GM BrOp - PFS's page

Game has been reported. Thanks for playing, everyone.

The adventure is basically over, unless you want to ask her any last questions. Thanks so much for playing!

Hao Jin bows to Ruby. "The honor is all mine. You have done me a great service today and I will honor our agreement. I will meet you at the Guesthouse of the Cage in an hour, and from there we can return to our home."

She hesitates for a moment, and then speculates.

"Even with her magical mastery, performing the ritual will cause the demiplane to unravel dangerously within hours–there’s only one chance to get things right. After the demiplane finishes tearing itself apart, its built-in processes should slowly begin stitching it back together, so there’s the possibility that the tapestry demiplane could restore itself within your lifetimes—and when it does, I will bequeath it to the Society in perpetuity."

Hao Jin nods grimly. "Of course. I will have the transcription of the ritual ready within the hour."

I'll have Barnette autoassist Kramac on this, pushing the total up to 30.

As you predicted earlier, Zahal does not seem to respond well to the forcefulness and accusatory nature of Kramac's argument. The color tone of her feathers shift toward the deep purple as she regards the half-orc.

Just as before, the three judges silently discuss the evidence for less than a minute and then Tenth-By-Third addresses the entire courtroom.

"The Tribunal has reached a decision. The municipality, city, and plane of Axis, along with its major powers of law, hereby officially drop all charges against the mortal Hao Jin. It recognizes her past few centuries of service as full penance for her transgressions, and hereby encourages her to travel and create freely (albeit with a better understanding of how to do so safely). The Tribunal is hereby ended." The three judges quickly leave the podium and exit the hall as the other observers erupt in clapping, shouting, and excited conversation.

Hao Jin spins around to look at everyone in the group, her eyes welling with tears. "I don't know what to say except for ... thank you."

FYI, I have sent links to the completed chronicle sheets as DMs to everyone.

The three judges consult with each other silently once more after hearing Ruby speak.

"Thank you for your witnessing," Tenth-By-Third states matter-of-factly, although you can tell that Tchekua has gotten his feathers in a bit of a ruffle over Ruby's accusation that Axis should be to blame for anything.

After he has calmed himself a bit, he moves into the final phase of the Tribunal.

"Even in the event that Hao Jin performed the necessary steps to create her demiplane and fill it for the sake of historic preservation, there remains the fact that she left her charges untended. Thousands of creatures across more than a dozen generations suffered in her absence as she explored the Outer Planes. Were she truly responsible, would she not have guarded and guided these people until such a time as they could chart their own destinies?"

From what you have heard, it is correct that Hao Jin left the Material Plane and spent decades traveling about the planes before finely making her way to Axis.

Strong Skills: Intimidate, Perform (acting), Perform (comedy), Perform (oratory).

I'll have Barnette autoassist to bring that up to a 37.

Zahal grumbles at Aquila's remarks. "I'm afraid a metaphor as simple as a bird flying or a ship traveling along a river does not capture one quintillionth of the complexity inherent in the River of Souls ..." and here she sighs deeply, "but I must admit that it does make sense in an extremely limited and narrow kind of way."

You can see the other judges nodding to agree with the psychopomp.

Good job, Aquila! You've gained another point with each of the judges, even Zahal, who was the hardest to convince on that particular subject.

After a brief moment of silence, the mechanical voice of Tenth-by-Third, whose sounds seem to be generated by two pieces of metal grinding together, chimes in.

"On the subject of Form Hao Jin's recklessness, I have a few words to say. Mortals are fallible, naturally erring from cosmic law and planar constants. The accused has a record of recklessness, and it is clear that she would revert to such reckless behavior again if permitted the freedom to experiment again. Can even centuries of self-reflection overcome a creature’s base instincts?"

This question causes the judges to argue with one another for some time. Tchekua insists that the rise of civilization is a natural outgrowth of mortals’ ability to surpass their instinct-driven ancestors and attain limitless levels of higher reasoning. Zahal takes a middle ground, acknowledging that societies and people may evolve, but they do so only by overcoming the staggering inertia of their current philosophies. Ultimately the judges come to a standoff on the subject and call for a witness to Hao Jin’s reckless tendencies and capacity to grow and learn.

Strong skills for this check are Diplomacy, Heal, and Sense Motive.

If we don't finish by the end of the week, is there any chance we can get our chronicle sheets? I have my cleric signed up for a scenario Saturday night.

thanks!

Of course! I'll have time to do them on my Friday, your Thursday.

