17 Arodus 4715 Four years ago
"Oh yes, yes, PERFECT!" the ifrit cries out as his efreeti slave, Husarq, explodes into flaming globules of gore and charred bone. The pieces cascade around Mareq, like a summer's rain across a lover's brow. A particularly large bone, a leg bone by the looks of it, rolls to a stop at the summoner's feet. He bends down and picks it up, a sudden gleam in his eye...
10 Gozran 4716 Three years ago
... Mareq drags the arm bone, all that is left of his recently vanquished thrall, back from the battle site. His fellows think, erroneously, that he secretly mourns the repeated death of his father-thrall...
3 Pharast 4717 Two years ago
Mareq smiles as he looks at the day-old body of Husarq. Mareq hadn't been able to collect any of the dismembered parts after the battle, just the mostly intact torso. He turns and yells at Husarq, "Don't stand there gawking, slave! BEGIN!" Husarq bows and grips the bonesaw his master has given him. He steps forward and begins cutting into his body-that-was, his corpse-from-before-his-resurrection...
30 Sarenith 4718 Last year
The pile of painstakingly gathered efreeti bones, glittering with eldritch silver, shudders in the meltemi winds of northeastern Garund. Mareq closes the tent against the high winds, sits back down and continues molding pieces of bone together, chanting in Ignan. With each phrase the bones liquefy and merge. And then another bone and another bone, until the bone pile is gone, completely melted into the shape of a large staff. The task is nearly done, thinks Mareq...
1 Calistril 4719 Last month
Mareq rolls over in his tent, blood spilling from his mouth where Husarq, recently ascended to mastery again, has beaten him for his impudence. Husarq licks the blood from the fingers of his left hand. In his right hand is a staff of gleaming white efreeti bone, nearly complete silver runic etchings of Ignan sorceries wrapping from its base to its top. "You thought to secretly bind me again with this thing, this charnel, ossuary staff?" Husarq looks at the blood of his chastised half-breed son on his fingers and raises his eyebrows, an idea already forming. "Oh, the irony will warm my evil heart whenever I need to be cheered. Mareq, Mareq, Mareq, tsk tsk. When will you learn? You cannot beat me!"
He grips Mareq's right arm, cuts it open with a sudden slash of his efreet claws and lets the ifrit's burning hot blood course down over the white bone staff. "My genie bones, your sorcerous blood, and my diabolical will now create the most ironic of ossuary staves!" A burst of light and the staff is no longer white, but efreet-red, bound with silver runes that dance and move when nobody is looking.
Husarq tosses the ossuary staff into Mareq's lap. "Take this now, thrall. And weep every time you use it to free me, heal me, EMPOWER ME!"
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The party heads to the designated spot at the museum.
The elven man stops pacing and exclaims, “Good, you’re finally here. In case you don’t know who I am, I’m Nigel Aldain, Blakros Museum curator. It’s not an easy job on the best of days, and today isn’t one of them.”
Gesturing toward the woman in the ritual circle, he continues, “That’s why I asked Zarta Dralneen to send assistance. She’s proved invaluable in my efforts to catalog and secure the most dangerous items, and we’ve recently been working together to make sense of this gate. The way it’s moving now is a new and unsettling development.”
Zarta Dralneen nods to Aldain, “Although Nigel reached out to me directly, given the severity of the situation, I sent word to the Grand Lodge for help. I’m quite pleased to see that Ambrus himself answered my call as well.”
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin grunts in acknowledgment, keeping his eyes fixed vigilantly on the portal as he speaks. “Zarta’s been studying this portal for the last few months, ever since a team of Pathfinders helped resolve an incident connected to the portal and the beacons you see around her now. She’s more familiar with the portal’s nature, so it’s better for you to hear the details from her.”
Zarta looks up from the ritual circle, frowning, “As you probably could have guessed, the copper gate isn’t going to hold for much longer. With these ritual foci and the gate’s weakened state, I’ve been able to reach beyond the gate and interact with the other side. What I found is a demiplane built in complex layers, and the tatters of wards that once protected it from external threats. There is a force within the demiplane that is actively trying to open the door while simultaneously tearing gateways to faraway realms. Based upon the information we’ve gathered from the group of Pathfinders who recovered these beacons and my analysis of the gateways, what we are most likely facing is a direct connection between the Dark Tapestry and Absalom, and with it the threat of invasion from unspeakable horrors.”
Zarta pauses for a moment to let her words sink in. “We can end this threat now. I’ve been calibrating these beacons to temporarily open the gate before resealing it securely, allowing a group to enter and stop the threat at its source.”
