GM Frost's S04-10 Arclord's Abode (Inactive)

Game Master Frozen Frost

Dot in and delete.

The Pathfinders begin the adventure having already arrived at the Nexus House in Quantium, Nex. Venture-Captain Sebnet Sanserkoht, a female gnome vash-vatom, excitedly greets them at the entrance and ushers them into a small meeting room. "Welcome, get inside."

Kindly introduce yourselves.

A handsome, but serious looking half elf in full plate armor walks in. A holy symbol around his neck and he wears a cloak of red with gold trim. He has a bastard sword in a scabbard and he carries a pole arm, a fauchard with him as well. He nods to those who are here. Greetings. I am Sir Kidron Quintus, knight of Last Wall.

Since helping to get Alyreha's memories back and keeping her from falling into the hands of the nefarious Aslynn, Mimi had been hanging around Nexus House making herself useful in the repair efforts after Aslynn's last attack. She was beginning to make preparations to return to Gralton when once again, she's called into a meeting with Venture-Captain Sebnet Sanserkoht.

She is not first to arrive; a handsome fully plated half-elf is already there. Mimi adjusts her sheathed rapier at her belt and takes off her hat, unloosing a long mop of bright red hair that falls down past her shoulders, framing a pair of clear green eyes set in an attractive, light-skinned and freckled face. She nods to the knight. "Greeteengs in return, sir knight. I am Mimi de Valence at your serveece. You may call me juste Mimi. I am pleezed to make your acquaintance." Liking what she sees, she raises her eyebrow provocatively. "Perhaps after dees meession ees over ve might get to know each other better. I am sûr dere are many tales dat ve could exchange."

Oh hell-o says a white-furred ratfolk wandering into the meeting room. A clanking sound follows her, whihc is quickly revealed to be coming from a dwarf-sized automaton following her. Is this where the venture-captain wants - ah, of course it is. Hi Ms. Sanserkhot, good to see you again. Zyek's second-to-last mission was also 4-05 And good to be back in a city too: that Kline fellow had me and Lil' Brute called away to trek out into the middle of a desert. Sand really clogged his gears and got stuck in my fur for days!

She seems to notice she's not the only agent in the room them and starts. Ah! how rude. Sorry, manners. Name's Zyek! She extends out a small paw to shake as she continues speaking. You notice her accent is somewhat unusual, though hard to place exactly why. Mimi, that's a nice name. And Sir Quntus - an Iomedean, right? Zyek nods to the symbol hanging from the half-elf. Always good to see a knight about I suppose. But what is 'Lastwall'? Do you mean this the ratfolk spreads her arms real wide and gestures about to mime 'everything' whole planet, because it's the 'last wall' keeping that big mean god trapped?

Here eyes seem genuinely eager and curious despite the odd local ignorance of the question.

The knight polietly takes the little rat lady's paw. He responds to her query, While the Inheritor is a worthy and honorable goddess, I serve the General of Vengeance, Ragathiel. he says, bowing his head in respect as he states the name of his god.

A tall, attractive half-orc woman enters the room, a dark-furred mastiff following closely at her side. She strides confidently over to a chair and takes a seat, nodding to Mimi as she does so. A simple hand gesture causes the dog to lie down at her feet.

"Greetings everyone. I am Zaza Törrvények Hozója, although I have been given the moniker Zaza 'the Measure' in recent years. I am a sorcerer." Her smile is equal parts welcoming and intimidating as she pulls a wand from her sleeve and begins idly spinning it in her left hand.

Rufus lifts his head briefly to watch as Zaza toys with the wand. He soon loses interest and places his head down once again.

A young human teenage boy, adorned in full plate mail that's a tad too big for him, is late to the meeting. He tries to hurry along, but slowing him down is a large halberd strapped to his left hip and a longbow strapped to his right. Both weapons are comically dragging on the ground behind him, as he approaches Nexus House.

