"Delightful," the hat agrees.
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"Darn right, Kiyoko. That was weird. Stranger and stranger, hey?" He looks to Lady Naysha "First it said 'tasty' and then it said 'rude,' and then it said 'left me.' Was it the fox's pet, maybe? Or a familiar like Bobby here?"
Ruslo looks around. "Well, shall we see what's down this hall here?" He pauses. "What do you think? That spiral staircase is the only way up out of here. Should one of us stay at its base to keep the fox from fleeing back topside while the rest of us look around?"
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With a plan formulating Ruslo starts to peer around the stacks in the northeastern alcove. Most of the books are of little interest with a mission on the line and no scroll cases seem to be floating around. As he heads a bit deeper in to an intersection of stacks and hallways he spots two open doors leading into adjacent rooms.
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Eranahu moves up with Ruslo to the intersection. "Oh, yeah. Now this is where the fox could also give us the slip. What? We have one person stay at the stair, I stay here watching that doorway, and the rest of you head into the door to the left then? We have a hunter at each rabbit hole then!" Eranahu becomes more enamored with idea once he can put it into terms he understands more and he begins to nod along with his own words as he looks to Ruslo.
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”Guard the stairs?” Fuzzzy remarks. ”Oh, yes, I’m a great guard. At least, I think I am! Yes, I must be.” He wanders over to the stairs and stands on them, looking very serious. A moment later, he just sort of looks content to stand there, but not really on edge. Like he’s already forgotten why he’s standing there.
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As the group enters the magical light sources wash over the pitch black murk and floating debris. The only sound is the slosh of water as Ruslo moves behind Lady Naysha.
No traps are present so the duo begins to nervously peer around the shelves. As Ruslo rounds the last corner he hears a loud slap on the water behind him...quickly turning around he realizes it is a large map that slid from a top shelf. It is unusual in that the lands are quite different than current maps with Tian Xia and Avistan together as a super-continent. It looks to be of some value and better returned to the Master of Scrolls rather than floating in the murk.
The group finds little else of interest before Lady Naysha once again feels something swimming around her. Turning around it is luckily just more pamphlets floating around.
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Back at the stairs Fuzzzy notices the periodic surges of water have resumed above as it pours down the stairs.
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Likely to the surprise of no one the room is illuminated to reveal rows upon rows of bookshevles housing tomes, scrolls, maps, and other oddities. As the group sifts through it looking for any signs of their prey or the scroll fragments Eranahu notices a deeper alcove. Floating among the debris in is a torn but apparently waterproof scroll.
Picking it up to look at it reveals another piece of the riddle that must have been dropped or floated into the room.[ooc]Handout #3.[/oc]
With no more worms or cunning foxes that the group knows of they can return to the hallway. If they head further in they find that it winds back around to another doorway near the stairs where Fuzzzy waits.
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Ruslo picks up the map. "Well, well, what do we have here. Hmmm. Nice." He stows it in his bag, then follows Lady Naysha.
Ruslo checks in on Fuzzzy and let's Lady Naysha read the next riddle fragment.
After hearing the new verse of the poem he rubs his jaw, making. scratching noise with his stubble. "Well, what do you make of that? Not a very nice poem at all, huh...?"
He leads the way to the next door on the opposite side of the library.
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The group trudges through the waters wondering if the Pathfinder Society covers dry cleaning until they reach a mirrored intersection on the opposite side. However the doors to these rooms are barred and the first door (south) is secured with a simple lock. If they try the other door (north) they find the lock taken apart but the door is jammed in place by the water on each side and will require some brute force to push through.
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Finding the door locked, Lady Naysha calls out for Fuzzzy. "Hey, Fuzzzy! Can you give this door a little 'knock'?"
While she waits for Fuzzzy and Bobby to come magically unlock the door, she moves over to the stuck one and points it out to Eranahu. "Give me a hand? This one's stuck and I'm not the strongest."
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Fuzzzy wanders over to the voices calling him and grins. He goes up to the locked door -- at Bobby's insistence -- and knocks loud with his hand. "KNOCK!" he shouts rather grandly.
He checks to see if the lock is unlocked.
Either way, he wanders off back to the stairs a moment later -- at Bobby's insistence.
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Lady Naysha and Eranahu struggle against the weight of the door but a new situation quickly evolves as Fuzzzy works on his door across the hall.
The lock clicks satisfyingly as if answering the loud knock of Fuzzzy BUT as he tests the door it is violently pushed open by the outside water that is now rushing past the group. The previously dry room is filling with water that threatens the contents if the door isn't pulled shut quickly.
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The group quickly files into the room aided by the flow of water. They all manage to successfully cram into the room before shutting the water out except for 4 inches.
