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As the swarming constructs finally stop moving about, Touchy finally picks up the metal bar, eyeing it for a moment, before putting it back in the bag.
"It bends in the right places." He observes, "But could use better grips, for when things get slippery."
He grins, then puts it back in the bag it was in.
"The big ball over there has magical wards on it." He offers, as he wanders over to examine it more closely. "I might be able to dispel it, but would need about ten minutes."
He glances back, and grins again. "Things this size, you gotta go slow."
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Ilathor completes his analysis of the orb and ends the spell with a flourish.
"Touchy, if your efforts prove to be in vain, I propose we smash it to pieces before it renders more chaos," he suggests, fishing out a pair of scrolls. "It'd be a shame, but broken and safe suits our current needs better than whole and dangerous."
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[ooc][smaller]What was the strength of the aura Ilathor detected? It would indicate how hard the dispel might be and is something he would learn through Detect Magic
Ilathor determines that the aura is of moderate strength.
Zarta puts one hand on her hip.
*sigh*
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"Well then, guess its time to get reverential!" Touchy exclaims with a pleased grin.
Suddenly he starts taking off his clothes, and surprisingly quickly, he's standing there butt naked, but for his holy symbol.
It is not a pretty sight.
He kneels down in one corner, praying for a while.
Eventually, he stands back up, shakes himself a bit to get the kinks out (which you can't quite unsee), then turns to look at the orb. He doesn't bother to put his clothes back on yet.
"Now you see how Lord Touchy handles big balls." He mutters, before making a few gestures (mostly with his hands) and saying another prayer to Calistria.
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Touchy's spell washes over the Aucturn beacon and it and all the vines vanish.
Zarta appears less annoyed.
She lithely slips the wand back into the folds of her dress, her eyes
darting around the blasted vault. “Nicely done. I’ll go to Ambrus
and lift the lockdown. That being said, you still have work to do.”
Her gaze falls upon the dormant glass sphere, its fluid contents
now black and flecked with pinpricks of light. “I don’t know what
caused this to happen, but I do recognize that item. The Society
purchased it from the Arcanamirium a few weeks ago for further
study when they told us they suspected its magic was somehow
linked to the Dark Tapestry. It’s one of a set of three, and if this
one malfunctioned, I anticipate the others won’t be far behind.”
Zarta digs through one of the wrecked crates and emerges
with three small lead boxes etched with sigils. She places the
sphere into one of the boxes and fastens it shut. “At this point, our
responsibility is to contain these devices before they cause any
lasting damage. Get whatever supplies you need first. Once you
are ready, head to the Arcanamirium, find the other two items,
and place them inside these warding containers. Their magic is
keyed to each other, so you shouldn’t need to disarm the other
devices; just scoop them into the boxes and lock the lids. Once
we have all three, we can figure out where to go from there. Do
not delay, but tread carefully. The Society knows precious little
about the forces of the Dark Tapestry, other than that those who
deal with them haphazardly often find their sanity compromised.”
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Ilathor observes Touchy's ritual with a neutral expression. He must be popular with the Unquenchable Fire contingent of the faithful. Admittedly the most popular of our faith, but not the most useful.
He looks at Zarta. "Anything in here we can take with us?" he asks, gesturing to the numerous broken crates, their contents now bare to the world.
"I will briefly research the Dark Tapestry before we head off," he declares. "If you'll excuse me." While the others pull themselves together, he quickly heads to the Grand Lodge library to peruse some choice books on the matter. From the hallway, his voice faintly carries back. "You there, Pathfinder Agent, send for Janira Gavix. I'm calling in a favor. Library, immediately."
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As the last swarm goes down, Faliana stops moving, visably fighting something. After a moment her face goes slack, loosing the normally even-tempered, quasi-sagely energy fading completely. Her left eye twitches a few times before her face gains tension again, but differently. Where a crease had been there isn't, her normally somewhat full lips pulled out flat. A now masculine cast to her nose, and a focused angered energy taking over her bearing, that suddenly feels... shorter? Eyes narrow into a glare at the orb.
In a surprisingly deep voice for the woman, her body comments in polyglot, "Dhimoni, ndiri kukuudza ndedzedhimoni! Tinofanira kuibvarura pakarepo."
