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Toorin congratulates the sages for their willingness to compromise, something he's seen as an essential quality of wisdom during his time as a diplomat. Once back in Eto, Toorin congratulates the other Pathfinders on surviving and on accomplishing their mission. He makes his farewells and then visits Madam Zelekhati at the Dancing Dunes, seeking information on his lost love. After spending a few days on the search--and sampling some of the pleasures at the establishment--he becomes convinced Val has not been through this area. He books passage on a caravan and heads back for the Inner Sea to file a report at the Elven embassy in Absalom, happy to get back to places where water is a luxury everyone can afford, not a scarce commodity and he does not need magic to deal with the climate. His contact with the sages and the mythic power he briefly enjoyed helps him understand some new arcane principles and he locates some more powerful spells to add to his spellbook.
"Korasu's proposal has the virtue of calling attention to an important decision you'll both have to make, regardless of how you wish to proceed. You'll need agents to assist you. You have a jewel to track down. You have fragments of another which perhaps could be reconstituted or recreated. You have the notes that suggest how more jewels could be created. And then you have to deal with the current powers of Osirion. I suggest you engage the Pathfinder Society's Scarab Sage faction to begin to work on these various projects. Perhaps that would fulfill what Korasu proposed. If so, I would consider that my vote. You also have two fellows just outside this hall who need to be cured of a parasite infection that will turn them into zombies before too long. They know to whom they sold the other jewel, so you had best see to their health as soon as possible if you hope to find that jewel. We have an inkling of who may have bought it, and he is an opportunist who may have already sold the gem or may be trying to use it for his own purposes."
Toorin listened intently to both sages, committing as much to memory as he could, so he could report on this moment to the elves. He was taken by surprise when given a vote about the future of this ancient tradition. He listened to the other Pathfinder's, until he was the last to speak. The consensus coalesced around the side of the diamond sage, now revealed to be a time dragon. His vote would not change the outcome, which took some pressure off and so he spoke at last. "Although I am a young elf, my people have faced a similar choice since returning from Sovyrian. Many elves have sought to resettle former homelands and return to the way things were, as Sage Amenopheous desires for his order. But the world has changed and new realities have made some of us realize we will not survive without adapting to the new shape of the world. I therefore would vote for the progressive attitude of the Diamond Sage. May Yuelral bless your efforts. If there is anything the elves can do, please allow me to convey your thoughts to the leadership when I return to Kyonin."
As Toorin completes his spell, the fighting is done, but he directs the spell to Xull anyway, in case anything new and nasty shows up in the next four minutes. Xull's body shimmers and grows to twice his normal size. "I can dismiss the effect, if you want," Toorin says and turns his attention to the riddle of the sages.
Toorin thinks out loud as he looks at the lights and the statues. "Okay, so we've got four gems, based on the shapes on the floor: sapphire, emerald, topaz, and ruby. If the red lamp is the ruby and the blue lamp is the sapphire, they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. That would put the remaining two colors green, for emerald, and yellow for topaz. So lets put a lamp in the hands of these two statues," "and see if we get the remaining colors of green and sapphire."
Toorin ducks his head to avoid the splintering bits of the guardian Xull obliterated and moves until he is north of the glass Golem, calling out "Nix Chisanu Mira" and cupping the glowing sphere of ice and snow until he has a clear shot at the glass golem.
"Let me know if you think putting something with a light spell in the slots will work. I also have a Gem of Brightness."
Toorin holds back until the others have gone through, pondering how to introduce himself. When Amarok has finished, Toorin steps up to the crystal. "I am Tûrin Valpamiucon, son of Barathon and Daeralda, ambassador for the elves and Pathfinder. The Ruby Sage provided me with some of her power that I might assist in the recovery of the sage jewels, seeing that they provide wisdom in the hands of those of good will." After receiving confirmation, Toorin gives a wary look back at the remaining Aspis agents and then follows the other. Rolls:
As Toorin enters and waits for Amenopheus to insert the key, Toorin points to various gods depicted on the walls, saying, "Nethys again, although the image is a very early one. There is Ptah, god of architecture and inventions. Thoth, god of wisdom and writing." As the statues come of life, Toorin hurriedly calls out a translation of the words spoken in ancient Osiriani, "'As the light aligns, so too do the sages stand.' I think that's a clue as to how to keep these graven guardians from attacking. Put the sage jewels in the slots in the floor and perhaps it will align the light. I'll throw snowballs at the glass golem. That will slow him down. Display holy symbols of Nethys or Ptah if you have them."
To Kafir and Nefti, Toorin says, "I hope you survive to enjoy this reprieve and make amends for the life you've led." "Toorin, I must teach you Deus ex Machina." "I have heard of that spell," Toorin comments. "I've heard it requires components that can cause harm to demons, something to provide cold irony effects." As the group walks down the hidden approach to the gates of the Sanctum, he again marvels at the priviledge to be walking in such a historic and ancient place. He tries to imagine what it must have been like to see it when it was new. Toorin obliges Amarok's request for the Mage Armor casting and then does the same for himself using his wand.