Zahal chuckles at Barnette's comment. "Do you worry yourself, mortal. I understand your kind well enough, and do not think you are creatures birthed of the Maelstrom, even though you seem to be trying to convince me this is the case. I have been judging human souls since before the Azlanti empire was a gleam in the eyes of the alghollthu."

Tchekua also chirps up to comment, turning its attention back to Ruby. "And I agree very much with you assessment of Hao Jin's motives. It seems to be that one must try one's best to preserve the works of civilizations, even if one's actions sometimes miss the mark."

"I wouldn't know about that! Let us not fall over ourselves to praise the mortal before we have discussed all of her failings!" Zahal comments forcefully. "We have not even gotten to the Ruby Phoenix's greatest crime: her interference in the River of Souls!"

Great job on the roll and great RP on that phase, Ruby and Barnette! You have earned another point of influence with each of the judges, bringing your total up to 3 for each of them. You are pretty sure judging from its behavior and comments that the apkallu Tchekua is on board with releasing Hao Jin. The other's require more convincing.

Inspired by the topic of theft, Zahal brings up Hao Jin’s interference with souls.

"Ah yes, and let us not forget what drew me to these proceedings in the first place: Hao Jin’s interference with the River of Souls. In recent years, her demiplane has captured souls bound for Pharasma’s judgment. And as I need not remind anyone, stealing souls is, ah...” Zahal leans down, taps her snout, and rumbles the last part of her sentence to convey its severity. “...deeply frowned upon.” Then with a smirk, she adds, “Unless this is what defines cosmic law these days?”"

Tchekua and Tenth-By-Third loudly protest the psychopomp’s taunt before she laughingly apologizes and returns to the point at hand. In a more serious tone, she elaborates that Hao Jin purposefully siphoned souls to fuel her project, and that makes Zahal very unsympathetic.

Strong skills for this phase are Knowledge (planes), Knowledge (religion), and Spellcraft. Remember that the judges would prefer to hear from someone who hasn't spoken, if that can't be done, at least from not from someone who has just spoken during the previous phase.

Once again, all three judges seem impressed with Aquila's answer, and seem particularly calmed by Barnette's appeal to their "greater beings" and look past the halfling's chaotic nature.

(Good job both of you! Thanks to the work of Aquila and Barnette, you receive 1 point from each of the judges. Both Tchekua and Tenth-by-Third seemed initially to be perturbed by Aquila's chaotic nature, and it seems clear from Tchekua's reaction that perhaps he or someone he knew was indeed scrying upon you.)

As the tribunal continues, Tchekua now speaks, his avian wings occasionally twitching involuntarily as he works his way through the next phase of the trial. He seems to take less umbrage with the abduction of the demiplane's inhabitants than Zahal, and focuses more on the disappearance of property.

"An enduring stone structure might survive for thousands of years, its carved walls and sheltered libraries preserving the lore of lost ages for all who follow. To have such sites abducted not only steals the past from future generations, but it also robs the present people of their cultural heritage."

As he continues, Zahal interjects and states that he finds this point curious, and Tchekua elaborates on how Hao Jin’s capturing sites for her own desires seems self-centered, may have harmed some of the creator cultures responsible for those sites, and ultimately paints Hao Jin as someone who doesn’t actually respect history.

Strong skills (i.e. skills that would grant you a bonus for the check) for this phase would be Appraise, Knowledge (engineering), Knowledge (geography), or Knowledge (history)

With Barnette's autoassist that will be a 38; pretty hefty! That is enough to gain you 1 point for each of the judges, although you can all tell that the psychopomp Zahal does not appreciate the forceful nature of Kramac's argument (i.e. doesn't like the use of the Intimidate skill), while Tchekua is swayed by its emotional appeal. Tenth-by-Third does not seem particularly swayed or turned off by Kramac's argument, although all of them consider it persuasive.

Tchekua nods, listening carefully to Kramac's argument. After a moment he makes a short remark, his voice swelling with admiration.

"And it is this "indomitable spirit" that separates mortals from the inhabitants of the Great Beyond. We can clearly not condemn this trait any more than we could criticize Axis' thirst for order and justice."

The judges communicate silently with each other for a few moments, most likely using a form of telepathy, and then move on to the next question. This time it is the psychopomp Zahal that leads the discussion.

"Consider the actions that followed the creation of the demiplane: she used her untouchable redoubt to abduct mortals—as many as hundreds at a time. Was there just cause? Was there consent? Or was this the callous action of a sorcerer focused on her own goals rather than aware of the bigger picture?”"

The yamiraj voices further concerns tied to the demiplanes’ inhabitants, the conditions in which they lived after being kidnapped, the motivations that could possess a spellcaster to behave in this way, and the way in which this is reminiscent of a night hag poaching spirits from the River of Souls.

