Anzarra is confused by the zombies sinking their own ship and wonders why they would do such a thing. She hopes that the sharks don't get indigestion.
Anzarra tells the crew to see if they can find purchase for the anchor, since these islands seem to disappear. If it is too deep though, she just tells them to do their best to maintain position while she and the rest of the strike team go in to investigate.
She examines the building before entering, searching for mental connections to things that she has learned previously, but she also casts detect magic to see if this is some kind of enchantment.
After entering, she keeps detect magic up, and starts searching through the items and luggage to see what she can find... useful items or items that tell them more about what plane this building came from.
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It's clearly extra-planar but discovering from exactly what sort of plane it hails, what function it served, etc is a challenge. Also figuring what part are "original" to the room and which got transported here is a challenge. knowledge planes and/or knowledge engineering everyone. (I'll take the highest and other aid).
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She jumped off with the others. This place was odd, it was not a craft as such. It has the feel of a way station, a kind of transit point.
She inspected the doors and room beyond for signs that parts of it had been manufactured with mass production methods. Then the clothing, luggage, and desk. She looked then looked for power conduits and sockets, computer panels, or interface instruments.
The party quickly puts together clues as to the nature of the strange building - it and most thing in it are mass-produced but the goods strewn around are like the goods in Tom Stoer's bag, apparently drawn from across planes. Moreover, these goods seem to have burst from the luggage of a variety of unusual and quite dead humanoids. It is difficult to know if they died of dehydration or some kind of shock at this point - the bodies are now partially mummified.
The building itself is only moderately advanced, an Inn or a later equivalent. Anzarra estimates it's only a few centuries more advanced than Ovium. Further investigation involves Lady Lyra looking at the primitive computer system on the other sides of the counter - they mostly yield an instructive map of the building though you also can determine of the names of whoever or whatever was in some of the rooms (plus meaningless home address and payment method data)
One plausible scenario that the occurs to Lady Lyra is that the travelers were fleeing a disaster of some sort on the plane where this planar "flying dutchman" began and some process in the middle of the rout killed them - indeed, it is possible the simple shock of interplanar was the killer.
One very significant thing Anzarra is able to detect is a strong source of planar magic perhaps two floors above her (the floor of the building must thus be fairly thin to not stop these emanations). An analysis reveals that automatic doors would be perilous to use but Arlo is able to bash open a door to leading to stairs. Lady Lyra can estimate you have two hours of stability for "Palace" so up people go to third floor. As the group goes to the door leading out of the stairwell, you here a strange, scratching, lisping voice say: "he-llo? Can underspand me? Do thot be alarmed!" and the door opens to reveal an octopus-like-creature, five tall and maybe seven feet deep, on the other side of the door, eyeing the group cautiously. Are youth the resgue party? Thigs have been divicult!. It does not detect as evil.
"Eh, something like that", Arlo eyes the strange octo-creature, looking for any chain to break, or force fields to shut down.
As she powers up the old type computer she pulls off as much data as she can. Then brings up a map. But the one thing she notes is now she has activated and reappeared some of the palaces systems. Is that whatever its power core is, it's active and unstable.
"I think I have triggered something, whoever got this thing to planes jump really made a rush job of it. Whatever power cord this palace is using it in full cascade failer. We have two hours of stability before it ether fails and I suspect BOOM! and a nude size boom, so even if we set off now we will not get out of the blast range. We need to get to the core and make this thing crash jump away somewhere safe."
With the door open and survivor found.
She seeks to jumps past it.
But it's too large and in the way.
"Come in, I need to get past to the power core"
She stops, thinking
"The Zombie Ship, these people here were running from something, a disaster on their own plane. Could this be a plage craft? If so it may be a good thing we let this place blow."
She goes back to items and looks for cameras or phones then to computer digital news in the archive. Or net history showing news or images.
Previously:
Anzarra gathers up all the luggage and items from the other plane and tosses them one by one out the door to her crew so that she can examine them more thoroughly later, and perhaps sell them on the black market if they are not dangerous. They at least will be collectible curiosities.
______
Now:
Anzarra addresses the intelligent octo-person.
Yes, we can understand you mostly.
We weren't sent to rescue you, but would be happy to do so. Can you tell us the nature of the problem?
