Fenna is perfectly happy to spend the night outside rather than where they're at presently.
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Fenna is perfectly happy to spend the rest of the day in the library. She will keep working on the same section as before, including the Amaznen book.
What Fenna is sure of is that the properly completed task before them is much more time consuming than they can take on now. Everything that can be transported needs to go back to Talmandor's Bounty. Everything legible but not transportable must be copied before it is lost. Fenna wants to triage the collection as a wholeto prepare for the future task. "There's probably more here than we can carry with us right now. Besides, it's getting very wet as we keep going. We could ruin things through exposure to the water. Also, there are items that are too fragile to move, but we might be able to make copies before they're lost. That's slow work." "We can't do it all now. I think we should find some place to move the part of the collection we can carry away so it will be protected until we can fetch it later. Anything we can copy that will have to stay in this room should also be protected as best we can manage until I can come back, hopefully with some help like maybe Perrell Beys, to copy it.
Fenna goes to work combing through the cases to see what's there. Obviously it's far too much to go in deep on anything, so she treats the search as a salvage operation, locating the things that are legible and transportable as opposed things that might still be legible but are in too poor a condition to be carried away or the items that are simply ruined beyond any recovery.
Very sorry for the delay, last week was very busy at work and I also had some extra RL things pop up that I needed to deal with.
Fenna really, really wants access to the room. There may not be much that can be saved, but anything would be precious. "Absolutely Vexas." Fenna reviews the writing on the scroll with the aid of a cantrip to make sure she has all the details just right. She then reads the spell from the scroll, directing it to the fungus.
Having spent some time staring down into dark water full of mummy-chum, Fenna likes the upper level first. "No point in getting wet before he have to."
After casting the spell, Fenna hands the scroll back over to Vexas. She continues to wait where she's at. If there is something invisible in the room, she would just present it with another target.
Fenna doesn't say anything in case being quiet might be helpful. She shakes her head in the negative both about hearing anything or having any tricks that could reveal invisible things.
Sounds good to me Brannart.
Oh! Well then Fenna will take it. It will give me an extra use so I can do it twice per day. They are a little different, the mnemonic vestment is limited to the Bard spell list, while comparative arcane studies covers the Bard, Sorcerer/Wizard, and Witch spell lists. But since Paragon Surge isn't on the Bard spell list, I expect Fenna will be using the class ability to cast that a lot. I need to remember to use the next down time we have to scribe some scrolls. I don't have much of anything to use right now.
Fenna is a little embarrassed by all the praise being heaped on her. But, she accepts it with thanks and no other comment. If everyone was aware of how little she actually knows, and how much she uses what she what she knows to extrapolate into speculations, it might make them really nervous.
RE: Blue Silk Robe - mnemonic vestment. This is something either Sosche or Fenna can use as spontaneous casters. I think you should take it Sosche. Fenna already has pretty much the same ability from her archetype. If both Soche and Fenna can cast from scrolls without expending them, we'll get more mileage out of both arcane and divine scrolls.
Fenna explains it all to the others. "My opinion is I've lived my entire life without power. It's not so bad really. Certainly having to put down three very strong elementals doesn't seem worth what we're getting out of it now. If we decide differently after we've seen the rest of the place and what it has to offer, we can always come back."
Fenna notices the silvery lines on the floor are not decorative. They seem to run in such a way to connect all the cylinders to each other as well as to, possibly through the walls. She's read a little about machines that use steam for energy, and gears for making parts move, pushed by the steam. It occurs to her all of this room might be something like those steam machines, but with electricity for energy instead of steam. But, there is a problem with the comparison because steam is water and can push because it has a form, even if it is mist. Water always has form, weight, even though it isn't solid. Fenna doesn't know if the same is true of electricity. Of course magic is involved as well, which could change things in unpredictable ways. Obviously the room itself wouldn't be what moves, maybe. But two of the silver lines run to the curved wall, and on the other side of that wall would be the room with the forge and clockwork stuff. The power switch in there didn't work. Maybe this is the power for that room and it's blocked somehow? She takes a very long time looking at everything in the room carefully. Partially this is because it's all very confusing, but also because the bronze cylinders are hella terrifying. "Everyone, please don't touch anything just yet. There is a lot of energy in this room. Give me a little time..."
Hey everyone. Sorry for the early disappearance and late return. 4th quarter 2025 was fairly awful, but things seem better now.
Fenna moves to the other side of the door so she and Sosche are flanking Vexas to support him if anything unfortunate comes from opening the door. She waits with her spear at the ready.
I may be slow to post for the next week or so. I work for the Oregon Department of Human Services and we're right on the edge of a catastrophe if SNAP benefits aren't issued for November. We've been all hands on deck and overtime trying to figure out contingencies to cover the potential losses however we can. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does there are some very rough days coming.
Fenna casts Detect Magic to see if that can help sort anything out.
Fenna maintains her performance and casts a spell that lays down a slippery coating on much of the floor occupied by their adversaries.
Fenna steps back to get more distance and starts Inspire Courage again. She then lowers her spear and thrusts it at the warrior in front of her.
Fenna's expectations for anything other than future violence are very low. After all, their primary foe can look like anyone and there really shouldn't be actual humans on the island who are aware of who they are and why they have come to the island. But! One's expectations aren't always correct. Also, perhaps it's possible to get some useful information from them before the inevitable violence. After all, they still know essentially nothing about what has been going on. "Well met friends! Who are you and how did you come to be here?"
