Morning comes quickly and you unfold letter from Sheila Heidmarch. Reading over it once again for possible missed clues as you eat your breakfast. You know that Heidmarch Manor is located in the Alabaster District of Magnimar, located near the easternmost gate.
As you approach Heidmarch Manor you see that the grounds are surrounded by a stone wall, but the front gates hang open. You look up and the sun sits in the sky marking it to be noon and you are on time.
You arrive, entering the foyer, and are met by a servant; "Please wait here for a moment. Venture Captain Heidmarch is finishing up with meeting that is running long." After a brief bit of time you find yourself standing in this entry room with three other people.
For some reason, the Half-elf didn't notice Kuno standing right behind him.
"My name is Khyron but I prefer to go by Kuno," he said in a voice that sounded like gravel."I'm from Magnymar and the... this lodge,"
The Dwarf was dressed head to toe in black and dark brown. Strapped to his broad back were a battleaxe and wooden shield. He smelled slightly musky and seemed to forget how to blink.
The door opens again, admitting another servant, a young human woman, and a large black and white cat. She smiles and nods to the servant as he departs, then turns to the other occupants of the room. "Hello! I'm Rosalyn, and this is my familiar Marius." Rosalyn gestures toward the cat, who has wandered over toward Iradyiel to sniff him. "Don't mind Marius, he's friendly."
Judging from the quarterstaff, crossbow, and dagger Rosalyn is carrying, and the distinct lack of any armor, it's reasonable to assume that she's a spellcaster of some sort. She wears a sturdy navy blue coat over dark plum colored trousers and charcoal gray boots. Her skin is the light tan common to Magnimar's mixed-race humans, and her wavy brown hair hangs just below her shoulders. Were it not for the weapons, Rosalyn would easily blend into a crowd.
Kuno reaches out to the cat to allow it to pick up his scent.
The young elf, excited, pulled another book from the shelf. Traps of the Monuments? There should be plenty in here to learn! he thought to himself as he took that book back to the seat he's been using to read different Society tomes through the night. He finally starts to doze off, falling over the book, when one of the servants taps him on the shoulder. Again. A little harder.
As he startles awake, the servant says simply "I believe you are going to be late for your appointment if you don't go now. I'll put this book away, too."
The elf's eyes pop wide open, the over-wide that the sleep-deprived frequently show when trying to display they aren't tired, and he scurries towards the office, reaching the door as it shuts behind a servant on the way out. He pauses for a moment, straightening his clothes (an explorer's outfit, in browns and dark reds, with only a dagger and belt pouch currently on his person) before opening the door and moving into the room.
He spots the others. "Hello! I assume we're here for the same meeting, then? I'm Estel. Second generation Pathfinder. Spent the last couple of decades at the Mordant Spire." It is hard to tell age with elves, but, he seems young to have been working as a Pathfinder for decades already.
He has blond hair cut short, dark eyes, and seems thin, even for an elf.
Marius bumps his head against Iradyiel's hand, then wanders over to rub against Kuno and accept any pets that may be forthcoming. Dwarf properly greeted, the cat decides to investigate Estel.
Rosalyn laughs and shakes the half-elf's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Iradyiel. Goodness, you're a long way from home!" She turns to Estel. "You as well, Estel. I'm Rosalyn, nice to meet you. Magnimar born and bred, although I did study in Galduria." Not wanting to neglect Kuno, Rosalyn smiles and waves to him. "Good to see another Magnimaran face here, Kuno!"
Kuno nods and then suddenly smiles as if it were something he just remembered. He relishes the attention from Marius before the big kitten moves on to Estel. He opens his mouth as if to say something and then closes it seeming to hold himself back.
The elf kneels as the cat arrives, offering the back of a hand as well. If allowed, he'll scratch the base of the ears, where so many animals seem to enjoy the attention. "Not really. I'm in a Lodge. I'm home. Just not close to my family."
While the five of you, Marius included, get to know one another you hear two voices coming from down the hall. As the two come into view, one turns her attention to the party.
