The Walking Dead of Golarion, by GM Fiendish

Game Master Fiendish Zen

I'd think you would want to try to disarm it. Is there any way we can help? Let me at least look it over closely.

Perception: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (10) + 18 = 28

Melo moves to Flyn. "This is a little above us." He says watching the others. "You've seen a little anxious down here, I'm sure flyfall is safe, she seems more than capable of looking after her self."

He hesitates a moment. "Thank you for what you did for me back there when I fell... I got us all in this mess it would have been a lot worse if I was on my own too."

"If we think we can dispel or disarm it somehow then I think we should try," Lenneth agrees. "Or at least have a closer look at it first and then decide if we want to try and disarm it now or try looking around more."
______

Back in the room where the weird ritual thing was taking place - were there any other obvious entrances or exits that we saw?

I don't know if I want to tangle with anything else in here. Flynn says warily. We couldn't be more clueless about what we might stir up. I vote to search the rest of this place and then comes back to it.

He retreats back to Melo and his new companion who doesn't seem to look at the Ranger as through him.

Yeah I won't lie, I'd rather be in the air than under the ground. Flynn admits to the druid. And Sky knows what she's doing, she'll be holed up out of the storm somewhere, probably doing a damned sight better than we are actually.

Listen, don't even worry about earlier. It's not more than you'd have done for me if the roles were reversed, if we don't have eachother's backs we haven't got anything. he leans in and whispers then. Listen, I get that you've bonded with this creature, I lived with Skinchangers long enough to know how quick and strong that bond forms, but only with natural animals. This thing is strange. Do you really feel like we can trust it? You've got the soundest judgement when it comes to this kind of thing.

Lilith is able to discern with some surety that the only trap on the wall is magical, there does not appear to be a mechanical backup.

The room with the magically trapped piece of wall is the room with the furniture where the three robed figures were. There was an additional (closed) door opposite the well furnished room.

Upon examination, the door appears untrapped but locked. There are no noises beyond.

One of my posts seemed to have dropped, again. :( I am not sure if I am moving on to another window before the submit is finished or if the system is loosing my posts. Sometimes the Submit function takes a while and if I do not specifically want to see if it fully submits I might somehow be canceling it by some action. Anyway, Lilith had examined the remains of our tormentor to try to determine race and living/undead status. Any skill checks needed for that?

One of my posts seemed to have dropped, again. :( I am not sure if I am moving on to another window before the submit is finished or if the system is loosing my posts. Sometimes the Submit function takes a while and if I do not specifically want to see if it fully submits I might somehow be canceling it by some action. Anyway, Lilith had examined the remains of our tormentor to try to determine race and living/undead status. Any skill checks needed for that?

I've lost so many posts over the years that the Lazarus Chrome extension is now an essential install on any new machine I use :)

Lazarus

Flynn asks Melo to join him for some extra muscle and proceeds to open the door, sword once again unsheathed

Same here Lillith, I post and don't double check and only notice awhile later when my action is missing or im called out to post, very infuriating.

"It's an untamable creature. I've felt this bond only once and that was with Cyn, that wasn't an easy start either." He looks up at the creature its size intimidating. "I trust it, and in this world of ours now and I will take anything that helps. It just feels like it was meant to happen I was drawn to that bubble. It will take time to truly work as one."

--

"Let's go." He pulls out his club and shield and moves pushing Echos to guard him.

Feldus sidles over to the locked door, muttering softly as he takes out some thieve's picks. "Haven't picked a lock in what seems forever...may need to break the lock here..."

Disable Device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

"Okay, then we look around some more," Lenneth responds softly. "Just be cautious, okay? All of you," she says, looking at Feldus as well as Flynn and Melo as they prepare to try breaking the door.

The door does not budge, the lock proving too complicated for the moment. It looks sturdy but might be able to be knocked down if several of you worked together, otherwise only bypassing the lock will do...