Any skill you can justify can be used to make your argument, although Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), and Perform (oratory)
will be the most effective.

With these things I really need artwork to help organize all the information mentally. I've added pictures of both Psychopumps to the slides, but it's not clear what kind of inevitable Tenth-by-Third is.

Thank you for that, Auke! Tenth-by-Third is the herald of a primal inevitable, an inevitable that has achieved demigod status. I'll post his description when we enter the first phase below. I've also added a portrait of the yamaraj psychopomp Zahal.

You are lead into the large courtroom when the appointed hour is at hand. It turns out to be an enormous bowl-shaped room, easily over a hundred meters in diameter with tiered levels leading down to the middle. The central, lowest-part of the room is divided into two groupings of small benches across from a large stage, upon which the judges will be located. Three large entrances lead into the room, each of which is guarded by an axial monitor. The stair-like tiers are crowded with hundreds of visitors from across Axis who sit, stand, or fly as is their nature. They include all manner of remade petitioners, inevitables, axiomites, mercanes, pavbaghas, orshevals, aphorites, and even an elephant-sized edict dragon, its yellow-green scales covered in glowing runes. A group of scrivenites (native outsiders composed largely of whirling books, scrolls, and pieces of paper) are located next to the center of the room, and seem to be taking notes on the proceedings.

You, Eleven-Sun-Truth, and Hao Jin are led down to the benches in the middle of the amphitheater-like chamber by an arbiter inevitable and asked to take a seat.

Hao Jin has chosen a more subdued outfit today, a charcoal grey robe with orange and red cuffs and a beautifully embroidered phoenix on her back. She seems to be calmly taking everything in, and responds to any questions in a low and controlled voice.

A few minutes later, the axial monitors stationed at the far entrance ask everyone to respectfully rise as the, judges enter the courtroom. The spectators immediately grow silent and look toward the far door in anticipation.

The apkallu Tchekua is the first to enter, flying in on enormous avian wings and landing next to a chair that has been set up for him. His muscular humanoid form has a hawk’s head he is dressed in robes crafted from opalescent scales. He takes in the entire courtroom before settling his gaze on Hao Jin.

The second to arrive is Tenth-by-Third, the herald of the primal inevitable Otolmens who flies in quickly and hovers two meters above the dais next to Tchekua. The herald appears as a 2 meter-diameter brass sphere inscribed with many thousands of mathematical characters that slowly swirl about their body as if driven by ocean currents. The herald then deploys six insectile legs that have the appearance of cartographers’ compasses, and opens a single black eye that stares at the Ruby Phoenix.

Finally there is an audible gasp from the crowd as the gigantic psychopomp Zahal flies into the courtroom, its draconic body covered long spines and purple feathers of varying hues ranging from lavender to black. It lands on the dais with an loud whomp and walks around in place until it finds a comfortable place to sit.

The arbiter inevitable who first led you in flies about the center of the room and speaks in an amplified voice: "You may all resume your earlier positions. Case code 241352245a2k23h211k32 is now resumed and in session. Honorable judge Tenth-by-Third will begin the proceeding."

At this the herald opens several ports on its circular body and begins, its voice emotionless, precise and sterile. "The basis of this trial is the nature of this mortal’s demiplane, which violates at least fifty-three firm principles of astral safety, in turn triggering twelve separate instances of multidimensional uncertainty and instability. Safer techniques existed by which to achieve a similar result, yet she embraced an unintuitive and untested methodology—all compounded by a sorcerous disregard for cosmic calculus.”"

The herald details some of these consistencies in Hao Jin’s behavior before Zahal encourages it to get to the point–that Hao Jin’s techniques were irresponsible, that she didn’t respect arcane theory, and that her sorcerer spellcasting is too unpredictable to be trusted with demiplane creation.

PCs, you are up. Any one of you can speak, with Barnette assisting as Hao Jin's official advocate. Judging by what you know if the judges, Tchekua will be the easiest to convince during this phase, while Tenth-by-Third will be the hardest. Appropriate skills for countering their argument and succeeding at this challenge include Intimidate (although that would take some stones), Knowledge (arcana), or Spellcraft. As I stated above, only one of you may make this check with Barnette assisting.