Breathing heavily, the 5' tall boy looks to the group with wide-eyed excitement. "Golly, these missions happen fast!" Catching his breath, he looks around the room, he cries with glee. "Mimi! We're on the same team again! Super fun!" Then spotting a familiar half-orc, he excitedly says, "And Zaza, holder of our favorite skull, remember me? Hi Rufus!" The youngster turns to everyone else and quickly says, "Hi new people. I'm Dennis. My daddy says I'll grow into my armor. I'm a real good fighter, but I'm still practicing with my new bow." The bow appears to have never been used.

He looks around for the skull. "Oh, I do hope we get to play with Zykyryz again. She was funny." He looks confused for a minute and admits, "Wait. We helped her to remember her real name." He admits, "Which I forgot. Allie-something? I'm not great at remembering things. Maybe I was cursed too. Did I mention I'm a real good fighter?" The excited teenager puffs out his chest proudly, happy to be on another important Pathfinder mission.

A tall woman joins the assembled Pathfinders. She has a long firearm slung across her back, as well as some shorter weapons at her belt.

"I am Detective Zhamie Zhapp from Absalom. I vas asked by my colleague Loong Lao'u to join you. 'e was assigned to another mission elsevere. I am a Detective and a docteur." Focusing on Mimi, Zhamie exclaims, "Mimi? I 'ave 'eard of vous. I 'ave been vanting to meet vous for a long time. It its an 'onor!"

When the tall woman joins them, Mimi's attention shifts away from Kidron and towards the new arrival. She likes what she sees. Smiling, she replies as if surprised, "You 'ave 'erd of me? 'As someone been talkeeng about me behind my back? I deed not know I vas so much de centre of attention in de Societee, dough eet ees quaite understandebel, of corse. Alors tell me a leetel about yourself Zhamie Zhapp. From vhence do you 'ail from for exemple. For some raison I do not 'ave as much trobel understandeeng you as I do de others."

The venture-captain nods at everyone as they make their introduction, recognizing everyone from the previous mission, while she closes the door behind her. The brown-skinned gnome with golden streaks through her long, dark hair then crosses the room in a few long strides and leans against a stool, grinning wryly. Atop the stool sits a skull with glowing pink eyes. “Good, good you’re all here. I know you all recognize me, I’m vash-vatom Sebnet Sanserkoht, or venture‑captain, if you prefer. I have someone I need to introduce you all to before we get to the rest of the briefing.” She gestures towards the skull beside her, [b]"but I know you already knew her, she just wants to be introduced as before..." she whispers to them, the back of her hand behind her whispering. “This here, is Alyreha, one of Nex’s arclords." she tells them back in her normal voice.

"We recently assisted her in recovering her lost memories, if you remember.” Alyreha shakes and rattles before Sebnet is allowed to
continue. “That’s right! I up and lost my head, but your Society helped me put the pieces of it back together. But in turn, I also remembered why I lost it in the first place. See, I was doing research on true names and had just hit a breakthrough, but someone else wanted to get a hold of my work to use for some sort of evil plan. Needless to say, I didn’t agree with that, and tried to lock away my research by erasing the memory of myself until the time was right to let my studies out.”

Sebnet finally cuts back in, “And now that her memories have been restored, it’s likely that the rest of her research can be as well. So that’s where you all come in. We want you to take Alyreha and go to her former manor, to find the pieces of her research and restore her true name before anyone else finds her old notes.”

"Also, Vigilant Seal faction leader Eando Kline and Envoy’s Alliance faction leader Fola Barun each sent a letter to the lodge addressed to you for this mission." she adds and hands them the two letters from Eando Kline and Fola Barun.

The contents of the letters are also reproduced below for convenience.

