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"Yes, someone's here." Bitty looks with disbelief at the others and then turns back to the hole in the wall. "That is usually what it means when someone talks to you."
Then Bitty says, more gently. "I'm Bitty. These are my friends. So... I repeat, who are you? What are you? Why are you here?"
Then, more forcefully, she says, "We have fierce dinosaurs to protect us!"
Egg looks at Bea. "Chirrrp?"
We're fierce?
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"I…I am…was called Marcon Tinol. Thou art living? Yes? I was… ’prisoned here, chained and bricked up behind that same wall. I…slept…died? I woke then and broke the chains. Searched for escape, but there was none. So slept again I did ‘til the ground shook. Since then I have drifted…and chipped. A crack, I noticed after the shaking. This hole is all I have…created. What I was 'prisoned for - my secret, that is…to keep…it burns in my mind, a secret to bargain with. I know much. And greatly does a family in Absalom fear my secret. Prithee, I beg you to free me. Guide me to the surface and I will share my secret. Perhaps then I will know peace…"
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"hmph," Bee grunts, thinking. "I'm not sure I trust that. But then, it does also make sense. And it's not like we haven't met odd things before - like a friendly Mimic. I hear rumor that there are even a couple of skeletons that have joined the Pathfinders as full members."
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"You speak with a dialect of long past friend. While I doubt the family still resides in Absalom, I would be bothered if we left one who was imprisoned without guilt. Perhaps, we could help you and you could help us?" Cath calls into the hole, holding up her torch to peer in.
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"About 500 years in the past, I think. Not even Grandpa Ifekube talks that way anymore." Then Bitty turns and looks in the hole. "Thank you for your name, Marcon. I'm sorry you are stuck here. So you were imprisoned for a secret? What sort of secret? Perhaps we can help you bring it from the dark into the sunlight."
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Cath shines her torch inside the hole and looks in. She sees the words “Candren’s wish” have been scratched deeply into the stone, over and over again.
The creature calling itself Marcon steps into the light but doesn't attack.
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Quietly watching and listening, Ashun sees the surrounding area a bit better when Cath approaches with her torch,
He whispers to the others, "I could not help but notice that the stonework seems quite in ruins, if Marcon shows himself to not be prone to violence, freeing him might be a viable option."
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Carefully, he tries to explain everything without grandpa zombie listening, "From the little I managed to gather, our new friend checks out all the boxes for a ghoul, at least appearance wise. Their claws have a powerful paralyzing poison of sorts, and most of them tend to gather around graveyards to eat corpses. If we must free him, I suggest extra care. "
And while the changeling does look curious, he also looks very apprehensive.
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"Well, I guess the other option is to leave him here and hope he doesn't cause any trouble. ... Which seems like slim hope with the hole already being gouged out by the water."
Bee calls out to Loompecker, "Hey Loompecker. We found something ... or rather someone over here. You might want to come over here in case this all goes sour on us. Up to you though."
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MMhhh should I let the pets alone? Should I net let the pets alone? That's the question. Because if I let them alone and should they flee, what will occur?
The orc has a great thought before to conclude Who cares? and to answers to Bee: I come
Having moved over there where the situation is exposed to him, he concludes: We can leave him, but we can set him free as well. The Pathfinder Society would be delighted of such a subject to study for sure.
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Bitty widens the hole and before long, Marcon is free.
"I thank you."
Marcon is clearly undead: his remaining skin is taut over spare flesh, and the ends of his fingers are worn to the bone from his endless picking at the walls of his prison. His clothes and speech are from another era. Gathering his thoughts, he tells his story.
When I was alive, I was Marcon Tinol, an accountant and bookkeeper for House Candren of Absalom. At the time, House Candren was a rather unimportant, if moderately wealthy part of the nobility of the city. They owned many shipping concerns and dealt in sea trade throughout the Inner Sea, although the heavy taxes and fees levied upon them made it difficult to build upon their successes very easily.
Suddenly, in what seemed like an overnight transformation, the family’s fortunes changed for the better and their wealth began to steadily grow beyond any projections I had made. My surprise was brushed aside by Ednathian Candren, the patriarch of the family. Being the diligent and dedicated worker I was, however, I began digging deeply to find the reasons for the improvements. I found that the family had ceased paying any taxes or fees to the city or any other government in the region. Certain of a mistake, I contacted my counterparts in these organizations, but my questions and letters were ignored, lost, or met with strange responses that didn’t make sense.
My eagerness to solve the mystery soon became an obsession and my own undoing. I came to learn that the head of the Candren family had, through great expense and trouble, found a wizard willing to cast a wish spell to guarantee freedom from taxation and fees for perpetuity. Eventually, the family noticed my curiosity. While the family was sure the power of the wish would keep their money safe, they were concerned about their reputation. Worried that I knew too much and that word would get out of his actions, Candren ordered me sent to the Tombs of the Living, where I was walled up and left to die. I rose as an undead but remained trapped and in a barely conscious torpor until the earthquake woke me. As the last few years have worn on, I scratched and chipped, bit by bit, at my prison, and is now on the verge of escaping.
You understand that Marcon's information could be quite damaging to one person in particular: Goodman Hugen of House Candren, a member of the Grand Council of Absalom and First Harbormaster.
Crit Success
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With the undead Marcon released and talking instead of attacking, Corabee relaxes - slightly. Listening to the story he tells he relaxes a bit more as time goes on.