She doesn't answer Lyra because she is waiting for Octo to reply, but it is an interesting idea. She wonders if the Zombie ship was related to the island in some way, and again, why in the world they would sink their own ship.
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----Before-----
Although she was only gone for about a week, Moira returns with the weight of years on her shoulders. Meeting up with the group shortly before their departure to the Palace, she seems distracted by melancholy. Her eyes reflect boundless echoes of time outside time, a hundred or a thousand lifetimes passed through them.
----The Palace---
She remains quiet throughout the initial leg of the journey, ready to act if necessary but out of her element on the sea and at range. One into the palace, she keeps her eye out for trouble but doesn't engage until the octo-creature is discovered. At the sight of something so new and unexpected, her melancholy takes a back seat to excitement. "Always happy to help, indeed. Can you tell us your name, and where you came from?"
During the flight from the zombie pirates, Paritosh would have been willing and suggested the idea of his dropping fire onto the enemy ship, but obviously things were handled well enough to preclude the need for that.
-----------
"Moonbeam and I are perfectly willing to help rescue this octo-being as well."
Moira will also ask for a cast of Mage Armor from her wand before exiting the boat.
With Arlo and Lady Lyra pushing forward, the octopus-thing rolls to the side to make room for them to rush forward, saying "Goblu, rutu, smartu... Yes, gotha ahead if nezary..."
When Arlo and Lady Lyra very carefully open the door of the room Anzarra pointed out, they see a strange sight. The room is painted robins-egg blue and has had any furnishings removed, with only a large, multi-part device in the center. The very center of the device is a smooth egg-shaped piece of grannite or similar stone, 5' high and 3' across, perhaps turning slowly. Not on any base but balanced on the ground. Around it are four gray metal machines, shaped like microscopes or drill presses, each facing the egg and each with a needle or fiber extending and almost touching. The each have blinking LEDs in various places.
The four machines are connected by a single, circular tubes of transparent organic material, like an umbilical cord. the tube goes through the center of each machine in turn. Within the tube, a black-gray-red liquid circulates in counter-clockwise direction. At the top of each machine you notice a small area of utter blackness, like a hole in space. The strange assemblage clearly serves as something like a powerful and deadly magical trap. I'll take a knowledge arcana and knowledge engineer to decipher it's purpose (giving potential bonuses to disabling). However, one thing you do recognize is the egg; it is similar if not identical to the stone you found with the skin-bats - except this one has not yet opened.
The entire apparatus radiates evil strongly, almost overwhelmingly but only once you open the door and it's evident the paint blocked that aura but not the magic aura.
As Arlo and Lyra confront the machine the rest of the party discusses with the creature in front of them. "Jubst my lug, a disaster onboard and no regskew parby habs been semt by teh organdnidzers. Be that abs it may. I'b am Tolish, I am the sole surbibor of a missbun to escape the Panet Zarbon it seembs. I ombly was visiting teh doomed panet forbs a day beforeb the disabster. The missbun was organdnidzer by others of ub your kindb but someb straj enerby wabshed ober the "ship", drainding these humbanoids libf. Somebow, I amb Imune, It seembs. We are on anober planeb, Ib presumb? Where eber we areb, I must go, it seembs" The creatures with multiple limbs as it speaks, trying in it's strange way to be ingratiating. It has a pouch with a number of things and seems ready to leave the place.
(There is far too much stuff on the first floor to remove but Anzarra is able to be selective and not take things that have an obvious potential of planar contamination - most of the complex devices are destroyed but luggage itself could be useful).
She finds nothing so moves on.
As she moves through the place she looks for complex devices, even broken ones. Coms devices, PDAs anything that has computing power.
Then when they get to the evil egg.
"Well that explains things."
Anzarra can't tell whether the Octo is telling the truth or not, but since he hasn't attacked them, she invites him back to the ship, hoping that he is on the level.
If he agrees, she stays with him, going out and watching the front of the building for approaching enemies with her bow drawn.
Paritosh and Moonbeam stay close to Anzarra, ready to spring (errr, fly) into action if needed. Paritosh has a hard time understanding the octopus, but he thinks he got the basics.
"Tolish, everything will be okay now.. we'll do everything we can to get you out of here safely. Do you know anything about how this vessel operates? Any information would be helpful."
