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... but she does. And with half of you succeeding, that is two trial points for a total of 6. The fourth trial takes place by the waterfall to the west of the village, and the walk through the Down Valley attracts the attention of curious bystanders. Under the assumption that Aeotsep is about to test a group of aspirants, several dozen people take a brief break from their work to observe the trial. A trail ascends 40 feet to a mountain ledge, where a series of wooden posts overlooks the waterfall’s plunge pool. Aeotsep hops atop one of the posts and instructs the PCs to do the same and stand immobile for 1 hour. Though at face value this seems to be a test of balance, the trial is actually designed to test resilience and resoluteness.
At the mention of Rasheen, Rishni permits you to access the mausoleum’s communications logs, which include the coordinates of an intermittent long-range signal. This signal began broadcasting shortly before the completion of the mausoleum and is the next beacon Rasheen placed to indicate her intended course. Rishni also coolly replies that she is aware the famous treasure hunter sought an invitation to tour the mausoleum but was denied. Rishni also offers you information on the AI ascension process. The files include schematics and algorithms for the upload sarcophagi, as well as a detailed program of meditation, including breath control and biofeedback, necessary for the transference of consciousness, without which the process has no effect. And, that's basically it. When you leave, you can take Kendrai to Absalom Station and report to Radazam. Radaszam is ecstatic and immediately sets a team to work decoding the beacon’s signal. First Seeker Ehu Hadif recommends you bring Khendai to Respite, a therapy and support center on the grounds of the Lorespire Complex, so Khendai can receive the support and care they need to overcome their trauma and move on with their life. You get both Reputation points as well as 1 additional with Acquisitives, and one additional with Second Seeker (Ehu Hadif).
And .... it works. Kendrai is subdued and you explain the situation. Kendrai asks for a ride back to civilisation and tells you what they know of the complex (areas A3, A4, A5, A6, and A8) The warehouse is stocked with rare building materials from dozens of remote worlds—stone, wood, decorative tiles, and other more exotic materials. Rishni allows you to fill their cargo hold with a selection of these materials. Kendrai is also able to reconnect with her friend Rishni. Rishni recommends she contacts the CEO of Corbosi Inc., pointing out that Khendai never resigned or retired, and is still entitled to the company’s benefits package (and over a century of back pay). She records a message explaining the situation to the current corporate leadership and requesting assistance for Khendai. The only room you haven't yet entered is the 'staff room'. Elaborate stone sarcophagi line the walls of this narrow chamber. One black, angular sarcophagus has been modified, with irregular cables and erratic welds connecting it to an external power source. Underneath the alterations, engravings of chains are still visible. The other sarcophagi are a blend of styles—one incorporates an elaborate circuit board inlaid with silver and enameled with vivid green and violet; another imitates a ship burial, with an effigy of a dwarf in a boat-shaped coffin of polished hardwood; while another features a stylized engraving of a woman with a lion’s head in a desert oasis. culture 26+:
You recognize each sarcophagus features themes and
motifs from a nation or region of lost Golarion. Before Khendai’s modifications, their sarcophagus represented the ominous tombs of Nidal, while Rishni’s is quite obviously Osirian. As with the pedestals in the museum foyer, scanning the bases of a sarcophagus yields computer records of the employee contained within. Rishni and four other employees are listed as retired. Khendai and one other employee, the android Keystone, are listed as missing. Rishni’s records show she won more “employee of the month” awards than anyone else in the history of Corbosi Incorporated. Khendai’s listed specialties include materials science and mechanical engineering, while Keystone is described as an expert in 3D modeling and hybrid technology. The sarcophagi are works of art, and scans of them have historical value. The personnel records are valuable to Corbosi Inc.—they explain the disappearance of Khendai and Keystone, who were both relatively young and could’ve had long, productive careers had Dortay not interred them to upload their minds into her mausoleum.
Well at least one of you managed to do it. (+1 Trial Point for 4) Aeotsep puts away the wooden boards and takes a quarterstaff and a blindfold from the weapon racks. He then requests that everyone in the room close their eyes and be silent. As he walks around you, he tells youm to pay attention to the sound of his footsteps and the aroma of incense in his robes. The monk exhorts that consciousness is achieved through the sum of senses, and relying on only one of them creates a false perception of the world. He tells you to open your eyes and asks for a volunteer to demonstrate what they have learned.
There is now so much chaos in this room, it's hard to tell what's going on. The lodge servants who were being threated, scream then pass out from shock and fear. ((Red: -37, Green: -50(dz2), Orange: -25, Magenta: -15)) Fifty percent miss chances on two tentacles attacking Cale that could hit (low=hit)
Cale teleports away with the Pale Maiden, leaving his minions to their fate. The remaining gnome tries their wand
Two trapped archers try to escape, green is still dazed
Everyone is up.
