Chronicles have been sent out, please let me know if there are any issues or if you did not receive. Thelsa, I still need an email address from you to send out your sheet.
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Alright folks, we have reached the end of our journey. Thanks for playing in my game. I had a great time running the board. Please ensure I have your email address as all of you are eligible for possible random door prizes. So please DM me your address when you are able. EDIT: I also need Thelsa and Yohanu to fill out their information over at RPGChronicles so I can complete and send out Chronicle Sheets.
Alyreha just laughs "Well, Sunny, let's see if you are right. Don't worry Thelsa, I think I have this, finally." Alyreha speaks a name out loud, the sound is both confusing and powerful, a word of great weight, even if the Pathfinders could not quite understand it. A brilliant arcane light to burst forth from the skull. As the light fades, sitting on the desk before the Pathfinders is a small, elderly Garundi woman dressed in flowing desert robes bearing the symbol of a Nexian arclord. With her previous form returned to her, she quickly rummages through her shelves and books and spends the next several hours going room-to-room and restoring all her wards and defenses. Alyreha is incredibly grateful and thanks the party for all of their efforts and asks to group to convey the same to the Pathfinder Society, and commend them for recovering all of her research. After putting together the pieces of Alyreha’s true name and saving her research from falling into the hands of Liaskra, the agents return to the Nexus house and report their findings to Sebnet Sanserkoht. She thanks the all of you for preventing the research from falling into the wrong hands. She also assures that she will continue to work with Alyreha to recover any of her other work that might still be left behind or needs to be recreated. Sebnet is so impressed with the party's performance that she gifts them with a Ganjay Book.
Alyreha laughs ”Well my dear Elduin, if this works I should SHOULD reform my body, restore myself as I was before that pesky woman disrupted my ritual.”
Sunshine unleashes her rage, her power and her chair at the yellow apprentice. A wave of fire engulfs the thing and then is stomped on by the chair. It falls. The Alices combine their talents and team up on Liskara. Already wounded, they dispatch the enemy agent with flying objects and the furies fists of Alice the girl. Elduin, seeing his fellow agents down the other foes, turns his attention to the blue apprentice. He sends a book hurtling into its head. The creatures head caves in a bit and it falls to the ground.
The agents successfully overcome Liskara and her invading force. Searching the bodies and area, the Pathfinders recover the last notes of Alyreha's research. On Liskara, they find an ornate kukri with inlaid gems that would fetch a nice sum in the markets of Absalom. The group returns to Alyreha and reports on Liskara and her cohort. She asks the party to bring he to the tower. As they carry her into th eroom, small fires burn in the sockets of the skull. "I..I recognize her! Yes, for certain. Thats the cretin who interrupted my spell! I caught wind of her asking around about my research. I looked into what she was after. Turns out, she wanted to somehow learn to “cook” multiple true names, essentially “boiling them down” to raw material or combining them, and thus “molding” individuals according to their desires." Alyreha shakes her skull. "That's why I needed to hide myself and get that ritual completed." Alyreah asks the party to gather all the fragments of research they have recovered. She looks the gathered notes over and nods. "Good work Pathfinders, this appears to be all of what I was missing. I think I can finally put myself together." She looks at the agents, "Hehe, any last zingers before I, well, you know."
My apologies folks for the posting delay, had some work stuff that kept me from posting last couple days. Good to go now.
Thelsa wades into the fight! She gets behind the shishk and tries to stab her, but Liskara is able to dodge the blow. Therago steps to the fight as well, he perfomrs a nifty thrust that is pulled back at the last moment. Liskara, already insulted, also falls for the feint. The blue assistant takes a step then lets forth its own plume of fire at Thelsa and Therago! more fire:
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Alices 34/42
The agents take on the Liskara and her cohorts! Alice the doll taps into her magical energies to channel power into her girl from another world. The girl moves to Liskara and strikes but misses. The doll shouts a pointed insult to the foe, the quip strikes home as the creature winces at the cutting remark. Yohanu wades into the fray, powering his metal fists before launching a series of blows at the woman. One lands square on her jaw while she able to fend off the last. Elduin launches a telekinetic attack against the enemies. They are able to shrug off most of the damage. The enemies return in kind! One of the fleshy assistants runs across the room and unleashes a gout of flame towards Alice the girl and Yohanu.
