Lamashan 1, 4712
About an hour before dawn, the Coopers report to the Ornelos Building, ready for the Breaching Festival to begin. The remaining participants all trickle in over the following quarter of an hour. Toff Ornelos himself finally stands and addresses the crowd. Toff reminds the participants of the rules. They cannot attack other participants directly. They must also find a light key of a different color per individual in a group. He then asks if there are any questions, but no one asks any. His speech is interrupted by the arrival of Queen Ileosa of Korvosa and her large retinue, here to witness the day's graduation challenges.
When the first ray of light hits the Hall of Summoning, the Breaching Festival begins. The Coopers' group decide to start there, since it is the closest building. Darelle and Daryle are joined by Grunt Farnsworth the dwarf and four of his kinsmen, as well as by Lawrence the halfling and two of his henchmen, the Naga, and Whilenor. Mangarad and his crew head to the Hall of Charms. Gerald runs towards the Hall of Lies. Finally, Lord Garrett of Ged glides towards the Hall of Whispers. Roscoe, feeling under the weather, decides not to participates.
The Coopers search the Hall of Summoning. Inside a classroom on the ground floor, they find four red keylights, each hovering eight feet from the ground above a different desk. They carefully enter the classroom and approach the lights. Upon further examination, they are simply floating in the air. Grunt stands on a desk and touches the red light. Three of the lights immediately transform into Furies, while one of the light continues to hover. Whilenor sees that the red key light by him has not changed, so he grabs it. Grunt expected this attack, so he hits his target with his hammer. Lawrence throws two shurikens designed to shrink his target, but unfortunately both miss. The Naga also lands a series of forceful blows. The rest of the Coopers engage the Furies. For a while the combat proceeds in the Furies's favor, but a brilliant move by Whilenor, who transforms the table into a set of jaws which catches one of the monsters, flips the table in the Coopers' favor, and soon the Furies are no more. Grunt grabs one of the +1 longsword and one +1 flaming composite longbow, while Lawrence takes the remaining three +1 longswords and sets them aside in one of the empty classrooms, hoping to come back for them and eventually sell them.
The Coopers and their allies move next to the Hall of Seeing. This building features a set of double doors that display giant harrow cards, which change to reflect the past or the future of the last person to touch the door. There are scrying devices everywhere. Inside there is a large hallway stretching from one end to the other. In the middle of the hallway are four mirrors. Each of them reflect an orange key-light in the middle of the room, but the room itself is empty. The Coopers puzzle this challenge for quite some time. Darelle is the first to touch the mirror. She sees a hellish vision. In her mind a large devil appears, and asks her to pose her question. Intimidated by the devil, she has difficulty forming a question. Lawrence and Grunt also touch the mirror, and encounter the same vision. Lawrence agrees to visit hell, but only on the day he can be heard shouting "I invoke the mark of the old god Throth." Grunt makes no bargain with the devil, and instead threatens him with the end of his hammer. Finally, Darelle figures out that by walking backwards she's able to reach the orange light and grabs it.
The Coopers then move to the Hall of Induction. Resembling a cube, this building is built of thick iron on three sides, and a series of iron plates on the fourth. It contains nothing aside from a spiral staircase and five empty floors. All walls in here are made of force, and keep all evocation spells contained inside the building. On the fourth floor the Coopers find some sort of alchemical apparatus. On one side is a large clear tank with a green liquid. On the other side, is a similar tank with a red liquid. In the middle is a pipe linking both tanks. The liquid in this section is yellow, and the Coopers can tell there is a yellow keylight inside the tube. Daryle takes no time and smashes the red tube. An explosion fills the floor, badly injuring he Coopers and their allies. however, they also acquire a yellow keylight.
Moving on to the Hall of Charms, they enter the building and quickly locate a blue keylight. Soon, though, all of the Coopers become confused and attack each other. Darelle lands a few good blows on her sister, who in turns attack Whilenor. Grunt and Lawrence manage to avoid most of the effects of the confusion and retrieve the blue light. They then depart the building.
The Hall of Whispers is the final home for many of the students (and participants) who were unable to complete their tasks. Home to powerful necromancy, this building is the site of many gruesome experiments. In the basement, they find several crates, one of which contains a purple light. Unfortunately, retrieving it releases a powerful horrid whilting spell that affects everyone in the group.
