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Miyako touch of flame misses the ninja.
Master Mido's punch connects the ninja.
The ninja (1) previously bewildered jumps down and flanks around Elska, drawing its naginata and attacking.
The second ninja steps up into a flank on Elska and attacks.
Both ninja slice Elska, 2 wounds cutting deep.
The last ninja (4) lashes at Giltman.
The other ninja also slices Giltman.
Bakten continues to levitate making no move.
Round 3 Judge_1 Map
Beauregard 9 dmg
Giltman 11 dmg
Round 4
Miyako
Elska 21 dmg
Nuk
Mido
Ninja 1 13 dmg
Ninja 2 13 dmg
Ninja 3 22 dmg (10 non-lethal dmg) DOWN - shaken till rnd 12
Ninja 4 14 dmg
Bakten
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Mido steps around to flank the ninja harrying Giltman and aims a high kick aimed at the Elf's midsection landing a solid blow.
Attack Fanking
Realizing that Elska is in serious danger Mido calls out to the ninjas to distract them from their murderous business for a short moment.
Would a true master of martial arts not seek a one one one duel...
Taht statement coming from a Gnome who just back stabbed a ninja should hopefully throw them off.
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Beauregard charges over and levels first ninja (1).
Giltman delays waiting for the right moment to disengage with the ninja he is next too.
Miyako heats things up, then hits with her touch attack.
The ninja (2) drops.
Elska wheels and fires two arrows at the last standing ninja but she is off the mark. Nuk also misses his attacks.
Mido flanks with Giltman and delivers a blow that drops the last ninja.
Giltman runs over and heal the injured Elska and also himself.
With the last ninja downed Venture Captain Bakten descends. He draws out a wand and heals each of you that is damaged back to full health without speaking.
6 elven ninjas lie unconscious, but the Venture Captain seems to pay them no mind.
Ninja 1 31 dmg (18 non-lethal dmg) DOWN
Ninja 2 22 dmg DOWN
Ninja 3 22 dmg (10 non-lethal dmg) DOWN - shaken till rnd 12
Ninja 4 23 dmg DOWN
Ninja 5 unconscious
Ninja 6 unconscious
It's then he speaks. Welcome, Pathfinders. I saw your arrival today. Thank you so much for coming.
Bakten is an emaciated, hairless man with translucent blue-white skin. His legs are withered and he appears very frail. Twig the rabbit, looking like a normal rabbit hops nearby and nibbles some grass.
Bakten draws forth a parchment and hands it to you. Before commenting
“a single soul’s journey whose history puts your Pathfinder Chronicles to shame.”
He waits for you to review the document.
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Bakten faces turns from smile to forlorn.
My veiled life; my only failing. For decades, I have communed with my own past lives, in preparation for my passage to the Great Beyond, for only a soul in perfect balance with karma may transcend. Yet this shadow incarnation is silent, and it vexes me. I wonder now, did these assassins know of some slight of which I, myself, am ignorant? "
He gestures to the fallen ninjas.
"Friends—indulge an old man’s curiosity. If you can travel to the loci of my lives before and after, then two relics there may point toward the mystery and lift the veil. I am too frail to travel, but I have an item here that may allow you to show me those relics from afar.”
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Bakten produces a candle.
"The item is a candle of conveyance. I will prepare a ritual to bind the candle to both you and I. It will take about an hour."
Motioning to the ninjas. “They have watched me from afar for two lifetimes. Several times, I chased them away, but they always came back eventually, and hid better. Never until now have they sought my life. If you learn more of their motives on your quest, I would be keen to hear of it. And yes I will deal with them.”
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"Excellent and thank you. Seeing these items is of the up-most importance. One of the items is the skull of an elven daimyo, Haraka Sorin. He died alongside Malash, he who was reborn as my veiled self. The skull now rests in the Haraka family shrine, in the Court of the Ancestral Sky in Ayajinbo. The other is a cradle that once held Malikeen, my most recent incarnation. It is on display in the village of Dallo, in western Wanshou.”
He looks thoughtful.
"If you do not have further questions. We can begin the binding ritual. "
He leads you to a small chamber where in an hour long ritual the binding is completed. At the end Bakten lights the candle.