“That’s where you come in,” Venture-Captain Valsin adds. “I’ve called you here to be the group that finally sees what’s beyond that gate.”
Zarta continues, “While you are there, do what you can to study your surroundings and learn about the threats you face, but be careful. The demiplane is the creation of Ralzeros the Overwatched, a famous wizard whose studies of the stars and what lies beyond them led him down dark paths.”
She holds out a small glowing orb, a miniature replica of the beacons before her. “When you are ready to leave, use this orb to signal to me. It will take me about an hour to recharge these beacons, but after that, I can quickly open another gateway. Don’t send the signal until you are finished with your work. I may be able to send you in a second time, but there is a significant chance I wouldn’t be able to bring you back, and that is not a risk I’m willing to take.
“It is almost certain,” Zarta adds, “that while you are inside, creatures from the Dark Tapestry will escape into this room. Nigel, Ambrus, and I will handle those. The more you can avoid destabilizing the demiplane while you are there, and the more you can repair it if you find an opportunity, the better. Any questions?”
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What else can we expect to find beyond the portal? Zarta replies, “If I knew more about what to expect, I would have already told you. Keep your wits about you, and prepare to face the unknown.”
What is the nature of the demiplane? Zarta replies, “It is based upon the principles of sacred geometry, a branch of magical and mathematical study that is known best for its complexity. It can produce powerful effects, but it is also more sensitive than most magical disciplines to slight disruptions in structure.”
What are those beacons? Zarta says, “Pathfinders recovered these beacons recently from across Absalom. They were originally intended to send signals from within the demiplane to the outside world, but the force that is now trying to break down the gate used them to reach into Absalom and cause havoc. Containing the beacons bought us time, but that time has run out.”
What’s that scroll case? Nigel says, “Pathfinders found this case a few years ago. Its a key of sorts to the copper gate, though it’s taken the gate almost breaking open to give us enough insight to know how to use it.”
How much time do we have? Zarta says, “Based upon the state of the wards, you have about a day to disrupt this situation at its source. Make it count.”
Why don’t you come with us? Ambrus replies, “Zarta needs to make sure that you can return safely. As for me, I don’t want to leave Nigel by himself to fight whatever comes out.” His expression turns grim. “If the worst happens, I’ll be here to buy Nigel time to warn the city.”
Husarq bends down and looks closely at Zarta Dralneen. "Such pale, pale skin, human. You," says Husarq menacingly, "Look like somebody I once knew." He draws al-Saif. "Prove you are not her who sent me to this wretched plane. Cast إقالة into my scimitar!"
Mareq stares at Zarta the entire time, sometimes smiling, but sometimes frowning with brief uncertainty. Zarta, no doubt having been in a few taverns and the focus of uncertain attention, recognizes his expression as a variant of 'I think I know her, should I say something? No I don't know her. Yes, maybe?'
When Mareq hears Husarq tell Zarta to cast dismissal he begins to get scared.
Husarq bends down and looks closely at Zarta Dralneen. "Such pale, pale skin, human. You," says Husarq menacingly, "Look like somebody I once knew."
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Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin takes a half-step towards Husarq. "That is not how we address colleagues in the Society!"
Zarta Dralneen makes a short, swift calming motion towards Valsin and he stops immediately. Without taking her eyes off of Husarq, Dralneen smiles and says, "Why, Ambrus! You do care!" And she let's loose a peal of hearty laughter.
Valsin's cheeks redden. "I... I just meant that we should cooperate in a collegial manner," he mumbles.
Dralneen's eyes are still locked into Husarq's gaze as she replies, "Yes. You're right, my dear." (Ambrus' cheeks redden further.) "Cooperate is on of our main tenets." Then she casts dismissal as Husarq requested.
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Just as Zarta casts her spell, a courier runs into the museum dodging one of the automated defenses. Panting heavily, he manages to breathe out: "Delivery from Sir Dydimus at Eastgate for Berosius, Harrow, Mareq, and Phoebee."
The smells of assorted confections, fruit pies, ice peppers, and other foods from their travels greets the party. The courier has a large gift basket overflowing with baked goods.
Mareq watches as Dralneen casts thaumaturgic energies into Husarq's scimitar, structured to cast an outsider back to its home plane. He pales as al-Saif drinks the energy up and Husarq begins laughing his dangerous, diabolical laugh.
Oh no, he thinks.
"You are such a fool, Yndri! Your clone, or your daughter, or whatever this is, isn't nearly as smart as you," says Husarq, staring at Zarta Dralneen. "You've only confirmed that you are, or are in league with, the White Mage. Why would you have a dismissal at the ready, if you aren't in league with a genie binder like Ysalaa?"
