Hanging on to the skull, as well?
(It's pertinent.)
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The Cenabri Estate: "Certainly, signora." He bows, opens the door, and ushers the group into the foyer, where a stack of paper and envelopes, a quill and ink, wax and a plain seal, and a silver tray upon which several sealed envelopes already rest. "Would you care for refreshments?" he offers, tugging on a long, embroidered pull in the corner. In a few seconds, a young lad in a less-expensive version of the butler's outfit appears and stands at attention. "Matteo, please bring a candle and..." He looks in your direction. "Refreshments?"
At the Cenabri Estate:
It would have been easy to find the Cenabri estate even without Amantius' direction. It is one of the large compounds in a very rich and old-looking part of the city. Foot traffic thins there, and you look out of place among the well-dressed household servants running errands, and the occasional nobles paying social calls. The gates are open for the servants and messengers popping in and out of the estate. The door opens when you ring, and is answered by a livried servant. He politely informs you that the family is away visiting a country estate this week, and he cannot let you in. He calls a footman, though to take the package if you would care to leave it for their attention when they return.
A little over two weeks later, letters arrive at each of your residences. They are from Remaio, and read as follows.
The delivery also includes a good-sized box containing a courtier's outfit and the location of a tailor where you can get it fitted. The note says the tailor can recommend a jewler's or two for the accompanying pretties.
"Excellent, excellent," Remaio responds, his eyes sweeping the room to savor all Honoria's treasures. "I will send for you when I have secured an invitation. Thank you all so much!" He bows you out. Through the window, you can see him rush to his desk and scribble excitedly.
Remaio welcomes you and enthusiastically examines the honors and awards you retrieved. He is puzzled by the owl, until Amantius launches into the happenings after Honoria was interred, including the promise you made to return Italice's head and his own person to the Cenabri family. He looks to you for confirmation, then ponders a moment. "That whole story is quite ugly. I can see how it might taint Honoria's memory in several ways. But it was your finding and your promise, so I will not interfere with your course of action. Besides, the party I hired returning remains to the Cenabris might reflect well on me." He sighs. "Public perception is so difficult to manage." His attentions return to the box of honors. "Oh! I've seen that one in the journal and letters you returned to me from Andoran. These all look like old friends. Surely this will prove her invaluable service and the administrative difficulties she faced." Remaio rubs his hands together, looking over all the family heirlooms and treasures you have recovered for him. "And you have earned your reward and more," Remaio continues, writing out the draw on his account and handing it over. "I have one last thing to ask of you. I believe there is enough now to move forward with my petition. Various friends - who have counciled me and agree to help me organize the material and my own thoughts - have been dropping a good word or two in court. I plan to petition Princess Eutropa's court - a court for smaller matters that do not need full Senate attention. When I receive the invitation to attend, would you accompany me and tell your stories just as you experienced them? That way, it will not look like I am telling tales on my behalf. You will provide impartial evidence, since you are not my retainers, and I am unlikely to hire you again... not for any purpose I can foresee. Will you do that? It will also give you the opportunity to meet many of the nobility, who may have more use of your services than I can provide." He smiles at everyone, then remembers who he's talking to and fetches a large bottle of wine and some glasses. "A toast! To your success and mine, my good people!" After a sip, he smiles. "So will you attend court with me? I can send you a notice when everything is scheduled."
You head back to Oppara. The trip is difficult while descending the mountains. Once you arrive on the plains, it then seems like a pleasant ride through the countryside. Amantius rides pillion on all the horses at one point. Periodically, he repeats the story of his mistress's murder and entombment, vowing to tell everyone of Syagra's villanous insanity as often as he can. Occasionally, he perches on the bulge in the saddlebag holding Italice's skull. You enter through the Lionsgate (pink on the map), seeing Oppara rise before you to the imperial levels in the middle, and upward to the Basilica of the last man, perched on the highes point. It is the golden hour, giving the entire city a deep, shining patina which makes even the poor districts look beautiful. You figure the sun will be down in an hour. Amantius tells you the directions to the Cenabri family estate in the Imperial District - at least, that is where the Cenabris lived centuries ago. He assuries the highest quality families generally remain at their family estates through the centuries, so they are likely still there. (Green on the map) Remaio Alcasti lives further along the canal, towards the river where the merchants, traders, ship captains, and bankers live. The Canal Row area is neat and tidy, with brightly painted houses fronting well-kept streets. (Yellow on the map) You are at liberty to choose your destination. Where do you go?
