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Jaqard waits for Talos. Alas, the harpy does not.
The not-a-doctor easily dodges the first strike...
... which throws his balance off against the surprisingly quick second strike.
But the third one is easily avoided.
ROUND 4
Harpy 3 - Strikes (-95hp, 3d4 Persistent Fire)
Alaric - Go (-18hp)
Talos - Go (-48hp)
Jaqard - Go (-18hp)
Sun Fire - Go (-48hp)
Talos picks up his shortsword, takes a halfhearted swipe at the harpy, then moves out.
"Of course Jaquard what's a little more bubbling flesh between freinds?
The doctor watches carefully, ready knock the harpy down if someone else hits her.
if crit fail hero point:
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Talos gets burned walking through the fire, bits of his 'skin' crackling as he reaches the rest of the group.
Sun Fire Boom Boom quickly heals his firey friend, and fires an arrow through the flames. A squawk tells him he did not miss.
ROUND 4
Harpy 3 - Strikes (-109hp, 3d4 Persistent Fire)
Alaric - Go (-18hp)
Talos - Miss (-57hp)
Jaqard - Go (-18hp)
Sun Fire - Soothe + Arrow (-48hp)
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Alaric raises his staff and taps it to the ground as a small puff of flames jets out at the Harpy.
The flame fizzles out as it doesn't make it through the wall.
HP 70/88
AC 27 (29 w/ shield raised)
Resistance: Mental, Slashing 4, Acid, Fire, Harm 5, Own and Allies Alchemical Splash damage 3
Spells (1) 2/3 (2) 3/3 (3) 3/3 (4) 2/3
Focus Points 2/3
Infernal Detonations 1/1
Hero Point 1/3
Talos begins treating wounds two at a time with almost robotic speed.
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The good doctor tends to the wounds of the group while others take time to search the area.
This beautiful bedroom is adorned with deep greens accentuated by a few golden decorations. The only surviving painting adorning the wall is made in typical Ustalavic style with dark colors and just a hint of light. A blood trail ends next to an open metal case containing medical gear near the bed.
The medical box contains two moderate healing potions, a set of major clockwork goggles, a traveler’s any-tool, and two greater antidotes. The box also contains a few letters thanking the Ardis Scholars for providing experimental cures, freeing a house from haunts, or creating medical devices.
"I, uh, did not expect there to be harpies," the spirit of Vilo says while wringing his hands. "They have always been something of a pest here. The protections around the windows would keep them away though. Seems they found a weak spot."
Vilo looks impatient while time ticks by. "If you're ready, I can take you to Revecka. She really needs your help."
As a real doctor Talos is immediately interested in the bloody medical case.
"Who wants the antidotes? My body is… inured."
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Alaric groans a bit. "Harpy's have always been a bit of a pest around here but you didn't expect Harpy's?" He shakes his head glad they didn't join the ghost in haunting this venue. "Yes, please take us to see Revecka."
HP 84/88
AC 27 (29 w/ shield raised)
Resistance: Mental, Slashing 4, Acid, Fire, Harm 5, Own and Allies Alchemical Splash damage 3
Spells (1) 2/3 (2) 3/3 (3) 3/3 (4) 2/3
Focus Points 2/3
Infernal Detonations 1/1
Hero Point 1/3
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"Right this way, please," the spirit says, his voice continuing to be projected telepathically through the key.
He takes the four Pathfinders down the hallway, stopping in front of a sturdy wooden door. "She's on the other side of the door."
Talos and Alaric give the door cursory looks before deciding it's safe and opening it. Beyond is a study filled to the brim with notes and journals. The smell of ozone and the crackling of electricity arcs between Stasian coils. A large collection of books, most sporting elegant metal bookmarks, covers the desk. A single drawing showing a beautiful woman with differently colored eyes sits in a silver frame at the edge of the desk, her smile warm and filled with hope. A pallid woman stands at the desk, her movements slow and deliberate as she is jotting down a few notes.
The pale woman looks up from her notes. The moment is slow, but her eyes display a clear wariness. "I'm going to need to be rude, and ask this: who are you, and what is your business here?"
Talos take a moment, examining Revecka with his cold surgeon's eyes.
"Of course. Your metabolism is failing so quickly that you'll be dead in just a few hours; I'd be in a rush, too."
Thus, he wastes little time explaining their situation: they are on the trail of an alien signal and have a key that amplifies its telepathic abilities. He sticks to the facts, leaving subjective interpretations of dreams and visions out of it or now.
Talos nods in agreement with Alaric.
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Revecka listens to the brief explanation from Talos. That, plus the presence of Vilos, helps her come to her own conclusion about the Pathfinders.
At Alaric's question, she explains her situation. She lifts up the cloth of her shirt, showing a glowing blue sphere embedded in her chest, along with a red, uneven scar next to it. "Dr. Treju's latest prototype: a galvasphere that can replace a failing heart. Sadly, she didn’t have time to perfect the energy storage mechanism, meaning that it must rely on external power. I managed to survive thanks to the power from the laboratory, but that power has become too unstable to power something as delicate as a heart. Unless I can gather the reagents from Anaton’s laboratory on the first floor, I won’t survive much longer. With those I can make a battery that can last for a week or two, but in my condition, I can’t fight the creatures roaming around."
"If you return the reagents, I can safely remove the lockdown and let you into the laboratory. Afterward, I hope to find help in Ardis."
Talos nods and slinks back downstairs.
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"When you descend the stairs, you'll see a door on the left. It's closer to the entrance of the hall," Revecka says. She then gives the group a description of what to look for and where to find it in the lab. With those directions the Pathfinders head toward Anaton's laboratory.
