|
Max has a very easy time making the jumps required to make it through the obstacle course, but finds himself unable to slow his momentum to make it through key obstacles where speed is less important, and ends up with a slightly slower time than needed to make it on the leader board.
|
Yitza comes up to the storytelling circle just in time to catch the end of Genta's recounting. She launches into the rousing chorus from the song she's been writing about the party's adventures. Each adventure gets a verse, or two, if the rhymes are good or the deeds particularly daring.
"We've been wild Pathfinders for manys a year,
We've spent all our money on spells, buffs, and gear,
But now we're returning with gold and fame galore.
And we will ever stay in the wild Pathfinders' lore.
And it's No, Nay, never -- No, nay never no more
Will they beat the wild Pathfinders -- No never no more"
It wasn't her best rendition, but she thinks the audience liked it well enough. After leading the ring in several rounds of the chorus, Yitza gracefully bows out. Now that her vocal chord's are all limbered up, and her ego is flushed from performing, she feels like giving the obstacle course a try. She dances and hums on the side lines until it's her turn. Since she overheard others talking about Gaevus's feats in getting through the obstacle course, Yitza feels inspired to try even harder. She uses all of her fey grace to avoid the obstacles, although she looks slightly comical facing obstacles several times her size.
"And a crime scene too? How can I resist! Try all the things!"
Yitza dashes over to the crime scene. In her impatience and enthusiasm, she seems to be channeling Gaevus' mannerisms. When it's finally her turn she squints her overly large eyes and looks very intent. "I spy with my little eye... Aha! I know who dunnit!" She turns to the person running the competition. "You, sir, you committed this ghastly reconstruction. Well done!"
Spying the party starting to gather at the lore symposium, Yitza dances over. "I know things, sometimes!" She thinks deeply, and then tries for an insightful comment...
|
|
Gaevus, catching people singing a familiar tune with the words, "No never no more," finds himself finishing third breakfast by the storytelling circle. Someone is in the middle of recounting a battle against an adamantine golem with a pet ooze, and the newly reinvigorated Gaevus begins an interpretive dance--first of what the storyteller describes, before starting to add his own silliness, for what pet ooze would not have its own stuffed owlbear?
Filled with food, energy, and laughter, he hopefully leaves the crowd sated as well!
|
|
Despite not giving her best performance, Yitza has the crowd singing along to the chorus in no time.
Building off her inspiring song, Yitza finds that being short of stature allows her to come up big during the obstacle course, taking over 3rd place from Gaevus, much to the delight of the crowd.
At the Lore Symposium, the topic has turned to the Sky Key. The panel discusses what precautions may be necessary to safely study the artifact upon its assembly. You're able to contribute, "Well, why are we saying when it's assembled? My team recovered the last component just last week. Surely Master Zey has completed the assembly by now, and in a room without corners. Wouldn't want to attract any Hounds of Tindalos."
Gaevus arrives to the story telling circle only to find that everyone has begun moving on to other activities.
|
|
Gaevus is happy to have danced regardless, though he is disappointed that people are no longer sharing stories. He looks longingly back at the buffet table, but the bark of a familiar Fuzzydog gets his attention. He sees Yitza's wild hair disappear into the crowd towards the animals.
"Time to put my game face on. Grrr!" Gaevus tries to do his best at making an angry face and makes his way towards the event with the animals as well. What does he see?
|
"You know, you should read On The Principles of Magical Theory by Stavance. It addresses a problem very much like this. For example, when it comes to certain sorcerers manifesting druidic magic..."
