Protectors of Golarion (Wrath of the Righteous AP)

Game Master Sensen

"Let's go slay some demons!" Merixia also took the opportunity to pray for spells while the pyre was being set up. Once Verene starts casting her spells, the cleric follows suit.

Buffs: heroism from knight's pennon, magic circle against evil, ironskin, and weapon of awe on Merixia. Protection from evil domain spell on Elliot. Protection from evil SLA on Wulfric and Nurah (if she's coming with). Sorry Azira, but once again, you have paladin saves.

Verene, are you casting tears to wine today or no?

No, I swapped it for more combat capability in the form of glitterdust, since many of the slots she would have used for fighting today were already spent.

Sorry Azira, but once again, you have paladin saves.

lol- no worries

Wulfric seems uncharacteristically introspective during and after the funeral. It's only as he follows the heroes towards the citadel that his senses seem to return to the here and now. When Verene fails to offer the enchanted wine that had become something of a tradition before embarking on any adventures, he pulls his wineskin from his belt, mutters some arcane words, and then takes a swallow before passing it around. While the others drink, he casts a few more spells.

Casting tears to wine, for anyone who wants it; then featherstep and heroism on himself and Azira.

After they agree to head back into the Citadel and finish casting their spells, the heroes enter over the rubble-filled external wall, passing inside without any challenges. However, once they pass through the rubble-filled room and into the small hallway, they find that every door they try to open is locked - though they're reasonably certain Staunton's key will open them.

Last call for buffing spells and effects. Also, are you inviting Nurah back in? Also, the hole in the wall isn't where the images were placed, so I adjusted them to where it is. The previous holes are, I think, arrow slits or the like.

Thanks Azira! And thanks GM. I think no one had adjusted the tokens since we teleported out of Staunton's bedroom. Just now, it looked like the underlying image of the Citadel Drezen first-floor map got moved by accident, making some of the star markers and so on differently placed, so I've now moved that back to where it was, and have also placed the character tokens just inside the small hallway past the rubble-filled room of the broken wall on the west side of the fortress. I think we want Nurah with us again, but only if she wants to come, obviously. Verene's buffs are all listed in her status line. Notably, she has see invisibility and detect fiendish presence active in here.

"This way. The door is probably locked, but Staunton's key should open it. Let us all be on the lookout for traps and any changes to the room, as it could mean the mimics have moved." Verene's voice comes through her message spell as usual, as she indicates to the others the door that leads to the northern hallway and then the chapel room, as she discovered with her arcane eye two days ago.

Merixia nods to Verene, gesturing for Azira to take the lead. Much as she longs to lead the charge, hard experience has taught her that everyone is in trouble if the healer goes down.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (2) + 15 = 17

Fatigue had taken Thesius the previous day for he had fallen into a deep slumber upon retreating to his bed after performing his initial duties after the command meeting. Though he awoke feeling refreshed of body some two hours later, he was still feeling the effects of everything that had occurred upon his mind.

With trained poise, he went about his normal routine before setting out to keep watch while the others got their rest that night. He would apologize to both Joran and Nurah when he checked in upon them. He wanted to be a better ear for them. He just couldn't that evening. Watch demanded most of his attention and he didn't have the spoons to deal with it.

Upon reuniting with the others at the various command meetings and Staunton's funeral, he kept his thoughts to himself. He found little to offer that was not already being brought up by the others, so he gave himself the time to steel himself for what was to come.

As they prepared to enter, he would take the time to cast Heroism upon himself, Verene, Nurah, and Elliot. Today would would only cast Heightened Awareness upon himself wanting to maintain some flexibility for what was to come considering his companions limited resources.

Upon entering, he would nod at the discovering of the locked doors before moving forward quietly to inspect each in turn for traps.

Door 1: 1d20 + 25 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 25 + 2 + 3 = 40 (25 Base, 2 Heroism, 3 Archaeologist's Luck)

Door 2: 1d20 + 25 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 25 + 2 + 3 = 43 (25 Base, 2 Heroism, 3 Archaeologist's Luck)

Huh. Well, it looks all fixed up now, so thanks for helping, Verene. Nurah will be along for the ride, it looks like, unless one of you strongly objects to it.