The type of argument you make will also give you large bonuses or penalties, as will anyone with a chaotic aura. Those of you who are not clerics only have a faint chaotic aura, but Ruby, being a cleric of a chaotic deity has an overwhelming one. Only Tchekua and Tenth-by-Third will look poorly on those with a chaotic aura, however, Zahal does not care. From your skills checks earlier you know that Tchekua will respond well to grandiose statements that draw on themes of history, posterity, and preserving the past, and involve recitations of tales, fables, and the like. Tenth-by-Third on the other hand, will respond well to highly technical, precise language. The psychopomp Zahal is the most mysterious, but you would guess that he would respond best to novel arguments that are amusing.

Do we get a check on one judge per issue, or a check on each judge for each issue?

You get one check per issue that is trying to focus on one judge (the one you think will be most persuaded by your argument). If you get a high enough roll, you can positively influence the other judges well, but as long as you beat the target skill DC, you gain influence with the one judge you are targeting per issue.

Eleven-Sun-Truth, who returns to you after having talked with his superiors, advises Barnette that should he chose to represent Hao Jin, he will be unable to serve as a witness to her character. Barnette will be able to assist any potential witness by asking the witness a question that helps steer the testimony or clarifies a fact. The advocate may also try to protect the witness from the judge's preconceived notions by portraying the evidence (and the witness) in a positive light.

The tribunal will have six phases. In each phase, a different aspect of Hao Jin's negative actions or personality will be studied and criticized and the Tribunal will attempt to decide if the Ruby Phoenix has learned from her mistakes and has changed. In each phase, one witness has the chance of making an argument that attempts to sway one or more of the judges in Hao Jin's favor on that particular part of her past or personality. Different judges will respond to different arguments positively or negatively depending on their basic philosophy and personality. Certain of Hao Jin's actions will also be harder or easier for certain people to be swayed on. For instance, you know that a very powerful psychopomp will be a judge. You will have a harder time trying to convince that judge that Hao Jin's use of soul energy was anything but blasphemy, although it remains a possibility.

Each phase will have a set of three skills that can be used by the witness to sway the judges, and I will let you know what these skills are before each phase. These are the only skills that can be used to sway the judges. Each of the judges responds differently to different arguments, and I will let you know based on your research how best to do this. Some judges also inherently respond poorly to certain types of characters (this is generally based on alignment). Magic is pretty much out of the question during the trail as you will be watched quite carefully by individuals (the judges in particular) who are powerful spellcasters with mythic ranks.

Only one witness may speak during each phase (i.e. only one person will be making a skill roll), although anyone acting as Hao Jin's advocate will be allowed to assist. The assist will grant the standard +2 on the main skill check unless you have a feat or trait that boosts that (such as the Helpful trait). Alternatively, the advocate can try to downplay an aspect of the witness' argument, past, or basic character that a judge finds distasteful. Both types of assists can be made with Diplomacy, Knowledge (local) or Sense Motive, whichever is highest.

I know that's pretty complicated. Do you have questions?

With Zwei along for the conversations, you are able to discern a few more things about the upcoming Tribunal.

It operates as more of a hearing in which the judges listen to any statements from the subject and those who can speak to the subject’s character, deeds, and motivations. The judges control the proceedings’ tempo, often conversing among themselves before calling on the subject or witnesses to provide additional information.

It’s also customary for the tribunal’s subject to have legal representation, both to assist her and any witnesses, but nobody knows who is serving as Hao Jin’s counsel (if anyone). Her case might suffer if she chooses to represent herself.

I'll move the story forward this evening (my time), but in the meantime you have something to talk about if you like.

I am about to send out the chronicle sheets since it is past the end date of Outpost II. There is one action left you can take that will effect what goes on that sheet, specifically what boon you will receive. If you'd like your chronicle sheet now, please let me know if you are planning on speaking in favor of Hao Jin being released from her confinement on Axis, or whether you will be speaking against freeing her. If you speak for her you get one boon, if you speak against her another. You can also wait until we finish the RP in the Tribunal and receive your chronicle sheet then, in which case I will know which one you picked due to what you have to say during the event.

I can roll for the Convention boon now, however.

Aquila: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Barnette: 1d20 ⇒ 3
Kramac: 1d20 ⇒ 11
Ruby: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Zwei: 1d20 ⇒ 14

Both Kramac and Ruby tag along as Aquila talks to the various people hanging about the courthouse this morning. They hear the same thing as the halfling, but are able to use their encyclopedic knowledge of the outer planes and the powers who live there to interpret some of what they hear and translate some of the names of places and people that are mentioned.

An axiomite mentions that Hao Jin’s demiplane offended many of her people who are concerned with the stability of the cosmos, but apparently it perturbed even Otolmens, a primal inevitable demigod of Axis concerned with machinery, mathematics, and physics. She believes she saw the Tenth-by-Third, the herald of Otolmens, enter the courthouse, and it seems likely the herald will serve as one of the judges.

