Eberron in Pathfinder [IC]

[infoweasel]

The un-Dazed soldier crumples to the ground as a crossbow bolt punches through his armor, crimson soaking into the snow and ice beneath him. The blank stare of the remaining foe doesn't even seem to register the blows Guardian and Dram make against him. While the tip of Guardian's sword whistles past the horn, Dram's dagger buries itself deep in the same weak point in the armor Dram found on his fellow moment before. Stepping back, he leaves the expressionless warrior to fall next to his companion.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Dram squats down and cleans his dagger on the tabard of on of the fallen. "Well done, everyone. Let's hide these bodies and keep going, we're almost to the temple."

[Lord Raziere]

Tessha immediately goes over to the nearest one to her to drag the corpse behind her bush and strip off the armor and gauntlets to examine them.

[WindStruck]

Rolda slowly steps forward. "Right... I don't suppose putting them in these places we were hiding would work?"

[infoweasel]

Rolda slowly steps forward. "Right... I don't suppose putting them in these places we were hiding would work?"

Dram, still wearing the sergeant's face, shrugs. "A good a place as any. Seems like your Artificer is ahead of you already. I'll keep this armor just in case it becomes useful to impersonate this fellow again. On that note..." Clearing his throat, his voice changes back to the speaking voice he was using when you first met him. "There we go, much better."

In his presumably 'native' voice, he asks, "M'Lady, can you clean up the blood with your spell again?"

Bending down and checking the remaining corpse, he remarks, "No coin? Feh." Standing back up, he looks amongst the stronger members of the group and then nods meaningfully at the remaining dead man before heading towards where Tessha is examining the gauntlet weapons. "Good job figuring out those things. Can anyone use them?"

[Lord Raziere]

Tessha puts on a gauntlet and points it at a rock.
"Well the last time this occurred, I got some weird revelation happen to me when I touched the crystal and it just happened. So....assuming that all things being consistent, the same blast will come out of this one when I touch this one. As for others....hm. will have to test. But since it is some form of magic item so....at worst Rolda should be able to use it to?"
Tessha touches the crystal again with her finger like she did before, hoping the same thing will happen.

Spoiler: Roll for Use Magic Device

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(1d20+8)[24]

[WindStruck]

"Of course, I can.." She moves over toward Dram, to help get the blood off of him using Prestidigitation again. That would help clean the physical blood off his hands, but not the metaphorical.
"What do you want their money for, Dram? This whole mission is secret, so any artifacts or coins we find from this nation could not be shown in public."

Rolda sighed. "Anyone else?" Seems she'd just become the maid service.

Replying to Tessha, she merely shrugged. "These men appear to just be soldiers, and they could use them just fine. I doubt it has anything to do with me."

[Stelio Kontos]

Guardian sheathed his sword, stowed his shield, and silently helped heft one of the bodies behind a rock, laying it down as a parent might put a sleeping child to bed. He returned, still silent, pantomiming the combat that had just taken place.

[infoweasel]

The same feeling as before surges through Tessha's consciousness, and a lance of energy leaps forth from the gauntlet's aperture once again.

Wisdom save DC 15, please.

Spoiler: Tessha

Show

If you fail, take 1 point of subdual damage as a feeling like a sudden and intense headache accompanies the feeling of enlightenment.

If you pass, you feel like the energy was trying to pull an esoteric something from you in the moment that it fired.

Dram casts a side glance at Guardian as he goes through his strange combat-dance. Shrugging before he stops to think to much about it, he starts slightly at the whine and then sudden *CRACK* of the bolt of energy against the rock. Biting his lower lip in frustration, he hisses, "I didn't mean test them now, dammit! Hopefully if we're being followed they'll just think it's rockfall. Let's go."

