Harsh, cold light floods this room from the ceiling, gleaming off the marble walls and shining across the polished granite floor. Myriad pedestals display stuffed creatures suffering from unspeakable deformities, and liquid-filled glass tanks hold the shriveled bodies of even stranger anomalies. In the room’s center, a wide ebony pyramid rises ten feet off the ground; darkness seems to flow out from its top into the air like ink in clear water. Indistinct rune circles, candelabras, and idols cover what can only be the site of barbaric sanguinary rites, occupying the same space in the Shadow Plane.
The Blakros Museum’s current main exhibit is a collection of medical oddities and cursed freaks—a disturbing array of deformities that would turn a Lamashtan’s stomach—but they do not compare to the horror of Wightir House’s comparable space. The implements of unspeakable rituals lie scattered about, including bloody sacrificial knives, vats of unidentifiable liquids, rune-etched stone idols, and a massive summoning circle surrounding the central dais.
Standing before the dais is the thin gray form of a fetchling. Kneeling before him, the Blakros daughters, Eleanir and Michellia, sway in a sort of trance as he prepares for some ritual by coating a thin knife in a strange black liquid.
"Welcome, Material-Planers. I am Uthil Mak, overseer of Wightir House and executor of the Penumbral Accords."
Male Dwarf Monk of the Lotus - HP:8/8 | Init: +1| Perc: +7 | AC: 14/14/13 | F:+3 R:+3 W:+5 |CMD: 16
Ignoring the fetchling, Gunthorn grabs the girl closest to him slinging her over his shoulder as he carries her as far from the shadow creature as possible.
Grapple the girl and half move 10' toward the entrance.
Blade of Mercy's damage increase explicitly works only with the slashing weapons, which Rapier isn't, so I don't think that extra 1 damage would apply.
Round 2 and 3. Bold may act.
- Kaleless-3-3, Fortitude DC 14 or stunned
- Angritt
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- Uthil Mak -5nl-15, Ki points used: 2, Stunning Fist attempts: 1
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- Jinhong Yeou
- Hessavi Bebas
- Rath
- Gunthorn Dursten
Male Dwarf Monk of the Lotus - HP:8/8 | Init: +1| Perc: +7 | AC: 14/14/13 | F:+3 R:+3 W:+5 |CMD: 16
Gunthorn carries the girl to the doorway and sets her down just outside of the room. He then rushes back into the fray moving into a position where he can attack the fetchling shortly.
Move and drop the girl at the door, then second move to get back near combat.
Ooops.Round 1 Fort Save vs Kaleless' poison DC 12:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 Effect if failed, Dex damage:1d2 ⇒ 2 Round 2 Fort Save vs Kaleless' poison DC 12:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Not slowed down by the poison, Uthil Mak closely dodges the Tyrannosarus' devastating bite. But the rogue himself manages to sneak in another hit easily.
The enemy braces himself against the incoming blows.
Knowledge (local) DC13:
Swift action to expend Ki Point for +4 dodge to AC
And he keeps on attacking the rogue.
Flurry Unarmed Strike:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 damage:1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 If this first attack hits, Fortitude DC14 to not be stunned.
Despite readying himself up for a patient defense, the slave-master of the Penumbral Accords falls flat under the mighty blows of the Pathfinders. With the enemy finally down, ending with Hessavi's Raging song, the party has an opportunity to finally examine the Blakros twins, Eleanir and Michellia.
They remain in their dream-like trance, unresponsive and oblivious to anyone and anything around them.
Uthil Mak wears a prominent onyx ring on his left hand, which sports the same rune that appears on the branded slaves’ head. In his satchel, Pathfinders locate a copy of the Penumbral Accords detailing the original agreement forged between the Blakros family and the agents of the Onyx Alliance.
The ceremonial dagger Uthil Mak was preparing for the ritual is long and dark, with a sinister curved blade. Runes have been etched along the length of the blade.
Anyone reading Infernal:
The runes speak of the Midnight Lord and a sacrifice that will bring shadow to the multiverse.
Infernal + Knowledge(religion) DC 12:
You recognize these as references to Zon-Kuthon, god of darkness, pain, and loss.
The 10-foot tall black stone pyramid exudes an eerie black essence from its apex, which seeps into the air and slowly dims the illumination of the room. Surrounding the relic’s apex are a dozen bloodstones set into the rock face, from which a strong aura of conjuration and illusion emanates. According to the Penumbral Accords, that contraption is in fact the Wightir Conjunction. And the conditions of the twins, and all the branded slaves are linked to its ongoing effects.
Knowledge(planes) DC 20:
In your assessment, removing or destroying the bloodstones should end the effect and sufficiently sabotage the device to prevent future use. That will also instantly end the planar overlay, returning objects and creatures to the planes of existence they belong. And half of the slaves is already ritually branded as belonging to the Shadow plane.
