Zero's B4: Cat's Cradle (Inactive)

Game Master Super Zero

Actually, it doesn't matter with Ramona's rolls.

Ramona, with dinner timely assistance from Grandmother Time, strikes down the third mephit.

The wind picks up a little; it probably would have grounded them, but the need for it is past.

Van knows that the mephits' best defense is their quick reflexes--a fact that may be useful another day.

Quinthalas urges his companions to search the mephits for anything of value. He goes to the closest one and checks.

He also goes around the area that they were first encountered to see if there is anything to be had, or any clues as to why the mephits were gathered here to begin with.

There's nothing to be found on the mephits. As creatures of sand and earth and wind, the desert and a natural place to find them, though only these three are here.

Past the sphinx though, a short distance away, looks to be a camp that could well be the bandits' camp.
Well, the remains of a camp. It looks a bit more... torn apart than anticipated.

Norbwald looks to his allies "That looks like a lot of destruction for the mephits. I wonder if they were scavenging. Lets go look for the box."

”Hmm...”

"That looks rather unpleasant. Let's procede with caution."

"Caution is a good thing. Let's walk over to the camp and investigate." He looks around the area, wary of another ambush.

As the party approaches the camp, they find scattered equipment, abandoned tents, and another sphinx. This one is smaller.

He's also not a statue, lounging next to a half-eaten camel. His tail twitches as he sees you approach, but his posture is not aggressive or hostile.

“Are you here to attack me, too?” the sphinx asks sulkily. He extends his claws and plays idly with an intricately carved puzzle box. “I once dreamed of studying at the Magaambya to learn of your magic and history, but now I am close to abandoning my dreams and returning home to my mountain. Whenever I try to gift humanoids a riddle, they attack me like beasts!” From his lounging position, he narrows his eyes suspiciously at his visitors. “But are you any different?”

"Why make enemies when you can make friends? said Quinthalas as he sits down on the sand. He shows the sphinx that his hands are empty.

"While I like riddles and would like to hear yours, I'd like to know beforehand what the consequences are for either solving your riddles or failing?"

"Well, talking sure is better than fighting." he adds, nodding at Quinthalas wisdom on asking what's at stake here, the creature evidently quite capable of much more than what they could all handle if its complete lack of any concern about them being there, besides annoyance, is any clue.

Recall Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

"Riddles are a kind of sacred trust in my culture," says the sphinx without really looking up, "but the people here attacked me, unprovoked, before I could even offer a challenge." He fiddles with the puzzle box a little, very carefully. It obviously intrigues him, but he has difficulty manipulating with his large paws and claws something delicate built for small fingers.
"Stakes? Mmm. Riddles can have stakes, but I didn't have any in mind."

Norbwald examines the Sphinx in case the creature decides to attack them.

exploit vulnerability vs lvl DC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"No interest in attacking, we're just looking for a stolen box, my old kids used to love riddles. Should we tell you one, or would you rather tell us?"

The sphinx a quizzical look as he fumbles with his esoterica.
Critical failure!

"I'm afraid I don't have any boxes. The only thing I've found is this puzzle... cube.. Oh! It is a box, isn't it? What an intriguing device! My name is Zandyk, and I've a riddle for you. I didn't steal this box, I found it--but I'll gladly return it if you solve my riddle. But before I give it to, you intend to tell me one? Well!"

The party has his attention now, and he sits with his tail twitching. "If you can impress me, I'll give you a hint when I tell you the riddle."

Van recognizes that that sphinxes view riddles as a sacred contract between the riddler and recipient, and that fighting a powerful being like Zandyk would be disastrous.
Forgot your RK results. Although that actually called for an Occultism or Nature check, so your bonus was 1 higher.

Each PC can attempt something to impress Zandyk. You can try anything you can think of that makes sense, but if you manage to target one of his interests the check might be easier or have additional benefits.
If anyone doesn't have any ideas, Zandyk's idle musings might provide some clues. While they're considering their options, they observe or hear the following:

"It would be nice to have an intelligent conversation..."

Zandyk tries to manipulate the puzzle box, but nearly drops it. He's very careful with it, but even so it's just not designed for a creature of his size or shape.

"I grow tired of eating raw camel," Zandyk mutters.

"Uff. The desert sun really can be unpleasant. I was trying to be dramatic to scare those bullies off without killing them, but I regret tearing up these tents now."

"Hello Zandyk. Intelligent conversations are phenomenal. Allow me to be first. This one I think should interest you. There is a magical door that has but one rule. A wizard can’t go in, but his book can. He can stick his teeth in, but not his mouth. His hands can’t go in, but his feet can. His wand can’t pass through, but his staff can. What is the rule?"

Catching the sphinx's disconfort, Van clicks his tongue as he realizes there's little he can do to help in this situation. Still, nothing is gained if one doesn't try and Van moves towards the tents hoping to find one salvageable enough for him to offer some shade to the group and the magical being.

craft: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (5) + 0 = 5

The task, however, proves to be too big for the small gnome, who fails miserably at it.

"Ah, wordplay!" says Zandyk, perking up, "It's things that have a double-letter in their name, like 'door' itself." The sphinx looks very interested in what Quinthalas is doing.

He looks annoyed at the noise Van is making, though.

Quinthalas can still attempt a check to impress him, but gains a +1 circumstance bonus to the check. Van critically fails.

Norbwald offers Zandyk a sip of his strange purple beverage as he ponders..

How does that go.. one tells the truth, one always lies, and the 3rd stabs people who ask tricksy questions... no that's not it...