As he looks with a mild frown at the pile of bodies, he takes a deep breath and then heads out towards the path. "To answer your question, M'Lady: you can tell a lot about a culture by its coinage. Who or what do they stamp on it? What kind of metal's it made from? Is there writing on them? I'm sure you see where I'm going." Keeping down a cough for a moment, he looks around. "Talk and walk, people. Only bring what you can carry easily from those soldiers, Tessha."

[WindStruck]

Rolda's face changes with comprehension. "Yes... that is true indeed..."

She begins walking briskly toward the artifact and temple entrance. "I'm sure whatever you might learn is nothing compared to what you discovered while being undercover."

[Lord Raziere]

"Ow! Ok. Hm. I'm feeling a pain at that. Sorry, your right it was not a good idea, but if I pointed it up, it might've acted as a flare. Also, firing this might be a bad idea in more ways than one, my head felt a pain at that. I felt the same weird revelation thing at touching it. Touching it causes strange enlightenment? But why?"
She puts on both gloves and takes a gem off their forehead to carry in one hand, and starts following Dram
"I am definitely experiencing a headache, so I don't recommend using the gloves all the time. Felt like it was trying to pull something from me. Nevertheless, must be studied. Its another anomalous thing about this armor on top of not having any auras. Not working like arcane magic. But why headaches and revelations? Something about heads? brains? Rolda, do you experience anything like weird revelations when you do your magic? Or did you study for it? Just as a point of comparison."
She wonders as she walks.

Spoiler

Show

Health:
11/12

[WindStruck]

Rolda shrugged, though perhaps imperceptibly so due to the bulky, uncomfortable parka she wore. "No," she curtly began. "All magic has a source. Perhaps the only reliable way such an ancient device could still fire is by drawing that energy from you? It could also have something to do with manipulating minds, like that of the Broken."

[Lord Raziere]

Tessha continues walking.
"Good point. But why draw magic from the mind? One's thoughts and concentration are very important to any form of magic. Drawing from it as fuel seems unwise as my headache demonstrates. Thing is, a magic item unless made intelligent doesn't have a choice in where it draws its energy from assuming it can and is designed to- like any machine, it just doesn't work when it doesn't draw upon the energy needed. So it must be designed to always draw upon one's mind for energy.
She tilts her head to the side.
"....Are their minds somehow stronger or more resistant than ours? Do they place pride upon their minds and thus the Broken are like some punishment in their culture, because they think themselves mentally tough, and thus Broken are being made mentally weak? Fascinating. But if they are so focused on mental strength would they not try to figure out how to replicate these things and educate themselves? Why do they need our artificers? Does minds not provide enough energy for what they want, and somehow don't know how to draw on other sources? Many possibilities.

Or HM. hmm......what if becoming Broken is a side effect....of powering something big....and they use powering that as punishment and they're made slaves after their minds are Broken from being used as fuel?"
Tessha's widen at this horrifying possibility.
"Unsettling if true. Will term this "Mindleech Enchantments" for now. Will have to take notes when we can rest."

[WindStruck]

"As I pointed out before, the men using these devices were soldiers, not magicians. I doubt they did much in the way of tactical planning either. So as it stands, I wouldn't see any drawback to fatiguing their minds a little, unless there are long-term consequences."

"You could be right. Perhaps that scar on their foreheads could be from a contact point from one such machine?" Rolda's mind raced with imagination, wondering what one such hypothetical application might be.. the giant thing they were building in the middle of that settlement came to mind, but she hadn't a clue what it was actually supposed to do.

[Lord Raziere]

"But then again, these crystals are on their forehead, so....perhaps they're just drawing upon the crystals embedded in their heads for power? and embedding the crystals somehow gives you access....but if you take out....somehow it makes you Broken? hrm. will have to see if I can engineer a crystal into being set into a crown or circlet instead and still provide the same benefits....assuming its possible...."
She says while turning over the crystal in her hands.

