Please dot in here. We should begin the action soon.
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A female tiefling walks into the room, trying out her new cape and making sure it doesn't interfere with her stubby wings. She tugs on it a bit with her tail..
"Hi everyone, I'm Swayaah.And this is Ilvan." She motions to...nothing in particular. She turns, realizes nothing is following her and shouts, "Ilvan! Get over here! Embarrassing me like that."
A young owlbear runs into the room, with a turkey leg in its mouth and an angry patron behind him. He clasps Swayaah's leg and munches on the turkey leg.
"Dammit Ilvan..." She mutters while counting off some pieces of copper as compensation.
"There’s trouble at the Blakros Museum again," Venture-Captain Adril Hestram growled when you first entered the meeting room in the Grand Lodge earlier this afternoon. "The museum’s curator, Nigel Aldain, came to me this morning asking for help. Apparently, a wayward daughter of his illustrious patrons, the powerful Blakros family, has disappeared, along with a few of the museum’s watchmen who went looking for her. The Society has helped him in the past, and he wants us to find her, before he loses his job, or worse. Now Nigel’s an old friend, and a former Pathfinder, but this kind of missing person case isn't really our bailiwick. Normally I’d tell him to find the district guard and leave the Society out of it."
"But then he made me an offer that was too good to pass up. Not only will he allow the Society access to the Blakros Museum's extensive and very private library, but apparently this same missing daughter just returned to Absalom with a pack full of ancient relics collected throughout Osirion and northern Garund. And Nigel promised the Society first pick of any of those pieces that catch our fancy. I don’t need to tell you what those kinds of things might be worth, so it looks like you’re heading to the Blakros Museum tonight."
"The missing daughter is named Imrizade Blakros—half-Osirian herself and a pretty successful adventurer and fortune hunter by all accounts. She just arrived in Absalom out of the blue a few days ago, after a couple of years’ worth of tomb-raiding in the Osirian deserts, and carrying an odd metal cylinder covered in hieroglyphs, like nothing Nigel has ever seen before. Nigel says she went straight to the basement of the museum to do some research in the family’s library, muttering something about ‘whispers in the dark’ and ‘old tapestries,’ or something. He didn't hear from her for a couple of days, which isn't unusual when someone is deep into their research in the archives, but he got worried when strange noises started coming from the basement. He sent a watchman down there to investigate, and when he didn't return, Nigel sent a few more. That was last night, and they haven’t come back up either."
"Go to the museum and find out what happened to Imrizade Blakros and the watchmen. Nigel would prefer them alive, of course, especially the Blakros woman, but the Society is more interested in what she brought back with her. I've got a hunch it wasn't just grave goods and pretty jewelry. Whatever she found, the Society wants it, or at the very least some information about it."
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A bearded Halfling raises a curious eyebrow when Saweeh and her owlbear enter the room. Garbed in military style clothing, he takes a long pull of a short cigar before saying, ”Well met, Sawheeh. Thadeus Underfoot at your service. But you can call me Tad.”
Tad is clothed in military style with a bandolier of vials and containers and a pistol on his hip. On his shoulder is patch with the words HALF and an image of a flame. Picture
”I’m here on behalf of the Halfling Alchemical Liberation Force to serve as a liaison with the Pathfinders. We’re hoping this intel on the artifacts in the Blakros museum will prove useful to our cause.”
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"Hi Tad. Good to see ya." Swayaah carefully eyes his weaponry. "More of these weird weapons. I met a tiefling once who could shoot people with a...um... musket. Much bigger than this, though." She notes Tad's pistols.
Swayaah scratches her horns, deep in thought. Ilvan keeps munching on the turkey leg she bought. "Man, this museum just keeps on giving. Hopefully they are alright, and we can get them out of there."
Swayaah decides to ask around the town for information on Imrizade Blakros and rumors about the museum's latest happenings. She actually stays on point for once!
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"Hey Dvalin! We meet again." Swayaah waves to Dvalin. "Hopefully we'll have better luck this time- no more getting shredded by a plant monster, know what I mean?" She winks, then shudders slightly at the thought.
of Qadiran trade princes, Vudran rajahs, and even the occasional Tian noble and Mwangi chief. Gifts from these foreign potentates (and the sale of illicitly gained secrets) provide the foundation for the Blakros fortune and their famous collections.
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"I heard that the Blakros daughters are pretty much raised as spies. Too many lustful Qadiran trade princes, Vudran rajahs, Tian noble and Mwangi chiefs out there. They of course provide a huge dowry to the Blakros family (and wind up giving their secrets away to the family.)" Swayaah chuckles.
"Man, mom got out of that kind of mess when she met my dad." She shakes her head. "It gets much too complicated."
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"Greetings. I heard the last bit as I came in. Apparently we're going into the Blakros Museum? I read that they bought it after probably knowing that it was Ralzeros the Overwatched's before he disappeared without a trace," came a voice from the doorway. "And by what kind of network are we able to get our information about for this mission, of the maiden Blakros?"
A tall elf with long black hair walks in on the group, with a large dark bow slung over his shoulder. At his side was a dark grey morningstar that didn't seem to have been used much. He seemed to be somewhat reserved, but his eyes sparked with knowledge that came with age and study.
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A muscular half-orc nods in understanding. He is shorter than others of his kind, being a few inches under six feet in height, but also more compact and agile.
He bears the arms and armor of Tien.
Politely, he responds to the Venture-Captain. "Rest assured that we will complete this task to your satisfaction," he nods.
He shares with the others the things he has been able to discover about the Blakros family.
Once finished with Hestram's briefing the Pathfinders make for the infamous Blakros Museum. At the entrance you are met by the nervous and highly agitated curator Nigel Aldain. "Thank goodness you've come. I knew I could count on Hestram to send us a solution. I've no idea what is going on down there, but I can't spare any more men to find out. Follow me, and I'll show you the way."
