You have been summoned to me with Venture-Captain Adril Hestram this afternoon in a meeting room within the Grand Lodge. Don't be late.
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“There’s trouble at the Blakros Museum again,” Venture Captain Adril Hestram growled when you first entered the meeting room in the Grand Lodge earlier this afternoon. “The museum’s curator, Nigel Aldain, came to me this morning asking for help. Apparently, a wayward daughter of his illustrious patrons, the powerful Blakros family, has disappeared, along with a few of the museum’s watchmen who went looking for her. The Society has helped him in the past, and he wants us to find her, before he loses his job, or worse. Now Nigel’s an old friend, and a former Pathfinder, but this kind of missing person case isn’t really our bailiwick. Normally I’d tell him to find the district guard and leave the Society out of it."
“But then he made me an offer that was too good to pass up," continues Hestram. "Not only will he allow the Society access to the Blakros Museum’s extensive and very private library, but apparently this same missing daughter just returned to Absalom with a pack full of ancient relics collected throughout Osirion and northern Garund. And Nigel promised the Society first pick of any of those pieces that catch our fancy. I don’t need to tell you what those kinds of things might be worth, so it looks like you’re heading to the Blakros Museum tonight."
“The missing daughter is named Imrizade Blakros—half Osirian herself and a pretty successful adventurer and fortunehunter by all accounts. She just arrived in Absalom out of the blue a few days ago, after a couple of years’ worth of tomb-raiding in the Osirian deserts, and carrying an odd metal cylinder covered in hieroglyphs, like nothing Nigel has ever seen before. Nigel says she went straight to the basement of the museum to do some research in the family’s library, muttering something about ‘whispers in the dark’ and ‘old tapestries,’ or something."
"He didn’t hear from her for a couple of days, which isn’t unusual when someone is deep into their research in the archives, but he got worried when strange noises started coming from the basement. He sent a watchman down there to investigate, and when he didn’t return, Nigel sent a few more. That was last night, and they haven’t come back up either."
“Go to the museum and find out what happened to Imrizade Blakros and the watchmen. Nigel would prefer them alive, of course, especially the Blakros woman, but the Society is more interested in what she brought back with her. I’ve got a hunch it wasn’t just grave goods and pretty jewelry. Whatever she found, the Society wants it, or at the very least some information about it.”
Before heading to the Blakros Museum, you may wish to briefly investigate or recall information about the history of the Blakros Museum as well as the Blakros family itself.
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An imposing human, clad head to toe in red and leaning against a wicked-looking scythe, enters the room just moments before requested by Hestram. He takes a seat and says gruffly to those near him, "They call me the Red Reverend," before turning to face the venture-captain. He listens impatiently to the mission, his face falling as he realizes he is likely going to have to babysit again before it's all over.
And babysitting a spy, even. "Looking forward to bringing back another of their blushing brides, and all the baggage - literal and metaphorical - that she carries," the Reverend grumbles.
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A little halfling of serious expression and pink hair comes into the room and quietly sits on one of the chairs "Hi Adril. Hi scruffy human."
His feet doesn't arrive to the floor and he has a weird mark in the front, but he seems resolved. But resolved to what? He might have his own plans to that " Another mision at the museum you say? Good, I hope it is not full of mists or shadows this time. I have not had the chance to enjoy the exposition there yet."
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Sylvester rides in on Shaggy. The dog waves his tail as he recognises the two pathfinders.
"Hi Ledt. Hi Red. It is nice to see both of you again."
"We better hit the street and see what the skinny is on this museum and this fancy pants Blakros family."
10 Knowledge History on a take 10 (untrained - maximum of 10)
Sylvester's loyal companion meets the gaze of the other pathfinders. He is well trained enough not to bark a greeting or beg for food.
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A male elf with a cocky smirk on his face enters the room. He's wearing standard adventurer's clothing and has a longbow slung over his back. A longsword is sheathed at his hip.
