Alec jumps with a start as a pair of books drop form the shelves and slam into the ground. The student looks around nervously, his eyes landing on an open page when Kit's moving hand over the words 'somebody's', 'watching' and 'you' create a faint glow on the parchment.
Meanwhile Jinglemane races across the main hall after Geltra and Hari. He finds the two peeking into a long conference room, where many sheets of paper seems strewn a bit hastily across a central table. As the lion roars, the kobold and half-elf's ears perk up, and they turn back.
what was that? something about alec?
Alec! Hari yells as they begin moving across the hall towards the library. What are you doing in there?
"Nothing!" The Ustalavan kid yells back, hastily standing and shoving his tools back into his pack. "There's no one here. Just a bunch of romance novels! So there: that's another task checked off. You're welcome!" Alec stands up and looks around the empty room nervously, with a faint blush in his cheeks. "So I guess I'll just watch the others until the rest of you all catch up."
As Alec goes to leaves you see the edges of his coat brush up against the disconnected wire along the door. In a series of *poofs* a qunitet of tiny humanoid-opossums emerge around the library, perching on busts, tables, and bookshelves! One reaches its neck out and tries to bite at Alec as he leaves but its jaws pass straight through the student, who doesn't seem to even notice it or its colleagues. The emaciated and seemingly mange-ridden creatures seem to gibber in confusion - before looking stragiht at the six of you in the room.
Good news: you've finally found someone able to see you! The bad news: they don't seem friendly...
Initiative
Kit
Kit casts defensive spells just as Jinglemane returns from getting Hari and Geltra's support!
From atop a statue, one of the strange tiny creatures glides down from its position on a bust to the library floor. It rears its head back as it begins a series of disgusting hacking sounds, then shoots it back an unleashes a huge line of bile over Kit, Jinglemane, Slipp, and Eddie. Gross!
As that creature then reaches into a sack at its side and draws out a rock, another mangy foe scrambles up and over to Zak. Getting close and personal it tries to chomp at the odd fey twice. As its second attempt scrpaes against the widolon's skin, some of the diminuative bugs crawling in the being's fur try to hop off of it and onto Kaz!
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Meanwhile Jinglemane finds himself the target of a third little stinker. It winces as it gets close to Kit, but despite the warding magic luck is on its side as it takes a big chunk out of the poppet! You wouldn't think a notreally-flesh-and-blood being would taste that good, but it goes for second helpings anyway
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Initiative, Round 1
Slipp, need Fort
Eddie, need Fort
At Kit and Jinglemane hold their nose against the vomit (the latter just at the last minute). Eddie gets a bit more of a blast and feels a bit ill. Working to retch out the bit the leshy swallowed he recognizing the pests bothering all of you as gremlins! Grimples to be precise - a breed of the evil fey tricksters that tend to hate civilization and delight in messifying its trappings. They're not exactly strong and weak to cold iron like so many fey, but the unkempt lice that live on them can be itchily distracting unless properly washed out.
Realizing that while they are intelligent, they're the sort of Evil Fey that are unlikely to be empathetic to your pleas, Eddie then has his companion pour primal blessings onto his other, newer, companion.
Initiative, Round 1
Slipp, need Fort
Avoiding the worst of the fey's odd attack, Slipp wonders what part of the First World they came from.* recall knowledge
Slipp's own assement is similar to Eddie's. These are Grimples all right. Luckily they can't vomit all the time, but most grmelins have a bit of magic to them too.
While the gnome's own spells shock and scorch two of the gremlins the one still atop a bookshelf near the room's center yells some strange words and waves its hands about. As it does, the floor around Slipp gets slick - and the floor under Kaz, Eddie, and Kit too!
Cackling, it then draws out a rock from its own worn satchel.
Initiative, Round 1
Jinglemane 8 damage, Guidance'd!
Kaz 3 damage, need Reflex for Zak
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Jinglemane considers the Green grimple in front of him, and then smiles as he quickly adds some cold iron filings to his leiomano.
"You bite me, I bite you back!" Jinglemane swings his club right on the Green grimple.
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◈ Then Jinglemane uses his mirror to pop up a reflection next to Yellow. "Hi there!"
Jinglemane sprays a bit of soap onto his club before hammering away at the gremlin gnawing at him It's a solid hit that causes him to squeal and jabber back at you in anger .
Elsewhere Slipp loses their footing but the rest of you keep to your feet. Zak just shakes off the lice before they can latch onto the (much bigger) fey. Zak's wing slams into the gremlin right by him, while Kaz sends another sparking arc at it and the grimple Jinglemane is tangling with. Both dodge to avoid the worst of it - having seen this sort of spell before - but even a glancing shock proves too much for the closest foe who drops to the ground, and vanishes with a *pop*! And Jinglemane's target isn't looking especially hot either.
The last grimple starts as a the lion in the room seems to twin itself and 'port right close to it. Nervous, it flies away to a farther corner of the room, before pulling out and hurling a rock right at Jinglemane's mirrored form.
