The Watch
It’s the night of the 29th of Pharast. We have cloistered ourselves in what was once the abbey’s kitchen. Even though it is unkempt I resist the urge to clean every inch of the room. I have faced worse messes already in my short time as a Pathfinder. Many a place I have wished Drax would unleash his unadulterated rage on because, in their putrid state, they were no longer fit for existence. But doing so, while it would satisfy my particular eccentricities, would also be a waste of time and energy. And I have managed to find rest covered head to toe in the most horrendous of smells, not to mention the times I’ve slept in the rooms where the blood of our enemies lay congealing on the floor. So in the kitchen defiled by giantkin I will stay and not complain. Maybe I’m going soft… Either way, according to Pyraxis, this room in much more defensible than many of the other rooms we have come across, and that alone makes it worth pushing aside my penchant to clean. Though I’m pretty sure we’ve taken care of any threat this level and above. The only unknown regions are behind the two locked doors, the one being the impenetrable ivory tower, and the other protected by the unholy symbol of Groetus. I fear no threat from either of these-that is, until we have unlocked them. I do not know what will open the tower. It seems to be built for keeping things out. I do not think even my skills as a lock pick will be enough to gain entrance. As for the door locked (and magically trapped, I may add) behind the soulless eyes of a laughing skeleton moon, I believe I hold the key to its entrance. It is the key with the very same symbol on it that I identified earlier after my companions freed me from the stoney paralysis granted me by looking too long at the medusa.
This key is the Doomsday Key. One of many that open secret places in the cult of Groetus’ hidden temples, as well as being able to open Doomsday Doors. Yes, I did write “Doors” in plural. It was not a mistake. Maybe I was naive in assuming there would only be one Doomsday Door, that there was one door with all kinds of abominations behind it just waiting to be unleashed and therefore bring about the end of the world. Now you must know that I write this with some sarcasm for I don’t believe that such a thing, even if it did exist, would have enough power to end all of life on Golarion. One such cataclysm did happen in history and somehow both my very own mother as well as Colin survived it. As did the very ground beneath our feet. Sure there was destruction of vast extent, but Golarion survived. And should something like that be attempted again I am sure Golarion will continue to survive. Thus I take this whole idea of the Doomsday Door ushering in the obliteration of all with a healthy portion of salt. Even more so, now that I know multiple Doors exist. To me it seems to be a simple matter of splitting the power up over a multitude of portals. While they may be devastating if all opened at the same time, they should be easier to tackle one by one. Thankfully ridding our world of such a threat is not our mission at this time, though who knows what may be asked of us in the future. Great and awesome power are not things I believe the Groetans to possess, but at least I can no longer accuse them of putting all their eggs in one basket.
Unlocking doors, however, is not all this unholy key can do. It has the ability to strike fear into the marrow of one’s enemies with a simple twist in the air, causing them to shake before you, and it can be used to curse someone, as well as protect from curses if it is worn around the neck. It could be a useful tool if handled correctly, but I am very hesitant to put it in the hands of our grandfatherly Groetan cleric. From what I gathered from the others, after they cured Jasper of his insanity, he spoke at length about his life’s goal to find and open the Doomsday Door. When I first heard this, I admit I believed it merely to be the false hope of a sweet but doddering old man who had spent too much time with his own brand of crazy. But now that I hold an actual key that is to unlock such a place I find myself a bit more cautious of Jasper’s zealous search. It was this very topic I broached with Pyraxis when he woke me up to switch watches.
Seizing the opportunity while Jasper was blissfully asleep I informed Pyraxis of what the key was and what it did. To my surprise, our dear, mystifying rockman questioned why I would want to keep this information from Jasper. By probing him further I found out that he now considers Jasper on par with the rest of us, as one of his allies. And as an ally, Pyraxis was willing to aid Jasper in his quest to open the Doomsday Door by any means necessary, even to the extent of going against the wishes of anyone else in the group. He also claimed that it wasn’t out of our way to do so either and politely made it very clear that he would help Jasper open the door whether I liked it or not. I found a few points of contention in this, not only involving our current situation but bringing up decisions he has made in the past whose logic I’ve failed to see. It was probably somewhat unfair for me to dredge up the past once again, but at the time I found it to be justifiable in my attempts to understand the enigma that is Pyraxis. I got a little passionate. I need to be careful about that. I find that it does not get me far when trying to reason with the stoic rockman.