"I heard you all needed another to join this party."
He takes a good look at all the others present and his cocky smirk turns into a wide smile.
"Red! Sylvester! Haha! So good to see you all! I see you need another redhead to round out the party. Haha!"
He approaches the halfling and bows his head in greeting.
"Hello. I am Corenthiir. But my friends call me Corey. It is a pleasure to meet you."
He turns to give shaggy a scratch behind the ear.
"Hiya, Shaggy! How you doing, good ol' boy?"
Once finished with Adril Hestram, you proceed to the Blakros Museum, a private museum located in Absalom's Wise Quarter, where your are greeted by a clearly flustered Nigel Aldain, the curator of the museum.
"Pathfinders, yes? Good. Please, follow me. To the basement, straightaway." Nigel ushers you away to the North Exhibit Hall.
"As you no doubt already know," he continues, hurriedly almost to the point of babbling, "This museum is owned by the far-reaching and influential Blakros family, it houses and displays an assortment of antiques and oddities the family has collected over the years. The museum’s basement primarily consists of storage rooms containing those pieces of the Blakros family’s vast collection that are not on display in the museum above. The basement also holds the family’s private archives, an impressive compilation of scrolls, manuscripts, and correspondence, as well as a scriptorium where texts can be copied."
The curator opens a secret door in the ziggurat, which reveals a ramp down into the library below. A 50-foot-long stone ramp concealed beneath the miniature ziggurat in the museum’s North Exhibit Hall descends 25 feet to the basement.
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Ledt's expression softens when the gnome and the dog enter the room, he soothes the fur of the four legged one, and greets the redheaded bard as he makes his appearance "Ok. Corey. Good the Venture Captain found some decent hands to round up the team."
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"Is it true that Ralzeros the Overwatched himself built the museum himself thousands of years ago?" Ledt asks Nigel "I heard he built it in one single piece out of a volcano as an observatory to study distant worlds, or perhaps to be studied by them, it sounds silly, but you never know how those silly wizards would expend their time just for capturing the attention of others."
Ledt follows the man into the ziggurat and steps on the ramp only after the others, turning back to the man to keep his talk while the others check the doors "I bet he carved this catacomb with the power of his otherwordly patrons and now these patrons are claiming the life of the Blackross daughter, or some similar inter-gallactic plot, or perhaps she is being affected by the powerful artifact secreted in the catacombs that rumors tells Ralzeros's hide here but no one has ever managed to find"
The halfling taps himself with his mage armor wand even while he is talking back with Nigel.
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Sylvester nods to Corey.
"It is great to see you again. I am sure that now we can really get some stuff done."
The diminutive sorcerer sees what Ledt is doing and follow suit. He puts up Mage Armor on both himself and Shaggy. He then places his backpack and spell component pouch in Shaggy's saddle bags.
"I guess we should have some sort of light going. You know in these sorts of place the light tend to go out for no reason."
The gnome touches Shaggy's saddle and it begins to glow.
Shaggy barks hello at both Corey and Ledt as they pet him.
"Woof! Woof!"
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"Is it true that Ralzeros the Overwatched himself built the museum himself thousands of years ago?" Ledt asks Nigel "I heard he built it in one single piece out of a volcano as an observatory to study distant worlds, or perhaps to be studied by them, it sounds silly, but you never know how those silly wizards would expend their time just for capturing the attention of others."
Ledt follows the man into the ziggurat and steps on the ramp only after the others, turning back to the man to keep his talk while the others check the doors "I bet he carved this catacomb with the power of his otherwordly patrons and now these patrons are claiming the life of the Blackross daughter, or some similar inter-gallactic plot, or perhaps she is being affected by the powerful artifact secreted in the catacombs that rumors tells Ralzeros's hide here but no one has ever managed to find"
"Yes, yes! It is clear that you know something about the history of this venerable institution! Although some of the matters of which you mention remain topics of vigorous debate," replies Nigel, suddenly torn between the urgency of the mission and an opportunity to expound upon the history of the museum. Opting for the former, he simply adds, "Don't believe every rumor that you hear."