There are five ways you could go, so I'll assume the first two rolls of perception are going in clockwise direction.

I'm assuming that someone's casting light - probably Wulfric, but if he doesn't, Nurah will, since everything is still entirely dark outside of where the light is shining through the big hole in the wall.

Nurah looks around the hallway warily. "I'm not actually sure what anyone will do now that he's dead. They might retreat downstairs or gather somewhere I'm not familiar with."

(Sorry, he would also cast Darkvision upon himself. While fine with the light, he knows it may not always be immediately available.)

Having grown accustomed to the surge of energy that flows through him when he calls upon Desna (Archaeologist's luck), he quickly makes his way to each door in turn checking them for traps.

Part way through, he holds up a hand to silence the others before moving back and reporting in through (I assume Verene's message spell.)

"No traps, but something is moving behind that door," he suggests gesturing to the one Worldwound GM has marked with an N.

I typically just keep Radiance's light effect (as a torch) active whenever its in hand (unless someone has made me invisible), so that's 1 light up front. Wulfric can keep a light spell active on himself as well, or on whoever's taking the rear guard (if we have one).

Azira nods at Thesius' warning and positions herself directly in front of the door hiding danger. "I'm ready," she whispers, raising her golden dance-partner, "if someone would be so kind as to open the door?"

While the sword knight moves into position, Wulfric intones the words of a spell to grant her even greater bearing.

casting eagle's splendor on Azira

Slightly Earlier

"Thank you, my friends." Verene pours a tiny amount from Wulfric's wineskin into Thamyris's acorn goblet for him, and toasts the others with the skin before taking a swallow and passing it onward, grateful for the rush of clarity that accompanies it. Thesius's spell brings a sense of confidence and optimism that she had not realized she was missing before having it again. "Would that we could feel like this all the time. Then again, perhaps not. I feel I could charge down a minotaur — but I still shouldn't."

Now

"Demons tend not to have a strong chain of command or stable operational procedures. Let us hope that Staunton did not have a clear second-in-command who would be able to properly organize the remaining defenders, and instead they are mostly being left to their own devices with decisions like gathering in a group or retreating to the dungeon." Verene would like to scout the underground area with magic before venturing below, but even more than an ambush, she is worried that one or more of the remaining demons, like the two succubuses and the shadow demon they know about, will have the bright idea to teleport to Aponavicius and ask for reinforcements to teleport back with them to one of the places in the citadel that allows teleportation. Only the knowledge that demon commanders hate failure and tend to punish it with death eases her mind at all. The amount of ground the defenders of Drezen have lost in the mere five days since the Knights' arrival is not something she would want to report to the marilith general, had she been the one tasked with what should have been an easy assignment. "If we are to investigate this door with the noise behind it first, let me check for fiendish and magical auras behind it."

Verene makes sure to check for fiendish presences and for magic behind the door they are to go through before Thesius opens it, reporting what she finds to the rest in her spellwhisper and taking whatever time she needs to analyze any auras. Moved Azira and Thesius up to the N door where they will need to be, and Verene directly behind Azira so she can do her detecting.

Earlier

"Don't mind if I do. To victory!" Merixia takes a drink of wine and passes it on. While she doesn't feel the effects as intensely as Verene, being accustomed to more powerful enhancement spells, the boost to her inner focus is appreciated.

Now

It probably wouldn't hurt to cast another spell before Thesius opens the door. The cleric touches her holy symbol and recites a prayer for Ragathiel's favor in battle.

Casting divine favor.

Nodding to his allies as they prepared to breach the room, Elliot uses the wand of shield and stows it just prior to the assault. "Once more into the breach. May our blades strike true and our valour be remembered." He says as he hoists his sword, ready to engage whatever lay beyond.

I will update the statline later, but I believe all buffs are available except haste atm. Did someone have a spare heroism for Elliot?