Unable to make sense of anything else, Hessavi removes Uthil Mak's ring and studies it. "It's the same rune... I wonder if we could use this somehow to wake them up."
Studying Uthil Mak's belongings more closely allows Hessavi to notice a keyring, seemingly containing the keys to the manacles that hold the slaves captive.
The Blakros twins are still entranced by the workings of the ritual they were part of.
As Kaleless looks around, he notices once again that the Blakros Museum’s current main exhibit is a collection of medical oddities and cursed freaks — a disturbing array of deformities that would turn a Lamashtan’s stomach — but they do not compare to the horror of Wightir House’s comparable space. The implements of unspeakable rituals lie scattered about, including bloody sacrificial knives, vats of unidentifiable liquids, rune-etched stone idols, and a massive summoning circle surrounding the central dais.
It is seemingly here that Uthil Mak and the other overseers in the Onyx Alliance conduct their most egregious crimes against decency, including the cruel rituals required to activate the Wightir Conjunction that monthly causes the Blakros Museum and Wightir House to share the same space and to bind new slaves to the Shadow Plane. Its during these few hours of this transposition, Uthil Mak claims the slaves owed to the Onyx Alliance by the Blakroses under the terms of the Penumbral Accords, and brand the slaves’ heads with a mysterious rune.
Male Dwarf Monk of the Lotus - HP:8/8 | Init: +1| Perc: +7 | AC: 14/14/13 | F:+3 R:+3 W:+5 |CMD: 16
"I'm guessing the glowing stones have something to do with this foul bit of magic." Gunthorn says pointing at the bloodstones glowing with magic. "I agree with Angritt, let's just busting stuff up until the link is broken."
He moves up jams the end of his staff into one of the bloodstones in an attempt crush it or knock it from its setting.
With the stones shifting inside the deep sockets, it is not that easy to land a solid blow on any one of them. But without any opposition present at the Wightir House, the Pathfinders would eventually crack and destroy all of them.
The Penumbral Accords are penned in Common. The alliance outlined in this pact allowed Blakros family to safely transport goods and personnel through the Shadow Plane while a war waged around them on the Material. But this agreement came at a terrible price: in addition to providing a continuing, steady stream of slaves for Shadow Absalom, the eldest Blakros daughter of each generation for a thousand years would be given over to the members of the shadowy Onyx Alliance on her twenty-first birthday to be taken to the Shadow Plane. The conditions of the Penumbral Accords are precise, and the penalty for failing to uphold their end of the bargain is the killing of all Blakros daughters of the offending generation. But it describes nothing specific that Hamaria Blakros didn't already tell you.
In the ritual chamber, Pathfindes destroy the bloodstones lining the device, rendering it permanently inoperable. The transposition of the Material and Shadow Planes ends instantly, and reality snaps back to normal. They are now only in the Blakros Museum.
The Wightir Conjuction, the remaining fetchlings, including the unconscious Uthil Mak, and other untended items still in Wightir House return to the Shadow Plane. As they head for the exit, they confirm that within the museum all elements from Shadow Absalom are gone. Unfortunately, that includes all the already-branded slaves that remain in the clutches of the slaver fetchlings that will eventually come to their senses.
When the planar overlay ends, Eleanir and Michellia Blakros awaken from their trance, dazed and disoriented. Outside, the dawn is breaking. After the group leads the twins out, Eleanir and Michellia Blakros smother them with gratitude and affection. "Thank you for rescuing us. Our mother and the rest of our family will hear of your heroic bravery."
The sisters depart, attended by the servants waiting for them outside the museum.
Apparently, Hamaria is indeed incredibly grateful for the rescue of the Blakros daughters. Through a message delivered by one of her household liveries, she conveys that she is granting Pathfinders the rare privilege of keeping any loot they may have uncovered while in the museum, and the missive implies that she will turn a blind eye to the fact that some of that loot may have actually belonged to the collection itself. That includes the trio of slaves, should you want them, that were not yet inured into the Shadow Plane by the rituals of the Wightir House and were freed out of their shadowy shackles instantly as the conjunction broke.
As the group also succeeded in destroying or permanently deactivating the Wightir Conjunction, the Blakros family feels secure in their freedom from the Penumbral Accords. In thanks to the Pathfnder Society, the Blackros family offers even closer collaboration between their museum and the Society on future endeavors.
Thus the story of Penumbral Accords end. You all get full gold, as well as 2PP for freeing the twins as well as deactivating the Wightir Conjunction. I will be filling the chronicles ASAP, would you mind filling a new column HERE WITH YOUR EMAILS so I could send it to you directly? If you'd prefer to keep it private or use any other way of file transfer, feel free to just let me know by a PM.
