The squid lashed out at the departing man like an escaping fish but becomes tangled in its own tentacles. It gives chase but takes more effort to de-tangle once it arrives.
Oggil and Ibaz swim forward in a full dash, following closely after the water elemental. The elemental slamming hard into the man, causing an inaudible gulp.
The blue man shrugs his shoulders and blindly puts his hands up.
Very well, you have poor Brahlim. I surrender. I offer my treasure at the bottom of the pool as well as the information I know of those you seek.
=== Round 7 ===
11- Chip(moved ),Zipper( ), Ibaz(), Varian(-12 NL )
20+ Parrim+Squid(sings),Oggil(-6hp, -2NL),Electra+Elem(ok, -8hp)
14+ BlueMan (READIED. -50 ,glittery, still blind)
Those in the water can hear him glubbing his message. Those outside cannot.
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Not hearing nor seeing what is going on below the waters, Parrim shuffles her feet and can do nothing.
The squid tries to pull the tentacles out of its big round eyes, untangle them - the tentacles, not the eyes - and continue attacking the Blue Man.
I did not count any of the Blind modifiers (-2 AC, no Dex...) and will let you do the math'.
The squid's bite hits but fails to penetrate his blue skin.
The man nods blindly.
Who said that? I cannot see where to go.
He follows Ibaz back to the shore as the others swim back as well. His sight seems to return eventually.
This striking, blue-eyed man with luminous skin and flowing white hair holds an ethereal harp. Looking at the bunch of you he spots a couple wayfinders.
I have heard of the Society’s fearsome reputation and their desire to acquire wealth whatever the cost.
He continues I admire the fact that the Society doesn’t let silly ideas like morality stand in their way. But have no doubt, I caution if you break your word and try to kill me, my allies will seek revenge on you and your Society. I offer my treasure and knowledge to you and you spare me. Do we have a deal?
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Oggil looks at the man with disgust.
"We want to know more about this place too, and how you came to be here... and .." he points to the dead Aspsis.
"How they came here."
With combat over he rummages through the bodies of the dead agents to see if there are any clues, and happily removes their Aspis clasps.
Besides the bronze clasps, Oggil finds nothing but tattered leather armor and rusted axes on the dead Aspis. The blue man does not seem to notice or care of their fate.
I am Brahlim. This river is my home. Those two with the bronze clasps were offerings to me from the waterfall. he turns and points to the waterfall in the distance.
You are Pathfinders, correct? I was told by people who are well acquainted with the Society’s acts and they spread the word of the danger of attempting to negotiating with your Pathfinder Society.
He turns to Chip and Parrim in particular.
My allies are not these. I have friends with the very elements themselves and the Second World. So we have a deal? If so I will provide you with what I promised and you will keep yours, yes?
He hands you a wand he was holding in his belt then points to the glint of gold in a crevice in the river.
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Parrim looks the man over, now that she can good a look at his cool luminous skin and white hair, wondering what he may be--
--"Well Brahim, I'm Parrim, and this is my team", she says as she holds her little hand out for him to shake:
"There once was a man who could swim like a seal
"And loved to fight before having to make a deal"
Very well. After he hands over the wand, he points to a crevice in the river. I will have to retrieve the rest.
[b]Be warned, there are at least one hundred of gray dwarves, and they keep many slaves. The leader of the gray dwarves is a man named Chergin Ironwhip who has power over stone.
Regarding the two bodies.
As I said, those were left for me and I agreed to use them to assist me in guarding the approach to their complex.
I do not know anything about the claps.
You have my word as I have yours.
And I am sure you will come down after me if I do not come back.
You are welcome to come with me.
Parrim recalls Brahlim as a fey known as a fossegrim. They are not good and generally aquatic in nature.
Brahlim dives down and returns with a gem and hands it to Oggil.
The grey dwarves look like you but...more grey in color. And more stony. I agreed to watch the water approach in return for the assistance. I migrated here from elsewhere in this realm, finding the dwarves interesting. I live in the pool, entertaining myself with passersby or finding the tributes who fall from the waterfall.
He continues...
I suspect that the tributes fall from the waterfall’s source close to the top of the mountain, but I never really bothered to investigate how or why the tributes are delivered to me...they just are.
He shrugs.
But now, I guess I will move on as this place has run its course for me. So I guess that is all. Good luck!
***
The mountain reaches overhead, covered in lush trees and white mist. As warm winds whip around the mount’s rises, wisps of cloud separate from the thick cover and float away.
A brief plateau about halfway up the mountain features a sheer cliff, otherwise inscrutable from a distance. The roar of the waterfall overhead explains the thick mist that covers much of the mountain. The vapors become gray clouds as they rise in altitude, but near the base of the mountain they are white wisps rolling out from the pool.