The basement’s walls are hewn stone, carved from basalt, and mirror the gothic architecture found in the rest of the museum, though of a simpler design. The basement’s ceilings are 15 feet high. The basement is unlit.
Wide enough to accommodate a draft horse moving large exhibits to and from the basement storerooms, the ramp ends at two sets of double doors, facing each other to the east and west. Wooden placards on the doors are marked
“Storeroom 1” and “Storeroom 2.”
Map, updated with compass rose, now on Slides.
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Sorry Adril sent me He gave me the lowdown and said you might need someone to sort the doors and stuff. I am Omrijka protecta of the pretties A half orc warrior with an impeccably polished breastplate and wide brimmed red hat which has an ioun stone circling it catches up with you. A silver songbird on a chain hangs from her neck and a pair of rose earrings mark her as a devotee of Shelyn
Dis door? she gives the door to storeroom 1 a careful inspection
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The sorcerer grins as the bard plays with his wand of Mage Armor.
"Corey, we can help you with that next time. It looked like you were going to take an eye out on the first attempt."
He turns to the new arrival.
"I am glad that you can join us today Omrijka. We can always use another pair of hands and eyes."
Sylvester trusts his own keen senses and he checks out both doors for signs of traps. The light from Shaggy's saddle illuminates the corridor.
25 Perception on a take 10 for both sets of doors.
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"Hum. Hum. See. Well, we can talk about the museum after we have saved the girl Nigel. Just prepare some good snacks" the halfling turns to the doors when he notices there is a new half-orc he has not seen before "Hum. You are good at hiding, my uncle Dodo would say for a tall one"
"Good to meet you Omrijka. Who are the pretties?" the pink headed halfling raises an eyebrow.
With a quick movement of his hands Ledt produces a set of dancing lights he sends forward for the half-orc and the others to properly examine the doors.
A disheveled human rushes to the group with his hands up, "Relax, I'm with you guys! Sorry I overslept; a little too much 'celebrating' the night before if you know what I mean."
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The sorcerer grins as the bard plays with his wand of Mage Armor.
"Corey, we can help you with that next time. It looked like you were going to take an eye out on the first attempt."
Corey looks up with a sheepish grin.
"Oh! Uh... Yeah! I thought this was my backscratcher."He leans in to whisper,
"Thanks, Syl. I owe ya one."
*wink*
Corey notices the new arrivals. Perfect timing to avoid embarrassment.
"Heeyyy! Welcome, friends!"
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I didn't mean to sneak. I am done sneaking Omrijka blushes at Ledt's praise of her hiding skills.
As she asks about the pretties she stands tall puts a hand to her breast and recites
I see beautie in others. She glances briefly at Valeros and continuesAs a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint.
• I am peaceful. I come first with a rose rather than a weapon, and act to prevent conflict before it appens. I neva strike first, unless it is the only way to protect the pretties.
• I accept surrender if I can be redeemed—then anyone can. All things that live love beautie, and I will show beautie things to them.
• I wear my art. I have chosen jewellry and perfect it. When I have mastered it, I will choose craft. The works I leave behind make life richer for all.
• I will never destroy a pretty thing, nor allow a pretty to come to harm, unless more pretty arises . I will only sacrifice pretties if doing so allows me to save a life, for what beautie can come from an awakened soul.
• I lead by example, not with my glaive. Where my Glaive passes, a life is cut short, and there is less people to make pretties .
These are thwe words I live by
"Ugh my manners! I am Valeros, it's nice to meet you Corey and Omrijka. I'm sure I'll get to know the rest of you in time.", he bows and takes Omrijka's hand and gently kisses it.
"A pretty indeed!"
