On a recent foray into Kwanlai, the Pathfinder Society learned that a conniving being from the Abyss has been targeting righteous communities on the border between the tengu nation and Tianjing to the south.
Honored Pathfinders and treasured colleagues,
I received an urgent request from an old friend of our Society, the samurai Shiyo Takarak of the Way of the Kirin. To my surprise, she has been working with another, more recently acquired friend of the Society: an archon of Heaven named Zepha. The two, it seems, have been pursuing leads discovered by one of our Society’s previous expeditions into the Kimu Mountains. Clearly impressed with their previous interactions with our colleagues, the two have asked for skilled Pathfinders to lead an expedition into Tianjing to follow the trail of evidence further. This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen our ties with both the Way of the Kirin and the archon. It also provides an opportunity to explore some of Tianjing and perhaps some of its ancient celestial-inspired architecture, arts, and philosophies. Zepha and Shiyo are in Kwanlai’s capital, Hisuikarasu, planning the expedition. Meet them there in the private room of the Gilded Lotus Teahouse.
With Regards,
Venture-Captain Amara Li
Tokens:
Tai Dan - Gained, Unused
Toko - Gained, Unused
Naki - Not gained
Aasimar Tokens - 2x earned, none used
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
I am glad we did not have to kill them. Tarragon says. Are there further tasks to be performed here? If not let us escort these men home.
Tai Dan approaches you, looking into the distance, deeper into the forest.
"This fire started somewhere, and someone should look into that. The Twenty Four masks are numerous, and it might be an issue to move a regimen like that deeper. It seems the fire pockets are getting denser. Here's what I propose - there are four of you, and you shouldn't have problems maneuvering the fire pockets. We will take these prisoners to North Winds for trial. You carry on into the forest. We still have to find this priest that lured all of them here."
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
Tarragon does not like it but nods his head in agreement. That is wisdom. he intones. But at their trial speak for them for me. I believe some vile magic was at work on these men and they had little control of their actions. They should not incur penalty for that.
"Yeah, give them chance to be good again!" Stugbu wholeheartedly agrees with the sentiments of his companions as the deserters get taken away. "We go stop bad fire now?"
After taking care of the wounds of your companions, Scout Yuto's men secure the deserters' weapons and start moving towards North Winds in an orderly manner. They bid you farewell and good luck before they do, and some of the deserters express their doubts about the legitimacy of the Hei Fengan priest that convinced them to abandon their posts in the first place. "Something odd about that man, but I can't quite pinpoint it.", one of the deserters notes.
You leave the Twenty Four Masks and the North Winds men to head back and you venture further south, towards where you believe the fire is spreading from.
A scorched, barren clearing marks what must be the center of the blight. Pale orange flames occasionally burst from tears across the ground, bathing the area in an unnatural light. A ruined building sits atop a nearby rise, its half-crumbled walls featuring imagery of angelic beings attempting to hold back a horde of alien horrors pouring forth from gaping wounds in the land.
A single man is in the area, chanting something near one of the bigger tears in the ground. He has several odd items and scrolls set near the tear, as if setting up some sort of a ritual. With his back turned against you, he doesn't notice you as you approach.
Keen to know if this guy is bad, good, once bad and now good, or most likely once good and now bad, Stugbu casts Detect Evil towards the figure once he gets close enough.
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
Tarragon, a determined look on his face, moves to close the distance between himself and the man.
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
Tarragon casts Frostbite and moves another 20’ closer nodding at Li Shuo to loose.
Male Tengu Or 2/Mnk 3| HP 38 | AC 20/16; Touch 16; FF 12| F +5; R +6; W +6 | CMB+5; CMD 21 | Speed 40 ft | Init +2 | Perc +11 | Stealth: +10 Oracle 2/Monk 3 (Unchained)
And just like that, Li Shuo pierces the old man's back with three arrows. He collapses to the floor, with his torso landing on the fissure in the ground. The flow of the blight fire generated by the crack engulfs his body, and burns his clothes away. In a process similar to the one that happened to the aasimar warriors from North Winds, he starts to mutate at an accelerated rate. His skin peels off to reveal a purple body beneath, a crocodile-like tail appears soon after. His hands, similar to those of a snake's body, end with several octopus suction pods on the palms. The man slowly stands up on his two jaguar legs - and the head... Oh boy - as he turns around, you see a flower-like face with a single eye looking in your direction. The chimeral creature roars at you and swipes at the arrows with it's tail, breaking the arrow shafts as they fly away.
