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Mrs. Crinkle tugs at a child's sleeve...nothing. Squinting suspiciously, she calls out: "Buttered hog monkey butts!" ...just to see their reaction. Also nothing. "Well. This is a pickle. You know, I think pickles would help me think better. Let's follow these kiddies to the Lodge and see if we can find some pickles. Mmm--Whoa!" She follows after the group, exclaiming in surprise at the sensation of going through the door.
She may or may not repeatedly give "bunny ears" to the kids as they go. Or make silly faces at anyone they meet. (To see if they can see her, of course. Not because she's silly herself. Honestly.)
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Elfino considers the situation. He decides to start a new investigation into the strange planar phase-shift phenomenon.
"Interestin'. Looks like we's slightly out of phase wid reality. We ain't quite on de Material Plane no longer, dough we dunna seem ta be entirely incorporeal. I think we shuds follow de children into de lodge n keep an eye on dem. Mebbe we'll find a way ta contact dem inside."
While walking (floating? Swimming?) along behind the children, Elfino attempts to interact with his surroundings to see if he can find a way to affect the objects in the Material Plane in any way.
He also has the Clue In ability. It is a reaction triggered by: Another creature attempts a check to investigate a lead you're pursuing, and which reads in part: You share information with the triggering creature. They gain a circumstance bonus to their check equal to your circumstance bonus to checks investigating your subject from Pursue a Lead. He can use it once per 10 minutes.
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Professor Bun Bun is nearly in a panic at the children being on their own. He turns on the pathfinders and scolds them for their levity.
"Thtop thith thillinethth at onthe. Thith ith a very theriouth thituation. Who knowth what shenaniganth the children could get into while unthupervithed?"
Nervously tugging on the tassel atop his hat, he follows the children into the lodge.
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While Bun Bun becomes so upset that he actually pronounces an "s", the Pathfinders enter the lodge. You quickly find that you can pass through thin barriers like doors and windows, but not walls, and can manipulate only objects of negligible bulk (but not pick them up). You do not have the fine control needed to write an intelligible message. You can occupy the same space as a creature in the Material Plane.
You all obtain a new action for the duration of the scenario.
Requirements Students are present to witness your attempt to communicate. There are appropriate means of communication, such as items of negligible Bulk to manipulate, powder to write in, or lights to make a pattern.
You try to communicate a simple message to the students from your phase of reality. Attempt a DC 18 Athletics, Diplomacy, Occultism, or Thievery check with the following results.
Critical Success You communicate a phrase of up to 10 words.
Success You clearly communicate one word to the students.
Failure The students cannot understand your communications.
Critical Failure The students misinterpret your message, gaining incorrect information determined by the GM.
The lodge’s main hall is a two-story great room overlooked by balconies and lit by an ornate crystal chandelier that hangs from the high ceiling. Along the walls, shelves hold a wide array of curios, art objects, and artifacts, many labeled with small brass plates. Taxidermied hunting trophies of several species also hang on the wall, and a large stuffed owlbear poses in the southeast corner.
The lodge’s great room appears abandoned. Books lie open on reading tables and a fire is burns cheerily in the room’s massive hearth. A set of animal-shaped drouge tiles stands spread across a table as if interrupted mid-game, and an account book rests next to an abacus on the table in the southwestern corner. Hushed exchanges between students are the only sounds.
A few students begin settling into the cozy chairs as Alec Gracekin calls out, “Hello? Anyone there?” When no answer comes, he shrugs and says, “I suppose we can do whatever we like,” before collapsing sideways into a chair and throwing his feet up on a fine mahogany table.
“I’m going to get my assignment done,” Geltra counters. “There is supposed to be an interesting Taldan artifact in this room. It shouldn’t be hard to find.” She begins examining the metal plaques around the room, looking slightly abashed at having spoken up in front of everyone. Her pigeon, Ruffles, coos contentedly on her shoulder while the rest of the students groan at the suggestion that they should do schoolwork under these circumstances.
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Featherwit puts away her knife as she moves about the room, testing the limits of her ability to pass through things. When she spots the drouge set, she smiles, recognizing the game.
"If we're stuck being ghosts as far as the children are concerned, let's test how ghost-y we can be," she says aloud, reaching out for a tile with a brightly colored bird on it.
With a little work, she manages to push the tile a few inches across the table, making a clattering noise against the other tiles. She crows in satisfaction when some of the children turn to look at the disturbance. She concentrates, and makes the tile move to slowly spell out the word "TASKS." As she does so, she murmurs, "Yes, listen to Geltra, do something productive with your time until we can get back to you properly."
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Ulrich looks at Professor Felicity attempt to communicate. "I admire your attention to interruption. That dot makes all the difference." He winks and looks at the room
"Ok, maybe we should help them and find that Taldan artifact here. I don't know how it makes us any closer to returning to material plane. But maybe this is the mission, and we just did not get the memo"
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Elfino looks over the room and spots the Drouge tiles.