After Corey reveals Omrijka's deity Valeros says, "I've never had much time for religion. I spend all of my time looking for work and then enjoying what I've earned. Perhaps that makes me a good fit for some deity?"
"Haha! Right you are, Sylvester! Let's go make some easy money!"
Corey turns to the group.
"So, who's gonna kick open this door?"
Valeros points to the two in front of the door, Omrijka and Red.
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I am a followa of Sheylyn yes Omrijka nods at Corey
She is surprised by Valeros action and then inspects the back of her hand to make sure it is clean
There will be no kick doors in today! Pretties may not react well to a door flying at them Omrijka (I pronounce it Om-Ree-Ka) then opens the door to storeroom 1
"Well pretty let's hope you can keep using that adjective when we get out of this damped place. Last time I was here it was infested with evil spirits and mad monkeys" Ledt passes his hand over the pink hair and it quickly returns to its raised stance like if it was a bush more than actual hair.
"You can hardly notice the infestation..." Valeros coughs in an attempt to cover his chuckle.
I have added the old faction missions beginning on this Slide...
Sylvester trusts his own keen senses and he checks out both doors for signs of traps. The light from Shaggy's saddle illuminates the corridor.
25 Perception on a take 10 for both sets of doors.
Sylvester senses no signs of snares or other surprises on the storeroom doors.
The doors open with a grinding creak, revealing a large room filled with monsters of all shapes and sizes.
Giant skeletons and stuffed taxidermic monstrosities are frozen in poses of snarling ferocity, while mummified corpses lie in sedate repose in ornately carved sarcophagi. All are lit solely by dancing lights and the glow from the canine's saddle.
As silent as a tomb, the air in the hall is stale and musty.
This chamber has a 20-foot-high ceiling and contains the assembled skeletons and taxidermic specimens of a variety of beasts, dinosaurs, and other monstrosities. Two large wooden signs lean against one wall, inscribed with the captions “Hunting the Beasts of Legend” and “The Honored Dead.” A door in the southern wall holds a sign labeled “Storeroom 3.” Unlit oil lamps hang from brackets in the center of each wall.
Many within the party notice that one of the exhibits in the northeast corner of the room is moving!
Map with storeroom now revealed on Slides.
BATTLE AMONGST THE BONES OF THE PAST! - Surprise Round Begins!
Red
Corey
Valeros
Sylvester
Ledt
Omrijka 5
Exhibit
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Sylvester examines the strange moving exhibit.
"Hey, I know that creature. It was a chimera at least when it was alive. It is part dragon!"
"What do you know Corey?"
@GM Valen - Do I get another question with that roll? If so I would like to know about its special attacks which probably includes a breath weapon. :)
Sylvester decides to put his mounted spell casting into action. He begins casting the Glitterdust spell as he guides Shaggy using only his knees.
Riding check for riding with knees is an auto-success (DC 5).
Concentration check for riding while casting a 2nd level spell is an auto-success (DC 12).
The chimera must succeed on a DC 19 Will save or be blinded.
Move action for Shaggy, Standard action for Sylvester.
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Without an angle of sight to notice something has started to move in the room, Ledt just contemplates the exposed monstrosities while pushing the dancing lights forward into the interior "Cannot tell otherwise, these are ugly certainly. What kind of taste to make an exhibit like this?"
Ledt looks around for any statues, but refrains from stepping into the room.
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Corey glances about in awe at all of the imposing creatures. He backs into the great beast behind him and is a bit startled as he looks up at its leering face.
"Yikes!"
Suddenly, there's a commotion as the others notice one of the exhibits moving.
"Wha...? What's going on!?!"
Corey raises his bow as he steps backwards to the rear of the room near the south wall.
[dice="Knowledge Arcana"]1d20+4
[dice="Knowledge Religion"]1d20+6
"Great. Something else that resists being cut in half." The Revenend walks under the dinosaur head toward the creature.