Liskara snarls and launches an assault on Yohanu. She twirls a kukri in her hand then punches at the automaton with her quills, and swings the kukri at him for good measure. Luckily, both attacks clank harmlessly off the monk's metal hide. stop!:
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Alices 40/42 need REF save
The Pathfinders ascend the stairs to the south... The stairs of this tower ascend 40 feet from the floor beneath it into a large circular room riddled with books, magical implements, and crafting equipment. The couches look well-worn and the northernmost of them is covered with unmade blankets, and several pillows, before a desk covered with a pile of handwritten documents and annotated books. The walls are covered with magical equations and geometric designs written in several different colors of chalk. A tall, muscular shisk woman with heterochromatic eyes stands up from the northern most couch of the room. “Oh There you are, Pathfinders. What took you all so long? I’ve been waiting for you all to get through those defenses and find the Arclord’s research for me. But now that you’re here, I’ll have to be taking whatever you have for myself,” she sneers. “Mother needs me to bring her that research so that she can cook some true names and mix them together. I don’t entirely get it myself, but I don’t have to. All I need to know is that you have what I need for mother, so I am going to take it!” FIGHT!:
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Alices 40/42
Liskara and her allies attack!
Thelsa attempts to make her way to the owl... She hops on the back of a stuffed bear, does a back flip onto an eagle, then able to jump to a beam on the ceiling where she grabs on. Hanging from the beam, she deftly plucks the parchment from the owl's beak!
The party searches the rest of the area and discovers a room in the northwest corner of the area that is a storage closet containing several dozen unfinished or experimental magical scrolls. Every scroll in the room is appropriately labeled with the name of the spell being scribed into it, but most if not all are experimental and of no use. Further digging, however, yields one scroll labelled ENLARGE which indeed is a scroll of enlarge. The agents then turn their attention to the stairwell leading up to the third floor located on the southern end of the chamber.
Alice summons forth a ghostly hand to pry the parchment from the beak of the stuffed owl. While the hand grasps it, the paper is held tightly and the hand is unable to take it from its beak without tearing it.
Yahnu launches something at the owl but it clangs off the things hide, possible taking a chunk of feathers with it. The automaton is fairly certain the owl is mounted securely and will need to get up there to get the note.
As Sunshine and Thelsa eye the owl, they scan about the room. The taxidermied animals that adorn the room seem sturdy and could likely bear the weight of a person with proper technique and balance.
Alyreha perks up at Elduin's question. "Once each. Don't ask me why that's just how it works." The skull bobs up and down once, the headless beings equivalent of a shrug. The agents once again venture into the mansion to gather the remaining fragments of research. Back to the second floor, the group sets out to explore the southern rooms. The chamber opens up to reveal an open room filled with various stuffed animals. Taxidermied animals and beasts on display cover most of this large showroom. On the southern end of the room, a set of stairs leads upwards, and a small door on the northeastern wall is labeled “Scroll Storage”. Alice spies a stuffed owl in the center of the ceiling, 15 feet high. In its beak is a rolled-up piece of parchment.
What is this place:
The agents head back to Alyreha and tender her the recovered research fragments. The arclord made skull looks over her gathered notes... "Hmm, yes..I am beginning to remember... Alyreha's skull nods as she continues to pour through the notes "Yes, of course! I remember having that breakthrough! Oh, I was so reckless, but yes, I see it now..." After reading the sixth fragment.. "Haha! You Pathfinders are a real gem, a HEAD of the pack so to speak. I can summon enough power now to control the wards protecting my house. Better yet, I can let you all on in a little secret.." The skull bobs urging the group to gather to her closer. When the agents are huddled close, the skull suddenly yells "HAZZAM!" Alyreah laughs as the party is slightly startled. "But seriously, if you say that word aloud it will let loose a burst of positive energy, good for the soul and also the wounded." The skull bobs once more "You guys are doing great, but there are more of these out there. If you find them, I may be able to do more with the wards."