Husarq pauses, mid-rant, and draws the eternally sharp edge of al-Saif across his own tongue. Efreet blood wells up and dribbles from the corner of his mouth.
"Ahh, my ticket back home. I can taste the theurgy already," he crows in some sort of weird ecstasy. Having drawn blood, al-Saif releases the dismissal Zarta cast into it. A shimmering tear in the aether opens behind Husarq and a sorcerous wind picks up, drawing the efreeti to the tear.
"Goodbye Mareq, my half-breed son. I return to the City of Brass to begin my long-planned revenge. Try not to die while I'm away. I still have lessons to teach you, thrall!"
The planar tear sucks the efreeti into it and closes in a rush. And with that, Husarq al-Shamiri is gone.
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Harrow's eyes glaze over slightly at the mention of all the details. Though he has some version of street smarts, facts, figures, geometry--they are nothing he understands or wants to understand.
"Husarq--Harrow say focus on important things like baked goods. You not know Sir Didymus, but he always send all this. He Harrow friend before Berosius become best bud. Now eat some food and not bother kind lady," he says with an uncharacteristic edge in his voice--the kind that he usually employs primarily when exercising his Brown Note abilities.
Though Harrow, for the most part, has gotten along okay with the efreeti, something about his back and forth relationship with Mareq did not sit right with him, and he had been watching with increasing concern.
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Mareq sits. Emotion after emotion plays across his face. Pain. Fear. Happiness? Joy? Dread, again. Confusion.
He reaches over to the basket of baked goods, takes a tart, and puts it in his mouth.
When the team of Pathfinders eventually enters the gate, he pauses before stepping into it, and looks at Zarta Dralneen. "You may wish to send a missive to the City of Brass's White Mage and the new Sultana. Let them know you sent a homicidal maniac bent on revenge back to them. No doubt they'll be overjoyed to hear."
And then he steps into the gate.
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As you appear on the other side of the portal...
This chamber is lined with bookshelves, with chaotically arranged stairs and platforms offering access. The room's shape is not constant; platforms shift and stretch to their own rhythms, while bookshelves' contents shuffle and rearrange themselves of their own volition. The chamber’s walls and floor are formed from black stone shot through with pale blue veins; these veins occasionally crackle with energy, as if transmitting strange impulses. Identical statues stand in alcoves throughout the chamber: the left half of each depicts a robed human, while the right half depicts an alien being with numerous arms protruding at unusual angles.
You see a handful of tall, bronze-skinned men with elegantly trimmed beards. They wander from section to section within the library--seeming to be completely at ease with the inconsistent shapes. They seem indifferent to the sudden appearance of the party here.
__________
__________
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Berosius watched Mareq and Husarq with concern. Not so much for the efreeti's antics on the Plane of Fire, but for Mareq's state of mind. He considers the summoner a friend, if a badly misguided one.
__________________________________________________________
"Interesting," he says, looking around for the real mage.
"Hello!" he says, wiping the crumbs of a delicious blueberry tart from his waistcoat. "I'm Berosius and these are my friends. Do you mind if we look around? Should we talk to someone in charge?"
"Oh! Also, we're Pathfinders."
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"What's that you ask? What is this place?!? This is The Immaculate Geometries, space within spaces, a most carefully sequestered laboratory. Like my observatory, this place is built according to the principles of sacred geometry; so much space, angled into itself, that the unlearned may have diffculty comprehending its intricacies."
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"What's that you ask? What is this place?!? This is The Immaculate Geometries, space within spaces, a most carefully sequestered laboratory. Like my observatory, this place is built according to the principles of sacred geometry; so much space, angled into itself, that the unlearned may have diffculty comprehending its intricacies."
"Good sir, thank you for that. Can you offer us counsel or guidance through the intricacies?" asks Mareq with as careful a tone as possible.
"Your sacred geometry is being perverted by a force within. Something is actively trying to open the door to the Prime while simultaneously tearing gateways to faraway realms. It is most likely a direct connection between the Dark Tapestry and Absalom on the Prime. Such horrors should not be allowed to happen. Not only will they kill many, but most importantly, the Immaculate Geometries will be destroyed.”
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"Good sir, thank you for that. Can you offer us counsel or guidance through the intricacies?" asks Mareq with as careful a tone as possible.
What do these books contain? “Knowledge—my knowledge. Rituals and angles, lore and horror. Much I no longer consciously recall.”
Why are the sections so hard to sort through? “Because you do not understand how to learn. Any fool can scale a shelf or paw through an index. If you seek to learn, you must build upon what you already know of the subject.”