Greetings Pathfinders,

I wish to bid you good luck on your upcoming challenges. Your mission to aid Arclord Alyreha is, of course, of paramount importance. There is, however, a troubling aspect. If you haven’t already, I’m soon you will soon learn that her research concerns true names—a dangerous area of magical research, though one promising great power as well. Alyreha’s research has already shown its appeal as a target for those who would use it for twisted ends.
Our night hag foe is but one of those who would steal the research if given the opportunity. I need you to convince Alyreha of the severity of this danger, and of the safety and security that we would afford her research here in Skyreach. I would be incredibly grateful were you to secure an agreement with her to store her true name research in the vaults here at the Grand Lodge. Though we do not want to threaten the goodwill we’ve built—and that you will continue building with her—please do your utmost to convince her to keep her research safe with us.

Good luck and stay safe out there,
Eando Kline of the Vigilant Seal

Warmest Greetings, Pathfinders,

I hope my letter finds you all in good spirits once you have arrived in Quantium. I know you are all being sent out to help our new ally Alyreha, and I want to wish you all the best of luck in restoring Alyreha to her former self.
I write you now to request that you do whatever you can to prove that she can trust and rely on the Pathfinder Society as allies. As an Arclord of Nex she makes a valuable ally for us, and I would like us to be able to call on each other for aid in the future. If you could help her recover as much of her research as possible, I think she’ll be grateful and understand that we’re an organization in which she can put her faith. As such, I trust you all to do whatever you can to build Alyreha’s faith in our Society’s competence. Even should fewer scraps of her research prove critical to restoring her, do your utmost to find every bit until she confirms she has it all. That should properly demonstrate the Society’s skill and dedication.

Best Regards,
Fola Barun of the Envoy’s Alliance

"Hi new people. I'm Dennis. My daddy says I'll grow into my armor. I'm a real good fighter, but I'm still practicing with my new bow." The bow appears to have never been used.

He-hello! Zyek says to the tiny for human standards, still towers over her new arrival.

The let children play with swords here? this place really is cray

---

As Alyreha is brought in Zyek nods warmly to the skull. Good to see you again A. And we're still happy to help. the ratfolk cocks her head. I think I am still a bit confused though: we know your name now, and so do you, right? So what's left to 'restore'? Is this some super-magic thing? I admit I'm not as much of an expert in how glyphs and four traditions and everything is working now.

Dennis beams when Zyek addresses him. "Hi. Nice to meet you too! It's my first time adventuring with a yso ... ykos ... a ratfolk. We're gonna have fun. I'll bet Alyreha's house is amazing!"

He turns to the skull. "Alyreha! Did you miss me? It's me. Dennis." Pausing only to take a breath, he continues, "I can't wait to see your house. But wait -- are there gonna be alarms and wards? I don't like those."

When Sebnet hands out the letters, Dennis pretends to look them over, but frankly, he's too excited right now to read a couple long boring letters. Maybe later. After a couple more questions, he turns to Sebnet and Alyreha, "When can we leave?"

Mimi scans over the letters from the faction leaders but her eyes start glazing over. "Blah, blah, blah... real names ...Blah, blah, blah... dangerous...Blah, blah, blah... restore Alyreha to her former self... Okay, got it!"

Turning to Alyreha, Mimi asks, "I do not suppose dat you recall de details of de sécurité systèmes dat you installed in your manoir by chance?"

Any puzzles? Games? Themed escape rooms? Zyek adds to Mimi’s comments, hoping to jog the skull’s memory.

Any puzzles? Games? Themed escape rooms? Zyek adds to Mimi’s comments, hoping to jog the skull’s memory.

"Ha! Knowing Zykyryz we'll see plenty of those. Along with some cream pies to the face, squirting flowers and whoopie cushions."

Alyreha gives Zyek a quiziccal look before responding. "Can't you see I have no..." Her eyes glow before she continues. "I need you to find pieces of my research so that I can be restored back my true name. You see, true name is not just about one's name or memory. True name best represents us in all our complexity..." and she goes on to discuss the differences between public names, private names, and true names (linked for those interested to know more about True Names) to give everyone a grasp of the idea.

Sebnet interrupts her when she is about to finish to accommodate other questions but she lets her take the floor because only the arclord can answer the questions about the manor.

