Neither Lazlo nor Fundin are able to identify it.
"How about we rest before heading for that combat?" asks Fundin
"Sure thing, I could use a short rest." Zoi's shoulders slump in a bit of fatigue.
"One of the corrupted psychopomps is up there. We will need to defeat it before we can root out the core of the trouble in this house, in any case. But, I feel you are right. We are in no shape to face a major threat, at the moment and perhaps a little more research will aid us," he says, though he takes time to study the picture shown to them.
He is careful to keep a wary eye on their "hosts" and gets only as close as is absolutely necessary.
"I suppose a night's rest would do us some good."
Laurel yawns, heavily, while insisting that he certainly is "Not tyrd"...
Fundin and Galimus look through some of the journals and the library on the first floor. They cross-reference several workers' logs with mentions of disappearances, and find that many of the workers who disappeared were those who worked on the basement chambers under Xarwin Manor.
Lazlo focuses more on Ioseff, the proprietor of the estate. Not unlike Lazlo himself, he was ruthless at adminstering his estate. As a matter of fact, when Fulvia Nostraema crossed him (for undiscovered reasons), he had her committed to an asylum. His wife, Asethanna, left Ioseff soon afterwards, and she and her children vanished.
Lazlo's findings intrigue Galimus, who then goes to Asethanna's diaries and reads more about her life. Her maiden name was Arvanxi, and she was the great-aunt of Queen Ileosa of Korvosa. Asethanna was a well-regarded sculptor and painter in her time, although today her work is largely forgotten.
While Galimus reads about the wife, Lazlo and Zoi focus on the mysterious Fulvia Nostraema in Xarwin's own diaries. He had sent Fulvia to Darakole Asylum in Vyre after, according to his own records, she had a nervous breakdown and attempted to burn the manor down. However, at the Asylum, his intake report mentions that Fulvia had a son, Anitoli, whom she smothered during her nervous breakdown. No record of what happened to her son’s body can be found.
Fundin finds a passage in a book in the secret library downstairs that references the Dominion of the Black as a loose confederation of alien entities with an affinity for stealing thoughts, inhabiting bodies, or eating memories. The book describes how the Dominion of the Black has destroyed countless worlds over the eons.
Fundin also finds more about the Order of the Starless Night. Not long before Earthfall, the Order of the Starless Night pursued an evil astronomer named
Tchekuth, who had made contact with the Dominion of the Black, from Thassilon into present-day Ravounel, where they supposedly confronted and defeated him. For thousands of years, Tchekuth has remained in a sort of stasis, but when Ioseff Xarwin arrived, he did something that woke the malevolence from that sleep.
While all the nerds are busy reading books, a bored Laurel wanders back and forth until he sees a book with a Desnan symbol on it. Surprisingly, inside the book, there are tons of pictures. Starless Scopes were created by an ancient Desnan order; the only known surviving starless scope was sold at an auction to Ioseff Xarwin in 4645 AR. Galimus and Zoi help read the words underneath the pictures - a starless scope is a handheld telescope crafted of silver and fine wood. When one peers at the sky through a starless scope, one always views the sky as if during a clear night. The magic of a starless scope requires a specially prepared lens to function. Upon seeing the picture of a lens, the three PCs realize that the grioth leader in the kitchen was holding one.
In the secret study, Lazlo studies late into the night, peering into darker and darker texts. The Ashen Man is a mysterious figure associated with apocalypses. His influence grows in regions where apocalyptic events might soon occur.
At the end of the night, the group gathers in a safe location for some rest. Although they take turns with a watch, each has a vivid dream.
NEH-THALGGUS, ONE WHO DWELLS BEHIND THE STARS appears ungrateful for the welcoming, and immediately attacks Ioseff. They witness Ioseff defeat the brain collector, then stagger back down to his laboratory, obviously suffering from a painful spell the creature had cast upon him.
The dream ends with Ioseff dying of this spell at his desk in the basement, wracked with a combination of fear, guilt, and frustration. Lazlo wakes knowing that something at the top of Xarwin Manor keeps Ioseff’s ghost at the bottom from fully emerging to pursue his quest to merge with his family’s preserved minds.
Send the stitched one first, they agree. They turn to a glass tank that holds some opaque green liquid, with something floating inside.
Tchekuth’s cataclysmic birth from below the manor will completely obliterate the estate, and the resulting landslide will bury what’s left of Crooked Cove. His influence spreads like a contagion through western Avistan as he draws cults to his cause and prepares Golarion for the Dominion’s Banquet — the end of the world as the planet is drawn into a ravenous, sentient black hole brought to the system through Tchekuth’s will.