Her body moves as if to advance on the orb before catching sight of Touchy in the buff. Her body pauses for a second and shudders, focus broken. In a flash, Faliana's normal bearings and looks take back over. She also gives a start at the figure, quickly fanning her hands in front of her face. "Touchy if you're going to play with that giant ball, do it quick before Moke takes back over again and crushes it." She turns back to everyone else and gives a sheepish smile. "Sorry, that a moment ago was Moke. He's not liking the out of control artifact. He'd prefer to see it smashed and done with. But we can also let Touchy try dispelling the ball first."
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lifeless space between the stars.
15+: Most efforts to plumb the secrets of the Dark Tapestry
drive researchers to madness. Whatever powers lurk in the
void are hideously alien and, thankfully, pay little attention
to life on Golarion.
of the Dark Tapestry is Paucol the Gray, but the disturbing
things he’s learned have left him unstable and distractible.
He accepts visitors only by appointment.
astronomer’s depiction of Aucturn, the planet farthest from
the sun in Golarion’s solar system. Not much is known
about the enigmatic planet, other than that reaching it via
teleportation or portal is exceedingly difficult and that only
vile creatures can thrive in its poisonous atmosphere.
was a wizard called Ralzeros the Overwatched. Generations
ago, he built laboratories designed to study extraterrestrial
creatures and magic, before he mysteriously disappeared.
Ralzeros’s laboratories eventually became the groundwork
for the famous Blakros Museum, which was built upon the
foundations of the wizard’s estate.
- -- -
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Son knocks on the door, and using his deep, manly hero newscaster voice, says "Hello Sir! we're from the Grand Lodge and we've encountered problems with the Aucturn Beacon. We have it on good authority that you are an authority on all things Dark Tapestry related. We are admittedly out of our depth on this subject. Care for a friendly consult on the matter?"
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Ilathor burns through the relevant topics of the available books in the college library like a machine. The pages are barely flipped when he is ready for the next page, devouring the information within. Janira, standing on a step stool, has a hard time keeping up as his page turner. Finally, he rises, shakes the Halfling's hand and she runs on her way.
"Colleagues, I've learned much. I shall part your veil of ignorance. The Dark Tapestry is the space between stars, the far reaches of existence where their celestial energies are practically nonexistent. Many who study the topic first had lose their minds in the process, suffice it to say that we are exceedingly lucky that the alien powers that call the Tapestry home are apathetic or ignorant of our planet. The Society had a scholar on the topic, Paucol the Gray, but he has succumbed to a mild madness himself. However, his expertise is available if we wish to arrange it," he divulges, quickly summarizing the knowledge. After a brief pause for questions, he inhales deeply and begins speaking again.
"The orb Touchy dispelled resembles an astronomer's depiction of Aucturn, which, as you know, is the furthest planet from the Burning Mother in our solar system. While it is within the bonds of a sufficiently powerful Interplanetary Teleportation spell, the atmosphere would kill you swiftly. All but the most vile beasts could hope to thrive upon it's surface. Fortunately, Paucol the Gray was not the only scholar of our current subject, one Ralzeros the Overwatched, whose damned towers I've had experience with. His many laboratories within said towers were used to study the denizens of other planets and the magic they crafted, but he has since disappeared, allegedly lost in time and space. His works and estate became the foundation of the Blakros Museum," he concludes, pleased with his efforts.
"Yes, we have much to discuss and have many questions concerning the Dark Tapestry and it's most imminent scholars! Have you contact with Paucol the Gray? An appointment would be exceptionally helpful. Can you corroborate the alleged fact that Ralzeros the Overwatched's laboratory equipment were successful in studying creatures in our solar system? The equipment itself would put him well above his contemporaries, let alone the knowledge he gleaned from it," he begins, impassioned by his research. Relentlessly, he continues spewing questions until someone else moves to say something.
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The floor of this workplace is layered in charcoal and gravel, with
mounds of incense burning in regularly spaced wall sconces and
two metal braziers to the north. Worktables, chairs, and haphazard
stacks of papers take up the eastern half of the room. A glass
sphere floats above a desk in the western section of the room,
holding a roiling mass of dark liquid. Faint motes of light fly from
the orb to a wide summoning circle that has been carefully drawn
in the stone and ash, illuminating its circumference with subtly
shifting numerological sigils.
Maren, a human wizard, opens the door after pleas from Cayden.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be bothered. I'm doing an experiment on binding."
Inside a binding circle is a creature.
This six-eyed horror is vaguely shaped like a dead tree, but one with claws and tentacles and spidery legs.
It shouts in a strange language at the wizard.