Yahanu speaks to the lecturer in a forceful manner. She looks at the automaton meekly and slowly fades away. The agents recover from the grueling lesson and search the room, in a pile of notes, they find another scrap of Alyreha's research. The agents contemplate their next move.
Yikes, Sorry Yohanu, I totally missed that last time, that is a success!
Elduin and Thelsa run back to aid their fellow agents. Therago slides to the podium and, as an deftly as an expert thief, successfully scratches out one of the runes on the podium, causing the spectral lecturer to flicker and then blink in surprise. [occ]2 successes![/ooc] Alice and Sunshine continue to try and bully the lecturer but she seems unaffected. The lecturer, though clearly weakened, drones on! -------------
Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Will Save v DC 20:
Critical Success The creature is unaffected. Success The creature is stunned 1 and takes half damage as it shakes off most of the mental load. Failure The creature is stunned 2 and takes full damage as it can’t help but try and process all the information. Critical Failure The creature is stunned for 1 round, fascinated for 1 minute, and takes double damage as all its mental faculties are focused on the lecture.
The way I count it out, you should get there in 2 rounds, with one action to spare at the end of the round.
Elduin, holding his ears and followed by Thelsa, runs back to the lecture hall to share information gleaned from the skull. Therago, Sunshine and Yohanu are able to withstand the mental load though the effort to resist leaves them weary. Alice the doll pipes up and screams at the lecturer. The shock of the oddly forceful language from the very small doll clearly effects the speaker, and the image takes a double take before continuing. The lesson, however, nearly overpowers Alice the girl. The information is too much for the Eidolon to bear and her eyes go wide as all she can do is stare at the speaker. Alice the doll weathers the info storm much better. The lecturer drones on and on and on and on! -------------
Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Alice the girl is able to shrug of the fact dump but the doll is a bit overwhelmed. As Alice the doll listens, she does notice some things on the podium of interest. What the doll sees:
Alice believes the spectral lecturer can be thwarted in one of three ways, she feels the lecturer could be bullied into keeping quiet (intimidate), a skilled thief could try to scratch a rune out that may disable the enchantment or a trained magic user could dispel a rune. Elduin and Thelsa reach Alyreah. Elduin and Thelsa:
After explaining the situation, Alyreha cocks her skull to one side. "Hm. Ah yes, that is an image of my younger self, could you tell? Anyway, I put her there to scare off people after my notes. Careful with her, she can drop so much knowledge on you it can knock you out cold! If I had my body back I could dispel it but you folks will have to. You can actually talk to the image and try to bully her to keep her quiet. I tried to thief proof the runes on the podium that powers the enchantment, but I am pretty sure a skilled thief could scratch one or more of them out. You could also try to dispel those runes. Anyway, better hurry back before the rest of your friends are knocked out!" The lecturer drones on! -------------
Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
UPDATED -------------
Elduin 22/22 to Alyreha
Sunshine's mind is able to shrug off most of the information from the lecturer but listening to so much information is still taxing. The lecturer does not respond to the Druid's rebuke. Therago moves toward the lecturer but the information load is almost too much for the kitsune to bear. Yohanu's mechanical head feels heavy as the lecturer tries to pour a universe of information into his mind. Therago:
Therago sees the lecturer who appears semi transparent. Looking at the podium, it is etched with several glyphs and runes. Elduin:
still talking:
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Elduin 22/22
The trap triggered the described effect, but you may now act normally which may or may not trigger additional effects depending on what your character does.
Therago sits and asks a question of the lecturer which the lecturer ignores. Sunshine changes seats and speaks to ehr fellow agents, IN CLASS! Yohanu finds a seat and is unable to parse what he sees. The lecturer drones on! She begins to describe magical theories so complex and intricate that not only do the agents not comprehend what is being taught, but it overwhelms their minds!