(Thesius will also partake of the wine. I also noted he put Heroism on Elliot so he is covered there.)

Thesius will quietly confirm the door is unlocked, or proceed to unlock it, before pushing it open for Azira once everyone is ready.

With a swift click, Thesius unlocks the door and gently pushes it open.

Combat Start

Within, the party sees what must be a barracks - dozens of beds fill this wide room, jammed together with little space between them. A dozen decapitated human bodies lie in a heap to the west, while a dozen human heads sit to the east. A stocky Kellid woman with a jagged greatsword stands ready, and at the sight of the champions, she howls. "You! You killed them!"

Round 1

Initiative Order is Verene, Thesius, Elliot, Kellid, Azira, Merixia, Nurah. Bolded characters are up.

Caught off guard by the sudden scene and unsure of what was truly unfolding in front of them, Thesius steps back so he and the woman could better see each other.

He hopes to Desna his next move will have the wanted effect.

Stomping his foot on the ground to draw attention, he shouts back, "No! We killed Staunton the traitor. Who are you to place blame upon us for something we know naught about?"

(5-foot step, Swift action for Archaeologist's Luck, and intimidate or diplomacy depending on which you prefer.)

Intimidate: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 13 + 2 + 3 = 36 (13 base, 2 Heroism, 3 Archaeologist's Luck)

(If you would prefer diplomacy, it's an extra 1 to the total.)

"This is the first time we've set foot in this room, I swear in the Dawnflower's name. We are knights of the fifth crusade and have had no part in killing these men and women. We have, however, killed many cultists and demons. If you are with them, I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender. Staunton lies dead. We do not wish to hurt you but won't pull our punches if you choose to attack."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (1) + 18 = 19

It sounded cool and self-assured in his mind, but the frog shapeshift didn't really do him any favors in cowing a seemingly enraged barbarian.

AoO if she attacks, reach 10 ft: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21
damage: 1d4 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Well, we did fight a lot of humans, demons and tieflings in mass battles. So if they were soldiers in those battles I suppose we could have killed them. But the decapitations makes it less likely. Am I right in thinking we don't recognize any of these guys, GM?

A terrible suspicion forms in Verene's mind at the sight of the pile of human heads behind the legs of the enraged Kellid woman holding the vicious greatsword. Were these prisoners, executed because of our incursion yesterday? But then why was this one left alive? Was she forced to execute her own compatriots and told it was due to our actions?

No matter what tragedy took place here, she does not want to give the woman the opportunity to swing her sword against Thesius or Azira, if she can help it. "There is a version of this conversation where no one else has to die. Unless you want to join Staunton and these people in death, stand down and let us have that one." Even as she says it, her clawed fingers are reaching into her pouch, ready to call a spell into being to trap the woman and her jagged greatsword in the doorway in huge strands of sticky web.

Free action to talk, five-foot step, ready action cast web (DC 21 Reflex) if the Kellid woman takes any hostile action, especially something like stepping toward Azira. I've marked the possible outline of the web in dashes on the map. Verene is not trying to demoralize her specifically, as that would be a standard action, but I can roll to see if perhaps her words would provide an Aid for Thesius on his check.
Intimidate or Diplomacy, Aid Another?, heroism: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 And another +2 for Intimidate or +24 for Diplomacy. A lizard wizard is not scary, it turns out.

You are correct in assuming that you don't recognize any of the corpses at a glance, but a glance is all you have time for at the moment.

Round 1 Midpoint

Thesius (with Elliot's aid) emphasizes how outmatched the Kellid woman is in the battlefield, while the siblings both prepare to deal with her in their own way.

Note that you can't aid another and ready an action simultaneously - both are standard actions. Given Thesius' impressive roll, I'll assume Verene went with the latter.

The woman hesitates for half a moment before roaring her defiance, lifting her greatsword and hacking away at Azira, who is closest. This prompts Verene to unleash her web at the woman, conjuring sticky threads to hinder her action. She roars, tugging at the thick webs, but fails to accomplish much of anything.
Reflex vs. DC 21: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 4 = 20 Alas for her.
Attack vs. Azira, Flat-Footed, Grappled, Shaken, protection from evil: 1d20 + 15 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 15 - 4 - 2 = 10 Double alas.