As Dawni states her intent to return the head of Iatrice to the Cenabra family, the chamber floods with a warm, peaceful feeling, though nothing happens that the party can see.
The little owl creakily looks up at Dawnilea. "And are you family looking to restore Honoria, or rivals looking to stop the restoration, I wonder. No matter. My concern is with my mistress. Will you return her head - and possibly me - to the Cenebra family, to complete her proper burial?" He shuffles around on the tomb floor for a few moments, then looks up again. "Whichever faction you are, if you return me to Italice's family, I will tell the truth - the facts that I saw and heard - to anyone who asks, whether friend or foe of Honoria's. I was created to be accurate."
Amantius shakes his still-damaged head in a disturbingly human manner. "No, I have seen nobody since Syagra threw me in here. Not even Honoria's family."
"I was Italice Cenabra's familiar when she decided to work in a hereditary Cenabra office in the Royal Bureaucracy. Italice worked there during the war, and heard of Honoria's disgrace. I know she did not start the news of the dishonor, nor did she do anything directly about it. She merely performed her duties." "Syagra Tatranella, a fond friend of Honoria and one of her comrades in arms, was so furious about the false (as she said) disgrace of her commander that, I believe, she became unbalanced. For some reason, she decided Italice deserved the blame for Honoria's disgrace. When she visited my mistress one fatal night, she could not articulate clearly why she thought that. She yelled and made accusations and babbled. Syagra came to deal death, and my mistress was unprepared. Syagra slew Italice and cut off her head, then departed. I decided to follow and spent days trailing her through the wilderness and up the mountainside to Honoria's tomb." "There, her madness became evident. Though she had a key to the tomb door, she could not call off the guardians of Honoria's tomb, but rampaged through, destroying or disabling all the devices designed to keep her friend's rest safe and undisturbed. She wept and babbled as she placed my mistress's decomposing head and the plaque on Honoria's tomb. I confronted her with her villany as she left the tomb. She struck me down with one blow of her sword, then tossed me in the tomb to keep my mistress company." "I cannot say why the family did not repair Honoria's resting place, for I have been here for all that time. I know not what the plaque says." The skull rests in front of the plaque, which in turn is supported by a flat wooden box. The plaque reads, "Here lies Honoria Alcasti, betrayed by her inferiors and those she served. We shall remember her deeds and restore her honor." The box the plaque leans on is full of military medals and ribbons, and some decrees pronouncing her a hero of that ancient war, apparently before people turned on her. Amantius speaks again as you examine the contents of the box."I blamed Italice's death on Honoria at first, but I have had a long time to think about events. I no longer believe that. I do believe Honoria acted as a commander should, and that someone slandered her to cause her downfall. My mistress and I never liked her, but that is irrelevant. I think Syagra was unbalanced and acted alone from a misplaced and gruesome loyalty. Centuries do give one time to think things through."
The delicate tools slide easily into the opening in the owl, placing the clockwork gears into their proper slots, and fastening the wand more firmly in place. As he works, the acid gradually subsides.
The acid spray stops completely, and the little owl shakes himself in a bird-like fashion, scrambling to his feed and fluffing his wings out to settle them in the proper slots. With an odd little bow, he looks up at Thaddeus. "You have my deepest thanks, stranger. It was kind of you to pause from your mission to fix me. It is impossible to express how good it feels to be in control of myself after centuries of flopping about. I am... uh... deeply sorry about spraying you with acid. And very embarrassed."
This time, Thaddeus gets a better look at the clockwork mechanism and figures it could be repaired with tools and skills similar to a locksmith's - or one who opens locks. He also glimpses what looks like a wand fastened into the owl's works, possibly the source of its magical energy.
As Thaddeus waves the acid cloud away and rubs his eyes, another wave of acid mist swings his way.
A cloud of acid drifts into Thaddeus's face as he peers harder at the device, making his eyes tear and blurring his vision into the mechanism.
Thaddeus times his move between jets of acid and is able to get a look at the mechanism, but can't see anything before he sees another jet wandering his way.
Repair Process: 1. If you step next to the owl to examine it, you need to roll a Reflex save to avoid the cloud of acid that continuously hisses forth from the broken owl. 2. To examine the clockwork device, make a Perception or Craft(construct) to discern the issue. 3. More checks will be needed if you decide to try to repair Amantius. If not, he cannot defend himself and is easily destroyed.
