Dino Jumps up and bites the spider, hanging on long enough to swipe with both claws, which manage to hurt the spider greatly, but not kill it. The dino's attacks however places it right in Sirius' way, and he doesn't get a good swing the spider, but still does a great job just barely missing.
The spider shakes off dino as it retreats into the shadows before firing a shot of web at the dino. This time covering it up with web quite nicely.
Amaron manages to break out of the webs, and Taizen, having shifted over to help, casts Guidance on him.
The other spider shoots web at Taizen, entangling him in a few strands of web as well.
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One spider, severely injured, looks to shoot a web at the dinosaur, but the latter is too quick. With a few flashes of its claws, it leaves the offender in a twitching heap, missing several legs. Amaron swings his blade at the remaining arachnid, but it barely leaps out of the way, firing at Kaizen. The tengu is left stuck in its web, despite his efforts to free himself.
At the same time, the door to the cellar crashes open once more and P'aqha bursts in. A sixth sense warned her of danger to her allies after she left, bringing her back to their aid!
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P'aqha will remove a vial of alchemist's fire, and wait for the others that are all around the spider to act, fearful of burning some of her comrades.
She is ready to heal whoever needs it.
Atuq, her arctic fox with the white pelt, remains close to her, ready to bite if the spider ever moves out of the group.
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This time, Sirius guides his bardiche true and strong - right into the spider. At the same moment, Raibert's second axe hits, causing the remaining arachnid to keel over backward with a mild spray of blood.
With the spiders killed, the team is able to peruse the desk. On top of it are the notes Sirius saw just before the attack, all yellowed with age. Of course, any agent trained in the Grand Lodge would know of Selmius Foster! One of the founding members of the Society, most of Foster's exploits and adventures are written in many a Pathfinder Chronicles, and on papers inside the desk. More importantly, however, are these notes. One is from Foster himself, detailing his thoughts on an enigmatic Pathfinder named Eylysia, the other apparently from one of his students, who seemed to have taken up his late mentor's investigation. Like many other bits of information, lost over the centuries - until now! Heryn has quickly made her way across the plank and down to you, now echoing perhaps exactly your thoughts. "I thought you were here for a bottle of wine...."
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"Can we cut Taizen out? Many thanks, exterminators." the Tengu pleads with a beaky smile. After being released he goes over the letters with the others.
He chirps in delight as the mystery deepens. "We have the wine but this is real Pathfinder work, friends. Can we visit the gnome? I do enjoy gnome companions!"
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The Wall of Names is a curving monument of black glass that stands atop a small hill at the western edge of the lodge’s grounds. Trees surround the hill, providing ample shade and privacy for those visiting the wall to remember fallen comrades. Carved into the wall are the name and date of death of every Pathfinder killed in the course of duty since the wall’s construction, and most entries also include a sentence or two summarizing either the agent’s greatest accomplishments or how she died.
The Wall, as most agents-in-training are told, was created in 4330 AR. This makes the task of finding the three 'Pathfinders' all the easier, as their names lie nearly at the start of the long line, all in a row. Why, Selmius Foster is immortalized in his place not ten entries after the trio! While it seems there is little information to go on, no other epitaph in the vicinity of these has any underlined words. Perhaps there is a clue in that? Your other leads could also yield additional information.
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Venusia looks at the names, and thinks hard, suddenly tapping her forehead: 'Yes, of course! These are the ones who tried to ascend to godhood by using the Starstone, but were not as lucky as Aroden. They died trying... Maybe we should head over to the Starstone Temple, for there is a Shrine of the Failed there, which might have more information on these poor deceased... failures".
As Raibert takes little rubbings of the inscriptions, Venusia nods at him: "Great idea!" She takes out some parchment and inkpen and sketches this part of the wall.
"Shall we head to the Temple?"
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Taizen spends much time reading the names and running his palms across the monument in contemplation. Noticing the odd placement of the names but unsure what it means.
"So many names! How sad...let us not join them for some time.' the tengu quietly speaks unlike his normal cheer but he shakes it off and nods with P'aqha and her wealth of information.
"Oh I agree! You are certainly on the right track. These souls ran their lifes path even unto the end. The temple it is."