Sirlicks Alot interprets the meaning of the passage. It elaborates on
When Aeotsep returns, he casually chats about the pages’ contents and pays close attention to who has read and understood the excerpt.
Aeotsep next leads you into the Hall of the Inward Gaze, which currently contains several broad reed mats, racks holding wooden weapons, and a pile of small wooden boards. The old monk reminds his students that physical might is often mistaken for brute force, emphasizing that strength without control accomplishes little. To illustrate the point, Aeotsep takes a wooden board from the pile and outstretches his arm, holding the board in front of his face. With a swift movement,
Could each of you please roll a Dexterity check, followed by a Strength check. Anyone with Improved Unarmed Strike, gets a +2 on both rolls.
Nothing else is revealed by the Purge Two Beads of Force are thrown at the group by one of the gnomes. They explode in ten foot bursts doing force damage
The other gnome activates their wand.
and he turns invisible. The four archers fire their arrows at random targets
Finally the tall elf, who loudly declares himself as Cale the Calistrian, hurls a web onto the group. (20ft spread, ref dc 17 to negate) All Pathfinders are up.
Botting the Shining Knight
The meeting with Itephta takes place right after lunch, where you can state your business in Tar Kuata. Itephta is a young, mild-mannered Garundi man who listens attentively to you and then asks Menkha about the relic sought by the Pathfinder Society. The Ouat leader confirms the relic’s presence within the monastery vaults, and says the Ouat monks are willing to part with it if Itephta so decides. Itephta openly asks Menkha her opinion of the PCs. She offers humble praise. Itephta weighs her feedback and then addresses you. You seek something we would give freely, but the relic is one heavy with the weight of history. Just as I would not ask a neophyte to lift a boulder before he can lift a stone, I cannot in good conscience burden you with this bauble without knowing your capabilities. When our students request greater responsibilities or greater challenges, we first ensure that they have mastered what they have learned before. I propose you experience the same courtesy I would extend to a student by undergoing a small portion of our training. It shall strengthen your body for the return journey and prepare your mind to weather your future trials. Itephta requires you demonstrate their abilities over the course of six trials before rendering a decision and giving them the Sky Key component they seek. With other business to attend to, he calls upon an aging monk named Aeotsep to serve as the guests’ guide, instructor, and evaluator. Aeotsep is a Garundi man whose sun-weathered features and kind face are traced with a network of wrinkles.
Aeotsep leads you to one of the study rooms, which contains several bookshelves, a small table, and a lectern on which there is an open copy of Unbinding the Fetters, the principle holy text of the Iroran faith. The elderly monk requests the PCs wait here while he prepares the other trials. sense motive 20+: You can intuit from Aeotsep’s request (and
overlong absence) that there is more to this delay than he claims.
Menkha is a bit taken aback by the amulet's actions but accepts the bag of grain with a smile. To pass the time, she invites you to explore the village and join her for a modest lunch in the Pahmet Heights with several other dwarven monks. During these several hours, Menkha observes your behavior. Please roll either Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge (nobility), or Knowledge (religion) check to maintain your composure and measure up to the dwarf ’s tough standards of character.
One could always feel a bit sorry for the poor, still nauseated cyan clad archer as they are ripped to shreds and eaten while unable to do anything about it. Presumably River went with the others and can act upon arrival. Osprey starts digging in the rubble to help Eliza out from under it. Violet barely makes it out of the window and is currently throwing up in the roses. Blue is sprinting to the back of the lodge. Those that bampf into the armoury (River, Percy, Shau and Lucija), see a tall elf with long white hair, wearing a fashionable powder blue silk shirt, who stands at the center of the lodge’s Armory. He wears a rapier at his side and holds the Pale Maiden in his left hand, his wide smile creasing his handsome face from ear to ear. Four human men dressed in red leather armor menace three wounded servants of the Woodsedge Lodge, who cluster near the double doors at the south end of the Armory. Two similarly garbed gnomes cavort atop the long tables near the center of the room, cackling as their hands overflow with plundered knick-nacks from among the room’s many magical items. One of these twisted creatures holds a candy-striped rod in your direction, while the other sidearms two tiny black beads at you. All the doors out of the armoury are closed except for the double doors out to the courtyard. Meanwhile, as Morock opens the rear doors to the courtyard, he immediately notes a huge hole broken through the northeast corner of the rear wall. Some 300 feet across the Lodge’s meticulously manicured rear lawn looms the Maze of the Open Road, just visible through this rough hole. The double doors to the Armory nearby stand ajar, offering a decent view of the activities within. Most of the enemy's attention is focused on the tables at the center of the room and the three wounded servants standing near the room’s southern doors to the Lower Halls. How dare you outsiders stand in the way of the People getting revenge against these enemies of the Revolution? the elf asks, gesturing toward the simpering servants. River is the only one in this round left to act. He goes before the opposition, then all Pathfinders get to go. ((unless you want new initiatives))
After a tiring, days-long journey, you reach Tar Kuata in the morning. At the base of a high mountain valley, the monastery of Tar Kuata perches atop a rocky outcropping that overlooks a tiny village and terraced fields. The steep cliffs to either side shelter the small structures from the wind, and a tall, thin spire towers over the settlement. As you approach, Menkha Helg, leader of the Ouat monks, assumes that they are the expected Pathfinders and welcomes them into the Hall of Aspirants. She is cordial and asks about the Pathfinders’ journey, insinuating that the region has been unsafe for travel.