With enough lights for everyone, the group returns to the Hall of Wards and each person uses one of the keylight to enter the building. They find themselves in a large hall with doors at the end and several doors on either side. Proceeding down, they stop and examine the double doors at the end of the hallway. Grunt is not an expert, but he quickly determines that without a magical key they will be unable to open this door. Meanwhile, Whilenor, possibly in a fit of Geraldicitis (the inability to control's one actions and therefore unleash chaos on unsuspecting friends), decides to open a side door. He discovers a strange library where books fly from one shelf to another in a seemingly random pattern. Bookcases stretch three stories in the air, all around the room, with a desk with two lights in the middle of the room. At any one time there are hundred of books hurling from place to place.
Whilenor hears a voice behind one of the stacks and he discovers a disheveled human desperately searching for a specific book among the thousands of volumes. Every time he has looked at five or six books they quickly rearrange themselves and are replaced with more. Whilenor attempts to communicate with the man and quickly realizes that he's looking for a spellbook. Through careful diplomacy the druid is able to secure a description, and he endeavors to find the book, only to be thwarted by the powers of this room.
Meanwhile, Daryle spikes the doors to the library closed, and Lawrence takes care of the second set of doors leading to this cursed room. They enter the opposite room, and discover another alchemy lab. There they are confronted by Marrijkal, who informs them they have no hope of leaving this place. The Coopers quickly engage in combat against this devil agent and are almost overpowered before finally triumphing, thanks to massive hits by the Naga and Grunt. Amid the equipment, ingredients, body parts and various objects they find a large gold key with a ruby in the handle. Darelle picks it up. They also discover a spellbook. Daryle immediately connects this spellbook to the book the man was looking for in the library.
The Coopers return to the library, only to discover that while they were engaging the devil for half an hour Whilenor was locked in the library for over five days. Haggard, hungry, and disheveled, the druid reports that he had to lay motionless all of this time as the books and the human alternatively attacked him. When the man shows up in the door, Daryle threatens to destroy his spellbook, but Whilenor takes it from her hands and gives it to the man. He exhales slowly, then thanks Whilenor for saving his soul.
Armed with the magical key, the Coopers are ready to open the double doors and exit the building and claim the Breaching Festival's rewards. Only one question remain. Who should walk out first?
Friday, October 20, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
We're off to see the wizards
Erastus 2, 4712
After stopping on the 15th level to allow Kazmauk to transform himself back into a very human Roscoe, the Coopers and their large Hellknight escort emerge from the Emerald Spire to witness a different world. The Spire itself seems to have dimmed and barely glows, though it retains some greenish light. All around the Spire the goblin and giant camps lay in ruins. Hellknights are gathering the bodies of slain goblins and giants and building funeral pyres. In the distance thick columns of black smoke rise in the general area of Fort Inevitable. Hundreds of troops are securing the area and have already begun working on fortifying the approaches to the Spire. Two large army trains are secured and guarded, and a new camp is rising out of the ashes, flying the major Hellknight order pennants, with that of the Order of the Nail in prime position to honor Duke Mosley. The Commander escorting the Coopers invites them on behalf of the Duke to a banquet held in his triumphant honor tonight. The Coopers agree to attend.
As the Coopers debate about their next course of action, Omok simply departs the group, heading eastwards, and without a single glance towards them. The rest of the Coopers return to Fort Inevitable, trekking through Echo Wood before emerging in the farmlands that surround the town. Emerging from the forest, they find another nightmarish vision. Thousands of goblin, emerald automatons and human bodies are spread over several battlefields, and the remains of many farms are still smoldering. The giants and goblins cut through a large swat of land on their way to attack the town. Though outnumbered, Drovust and her Hellknights attacked with gusto and managed to eliminate the entire enemy force at tremendous cost to her own troops. What remains of the Hellknights are huddled on the edge of the field, healing their wounded and dispatching any goblins still living. A makeshift flag flies above the Citadel displaying the symbol of the Seven Foxes, and all of Fort Inevitable's gates remain closed.