In an unusually deep voice and with a no-nonsense attitude she opens her arms welcoming as she motions to the manor; “Welcome to Heidmarch Manor, Magnimar’s own Pathfinder lodge! I am Sheila Heidmarch and I thank you for answering my call.”
Placing a hand on the shoulder of the woman next to her; “My apologies for running behind. This is Koriah Azmeren and we were just wrapping up our meeting” Koriah is an attractive half-elven woman dressed in leather armor and armed with a distinctive looking mithral and redwood aklys and a bastard sword, both are currently sheathed and hanging from her belt. With a silent smile, Koriah nods towards the party.
Koriah Azmern is one of Varisia’s most famous Pathfinders and a well-renowned expert on the Darklands.
Pausing for a moment as if in thought, Sheila continues; “Koriah, Pathfinders, join me in the library.” Sheila takes the party into an adjoining room. This chaber is the lodge library and study. The walls are lined with bookshelves, while several tables in the middle of he room are heaped with scrolls and books. One table in the center, however, supports only a single object – an ornate cubical stone coffer covered with runes. “Please, have a seat.” pointing to the table that the coffer is sitting on.
“I apologize for the delay, as I must conclude my business with Pathfinder Azmeren before we meet. In the meantime, though, I thought you could help us with another minor issue. This stone coffer is an ancient Thassilonian puzzle, a cunning feat of magical engineering known as a paradox box. As you’ll see from even a casual investigation, what appear to be seams on the sides are only shallow grooves – there’s no obvious way to open the thing. Each paradox box has its own secret method of being opened. Essentially, a paradox box subsitutes hidden catches and magical triggers for a lock. Given time, anyone clever enough could figure out how to open a paradox box, just as given time, a locksmith can open any lock.”
“This particular box was among those items recovered by Koriah – the scrolls next to the box are her preliminary notes on the possible triggers or methods of opening it, but she’s not yet had a chance to sit down and properly investigate the thing. So… why don’t you put your heads together and see if you can’t do that for me? Even if the box is empty, as I suspect it probably is, knowing the method of opening it makes it a valuable find anyway. I’ll return shortly, and I hope to see that box open!”
Motioning for Koriah to follow her to the door, Sheila says one final thing before closing the door behind her; “Think of this as an audition, if you will – because the actual task I want to speak to you about soon will require as much wit as it will brawn!”
Closing the door behind her, you find yourselves in the library sitting around the table with this ancient Thassilonian puzzle box.
1.
3.
Puzzle boxes had been mentioned by his Druid mentor briefly but Kuno's training was so accelerated that there had been little time to elaborate. Having one before him now was quite the lesson. Pathfinders never stop learning, indeed.
Lady Heidmarch is here! While Rosalyn has seen her briefly at galas and such, she doubts that the venture-captain will remember her. Rosalyn has always been a wallflower at such events. She straightens up and gives the two women her best 'I am a confident wizard' smile. After Iradyiel is finished greeting them, Rosalyn steps forward and offers a hand. "I appreciate your invitation, Lady Heidmarch. It's a pleasure to meet you, Pathfinder Azmeren."
Ooh, a puzzle! Rosalyn takes a seat at the table, while Marius hops up to investigate the box with a thump. She takes one of the scrolls to read it, passing another scroll to Iradyiel. "Of course. What fun, an ancient Thassilonian puzzle! Marius, honey, don't touch." It's probably not dangerous, but you never know.
The cat puts his ears back slightly, but he retreats from the box and jumps down onto Rosalyn's lap. She automatically moves the scroll she's reading out of his way, clearly used to feline interference with her reading.
1) As everyone else finds one way or another to recognize the famous Pathfinder, Estel simply nods and adds "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Ms. Azmern."
----
2) While Lady Heidmarch describes the puzzle box, the elf's mind is working. I wondered what that was. Now I get to play with it? ABSOLUTELY. When she declares this an audition of sorts, Estel actually laughs. "I hope we do not disappoint, then!"