Tenth-by-Third is dogmatic even by the standard of inevitables. The scent of chaos offends the herald, whereas interacting with lawful-aligned beings sets the herald at ease. The herald Tenth-by-Third respects logical arguments and those backed by quantitative data, whereas they interpret impassioned arguments as muddied by emotional interference.

Some bystanders believe that the yamaraj Zahal may be serving as one of the other judges. A yamaraj is an extremely powerful dragon-like psychopomp that operates one of the Boneyard’s courts to determine souls’ fates. Any psychopomp judge would take offense at any interference in the River of Souls, so such a topic should be handled carefully if it’s brought up. Few understand her, considering her a wild card. In the Boneyard, she’s as often chided for her leniency—even for crimes that others would consider unforgivable—as respected for her grim verdicts, though such decisions almost always come down to the context of the deeds.

There is a bit more information for those capable of making an okay Knowledge (local) or Profession (barrister) roll, but otherwise you have all the info.

In that case, Can I switch to Sense Motive? That's a +14 modifier, so 32 instead.

You already got the highest results for Diplomacy, and Sense Motive gives you the same information :)

Aquila talks to some of the people who are hanging about the courthouse today and learns an apkallu named Tchekua will most likely be a judge today, as he was part of Hao Jin’s first tribunal. Tchekua was fairly sympathetic to Hao Jin centuries ago and might still be. There’s also word that one of the judges is arriving from another plane for this event, which is rare.

He further learns that Tchekua is an enthusiast of mortal history, having studied and catalogued the lengthy timelines of thousands of worlds. He is an avid archivist who understands the merits of preserving and understanding the past. The prevailing rumor of the off-world judge is that they’re a representative of the Boneyard, based on the group of psychopomps seen alighting and entering through the courthouse’s back entrance. If it’s true, the psychopomps would be especially interested in anything Hao Jin did that influenced the River of Souls (the means by which the dead reach Pharasma for their final judgment).

Finally, a particularly talkative mercane lets Aquila know that Tchekua has a slight bias toward those who speak in ornate ways, and he’s readily wooed by those who demonstrate sincere passion. He also learns that the secretive psychopomp is a yamaraj named Zahal who specifically requested a position on the tribunal upon learning of it.

Do different skills yield different results? Is one really big succes better than many smaller successes? I'm assuming no to both and Aquila will just ask around (diplomacy).

Yes, different skills yield three different results.

The Tribunal

Once you finish your conversation, Eleven-Sun-Truth arrives to lead you all to the tribunal. Hao Jin stays behind, as she will not be needed until a bit later in the day. She promises in the meantime to begin reattuning herself to her memory engrams and begin the transcription of the "Ark Ritual" that you will take back with you.

On the way through several Travel Portals, he explains that although the Ruby Phoenix was a relative unknown when she arrived centuries ago, she has become the center of quite a bit of attention since then. Her reputation ensures that as word of her trial has spread through several districts, there’s already an immense yet orderly crowd of curious inevitables, glimmering axiomites, petitioners, and off-world visitors gathered around the sprawling courthouse today.

As you step through the final portal, you can see that the inevitable has not lied, and there is indeed a huge crowd waiting to enter the scene of today's tribunal. Eleven-Sun-Truth escorts the you through the crowd, which parts smoothly and politely to make way. Once you are inside, the inevitable lets you know that you are free to explore the courthouse’s expansive, three-story entry hall where a host of barristers, bureaucrats, scribes, and more are discussing a combination of legal theory and the upcoming trials for the day. Eleven-Sun-Truth requests that you remain in the general area while it checks in with its superiors, mentioning that the trial’s set to begin in about 2 hours.

He also suggests that you ask around and inform yourself of today's proceedings and of who the judges in the tribunals might be, as even he has not been told about their identity.

If you want to ask around and use your understanding of the dynamics at play today, you can do this using many skills: Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Knowlede (local, planes or religion) or Profession (Barrister).

Hao Jin takes the memory engrams from the group, thanking you each in turn.
She then turns to Ruby and Kramac to reply to their comments.

"Yes, the weaver was truly a great insight, and one which I could not have foreseen. I found the technical skill with which he created cloth was not only the inspiration for how I bound together the demiplane, but also that his meticulous detail and care conveyed the importance of taking my time and abiding by the multiverse’s laws as I understood them."

Here she turns to look at Kramac in particular. "I understand that what I did was wrong, but at the time I felt I had no other choice. I see now that I should have studied what effects and repercussions my actions would have on the plane and the multiverse as a whole, but you are right. I was full of hubris. But what can one expect from a being only a few centuries old!"