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Initiative, Round 2
Kit
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Kit maintains her magic and moves to support Jinglemane (one of them at least).
Down the row, one grimple that vomitted chucks his drawn rock out at Eddie.
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Laughing as it strikes the leshy, it then flies over towards the plant to get some vegetables in its diet. Luckily Eddie is able to dodge away from that strike and avoids the process of becoming a salad.
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By Jinglemane, the battered and baked gremlin seems to go into a total frenzy against the lion. Luckily its anger proves much stronger than its accuracy this time around.
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Initiative, Round 2
Slipp, prone
Eddie 3 damage
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Trying to recover their dignity Slipp decides that this is a very interesting floor, very interesting indeed. However the storm that seems to always rage in the First World near Slipp continues to batter at the boundaries. More bolts of lightning rain down on the green and purple gremlins.
Eventually Slipp gets tired of lying down and tries to crawl free. "That carpet looks a little more traction-worthy.."
**cast electric arc
* crawl 5'
The grimple bothering Eddie hacks as it breathes in the leshy's toxins. The hacking cough is further disrupted by a small bolt of lighting. Even with all that though its still doing better than the grimple tangling with Jinglemane who explodes as the other end of Slipp's bolt strikes it.
Seeing dangerous elements coming from several casters, the bookshelved-gremlin looses its rock at Kaz.
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It then spreads its wingflaps and glides down to bit at the prone gnome.
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Initiative, Round 2
Jinglemane 10 damage
Kaz 3 damage, Zak stupefied 1
After a great start these grimples' numbers are going down fast as the cub bites back and squeezes his target until it too *poof*s.
Initiative, Round 2
Kaz 3 damage, Zak stupefied 1
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Kaz stands very carefully, trying not to slip. With a twirl of his hands and an uncharacteristic snarl he sends a further jolt of electricity towards the two remaining gremlins. "Is it weird they're disappearing?" he asks the room at large.
Zak whirls, slicing with his wings and following it up with a punch as he comes back around. "Get! Off!"
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Undeterred by the chaos, Kaz sparks the two remaining grimples. The one harrassing Eddie *poofs* with a last yelp, but one last gremlin remains.
For about two seconds, before a powerful wing slaps it down in a burst of fey-on-fey violence.
As the last of the grimples vanish and leave you alone in the library - Alec having walked away and back into the main hall during the fracas, oblivious to the shenanigans behind him - a *whoosh*ing sound cuts through the air. IN the corner of the room, several objects just appear in midair only to fall down onto the floor with a thump and some clinks. Four vials and two crystals roll slightly along the ground, while a nondescript romance novel settles into the carpet. Kaz stares at the sudden and inexplicable arrival of these items and draws a connection: this is sort of like what you're doing must look like to the students. Somehow it seems you're all slightly 'out of phase' with reality right now - and these gifts appear to be someone(s) in yet another different phase trying to Communicate From Beyond to you!
After a moment, the pages of romance novel begin flipping back and forth rapidly. The speed at which they turn is too fast for any of you to actually read the text, but Jinglemane notices that the flickering seems to be in an old Pathfinder message pattern. And that message seems to be:
“Activate failsafe! Bring each focus to Armeline’s chamber. Restore reality!”
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"Is it weird they're disappearing?" he asks the room at large.
Eddie's cap bobbles a bit at the question, especially after the one up in their personal space pops out of existence "When I ask the fungal spirits for help, their servants disappear when they get mooshed too." Hoping that is as clear as they think it is.
They pick up one of the crystals and look closer.
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Kit blushes slightly and suppresses a laugh at Jinglemane’s question about the slurk.
“Hopefully the venture captain’s chamber is well marked. This is my first visit to this lodge.”
With a gesture towards Jinglemane, Kit then asks “Do we have time for me to mend Jinglemane’s wounds? I am willing to treat everyone that is hurt but that takes time.”
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Eddie plucks a berry from a pocket "Fungal spirits, make this nice fresh berry old and fermented, its juices rancid and spicy, and its flesh moldy and pithy. You know, just how I like them." Eddie gobbles down the snack and heals their own wounds.
"Anyone else want some of this yum yums?" They ask, taking a seat and refocusing.
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"What's a slurk? Is it like a slug? I dislike slugs, little ones, big ones, all of them." They close their eyes, trying to unsee the slugs of yesteryear feasting on their cap and stipe, heading for the tender bits of their porous under-surfaces.
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Gesturing around, Kit points out “We are in a library. If we can’t open the books, we could try to get the students to find information on it in here.”
Seeing that Eddie plans to refocus, she gets to work on putting Jinglemane’s stuffing back in him.
She starts by pulling some of the loose stuffing further out so that she can better arrange it. Then all the stuffing goes back in and she neatly stitches the wounds closed. Lastly she pulls a lollipop from her bag and gives it to Jinglemane. “For being a good patient!”