He smiles to himself. It had been a long time since he'd last played. He wonders where he'd stashed his favorite set when his eye catches on a small device on one of the tables. He walks over to it for a closer examination. He then looks up at the chandelier high up on the ceiling. "I tink we can use dis device 'ere ta alter de brightness on de chandelier's continual flame spell. Mebbe we can use it ta communicate wid de students." He then proceeds to fiddle with the device to cause the chandelier lights to flicker in the hopes the students aren't too stupid not to notice.
It's not quite like Scrabble, but Felicity does manage to move a piece that looks like a noble so that it is pointing at one of the plaques. Vim notices the movement and says, "I think you're right, Geltra. Whatever's going on, we need to finish our tasks."
The lights then dim as Elfino plays with the remote control. Alec says, "Well, they have a weird way of showing it, but I don't have any better ideas."
Geltra, who has been examining the plaques around the room, interjects, “I’m glad you’re here. I can’t make any sense of these plaques! They’ve been separated from their displays, and the labels are very strange. Could you give us a hand, since we all seem to be stuck here?” She lays the four plaques on the table and steps back.
Geltra seems more upset at the prospect of not finishing her assignment than by the disappearance of the residents of the lodge.
the artifacts.
Plaque 1:
I twinkle and gleam
Gentle light I supply
You’ll make a wish when
I streak down from the sky.
Starfall, 4350 ar
Plaque 2:
What could be lurking
Across the neighbor’s field?
Put me to your eye
It will soon be revealed
Skywatch, 4698 ar
Plaque 3:
I can’t make you honey
Or unlock a chest,
But I share the same name
As two from my nest.
Companion to Stavian I
Oppara, 4580 ar
Plaque 4:
I have never galloped
Through glades or past trees
If I swish my white tail
I move through the seas
Whitethrone, 4713 ar
The following artifacts in the Main Hall have places on their display stands for plaques:
A. A yard-long spiral horn embellished with emeralds and rubies
B. A taxidermied owlbear posed threateningly by the door of the lodge
C. A polished bronze spyglass
D. A fist-sized lump of pitted metal
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"Oooh! Let me send the kiddos a message!" Mrs. Crinkle hustles over to the table with the tiles on it and begins shoving them into position so the tiles form block letters.
Once finished, she steps back to admire her handiwork. "Ah! There we go! Nice and clear. Heehee!"
It reads: "Chaperones asdkfnapoewitheonasfwoeirhd"
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"It theemth that I should be more worried about the chaperone'th shenanigans than anything the children might do." Professor Bun Bun frowns at Mrs. Crinkle and turns his attention to the puzzle of the plaques.
While Bun Bun becomes so upset that he actually pronounces an "s", the Pathfinders enter the lodge.
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Mrs. Crinkle responds by blowing raspberries at Professor Bun Bun. She then plops herself right through one of the kids' bodies and proceeds to read the plaques. "Who's the ninny who came up with these banal rhymes? They work as simple riddles I guess, but if these were intended to be posted next to their answers it's cornier than corn on the cob! And who messed these up, anyway? Should we be worried about the fact that no one else is here?" As she speaks, she keeps bobbing her head in and out of the child's head.
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Elfino looks over the plaques and the artifacts and believes he knows which plaque belongs to which artifact.
Plaque 2 (Monocular) => C (Spyglass)
Plaque 3 (2 Animals) => B (Owlbear)
Plaque 4 (Narwhal?) => A (Spiral Horn)
Elfino tries to remembers a basic dot-dash code that all Pathfinders have been trained in and then uses the light to try and communicate with the students.
With some difficulty, Elfino manages to communicate the following word: "ONELUMP".
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"Well, Elfino, it looks like you've got your head screwed on the right way, despite how up tight you are. You too, Professor Featherwit. Okay folks, so we let the kiddies try to figure it out on their own for a bit, then if they don't get it we wiggle one plaque and then go wiggle the matching artifact. Easy peasy! I vote for Beaky the owlbear first. What a silly name for a bear! Heehee!" Mrs. Crinkle pops out of the child's space one last time and goes over to stick her finger into the owlbear's open beak.
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Professor Bun Bun checks the drouge tiles to see if it includes a bear and a bird, ideally an owl. He uses these tiles to indicate the artifact that they are looking for in the main hall and hopefully indicate that plaque 3 is associated with the owlbear.
"I hope the thudentth underthtand this meththage."
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"If only the children had our wayfinders--or any wayfinders--we could play hot and cold, which would be so much easier," Featherwit muses aloud as she looks around the room again, trying to think of other ways to give the children clues about how to complete their task here successfully. Then the abacus catches her eye, and she skips over to it with a grin. "This might help... she murmurs, as she starts trying to move the beads on the rods.
"Scales and tails!" she curses softly to herself as she fails to line up the beads to count off numbers as she intended. "Focus now, Felicity. Master Shaine isn't watching, this should be a snap for you..." she mutters as she shakes out her fingers before trying again.
