The Masters of Golarion

Game Master tumbler

Well, this is most interesting. Think we'll learn who was watching through Storm's eyes? Validk glances at the others, looks to the back of the room and sees that his companion Orsenn appears to be trapped in the time freeze.

Grabbing an apple from the bowl on the table, Validk takes a nimble hop onto the railing and peers down at the floor 30 feet below. Taking a bite from the apple he steps across the chasm and into the portal.

"Perhaps. Whoever it was has proven to be extremely hard to track. Multiple Communes have only yielded vague results," adds a new voice to the conversation. Once everyone inevitably looks down, they see a tiny celestial squirrel with light blue fur looking at the portal. She glances upward and gives the other Heroes a small wave of her paw. "Fancy meeting you all again. Mother sent me a vision to come here."

It had been a long time since someone called Jacob a hero, much less a portal of pure light. He had been behind a bench so long, he felt unaccustomed to the experience, almost as though the words were an old sweater that didn't quite fit.

He liked how it returned to him.

As if he had an extra kick in his metaphorical step, he floated over to the portal. "Maybe not, but my bet is that whatever is past that portal is just as curious as we are! Seems our duties aren't over just quite yet!"

"How about that? Oh, hello Nagato! Time to see what the other side holds."

With that, Katja floats up off the balacony and through the portal.

Before she departs with the rest of her allies, Nagato shifts back to her Samsaran for a brief moment. She quickly withdraws two magic rods from her Handy Haversack and promptly uses them to lengthen the duration of some spells that she casts on herself. Once sufficiently prepared, Nagato stores her gear, shifts into the form of a blue-furred celestial dire tiger, and cautiously follows the rest of Golarion's Finest into the unknown.

In addition to her daily long-term buffs, Nagato casts Extended Resist Energy (Fire), Extended Strong Jaw, and Extended Barkskin all at CL 27.

I'm going to assume that Jacob can identify those spells, as he's currently got a +39 spellcraft modifier

"Do you really think all that's necessary, Nagato? At least the Resist Energy seems a tad superfluous." However, Jacob did ponder about how whatever conjured the portal would have slowed time for everything around them as well. Such a sort of power was beyond anything he had even read about. His eagerness outpaced his caution as he floated through the portal, hoping to find out who would go through all the trouble to set up this kind of meeting.

The four step through the portal in turn. They find themselves on a small platform with a banister at waist height around them. The wood banister has been polished until it seems to shine with its own golden glow.

The portal behind them seems muted, toned down. It's still there, but no longer the most significant thing in the room.

The platform is centered in a large room, the vaulted ceiling is over a hundred feet overhead, easily dwarfing the small platform. The back wall is polished marble inlay-ed in patterns across the walls. Thick columns of worked marble rise to support the roof overhead.

Before the heroes rises a long curved desk of deep mahogany. Easily twenty feet in height, the desk holds a dozen individuals. Behind it, another tiered desk, and behind that a third.

Several dozen beings are arrayed in the room. If you can make a DC 25 know:religion check, you recognize everyone here, if not immediately, by association.

The Accidental Herald Thias, Andoletta, Basileus, Bryla, Charlabu, The Knight of the Vineyard Luthier, The Lawgiver, Menotherian, The Old Man, Peace Through Vigilance, Saint Lymirin, Scorchbark, Threv, Valani, and many more.

Many conversations are taking place among the assembled, many of them heated.

The massive statuesque construct formed of gold and steel raises a large gavel and lightly taps the counter before him. A deep retort rumbles out from the impact, silencing the conversations. The Lawgiver's gravelly voice booms as he speaks. Celestial This convocation is now called to order.

The construct stares down at the party, Celestial These are the four that have responded to the summons. As noted in the documents and scry records, a Spawn of Rovagug was awakened on Golarion Alpha 13k1. Determination of the parties responsible has been unsuccessful. Additional awakenings occurred on Nibiru Alpha 12x5 and Eridanus Beta 4j95. Eridanus Bet has been devastated.

Celestial Your actions have been recorded in the Great Library.

A new, younger voice, as if speaking in your own language calls forth Infernal Will you serve? The time of the Awakening is near! At this many of the assembled begin shouting, drowning each other out.

The Lawgiver taps his gavel, again sending out a resonating boom. Celestial Irrelevant! You are asked! Will you save your Golarion?

The convene waits silently for your response.

Jacob couldn't even begin to fathom what he was seeing. He wasn't aware of all the figures before him, but he did know of at least one or two. Thias. Thias herself was overseeing parts of this court. He nearly had a double take. However, the revelation of the major players of this meeting was still nothing compared to the meeting itself.

