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Using her magical speed, Dru rushes again toward the last foe
Hey, I like a wrestling match as much as everyone else, but aren't you supposed to do it nearly naked and in the mud, for a paying audience? And haven't you realised you already lost, young beetle? So surrender now or meet Lucifer, for a quick nap only, as we aren't the bad guys, if only you would have listened to us.
The student deflects Daedin's first arrows, but the rest of the volley strikes true, knocking him unconscious!
The courtyard appears peaceful and still as Daedin scans it, the bust of Estara the only unusual sight. A number of doors lead into the various buildings, the only open one being the one opened during the battle.
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"A linguist should look at the bust." Estara mentions in a subdued tone as she heads over to the door and listens for any activity beyond the party antics.
"Yes, and I have another plan for that, Estara." Inga says from wherever she may be at the moment.
"Are we going to tie up these monks before they wake? I'm sure they have much to tell if we interrogate them.”While still invisible, Inga tells Klaus to help with the others to bind the monks with rope.
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"Is anyone of us wounded? I can give you a quick tap with a wand..."
Grunjar casts guidance on himself before scanning the "Estara"-bust with detect magic.
Afterwards, he tries to add his (limited) knowledge about languages to help decipher the word, casting guidance again before starts the attempt.
Grunjar detects no magic on the bust or the grounds around it. Daedin and Klaus take a minute to gather the unconscious monks together and secure them with rope bindings.
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"It's written in Vudrani, but I have no idea what it says."
"Sorry I'm still invisible, everyone."
Standing at the statue, she relays to the others her plan:
"Being one who is sensitive to psychic energy, I have a spell on a scroll that could give us a bit of insight about this statue of Estara."
She goes on to explain how the spell object reading works and what psychometry can reveal about an item.
"What do you all think? Should I give at a try?"
Scanning around the courtyard, Skivven notices nothing out of the ordinary.
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"Klaus, grab the rat." Inga snaps, annoyed by the interruption as she unfurls the scroll.
The moment Skivven takes a step to wander off, the hulking werewolf phantom grabs the little ratfolk by the scruff of the neck and places him within arm's reach as Inga prepares to read the scroll.
"I tried." he growls softly to the others with a shrug, trying not to interrupt Inga's spell casting.
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Skivven cannot help smile at the phantom's clumsy attempts to seize him. Even without the invisibility, many had failed to corner him in the past, and today was not the day this would change. Certainly not at the hands of Pathfinder colleagues under the same mission seal...
"Mind your tongue, Agent Blücher, and keep a leash on that hound, lest you wish my report to Venture-Captain Brackett to include a footnote on a certain lack of focus during your spellcasting..."
Skivven enters the room to see a sparse dormroom, with only beds and candles on small stands.
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"Make up your minds, longshanks! You just went through all that trouble to put 'em down! Let them sleep while we checkout their man cave!!"
Daedîn arches an eyebrow. ”He was clearly under the influence of a foreign power when we fought; perhaps we knocked some sense back into him and he can answer us freely now…”
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Skivven replies to the elf via message spell, "...magic does not work like this...it is not dispelled upon knockout...I do, however, know an ancient practice that can shut down active spells by targeting fundamental arcane anchor points within the body...it is, however, messy and imprecise... and can lead to suffering..."
Skivven can hear the sounds of movement within the room, the noise of metal on wood and crackling fire. No traps appear obvious to his perception.
Inga concentrates on the bust, but detects no psychic imprint left upon it.
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Inga steps back in shock after attempting to read the object with psychometry.
"Huh. I'm very sorry, everyone." she says with an embarrassed look.
"That's very strange. I should get something, but I got nothing. No historical significance whatsoever and nobody has ever touched this statue... ever. It must've just appeared here magically when we arrived."
Inga taps her chin in thought.
"It's like, the thing doesn't exist. Maybe it's some sort of illusion." she muses.
"Well, then. Let's go join Skivven with searching the place."
"Oh! We should take that bust with us." she adds before leaving to join Skivven.
If the bust can be removed from the pedestal, she'll put it in Jeeves' wagon. Or a handy haversack.
The party finds the bust solid but moveable. Gathering behind Skivven as he opens the door, peering through the doorway shows a small kitchen. A cooking pot hangs over a fireplace while an older woman works to prepare vegetables at a long counter.
As she sets down the kitchen knife on the counter, it suddenly slides off and clatters to the floor. The distraction causes her to turn and bend to retrieve it, catching sight of the gathered Pathfinders in the doorway. "Ha! What are you standing there for? If you are here to gawk you can put yourself to work. There are potatoes to be peeled. Well?"
