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Andross looks over to the blown out sand and frowns. "Would you look at this? What could have caused this sand to... move in such a manner?" Sense Motive DC 10: You get the feeling that Andross did not hear the voice. Perhaps it hs something to do with his undead anatomy.
Andorrs simply looks at the Paladin in astonishment. "I didn't..." Deciding it was probably not wise to speak with Wolfric at this moment in time, he shrinks away, looking mournfully from the group to his shoes. He keeps his eyes on the ground for quite a while, almost as if he'd lost something very important in the dust. Eventually, he turns to Bromen, one of the few to not overtly show him hostility. "How do you think I offended him this time? I'm not very used to being around people. Was it that I didn't get hurt? Or perhaps it was because of my stumble? I don't... know."
As the tunnel comes crashing down on all of you, Andross, who was safely outside the tunnel and in fact, goes tumbling backwards due to the shaking of the ground. He quickly stands and goes rushing to you all, ripping the sand and rocks away, trying his best to free you all. "Oh gods above! Are you all okay! Please tell me you're alright!" Upon seeing Bolest pull out his holy symbol in order to channel energy, his eyes open wide in surprise and jumps back a safe distance, partially because of his repulsion of holy symbols, and partially because he knew what was coming next. Once everyone is free from the ruins, he turns to Kheti. "I do not know what could be watching us, but I do not like this one bit..."
Alright, let's see here... Marcum, as you dig around, you actually find that the sand around you is a bit more easily moved than the rest of it, and seems to be forming... the faint outline of a crater, almost like an entrance may be underneath there. [You'll see it on the map] Andross looks to it curiously and whips out a shovel from his bag of holding. "Sir Marcum, it looks like you may have found an entrance."
They do detect as evil. Andross stares in obvious horror at the revelation. "I... I don't know. These things don't appear to be of anything I've ever studied."[/b] He wanders up to one, and not touching it, but simply gazing. "In fact, what I can say is this. This does not appear to be made out of the flesh of any creature on the Material Plane."
He guides you all to grab a slight hold of him and after making sure everyone is secure, Andross closes his eyes, says the magic words, and nearly not even a second later, you are all whisked away and find yourselves standing on the middle of a ship's deck. As you find your footing, you can hear Andross curse in Osirion and quickly cast another spell. Almost immediately he vanishes from sight, but those who were holding onto him can still feel him. "I almost forgot, most people wouldn't bare the sight of a vampire." You hear him say, as sailors peer over at you, shrug and tell the Captain that you've all finally arrived. "We shouldn't be here for too long. I will be hiding in the cabins, just be sure to find me when we dock so I can guide you there." With that you can feel him let go of you and scamper off. Now if there is something specific you want to do either on the ship or once you get to the shore, tell me now. You WON'T find Andross until you actually get to shore.
Andross raises a single eyebrow before placing it in a satchel that he picked up from his room. "I think I will take it with me anyways. You never know when it might be of use."
And why is that?
Andross' eyes widen for a split second "Of course, how could I forget?" He turns around and quickly runs into his back room, flinging opens chest near his coffin. "The Decemvirate had me construct these for a special occasion. Magic items that contain the Breath of Life spell. Normally such a thing wouldn't be possible, but with the Ten's resources, I was able to enhance these items to release the spell after the heart stops. There is, however a spiritual componant to it." He picks the up a scroll, reading it and touching his coffin which shifts into a small piece of parchment, which he then slips into his robes. He goes back in the chest and picks up a variety of items and hands one to each of you. [b]"You see, when the body dies, the soul head to limbo. I have constructed these items so that if they are on your person at the time of death, your soul can choose when to return to the body, as long as it is withing an hour of your death.. The interesting part of this is that since the spell being used is a modified version of Breath of Life, you need not worry about the... Adverse side effects that normally come with a resurrection or raise dead spell."[\b]
Andross nods understandingly. "I was once able to channel positive energy and swing a sword with ease. Add to the fact I was armed with several dozen bottles of bottled sunlight, and it isn't so surprising I got as far as I did."
