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Vralzyk chuckles softly from the back of the group as Chayron tells the group of strange manifestations and the outburst of questions from Pickles.
"My this is quite exciting. I wonder what ritual it is that our good professor is practicing here. Probably nothing like those Cultists of Lamashtu that we ran into I hope. That was some bad business, eh Rufus? Well, I suppose it wasnt all bad...
stepping up to the front of the group with Pickles and the Doctor, Vralzyk looks to the stairs and up at the doctor "Well shall we make our way? I dont want to miss any of the excitement. Sounds like were in for some fun!" The Gnome jauntily steps his way towards the stairs as he glances back at the group "Well? Don't just gawk, we've got society business to attend to!"
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Pickles draws the oversized kitchen knife that probably belonged to an ogre or giant in an earlier life but is now wielded as a shortsword by the goblin.
"Let's go. Careful everyone." Pickles says determined, but the fact that he is not holding on to the knife but instead moves it around in his hand in nervous flourishes shows that he is quite anxious about the ritualistic encounter upstairs.
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Vralzyk stays towards the rear of the group casting shield as they move through the second floor, not wanting to be caught off guard as they make their way to the third floor.
"Well, lets carry on now. If something is going to attack us in here, theres not much we can do but face them and hope the ritual isn't mucked up to much by the time we get there. Theres always something funny going on at the Blakros museum, thats for sure."
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As you pass the lecture hall (B2) ....
This long, narrow presentation space has seating for around thirty guests, all facing a low stage at the south end of the room. At first glance the room seems empty, but a moment later, it seems as though the shadows of an audience still fill the plush seats. A chill draft sweeps through the room, and of a whispery voice echoes from the podium. ...and rather than engage in a responsible, controlled study of the codebook, Yargos Gill decided—imprudently—to simply execute the signals listed therein... The voice trails off into a looming silence.
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"Oooh boy, I have a bad feeling about this." Pickles says and tries to stay out of the shadows he is so naturally drawn to normally. "Almost wish to head back to the derelict devil worshipper's manor." he mumbles to nobody in particular.
"What did Chayron say, third floor? Let's get this done quickly." he says and headsdown the long hallway in a hunched position, trying to stay undetected with his weapon at the ready. "I'll take a peek."
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As you hurry along .......
The Hall of Incantations (B3)
Carefully framed spellbook pages hang along this room’s walls, while eldritch relics stand in small display cases in the room’s center. In the far corner, shadows hang thicker than the rest of the room, and it seems a boisterous half-orc woman stands there, surrounded by vague figures, as she welcomes newcomers. Her voice is thin and reedy, but eerily familiar. Congratulations! Let me spice up that punch a bit for you—to celebrate, of course!
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Walking past the Lecture Hall and the Hall of Incantations, Dr. Lazarus hears the voices and whispers, "Possibly more haunts. Like we dealt with at the mansion. We'd best keep moving." In response to Pickles, he says, "Yes, yes indeed. I believe he said the 3rd floor. Looks like a staircase straight ahead."
Even though his long elven legs could easily keep up with the goblin, he sees Pickles trying to be sneaky. He decides to keep 20' back to allow the stealthy ones to ... be stealthy.
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To get to the stairs, you have to go through the Hall of Legendary Beasts (B4).
A gigantic reptilian beast is on display in the center of this expansive gallery, ferociously leering over the collection of taxidermy animals and monsters. Shadows flit between the displays, meandering and shuffling shapes reminiscent of museum patrons. Then a distant shriek echoes off the walls, as the shadow of a stuffed owlbear lashes out at one of the shadow-visitors with its talons. The shadow of the tyrannosaur in the room’s center departs from its source and snaps at the misty image of another patron, tossing its head back and seeming to swallow its meal nearly whole. Other shadows snarl and hiss, scuffling among themselves as shadow-guests panic and run toward the exit.
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Watching what the shadow of the tyrannosaur exhibit just did to one of the shadowy remnants of a patron. Pickles turns to the group. "I'm not a frequent visitor of museums, but this isn't normal, right?"
