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Cypher snorts.
I don't know if you realize how appropriate your form is darling.
They fold their arms stubbornly.
I have no intention of letting you enslave the Venture Captain's mind to this place any more I would let the slaver who's form you wear have her body. Now hand her over... before my mind starts showing you just how SPICY we are.
Murqual merely shakes his head in disappointment. The facsimile of Murqual’s shop shimmers like a heat mirage, transforming into the familiar meeting room in Farseer Tower. Familiar, at least, in shape. The furnishings are different, more resembling a grandmother’s cozy tea room than the stark, studious place where this journey began. Intricately brocaded settees and poufs clutter the room, while elaborate tapestries cover almost every inch of the walls. One of these, a floor-length cerulean silk curtain, is embroidered with a portrait of Wulessa Yuul. Her arms are folded across her chest, and a look of distaste resides upon her face.
"I think you are close to the end. I can feel the archivist pausing its work with me to face you directly. The shadows you fought before now were a reflexive response, like sweeping cobwebs from one’s face. Now I think you have its full attention. I don’t think it can appear directly. Its essence is split across all the archive’s scrolls, but whatever form it takes will have considerably more power than the things you’ve fought before now."
"I may aid you a little more. I think the place might have had a few magic scrolls stashed somewhere. Anything you would consider coming in handy in the foreseeable future?"
Wulessa points you towards one of the drawers. Upon inspection, you find a magical scroll shoved between stacks of documents. "I don't know what you will be facing, but scrolls like this had helped us numerous times on our expeditions. My gift to you. Hope it's not the last."
Wulessa winks out of sight, and the door in the room opens, revealing the glass-covered hallway again. This time, you can see the hallway widening at the end, and the void-like maelstrom at the end of that large room. As you move through the halls, you notice a humanoid figure appear near the maelstrom. Yourself. With a slight difference. The other you has 4 arms, and wields a longspear. It stands near the end of the floor in a calm manner, but detemination seems to seethe from it's eyes.
To the sides of the room, you notice your friends and family, shaking their heads in disappointment. They disappear soon after, however, and the image of yourself with the longspear moves in closer. It stops in the center of the room, spear ready to strike. As it comes closer, you notice an odd crystalline quality to the body.
Turn 1 - everyone goes
Status: -
Cypher
Doran
Helme
Hullric
Pazacku
Tenibri
Archivist
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 68 (8d10+24)
Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +4
Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (perfect)
Melee +1 longspear +12/+7 (1d8+5/×3), 2 claws +9 (1d4+1) or
2 claws +11 (1d4+3)
Ranged shortspear +11/+6 (1d6+3)
Longspear:
dice=Longspear]1d20 + 12; 1d8 + 5[/dice]
dice=Longspear]1d20 + 7; 1d8 + 5[/dice]
Claws 2x:
dice=Claws]1d20 + 9; 1d4 + 1[/dice]
Ranged Shortspear:
dice=Shortspear]1d20 + 11; 1d6 + 3[/dice]
dice=Shortspear]1d20 + 6; 1d6 + 3[/dice]
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That's... kind of me! Tenibri seems more amused by the appearance of the creature; it obviously can't be what it looks like... The idea of Tenibri with a spear in his hand was as strange as any he could think of.
Instead, he quickly repeats his earlier casting, a pit opening underneath the strange creatures' feet. "Stay away from the edges; watch your feet!"
You create a 10-foot-by-10-foot extradimensional hole with a depth of 10 feet per two caster levels (maximum 30 feet). You must create the pit on a horizontal surface of sufficient size. Since it extends into another dimension, the pit has no weight and does not otherwise displace the original underlying material. You can create the pit in the deck of a ship as easily as in a dungeon floor or the ground of a forest. Any creature standing in the area where you first conjured the pit must make a Reflex saving throw to avoid falling into it. In addition, the edges of the pit are sloped, and any creature ending its turn on a square adjacent to the pit must make a Reflex saving throw with a +2 bonus to avoid falling into it. Creatures subjected to an effect intended to push them into the pit (such as bull rush) do not get a saving throw to avoid falling in if they are affected by the pushing effect.
Creatures who fall into the pit take falling damage as normal. The pit’s coarse stone walls have a Climb DC of 25. When the duration of the spell ends, creatures within the hole rise up with the bottom of the pit until they are standing on the surface over the course of a single round.
It's true form is that of a crystalline creature with fleshy arms and legs, both counting four.
Strong saves: Fort, Ref // Weak save: Will
Resistances: Cold 5
Defensive abilities: Evasion; Spell resistance (moderate) vs arcane spells; DR 2/- vs precision damage
Doran charges the creature after a nasty remark by Helme. The Archivist observes any inaccuracies on their form, and gets struck by Doran. It tries to take a swing back with the longspear, but notices Doran too late to retaliate.