Shall we continue to the tribunal?

I'll make it a short RP session with Hao Jin, then :)

You pass through several Travel Portals until you reach the outskirts of the Empty Court. Unlike last time, one of the Axial Monitors is stationed directly next to the teleportation gate, while the other guards the entrance to Aroden's former domain.

The same tent you saw set up on the stage of the amphitheater has been set up next to the Teleportation portal, and after ducking inside you find Hao Jin going through a chest of clothes, trying to decide between several outfits.

She drops her belongings as you enter and looks toward you expectantly.

"Did you find them? The engrams? What I wouldn't give to be whole again after so many years."

Staying for the trial will not impact your mission as it will take Hao Jin at least a day to reintegrate herself with her memories and then write down the ritual for you to take back with you.

Also if you need to leave the game before we "end", you have completed enough to get full gold and full XP and Prestige.

Having acquired the third and final memory engram, your group heads to to the Travel Portal that will take you back to the Empty Court when you interrupted by a very excited-looking Eleven-Sun-Truth.

The inevitable is practically vibrating with pent up energy, especially once he hears that you have recovered the engrams.

"Oh, that is wonderful!" he almost shouts, bopping up into the air before coming back down to eye level. "And I have wonderful news as well! I conveyed the story you brought with you about the demiplane to Hao Jin's tribunal, and they have agreed to reopen her case! They have set her date for tomorrow and it would be a great honor to invite you, her advocates after all, to attend. Judging by my superior's remarks, there will be some very influential judges present. Would you possibly be able to attend?"

Aquila opens the bag to find what appears to be the third missing memory engram inside. To check its authenticity, he quickly touches it and receives the expected vision from Hao Jin's past.

This time the vision is of her as a child of perhaps ten, her hair glossy black without a hint of the sorcerer’s signature ruby locks. Hao Jin dances and sings as she explores the wonders of a magnificent museum. She climbs about the displays, enacting mock battles with taxidermied drakes or old suits of armor. As the young Hao Jin climbs atop a suit of ancient Minkaian armor, her foot slips and she grabs at a hanging lantern to steady herself. Suddenly everything is pain and fire, chaos, and then... silence and empty darkness. The silence and empty darkness end suddenly with a burst of pain and a strange pulsating that wracks her entire body.

The scene shifts again and Aquila sees a young Hao Jin, her hair now a brilliant shade of red, her small face crumbling into tears as she learns that not only is the glorious museum gone, burned to ash, but her family has spent almost their entire fortune returning the young girl to life. Aquila is left with a strong, lingering sense of Hao Jin’s regret, as well as her resolve to master the strange new magic burning inside her along with her emotions, so that she is never the source of such a tragedy again.

Snapping back, the halfling shaman look up to see 322 shrug at his question. "You got what you wanted. Next time, get a contract, I guess," she mutters in Halfling as she disappears with a single spoken word of magic power.

The bird nods and gestures for Aquila to leave the way they came.

All goes smoothly until the two are just about out of sight of the main gate, when 322 suddenly and unexpectedly transforms while still riding on Aquila's shoulder and tumbles off in her true form onto the cobbled street of Absalom.

In an instant she is up again and stares back toward the front gate of the Grand Lodge to see if her change was spotted. Aquila whips his head around as well, but sees that the guard seems to be talking to a group of Osirian tourists, and seems to have seen nothing.

322 grabs Aquila by the collar and quickly drags him back into the side alley.

"That was close," she mumbles in Halfling, and pulls a different colored tuning fork than the one Aquila saw before out of her satchel. "My transformations can be a bit unpredictable. Let us return to your cohort."

And with that she intones the words of power and Aquila feels once again the intense rush of vertigo as the street suddenly drops away beneath them and is replaced by the off-white sand of the Serene Circle of Irori.

The other Pathfinders are standing about 50 yards away, and while the other people gathered nearby note the sudden appearance of the halfling and the elf, none seem to give it much thought.

322 pulls a bag out of her satchel, a small bag that seems to contain an object about the size of a human child's fist.

"Here, as we bargained, Pathfinder." 322 intones, but she speaks not in her cool, disaffected tone, but with some dredged-up emotion that is hard to pin down.

The Venture-Captain takes a moment, but then nods in agreement with Aquila. "Yes, yes, very true, the good old ECR, can't beat that can you? Carry on, carry on."

Valsin then turns around and stalks off down the corridor.

