[ACO] PFS2e 99-02 - United in Purpose (P1) (Inactive)

Game Master UncleFroggy

Rose's gunshot strikes the rat accurately, and Ysoldt's two attacks end the rat's existence permanently.

Combat over!

Searching through the rest of the shelves, you discover a magical scroll (Magic Missile).

As you catch your breath after the fight, you notice that the temperature in the room is starting to rise.

"They were unpleasant. Feels worrying here. I suggest we take everything we can lay our hands on and get out." Eldon starts retrieving things.

"What do you mean? Like steal stuff from here?"

Ysoldt raises an eyebrow at the suggestion.

"You heard the man. Anything we leave behind is going to melt, anyway. Deroff is already sweating up a storm."

Nilaglade looks for anything valuable.

"This place was connected to the realms of earth and fire, I wouldn't be surprised if a volcanic flow is on the way!"

he can use the scroll if no one else can

"Think of it as preserving things rather than stealing." Eldon continues.

These rodents are foul he states.

If anyone is injured, Lucentis will offer to heal them.

"Thanks Lucentis. As soon as we're outside I'll take you up on that offer."

Just to make sure -- are you all leaving the room?

I would like to look around to see whether I can identify the source of the heat first. Not sure if it's a secret check. If not, what to roll?

Nilaglade is looking for anything of value before he leaves. I'm not sure what to roll, either.

Is there anything left worth grabbing?

Have we have explored all that we need to in the room?

You've got the scrolls you grabbed earlier...

A few scrolls in hand and not wanting to get burned terribly for a second time in her life, Rose hustles out of the room and into the (hopefully) cooler hallway, and waits for everyone else. "If there wa something summoning creatures of flame then we really don't want to be there if it just opens to the Plane of Flame."

"Might also open to the Plane of Earth. Or both. Magma erupts from those planar boundaries." Nilaglade takes pride in his esoteric knowledge. "Deroff, let's get out of here!"

You take your scrolls and head back to Gorm to make your report. He listens intently and asks few questions.

"Well, sounds like you’ve learned a great deal and perhaps there lies even more we can yet uncover! Maybe once things settle down in there, we can take another look. For now, you’ve done an excellent job and made a real contribution to our knowledge!"

I'm assuming you're all going to rest and heal after that battle. Where to next? You have the Horizon Hunters and Vigilant Seal left.

"That was a lot of fun, but it felt like a smokers' den." Nilaglade brushes more ash off Deroff's saddle. "Time for another bath, I say. Then maybe we can help the Horizon Hunters?"

Rose checks through her remaining rounds and decides to stop by the quartermaster's place just in case to make sure she has enough bullets for any remaining fights.

Picking up another 20 shots for her gun, 'cause I' m sure she is running low right now.

Onces she meets up with everyone else, she produces a brush for Deroff. "I needed to get a new hairbrush anyways, so I grabbed one for the Good Boy while I was at it. Oh and a few treats, if that's okay with you."

She feeds (or doesn't depending on Nilagade's reaction) a few treats to Deroff as she looks at everyone else. "So did you decide who to help next? I'm good with just about anything but bomb/trap disposal or dealing with kobolds."

Nilaglade doesn't get a chance to respond. Deroff stands upright and presents himself for treats and cleaning.

Deception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Nilaglade manages to hide his jealousy.

Vigilant seal vote from moi

Ysold seems to be still confused in regards to what was actually happening down there. The sudden burst of fire and pre-grilled critters were an interesting touch, but not sure about the other activities in the area.

"What the hell just happened?", she looks around as the group is on the way back to camp.

"It was all q bit sudden, like a rupture in reality with the plane of fire bursting through. My memory is still catching up with me. We were looking for old records, I think." Eldon shrugs and looks slightly confused himself.

"I'm going to grab something to eat and a glass of wine before I decide anything. Anyone coming?

Not long after your return, a runner from the Vigilant Seal faction summons you to meet with Eando Kline. You are escorted to his tent and shown inside.

You're pretty much all healed up and you have your spells back

The interior of the tent is brightly lit and sparsely decorated. A fully armed and armored human man stands at a table opposite the entrance, a large wooden crate in front of him. "Pathfinders. Hold there a moment," he says. He then delicately lifts what appears to be an ivory idol and places it within the crate, packs it with straw, then attaches the lid. Once he has set it aside, he speaks again. "Thank you for waiting. I’m Eando Kline, leader of the Vigilant Seal. What are your names?"

"Nilaglade, at your service." He lets the dancing lights orbit around him in unison. "How can we help you?"

Ysoldt steps towards Eando with an acknowledging wave, "Ysoldt here. Hey."

She laughs for a moment. "I swear, it's like half of the Society is here."

Rose gives a wain smile and her name to Eando, "Rose Thesar" before going back to spoiling Deroff.

"Eldon Goodbaarrell! What's the statue?" he says, pointing at the ivory idol.