"Pardon me, but, did they happen to say there were more Spawn waking up?! How many Spawn did Rovagug even sire?" His head drooped. Containing the first was no easy task, and even then they had a home field advantage. Each of the team were already aware of the destruction a single one wrought. Even on Golarion, if it chose to hit land in a more populated area, the loss of life would be unparalleled. Something had to be done. But at that moment, Jacob wished someone else could do the job, what with the insurmountable task this council of heralds placed upon them. He was rusty in his Celestial, mostly having read it more from books than speaking it in his own tongue, yet he still attempted to converse with these people on their own terms.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Or is it group? Crew?" Off to a great start, he lumbered on in what he was almost certain was a very broken dialect.

"We would love to save Golarion. But we already had a heap of trouble doing that once. How are we going to exactly stop the spawn of the rough beast on a large scale? Just containing the first wasn't exactly what one would call simple."

Knowledge: Religion: 1d20 + 35 ⇒ (1) + 35 = 36

Katja slowly looks at each person in obvious awe. In deference to them, she bows her head.

"I am honored."

Once the lawgiver has spoken she carefully weighs the question.

"I will save Golarion. I live to serve."

Validk tries to take in the assembled personages. In a side whisper to the others, Interesting, there's a commonality here. Everyone over there serves a rightuous purpose. Validk waves his hand to the right, then to the left and those are all adherents of order. Look carefully and you can see where there are some clashes. Note Asmodeous' herald is sitting a ways away from Erastil's servant.

Validk quirks an eyebrow as Jacob stumbles over his response to the conclave. Happy to see you are finally picking up Infernal, I told you it would come in handy! It's a conclave... hmmm

Validk reaches up and tugs on a ribbon tying his hair back while he mutters under his breath a few times. Wake up! Where did I read something about an Alpha planet? Uh huh, really? Really!

Thought so. Guys, I don't know what or where Nibiru or Eridanus are. But I read something years ago in an old treatise from Gybhil the Traveler. Few centuries ago he was a planes walker. He had a bard with him for a few years recording tales of his journeys. I think the 'Society' has the original journal. Anyway, one of his last recorded journeys allegedly had him journey through a rift to a Golarion that was, different. Many of the same people, same places. But a different colored building, a king that was right handed instead of left handed. Little things. For years he thought he was going bonkers. He finally realized that there is more than one Golarion. He managed to build a construct that could open a rift for him to return to the right Golarion. The construct blew up as he and the bard went through. A year later, he disappeared. I'm guessing that Eridanus is in our universe and Nibiru is in a second universe.

Realizing that he has been rather rudely talking to his companions, Validk turns back to the conclave My apologies! This is a bit much for mortals such as us. As my companion Ms. Silverscale stated, I am honored to assist. But what can we do? A Spawn is nigh indestructible.

"I think I'm aware of a few planetary bodies, but alternate worlds, Val?" The mage stroked his chin. "I don't know, it seems a bit strange to me. But not terribly impossible compared to a mass awakening of the Rough Beast's bastards."

His tounge turned back to Celestial for the council. "Is there any help we could get for such a quest? It seems to be the general consensus on our part that the spirit is willing, but the odds are stacked."

"One can never be too careful, Jacob."

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 20 = 31

While not exactly the most knowledgeable in religion among Golarion's elite, Nagato recognizes the various heralds present. In particular, she gives a slight bow to The Old Man. Truth be told, the Oldest Samsaran has no idea if Irori sent her the visions or if the Essence of the Planet herself did. Whatever the case, Nagato readily agrees like the rest of her friends.

"I too will gladly assist in saving Mother Golarion. However, I do have to ask if you noble individuals have any information for us to more efficiently combat the beasts. Sealing them like we did Storm is not exactly the most efficient way to do so."

Nagato the Samsaran Tiger turns to Valdik as the old wizard tells them about alternate Golarions. "Would the names not be reversed? They mention Eridanus Beta being devastated as if the entire planet suffered. While Golthanos did significant damage to part of Andorran, we sealed it before it could do anything worse."

"I'm not exactly sure why they would be reversed, necessarily. But I think this all means that we're the only ones that have stopped a Spawn. Throughout several iterations of universes. Only reason I see that Eridanus was destroyed was that we weren't there." Jacob let out a sigh at the knowledge that he had come to realize.

"Seems to me that this council isn't just tasking us with the fate of life on Golarion as we know it. This is the fate of all life. The only thing between the Spawn and their father is us. And if Rovagug is allowed to escape, then destruction will be loosed on the entire universe. Probably all of them, considering how these people are talking."