Climbing a tree, Daryle takes aim and fires a few arrows at the Hellknights. Three of them are hit and fall to the ground. The remaining force withdraws from the battlefield. Darelle begins examining the ruins, and she discovers eleven Geralds have perished during the fight. Some wore Hellknight uniforms, while others had civilian clothes and even a few looked like they had served on the goblins' side. One Gerald had somehow polymorphed into a giant. Being the considerate sister, she gathers the corpses and builds a funeral pyre for them, incinerating the fallen Geralds.
Roscoe also scours the battlefield and locates several magical items, including a monkey belt, a staff of authority, a ring of protection +3, and a weapon he recognizes as the Everwar Holy Fury. Daryle joins in and find a monkey belt and goggles of the treasure hunter. She looks for evidence that Greenhide perished on the battlefield, but finds none. Talking to survivors and questioning goblins before dispatching them, she finds that the goblin chief was in fact leading his army. All witnesses report seeing him leading a charge against Drovust, but a fireball exploded and it is as if he had been vaporized. His corpse had simply vanishes.
While moving Geralds, Darelle discovers a magnetist's glove and a necklace of adaptation. She also finds roughly 50,000 crowns' worth of equipment and gems among all of the Gerald bodies. She hides the money in Mother Holworth's farm, which thankfully survived the battle.
After helping the wounded and assisting citizens of Fort Inevitable, the Coopers return to the Spire to attend Duke Mosley's banquet. They are feted as heroes, and the Duke rewards them with estates in Cheliax, to be collected when he wins the fight for the throne. Near the end of the banquet, the Duke takes the Coopers apart and warns them that their help to his cause will not go unnoticed in Cheliax and that they might find it prudent to spend time away from the River Kindgoms for a few months, at least until the dust settles. The Coopers agree to consider his advice. He also tells them that they will always be most welcomed in his halls, except for Gerald of course as his head now has a price attached to it.
Erastus 3, 4712
Leaving the Spire at dawn following Mosley's banquet, the Coopers minus Gerald, who became a victim of the Duke's desire for revenge, return to Shadowborn Manor, mourning Gerald's death, but not really. They are greeted by a woman wearing an immaculate uniform in the livery of House Ornelos, of Korvosa, in the country of Varisia. She delivers them all invitations to participate in this year's Breaching Festival, which takes place every year at the Acadamae of Korvosa. In this festival, participants enter the main building and must compete in a series of challenges and traps designed to test both their survival skills as well as the skills of the crafting wizards who are graduating from the school. The Acadamae of Korvosa is known as the premiere wizard school in Golarion, and wizards attend school for a term of ten years, upon which they must create a challenge for the Breaching Festival. Those wizards who successfully design a challenge that manages to kill an adventurer graduate with honors. Those who manage to maim an adventurer graduate, and those who fail to harm an adventurer must complete a remedial year. The rector of the Acadamae, Toff Ornelos, heard of the Coopers' exploits and especially enjoyed the smash hit It Was Inevitable. He would consider their participation an honor.
Daryle questions the envoy on the nature of the competition. She replies that the contest involves entering the Acadamae at sunrise. The first person out before sunset is the winner of the Breaching Festival, and this year will earn approximately 153,000 crowns. The Festival was last won back in 4551 by Dyson Fordyce, who entered at sunrise and came out of the Hall a few minutes later. Having won on a technicality, the rules were changed and now participants are required to make it to the Hall of Wards. No one has exited the Hall before sundown since. The mortality rate is about 70% among adventurers.
Remembering Duke Mosley's advice to make themselves scarce, the Coopers agree to attend the Festival, to be held on the 1st of Lamashan, which gives them three months to make their way to Varisia. After all, what could possibly go wrong now that Gerald is no longer with them?
Rova 30, 4712
After three months tramping through Golarion, the Coopers get their first glimpse of Korvosa, the fabled magical city and the largest city in Varisia. Stretching for miles, they are awed by its majestic beauty and its grandiose venues, with the Acadamae of Magic clearly visible on top of the city's highest hill. Several large walls protect the city from attacks, and its cosmopolitan citizens are bustling to and fro.