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Still invisible, Inga glances at her teammates in puzzlement.
"Better than fighting, I guess." she mumbles with a shrug. She nudges Klaus forward to go in and peel some potatoes.
"Umm... uh... Yes, ma'am!" Klaus stammers as he's nudged into the kitchen with Inga close behind.
With Skivven already at the task, Klaus pulls up a chair next to him and begins peeling potatoes.
Inga and her entourage giggles at the sight, earning a cold glare from the phantom.
"If the master sent you, you tell him his meal will be ready at the usual time. I don't care if he sent you to sweeten me up with assistants, you look useless in the kitchen. Make sure you peel just the skins off, not half the insides!" The woman bustles about, clearly overworked but owning the entire space.
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Estara has been even more quiet than usual. Though it is hard to tell, she's a bit spooked by something.
At the somewhat bizarre situation, the greyish-green will reach out and move a knife through the air with practiced ease to prepare some potatoes -- almost like she's done this a few times before or something
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Grunjar just stands there with a puzzled expression on his face. This was clearly not what he expected to see behind the door. Of course there has to be a kitchen somewhere in the monastery, but...
Well, that's strange - I'm sure we look nothing like kitchen aides, but she treats us like we are. Anyhow, I am not able to help with peeling potatoes. Not with this armor on...
Grunjar gets the feeling that the cook is overworked and cantankerous, but doesn't sense any enchantments clouding her attitude.
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Inga dismisses the invisibility.
Slightly amused watching Klaus clumsily peel potatoes, yet impressed by the others' flashy knife skills, she suddenly remembers the monks still tied up in the main courtyard.
Hopefully, they're still there.
She clears her throat to get the elderly cook's attention.
"Ahem!... Excuse me, madam. Would you like for us to let the master know that his meal will be ready soon? The other monks may be hungry as well and we could let them know."
She gives her teammates a wink, hoping they get the hint that there are monks tied up that need to be dealt with before finding their master.
"Bah! There is no new work for me, only the same unappreciated work as always. The master shuts down the paper workshop for a year, the priests hie away across the seas, but still their mouths must be fed." She shakes her head with a snort. "Do not let the old master fool you, he knows the dinner hour just fine. They will not go hungry." Casting a glare over the diligent peelers, she adds. "At least these ones know not to waste food. Don't forget that with your fancy tricks! Dinner is not a race!"
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"Having previously subsided on scraps for a portion of my existence, I can understand and respect the need to treat food with the proper respect. There are portions of Alkenstar where children have to steal the discarded crusts from inns and eateries simply to have something solid in their diet." Estara comments as she keeps working.
"Have you ever considered frying the skins from the potatoes to reduce waste further?"
"Ha! As if the priests would bring back oil instead of paper and books. No, I make do with what I can wring from the gardens and what they remember to buy from their travels."
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Just like Skivven, Klaus continues to peel potatoes, oblivious to those around. He doesn't tire from the repetitiveness. The memories of once being a simple farm boy...
Doing the same chores many years ago with mother...
Then murdered by those terrible wolves the night before he was to be married...
Leaning against the doorframe, Inga yawns then crosses her arms in boredom.
"Are you finished, Klaus? Shall we move on to someplace else?"
With a loud sigh, Inga rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue in an attempt to send a message to her teammates to keep moving.
Nearly asleep on their feet, Smörboll, Jeeves, and Junia blink their dreary eyes at the sound of Inga's voice.
"Aye. Let's move on." Smörboll mutters as he rubs his sleepy eyes.
Eager to move on, the youngins tug on Inga's blouse with pleading eyes.
"Aye, you've helped out quite enough. I may even have enough to feed you guests as well, if you're staying around." The cook waves you away with a ladle dismissively.
"Do you have any pie?”
Klaus asks kindly before being hurried out of the kitchen.
"The children, and myself, really like a good pie. Sweet potato? Or blueberry? Or strawberry rhubarb? We like them all." he says with a big grin.
Jeeves, Junia, and even Smörboll all nod their heads.
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"Maybe knocking out those monks also knocked some sense into them. They must've been possessed in some way."
Inga stares at the ground in thought as the group heads back into the courtyard.
"It's very strange that we were sent here to find that manuscript, yet, the monks here think Estara is the thief. It is quite puzzling. And that statue of her... quite perplexing, I must say."