By the time we finished the conversation I had discovered three things. The first being what Pyraxis understood the Doomsday Door to be. When he spoke of aiding Jasper in opening the Doomsday Door (because it was the right thing to do for an ally, as well as being convenient) he was referring to the door we had found locked with the Groetan unholy symbol. In the end I had to agree that I also wanted to open that door, though not for the same reason. I, for one, do not believe that the same said door could be a Doomsday Door. Why would the Groetan’s have put it in plain sight like that? And if it were a Doomsday Door, why hadn’t Jasper found out about it yet? No, it was obviously not a door that ushered in the oblivion of everything, but it was a door of significance to an unholy cult, and in keeping with our deal with the Desnans, it too must be cleared out. So even though our motives were different, our goal was the same.
The second thing I discovered is that Pyraxis puts less stock into the tenants of Groetus than I do. This seems to be because he does not consider religion to be something of consequence in the grand scheme of things. This is an interesting insight into the impenetrable man. The third thing I discovered, or at least I have pieced together from this and other previous conversations, is that Pyraxis does not adhere to any moral code at all as I had assumed (this fits in with his disregard of religious things). In fact, as far as I can tell, Pyraxis orders his life via an interesting, but not uncommon hierarchy. I believe it goes something like this: Pyraxis and his personal reputation come first, then come the privileged few that call he calls his allies, then everyone else-to be dealt with in severe fairness and absolutely no charity. Still, as I write this I am unsure how that last tier of Pyraxis’ personal hierarchy works. I have seen the man mercifully knock combatants unconscious, and persuade bandits and thieves to give up their ways and pursue a better life. And yet the idea of offering charity to the Deseans was protestable… It must go back to his low opinion of religion in general.
When it came time to switch watches with Drax I told the same information about the key that I told Pyraxis. My beloved responded in typical fashion with the initial suggestion that we burn it. I couldn’t help but laugh a little at his suggestion. As for my proposal that we keep the true nature of the key hidden from Jasper as long as we can, he was in agreement. I must confess I do find great pleasure in the fact that we are understanding one another again. We have seen eye to eye on a great many things since the day we met, but I had let frustration build up for so long that it put us at odds with one another. But now, after some work, we are back to the old way… no, a new way of understanding (and a burgeoning respect on my part), and I quite enjoy it. Alas, now is not the time or place to count all the ways that I am learning to love that man. My dear sister would be appalled at all the trivial nonsense with which I have filled my official report to the Pathfinder Society. I just say they should be glad I’m not writing them in the style I had originally planned.
The talk with Drax turned from what, if anything, should be done with Pyraxis’ desire to aid Jasper on his lifelong quest to my desire to not undermine his authority in the role he has newly undertaken as the Vanguard’s leader. That he has risen to taken this position makes me exceedingly proud, and thankful. Ever since Penny was moved to another group I have felt the need for someone to be a leader in our little group. Now that Drax has stepped up to do so I feel we will find the stability we have needed for so long. I was concerned that some of my suggestions the previous day had been made in too demanding of a manner but Drax assured me that they were not. Then he proceeded to ask me, very bluntly, to stop him if it ever looked like he was making a questionable decision as leader. I promised him I would.
Then the subject of Drax’s father came up again. I made it abundantly clear to him that I didn’t think his father was worthy, or even safe enough to be trusted. I also impressed upon him my belief that his father’s new found niceties were merely a ploy to further manipulate Drax into one day becoming a conduit of his power. Drax still seems reluctant to totally accept the manipulation for what it was. I think that despite his better judgement, somewhere deep inside of him Drax wants some kind of affinity with the one that sired him. I just hope he can shake this desire before it gets him in trouble. I will not stand idly by and watch as he gets fooled into doing the very thing he does not want to do.
The Tower
Blissfully we all get a full night’s rest, something that so rarely happens when we are out in the field. Waking before sunrise on the 30th of Pharast we gather our things and begin to prepare for the day ahead. I started something I should have began a long time ago-taking requests from the group as to which formulas to prepare to aid their abilities. I have been thoughtless toward my allies for too long. Holding back on my capabilities hasn’t been doing us any favors. See, mother, I am focusing on the task before me.