[dojango]

Septimus helps move the bodies of the fallen soldiers to their resting places. Once done, he moves some rocks over them to conceal them from casual glances by passers-by. Their rough burial completed, he says a few words of benediction over them, and heads back to the group. "There is a saying, 'Money has no provenance'. A merchant will take coins whatever its face says, as long as it is of sufficient quality. So, Dram. The temple up ahead. What gods do these people worship?"

[WindStruck]

Rolda simply refrains from talking about money and currency any longer, as she felt the conversation between her and Dram told her everything she needed to know for now.

She looked over to see Tessha trying to pry one of those gems out of an armor the soldiers once wore. "Tessha, are you sure that is a wise idea?"

[Stelio Kontos]

Guardian stood by during the exchange, looking at each person in turn as they spoke, bowing his head slightly. "I do not know how I can be of assistance."

[Xihirli]

"But then again, these crystals are on their forehead, so....perhaps they're just drawing upon the crystals embedded in their heads for power? and embedding the crystals somehow gives you access....but if you take out....somehow it makes you Broken? hrm. will have to see if I can engineer a crystal into being set into a crown or circlet instead and still provide the same benefits....assuming its possible...."
She says while turning over the crystal in her hands.

Rolda simply refrains from talking about money and currency any longer, as she felt the conversation between her and Dram told her everything she needed to know for now.

She looked over to see Tessha trying to pry one of those gems out of an armor the soldiers once wore. "Tessha, are you sure that is a wise idea?"

"Have you ever made anything similar?" Tuugal asked Tessha.
"Perhaps if you can isolate the cause of the Brokenness you can find a cure?" that sounded a lot like a question leading toward a "yes" answer.

[Lord Raziere]

She pulls it out and says to Rolda
"No, it is not the wise decision. It is the rational decision. The more knowledge learned, the more we can use it for the good of others like Tuugal said, or to help defeat our enemies which is currently those who have kidnapped two great artificers. Anything more on that is for discussing philosophy and rationality in ones study."
She looks at Tuugal.
".....Um, no, I haven't made such things. I am still an apprentice. I've only made potions and scrolls. But I can learn to make magic items someday, and learning how these things work now is better than learning later. And its very possible I can find a cure....assuming no horrifying implications. So yes."
Oh horrifying implications, why must you plague science so? To be honest, she was simplifying her answer, she wasn't that sure, and technically when one examines the world enough one realizes that nothing is truly certain so its more an assurance that its probable, but that would not be socially adept of her. Sometimes one must translate reality answer-into-person answer so that people don't worry.
"Let us be off. We have a temple to go to."
She pockets the head gem starts marching off to the temple, posthaste. Best to examine this when they're not in the open, and to get those other half of the research notes Dram talked about, might be useful for something.

[WindStruck]

"I merely thought you could be injured if you physically tampered with these things, knowing absolutely nothing about them. What a pity," Rolda said with a smirk. She was already ahead of the artificer, a few steps behind Dram, and Guardian surely within a few feet as well.

Tonul was never as foolhardy as this hobgoblin. Yes, he was a gifted man of his trade, certainly better than Tessha. Arguably more curious too. But there was a reason he was sent on this mission. Despite his thirst for knowledge, it came with a tempered, systematic way of research. He would attempt all manner of less invasive study on such an unknown object before trying something as rash as prying it off of a still-warm corpse.

[infoweasel]

"I'm sure whatever you might learn is nothing compared to what you discovered while being undercover."

"Not as much as I’d hoped. It’s only been a few days, and the Broken are used only for unskilled manual labor. Once I found someone to imitate it was surprisingly easy, apart from the overseers we barely registered as existing to anyone else, except when something went wrong. I just did what everyone else in the group was doing, which works out since I only picked up on a few command words: go, stop, take this, go there, and so on. Didn’t even need to speak the language for most of those, body language and herd mentality was more than enough to understand what was happening. The group I was in did the same thing every day; take coal from the mines to the workshops to fuel massive forges. That’s where they were putting together the frames for whatever that giant egg-shaped thing is. The soldiers were mostly centered around the passes into the valley and near whatever that monolith is. The workers in the forges and smithies were all regular humans, no weird scars or anything. The few times a soldier came by on patrol, they were treated with a great deal of respect, getting this strange bow and hand motion that I’m assuming is like a salute from the workers. Once we’re inside the “temple” [here he uses air quotes], I can draw up a rough layout to the encampment and worksite to supplement what the rest of you saw.”