With the Pathfinder's clues, the students are able to place "Falling Star" by the meteorite and "Two Animals" on the owlbear. When they do the latter, the fur seems to move in a very odd way. Fortunately, not too odd, as it's not Mrs. Crinkle who's doing the moving. Whether they kids are thick or just still out of their depth remains to be seen, but they still need help with the final two plaques - as well as the actual request for this room.
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Elfino is getting a little frustrated by the situation and their inability to communicate properly with the students. He's not sure what to try next, so he continues to use the light of the chandelier to try and get some sort of message through to them.
Seeing that the children managed to connect the meteorite and owlbear to their respective plaques, Elfino concentrates on the remaining two when drafting his message.
{plaque} {two} {spyglass} {plaque} {four} {horn}
{owl} {bear} {is} {artifact}
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With the Pathfinder's clues, the students are able to place "Falling Star" by the meteorite and "Two Animals" on the owlbear. When they do the latter, the fur seems to move in a very odd way. Fortunately, not too odd, as it's not Mrs. Crinkle who's doing the moving. Whether they kids are thick or just still out of their depth remains to be seen, but they still need help with the final two plaques - as well as the actual request for this room.
Ulrich does not manage to pull any hair, but the Pathfinders do get the students to replace the plaques properly. And with all the focus on the owlbear, Geltra blurts out, "Hey, wasn't Stavian a prince or something? Maybe the owlbear is what we were supposed to find!" The other students nod in agreement. She pulls out an inkpen and parchment and makes some notes.
With the first part of the assignment attempted, but the mystery of how to reunite with the chaperones remaining, the reliable students decide to split up to explore the lodge, hoping to find other adults, or at least complete their work.
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Featherwit applauds when Geltra gets the hints and the children are able to complete their task in this room. But when the children split up to explore the lodge, she looks concerned again. She turns to her companions and says, "We should keep eyes on all of them, even if it means splitting us up, too. If you find trouble and need help, holler like a damned soul who just realized where Pharasma sent them." With that, she follows Geltra and Hari out into the hallway.
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Elfino rolls his eyes at all the banter and in his dourness chooses not to participate. Looking about, he notices that Jyllian and Ulrich have Tels and Vim covered and that Mrs. Crinkle and Felicity have Hari and Geltra covered, which leaves Alec without an escort. "I'll follow Alec ta make shur 'e dunna get into any trouble, not dat I could do much about it if 'e did."
The party is now split. This is likely to go well for you. :) Where is Bun Bun headed?
In the kitchen, a wide variety of chopped herbs and ground spices sits out in small bowls upon the table. Cookbooks lie open on the table as well, and a dusting of flour coats the work surface. Everything seems in place for the cooking of a delicious meal, and it appears that at least four dishes are cooking simultaneously. Things are getting out of hand on the large oven and cooktop along the western wall: Pots are on the verge of boiling over, and hot oil sputters in frying pans.
“I can smell food cooking, but where is it? The pots look empty!” Geltra stands in the doorway and keeps a tight hold on Ruffles, who is attempting to flutter into the room to scoop up some caraway seeds.
“I think we should stay outside,” Hari replies. “We’re not chefs. We don’t belong in here.”
“But how will we find the secret ingredient without going in, Hari?” The kobold sighs, wracked with indecision.
Target dummies and racks of blunted weapons line three of the walls in this sparring space. On the western wall, a large mirror hangs from floor to ceiling.
Tels and Vim are examining the room’s equipment in the room with interest.
Creased old maps, bound collections of reports, and yellowing historical records fill the shelves inside this quiet library. A surprisingly large number of romance novels with titles like Lord Rumplefield’s Bride, Yearnings of Autumn, and Abandoned by the Arclord also crowd the shelves.
One bookshelf on the north wall stands out from the wall, revealing a door marked “Restricted: Sensitive.” A small alarm bell is attached to the wall above the door, but the wire connecting it to the doorway has been disconnected.
In front of the hidden door, Alec Gracekin kneels down, hard at work with a set of thieves’ tools. The young man mutters, “The good stuff must be in here,” as he works.
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Elfino follows Alec into what appears to be the library, and watches as the young man takes out his picks and tries to work the lock leading to the restricted section. He's impressed by the young man's skills but realizes that the boy still has a lot to learn. Elfino is about to offer some guidance when he remembers the instructions that they were given. The restricted section if off limits... do not allow them access for any reason. Oh dear. Alec may not be an expert with his tools yet, but he's probably good enough to get through that lock given enough time. Elfino does what he can to wave him off.
But he is having trouble getting through.
He redoubles his efforts.
and manages to transmit an unequivocal {STOP}.
Vim looks up at the mirror and exclaims, "Hey, isn't that one of the chaperones?"
Tels moves over and takes a look. "I think so," he answers, "but it's all... fuzzy. Hard to tell for sure."
Fur books slide slightly apart from the shelf. Alec looks up and sees that the first letters of each title spell S-T-O-P. The student pauses for a moment.