Galimus is thoughtful for a long time after each revelation comes to light.
"You know, I thought the Xarwin's were the villains of this piece, or at least one of them. It seems that, instead, they are the tragic heroes. Tchekuth and the Dominion of the Black are obviously bad but I believed the Xarwin's were working with them instead of against them. It makes what happened here all the sadder," he says.
"Do you think Fulvia's 'breakdown' was truly a breakdown? Given the forces that we're dealing with, it seems equally likely that is truly what happened and that she was possessed or compelled to do what she did," he continues.
He waits to see if anyone else has any comments or discussion before heading upstairs.
"I dreamt of Ioseff Xarwin last night. I saw things but I wasn't me. I was that cloaked figure that I seem to be tied to. I saw Xarwin in his observatory at the top of the building, in front a looking glass that only reflected the night sky. THE POWER TO CALL DOWN THOSE WHO DWELT BEHIND THE STARS echoed throughout the room. A creature emerged from the looking glass. It looked like that picture that the grioth showed us, a tailless scorpion-thing with pulsing brain-filled blisters along its back and eyes glaring from the joints on its legs.
Somehow I knew its name. NEH-THALGGUS, ONE WHO DWELLS BEHIND THE STARS. It attacked Ioseff. He managed to defeat the creature but at great cost. Some painful spell vexed him. Ioseff died at his desk in the basement. I don't know how I know this but something at the top of Xarwin Manor keeps Ioseff’s ghost at the bottom from fully emerging to pursue his quest to merge with his family’s preserved minds."
He shakes his head. "I'm not convinced that Xarwin can be called a tragic hero. His studies likely awakened Tchekuth somehow and caused the downfall of this house."
"Who's mind could hold up to that though?" Zoi grabs his his pack and dager. "Ready to head upstairs and find a few answers?"
The dwarf listens to revelations "So it seems that Tchekuth needs to be stopped. Before we can do that, we should destroy that one-who dwells behind the stars to release Xarwin, and maybe aid us."
---
After daily preparations, the group heads upstairs, both staircases leading to the same landing.
+10 vs traps
Dozens of crushed bird skeletons and drifts of feathers lay strewn over this room’s floor. Glass display cases featuring feathers, preserved insects, and framed documents adorn the walls. To the south, two semicircular tables, each set against the walls, feature an exquisitely crafted miniature building, while benches along the opposite walls are
covered with more feathers and bird bones. The framed documents hold
various certificates of accomplishment for the children.
Manor in Egorian and Bhaltvrest Hall (and its iconic observatory) in the Sinkomakti School in Ustalav.
In addition, as the group approaches the top of the stairs, they feel a distinct tingling, as if they know exactly where the "bad birds" that Ezramalkun talked about were.
"These are replicas of Thrune manor in Egorian and Bhaltvrest Hall in the Sinkomakti School in Ustalav." He motions to the two models before recoiling in horror at all of the bird feathers and skeletons. "Seems whatever is up here had a food source." He gulps nervously clicking his beak.
"I can feel them up ahead. The 'bad birds' that is." Lazlo examines the feathers and insects in the glass cases. "All local species, likely collected nearby."
Steeling himself, he reaches for the doorknob...
Before Lazlo can open the door there is a shimmering in the air as the mysterious stranger makes an appearance once again.
Fundin looks at the bones and feathers "Let us not rush it. I prefer not to miss any clues"
Lazlo pulls his hand from the doorknob.
"Do you wish to search the side rooms first then?"
Zoi and Fundin begin searching through the feathers, while the Mysterious Stranger looks on. The countless bones and feathers on the floor churn into the air in a clattering swarm of partially reconstructed skeletal birds, whose mournful song fills the area as surely as do their slashing beaks and talons.
You take damage from overwhelming feelings of sadness and despair.
--Round 1
Lazlo / Mysterious Stranger (Will save first)
Haunt
Laurel
Fundin (Will save)
Zoi (Will save, +4 circumstance)
Galimus
Fundin grabs his head and begins to cry "No! Noooooooo...."
--Round 1
Lazlo / Mysterious Stranger (26/40 hp)
Haunt
Laurel (52/52 hp)
Fundin (32/62 hp)
Zoi (38/38 hp, Will save, +4 circumstance)
Galimus (54/54 hp)
Lazlo attempts to quell the haunt.
He also tries to remember anything he might have read about similar hauntings.
Lazlo tries to disable the haunt, but the bones continue swirling.
The churning vortex of beaks and bones claws and pecks at Lazlo, the Mysterious Stranger, Fundin, and Zoi; however, it stops short of Laurel and Galimus.