Norbwald, "No riddle from me, I'm sure that anything we come up with would pale in comparison to a Sphynx, so I leave you with this Koan."

"Must Rovagug devour himself to eat all of Golarion?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

"Do I remember?
The first time we had met last...
I have forgotten!"

Occultism (Trained): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Purrlock attempts to create some sort of shade to protect the sphinx from the hot sun.

Crafting, Pursue a Lead: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Ramona sits quietly at the side, being both impressed and despairing at her lack of ability to join in this conversation.

Quinthalas looks aghast at Zandyk, who too quickly answered his riddle. He considers Norbwald's admonition that Sphinxes are indeed masters of riddles and it seems hopeless. He thinks to himself "Sphinxes have probably memorized every riddle that they could learn. My only chance is to make one myself, here and now." And so, Quinthalas tries.

"If you'd care for another Zandyk, here is one more:

In a far away kingdom of myth and lore, a Wizard's Tower rose on a shore.
It's walls were sealed with powerful wards, and within lay secrets to the very stars!
What is the one thing that the wizard always seeks, that he could not hide in his tower and always keeps?"

Grandmother Time ventures a guess:

”Himself?...”

And now we run into a simple problem: Zandyk is much better at solving riddles than Zero is...

Zandyk seems amused by Grandmother Time's odd proclamations, and stretches luxuriously as Purrlock constructs a shade.

"Sealed walls upon a shore? Hmm... All I can think of is a pearl, but I'm not sure where the tower comes in. Let me think on that one a moment."

Van: Critical failure
Norbwald: Failure
Zoila: Success
Purrlock: Success
Ramona: Not yet attempted
Quinthalas: Not yet attempted, +1 to checks
Ramona, you can do whatever you think might be impressive--so fairly open-ended on what skills to use.
Quinthalas, go ahead and make a check. A social skill or relevant knowledge skill would fit.
Remember, you do have Hero Points if anyone would like to use them.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Ramona will begin doing calisthenics and strength exercises, hoping to impress, since she cannot compete in a combat of wits.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 1 = 23

Sorry about that Zero. How do you want play it out? The riddle is a trick. There are two correct answers.

As the sphinx considers the riddle, Van will try and make small conversation with it, telling him about his own troubles with a society that usually prefers to talk with swords instead of just listening to words. "Well, regarding your previous encounters with people here, let me say that you've probably just had back luck. There are all sorts of people around and sadly you only managed now to find the type who'd prefer to share instead of take. I hope you won't be discouraged to pursue your quest for knowledge just because of that." He then stops to think for a moment and adds, "I'm quite sure that in the society there are more plenty of scholars who would be delighted to test their wits with you, and if you'd like I could tell them to meet you sometime."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 How bad can you roll on a same encounter, sheesh!

◇ Hero Point!

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

"Well... perhaps you're right, there. Very well, I'll give you a riddle.

"What am I?"

Zandyk fiddles a little more with the puzzle box, then looks up.
"I... suppose I owe you some hints for humoring me and putting up with my mood. Let's see...

"It's more of a concept than a tangible object."
"We all have our own, but we'll have some shared ones too now."

Quinthalas smiles at Zandyk and says "Thank you for that. The answer is - memories."

Zandyk laughs in a way that's somehow reminiscent of a lion's roar, almost frightening.
"Oh well done indeed! First guess! I see humanoids can be more civilized then I feared." He gently deposits the puzzle box in Quinthalas's hands. "And yours--is it a pearl? I don't think I've quite got all the pieces, but I should probably get moving--I've stopped here for longer than I intended. I hope you'll all visit the Magaambya while I'm there."

"Thank you Zandyk." Quinthalas takes the puzzlebox.

"Mine is a tricky riddle because it has at least two answers that I can think of, maybe more. The answers are: his passion, and his understanding. These things, you cannot leave behind. If you can think of something else, let me know."

"I will look you up in Magaambya should I find my way there. Again, thank you."

"I wish you safe travels Zandyk" Van adds, though mostly concerned for those getting in Zandryks way and not the other way around.

"I'll certainly look for you if I'm around Magaambya, thanks for the invitation!" he adds, obviously exited at the prospect of having a reason to actually travel somewhere.

"Let's go back and deliver this trinket everyone. It's been a pleasure traveling with you."

"Indeed it has been a pleasure! Let's head back."

Purrlock utters a purr of pleasure as the situation resolves itself. He (and his human) is not good at riddles either.

In addition to the puzzle box, the party can find some bits of scattered clockwork around the remains of the camp. Presumably these also belong to Tidbit Wizelboom.

...who, upon their return, is overjoyed and dutifully pays the promised coin.
"Did you ever try to open it? Here, let me show you."

She twists here, slides a knob there, rotates this, pushes that, and a compartment opens. There are several small items and papers inside, but Tidbit carefully extracts something before closing it--a treasure map?
"I don't know how real it is, and I never dared seek it out. But I think a party of adventurers who recovered the puzzle is exactly the group who's meant to have it. Please, take it!"

Van's eyes light up at Tidbit's words. "A treasure map? That sounds quite interesting! Thank you so much, I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later some clues about it!"

Norbwald heads off, sipping his purple drank in search of more coin.

Purrlock purrs as the treasure map is laid on the table. "A worrrthy puzzle. Howeverrr, my employerrr expects me back at worrrk soon so I must decline this new puzzle." He pockets his coins and heads off with Norbwald.

Quinthalas looks at the treasure map. Asks Tidbit if the remaining party could keep it.

"Please do!" she says with an enthusiastic nod, "I haven't used it, after all."