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The Starstone Cathedral is a grand building, although few have seen the inside and fewer are still alive, the only ones being the Ascended. It seems perfectly symmetrical from the outside, with grand arches on all sides and completely surrounded by a seemingly bottomless pit. There are doors, but no walkways over the massive chasm, just the first of many incredible challenges. Many believe it to look different inside, likely bigger, the better to house tests befitting would-be gods.
By comparison, the Shrine of the Failed is a drab affair. A squat slab of a building, quite large but nowhere near as fancy. At least it is well maintained. This is through the joint efforts of several faiths, namely those of the Ascended Pantheon, Aroden, and Pharasma, as well as the tiny Cults of the Failed. You make your way to the entrance to the Shrine, noticing the street is significantly more crowded than usual, but are stopped at the door by a harried-looking man.
"Sorry, not accepting visitors to the Shrine right now, nor applicants for the Test," he rambles, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. "I had no idea operating this place was such work! Working around the clock over one Aspirant, and we've never seen the inside of our temple! But I'm being rude," he adds before pausing for a moment, seeming to pause more for the benefit of his breath than that of tact. "Earlier today we had some idiot crusader here to take the Test. Turns out if you want to be written up in the Shrine if - when you fail, it's a surprising amount of work for us. Plus, word already got out to the public, and they're swarming the streets even more than usual. Please, come back later. You should have normal access then, maybe catch a glimpse of the poor sap as he plunges to his death."
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The man seems to bow in gratitude, though it's a bit hard to tell given how far his back is already bent. "Thank you, Miss, for the offer. But I'm not on guard duty, we've got plenty there. I do documentation and planning, used to be a lot more cushy. Never had an Aspirant apply in my time on the job, I've just done light maintenance and organization until now! You can come in in a few hours, don't worry."
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It does not take long to reach your next destination. From what Foster's letter described, Arkath the stonemason was interred in a mausoleum on a plot of land by Eastgate. This site is also the resting place of a few others rich enough to pay for land and protection from the church of Abadar. Currently, one such clergyman stands guarding the tombs, his faith made obvious by the likeness of a giant key on his gleaming breastplate.
One could try to sneak past him into Arkath's tomb, which is the largest and grandest. However, the gate is very old and looks to creak loudly at the slightest touch. Alternatively, Abadarans are usually susceptible to honeyed words, so long as they don't break the law, or 'donations' should that fail.
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P'aqha tries to remember any details she knows about the church of Abadar that might help in discussing with this clergyman--
--and then she talks with the man himself, adding any snippets she might have remembered--
--"Ah, we are law-abiding citizens here to come pay tribute to some revered ones in these tombs, and have little time to do so, thus the strange time. We would like to know all the rules, for we like to have guidelines to abide be. It is such a help in life to follow nice strict regulations. Oh, my, does that big door squeak and squeal, we could repair it or, well, contribute to some fund to have someone look into it?"
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Raibert will try to draw the Abadran into a discussion about architecture.
Yeah me and my friends here are what you would call architecture enthusiasts here to see the Tomb of Arkath, wanted to take a close look at it. Apparently he might have had some kind of hidden message put onto his sarcophagus.
He then launches into a long diatribe about how things are built out of wood trying to give the group a chance to look at the tomb without him looking too close.
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The priest hesitates for a moment, stroking his chin, but sees you mean no harm. "In that case, please, proceed," he replies slowly. "I am Kefilwe, so you know. If you do not mind, I will accompany you inside to make sure you keep these promises." With that, he ushers the team inside the large mausoleum.
The interior is surprisingly bare. A few ornate rugs and other such decorations are set around a large sarcophagus. Kefilwe opens it with a spell, to reveal the long-dead skeleton of Arkath. Nothing seems amiss or out of the ordinary, save for a small silver coin in his mouth. "I do not see what this is doing here, though I have never opened Arkath's coffin before either," Kefilwe notes in his monotone's version of surprise.
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"Oh that is indeed odd. A skeleton does not need coin!" Taizen chirps suspiciously while waving his hand.
Oooh this isn't normal. I should share the information. I hope the guard does not get upset.
The tengu looks at the group and back at the coin before speaking..."The coin is surely magical but I am not sure the significance of it. Perhaps one of my companions can investigate it closer?"
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"I have been trained to unravel the inner workings of magic, but I did not prepare such a spell today," Kefilwe admits. He looks rather conflicted about the situation, but comes to a neutral decision. "You can take it, bring it to someone who can discern its properties. However, it would be best if you could return it afterward."