Azira & Merixia are up.

Verene looses the web as the woman starts charging toward Azira, and when the magic has finished exploding from nothingness, sees with relief that it has trapped her and she is struggling and thrashing with the jagged greatsword within its strands. "Well, you made your choice."

Yes, that's totally fair, GM. If grappled by the web, the Kellid woman can't take any actions that require two hands to perform, so swinging the greatsword any more is out until she escapes. And if she took that swing she must be adjacent to Azira, yes? So Azira can attack if she chooses without stepping into the web at all.

As Wulfric begins one of his rousing tales, Azira frowns at the unknown woman's choice.

she looks dangerous, but a grieving woman charging blindly at strangers she desperately hopes are responsible for her pain is not the type of enemy I'm here for... still... she shows great valor in charging a group of us alone...

"Let us honor her with a quick death," she whispers to Radiance before bringing the blade dancing towards their brave foe.

Radiance1 (hero/ic): 1d20 + 18 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 18 + 2 + 2 = 33
for: 1d8 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 17 + 2 = 27

Radiance2 (hero/ic): 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 13 + 2 + 2 = 22
for: 1d8 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 17 + 2 = 22

Inspiring courage all around! (+2 to hit and damage for everyone, except the enemy, obviously)

Merixia steps forward, sword in hand, and joins Azira in the attack.

Attack + heroism + divine favor + Inspire Courage: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 13 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 24

Damage, 2-handed + weapon of awe + divine favor + Inspire Courage: 1d10 + 9 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 9 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 19

Huh, I didn't remember that about the grappled condition.

Round 1 Wrap-Up

As Wulfric begins his stirring speech, Azira lashes out with Radiance which sings a note of affirmation to her comment. The blade slices through the web and woman alike, carving deep into her flesh as she howls her fury.

Despite the wall being slightly in the way of Merixia's attack, her bastard sword slips around and cuts into the Kellid woman's arm, sending her thrashing in the web as she pulls away. Nevertheless, she remains upright and furious.

Nurah sighs heavily, then sings out a quick spell. "You should give up... Jestak. These people have killed Staunton, and they'll be merciful if you surrender."
Jestak Will: 1d20 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 4 = 25

Despite the spell woven into her recommendation, the Kellid woman - Jestak, presumably - screams defiance. "You will pay for everything!"

Round 2

Verene, Thesius, and Elliot are up.

Verene nods to Nurah in thanks for the name and for her attempt at defusing the situation, before turning her white-scaled face back up toward the enraged Kellid. "Why do you want us to, Jestak? What have the demons and their servants ever done for you, that you would kill yourself trying to destroy their enemies?"

She flicks her wrist to free the wand of magic missile from its springloaded sheath, points it at Jestak, and speaks the command word.
Magic missile v. Jestak, CL 5, damage 3d4+3 force, 24/50 charges remaining: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1, 1) + 3 = 7

"Everyone, please show some restraint if you can. There is clearly something wrong with her mind." Elliot concludes, then does his best to subdue the restrained barbarian non-lethally. He aimed his cuts precisely, striking to delibilate rather than execute her.

Attack (reach 10, assumes Thesius steps aside before or after attacking), spell combat + frostbite, full attack, +2 arcane enhancement (uses 1/6 arcane point for +2 extra enhancement bonus), -4 nonlethal: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (8) + 15 = 23
nonlethal magic slashing damage, AE+2, flagbearer +1: 1d4 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
frostbite nonlethal cold: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Attack 2 (spellstrike/spell combat)(reach 10), spell combat + frostbite, full attack, +2 arcane enhancement (uses 1/6 arcane point for +2 extra enhancement bonus), -4 nonlethal: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31
nonlethal magic slashing damage, AE+2, flagbearer +1: 1d4 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19
frostbite nonlethal cold: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

attack 3, iterative: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
nonlethal magic slashing damage, AE+2, flagbearer +1: 1d4 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18
frostbite nonlethal cold: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Crit confirm attack 2: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (17) + 15 = 32
extra nonlethal crit damage: 1d4 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
extra nonlethal cold damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Crit confirm attack 3: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
extra nonlethal crit damage: 1d4 + 15 ⇒ (2) + 15 = 17
extra nonlethal cold damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