Feldus growls in frustration as the lock fails to open despite his best efforts. "OK...I can destroy this lock...if that is OK with you Valex," he says as he reaches into his pouch drawing out a glass vial carefully wrapped in strips of cloth. "Acid...very precious now...but it will do the job."

Please go ahead,Feldus

Lots of things are precious now that we wouldn't have thought twice about before. Remember that gold in the desert? That's more money than I had ever seen in my life. But not even the entire lot of it could buy that vial of acid now, please don't spill it Feldus. Flynn adds with a wry smile.

"And too bad gold is such a soft metal - not even worth melting down to try and make something out of it," Lenneth adds with a slight chuckle. "Hopefully that acid will do the trick on the door, though - easier than trying to break it down."

Feldus takes his time, careful not to waste a single drop, and soon the acid is eating away at the delicate lock mechanism.

In under a minute, the smoking wreck of metal provides no further resistance to you.

The door opens on to another room, the dimensions seem similar to the one opposite, but your light spell doesn't illuminate it fully.

Seeing the damping of the light Lilith quickly warns There are creatures of the abyss capable of such persistent darkness. She tries to peer into the room and wracks her brain to recall what threat this might be.

Perception: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

Knolwedge Planes: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

Melo steps to the door and sniffs at the air.

Percpetion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27 Scent

"It wouldn't surprise me if a creature like that was down here." He pushes Echo's to guard and then takes up his shield holding the door.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 Scent

Feldus glances uneasily around him as he sniffs the air, but nothing immediately stands out to him. Lilith's words cause him to grip his newly acquired blade tightly.

Once, there might've been a time when the unnatural darkness that loomed before them would have frightened Lenneth. But now with her vision now empowered by her dark gift, she stares into the blackness unafraid.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
______

Thanks to her Pierce the Shadows revelation, Lenneth has darkvision out to 60 feet.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you get the sense you aren't alone, the darkness in the room may be hiding something.

Anything from the 27 knowledge planes roll?

Baring his teeth he shouts out. "I smell a foul creature in there, sulfur and stale sweat." He grips onto Echo, holding it back. "Do you see anything in there?" He asks the others.

Valex takes a hesitant step toward the darkness, wracking his brain.

know/planes: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

"There, along the far wall," Lenneth whispers, trying not to force the person...or thing...to bolt by pointing it out. "I can just barely see it."

Note that the creature in the robes that we killed was an elven male. Got this from a PM from Fiendish. Lilith would have shared it.

Lilith retrieves a scroll of Protection from Evil as she says Un friends, I am getting a bad feeling about this. I am now considering the possibility that guy we just killed might have not been in control of his body. Some demonic entity could have been in control...

How do we fight it Lill..? Flynn asks, his blade held before him as he turns slowly in a circle within the darkness.

Waiting on the knowledge roll result. Might not be much since she has not really seen the creature. But she can add two and two and sometimes that equals Shadow Demon. :/

Feldus rolls his eyes, "This Order cannot even protect its sanctum from whatever Evil lurks out there? Not sure why we are wasting time here." He mutters softly.

Waiting on the knowledge roll result. Might not be much since she has not really seen the creature. But she can add two and two and sometimes that equals Shadow Demon. :/

I don't like that math :/

"Wait, what? The undead are bad enough, now you're telling me we might be dealing with a demon running loose!?" Lenneth hisses.

Religious paraphenalia involving Urgathoa is scattered across the room, and on one table the remains of a sumptuous feast has been left, slices of seeded bread and a chunk of strong cheese are among the few items of food left, though in the middle of the large plate is a piece of rotten flesh with maggots crawling over it.

Towards the back of the room there is a summoning circle, and within sits a humanoid, cross-legged. The humanoid is shrouded in shadow, however you get the sense despite its lack of movement that it is watching you.

The room remains dark despite your magical light moving closer in.

