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Elfino examines the bracelet...
...but the religious significance escapes him.
"This appears to be a planar focus for something."
The albino elf ponders this a moment. "De odds of an Akizendri source ta dese mysteries seems ta be improvin'. Bein' proteans, dey originate from a different plane dan ours, so perhaps our Akizendri friend is usin' dis bracelet ta travel back n forth between de planes." Then he shrugs. "Time will tell I spect, but either way, we shuds take de bracelet wid us. I'll leave it in yer good 'ands, Thevenin."
"This appears to be a planar focus for something."
"I was about to say that." She looks at the bracelet. "Not my style."
She looks around. "Enough unpleasant memories of bathroom hazing rituals. Let's look at that shack."
The door to this storage shed doesn’t shut fully, leaving it swinging slightly on squeaky hinges. The dusty interior is full of all manner of clutter, including exercise equipment, tools and broken furniture.
As you start to search and investigate, you hear scurrying and hissing. Then you see a couple of oppossums, baring their teeth and looking rather mean.
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The Signet glances at the possums, then at Quadennillia. Then her mind catches up and she looks back the possums.
"Is anyone good with animals?"
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Elfino enters the shack and begins his search. When the hissing opossums make their appearance, he stops moving and investigates their behavior.
"Dese creatures seem ta consider us a threat. Let's see if I can convince dem otherwise."
He then kneels down slowly and uses some of the animal soothing techniques he'd learned from goblins in the sewers of Absalom to try and calm the frightened animals. "Dere, dere little ones. We're all friends 'ere. Dere's no need ta be frightened." He pulls out some jerky from his rations and offers it to the creatures.
Elfino seems to have a way with these creatures, and the do visibly calm down. Eventually, they mosey out and toddle off in search of food. This allows you the chance to investigate further, although is certainly seems obvious that these oppossums are the cause of the sounds. But the light?
She wonders what Elfino can't do. Now he can talk to rodents! Now Quadennillia won't have to reveal her secrets.
"Too much debris for my tastes." She coils her whip and then flips and hops about the toolshed, playing a game of Don't Touch the Hot Lava.
Curious at all the commotion Midnight decides to take a closer look at the shed. The cat winds her way between Elfino's legs and climbs up one of the stacks and looks around from her perch.
While others might assume that the opossums were the source of these disturbances, you find large gashes, probably claw marks, that mark the northern wall by the ceiling. They’re too large for most animal claws, unless a bear somehow got trapped in here. Given that the marks are nearly eight feet off the ground, a large or flying creature made them.
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Elfino examines the newly discovered claw marks high up on the wall. "I think we can be shur dat de reported noises were from our friendly neighborhood opossums, but dat dunna explain de candlelight or dese gashes. Perhaps our spected Akizendri 'as been prowlin' around in 'ere as well."
He thinks further and then shrugs. "Time will tell I spose. Let's go check out de lab next. Dere's de Disappearin' Door on de way dere, n den de Cheater's Whisper once we get dere. 'Ow does dat sound ta everyone?"
You head for the lab, the largest room in the school. You don't see any disappearing door along the way.
Laboratory tables, flasks, vials, and alchemical equipment make the purpose of this room obvious, though the white plaster walls and stained tiles make it look both newer and cheaper than the rest of the building. Cases sit in neat rows on open shelves, each bearing a neat label listing its contents. A large window at the back of the room looks over the rest of the grounds.
A poster in a corner of the room provides a handy reference of alchemical formulas.
Humanoid anatomical models stand beside the laboratory tables. The left side of the models show the musculoskeletal system, while the right side shows major organs. Various symbols are pinned to the organs.
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Being an alchemist herself, Qen is interested in the discoveries here.
"Someone has been messing with these formulae. If you're more interested in pranking your fellow students than actually making something useful, use these."
Qen then approaches the models.
"There's probably a better way to label your anatomical references than with start charts, but that's what they did here. See, this one is called Nethys' Eye, and..." She goes on until interrupted, seemingly more comfortable talking about space than any immediate concern.