As you patch yourselves up with bandages and treats, even putting your heads together none of you are quite sure exactly what foci or failsafe the message is referring to. You know that plenty of locations and Pathfinders lodges often have magical security or rituals, but there are so many types of warding that which one the book flipper was discussing or what it involves is impossible to confirm with just that bit of info. And unhelpfully the text's pages have stopped flipping and lay inert throughout your whole convalescence.
As for 'Armeline's chamber', that could refer to her quarters or perhaps an office .
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Eddie finishes refocusing, creates a new fresh, not rotten berry, and hands it to Kaz/Zak. "Fix you up quick. Let's go!"
Eddie wastes no more time refocusing, ready to get back to herding children "So, we look around for a room with Amereline on it then?" Bobbing their head furiously, they scoop up the potions and crystals and head out into the hall to start the search.
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While Eddie is Refocusing, Kaz does so as well. He and Zak sit together, going over what they know so far.
Zak readily accepts the berry. "You don't often get those here!"
Kaz picks up one of the crystals that appeared along the potions. "Might these be the things we're looking for, though?" he says, "I think this is from the Pathfinders here. It's something they did that's gone wrong."
Then as Eddie suggests going in search of Amerline's room they shrug. "Or we could find the VCs room, and hope they don't have more protections.."
Sadly no one roars back at Jinglemane, but looking over the crystals you realize that they aren't ritual foci but talismans - potency crystals specifically .
Eddie heads back into the main hall to see Alec sitting back near several of the other smaller children. Hair is still looking at him a bit suspiciously, while Geltra is standing in the doorway of a room opposite the library.
theres a lot of papers and things here, but no pathfinders. the kobold says. maybe we should keep looking?
Fine Hari says. They give another glance to Alec, who looks up at them from where he's chatting with some kids with a 'what?' shrug, then looks to the next closed door. I do think I smell something over here. Maybe its the kitchen. He and Geltra move into the other chamber.
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Jinglemane straightens. "Yeah, I think we need to accompany them and protect them, and while they do their assignments, we can look for foci and try to restore reality!" Jinglemane looks to the others. "Do you want me to herd them all together, or does someone else want to help herd? And are we agreed we're going to try to bring them back here?"
Fine Hari says....He and Geltra move into the other chamber.
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After a moments consideration, Kit says “I don’t know where the foci are nor what they look like, but I know that kitchens can be dangerous. I think we should follow Hari and Geltra there now, make sure things are alright. Then maybe go look at those papers.”
At mention of papers, she gestures towards the room Hari and Geotra looked in.
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Jinglemane thinks. "Okay, if Hari and Geltra are heading to the kitchen, I'll try and herd Vim and Tels there. Alec won't listen to me... but they probably will. See you shortly in the kitchen!" Jinglemane uses his full speed to go galumphing after Vim and Tels. "I hope I can get these kids to listen to me!"
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Eddie shuffles into the kitchen and has a look around. Maybe they can scout it out before the kids, just in case its dangerous. "What did they need to find? Something about soup? Soap? Slop? I hope its slop.. mmm the more spoiled the better."
Eddie looks around while the Lion heads off to the garden.
Jinglemane and Eddie race off after Tels and Vim. The lion catches up with the pair as they're making their way through a a quiet open-air courtyard. The yard is filled with well-tended topiaries and a burbling fountain sits in its center. Tels and Vim are looking about, occasionally calling out Hello? Anyone there? as they walk towards a set of large double-doors to the left
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A ways away in the kitchen, Kit follows Hari and Geltra through the doorway and inside. A wide variety of chopped herbs and ground spices sits out in small bowls upon the table in the room's center. 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 being readied to be cooked simultaneously.
Or are cooking simultaneously! On top of the large oven and cooktop on the far wall multiple pots are steaming and on the verge of bubbling over, while hot oil is sputtering and spraying in frying pans.
Geltra stands near the doorway, looking about confused and holding on tightly to Ruffles (who's wings are fluttering fiercely as the bird's eyes seemed locked onto some caraway seeds on the floor). i can smell food cooking, but where is it? the pots look empty. the kobold says while looking directly at pots that - to you - are threatening to spill their contents out and onto the counter.
It is strange, but 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.
As the students dither however, a bit *splat* of grease popping launches a globule of grease out of a frying pan - and directly onto a nearby cookbook! The students don't seem to have noticed, but you wince as the grease smudges and smears the pages, rendering its recipes illegible!
Initiative, Round 1
Kit
Kit yells for help, but in the heat of the moment she has difficulty getting Hari or Grelta's attention.
On the stove, one of the saucepans spatters a sizzling bubble of oil out at Kit, followed by one at Zak and two at Kaz. The fey manages to avoid the burning liquid, but the priest and kobold get a bit singed. You also notice that the stray oil droplets seem to pass through the two students harmlessly: if only you were so lucky!
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Initiative, Round 1
Kaz, 6 damage
Jinglemane
Eddie
Slipp
Initiative, Round 2
Kit, 6 damage