"As much as I hate to jump in on a wing and a prayer, I think we can't help but pledge ourselves to this cause. I just hope whatever this council bestows on us can help."

+++++
Nagato hears a voice speaking to him, looking up he sees The Old Man wink. Your quest of enlightenment had been long and fruitful, "Eternal" though it is not. Your recent actions have drawn attention. Facing down a Spawn without preparation was most interesting. Should you choose to walk this path, you will find your quest transcending many boundaries. What you know will be tested, crushed, and rebuilt.

The Old Man serenely slides a hand into his robe. Pulling his closed fist out, he gently opens it to reveal a small roundish stone. The stone disappears from his fist and Nagato feels a slight shift of weight in his left pocket. Contemplate the Shifu when you return. It will guide you to Sanctuary of Stones. To return you must find Borobudur.

+++++

A five winged, regally adorned lady sets a cup in mid air, as it floats she reaches behind and plucks two large feathers from her wings, one white, one black. From a pocket she draws forth a small bundle of barley and wheat stalks heavily laden with seeds. Pulling a strip of leather from a pouch she quickly ties the items together, forming a paired headband.

With a flap of her wings, she glides down to the floor and approaches the platform. Kneeling, to bring her to eye level with the heroes, she reaches her arm through an invisible screen that shimmers around her hand and presents the headband to Jacob. Your actions were reckless. Your planning was brief. Had you failed, Golarion may have been devastated, as was Eridanus. She grins at Jacob, you prevailed. And for a good greater than your own. May this small token be of benefit when your foot knows not where next to rest. We know not where your quests will take you, nor what path you should take. Those with prescience are finding the future too fragmented to see. This was not the time for his awakening. Go, with the blessing of the Accidental.

+++++
Typically adorned in elegant yet functional armor, a ghaele azata floats down to the floor as Thias returns to her seat. Sivanah may not enter these halls. She understands the imbalance and threat that greets us all. As such, Shelyn has agreed that I may act as her emissary. When all seems hopeless and hatred abounds, then this symbol will point the way. She hands over a small, intricately carved metallic disk of three spirals, twisted and entwined.

Perception: 1d20 + 37 ⇒ (11) + 37 = 48

It was strange that his Arcane Sight barely penetrated the platform, but this fact was soon secondary to the gift that Thias was granting him. In total awe, Jacob grasped the trinket from the Accidental Herald. For the first time in his life, he was at a complete loss for words. His normally bombastic and enthusiastic demeanor had diminished, temporarily, to the point where all he could muster was a simple "Thank you." The whole experience was beginning to soak further to him. A gift from divinity was more than he had ever expected in his lifetime. He placed the headband over his own creation, despite the latter being adorned with copper and precious gems. He wasn't sure just how he would be tested to earn such a trinket, but he began feeling a rising courage within him to step up to his new role.

Perception: 1d20 + 48 ⇒ (8) + 48 = 56

"I am flattered that a lowly dragon such as myself has been singled out for such a great honor. My only request is some form of assistance to aid in defeating such threats."

Katja again bows her head in deference.

After what felt like an eternity, Jake asked a small question of the council.

"So will we look for more threats to Golarion? Or will they find us?"

My apologies, several crisis at work had me losing three prior attempts at this post.

A star dappled lillend slithers down the aisle and raises herself up before Katja. I don't generally get involved in conflicts, prefering to stick with Inspiring music among mortals. However, the devestation caused by Storm was discordant. As you have heard, this is but the first stanza of a greater play. This convocation has determined that many eyes and ears will be needed to learn from whence these actions originate.

The black ribbbons that seem to barely adorn Sorrowbrand shift as she reaches into one of the ribbons and pulls forth a small wind flute. A vision revealed that such an instrument as this may be of use. We know not when, only that when you can not hear your own heartbeat you will find sollace with the sound of the sunrising.

After each of you receives a token and a vague hint of its use the convocation quickly moves on.

As a discussion of boundaries in an obscure plane erupts between two groups of beings, Lawgiver strikes his gavel and states It is done.

Silence falls over your platform and the portal opens before you. As you return to your seats in the theater, the sounds of life fade in, as life returns to a normal speed.

You feel different, Somehow energized. Something about that experience has empowered you. Looking at the others it's apparent that they are somehow altered, and yet you can't point to any one thing that is different.

And thus begins your ascension.

++++++
Jacob realized he had been gathering wool while talking with Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin. The size of this disturbance in Rahadoum certainly sounded like it was big enough to be more than a natural occurrence. Maybe it was the earth's attempt to re-balance magic. Rahadoum did restrict a lot fo practicing magic within its borders.

