Yes- using the info from the first hour should help as well.
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After an hour of having no luck with the populace, Pai (and presumably the others) darts back to the bookworms to check in. "Keeper Crove, huh? Maybe he or she was one of those bodies. Well, might as well ask around town some more. Looks like you'll be at it for a while longer." She dashes outside and begins asking around in a different section of town.
"Excuse me! Do you happen to know of a 'Keeper Crove' person? We found their book and, well, they might want it back, you know?"
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Igor looks suitably impressed at Nectanebo.
"Good job. It seems that you know your stuff. We should take a bit of a break and then get going on deciphering the other texts we found."
@Nectanebo - I was just looking for an auto aid from your character but your rolling worked just as well. For the next set of rolls we might want to play it safe if we can with Take 10 on our Knowledge and Linguistics checks with aids added in of course.
Lini tries to see if she can gather any information with Pai.
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Pai keeps trying to ask around for information, committed to remaining as super-cheerful as she can. Also, she's gonna fly, gosh darn it! No muddy feet for her. No sirree! Sure, people give her weird looks, like night-owls responding to a morning person's chipper-ness at sunrise. And they seem unduly perturbed by the fact that she floats around them in a circle as she chatters at them, forcing them to spin in place to keep her in sight. But she's just trying to stay positive and not be bored, don'cha know?
Hitting the pavement, the investigators are having a much more difficult time than the researchers, but eventually they get some leads.
Keeper Baskerwhel: Glem Baskerwhel is (was) a hunch-backed hermit who lives in the Wrythe about a day’s travel east of Carrion Hill. The swamp druid is nonetheless well known in Carrion Hill as a potion-maker, and he visits the city often, always staying with his friend Arlend Hyve at the Elm Way Church on these visits.
Keeper Crove: Waldur Crove is well known as the warden of Crove’s Asylum, a building located in the Crown that the Crows have long used to dispose of lunatics and the insane too dangerous to keep in regular prisons.
Keeper Hyve: Arlend Hyve is an authority on regional history and lore, a sage who dwells in an abandoned church of Aroden on Elm Way on the southern slope of the Tangles. There are whispers that he dabbles in the black market poison and drug trade.
Keeper Marshan: Sulm Marshan is (was) a goggle-eyed man said to have moved to Carrion Hill recently from the coastal town of Illmarsh; he owned and lived in the house in Slipper Market that was destroyed this morning.
Keeper Myre: Rupman Myre is a middenstone baron. He owns a large vathouse down in the Filth along the river banks, and is rumored to be involved with illegal necromancy, but to date the Crows have not been able to find enough evidence to arrest him.
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As the group reconvenes, Pai is quick to give credit where credit is due. "Guys, I gotta say, Lini. Is. Awesome. Those folks out there might as well not have lips at all for how often they part them! But Lini and Droogi here were able to get some dirt on some of these folks. So I say, once we've had our little meeting here, let's go visit the ones that we don't know are already dead!"
The Pnakotic Manuscripts grant a +4 bonus on all Knowledge checks made pertaining to conjuration magic or the gods and magic of the Old Cults. In addition, the book functions as a spellbook and contains the following arcane spells: gate, greater teleport, greater planar binding, interplanetary teleport (see Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #14, page 54), lesser planar binding, planar binding, plane shift, teleport, teleport object, and teleportation circle.
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"If you will allow me a minute, I must try something," Nectanebo says to Igor before turning to the Manuscripts and spending indeed, a near-perfect minute physically exploring the book with the desirous finesse of a Calistrian qedeshem....
Lini shares her findings with the others. She rubs Droogi's mane absentmindedly as she does.
Given that one of them was known to stay with another, we should check out that place first...two birds, one stone...right? she says as she grabs a pickled pig's ear given to her by a market vendor to give Droogi as a treat.
what do you think, Droogi? go see what the bad men were up to? Maybe sniff out some people to chew on? she says playfully as the big kitten gnaws on the chewy treat.
It is about 5pm, and you have regrouped and shared your information. What's your next step? Rest for the night? Go somewhere?
I'm ready to go...but I think some of the others have used their energies for the day. A short nap and a good meal should get us right as rain. Unless you guys want to push on. I'm good either way... Lini says getting out an apple and taking a bite from it. She sees Droogi lick his lips and tosses it to him. She gets out a handful of figs and starts snacking on those.
Droogi and I will take a shift. We're pretty good at telling if there's a bad guy around. We'll get the first shift...I'm not too tuckered out. And I can brush his coat...get all the matted fur out and stuff. Might even put a bow on him... Lini chuckles as she ruffle Droogi's ears, making him purr like a big kitten.
You try and get some rest during the dark and stormy night, and other than an occasional scream off in the distance, your are not interrupted. A sense of dread tugs at your dreams, and you wake up barely refreshed. It is still raining hard outside, as you do your morning preparations.
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Nectanebo starts his day, in addition to his his normal contemplations, with a rousing bout against his puzzle-book.
Once he rejoins the others, he reveals something new: A pristine wand, taking the form of a slender piece of maddeningly intricate clockwork with components made from tin, electrum, platinum, bismuth, and uranium, which he directs at everyone (Pebble and Droogi excluded) in turn, causing you as he does so to experience a strange, fleeting premonition:
Rise and shine, Droogi...we have work to do... Lini says cheerfully as she pats Droogi on the head. She stretches as she sets about getting a kettle of tea going. She gets out a few strips of dried chicken she got from a butcher the day before. When the water boils she puts some on the chicken and mixes it with some dried fruits and some milk and feeds Droogi. A second kettle appears and she makes some tea.