He puffs up his cheeks to muster some of his fabled bravery that turned him into a Pathfinder in the first place. "Here we go." He says to talk himself into what he is about to do, rather than to his fellows. He scurries the last stretch through the exhibition hall towards the staircase in a surprising speed (), hoping nothing bad will happen while keeping his head low.
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As Pickles stealthily enters the room toward the stairs, Vralzyk hangs back to observe the shadows. The curiosity on his face is mixed with a slight tinge of fear as he peers into the hallway around the corner and studies the room, hoping to understand what is happening and if it could be dangerous to pass through the room.
"Rufus, my friend are you seeing this too? Any of this look familiar? Or...."
His voice trails off as he sees Rufus is nestled into the box at his hip and not peering out as he usually does. Vralzyk gulps as he continues to study the shadows
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Once Pickles has scouted all the way to the stairs, Dr. Lazarus follows him and settles at the base of the staircase.
In the Hall of Legendary Beasts, Dr. Lazarus is mesmerized momentarily with the shadow images of the creatures and patrons. "Fascinating." He casts Detect Magic in case that reveals anything interesting.
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Seeing his companions move through the room unaffected by these shadows, Vralzyk moves through the room and meets them at the base of the steps
"Well, lets get up there shall we? No need to prolong the completion of our task any longer, I'm ready to wrap this up."
Vralzyk begins moving up the stairs, leading the way so long as his companions follow
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((In addition of .. ))
You pass through the shadow conflict and head upstairs.
Third Floor (B5)
Droning voices echo off the mahogany walls and domed, plaster ceiling of this luxurious room. The sumptuous furniture has been pushed to the sides of the room, making space for eldritch markings and mystical paraphernalia laid carefully over the plush carpet. The chamber seems muted and dim despite the crystal chandelier overhead, and a bonenumbing chill seeps through the space along with a metallic scent. A ritual is obviously underway here, but it doesn’t seem as though it’s working as planned. Shadowy energy lashes out from a twisting breach in the center of the room, and indistinct shapes flit and scuttle along the walls.
You walk into a ritual in progress—a ritual that has gone terribly awry.
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Society: 1d20 + 9 => (9) + 9 = 18
Dr. Lazarus calls out loudly, so he can be heard over the din, "Professor..." He yells louder to be heard, "It is I, Dr. Lazarus, noted colleague from the University of Osirion. You may have...oh never mind." He takes a breath and continues shouting, "We're from the Pathfinder Society. What's going on here? Can we be of service?"
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((There is something going on ... I'm just trying to figure out how this bit works ... and I got interrupted))
The shadows seem to be echos of the past, representing an event that happened in this museum a while back.
Tavvar stands at the head of the circle, her face twisted in a determined grimace, while her assistants each frantically continue their gestures and chants. The ritual is obviously wearing them down and they are too occupied with the ritual to engage with you in any way.
Initiatives:
((The way this works is there are nine flaws in the ritual. Three of them are being held in control by Tavvar and her two assistants (sitting 120 degrees apart around the circle - map to come) The other six are threatening to cause a shadow creature to erupt from the shadow plane which happens on the ritual's turn. To fix a flaw, on your turn, you need to succeed on an Occultism to fix a flaw. More information will appear as we go))
Dr Lazarus, Vralzyk and Jal are up ....
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Pickles follows Vralzyk, Lazarus and the others up the stairs to the third floor. His head low between his shoulders, he is wearily glancing at the shadows on the wall that seemingly have their own life. The beads of sweat on Tavvar's and the other ritualists' heads is indication enough for Pickles that something is out of order.
"This ain't good, this ain't good..." He mumbles under his breath. A bit louder he addresses the Doctor and Vralzyk "So what are you saying is going on here? I'm not sure how used you are to being ignored but this lady isn't quite approachable at the moment, I'd say. What are these big brains of yours saying is the next move. I've got the feeling we need to act quick."
His eyes drift to the dancing shadows and the rift in reality in the middle of the room. His hand twitches and gets a bit closer to the large kitchen knife at his side. "You guys like the shadows as much as I do," He says to Ritcher, Jal and Kazkoya. "But these shadows here give me chicken skin..."