The Signet tries to stifle a yawn. Once chemists abandoned fire, smoke and flames her mind wandered right back.
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"This is very ineffective place for studying, then," Termia summarizes Qen's observations. "Perhaps the tampered formula book has something to do with the whispered wrong answers."
She catches herself, and apologizes to her squad leader. "Forgive me sir! Mere conjecture my part! It is uncouth of a soldier to speculate without explicit orders."
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As Elfino and the rest of them make their way down the hallway to the lab, he stops short of the door and turns toward the adjacent walls. "Wait a mo! Dere are more dan one of us, so de disappearin' door won't show. Dunna mean dat it's not dere dough." Elfino then makes a detailed examination of the walls on either side of door to see if he can find any sign of what he suspects is some sort of secret door.
He then enters the lab room and looks about.
"Yer quite right Quadennillia, dese formulae 'ave been tampered wid. Reminds me of de tampered books in de library. Looks like our spected Akizendri 'as been messin' about in 'ere as well. I wonder where it might be 'idin'."
"This is very ineffective place for studying, then," Termia summarizes Qen's observations. "Perhaps the tampered formula book has something to do with the whispered wrong answers."
She catches herself, and apologizes to her squad leader. "Forgive me sir! Mere conjecture my part! It is uncouth of a soldier to speculate without explicit orders."
Elfino sighs a little wearily. "It's quite all right soldier; feel free ta speculate freely." But Termia's bringing up of the whispering reminds him why they are there. He decides to run a test. In a whisper, he says, "Who tampered wid de formulae"?"
As you approach one of the models, it animates and attacks!
Lowlight
Lowlight
Strike at Qen
Strike at Qen
Strike at Qen
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Elfino shakes his head as Qen gets slammed by the now animated anatomical model. "That Qen has the worst luck." He then calls back to Termia. "Now might be a good time to show us what you've got, soldier."
The elf quickly whips the bow off his back and nocks an arrow.
He draws down on the model looking for a weakness to exploit.
Given the model's exposed organs, Elfino has an embarrassment of riches... or should that be, organs to choose from. He aims for the heart and lets loose the arrow.
He quickly applies some pain-killing salve to Qen's crushed ribs.
With time on his hands, he sends another arrow at the model, but without taking the time to aim for any particular organ.
The Carnelian Signet lets the stars and the bones bore her until one of them finally acts. "Finally, some excitement."
She straightens herself and blows a kiss. The smoke bursts into flame, sails over Qen's head, and singes the skeleton...
Then she uncoils her whip.
Elfino shoots an arrow, missing the heart but definitely penetrating the hard shell of the model. His second shot misses the target.
Qen's dagger hits, but doesn't leave a scratch. He quickly deduces that the hard shell is acting as some sort of armor, providing protection from most blows.
The Signet blows a wicket flame, but unfortunately it goes over the model's head as well.
Between the electrical damage and Termia's first hit (good use of that hero point!), the hard outer shell on the creature cracks and breaks away! This allows Termia's next attack to easily damage the creature.
Issil stands, dumbfounded.
The strange model swings at Termia, but she easily blocks both blows.
Another fireball flares out... and over... the skeleton, singeing a poster titled "Hang in there, Kitty!" The cat's frown matches The Carnelian Signet's.
She sighs and cracks her whip at the thing. "How dreadful!"
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Pleased that the model seems to have been broken, Elfino looks again for a weakness to exploit, hoping to further damage the creature.
He's not certain, but he thinks he spies a weakness in one of the newly opened cracks of the model's hard outer shell. He shoots.
Noticing that Qen was seriously bruised, Elfino breaks out some analgesic cream and applies it to the damaged area with his free hand.
With the hardness gone, the Elfino's arrow quickly dispatches the magic animating this now destroyed construct.
With the threat gone, you now have a chance to examine the room. As you recall from your directions, “If you can’t figure out what to do in lab, just whisper a question under your breath! You’ll hear the answer in your ear. Be careful, though; a lot of the answers are wrong.”