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Anariels goblin head droops as the woman condescends at her and then snaps back up as she finishes, opening her mouth in a wide grin and showing rows of huge teeth. Thanks missus! she barks before scurrying over to Strake. Hopping on to his table she sends various bits and pieces of cutlery flying as she thrusts out a hand to him.
Reporting fer duty Captain Strake sir! she shouts, almost quivering to attention. What's up ser, place seems downright gloomy, we was told it was a party.
I got's a message for you ser, but its private like, for your ears only she whispers, leaning in.
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"Thank you. It seems we got here a day too late to see the full festivities. I'm going to see if we can do anything to help our host. I hope you enjoy and equally fine vintage tonight."
Grognar walk over with Anarial.
And whispers into Strokes ear, "If we talk in private I have some very magical boots I would like to show you."
Automatic aid diplomacy for +4.
The young man sighs as Anariel approaches and begins speaking to him.
”For the last time, I don’t know this Strake—magical boots you say?”
The young man beckons over to a more private spot and begins admiring Grognar’s magical footwear.
”I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my name’s Kirhed and I’m just a humble Absalomic cobbler; I’m no captain. Goodness, these are marvelous! Wherever did you get them?”
”I have no idea how I got here. I was—“
Kirhed clutches his head in pain!
”I-it hurts to think about…”
”I-I remember a hand. A clawed and rubbery arm, covered in hideous blinking eyes, reaching from a robe to grab me—then everything went black.”
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Anariel jabs Grognar in the ribs and hisses quietly, this isnt Strake, he has lost his mind or rather his memories. Probably something called a Hyakume. They are weird monk monsters that can rob you of your memories, leaving you as nothing more than a charmed husk. This sounds really bad. We need to find out where the actual Strake is. This guy cannot tell us anything and the shoe obsession is annoying.
Grognar is going to around and make smalltalk, introducing himself and eventually when it seems natural ask if people saw where Strake went after the party lastnight and the beginning of the one tonight.
The grizzled man with the eyepatch just gives Grognar a sideways glance and hmphs.
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Xanaphia uses her touch of glory domain power on herself, then approaches the green-haired half elf and human man in extravagant clothing. ”Whatcha drinking? I wouldn’t mind a glass myself. Speaking of, it looks like our fine host has been imbibing heartily. Was he celebrating last night as well, perhaps?”
The man with the eyepatch looks at Grognar with steadfast intensity before the stubbornness fades, leaving behind worry.
”I…don’t know what happened exactly. I’m the head servant here and Strake’s first mate during his sailing days—I’m concerned about him; I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. It all started last night:
“For the most part, it seemed like a normal night. Strake has been hosting this party for years, you know, and new people come and go each night. I do remember that a large palanquin, carried by a dozen servants and nearly fifteen feet wide, stopped in front of the gates for a while. Two servants wearing red robes came into the party for bit, but they didn’t mingle much. Sometime after midnight, Strake disappeared. When he came back, he seemed to have lost his mind.”
”They’re priests from the Pagoda of the Red Mantis, the main temple to Achaekek here in town. Absolute fanatics. They call themselves the Claws of Achaekek and they always travel in pairs of two. Each wields a single sawtooth sabre, and they think of themselves as the arms of the Mantis God. I hear they cannot speak or hear, and that they use a secret sign language to communicate. They were here for maybe half an hour, handed Strake a missive, then left. Strake was so pale as he was reading it…he went with the Claws as they left.
“The palanquin, it is said to belong to the Master of the Pagoda of the Red Mantis, who arrived years ago from a distant land to worship the Mantis God. Some say the Master is not human at all, but rather a terrible creature covered with hundreds of watchful eyes. Strake’s condition is not unique. Others have entered the Pagoda of the Red Mantis in the past and emerged with different memories. I have heard that somewhere beneath the pagoda is a great hall with many prisoners, each filled with stolen memories that the church has deemed too dangerous to be outside the temple walls.”
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Grognar will request direction to temple that the has the Master of the red Mantis Pagoda then he will follow up.
"I'm going to be subtle about this and you should be to. Does our Strake has any allegiances or even good working relatinships that would make him a target or does he have any enemies in town?"
The grizzled man looks over his shoulder and beckons Grognar to a spot in the villa without prying eyes.
“Yes, he does hear an odd bit of information about Pathfinders from time to time, although few people in Ilizmagorti know it. He takes notes on any Pathfinder news he can gather and is particularly interested in the Decemvirate. Pathfinder agents are always scheming for influence and wealth, and their secretive Decemvirate are the worst of the lot.”"
*
The Pagoda of the Mantis, while on the other side of town from Strake’s villa, is a difficult sight to miss. Two enormous statues of Red Mantis assassins stand on either side of an open gate, leading into a courtyard. Inside the courtyard stands an enormous stone pagoda. A crimson and white banner depicting crossed mantis arms hangs from the front of the temple.
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Just before approaching the pagoda Xanaphia uses her wand of heightened awareness and casts an extended freedom of movement. She looks at her (visible) fellow Pathfinders and says, ”Well, shall we?” As she remembers something else, she points to a particular scroll on her bandolier and says to everyone, ”Oh, and before I forget, just in case—this is a scroll of stone to flesh, but let’s hope we don’t need it.”
The moment any of the Pathfinders set foot beyond the threshold of the gate to the courtyard, a slight pain upon their forehead as a glowing, blood-red sigil the size of a clenched fist appears upon their forehead, depicting a pair of crossed mantis claws—the unholy symbol of Achaekek. The Pathfinders manage to hide behind a hedge of bushes just inside the courtyard’s wall before anyone can see and begin to assess the situation.
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"Good idea. Once that is done cast the spells you need to fight and we make a break for the pagoda. We have have different faces tomorrow so if these disguises are lost not big deal."
