Sunshine's mind is able to shrug off most of the information from the lecturer but listening to so much information is still taxing. The lecturer does not respond to the Druid's rebuke.
Therago moves toward the lecturer but the information load is almost too much for the kitsune to bear.
Yohanu's mechanical head feels heavy as the lecturer tries to pour a universe of information into his mind.
Therago sees the lecturer who appears semi transparent. Looking at the podium, it is etched with several glyphs and runes.
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ROUND 2
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Elduin 22/22
Therago 31/32 Stupefied 1, Stunned 2
Sunshine 27/28 Stunned 1
Upuan Stupefied 2, Fascinated
Yohanu 27/32 Stupefied 1, Stunned 2
Thelsa 26/26
Alices 40/42
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Fascinating Lecturer
UPDATED
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ROUND 2
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Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Therago 31/32 Stupefied 1, Stunned 2
Sunshine 27/28 Stunned 1
Upuan Stupefied 2, Fascinated
Yohanu 27/32 Stupefied 1, Stunned 2
Thelsa 26/26 to Alyreha
Alices 40/42
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Fascinating Lecturer
Alice the girl is able to shrug of the fact dump but the doll is a bit overwhelmed. As Alice the doll listens, she does notice some things on the podium of interest.
Alice believes the spectral lecturer can be thwarted in one of three ways, she feels the lecturer could be bullied into keeping quiet (intimidate), a skilled thief could try to scratch a rune out that may disable the enchantment or a trained magic user could dispel a rune.
Elduin and Thelsa reach Alyreah.
After explaining the situation, Alyreha cocks her skull to one side.
"Hm. Ah yes, that is an image of my younger self, could you tell? Anyway, I put her there to scare off people after my notes. Careful with her, she can drop so much knowledge on you it can knock you out cold! If I had my body back I could dispel it but you folks will have to. You can actually talk to the image and try to bully her to keep her quiet. I tried to thief proof the runes on the podium that powers the enchantment, but I am pretty sure a skilled thief could scratch one or more of them out. You could also try to dispel those runes. Anyway, better hurry back before the rest of your friends are knocked out!"
The lecturer drones on!
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ROUND 2
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Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Therago 31/32 Stupefied 1, Stunned 2
Sunshine 27/28 Stunned 1
Upuan Stupefied 2, Fascinated
Yohanu 27/32 Stupefied 1, Stunned 2
Thelsa 26/26 to Alyreha
Alices 39/42 Stunned 2(doll), Stunned 1 (girl)
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Fascinating Lecturer
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"Well, if that's how we can stop it," Sunshine rushes toward the blabbering teacher after she learns from Thelsa how the semi-transparent lecturer can be stopped. "That arclord never changes, whether she be a skull or not, she talks too much. But this one talks an overload of information!"
◆ Stunned 1
◆ Stride
◆ Stride
Elduin, holding his ears and followed by Thelsa, runs back to the lecture hall to share information gleaned from the skull.
Therago, Sunshine and Yohanu are able to withstand the mental load though the effort to resist leaves them weary.
Alice the doll pipes up and screams at the lecturer. The shock of the oddly forceful language from the very small doll clearly effects the speaker, and the image takes a double take before continuing.
The lesson, however, nearly overpowers Alice the girl. The information is too much for the Eidolon to bear and her eyes go wide as all she can do is stare at the speaker.
Alice the doll weathers the info storm much better.
The lecturer drones on and on and on and on!
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ROUND 3
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Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Therago 28/32 Stunned 1
Sunshine 24/28 Stunned 1
Upuan Fascinated
Yohanu 24/32 Stunned 1
Thelsa 26/26 to Alyreha
Alices 21/42 Stunned 1(doll), Stunned, fascinated (girl)
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Fascinating Lecturer
Elduin and Thelsa run back to aid their fellow agents.
Therago slides to the podium and, as an deftly as an expert thief, successfully scratches out one of the runes on the podium, causing the spectral lecturer to flicker and then blink in surprise. [occ]2 successes![/ooc]
Alice and Sunshine continue to try and bully the lecturer but she seems unaffected.
The lecturer, though clearly weakened, drones on!
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ROUND 3
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Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Therago 28/32 Stunned 1
Sunshine 24/28 Stunned 1
Upuan Fascinated
Yohanu 24/32 Stunned 1
Thelsa 26/26 to Alyreha
Alices 21/42 Stunned 1(doll), Stunned, fascinated (girl)
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Fascinating Lecturer
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is stunned 1 and takes half damage as
it shakes off most of the mental load.
Failure The creature is stunned 2 and takes full damage as
it can’t help but try and process all the information.
Critical Failure The creature is stunned for 1 round,
fascinated for 1 minute, and takes double damage as all
its mental faculties are focused on the lecture.
Yahanu speaks to the lecturer in a forceful manner. She looks at the automaton meekly and slowly fades away.
The agents recover from the grueling lesson and search the room, in a pile of notes, they find another scrap of Alyreha's research.
The agents contemplate their next move.
The agents head back to Alyreha and tender her the recovered research fragments. The arclord made skull looks over her gathered notes...
"Hmm, yes..I am beginning to remember...
Alyreha's skull nods as she continues to pour through the notes
"Yes, of course! I remember having that breakthrough! Oh, I was so reckless, but yes, I see it now..."
After reading the sixth fragment..
