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Perhaps surprisingly, The Amazing Vanzetti is hardly phased by the pious woman's stunt...
...and, heralded by a mysterious flash of magnesium fire, responds with an empowering 'miracle' of his very own!
Shardra 5 ft steps back again and ‘misfortune’ hexes the orange monk and continues to chant to extend the duration.
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Hoping to avoid senseless combat, Ajax rushes outside to find the master,
"Master, we need your help, we seem to have another misunderstanding in the library and I want to avoid further blood shed."
Ajax runs up to the balcony and shouts down, "Stop it, all of you. Your Master has granted us access to the library to find the true thieves."
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Ajax runs up to the balcony and shouts down - unfortunately everyone in the shroud of silence only sees him waves his arms and moves his lips. Shardra continues her silent shaman-ing while Vanzetti steps back into the noise and blesses the group.
A monk moves forward with a half-hearted back hand against the gnome. Before he can strike again, the female monk bars his way with her arm, then barrels through Vanzetti and Pai and into the hallway. She turns back to Vanzetti with a confused but determined gaze.
"Your warrior friend in there seems to want to talk rather than fight and none of you have struck my men... yet. You have but a few words to convince me you are not the thief I have been staring at in garden for the past two weeks, or I break your neck."
Pink Monk
Orange Monk
Yellow Monk <blinded>
Pai
Ajax
Shardra
Ara
Vanzetti -10 nonlethal damage <Need 2 Fort saves in order>
Red Monk
Shardra casts hold person on the strong female monk.
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”Where I come from, it is the view that the burden of verification rests upon the accuser. Why do you vilify us? What have I or my troupe done, aside from a bit of velvet-handed self-defense, to suggest any violent volition upon our parts? That graven visage out there is void of validity, I say - not to say that I am not at least a little bit flattered.”
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The female monk makes a distinct gesture from the hall to her companions, who relax their martial poses and allow all to gather in the hallway.
"Well, if you are not the thieves, then how exactly are you here to help?" She says as she places her hand on Vanzetti's arm and surges the power of Irori to him.
The master approaches and stands at the doorway to the training grounds to oversee.
"I am interested in that too, Pradnyara."
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With the immediate threat of hostilities over, Ajax flows down to the hall way.
"What we cannot understand is why the enchanted statue believes we are the culprits and why there is a bust of Vanzetti in your courtyard. How can this be when none of us has been here before. Who has enchanted that statue?"
Ajax points to the one in the hallwayl.
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”There’s a book called the Fleshforge Manuscript. I know, it just sounds yucky. We are Pathfinders, you see, and the book was stolen from us recently. We’ve been sent to try and recover it, since you know, I guess us letting it get stolen created all the trouble anyway. We want to help fix it. It sounds like some evil mage made off with it, and our only clues pointed us in your direction. It seems to be here somewhere, and we expect the evil mage might be hiding here as well.,” Pai takes a deep breath after her soliloquy.
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"Priestess Isa told us to be prepared for the return of the book thieves. She carved the bust. I thought it was a warning. But now I am not so sure. You are not evil to my senses and do not act as thieves." Pradnyara (the female monk) remarks to Ajax. "I do not know of the Fleshforge Manuscript you speak of, but I know this library well. If it here I will help you find it."
A consternated look overcomes the master in the doorway. "Before Isa went to meditate, she handed this to me and told me to keep it safe. Is this what you seek?"
From the folds of his robes, he pulls out a length of paper scribed in Osirian hieroglyphs, illuminated with gold leaf, and bound to a scrimshawed roller carved from rib-bone. You can tell that the non-attached edge of the paper has holes as if it should be sewn to another sheet.
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V ponders his likeness.
"Why me?" He asks, turning to the master and Pradnyara at last. "Do you have any idea at all? I realize you may not, but any insight might be helpful. Although I certainly understand my reputation might likely not precede me in a place like this, I *do* happen to be an actor of some renown, especially in my adopted home of Andoran...which, verily, is the very venue from where our missing text vanished."
Shardra begins to search the library.
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The library’s contents focus almost exclusively on history. Pradnyara knows the stacks well and helps you quickly find specific books and scrolls.
Shardra and Ajax are able to find some interesting texts as they scour the library's stacks. Of particular interest is a 4,000-year-old legend of a dryad whose dedication to her forest’s survival was so strong, she sacrificed herself to save it from Geb’s necromantic blight.
But most importantly, Pai locates the topmost section of the Fleshforge Manuscript hidden in a pile of other incomplete documents on the library’s third tier. It is a near identical sample as the one that the master provided to you, complete with another scrimshawed roller. It appears as if you only miss the middle section (or sections) of the manuscript.
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Another thorough search of the library does not yield any other clues as to what specifically could have overtaken the master and controlled his actions (though the usual suspects would still apply).
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Moving across the courtyard to the temple, the master unlocks the impressive thick wooden doors with his key. Pradnyara moves over to the wounded monks, still recovering by the pool, and offers further aid from Irori.
When she notices you looking, she nods. "This is your quest, I shall remain here on watch, should I be needed."
The master extends his hand offering you entrance into the temple.
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This huge temple encloses a peaceful, echoing space. A faint aroma of old incense lingers here. Polished blue flagstones decorate the floor. Where the walls meet, the corners curve gently so that nothing jars the eyes. At the temple’s center, a round wooden pillar rises out of the floor, stretching up to support the roof ninety feet above. Bizarrely, the pillar bristles with a motley collection of lumber, as if someone were building some horrific mockery of a tree. Joists, beams, a door, and a ship’s figurehead—an angel holding twin scythes—all hang off the pillar like branches. Thousands of scrolls and books hang from every surface as if they were leaves.