"I w-w-would return to the Cenebras happily and t-t-tell Italice's story. B-b-but if you cannot safely ret-t-turn me, at least bring Italice's head t-t-to her family. What is i-i-inside me I know n-n-not, except there m-m-must be a source of m-m-magic to fuel my works."
"Of c-c-course I can reason, p-p-probably better than h-h-humans!" the clockwork owl replies, in a very huffy owl-like manner. "I am Amantius, c-c-companion to Italice C-c-cenabra, noble of Op-p-para. I was attacked by S-s-syagra Tetranella, d-d-dear friend of Honoria Alc-c-casti. She slew m-m-my creator and master, It-t-talice, in g-g-glittering Oppara, and fled with m-m-my mistress's head into the w-w-wilderness. I f-f-followed, full of anger but c-c-curious about what she was d-d-doing." It attempts to make a gesture with one wing, but it's impossible to make sense of it. "There my m-m-mistress lies, at the b-b-bottom of Honoria's c-c-coffin. Syagra was b-b-beyond reason: she d-d-destroyed her hero's t-t-tomb guardians on the w-w-way in, p-p-put up the plaque near Italice's s-s-skull, and d-d-deposited Italice's head on the c-c-coffin. I f-f-followed her and c-c-confronted Syagra with her s-s-shameful d-d-deeds, but she was certain Italice w-w-was behind Honoria's d-d-disgrace. I p-p-promise you she was n-n-not; Italice w-w-was a b-b-bureaucrat obeying orders." "S-s-syagra was n-n-not happy to h-h-hear accusations of her s-s-sins, so she attempted t-t-to destroy what w-w-was left of her c-c-conscience - that is to say, me - and fled this p-p-place, leaving me crippled. Indeed, her m-m-madness was such that she struck m-m-me one great blow, shat-t-tering my works, then r-r-ran screaming f-f-from this t-t-tomb." K(nobility) DC 15:
You recognize the name 'Cenabra' as one of the long-standing aristocratic families in Oppara, generally placed in trusted positions in the bureaucracy. "H-h-here have I lain for m-m-many decades, unable to h-h-help myself. I d-d-do not know if I c-c-can be repaired, but r-r-epair or d-d-destruction is the s-s-same to me. I t-t-tire of this existence. All I w-w-wish is for my m-m-mistress to be returned to her f-family and her s-s-story told to them." Repair possibilities: If you step next to the owl to examine it, you need to roll a Reflex save to avoid the cloud of acid that continuously hisses forth from the broken owl. To examine the clockwork device, make a Perception or Craft(construct) to discern the issue. More checks will be needed if you decide to try to repair Amantius. If not, he cannot defend himself and is easily destroyed.
The door slowly opens, the loud creak of its hinges echoing through the empty stone niche room. The revealed view shows a sparse room that holds little beyond a lacquered wooden coffin. A human skull sits on a plate in front of the casket, while a mangled clockwork owl lies a few feet away. An engraved plaque is propped up behind the skull against the wooden pall. The smell of corrosion fills the air. The damaged clockwork owl shivers and jerks. "H-h-h-h-hello?" it quavers. "If living b-b-b-beings ar-r-r-rive, stand c-c-c-lear of me. I a-a-am brok-broken and can-n-n-ot c-c-control mys-s-self. I mean you n-n-n-o harm. I a-a-a-am Amantius" A cloud of mist surrounds the little device, smelling much like the tiny flasks of acid found in alchemists' shops.
Emil looks around the room with Thaddeus, but notices nothing in the niches (or anywhere else).
Thaddeus notices that all the names on the plaques are Alcastis. Up the stairs, he finds scattered remnants of rotted offerings, and another of the Alcasti longswords, shattered. A door stands shut on the back wall of the room, with no signs of a lock on it.
The paladin's blade flashes, and Emil is left with a handful of gravel, as well as a new manicure. As the fighting ends, the tomb becomes silent as a... well, you know. Thaddeus now has the chance to notice that the room he's in is lined with rows of small niches in the wall, each holding an urn with a metal plaque. Besides those and the remains of the guardian construct, the room is empty. The statues in the hall are still and silent.
I still liked the little hexes showing changes to AC for each face, depending on if it was a face with a shield or the fighter's unprotected back. Much easier to skip facing.
Auguste attempts to skewer the hand somewhere on his pack, but misses.
The hand scores Emil with a claw as he passes, but the cleric easily snatches it from Auguste's back.
