Ever_Anon - Ezren Pregen's page

Ezren winces slightly at the untidiness of the pile, but nods. "We will of course be checking the contents against the catalog to make sure that everything has been returned. Assuming it has been, then yes. I think we're good."

So much history here...Shaine will be pleased with our findings.

He looks up. "Thank you for being reasonable. I believe I'll be in the area for a while. If you need more books for your research, please come talk to me rather than steal them. I might be able to get them for you." Realizing he's never actually introduced himself, he gives a slight wave. "I'm Ezren, by the way. If you need to ask for me."

He picks up one of the crates and prepares to leave.

I think Ezren is done here.

Of course stealing is wrong. Ezren knows this, and knows that thieves should be punished.

However, Ezren also views 'stealing books to assist you with research' similarly to how most people would view 'stealing bread to feed your starving family.'

"You're finished your research? Excellent!" Ezren looks closely at the unusually-colored cube. "Did I hear you say you've discovered a way to create oozes from simple sewer waste? And to make them loyal to you? Why, the possibilities...you're creating the perfect guards from nothing! Really, I must commend your results." Almost as an afterthought, he adds, "Although of course not your methods. Ahem."

"As far as I'm concerned, once the books are returned our job here is finished. Kyra, Merisiel, Fumbus? Any objections?"

Diplomacy Take Two: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Appreciate the extra HP, but the universe apparently doesn't want this to be solved diplomatically :P

I used my reroll at the very beginning of the scenario while researching. Unless I have a second Hero Point I didn’t know about, that 3 will have to stand.

Despite having waited for the alchemists to arrive, Ezren still manages to be caught slightly off-guard by their appearance. Mostly because he'd been distracted reading the one book they'd legitimately bought.

"Discovered? Well, yes, I suppose so. But we're not here to fight. Unless you make us. We just want you to return the items you stole from the Nexus House." Ezren starts to look indignant. "Did you really bring all of that research here? Don't you know that some of those books are one-of-a-kind? The damp will ruin them! If you're going to steal priceless research, you should at least try to take care of it. Not just dump it in whatever sewer you happen to pick as a home base! It's irresponsible!"

It's quite clear that Ezren's rather lost the point of his argument in his outrage about how the books have been treated.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Ezren hums thoughtfully. "That machine does sound ominous. Most likely it's something to help them in their research, but without examining it myself I have no way of knowing what it does."

"I would prefer diplomacy, but I also am not keen to have bombs thrown in my face." Ezren considers their options. "Let's go with the ambush idea. We can always suggest they surrender later, and perhaps being in a less-advantageous position will make them more likely to consider it. They have to sleep eventually; we can simply wait for them near their bedroom."

Basically Ezren is proposing hanging out in front of B3. They (presumably) don't know we're there, so we should be able to hear them coming before they round the corner.

Ezren looks quite alarmed at the state Merisiel is in, even after Kyra's best efforts. "Oh dear, are you certain you're alright? Or at least alright enough to continue? We'll have to finish this quickly, so we can get you back to full health."

Judging by Merisiel's mention of the 'final' chamber, he assumes that they are about to meet the ooze-crafters themselves. Just in case, he quickly taps himself with his wand of Mage Armor. "Let us proceed then. With any luck, they'll be willing to listen to reason."

He follows after the others into the final room.

If Exploration Activities are needed, he would be Investigating.

Ezren is more than content to allow Merisiel to do the scouting. She's very, very good at it after all. He only follows her into B3 once she's indicated it's clear.

"Hmmm. This must be their base." He sniffs as he walks around the room. "It certainly smells better than the rest of the sewer, thank heavens!"

He studies the note with interest. "It seems Igrigi left as poor an impression on them as they did on him. More evidence that these are the thieves we seek." He shakes his head. "I do wonder what they're trying to do that requires so much research. Create a new type of ooze, perhaps? I hope I have the chance to talk with them about it." He coughs. "That is, after we recover the missing items of course."

He barely notices the dagger. Sharp instruments don't really interest him.

Merisiel's Thievery is better than Ezren's Occultism, and she's also the one more likely to want a new dagger. However, if she asks, he'll help her try to retrieve it.

Well, whatever this creature was, it had made one fatal error. It was not attacking them in a library.

"Likely immune to acid, but not, I'm guessing, to fire." And, conveniently, none of his companions were yet on top of it.

Fire Damage: 6d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 6, 1, 3, 2) = 20

Casting Fireball with my second and third actions, centered on the ooze. Basic Reflex saving throw, DC21.

"Hmmmm...how fascinating! Do you think the Ohrlavis have succeeded in their research? I really must talk to them about whatever breakthrough they may have had..."

Spending my first action to Recall Knowledge about oozes. I'm assuming that's an Occultism check, given the earlier research, but if it's Arcana add +2 to the result.

Occultism: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

Ezren allows his companions to do the mundane mingling. He's more interested in the magical side of things.

Arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
1d4 ⇒ 3

His attempts to find someone who might have taught a thief how to animate statues are...less than useful. Likely because he uses that exact phrasing in his inquiries. After another door gets slammed in his face, Ezren snorts in annoyance. "Hmph. It's not like I'm accusing them of being the thief themselves. Really, I was even trying to be polite!"

He's exceptionally dejected when he meets back up with the group. He's wasted several hours and learned nothing of any use. Fortunately they had more luck, and he perks up a little when he hears about Wishful Cures.