After an hour or so’s work we were ready. The sun still had not risen, but I could see through the arrow slits in the kitchen’s outer walls that the sky was getting lighter. We left the protection of our evening’s barricade and stood once more before the ivory tower. Pyraxis generously offered that I “take a run” at it before he did. I knew he meant for my to try and pick the lock but when he said the word “run” a ludicrous image of my gem studded shoulder connecting forcibly with the wall presented itself to my imagination. I couldn’t help but crack a slight smile as I stepped up to the door and everyone else, at my request, stepped back. If the doors were trapped I did not wish anyone to be hurt should I fail to disarm it. I worked on the lock for a couple of minutes, pulling moves that should have been successful in the most intricate of mechanisms, but to no avail. So I stepped aside and motioned for Pyraxis to do what he does best-make a door where there is none. I confess, we tease him often about the fact that he’d rather enter through the wall then go a more conventional way. But all teasing aside, he is a mighty boulder of a man and his feats of strength are quite impressive, not to mention his persistence.
After putting a couple of shoulders into it and getting nowhere, Pyraxis decided to try a different tactic-he began to whale on the thing with his fists. Even though I had taken a step back I could still see that his fists were far more successful than anything else we had done. Still, it seemed a bit of a shame to mar such a beautiful, perfectly smooth structure. Thankfully there is magic that can fix such things.
In the midst of his third swing at the door Pyraxis hesitated and suddenly seemed to be speaking. When I asked him if anything was wrong he replied that someone had spoken to him, telling him to stop. After a moment or two more of his peering intently at the door he turned and walked back to where the rest of us were waiting, asking that we huddle together so he could tell us something. He proceeded to tell us of the voice that spoke to him, asking him to stop breaking the door and telling him that it would be bad if he were to continue to do so. He then shared how he felt inclined to reply back audibly to the voice even though he had received its message in his head. His reply was to assure whoever was listening that we had come to clear this abbey of any current threat. Hoping to receive another word back from the voice Pyraxis had waited, but nothing more had come. We were about to discuss what we should do next, listen to the voice whose true intentions we did not know, or proceed as before, when the tower door opened. Inside it’s threshold stood a half-elven man with vibrant red hair. He wore a full set of metal plate armor of some kind and his hip was graced with the Varisian Star Knife. Both the markings on the armor and the weapon bespoke his allegiance to Desna. The immediate knowledge that we had found an ally, that there was still a survivor in what I originally thought to be complete and utter devastation brought such relief.
The cleric, still somewhat reserved, made motion and cast what looked to be a detection spell-specifically detection of chaos. His explanation for doing thus followed when he asked if any of were goodly aligned, saying that there were protections on the doors that made it so only those of good, chaotic natures could pass through. Anyone not of those natures would come to harm if they tried to enter. In effort to clarify what he was saying I asked if there was an exception for neutrality-that being the very bent of my nature. The Desnan ginger grimaced and walked back into the tower, leaving us waiting without explanation for the second time in our short interaction (he was indeed the voice in Pyraxis’ ear, or so we found out later). Moments later the Desnan returns, saying how he has been observing us and the work we have done to rid the Abbey of threats. He admits that he believes we are to be trusted, looking slightly askance in Drax’s direction. My beloved is a little rough around the edges, yes, but there is no guile in him, and for that I am thankful, though I do know that his fire and fury can be a bit off-putting. First impressions are not his forte. Mercifully the half-elf had not judged us based solely on Drax’s lack of charismatic pull. He tells us to enter we must speak the word “Pharas” as we cross the threshold and we will be able to enter the tower unharmed.
Pharas, as we are told later, is the first part of the tower’s full name-Pharas Pharasmae. And it isn’t just a tower after all, but a lighthouse above, and an entrance to the dungeon’s below the abbey. Dungeon’s with levels farther than the religious inhabitants of the abbey saw fit to explore. I must admit, this information stirs an excitement in me. I can’t help but wonder which level the shard of Envy is on. I hope we get a chance to explore some unknown territory.
