"NO SNEAKING! NO NO NO!" Majordomo Pip seems very angry his shrieks are nearing painful levels of loudness."EVERYONE PAYS! Such a rude ugly one. Come pay now or no go for you!"
Everyone who pays the toll takes 1 point of Damage.
J. reluctantly pays like the rest of the party and the Mandragora leads the part out towards the door on the left.
Pip leads you through a vine choked and cracked hallway to the west and into another room.
A collapsed sign near the door lists the exhibit that was on display in this gallery at the time of the earthquake: “Flowering Shrubs of Eastern Taldor”. Plants once grew in the large, ceramic planters that still hug the southern wall. Dozens of branches clinging to decaying leaves emerge from the wooden door to the north. To the east, a room with healthy trees and shrubs is visible through a glass door set in a wrought iron frame.
"The room not tend these plant anymore. So Pip tends them now. See how well he does?" Pip seems genuinely impressed with his dead plants. "The room that way still has magics so Pip leaves it be. Do you want to see the magic plants?"
Pip seems a bit annoyed that your changing his subject but, he thinks. "The master Gardener's plot has a statue by it. Do you want to go there instead of see my magic plants?
Davor bites his tongue and follows the Mandragora closely. He is obviously unimpressed at his gardening skills, but does not want to offend their guide.
He begrudgingly leads further into the Arboretum quickly afterwards.
Unlike the dead and warped growth in most of the Arboretum, the plants growing in this greenhouse seem to be relatively young and healthy. Several raised beds of earth host strange looking plants with long, sinuous vines, and a small, gently flowing fountain with a red lion statue at its centre sits near the middle of the chamber. Against the wall stands a worktable and chair covered in gardening tools. Working in the green house is a green skinned humanoid creature with a taut green shell extending like a cowl from chin to brow, wreathing a face of brilliant flower petals.
Pip quickly peeks around the corner and shouts "Green woman! You have Guests!" he then hoots and howlers as he sprints back down the hallway.
She turns around surprised and has a look of horror at the sight of your group. "Get back. You won't take us again! We are not going back to Quantium!" Defensively brandishing her cudgel.
"Don't know what Quantium is? What do you mean animals? Like the furry kind?" The creature puts one hand to her head as if she is confused. However you appear to have calmed her.
SenseMotiveDC12:
Something is wrong with her mind
(If you passed SM)Knowledge Nature or Arcana DC 15:
Given her plant like nature, the corruption in the rain here is most likely more powerfully effecting her. She would need to be away from it for quite some time or have remove disease on her to heal her affliction.
|AC 17, T 13, FF 15|HP: 37/37 |F +2, R +4, W +4 (+2 vs shadow; +1 vs LD/sonic)|Init +2, Perc +9|CMB 0 CMD 12|Phrenic 7/7, Blurred 5/5, Gaseous 5/5, Shadow Speaker 4/4, Light\Dark 1/1, Detect Thoughts 1/1
Sense Motive:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (19) - 2 = 17
Knowledge (Arcana):1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
"The poor dear's been poisoned by the toxic environment, like most of the other plant life here," Xanac says quietly to his comrades. "It's desecrated its mind, and it won't get any better so long as it stays here."
The Ghoran woman seems to be wary but, does not stop you from approaching the statue. Searching the Statue you do not find any supernatural power. However you do find a hollow area underneath the lion. Inside you find several notes that are written in what Grishan tells you is his own script.
Notes are in the Maps
Appraise DC15:
The information in the notes is very lucrative. You figure you could sell it for at least 500 gold pieces to the proper broker.
Liberty'sEdgeFaction:
The third note has a section labeled Case Maldris. You know that the current head of the Liberty's Edge faction is Colson Maldris.
|AC 17, T 13, FF 15|HP: 37/37 |F +2, R +4, W +4 (+2 vs shadow; +1 vs LD/sonic)|Init +2, Perc +9|CMB 0 CMD 12|Phrenic 7/7, Blurred 5/5, Gaseous 5/5, Shadow Speaker 4/4, Light\Dark 1/1, Detect Thoughts 1/1
Appraise:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
"For what it's worth, I can think of many people who would pay generously for information like this - and I'm certain what it's worth is at least 500 gold pieces."
The case is related to Grishan's Father. You can conclude that Colson Maldris is too young and was unmarried to sire a legitimate child at the time. In other news I have returned.
Grishan's face holds a look of sudden realisation and embarrassment. "Yes I do remember now. My brother Colson had asked me to gather information on my classmates and their families. Those are the notes I complied but, never delivered. The realisation that my own family had such a dark past upturned my beliefs and I was unable to decide what to do."
J. on the other hand looks shaken at the notes of her mother and the possibility that she has likely been lied to about the identity of her father.
Colson is Grishan's Older brother. Their father used the confusion of a rebelion to change their house/family name. Their father and family before them used to be Tyrants.
Case D4 in the notes has Details on J. mother. They paint her in a fairly negative light and say she really "got around" in her youth. She also bore a child from one of these trysts and given J. is an only child that person is likely her true father. This is not the story her mother told her about her father. She was also a cultist at some time, the cult in question is featured heavily in the Skykey special. Spoilers they were the not evil but misguided guys.
"Call me J. and I guess it's time to goto the Tri-yard courtyard." Junia seems a bit uneasy but, determined still. As she sets off towards the exit of the arboretum.
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.
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”
The storage shed was once locked, but its lock is damaged and no longer functions. It 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. However it is currently in a state of disarray looking like it was recently plundered.
The only thing remaining is a small box labelled "Use against of Haunts". Inside are 2 intricate vials filled with a liquid and metal shavings and a description of how to use them.
Haunt Siphon:
These glass vials are held within stylized cold-iron casings etched with strange runes, necromantic designs, or other eldritch markings. Within the vial rolls a small wisp of white vapor, churning as if caught in a miniature vortex of air. To capture a haunt’s energies within a haunt siphon, you need only twist the metal casing to open the vial in the same round that the haunt manifests (a standard action)—this can be before or after the haunt has acted. You must be within the haunt’s area of influence to use a haunt siphon. When you activate a haunt siphon, it deals 3d6 points of positive energy damage to a single haunt. If it deals enough damage to the haunt to reduce the haunt’s hit points to 0, the mist inside the haunt siphon glows green—if it does not reduce the haunt to 0 hit points, the haunt siphon is still expended and becomes nonmagical. It may take multiple haunt siphons to destroy powerful haunts. A haunt siphon that neutralizes a haunt can no longer be used to harm haunts, but it can be used as a grenadelike splash weapon that deals 1d6 points of negative energy damage with a direct hit. Every creature within 5 feet of the point where the haunt siphon hits takes 1 point of negative energy damage from the splash.
