As Nox messes around with the device, he finally disconnects two wires and everything becomes dark and silent—lights turn out, the sound of hissing gas subsides, and—most importantly—the klaxons end.
This benefit is short-lived, however, as soon thereafter the facility takes on a reddish hue as the klaxons once more resume, but not as fervently as previously.
Over the course of the next minute, the gas in the Organics Lab diffuses and the Seekers can see clearly once more.
With little place else to go, the Pathfinders go through the door labeled:
TERMINATED EXPERIMENTS
Thick glass columns filled with brackish liquid and masses of stringy flesh occupy numerous niches along this hall. At the end of the dim hall, books and sheaves of loose paper cram a wall of shelves.
Identification for the things in the tubes:
However, it appears as if someone were forcibly trying to combine these owbs together, as each tube contains two owbs that have been merged together at the head or hip. Additionally, they do not seem to be moving at all; it’s likely that the process that combined the owbs also killed them.
It seems that by merging these Owbs together, it caused the divine essence within them to exponentially increase their power. Any cold damage that they deal is half divine damage (similar to Flame Strike) and their chilling ball of fire deals 6d6 cold/divine damage and thrice per day they can cause the ball to explode upon impact, dealing 6d6 cold/divine damage to all creatures within 10’ of the initial target (reflex halves)—or rather it would have granted them that power increase if they had survived the process.
Additionally, combining the owbs has granted them the ability to transfer the pain it has experienced into a subject by intensifying the pain the subject feels. If these conjoined Owbs hit a creature with two or more claw attacks, then the victim must make a Will save (mind-affecting fear effect) or experience horrific visions. If hit by two claws then the visions staggers the target for 1 round. If hit by three claws then the visions stuns the target for 1 round. If hit by all four claws then the visions stuns the target for 1 round and deals 1d2 Wisdom drain.
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Sir Hendric doesn't know what the strange (possibly dead) creatures in the tubes are. He waits for someone else to identify them.
He wanders into the room (after Nox has checked it for traps) and looks around for anything of interest. He then begins skimming the books and notes, looking for any clue to the blank-tile puzzle.
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Nox looks at the things with combination of horror and reverence... as a wayang, his people come from the plane of shadow as well, though they do not worship the Owbs as the darkfolk do, the stories of their possible divinity is still a thing that would have been talked about by their scholars.
As Kaldane mentions "Deeper Darkness" he tilts his head and questions...
Anybody have a way to deal with that? It'd be hard for me to shoot something I can't see...
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"Maybe we won't have to fight them, Nox."
"Their bodies are in glass tubes, but it seems their souls are not present. If they should awaken, we can deal with them. I can see through my Echolocation while it lasts, and then I have some skill at fighting what I cannot see after it ends. And also a potion of Darkvision. I do not like fighting at a disadvantage."
Sir Hendric takes a standard action to switch his fullplate for his silken ceremonial armor with the Armiger's Panoply so that he can use arcane scrolls without risk of failure.
Then he reads a scroll of Shield, storing the spell in his cracked vibrant purple prism ioun stone.
Successful, he activates the Panoply again and his fullplate reappears.
As the Pathfinders scan through the piles of notes, they realize just how grossly unorganized these files are—it’s going to take significantly longer than anticipated to sort through this mess.
The research check skills for the Facility Records are: Craft (alchemy), Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, or planes)
Additionally, the Facility Records make several references in the Dark Folk language, meaning that you must know the language or make a DC 25 Linguistics check to even make a check
What you all learn, organized by thresholds (you all learned everything) :
allude to Kramolag conducting and later funding expeditions into the Darklands. One refers to an
encounter with dark creepers and their dark stalker leader, people who refer to themselves as the caligni. An anthropological diversion documents at least 30
communities of caligni living in the Darklands beneath Nidal, along with much of their biologically distinct caste system, culture, and religion.
creepers supported but that was opposed by the leaders of the community’s faith. Those who can read Dark Folk also learn that the caligni priests are often referred to as dark called, and they do not worship conventional deities
of darkness but rather a strange god creature that lives among them.
results. Those who can read Dark Folk also learn that Kramolag posited that owbs are “splinter deities,” fragments of one or more mysterious, otherworldly
consciousnesses that could be pieced back together like a broken vase. She suspected that by drawing upon her distant funders’ deep pockets, she might gather the
resources to succeed.