"Hmmm. I suppose I can admire their dedication, if not their methods. Ooze-crafting is an unusual obsession, but weird obsessions often lead to great discoveries. I am curious what their peers think of them. Perhaps we could find some other ooze-crafters to ask?"

I tend to want as much information as possible, so I'd vote to try the Occultism check. Since Ezren spent three hours on his (failed) arcana check, maybe Kyra or Fumbus could do the Occultism check while he's still getting doors slammed in his face.

"The statues weren't yours?" Ezren looks puzzled. "They clearly belonged in the archive. So they weren't supposed to be animated? All the more unfortunate that we had to destroy them then. They must have been relics."

"We did find a note about a man, Bigan Ohrlavi, who was fanatically interested in ooze research. The bill of sale was written by Igrigi Lokar. Would we be able to speak to him?"

Still asking questions of Sebnet. I think we should probably heal before going further. Kyra?

"Well, that would have been significantly more useful an hour ago." Ezren isn't actually upset about the statues attacking them, some sort of security is to be expected in an archive like this. He is mildly annoyed that they weren't informed beforehand of that danger.

"We discovered all sorts of interesting documents within the archive. Why, we even discovered the civil permits for Adolphus’s founding of Nexus Lodge! It was very exciting."

"Really, that archive needs a more constant touch. Someone should organize the entire thing, so everything is filed under the same system." As an afterthought, he adds, "Oh, and you should probably let people know in advance about the guardian statues. We weren't expecting them, and we may have shattered them into pieces because we didn't know how else to deal with them."

Ezren moves further away from one statue and, incidentally, closer to the other two.

Well, he needed to be closer to them anyway if he wanted to try this spell. He did hope Merisiel was okay; that punch had looked like it hurt.

"The cold didn't bother you, how about electricity?"

Electric Damage: 3d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3, 1) + 4 = 12

Stride, Cast Electric Arc targeting Green and Yellow. They both get a basic Reflex Save, DC21.

"Wait, Fumbus, dont-" is as far as Ezren gets before Fumbus throws the fire bomb. Luckily it doesn't hit anything but the creature, but Ezren glares at him anyway. "Be careful! You might damage the books!"

Unfortunately being unable to use fire also eliminates some of Ezren's most powerful spells. For now he decides to use a cantrip, at least until he has some idea of how powerful these creatures are. And frost shouldn't be able to hurt anything...

Spell Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
Cold Damage: 3d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 2) + 4 = 10

First action: Stride
Second-Third actions: Cast Ray of Frost.

Welp, that's all my good rolls used on research. Ezren wouldn't have it any other way :)

Ezren practically starts salivating at the sight of all these books. So much forgotten knowledge, all in one place! Who knows what mysteries might be uncovered!

Hour 1:

As both a wizard and a scholar, Ezren immediately zeroes in on the enchanted table. "Oh this is simply marvelous! I really need to ask how this was constructed, I could use one of these for my own studies..."

Arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16 I'm actually going to waste a Hero Point reroll on that, because there's no way Ezren is leaving this library without figuring out that table.

Arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33 Much better

Hour 2:

"How could the curators have been so careless with their filing systems! Not a single thought of consistency. It's barbaric!"

Society: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

Hour 3:

While beginning an ill-fated attempt to reorganize the entire archive, Ezren is distracted by the section on Occult works. "Hmmm...this work doesn't seem relevant, but in the context of this other publication it becomes very interesting indeed."

Occultism: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

Hour 4:

It's pure coicidence that has Ezren glancing at the Orrery with detect magic active. He had merely been curious about whether a particular text he was reading was actively magical and trying to deceive his eyes or whether the author's handwriting was just really bad. A second later all thoughts of poor handwriting are erased from his mind as he gapes at the enchanted Orrery. "That's...it's...it's so beautiful..." He might actually be crying. It's hard to tell.

He immediately gets to work testing out different celestial configurations.

Nature: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

Hour 5:

"Merisiel my dear, are you sure you checked the upper shelves thoroughly? I swear I see an old tome up there that you missed."

Acrobatics Aid: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16 Ezren gives +4 on successful Aid Another checks, although I don't think that was successful.

I deliberately went in order of highest to lowest bonuses to make the most of whatever time we have. I'm assuming the scenario isn't going to let us research uninterrupted all day. Although Ezren would be very happy to be proven wrong.

Is it just the three of us? I thought we needed at least four for a legal table.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 2 = 19 If Courtly Graces would apply, add +4 for a 23.

Ezren taps his chin thoughtfully. "We're looking specifically for information on some of the earliest Pathfinders. Durvin Gest, Selmius Foster, Kerinha Napsunar, and of course Adolphus. Would you know approximately where such records might be?" He considers for a moment. "Also, why are the records in a jumble? One would think being accessed less frequently would leave them more organized, not less. Unless they were never well-organized to begin with?"

He looks appalled at the notion. An archive that was never properly organized? Unthinkable!

Perhaps he can manage to talk his way into being allowed to organize them himself. To leave such important documents in a state of disarray...it goes against everything he believes in as a scholar.

Ezren gives a polite bow. "Greetings, Vash-Vatom Sanserkoht. I am Ezren. My companions and I have been sent here to deliver this sapphire, which contains research on the founding of the Nexus House." He hands over the sapphire, happy to so easily complete the first part of the mission.

Although not quite as excited as he is to see the archives.

"Additionally, if at all possible we would like to do some research of our own in your archives. Much has been lost with all the recent attacks, and it is important to piece together what information we can. History should never be forgotten."