To the other Pathfinders, he says, "So far as I know, they haven't done anything worse than take something that we were also instructed to take. I would not support killing prisoners for such crimes, but if we don't kill them and they die from the parasites, we'll need to burn their bodies to prevent them from rising as void zombies. Let's keep a sharp eye on them and see what the diamond sage says. Might be able to cure their parasite infestation. If they want to switch teams, I'd support bringing them back to let the Pathfinder leadership decide their fate."
Toorin looked the bill of sale over, considering whether there might be some kind of coded message hidden in the words. Then he remembered one of the servants at Torch's bathhouse talking to a greasy looking man in finely crafted clothes who asked if he could see Angvar. The orc said, "He's with another guest." It clicked. Angvar was Torch. "Well, it looks like we may have to pay Cutie Pie another visit, if we want to recover the jewel they sold." He makes eye contact to make sure the others picked up his meaning.
Toorin takes advantage of the slow reflexes of the enemy and steps west until he has a clear space over which to hurl another magic snowball, this one from his prepared spells. He gestures, holding out a hand expectantly, says "Nix Chisanu Mira," and waits a second as the pristine white sphere of snow and ice materializes in his open hand. Without delay, throws the snowball at Nefti.
Toorin senses the group is going to make a mad dash down over the steep slopes, something he is not well equiped to do. His surge of powers gave him an instant realization of how magic could enhance his climbing ability with a few bodily transmutations. He made a few motions with his arms, said some words he had never spoken before, and his fingers elongated, with webbing between his fingers, and his knees became double jointed. Then he set off with the others, saying, "Don't wait for me. I'm not very good at this kind of thing." Running with my best friends:
Toorin's sharp eyes spot the Aspis agents far below. He points them out to the others.
With his transmuted arms and legs, the scramble down the slope went by with dizzying speed and a few close calls.
Just as he was thinking he might keep up with everybody, his way was blocked with a huge boulder. He tried to push it aside, but it would not budge.
Getting past this point again was made easy with his transformed limbs.
Here he could either try to wriggle through or force a wider opening. His strength was not sufficient, however.
The patch of quicksand was relatively easy to navigate by falling forward and letting swimming strokes pull him forward and break his feet free of the muck.
Nefti tried to foil pursuit with some magical trap to cloud his mind, but Toorin was focused at this point and shook it off.
He felt sure the wall blocking his path had not been there when he was looking down on the scene a minute before. So although he was certain the wall in front of him was an illusion, it did not yield to a concerted mental effort to get past it.
Hope this is what you were expecting.
As I said, I overlooked some things in the discussion thread as there was an explosion of posts and I was very busy at the time, but I assumed the chronicle had all the key information, and it was vague about options for the choices. In retrospect, I get that the list of boons on the chronicle is for those who don't have the book, but that wasn't obvious to me on my initial reading. I would have been nice had the chronicle added a line between the first paragraph and the remaining list of changes to the effect that the following list is for those without the source book. That or when it listed the Exceptional Deeds, it could have said, You gain two special abilities from the Mythic Powers 2 Chronicle sheet, or any two available in the Mythic Origins sourcebook. This is mostly feedback to make the GM aware of a player's confusion, not blaming the GM particularly for that confusion. As a GM, I know it's important to know about problems players may be having understanding options.
Thanks. Snowball and Shocking Grasp are two of the more potent 1st level wizard/sorcerer spells available, and both lend themselves to potentially humorous images, particularly as lethal practical jokes. Incidently, if you run this module in the future, I would recommend you emphasize that the options for mythic abilities are not limited to the list of abilities on the chronicle. I have the book on mythic adventures, but I did not think we had carte blanche to dig through for other options until it was well into the adventure. That is partly my fault for not reading the discussion thread. The chronicle says choose two abilties from the listed abilities, but does not make clear that other options are available to those with the Mythic Adventures book.
This is a moot point, since the Behir is dead, but I'm wondering if the snowball did no damage because of some kind of resistance. If not, it looks like the spell did no damage because the target made the fortitude save. I think the save only prevents the staggered condition, with the damage being done regardless. That would also be consistent with the fact that it requires a ranged touch attack. It might be one of the few chances for Toorin to have done significant damage.
