Unfortunately, that it not sufficient to break in the door.
So it takes you a few minutes and makes a fair amount of racket, but eventually you manage to break the door in.
A large sofa sits awkwardly near the entrance, facing toward the center of the room. Sets of chairs and tables are arranged throughout, and statues of grandiose gnomes occupy the corners of the room. A set of stairs at the northern edge of the chamber leads down. A second set of
stairs leads up to a second floor, presumably.
The rug area on the floor does radiate some magic.
You determine that it is a summoning circle, rather weakened by time. Entering the room will probably trigger it.
As the undead enters the room, three fire beetles answer the summons of the proximity trap.
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"Another battle!," Starling exclaims as the beetles appear and the group readies itself for combat. She draws her rapier, but keeps back for now and instead begins singing a Taldan song about an old adventurer fighting various monsters an evil wizard summoned to fight him. The tune has been copied endlessly for lesser local songs, but Starling believes the original words still retain some of their power.
Nago is the only one able to connect with a fire beetle, but he manages to slice it in half, right down the middle. It is dead.
The other two move in to attack.
The farther one attacks Nago, and it looks to be a nasty attack, but proves to be little more than a light wound.
The other one attacks Elrik, but is distracted by the zombie and misses it's attack.
That beetle is torn to shreds.
Nago quickly dispatches the final beetle.
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Dusklord nods in satisfaction as the combat ends.
"This specimen is most fascinating indeed. It shall be a shame to conclude my studies on it soon..." he laments.
After scribbling a few notes on its behavior and capabilities, the wizard begins looking around the room.
"Whatever became of this gnome...he has clearly not been here for some time."
While examining the room you note that despite the lack of dust on many surfaces, no one has been here for years. The carpet and sofa show virtually no wear.
The stairs leading upstairs are not complete, and it looks like the upstairs is not finished.
The stairs to the basement are filled with old newspapers.
You don't really find much else unusual here, but there are three rooms on this level to explore.
Perception
This chamber contains enough chairs, pillows, and desks to accommodate at least six visitors. Elvik's examination of the table in the southwest corner reveals a neatly penned letter: >> here <<. Underneath the letter is a hastily scrawled note in similar handwriting, which contains the name of Karina Clamp.
Meanwhile, Nago discovers two potions, sitting on the window sill.
potion of cure moderate wounds and potion of lesser restoration
So, what's the plan?
You open the double doors, and they lead to a large bedroom. In the bed lies Fimbrik peacefully sleeping, with two muscle-bound men guarding him. You now, of course, know this is simply illusion. You search the room, and find nothing of value to you.
The you cross the central room again to examine the last room. This study contains a round table surrounded by chairs, and the walls are replete with tome-laden bookshelves. Fimbrik is there, perusing his book collection. He pays no attention to you - another illusion that has degraded over time, it seems.
You believe you have found everything that may be important to your mission.
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As Starling follows the others out of the house, she shares her thoughts with them, "This gnome is clearly enamoured of himself. I cannot fathom why he would place so many illusions of himself in his house. Did he like watching himself doing all these activities, or was there some other reason behind this?"
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.
You find within the names on the wall:
Karina Clamp
Deceased 4330 AR
Sought to brave the Path of Aganhei.
Spoiled rations and wastefulness ended that dream.
Hollis "Evil Grin" Thorn
Deceased 4331 AR
Sought the jade idol of ten thousand faces.
Now but another sacrifice to the charau-ka of the Mwangi.
Doulgonlir Caskmail
Deceased 4332 AR
Enjoyed the many excesses of Katapesh.
Ended by a drug-induced hallucination.
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"Rations... were wastefully... sacrificed... to drug-induced hallucinations?"
"Ah, yes, I see! We must find some grain-based hallucinogen and take a fix here! It...it all makes sense now! See, I've been saying for years that they could be visions, but no one ever believed me! Well who's laughing now, Brother Maynard?" Aeleth rants as he shakes a fist in the air. A random bystander might think that he was already tripping out on something or other.
You do find the epitaphs of interest. Between the three of them, you notice the highlighted words seem to have some significance. Each epitaph refers to an aspirant that failed the Test of the Starstone, and the highlighted part of each inscription refers to that aspirant’s area of interest.
Karina Clamp - Spoiled rations and wastefulness refers to Plokkis.
Hollis "Evil Grin" Thorn - sacrifice refers to Demuren.
Doulgonlir Caskmail - drug-induced hallucination refers to Spuchasta.
You also recall that they are all honored in the Shrine of the Failed.
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Starling examines the inscriptions for a while, then turns to the others. "Dusklord is right, the underlined words are significant and seem to refer to each person's area of interest. Clamp's rations and waste refer to Plokkis, Thorn's sacrifice refers to Demuren and Caskmail's hallucination - envied by Aeleth I guess - refers to Spuchasta. All these people are also honored in the Shrine of the Fallen, so we'd probably want to go there, it might have the second half of this riddle!"
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Dusklord smiles diabolically as he recognizes a coded message.
"Hmmm...the plot thickens, does it not? We should go to the Shrine of the Fallen. Perhaps we will find some additional clues."
Turning to Aeleth, the wizard says "What an interesting mind you have. When you have departed this existence, I should very much like to examine your cadaver. Perhaps we could arrange for some kind of study to be done at the university. Would you be willing to sign a waiver? All of this is for science, of course..."
Erected centuries ago by an unknown organization, the Shrine of the Failed is a dour complex that pays homage to those who failed in their attempts to overcome the Test of the Starstone. The building houses numerous altars, each dedicated to a specific failed aspirant. Black-robed acolytes protect, clean, and maintain the halls as well as the few trinkets left behind by the aspirants.
The shrine is a stone edifice with several levels that contain altars to the failed aspirants. Most of the place is currently closed, but you can access an area through the basement annex via a large set of stairs at the side of the shrine.