Through talking with the Desnan cleric, Casmir (a name that took us way too long to ask for-sometimes I cringe and how lacking our social skills are) we are able to put a few more pieces together to form a better picture of what happened here. But first, before I delve into all of that I want to note something. Kyriah-the half elven warrior, Pathfinder, and explorer of the Dark Lands-the ally of my sisters whose petrified body we found in the room with the medusa-just so happens to be Casmir’s daughter. When all hell broke loose here and Cas barricaded himself in Pharas Pharasmae, he used a message spell to call her to his aid. Alas, what help she was able to provide was cut short when she was turned to stone by the witch-cleric of Mestama with snakes for hair. Cas was very disappointed when we informed him that our capabilities were not of the kind that could turn his daughter back to flesh. But after promising to provide aid as soon as we could once we returned to Magnimar his spirits lifted somewhat.
According to Cas, Ardathanatus-the self same Pharaman priest who went on a crazy murdering spree when Adordan died-led the attack on the abbey. There was a priest of Nethys, Zolarim, who fell under the seduce of the Mestaman medusa and betrayed his fellow clergy by letting the forces of Ardathanatus in. Granted, the medusa was disguised as an elven princess at the time so I’m sure the seduction took no effort at all. The unabashedly evil, strong, and ancient Ardathanatus somehow caused an the earth to quake at precisely the moment of his attack sending the inhabitants of the abbey into a frenzy. He then moved the vast majority of his forces down into the dungeons below, where we must now follow that we may root him out (and subsequently find the shard of Envy).
We grilled Casmir for every detail he could tell us of the two dungeon levels that the clerics had put into regular use. It seems that the first level is mainly storage. When he mentions and brewery and a cellar for spirits my eyes lit up and met with Drax’s. His expression showed the same glee. I politely asked if we might partake of some of the stored spirits and Cas says to take what we will, just as long as we continue to root out the evil below. While I have no plans to become drunk in this dungeon-doing so would be inadvisable-still the idea of drinking a glass after a hard fought battle does sound appealing. Drax has a flask for moments like those, and I think Colin may as well. Perhaps it’s time I join their flask club.
The second level was much more difficult for the Desnan to describe. He spoke of it having places like divine rooms that weren’t really associated with any particular god or goddess. This level is where the Windsong temple resides, the source of the musical phenomenon of which the abbey’s name is derived. Cas asserts that there are many useful, powerful clerical items housed in the Windsong temple. Hidden items, many of which he was certain Ardathanatus had already found, though should some be left we may find them useful in our endeavors. Perhaps this is also where we will find the shard. There are also an apothecarium, and many shrines to what Cas hesitantly referred to as “aspects of nature”. Some of his descriptions struck a chord with Jasper who perked up, claiming that some of the places Cas had described sounded like specific Groeten places of worship. He spoke specifically of a shrine to the Empty Places, and a shrine to the Ruins. This led to Cas admitting that the abbey seemed to have been built on an old Groeten temple, something that existed in the subterrane. The proof of this lay in the existence of many destructive Groeten locks all around the dungeons. Cas explained how dangerous it would be if one tried to open these without the Master Abbot’s key, talking of explosions if lock picks are used, and the off chance that one gets sent to another dimension with no way to return. Thankfully I believe we have this key in our possession.
As we make plans to go below it is suggested that Cas use his sending spell to speak with Sheila. We added up the time we’ve been here and it came about that the very next morning Colin’s body would be arriving in Magnimar. Maybe, just maybe we could enlist our lodgemistress’ help and get our friend and ally here that much sooner. And maybe Colin could bring the stone salve we need to help restore Kyriah. If Sheila agreed to help, we will have quite the debt to pay her upon our return. The idea of waiting for Colin did not sit well with either Drax or Pyraxis, as both of them wanted to start clearing these dungeons as soon as possible. Drax felt that the extra 2-3 days time it would take Colin to return by boat were too many to sit around being idle. Though I can see his point I still feel we would be better off if we entered the next phase at full strength. I use this and other arguments to add to my persuasion, adding that I would be able to brew very useful potions should I have a few days on my hand. Cas also puts in that his map making skills will also take a little time, so if we are wanting a map of the two known dungeon levels we will have to wait. Not to mention the time it will take him to rest and re-memorize his sending spell. Ultimately I look to Drax to make the call, trusting that he will make a wise one. He decides that it would be good to wait, at least until we hear back from Sheila.