Katja had paused as she surveyed the buried city of Manaket and reflected on the meeting she had last week.

Jacob snapped back into things. His mind had been playing tricks on him since the council last week. But turning his attention back to the task at hand, he had wondered that the buried city may be the latest victim of a bigger and more sinister scheme. He could only hope to get there faster. He could think of one spell, but he never bothered to learn it. Since he learned Greater Teleport, he never thought he'd need something like Shadow Walk. He wished hard that he had focused on that earlier. What a difference that would make, cutting his time even further und-

A 6th level Illusion spell. Under the Shadow subschool. Includes verbal and somatic components of...

Like a flash of inspiration, the details of Shadow Walk rushed to his brain. He turned to the Venture Captain, uncertain if someone was pulling one over on him or if this was a side effect of the gifts. "Did you hear that?" When VC Valsin stared at him as though he grew an extra head, he knew it had to have been part of Thias's blessing. "Sorry to make you do this, Captain, but I think you should cancel that ship. I'll be at the city within the day!".

Before the instructions faded from his memory, he made it to a dark enough path. Another day and he thought he may be going crazy. Now, with things like rampaging Spawn and ascensions from heralds, it didn't seem all that impossible. At least, that's what he told himself. He wasn't entirely certain if the movements and incantations would work for him, but as he cast the spell he did not know, he felt something drain from him. Not a spell slot, but something he wasn't quite used to yet. However, there were enough distractions to take care of. The shifting shadows between planes called out a path to him. If he couldn't understand what was had happened along this journey, he may find more answers at the city of Manaket.

As he reached the sandy mound of what used to be a city, he began surveying the scene. His eyes, permanently enhanced by Arcane Sight scanned the area for any trail of magic that could lead to whoever would do such a thing.

rewind

Jacob found the transition to the shadow plane unnerving. Shadow Absalom was well known as the largest settlement in the shadowy world that bordered the material realm and the ethereal. As Jacob takes the first few strides along that tenuous border between the mortal and shadow planes Shadow Absalom falls behind. Fortunately most of the journey is across the inner sea. Striding along over the water Jacob occasionally glimpses a flash as he passes a boat in the mortal realm. Overlayed with that fleeting sight he sees several malevolent disturbances, areas where the integrity of the plane is disturbed, corrupted.

Several of these areas seem to veer towards Jacob as he continues on his journey. Fortunately they do not appear to be gaining on him.

As his journey reaches the 10 hour mark, Jacob starts looking ahead for the shores of Rahadoum. Jacob sees what looks like a maelstrom of planar energy. As he draws closer and closer it gives more and more of an appearance of a great storm raging on the shadow and material planes.

Far before his spell should have ended, Jacob finds himself shunted from the shadow plane to the material plane. He has a moment to glimpse a large storm ravaging the coast, with a curious area calmed, about where Manaket should be. He's only a mile or so from shore when he realizes that he is a mile from shore.

splash

[ooc]Along with teleportation magic, it is also now apparent that planar magic is being affected by the disturbance.

The voice he had heard earlier came back to him, but this time all it told him was to "Give up the fear". Though he wasn't used to shades that seemed attracted to his presence. He quickened his pace, though the spell kept him at a constant velocity.

However, he had become so preoccupied with his surroundings and the threats of the shadow plane, he didn't realize when the spell suddenly ended. He didn't quite realize he was in the middle of the ocean until the water reached his neck. The mage thrashed around in the water a bit before remembering that he still had the effects of Overland Flight upon him. The dip in the drink, however brief, still filled the extradimensional pockets of his robes with salt water. As he floated towards the storm, he had dripped brine from his damp clothes all the way to shore. Such a trip was certainly going less than fair.

He assumed that the anomaly of the storm would hold some sort of answers, but he didn't quite understand who he would find controlling the weather at it's center.

I chose option #4. I'll write it up soon.

Nagato wakes from a restless sleep covered in sweat. It's been quite some time since he had a vision from Irori. The details are quickly fading from his conscious memory.

An image of a large well armed caravan, a sand storm, and then only a few fragments of wood and cloth.

A village nestled in desert sand at the base of a rocky cliff, deserted.

An oasis, dried up, the plants desiccated husks.

After the unexpected visit to the convocation,it's obvious that Nagato has been tasked to look into these things. That Irori would show this, considering the events were so obviously in Rahadoum, was surprising. Divine magic had been outlawed from Rahadoum for over 2100 years. It was well known in some circles that a divine cold war often operated in Azir.

