Re-descending the stairs, Betel finds most of the studetns standing about talking to each other.
-So according to this list, the last thing we need is a lodestone. What does that look like?
-A lodestone and a location that is the focus point itself. But I'm not sure. The other Pathfinders are experts in this sort of thing. Maybe they can describe it to us.
-well if 'aj's quarters are like their room, then its probably upstairs. or maybe theres a secret office that they meant. what do you think alec. ...alec? has anyone seen alec?
Betel pushes herself through the library door while the other students confirm their next move. You feel that faint level of resistance, but manage to shift through without delay.
Looking around she sees a quiet library chamber. Its shelves are filled with creased old maps, bound collections of reports, and yellowing historical records. In addition to reference books and adventuring tomes you notice that a surprisingly large number of romance novels also line the shelves, with titles like 'Lord Rumplefield’s Bride', 'Yearnings of Autumn', and 'Abandoned by the Arclord'.
Betel sees Alec kneeling by a bookshelf on the northern wall. The shelf itself has been moved slightly aside, revealing a door marked “Restricted: Sensitive" behind it. A small alarm bell is attached to the wall above the door, but the wire connecting it to the doorway has been disconnected.
In a crouch, Alec has a set of metal tools spread before him and in his hands. He is poking at the door's lock, while muttering to himself "The good stuff must be in here..."
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Betel skims the contents of the shelves. She might like books but ...
Ew! Romance novels. Yuck! Girl meets boy. Girl ends up simpering after boy. Boy saves the day. Girl falls in love with boy. Why is it hardly ever Girl meets Girl ... or even better ... Girl meets aquatic girl ... now that I'd read
She then notices Alec trying to break into the restricted section.
Oh no you don't. That's against the rules
She then stands on the metal tools on the floor then tries to pinch him to give him a jolt of pain everytime he uses the lockpick. At the same time, she tries to communicate the word "No!".
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Hepcut will follow Betel downstair and into the library.
"Ha, the little punk," Hepcut laughs to herself. Since she's all ghost-like, her preferred method of dealing with this isn't possible. Maybe she could try to lure one of the tattletales into this room, like the goblin? Surely the punk would back down if he was caught by a corporeal being.
"Hey do we have anyone on our side of the veil who can patch up some wounds? I've got some soup burns."
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Hancock is beyond confused. Give him a straight-forward fight, or even training to fight, and he is on solid ground. But with all these students rushing this way and that, screaming pots, and this whole extra planar teleportation crap he is at a loss. Heck, he hasn't even managed to remember all the students names yet. Rubbing his head and seeking some solitude he, ironically, wanders off himself heading towards the northwest.
Wandering off on his own, Hancock moves down the hall before coming across a shu door. Pushing himself through it - again with a bit of resistance, but nothing like the strange 'churn' upstairs - he finds himself looking at a quite large armory. Weapon racks and suits of armor on display stands line the walls of this well-stocked armory. Several weapons are laid out on the table, along with whetstones and oil clothes.
Back in the library, Betel tries to give Alec a jolt - or at least goosebumps - to get the rulebreaker to knock it off. Hepcut tries a different angle by rustling papers and quills near Vim. The goblin's head pokes around her held pitcher at this: Huh? Is there a breeze in here, or are the chaperones trying to get our attention? Papers, did we miss something in the papers about the thingie?
In the library, Alec swats at the back of his neck where Betel tries to poke him with all her might. "Stupid flies"
As Ada also moves into the room and yells out through the void at Alec, the Ustalavan student pauses for a moment. At the same time, you hear (Hepcut more clearly, being right there) Vim's voice sound through the door Alec! Are you all right? We haven't seen you in a while and a bunch of stuff has happened and we think there's a way to fix what weird stuff is here but we're not fully there yet so what's going on 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 head back out and watch out for the young kids."
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 quartet 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 straight at those of you in the room.
Initative
Ada 7 damage
Ahas
Ada recongizes these surprise arrivals as gremlins! As they're weak to cold iron , she fires at the closer pest, but even as its fazed by her invocation of clashing divinities the student's shot still misses.
Initative
Ahas
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Feeling they are not as excited as him about the portal thingy, he shrugs and forgets about it and follows Ada into the other room that Betel entered.
Seeing what has just been triggered and what comes after it, he quickly draws his longsword (weapon implement) and intends to exploit the vulnerability of Purple Thingie.
Not sure of their weaknesses, he raises his dueling cape for now for added protection.
"I hate this phase we are into, but good thing that they seem to not be able to attack the kids." Ahas comments on the situation.
◆ Interact to draw weapon implement
◆ Exploit Vulnerability
◆ Raise a Dueling Cape (+1 to AC)
Sadly Ahas is unable to get a good read on his target as the nagaji adopts a defensive stance.
Perched atop a chair at the far side of the room, one of the gremlins rears its head back and begins a series of disgusting hacking sounds. Then shoots it head back forward an unleashes a huge line of bile from its mouth right over the thaumaturges!