After entering the city, the Coopers are directed to the Acadamae of Magic, located in the middle of the city. They are met there by none other than Toff Ornelos himself. During their months-long trip, the Coopers have discovered that Toff Ornelos is considered one of the top arcane user of this age, having accomplished documented exploits beyond the abilities of most mortals. In the prime of his life, Ornelos has been headmaster for over thirty years and has overseen the instruction of countless wizards throughout Golarion.
Ornelos welcomes them to Korvosa and escorts them to a large auditorium in the Hall of Summoning, where they are introduced to the rest of the competing teams and individuals who will participate in the Breaching Festival. Mangarad is an Ulfen wizard dressed in fur robes and he is accompanied by three henchmen. Knur is a tough-looking dwarf of the Gilded Claw who is accompanied by two of his kinsmen. The halfling male Lawrence is dressed in black and is accompanied by two more halflings. His attire provides no clue as to his profession or skills. The Naga is garbed in a cloak that hides his facial features. Lacking a left arm, he instead sports a knife on his stump. Grunt Farnsworth is a mean-looking dwarf barbarian who is accompanied by four henchmen. The Coopers are surprised to see a Gerald here as well, entering the competition. This Gerald left Fort Inevitable five months ago. He sports a turtle drawing on his horn. Whilenor is a human druid with some ranger skills. The last competitor is introduced as Lord Garrett of Ged, a maleficent lich. He glowers at everyone.
Toff Ornelos then describes the rules of the competition. After signing waivers, participants will enter the Halls of the Acadamae. They will find different challenges and traps in each room. Surviving a challenge will provide a key light, then the room will reset itself within five minutes for the next set of participants. Each participant in a group will need a different colored key light to enter the last part of the competition. Individuals thus have an advantage in that they only need one light, however the challenges can be quite difficult to solve for one person. Over the history of the Breaching Festival, there has been no statistically significant advantage of being either part of a group or playing as an individual.
There are three rules the participants must follow. First, the winner is the first person who exits the doors leading out of the Hall of Calling before sundown. If there are two or more people exiting at exactly the same time, they will divide the prize equally among all winners. Second, groups and individuals can collaborate together to overcome some of the challenges, but they cannot directly harm, interfere, or attack other participants. The challenges are hard enough as is, and there needs to be enough participants to ensure that the graduating wizards' designs are tested. Finally, as mentioned earlier, there is a high risk of death, so each participant will need to sign a waiver explaining they understand the rules and the risks of bodily harm and possible death. The Breaching Festival itself is attended by many folks, including Queen Ileosa of Korvosa.
Ornelos asks if there are any questions. The participants remain quiet, so the headmaster then divides the participants into three groups, so they can tour the different halls of the Acadamae where the challenges will take place. The Coopers end up in the same group as the Naga and Whilenor, and their guide is Jandar Listwin, a junior wizard who plans on graduating next year.
After stopping on the 15th level to allow Kazmauk to transform himself back into a very human Roscoe, the Coopers and their large Hellknight escort emerge from the Emerald Spire to witness a different world. The Spire itself seems to have dimmed and barely glows, though it retains some greenish light. All around the Spire the goblin and giant camps lay in ruins. Hellknights are gathering the bodies of slain goblins and giants and building funeral pyres. In the distance thick columns of black smoke rise in the general area of Fort Inevitable. Hundreds of troops are securing the area and have already begun working on fortifying the approaches to the Spire. Two large army trains are secured and guarded, and a new camp is rising out of the ashes, flying the major Hellknight order pennants, with that of the Order of the Nail in prime position to honor Duke Mosley. The Commander escorting the Coopers invites them on behalf of the Duke to a banquet held in his triumphant honor tonight. The Coopers agree to attend.
As the Coopers debate about their next course of action, Omok simply departs the group, heading eastwards, and without a single glance towards them. The rest of the Coopers return to Fort Inevitable, trekking through Echo Wood before emerging in the farmlands that surround the town. Emerging from the forest, they find another nightmarish vision. Thousands of goblin, emerald automatons and human bodies are spread over several battlefields, and the remains of many farms are still smoldering. The giants and goblins cut through a large swat of land on their way to attack the town. Though outnumbered, Drovust and her Hellknights attacked with gusto and managed to eliminate the entire enemy force at tremendous cost to her own troops. What remains of the Hellknights are huddled on the edge of the field, healing their wounded and dispatching any goblins still living. A makeshift flag flies above the Citadel displaying the symbol of the Seven Foxes, and all of Fort Inevitable's gates remain closed.