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Touchy, his clothes thankfully back on, looks on with the others.
"Binding, you say? Why Lord Touchy has extensive experience in such things!" Touchy exclaims. He starts digging through his pack, excitedly. "Why I have some silk rope, and manacles right here. Properly padded to avoid chaffing, of course..."
He stops suddenly, frowning at the strange tentacled beast in the protective circle.
"Though that might prove an interesting addition."
He glances back at the others, then sighs. "Though I suppose it all might have to wait until later."
"That it there?" He asks, no one in particular, pointing towards the sphere floating over the desk.
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"By the gods, I now realize why they call you 'Touchy'..." says Son, walking over to Maren. "Mage Maren Fuln. We are here on behalf of Zarta. We are to secure your beacon over there and put it in one of those lead boxes until further notice. You see, the three beacons are resonating between each other and caused ours to explode with activity within the Grand Lodge vaults. Zarta wants us to isolate each beacon within separate lead boxes and return to her. Once the situation is under control she will contact you for an update. Now, do you require any assistance while we are here? who is this creature you have bound?"
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"Would you care to explain what exactly it is you've bound to this plane?" Ilathor inquires. "And are you aware of what it is saying to you?" he adds, nodding with approval at Son's summary of the situation.
"Your statement is quite false. You cannot hope to eat him from your binding circle unless he frees you." he comments. "He has no incentive to do so." Or it ruptures it's bonds. Who knows how strong such a beast is or how proficient Maren is with such magic. Typically, one experiments with calling creatures they can handle, however, too often I find what ought to be and what is the case are quite different.
"What are you and where do you come from? How long have you been held here?" he asks from the doorway.
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Now, do you require any assistance while we are here? who is this creature you have bound?"[/b]
"Yes Young man that glass sphere is the beacon. The creature is from the space from between the stars!"
He turns to Ilathor. "Yes I know it is quite evil I think it's called a yangethe"
The thing turns to Ilathor.
"If you have skin, how do you leave memories behind?"
“Lights, bright lights, to hold in the dark. When the dark
pushes back, the lights shine brighter, and there is balance,
a seal on the gate. But the dark is everywhere now, even
within the light, for the light now shines from the darkest
stone in orbit. Maybe Corners of Spheres can now unseal
the gate from inside. Why are all your senses on one head?” (DM Corner of Sphere's coming soon to a PFS scenario near you
[geography] 17+) “A door, a copper wall that moves. Pass from
one side to the other, and the space changes. Pass from
the other side, and it squirms. Built by a man going home
from home. Could not quite make it, so he brought some
of home through the door—made a house beyond the void.
But his guests are homesick; they want to see the worlds.
Would you kill to keep your taste?”
“Ralzeros. He could make shapes from words and pain from
thoughts. He loved this world but was drawn to another, like
gravity. He thought Corners of Spheres could let him live in
both, invited them into his house past space. But Ralzeros
did not like the answers, left Corners of Spheres scratching
at the door. Seems the lights are listening now. Do you
devour those who hurt?”
[engineering:
memories. One who longs for day to understand night. It
is hard to warm a cold void. If you stop breathing, do your
thoughts change color?”
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Son of Cayden converses with the creature via its telepathy and then shares the above with the group in Common. During telepathy, he answers some of the creature's questions:
"Senses on one head: one of our sense is everywhere, not just in the head;
Kill to keep my taste: it depends who I would have to kill- everything has a price;
Stop breathing, do thoughts change color: yes, yes they do. Definitely."
Finally, Son of Cayden asks the monster a question:
"How do you keep an ugly monster in suspense?"
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Ilathor can't help but to instinctively shiver as Nggilth-Tsa so bluntly comments on his skin. "Maren, you mentioned you were 'experimenting' with binding, yes? You've summoned a creature of this magnitude before, yes?" he asks nervously, still hanging around the doorway.
Turning to the others, he gestures to the Yangethe. "This is Nggilth-Tsa," relaying the name in Aklo. "It thinks highly of our skin. I'm sure some of you will revel in the compliment," he glances at Touchy, "but please consider the ramifications of this when considering your behavior."
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[/b]Finally, Son of Cayden asks the monster a question:
"How do you keep an ugly monster in suspense?"
You hear inside your head: "Human I will strip your skin as well"
Ilathor can't help but to instinctively shiver as Nggilth-Tsa so bluntly comments on his skin. "Maren, you mentioned you were 'experimenting' with binding, yes? You've summoned a creature of this magnitude before, yes?" he asks nervously, still hanging around the doorway.
