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Age of Ice and Blood: A Pathfinder System Heroic Fantasy Quest

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Tomcost said:
@Goldfish , aby reason we don't have everybody take a look? I mean, Zaia and Tender both could say something about the cave. Right?
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Between them, Inge and Esha cover the Arcana, Nature, and Religion knowledge skills, so that's fairly thorough IMO. It also doesn't exhaust Inge's 1st level spell slots.

Depending on what we find, we might send others or need Inge to cast different spells, so I'm being conservative with them for now.
 
Goldfish said:
Between them, Inge and Esha cover the Arcana, Nature, and Religion knowledge skills, so that's fairly thorough IMO. It also doesn't exhaust Inge's 1st level spell slots.

Depending on what we find, we might send others or need Inge to cast different spells, so I'm being conservative with them for now.
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Allright

[X] Goldfish
 
Ok, vote closed, let's see what's down there.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Dec 3, 2021 at 9:04 AM, finished with 20 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] Where's Ripper when you need him?
    -[X] Roland will be the first to examine the chamber after suitable preparations are made, since he is the most capable of defending himself and his higher Constitution means he can hold his breath for longer.
    --[X] Inge will cast a Light spell on a pebble then Esha will use her Mage Hand cantrip on it. She'll lower it into the flooded entrance and control it within the limits of the spell so that we can get a good idea of the immediate environment below.
    ---[X] Once that's done, we'll prepare by tying a rope around Roland's waist so that the others can help haul him to safety if necessary, then Inge will cast another Light spell on something Roland can easily wear or carry without needing to use one of his hands, which will be otherwise occupied.
    ----[X] Esha will cast her Penumbra cantrip on Roland while using her Soulrider ability to establish a link with him. Once he swims down into the chamber, if nothing happens to cause her to use it earlier, she will wait no more than 2 minutes before using the Soulrider to contact him via its Sending effect to ask if he is well or needs to be hauled out. If he doesn't respond, the group will haul him out immediately.
    -----[X] Inge will cast Guidance on Roland, then use Conduit Surge to cast a Touch of the Sea spell on him so that he can swiftly descend into the flooded chamber and explore it before he must return to the surface for air.
    -[X] Once Roland determines whether there are any immediate physical threats present and gets a basic layout of the chamber, he'll return to the surface so that Inge or Esha can have a turn, using their greater knowledge of all things mystical and their Detect Magic cantrips to search of lingering enchantments.
    [X] Where's Ripper when you need him?
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Omake: Father of Geography
  • Sidestory
    • I do not think that this qualifies as omake (it's too short), but this idea bothered me for some time. And a new seasonal rating is a perfect cause to realise it!

    "Zaia of Alexandria (XIII - XIV centuries A.L.) – ancient geographer, historian, natural philosopher and writer, often referred as a "Father of Geography". Zaia is the most known for his fundamental work "Marcella's journeys", which describes a big chunk of cities and civilizations across the Blue Sea and its surroundings.

    It is known that even in ancient times the exact location of Alexandria was lost, seven cities contested the title of this prestigious place. Recent studies convincingly show that toponym Alexadria is referred either to Apuku (Kurt, Vladimirov, Hastings, 4016) or Orinilu (Zhang et al., 4020), the second-likely candidates are Normomo and Ibanora (Huang et al., 4008; Huang, Verley, Smirnovich, 4021). The old hypothesis that placed Alexadria in the south-east corner of the Blue Sea (Esha, 3951) was thoroughly rejected.

    Although archeological studies show that ships of Inaurna Empire crossed the Sunset Ocean and reached the shores of South Antonica in XIII centurie A.L. (Inalia, Giustiniani, 3975; Zhukov et al., 3991), it was Zaia who left the first documented evidence of discovery of North and South Antonica (the good literature review can be found in (Hastings, Verley, 4014)). Some folk-historians attribute to Zaia the first circumnavigation and discovery of Australia (Esha, 3951), but these wild hypothesis does not have scientific evidence and are not discussed by scholars.

    In his works Zaia of Alexandria shows large-scale and tragic picture of begining of Bronze Age collapse which disrupted a majority of ancient civilizations and caused a sharp economical decline of regional powers. This phenomenon had variety of objective reasons such as growing tin shortage, but without modern scientific methodology Zaia interprets his observations by supernatural causes such as "intrigues of spirits of anjo-oru".

    Despite the very high level of education, Zaia of Alexandria, like an overwhelming majority of ancient population, was a very superstitious man. In his works he constantly "describes" magics, undeads, feys, vampires, dragons and others non-existent phenomena. Despite of this, his remaining works are an invaluable source of ancient ethnographical, mythological, sociological and historical data."

    Encyclopedia Nokumica, 4024 A.L.
     
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    Arc 7 Post 15: In Veil of Gold
  • Threadmarks
    • In Veil of Gold ​

    Nineteenth Day of Ashinu-ezna (Ashinu Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)

    The pebble sinks into the cold water slowly, almost as if reluctant to reach the bottom, its light illuminating a smooth-walled shaft with nary a hint of a stair to descend. Strange... you think recalling that the water had only been there since the otters had flooded it, but then you recall this was not a hall delved for the use of man, its master could leave it upon the wings of its own malice.

