|
With a hint of anger the voice answers. “Your values are sickly and twisted. I harm neither their flesh nor their minds—I merely borrow them. My tree’s flesh, however, you pulp, you torture, and you destroy. I wield this meat as a tool, just as you wield that dagger of yours."
The voice pauses, you sense as if in pain. “I am the rightful owner retrieving what is mine! You mortals stole from me when you stripped her branches, severed her to half her height, and flayed her to half her girth. You’ve chopped and carved and pulped, disfiguring and destroying her flesh. Know that I feel every cut of your saws, every nail you impale. I feel every ridiculous word you scrape with your irritating quills. From all across Golarion your precious knowledge flows across my skin. While peddlers in Ecanus seem happy to pay for your petty words, I find them all utterly without value.”
|
|
”Admittedly, I’m an outsider to this place. Perhaps you and the leader of the monastery could sit down and come up with a happy meeting point to address your concerns. We are here simply looking for a particular tome. If we are able to secure it, we dHe more than happy to get out of your hair...or moss or leaves or whatever!”
|
Ajax tries to help the effort.
"Jathyl, we cannot...we do not condone or defend all that happens to the forest. But the world of humanoids is not of one mind. Many of us seek to protect the forest. Is there some way we can ease your pain or at least prove that we are your allies without killing the innocent?"
|
|
Her voice becomes more incensed and speaks over Pai after he mentions the tome. “Then the answer is simple... leave. Leave this place now and return to the ugly villages you come from. Because if you try to steal my tree - or any piece of it - from me again, meat, I shall destroy every building on this island and control all flesh. Destroy my vessels and I shall find another and another, perhaps yours. Destroy my essence and I shall arise three days hence, ready to tear apart your decrepit boats, your pitiful homes, and your weak flesh.”
When Ajax finishes, she rejoins. "Ease my pain? Then leave! Allow me to reconstitute this tree and stop your world from torturing me through eternity."
Almost on cue, the disembodied voice lets out a pained shriek that is potent enough you can feel her anguish in your bones.
|
|
The other monks and master gather behind you as the conversation echoes in the courtyard.
Jathyl answers. "You can serve no real purpose to me, your powers are far too weak, mortal. Unless... unless you wish to submit wholly to my rule, and I can send you forth into the world to gather my skin for me as these four weak-minded fools have for too long."
As her words trail off, you sense she is starting to tire of the conversation.
Shardra is very sad that this spirit was angered and she can almost understand its actions.
Shardra steps forward.
"I understand that your actions are only necessary to protect yourself. And I understand that the lack of understanding of other mortals is agitating you. We would really like to understand what has happened here ... the past is important to us Pathfinders and maybe there lies the key to bring peace to this situation." she says in a calm voice.
"We can surely heal the tree as its energy can be replenished with life, right?" Shardra says and she channels positive energy to heal the wooden spirit being.
|
|
"You certainly are pests aren't you. It isn't mortals that I don't understand. I know the evil that they do. It is why I am who I am! Four thousand years ago, two of these mortals - the fools Nex and Geb - fought over these lands, and the necromancer marshaled unfathomable power to blight this domain, sucking out its life, and leaving behind a barren wasteland, including the beautiful forests of my peninsula. I had no choice but to destroy the isthmus, sacrificing myself to isolate my forest from the blight. All would have been well in my created paradise, only more fools arrived... these monks, who defaced this region once again with their gaudy temple, using my tree as its center-post. Worse yet, their greedy need for paper to record thoughts that can't fit in their puny minds, led them the strip my precious tree to the bare. It was only when they felled the last tree from this island a year ago that my spirit jerked back into unwelcome consciousness, my sacrifice truly undone. In that moment all of the anguish of the trees coursed through my mind. From this trunk, I can feel the pieces of my existence scattered across Golarion in a thousand pieces, as lumber, scrolls, and books. I could feel nails driving into my timber as if they pierced my arms. I sensed quills scraping across my pages as if they engraved my skin. I could take no more, so I commanded these weak-minded mortals to reclaim my tree, joist by joist, page by page from the halls and libraries of your loathsome kind."
The voice stops to grieve in pain again, but returns with an air of disdain.
"Sometimes the worthless words you mortals scrape onto my skin with your annoying quills bring more than mere annoyance. One of your mistresses, Zarta, unwittingly warned me of your impending visit via her diary, and thoughtfully sketched a picture. I had one of my vessels sculpt a likeness of this picture to prepare the monastery for your arrival. Take it as a memento of your perseverance. But know that you can neither help me nor stop me, only hinder me - which I will NOT tolerate. For I simply want my forest back, back the way it always was, unsullied, lush, and without taint. For I am a being of life, not disease and death. The First World has come to this island and it reforms my essence. It renders me immortal, and so my wishes will be fulfilled. How many of you die in the process, that is your choice.”
Hoping to make a difference, Shardra heals the tree, but it is long since dead. The spirit speaks no more, and only the stark decoupage of scrolls and papers that cover the tree remain.
“Thanks so much sharing this with us!“
|
|
There is silence in the temple.
The monks of the Unremitting Tide stand bewildered in the courtyard behind you. The master moves over to Pradnyara to discuss what was learned. She finally turns to you.