Male Tengu Or 2/Mnk 3| HP 38 | AC 20/16; Touch 16; FF 12| F +5; R +6; W +6 | CMB+5; CMD 21 | Speed 40 ft | Init +2 | Perc +11 | Stealth: +10 Oracle 2/Monk 3 (Unchained)
do we know what Knowledge it is to identify the creature?
Neither of those is enough, I'm afraid. Also, don't kill the guy before I getto act, please? Or do. Good job on your part.
The creature runs towards you with its newly acquired porcupine features. It seems determined to not go down without a fight. He charges the group with a furious roar. As he comes closer, you notice finer details on the body that could be considered disturbing to some.
Everyone roll a willsave. Those who roll less than 18 will be staggered for 1d4 rounds of combat, assuming we get to that point.
Male Tengu Or 2/Mnk 3| HP 38 | AC 20/16; Touch 16; FF 12| F +5; R +6; W +6 | CMB+5; CMD 21 | Speed 40 ft | Init +2 | Perc +11 | Stealth: +10 Oracle 2/Monk 3 (Unchained)
Fort:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
using reroll
Fort:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Will:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
assuming that makes it
Chak Chak rolls back and grabs his oil of bless weapon
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
Will Save:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6Had not raged yet, but it would not have helped!
Rounds:1d4 ⇒ 1
Seeing the creature as it really is staggers young bloodrager.
The map is a little messed up I think. It shows Tarragon adjacent to the creature while he only advanced a single move. I think Chak Chak should be in his place. Gonna switch them.
Tarragon steps up and smacks the creature with his lucerne hammer. The flowery face caves in and the creature collapses to the ground and stops moving overall.
The nearby fissures still fumes blight fire into the area, and while no trees or other vegetation is in the area anymore, it could have long term consequences.
Well, there's supposed to be another qlippoth running around, but since there's just four of you, the scenario states I shouldn't put it in. With that said, the fight is over. Li Shuo put him down to 5 hp in two volleys. And while technically you shouldn't full attack during a surprise round, this is a pretty meh boss anyway.
Stugbu approaches Li Shu, with a concerned look on his face. "Me know he very bad thing...but why you still shooting it when it dead? You think it might come back to life?"
The paladin then turns his attention to the fires, seeing if there is any way they may be put out.
Any checks or the like to determine how to extinguish the fires?
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
Male Tengu Or 2/Mnk 3| HP 38 | AC 20/16; Touch 16; FF 12| F +5; R +6; W +6 | CMB+5; CMD 21 | Speed 40 ft | Init +2 | Perc +11 | Stealth: +10 Oracle 2/Monk 3 (Unchained)
You put your heads together to brainstorm information on the rift. It seems that the ruined building to the south of the clearing appears to have served as a shrine and the engraved glyphs on the remaining walls and floor further indicate that it once served as an anchor point for a celestial ward of sort. Repairing the shrine and restoring the glyphs may hasten the rift’s collapse and prevent future incursions. While restoring the shrine would limit further Abyssal invasions in its immediate area, it is not a long-term solution. The shrine, probably along with similar shrines throughout the Kaimuko Wood, would require ongoing and constant maintenance. The lack of attention given to this shrine may explain how the qlippoth initially managed to slip through to the Material Plane. Some qlippoth cults believe that, upon death, their most devout can break free from the normal cycle awaiting their souls. The souls of such cultists do not transform into outsiders, but instead form into quintessence that merges directly with the Abyss, denying souls for the demon horde while still strengthening the Abyss overall. The qlippoth mastermind behind the events at Yiangma and the North Winds Watch had been using that quintessence to strengthen the rift between the Abyss and the Material Plane. Without a steady flow of quintessence, the rift cannot sustain itself.