"Hey, I know that creature. It was a chimera at least when it was alive. It is part dragon!"
Sylvester knows that chimeras have breath weapons, at least when they are alive.
Omrikja and The Red Reverend know that this is not chimera--at least, not anymore. It is a taxidermic chimera, a chimera skeleton adorned in matted fur and leather. As such, it is a mindless creature immune to things that influence the thought processes and musculature of most living creatures. The skeleton retains the sharp teeth, piercing horns, and ripping claws it had in life.
Sylvester decides to put his mounted spell casting into action. He begins casting the Glitterdust spell as he guides Shaggy using only his knees.
The assembled bones of the undead chimera crawl out from behind the fur and hide giving it some semblance of life and moves in the direction where it last saw living creatures.
BATTLE AMONGST THE BONES OF THE PAST! - First Full Round of Combat Begins!
Red
Corey
Valeros
Sylvester
Ledt
Omrijka 5
Exhibit
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Sylvester can see that their new warrior is at a bit of a loss about what to do.
"Valeros you can just whack it with your sword."
Sylvester attempts to trip the creature in a pool of grease. After which he effortlessly steers Shaggy with his knees back through the door next to Ledt.
Grease spell cast underneath the once upon a time chimera. It will need to make a DC 18 Reflex save or fall prone.
Shaggy looks around the battlefield. He is glad that his master is not asking him to attack that really strange and scary looking monster. Sylvester's Light spell continues to emanate from Shaggy's saddle.
The skeleton slips!
BATTLE AMONGST THE BONES OF THE PAST! - First Full Round of Combat Cont'd!
Red
Corey
Valeros
Sylvester
Ledt
Omrijka 5
Exhibit
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Ledt sees finally the no-chimera as it steps forward to fall in a poodle of grease "Did not see that coming... do you think it is magically animated or some kind of undead?"
The halfling moves into the room "You sure have the hand on this, isn't it? Don't need my help" and hides between some of the stuffed figures in the north.
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"WOO-HOO, Sylvester!!! Great job on tripping that thing up in the grease!"
Corey can now see most of the skeletal creature as it steps forward and slips in the magically created grease.
“Use maces and morningstars on it --things that smash bones!,” he calls out to his teammates.
He then darts around and past Valeros ("Hiya, Val.") to get behind the giant dinosaur. He grimaces in disgust when he looks up at the preserved bunghole of the great beast as he scoots past along the wall.
"Eww. Gross."
Valeros thanks Corey for the information, "Thankfully for me I have a heavy mace! Time to rattle some bones!"
Valeros moves around the large stuffed dinosaur to take a crack at Bones!
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"Thankfully for me I have a heavy mace! Time to rattle some bones!"
Rattle bones, he does!
BATTLE AMONGST THE BONES OF THE PAST! - First Full Round of Combat Cont'd!
Red
Corey
Valeros
Sylvester
Ledt
Omrijka 5
Exhibit (skeletal chimera) -9 HP
The hard-headed skeleton is damaged but not decapitated.
BATTLE AMONGST THE BONES OF THE PAST! - First Full Round of Combat Cont'd!
Red
Corey
Valeros
Sylvester
Ledt
Omrijka 5
Exhibit (skeletal chimera) -16 HP
Omrijka steps back and smashes the thing with her glaive
Ribs fracture and bones crack.
The undead with many heads snaps back at those that attacked it.
One head snaps in the direction of its last attack by Omrijka, but its jaws find no target within reach.
Another head snaps in the direction of the Reverend.
A third, sporting horns, tries to gore in the direction of Valeros.
Undeterred, it continues to strike with its claws in the same direction that hurt it so badly.
Unable to connect with any targets, the skeletal monster attempts to stand.
BATTLE AMONGST THE BONES OF THE PAST! - Second Full Round of Combat Begins!
Red
Corey
Valeros
Sylvester
Ledt
Omrijka
Exhibit (skeletal chimera) -31 HP