibration in the ground. Grishan feels the same, while no one else feels any vibration at all.
__________________
Gitano is up
~ ??? ~
Tanna, Mort, Grishan
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Gitano senses that this is indeed a haunt, and as he uncorks the siphon, wisps of green energy dance down from the walls and shoot through the room and into the jar.
As the sound of rumbling grows louder, the ground begins to shake and the partially exposed sky grows black. Dozens of spectral school children run frantically for the door, but just before they escape there is a mighty cracking sound as the ceiling collapses.
Everyone is struck by the falling beams for damage.
J winces in pain as her ankle snaps under the weight. "Ugh... Help..."
It's just like before...
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Classroom Haunt
Everyone is up!
Mort and Tanna get an extra move or standard action
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Tanna gives the smallest of smiles to Corona before observing Gitano hand the device to Bukkah.
Tanna’s eyes widen as she feels tremors in the ground beneath her feet. ”The ground is shaking,” Tanna comments, not having anything else to add. Tanna looks over to see Gitano uncork the bottle.
As the sound of rumbling grows louder, the ground begins to shake and the partially exposed sky grows black. Dozens of spectral school children run frantically for the door, but just before they escape there is a mighty cracking sound as the ceiling collapses.
She manages not to cry out but falls to the ground from the impact. Tanna awkwardly gets to her feet with her bow in hand