Tea, anyone? It's a strong Qadiran blend...will wake you right up...
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After splashing her face with cold water in a vain attempt to wash away the cobwebs in her mind, Pai ponders how much Burn to pump into her Enveloping Winds. Not likely to face an arrows today, but I'll need the extra power against that smelly thing, whatever it is. It'd BETTER not be resistant to lightening! She decides to take 2 Burn, grunting in discomfort as it takes effect. Her short-cropped hair stands on end as static electricity infuses it, snapping and crackling as she runs a hand through it.
Popping out of her room, she brightens: "Ooh! Tea! I'd love some! Thanks! --Oh! Uh... Wow, Thanks Nectanebo!" Once she's finished with her tea and breakfast, she pipes (way too cheerfully): "So! Who's ready to go kill some dudes who summoned a giant stinky death slug before it kills them and becomes super strong so we can't kill it before it destroys, like, everything?"
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Igor strides out with Tiny Pebble in tow. The Wizard's outfit is neatly pressed and cleaned.
"Much better. All that rain yesterday was certainly a concern but now I am better prepared for it."
Igor gestures and a small cup of tea begins to float to his hand. He listens to Pai ramble on for a bit about death slugs and the like.
"Good tea. So clearly we need to find and secure these people that are involved and hopefully turn them over to the authorities for safekeeping if at all possible."
The rocky elemental stands by Igor's side. He smiles and waves good morning to the rest of the party.
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Tea, anyone? It's a strong Qadiran blend...will wake you right up...
"Don't mind if I do," Says Nectanebo as the ragged hem of his coat reaches out and snatches a cup before he is even finished with his statement. "Personally, I'm partial to what comes out of Hwanggot *sip* and of course, until one has had Sovyrian tea, one has scarcely had tea at all."
By the way, you never said what I got out of my Psychometry reading on the Manuscripts.
Nectanebo doesn't get much from his psychic reading of the text. The last to use it was, of course, the ghoul you took it from. The history of the book is that it is quite old, and it also is a spellbook, which makes it somewhat more powerful than just the information. But the true value for you today has been the knowledge within.
So, where to?
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Keeper Baskerwhel: Glem Baskerwhel is (was) a hunch-backed hermit who lives in the Wrythe about a day’s travel east of Carrion Hill. The swamp druid is nonetheless well known in Carrion Hill as a potion-maker, and he visits the city often, always staying with his friend Arlend Hyve at the Elm Way Church on these visits.
Keeper Crove: Waldur Crove is well known as the warden of Crove’s Asylum, a building located in the Crown that the Crows have long used to dispose of lunatics and the insane too dangerous to keep in regular prisons.
Keeper Hyve: Arlend Hyve is an authority on regional history and lore, a sage who dwells in an abandoned church of Aroden on Elm Way on the southern slope of the Tangles. There are whispers that he dabbles in the black market poison and drug trade.
Keeper Marshan: Sulm Marshan is (was) a goggle-eyed man said to have moved to Carrion Hill recently from the coastal town of Illmarsh; he owned and lived in the house in Slipper Market that was destroyed this morning.
Keeper Myre: Rupman Myre is a middenstone baron. He owns a large vathouse down in the Filth along the river banks, and is rumored to be involved with illegal necromancy, but to date the Crows have not been able to find enough evidence to arrest him.
"Well, let's try to hit two birds with one stone. How 'bout we go to that abandoned church on Elm Way first?"
I agree...let's go! Droogi...ready to have some fun? Maybe chew on some bad guys? Hey...whaddaya say... Lini says excitedly, riling her other half up.
The temple of Aroden on Elm Way was a small church even during the Taldan rule of Carrion Hill. In the centuries since, it has served as a home, an alchemist shop, a museum, a base of operations for smugglers and thieves, and a guardhouse, but never again as a church. Yet the building’s facade has kept its identity as a place of worship, and today, the place is known simply as the Elm Way Church.
There is no answer when you knock on the door.
Let's see...I seem to have left my lock picks in my other pack... Lini says with a grin. I do know an elf that can defeat this lock blindfolded...but he's off somewhere causing trouble, most likely. Anyone have a crowbar?
I could just have Droogi try to shoulder the door...
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Igor protects both his familiar and himself with protective spells (Mage Armor) as they near the house.
He looks at the construction of the house and instructs his familiar to try to sense if there is anyone within the house with his elemental senses (Tremorsense).
"It would be a shame to damage such a historic building."
Borax-bot tries his hand, a little leery of breaking into a temple, even if it clearly is no longer used as one.
The lock pops open, and you open the door.
The interior of the church is cold and damp. Two man-sized statues stand to each side of the room, both draped with gray sheets. Dozens of sagging bookshelves stand along the walls, and a stone altar has been converted into a table.
Otherwise it is quiet. 3 doors lead to clearly smaller rooms.
Droogi...sniff...amu baddies? Lini tells her pet as he starts to try to track with his nose. She then looks at the ground trying to see if there has been any recent movement.
The place seems lived in, so it really doesn't help Droogi much. However, it does appear that one of the doors is generally unused, while the other two seem regularly used.
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The sound of light, clacking footsteps alerts you to the arrival of somebody behind you - no, wait, make that some two bodies: It's Nectanebo - and it appears he's made a new friend.
"Apologies, apologies," Nectanebo announces. "I opted for a tour of the garden."
He tightens his coat around himself (or, the shrewd observer wonders, is it vice-versa?) as he enters.