Rose keeps on talking with the skull, maybe it will respond to more pleads
Eh. Okay! The Grand Archive can be my knowledge bank. I hope it draws interest!
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Hmm, but can I move in there and bring all of the spirits of my apprentices and interns?
I’m a tough skull to crack, you know? Keep going! You’re starting to make sense, but I need more warm fuzzies.
Eight schools of magic. There is one bit of my research left. It has to be evocation. Separately, I fear whoever did the damage to the sensors in the upstairs rooms might still be hiding out in the tower. Did you hear anything up there while in the Transmutation room? I'll... let you decide what to deal with first, but be careful.
In addition to my research though, I'd be very interested in a report of the state of the tower. Also, you mentioned that my crystal balls couldn't see into all of the rooms. Somebody didn't want their activities being observed on the upper levels. A damage report of those places would be nice too!
The skull turns slightly to the side slightly. Perhaps she's considering the question. I don't recall... Given what I've reconstructed so far I can't imagine too much more...? More questions for her before you head back out into the manner? Or where to next?
Klara leads the party back downstairs to the entry room so that she can ask Alyreha about the texts. Of course I know these languages! But it seems that two of you were able to work out my cypher anyway without fully knowing the languages! Smart cookies... What else have you found? She's quite excited to learn that you've recovered six fragments of her research! I'm quite excited to learn that you've recovered six fragments of my research! she exclaims, obviously. This is great! I can recover my True Name and I have enough information to restore the wards from my research tower! With this sixth fragment I know enough to conserve some of my power for holding the wards together, and provide some magical support for all of you! Listen up... Alyreha will teach each of you a single-use command word that has the manor release a burst of positive energy. I wonder what I could do with even more research fragments. It's so good to get my work back! She looks around at all of you, waiting for other questions. Well?
Haha! I heard those zaps! It looks like I didn't do too shabby with the protections around here! Hey! Just... don't leave any bodies in there that I have to clean up later! You hear the skull shout from the entry room, followed by the now-familiar pattern of teeth-chattering to approximate laughing.
Okay... it'd better be! I expect to find every painting undamaged and on the wall! Wait... did something come through one of them?!?
A shout can be heard from the foyer. Hey! What's going on in there! Are you guys wrecking up my place? As if the prior intruders hadn't done enough damage!
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.
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!”
I will for you certainly, since you're carrying me. As for the rest... I'll try to keep an eyesocket out when I can be bothered to.
Well, recently I've had to adapt my spells to work without hands, and on the fly no less! Unfortunately, this form is quite the headache. You think there's a joke hidden in here but she doesn't emit her chattering cackle this time. - We are fellows with Alyreha and I adore her headish jokes. Now as this investigation went so far, I also wonder about who is in charge in the manor and what security sytems we can expect. This memory wiping still sounds complicated for a simple halfling. That's why I prefer to work with solid things like dwarven glyphs in stone rather than soft brain memo... Alyreha says “Well, I mean I am an exceptionally powerful wizard so there’s all kinds of magic in my old manor. But don’t worry I haven’t let all that power,” she pauses for effect, “go to my head!” She waits for laughter, only continuing once Sebnet clears her throat. “Anyway, I don’t expect any of that to be too much trouble to any of you. Since all memory of me was erased until recently, I suspect it’s just been abandoned all this time. The only thing I would worry about is if someone tried to break in there during all this time, there might be one or two of my magical defenses active, but there shouldn’t be too much of a problem, especially with how magically warded I made sure to keep the place.” Rose looks at Alyreha and simply comments "I think you are building your new reputation as you speak." The pink glow of her power seems to intensify at this encouragement (whether deliberate or not). Oooh! Maybe I should design a catchy new arcane sigil for all to know me by! "But perhaps it is something beyond me, but what exactly are true names? To the extent that led to all these?" The skull rattles and chatters, answering unhelpfully. I'm not sure there is an explanation sufficient for one who hasn't spent significant time studying it! See if one of your colleagues here is educated in the ways of the arcane and has more patience than me! The sassy skull waits out Lady Alya's explanation. After Alyreha remarks Eh, close enough, for the uninitiated. ---- Okay! So which one of you wants to carry me? Don't be shy. I promise to not bite any fingers off. Where would they even go?!
Alyreha exercises her jaw some more, clacking the teeth together. Sometimes the pink light in her eye sockets pulses. She looks back and forth between members of the group awaiting more questions.
Who's been in charge of the manor since Alyreha has, eh...been away? Cragorn asks. Don't like the idea of busting into someone's home, even if they're squatters. Alyreha says “Well the beauty of being wiped from the memory of everyone around for months means it’s likely no one would have known the place was even empty. I suspect most people just thought it was that Crazy Wizard House that’s always been there whose owner no one could remember. Frankly, I’m a bit disappointed that it’ll lose that reputation now. What wizard doesn’t want to be seen as so mysterious that no one even dares approach their home?” Alyreha laughs lightly‐heartedly. “I’m sadly too much of a public figure to keep that up though, so I guess I’ll just have to let it recover its prior reputation as ‘Arclord Alyreha’s Abode’!”
"Of course this is supposed to be reliant on us getting your research back... but even if we do not. I Suggest you consider it. You never know, access to the vault could spire new lines of research. You still have a Brilliant mind it would be a wast not do what you found so fascinating before." Alyreha's teeth chatter momentarily in amusement before she retorts Safety and security? One step at a time. Let's first see how you do getting into my manor and recovering fragments of my life's work! Then perhaps I can get on with my death's work, and perhaps talk about a partnership. Again the teeth chatter in delight at the Arclord's joke.
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 memory of myself until the time was right to let my studies out.” |