With this distraction, Tenibri summons yet another pit int he ground, and yet another creature disappears beneath the tiles. Doran barely jumps away from the side of the pit, and the Archivist throws a spear at him after standing up.
It gazes back at you from the pit, waiting for your next move.
Turn 2 - everyone goes
Status: Haste, Evil Eye hex -2 AC 4 turns
Cypher
Doran
Helme
Hullric
Pazacku
Tenibri
Archivist
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Cypher looks at their "Real" self and looks... disturbed.
Don't be fooled... It looks like your self image. I haven't actually looked like that in a long time... I should know, it was a pretty penny getting those scars removed.
Offering no further explanation, they stare down themselves and whisper.
I'm the only thing that matters...
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"Don't get hung up on its looks; that's just appearance. It's really a cool kind of crystalline creature; I wish I could see it that way now, actually!" Tenibri is initially pretty enthusiastic about the creature, but then his voice drops a bit.
"...and it's a tough one to fight! Resists cold, magic... even precision damage. We're going to have to get creative."
He thinks a moment, and begins casting the work of casting a spell. "Okay, this is an enlarge, who wants it? That pit's only going to last so long, so let's be ready when it comes up. It can't just stay down there forever."
This spell causes instant growth of a humanoid creature, doubling its height and multiplying its weight by 8. This increase changes the creature's size category to the next larger one. The target gains a +2 size bonus to Strength, a –2 size penalty to Dexterity (to a minimum of 1), and a –1 penalty on attack rolls and AC due to its increased size.
A humanoid creature whose size increases to Large has a space of 10 feet and a natural reach of 10 feet. This spell does not change the target's speed.
If insufficient room is available for the desired growth, the creature attains the maximum possible size and may make a Strength check (using its increased Strength) to burst any enclosures in the process. If it fails, it is constrained without harm by the materials enclosing it—the spell cannot be used to crush a creature by increasing its size.
All equipment worn or carried by a creature is similarly enlarged by the spell. Melee weapons affected by this spell deal more damage (see Table: Tiny and Large Weapon Damage). Other magical properties are not affected by this spell. Any enlarged item that leaves an enlarged creature's possession (including a projectile or thrown weapon) instantly returns to its normal size. This means that thrown and projectile weapons deal their normal damage. Magical properties of enlarged items are not increased by this spell.
After seeing you won't come in after him, the Archivist attempts to climb out of the pit, to no avail.
He tosses a shortspear at Doran, mostly out of spite.
After that, Tenibri finishes casting his spell, and Doran grows a bit larger.
Turn 3 - Everyone goes
Status :
Haste - 4 rnds remain
Archivist
-2 to saves until Helme's next action
-2 to AC 4 rnds
Cypher
Doran
Helme
Hullric
Pazacku
Tenibri
Archivist
As Doran delivers the final blow, the Archivist disappears into the aether. A wooden door appears at the edge of the void, and slowly opens. Through the door, you see the Farseer tower interior - a familiar scene, of six Pathfinders in a ritual circle around Wulessa. In retrospect, letting Doran thorugh first was not the brightest of ideas. His enlarged frame blocked the way entirely, and you couldn't get out until the spell ended. But well, we are all here now, safe and sound, in the Farseer tower.
Wulessa raises her head from her meditation, and admits her error.
"Agents, please accept my sincere apology. I was overzealous to study the archive, and failed witht he proper preparation. On the other hand, I was lucky to have brought you around to help me. For this, you all have my thanks."
She shakes hands with everyone individually and thanks you once again. She then invites you to sit with her for tea and comparison of notes. She informs you that a specialised team of researchers will be digging deeper into the archive to further explore its secrets, and thanks to your 'prodding', they will have a much better idea of what to expect once inside.
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"Please, can you tell us more about your experience inside the Archive? That must have been fascinating. Perhaps horrifying as well, but fascinating nonetheless." Tenibri leans in closely and listens intently to whatever she offers.
When the Pathfinders are leaving Wulessa and the Lodge, Tenibri finds their path running near one of the slave markets. His ire and frustration grows. [i]We spend our day battling for an individual's mind, and yet here in the streets people's whole bodies--their entirety of self--gets sold for another's profit.
When he sees a large enough crowd to receive his words, he yells "Enough!" Not even surprised at this point by his own outburst, he continues. "This is wrong, an abomination. We can't go on treating other people as possessions, to be bought and sold for profit! One day Golarion will be different, and Katapesh with it. Don't be on the wrong side of history. Free yourself from the bondage you impose on others, and be the force for change!"
Though he sees one or two slink away with what could possibly be shame on their face, he'll never truly know if his words his day made a difference.