Kramolag invested in new equipment for her private laboratory, which she refers to as the “god lab.” A packet of dense and meticulously written notes detail complex experiments involved in the small, seemingly unimportant room in the facility’s southeast corner. Written in a different hand are the following instructions: “To access the god lab, remember that when in the ethereal southeast, the lurker at the threshold shall be mine.” The PCs also recover a scroll of see invisibility and a scroll of true seeing.
Those who can read Dark Folk also find a report that the owbs seemed knowledgeable but resented their
captivity. They were able to listen to conversations and sometimes even conversed with researchers who dared to express their dislike of Kramolag and her strategies.
Following the early recombination experiments—the records of which are now kept only in the Kramolag’s
private lab below—the owbs appeared to be comatose, yet
maintained a hint life and awareness. The PCs learn that
the dark columns here contain the owb experiments, and it is possible to telepathically commune and learn unrecorded secrets from them as if they were a second library .
Council of Shadows Research Skills: Diplomacy, Knowledge (planes), Sense Motive
Additionally, a raven comes down and perched on Hendric’s shoulder before dropping an envelope and flying away.
Explore, Report, Cooperate,
Janira Gavix
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"Suliji Pashar. The S.P. from the dragon's notes? The dragon said 'Su...ji...' as she died. Suliji gave Kramolag's notes on the Sun Orchard Elixir to Loaralis. That's an important connection.
I think we have the key to that puzzle of the blank tiles. It was in that room in the southeast, correct? This note seems to suggest we can find 'the lurker at the threshold' in the Ethereal plane there. And I assume these scrolls are the way to perceive the Ethereal and enter the 'god lab'."
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Nox looks at the notes and taps his fingers.
I say we talk to them. We've contained the breach issue, and it seems rather plain that the Doctor isn't here, or there would have been greater issues before now. The last thing I want is for us to set off some sort of detonation or self destruct when we venture into the god lab and lose access to this information. I think it's worth the risk to take the time... whatever is locked behind the god lab doors isn't going anywhere, and if it was, it left when those klaxon's first went off.
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Kaldane takes to research with a relish he hasn't felt since his initiate days before his confirmation. It's interesting piecing the puzzle together, but he is sure that when the spirit leaves him, most of his zest for learning will go as well.
Kaldane makes detailed translated notes of what he discovered at Hendric's suggestion, which he then hands to Hendric.
"I agree with Nox. I think we can learn a great deal more about the current situation, but we should be prepared in case it backfires. This likely means we should only have one or two people communicate with them, and will likely mean that I should be one of them."
As he talks, Kaldane unbuckles both his sword belt and ties his spell component pouch to it. He then hands them to Hendric.
"This won't make me completely a lack of a threat, but it will limit my options if it comes to that."
stored in her “god lab.” She sought to distill the divine essence within each one of them to create something greater and whole.
Suddenly, all of the owbs in the glass tanks grasp at each of their heads, undulating as if in pain. A thrashing pain enters everyone’s heads, except for Kaldane. A cacophony of voices overwhelms the Seekers’ minds.