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Elduin 22/22
hm:
Elduin moves out of the lecture hall, but is still able to hear the words of the lecturer. Thelsa remains outside the hall. Alice the girl walks up to the podium while the poppet tries to figure out what the party has triggered but does not recall this sort of phenomenon in her studies. stuff:
Alice:
Alice the girl sees the lecturer who appears semi transparent. Looking at the podium, the girl sees it etched with several glyphs and runes. -------------
Elduin 22/22 Stupefied 2, Fascinated
Hey folks, looks like we are stuck. My work thing is finsihed so will be back on my normal posting schedule. For clarification, the party has triggered a magical trap. We are now engaged in "comnat" such that the everyone acts in their initiative order. Since the party beat the trap on their rolls, the trap will act last. So, please post your actions when you are able.
Elduin shakes his head, momentarily enthralled by the lecturer he gains a little clarity. He still tries to find a seat but his head remains clear. The party plots their next move!
No problem ALice, will bot if as needed. Sorry about the delayed posting folks, work has been a pain this week.
The party responds to the unusually fascinating lecturer! Elduin is completely fascinated by the speaker. He never takes his eyes off her and he slowly walks over to find a seat in the lecture hall. Therago, though not has raptured as Elduin, also scrambles to find his seat. Alic and Alice, while not paying too much attention, nevertheless move to find a chair. Sunshine, as the Alices, moves to find a chair but is not nearly as enthralled as Elduin or Therago. The chair, on the other hand, is utterly captivated. Yoahnu follows Sunshine to find a chair of his own, he is interested in what the woman has to say. 4 score and several games ago:
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Elduin 22/22 Stupefied 2, Fascinated
The lecture begins!
Elduin addresses the woman at the podium while Sunshine attempts to review the notes arrayed while the rest of the party looks into the room. When Sunshine touches one of the notes, the lecturer looks up. "Alright, take your seats!"
The spirit seems to brighten, if any spirit truly can, at the mention of Alyreha. She flitters over to Alice excitedly. "That name, that name! Oh, is it true, do you know of my teacher? He sent you to this place? Yes, she must..." She smiles at Alice. "But my manners, my name is Neibiet. Alyreha was my teacher. Oh, you speak true, you ARE trying to help her. Be careful though, earlier I heard a group of some sort, and they were making a terrible ruckus. Sounded like they were looking for something, I think they headed upstairs to the tower, but could only catch a glimpse of them through the hallway since as I, well, I am not allowed to leave this bound to this area." "These beings, were led by a spiky woman, and she was with a
Neibiet smiles as she sees the spell settle over Alice. "It worked! I mean, of course it would." She offers Alice a sheepish smile.
The party continues to search this area of the house. The peek their collective heads into a long chamber to the south of their location... The semi transparent image of a small, elderly Garundi woman dressed in typical Nexian garb stands at a podium on the eastern side of this room before an empty lecture hall. Her form doesn’t move, but three obvious runes on the podium glow with a pulsating light, alternating between pale blue and rose. Before the figure, magic shimmers over a sheaf of papers, as if the figure were waiting to speak from prepared notes.
Elduin and Alice study the malfunctioning wards and are able to correct them. The low hum and feeling of raw energy subsides allowing he group to search the room. A thorough search reveals some of the books on the shelves have marks along their spines. The three books in question are written in Celestial, Requian and Necril. Each has further markings in its table of contents
The agents continue their search of the rooms. The next room has several letters and other correspondence splayed on the desk alongside certificates and other obtuse bureaucratic paperwork. Numerous supplies forwriting letters and correspondence scattered around and inside the drawers of the desk. Most the letters are decades old and none have any relevance to the current situation, but the group finds one letter with the seal of the Blakros family on the bottom of it. The letter is a brief thank you note from Nigel Aldain thanking Alyreha for a tour of her manor and of her collection of magical items and artifacts. Moving on to the next room... The agents find what appears to be a reading room. It appears many of the tomes have been moved from this location, but find several complicated books on magical theory, many of them focused on interactions with the plane of positive energy and study of living constructs. Among the items in the room, Thelsa discovers what appears to be a magical deck of cards! Elduin recognizes it as a deck of spell cards and Sunshine sees that the deck contains 5 cards all with the spell Stabilize etched into them. The agents continue to the last room in the hall... On the far eastern wall of this small room, a board covered in complex magical runes in geometric arrangements is barely visible, nearly faded with the time this room has been untouched. The desk on the eastern side is covered in books, dried up inkwells and other writing implements. The room pulses with spiritual energy and wisps of airy magic all coalesce around a semi-transparent humanoid form sitting patiently at one of the chairs facing the desk. As the party enters the room, the spirit turns to look at the group. her wispy eyes light up and she says "Hail travelers! Do you bear any news? Have you news of my teacher? She has been gone for so long, please tell me what you know!"