It had taken some time for the message to finally reach one of my agents and get to me. An old friend, Rashidi, a wizard of median capabilities that I met at a convention some time ago has sent the letter. The cover letter was pretty innocuous, but I knew the likely password to unlock the secret pages and read the real message. I had forgotten that he was at the Occularium in Manaket.

I hope this letter finds you well. I know how you like to delve into mysteries, and I have one for you. Over the last few weeks trade has dropped markedly. We haven't heard from two of our largest gem mines in that time. Several patrols of the Pure Legion have also failed to return.
Most concerned is an expedition sent out by the Occularium six days ago. My wife, Jendayi was with the expedition. They were traveling across the desert to the Napsune Mountains to search for Jistkan city of River of Sands. Her last sending was two days ago. I fear that there is something unnatural brewing in the desert. Your assistance would be most appreciated.

Surprised at the request for help as our relationship wasn't that close, more of a passing acquaintance, but in light of that convocation last week...

Pack up Orsenn! We're going to Rahadoum.

Katja continues looking around to survey the damage while hoping to find anything that might help discover what caused such devastation.

"This is most distressing. Not much to find here but sand, sand, and more sand and....Wait, what's that?"

Hearing a disturbance a small ways off she moves to investigate. Making her way through the fog she practically falls on someone on a mound of sand.

"Jacob? What in blazes are you doing down there? I could have crushed you! Oh, and welcome to Manaket. Now home to tons of sand. It's everywhere, get used to it!"

If the winds still pose any problem Katja will then use Control Winds to keep a 1040' square area calm.

Rustling through his pockets, everything he had was drenched with seawater. Jacob's robes had drenched him to the bone, his pocketwatch had taken on too much water to function properly, and everything paper based on him had the consistency of sackcloth. With the extradimensional space of his robes having taken in so much water, he wasn't sure when he would stop dripping, much less when his gear would start to dry. All in all, this was not a red letter day for him.

However, it wasn't until he found himself underfoot an ancient dragon that it dawned upon him that he had even reached the shore.

"Katja? I knew that the bubble in the storm was something of note. Didn't think I'd see you again so soon." He surveyed the scene. Sand as far as the eye could see. Outside of the near quarter mile radius, Jake could tell the winds were picking up. "It's a damned shame. This town used to be quite something to look at. Come on, let's see if we can find anything out of the ordinary."

So far, Jacob's permanent spell hadn't picked up any magical auras. He would need to search harder if he wanted to find a reason for the city's destruction.

The city's destruction was caused by lots of sand being blown into it in a relatively short period of time.

extra dimensional pockets wont fill with water unless you are opening them up while under water. And with something like a handy haversack where you can reach in and grab the item you want that is always on top, I'd rule that you have to want to get water into it. Portable holes and bags of holding still get water in them if you open one up though.

Probably, but it's fun as a gag to get Jake disgruntled.

"I think question one would be 'Where did all this sand even come from?' I'd like to get a look from above, maybe check the winds out, Kat. Plus, VC Valsin told me about a disappearance of Captain Obo that had to do with a 'River of Sand' somewhere roughly southeast of here. I'm starting to think there may be a connection. May be best to get moving."

Well boss, are we there yet? Orsenn grins at Vladik as the teleportation spell fails.

Shut up, or I'll turn you into a toad, again. There is something warding the area from teleportation, we'll have to jump in blindly.

Flipping through a few charts and maps, Validk studies a map of Rahadoum, Manaket is the closest major settlement, I'll look to get us off shore a bit and see what happens from there.

Walking outside, Validk spends a few minutes to summon a pair of phantasmal steeds. Let's ride! Once he and Orsenn are in the saddle, Validk casts greater teleport, aiming for 20 miles off shore from Manaket.

Arriving over the water, the steeds float in the air, as Orsenn and Validk survey their surroundings. That way boss, towards the big storm on the horizon.

Turning south the two ride their steeds above the waves. As they approach, they see a large area of calm in the middle of the storm wall. Orsenn, that isn't a natural storm, it looks like it is blowing off shore all along the coast. And that calmed area is most definitely not natural. Looks like someone is here already.

An hour later the two are close enough to see a large fog bank not being blown away by the sand storm. Shifting to fly above the fog the two survey where Manaket should be.

Validk and Orsenn can't see in or through the fog. Consider they have arrived shortly after Jacob (can he see through fog?).

Looking about Katja seems to have a sudden realization about something.

"You can't see in this stuff. I'll change it. Then we can find out what is happening around here."

Changing the weather to lift the fog.