"The tale the spirit weaves is compelling and calls for much thought from our Order. I cannot see what the proper solution is at this time. I must inform you, however, according to my Order’s doctrine, spirits such as Jathyl's - unable to pass on to Nirvana - are worthy of pity and are only to be aided in their journey, never battled. We can be of no further help in your quest. But we will not prevent you from doing what you feel you must do. If you will excuse me I must return to the library to see if I can find further enlightenment."
|
|
The sunlight finally beaks though the clouds in Ajax's mind and he understands why the Master attacked and why the party has encountered resistance so far.
"I think I understand. The things you have been sending out your disciples to retrieve, are things which were made from the tree itself?
After Jathyl answers or does not,
"Perhaps your pain has twisted your mind and robbed you of reason. You seem to have little regard for our offers of assistance, and yet, your only vehicle for action is through other mortals such as ourselves, who are unwilling puppets. Why not accept the willing aid of those who would help. It is possible for us mortals to more quickly find the pieces you seek to recover. Who knows what else might be possible if you allow us to work with you. You may believe that you have forever to accomplish your goals, but the what is to prevent the same thing from happening again? The choice is yours. But men, dwarves, elves, and all other sentient beings will not take kindly to your methods and this may pose more problems than you can forsee."
|
|
”Well, I can understand her consternation, but we do have a mission to complete. We have another section of our book to find and we are going to have to do just that. Is there anywhere else in this place that a piece of our book might be hidden? We have to take it and deal with her if she has a bad reaction.”
|
|
Before Vanzetti contiues searching
"I am now recalling our directive from the Society. One of our tasks was to discourage the thief. Simply taking the items will not accomplish this task. Jathyl will continue to send his pawns out into the world. We need to convince Jathyl to stop what he is doing, or find a means of preventing him from doing it further.
Now that we know what we are facing, perhaps the library might be of more use to us. I would ask that we explore that option before we embark down a path from which there is no return."
“I agree with Ajax. Let us search the library thoroughly!“ Shardra says.
|
|
With the remaining minutes in the levitate spell coming to an end, Vanzetti rises to the top of the "tree", near where the haunt manifested earlier. As he nears the location, he feels a chill run up his spine and his face suddenly feels cold with sweat. He feels as if someone just danced on his grave and seems to linger.
From his vantage, the center section of the Fleshforge Manuscript is affixed to the main trunk, about five feet from the ceiling. He pauses, deciding whether to snatch it and be done, but is shaken from the thought by Ajax's shout from below and returns to discuss.
-------------------------------------------------
With Pradnyara's help in the library, you locate a scroll that suggests ghosts with an obsessive dedication to a goal can be laid to rest by either destroying their goal, or helping them achieve it. It cautions that a dedicated ghost who has not been able to achieve her goal yet may be a poor judge of the best way to accomplish it.
|
|
Pradnyara nods her head to Ajax before turning to Pai. "There is no way to know. You have our blessing to search our grounds to your heart's content. Perhaps you can find something that will bring peace to this disturbed spirit"
-----------------
Several of the rooms surrounding the courtyard are simple monks’ quarters and are sparsely furnished. Each monk owns a bed, a candle, and a spare robe. There is also a meditation chamber in the northeast corner that features a series of faded silk cushions, carefully arranged across the floor. A polished brass gong hangs next to the northern wall reflecting every corner of the room. A burbling fountain fills the room with a relaxing susurrus. Incongruously, a sheet of parchment drifts lazily down from the ceiling and settles on the floor.
------------------
As mentioned before, there is a trap in the papermaking workshop that could be disabled. Additionally, one of the bottles on the shelf detects as magic.
A pleasant garden path culminating in a statue of a thoughtful Irori comprises the southeast corner of the fortress.
----------------
To the southwest, stands the kitchen with a cantankerous, old cook named Inlanni, who can provide no further insight. The adjoining stores hold dried foodstuffs, water barrels, and also a hidden trap door that leads to the meditation chamber.
|
|
"That seems to be a dead end. We must have missed something." Ajax returns to the room where the paper fell from the ceiling. He studies it and tries understand why there is paper falling.
After, he returns to the garden path of Irori and examines that, seeing if it has been moved recently or if there are any secret compartments, asking one of the casters if they detect any magic.
If that yields nothing, Ajax examines the gongs, and inquires as to their purpose in the temple.
|
|
The master watches as Ajax contemplates the paper falling. "If your mind is curious, perhaps you should enroll in our program. The mysterious sheet has manifested occasionally in that room over the past few months. We have taken it as a sign of our past failures."
------------------
The garden path appears as it is.
------------------
The gong is well made, and somewhat worn in a central spot.
"It is used to call us to meditate. Three times a day. The morning - when our mind is fresh. The afternoon - when our mind is active. And late evening - when our mind prepares for rest." The master remarks.
------------------
|
|
"Ahhh, a potion of glibness, a charlatan's draught - in a monastery devoted to the god of studious knowledge, of all places! Who ever would have thought?" It is very hard to tell whether or not V is being sarcastic, but he does seem to genuinely be enjoying the irony of this find.
V at last shares his vision from earlier with the others.
"Now, if there's one thing everyone ought to know about hauntings, it is that they are like self-made rituals, elaborate spells that need to be finished - unlike a proper spell, this is not so that something may occur, but so that it may cease to occur. Now, in view what I have just shared with you, what conclusions might we draw as to what might be done to end this violent visitation?"
|
|
Pai realizes that Vanzetti's vision is nearly identical to the story Shardra and Ajax found in the library. Jathyl's back story rings true.
Shardra casts mirror images, false life and protection from evil.