This is the body of my friend's father. I would recognise this pendant anywhere. We need to tell Sabriyya her father is here. However, I think we can wait until we have explored the rest of the complex to make sure it is safe. I am sure she would not mind us using her father's gear for now as long as we offer it back to her once we head back to the city
Von-Dai shrugged. "I see no reason not to. I don't know how to use the rapier or armor, but rope is always helpful."
Sevrus will do a quick search for traps
Von-Dai, upon seeing the vibrant murals, begins cursing himself for not casting prestidigitation to clear out the cobwebs and dust, but begins studying the vibrant murals, taking notes as he goes.
Sevrus will look round for something we can use to wedge the double doors open to make sure they don't slam shut behind us
Von-Dai frowns and casts detect magic at the walls as they walk, trying to see if there is any sort of enchantment or anything on them. He will also scan the green pool to see if there is any magic there, as well.
Marcus readies himself in case something emerges from the water.
Sevrus also readies in case something comes out of the water
Marcus will try to lash the blob with his whip.
power attack, inspire courage
"Goodness gracious!" Von-Dai calls out in shock and surprise, grabbing his staff and hurling it towards one of the monsters before drawing it back to him.
Sevrus stabs at the ooze nearest to her.
Von-Dai yelps as the thing tries to get at him, considers retreating, but then notices that Marcus and Sevrus have the one attacking him in a pincer attack. Groaning, he adopts a defensive stance, using his staff to knock tentacles away from himself.
[dice - sneak attack damage]2d6[/dice]
[ooc]Second round
Marcus will again lash at the one attacking him.
power attack, inspire courage
Von-Dai breathes a sigh of relief as the last amoeba dissolves into a puddle, then whirls around as someone comes running up behind him. "Hold, stranger! Who are you?"
After a lengthy trip through the Gecko piling and stopping to heal as many of her, now likely former, friends as she could - and draining her wand of cure in the process - Natalya emerges into a strange vaulted room and face to face with a bunch of weapon wielding people.
"I'm a friend!" She says hurriedly, trying to keep her common as clear as possible. "A pathfinder, from Thuvia!" She slowly reaches to her belt to show the sigil of the society. "I'm here to help."
"Another Pathfinder? There seem to be a lot of you about!"
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"There are thousands of us. Hundreds in this city alone."
Erond calmly channels and heals everyone a little, but importantly stabilizes their downed ally.
"I think that Elendar has been grievously wounded. I will return to the Pathfinder lodge and ensure that he has medical attention. If you are willing to hold here for an hour or so I can have someone sent in his place."
Erond leaves to get Elendar treatment and to find a replacement Pathfinder.
A tattooed half-elf arrives at your campsite, dressed in garish colours, holding a wayfinder. He slides the thing into a pouch, then nods his head in greeting, "Miss Heidmarch said you could use a bit of help in your exploration... Which is kind of my specialty... or, at least, Sinashakti's, and as a follower, he lends me a little of that."
Von-Dai nods as Natalya enters. ”Ah, good. Your help is most appreciated. I think we’ll need it.”
As they rest, another new face joins them. Strange, all these new faces. Still, they both look like Pathfinders. ”Welcome, then. What is your name?”
"Welcome, I am Sevrus, pleased to meet you."
"I'm Natalya." The paladin offers, presenting a strong grip in handshake to Von-Dai. "At home I'm called 'The Firebird'."
After introductions are made she asks the awkward question. "So why have you attacked here? I make friends with the Tower Girls, most of them are not bad people."
"There's been something leading them into darker territory than their normal pursuits. "
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"We have done what we can to prevent unnecessary death, negotiating and accepting surrenders when possible. We convinced the original owner of the shard of pride to give it up and to seek redemption. We are lead to believe that further in the crow there is another of these shards. They are capable of controlling the minds of the user. Ours has pointed us to the next shard but they can also infect with their own particular sin."
After a quick though,
"Oh ya I am Erond I have been the chronicler thus far."
Zeltyieli laughs, "Trust me to forget to introduce myself properly. I'm Zeltyieli, cleric of the Walker of Worlds, Pathfinder, and Harrower."
His smile fades as he listens to the discussion, and his light tone is gone, when he speaks, "Then it is as serious as Miss Heidmarch said. Though I don't much like the thought of fighting those who are being magically controlled. "
"What shards?" Natalya asks, looking confused. "I just got a note from a friend of mine in the city that said this was going on. What is the Shard of Pride? What sins are we talking about here?"
"Ah, then Venture-Captain Heidmarch did not give you the full briefing. Very well, allow me to explain." His tone unconsciously shifting to that of lecturer, Von-Dai continues. "A few days ago, Venture-Captain Heidmarch asked us to locate an informant of hers who is a member of the Tower Girls, Natalya Vancaskerkin. After tracking her down, we managed to find her in a rundown building in the Underbridge, in possession of this." Here, Von-Dai pulls the Shard of Pride out of the dimensional bag. It looks to be a jagged triangle made of some coppery metal. Nestled into a socket is a scarlet and blue ioun stone. "This is a piece of a powerful artifact known as the Shattered Star, although it has powers in its own right. On its own, this allows the wielder to create a fairly convincing illusion of the wielder's choice once per day. It also makes the wielder more resistant to the effects of illusions, and provides insight into their skills. However, it also carries a terrible curse. It invokes delusions of grandeur in the bearer, and they are less effective if forced to be subordinate to another. They also refuse to help others in accomplishing their tasks, and simultaneously refuse help from others. The ioun stone, provided by Venture-Captain Heidmarch, neutralizes the curse and makes it safe to carry. Once we found what Natalya had, we were able to convince her to come to the Pathfinder Society and neutralize the curse on her. This Shard is one of seven, and when focused on, showed us a vision to lead us to the next one, buried deep within the bowels of the Crow."
Looking at the newcomers, he says, "Natalya found this shard, and then broke with the Tower Girls to form her own gang because of the curse. If the wrong person gets their hands on these Shards, it could be terrible. We came to the Crow to recover the next shard, hidden deep below. Unfortunately, that meant we had to fight the Tower Girls. As Erond said, we have done all we can to avoid unnecessary fights, and most have surrendered. These amoeba we just fought weren't so keen on doing so, however."
Von-Dai considers the rest of the situation, then says, "As for the sins referred to, you have heard of the seven sins - greed, pride, lust, wrath, envy, sloth, and gluttony? Each of those has their origins in Thassilonian magic, with each corresponding to a school of magic. Greed was Transmutation, Pride was Illusion, Lust was Enchantment, Wrath was Evocation, Envy was Abjuration, Sloth was Conjuration, and Gluttony was Necromancy. Each of the ancient Thassilonian Runelords was said to be a master of one of those schools of magic. I've made something of a study of Thassilon," here, Von-Dai points to the ioun stone floating around his head with a rune in it, "which is how I know much of this."
"Any questions?"
Zeltyieli listens to the recounting, "Do we have an idea which of the shards we're tracking? Might help us figure out what kind of magic well need to protect against."