Afterward he provides you the candle. "You must promise to return it to the sanctuary once the assignment is completed. "
This bone-white candle has the power to transmit occult information across great distances. To form the necessary bond, a group of between two and four creatures must participate in a 1-hour occult ritual that culminates with lighting the candle. Once alight, the candle functions as a continual flame that can only be extinguished if one or more bound creatures dies or departs the plane, or if all the participants mentally agree to end the effect. It also acts as a status spell between bound creatures.
As long as one of the linked creatures carries the candle, others may perceive general impressions of their surroundings through the candle. Once per day, each linked creature may perform one of the following occult skill unlocks through the candle: prognostication (pyromancy only), psychometry, or read aura (Pathfinder RPG: Occult Adventures 194). These checks can occur over any distance, and any person or object within 10 feet of the candle can be the subject of the skill. The candle’s flame glows blue when a creature is using one of these skill unlocks. The candle otherwise does not transmit detailed sensory information, nor does it provide any means of communicating with other participants over long distances.
A candle of conveyance is sensitive to the presence of ley lines and exhibits a white halo when brought within 100 feet of one. While the candle exhibits this halo, a creature performing occult skill unlocks through the candle gains information more quickly—the prognostication and read aura skill unlocks take only 1 minute, and the psychometry skill unlock takes 1 round per piece of information gained.
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"Master, please forgive me, I just want to make sure I understand correctly. You are looking to unveil your 'veiled self'—an incarnation of your soul that you are unfamiliar with. And we now seek both the cradle belonging to the subsequent incarnation and the skull of the previous incarnation's close friend. Is this correct?"
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As you prepare to depart, Bakten makes sure you have enough provisions for your journey.
He reminds you that the skull now rests in the Haraka family shrine, in the Court of the Ancestral Sky in Ayajinbo, which is in Jinin.
The mission to Ayajinbo requires you to cross into Jinin and travel approximately 300 miles through dense forest. This journey takes about 16 days on foot. Fortunately, Jinin is a peaceful land, and the journey proceeds without incident.
When you arrive in the silver-spun city of Ayajinbo, streamers and flags proclaim that a major festival is in progress.
Three noble families—the Haraka, Ishigo, and Mata—use a cavern called the Court of the Ancestral Sky to honor their ancestors as part of the Festival of the Fortunate Moon. The clans gather at dusk in the underground grotto, and then exchange tales of honor until the moon shines down through a hole in the ceiling, striking a mirror and granting good luck to any who behold it.
The Court of the Ancentral Sky also houses the family crypts, although outsiders are not ordinarily granted access.
The clans fought for centuries until 6748 ic (4248 ar), when Malash the Magnanimous united them to repel a threat from the Darklands. Malash died during the conflict, as did Sorin, the great-grandfather of the current daimyo, Haraka Kasashige.
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Following up on Master Mido's information, you arrive at a silver pagoda, just in time to behold a procession of elven nobles descending a gilded stone ramp into a cave.
Four guards stand at the entrance in glimmering full plate, shiny elven curved blades at their sides, and finely craft longbows on their backs. As you approach, they politely challenge you.
Greetings strangers, what business do you have here?
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"We're here by the request of Venture-Captain Bakten of Kamikobu, of the Lantern Lodge of the Pathfinder Society. He is a samsaran who is close to enlightenment, and he was the honorable Malash of Hongal during one of his previous reincarnations."
Miyako gestures at herself and her allies. "To learn more of one of his previous lives, he has asked us to travel here and witness the remains of the honorable elven daimyo, Haraka Sorin."
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"Malash and Haraka Sorin! Defeaters of the rat kings of Diguo-Dashu! We will take you to Daimyo Haraka Kasashige"
Two of the guards escort you into the cave below.
This sprawling, high-roofed grotto is a masterpiece of inversion. Exotic trees growing from the ceiling surround a gravity-defying lagoon. The floor is gently concave and painted the indigo color of moonlit skies. A few feet above the floor, lambent spheres evoke stars, while conjured clouds drift by on unfelt winds. A cave mouth fifty feet above joins a ramp, which spirals down the cave’s perimeter, connecting midway to a huge stone door. An enormous, mithral-plated mirror is affixed to the floor’s center. Elven nobles, guards, and servants crowd the chamber—altogether, at least 80 elves are present.
