Back to town. When we get there, let us see if we can find some wind magic to disperse the smoke that harms us.
"Sandwiches at mom's, or somewhere in town?"
Well she does make excellent sandwiches..
"Nothing wrong with some sandwiches. Besides, your mom seems nice."
The party returns to Iadenveigh avoiding any dangers of the forest. It is mid afternoon.
Liz looks into getting Gust of Wind.
The party stays at Chakos' family home, in the extra barn. Chakos' mother serves sandwiches as it is the family's favorite. In the morning Liz searches for scrolls.
Liz will get Dispel Magic and Gust of Wind and scribe.
Astra did not argue against withdrawing. They'd pushed on so many times their luck was bound to break. As much as she hated not getting at Xoud, logic clearly dictated it was time for a break.
When the group gets back to Iadenveigh, Astra is again too arrogant to sleep in a barn and finds better accommodations at, what was it called, the High Home?
Everyone ready to head back?
"Yes."
Chakos gathers his things, and announces, "let's go people, back to the tower. Vacation is over."
Everyone, be sure to protect yourself against fire and smoke. Liz is ready
Astra meets the group at Chakos' parents place, looking well rested, hair washed and scented with some kind of flowery fragrance. After all the unpleasant events in the tower yesterday she just needed a cleansing of the more worldly kind. "How is everyone doing today?" she chirps, in a pleasant mood.
Doing fine
"What protective spells are we using today? How do we defeat that magic wall, with the horrible fog tactic?"
Syvlara stretches and cracks her neck. "I am well, thank you. The tower has been on my mind as of late, and I look forward to ridding it of it's horrors. The ghostly wizard, however, is very troubling. I have nothing to protect myself from it's magic beyond shooting it down."
After pondering for a bit longer, she realizes "Oh, and how fare you today? Did you dream?"
"The tower annoys me a great deal. I hate puzzles I cannot solve on the first try. I'm used to being able to keep working on something until I succeed. Having to interrupt my efforts to come back and sleep frustrates me. And it worries me that every time we retreat, Xoud knows more about us and can prepare for us better." Astra puts her hand onto Syvlara's shoulder. "You keep Elizabeth alive against aurumvorices and achaierais and she'll take care of Xoud. None of us are working alone here. Teamwork will win the day."
As for the latter question, she answers, "I did in fact dream. It was a little odd, I was a giant at first, bigger than the world, holding Golarion in my palm like a game ball, and then throwing it. There was a lane in front of me, straight and narrow and flat, with other worlds at the far end of it -- Aballon, Castrovel, Akiton, the rest -- and Golarion rolled down the lane until it crashed into them, scattering them all over. And the next thing I remember, I saw a giant scorpion, like Hellion back in Scrapwall, but a living creature instead of the construct Hellion was, and it was using its tail to carve symbols in the sand... I couldn't read them no matter how much I tried... I...the rest eludes me. But it was a vexing dream. I wish I knew more about dream interpretation but it is not one of my fields."
"You... that... dreams are strange. I hear that humans dream bad things, and that it can haunt them like a curse. Do your dreams haunt you?"
"Sometimes. We call them 'nightmares'. Often such bad dreams can keep us from sleeping well and leave us exhausted the next day. No one is quite certain why these things occur, although some have suggested it stems from the events of the previous day -- that it is the mind trying to provide some manner or resolution to problems you have encountered. Others, on the other hand, suggest that it is our minds touching another plane of existence that is bleeding through to our dreams. Yet others suggest it is just insanity, the result of a malformed brain. Do you mean to say that elves don't experience this?"
Syvlara blinks "Have you not noticed? I meditate for a few hours during the night. Sleep is a rare thing for my people, and dreams even rarer. Perhaps dreams are the result of a malformed brain, but after meeting you and Liz, I would conclude that the malformity would not have an impact on one's intellectual capacity. Other humans, however, I am not as certain."
She picks up her bow and straps her quivers to her back. "I am glad that your dreams have not exhausted you today. We have much to do, and I will do my best to protect Liz."
I have learned a spell that can potentially dispel magic and another one to disperse smoke and clouds with a burst of wind. Thos sould help.
"Dreams, or no dreams, but it is time to go ladies! How are we changing tactics today?"
Well we still have the upper most part of the tower to explore I believe. I can memorized spells to help against Xoud's and we should try to avoid getting to separated so he can't wall us off again.
Okay, we'll go up to the room where we fought the crane and then prep for the next floor.
The party does as Liz says and goes back to the room where they fought the animated crane.
On the way back up the tower, Astra will want to re-check some rooms very thoroughly. She Takes 20 (20 minutes per room) on the following rooms: F3, F6, F7 (1 hour has passed), F10, F15, F16 (2 hours), F17, F20, F21 (3 hours), F23, F24, F27 (4 hours). With +13 Perception, this should give Perception DC 33 for those rooms. It will probably also make the group want to strangle Astra multiple times over as she takes four fricking hours to ascend the tower, but she really insists.
Wow, like Xoud is not going to totally fireball us due to me not wasting my spells while you check the cushions for coppers.
"What are you complaining about, Elizabeth. He waited while we slept, he's going to wait a couple of hours longer. You do realize he most likely doesn't sleep himself?"
We wern't in the tower while we slept. He is no doubt bound it it somewhow.
"Hey, he's no doubt fortified his positions upstairs. If we manage to lure him out of his prepared position to fight us elsewhere, it seems like a good idea to me!"
"I'm just in this for the opportunity to fight evil and chew tobacco, and I am all out of tobacco! Do you have that fire protection spell today?"
Yes, let us head up.
"What is he going to do? Build a wall with metal and nails? Ghosts can't lift hammers."
If we haven't already, then Chakos heads on in and up the tower as directed.
As Astra takes the time to search through the rooms, she finds no new traps or items of interest. Besides her party, there doesn't appear to be anything living that has entered the rooms.
Let us head up. Liz casts Resist Fire-Communal on everyone for 20 points protection
Astra follows the rest of the group up. "This tower can't go on for much further. I haven't heard of too many buildings that have as much as eight floors. I'm certain that some architectural engineers would love to take a look at this building. Perhaps Xoud would be open to the idea of holding some tours for professionals in exchange for compensation."
"Or we could kill him. Then some church could consecrate the hell out of this place and do tours. Or knock the whole thing down and use the metal for something less... evil."
Astra makes a mental note that they have to check the small room to the south later if they survive, but for now, she is content to follow Elizabeth's direction and go upward. The final confrontation with Xoud is no doubt imminent, and she feels as much desire to get it over with as anyone. "Knock this down? Syvlara, please! This is an architectural marvel. Consecration and repurposing is a wonderful idea, but just throwing away something as unique as this... I hope this tower stands for a long time to come."
Climbing up the stairs, you find another flight of stairs and three doors.
The one directly east of the stairs we came up.
Astra opens the door going east, goes through the small two-square chamber, and then opens the second east door.