Tolish is quite willing to be go down stairs with the group.
Slithering/waddling into the courtyard, the octopoid creature inflates himself and lets out a long sigh, "Surble Frabit Sarb... The Seab! A beautiful sighbt. I forgeb you creabures ard nob aquatic. I amb at homeb hereb. But I will stayb here it cabes you neeb my aid. When you fimbish youb mission, telb meeb of thids worbald" He slithering to the edge of the water and splashes it on himself, then sucks up water and shoots a jet into the distance, making sure to go far wide of the ship.
Scanning the building for parts, Lady Lyra is able to find some working PDAs, batteries and miscellaneous computer parts, even cobble together some actuators and such. Then, evaluating the evil assemblage, she gets a pretty good idea of it's mechanical and control aspects. It has something like a program - earlier, between planes it seems, it activated its black matrix and sent the resulting energy circulating through the tubes. It's final stage will be sending this energy into stone egg, releasing it's payload (which likely is some cosmic horror of the dark traders). Currently the device is waiting for a signal to go to this final stage - but it may activate on its own if no signal is given or if it is interfered with. It clearly has strong security system and would like also activates the black matrix if it detected interference - which Lady Lyra would guess involve a massive blast of negative energy. Lady Lyra is thinking also effect may be what killed the guests as well but she'd naturally like to confirm that with who can understand the magical aspects of the device - Moira doesn't seem able to fathom it and Anzarra's been distracted and not attempted to analyze the device yet.
...
Down at the court yard, Anzarra scans the horrizon and see ... the heads of two of the zombies poke one of the water before ducking down - 200-300 feet off.
The group has been at the building 1/2 hour. 1 1/2 hours remain.
Anzarra gets ready to shoot the next time the Zombies come into view.
She yells back Hey, we've got Zombies out here!
Not particularly helpful with the mechanism,Moira accompanies Anzarra and Tolish back to the courtyard.
"What sort of aid could you provide, Tolish? Can you tell us more about yourself and you species?"
She can't touch the device that is clear, but if she could get the building to planes shift once more. Somewhere like deep space.
she works to overload the propulsion drive.
On the third floor, Lady Lyra with Arlo, evaluate the strange assemblage. Lyra has learned enough to know she could indeed imbalance the energy coming into the egg (by adding more from elsewhere) and send the entire structure into an outer vacuum of some different plane (leaving it irrevocably lost). This move would still require some last-minute disabling of the strange devices around the egg - they seem actually programmed to "home in on" this plane in particular (if left to it's own devices, it seems the egg and the building would continue vanishing and reappearing until the egg was activated). The good thing is sending the egg elsewhere dodges the defense mechanism - if done quickly. This plan would require a leap out of the window and into the sea, to avoid joining the building in space. Plus the others should be warned.
But the clever plan still means a final maneuver will be easier. .
On the courtyard Anzarra and Paritosh observe the zombies get to about 150' feet. They stay mostly underwater (have full cover). They seem to be circling around to where the building butts up the sea (the waves lapping at the lower windows), which could put them out of sight in a 2-3 rounds.
Tolish replies to Moira's question: "My people are a noble star faring race and I understand much of what is involved in space and planar travel - in theory." He sinks back, making an octopus sigh. "..but probably not in any detail that would allow me to be useful repairing something. And how to get off this plane? I am lost! Still, I can answer some general questions about technology. That's university education for you. My specialization was the culture and language, the "anthropology" as they say, of your noble if non-aquatic race. Unfortunately the device which lets me form words properly in your language was broken in this disaster and so here I am, badly using my best skill. Still, I can do manual labor, I can wield a blaster or engage fisticuffs. You may think of swimming as a skill and I versed in that. I could pull your boat if need be. Also, since you species has few limbs, I can aid you in various tasks."
Anzarra addresses Octo.
Can you fight? There are Zombies in the water there, there, and there.
Anzarra points out the three zombies that survived their shipwreck, and suggests that, if it can, removing those zombies from the equation would help them to keep him and them alive.
Since the Zombies have full cover and she can't get a good shot to finish them off, Anzarra runs back inside to see what is keeping Lyra.
Seeing what Lyra is working on, Anzarra examines the device and associated "egg" to see if she can help.