Andross dips his head. "Ah yes, my master did mention that, didn't he?" The vampire walks over to his books, and carries them to a shelf, starting to place them in empty spaces in a careful order. "You see, When I was sent on the mission that cost me my life, I was a man reaching retirement age. My field work was coming to an end, as my body could not continue at its peak performance against the servants of evil, be they undead or outsiders. If I continued, my life was surely going to end needlessly, something the Dawnflower wouldn't have appreciated. "And so, I was to take one last quest for the Society. It was simple enough, just clear away a den of vampires just outside Absalom. Perhaps if I had been just a bit younger my body could have handled it, however well... it gave way. While fighting the last of the vampires off, I fear that I suffered a heart attack." Andross gives a small grimace. "That blood frenzied beast decided that as a punishment for slaying his brethren, he wouldn't make me a thrall, rather, an intelligent undead. "When the Society finally sent someone else over to make sure I was safe, it was too late. She killed the other vampire, and returned my body to the Grand Lodge, not realizing yet what I had become. Sarenrae saved me that day and continues to save me every day of this unholy life. You see there are two types of vampires. Those with a hunger for blood, who become frenzied if they do not feed, and those who have an innate bloodlust, and become frenzied if they do... I am mercifully one of the latter, and so can abstain. "But to more directly answer your question. This island will give me the opportunity to truly redeem myself in the eyes of my Goddess. I fear that most of the spells I know will prove to be useless on this island, as most of them help with the art of divination, which seems to be... hindered on the island. Still, by coming with you, and play even some small role in Acererak's destruction, I would finally be at peace, and would gladly allow you to send me into the afterlife."
Andross smiles warmly at your greeting Bolest and shakes your hand eagerly.* "And it is a pleasure to make your good acquaintance as well. Sorry about the darkness, after two hundred years in isolation, you tend to forget that not everyone could see in such conditions." *Bolest Sense Motive DC 10: Bolest, this handshake he gives you is FAR too strong, to the point where he almost crushes your hand. You get the feeling that he doesn't have much experience around other people, especially concerning matters of his superhuman strength.
Andross bows respectfully* before gesturing to the crystal ball midst a large stack of books. "Yes, I'm terribly sorry I was forced to snoop; unfortunately my curse limits me in the places I could travel. The only safe place for me outside these walls would indeed be Geb, but Absalom has been my home in life, so I will not abandon her in undeath. Still, the crystal ball also does allow me to see wonders that I would never be able to experience otherwise in this form. The sight of the sun setting over the Iron Peaks, or conversely, the sunrise in Oppara..." Perception DC 15: As he bows, you could get the faintest glimpse of a holy symbol of Sarenrae that he keeps under his shirt.
Andross shakes his head. "Believe me Sir Knight, I wish I understood that myself. I understand the obligation that you owe your goddess, and find no fault in it, however, I must ask that you postpone it until I have completed my duty to The Dawnflower. I fear that I har yet to repay her kindness with true redemption, and can not afford to die until I have done so.'"
The vampire smiles as you descend downward and you realize that he looks terribly like an average fifty year old human being... save for the fangs that inhabit his mouth. He stands with his arms behind his back as you stare at him. You find that he was not lying about the state of his soul being of interest to you. While the air around him seems to radiate with evil due to the dark energy and magics that undead are often powered by, as you look inward, you notice that his soul itself is not corrupted. In essence, though his person definitely detects as evil, his heart does not. He gives you a small nod in acknowledgement. "I've been the target of a Paladin's smite, channeled positive energy, and various other powers used to target evil beings. I am sad to say that they have all proved effective, and I still bare the scars from those who misunderstand me... however, I was the subject of much study, as my core seems to not have been corrupted. Perhaps... it was a gift from Sarenrae herself, as though I must remain in this cursed form, I seem to have retained my humanity... so to speak."
You hear a slight chuckle from beyond the trap door, yet see nothing as there is only pitch blackness. "Believe me Sir Wolfric, I have understood the nature of my curse from some time now. I allowed myself to be subjected to one of the Ten's Geas spell, preventing me from betraying the Pathfinder Society or subverting its goals by any means, be it directly or indirectly, in addition to multiple other Geas spells as a failsafe, preventing me from ever seeking to remove these spells... not that I would nor could. Who would be foolish enough to stray away from the Ten's commands, and who would be powerful enough to break the enchantment set out my one of their members? "You have nothing to fear from me and would be happy to subject myself to your morality piercing gaze. I think what you see will be quite an interest to you. in particular."
After a moment you here a hoarse voice reply, "Yes, yes send them down. I want to inspect them with my own eyes, not through this blasted crystal ball."
Andross gives Suzu small smile. "It appears that you have simply fainted. No harm done. But I agree. We should be careful in our search, yet make haste."
The swarm of bats outside the dungeon flies over to the entrance, and starts to gather in a group. the image slowly shifts into... that of Andross! He looks at the daemons before looking over at you all."I'm... sorry I keep running away like that. I'm afraid I've never been good in a fight. I couldn't see who was speaking in that tunnel, but she sounded like an absolutely dreadful woman."