Fenna fills the others in on what she knows of Amaznen. She wishes something she knew about the goddess from long ago could help her choose the better entrance, but she has to fall back on the general tradition held by many. "Right I think. Right is typically considered more auspicious than left. If I absolutely had to bet money on the preferred entrance I'd put it on right."
I'm fine with either.
Fenna casts, then begins a long diatribe listing out all the reasons why they all absolutely hate these guys by now.
Fenna doesn't see any particular reason to cost Sosche another spell used just yet. She stays on the ground and waits while the statue gets checked out.
I'm dreadfully sorry for disappearing without word for so long. We went to Mexico City on vacation. I didn't figure I needed to mention it because we were staying at an Airbnb with WiFi. The place did have WiFi, but the WiFi did not work. Just flat couldn't connect to it. I didn't try posting with my phone because it was on data and we were burning through so much already we kept having to purchase more at a price that was highway robbery. That hiccup aside though, Mexico City was lovely and fantastic. I can't recommend visiting it enough. Level 8: BAB +6/+1
+1 3rd level spell known: Confusion Critical Research Focus (Ex): At 8th level, the studious librarian threatens a critical hit on a Research check (Ultimate Intrigue 148) with a roll of 18, 19, or 20. He gains a +4 bonus on Research checks to confirm a critical hit.
Skills: +1 K Arcana, K Dungeoneering, K Planes, Spellcraft, Stealth, Swim, UMD.
Not really know what will-o-wisps might consider politeness or rudeness in conversation, Fenna decides to try to ease into getting to the point, starting with something that could be construed as casual. "Do you happen to know what these standing stones once were? What purpose they served?"
Fenna rolls her eyes helplessly at the absolute stupidity of the situation. "Anyone happen to speak Aklo? No? That's what I expected. Hardly anyone anywhere on the entire planet's surface speaks Aklo. They understand Azlanti but don't utter a word in that language or they'll hate you forever."
With a little magical help Fenna tries miming at the things without turning them murderous.
Fenna gives an excellent demonstration of the gap between knowledge and implementation. In practice she does nothing close to what she needs to with the balls of light.
"Sure." Fenna summons four balls of light. She arranges them in a line and then puts them into motion, a circular pattern that makes it looks like she's juggling them. It's the only way Fenna can manage to do anything that resembles real juggling. She has tried to learn a couple of times in the past and she plain sucks at it. "Well, that's the danger isn't it? I won't claim there's no way the ghost lanterns will possibly consider talking to us; but I don't see why they would either. We're a fine meal and luring meals in is kind of the whole point of being a lamp-like ball of light in a swamp."
"Great, we arrived just in time for all the danger. And it's another swamp again. I could have done with the rest." Fenna seems unhappy.
Fenna can't figure out whether wyrwoods have a really strange sense of humor they are willing to to take all the way, or are just capable of selling anything to anyone. Either way it's impressive and weird. She'd happily stay the night, but sighs and says "fine" to moving onward immediately.
Fenna doesn't have anything to trade at present. But she does add something in Azlanti that might pay off in the future, and perhaps even improve the impression the Wyrwoods have of them. "We weren't well prepared for trading since our purpose for coming here is to down the ugothols. But, we now live permanently on the near island and there are more of us there. Perhaps we could come to some agreement that would promote ongoing trade between us in the future?"
Fenna adds some specifics to perhaps make what's been said so far more believable. "We are humans who have recently come to live on the nearby island." She points in the direction of the colony. "We have been infiltrated and plagued by the shapechangers as well. We have tracked them to this island and need help finding them so we can kill them in return for killing some of our own."
"I think that's a very good idea. We're walking around finding plenty of odd things, but they're not adding up to much. Maybe we can find some narrators to tie the pieces to together."
After relaying the haunt news, Fenna cheers Sosche on. She also guesses the machine is the best target since it's the thing she and Vexas have been messing around with.
Fenna's immediate urge is to panic, but the coincidence is hard to square with reality, and an apparition doesn't help to create verisimilitude. She takes a second to really think about it.
Fenna can't find any practical use for calculating the positions of any celestial bodies, but it might be somehow helpful to know what it was last used for. "I wonder if the stalkers were playing around with this while they were here? I'm gonna see what I can find..."
"Sure, let's go." Fenna didn't really have a preference. Looking at the device (or maybe devices?) inside the building, Fenna's reaction covers both the very and perhaps not so very obvious. "This thing is huge! And it seems to be in very good condition. It might even still work with a little tickering." Fenna messes with the mechanism some to see if she can get a response from it. She whistles while she works.
Fenna also gives the statue a good look.
Fenna warns the others. "These are chaos beasts. Their forms are no set so they change in unpredictable ways. Makes them harder to hurt." She casts Haste on the group.
Back in the rear, Fenna tries to figure out what exactly is threatening them.
She also starts speechifying on how the current problem doesn't seem so big compared to many of the things they faced in the recent past, so they should quickly buck up handle this little problem, and move right along.
Fenna isn't picky about her place in line, probably the rear.
Sorry for being away. Being out of town left me very backlogged at work, and also taking care of my dog while she recovers has been just wiping me out. She's about back to normal now though, at least as far as she's concerned. She'll just need to take it easy a little while longer.
Fenna volunteers for last watch. She's beat and needs the uninterrupted sleep.
Fenna relays the table's message to the others and holds to see what happens.
Fenna shifts a bit to her left, looking to get a better angle on the weird talking table. She thrusts at it with her spear, trying to catch a leg.
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