A Nabasu. Lilith hisses her warning. It seems to be contained in a summoning circle, for now. She will share what she knows of such creatures based on her knowledge planes roll.

"Dare we risk talking to it?" Feldus whispers nervously, eyeing the summoning circle closely.

I don't know anything about demons. Flynn says warily. But everything I've heard suggests they aren't to be trusted. BUt with this kind of thing he defers to Lillith and Lenneth

"We should leave, I don't want to mess about with a demon. Nothing good can come of this." He says takes a step back.

Kn. Planes (Nabasu Demon?): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

"Hey wait...how is summoning even possible?" Lenneth whispers, looking perplexed. "When the veil came down, didn't it cut off all contact across all the realms - not just with the gods?"

"I mean, I suppose it might've been summoned before the Harvest but still...something doesn't seem right about any of this."

Hey! Flynn shouts from some distance away. Can you hear us? What are you doing here and who summoned you?

He can feel his hands are slick with nervous sweat on the grip of his sword.

]Lilith steps forward boldly, her dancing lights flanking the creature are feeble candles but present. I know you Nabasu. Answer our questions or we will simply leave, leaving you trapped here for likely 1000s of years. What is your purpose here, and what do you want...

The figure looks up, and the twin burning amber flames of the demon's eyes gaze in to Flynn's

Nabasu... contained... dare we?..

a voice as cracked as old parchment echoes your words, alongside a hiss that might pass for humour.

Not to be trusted... should leave... nothing good...

It turns its head to look at Lenneth

How is it possible? Are you asking me the question Lady Shadow? I can and will answer it, for a price...

It then turns to Lilith and flashes its razor sharp teeth.

Now now, Lady Arcane, you assume you know of the compact that rought me here and yet how could you if you slew the only one who did? And do you even know how to release me? It seems you are without carrot or stick, what a spectacle for a mage hailing from Cheliax...

The fires of its eyes wink out and the room is suddenly darker.

The real question is, what do you want?

No teeth? If we need anything from you you had best tell us, because I am unaware of any value you might have. If you knew as much as you presume you would also know that mages from Cheliax deal with devils and kill demons, creature. We know you are not trustworthy and generally worthless in any deal. She turns to her companions. Lets just lock it up in here. Perhaps in a few 100 years when some other random person happens by it will be more in a mood to talk.

Feldus shrugs in response, "Sounds good to me. Enjoy your captivity demon." He calls out, his nose twitching slightly.

"That works for me!"

assuming we move away from the demon...

Vaelx moves back to the hidden, trapped portal behind which he suspects the Order's cache to lie.

"Perhaps if everyone else left the room, I'll try to disarm or safely trigger this, and we'll see what there is to see."

Flynn shrugs and follows out. He certianly wasn;t going to go messing with a demon if he didn't need to

For a moment, Lenneth considers the demon's offer. If the creature had been summoned after the Harvest somehow, then perhaps other summonings were still possible. Maybe the world wasn't entirely cut off after all. But then she catches herself.

What good would knowing the answer do? If the gods can't, or won't, reverse what's been done, then what makes you think that you could do it? And dealing with dark powers is how the world got into this state in the first place. No need to make it worse.

"Right. Best not to listen," she agrees quietly and turns to follow the others back outside the room.

No stick, indeed! Lilith says to no one in particular as she leaves the room.

Melo moves out of the room glad to not medal with demons.

Stepping out of the room he turns to the others. "We leave, we get back on the track we started. This whole thing has thrown us from where we were going. Although it got us something that will help." He looks to Echo the bond strong, and while its looks throw off mistrust he knows it won't hurt them.

The demon is quiet as you move out of the room, though you hear it snarling in frustration and those of you sensitive to such things feel both its deep hatred and the flexing of arcane energies as it tries, fruitlessly, to push past the magic imprisoning it.

The cache in the other room is as you left it.

Is everyone taking cover whilst Valex opens the cache or is anyone staying with him?

Feldus will take cover.