The recent attack on the Grand Lodge by agents of the Aspis Consortium left Master of Spells Aram Zey dead and his soul bound to a strange artifact.
Most consider Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine a peculiar figure within the Pathfinder Society. However, ever since the death of Aram Zey, Shaine’s demeanor and eccentricities have been subdued as he threw himself into a seemingly fruitless investigation of the Aspis Consortium agents that attacked Skyreach and murdered the Society’s Master of Spells.
Kreighton meets the Pathfinders at the docks to give them an update on the handful of leads relating to Zey’s death. To drive home the importance of this investigation, Kreighton has personally escorted you through Absalom from the Grand Lodge to the grim spires of the Blakros Museum. There, Shaine holds out a folded missive before reaching the doors.
“This is a letter of writ indicating that you operate under the direct order of the Decemvirate. It does not compel assistance, but anyone within Absalom will think long and hard before refuse to cooperate. From the papers you found at the Blakros Museum, you know a magical lantern played a pivotal role in stealing Aram Zey’s soul after his murder. The curator of the Blakros Museum, Nigel Aldain, informed me that the building once housed such a relic. However, on your way back from Varisia, Nigel has discovered is now missing from the collection. He has agreed to open the museum’s doors to the Pathfinder Society and cooperate with this investigation.”
Shaine quietly looks over each person assembled with a weary stare and turned-down lips. “Search the museum for clues regarding the lantern. If there is a connection between this relic’s disappearance and Zey’s murder, continue to follow any leads you find until you have exhausted all possible avenues of research, then report back with your findings. Every additional day gives the culprit more time to hide; research rarely happens quickly, yet I cannot remind you enough that time is of the essence. The soul of someone I consider a dear friend hangs in the balance.”
Kreighton takes in a deep breath then exhales slowly, trying to regain his composure. “I wish you luck, Pathfinders. Do you have any questions before I depart?”
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The Venture-Captain's arrival finds Ansha flirting with the waitstaff. "...What do I like? I'm partial to brandy, good looks, and strong arms," she says, looking a man with a bottle of brandy in hand over. "I'd say you're set on all three--oh, hello, Venture-Captain."
Turning away from the night's object of attention, she turns her dazzling smile on the breathless Heidmarch, though it quickly dies on her lips as the woman explains the situation. As the Venture-Captain finishes the explanation, she sighs and turns back to the waiter. "Looks like I'll just take the whole bottle with me, if I can."
Taking the bottle of brandy in hand and excusing herself, the enchantress follows her companions to the docks and on to Absalom, where Kreighton Shane meets them and escorts them to the Blakros Museum.
Shaine quietly looks over each person assembled with a weary stare and turned-down lips. “Search the museum for clues regarding the lantern. If there is a connection between this relic’s disappearance and Zey’s murder, continue to follow any leads you find until you have exhausted all possible avenues of research, then report back with your findings. Every additional day gives the culprit more time to hide; research rarely happens quickly, yet I cannot remind you enough that time is of the essence. The soul of someone I consider a dear friend hangs in the balance.”
Kreighton takes in a deep breath then exhales slowly, trying to regain his composure. “I wish you luck, Pathfinders. Do you have any questions before I depart?”
"No, or at least none that won't likely find an answer in the museum," she says.
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"Greetings, Mister Shaine."
Rakesh gives a respectful nod to the Master of Scrolls.
"My sincere condolences. I was there at the celebration when it happened."
Rakesh lowers his head in a moment of silence and then gets back to the matter at hand.
"When Nigel discovered the lantern missing, were any clues found right then and there?"
There are no words I can say that can assuage your pain, but we will find anything that can lead us to find out who...or what...did this. And hopefully, some retribution might be arranged. Not that my beliefs promote vengeance, but I feel it is warranted in this case. Kyra says to the Venture Captain.
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”Indeed. This is most somber news. Finding this lantern and restoration of Master Zey will be of top priority. “ he puffs his pipe pensively
”Have any of the museum staff been questioned? If the museums mundane doors were monitored or secured, were there any extra planar disturbances? I am not familiar if the museum has wards against extra dimensional entry. “
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Kit is thrilled that they had the wisdom to put her on a nice cushy investigation mission in a museum in a large city. More interested in fiction that actual history she has rarely bothered following the newsletters and such and has no clue about the history of the museum, though she has had some exposure to the Blakros family and Nigil himself (The Balkros Matrimony) and even has a little political capital with Hamaria Blackros. She has also had some exposure to the shenanigans of the Decemvirate (What the Helms Hide) and knows better than to trust them.
"I LOVE it. A mission to a museum. Sounds fun."
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"Ah! I need to go purchase some gear! I'll be back soon."
Rakesh darts out the door.
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About half an hour later, Rakesh returns.
"Look what I got!"
He points at two tiny gems slowly tumbling as they orbit around his head.
"This dark blue one gives me better perception and sensing the motives of others. This vermillion one increases my acrobatics and swimming skills."
He then holds up his hands to show off the thin leather gloves with delicate steel wires running through them.
"These... Haha, I love these... These gloves give me the ability to disarm an opponent from up to 30 feet away."
He then twists his torso to the side and points to a new quiver of arrows on his back.
"These are holy weapon balm arrows. I recently learned about these in my Undead Slaying class. They will do more damage to undead and evil outsiders and may cause even more damage after they strike."
He nods proudly with a smile, obviously happy with his new purchases.
Try the markets in Qadira, Kitoro...they are fond of their gems and such...the shinier the better Kyra says as she gets ready to move out.
Have I ever heard of this powerful lantern?
"I've never even heard of this lantern," Shane says, frowning. "I'm not even sure Nigel recognized its importance until just now. It doesn’t even have a proper name, and it has been in the collection since before he was caretaker."
