The echoing sound of tiny screeches can be heard from the cracks that James is looking into. In the distance of the small light he can see hundreds of bats pour through the crack heading for the room.
|
With an exclamation of surprise, Sabert joins the rest of the pathfinders in the room, browsing about through the dust covered relics.
As the sounds of impending attack reach his sensitive ears, he whirls towards the sound, he easily recognizes what is going on. "BATS!" he calls out. "Don't let them bite you! Their saliva makes you bleed out!! Use area weapons to disperse the swarm!"
With this words, He begins singing a rousing song of battle, inspiring his companions to greater feats of courage.
He grabs a flask from his belt and prepares to throw it.
The bats continue their screeching advance on the room.
The bats swarm into the room in a chittering and flapping horde. Aura swings with her dagger and manages to kill a few, but for every one felled three or four take its place.
Though the bats swarm and consume Aura, Kelris, and James maintain their composure.
|
The cleric moves up, but off to the side so as not to get in the way of his fellow elven caster. He reaches into his back and retrieves a tourc along with his flint and steel to spark it. I would think some of these more potent potables would erupt into flame if given the right fuse.
"Keep them distracted! Working on a solution, but it may take a bit!'
Heryn looks inside and sees the swarms of bats causing a ruckus. She quickly bolts over the board and towards the stairs calling behind her back, "I'll go grab some more help!"
The bats continue their chittering and flapping attack, heedless of James' words.
Sabert's flask explodes within the clustered bats, the fire catching on several and ensuring they will continue to burn.
The bat swarm follows James and continue to pester him.
The bats do their best to avoid the flames, but get caught and light up anyways. The smell of scorched flesh and smoke inhabit the room, though a very slight air current allows it to dissipate over time.
Shortly after the swarm is destroyed Heryn comes back with Janira and other pathfinders for back-up. "Oh," is all she can say. Janira and the others offer to heal any wounded in the attack and leave you to your discovery.
The papers chronicle the personal exploits of Selmius Foster, a famous Pathfinder whose name you recognize from your training as Pathfinder agents. Most of Foster’s more infamous adventures appear here in varying amounts of detail, but it is evident there is another investigation he had been pursuing before he died: the lost records of a Society agent named Eylysia. Two notes in particular talk about her:
|
"It looks like getting simple bottle of Wine has turned more fruitful. In my home country secrets were kept closely guarded because they could have fatal consequences if they saw the light of day."
Kelris will go and peer down the fissure he was guarding before.
"Do we wish to explore the areas down here?"
|
"So, we should probably start by gathering some information about the 3 people listed here" she points at the note written by Adolphus. "After that, we'll see where we should go from there. Either way, these papers should be taken to the lodge, so that they can be stored properly." With that, Aura collects the two pertinent notes and puts those in her pack, then collects the rest of the papers and puts them into a sack. On the way out, she will purchase the cheapest wine they have in stock here (the stuff they save for people they want to leave) and will later drop it off with Venture Captain Dreng.
|
|
Sabert dusts off his hands as the last of the bat swarm goes crispy and then rejoins his companions. "Great job, all! Marvelously done!"
When he sees the papers, he gives an exclamation of surprise. "False Pathfinders written on the Wall of names, a dwarf with secrets in his tomb, and a recalcitrant gnome.. this sounds like the beginning of a bad joke!"
Turning back to Aura and Kelris, Sabert chimes in "Well, It seems that may be our best start. Lets head to the Wall of Names!"
Exploring the tunnels reveals multiple dead ends and a cave in from the direction the swarm of bats came.
Venture-Captain Dreng is not on the street corner where you left him, though you do find him in his office at the Grand Lodge. Dreng takes the proffered bottle and keeps it in its bag, explaining he'll be going out on the street again soon. He takes a deep swig of the bottle and immediately bursts out coughing. He manages a very rough, "Smooooooth" with tears streaming down his face before showing great interest in the papers dropped off. "I'll have other agents start decrypting and collating the information for comparison against published Chronicles. But this mystery about Eylysia is yours."
To Sabert's knowledge, Fimbrik is a long standing member of the Arcanamirium, though he hasn't been in the public eye for some time.
Created in 4330 AR, the Wall of Names resides on the grounds of the Grand Lodge in Absalom. The monument is a curving wall 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.
Finding the three names and their epitaphs takes some time, but they are all readily available.
|
|
Saber leads the team through town to the wall, explaining its history and the meanings behind the different plaques.
"This is odd though.. look here. There are phrases underlined that shouldn't be.."
-Posted with Wayfinder
The Shrine of the Failed is not too far from the Grand Lodge, and you are able to reach it in about 20 minutes. The courtyard outside the shrine is abuzz with people whispering to each other excitedly.
A liveried attendant greets you just outside the shrine, "Yes, how may I help you gentle folk today?"
|
|
"We're just here to pay our respects to those who have tried and failed to take the test. We're also here learning something of the history of our great city. While we appreciate your help, I'm sure that you have duties that you'd much rather be attending to, and I give you my word that we won't bother any of the displays."
The attendant shrugs and says, "Very well. Take as much time as you need, though if you find yourself staying until this evening most everyone will be gone to watch Sir Reinhardt."
The shrine itself is an enormous stone edifice with multiple levels rising up to the sky. It also looks like there is a basement level based on the stairs off to the right side leading downwards.
The attendant shakes their head, "No. All of us reside in our own homes, though we do typically have all day coverage for cleaning and helping visitors."
This monumental chamber stretches eighty feet from end to end, with a ceiling suspended thirty feet from the floor by great pillars. Seven arched passages lead to humble rooms, each of which contains a polished stone altar dedicated to one of the failed aspirants who attempted the Test of the Starstone.
Each of these chambers contains a small stone altar to one of the failed aspirants. Each altar stands upon a raised dais and bears a small brass nameplate identifying the aspirant and the would-be-god’s areas of interest.
In the south-west chamber resides the altar to The Muted God (Silence and Serenity), in the north-west chamber resides the altar to Oggo (Sixteen Poses), and in the middle western chamber resides the altar to Zimpar (Screaming Fear).