Genta's reading stands her in good stead. She's the next best thing to having a library around. Renyrd yawns. He starts sniffing around curiously at all the gathered Pathfinder's magic items while Genta gets engrossed in conversation.
|
Max goes over to the animal cages and tries his hand there but is a much less-practiced hand than many others. At least he didn't try scaring them into submission like that one...half-orc? So hard to tell under all that armor
Passing by the ring of scholars he has a few insights to offer into the matter at hand (though not as much as Yitza or Genta)
He tries the weightlifting deeds, hoping that hefting kegs has helped him over the years
|
|
Yitza feels bold and marches up to the biggest, scaliest, mangiest critter in the circle of cages. Using her sternest voice, she addresses the creature. "You, mister scaly-fang, have been a very bad... thing. And do you know what happens to very bad things that make messes like that?" She points imperiously at the smelly pile of offal in the corner, where several large flies are buzzing lazily. Fuzzydog, even safely behind Yitza, begins cowering in sympathetic fear. Yitza leans forward and whispers menacingly, albeit so quietly that none but Mr. Scaly-fang can hear her.
|
|
In the meantime, Gaevus makes it to the Mausoleum to try the trap mastery challenge. Rubbing his be-crumbed hands together, he says, "What do I have to do? Is this the fun, trap-dodging sorta event, with the pfwt pfwt," as Gaevus imitates dodging arrows, "and the crash pow crash," as Gaevus does a ridiculous roll to dodge falling boulders. "Or is this the more boring kinda fix-it break-it unlock-it sorta puzzle mastery challenge?" he asks, with a still-eager wiggle of his little fingers.
|
|
The discussion on the panel turns to local politics, one of the elves posits, "Lord Omrys of House Ahnkamen has raised objections about the proceedings here with the Grand Council of Absalom. He fears we are a "weirdness magnet" and has asked the district guard to keep a close watch. What are the opinions of the assembly on this matter?" Brie pipes in,"Thiss man doess not know thee meaning-g of weirdnesss. He ssshould sspend ssome time in Cheliax." This draws light chuckles from a few in the crowd. Ksarress attempts to follow this up with a comment on the rightful place of the Hellknights and their ideals in governance, but doesn't find much support.
Max able to move twice as fast as everyone else tries his hands at several contests, but finds that while his encouragement of more celebration in government is popular; it is not thought of as very practical.
Yitza gets a little bit of pity from the contest organizer due to her size and is given a slightly less menacing creature to face off against than the feathered angelic looking man who went before her. A wooly rhinoceros is led out and Yitza convinces it that it's best for it to sit down, then walk back into its pen which it does.
She notices along with the others that the menagerie has been significantly expanded for the Grand Convocation than it normally is.
|
|
With his tongue sticking out, Gaevus readies himself to start disabling some of the boxes.
He does pretty well on some of the early boxes, but as he grapples with one of the tougher ones, his eyes widen. He grins shiftily and seems to wriggle a little bit, before flexibly raising his foot to near-head height and waving it to get the event coordinator's attention. "Umm, miss? I think I need some help over here. D'you have any butter? I think I've gotten some of my fingers stuck in here. I'd raise a hand, but...." Gaevus grins sheepishly.
As the coordinator comes around, she sees that Gaevus has managed to get all ten of his nimble finger stuck in various different parts of the puzzle box. That, at least, seems to be commendable!
Gaevus decides to head back to where the animals are, keeping his ears open for any more news about any Jam-related countries. If he doesn't hear any interesting news, he'll make his way to the cages, where, if you're allowed to choose your animal, he will choose a small riding dog to order around. They haven't spoken of this in ages, but he and Fuzzydog have a score to settle, and this is the perfect time to practice....
|
|
Gaevus takes a breath, facing an ancient archenemy: a him-sized Fuzzydog! Giving it his best squint and growl, he dances about intimidatingly, before pulling his scimitar out with a surprising shing!
Thankfully, this time he does not drop his sword, and he hopefully drives the canine to return to its cage!
Next up: Yitza's Fuzzydog, with whom Gaevus commonly fights for scraps when no one is looking....
|
|
Yitza and Gaevus both succeed at taming animals and gain a +2 competence bonus on one Handle Animal, Intimidate, or wild empathy check attempted during the adventure, or a +2 bonus on one attack roll against an animal or magical beast.