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On the way to the museum, the group has the opportunity to share what they know about the museum / Nigel.
museum, there would be a record of it.
The museum is closed to the public for the investigation, leaving the entrance hall uneasily quiet. The curator Nigel Aldain waits anxiously in the middle of the foyer with his hands clasped behind his back, pacing across the tile floor in the shadow of a looming bronze statue. He offers a practiced smile. “Such a pleasure to see my former comradesin-arms on this somber day. I mourn the passing of a—ah—charismatic man such as the Master of Spells. An exceedingly tragic loss, that.”
Adjusting his spectacles, Nigel motions for you to follow him deeper into the museum. “When I heard about the relic that may have snatched Master Zey’s spirit from the ether, I suspected it could have originated from the personal holdings of the museum’s first owner—a mad old wizard who saw fit to vanish without a trace centuries ago.”
Nigel escorts you from the foyer of the Absalom Gallery, through a pair of double doors, and into a grand display of historical relics from Taldor and Osirion. “The building’s purchase included a sizeable collection, much of which we have kept locked up under tight security due to its unusual and often dangerous nature.”
Rather than proceed to another room, Nigel stops before a bare stone wall, and with a deft touch of several mosaic tiles, he opens a concealed door leading into a freight elevator operated by a series of chains and pulleys. Gesturing toward it, he offers words of cold comfort. “The Collection Esoterica contains several unusual objects of little historical import, but curious magical properties. Only I and select members of the Blakros family even know about this collection. To have an item go missing seems… well, rather unthinkable, wouldn’t you say?”
Nigel operates the lift, which is a slow mechanism that takes several minutes to make its descent to a subbasement.
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Rakesh taps his foot lightly to the eazy music playing in the elevator. He sings quietly to the familiar tune.
♪♪♪ "...Someday we'll find it, the Blakros Connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and Meee..." ♪♪♪
He then turns to ask Nigel a question.
"Are any areas protected by an alarm system? Surely, a museum as grand as this one has alarms to alert the staff if rooms that are off limits were entered or if anything was taken, yesss?"
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Kit's face screws up at the thought of another mission searching through documents.
"Yes, please let us know if you have already identified the missing items so that we don't have to read all those records. Say, isn't there some spell Kreighten invented to make that easier?"
Kit takes out a wand and taps herself with a Heightened Awareness spell. It still doesn't help enough to make her knowledgeable about any of that stuff, but it might help if the golden candlesticks start flying. She also takes the time to cast an extended heroism on herself.
"Are any areas protected by an alarm system? Surely, a museum as grand as this one has alarms to alert the staff if rooms that are off limits were entered or if anything was taken, yesss?"
Nigel puffs himself up. "Of course there are alarms to prevent people from entering. There are no additional alarms inside the museum, though, because everything here is incredibly important."
“I assume, of course, that you keep inventory records of the objects the museum has in its collection? Do you keep records of when things go missing as well?”
"We keep some records, of course, but we don't obsessively check over every nook and cranny. Many of the objects here are uninteresting, or at least, not interesting enough for our public-facing collection. The chest containing the lantern is empty and, curiously, I couldn’t find any record that we had ever even catalogued it; I was fairly certain we did. Other than that, I didn’t see anything else amiss. No one else has been down here since then.”
”Indeed. Hardly a responsible caretaker if basic investigations were not already conducted prior to calling in an outside party. Unless insider complicity is suspected. “
"We've already gone through the list - nothing else appears to be missing."
"isn't there some spell Kreighten invented to make that easier?"
"Yes, I believe it's a 9th level venture captain-only spell called send agents to do it, time is expensive and labor is cheap."
He unceremoniously opens the door to the Collection Esoterica. It's a mess.
”I wanted to, ah, preserve the scene for your keen eyes."
Once the Pathfinders disembark from the lift, Nigel promptly takes it back upstairs, leaving the Pathfinders in the basement. Iffthey wish to call for the lift, they can pull a lever on the right side of the doors at the south end of the archive.
I can do little except offer advice...unless it is religion based...
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Knowledge (arcana): Ansha primary, Kyra secondary
Knowledge (history): no primary, no secondary
Linguistics: Ehm primary, Kitoro secondary
Perception: Roderick primary, Rakesh secondary
The group settles in for a quiet afternoon of book reading. Something else has a different idea, though.
;+4 if heightened awareness active
; +4 if burning heightened awareness
vs touch
vs touch
Ansha and Kyra watches a ghoul-like creature appear and swipe twice at Rakesh, opening a deep wound. It then flicks Rakesh with its tongue, and backs away. As soon as it backs out of sight, everyone forgets what it looked like, and even struggles to remember what direction it came from.
Unaware of what's happening on the other side of the room, Kitoro and Ehm watch the same thing happen to Roderick, except the creature misses.
--Surprise Round
GM
--Round 1
Roderick (Will save first)
GM
Ansha (Will save)
Ehm (Will save)
Rakesh (-10 hp, Will save)
GM
Kyra (Will save)
Kitoro (Will save)
I know how to find it. Sarenrae, burn this beast with your light!
Roderick sees two creatures. They are ghoulish figures wearing tattered robes, staring with milky-white eyes. Proboscis-like tongues snakes out over their distended jaws.
He watches one step up and attack Rakesh again from the south.
vs touch
Rakesh takes a hit, but unlike last round, he remembers that he was hit.
The second creature moves forward, and attacks Kitoro.
--Round 1
Ansha
Ehm
Rakesh (-17 hp)
GM
Kyra
Kitoro (-6 hp)
--Round 2
Roderick (+15', see invisibility, Will save)
Red ghoul thing
Blue ghoul thing