P̡͙̱͙̤͚͕̣͕̯̙̗̟̰̜͕͇̩̹̺͢͝͠a̴̸̛̯̱̼̹̠ͅi̡̩̝̰͎̮͓͕͍̥̤̲͖̗͠ͅn̙̬͖̤̳̗̺̲̻̣̖̫̙̪̞̲̖̬͘!̷̀͜ ͡͏͙̟̥̦͇̙̟̯̘̦̦
̴҉҉̩̱̫͈̤̰̀P̸̨̼̹̞̠̳̲͝a̴̢̟̭͖̙͔̪̰̗̮̱̜͞i̶̧͏̶̼̺̺͔̞̦̖̲̦̹͇͙͎͔̘̭̩n͔̬̦̠͍̱̪̺͜͡!̢̬͇̠͔̣ ̫̝̩̳̫̝̙̘͎́́͘ͅ
S̨͏̷̭͖͚̗̻̳̰̙̙͝o̢̳̹͎͢ ̸̧͓̭̖͎̼̭̗̗̰͇̦̗̟̞ͅm̨͎̳̲ͅu̧̲͇͉̻͍̲̻̠̞̗̖̞͟͡ͅc̶̷̛̣̟̬̻̻͖̠͔͎̦̪͓͙̦͎̱̠͇͜ḩ̹̼̭͉̕͟͢ ̨̮̮̜̝̝͞p̣̯̺̥̯͇̙̤̜̩͠a͏̴̴̫͈͕̦͉͖͖͝i̼͓̹̳̣͎̠̲̗͘͜ͅn̷̢͈̯̗̖͠!̴̨̛͔̫͓̫͙̝͜
Ţ͕̼̠̬̀ͅḩ̢̕͟҉͇̰͙͉̻̘é̜͓͉̱̮̙̪̰̫̹̦̣̲͇̬͘͞ ̝͖͈̲̘̳̻̼͚͕̹̖͇̞͕́͟͢R҉̸̨͏̯̬̜͙̗̲͚͍̬̙e̴̷̹̪̰̳̟̯̕͟͡m̸͎̮̭͖͉̹͇̯̘̦̹̰̦̬͔͚͟ͅa̷͖̫̼̦̰͚͟͞ k̕҉̲̝̹̱̬̦̣̲̩̺̻̪̖̩e̷̩̦̜̣͙͎̣̺͘͢͜ŕ̦͓͈̲̬̺͇̝̲͟ ̕͠҉̛̻̭̙̘̬̼̫̫̯͓͢i̷̘̞̻͉̺͇̩̮̬̝̹̟̻̕͜ͅń̴̜̰̫͓̬͓̩̪̰͉̤̯̝̹͙̦̕͟͡ ̷̢̜͎̺͇P̢̨̕͡͏͍̩̤̬̲͇̬͙̗͙̰͖͙̳̫̩̪ͅa͏̧̡̼̞̯̬̻i̢̙̰̩̫̖͍͈͟n̴̡̛̠̤̠̞̥͘ ̨̛̣̬̮̜͔̟͓̖̘͕ḽ̷̱̩̼́͠͞i͘҉͏̳̺̪̜ś̴́҉͏̯̟͚̜̪̫͖̪̙͎̦̪͚̭̹!̷̸̛̟̖̠̳͇̠͎̤͍͔̥̜̱͝
̴̀͝͠҉̖̦͍͙̮̲͔̥̫͖͎͔̼̭̼̦W̶̳̣̱̯̩͓̮͈̖͙̤̼̳̭͘͡ͅè̛̤͉͉̫͔̺͉̠͉̤̠̬͔ͅ ҉̵̧͚̗͉̯̭͔̦̻̜̲̠a̸͍̙͚̝̹̹̺͔͈̺̹͈̫̥̕͝r̶̴͖͉͕̫̳̼͔̘̭͇͘e̵̪̱̺͍̱̭̞͚̺̳̖͈̟̻̞͘͘͜͞ͅ ̷̧̢̗̙͈̥̘͉̭̟͔̬̥̫̣̙͈͞ͅn͉̜͕͈̝͚̭͇̯̲͍̤̩͙͢͞o͏̵̙̩̟͉̰͉̺̭t̷̢҉̷̭͙͎̰̼̞̝̼͚͔͔̖̠͉͓̪͉̪ͅ
͢͏҉̗̲̲̠̪̜͖̜͔͇̖̠̺͎̳́ͅͅW͘͏̭̗̫̭̘̹̞̜͍̀ͅȩ҉͙̹̞̣̳͎͕̮̝̜͔̯̗̩̟̩̜̘̀͡ ̶̷̢̨̨̙̟̭̞̦̻̮͙͇͉̖à͖̭͚͕͘r̸̸̵̘͖̮̙͖̮̩̦é͎̬̖͚͈̪̲̙̗̰̭͞ ̀͏̡̝̯̞̬̹̟̮͖͎̮͔̕ņ̵͚̰͉̥̦̙̳͎̮́͞o͚͍͚̦̥̣̭̬͉̠̥̳̦͈̤͘͠͠t̡̫͖͍̯͓̜̹̣͓͖̘͕̮͕̼̀͟͜
