Coincidence or not, there is a Shoanti totem of a riderless mount in a display case of this room. Similarly Kreighton Shane produces a number of cloaks for your use. Remember this is the room the Eylyisia's 'assassination attempt' was foiled.
As he mentions it, Grigory sees the Shoanti totem in the research library. It is without a rider, but fortunately that part was found in Jeggare Museum. Magic draws the rider totem to the mount totem like a magnet on steel. There is a satisfying click, click, click.
The timing of the clicks matches the song found in Highhelm. So the Pathfinders begin singing the once forgotten song.
As they do so they pull the hoods of their cloaks over their head, not to hide their identity, ...but to reveal the identity of another. As if seeing from someone else's eyes the strong magic gains a hold o them.
The research library blurs as the relics on the shelves seem to age in reverse. Items and furniture shuffle rapidly about the room until finally the movement comes to a halt. The room is now arrayed much differently than it was before, and strange swirling clouds of blurred space wend throughout the area. At the center of the library stands a gnome woman with faded teal hair.
“About time you got here!” she exclaims. “I’m expecting Veldrid any minute! We need to confront her with what we know and convince her to turn on the others. Once their deeds are revealed, they’ll have no choice but to resign.”
The door opens, admitting three figures wearing Decemvirate helms: one eyeless and triple-flanged, another topped with stag antlers, and the third a crystal-studded black domino mask. Eylysia blanches, but quickly covers it up with a smile. “So... I take it you aren’t willing to play nice?”
“It is the Decemvirate’s will that your investigations cease,” declares the antler-helmed figure. The figure behind the eyeless helm nods, and the domino-masked figure hesitates before also nodding.
“I wonder whether your other colleagues would agree.” Eylysia draws herself up to her full height. “I doubt they’ll agree with your perspective once they know what I know.”
The figure in the eyeless mask draws his sword. “Then you understand why we cannot let you live.”
The research library blurs as the relics on the shelves seem to age in reverse. Items and furniture shuffle rapidly about the room until finally the movement comes to a halt. The room is now arrayed much differently than it was before, and strange swirling clouds of blurred space wend throughout the area. At the center of the library stands a gnome woman with faded teal hair.
“About time you got here!” she exclaims. “I’m expecting Veldrid any minute! We need to confront her with what we know and convince her to turn on the others. Once their deeds are revealed, they’ll have no choice but to resign.”
The door opens, admitting three figures wearing Decemvirate helms: one eyeless and triple-flanged, another topped with stag antlers, and the third a crystal-studded black domino mask. Eylysia blanches, but quickly covers it up with a smile. “So... I take it you aren’t willing to play nice?”
“It is the Decemvirate’s will that your investigations cease,” declares the antler-helmed figure. The figure behind the eyeless helm nods, and the domino-masked figure hesitates before also nodding.
“I wonder whether your other colleagues would agree.” Eylysia draws herself up to her full height. “I doubt they’ll agree with your perspective once they know what I know.”
The figure in the eyeless mask draws his sword. “Then you understand why we cannot let you live.”
,
The decemvirate member in the Antlered mask stares at Malakar for a hard moment, then suddenly draws a bow and shoots at the halfling!
,
Antlered mask (21): shoots Malakar!
Malakar Wandermore (18) <--here now
Merida Bowie (15): <--here now
Markus Stonewarden (14): <--here now
Nightkit (10.4.11): <--here now
Eylysa (10.4.p)
Domino mask (10.4.6)
Grigory Reinhold (8)
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7)
Eyeless mask (6)
The spell that Eylysia used to store this interactive vision was never intended to lay dormant for so long, and much of it has eroded with age. The battlefield is covered in roiling ropes of mist, as though the memories of those areas had faded.
"Veldrid, I thought you would recover your senses and confess to what you have done," Eylysa says. She casts magic and a crack of energy flies at the dwarven woman.
Antlered mask (21): shoots Malakar!
Malakar Wandermore (18) casts sleep
Merida Bowie (15): shoots domino mask
Markus Stonewarden (14): <--here now
Nightkit (10.4.11): double moves
Eylysa (10.4.p)
Domino mask (10.4.6) (RED)
Grigory Reinhold (8)
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7)
Eyeless mask (6) (YELLOW)
Eylysa works some magic, and her bright teal hair glows with energy. Veldrid, the dwarf woman in the domino mask, gains a teal glow as well. When it fades, some of the shine seems to have left the traitorous Decemvirate member.
Veldrid begins singing a dwarven chant of courage and she seems to regain some of her shine--as do her allies.
Antlered mask (21): (asleep) shoots Malakar!
