The golden limbs laying around are part of inevitables called Zelekhuts. Normally the creature looks like a mechanical centaur. Golden, clockwork wings sprout from its back, and its arms end in barbed chains.
Luisila can determine the smoking manikin was a possession haunt of some sort. She would suspect it is somehow linked to Badru's heart stone and is not totally destroyed.
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"Given that his actions still seem to be reverberating so unpleasantly, even all these years later... perhaps the Amethyst Sage was up to something nefarious?" Noisy muses, at San Xiao's query.
He shrugs slightly.
"Though it would have had to have been pretty egregious to attract such as those, wouldn't it?"
"Then again, maybe they were just lost." He adds a moment later with a grin.
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“This place is pretty disturbing.”
Luisila turns up her nose at the smoking manikin in disgust. “Fredrik, I’d rather save my channels for combat. Do you want to fill this...*blech* thing with positive energy a couple of times and see if that ends it?”
"These parts came from Inevitables. What business do the agents of the Plane of Law have with these archives?"
“Hmm … Inevitables generally get involved when mortals experiment with immortality and/or apotheosis. This is heavy stuff the Amethyst Sage was dabbling in.”
The priestess looks beyond the current chamber. “Fredrik and I can use the make whole wand. I wonder if we’ll need it to make Badru’s heart activate the Beacon or something?”
“The wand of mirror image might prove useful for Conan and Noisy. Shall we keep exploring this level? I don’t trust Saruna to stay on the sidelines once she learns Badru is gone.”
Fredrick expends a channel but gets the impression the haunt is tied to the fate of Badru...or specifically his gemstone heart, which still glows faintly.
The party decides to head back to the south and see where Badru was going.
Looking east you find...
This large chamber houses a permanent ring around a central pillar
As you look into the chamber you spot the broken remains of half a dozen zelekhuts.
Luminous glyphs cover the central pillar, providing dim illumination.
Two pair of inanimate constructs appear to be standing guard in the room. Two are large-sized and crystalline. Two are person-sized and appear to be fashioned from wood.
Large Constructs
Invincible glass golems
Medium Constructs
ADVANCED WOOD GOLEMS
You recognize the ankh-like tyet icon emblazoned on the creatures as the knot of Isis.
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Luisila spies the corridors leading off from the large amphitheatre-like construct room.
“I guess to enter the Treasury we have to battle the construct-guardians first. At least they shouldn’t get the drop on us.”
Luisila *taps* her front teeth with a fingernail. “I wonder if we can just walk across carrying Badru? Noisy or San Xiao, is there anything special about these constructs?”
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Noisy ponders the room thoughtfully. "I can't imagine it would have been hostile to Badru." He offers. "But if he was trying to flee here, they probably won't much like us."
"The big ones appear to be some sort of glass golem." He adds, indicating the larger guardians. "And those, wood golems." He indicates the other ones.
"Though all of them seem to have a slightly sturdier build than I'd expect."
"These might be the guardian types Saruna mentioned." He adds.
"If so, the Sage Jewel might get us past? Though we'd have to go make it first." He shrugs slightly. "Seems like we're going to have to do that eventually regardless."
The body of Badru, as you have come to know already, is heavier than one made out of mortal flesh.
Neither Noisy nor Luisila recognize the glowing runes on the golems.
Noisy recalls there was statue of Thoth, Osirian god of magic, writing, and the moon, and patron of archivists and libraries in the temple area with Saruna upstairs.
The golems, as Noisy calls them, so far are not reacting to your presence as you stand in the cave outside the room.
No change in the stance of the constructs yet.
Noisy starts head back to the stairs.
And the party trudges back upstairs with the corpse of Badru and jar and assorted sundries. The golems do not even have the decency to wave good bye.
The illusory wall to Saruna's area is still there.
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San Xiao strides in to meet with Saruna, instructing his manservant to follow with the body.