W̶̢̹̰̮͚͉̳̫̠̺̪̭̮͖̟̮͖ḩ̢̭̳̫̤̦͡ạ̶̷̡̧̳̩̪̫͢t̵̠͖̪͙́ ̴͕̣̼̻͚̙̗̰̦̫̠͜͠͡a̫̰̝̲̹̖̱̘͍̹̦͇͔̱͟͝r̴̨̠͚̫̻͕̞̝̖̞̲̜͕̯͈̫̺͉̀͝é̺̬͈̞̰̪̤̳͘̕͢ ̴̸̺͈̙̬̩̟̟̗̫͈̳͞͞w̧̬̦͇͓͇͈̼̳ę̶̪͖͙̦͖̥̞̦̘̱̮̱?͖̖̭͍̻̬̼̬͉͍̦̼̖̕͢
Ą̵̧̛̹͖͎͍͙͈͙̭̝̜̭r̷̡̫̪̗̝̯͇͕̬̹͕̺̪̭̳̱̥̭ẹ̛̰͇͇̜̦̳͔̱͍̣̻̟͢͝͠ ̷̢̪̳̣̫͍͜ẁ̝͕̤̳̗̱̟̯̹͖̰̬̼̀́ȩ̤̻͔̜͇̯̗͉͔̲͙̝̠̬̤̹̗̩́ ̸̹̮̦̖͙̘̲͍͡ṃ̨̘̝̦̹̪͎͔̺̠͜͜͝ṷ̵̸̧̲̝̩́l̡̧̼̱̟͎͉̲͇̣͈̙͍̪͇̲̖̝̺̠͘t̶̙͈̥̯̱͟ͅì̛̯͕͎̰͢t̵̨̛͍ ̝͕̮̖͚̙͍͉̳̯̻͇̝̜̬̖̞́ͅų̝̗̘̯̘̰̘̪̣̀͠d̝̞̣͕̞̲͓̻̤͙͖͎̀́e̸͎̯͚̩̘̞͙̪̺͕̺͎̦̞̖͘͝s̸̺̭̜͖̭̣͚̠ ̣͇̹̮͞?̶̡̯̭̼̗͚̲͚̪̘͜ͅ
Á̴̧̧̛̜̖̜̤͍̻̲͍̫̯͓̘͍̗͉̫̰̤̳r͏̢̗̣̰̩̻̬̩̦̬̞͠e҉̴̖̣͖͚̣̖̭̬̳́͜ ̷̧̫̜̮̘̙̞͇͓̘̝̭͔͡w̡͇̮͙̹̰̦͇̻̲̝͇̟͖̗͇ȩ̙̰͉̱̟̳̰̗̰̰͟͢͠ͅ ̨̡̼͉̹̰̯͕̲̜̘͕́͝ó̡̡̱͍͎̖̜̲͓̫̝̗̠̥͓͞n̡̥͚̯̜͚̖͎̦̩͖̺̣̬̪̜e̴͖͚̗̟̼͚̝͇̞̤̟̗̻̖̙̠͓̜͠?̷̷̧͖͈ ̙̙̫̟̫͈̞̳̩͙́
҉̛̭̪̫̜̤̰͘ͅW̧͉̟̪̰̲̝͓̣̟̣̟̖̠͚̼̘͢H̴͇̥̹͎̜́͝A̵̺͉̼͎̖̤͉̗͉̮̬̳̜̗̻͙͇̼͢͞͞Ţ̧̦̝͓̯̱̘̀͟͡ ̸̙̞̺̜̱͙̫̱͓͔͈̬̜̱̞͎̱͠A̢͎̪̝̭̟̣͔͕͍͙̠R̪̥͓̗͙̯̜͍͙̙̬̼͈̤̥͉̰̼̼̀͟͟͡͡E̡̱̮͈͓̹̫̫̥͇̥̹͢͝ͅ ̵͇̱̟̟̙̟̟̳͜Ẁ̵҉̞̩͖̪͇͍͕̳̳̹̼̙ͅÈ̞͈̣̲̫̳̝̟͘̕ͅ?͏̵̵͍̪͕̞̭͔͉̠̦̹̤̭!̨̰̠͚̯̜̹͚͍͕͈̠̭̥̫̺̦̖̀͘ ͟?̺̖̳̤͕̤̻̕͞!̶̵̨̛͇̝͓
*
The creatures go limp, arms hanging motionless, and the pains cease. Silence falls over the room for an uncomfortable moment, until the voices speak once more, but this time in unison, almost as one voice.