Gaevus overhears some of the handlers talking, "Has anybody seen Calisro? Wasn't she supposed to be helping run this competition? "
"She probably got lost out in Arliss Hall; it's been changing a lot recently. It took them almost an hour to get Balentiir out of there yesterday, and he's a lot smarter than she is."
|
|
Bored to tears of listening to Genta and the other humanoids talk, Renyrd sneaks back to the exciting looking crime scene challenge. The silver fox peers around interestedly at all the people. A human Pathfinder exits, frowning and shaking his head. The crowd awwws sympathetically, and the man walks off to find another challenge more befitting his skill.
Renyrd nudges the ankle of the human who seems to be in charge. "Are there any other take- huh?" he asks, looking down to see the silver fox looking back up at him. The Pathfinder is completely nonplussed. "Someone lose a, uh, fox?" the man calls. Renyrd stares at the entrance to the challenge, then looks up at the man and winks. "You're... you're kidding me, right? Well, I guess there's no rule that says a fox can't be a detective... ah, go ahead." Swishing his soft tail, Renyrd closes his eyes and trots over to the the crime scene. Once there, he starts sniffing around interestedly.
Perception for Renyrd: 10 (Genta's ranks) + 1 (Wisdom) + 6 (Skill Focus) + 3 (class skill) + 10 (taking 10) = 30
Two minutes later, Renyrd trots out, carefully holding a small tuft of suspicious red hair in his teeth. He looks up at the organizer, who is drinking some ale and talking with a friend, not paying attention. So the fox leaps into the air and pounces on his foot. "Ow! What..!? Oh. You again. Find anything, little guy?" Renyrd drops the hairs into his hand. "Wow. I didn't really think you, uh... I mean... well done!" Renyrd yips and jumps around happily to laughter and applause from the crowd, then struts back towards Genta and the lore circle.
|
|
Hearing that there is to be a keynote speech with refreshments, Gaevus leaves behind his canine rival. "Refreshments!" he yelps happily, as he heads to the north lawn, where other Pathfinders are starting to gather.
If he runs into any other party members, he will tell you about Jam-land-ray and all the other silly gossip he's heard, hoping that someone else will recognize what might be useful.
|
|
Kssarress lumbers over to the obstacle course, as one of the last if not the last contestants. Circling it warily. Like it might bite him. Undoubtedly many of the spectators are dubious. Good-natured jabs and the like are met with a smirk or a wave. Outright mockery results in him staring at them until they decide they left an important experiment running in their friend's alchemy lab.
He has a brief discussion with a rules arbiter - about whether he must complete the contest visibly or not (and whether the arbiter can see invisible creatures) - happy to give his word that he will follow the rules to the letter regardless. If allowed either because the arbiter can see invisibility or takes his word, he does the course invisibly, so as to reveal fewer of his abilities.
When the crowd is nearly silent, Kssarress....moves
Crunching into the dirt on the far side of the course, Kssarress gives a nod to the arbiter before strolling off to the North Lawn. Slowly.
|
|
Ksarress performs very well at the obstacle course, perhaps too well. While one of the judges is willing to take his word that he actually completed the obstacles, another claims that he simply teleported from the beginning of the course to the end of the course then waited to reappear. The dispute prevents him from gaining any benefit from the competition.
|
|
Allied Offensive: A Pathfinder agent strikes a creature at the same time as the PC, increasing the damage dealt by one attack by 1d8 points. In addition, after the attack, the target is considered to be flanked until the beginning of the attacker’s next turn. In Subtier 10–11, this amount increases to 3d8 points.
Burst of Healing: A Pathfinder agent heals all of the PCs of 1d6 points of damage. In In Subtier 10–11, the amount healed increases to 5d6 points. Alternatively, in any subtier the agent can instead cast neutralize poison, remove curse, or remove disease with a caster level equal to the table’s APL (minimum 5).