If one attack hits, she is fatigued and entangled. I think the fatigue might force her out of rage, unsure)

Round 2 Wrap-Up

Verene unleashes a burst of magical projectiles from her wand, which whirl around her allies and strike the Kellid woman in the chest, staggering her momentarily, just in time for the grippli-shaped magus to slash at her with his glowing black blade.

Though Azira's presence between Elliot and his target prevents him from striking home the first few times, his weapon thwacks repeatedly against Jestak's head and shoulders, until she finally staggers and falls unconscious with the last blow, which sends blood streaming down her face. The web is now the only thing keeping her upright.

Combat Over

If you'd hit with the first attack, you'd have done much more lethal damage to her, amusingly. Consequences of a crit-heavy build.

Nurah sighs, shaking her head. "Wonder what got her so furious."

Detect fiendish presence is concentration duration, so it drops once Verene has to spend her standard action readying the web. She will put it back up once she has finished detecting magic and it's time to continue on, though.

"Who is she? Have you met her before?" Verene asks. She repeats the chant for the entangling web, but with a word of negation at the end. The enormous sticky strands shimmer and dissolve into iridescent sparkles, then nothingness, sending the unconscious woman slumping to the floor. With a word and gesture, Verene approaches enough to examine her, her sword, and the room behind them for traces of magic.

If she finds nothing (or nothing unusual besides the signs consistent with woman's weapon and armor being slightly stronger), she switches to detecting fiends again and prepares to move on. On Aron's map, the two doors out of this room only led to small closets. "Spells are ticking down. Shall we take her weapon and armor, and head to the secret treasure room? We cannot afford to spend the time to take her out of here unconscious as a prisoner now, I think."

Merixia starts digging in the communal bag of holding, coming up with a coil of rope. "We should bind and gag her too. Don't want her warning the rest of the keep that we're here once she wakes up."

"Yeah. We probably can't take her with us right now. But... she reminded me of you, Meri - when you get angry. Even if it turns out that she isn't mind-controlled, I... don't think I could ever bring myself to kill her."

The shapeshifted magus walks forward and drags her weapon to the bag of holding, where he then slides it in. Being both small inherently lacking of physical strength had its downsides, after all. "Okay. Off to the armors in this vault of the fake Sword, then?"

Verene nods silent assent to Merixia's timely reminder to bind and gag the Kellid woman, and helps her do so as she can. "Right now, for whatever reason, it seems she cannot be trusted not to simply attack us or try to stop us if she regains her senses. But we need not kill her. We can bring her out as a prisoner when we leave. Hopefully, that state will be a temporary one." She leads the way to the northern corridor that she has seen only with her arcane eye, again checking for fiendish presences behind the door before it is opened.

Azira's eyes begin to glow as she looks the unconscious woman up and down. (Using detect evil on her, which paladins can do as a move action instead of taking 3 rounds; I'm assuming she is evil but I'd like to know the strength of her aura)

"We can't just bind and gag her and leave her here," she states with just a faint hint of disappointment. "It wouldn't be honorable. Once we bind her she would be our prisoner and we would be duty bound to ensure her safety, which we can't do if she's in here and we're off fighting elsewhere..."

"I truly do respect your commitment to offering redemption to these people, Elliot, but--for now--can we please leave her as she is, a fallen enemy, and then if she's still alive on the way out we can take her prisoner?"

Verene shrugs. "I do not see what difference it makes to leave her unconscious or unconscious and bound, but as you like." She looks to Elliot for his decision.

The magus shrugs. "Okay. I can see that it might be safer and easier to just leave her on the ground as is. Perhaps the enemy will figure her dead, should they merely glance into the room. Let's continue on to our actual objective while our spells last."