T͉ḫ̖e̻̟͇͔͚ ̖̠̭̖̰̣R͇̭̲̥e̲̗͖̱m͙ͅa̺͖̰k̹̦̹e͍̹͎̝̜͖r̰̖̪̳ i̺͇̖̭ͅn̩͇̣͔ ̺̫̠͈̤̣P͙͙̺a͓̗̬͖̣̙i̮̱̟̰̳̝n̲̦ ̗̖͉͈̦͕m͍̰u̪s̯̞̫̝̖t̮̟͓ ͖̫̫͈͉͔p̟̘̲a͓͖͙̦y̻̠̬̞.̱̘͙̪
He̞̝͎̱̙r̙̪͎̳ ̖se̩̬̞̻͔r̩v̭̯͈̠a͈̤͙̺n͖̥̣̞̱͈ͅt̙͇͔̭͈͔̦s̖͙̘ ͔͈̫s̠̹͖̟̫̼̺t͕͔̳̭̫̺a̲̰̼͔n͙ḓ̹͔̟̻̗̘ ̳i̗̱͕͓̯n̘ ͙͓̩̱͈o̤̰͓͔̬̝̳u̻͙̠r͓̳̭͈̹ ͙̹̞̰͎͍ͅw̤͉a̠̼̜̻̭̮̠y̜̗͔̲̝͙͎.͇̩̪
D̰̜̟͓e̝s̪̩͇̬͕̲̱t̳̝̻̫̯̪̰roy̩̜̹̗ ̜͓̤͈͔̱̼t͖͔̹͈̯h͖̞̞̖e̳̘͓̪̝ ͅb̙͍̳̻̟͚ͅḽ̻͕̙͇a͍̲͈sph͓͓̘̭e̫͖̤̹̬̻̮m̪͍̤̲̪͇o̺u͉̰̙s͈̣̼ ̟̥͈c̙̪r̩̞e̫̠͙̖̗ͅa̭t͔̼̹u͎̝͚̬͔̘res̞ ͖̱̹̮̻̠of͚͈̣̺̪ ̘̰͎̝l̩̺̙͈͉i̟̙͚̟͓ͅg͖̼͔h̤̖̟̭̙t.̭̜̟͖͙̠
.
The owbs cast Shadow Step in unison and reform outside of their tubes.
PATHFINDERS GO! THE BOLD MAY ACT:
Round 1
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Conjoined Owbs
Géatan
Nox
Hendric
Kaldane
Tortuga
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Kaldane’s word resonates throughout the chamber in in the minds of every being within. The black orbs in Kaldane’s eyes expand, encasing the aasimar in a giant ball of darkness. The ball shrinks to an infinitesimal size, leaving Kaldane behind. Kaldane, however, has had all color drained from his person—even more so than Nox—and looks more haggard and lean than how he was before.
At Geatan's words everyone's heads fill once more with voices.
L̜̬̥͙i͔a̹̦r̤͈̣̝̟̭s̪̭͉̼͓!̺͈
̯̹L͎i̪a̤rs͎̫!