The mage brushed off some of the excess sand that had stuck to him as the dragoness touched down. "Thank you, Katja, I appreciate it. In the meantime, let's get started with getting a look around."

As the fog started to clear, the two started to search for any sign of life or magic in the ruins of the city. To aid them, Jake called forth a league of glowing orbs, tasked to find living people or powerful magic and return back to him. Surely something had to have survived to help them find the River of Sand. However, probably the largest find was one not from the city itself, but the sea.

"Well I'll be. Looks like we may have company, Kat."

Caster Level from Ioun Stone resonance: 1d4 + 26 ⇒ (4) + 26 = 30

Greater Prying Eyes: 1d4 + 30 ⇒ (3) + 30 = 33

Jacob is casting Greater Prying Eyes here. From all the bonuses, 33 eyes should be running about looking for life or anything obviously magical. The eyes don't have access to Jacob's Arcane Sight but they do have True Seeing.

Jacob finishes casting his spell and a plethora of eyeballs explode from his head, flying off in all directions.

May as well get comfortable, over the course of the next few hours the orbs are occasionally seen zipping back and forth as they search within a one-mile radius of Jacob.

Shortly after the eyes take off, Katja and Jacob see a shadow approaching them, looking up, they see two horses with mounted riders flying through the air, circling as they come in to hover near.

The eyes have a duration of 28 hours, were told to find any people or obvious sources of magic, and then return.
True seeing will reveal illusions, but without a detect magic aura's are not seen. Thus the eyes can't identify something as magical.

Jacob! Katja! I should have known the two of you would find your way here! What happened to Manaket? I heard this place was a thriving trading center.

Validk waves from his phantom steed, his companion Orsenn on another phantom steed at his side.

"Well, the sand commodities are doing well today." Jacob mused with the sound of authority on his voice. "Were I in this market, I'd suggest to bottle it and sell it to Irresen. Of course, getting there seems like it won't be easy. Join us, Val. We don't have the greatest reconnaissance going on, but I've sent some Prying Eyes on the matter."

Jacob pulled a large ceramic jug from his pocket. The sides were adorned with feathers and ravens. He laid a hand on it and squawked before pouring a brown liquid from it into a small porcalin cup. The drink gave off a strong, earthy, yet slightly bitter aroma and steam rose from it as he sipped. "They should be back before sometime tomorrow, but if you want to explore with your own eyes, I'll be happy to come with. But if we do wait, I'd suggest trying some of this. Mwangi blend. Clears the head, you know."

My thanks, and a glass for Orsenn as well? Well if we have to wait for more information, we have to wait. Validk looks around at the area of calm your work Katja? How long can you keep it going?

Hopping down from his steed, Validk pulls a small handkerchief from his pocket and starts unfolding it. In a moment, it is a 10' square sheet. Laying it on the ground he nods to Orsenn, the pavilion and some chairs please.

Katja looks down at Validk.

"Controlling the winds is as natural to me as breathing. I can create and/or maintain them for as long as I desire. If you want other major weather it will take around 10 minutes for each change and will effect about a two mile radius centered on me."

She looks thoughtfully at the pavillion and chairs being set up.

"I would join you but for my superior draconic senses. Human form has it's advantages but I do miss my sight. Fog or coulds are irritating when I can't see through them."

Jake hovered, legs crossed, just above the chairs Mr. Orsenn had set up. "So why not remove the fog and join us?"

He mused over draconic etiquette momentarily before offering a follow up possibility. "Or would you rather me and Val here join you? You know Form of the Dragon right, Validk?"

Katja chuckles.

"Oh Jacob, I already changed the weather. Should be clearing up anytime now."

She glances around as the fog begins to lift.

"See? Right on time."

"Ah, yes, well, that takes care of this as well. Certainly makes this a more enjoyable outing, wouldn't you say?" Jacob punctuated his question with a sip from his coffee. He picked his words carefully for his next, however. Obviously, this wasn't something he could ask anyone, but the current company would likely be good confidantes in this sort of matter.

"Validk, Katja? Have either of you noticed something... odd since last week? Besides the obvious augmentations to arcane powers, of course. Have the two of you been happening to hear, say, whispers? Of any sort?"

With his feet resting on an empty chair, Validk sips his tea while waiting for Jacob's prying eyes to finish canvasing Manaket.

What do you make of this sand storm? I received a letter from a wizard, Rashidi. Knew him some time ago. Anyway, he was with the Occularium which, if I have my references correct, is that pile of sand there. Don't know what happened to him, but the letter suggested some disruption further south, across the sand seas. He asked me to look for his wife. She was looking for some lost city of Jistkan, a place called River of Sands. Validk waves an arm at the sand flowing down the streets and through the buildings, looks like Manaket is now a river of sand. Hopefully your eyes will have seen some indication of where he might be.