Merixia raises a skeptical eyebrow. "And when she awakens and alerts the whole keep?" This is why she fights to kill. "On your heads be it, then. I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' when we get swarmed by angry cultists and demons."

Elliot grins good-naturedly. "When are we NOT swarmed by angry cultists and demons?" He says as the group heads to the next room.

I guess we're taking her weapon and otherwise leaving her unconscious and bleeding, yet stable, on the floor.

Verene's magical scan of the room is quick enough, noting only the auras of her companions, as well as two potions on Jestak, one magical effect on her, and her armor and sword. The greatsword is, in fact, forged from adamantine, and well-forged, while the hide armor is equally impressively crafted, despite its seeming primitive construction.

The potions are barkskin +5 and cure serious wounds, while the armor is +2 hide armor and the greatsword is a +1 adamantine greatsword. The magical effect on Jestak is the barkskin enchantment above.

Nurah shakes her head at Verene's question. "Only once, and by sight." She looks around the room. "Pretty sure those are her clansfolk, though." The halfling woman shrugs. "Anyways, I doubt anyone would try to heal her if they found her alive. Maybe if they were desperate?"

"A strong abjuration on this potion, and a faint conjuration from that one — probably warding and healing." Verene whispers after about twenty seconds of examining the fallen Kellid woman. "Another strong abjuration on her. The same as the potion, it seems. Her armor and sword are faintly magical too. Moderate abjuration and faint evocation, respectively, so likely just enchanted to protect more and strike truer. The sword is adamantine. Nothing seems wrong or dangerous about them, so I see no reason not to take them." She rolls the sword into the hides to form a kind of makeshift sheath and helps Elliot put them in Merixia's larger magical bag. The potions she tucks into her smaller bag for now.

Thanks, GM. Since I don't want to spend the time on each item to fully identify it now, I will log these and assume Verene fully identifies them with Spellcraft and detect magic sometime later today when we are not under time pressure. Using wand of shield again, 36/50 remaining.

After tapping herself with the shielding wand once more and then re-casting the spell she has been keeping up to detect fiendish corruption, Verene stills as something subtly wrong jangles at her newly fiend-attuned senses. She concentrates on it for a moment, then cocks her head at the woman's fallen form. "Were Jestak and her clansfolk prisoners here, or true believers?" Verene asks Nurah as they continue.

As the others go about searching the room and deciding the fate of their fallen enemy, Thesius simply looks to the doors. If they could simply be locked, they may just leave Jestak within the room as a makeshift prison.

Upon hearing Verene's question, Thesius nods. That question could change this entire situation in an instant.

"Ooh, adamantine. Nice." Too bad Merixia doesn't know how to use a greatsword, that would have been useful for smashing down doors. She stuffs the sword and armor into the bag of holding with her teammates' help, then resettles her backpack into place. "Who wants the potions?"

Nurah smirks at Verene's question, though the expression has more than a hint of exhaustion to it. "We're all prisoners one way or another. How willingly do you serve the crusade? You were raised to believe in the things it does, one way or another." She shakes her head. "But to answer the question you were actually asking - a prisoner doesn't get to keep her weapons unsupervised." The hafling points at the greatsword which is considerably larger than she is.

"True, and a good reason to question the things we are raised to believe, and discard those that we find wanting in justification. I merely wondered if her being left there, armed and hostile, might be another kind of demonic trick, again attempting to make us kill a crusader or other prisoner who was acting under duress, or misinformed, or not in full control of her faculties, as with the Keystones of Lozeri," Verene answers, unperturbed. She watches Thesius lock the door behind them. "If, however, she was born here and steeped in Abyssal doctrines since birth, that could be a reason for the slight fiendish aura I sensed on her. Like many in such unfortunate situations, I expect she has been both victim and perpetrator of great evils in her lifetime. But I still do not see how the deaths of her clansfolk could be laid at our feet. If we are able to take her prisoner alive, I will ask her."