So as to stop wasting your time, Hamish, you can figure out that you cannot safely disable this hazard, and so you step outside while those pulling on the rope finally succeed at getting the door open. You can catch the briefest glimpse of a stone wall behind the door as the rocks come crashing down and completely blocking the entrance. Not disheartened, Andross continues to search the sand until he finds a small indent in the center of the sandy hill. Waving you all over, he asks, "So, do you want to keep digging? It looks like the last indent on this hill."
Andross scoffs. "You obviously haven't been in many Osirion tombs.
"Mage hand you say? Luckily for you, I have that prepared." Andross gladly casts the spell to bring the torch to the ceiling. As the cobwebs burn away, you can easily notice that the cobblestone ceiling is made of loose fitting and uneven stones.
I almost forgot Suzumaru wasn't here. Well, since the two of you ran, she and Harvey will run out of the cavern as well. As soon as you all reach the outside, the rock that was sliding down above where Jean was standing not seconds before, slides down and blocks the entrance entirely. Andross whistles at the scene. "That was highly disappointing. So this was just a false entrance. Looks like Acererak is either playing some sort of game, or he truly does want to be left alone. Knowing liches, I'd say it's the former rather than the latter."
Seeing that Raphael was doing all the work, Andross steps by him, reaches into his bag of holding, and pulls out his OWN traveler's any tool and starts digging right beside the priest. After a while, you begin to see that the sand was indeed hiding something: a long passageway. This passageway is about 10’ high and constructed from plain blocks of stone. At the far end you can just make out the outline of two doors at the very end of the long corridor. Stopping his work after a passageway that all of you can walk through comfortably, Andross smiles back at you all. "Will you look at that. We found it."
Andross step forward... and touches the sand. When nothing happens, he smiles back at you and says, "It seems to be normal sand, but you may need to dig some of it out."
Andross points at the map on roll20. "Hey, everyone, I don't think its the nose that you should be focusing on. I think its this sandy bank here that's represented by the black line. If there's an entrance anywhere, its bound to be there."
Suzumaru, where you put an S on in roll20, you notice that the sand there seems to sink into the ground more than the other places on that sandy outline, almost as if it were filling a hole. Andross walks beside you and observes the area as well. "That's a good find Suzumaru. We may now be one step closer to finding Acererak."
Andross grins at Suzumaru. "Now she has the spirit of a true Pathfinder."
Andross looks around and sighs. "I think it would be best if you were to rest up until tomorrow night, that way the lot of you could regain spells, energy, and whatever else you may need. Perhaps I can prepare more than ONE invisibility spell as well... And lets please try not to die too quickly next time?"
Not too long after the devil dies, Maxwell wakes up and the item is destroyed! Andross begrudgingly gives another one to him, whipping it out of his bag of holding before observing the bodies. "Yes, normally they would. I have a theory that because this is also technically their plane, their bodies would not dissipate. Rather, killing a devil, daemon, or demon here is like destroying its very essence. The soul, if you will. What you see here are three empty bodies that are unlikely to ever walk the planes again."
The vampire nods to you, finishing a quick note before flying over and gently lowering you to the ground. On our way down, he motions to Maxwell's battered body. "Does he realize how long that item took to make? I"m glad I had an extra one just in case, but... I didn't expect to have to present it to you so soon..."
What the... What the... Didn't you read the books?!?! For someone without immortality, you sure are trying hard to see how much you can take before you get killed!
After making sure everyone is secure, Andross closes his eyes, says the magic words, and nearly not even a second later, you are all whisked away and find yourselves standing on the middle of a ship's deck. As you find your footing, you can hear Andross curse in Osirion and quickly cast another spell. Almost immediately he vanishes from sight, but those who were holding onto him can still feel him. "I almost forgot, most people wouldn't bare the sight of a vampire." You hear him say, as sailors peer over at you, shrug and tell the Captain that you've all finally arrived. "We shouldn't be here for too long. I will be hiding in the cabins, just be sure to find me when we dock so I can guide you there." With that you can feel him let go of you and scamper off.
He picks up a few books, quills, and closed ink pots before putting them in a satchel. "Why the old fashioned way of course... I'm going to be with you every step of the way. Now I have have also scryed on the ships location, and have been assured that they anchored it nearby. Once we arrive on the ship, the island should only be an hour away... Then we can walk to the location." he sticks out his hand expectantly. "Hurry up now and hold onto me. We don't have forever... Or at least you don't." He chuckles as if he's made some ingenious joke.