--Round 1
Laurel (52/52 hp)
Fundin (32/62 hp, Reflex vs -16 hp)
Zoi (24/38 hp, Reflex vs -16 hp)
Galimus (54/54 hp)
--Round 2
Lazlo (Reflex vs -16 hp, 26/40 hp) / Mysterious Stranger (Reflex vs -16 hp)
Haunt
Zoi gets battered as he tries to disrupt the haunt. "Begone from these ruins!" He holds up a symbol from Pharasma.
He then tries to heal himself a small bit as his head grows a bit woozy. [b]"I can't take much more.
HP 18/38
AC 18 (19 w/ shield)
Spells Used:
Divine Font 4/4
Focus Points 1/1
Wand of Heal (1st): 1/1
Battle Medicine: Zoi
Hero Points 0/3
"Well, I guess we know how today's going to go..." Galimus says before pushing positive energy out of his body to fill the room.
Zoi holds up the mighty symbol of Pharasma and channels an ancient exorcism. The bones pause, and then drop to the ground, inert.
--End of Combat
Laurel (52/52 hp)
Fundin (16/62 hp)
Zoi (24/38 hp)
Galimus (54/54 hp)
Lazlo (18/40 hp) / Mysterious Stranger
"Well that was unpleasant. Shall we investigate the door to the west then?"
"Yeah, let me treat it as a lesson to not dabble with bones"says Fundin recovering
"Impressive," Galimus comments to Zoi.
"West sounds good to me," he answers when they prepare to continue their investigation.
Balcony:
A wooden walkway surrounds the central portion of the manor and looks out over the building’s rooftops to the east and west, and to the manor grounds beyond. A rickety railing adorns the walkway’s edge, looking just about ready to collapse.
---
West Room:
+10 vs traps
A collection of bows and crossbows rest on a shelf in the south part of this dusty room. To the northwest, two barrels filled with bolts and arrows sit under a grimy window.
The weapons on the shelves include three shortbows, two longbows, two crossbows, and a heavy crossbow. One of the shortbows appears to be magical - it is readily identified as a +1 ghost touch shortbow.
A small case on the shelf also has 5 pieces of ammunition with adamantine arrowheads.
---
East Room:
+10 vs traps
Shelves of taxidermy tools line the southwest walls of this cramped room, and barrels partially filled with straw and sawdust sit on the floor nearby. A bloodstained cloth lies on top of a workbench under a grimy window, the shape of an unidentifiable object underneath the fabric.
"Wazzat?" Laurel asks.
He hear a softly whispered voice coming from under the cloth call out, “Help them... save them...”
When Laurel lifts the cloth, a partially stuffed, bloodstained, and long-dead nosoi psychopomp suddenly flies into the air, careening in circles about the room as it shrieks and cries. It flies into the main room, beelining for the northern set of double doors. Although the doors are closed, it batters itself against the wood, repeating, "Help them! Save them!".
"Open the door, it is trying to lead us somewhere." Zoi sweeps a wing towards the door, curious what this psychopomp is doing.
Lazlo attempts to calm the nosoi. "Mitescere. Quis nisi eget? Quid eis accidit?"
The stranger also speaks to the frantic psychopomp. "Paule frater, dic quid post istas fores. Suntne propinqui nostri in periculo?"
Galimus recoils reflexively as the pummeled psychopomp plummets perilously near him.
He relaxes somewhat when it becomes evident that the creature is not attacking him and even reaches for the door to open it before people start trying to talk to it.
He stays his hand for the moment, waiting to see what happens.
"Mitescere. Quis nisi eget? Quid eis accidit?
"Paule frater, dic quid post istas fores. Suntne propinqui nostri in periculo?"
"Fratres nostri, amen. Fuimus quondam quinque, sed malevolentia succubuit. Amici mei malevolentiae in sinisteriora et crudelia ludibria transformaverunt!"
An elegant but dusty flight of spiral stairs ascends in the middle of this room. Paintings, display cases, hunting trophies, and taxidermic birds decorate this room, covering every available bit of space between the grimy windows—two of which to the east appear broken in a few places, as if by thrown rocks. Low, round display tables with sculptures atop them dot the chamber. The sculptures and paintings all seem damaged in one way or another.
As soon as the doors are opened, the nosoi that had been banging on the door charges in, beelining for the far shelves. Perhaps Lazlo or the Mysterious Stranger cry out, warning it that it's about to fly into a shelf full of taxidermic birds. There's not enough time, though, because the nosoi explodes into a burst of positive energy as soon as it gets within 5' of the shelves.