The group quickly surveys the new room to find it filled to the brim with volumes of linguistics treatises, language primers, and inscriptions. While looking over it Eranahu holds up a traveler's dictionary that could translate Sylvan into Common! Aside from that there isn't anything of note the group could find.
As the group prepares to push into the next room they realize there is a scrap of paper pinned to it they did not notice before due to the commotion. It happens to be a fragment of the fey scroll!
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Ruslo and Eranahu easily push the door through the waist deep water revealing the last room on this level.
The ripples from the door crash into a thin waterfall dropping from a grate in the ceiling fifteen feet above, creating a curtain in the doorway to this flooded room. Beyond, mounted animal heads glower from virtually every inch of every wall. Stuffed specimens also lurk beneath the dark water, their antlers, horns, and claws breaking the surface here and there. In the eastern corner, a large gilded cage sits mostly submerged, its waters thick with embalmed birds bobbing at the surface.
A square that is part of a deep bog has roughly 4 feet of standing water. It costs Medium or larger creatures 4 squares of movement to move into a square with a deep bog, or characters can swim if they wish. Small or smaller creatures must swim to move through a deep bog. Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.
The water in a deep bog provides cover for Medium or larger creatures. Smaller creatures gain improved cover (+8 bonus to AC, +4 bonus on Reflex saves). Medium or larger creatures can crouch as a move action to gain this improved cover. Creatures with this improved cover take a –10 penalty on attacks against creatures that aren’t underwater.
As Ruslo is the first to breach the room his ever sharp eyes lock onto the cage on the far side of the room...inside is...the initiate Virml from earlier?! The water is up to his neck and as he cries out you can see nearly all his teeth are missing. Flying around his head with large pliers are two fairy creatures tormenting him. One turns to the group and shrieks.
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As the group enters the chanting is heard from near the ceiling.
"Run away human or you will lose your teeth too!" the fey laughs atop the perch as Ruslo is now convinced that the third fey is an ally and feels compelled to flee from the smaller fairies.
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With a whir of wings the green pliers come darting for Eranahu!
"Pretty teeth all for me! To replace those lost to thee...mother!" it sings while attempting to force them into the mouth of the ranger but to no avail. The fairy throws a tantrum mid air now close enough to see the gaunt features and mouth filled with multitudes of mismatched teeth.
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These two creatures are Tooth Fairies or fey created when a child's tooth is buried in a place with connection to the First World. They use their magical pliers to pull out the teeth or pinch the fingers of would be attackers.
This creature is a Nixie or type of aquatic fey that protects bodies of water from predators and careless humans. They do this through confusion often opting to run their enemies away with Charm Person.
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Nixie: is it evil?
Eranahu is more than a little freaked out that this thing just tried to steal his tooth! He contemplates dropping his bow to attack this thing with his hand ax, but looking at the water he does not relish the thought of his bow being submerged. Against his better judgment, takes a shot at this tooth fairy point blank.
After his reactionary shot, Eranahu looks to the Nixie. "We don't wish to intrude upon your watery domain! We wish peace and would leave you be.". The words are forced out in a rush as his eyes dart back to the plyers.
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At the sight of the caged Virml, Lady Naysha bursts out lasting. She exclaims something in another language.
She wipes a tear from her eye from laughing so hard.
Lady Naysha points at the tooth fairy and shouts something at it!
As Lady Naysha points and chatters away a curious thing happens. Suddenly there's a the flapping of wings and trio of tooth fairies armed with pliers. They fly right at the enemy tooth fairy and try to steal its teeth with their pliers!
Then Lady Naysha's fairy friends vanish, as quick as they came.
Lady Naysha giggles and waves goodbye to her vanished fairy friends.
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You know Nixies are typically neutral creatures.
The tooth fairy uses the pliers to steal (maneuver) teeth which can hurt your charisma and cause profuse bleeding to occur (1 CHA damage and 1 Bleed damage). Stolen teeth can be replaced and healed within 10 minutes which also staunches the bleeding.
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The tooth fairy shrieks.
"What! Is that more of me! Pulling my tee-tee-tee-teeth!" it stutters.
Seeing Eranahu start to pull back his bow it bites the ranger but cannot even pierce skin. The ranger shakes off the fey before firing a shot into its small body but it seems to shake it off without much pain. It starts to rhyme again as a hook snags it between the wings dragging it down to the water...where it proceeds to explode into a cloud of sparkling dust and teeth.
While the smell is putrid the group is able to weather any apparent ill-effects from the death throes of the first fairy.
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The remaining tooth fairy waves his pliers around casting a spell on Ruslo.
He feels his eyes suddenly get very heavy and falls asleep in the murky water.
The nixie above laughs as she fires a crossbow bolt at Eranahu.
The bolt digs into his shoulder but he is able to shrug off most of the pain.
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