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Paritosh and Moonbeam shoot into the sky, and start circling the area where the zombies are congregating. They are prepared to charge any of the zombies that pop above the water.
In wracking her brains about the operations of the device, Anzarra realizes also that the reason Tolish is the one remaining refugee is that the device is tuned specifically to humanoids and thus he is effectively immune to the stream of negative energy it puts out - so he might be used in a plan to disable the assembly.
In an additional round, a Zombie's head peaks over the water and Paritosh and other at the surface can attack it - it has partial cover.
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Paritosh and Moonbeam swoop down and he strikes at the exposed zombie with his lance...
... turning sharply after the attack is leveled against the opponent and continuing on to safety.
Lyra... it looks like this device is attuned to humanoids, so Tolish is immune. Do you think that we could use that and maybe attune it to... err, mosquitos or something? Wouldn't that effectively disable it and give us more time to find a solution? ... Or if you don't think that is possible, do you want to use him to help disable it?
"Humm, whatever we do, we get one chance, the thing is anti-tamper rigged. We can try but then we can't send the thing away. It will be stuck here on this plane. But your idea is safer. Ok if we can get this thing to discharge then it should be safe to take apart."
She leaves the room for a while then comes back with a snip of seaweed.
Placing it into the device she looks over at Anzzra.
"Here goes"
She slaps her hand down onto a big red button.
Given how important this is, Moira will lend a hand to help as well.
"Hold on!" Moira grabs a few clamps and fits them around the main tubes. She spends a few moments tightening them slightly and adjusting. "Cutting off the flow looks like it would be catastrophic, but if we can throttle it, we might be able to reduce the effect at least."
Arlo looks on with concern as both ladies try to tame this mechanical beast, waraxe at the ready.
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Anzarra helps Lyra and Moira adjust the machine before they try, and also feeds the remaining power from Imcheck's shield into the field, trying to stabilize the magical flow before they make the change, so it will be a little bit less volatile.
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Just as her hand was going to hit she stopped as Moira and Anzarra worked to make this mad plan happen. She looked at her two sisters. She nodded at each then waited for them to join her so they could press it as one.
Their hands linked over the button.
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Moira grins and throws her hand in.
The three women work desperately to control the device, the extra seaweed makes unbalance the energy flow easier but ... a bit of fumbling results in the four outlying devices starting to activate ... as in leaving the plane and taking the eggs and building with them. However, at the last minute, the stabilizing energy that Anzarra channels from Imcheck's device indeed cuts the connection. The transplanted Marriott wavers for a moment and then stabilizes as the four infernal devices rush into unknown vacuum and the stone egg in the center of the machines spins to a stop in front of you (Anzarra guesses that at this point that the Marriott will still vanish after several hours, eventually returning to the plane from which it came).
The disabling of the device happens as Paritosh swoops down, coming up with a zombine's impaled head, ripped off it's body. One more down.
Deciding on his own who the enemy is, the octopoid Tolish swims out to engage another zombie, easily grappling it and holding it out of the water as a target. The last remaining juju zombie appears to be swimming towards the building.
Also, at the point the Hotel seemed to waver, the zombies let a terrifying moan - for just as long as wavering lasted and then stopped.
Relieved that they haven't blow up, Anzarra hugs her friends, glad that they managed to avert the disaster, and also that she is part of such a good team.
It's likely that it will return back to its plane after a few hours.
Hearing the loud Zombies, she adds
I'm going to go finish dealing with the Zombie problem outside, but I'll come back after in case you need more help taking this thing apart.
She goes down and, seeing that Tolish (Octo-boy) is holding one out of the water, she shoots it.
Hugs her friend back and nods.
Lyra starts taking the device apart in readment for its move back to the plane it came from.
Arlos escorts the ladies outside to fight the undead.
Lady Lyra gets ready for the building to go back to it's original plane. Anzarra dispatches the Zombie Tolish was holding.
Anzarra's crew has been loading goods through all this, stopping whenever thing got hectic.
The final zombie swims to the side of the building Lyra and other were working on, however Tolish swims over and basically tears it to pieces.
Paritosh receive an offer of audience from Count Thrantee in six days time, he's curious why those particular pages were stolen and then returned - and the hunt for the beast continues.
Arlo will meet Delores alone in a week, she's trying to find someone who can interpret a dream.
