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"Listen friend, I don't want to twist the dagger, but if there was something your brother was doing for a long time that he wanted you to know about, he would have told you about it. Let us let the dead lay and respect their wishes," Vangral adds. "We just came from the school and there is every sign that your brother's spirit is not trapped there, so you should take some peace and satisfaction in the fact that he is at peace."
"Well...that was...surprisingly easy," Vangral says as the haunt is dissipated. "I guess I won't have to come back to help lay those souls to rest. I'm glad that lingering tragedy has been dealt with and I think we can take pride in helping those restless spirits move on." He looks to J. "And how are you feeling? Any further unresolved issues you feel you need to deal with?"
Vangral has been largely silent during this stage of the exploration, examining the dead bodies with no comment though picking up the wand of lesser restoration. Nor does he speak up now. Rather, he listens in quietly as Kihel makes a reasonable, yet heartfelt appeal. He hopes it is enough to soothe the spirit but is ready to act if it is not.
"Someone simply MUST come here and lay this haunt to rest fully," Vangral says with a sigh. "Perhaps I shall do so when our current mission is fulfilled." He eyes Ekadan warily as both J. and Grishan mention being "called" by a mysterious voice. Before the other man can speak, Vangral tries to move them along. "Yes, yes, probably just your connection to this place. You were both here for quite some time, after all. Let us move on to investigate. That IS why we're here, isn't it?"
"If you are amenable to it, we can return here after we deal with our next errand and take you to our Grand Lodge. It is quite an expansive campus and there are many there who are dedicated to the care and study of all manner of beings, including plants. I'm sure we could find you a place there. And there is likely little place in the world safer as it's home to some of the most capable adventurers in the world," Vangral offers as he approaches the fountain and statue.
But, given the fact that he doesn't want to get his clothes wet, he doesn't get nearly close enough to the statue to make any kind of decent examination.
"Oh, that is most generous of you," Vangral says moving around to help gather the bounty. He doesn't pick the watermelons, though. Not only would he not benefit from their magic, but also watermelons are quite cumbersome. "I've always had a passing admiration for nature, but I begin to see just how fascinating it can be," he comments.
"If you don't mind, I have a more elegant solution," Vangral says and casts a spell. Four lights glowing an eerie green spring into being, providing illumination as powerful as a torch, spinning slowly around him and causing his pale skin to shadow and shine in unpredictable patterns. He keeps an eye on everything but just follows the Majordomo for the moment, content, at least for now, at the mandragora is leading them on the right track.
"Well, first, we came to see the state this place is in. It is a true tragedy what has happened and I, for one, believe that someone should do something to restore this place to its former glory," Vangral replies from the back of the group. "Also, a friend of ours left something here and we're trying to retrieve it for him. Could you point us toward a fountain with a lion statue?"
"Someone should really reclaim this place. It was such a beautiful destination. Just think of all the families on weekend outings who could go to the arboretum and enjoy a nice picnic before heading to the Blakros Museum for a peaceful day of culture, history and art. Surely there are some druids who would take up the task," Vangral comments. He does not seem particularly interested in the preparations, though he will chip in on any communal spells.
"Grishan is not compelling J, any more than Dreng compelled us to take this mission. Phantoms do come into being in much the same way as haunts or ghosts, there is some purpose or tragedy in their living existence that is so intense that their spirit does not move on to the Boneyard," Vangral says. "Yet, unlike a ghost or haunt, often a phantom will not pass on once that purpose or tragedy is resolved. They remain linked to the spiritualist who has formed a connection with them," he continues. "The relationship between a phantom and their host can vary from leader and assistant to friends, even to rivals, but there is no compulsion between them other than the spiritualist generally having the ability to control when the phantom manifests in the physical world," the elf finishes.
Vangral shows no signs of concern when the phantom appears. After all, some of his best friends are dead. He is curious about what this means for J, though. "My young friend, why do you waste your time playing with that toy," he says, pointing at the blade she wears, "when you have access to the powers of your mind? And a spiritual assistant?" He looks to the others. "She just got much easier to escort...assuming she takes Rosla's advice and does not get overconfident."
Vangral steps behind Tempestas, so slight that his presence is almost hidden by the larger man. Only his head and face are visible to the young toughs. He is even smiling. Yet, there is something in that smile and his eyes, which suggests that he knows things. Dark things. Deep truths that most don't want to contemplate. "You should listen to my friend and go about your day," he says, quietly.
Vangral does not speak as J is presented and she presents her skills, though he does clap in delight at her outfit and even at her kukri skills. As the rest of the group delves into the intricacies of adventuring, he carefully examines his nails, barely listening. Though he focuses when talk of healing comes up. "It seems that Ms. Rosenthal and myself will be doing the healing on this trip. A bit of a shame that we don't have a member of the team dedicated one of the gods as they always have such wonderful ways of dealing with undead. "Though...I have my own ways," he says with an enigmatic smile. "Now, I agree with J. Let us get on with this. If you cads keep talking of preparations, you're going to make her think being a Pathfinder is boring and she'll never want to join us."