He looked around, in the distance he could see what looked like a solid wall of sand rising thousands of feet into the air with hurricane strength winds blowing sand into the sea. Already the shore line had extended several dozen yards.

The environmental impact would be quite significant. But if he'd learned anything over the years, it was that rushing in was dangerous. They had been lucky with Storm. He kinda wished Sir Orrin was around, but he hadn't seen the diminutive halfling since they parted ways.

And yet, here he sat under a pavilion, sipping tea, watching Katja's weather control provide a haven in the storm.

Jacob, I hear a voice every day, but that's just my spell book. I haven't heard anything else. Though now that you mention it, people have been a little more... well, I guess I'd have to say humbled. Even those that don't know who I am. It's almost as if being touched by a god, or at least their herald, has left a perceptible impression. I don't see anything different when I look at the two of you. But I have noticed when walking down the street.

His revelation was surprising, Validk took great strides to ensure that he appeared as nothing more than a middle aged man of no great abilities. Even now his aura was muted, adjusted. With most all his magic gear hidden in his haversack or adjusted with magic aura.

Validk watched as Orsenn pulled a barrel out of the portable hole and set it up next to a couple of other barrels. Orsenn picked up a decanter, pulled the cork and muttered the command word. A stream of water dribbled out into the barrel.

Orsenn, why not use the fountain setting?

Orsenn glanced up at Validk, I'm using the geyser setting sir.

He shook his head at the prospect. "I've never been one for spellbooks, per se. Compendiums have uses for others, but I tend to look at them more like shopping lists where you can only rarely make it to market. Though it did speak to me about spells. Or at least about Shadow Walk." He laid down on nothing, still merely hovering above the pavilion. He had no intention of going without his flight for a long time after such a trudgery for ten hours. He decided to change the subject from the voice he had heard, now barely louder than a whisper. There was quite the coincidence that Validk had brought up.

"Oh, that does remind me why I'm here, though! Seems as though the River of Sands is southwest of here. VC Obo reported searching for it back before he had went missing. In fact, Katja and I were going to make our way over after I checked for any survivors or sources of the storm in here."

Jacob started to worry a tad. If the three of them were drawn here, two if which specifically looking for the River of Sands, then they may be losing precious little time. He hadn't ever heard of this legend or city beforehand, but he was willing to be this eye teeth that the cause of this storm lay there, not within Manaket.

"It may be wise to get moving soon. The eyes shouldn't take too long. With the number I counjured, each only needs to survey one tenth of a square mile. I do hope that the laypeople made it out alright before all this. We'll be having quite the trouble with our own search party."

A smile returned to his face. "Unless your wizard friend happens to be married to Obo. Then we only have half as much work as we thought!"

The glorious revelry of battle was above all else. Talking was for the weak. Peace was for the weak. Only through might proven in battle could each person take and keep their rights. And yet, to have battle always, there did need to be balance. For if one side became too much the victorm there would be no battle.

His herald had often tried to explain this too him. Today he sensed a shift, a premonition. If steps were not taken, one side might prevail and end the battles. This could not be allowed to com eto pass.

Herald! Find a worthy champion. Imbue them with a fraction of your power. Tell them to spread my word in Rahadoum. The Lord of Iron pulled himself up from the field chair he was reviewing the tales of a battle. Pulling a map of Rahadoum before him he studied it quietly. This is just the beginning.

And so First Blade scoured Golarion searching for a worthy mortal to serve Gorum. Ten long years passed before stories began to reach First Blade. Stories of one who did not know Gorum, but now followed his tenants. One whom the curse of the linnorm was but a mosquito bite. First Blade followed the trail of battles left, like a wake in the ocean, the trails led him about Golarion. Until finally, he came upon a dire battle. Taping the target of his search on the shoulder, he froze time.

Your battles have made you much honor. And now it is time for you to leave these battles to mortal men. Your calling is now. Gorum demands your attention. Make way to Rahadoum. Spread the glory of Gorum among the apostate. You must ensure balance. For only when the forces gathering are in balance may Gorum continue the fight. Take this and know that Gorum's eye watches you.

From within the mass of weapons that make up the body of First Blade, a small iron band floats until it is within a foot of your hand. It hovers in the air, slowly spinning. Take this and accept your fate. The band looks like it will easily fit around your upper arm.

After taking the armband, First Blade disappears and Palok finds herself once more in the midst of a battle.