"No I havne't. This is the first time"
[/ooc]
It turns to the wizard.
It strains against the circle.
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"Lord Touchy can appreciate a few tentacles as much as the next fellow... but we haven't even decided on safe words yet!" Touchy reminds the thing, with a grin.
"I think that deserves some punishment." Though his grin remains, his eyes seem to be reflecting something far darker. You're not sure if Touchy's idea of punishment is the same as a normal persons.
He says a prayer to Calistria, as he rubs a smooth metallic rod in his hands, before reaching out towards the strange aberration.
He then takes a step back, beside Faliana.
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Faliana stays quiet at the back, trying her hardest to keep Moke in control and from charging the thing and trying to smite it's 'clearly demon arse.' When the thing finally breaks out of the circle, Faliana lets go, and Moke breaks into a smile. He pulls out the lucerne hammer and gives a warcry rushing into the creature and then trying to slam a hammer into it.
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Glorne moves forward, raises his right fist causing his cool, pale mist to flare up to concentrate around it. He then turns his head sideways with a curious grin and points his right palm at the tree-like creature...
Description: A grease spell covers a solid surface with a layer of slippery grease. Any creature in the area when the spell is cast must make a successful Reflex save or fall. A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check. Failure means it can't move that round (and must then make a Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill for details). Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed. The spell can also be used to create a greasy coating on an item. Material objects not in use are always affected by this spell, while an object wielded or employed by a creature requires its bearer to make a Reflex saving throw to avoid the effect. If the initial saving throw fails, the creature immediately drops the item. A saving throw must be made in each round that the creature attempts to pick up or use the greased item. A creature wearing greased armor or clothing gains a +10 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks and combat maneuver checks made to escape a grapple, and to their CMD to avoid being grappled.
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"Maren, are you ok?! This is your mess, get up if you can and either get help or fight!" Ilathor orders before stepping up to Son. Idiot, what was he thinking?! Experimenting with binding in his bloody office and not a more secure space, this is why the arcane arts have a poor reputation among the lay people!
"This should help you get in close, judging by it's size and plentiful limbs, I suspect it will be able to strike you before you reach it," he explains, pulling a sheet of paper from his satchel and sticking it to the man. The paper immediately shrivels to dust as the arcane energy stored within it discharges and Son of Cayden disappears.
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Maren casts mage armor on himself. He shouts.
"I can't send it back"
The creature tries to beat the dwarf's spell.
Falina's strike with her hammer does minimal damage while Glorne's blast has no effect.
The creature steps 5' and attacks Glorne.
The three of it's tentacles try to strike Glaina.
It tries to grab Glorne and Galina.
It misses both of the party!
damage Yangethe 3, Glorne 32, Galina 25
Party is up again!
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"Hey, what'd I say about safe words." He growls, quickly waving one hand.
Touchy will saunter up behind Faliana, saying a prayer to Calistria as he goes, and give her an encouraging slap on the behind... at least it might have been a slap... more like a slow glide.
"Maybe something pointier... or sharper?" He suggests, with a waggle of his bushy gray eyebrows.
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Ilathor winces as the creature rips into his allies after their own attacks prove ineffectual. We need space to regroup, this is not in our favor. Raising his hands, he pushes the air in front of him down, creating a gaping hole in the floor beneath the Yangethe.
"Maren, fight or get help we are well passed sending the damn thing back!" he shouts.
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As Touchy gets a little, well, touchy, he finds that the behind is completely clenched. Moke looks back and growls something in Polygot.
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To damage or to attack? I can boost my attack roll with a spirit surge but not my damage. It can be applied after hearing the results (hallelujah) but I'm severely limited in how often I can do it. I could have also used power attack for damage... actually Moke would probably have used that without hesitation, I forget I have that.
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Faliana boosts her attack and hits. Glorne's moringstar hits as well.
It tries to save against the pit.
It falls into the hole!
It tries to climb and howls in Aklo. The slick walls prevent it from climbing. It tries again. Again it fails to make headway!
party is up again
damage yangethe 23, glorne 32
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Faliana's spear starts to move the wrong direction subtly but surely off course to hit. Her face scruches and a small ethereal explosion whips around her shifting her hair and clothes, boiling a cloud of white light and what looks like wind as well out to the rest of the room, but not affecting anything else. As it dissipates the her spear is lodged firmly in the thing.