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Unfortunately for the party, finding useful books is easier said than done. Ralzeros' fractured mental state, combined with this demiplane's distorted physics, makes it difficult to locate anything within the shifting shelves.
The library is divided into six sections that the party can explore. By drawing upon the types of knowledge that exemplify each section of the library, you can plumb that section's secrets. Each of you can investigate one section at a time, and any number of you may simultaneously investigate a section. Investigating a section takes roughly 20 minutes.
It's not useful to describe what a given section looks like; it changes all the time as the space continues to fold in on itself.
First party decision: Split up or stay together?
Second party decision: Where to? (Section 1, section 2, section 3, section 4, section 5, or section 6?)
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Section 1: Knowledge (history or nobility) or Sense Motive
Section 2: Acrobatics, Escape Artist, Knowledge (engineering), or Profession (architect)
Section 3: Knowledge (arcana or planes), Survival
Section 4: Climb, Profession (librarian), or Stealth
Section 5: Heal or Knowledge (dungeoneering or history)
Section 6: Knowledge (local), Linguistics, or Perception
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Can we aid another in our knowledge rolls in each section?
__________
Section 1: Knowledge (history or nobility) or Sense Motive
Section 2: Acrobatics, Escape Artist, Knowledge (engineering), or Profession (architect) -- Mareq
Section 3: Knowledge (arcana or planes), Survival -- Berosius
Section 4: Climb, Profession (librarian), or Stealth
Section 5: Heal or Knowledge (dungeoneering or history)
Section 6: Knowledge (local), Linguistics, or Perception -- Harrow
Phoebee, where would you like to go?
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Section 2: This section holds Ralzeros’s knowledge of several of his great passions; numerology, sacred geometry, architecture, and related disciplines, as well as their connections to ancient Osirion. While the knowledge itself is notably better organized and free of misinformation, it represents particularly obscure fields of study. Complicating matters, the knowledge itself twists space around according to its principles; nimbleness and flexibility could be of great use when weaving through the section’s gnarled geometry.
Mareq, however takes another tack. Observing and using principles of engineering, he successfully navigates the space by anticipating where things will be; he recognizes the pattern of folding.
He notes that the mindshards seem to feel an excitement in their legs based upon his success.
He also discovers the following information in a tome entitled "The Sacred Geometries":
The Aucturn Enigma is incontrovertible: Osirion of old was touched by beings from the stars. These emissaries arrived during a portentous syzygy between Golarion, Aucturn, and the Dark Tapestry’s blackest heart, bearing gifts of mind-expanding revelations. I hope to gain insight into these emissaries and their enlightening gifts. Already, my research has offered great insights into numerology, the grand secret for which the Pharaoh of Numbers was named, as well as the practice of sacred geometry, using certain auspicious angles and shapes to channel cosmic power. These secrets were rst revealed to the ancient Osiriani through communion with emissaries from Aucturn, though I have plumbed their mysteries and mastered it myself. I structured my observatory according to its precise principles, fortifying it against incursions and intrusions of all varieties so long as the structure is unchanged. Further, it allows my demiplane to hold countless layers of space. Despite its potency, however, sacred geometry is merely a stepping-stone to the power of the stars.
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Section 3: The books in this section detail the wizard’s deepening obsession with the light of distant stars and its magical potential. Astrology, Ralzeros’s theory of pastlight, and study of the outsiders known as shining children are among the numerous obscure subjects discussed at length in these books. Knowledge of magical disciplines is useful here, as is an understanding of the night sky and its mysteries.
Berosius uses his knowledge of the Planes to intuit the layout of information in this area and finds an interesting book entitled "Starry Revelations".
As he retrieves this book he notes that the mindshards seem to puff out their chests and carry themselves with greater confidence.
I have sought out all the tomes of this world and beyond. The lost lore of Azlant and Thassilon, of cyclops and serpent. The wisdom of the shining children. The ramblings of a mad poet, sought out in a dream. Whispers stolen from a fey lord’s library. It is time to learn what no book can teach. It is time to look not to the stars as I have always done, but between them. And to beckon what looks back.
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Section 5: Ralzeros seemed intersted in something called "pastlight." When other avenues of research into pastlight failed, and fueled by his interest in Ancient Osirion and the need for esoteric components found only in the Dark Tapestry, Ralzeros delved deeply into the lore of the Dominion of the Black. It was at this time that he set aside his former caution and forged an alliance with Corners of Spheres.
Using her mastery of all lore, Phoebee is able to anticipate where the most important information is here--in a book called "The Emissary."
When she finds this book, Phoebee notes that the mindshards eyes get all weird and they seem confused.