A detect magic will show that it is a normal mundane armband, masterwork quality, and will provide a +2 circumstance bonus to knowledge: dungeoneering to identify minerals and metals.

Upon the realization of the discrepancies, Jacob was quite displeased. "Validk, please tell me that's not one of mine that you've managed breaking."

"Actually, scratch that, why would you be siding with the competition? I'm hurt."

He let out a heavy sigh, examining the jug his companion's familiar was working. "I was afraid this may be the case. We may have a problem on our hands. Seems as though not only teleportation spells are out of commission here, but the whole conjuration school seems to be floundering. Let me try something, hopefully this will prove a bit more effective than a standard Create Water spell."

Jacob righted himself and pulled some ivory charms from within his cloak. With the words and gestures, he had attempted calling forth a spectral door via Mage's Magnificent Mansion

A doorway appears, leading into Jacob's mansion.

At Orsenn's statement, stated so calmly, Validk stood and walked over to look at the decanter himself. Sorry Jacob, I make my own.

After Jacob cast his own spell, well, it does appear that some conjuration is still working.

"Well, well, well," the mage posited. "So it seems to be anti-teleportation and high desiccation. Sounds like what one might expect from a place called the River of Sands. May wish to be careful when we start traveling. We wouldn't want to get caught off guard by sudden bouts of thirst. Though it does seem like we have a place to sleep for the night if we wish to wait any longer."

The quartet settles down to wait for the report from Jacob's eyes. Occasionally one can be seen roving about as the eyes track back and forth across their area.

Thanks to Jacob's timely mansion, everyone is able to take a break and catch up on their sleep, taking shifts to keep watch for any changes to the environment.

As the party enjoys a light breakfast as a red dawn breaks the prying eyes begin returning to Jacob's hand. It takes each almost two minutes to replay the last 20 odd hours of visual effects into Jacob's mind. As each finishes its replay it dissipates, its job complete.

For kicks I looked at how much area they could cover. A mile circle is 87,538,176 square feet. Each eye can scan 11,304 square feet per round. That's 113,040 square feet a minute, 6,782,400 square feet per hour, or 135,693,216 square feet in 20 hours.

In other words, without having given a time frame, but not being entirely anal on the interpretation (or you'd be waiting another 8 hours), each eye effectively scanned the entire area twice.

Twenty of the thirty three eyes return to Jacob. Over the course of forty minutes, Jacob is inundated with multiple images of the town, dozens of views of every surface from multiple angles and elevations help him build a mental picture of a thriving town swallowed by a sea of sand. Those buildings that can be accessed from the surface show signs of a hasty retreat, many every day items lay scattered about.

Jacob can determine that Manaket seems to be pretty typical in being a half-roundish coastal city, with buildings circling about the center square and three smaller squares, each that housed a communal well. The city proper extended a bit where the coastal road entered on each end of the city. The striking part is that inland there is a large gap in the city design. Where he would expect to find several buildings there is no sign of any structure, just an area of sand dunes creeping into the city. Around the edges there are indications that structures were within the area but no more. Any more evidence is likely buried under the sand or long since blown away.

While Katja's weather control has left the wind over the town calm, the raging winds outside continued to blow, pushing more sand into the town. The prying eyes provide a stop motion view of a large dune building up along the edge of the weather controlled area. It currently towers over thirty feet high in places as the sand is blown by wind that abruptly stops blowing.

No other living creatures have been located. All three wells are full of sand.

He had let out a long sigh over reviewing the images from his spell. Thirty eyes dispersed and only twenty return, and those that did come back to him did not carry good news. It wasn't impossible for the ten missing eyes to have been overcome by venturing too far out, but Jake held suspicion of an outside force preventing him from investigating. One is acceptable loss, two is a fluke, even three can be attributed to general carelessness, but ten eyes gone missing did not sit right with him.

Nonetheless, he felt the need to press on. Maybe it was the whispers or the headband reminding him if his promise to a certain council, but he certainly couldn't bail out now. And staying proved no use to anyone.

"Katja, Validk, Mr. Orsenn, it's time to head out. We're not getting any answers from out here in the city. We need to head past that sand dune to get things rolling." He pointed to the southwest. "Somewhere, this 'River if Sands' holds the center of all this trouble. I'm sure of it. In finding that, we could start to solve all the problems plaguing this place."

Jacob placed his daily spells upon himself and led the group march. Or rather, it would have been a march, were he walking. Enough time had been wasted upon reconnaissance to not keep aloft.

"Oh, and watch your steps, everyone. The route seems to have quite the nasty dune that built up recently. Katja, are you quite certain you can keep the winds at bay?"