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3) As the others start examining the box or the documents, Estel watches them for a moment, listening to how they start. "Yes, we should probably keep Marius away, and assume the box is trapped. The notes will obviously fail to tell us if it has been opened, because such notes would share too much about how to open it, I expect. If we have to assume it hasn't been opened, then we have to assume it could be trapped. It probably has been opened, but that doesn't make it safe to assume it is safe . . .."
He looks to the half-elf and human. "See anything interesting in the notes? I'll trust your judgement on that point while I give the box a better look." As he speaks, Estel pulls a leather-wrapped set of small tools from his belt pouch.
"What do you have to say, little box? how do you want to be caressed?"
"Hmmmm . . .. Keeping your secrets for now, are you?" He clears the table space around the puzzle box before picking up an oil lamp and bringing it to the box, using it to alter the play of light over the surface as he tries to look deeper, and closer . . ..
As you look over the puzzle box you do believe that is to be a solid piece of stone that has been carved to resemble a box. Estel brings a lamp closer and sees no obvious seam for a lid or hinges to allow it to be opened.
Puzzle box still sitting on the table, untouched.
Koriah’s notes list translations of the significant runes on the box. It appears that the most oft-repeated symbols was the rune for “wrath.” Koriah also notes its associated with evocation magic, and in the earliest days of Thassilon with the word “kindness.”
Koriah also indicates that this rune merely marks the box has haing one belonged to a citizen of the Thassilonian nation of Bakrakhan, and that the rune likely has little to do with the method of opening this particular paradox box.
Koriah observes that five of the box’s face are identical, but on one face, several additional runes appear. They spell out the work “CRUEL.” This word is somehow linked to the box’s mystery. Interestingly enough, each of the individual runes in the word can be reorganized by touching two runes at one. Doing so causes the two touched runes to exchange places for an hour before reverting to their original spelling of “CRUEL.”
You realize the key might be hidden as an anagram.
Rosalyn finishes up with the last of the scrolls, setting it down on the table. ”An anagram? Well, it’s worth a try, although there aren’t many words you can make with so few letters.” She nudges her familiar until he jumps down onto the floor with a huff. Standing up, the wizard leans over to poke at the letters. C-R-U-E-L... maybe U-L-C-E-R?
"Looks to be. And moving the letters around seems like the right idea. Try flipping letters to make ulcer."
Rosalyn is the first to touch the paradox box. As she begins to touch the runes, the two of touch begin to glow, wink out, then appear in the place of the opposite that was touched. Maneuvering the runes to show U-L-C-E-R, the glowing stops and nothing happens. The runes still read as U-L-C-E-R.
Bakrakhan, the realm of wrath, was one of the seven nations which formed the ancient empire of Thassilon in northwestern Avistan.
The Runelord Alaznist was the last Runelord of Wrath who ruled for many years over Bakrakhan. She was a specialist in wrath magic, now called evocation, and was said to have been a puissant arcane knight.
Kuno stares at the box very intensely, his expression darkening, his eyebrows knotted. It is almost as if he's trying to will the answer from the box...
Well, that's obviously not it. Rosalyn frowns, then shrugs. "'Lucre' sounds more fitting for greed to me as well, but I can't think of anything else to try." She touches the runes to rearrange them into LUCRE.
Rosalyn begins touching the runes, switching their places, causing it to spell out LUCRE. The runes glow as she changes them. This time, when Rosalyn finishes spelling out the word, the runes glow does not dissipate. Actually, the wrath runes on the other sides of the box begins to glow also. With a click a lid appears in this stone paradox box and it slowly springs open.
As the lid opens there is a flash of light as two dog like creatures emerge from within the box. These two dog faced gremlins immediately spring out and begin wreaking havoc throughout the chamber. They begin ripping up scrolls on the table if they are still laying there and start carving obscenities into the table.
These two dog like creatures are a called Pugwampi.