"And yes of course, you are always in my head. Ha!" she gives Dennis a hearty laugh. "Yeah, that is true, my abode have wards and defenses in place. Well, my divination lounge had the ability to scry on the outside of the manor, as well as see into some of the other rooms. I also had my upstairs evocation atrium set up to summon in aspects of the elemental planes. There were probably some other things, but it’s been a while and I’m not sure what all is working anymore. And what’s been tampered with by our previous intruders." she explains. Turning to Mimi, "I'll try my best to help you out on what you need to know about the wards I have placed, I just hope they are intact. If not, we kinda need to fix them, unfortunately. I just wish nothing worse has happened there..."

"As for my research notes, I think I hid extra copies of my notes around in each of my show rooms. I set up rooms in the manor themed after the different schools of magic, to teach my students what each of them means and represents. Each of those rooms should have some of my research to recover, but like I said I duplicated some parts so while I’ll appreciate you clearing out everything, it isn’t necessary to find every single part."

"If it helps, each of the magically themed rooms within the manor have a sign with the room’s proper name hanging over the center of the chamber, as well as a label on the door if it has one, both clearly denoting the room’s name and purpose."

Sebnet then takes over. "If you have no more questions, I will let you take your leave with Alyreha." She then produces a bag full of supplies (for school consumables). "Take what you only need before you leave."

Kindly declare your school consumables. Also, everyone begins with two hero points each.

Dennis didn't study the letters too closely, since they weren't from his Horizon Hunters faction, but he trusts someone else read them. He perks up considerably when Alyreha starts talking about "summoned elementals". He excitedly says, "I'm in! You had me at themed rooms!" He turns to the others, "Can we go now?"

The youngster leads the way, calling behind him, "I wanna get a head start...." He heads out the front door of Nexus House, too excited to realize he has no idea where he's going.

Consumable (healing potion) already listed on character sheet.

Mary nods at Alyreha's descriptions of her abode. "If you vould be so kind as to varn us of any traps or other dangereux teengs before ve encounter dem, dat vould be much appréciéted."

Mary reaches into the bag and snags herself a couple of Minor Healing Potions.

I'll catch up in a few hours.

Oh, that actually sounds clever Zyek says as Alyreha explains the design of their abode. And somewhat fun too, though I'm guessing the defenses'll be a bit less fun.

As she grabs a ladder feather token from the Nexus House's stores, she suddenly whispers aloud to herself: Wait: wouldn't summoning planar beings be conjuration not evocation.... The ratfolk begins to look around a bit more nervously. This necrovite's mind is further gone than she's letting on. Dangerous.

Zhamie reaches into the bag and plucks a Lesser Healing Potion as her consumable.

Zhamie scribbles in her notebook - Alyreha's Research and Alyreha's True Name.

"Interesting," Zhamie muses, "Vy do vous haf beaucoup copies of your recherche? Are zere autre persons looking for ze research as vell?"

Active Investigations: Alyreha's Research and Alyreha's True Name

Before they go, he is going to buy a striking rune and shift the +1 potency rune and the disrupting rune to his bastard sword.

He will also get the featherstep potion from his school

Zaza picks up the skull. "Okay just so we're clear. It's safe to call you Zykyryz, right? We're not accidentally revealing your true name or anything?"

Zaza volunteers to carry the skull since she doesn't usually carry any weapons. If anyone would prefer to do it instead then speak up.

"My manor is just on the outskirts of the city," Alyreha tells them as she is propped up by Zaza. "Zykyryz, Alyreha, you call me any of those, doesn't matter, they are just my private names, if we are going technical." she answers Zaza.

Her face turns grim [ooc], though not evident in her bony expression, but in her voice, "I remember when I was conducting this difficult ritual, I found out somebody is invading my home. I hastily wrote my true name on a scroll, intently tore it up, and hid the pieces. But I was too late, they busted inside the room and my ritual is disrupted. You know nasty things happen when rituals are disrupted. Luckily I just turned into a skull and everyone, including myself, forgot about me." She laughs. "I have no idea yet who they are though. Hopefully we might find clues in the manor."