Spellcasting Synergy: A Pathfinder agent casts a spell at the same time, increasing the save DC and caster level of a PC’s spell by 1. In Subtier 10–11, the PC’s caster level instead increases by 2.
Timely Inspiration: A Pathfinder agent provides the effects of a bard’s inspire courage bardic performance for 3 rounds. Subtier 10–11, the competence bonus is +3.
|
|
Genta, having collected her familiar, joins the others on the north lawn. "How'd you do?" she asks her friends.
When all of her adventuring friends have found each other prior to the speech, Genta casts message on them all - the better to share comments and flippant remarks about the address without disturbing the other listeners.
|
Across the grounds, a stridently raised voice can be heard. A finely dressed woman with blonde hair seems to be arguing with the arbiter of the obstacle challenge. The insults slung at the poor judge for not being able to employ such simple measures as a see invisible spell harken observers to comparisons with the Master of Spells. With a flourishing snarl as her form shifts to a golden furred kitsune, the argument ends.
|
|
"Huh. What was that all about?" Gaevus suddenly appears next to Genta, while he eyes the obstacle course. He carries a small plate with what seems like a miniature mountain of food--surely it must be more than half of the weak halfling's light load, and it must require an Acrobatics check to keep the heap on the platter. Clearly, it is time for first lunch!
Gaevus will report all the facts that he has heard to Genta and any of the rest of the party around, though perhaps less coherently than desired. The quiet sound of chewing over the message spell does little to help the team in deciphering that Jam-land-ray is not a figment of Gaevus's wild food-driven imagination, but is in fact Jalmeray.
|
|
"Wait, Gaevus got his fingers stuck where? I've got to try this..." Yitza dashes over to the trap area and irreverently begins sticking her fingers anywhere they will fit. Her fey luck holds for the first few traps, which she accidentally disables, before she finally gets sets off a trap. Despite (or perhaps because of) being covered in a layer of glitter from the explosion of the trap, Yitza is rather pleased with herself, even if she didn't complete the task.
|
|
You notice Elfira in the crowd turning into air and flying at top speed towards the windows of Skyreach raining fire from the sky onto the invaders. Foes stream forward in all directions as a select few venture-captains flow to Skyreach.
Sir Laribold Croome, an immaculately dressed Taldan nobleman scrambles for cover behind a table, which his halfling manservant helpfully flips onto its side. Catching his breath, the Taldan fumbles for his monocle before addressing the nearby Pathfinders. “Monsters and villains are attacking all over the grounds,” he states with perfect articulation, punctuated by a crossbow bolt that embeds itself in his makeshift barricade. “Spread out, patrol the grounds, and snuff out trouble as you find it. If you should discover any clues about what the devil is going on, report back here at the base of Skyreach.” He pulls his sword cane free from its sheath and raises it overhead. “Look alive, and show initiative,” he shouts before performing an elaborate dueling salute in the direction of an elephant and setting off after it.
|
|
"I'd suggest taking care of one of the larger areas, or where fewer Pathfinders are heading--after all, aren't we among some of the more powerful ones here?" Gaevus eyes his food, as if trying to justify his powerful appetite. "Still, if we can clear one area for some of the recruits to find safety, that'd be wise too, so if you think the northwest campus is good, I'll follow!"
|
|
The invading forces seem to have broken their way into Starhall. The outside of this large keep was designed with Azlanti architecture in mind. Two wings extend from the center structure, with a domed tower at the end of the east wing a smaller patinated bronze dome over the center hall. Starhall serves as an observatory, library, and museum for otherworldly and extraplanar objects and lore. Inside the main entrance is a library with several display cases of objects recovered from Numeria, as well as a curator’s desk and a staircase to the eastern tower.
As you enter the library, you notice 4 owl-like humanoids rapidly searching through the manuscripts. Upon your arrival, they look up from their work and assume defensive stances.