    Beside you Esha snaps her fingers and the stone stops, caught in her unseen grasp. "I can only take it about thirty feet down, but if it drops deeper than that we might be able to at least catch a glimpse of..."

    Only about half that distance down the shaft opens into a chamber of some sort, the light of the stone cast upon coiling contours, like a nest of mating serpents, but as she pushes it it is only the long dark tendrils of seaweed, not green but dark red like old blood. Then after a moment's pause as you Zaia and Inge try to make sense of the size of the chamber, or its size as she drops the light. There is a flash of white and then another...

    "Gold, there is something golden down there!" Zaia says. "At least that should make Antonio happy."

    "Ill try to fetch anything heavy I see," you promise as Inge's power washes over your body, flesh shifting ever so slightly to be more at home in the sea, and then Esha presses a hand onto the small of your back and you can feel again the shadow of her self at the back of your mind. "Go."

    There is something uniquely disquieting about swimming down under stone, as though you are entering your own drowned tomb, breath already struggling in your chest like some small frightened beast. The walls are covered with a black sludge, but where you brush your hand against it you feel the same smooth stone upon which above the otter-kin had inked in charcoal and ocher images of their lives. The same lost builder who had made this had carved the halls of Willowbrook now filled with warmth and laughter.

    Below you find yourself in a chamber perhaps forty feet across and one you think at first must be circular, but in the light lent upon your talisman shines clearer you see that there are two arms to it curving tunnels descending further down, just about big enough for you to get down. You kick off towards the one to your left and as you come closer you see again the flash of gold, but this time you know its source.

    At first you think the shaft itself is covered is a slab of gold wide enough to cover the five foot opening, wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, but then you see the way it shivers as the water disturbed by your passage touches it, not a plate of metal at all, but somehow a foil of gold like that which goes into the making of icons to mark the halos of saints and angels, only this one used as a covering five feet across.

    What do you do?

    [] Try to tear through it

    [] Leave it be for Inge and Esha to study, take one more look at the rest of the room and then go up for air

    [] Write in

    OOC: A bit short, but that is the nature of these exploration updates.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • So... a golden lid?

    Maybe it goes to the dragon's hoard?

    Maybe by opening it we will awaken the dragon?
     
    Arhin said:
    I do not think that this qualifies as omake (it's too short), but this idea bothered me for some time. And a new seasonal rating is a perfect cause to realise it!

    "Zaia of Alexandria (XIII - XIV centuries A.L.) – ancient geographer, historian, natural philosopher and writer, often referred as a "Father of Geography". Zaia is the most known for his fundamental work "Marcella's journeys", which describes a big chunk of cities and civilizations across the Blue Sea and its surroundings.

    It is known that even in ancient times the exact location of Alexandria was lost, seven cities contested the title of this prestigious place. Recent studies convincingly show that toponym Alexadria is referred either to Apuku (Kurt, Vladimirov, Hastings, 4016) or Orinilu (Zhang et al., 4020), the second-likely candidates are Normomo and Ibanora (Huang et al., 4008; Huang, Verley, Smirnovich, 4021). The old hypothesis that placed Alexadria in the south-east corner of Blue Sea (Esha, 3951) was thoroughly rejected.

    Although archeological studies show that ships of Inaurna Empire crossed the Sunset Ocean and reached the shores of South Antonica in XIII centurie A.L. (Inalia, Giustiniani, 3975; Zhukov et al., 3991), it was Zaia who left the first documented evidence of discovery of North and South Antonica (the good literature review can be found in (Hastings, Verley, 4014)). Some folk-historians attribute to Zaia the first circumnavigation and discovery of Australia (Esha, 3951), but these wild hypothesis does not have scientific evidence and are not discussed by scholars.

    In his works Zaia of Alexandria shows large-scale and tragic picture of begining of Bronze Age collapse which disrupted a majority of ancient civilizations and caused a sharp economical decline of regional powers. This phenomenon had variety of objective reasons such as growing tin shortage, but without modern scientific methodology Zaia interprets his observations by supernatural causes such as "intrigues of spirits of anjo-oru".

    Despite the very high level of education, Zaia of Aleksandria, like an overwhelming majority of ancient population, was a very superstitious man. In his works he constantly "describes" magics, undeads, feys, vampires, dragons and others non-existent phenomena. Despite of this, his remaining works are an invaluable source of ancient ethnographical, mythological, sociological and historical data."

    Encyclopedia Nokumica, 4024 A.L.
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    This is totally an omake, dude, and a very good one.
     
    [X] Leave it be for Inge and Esha to study, take one more look at the rest of the room and then go up for air

    I feel like Zaia is likely to have insights into this. Maybe it is covering a seal?

    I fear that below the sheet we will find written in the wall that someone prepared explosive runes today
     
    I'm super wary of just tearing through the foil. At the very least, we need to have the ladies check it out with Detect Magic.

    [X] Leave it be for Inge and Esha to study, take one more look at the rest of the room and then go up for air
     
    [X] Leave it be for Inge and Esha to study, take one more look at the rest of the room and then go up for air
     
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