The agents peer into the room to find clues as to what is causing thelow hum in the room. Most of the group are able to determine that magical energy has built up in this room to an unsustainable level. They also realize that any movement could trigger the pent up energy. In order to search the room, they must either try to dissipate the energy or risk triggering the hazard.
looky looky:
Sunshine quickly attempts to aid Yahanu and is able to heal some of the frost born wounds. The agents delve further into the manse...
They decide to further explore the rooms to the north. The group begins its investigation in the northern most room. Two small desks lay on the eastern and western sides of this small study room. The western desk hums with a soft, soothing sound while the eastern one buzzes with an unsettling low noise. On either desk, numerous crafting and repair supplies lie scattered about, and prototype golem frames are piled up against the northern wall. The shelf on the southern wall contains several books in an array of unusual languages. On all four walls, arcane runes shake and spark with instability.
The ice wound on Yohanu's arm contiues to froth and spread across the limb. Eventually, the wizened monk is able to shake off the frost.
The battle against the slithering icicles rages on! The Alices move to flank one of the snakes. Alcie the girl clobbers the frozen critter, smashing it pieces. Yohanu steps forward to engage the last foe standing. Shifting his stance, his arms move like the snake he faces. His hand like a blur, he strikes the snake once then again. The force of the automaton's attack rends the snake into ice cubes! [ooc]Another crit! You folks are a force, sheesh!
What's that over there?:
As the group recovers from their brief battle, Thelsa spies something of interest near one of the murals. In the wall, she sees the telltale creases of a hidden compartment. Exploring it further, she discovers fragments of paper containing notes in the compartment. Looking at the rest of the murals, the party discovers similar compartments near each mural with additional notes inside. Collectively, they notes are clearly part of Alyreha's research. The agents find themselves in the center of the floor. They may head north to explore the rooms there or continue south.
Sunshine sends an arc of flame at one of the water things, hitting it square in the pool. Steam and sizzle emanate from the thing as it wriggles. Elduin unleashes the power of his mind, sending two whirlwinds of psychic fury on the creatures. The creatures take the full brunt of the attack and the water things are utterly scattered. The snakes remain. Blue snake slithers toward Therago and snaps its jaws at the kitsune. The nimble swashbuckler is able to deftly avoid its attacks. Pink slithers up to Yohanu and attempts a few bites. One of them sinks into Yoahnu's metal body. The construct sees ice spider webbing from the wound and feels his joints stiffen up. The ice snakes fight on!
Save me!:
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Sunshine 27/28
The agents decide to head south toward the more open area of this floor. The pass an open central room and the agents peer inside. The central area of this room has pedestals with runes corresponding to acid, cold, fire, and electricity, with central runes placed for sonic and force. The walls of the larger portion of the room each have their own extravagant mural representing one of the four elements. The northern wall is covered by the image of an enormous caldera of an unknown volcano, a vast lake of lava that almost seems to glow intensely. The southern wall displays a vast coral reef, and the light from the ocean’s surface almost seems to dance. The eastern wall displays a yawning cave, and the depths seem almost real. The western wall displays a fierce tornado tearing through an open field. The image somehow perfectly captures the fury of the intense winds. The western section of the floor portrays beams and circles along with complex equations, while the eastern section of the floor is covered in sine waves and elaborate musical notation. The ceiling above is painted with the four elements all blending, and the centerpiece is a brightly glowing evocation rune, crackling with energy. As Yahnu steps through the threshold, a rune above activates sending a burst of cold air and a beam of white magical light into the central squared off portion of the room. Several creatures spawn from the spot the beam hit, coiling snakes made of ice and what looks like living water spring forth and attack! waterfall:
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Sunshine 27/28
The battle begins!