Malakar Wandermore (18) casts sleep
Merida Bowie (15): shoots domino mask
Markus Stonewarden (14): <--here now
Nightkit (10.4.11): double moves
Eylysa (10.4.p) debuffs Red
Domino mask (10.4.6) (RED 11+) casts a spell
Grigory Reinhold (8)<--here now
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7)<--here now
Eyeless mask (6) (YELLOW):
Markus unloads a dwarven fist against the dwarven skull and the woman in the red mask drops to the ground.
Grigory rushes the third Decemvirate, but his axe fails to connect. In return the third man in the eyeless mask makes six quick jabs with his rapier, most of which are not actual strikes, and none even hit.
, , plus
R2
Antlered mask (21): (asleep)
Malakar Wandermore (18) <--here now
Merida Bowie (15): <--here now
Nightkit (10.4.11): <--here now
Eylysa (10.4.p)
Domino mask (10.4.6) (RED 11+8)
Markus Stonewarden (14):
Grigory Reinhold (8)
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7)
Eyeless mask (6) (YELLOW):
Antlered mask (21): (asleep) shoots Malakar!
Malakar Wandermore (18) casts sleep
Merida Bowie (15): shoots domino mask
Markus Stonewarden (14): <--here now
Nightkit (10.4.11): double moves
Eylysa (10.4.p) debuffs Red
Domino mask (10.4.6) (RED 11+8) casts a spell
Grigory Reinhold (8): misses yellow
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7):
Eyeless mask (6) (YELLOW):
Nightkita's patience pays off as she stabs the remaining decemvirate member.
Eylysa cheers "Well done. then she cautiously casts a spell to drag the bow from the slumbering Decemvirate.
Domino mask (10.4.6) (RED 11+8)
Markus Stonewarden (14): <--here now
Grigory Reinhold (8) <--here now
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7): <--here now
Eyeless mask (6) (YELLOW):
Domino mask (10.4.6) (RED 11+8)
Markus Stonewarden (14): <--here now
Grigory Reinhold (8) <--here now
Tristan Beowulf Derexhi (7): <--here now
Eyeless mask (6)+6 (YELLOW):
Markus lands a healthy blow with a loud thud! Grigory adds a thwack with his big blade and the man in the eyeless sworl drops. His body, like the two others, begins to fade. Their bodies seems to stream away into the mist, drawn in and slowly disintegrates.
Elysia turns her tealed head toward the Pathfinders. “That went differently this time; I like this ending better,” before fading from view. As she does, the mists swirl and unswirl. As mists move back, there is a flash of insight into the past’s true events: they see an injured Zaul fleeing the battle, abandoning the others as he disappears into the strange mist swirling around the library. Only one of Eylysia’s companions remains visible.
Her remaining companion, the gnome wizard Fimbrik the Illusionist, sends a crackle of spell energy at Veldrid that drops the masked dwarf to the ground where she disintegrates into motes of color that the unstable magic quickly devours. A badly wounded Helven points his blade at Eylysia and stalks towards the defiant gnome woman.
“Your secrets cannot remain hidden forever!” Eylysia cries, before tapping a foot on the ground and vanishing. The broken strands of magical mist explode in a whirlwind of rainbow light as Eylysia’s vision concludes and the battered old spell finally ends.
As the spell ends and the visions disappear, the party finds themselves back in the present. Shaine and the Decemvirate stand staring at he party.
"What happened? Did it work? Shaine asks.
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Well something happened Nightkit replied. I think we were in Eylysia's and her companions memories and they were facing off against three masked members of the Decemverate that were trying to eliminate them for what they found out. The name Veldrid was mentioned as being the ... erm ... rotten apple. She looked apologetic at the Decemverate members in the room.
She then told the story of what happened in the vision illustrated by interpretive dance.
Just as she finished, Tristan arrived. Nightkit's reaction was to look at him and say You missed everything - and is that what they're calling it these days?
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Merida talks faster than Tristan (or anyone) has seen her talk so far.
"Omygodsitallhappenedsofast! Tristan, there were three members of the decemvirate present: a dwarven woman with a domino mask, a man with antlers on his helmet and another man with no eyeholes in his triple-flanged mask. The names were Zaul, Helven and Veldrid - I think..."
Merida continues to blabber at tremendous speed, talking Tristan's ear off.
On hearing the story (or seeing it in the case of Nightkit's interpretive dance) the two masked Decemvirate members turn towards each other as though sharing a silent conversation. In the strangely neutral voices produced through the magic of the masks, one member of the Decemvirate tells the party “These secrets have remained hidden for too long—from the Decemvirate and the Society both. In doing so, the organization defamed an upstanding agent. What we have learned here grants us an opportunity to correct past crimes."
The second nods "Well done, Pathfinders.”
As the two masked figures turn and exit the library, Kreighton Shaine thanks the Pathfinders for their excellent work he does not have to think too long to complete the names Merida offers "Zaul Blystone (antlered helm), Helven Leroung (eyeless mask), and Veldrid Goldburough (domino mask). and says "The Society will soon have more tasks for you."