Having not paid much attention to the social elite of Absalom, he has no idea who any of the people are that Marcon is talking about.
"So... Do we continue exploring with Marcon here tagging along? I'm thinking it is probably safer to take him topside quickly and get him somewhere safe. And does anyone know when the tide comes in?"
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"We don't have enough time to get to the Lorespire and back before this place floods. Let's take him with us." Bitty turns to Marcon, draconic tail held up imperiously. "We have powerful dinosaurs to protect us, and a witch with awesome healing powers. If you try to eat us, you will die. So... keep that tongue to yourself, okay?"
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"Considering that we weren't attacked, I'm pretty sure Marcon doesn't mean harm. Aside from the dinosaurs, I can also still hold my own, in case something does happen. We should be quick though, since I'm still a bit faint from the fight with the big lizards we ran into earlier," Cath grins, her smile slightly pained as she raises her torch to help light guide the group.
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"Interesting story, although saddening. If I recall correctly, the Candren are still around, the current harbormaster and member of the Council goes by Goodman Hugen. He may not be very happy with the knowledge that comes from this story being spread around."
He gives a better look at Marcon, now that they are free,
"May we offer anything else to help? Clothes, food, or mayhaps a place to sleep? Or, rest."
unsure if telling an undead if they want to pass on may come off as offensive.
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You move through the passageway and explore the rooms but find nothing significant.
This wide gallery is lined with a colorful mural depicting a figure performing some sort of magical ritual over an expanse of ocean. His arms raised, he beckons to something beneath the waves, and is answered by a frothing, foaming section of the water that hints at a massive shape rising.
To the northwest, stairs rise to another large room. An elegantly carved figure towers over the room, combining the body of an eel with the visage of a horrifying deep-sea fish and four grasping tentacles.
Whoever had this section of the Tombs of the Living constructed spared no expense. Whether that is because of dedication to dark powers or a flair for the dramatic is difficult to tell. This area is occupied. Its occupants shuffle forward to meet you.
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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
Active Conditions:
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Those with ** may go
**Bitty Blue - AC 19, 16/26; Egg AC 17, 14/14
**Loompecker - AC 19, 30/30
**Cath - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 10/19 (Battle Med - Bitty)
**Konbu - AC 16, 24/24
Red
Yellow
Thull Ashun - AC 14, 14/14; Bea AC 14, 14/14
Corabee - AC 18 (20 Dueling Parry), 10/19
White
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Bitty looks at the shambling creatures with disgust. "Marcon, are these friends of yours?"
◈ Recall Knowledge
Bitty strides forward as fast as the wind and attacks with her rapier!
◈ Stride
◈
Significant Slashing Weakness
Bitty calls out, "Use slashing!" She strides forward as fast as the wind, and then commands Egg to claw the undead creature! "Go, Egg, go! Claw the nasty creature!"
◈ Stride
◈ Command Egg
Egg's actions
◈
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Significant Bludgeoning Weakness
Bitty calls out, "Switch to Bludgeoning weapons and clubs!" She pulls out her light mace, and hands it to Bee. "Use this."
◈ Interact to pull out Mace.
◈ Hand weapon to Bee.
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You recognize Yellow and White as a Plague Zombie. They're similar to regular zombies except that they carry a nasty disease if they hit you.
Marcon takes one look at the undead and beats a hasty retreat.
Egg charges forward and slashes Yellow. You all notice that Egg's claws appear to have done far more damage than what would have been a small scratch, indicating that these creatures are vulnerable to slashing weapons. Cath charges up to the big one and slams her shield in its face before raising her shield. Konbu sends cold at the big one and hits, with it not fast enough to get out of the way. Loompecker's lightning manages to zap Red, who was able to dodge out of the way (but into Konbu's snowball). White, however, isn't as lucky as it utters a "Duh?" before getting zapped.
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Red lets out a loud growl and slams a meaty fist at Cath.
Yellow also attempts to clobber Bitty and Egg...
... but the pair prove to be too nimble for the clumsy creature. It lets out a low groan that sounds eerily like "Bruuuhh"
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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
Active Conditions:
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Those with ** may go
Bitty Blue - AC 19, 26/26; Egg AC 17, 14/14
Loompecker - AC 19, 30/30
Cath - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 9/19 (Battle Med - Bitty; AC 20; Shield - hp: 10/20, Broken)
Konbu - AC 16, 24/24
Red (-21)
Yellow (-15)
**Thull Ashun - AC 14, 14/14; Bea AC 14, 14/14
**Corabee - AC 18 (20 Dueling Parry), 19/19
White (-10)
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Bee uses Cath as a springboard and easily somersaults over the big zombie, slicing as he passes over. Like Egg's claws, his slash easily parts desiccated flesh.
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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
Active Conditions:
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Those with ** may go
Bitty Blue - AC 19, 26/26; Egg AC 17, 14/14
Loompecker - AC 19, 30/30
Cath - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 9/19 (Battle Med - Bitty; AC 20; Shield - hp: 10/20, Broken)
Konbu - AC 16, 24/24
Red (-38)
Yellow (-15)
**Thull Ashun - AC 14, 14/14; Bea AC 14, 14/14
Corabee - AC 18 (20 Dueling Parry), 19/19 (Panache)
White (-10)