Grognar says this while casting heroism (item), shield of faith (spell-like ability), deathward, stoneskin revelation)(more to come when I'm get home) 4 rounds used.
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Anariel examines the strange glowing symbols and quickly casts a greater dispel, enhancing it with her arcane power.
Anariel sticks out her tongue, Well, that didnt work, lets try again!
Hmm, this place must inhibit magic, lets give it one more go but if this doesnt work we are just going to have to sneak inside!
The Pathfinders make their way toward the Pagoda of the Mantis proper, none of the Achaekek worshipers pay them a second thought—as far as they know, they’re supposed to be here.
*
*
After a relatively brief search of the ground floor of the pagoda, the Pathfinders find a set of four unguarded staircases arranged in the corners of a large square that descend down underground for a long ways—long enough that the bottom of the stairs cannot be seen from the top. Nearby carvings depict pilgrims of Achaekek descending the staircases and bowing before a giant purple creature covered in a thousand horrific eyes all over its body. There seems to be no acolytes anywhere nearby.
What is quickly determined, however, is that each staircase is absolutely silent—the silence begins at the first step of the stairs; where or if it ends cannot be determined without descending the stairs.
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Before they descend the stairs Anariel adds an extended shield and extended mirror image spell. The rest of her buffs are on her profile, there are an awful lot of them.
She will be invisible, in the form of a goblin and actively stealthing while using blend. Blend means she doesnt need cover or concealment while stealthing, assuming something can see through her invisibility/mind blank combination. She can be picked up by scent, blindsense, blindsight or similar abilities but I dont believe true seeing or see invisibility penetrate mind blank if relevant.
I leave the choice of staircase entirely to the rest of the group. If combat breaks out she always uses her heightened awareness to add to her init which is reflected in her stat line.
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” Well, they all seem the same...Northwest sounds as good as any other.” Just before descending Xanaphia puts her new favorite quicken rod back in her scabbard of many blades and replaces it with her silent rod, then retrieves a scroll of invisibility and activates it on herself. Xanaphia stays a cowardly safe distance behind the rest of the Pathfinders.
The Pathfinders descend the silent stairs and Grognar finds that there is an alarm in the stairwell. If they try to use one of the other stairwells, they similarly find an alarm in each of them.
With a shrug, Xanaphia silently tries to dispel the alarm.
*
*
Four stairwells lead into the corners of this large chamber. A reflecting pool, several feet deep and filled with tranquil water, fills almost the whole room. An assortment of stone platforms rises above the water. On the central platform stands an enormous golden statue of a praying mantis, embedded with gems. The walls of the room are lined with scores of alcoves, some of which contain slumped humanoid figures—six humans, two half-orcs, and a single monkey goblin. Six massive silver, bronze, and steel bells gently float above the waters of the room. They ring of their own accord, creating a powerfully calming sound that echoes through the whole hall. Six floating eyeballs drift about within the room.
Before the statue are seven meditating individuals: six humans bearing red robes kneel down upon the surface of the water. The seventh is a large, corpulent creature with purple rubbery skin that kneels in the water right in front of the statue; this creature wears a robe upon which a large number of sawtooth sabres sized for creatures smaller than it dangle . The corpulent being’s skin is covered with hundreds—if not thousands—of folds that each contain a blinking eyeball.
With the eyes upon its arm, the hyakume looks at the Pathfinders’ descent down the stairs and swiftly splashes the reflecting pool’s water upon the humans before him, interrupting their meditation that they also notice the newcomers!
Silence The silence ends right at the last step of the stairwell.
Dimensions The ceiling of this room rises 20 feet above the ground level. The golden statue of a praying mantis in its center is 15 feet tall. Each of the bells glows with a soothing, warmly colored radiance, lighting up the room. The bells are 10 feet tall and 5 feet across at their base. The bells hover in the air, each floating 5 feet above a small platform as marked on the map. The bells to the east are silver, the bells to the west are bronze, and the bells to the north and south are steel.
Water The water in this room is only 2 feet deep, meaning that Medium or Small creatures can wade through it, although they treat it as difficult terrain. Large and larger creatures can walk through the water as if it were normal terrain. The platforms around the room provide places to stand. The platforms below the bells also provide places to stand for Medium or smaller creatures—taller creatures cannot fit beneath the bells without squeezing.
Ringing the Bells A creature can activate the effects of the bells using one of two methods. They can ring a bell by succeeding a ranged or melee attack roll against it. The bell’s AC is equal to an Average skill check DC for this group that number is 31. This attack can be made as a part of a full attack. Alternatively, creatures can ring a bell as part of a move action by jumping on top of it, which requires a successful Average DC 31 Acrobatics check and costs 20 feet of movement. On a failure, the creature moves the bell, but not enough to ring it. A creature who is trained in Perform gains a +5 bonus on attack rolls or Acrobatics checks to ring bells. A creature who is trained in Perform (percussion instruments) gains a +10 bonus instead. Each creature can ring only one bell per round, and the same bell cannot be rung more than once per round. When a bell is rung, the ringer must also target a creature within 60’ of the rung bell to experience the bell’s effects.
Eyes The purple circles are the floating eyes.
Round 1
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Anariel
Grognar
Master of the Pagoda {prone}
Thereus
White {prone}
Black {prone}
Yellow {prone}
Green {prone}
Blue {prone}
Pink {prone}
Xanaphia
???
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Grognar will click his heels activating his boots of speed (free) he casts a quickened divine power (swift), he then casts euphoric tranquility (standard), moves using airwalk, haste and longstrider to get up to the Master of the Pagoda and takes his free touch attack against hopefully prone flat-footed touch AC.
Grognar knows what the bells do so he starts relaying the keypoints.
"Keep relaxing a while."