Less than 5 minutes later, the familiar-looking halfling returns holding a sealed, wooden box big a bit under a half-meter in all dimensions. She is stuffing it into what looks to be a handy haversack, which she then swings over her shoulder.

"All done," she states matter-of-factly, then transforms back into a bird and lands on Aquila's shoulder.

"Any trouble while I was gone?"

The Venture-captain stops himself just as he passes Aquila and turns around.

"Say," he says, holding out a finger in the air in a gesture of a man trying to remember something. "Didn't Westyr send you and a crew to Axis early this morning?"

Aquila and 322

322/Garra seems very suspicious of the offer and does not take it, making a squawking sound to show displeasure.

The pair quickly make their way from the back alley to the main street that leads to the entrance of the Grand Lodge. Getting past the guard at the door seems no problem as he recognizes Aquila and gives him a short nod as they pass.

It is evening in Absalom, and the Grand Lodge is abuzz with Pathfinders moving about. The entrance to Skyreach is unguarded and Aquila quickly makes his way inside.

"Down the hallway to the left," she whispers to Aquila in Halfing, her words greatly hampered by the eagle's beak and tongue, yet somehow perfectly understandable to the halfling.

Once they arrive at the requested destination, 322/Garra looks around to make sure no one is watching and hops off the Aquila's shoulder, transforming into a halfling the approximate size and shape of the shaman. 322's disguise could even be a distant relative by Aquila's estimation.

"I'll be right back," she states in Halfling. "Wait here," then disappears down another hallway and around a corner and out of sight.

Less than 10 seconds later, Aquila turns around to see Ambrus Valsin striding purposefully down the hallway. He seems to be on his way to somewhere (not the direction 322 left in, however) and nods politely to Aquila.

"Evening, Audax," he says as he passes.

322 shakes her head. "No need, I can draw on the energies of the Dreaming Dark to give me that form and ... I was thinking the same thing. Strange." She then gives the halfling a strange look before placing a light hand holding a tuning fork on his shoulder and intoning words of magic while making the requisite gestures for the somatic component.

Anybody with Spellcraft can tell she casts plane shift.

Aquila and 322

Aquila experiences a strong sense of vertigo and is momentarily disoriented as the Serene Circle of Irori disappears around him and is replaced by a back alley in a large city on Golarion.

"A moment," 322 intones as her form shifts again to that of his eagle, Garra. She flutters for a moment then sits on his shoulder.

"All right, let's go. Try to act natural. We are only a street or two from the entrance to the Grand Lodge."

322 nods and steps forward toward Aquila and looks him up and down.

"Just you, not the eagle," she states matter-of-factly, pointing at Garra. "Is that a problem?"

322 shrugs at Aquila's question, and doesn't offer a clear answer to the question.

"So are we doing this or not? Engram for access? Questions of philosophy and soothsaying can wait."

The disguised 322 turns to Barnette.

"You would be gone for no more than 20 minutes as long as you don't interfere and as long as I do not encounter any other difficulties along the way."

She then turns to Zwei. "Is that quick enough for you?"

322 in her disguise nods. "It seems we have an accord, but I must insist on being safely conveyed into Skyreach before handing over the memory engram. I wish to do a bit of snooping there, nothing more. I do not intend to harm anyone. One of you will come with me to Absalom, and be returned to Axis once my mission has been performed. After returning here, I will hand over the engram. Are you amenable to this offer?"

Since nobody is doing anything extremely different, I will continue with the posted actions. Also, do any of your PCs have the "Acquainted with 322" boon from #7-23 Abducted in Aether"?

As you speak to "Yakomo", he stands up and turns around, maintaining his illusory appearance.

"Very good, we can dispense with the formalities then. I am here because I want a trade. I will give you the engram, but in exchange one of you gets me into Skyreach at the Grand Lodge. It's that simple."

"Ruby, Kramac, do either of you see the engram?"

Aquila will use his eagle senses to spot the engram without the use of magic

Aquila does not see the engram on her person.

True seeing reveals that its true form to be a small, elfin figure dressed head to toe in black. I've added the picture to the Combat Map slides above. I'm pretty sure most of your characters will recognize who it is, even if your characters haven't directly interacted with her in person.

Barnette, she is chaotic neutral.

I'll let you retro any other actions once you discover who it really is.

I'll make sure to bring it in before the 6th. I'm in bed with nausea and a high fever right now, but will try to post as much as I can.

Once you have all gotten used to the effects of the Serene Circle, you begin the search for the masked elf. The Serene Circle is quite large easily containing several thousand individuals, but after quite a bit of asking around, you are directed toward "Yakomo". You enter a small, sheltered area covered in flowering trees with bright blue and white blossoms and a lone figure who seems be meditating next to a fountain shaped like an open lotus blossom about ¾ of a mile from the edge of the Circle.