-Posted with Wayfinder
As the majority of you, less Conan, enter the temple of Thoth again, you notice Saruna does not appear to be present in the room where she had sat when you left.
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Luisila looks at the dwarf and *gasps* “NOISY! Lady Saruna asked us to keep out of her private chambers!”
“Have you no respect? No common decency?” She shakes her head indignantly. “Quite happy to ignore protocol when it suits your own frivolous fleeting fancy?”
Then she *winks* “Me, too. Let’s go!”
As Noisy and Luisila move to inspect the vacated temple of Thoth, an eerie wind starts to swirl and from above the door, mists take form higher above you.
Initiative
Fred
=== surprise round ===
1. Swirls (moved)
2. Fred (surprised), Conan (surpised, no LoS)
3. Luisila, Noisy, Savage, San Xiao
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“Conan, I think we’ve got three incorporeal undead in here, but I can’t identify them.”
She continues making eye contact with each of her companions. “If that’s what they are, I’ve got a defensive spell that will help but I need a full six seconds to cast it.”
“IT'S THE SAME ONE I CAST IN THE BLAKROS' WINE CELLAR, CONAN!”
Hoping to give San Xiao a better chance at dealing with the breezy creatures, she reaches out to the alchemist with a bit of luck.
Luisila then *snaps* the wasp-shaped brooch attached to her cloak between her fingers, fades from view and takes a 5’ step in a random direction.
San Xiao takes a quick drink to bolster his prowess.
Noisy and Luisila peer upwards but neither can make out what the creatures are exactly.
The bard shouts at one...while Luisila reaches out to guide San Xiao before she disappears.
I am not sure I am looking up the weird words ability correctly since I do not see the 4d6 x2 damage.
Is it this?
Weird Words (Su): At 6th level, a sound striker can start a performance as a standard action, lashing out with 1 potent sound per bard level (maximum 10), each sound affecting one target within 30 feet. These are ranged touch attacks. Each weird word deals 1d8 points of damage plus the bard’s Charisma bonus (Fortitude half ), and the bard chooses whether it deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage for each word.
And if this is subject to SR, then needs to beat DC19 to affect it.
The 3 creatures glide down 5' and
reach out with wisps of black air to reach you...
One lashes at Fredrick vs FF AC 22, higher
for
for
for
for
Another on Noisy vs AC 19 , higher
for
for
for
for
And last on San Xiao
for
for
for
for
vs Fred vs CMD 21
vs Noisy vs CMD 21
Both Fredrick and Noisy are grabbed by their windy creatures
Conan hears the commotion and the porter unceremoniously drops Badru and runs.
Forget this, man. I ain't getting paid enough for this malarchy
=== round 1===
1. Swirls 5' up (attacked), #1(holding), #2 (holding,-40), #3(ok)
2. Fred (-16,grappled), Conan (FoM,no LoS)
3. Luisila(invis), Noisy(-17,grappled), Savage(), San Xiao(dex)
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Its basically scorching ray, but with sonic instead of fire now. (see the link for the official updated description). So just one or two die rolls instead of 18 =)
And most bard songs (including this one) are SU abilities, so SR shouldn't be an issue.
Conan sees the porter emerge from the illusary wall. He also hears shuffling to the south at the sound of combat.
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Hearing Luisila's warning through the message bond, and seeing the porter fleeing, Conan acts! A snap of his wrist drops one of his wands into his hand, and a command word creates a shield of energy around him again.
He then drops the wand to clatter on the ground and hurries through the wall, sword drawn. "SORRY, I'M HERE!"
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A familiar, ghostly voice echoes from the chamber’s south-west. “Conan, can you confirm they’re incorporeal undead?”
If he does Luisila *casts* anti-incorporeal shell and takes a 5' step to the north-west.
A miasmal form roils as barbed tentacles emerge from the central mass, coalescing into razor-sharp talons and claws.
These are creatures from elemental plane of air known as Mihstus
You get one question defense attacks etc
.