She then gives them the directions towards her manor, with Dennis on the lead and they need only walk about half an hour to arrive. When they reach the manor, they can see both its unusual shape and signs of active magic within. Each of its two floors is 15 feet tall, while a small section of the southern ceiling rises above into a tower shape, another 40 feet above the second floor. Flashing multicolored magical lights shine through the windows and energy visibly pulses out from the building, seeping into the surrounding area.

Alyreha rattles in concern, “You see that, Pathfinders? My manor was once filled with numerous magical experiments. To keep it safe from thieves and intruders I had it covered in wards, keeping all of the magic sealed with its walls. Something, or more likely someone, has broken several of the wards. Quickly now, get me inside! It’s safe to enter the building for now, but if too many more of the wards are compromised, uncontrolled magical energy could surge out into the city streets, People could die if we let that happen!”

When Alyreha warns that people could die, Dennis shakes his head. "No one's dying today ... except the bad people!" Dennis walks purposefully toward the manor, slowed by his halberd and longbow dragging on the ground behind him, as usual.

Upon reaching the front door, he opens it quickly, and bursts inside, trying to catch any looters red-handed.

Mary smiles at Dennis's enthusiasm. "Our young collègue ees eager for a battel today. I suspect dat 'e vill not be deesappointed." She then enters the manor on the fighter's heels.

In about 24 hours I will be getting on a flight from Europe to California. As such, I am unlikely to be posting this weekend, or at least not until later on Sunday, assuming the airlines don't screw me in some fashion.

" Luckily I just turned into a skull and everyone, including myself, forgot about me."

Yeah, good luck there... Zyek says looking at the immobile hunk of bone Alyreha's gotten herself trapped in.

When the party exits Nexus house and heads out towards Alyreha's home you all see a strange metal contraption waiting by the doorway that Zyek heads eagerly towards. About the size of a dwarf, the thing is made of a hodge-podge of metals and a constant low *whirr*ing sound emmanates from it. It moves to meet Zyek as the ysoki near it and she begins looking it over carefully as she says: Oh, and this is Lil' Brute. Not as flashy or compact as its namesake, but I was real limited here with yo-...well let's just say available parts were a roadblock. Luckily it still can pack a punch and listens to commands. Mostly.

---

At the manor's lawn, the ysoki takes in what their guide is saying. Sure looks colorful in there for a place that's safe. Do we want to - Zyek pauses her thought as Dennis eagerly rushes in. Ok, direct it is.

Oh, and this is Lil' Brute. Not as flashy or compact as its namesake, but I was real limited here with yo-...well let's just say available parts were a roadblock. Luckily it still can pack a punch and listens to commands. Mostly.

Zaza looks down at the dog closely following at her side, steadfastly heeding her command to heel, then redirects her gaze to Zyek's machine. "Mostly...?" She frowns disapprovingly as she and Rufus follow the others inside.

The paladin, seeing the young fighter barge into the room, will keep his hand on his sword and rolling his eyes, try to enter the room.

Dennis makes a surprise entrance to the manor with his weapon ready but he is greeted with the emptiness of the abode, except for an elegant foyer with a statue set against the far wall. The others follow suit.

The eastern wall of this elegant foyer displays a statue of Nex, covered in a wide array of multicolored runes. Several other runes and lines of magical energy, seeming to originate from other parts of the house, coalesce in a strange magical circle surrounding the statue’s base. The statue’s left hand holds a staff that lights up in apparently random sequences of color. Glowing runes on the rest of the walls shimmer, spin, and spill out into the adjoining rooms. Flashes of mystical lights going off in other parts of the house are visible underneath the doorways. A deep thrumming sound can be heard throughout, though its source cannot be determined.