Andross shrugs. "Don't cast daylight and I should be fine. This may not be my final quest though. I am a diviner and am going onto an island where divination is likely not going to be possible, and even for a vampire, my body is weak. I am going primarily to record your findings for the Decimvirate and will find a suitable quest on my own time."
Andross returns the small bow to Raphael, noticeably friendlier now that the thoughts of certain members of the group didn't have a tone of... murderous hostility. "The Decimvirate had me, and other craftsman, work on those in preparation of an expedition into the Worldwound, led by the Silver Crusade. Something they had been planning for quite some time, actually." He bares a smile to Suzumaru. Yes, it would be most unfortunate indeed if you were to be captured and reanimated by a several thousand year old lich necromancer. Which is why the Ten had me, a barely two hundred year old scholar help with your expedition. No one should live forever under the corruption of demons you see. Some people have to be put down for they are a danger to others. Yes, every circumstance is different. I for one, woud never want to live forever, but here I am, in a basement of the middle of Absolom instead of the welcoming nation of Geb, living in fear that one day an overzealous Paladin will kick down my door and put me down like a rabid dog..." He stops before meekly walking into his room and casting a spell on it. Suddenly it shrinks down into a small, miniature version of itself. He picks it off of the ground and slips it into his robe. "Forgive my rambling. But no, I wish to die on my terms, when I have contributed something good to this world. Vampirism has given me time to create these items, my academic contribution. But now I want a social one... which is why I asked the Ten for permission to go on this adventure with you. My goal is to die a good death, protecting Golarion either in the act of questing or after the celebrations have died down... like a true hero." You notice he seems genuinely happier when describing his wish to quest.
Feeling the intense and sudden hostility in your thoughts, Andross visibly recoils, narrowing his eyes, but doesn't actually say anything. Finally he turns to Father Raphael and says, "I will get the items now. There is one for each of you, it seems" He twirls around and opens a door in the back if his workplace and walks inside. If you decide to peer inside, you can catch glimpses of a coffin and more books*. While he is in there, he calls out, "Yes, it is possible that this may be a trap, even if Acererak was never militant, even in his undeath." He returns with several items in his hands (one for each of you to put in an empty item slot). "These were crafted by me to contain a breath of life spell. If you are wearing it and you happen to meet an unfortunate end, you will be brought back... but the again, I'm sure some of you are against something that will bring the dead back to life, so if you dint want it, leave it here. * Perception DC 25: You notice that these books are not scholarly, rather, many of them are purely for pleasure. The material seems to be made up of mostly books of heroic knights and stories in which an unlikely hero saves the day.
It's not normal to read other people's thoughts without asking permission? But the Ten do it to me all the time... .rt* I'm a sad panda...
Andross looks at Raphael and smiles. "I was once human. My scholarly persuits would have ended long ago if not for vampirism." When he notices you out your holy symbol away he noticeably breaths a sigh of relief. "Why thank you. I thought that I was feeling the presence of one of those. You have no idea how difficult it is to go through dusty old tomes when you get sick every time you open up to a page with the symbol of Desna or Pharasma on it."
He slowly makes his way to the crystal ball. "I fancy myself a diviner you see. With this device and my own natural talents, I have been able to keep an eye on the Inner Sea region without exposing myself to the dangers of the outside world. Most people see me as a monster... as some of you here." He smiles broadly, looking primarily at Suzumaru and Maxwell. Once he has finished his lookover of those two, he turns to Raphael. "I can tell you think my vampirism a curse. I however see it as an opportunity to focus on my studies. As for your thoughts as to my religion... I was once a worshiper of Abadar. Unfortunately I can no longer have holy symbols displayed prominently... Never mind that. Are there any questions before I provide you with equipment the Ten have asked me to give you?"
When you get down the ladder, you notice that it is pitch black save for the extremely dim light that comes from beyond the trapdoor and a single glowing orb in the center of the room. With this faint light you can see a rather tidy, yet large room filled with bookshelves and papers. In this center of the room (where the crystal ball rests on a table) sits a pale looking man dressed in rather disheveled clothing. When he stands, you can see he is much taller than you anticipated, easily reaching a height of six feet. He smiles,* and walks over to you, extending his hand. "Welcome," he says with a strong Osirion accent. "It has been so long since I've had a guest other than a member of the Ten in my quarters. I trust you are all caught up with the situation? Giant island that appeared to the south of Kortos? Used to be in the Eye of Abendego?" * Perception DC 20: You notice he has relatively clean white fangs.
After a moment you here a hoarse voice reply, "Yes, yes send them down. I want to inspect them with my own eyes, not through this blasted crystal ball." |