Special Defenses: DR 2/Cold Iron
Special Attacks: Spell Like Ability: Shatter
Languages if any: Gnoll & Undercommon
With concern for Koriah's research, Iradyiel deftly grabs ahold of the one closest to him but not before the little creature strikes out at him with its tiny dagger. But, Iradyiel's quickness evades the strike out at his hand.
Marius hisses, fur puffing out, and bolts under a table on the far side of the room. Rosalyn backs up a few steps, placing herself between Marius and the pugwampis. She raises a hand to cast a spell, but hesitates. So far all the creatures have done is destroy and vandalize objects. They haven't actually attacked anyone. "Iradyiel, you know about these things. Are they likely to attack us? Do they have any resistance to magic? And if we don't kill them, what in the worlds are we going to do with them?"
Estel looks uncertain as he grabs his sap and attempts to knock the loose one out. Expecting it to take more than one hit, and probably more swings than that . . ..
Grabbing his sap, Estel strikes out at the pugwami that is damaging the table. Not expecting the attack, Estel strikes the creature. It turns, acting as if the attack was not fully effective, and strikes out with its tiny dagger at Estel in return striking his hand.
Wrestling around with the little pugwampi is harder than it looks. Iradyiel is able to pin the creature between himself and the table while grappling its arms and legs with his hands.
Kuno pulls a pinch of fine sand from one of his pouches, begins speaking an arcane incantation and blows the sand towards the Pugwampis. With a magical burst, Kuno cast the Sleep Spell. The magical wave wave fills up a good portion of the room that the party finds themselves in.
The magic passes through the two elven members, Iradyiel and Estel, and onto the rest of those in the room. Kuno senses that powers cuts through the magical defenses of the pugwampi creatures. The one in the grapple hold of Iradyiel shakes off the sleep effect, while the one in the throws of battle with Estel crumples on top of the table asleep.
The Iradyiel and Estel see the pugwampi fall, but hear two more louder thuds as Roselyn and Kuno found themselves within the spell blast.
The awake pugwampi struggles against Iradyiel's hold but is unable to break free.
Just as Rosalyn begins casting magic missile, Kuno finishes his incantation. She has just enough time to think 'Oh, hells!' before the sleep spell hits. The wizard sways on her feet, then crumples to the floor, staff falling from her hand with a clatter. Behind her, Marius relaxes from his frightened crouch and topples over on his side.
"That worked out bet . . .. Oh. Yeah, grab the rope." Estel will hold the sleeping dog-thing down. One hand at the throat, the other at the back hip, hopefully coming in from the thing's back, and not the side the paws are on!
Once he has the rope, Iradyiel has no problem tying up the pugwampi that he has pinned to the table. The other one is asleep and being help by Estel and is not going anywhere. Rosalyn and Kuno are still asleep.
"Tie him?" Estel remembers something about a thing called hog tying, and tries to duplicate it, wrapping the rope around the forelegs, above the elbows, then looping around the neck a couple of times, pulling the rope tight enough to force the two points closer than normal, and then around the rear legs, also above the elbows, again pulling the rope tight enough to force things closer to gather than normal, then back to the neck for a couple of loops, and then around all 4 paws, before starting to weave the rope through the legs like a lashing, finally securing the rope to the thing's leg with a clove hitch.
Kuno is sleeping as peacefully as a babe. He has curled up into a semi-fetal position. His snore, however is the most horrifying sound you have ever heard coming out of a living being.
Marius, somehow still awake, runs over to his mistress with a plaintive meow. He nudges her hand with his head to no avail. Rosalyn is out like a light. Pawing at her doesn't work either. Finally the cat reaches out and sinks needle-sharp claws into her skin. That gets a response!
"Ow! Marius, what... oh." Rosalyn yawns, reaching for her staff. "I hate sleep spells. Thanks, sweetie." She gives Marius a chin scratch before getting to her feet and looking over at the rest of the group. "Oh good, you took care of the pugwampis. I'm sorry I hesitated." The wizard looks down at her feet. "I really wasn't much use here."