Thing Blue attempts to retain its grip on the bard's neck, but fails. It clambers over the Auguste's shoulder onto his backpack---somewhere.
Thing Green is in the square with Dawni's feet, so, while it's in the neighborhood, it attempts to claw an ankle.
When that fails, it scuttles up the column to the ceiling again. While the creepy hand is exposed on the column, Dawni lashes out swiftly with her cutlass in a no-nonsense sweep that catches the hand squarely and leaves a shower of stone chunks behind.
PCs are all up:
Emil's quick reflexes mean he can strike the hand with his rapier as it ascends. He skewers it nicely, and it crumbles from around his blade and falls to the floor in chunks.
Thaddeus takes a hyuuuge swing at Emil's third hand, but -- perhaps he was pulling his stroke so as not to injure the cleric? - he misses the wriggly thing.
Round 3: Everyone took a poke at their various opponents, with Thaddeus destroying the remains of the animated guardian. Auguste, Dawni, and Emil were all lucky, and the statue hands that snuck up the walls to the ceiling and dropped on their heads did not get a grip on their throats. All hands were knocked to the floor and poked to various degrees of injury. Emil's is mostly dead but not quite all dead. Dawni and Auguste's enemy hands have been pinked but remain lively. Now it's their turn. The damaged guardian lies motionless, spewing faint and diminishing sparks. All three Things (Addams, not Suess) scuttle rapidly and nimbly up the columns to the ceiling. Again, they drop down onto their victims.
Auguste:
Unless Thing Blue is killed by an AoO, Auguste feels the clawed hand scratching his throat as it attempts to get a purchase around his neck. It does and begins squeezing the bard's windpipe.
The big man's sword bends the metal frame to the breaking point. As the thing clatters into pieces, whatever powers it releases a blast of electricty into the surrounding area.
Reflex 13 and above:
1 point of electrical damage. Reflex 12 and below: 2 points of electrical damage. I rolled 2 1's.
The Aldori spear skewers the wriggling hand for a moment, then it pulls itself off the blade and drops to the floor again, still full of fight. But now it has a gaping, unclosing wound in the top.
Thaddeus skips past the snap of the dog-like creature's mechanical jaws and stops where he can get a good swing in. His Alcasti sword bites deep, but does not completely disable the statue, whose rocky pieces assemble around the frame again. The creature ignores Auguste's jibe, but very much does not ignore the flesh creature standing next to it. Without warning, Emil, Dawni, and August feel something drop onto their heads from above without warning. The Something attempts to claw them and hang on.
Only Emil's attacker manages to scratch him. Nobody feels like their hair or necks have been grabbed. The guardian dog snaps again at Thaddeus, this time biting the big man. Thaddeus feels a shock as the jaws close in a bite, and the creature tries to hang on and bring Thaddeus to the ground, with no success.
Round 3!
Nothing to see here, move along:
Thaddeus: As you're moving through a threatened space, that qualifies the move for an attack of opportunity. The question is, do you want to do the hokey pokey through that square to attempt to avoid attack, or not? It's up to you whether you use Acrobatics.
Whether you use Acrobatics or not, if an opponent takes an attack of opportunity, it gets that attack before yours comes in, so you can't pre-empt theirs with yours. So let me know if you're Acrobaticsing or not, and I'll let you know what happens. :)
K(arcana) 10:
This looks like a construct, with all the normal abilities and limitations of any other construct. K(arcana) 15:
From the information Thaddeus provided earlier, you suspect this may be a tomb guardian which resists damage not inflicted by the family weapons. K(arcana) 20: The amount of sparks coming from the broken construct suggests the possibility of being damaged by electricity when it strikes, or possibly when it is struck.
With the door open, Dawni can see stairways leading up to a marble dais, where rotted wooden offerings lie in splinters. The tiles of the floor are scorched black, and the smell of magical ozone fills the air. A pile of statue fragments lie in a pile on the floor before the dais, wildly throwing blue sparks from its metal jaws. As the metal frame crawls along the floor, the statue pieces follow in its wake.
There's another thud against the still-closed door, and the subsequent scraping noise grows fainter. Round 2:
Thaddeus and Auguste, who are in the statue room, hear something scrape along the floor and thud against the door, with the accompaniment of odd crackling noises. Details:
Initiative order (nobody is surprised): 23 Dawni
[ooc]Sorry, but Emil, Dawni, and Thaddeus grabbed the three swords before Auguste could! Four spears adorned with the flying pegasus remain.[ooc]
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