He leads you to the North Exhibit Hall, and to the impressive Garundi ziggurat (some of you may have seen it before, like in 00-05 Mists of Mwangi), and to a secret door in the base, which reveals stairs descending into darkness.
"Imrizade's library is down there. This is how my guard went in, but he never came back again. Be careful and for the God's sake, stop whatever is happening down there."
"I can take point. Dvalin, want to back me up? Or should you keep the rear guarded?" She slinks ahead before looking around for any suspicious tricks or traps nearby.
[dice=Perception]1d20+9
[dice=Ilvan's Aid Perception]1d20+1
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Taking a last long draw on his stubby cigar Tad stubs its cinder out on his boot sole and says, "Don't worry buddy, we'll get your people back and sort this mess out."
Turning to his fellow pathfinders he lights another cigar and says, "Aye, I'll keep an eye on our rear. No creepy-crawly will get past me."
The 50'long stone ramp concealed beneath the ziggurat descends to the basement. Wide enough to accommodate a draft horse moving large exhibits to and from the storerooms below, the ramp ends at two sets of double doors, facing each other to the east and west. Wooden placards on the doors are marked "Storeroom 1"(east) and "Storeroom 2"(west).
The basement walls are hewn stone, carved from basalt, and mirror the rest of the museum's gothic architecture, though of a much simpler design in these non-public areas.
Swayaah's search for traps in the ramp area and on the doors reveals none. The doors appear to be unlocked. Nothing is heard from beyond either set of doors.
The doors open with a grinding creak, revealing a large room filled with monsters of all shapes and sizes. Giant skeletons and stuffed taxidermic monstrosities are frozen in poses of snarling ferocity, while mummified corpses lie in sedate repose in ornately carved sarcophagi. As silent as a tomb, the air in the hall is stale and musty.
This chamber has a 20' high ceiling and contains a variety of assembled skeletons and taxidermic specimens of beasts, dinosaurs, and other monsters. Two large wooden signs lean against one wall, inscribed with the captions "Hunting the Beasts of Legend" and "The Honored Dead".
A door in the southern wall holds a sign labeled "Storeroom 3.
Standing in the center of the room, poised to attack any who enter, is the skeletal remains of a chimera, with the head of a goat and a blue dragon, now animated to defend the room. As you start to shuffle into the odd warehouse, it begins its assault.
Bones of the Past - Round 1
19 Dvalin
18 Elris
18 Skeletal Chimera
18 Helm
17 Swayaah
9 Tad
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"It is undead ... resistant to blades, immune to cold and very dangerous in melee ..."
Dvalin then prepares 10 sling bullets with a dose of his Holy Weapon Balm.
Bones of the Past - Round 1 - continued
Dvalin sees the beast and recognizes it for an undead creature, passing along the info to the group. He then pulls out his Holy Weapon Balm, and starts rubbing his sling stones in the sacred unguent.
Elris steps into the room firing an arrow from his darkwood bow, but the shot, though fired with deadly precision, still misses the skeletal beast.
Enraged at the intrusion, the chimera advances to attack the party in the doorway. It shambles forward, moving swiftly for something so ungainly. It swings its ponderous head at Elris biting at him, but the lore warden sidesteps the vicious teeth.
Bones of the Past - Round 1 - continued
Swayaah is able to just sneak past the chimera skeleton, drawing her earthbreaker as she goes.
From the hallway, Tad applies acid flask to his weapon and fires at the skeletal beast. The bullet scores a hit, bouncing off many of the bones inside the skeleton.
Helm swings his tetsubo but manages to hit nothing, as he dodges a skeletal claw.
End of round 1
Bones of the Past - Round 2
19 Dvalin
18 Elris
18 Skeletal Chimera (11hp dmg)
18 Helm
17 Swayaah
9 Tad
Bones of the Past - Round 2 - continued
Dvalin is done rubbing balm on his sling stones and fires the first one at the chimera. The doorway and his allies provide cover for the skeletal beast and the thrashing of melee combat cause the holy stone to miss.
Now that the chimera is on top of him, Elris discards his darkwood bow and draws out his flail. Being careful not to expose himself, the lore warden smashes the flail into the chimera doing some damage.
Now angered and injured, the chimera lets loose a horrible howl and concentrates its attacks on Elris, who just struck it. Even though a bit and the goat horns miss, the dragon bite and two claws strike the elven warrior, dropping him unconscious and bleeding.
Bones of the Past - Round 2 - concluded
As Elris drops, Helm keeps the chimera occupied even if he misses, and the tiefling gives the skeletal beast such a wallop with her earthbreaker that the entire skeleton crumbles into powder, ending the fight.
End of Combat
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"Smashy, smashy." She grins as she crushes the beast's rib cage. She's about to flourish with her Earthbreaker when Ilvan starts tugging her towards Elris's body. "Oh! Right!"
She uses the wand to close Elris's wounds.
"You OK, man?" Swayaah reaches out her hand to help him up. "That thing was nasty. I've been in that situation before, it ain't pretty. Did I tell you I the time I was dissected by a plant? Not pretty."
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Accepting the aid and help up, Elris looks at the others and smiles. "I would rather it be me than others in that situation. Besides, I got to learn something new, and maybe not have to pay some of my overdue bills." Picking up his light flail, and his bow, the elf checks them for any breakage before putting the flail away, and started to look around for clues.
The room is full of skeletal and taxidermic representations of all kinds of beasts. There are lots of interesting things to look at including a stuffed tyrannosaurus, but there is little of value or interest to the mission.
A door on the southern wall holds a sign that says "Storeroom 3".