Climbing a tree, Daryle takes aim and fires a few arrows at the Hellknights. Three of them are hit and fall to the ground. The remaining force withdraws from the battlefield. Darelle begins examining the ruins, and she discovers eleven Geralds have perished during the fight. Some wore Hellknight uniforms, while others had civilian clothes and even a few looked like they had served on the goblins' side. One Gerald had somehow polymorphed into a giant. Being the considerate sister, she gathers the corpses and builds a funeral pyre for them, incinerating the fallen Geralds.
Roscoe also scours the battlefield and locates several magical items, including a monkey belt, a staff of authority, a ring of protection +3, and a weapon he recognizes as the Everwar Holy Fury. Daryle joins in and find a monkey belt and goggles of the treasure hunter. She looks for evidence that Greenhide perished on the battlefield, but finds none. Talking to survivors and questioning goblins before dispatching them, she finds that the goblin chief was in fact leading his army. All witnesses report seeing him leading a charge against Drovust, but a fireball exploded and it is as if he had been vaporized. His corpse had simply vanishes.
While moving Geralds, Darelle discovers a magnetist's glove and a necklace of adaptation. She also finds roughly 50,000 crowns' worth of equipment and gems among all of the Gerald bodies. She hides the money in Mother Holworth's farm, which thankfully survived the battle.
After helping the wounded and assisting citizens of Fort Inevitable, the Coopers return to the Spire to attend Duke Mosley's banquet. They are feted as heroes, and the Duke rewards them with estates in Cheliax, to be collected when he wins the fight for the throne. Near the end of the banquet, the Duke takes the Coopers apart and warns them that their help to his cause will not go unnoticed in Cheliax and that they might find it prudent to spend time away from the River Kindgoms for a few months, at least until the dust settles. The Coopers agree to consider his advice. He also tells them that they will always be most welcomed in his halls, except for Gerald of course as his head now has a price attached to it.
Erastus 3, 4712
Leaving the Spire at dawn following Mosley's banquet, the Coopers minus Gerald, who became a victim of the Duke's desire for revenge, return to Shadowborn Manor, mourning Gerald's death, but not really. They are greeted by a woman wearing an immaculate uniform in the livery of House Ornelos, of Korvosa, in the country of Varisia. She delivers them all invitations to participate in this year's Breaching Festival, which takes place every year at the Acadamae of Korvosa. In this festival, participants enter the main building and must compete in a series of challenges and traps designed to test both their survival skills as well as the skills of the crafting wizards who are graduating from the school. The Acadamae of Korvosa is known as the premiere wizard school in Golarion, and wizards attend school for a term of ten years, upon which they must create a challenge for the Breaching Festival. Those wizards who successfully design a challenge that manages to kill an adventurer graduate with honors. Those who manage to maim an adventurer graduate, and those who fail to harm an adventurer must complete a remedial year. The rector of the Acadamae, Toff Ornelos, heard of the Coopers' exploits and especially enjoyed the smash hit It Was Inevitable. He would consider their participation an honor.
Daryle questions the envoy on the nature of the competition. She replies that the contest involves entering the Acadamae at sunrise. The first person out before sunset is the winner of the Breaching Festival, and this year will earn approximately 153,000 crowns. The Festival was last won back in 4551 by Dyson Fordyce, who entered at sunrise and came out of the Hall a few minutes later. Having won on a technicality, the rules were changed and now participants are required to make it to the Hall of Wards. No one has exited the Hall before sundown since. The mortality rate is about 70% among adventurers.
Remembering Duke Mosley's advice to make themselves scarce, the Coopers agree to attend the Festival, to be held on the 1st of Lamashan, which gives them three months to make their way to Varisia. After all, what could possibly go wrong now that Gerald is no longer with them?
Rova 30, 4712
After three months tramping through Golarion, the Coopers get their first glimpse of Korvosa, the fabled magical city and the largest city in Varisia. Stretching for miles, they are awed by its majestic beauty and its grandiose venues, with the Acadamae of Magic clearly visible on top of the city's highest hill. Several large walls protect the city from attacks, and its cosmopolitan citizens are bustling to and fro.