Standing outside the door to the lab, Alaric and Talos give the door a look and listen. Some kind of sixth sense triggers caution for Alaric, an instinct that rewards him when he opens the door.
The acrid smell of alchemical reagents fills the room. Most of the furniture lies in splinters, the wood covered in extensive burn marks and pitted by acid. A few shelves in the northern room are still filled with vials, alembics, and half‑finished creations along with scattered journal pages.
Also, Alaric sees a massive pile of tarry black slime covering most of the room. It pulsesand jiggles, but does not react to the opened door. Beyond the immediate room and through an open door the hellknight also spots another bit of strangeness: a large ball of seething flame, roiling about in place.
Unfortunately the battery Revecka needs is in the chamber where the black slime is.
What is it?
Hard to tell whether Talos is whispering about the puddle of ooze or ball of flame.
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Talos takes a moment to study what he sees, and is confident that what's before them is Animate Tar. Infused with magic, they're relatively harmless but make movement in the space difficult.
Behind the tar is a Living Fireball. Capable of flying at incredible speeds, these elemental creatures hate magic. They seek out anything with a minor aura and will explode, perishing in the process.
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Alaric takes a look, studying what's beyond the threshold. He's never heard of a Living Fireball, but he recognizes the 'tar' as a Black Pudding. It's not an Animate Tar, as far as he can tell... as he doesn't know what that is.
Black puddings are dangerous oozes that are caustic to the touch. Anyone that hits the pudding with a metal or wooden weapon runs the risk of their weapon being damaged by acid.
Talos attempts to sneak through, using Foil Senses to hide magical auras and whatever extrasensory feelers the ooze has. He heads for the battery first.
Talos reconsiders. Perhaps we should try to go around. he points at the doorway down the hall from here.
Talos will indeed make the attempt.
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Foil Senses, Swift Sneak
Talos creeps through the door, walking on the pads of his feet. He enters the room, hugging the wall and moving counterclockwise around the Living Fireball. His movement follows the creatures own rotation. Within seconds he's in the same room as the Black Pudding.
The ooze, capable of sensing motion without the need of sight, would immediately detect most people. But Talos is adept at foiling the special senses of other creatures. His body posture helps him to slice through the air with only the barest of disturbances, getting him to the shelf with the battery components while simultaneously stepping around the scant few spaces the ooze provides.
The mustachioed rogue plucks the necessary components with quiet care, repeating the motions to return back to the group.
All without drawing the attention of either creature!
Talos tries and fails to hide the beads of sweat dripping down his synthetic skin.
"Simple. Now back to our dear patient, Revecka."
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The Pathfinder make their way back to the great hall and are on their way to the stairs when they hear a strange scratching noise that Talos recognizes as static. The noise is brief, ending when a glowing image of a woman in her fifties appears ten feet away from Sun Fire Boom Boom.
"Hello. I am Lumna," the image says, though the sounds originate from within each of your minds, and not from the image itself. The image flickers for a moment, reappear with the woman's gaze focused on the goblin bard. "I have watched you, and sense that you carry something from my home world. Do you wish to be a... friend?"
It says this last word in a way that suggests it's a foreign concept and still grappling with its meaning.
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Alaric retrieves the box and key from Sun Fire Boom Boom, showing the key to Lumna.
The image nods. "Yes, I will explain. I am Lumna, and I am from Hallas. It is one of the moons of Liavara the Dreamer, the seventh planet in our solar system. I arrived here by accident during one of my experiments, and was wounded and trapped in this place. By the Stasian coil technology, which I know now from Doctor Treju.
In my weakened state I lashed out, hurting the good doctor. Despite my misdeeds, the scholars here were kind and understanding. I learned from Doctor Treju that they and the scholars wish to understand, to help.
The scholars have since adjusted the Stasian coils, allowing me to communicate without causing anyone harm. And they have been working on a vessel that could safely hold me, preventing me from... dissipating. A thing I do not wish to happen."
The image flickers again briefly. "The key that you hold is from Liavara, but it did not come here with me. It is a relic from an older time, one that can amplify dreams as well as telepathic powers."
"I do know that the vessel is the scholar's laboratory, and the entrance to it is on this floor. But there is a password, which Revecka knows. I can still sense Revecka, but none of the other scholars. It's why I sent out my message. I need your help. If you can retrieve the vessel from the laboratory, perhaps it is ready for me. I am trapped here, and do not wish to stay so forever. I worry that it is not safe."
Taklos thinks about the Kistur's vision which included a woman in her 50s helping some alien entity. Is that woman Lumna? Of course, it seems this woman is ALSO an alien entity. how many aliens are in this old mansion anyway!?
Some clodthumper with a cow experienced a vision of you helping some entity trapped within an electrified cage. Who is the alien below?
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Indeed, the person's image before you falls in the bucket of 'oddly similar to the woman in Kistur's vision'. As far as Talos is concerned, there is nothing abnormal with Lumna's behaviour.
"I see you are confused. I am the 'alien' below, and the cage is what has ensnared me. But to ease communication I have taken the appearance of Doctor Treju. The doctor, like the other scholars outside of Revecka, are not here. I presume they have expired, which disappoints me. They were all very kind."
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Both Alaric and Sun Fire Boom Boom study Lumna as they speak. They aren't able to really identify what Lumna is beyond an incorporeal creature that is capable of communicating telepathically. What they both conclude is that the Lumna before them is a projection.
Sun Fire does know a little about the primary residents of Liavara though: The Liavaran Dreamer, an amorphous creature that resembles a golden-hued jellyfish and floats through the air, fleshy tentacles dangling down in a line. Lumna, being from a moon that orbits Liavara, is definitely not that.