A6. GATEHOUSE STOREROOM
This room contains a large barrel and a couple of wooden shelving units. Several opened crates and burst sacks lie scattered here and there. There is a trap door in the southwest corner, next to the entrance.
The door was unlocked and slightly ajar, the Redcaps have ransacked the room.
What are you doing now?
Giving the door a cautious push all the way open, Vhane looks within.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugs. "Outside o' the trap door, looks alright."
Axton casts mage hand to scatter the debris of any of the contents of the burst sacks around a bit, hoping to lure out any extradimensional demon worms or whatever.
Aside from the deadly trap on the trap door there isn't anything here. .
In a nonchalant manner he says, "Well, ya might want ta avoid the deadly trap on the trap door. Probably should avoid that." Staring in unmoving silence for a moment or two, Vhane blinks a couple of times before, "Are we goin' ta see what's under the trap door? Or do we just move to the next room? Doesn't matter ta me." He checks his crossbow, making sure he's got a full clip.
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Chuckling at Vhanes observation about 'avoiding the deadly trap' Elathras turns to Bharak and asks, "Shall we deal with the trap before we move on?" He smiles, "And by 'we' I mean do 'you' want to mess with it now or later?"
"We are here now. Let's investigate it now."
Axton's mage hand moves over to the trap door and points at it.
”A trap seen? Aye, let’s see what’s behind. Would be daft to place a trap when there is nothing worth protecting.”
You find that the trapdoor once lead to the lower levels, however the Redcaps with their usual sense of malice have bricked it up 20' down, set it with poisoned spike and weakened the surrounding area so that anyone trying to use the trapdoor falls onto the spikes.
You clear it.
What now, only the stairs up in A16 are left. Unless you can beat a DC40 lock at A4?
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"Okay. So we have the locked doors in the courtyard, the other foreboding locked door and going up th stairs to search the second floor." Elena summarizes. "I'd say we head up to the second floor now . If we unlock the central door, whatever is inside might be alerted to our prescence and that something here went wrong for them. I'd suggest we try and conceal our presence to the rest of the enemies while we can, then fight them when we are at full strength."
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Looking at the very locked door, Elathras nods towards the south west, "There was the staircase in the guardroom. Maybe the lead someplace where we can keep searching for a key?"
”Worth looking. This lock? I’m not seeing a way in. Not without specialized tools, at the very least.” He didn’t like the idea of giving up on a challenge but he had to recognize when something was impractical.
"There's got ta be a key somewhere. I say we take those stairs that lead ta there," he says, pointing to the stairs and then up.
Nodding in agreement with Vhane, Elathras turns to Bharak, "After you."
As he moves cautiously up the stairs behind his friend, Elathras keeps a keen eye out as he goes.
Wordlessly, Bharak moved forward…
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A17. NORTH SEA TOWER ROOM
The northwest corner of this room is circular, with windows that overlook the sea. In the round-shaped section of the room, a high-backed leather armchair sits facing one of the windows, its leather surface stained and stinking of decayed meat.
Bharak stealths up the stairs unseen, he can see an undead Bugbear sitting in a chair in the room. The Undead has not seen him.
What are you doing now?
Bharak motioned to the group. He whispered to them that he would try and quietly eliminate it, but if he failed to rush in to his aid.
Bharak's sneak attack gets through the undead's full plate armor.
That's nice and simple. His initiative is last so the party may now act!
Vhane moves up the stairs as quickly as he can.
Cursing as his blow failed to take the creature down, Bharak raised his blade and began to hammer away with all of his strength. If finesse and subtly failed, then he would try brute force.
With the frustration of a true artist Bharak reacts to his stealth attack failing by hacking the Undead to pieces in rage.
Loot:
Full plate +1,
Greataxe of life stealing (As sword of Lifestealing),
Composite longbow +1 [+7 str],
+1 elfbane arrows (10),
Headband of alluring charisma +2.
Everyone scrambles upstairs but finds Bharak has finished off the Undead Bugbear. You can hear movement in the south room as the fight has drawn attention.
One round then something is coming through the south door. What are you doing now?
One round then something is coming through the south door. What are you doing now?
Moving off the stairwell just as Bharak drops the undead, Elathras nod. About to say something he hears movement from the southern room. Stepping over the fallen undead he positions himself near the door, his polearm at the ready.
Taking up position next to Elathras, the dwarf took his position at the door. Whatever came through was going to have a bad time.