Hey folks! Just an FYI I will be out of town this weekend but hope to get a few posts up at some point. I know this is spring break week for many so if anyone is going to be out of commission, just let me know so that I may bot accordingly.
Alduin refocuses his energy and prepares himself to continue to explore the mansion. The group ascends the stairs... The agents enter the second floor without issue. The see an open area to the south and a hallway with several doors to the east.
Yahanu reaches out to grab the statute to try and slow or stop its decent. The moment Yohanu touches the statue, it stops its descent! The agents find that they are now able to easily dispel the magical maze, causing it to vanish and once again reveling the exit of the garden. Alduin and Thelsa are able to decipher the magical writing on the staue. Alduin believes the writings reveal a word which he points out to Thelsa how utters it out loud! The party hears a click at the speaking of the word and the placard on the statue begins to slide down, revealing a fragment of Alyreha's research!
The agents gather themselves and head back into the mansion to prepare to ascend the stairs to the second floor!
Elduin is once again able to manipulate the walls of the maze. Sunny's walkign chair is stymied, but Yoahnu and Therago both are able to force their way though another wall and then another which finally gets the agents to the statute. The statue still remains halfway above ground but continues to sink. All agents are now standing less then a foot away from the statue.
The group immediately begins to draw on their shared knowledge to navigate the magical maze. Alduin digs deep into his training and is able to manipulate the walls of the maze itself. Therago tries to use brute force to push through a wall but is unable to make it budge. Sunshine sends her walking chair to try the same maneuver. The handy chair pushes through the wall, further gaining ground for the group.
Yohanu stares intently at a wall, sure that it is all an illusion. Try as he might, the wall remains. Much like Alduin, Alice is able to recall enough of her arcane training to manipulate a wall, getting the group closer still. While the group makes progress, they are only halfway to the sinking statute.
As the agents wander the garden, Thelsa actively looks for something of note. Once the party enters the garden however the statute with the golem begins to slowly sink into the ground! As it does, walls rise up and materialize out of thin air, surrounding the party who now find themselves in the middle of a maze. Thelsa gets the feeling the group should reach the statute before it finishes its descent.
Satisfied with the Arclord's explanation of the crystal balls, they head outside and around back of the house to a lush garden. Elduin still having reservations of the mystery that awaits them upstairs but willing to wait to face that after exploring the garden. The agents enter the garden... Several statues of an adult Garundi woman at varying ages are displayed, each with a plaque describing an important event or reward. The statues of Alyreha show the mage at varying points of her life, each one portraying a key event. While there are no statues of Alyreha in her youth, there are several honorary pedestals with placards honoring major events from her childhood as well, with the name on each artistically scratched away. A statue of Alyreha what appears to be a strange looking golem stands out from the rest. Even from outside the garden, the agents spy extraneous magical lettering that is shimmering and visible on top of the mundane description on its placard.
After discovering the crystal balls, the agents return to the foyer to speak to Alyreha. When Elduin asks her about the images of Golarion, she says "Oh you found by scryers! Fun. Yeah, I liked to keep tabs on the goings on of the world, but I am pretty sure I did not stash any of my research anywhere but here. No need to travel to any of those places. Besides, I could not get you there if I wanted to until I get myself more, well, myself." When she finds out about the darkened rooms, the skull shakes her head "I definitely had sensors in every room in my house, and I cannot be sure why they are not working. Could be the damage to my house is messing with them or could be someone did it deliberately. Be careful."
Sunshine reaches out to interact with the western orb. When she reaches out to activate the device, she is able to cycle through the rooms of the house, giving her images of the rooms the group has just traveled through. Sunshine also sees a garden on outside of the house that the party has yet to explore. When she tries to catch glimpses of the rooms of the upper floors, while the names of the rooms appear in the ball, the rooms themselves are dark. Elduin activates the eastern orb. Upon activation, an image of the Starstone Cathedral in Absolom crops up. Cycling through images, Elduin sees glimpses of several well-known places on Golarion: Lepistadt University, and the Husk Beetle at Sothis, among several others.
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