All the unclaimed capers from here remain except 1, 4 & the coffins. Also, who created and sent these zombies another mystery to investigate. Some of Anzarra's crew recognize them - they had to have been created recently and it may possible to determine who killed them and raised them (assuming they're the same).
Arlo will meet Delores alone in a week, she's trying to find someone who can interpret a dream.
The tormented paladin reaches out to his handlers for someone with dream interpretation experience to comes with him to meet Delores in a week's time.
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Before they leave the Palace, Moira has an idea. "Tolish, you are far more comfortable underwater than us. Would you mind investigating a nearby, very recent shipwreck for any evidence? The sorts of things we've been taking from here...treasures, documents, such-like. I don't think there will be any danger, but if there is, get out quickly. It's not worth your life. I would be happy to accompany you if you can carry me along, but I can only hold my breath for so long. Lyra may be a better choice."
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Anzarra conducts her regular business, and also finds some time to work on more Crystal Movie scripts:
She continues to work on Science Fiction scripts, but as she gets to know the culture of the area she adds in some regular dramas and a little bit of rom-com...
In one of her Sci-Fi scripts a creature just like Tolish is featured as a misunderstood friendly, helpful alien just trying to find his way home (sort of like ET, but with more tentacles).
In another one, a young sailor meets a high-born young woman when she and her family go on a luxury cruise on the ship where he works, and they sneak around to see each other, and finally find a way for him to meet her parents when his captain loans him his suit (with captain's bars on it), only to find out that both their fathers worked at the dock when they were young, and like each other already, so they are wed, and the societal restrictions they imagined for themselves don't really matter.
Lyra locks herself away in her rooms for a number of days working on a project. Then when done she sends a note to Paritosh to come to see her.
Leaving the Palace, Tolish follows Moira's suggestion and investigates the wreck. He brings back - a description of the boat including it's name ("The Dawn Stallion") which had been crudely erased from it's side. Also, a necklace of bones and necromantic herbs tied to the mast. The log ends two days ago, describing stopping at a smuggling location two days, with a last scribbled entry "some disturbance above". One of the things that Paritosh notices when Tolish tosses the necklace on board with the other things is that the bones in the mysterious beast's lair were actually tied together in a similar fashion.
When Arlo speaks to Shadow, the wolfish man notes: "I believe Aria could interpret most standard dreams she is our general purpose psychic now that the Silent Lurker has been reassign. She can help you. " Aria agrees to go Arlo to meet Delores.
Tolish is excited to play a minor part in such an interesting and primitive entertainment medium (his people primarily consume streams of mutually projected thoughts. But he naturally has no idea how the technology actually works). The time for the premier of the various Crystal Movies is weeks or months away but there is great excitement and many rumors around Ovium about it.
So next, after five days, Paritosh receives a visitor at his shop. Sending a card the day before, Count Thrantee and two companions, probably body guards, cautiously enter the book store and seek out the owner. Count Thrantee is medium height, slender, well dressed and has a focused, genteel air about him. He asks to speak in some place private.
Once they are in private, he thank Paritosh for his kindness in returning the missing pages, pages which he naturally did not know were stolen until that moment. He hopes Paritosh will help him clear up the mystery of these stolen pages - his library is in the basement of his well guarded house (close to a palace as you know) and it is kept locked most times, with only himself and his librarian having access. Since the return of pages, he, in fact, relieved his librarian even of access and now only goes down himself with guards. He can pay for any information about this.
After Paritosh answer or not, the Count goes goes. "A further mystery I discovered was this." He takes out several pieces of newly written parchment. "I noticed certain passages from each page were faintly underlined. Piecing all the phrases together, it seems to form a strange kind of poem. I am not certain of it's meaning. There are few people I can ask about this but since already had access to the pages, this is nothing new to you. You clearly know something of books and of puzzles. I will offer you 500 currency if you can tell me the meaning of this. I will return in a week's time and see how you are progressing.". The Count gives Paritosh the piece of parchment exchanges further pleasantries and then leaves you.
The sort-of poem or screed on the parchment is strange, a seemingly random selection of phrases from the random pages which Paritosh found. Yet it also seems to make a mad sort of sense. Even more, the first stanza make reference to a "visitor carrying an egg and powered by the souls within" - which reminds you of the recently appearing palace.