"Haha! You Pathfinders are a real gem, a HEAD of the pack so to speak. I can summon enough power now to control the wards protecting my house. Better yet, I can let you all on in a little secret.." The skull bobs urging the group to gather to her closer. When the agents are huddled close, the skull suddenly yells
"HAZZAM!"
Alyreah laughs as the party is slightly startled. "But seriously, if you say that word aloud it will let loose a burst of positive energy, good for the soul and also the wounded." The skull bobs once more
"You guys are doing great, but there are more of these out there. If you find them, I may be able to do more with the wards."
Alyreha perks up at Elduin's question. "Once each. Don't ask me why that's just how it works." The skull bobs up and down once, the headless beings equivalent of a shrug.
The agents once again venture into the mansion to gather the remaining fragments of research.
Back to the second floor, the group sets out to explore the southern rooms. The chamber opens up to reveal an open room filled with various stuffed animals.
Taxidermied animals and beasts on display cover most of this large showroom. On the southern end of the room, a set of stairs leads upwards, and a small door on the northeastern wall is labeled “Scroll Storage”.
Alice spies a stuffed owl in the center of the ceiling, 15 feet high. In its beak is a rolled-up piece of parchment.
As Sunshine and Thelsa eye the owl, they scan about the room. The taxidermied animals that adorn the room seem sturdy and could likely bear the weight of a person with proper technique and balance.
|
Yohanu reaches into his backpack, retrieves a rope and starts tying a loop in the end. "I think it would be easier to tell if that parchment... or that whole owl was down here. If I can catch this over the wings, we might be able to just pull the thing down. If it's attached too well, the rope should make it easier to balance if I need to climb up on something."
With that, Yohanu will try to toss the loop over the owl and pull it taut.
Yahnu launches something at the owl but it clangs off the things hide, possible taking a chunk of feathers with it. The automaton is fairly certain the owl is mounted securely and will need to get up there to get the note.
Alice summons forth a ghostly hand to pry the parchment from the beak of the stuffed owl. While the hand grasps it, the paper is held tightly and the hand is unable to take it from its beak without tearing it.
Thelsa attempts to make her way to the owl...
She hops on the back of a stuffed bear, does a back flip onto an eagle, then able to jump to a beam on the ceiling where she grabs on. Hanging from the beam, she deftly plucks the parchment from the owl's beak!
The party searches the rest of the area and discovers a room in the northwest corner of the area that is a storage closet containing several dozen unfinished or experimental magical scrolls. Every scroll in the room is appropriately labeled with the name of the spell being scribed into it, but most if not all are experimental and of no use. Further digging, however, yields one scroll labelled ENLARGE which indeed is a scroll of enlarge.
The agents then turn their attention to the stairwell leading up to the third floor located on the southern end of the chamber.
The Pathfinders ascend the stairs to the south...
The stairs of this tower ascend 40 feet from the floor beneath it into a large circular room riddled with books, magical implements, and crafting equipment. The couches look well-worn and the northernmost of them is covered with unmade blankets, and several pillows, before a desk covered with a pile of handwritten documents and annotated books. The walls are covered with magical equations and geometric designs written in several different colors of chalk.
A tall, muscular shisk woman with heterochromatic eyes stands up from the northern most couch of the room. “Oh There you are, Pathfinders. What took you all so long? I’ve been waiting for you all to get through those defenses and find the Arclord’s research for me. But now that you’re here, I’ll have to be taking whatever you have for myself,” she sneers. “Mother needs me to bring her that research so that she can cook some true names and mix them together. I don’t entirely get it myself, but I don’t have to. All I need to know is that you have what I need for mother, so I am going to take it!”
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ROUND 1
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Alices 40/42
Yohanu 32/32
Elduin 22/22
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Yellow Flashwarp
Liskara
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Thelsa 26/26
Sunshine 27/28
Therago 32/32
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Blue Fleshwarp
Liskara and her allies attack!
|
|
Yohanu's blades snap out sharply as his hands rotate to an unnatural angle and he advances on the woman, "You don't even understand it, and you're the one she sent to collect research? What'sthe point if having so many if you if there isn't going to be a competent one mixed in?"
The crystal tied into the wraps running up his forearms flares and shatters, as the magic inside is consumed, as Yohanu punctuates his question with a rapid, almost frantic series of slashes, trying to make the battle a short one, in case the woman came prepared with her own potent magic.
The agents take on the Liskara and her cohorts!
Alice the doll taps into her magical energies to channel power into her girl from another world. The girl moves to Liskara and strikes but misses. The doll shouts a pointed insult to the foe, the quip strikes home as the creature winces at the cutting remark.
Yohanu wades into the fray, powering his metal fists before launching a series of blows at the woman. One lands square on her jaw while she able to fend off the last.
Elduin launches a telekinetic attack against the enemies. They are able to shrug off most of the damage.
The enemies return in kind!
One of the fleshy assistants runs across the room and unleashes a gout of flame towards Alice the girl and Yohanu.
Liskara snarls and launches an assault on Yohanu. She twirls a kukri in her hand then punches at the automaton with her quills, and swings the kukri at him for good measure. Luckily, both attacks clank harmlessly off the monk's metal hide.
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ROUND 1
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Alices 40/42 need REF save
Yohanu 32/32 need REF save
Elduin 22/22
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Yellow Flashwarp, -18, hurt feelings
Liskara -3
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Thelsa 26/26
Sunshine 27/28
Therago 32/32
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Blue Fleshwarp -3