Toorin keeps his comments to a minimum for the arduous trek through the mountains, but he continues to be impressed with how dramatic and colorful the landscape is as well as how it changes with the changing light. At night, the stars seem more numerous than he has even seen, glinting and sparkling in the welcome cool. The high mountain air takes its toll for a while, but Toorin manages to keep up. When the group inspects a campsite recently abandoned by the thieves, Toorin's attention is caught by something glistening and wriggling in one of the bloody bandages. "I think these worms are a nasty parasite. These are probably from the Arcata, whose bite can infect a victim with a worm that can turn the host into void zombie. They move faster than most zombies and the creature infecting their brains has a tail that sometimes sticks out of the mouth, looking like a forked tongue. Did anyone get bitten by that arcata we fought?"
As Toorin finishes his casting, he directs the arcane energies at Xûll. The bloodrager grows to twice his normal height and eight times his normal weight. Then he steps close enough that the descending creature is in range of a snowball attack, using the mythic powers at his disposal to cast the spell at a higher level than he normally would be able to cast it and preserving the version he prepared this morning. "Nix Chisanu Mira," he states boldly, his words having a faint overtone of the winds of winter. A gleaming sphere of snow and ice coalesces in his hand in a fog of white vapor. He hurls it at the creature's huge flank.
During the time when others were trying to reason with the beast, Toorin alerts his comrades to a few facts about the beast he has studied, "They may look like dragons, but they are not. They breath electricity though and can swallow you whole." As the beast begins to move down the cliff, Toorin draws on the mythic powers granted by the Ruby Sage to begin to cast the spell to double the size of a person within 30 feet of him. Just before casting he calls out, "Warpak! Amarok! Who wants to become twice his size, the better to clobber that creature?" He listens for answers as he begins the complicated casting, making broad gestures with one arm and hand while sprinkling powdered iron and speaking arcane words. "Ag fás níos mó. Ag fás níos mó. Dhá uair airde agus leithead agus doimhneacht."
Could I get some clarification of our goal and options at this point. Is the hole in the wall icon in the upper right side of the map where we came out of the tunnel? If so, why were the character icons placed in the middle of the map? The description was of two sandstone scarps 50' tall with climb DCs indicated and some indication of the terrain at the bottom. Some mention was made of climbing but I'm not sure yet why we would climb either spire except perhaps to get a better view of the area and perhaps spy our quarry. Tracks are mentioned but not which way they go. Amarok mentioned a pair of tracks but I see nothing about a pair of tracks, just that tracks exist. We've got the corpse of death worm and perhaps a riddle of how it died. Is it our job to figure out which way to go next, or do we have a clue about that and our job is to figure out how to get past obstacles in the terrain? As usual, I'll be working this morning so I'll contribute something in the afternoon, assuming I have a better idea of what we need to do.
Toorin follows the others to the point where Xull and Korasu are pulling Warpak up with rope. He discovers climbing such heights under such conditions scares him and he hopes others can pull him up rather than relying on his meager climbing skills. When he gets to the cliff he yells to be heard over the wind. "I would rather get pulled up than to make the climb. Even with a rope and climbing gear, I don't think I'd make it otherwise."
Toorin doesn't have knowledge (Planes) and I assume it cannot be made untrained. We don't have much information except that the tracks end 15 feet before a buried door and there are some cracks in the floor. Is this in a tunnel? Is it a natural tunnel or has it be constructed? How wide and tall? If the doorway is buried, how do we know it is a doorway? How big are the cracks? What type of floor: earth, natural rock, or worked stone?
Toorin looks at the cracks and the doorway, thinking of ways to move past these obstacles. "I have a spell that can excavate the earth down about five feet. It only works on loose dirt, however; not solid rock. I think I could make one of us smaller, say down to Pooka's size or Pooka smaller still."
Toorin moves toward the other Pathfinders and feels arcane knowledge filling his awareness of all manner of spells he had never cast before. When he gets near the others, he says, "I can't make it visible, but if it comes near us, we will be warned." He then fishes a fine silver wire from one of his component pouches and says, "Airdeall ar fad go dtí an dofheicthe," while gesturing in an arc that outlines a circle about 20' radius from the spot between Pooka and the pillar to his SW. "When you hear a bell, it means the creature has just entered the area."
Invisibility Alarm:
This spell functions as alarm, except it is triggered only by invisible creatures entering or leaving the warded area. The spell has a different mental alarm depending on whether the invisible creature is entering or leaving the area. This spell does not aid you in sensing or pinpointing the location of an invisible creature within the spell's area.
Alarm spell specifies: Audible Alarm: An audible alarm produces the sound of a hand bell, and anyone within 60 feet of the warded area can hear it clearly. Reduce the distance by 10 feet for each interposing closed door and by 20 feet for each substantial interposing wall.
Toorin watches the carnage with great admiration for the martial skills of his comrades. He considers using some of the amazing power that has been buzzing about in his head ever since the Seeker's Folly conclave with the Ruby Sage, but with only one enemy and the other's closing in, Toorin shifts to where he has a clear shot and lets fly an arrow.