Thesius listens intently to the conversation. Not finding much to add as he clicks the door/s (He'll make sure to check both) locked. It could likely turn into a meaningless endeavor, but it only took a couple moments to give the potential captive a place of safety. Nothing was guaranteed though.

"Shall we proceed?"

"Yeah, let's. Those armors aren't going to collect themselves. Er, well, assuming they're not part of the mimics waiting for us there, that is." Elliot responds, then winces. "Yuck. I really don't want to imagine some poor sod getting eaten by their own armor. That's probably the second worst way to go after a toilet mimic."

Merixia turns and gives her boyfriend a disbelieving and slightly nauseated look. "Elliot, I love you with all my heart, but why would you put that cursed image in my mind?" She could have happily gone her entire life without thinking about the possibility of a toilet mimic.

"There is no need to approach the armor until we are satisfied we have discovered and taken care of the mimics," Verene says firmly, wrinkling her snout with some effort. Then, after a moment: "...Bedsheet mimic might be a close third."

""Elliot, I love you with all my heart, but why would you put that cursed image in my mind?"

"Ah, well, it's just that there's been mentions of door mimics in certain historical writings, so it only makes sense they could also-... Oh, I've done it again, haven't I?" He gives an embarassed chuckle. "Maybe you're right and it's best to just hope mimics never get even more creative."

Catching his sister's words on the way out, he nods. "Note to self: poke the mattress and bedroll with Eclipse at least once every night before sleep..."

Their captive firmly bound and left behind and locked inside, the heroes venture back out into the hallways, navigating with Verene's help (and the help of the map that Aron filled out for them). Soon, they arrive on the western side of the Inheritor's Chapel, now blessedly free of orgiastic crusaders and their succubus overlord.

Following the map, they throw open the tapestry at the back of the room, uncovering the hidden door with ease. Beyond lies what Aron described as the false vault. Two statues stand midway into this room. They each depict an armored woman with her sword raised - Iomedae, of course. Numerous smashed and empty chests sit on the floor.

Another few moments of surveying reveals the secret door on the west side of the room - this one swings open silently, revealing the true vault. Four life-sized statues flank the room, each wearing a gleaming suit of armor that seems real, while at the north end stands a fifth statue, this one of a woman with a metal rod.

Nurah frowns. "The mimics must've moved after we killed Staunton. No point in keeping them around here since they know I'm fighting alongside you." She brushes blond hair out of her eyes. "Or they're in some other shapes."

"The false Sword of Valor is gone too," Verene whispers as she carefully peers into the room to the right around Elliot and Azira's legs. "Two days ago it was hanging from that metal rod borne by the largest statue. The alabaster altar that lay just at its feet is also missing. At least the suits of armor have been left. Unless they are mimics."

She sighs, and moves into the corner just inside the door with Merixia so that her divination spell will cover the whole room. "Let me concentrate on detecting Abyssal energies for a moment while we look around from here. If Elliot or Thesius would like to search for magic as well, that would speed things up. If divination reveals nothing, I say we shoot each statue and suit, and perhaps this large tapestry, before fully entering the room, just in case they are here but not corrupted enough to appear to my spell." She indicates the tattered red-and-gold tapestry to the south, and slides the miniaturized wand out of its wrist sheath, preparatory to sending three of its missiles in three different directions. Thamyris pops out of her horns to make his own inspection.

Perception, Verene, heightened awareness, heroism, tears to wine: 1d20 + 11 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 11 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 33
Perception, Thamyris, tears to wine: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 16 + 2 = 21

I believe we left Jestak unconscious and locked in the room, but not bound since Azira objected. Verene wants to continue concentrating on her detect fiendish presence with the door open for a bit, and just use her own and Thamyris's senses to see if we can figure out anything out of the ordinary in this room. If neither method detects anything, she will use the magic missile wand to hit the tapestry and two statues marked on the map.

"Would you mind looking for magical auras as well? If any of the suits of armor are magical, we should try not to hit them with spells." Merixia really hopes there's a suit of real full plate here that will fit her. She's long overdue for an upgrade from the banded mail she got back in Kenabres.