Alyreha’s eyes glow a vibrant red and flash in disbelief at the sight before her. “Oh goodness, it’s worse in here than I thought! I don’t think I can permanently repair the wards here without significant time and a look at my old notes. However, my statue of Nex is supposed to be the focal point — as well as being a lovely bit of décor — so if you place me over there on top of it, I should be able to keep the magical bleed from getting any worse. That’ll buy you all some time to look around and find what we need! But be careful, Pathfinders, I suspect with how terrible this damage is that it may be deliberate, and someone has a trap waiting for you."

"I keep backup copies of the more important notes of my true name research around the manor, hidden by magic and defenses that only I had keys to surpass. It’s likely that all this damage to the wards has been done to reveal my hidden research. Thankfully, that shouldn’t deactivate the rest of the defenses I put into place, which was hopefully enough to scare our thieves off. But that will mean that whatever they didn’t manage to overcome, you all will have to do so, as I no longer have my relics to deactivate the defenses, and it would take more time than we have to make new ones for each room. I’m counting on you all to find whatever notes you can and make your way upstairs, but don’t fret if one of the challenges seems impossible for you all. I’m still a highly skilled wizard, after all. I put my notes together in such a way that not every single part is needed to piece the research back together. Oh! And feel free to take any useful items you find. You can even keep them. After all, as I am, they’re not exactly going to be any good in my hands!” She laughs at her joke before turning her focus to the wards.

Each of the magically themed rooms within the manor have a sign with the room’s proper name hanging over the center of the chamber, as well as a label on the door if it has one, both clearly denoting the room’s name and purpose. "Come back to me any time you recover a fragment of my research so that I can check on your progress." she tells them before the Pathfinders leave her in the foyer.

At this point, you need to leave Alyreha on the top of the statue of Nex and find the pieces of her research on your own. You can return at any point during the adventure to ask Alyreha questions. So far, you are all here in the MAP. Once you leave Alyreha, which room on the first floor would you like to check first: Abjuration Display Room, Divination Lounge, or the Conjuration Gallery?

Well, Conjuration's summoning, right? Zyek reasons aloud. So guessing there's a good chance of some guardians there. Abjuration probably a lot of wards. Hmm...

She scratches her furred chin as she asks Alyreha You said that you remember your divination lounge allowed for security vi- scrying on the rest of the house? Maybe we should go there then. If its still working it could give us an idea of what's going on, get a better sense of what to expect before we barge into a room.

Sheesh. My post was eaten again. Zhamie will unsling her jezail and keep it handy

The half elf thinks and speaks, Perhaps we should leave the order of our searches to our resident expert on things arcane, he states as he looks at the half-orc.

Dennis listens to all the discussion, but he seems pretty lost. "I played hooky during some ... well, most ... of my magic classes. My grades were bad." He frowns momentarily, but perks up and says, "But I was real good at PE." He nods to Kidron, "Yes, let Zaza decide. She's smart about magic." When the sorceress makes a recommendation, Dennis leads the way.

While the others do their chit-chatting, Mimi looks over the doors leading out of the room. "Eeniee, meeniee... Ah, never mind. Let's look behind dees von first." She points to the South door leading to the Abjuration Display Room.

"Hold on Mimi. Zyek is correct. Clearly the divination room is the obvious choice. It looks like we have to pass through the abjuration room in order to get there however. Perhaps we should take the door to the north and see if we can skirt the edge of the abjuration room in order to quickly reach the divination room to the north." The sorcerer moves towards the north, her dog following closely.

Mimi stops when Zaza suggests a different room. She shrugs. "Bof! As you veesh. Eet ees all de same to me." The swashbuckler heads for the northern door and waits for the frontliners to take their positions.

To the Divination Lounge, then.

The group heads for the Divination Lounge, easily identified with the signage displayed. This room is completely bereft of windows and lit only by dim magical orbs mounted on each wall. Two perfectly smooth crystal balls lie in the center of two large tables, near the center of the room. The other furniture in the room has been tossed, the shelves have been ransacked and a pair of mirrors on the far eastern side lie shattered on the floor, revealing an empty indentation in the eastern wall.