Four of the objects on the shelves scream in pain. Perhaps once nosoi like the one that just sacrificed itself, they’ve since abandoned their masks, and what remains of their heads look more like fleshless human skulls with sharp fangs than what one might expect to see atop a raven’s body.
Three immediately spread their wings and prepare to attack; one collapses on the spot.
--Round 1
Fundin (62/62 hp)
Lazlo / Mysterious Stranger (40/40 hp)
Laurel (52/52 hp)
Zoi (38/38 hp)
Galimus (54/54 hp)
Red Nosoi (-7 hp)
Yellow Nosoi (-28 hp)
Green Nosoi (-7 hp)
Blue Nosoi (-0 hp)
--Round 2
Grey Nosoi
---
"I don't think these things are our friends," Galimus says.
He heads into the chamber and some of the scars on his skin light up, revealing that they actually make up a small combination of runes.
A pile of rocks appears before him and hurl out in a blast toward the strange nosoi.
The stranger moves in and slices with their scythe arm.
"Ignosce mihi minimos fratres."
Lazlo shakes his head follows the stranger into the room.
Fundin moves into the room and follows to where nosoi are, then he swings his hammer
Then he swings again...
vs DC 20
vs DC 20
vs DC 20
Galimus casts a spell and showers the shelf with pummeling rubble, damaging all three, and pushing Red and Blue.
The Mysterious Stranger moves up and swipes Blue with their scythe, and Lazlo follows.
Fundin smashes Red with his hammer, obliterating it. Then, he swings at Green, but narrowly misses.
--Round 1
Fundin (62/62 hp)
Lazlo / Mysterious Stranger (40/40 hp)
Laurel (52/52 hp)
Zoi (38/38 hp)
Galimus (54/54 hp)
Red Nosoi (-32 hp)
Yellow Nosoi (-28 hp)
Green Nosoi (-8 hp)
Blue Nosoi (-8 hp)
--Round 2
Grey Nosoi
Zoi moves into the room, using his wing to shield himself. "This is not right, why are the Nosoi doing this?"
[spoiler=Player Status]
HP 38/38
AC 18 (19 w/ shield)
Spells Used:
Divine Font 4/4
Focus Points 1/1
Wand of Heal (1st): 1/1
Battle Medicine: Zoi
Hero Points 0/3[/spiler]
Laurel bounces into the room, hunts Blue, and flicks his wrist, sending a starknife flying.
The nosois sense Pharasma's presence with Zoi and the Mysterious Stranger, and attack viciously.
plus DC 18 Fortitude
plus DC 18 Fortitude
Green hits Zoi, squarely in the eye!
plus DC 18 Fortitude
plus DC 18 Fortitude
Blue pecks at the Mysterious Stranger, screaming with a voice that sounds like a thousand overlapping voices. "The lord slumbers below, you’re nothing but his dreams, and when the lord awakes, you’ll know the end of things!"
--Round 1
Fundin (62/62 hp)
Lazlo / Mysterious Stranger (35/40 hp, Fort save)
Laurel (52/52 hp, hunt Blue)
Zoi (38/38 hp)
Galimus (54/54 hp)
Red Nosoi (-32 hp)
Yellow Nosoi (-28 hp)
Green Nosoi (-8 hp)
Blue Nosoi (-23 hp)
--Round 2
Grey Nosoi
Zoi shrieks as the little nosoi smashes him in the air. Stepping away he funnels some of his magic into the squawk back at the Nosoi.
HP 36/38
AC 18 (19 w/ shield)
Spells Used:
Divine Font 4/4
Focus Points 1/1
Wand of Heal (1st): 1/1
Battle Medicine: Zoi
Hero Points 0/3
Galimus changes tactics, igniting another rune on his body which sends out a bolt of lightning that jumps from one of the Nosoi to the other.
Then, he raises his psychic shield to protect himself.
"I don't know what has happened to you, but we will deal with the sleeping monster later."
He swings his hammer three times.
Zoi steps back and casts.
vs DC 19
The nosoi just laughs at Zoi, a thousand voices cackling all at once. "The end of things, we say!"
Galimus casts a spell.
vs DC 20
vs DC 20
The electricity is too much for Blue, who collapses.
Fundin swings twice, smashing the nosoi on the side once, and then on the head, driving it into the bookshelf.
vs DC 18
--Final
Fundin (62/62 hp)
Lazlo / Mysterious Stranger (31/36 hp, drained 1)
Laurel (52/52 hp, hunt Blue)
Zoi (38/38 hp)
Galimus (54/54 hp)