Between the door and the pillar sit four priests —two men, and two women— facing one another as if in meditation. They bear dirty robes, necklaces of braided hair, and shaven heads. In front of each is a teacup.
“Oh by the spirits!! Despite appearances, the four figures are not meditating. They are comatose, entirely drained of wisdom. All four appear malnourished, as well!!“
Shardra walks to them and tries to help.
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There is no movement from within as the panther steps forward cautiously into the room.
The master seems to have anticipated your bewildered query. "The priests and priestesses have been meditating in such a way for the past year. Do not fear. When the time comes they will rise from this state and journey forth across Golarion again, as they have done several times since their change in attitude. It may look strange to you. But it is a sacred blessing from Irori that they suffer."
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The master returns wearily to his seat, as if to dedicate all of his effort to a careful answer to your questions.
"The pillar is not new. Far from it. At its heart is the tree that this temple was built around... and from. This island used to be a lush forest. The only one for countless miles. Our papermaking shop was thriving, and the words of Irori were flowing from our quills like water. As the last trees were felled, Irori visited all of us and changed our ways. We realized we were not being proper stewards of our resources. The priests and priestesses traveled far and wide to seek knowledge and wisdom and brought back mementoes of their journeys, those are the new branches of this tree, symbolic of our spiritual renewal."
"I cannot explain the change in my demeanor in the days before you arrived. All I can recall is a darkening of my insight. Days stretched together and I only had one pervasive thought... Prevent the thieves from returning."
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Ajax moves into the room and inspects it closely.
This huge temple encloses a peaceful, echoing space. A faint aroma of old incense lingers here. Polished blue flagstones decorate the floor. Where the walls meet, the corners curve gently so that nothing jars the eyes. At the temple’s center, a round wooden pillar rises out of the floor, stretching up to support the roof ninety feet above. Bizarrely, the pillar bristles with a motley collection of lumber, as if someone were building some horrific mockery of a tree. Joists, beams, a door, and a ship’s figurehead—an angel holding twin scythes—all hang off the pillar like branches. Thousands of scrolls and books hang from every surface as if they were leaves.
Between the door and the pillar sit four priests —two men, and two women— facing one another as if in meditation. They bear dirty robes, necklaces of braided hair, and shaven heads. In front of each is a teacup.
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V simply stands and stares at the "tree" and the mentally-mummified monks; unable to do much for the latter, and with two people already tending to the former surely better than he could, he makes his own way of making himself useful and surreptitiously sets up a magical prank for that uptight nun...
...that critical business taken care of, he looks back up at the "tree" and, realizing that the job will be even bigger than he'd first seen, goes over to the base of the tree and, with a flourish of his arms and another flash of magnesium, levitates up one of the sides the other two seem to be neglecting.
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When Ajax realizes the enormity of the task, he climbs back down. "I do not believe that we will find what we are looking for in this fashion. I do not want to disturb the ritual, but I see that we may have no choice."
Ajax speaks to Ara, for the panther understands the Common language of Golarian, "Ara, let us move through this courtyard and signal me if you smell anything that seems out of place."
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Ajax returns to the courtyard to search for other creatures (more on that later) while Pai and Vanzetti scour the "tree".
As the two search the tree, there are several magical items affixed to the "branches" at various levels (including a scripture from a phylactery of faithfulness, a scroll of commune with nature, a +1 human bane composite shortbow).
Vanzetti reaches the greatest heights first, and when he gets there his mind wanders...
From this vantage at the top of the "tree", you see the walls of the temple fade away, replaced by a thriving pine forest filled with birdsong. Instead of the pillar next to you, a mighty pine towers over the peninsula. In the distance, a dark wave of necromantic energy rapidly approaches, instantly felling trees and blackening greenery in its path. A naked, feminine figure works desperately, sparks of elemental magic flying off her wand. She obliterates the isthmus just in time, isolating the peninsula to create an island, but stranding herself on the mainland. There’s an instant of calm before the blight crashes over her. You yourself feel this same energy course through your body through the ages. (Will DC 16 for half).
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In the time while the two are in the air, Ajax and Ara are unable to find any new tracks or scents. Passing by the door that was already open when you entered, Ajax spots an obvious trap. A crouching tiger statue identical to that in the quadrangle now hangs precariously above the center of the room, ready to crash down on anyone who moves beneath it. Otherwise, this cramped room smells musty but overlain with some acrid taint. This workshop has not seen use in a while, and blunt tools and dark stains cover the dusty workbench. A deep vat stands dry and a row of dusty bottles line a shelf. Sawdust litters the floor.
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V visibly shudders at the dark force, but handles it very well, considering...indeed, unnaturally well.
"Well. That was...interesting," He announces to no one in particular.
"Umm...Pai? Are you still down there? Perhaps it's only vertigo, but should your vertical ascent continue, do remain vigilant for...vicious visions. I have just had a visitation."
Perhaps foolishly, V looks around, nudging the mundane veil aside in hopes of finding the source of...whatever that was.
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"The trap is the will of Irori, he commanded us to construct it so as not to succumb to the lure of our past ways. We have not returned to papermaking since." The master speaks from his perch.
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As Pai is about to respond, a disembodied voice fills the temple, loud enough for even Ajax to hear. Moving through the room it seems to be centered on the Priestess Isa, although her lips do not move.
“You and I should parley.”