The hypnotic music of a mithral flute draws the guests toward the central mirror. An imperious elf, clad in the ceremonial armor of a daimyo, you are brought before Haraka Kasashige just as he begins to greet each family by name:
“To the sagacious Mata, the perseverant Ishigo, and my own brethren, the decisive Haraka—welcome to the Festival of the Fortunate Moon. Tonight, the full moon will travel from sky to sky, and those who meet its pallid eye will earn the luck of dragons. Till moonrise, tales of honor shall remind us of our noble ancestry.”
Then, as an afterthought, he adds, “And perhaps these bold outlanders have a tale or two to share?”
Haraka Kasashige gives you a polite bow. How may I serve you friends?
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Great-grandfather: Miyako, just press auto-repeat.
"We're here by the request of Venture-Captain Bakten of Kamikobu, of the Lantern Lodge of the Pathfinder Society. He is a samsaran who is close to enlightenment, and he was the honorable Malash of Hongal during one of his previous reincarnations."
Miyako, like she did before, gestures at herself and her allies. "To learn more of one of his previous lives, he has asked us to travel here and witness the remains of the honorable elven daimyo, Haraka Sorin."
Great-grandfather: Hmm... It lost some of its charm the second time, but maybe it'll work.
Miyako casts a sideways glance at her allies, hoping they'll provide some aid.
Grandma: Why not tell them about Bakten's other lives?
"Honorable daimyo, perhaps you would be interested to hear what our dear Venture-Captain has accomplished in his lives before he was Malash of Hongal, the peacemaker? Though we don't know the fine details of every one of his lives, I reckon that counts as a tale or two. If not more."
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"Malash the Magnanimous! Has a greater hero ever lived! A true friend to the elves, the one who united these great clans! Ever honorable indeed showing strength in all he did, and dearly loved by my great-grandfather. "
He seems to show a true affection for the memory of the Venture-Captain's past life.
"And indeed, indeed Daimyo Haraka Sorin, may his wisdom be ever remembered, his great deeds will be celebrated this night and so many more nights to come. "
He pauses and considers the group, lingering on the mammut the longest with a look of amusement.
"Your arrival this night was not a matter of chance. In fact it is the most fortuitous of nights"
He motions in the direction of the stone door along the spiraling ramp.
"I shall take you to view the remains of this great Daimyo."
He then leads you to the stone door, a single guard stands by protecting the ancient remains. A flight of steps leads up to the door and the guard moves to the side as the Daimyo approaches opening the door as he does. Haraka Kasashige pauses a moment, "Within lies the crypts of the 3 clans, may they rest forever at peace."
Beyond the door lies a long corridor of smooth cave stone. After around 60 feet, three separate entrances mark the family shrines of the 3 clans. It is now that you notice that the candle of conveyance begins to glow brightly, displaying a white halo that becomes brighter with every step. Haraka Kasashige leads you straight ahead into what must be the Haraka family crypt. The shrine complex is lit with continual flame torches and has normal light as you go, the candle glows even brighter.
As you move further, several dozen crypts are dug into the stone walls and covered with inset metal screens, allowing visitors to view the revered remains.
Haraka Kasashige stops, "Here lies the remains of the honorable Daimyo Haraka Sorin, here you may observe his remains."
He steps to the side allowing you to look past the metal screen and into the crypt of the long dead elven leader. As you peer inside ready to use the candle to view the skull, you make the startling discovery that the skull can not be seen. The remains are in a strange position and while you are almost certain it is in there, you can not see it.
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Haraka Kasashige hesitates pondering Giltman words. His long pause makes things start to feel uncomfortable. Finally he says.
"This is a tangled knot of honor. When he was Malash, Bakten gave our families strength. Yet, even for his sake, can a son permit the desecration of his ancestor’s grave? I know your intentions are honorable, so I am conflicted about what to do."
He ponders another moment, then adds. "I have decided, that I alone can not make this decision, the clan leaders should ponder this conundrum, and then vote during moonrise. Collectively, we will make the correct choice."
"Let us rejoin the celebration till then. Please enjoy the festivities, Miyako I'm sure there will be someone that wants to hear the tales of Malash's past lives or other tales of honor." Referring to your earlier offer.
He escorts you back to the area of celebration. Your best guess is you have about three hours before moonrise. Three hours to persuade the clan leaders, including Kasashige himself, to grant them access to Sorin’s skull.
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In the grotto, thick clouds pervade the cave, creating small clear pockets where the nobles congregate, regaling one another with legends of heroic deeds, then eagerly debating the finer points of honor that each tale brings to light.