Vhane double-checks his bow, making sure it's fully loaded. Confirming that, he takes aim at the southern door, ready to blast whoever - or whatever - comes through.
The door clicks open and a Mummy lurches into the room, with more behind it!
.
What are you doing now?
The mummy lurched into the room, and right into Bharak’s waiting blade.
"Surprisingly attractive mummies!" Axton exclaims.
He then casts an empowered fireball at a point in the next room designed to catch the mummies but not his allies.
Cutting his narrowed eyes toward Axton, and wondering if the mustached man has finally lost his mind, I knew it was coming. Just a matter of time, Vhane cuts his focus back to the mummies and unloads a barrage of arrows at whichever one gets in the way of them.
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Bharak cuts down Red and then hacks into Orange, which is followed up by Axton turning both the remaining Mummies into ashes.
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The Mummies were resting in A18 but moved the moment their master the undead Bugbear used his link to summon them.
There is a room in between A17 & A18. this is A19.
A19 ABBOT'S CHAMBERS
This rectangular room is almost completely lined in wood and furnished with a round table with a single chair, several stools near a large fireplace, and two tall bookcases flanking a window with flowery stained-glass designs.
The bookcases beside the window are almost empty, and contain just a few books of obscure poetry and litanies written in Aklo and Abyssal. A collection of demonic literature.
On the table is a small book of poems in Abyssal dedicated to the demon lords of Golarion. The inside back cover of this book has been used to scribble a short poem.
A successful DC 25 Knowledge (religion) check suggests that the "categories" of people and creatures mentioned in the poem are the typical worshipers of the demon lord Mestama (annis hags, banshees, green hags, spurned lovers, vengeful widows, and witches).
Treasure:
The books on the shelves, while grim and blasphemous in subject matter, are rare editions worth 400gp in all. If referenced while making a successful Knowledge (planes or religion) check about anything associated with the Abyss, demons, or qlippoth, these books grant a +2 circumstance bonus on the check.
What are you doing now?
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Keeping his Guisarme poised to defend the others, Elathras smiles as dwarf and flame bring down the undead enemy. Moving through the chambers he looks into the southern room, voicing, "Looks like access to the other stairs, no other exit."
As he returns his attention to the 'sitting room' he leans his weapon against the wall. Picking up a few books, he raises an eyebrow. "These are mostly written in Aklo and Abyssal."
Moving to the table he picks up the book of poems. Turning to the back he reads the poem aloud in Taldane. "Two to the left for annis hag. Three to the right for banshee nag. One to the west for greenie crone. Two to the east for spinster lone. Two to dusk for wife in tears, Three to dawn for witches leers."
Closing the book he extends it to the others asking, "Any ideas what it means?"
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Elena listens intently, then ponders the poem for potential meaning. "I'm... not sure. If I had to guess... instructions for opening or operating something? There are only two directions - left and right-, along with a set number in each of the lines. Maybe if you follow the directions when using something, that might help. As to what, I don't know. Since there are only variants of left and right, it might refer to the movements of a key or clock. Maybe once we have one of the missing Keys or run into a puzzle of sorts where movement is needed, it will make more sense? I don't know what the iconography means, but if the poem wasn't important, it probably wouldn't have been scribbled down on his own table."
When the group continues searching, she lingers near the obvious desk of the Abbot and gently lays her hand on the woodwork. "I pray for your safety. Please, hang on."
"Perhaps, operating some machine, but before you said that, I had in mind some sort of maze."
"At any rate, the creatures and people listed in this poem are all known worshippers of the demon lord Mestama, who seems very much in line with this place's new motif."
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"Perhaps, operating some machine, but before you said that, I had in mind some sort of maze. At any rate, the creatures and people listed in this poem are all known worshippers of the demon lord Mestama, who seems very much in line with this place's new motif.
"That would work too, so long as the maze has no option to head forward in any sense." Elena thinks. "Hm... Mestama? Do you think all these attackers are followers of him? It is a very unusual collection of enemies, ranging from Ettins to mummies and undead bugbears, but none of those creatures as of yet. I think that something about this doesn't fit, but I can't think of an explanation based on the limited information we have."
Unsure what else to do here, she regards the unused door. "Only one way to change that. Shall we keep exploring?"
Still confused by the puzzling poem, Elathras, hearing the creatures were worshippers of the demon lord Mestama, shakes his head and sighs. Using his pole-arm he points toward the fireplace, which seemed to be the only way to continue. "Shall we continue?"