You are currently about 60 feet from the sitting figure who has "his" back turned toward you. From the back this does indeed seem to look like "Yakomo", but from the back it is hard to make a positive ID.

Sorry, I was planning on giving you the DC so that you could react. It's DC 23 Will save.

Yakomo wishes you luck as you leave. Travel to the Serene Circle is accomplished in a manner of minutes.

The Serene Circle is an open-air plaza where Irori’s followers meditate, learn, and discuss the intricacies of the multiverse with one another. Miles across, it is covered in light-colored sand and dotted with tranquil fountains, reflecting pools, and carefully managed gardens. Countless remade petitioners dressed in loose, white robes stroll about engaging in quiet contemplation or are in conversation with others of their kind. Others sit and meditate quietly in the shade of blossoming fruit trees. The entire area is suffused with a deep sense of tranquility and peace.

Everyone please make a Will save if you wish to resist the Grace of Irori. From what you have heard, most people voluntarily fail their saving throws in order to come under the effect of the Grace. Those who do fail are flooded with a quiet yet powerful sense of stillness and peace. Strong emotions immediately flood away and are replaced with a growing awareness of one's place in the multiverse. The game effect is that one comes under a calm emotions or calm animals spell (depending) while receiving a +2 insight bonus on all Int- and Wis-related skills. As the spells' descriptions state, those who fail their save are unable to take violent actions or do anything destructive for 24 hours unless they leave the Circle; leaving and reentering the circle does not grant an additional Will save.

Finding "Yakomo" will be relatively simple once you try to track "him" down, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to decide if they are accepting the Grace of Irori.

Yakomo shakes her head. "Unprovoked violence in any form can penetrate the Circle, but it is also highly taboo and immediately stopped by the axial monitors, as those within the Circle can't adequately respond. The only combat allowed within the Serene Circle are exhibition matches of martial arts between willing participants. The Serene Circle is also quite large, and encompasses an area at least a mile across."

Before you leave, Yakomo stops you to pass on one last bit of information.

"Since you are native to Axis, I must give you a final bit of advice. The elf in my form is most likely in the Serene Circle, and anyone traveling there comes under the influence of Irori's Grace. Irori himself bestows his peace upon all who step foot within the Circle. Violent action is strictly forbidden within the Circle, but most who feel Irori's Grace become incapable of harming others or themselves. It is an experience quite unlike any other and is used by those of us following in the Master's footsteps in order to clear our minds of the fears and distractions of our mortal lives."

People are paying attention to you because you do not look like the average visitors to the outskirts of Irori's Serene Circle, but none stand out to you as being particularly suspicious.

The petitioner bows apologetically to Aquila.

"You will have to pardon me, Master Pathfinder, but I am unable to answer your questions as I am not versed in the lore of magic. In life I was a mason and in my world we never made much use of magic when constructing buildings. All I can tell you is that she spoke words in a language I did not understand after which her appearance and clothing changed to match my own."

Yakomo gives Aquila a puzzled look. "Ah, I'm afraid I am not too familiar with that portion of Hao Jin's biography. I have not been studying the engram for a very long time."

Yakomo nods at Barnette's comment. "Yes, she said she needed it for something else, and who was I to deny it to her. I hoped it would relieve her burden, but now I'm not so sure."

He then turns to you, a look of puzzlement on his face. "But what is it that you want with her and the engram?"

Kramac breaks downs the door with his weapon, revealing a small chamber within that holds a single tied and gagged petitioner dressed in loose robes similar to those worn by the other inhabitants of the area.

(Assuming you free and ungag him ...)

The petitioner smiles as you free him from his bounds. He stands up and briefly collects himself while smoothing out his clothes.

"Thank you very much for the rescue. My name is Acolyte Yakomo and you must be agents of the Pathfinder Society, yes? Someone is looking for you."

"I was visited about two hours ago by an elven woman of your world. A sad thing that seemed quite ... troubled would be the best word. The elven woman seemed to be carrying the weight of far more hardships than even an elf's long life could justify. While I am not pleased that I appear to have been drawn into a conflict between you and this woman...” Yakomo pauses for just a moment. “Perhaps all is happening as it should. I find that is often the case in this city. Regardless, the woman seemed to know you would arrive. She bade me tell you that you should seek me out in the Serene Circle. Given what I saw of her magic, I expect she was being quite literal and waits there in my guise even now.”"