Other than that, you find nothing useful here, even the research fragment you would be looking for.

When Zaza suggests the Divination Room is the "obvious choice", Dennis quickly agrees. "Of course it is!" Dennis has no idea what Divination means. However, he does his very best to fake it by confidently leading the way.

Arriving at the lounge, the young fighter stares at the mess and thinks aloud, "Looks just like my room at home." He helpfully observes, "Seems we're not the only ones who thought this was the obvious choice." Eying the crystal balls on the tables, he peers into them ... and sees nothing.

Dennis is untrained in the 4 magical skills. This should not be surprising.

Zhamie sees the crystal balls and heads to one like an excited kid in a candy store.

"I haf alvays vanted to look through one, " she says, looking into the first crystal ball. She shares what she sees with the others (Go ahead and open the first spoiler).

Zyek takes a gander at the crystal ball along with Zhamie. Well, this floor seems pretty clear. Nothing moving about in Conjuration, which is unexpected there are no signs of creatures in this floor’s rooms, right GM?

Strange though - I’m getting static up above. Some sort of jamming; Abjurarion’s down here though… Maybe some wards in there screening the top level? The ysoki steps back Zaza, you seeing the same?

Curious about the crystal balls, the paladin looks through them. After he views what the crystal balls show he thinks to himself These or similar items would be helpful to the Knights of Last Wall, we could find survivors more easily or watch for movement from the undead.

Mimi follows Dennis into the Divination Lounge. She glances at the crystal balls but finds them uninteresting.

Dennis Mimi is untrained in the 4 magical skills. This should not be surprising.

Zaza shakes her head. "Nothing but 'Golarion World Tour' on the one to the east. Useless!" She moves to check the western crystal ball. After a moment she frowns, then curses. "Bah! You're right. Maybe it's just malfunctioning?"

Holding it steady with one hand she raps on in with the knuckles of her other hand and frowns once more. "Well that didn't work. Looks like we'll have to check out the rooms the old fashioned way."

@Zyek, correct there are no signs of any creatures in scrying the manor.

Where to go next?

Zyek frowns as Zaza confirms she’s seeing the same. Guess it’s good a full mage’s getting the same and it’s not just me. Bad sign tho.

Thinking out loud, she proposes. Maybe Abjuration room then? Longshot, but could be the magic in there’s causing the scrying jamming. Check it out, see if there’s anything to power down, and could do a quick pop-in back here to see if anything cleared.

When Zyek suggests the Abjuration Room, Dennis, who just wants something fun to do, again quickly agrees. "Yes, Adgerra... Aberra... Appala ..." He frowns, not knowing what that word is, nor how to pronounce it. But he quickly perks up, "Yes, let's go to that room." He starts to lead the way, but turns back to the group. "Which way is it again?"

Magically pulling everyone out of Divination Lounge into Abjuration Display Room...

This display room contains numerous magical weapons, jewelry items, tomes, crystals, and other baubles. To the north and south, 8 different cabinets with indentations display 8 separate items, 7 of which (boxed in Red on the Map) are surrounded by a blue orb with lines of electricity running across it. On top of the cabinet furthest to the southeast (boxed in Yellow on the Map), a charred and unrecognizable item lies in place of one of the orbs.

Zaza automatically recognizes the magical barriers as blue orbs with lines of electricity as runes commonly used in shielding and warding spells.

You can understand the nature of each magical ward by succeeding at a DC 16 Arcana or a DC 18 Nature, Occultism or Religion check to Recall Knowledge, or anyone who succeeds at a DC 21 Thievery check to Disable a Device can also bypass the wards. A success opens that specific cabinet.

Choose from Items 1 to 7 that you would like to deactivate the blue orb that is shielding it, then roll the appropriate skill once. Who chooses which Item?
Item 1 - ???
Item 2 - ???
Item 3 - ???
Item 4 - ???
Item 5 - ???
Item 6 - ???
Item 7 - ???
Item X - Destroyed