You know the following: 15+ Merchants are refusing to travel into the Footprints of Rovagug. The most recent two caravans to return from there were both attacked by bandits.
15+ A Sothan priest of Irori named Narmek Tar Kuata founded the monastery more than 3,000 years ago. It is among the oldest continuously used schools in Osirion.
Alexis: You are also well-versed in Iroran texts and you gain a +4 bonus on Knowledge checks during the first trial.
((Orange: -74; Yellow: -71; Green: -76)) All three of them are killed. Cyan was just trying to get out of the stinking cloud and is still nauseated. They were not expecting to get grabbed and constricted. ((Cyan: -9 and nauseated)). All they can do is scream in agony. Magenta is still paralysed. They're not going anywhere. Violet and Blue duck into the nearest guest room, presumably to escape out the window. Violet barely making it inside (only single moving). A rather messy looking Osprey staggers out of the worm carcass. perception 15+:
You hear the scream of a female servant coming from the Armoury where the Pale Maiden was placed. With no active enemy, except for a snoring scarlet worm, all Pathfinders are up, followed by Osprey.
The first two strikes hit the worm. ((GW: -172)) Morok is easily able to escape as the worm is dead, helped no doubt from a blade cutting the worm open from the inside. With the worm dead and the other one still slumbering, the remaining Pathfinders are up before the archers - who may be currently reconsidering their decisions.
And that's another golem turned into a pile of rubble after the first three attacks, which means the greenish snake holding Morock takes the remaining 87. ((GW: -149)) That snake is still up but the other one is still ... is it softly snoring? Also, something inside the greenish snake seems to be trying to escape from within it. Magenta(Pink) is still nauseated but that might be the least of their worries now . They are now nauseated, paralysed, and unconscious, but at least they're still alive. With the golem destroyed, Morock and River are up.
I re-read Many Shot. It says When making a full-attack action with a bow, your first attack fires two arrows. If the attack hits, both arrows hit. Apply precision-based damage (such as sneak attack) and critical hit damage only once for this attack. So the sneak attacks should only have been 4 dice, not eight.
The only archer that isn't nauseated is Blue. ((I presume it's the green area)). One of the other archers exclaims something about 'eldritch horror from the Dark Tapestry' as they are attacked. ((Red: -87, Orange: -56; Yellow: -59; Green: -50)) All of them, except Yellow are grabbed by two tentacles. Yellow is only grabbed by one. Red dies.
The archers that are in the cloud attempt to get out of it. Only Blue is able to fire another volley, the others are still nauseated for . The other archers can't attack either as they are grappled and can't use both hands to fire. All they can do is attempt to escape.
If any of them get free, they will move as far away from the 'eldritch horror' as they can. Blue uses a standard attack to fire as many regular arrow into the creature as possible.
Percy and Shau are up. Haste is in effect.
Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir inclines his head in welcome as he opens the door and welcomes everyone into a modest office. I’m glad you are on time—and with little to spare, he says as he checks outside and then closes the door. Your ship leaves soon, and I’ve taken care of the details. He places a neat stack of travel papers on the small desk and sits down. I’m pleased that you volunteered to visit the remote monastery of Tar Kuata on the Society’s behalf. As you may already know, the Society seeks pieces of the Sky Key, a strange relic broken into multiple pieces by dwarves long ago. It seems one of the descendants may have found her way to Tar Kuata, and we believe the Ouat monks that also reside there still have a piece of the key. Travel there, meet with them, confirm our intelligence, and barter for the relic as needed. Do aim to be respectful; few Pathfinders have traveled to Tar Kuata, so you’ll need to earn the monks’ goodwill—and perhaps even pave the way for future collaboration. To that end, I am sending you with this. Balentiir lifts a heavy bag and adds it to the desk. You may be familiar with bags able to hold more than seems possible, and this one is filled with grain. I understand Tar Kuata has had a poor harvest this year, and this should help you get off on the right foot in negotiations. Any questions? |