After entering the city, the Coopers are directed to the Acadamae of Magic, located in the middle of the city. They are met there by none other than Toff Ornelos himself. During their months-long trip, the Coopers have discovered that Toff Ornelos is considered one of the top arcane user of this age, having accomplished documented exploits beyond the abilities of most mortals. In the prime of his life, Ornelos has been headmaster for over thirty years and has overseen the instruction of countless wizards throughout Golarion.
Ornelos welcomes them to Korvosa and escorts them to a large auditorium in the Hall of Summoning, where they are introduced to the rest of the competing teams and individuals who will participate in the Breaching Festival. Mangarad is an Ulfen wizard dressed in fur robes and he is accompanied by three henchmen. Knur is a tough-looking dwarf of the Gilded Claw who is accompanied by two of his kinsmen. The halfling male Lawrence is dressed in black and is accompanied by two more halflings. His attire provides no clue as to his profession or skills. The Naga is garbed in a cloak that hides his facial features. Lacking a left arm, he instead sports a knife on his stump. Grunt Farnsworth is a mean-looking dwarf barbarian who is accompanied by four henchmen. The Coopers are surprised to see a Gerald here as well, entering the competition. This Gerald left Fort Inevitable five months ago. He sports a turtle drawing on his horn. Whilenor is a human druid with some ranger skills. The last competitor is introduced as Lord Garrett of Ged, a maleficent lich. He glowers at everyone.
Toff Ornelos then describes the rules of the competition. After signing waivers, participants will enter the Halls of the Acadamae. They will find different challenges and traps in each room. Surviving a challenge will provide a key light, then the room will reset itself within five minutes for the next set of participants. Each participant in a group will need a different colored key light to enter the last part of the competition. Individuals thus have an advantage in that they only need one light, however the challenges can be quite difficult to solve for one person. Over the history of the Breaching Festival, there has been no statistically significant advantage of being either part of a group or playing as an individual.
There are three rules the participants must follow. First, the winner is the first person who exits the doors leading out of the Hall of Calling before sundown. If there are two or more people exiting at exactly the same time, they will divide the prize equally among all winners. Second, groups and individuals can collaborate together to overcome some of the challenges, but they cannot directly harm, interfere, or attack other participants. The challenges are hard enough as is, and there needs to be enough participants to ensure that the graduating wizards' designs are tested. Finally, as mentioned earlier, there is a high risk of death, so each participant will need to sign a waiver explaining they understand the rules and the risks of bodily harm and possible death. The Breaching Festival itself is attended by many folks, including Queen Ileosa of Korvosa.
Ornelos asks if there are any questions. The participants remain quiet, so the headmaster then divides the participants into three groups, so they can tour the different halls of the Acadamae where the challenges will take place. The Coopers end up in the same group as the Naga and Whilenor, and their guide is Jandar Listwin, a junior wizard who plans on graduating next year.
- The Hall of Summoning is the largest building on campus and shows evidence of having been rebuilt in the last few decades. The Hall's main feature is its large auditorium where 333 students can sit comfortably. Final exams for wizards take place here.
- The Hall of Seeing features a set of double doors that display giant harrow cards, which change to reflect the past or the future of the last person to touch the door. There are scrying devices everywhere.
- Resembling a cube, the Hall of Induction is built of thick iron on three sides, and a series of iron plates on the fourth. It contains nothing aside from a spiral staircase and five empty floors. All walls in here are made of force, and keep all evocation spells contained inside the building.
- Forever shifting, the Hall of Lies is the home of the Acadamae's illusionists, and as such not everything is at it seems.
- Every part of the Hall of Shaping has been transmuted over the decades, providing the building an eclectic, if worrisome, look.
- The Hall of Whispers is the final home for many of the students (and participants) who were unable to complete their tasks. Home to powerful necromancy, this building is the site of many gruesome experiments.
- Home to the school's enchanters, the Hall of Charms is imbued with power.
- The Hall of Wards is the best guarded and magically protected building in Korvosa, and probably all of Golarion. To complete the last challenge, participants must enter the hall and emerge from it after defeating the challenge inside. The first person to step out wins the Breaching Festival.
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