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Turning to the group, Lazarus laments. "The faculty here at the College of Mysteries seem to be far busier in their day-to-day lives than we tend to be at U of O. We're more people-oriented at Osirion ... as you've no doubt noticed from your interactions with me." Taking a moment to assess the situation, he tries to explain to Pickles, "It seems Tavvar needs help fixing the flaws in the ritual. Unfortunately, it requires knowledge of the Occult. If you can help, great. If not, maybe the rest of you can prepare to fight the occasional shadow demons coming through these rifts. Until we shut them down of course. Shouldn't be long."
Lazarus then approaches one of the flaws , and attempts an Occultism check to repair aflaw.
"Ah, yes, well, it seems straightforward enough." He looks around, "Vralyzk, my boy, maybe you can take a look at that one near you."
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Dr Lazarus discovers that the cause of the flaws were due to Tavvar continually erasing and redrawing the runes as if she wasn't sure how each rune should go. He fixes this one, leaving eight flaws and also realizes that trained Deception or Diplomacy checks will also correct a flaw - and those would be easier.
((Correction - Tavvar has three assistants which are holding one flaw each at bay, leaving five flaws currently uncontrolled. Tavvar is acting as the ritual anchor which stops it from flying out of control. It would be bad if any of them died))
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Vralzyk sees the doctor deftly take care of one of the strange flaws in the ritual.
"It seems these folks have bit off a bit more than they can chew! All the better reason for a bit of pathfinder assistance indeed."
He runs over to the and attempts to copy what Lazarus did to the first flaw
"I think I've got this one down now, quick pickles try that one over there! Doctor, can you tell how much longer these assistants can hold on? They look on the brink of falling. We've got to be quick about this!"
He points out one of the nearby flaws
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The ritual lets out a surge of negative energy - DC 18 base fort save to each character who participated in ritual the past round (including Tavvar and her aides as well as any PC who attempted a skill check to disable the hazard - Dr Lazarus and Vralzyk).
(A non-participant can step in front of a participant as a reaction. This blocks the damage from the ritual caster, but the non-participant must then attempt the Fortitude save. In addition to dealing damage, the ritual’s surge of energy brings a shadow wisp into the room. Wisps act at the end of the ritual’s turn. If there are already two shadow wisps in the room, instead of creating a new wisp, the ritual restores 10 Hit Points to each wisp.)
A shadow wisp pops in as well and goes for Pickles (move, strike, strike)
(Destroying a wisp also removes a flaw)
Jal (delayed), and everyone else is now up. Flaw count = 7, 3 under control.
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Feeling the wave of negative energy Vralzyk lets out a small shriek of surprise as he suddenly feels the negative energy surge through him.
"Damned it all, we have to get this finished off before this ritual kills these poor women. Especially since it's likely to get out of hand without their help.
He scurries over to another flaw and attempts to control it again through his occult know how
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Pickles does not like this. At all. The rift between the planes in the middle of the ritual circle gives birth to some sort of shadowy essence that on top of everything has the audacity to attack him. It is personal now and with unbelievable speed the tiny goblin draws his oversized kitchen knife, ducks and slides under the hovering wisp.
Pickles pops back up behind the wisp and is now in a flanking position. Not knowing if a creature he is confronting right now even has vital spots he stabs at its core. If there is a spot, it will be in the middle of it, where it’s most protected, Pickles tries to encourage himself and rid him of any doubts. He angrily slashes at the creature a second time.
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Unlike his colleague Vralyzk, Dr. Lazarus is more prepared for the wave of negative energy and fights off the worst of it.
Unfortunately, his work on the rituals leaves him completely unprepared for the wisp attack.
When Jal asks about the wisps, the Doctor suggests, "While I'm not certain, my boy, my understanding is that a new Wisp will continue to appear each round until we get the ritual under control."
Looking around to examine the ritual, Lazarus counts 2 uncontrolled flaws that need to be repaired. He addresses the nearest one.
The Doctor feels confident about the current attempt and if he has time left, he performs some in-battle healing to keep himself up.
Feeliing much better, he hopes the others can take care of the wisps while he and Vralzyk continue their work on the ritual.