"I am Lucentis. I think we have met before, but I know you meet with so many people I would not expect you to remember."

"Hello, Pathfinders! Oh, this? This is a just a little trinket we retrieved from the ruins below."

"When it comes down to it, the Pathfinder Society has a loose set of agreements about how to behave. In the past, leadership was unwilling to take the necessary steps to keep dangerous items and information locked safely away. That’s where my role comes in. You all know about the Society’s motto: ‘Explore. Report. Cooperate.’ The Vigilant Seal has its own motto: ‘Protect. Contain. Destroy.’ The last thing we need is for a horde of fiends to be unleashed because someone jostled the wrong statue," he says, and nods meaningfully toward the just-closed crate.

"So today I have an important job for you. Other Pathfinder scouts recently cleaned the monsters out of a nearby Azlanti temple dedicated to the vampiric demon lord Zura. They found an odd bit of treasure that had a dangerous aura about it. When they tried to seal it away in a protective box, it simply teleported itself back to the center of the temple. Rather than continuing to experiment with the item, they wisely reported their findings to me. After a bit of research into similar items, I believe that removing the item from the temple will require carrying it out by hand. "[b]Your job is to go to the ruin, retrieve this item, and return it to me so I can decide what to do with it next. The path is clear, and I have a map with the item’s location marked. Questions?"

"Vampire AND a demon lord?" Nilaglade sighs. "I wonder what beasties we'll attract when we try to extract the thing." He turns to his compatriots. "Does anyone know about this Zura fellow? Maybe we can protect ourselves better if we know our foe."

The elven magus introduces himself.

"Um... Is it dangerous to touch? If we are to carry it, how much does it weight? Are there stairs inside?", Ysoldt looks at the map, briefly, opting to focus on the physical aspects of the job.

"It's a necklace. So I imagine it won't weigh very much. As far as the dangers go, we are not sure what it does. That's why you're here." he answers with a smile.

A necklace - See, that's kind of important. What exactly does it look like? I thought we were picking up a stone idol or something."

Rose shudders some at the idea of being a human testing device for a potentially very cursed item. "Do we have any idea of how dangerous this could be? Also any protective gear or items you have to lend us, or that might be good for us to pick up instead?"

"Well, the monsters have been cleared out of the temple ruins. All you really need to do is to head down, grab the necklace and carry it out. I'd imagine it shouldn't take you more than a few hours to complete the mission."

"The best rendering we got was from one of the Pathfinders who cleared out the ruins."

Eando Kline hands you a parchment with a sketch of the necklace (see the Area Map linked above).

"Let's hope it doesn't turn us all into vampires!"

Eldon finishes his drink and sandwich.

Ysoldt thinks for a moment. "I will have to go ahead and ask for a long stick, two nails, and a hammer. Actually, beter make that 3 nails. Just in case. Anything of the sort that could be found here?"

Rose pauses and frowns. "Remind me again, the Pathfinder health plan does or doesn't cover a staking and revival in case of accidental vampirism?"

Eando laughs heartily, then turns serious.

"Sadly, when the last group tried to remove the necklace from the temple using a box, the necklace simply teleported back to the temple. You need to actually put it on, then carry it out."

"Oh, the health plan that involves vampirism is the Premium plan. Sadly, that plan is only available for Senior Pathfinders and Lodge leaders."

Eando laughs heartily, then turns serious.

"Sadly, when the last group tried to remove the necklace from the temple using a box, the necklace simply teleported back to the temple. You need to actually put it on, then carry it out."

"I assume the vampirism clause includes a healthy garlic diet. I'll wear the necklace. Maybe it will impress someone." Nilaglade laughs. "I'm ready to pick this up when you are."

He is ready to go

You all descend into the temple ruins via the map provided by Eando Kline (area map has been updated). You see a pedestal in the center of the room where the necklace sits. One of you must wear it, but be warned, there are negative consequences while you are wearing it. Just reminding Nilaglade...

Nilaglade keeps an eye out for ambushes.

Once nearby, he tries to analyze what, if anything, makes this necklace so magical.

+5 to Nature or Society to Recall Knowledge on this necklace.

"Anyone else wants to take a look at this? Just don't forget: I'm being brave. Not stupid."

With no perceived immediate danger, he picks up and wraps the necklace around himself like Rose would wear a boa constrictor. "A little loose, but it's worth the boost."

Nilaglade inspects the necklace. It is a beautiful silver necklace set with a single, perfect ruby that encases a drop of blood from Zura’s first victim.

"Yep, you're being brave. I don't want to wear it. Well, it's an attractive piece, but knowing where it's from puts me off."

Eldon has his weapon out.

Ysoldy watches Nilaglade from a distance as he dons the thing.

"Feeling okay? Any homicidal thoughts or feelings of unquenchable thirst?"

She looks again, and can't keep herself from smiling. "Hey, you should wear that like a belt instead."