Ḷ͚͓i̥̪̖͉ḁ̤r̦͕̪̫̘͙s̙̻!̺̩
̬͙̝̜ͅL̖̥̫i̝̳̯̦̞̪̩ar̲̲̳͖͈s̳!̦̘̺̝
̲͚̯L̰͕̱i͙a̬̠͚͉̩̹r̯̻ṣͅ!͈̫͚
̗Li̮̮̖͖͙̭a̗ͅr͚͍͚̺s͇͖!̙̳̜̣͖ͅ
̠̥̳͙̭L̗͉͎̟̝̩̗i͓͚̞̪͎̮͖a̱̰̟̖̦̹r͕̫s̥̮̲̯̺͇͖!̻̯͍̻̘̰͓
̜͕̼L̤̰͉̜̗̰ͅia̗̜̹͔͇r̜͔͍̳̲̗̱s!̼̱̳̝͍̤ͅ
̙͙͔̙͇͎̮L͚I͉̝̦̗͇̪̫A̜͈͕͓̝R̪̮͉S̼̼͖̩̤!̤͎̫̱̟̤̠
̖̟͙͔̠L̰̣̤̺͕̞̜I̘̗ͅA̦̺̰R͔̺̥̯S͈̣͙͓!̭̯̟͚͕͔
̺͖͓͇L͚͕̳̤̝̬I̥͇A̖͕̥RS̼̻͚͖!̙̥̠͔̠̳
̲̦̩͍̭L̻̤̲̣̹͔I̭̯̹͎̤̱̹AR̼̤̦S̜͍̮̮̣̳͚!̲̟̬̫̠̹
͈̞̺͔̬͓L͎͎̼̟̞̭I͚̮͎͍̙͙AR̹͔̠̰̥S̰̙͔͖͎̥̦!͇̻͔͕̘̫!̙ͅ!͚
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"Take them down!"
Sir Hendric issues a challenge to one of the creatures (Pink/Magenta) and unleashes a full attack.
Sentry uses Total Defense (AC 33).
Sir Hendric is AC 31 vs Pink, and 27 vs the others (goes back to 29 if Pink is dropped).
Pink takes -2 AC vs anybody other than Sir Hendric.
"Can't get to you, Kaldane!"
Tortuga Miss Chances (Miss on a 1):
As Tortuga punches at the creature, its inherent darkness seems to spread to the dwarf.
But Tortuga is fine.
The wounds on the damaged owbs get minorly mended. The voices come once more:
Ș̯̗̩h̥͇̝̫͔a̼͈̮̟d̞̘͔̰͍o͔̩̻̦ͅw̭͖͔̮s̥͔̰͖ ̭̠̰͔s͇͙̬͔͎̯̤h͚̥a̼̳̜̟̙̣l̙l̫̫͍̳̳ ̲̻̙͙̠͚̮f͇͕̩̯ͅa͖̹͇̫͉̤l͕̼͍͔͕ḻ.
̙̗̭̲̖͉͉De̥͓͕̫͓͉ͅs̲͎͖t̼͖̻r͕͚̥̠̻͓̞o͈͇̲̘̲͇̳y̘ ̱̼͔̼̱ͅt̟̩̰̺he̘m̦̻̰͔ͅ ̣͉̩͓̠a̦͍̬l̺̞͚̭̮̯l̙̖͓̫̖͎ͅ!̘̪̲͎͕
One of the owbs casts a spell defensively. If it fails to do so then another will try, if that one fails then another will try, and so on, going in this order:
Magenta->Blue->Black->Red->Green
A cloud of writhing darkness coils around the Pathfinders, enveloping the entire chamber in a curtain of blackness . The sounds of ferocious scratching, explosions, and the screams of pain of the Pathfinders fill your senses.
*
*
*
Nox takes nothing
Xon takes nothing.
Tortuga takes 30 claw damage and 11 cold/divine damage
Kaldane takes nothing
Hendric Takes 21 claw damage and 9 cold/divine damage.
Sentry takes nothing
Géatan takes 38 claw damage and 11 cold/divine damage and gains the light blindness universal monster ability
PATHFINDERS GO! THE BOLD MAY ACT:
Round 2
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Conjoined Owbs
Géatan
Nox
Hendric
Kaldane
Tortuga
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"The sounds of ferocious scratching, explosions, and the screams of pain of the Pathfinders fill your senses."