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6. A foreigner is apparently trying to sell a book written in an incomprehensible script. She has gone to several book sellers and these book sellers relayed the rumor to Paritosh.
(Diplomacy or knowledge local to find the person)
Although the expedition to the palace helped, Moira slips back into a funk and heads back out to listlessly roam the streets. She does ask around about this mysterious bookseller as she does so.
Aria and Arlo meet Delores at Arlo's flat. Delores is nervous but determined. The group exchanges pleasantries, Arlo serves tea and makes the most of his abode. Aria is gracious if a bit stuffy and formal. The living room is nicely appointed with several lamps, not quite a noble palace but still respectable.
Once the group is comfortable, Aria asked Delores to describe her dreams in detail. Delores gives an approximate rundown - the dream is simple and always the same. Her sister is lead up some steps into a tall tower. She seems to scan the entire landscape, taking in each detail.
Aria then looks carefully at Delores and asks her if she wants the absolute truth of the dream. Delores somewhat nervously agrees. Aria says: "Do not be alarmed then but stay calm for I will suommon a powerful spirit I have communion with as you speak. Begin again, slowly... As Delore restarts her description, Arlo can see a shadowy, incorporeal form of the abyssal merefolk (human upper body, octopoid lower body) who is Aria's spirit guide. Delores is nervious but continues and as continues, it is as if the sights and sounds of the dream are projects in front of everyone. Aria makes detailed drawings of each scene.
"It will take me maybe a week to determine the location if it is nearby. Longer if it further."
...
It has been a couple of weeks since the mysterious woman visited any of the book sellers but Moira is able to convince one of the book sellers to track her down. When she talked to the book sellers, she said she had traveled from the far South, above the Bay Of Beltherium but once she stopped her efforts, it seems she rented a room in the back of a wine shop in middle class distract North of the docks.
When Moira tracks down the room, late one afternoon, she notices an unusual grow in it, somehow different from either either an oil lamp or the new mage-lamps (whose light is identical to the spell light naturally). When Moira knocks on the door, there's a delay, maybe a sigh and then the door opens and an attractive, middle aged half-elven woman opens it, dressed in an usual robe you presume is from her area. She immediately introduces herself, giving a vague impression that Moira was expected. She is friendly and gracious yet also seems also distracted, her eyes sometimes going hazy as she seems to peer into the distance in the middle of speaking. She mentions the book without prompting, explaining that she came to Ovium to sell it. It was gift from her grandmother who passed away some years ago and when her husband died as well, she determined that Duchy was where she sell such oddity and begin a new life. However, none of the booksellers would pay the price she believed it worthy of. Moreover, during that time, showing the book to booksellers, she began to feel like she could somehow decypher the writing and has been using her small remaining savings to sit in the room and try to do so. It seems the book has some small powers of prophesy - she can tell that Moira has had a journey by water recently, that she faced great danger and that she may face more danger in the future. Moreover she believes she can use her new gifts to offer Moira prophesies that she can benefit from in the future.
Aria and Arlo meet Delores at Arlo's flat. Delores is nervous but determined. The group exchanges pleasantries, Arlo serves tea and makes the most of his abode. Aria is gracious if a bit stuffy and formal. The living room is nicely appointed with several lamps, not quite a noble palace but still respectable.
Once the group is comfortable, Aria asked Delores to describe her dreams in detail. Delores gives an approximate rundown - the dream is simple and always the same. Her sister is lead up some steps into a tall tower. She seems to scan the entire landscape, taking in each detail.
Aria then looks carefully at Delores and asks her if she wants the absolute truth of the dream. Delores somewhat nervously agrees. Aria says: "Do not be alarmed then but stay calm for I will suommon a powerful spirit I have communion with as you speak. Begin again, slowly... As Delore restarts her description, Arlo can see a shadowy, incorporeal form of the abyssal merefolk (human upper body, octopoid lower body) who is Aria's spirit guide. Delores is nervious but continues and as continues, it is as if the sights and sounds of the dream are projects in front of everyone. Aria makes detailed drawings of each scene.
"It will take me maybe a week to determine the location if it is nearby. Longer if it further."