”Aye.” Bharak agreed, not being nearly learned enough to contribute to the conversation. He was glad though, that Axton and Elena were able to begin puzzling it all out. There was only so much a blade could. And no matter how sharp it was, a sharp mind was just as important.
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"Hm... Mestama? Do you think all these attackers are followers of him? It is a very unusual collection of enemies, ranging from Ettins to mummies and undead bugbears, but none of those creatures as of yet."
"Mestama is a her, actually. But no, I don't think that everything here worships her. I was just stating that the creatures listed in that poem do.
"Just like the abbey hosted worshippers of multiple deities, it seems likely that it has been invaded by worshippers of multiple other... beings, I guess."
Axton agrees that they should continue exploring.
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"Well... we know the remaining five clergy were not worshippers of Mestama. If this poem is scribbled down, was it done by the attackers perhaps? If so, why? If it was, that might reinforce the idea that these are somehow instructions on how to get further in."
The veiled priestess shrugs. "Hopefully we will find more answers soon."
A20. WINDSONG COUNCIL CHAMBER
This huge room is a large open central chamber surrounded by an ambulatory, creating a sort of indoor arcade with numerous five-foot-wide arches providing access into the center.
In the central chamber, which sits under a vaulted twenty-foot-high ceiling supported by wooden timbers, twenty-one ornate chairs stand in solemn ring, their backs against the walls of the arcade between each of the arches.
On the high back of each chair is the beautifully sculpted holy symbol of one of the major deities of Golarion. An immense dark fireplace looms to the west.
This is where the priests of the abbey held their meetings and councils. The 21 chairs each bear the holy symbols of the 20 major deities plus Aroden.
You can easily see that two of the chairs (Aroden's and Rovagug's) seem to have not been used in a great while-in fact, Rovagug's seems never to have been used at all.
Further, Iomedae's chair bears a deep gouge along the back at about the point where a seated person's neck would be located.
?
To the north, a door leads out to a balcony that runs along the outer wall, You have dealt with the Redcaps posted there.
Only a door to the South left to explore. What are you doing now?
Bharak lowered his head as he entered the room, giving respect to the Gods. After that moment, he turned to the others. ”We need a splinter from that chair, aye? If someone who knows more about the divine could do it respectfully, I’m going to check that door over yonder for traps.”
He truly did not want to accidents anger a major deity. Given that he knew nothing about proper rites or rituals, he hoped someone else could handle the task.
Sporting a curious look, "A splinter? As in, a sliver of wood? That's it? That sounds dumb. But whatever. I can get a splinter for ye." Vhane goes over to the chair, sheathes his bow, and pulls out his traveler's any-tool. Forming it in the shape of a chisel, he runs it down the edge of the chair and takes the splinter he's created.
Walking over to Elena, "Here's that splinter you lot were lookin' for. If that's what you were talkin' about, that is. If not, then I'll just toss it." He shrugs.
As the conversation about the 'splinter' continues, Elathras opens the door to the north, confirming what he suspected that this floor would not be joined to the locked tower in the center of the fortress. As Vhane finishes drawing a small portion of wood from the chair, he asks, moving towards the southern door. "Shall we continue checking this wing?"
Remembering the mummies charging from the previous room, he readies his weapon in case something untoward gets past Bharak.
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"I wonder if any sort of worship was performed in this room, or if it was a hall for meetings only..."
The scaping sound pulls her from her musings and the petite cleric goes a bit white in the face over seeing Vhane essentially vandalizing the place - and Calistria's chair no less. "A-Ah. I, uh, was hoping we could just find the splinter without damaging an arguably holy site to a goddess of vengeance. But okay, I will keep it as safe as I can." She promises once it has handed to her, upon which she wraps it in a cloth and places it her Handy haversack.
"Please don't harm us, lady of wasps. He only did it at the request of your high priestess. Surely she intends to use it to spread your worship outside of these ruined halls."
Onto the next room?
The scaping sound pulls her from her musings and the petite cleric goes a bit white in the face over seeing Vhane essentially vandalizing the place - and Calistria's chair no less. "A-Ah. I, uh, was hoping we could just find the splinter without damaging an arguably holy site to a goddess of vengeance. But okay, I will keep it as safe as I can."
Vhane shrugs.
He then puts up his traveler's any-tool back in his pack, and reequips his crossbow. "We done here?"