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"As the steam rises from the pot, so do the stairs rise from the pond." says Oggil, gesturing to them.
"We surely have enough strong swimmers to get everyone across without trouble. Maybe our friend Brahlim could help as well?"
He gazes at the dead.
"As the bird is to the sea, so I am to a priest. Perhaps one of you may say some words over the fallen before we depart? I confess that as the magpie gathers glittery objects that strike its curiosity, so it mine intrigued by the 'tributes' that Brahlim receives. And my grey cousins who presumably send them."
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Parrim thinks: A fey, so the resistance must be linked to cold iron...
"Well, Brahim, I pray we have entertained you! Good luck to you..."
"Yes, Master Oggil, I can say some words for these fallen. Or participate if someone else wishes to lead..."
If no one wishes to lead, Parrim will lead a brief prayer to Pharasma, for these dead.
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Chip waits for Parrim to finish. Being quite a bit biased against the Aspis, he says this. "They were mislead, as I was in the past. They got what Aspis agents usually get, a swift death with no help from their fellow comrades to even take the bodies with them. Had we gotten to them sooner maybe they could have been turned." Chip looks solemn saying that, clenching a fist during his words. He then looks back up. "May Fate not judge them too harshly."
Almost like a mood swing, Chip looks towards the stairs and smiles. The upbeat change of voice is startling. "Let's move on with the mission! Come on Zipper!" *whistles*
Zipper grunts happily as he follows along with Chip.
From a considerable distance, the cliff face at the base of the mountain appears corrugated from erosion. Two pairs of enigmatic, smiling stone faces are carved into the face of the mountain. These faces flank a precariously tall, ten-foot-wide stone staircase that leads to a flat plateau 60 feet overhead.
The staircase is so steep that it is essentially vertical (requiring a climb check to navigate).
The wand and gem both detect as magic, if that is interesting
Varian studies the wand and gem while heading to the stone staircase.
The party is able to patch up their bumps and bruises.
***
At the stone staircase, the stairs are almost verical, and Chip ungraciously slips back down before getting too far up. It is much tougher than he expected. (DC15 at quarter speed, DC20 at half speed)
Parrim studies the statues, and they appear to be devoted to some dark deity. (DC20 Kn:Rel to recognize)
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Parrim tests the cilmb, and, seeing she can manage pretty well , mutters: "We Halflings love to climb..."
Then she addresses her comrades: "If you wish, I can climb up alongside those who have difficulties, since, in case an accident happens and someone falls, I may at least cushion their fall, making it like a feather."
Then she plops her haversack to the ground, and starts pulling a crazy amount of things from within: "Here are some pitons and hooks that can help someone, and we can always pass it back down to another,"
"and here are some grappling hooks and the coils of rope: we can fix this on the top or maybe somewhere along the way, to help with the climb."
Then she pulls out a scroll with a flourish.
"Finally, if this cannot help and someone is really stuck, I can make one person fly for a few minutes... but I only have one scroll."
Zipper starts climbing but Chip makes sure not to get too much ahead of the party.
Electra determines this temple once symbolized ascent to a sacred place: the temple to the mountain god Yamatsumi. However, there appear to be markings of a totally different deity now, one uncommonly known as Droskar. Unfortunately, Electra is less skilled at climbing and does not make it up even a bit on her first attempt.
Chip, after sliding down the first attempt on the stairs, mounts Zipper instead. Zipper is able to climb at a good rate (20' up per round, of the 60' ascent.)
Parrim and Oggil are able to climb up the steep stairs at quarter their normal speed (figure 15' up per round with DC15).
Those others still wanting to climb can do so at a crawl rate of 5' up without making a check but will take longer to reach the top (12 rounds at that rate).
As Zipper is the first reaching the 40' altitude all in the group but the halflings hear some movement of metal grinding on stone above.
From Zipper's back, Chip sees the following...
Jagged and barbed iron sculptures of various sizes cover the floor of this large stone plateau.
A pair of wide stone stairs ascends to a balcony overhead.
Shattered pieces of intricately painted pottery and shreds of fine silk are piled along the walls.
Four pillars divide the space, holding aloft stone arches covered with pictograms.
A wide pair of iron doors bears a ruby-studded engraving of an inferno and a hefty iron lock.
=== Surprise Round===
Bold may go in surprise round...single move/action
24-Electra(0' up), Ibaz(0' up)
16-O()
15-Chip+Zip(40' up, surprised), Varian (0' up), Oggil (30' up)
10-Sculpture()
6-Parrim(30'up, surprised)