Restoring the glyphs requires some planar or arcane knowledge (so roll them again if you can), and restoring the shrine itself, will require some construction know-how. Specifically, Craft (stonemasonry), Knowledge (engineering), or Profession (architect).
Male Half Orc Bloodrager 5/dragon disciple 3 | hp 76/76, Rage hp 92/92 | AC 22 T 12 FF 20 | CMD 27 | F +12 R +9 W +5 (+2 v spells cast by himself or party) | Spd 30' | Init +2 | Perc +9, Intimidate +12
Tarragon tries to help as best he can.
Knowledge (arcana):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
While strong Tarragon has no formal training in building. Still he tries, and perhaps he is good enough to assist others in stonework.
Male Tengu Or 2/Mnk 3| HP 38 | AC 20/16; Touch 16; FF 12| F +5; R +6; W +6 | CMB+5; CMD 21 | Speed 40 ft | Init +2 | Perc +11 | Stealth: +10 Oracle 2/Monk 3 (Unchained)
Chak Chak will try to remember about the fissure and the glyphs again.
After a brief brainstorming, you figure out the best course of action for reactivating the runes connected to the protection of the site from further attacks from the creatures of the Abyss. While the shrine is not rebuilt, however, you can not guarantee further incursions and reopened portals.
With the glyphs and runes renewed, it should work for now, but someone should probably look into rebuilding the shrine in the near future. With that said and done, the fissure closes, and the blight fire starts dying out in the vicinity. You make your way back to the North Winds Watch, and see the carnage caused. Plantlife and animal disfiured and mutated, many of them dead or dying. The North Winds Watch itself is in a bad state. Many of the deserters are held prisoners, awaiting their trial. Scout Yuto vouches for them, however, stating that they have been influenced by Riko in some way.
Stugbu is troubled by the damage done by the evil creature and even moreso by the treatment of the deserters. "Me not think you should keep these guys locked up like this. They not really bad, just made bad by really bad thing. Stugbu sure they can be good again if you give them chance. Everybody need at least second chance, maybe three!"
While Stugbu's heart might be in the right place, his words landed on deaf ears. In order to make an example, Commander Gu Xiang reads the sentence outloud in front of the entire camp - a standard punishment for deserting and outright turning on the fort. Execution.
"Unfortunate, but somewhat deserving...", a familiar voice speaks. You turn around to find Zepha.
"“You have done Tianjing, and perhaps all of Golarion, a great service this day; one that this world may not be able to repay. But do not forget that my reach extends a bit beyond this world. I'll remain in the area and keep an eye on the restorative process, and to prevent any future intrusions. Thank you for your service, Pathfinders. I will also stay in touch with Lady Amara Li and Way of the Kirin, though I hope circumstances will not force us to cooperation in the near future.”
The state of affairs in the fort leaves a sour taste in the mouth, and Zepha decides to leave the fort itself to inspect the forest and the source of the blight. During the entirety of your conversation with the empyreal, most of the Twenty Four Masks stand nearby with their beaks agape, and some continue in that same activity despite him being gone already. Tai Dan and Shiyo approach you after Zepha disappears beyond the gate.
"Perhaps it's better this way.", Li Shuo looks at the deserters and back to you. [b]"Many of them compained about terrible pain caused by the ... mutations caused by the blight. I spoke with Naki on the way here, and she was looking over some of the soldiers..."
"She said there's nothing she can do, and she doesn't know how to heal those growths.", Shiyo continues after Li Shuo takes a moment to process his thoughts. "I wanted to thank you again for your help. I know a man back in Hisuikarasu. See report sheets. His blades are nothing short of amazing, but the man himself doesn't go out that much, so barely nobody knows about him. Give him a visit if you need a sword made properly.", he hands you a sheet of paper with a name and address. "And remember to tell him Shiyo Takarak sent you. He'd probably just ignore you without a referral."