The pest then spreads its arms wide and glides with its wing-flaps up to the Magaambyan to nip at her - luckily poorly.
for
From down the hall in the direction of the library Hancock you hear the sounds of your allies yelling and a gunshot...
Initative
Hancock 4 damage
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"Fgurs."
With a burst of very undwarven-like speed, Hancock bursts into the room, runs past the clump of combatants, and hacks at a gremlin.
*stride
**Sudden Charge
Note: Not raging this round
An angry Hancock rushes into the room and solidly smacks one of the critters!
As it reels, another of the gremlins flits over to land on a nearby bookshelf. Reaching into a dirty rucksack at its belt, the creature pulls out a rock and hucks it at the dwarf to smack him back
for
Initiative
Hepcut
Betel 9 damage
Betel strides over for a better angle for her watery blast. The prep work pays off as the gremlin menacing Ada gets soaked!
Initiative
Hepcut
Hepcut races into the room. The orc gets a tight grip on the gremlin bugging Ada, but her fist then fails to connect.
for
Menaced by Hancock, the gremlin he struck flies right up to the dwarf and bites at the warrior. Extremely hard in fact. To add insult to pain, as its fangs draw blood Hancock sees several gross lice start hopping from the gremlin’s dirty fur onto his own hair.
for
for
Meanwhile the fey by Betel pulls out a pair of rocks of its own and flings the first right at Betel
for
Initiative
Ada 7 damage, need Fort
Ahas, need Fort
KERSPLAT!!! goes the gremlin bugging Ada. Curiously, as its blasted body goes flying away into the far wall, the fey's form vanishes with a *pop*
Initiative
Ahas, need Fort
Hancock 23 damage
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Now Hancock gets angry and his maul starts to spark as draconic totem activates.
Attacking Red Again, If red falls, head over towards blue
Now Hancock gets angry and his maul starts to spark as draconic totem activates.
Now very angry, Hancock swings again at the gremlin around him. It thuds to the ground sharply, and it too *pop*s. The dwarf then wheels and advances on the next-closest pest.
Initiative
Ahas, need Fort
The far gremlin winces as Ahas' magicks assault its mind. Meanwhile the one close to Hancock saw what the dwarf just did to another of its kind. It scampers away and down the bookshelf, before pulling out another rock and chucking it at the raging barbarian. Luckily with draconic anger flowing through him Hancock barely feels the thud.
for
Initiative
Hepcut, panached
Betel 9 damage
Hepcut and Betel spread out, each hammering away at one of the gremlins
The one getting wet and with a headache throws its second rock, then spreads its arms and glides right up to the undine elf to gnaw at her up close and personal.
for
for
Initiative
Ada 7 damage
Ahas, sickened 1
Hancock 24 damage, raging
Relaoding, Ada fires another bullet sprinkkled with cold iron shavings at the injured far gremlin. And as the bullet impacts it it too *pop*s.
Initiative
Ahas, sickened 1
Hancock 24 damage, raging
Hepcut, panached
Betel 15 damage
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Hancock is not nearly as enchanted by the slimy mischief makers as Ada. "Ugytns" he mutters as he races back over towards the remaining Gremlin and swings gustily at it.
*stride
*attack
*attack
While Betel's water more sprinkles than spouts, Hancock's swing whallops the last gremlin.
As the last pest pops, there's a whooshing sound from above as suddenly seven more things appear! Luckily, these don't seem to be more creatures, but just a set of objects that suddenly are just there on the table: two glowing crystals , four vials and a romance novel.
You have just enough time to cathc the book's title - 'Night of the Queens' - before the pages of the tome begin fluttering and turning wildly back and forth
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"Wlcm," is the mumbled reply to Betel, with his usual aversion to vowels.
Hancock also downs the potion supplied to him by the society plus another one he bought.
Feeling a bit better he cracks his shoulders in a big roll. Bruce finally comes out of hiding. "That was something else. Nice shot there at the end, though it was almost as if you had a target painted on you. Need to work on that footwork, I'm thinking."
From the look on Hancock's face, the criticism is not appreciated. The scowl is brief as his attention and a disapproving look turns towards the book.
More weirdness, great.
Then he hunkers down to apply patches to the more persistent wounds.
The book does seem to be a bit spicy - as the pages flutter Betel grasps that it seems to be about a tense political summit that gives way to some other forms of tension as well - but the flapping pages are forming some sort of rudimentary Pathfinder code in their pattern. The elf realizes this sort of thing must be what the students are seeing: YOU are being Communicated to by another party in yet another phase of reality beyond the one you're trapped in.
The message being imparted is: "Activate failsafe! Bring each focus to Armeline’s chamber. Upper Northwest”
Out in the main hall through the door Alec walked out through, oblivious to the fight of yours he was leaving behind, you hear the students' voices.
alec! there you are. are you all right?
"Me? Completely fine. No one in there but a bunch of romance novels! So there: that's another task checked off. You're welcome!"