"I'm glad you could read that, Korasu. I couldn't quite make out some key parts. I do recognize the Azatas. Nasty creatures if tales about them are true." After Pooka's and Korasu's exchange about the pillars, Toorin adds, "Pillars within pillars. Interesting. Do the pillars hold anything up or are they just decoration?" Toorin tries to imagine the workers who would have built such a thing toiling away. He pities them, since they were likely slaves and perhaps killed after the construction was done to keep the place secret. At least the Osirioni had a reputation for such tactics in their ancient tombs and secret temples.
Toorin admires the harsh landscape in silence, thinking it is likely a dwarf would find it more beautiful than most. While he prefers the grand forests of Kyonin, Toorin admires beauty in nature wherever he finds it. Still he keeps his mind focused on the trail and watching for signs of danger, only admiring the view when people stop to rest or discuss the path. When they reach the cliff and it becomes obvious a climb is coming, he first gets out a wand and taps himself with it . Then he digs out his newly purchased climbing kit and tries to remember how to attach the crampons to his boots and other elements to make the climb easier. He feels a little foolish fiddling with such devices when others seem to take to the mountainside with no special equipment at all. He wishes, not for the first time, he had more time to develop such adventuring skills as climbing, swimming, and survival in the wilderness.
Toorin looks through his scroll cases and says, "I have scrolls for spells of air bubble, mount, comprehend languages, floating disk, ant haul, endure elements--3 of these--and create water--ten of those. I cannot cast the spider climb yet. I think I'll take part of my share of the profits from Seeker's Folly as this gem of brightness. It's nearly out of charge, but it might be useful."
Toorin nodded at Korasu's summary of scuttlebutt on the new quarry, Nefti and Kafar. He had learned almost as much except for the last part about possibly wanting a new employer. To Pooka's question about sufficient preparations for the elements, he says, "The spell known as Endure Elements should be sufficient for dealing with extreme heat and cold. I have a supply of scrolls to cover my own needs and can prepare the spell if need be. The pillars are in those mountains you can see just south of Eto. It's a half-day ride in ideal conditions. I recommend we be prepared for climbing as well. I will get some mountain climbing gear look for any other magic that might help, if I can afford it."
Purchasing a Climber's Kit for 80 gp, 5 lb., grants +2 circumstance bonus on Climb checks.
Only now am I getting proper time to process the mythic stuff and get caught up. No purchases for Toorin. I'll try to have him updated before I retire tonight. Mythic options taken:
I'm okay with whatever level others want to run. I think these are the links intended in the post a few up on Scarab Seekers: Piece #1, read the post and open Toorin's 2nd spoiler
Piece #2
Piece #3
If I had more time to re-read posts and keep detailed notes, I might have picked up on this as we went along.
Toorin did not reply, but wondered if there was such a difference. While the Pathfinders often undertook missions for humanitarian reasons, all expect to make enough profit from their activities to keep at it. But he wondered if there was some problem with the Diamond Sage getting the jewels that the Ruby Sage was not willing to tell the living. He watched the proceedings for asking the Pathfinder corpse about their mission, curious what the group would learn.
Toorin will give the Sapphire Sage the notes he deciphered regarding the creation of the jewels. He also gladly accepts the challenge to find the jewels stolen, particularly if it gets him to the temple mentioned. So much history and new knowledge! "I am a bit confused about the thief. The sage's spirit said, 'He is a thief, Kafar, who had intentions of delivering the jewels to the Diamond Sage in a region known as the Pillars of the Sun.' If he is returning the jewels to the Diamond Sage, he doesn't seem a thief as much as messenger, returning the jewels to the order. Is there some reason we should not want the Diamond Sage to get the jewels? And do we know where this 'Pillars of the Sun' is?"
Toorin looks to the north to see what happened to the Ulfen party. "They appear to have scarpered off. Let's double check that we have everything. If we left anything alone for fear it was cursed, let's get it into a bag and carry it back for more careful testing. I think there was a scimitar with the water elemental and some bracers on the table in this room. When we're sure there's nothing else to uncover, we might as well contact the sapphire sage and report what we have found."
Job roll.
I'm struggling a little lately to have time to post in all my games. I don't want to pull out of this group before we get to the end of the scenario arc, but I if I continue, I'm probably not going to be able to post at the rate that matches others in the group. Let me know if that's a problem. I can always get one post in a day, but with this group, things move so fast that is not always enough to keep up.
As the spectral undead forms, Toorin calls out, "That's an allip, the spirit of one driven to suicide by madness. Do NOT let it touch you. It will weaken your resolve and start you on the road to madness yourself. Do not try to make sense of its gibbering." Toorin runs around behind it to get a clear shot. "Ar ais fuar searbh le do uaigh!" he says as gleaming crystals coalesce into a sphere in his right hand, which he immediately launches at the allip.
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