With the meeting winding down, Arlo thanks Aria for coming, and sees the medium off. The dwarf returns to a stricken Delores, sitting on one of his couches, in such a state. "Delores", Arlo tries to comfort, "I want you to take as much time as you need. I forget how..theatrical Aria's spook sessions are." The club doorman offers a few sandwiches to the halfling noblewoman, doing whatever he can to offer comfort.
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Moira accepts the gracious hospitality, sitting down and taking a cup of coffee. She listens to the woman's startlingly accurate observations and mulls over them with a zip of the coffee. "Hattie, you've been awfully kind, inviting me in like this and filling me in on this Codex Tepenec.. It sounds absolutely fascinating. First off, I must ask if you're doing okay? You seem very distracted, and I fear that you may be devoting too much of yourself to this work. Perhaps you ought to take some time to relax? Moira raises an inquisitive eyebrow and sips at her coffee. "Second, and I will get to how these questions are related, may I see the Codex? I am among a group that possesses an incredible amount of knowledge and skill in regard to the enigmatic and esoteric such as this, and we may be able to assist you in the deciphering of this text. It sounds as though we could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement, in fact. You assist us with your foresight, we provide resources and knowledge, and together we can unlock the full potential of this grimoire. What do you say?"
At Arlo's small apartment, Delores takes a bit of time to recover and thanks Arlo profusely. "I do hope you find where my sister is. And I do hope that then these dreams can stop. I have grown tired of them." . She stops to consider further. "I have another question for you, my dear friend. You see much more of the world than I. Is it true that soon there will be a kind of seeing stone released from one of the workshops? A device which plays the record of players and sketches? I would so love to see one of these! And even, now this is just a fancy, I could imagine performing in such a sketch! My sisters and I makes things quite often at our house, since we get let us out so little. Tell what you know of such things. Rumors are flying. Surely you have heard something! Or imagine, if we rescue Treana, we could make a play of that".
.....
Moira applies her usual charm to Hattie, who at first says, "Yes I am indeed a little distracted. After I read the book for a period, it feels as if the words go with me even when I stop.". And after she says this, she seems more focused. Still, the Southerner seems excited by Moira words about a quest but slightly reluctant to actually show her the book. "It is in here, mind you it is no longer for sale but you may look. and she usher Moira into her small, dark study where a medium sized book with a dark brown, blank cover sits alone on a desk. "When I concentrate, it makes it's own light but for now, perhaps a lamp is better." she says lighting a lamp and opening the text - it indeed shows a script different from any language Moira knows of - and indeed being somewhat similar to magical runes.
....
At the Ovium Gazetta one day, a small trader walks in and describes the story of another man who seems to keep a large, possum-like, bear-sized creature in his house - the man lives in a small house outside the main walls of the city.
Anzarra and her crew ask around about the zombies to see if anyone has heard anything.
At Arlo's small apartment, Delores takes a bit of time to recover and thanks Arlo profusely. "I do hope you find where my sister is. And I do hope that then these dreams can stop. I have grown tired of them." . She stops to consider further. "I have another question for you, my dear friend. You see much more of the world than I. Is it true that soon there will be a kind of seeing stone released from one of the workshops? A device which plays the record of players and sketches? I would so love to see one of these! And even, now this is just a fancy, I could imagine performing in such a sketch! My sisters and I makes things quite often at our house, since we get let us out so little. Tell what you know of such things. Rumors are flying. Surely you have heard something! Or imagine, if we rescue Treana, we could make a play of that".
Arlo stands, hands on his hips, impressed. "You've definitely got an ear for rumors, Delores. An associate is working on that technology now. Once we rescue your sister, I'll make the introductions."
One of the things that Paritosh notices when Tolish tosses the necklace on board with the other things is that the bones in the mysterious beast's lair were actually tied together in a similar fashion.
Paritosh will point this out to the wiser members of the group.
So next, after five days, Paritosh receives a visitor at his shop...
Choose a skill and describe how you use it to see if you can get more meaning from the 'poem'.
Paritosh takes his time, breaking down the stanzas of the "poem," and believes that this business is associated with various cultural myths related to extra-dimensional travelers, and their seemingly random, not always benign, interference in the lives of the cultures they meet. He believes he has some books that recount these myths, and after finding them, he tries to compare the nuances in the "poem" with the cultural references therein.