"I would find it more troubling were she not obsessed with such a troubled past. A trauma that intense takes time to deal with. Sometimes more time than a human has," Vangral says. "But, returning to the scene will no doubt help her put truth to her memories and reduce how much she is romanticizing or demonizing them. I believe it is actually a good idea. Or...is so long as she has people with her capable of supervising her and protecting her from the dangers of the place. "We will be glad to help her and you."
Vangral sticks to the back of the group as they walk along, his long legs making his pace seem casual, though he keeps up. He takes great care in putting away his kit and seems to be too focused on it to be paying attention. "Most haunts have a good reason for lingering. Or at least a compelling one. It is best to figure out what that reason is and deal with it rather than trying to fight those lost souls," he comments. "And what a terrible fate. To be trapped inside a sarcophagus for years. Even if she did not sense the passing of time, awakening to find so much time has passed without you must be disorienting."
A pale, slender (even for an elf) elf arrives. He is wearing perfectly tailored courtier's clothing that could have come straight from the benighted halls of the lords of Ustalav. The matching jewels and jewelry twinkle like remote stars in the night dark clothing. "Vangral. I make bad things happen to bad people, which is good for good people. Oh my friends, some of this simply won't do," he says, then bustles around adjusting people's outfits, even pulling out a very fine kit of needles, threads and scissors at one point to assist.
"Oh, we should definitely help her. It's not her fault this happened to her," Vangral says. "And I'm sure a cure is in the offing. Perhaps slaying her and turning her into a lich..." the strange elf then wanders out of the office muttering to himself without giving further opinion or saying good-bye.
Vangral isn't particularly surprised that that didn't work. He suspected that the creature would be too powerful for his power over undead to work, just yet. "Well, on to something else, then," he says, giving the minotaur a fierce glare. Evil Eye (Su):: The target takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls. This hex lasts for 8 rounds. A DC16 Will save reduces this to just 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect.
Vangral suspects that the ghost minotaur is too powerful for him to do so, but it's worth a try. He reaches into his necromantic bag of tricks and tries to take control of the ghost. Bonethrall (Su): Vangral can take control of an undead creature within his aura of desecration by forcing his will upon it (DC16 Will negates). If it fails the save, the creature falls under his control as if he had used command undead (once control is established, the undead remain controlled even if outside Vangral’s aura). Intelligent undead receive a new saving throw each day to resist his command. Vangral can control up to 3 HD of undead creatures. If an undead creature is under the control of another creature, Vangral must make an opposed Charisma check whenever his orders conflict with that creature’s.
Toral beats Vangral to the punch when it comes to identifying things in this room. He would begrudge the dwarf that, but anything else would mean he would have to have entered it first. He doesn't relish that thought. He looks to Valais as The Ghostwriter asks his question then shakes his head sadly. "Not immediately. We know what he did and how he did it, but only on a very basic level. With the notes and samples we've found here the work of curing our good Venture Captain can begin but it would be far better if we could find him and put our questions to him directly. Or gather more of his research documentation."
"Oh yes, larva! Why didn't I recognize them before? A moral quandary is it not, friends? These were no doubt people who were not very nice in life, or who at least made a bad deal. But do they deserve to be imprisoned forever? Destroyed? Sent back to the infernal planes to suffer?"Vangral says, examining them more closely.
"Yes, we should leave dealing with a demonic power to more experienced Pathfinders. We, however, shall do our best to help our own who deserve it like you, Milady Valais and hinder those of our own who deserve that, such as that churl Thurl," Vangral says as they make their way further into the complex.
"Odd pets," Vangral says, tapping the glass on one of the alcoves while his player curses the dice gods.
Vangral finds himself unprepared for the situation. He hadn't particularly expected this to work and certainly hadn't prepared questions. His mind races as he tries to think of pertinent queries. The difficulty is only increased as he realizes that most of the things they want to know are things Thurl would know and it would be extremely suspicious to ask. "Perhaps you can tell her you are trying to cover your tracks and to do so, you're wondering if there's a way to quickly reverse the work."
"I would wager that Aslynn is Thurl's contact on the other side, the one getting him his...special ingredients. But, it looks like he had another source, at least for information and that 'person' warned him away," Vangral says. "Interesting. I know where the blue writing is coming from," he says, taking one of the sticks of chalk as a sample. "But I wonder what the source of the red writing is. Blood? Magic?" He'll investigate it, as well, though he has little skill in investigating such things. "It's a figure of speach, Vaultkeeper and even if it wasn't, no I would not wager THAT on such a petty thing," he says, speaking to his little doll, apparently and answering a question no on else heard.
Vangral applauds as the strange creature is torn to pieces. "Bravo, everyone, bravo! It wasn't pretty, but it was well done."
"Hmm...those sigils signify communications...and distance...It looks like you could talk to someone quite far away while you were in this room. I wonder if I can activate it..."
Vangral can do little in this situation. The creature doesn't have a mind for him to hex. It is not undead. He's pretty useless with the sword at his waist and will be even more so in water. All he can do is encourage his comrades-in-arms. "Keep it up, fellows! You're doing quite well," he calls out. |