“So, Dram. The temple up ahead. What gods do these people worship?"

"Well, I’m assuming it’s a temple. I can’t imagine it being much else. There was a lot of weird imagery that I didn’t quite get or pay much attention to. We found the exit almost immediately, which is when my team and I went on recon duty, so I didn’t stick around for a full exploration. There’s a sizable tunnel that leads from the hidden door to the main complex, and the room where the obelisk was that I got the best look at. Both were choked with dust, so if it is actually a temple it must have been forgotten."

It’s just a short jaunt to the cliff face where the obelisk and guards had previously been, giving everyone plenty of time to chat. It’s easy enough to tell roughly where the door is based on the fact that the obelisk is sitting right in front of where it previously had been cracked open. Dram makes a beeline for one of the stones and pulls it out, turns it, and presses it back in. With a grinding noise, the door opens a few feet, released from whatever ancient mechanism kept it closed. Dram starts to put his should into it and makes only a few inches of progress before huffing and groaning slightly. “ ‘lil help?”

[WindStruck]

Rolda sighed inwardly. She approached the opposite door and waited for the others, ready to make a half-hearted push and 'contribute' to this little group.

[dojango]

"The man who would move a mountain begins by carrying away small stones" says Septimus, and he lends his shoulder to the effort.

Spoiler

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(1d20)[14]

[infoweasel]

With Septimus' push, the door swings open on timeworn hinges with significant amounts of creaking, but less than one might expect of such an enormous mechanism. Once it finishes yawning open, it presents a large, mostly featureless corridor, approximately 20 ft wide and tall, and about 50 feet long. The walls, floor and ceiling are all of worked but plain and smooth stone. At the far end, a wall has been hacked apart to accommodate the obelisk's removal. Crumbled stone and ruined rock has been haphazardly moved to the far corners of the tunnel to get it out of the way. Beyond the recently hewn "doorway" cannot be seen as the light only dimly reaches the far end of the entrance and not further.

[WindStruck]

The hallway looked a bit creepy to Rolda. She asked, "Do you think more of them may be inside?"

[dojango]

"Only one way to find out, I suppose. There is nobody as blind as those who will not see. Dram and I can scout it out briefly, to make sure there is nobody skulking in the corners."

[Stelio Kontos]

"It appears to be quite dark" Guardian commented, sliding himself between Rolda and the darkness. "It would be advisable to produce illumination if possible. Even should our opponents are equally incapable of visual observation in darkness, they shall likely possess superior familiarity with the ambient environmental conditions."

[WindStruck]

Rolda crosses her arms, in thought. "Hmm. I don't believe we were given any torches or other sort of lights... were we?"

She puts her backpack on the ground and tries rummaging through it, but does not find any.

"Hold on. What is your plan, Dram? Are we going to be taking the artifact inside again, and then going back for debriefing?"

[infoweasel]

Rolda crosses her arms, in thought. "Hmm. I don't believe we were given any torches or other sort of lights... were we?"

She puts her backpack on the ground and tries rummaging through it, but does not find any.

"Hold on. What is your plan, Dram? Are we going to be taking the artifact inside again, and then going back for debriefing?"

"Just thinking two steps ahead right now. One, get the artifact inside and close the door. Two, make sure the site is secure. Three, see if we can find those notes and anything else that might prove useful. Everyone on board? And, uh....anyone good with horses? I'm a soldier, not a teamster."

[WindStruck]

"Well, I would suggest securing the site first, before trapping us inside..."