Caranthir Silverhand |
"This is a strong curse, indeed," Caranthir mutters.
"I suggest we go back to town and rest before deciding what to do. We may even be able to find a powerful cleric that could assist Thistle in this matter," the elf says.
knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
Fellgrim Cogmaester |
"Wait ... the spirit that wants the head and heart of the lich should be able to tell if Bruce's heart is what he is looking for right? And he seems to have some powerful ability to grant favors. Maybe we can bargain with him?"
Thistle Voltare |
Thistle nods along with Caranthir's suggestion. He begins to feel a little flush, thinking about just what be required in this most major of surgeries.
As he imagines the process of tearing out Bruce's mechanical heart, he remembers back to how the man ended up with the cursed item to begin with. All he did was hold it in his hands for a moment, and was inexplicably compelled to press it into his chest.
So if he succeeds in taking the heart out, and casting the spells to save Bruce's life, would he be strong enough to resist the pull and avoid the same fate?
So in general, I'm thinking that the Resto/Breath of Life is the way to go. I'll let Bruce make the final call, since it's his character. :) I'm fine with trying it, but I'll want to make sure I've boosted my Will save as much as possible before then so we don't just trade one problem for another... Perhaps the best thing to do is find where it is we need to toss this head and heart into, and do the procedure there. GM, is that a possibility? Either way, resting seems like a good idea, though I wonder how long before the Lich revives since his Phylactery is still intact...
Caranthir Silverhand |
Regardless of how we do this, I think it would be better to be fully rested, full of spells, and in town.
Caranthir shoulders his backpack.
"These are all things we will need to consider, but for now, we have faced down death and won. We should lick our wounds back in town."
Kludde |
I might have given you a bit too much of a red herring saying the heart needs a wish to remove. A powerful Remove Curse (i.e. one with a hard DC check) would also work
Do you want to go up and rest in town? You can also rest here, or any of the other levels you've cleared. There's some nice tunnels smeared with Morlock poop up there.
Thistle Voltare |
See Discussion thread....
Thistle nods in agreement as the group comes to the same general conclusions. He palms his spire transport token and takes a deep breath, looking around. He wonders if he will be coming back, or if the group will come back intact. They had made it remarkably far and were still together, though decidedly changed from their first foray through the forest.
With a resigned sigh and smile, the Nagaji oracle blinks out of view as he is instantly transported to the entrance and the gentle sounds of forest around him.
Bruce W. |
Know Arcana: 1d20 + 11 + 2 + 1d8 ⇒ (10) + 11 + 2 + (2) = 25
As the others are discussing the various ways they could remove the mechanical heart from Bruce's chest, he pulls an extract from his belt and examines it closely. "Worth a shot," he says before drinking the extract.
Remove Curse: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Probably not enough. If nothing horrible happens Bruce will head back to town to prepare for surgery.
Kludde |
Bruce down the extract, and for a brief moment hears the heart speed up tic tic tic, then settle down to it's usual pace.
Kludde |
If you want to buy a remove curse, just roll the CL check (though I'll allow a bit of metagaming and let you draw the conclusions around that CL 23 being a fail)
Caranthir Silverhand |
"Thistle," Caranthir says, "you should oversee this process. We will want Bruce in fully functioning order. I am already concerned about whatever deal Fellgrim and Jelani have made. We cannot also have Bruce compromised."
Thistle Voltare |
I must petition the gods who favor me to allow me the use of that prayer, Thistle muses to himself, pondering the remove curse scroll he holds, wondering if it is worth the cost. He looks down to his dagger, and shudders at the thought of the surgery he may have to perform. With a deep breath, he decides that perhaps it might be worth the long-shot to try the scroll. He pulls a pile of gold from his coin purse and hands it over to the priest, who takes it a bit too eagerly.
A small while later, Thistle stands in the room with the rest of the group gathered. He unfurls the scroll, reading the enchantment and unleashing the divine magics contained on it.
Going to try 1 scroll of remove curse, just for the heck of it. I don't mind footing the bill for it. Looking into it, the cost of a remove curse scroll scribed at a caster level of 10 is 750gp - so really not that bad. Same odds of success as if I had cast it myself (if I knew the spell) I think it's more thematic... Thistle's apprehension to perform the surgery and all...
Remove curse, cast from scroll (CL 10): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Caranthir Silverhand |
Why don't we just rest until you have successfully removed it, Bruce? You could prepare that extract and try as many times in a day as you have extracts for that level. Even if we take a week, well worth it.
Kludde |
Thistle tries another curse removal, but the magic is evil and tainted, and the heart stubbornly remains put.
The adventurers rest in the Hellknight fort. As if the oppressive architecture of the fortress wasn't enough, Jelani's and Fellgrim's dreams are haunted by terrible nightmares of demons and destruction. As they wake up, they find the windows of their room open, as if the wind knocked them in.
@Bruce: if you want to try for multiple days, feel free to roll as many RC's as you like. If anyone else wants to chime in, roll as well. I'm going to keep the DC a secret for now.
Fellgrim Cogmaester |
"This doesn't seem to be working well ... is there anything we can do to increase the odds at all?"
Caranthir Silverhand |
We're in no hurry...I suggest we hang out for a week and have Bruce roll a lot of checks. It looks like you have 4 level-3 extracts, so roll a week's worth and see if you can beat it.
Bruce W. |
Wait isn't this thing a phylactery? If we take to long won't it revive the lich? I'll roll one day to see what I get since we already rested.
RC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
RC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
RC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
RC: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Let me know if we want to keep rolling or just get this thing out.
Thistle Voltare |
We believe it is the phylactery. I thought the same thing about taking to long. I don't know if we want to do more than a day or two... Especially if we have the surgery option. I would vote after those 4 didn't work, we do the surgery and hope I pass my will save and don't put it in my own chest... :) That way we only rest for 1 night, then get back and destroy this thing before the Lich revives... If we are good with that just let me know and I will work on an appropriately foreboding post.
Kludde |
Just waiting for the appropriately foreboding post :-)
Caranthir Silverhand |
"Thistle, are there any spells I might prepare to assist you?" Caranthir asks the oracle.
Thistle Voltare |
Thistle nods to Caranthir, more so for the support even just his words provide, and indicates the resistance spell, if the elf knows it.
Thistle will cast resistance on himself if Caranthir can't cast it, and will also cast protection from evil to help with the saving throw I expect will happen when I pull the heart from his chest.
He walks slowly over to a thick, smooth surfaced table where Bruce lies with a bed roll tucked under his head. Leather straps secure the man's hands, feet, and waist to the table. The najagi takes a deep breath, doing his best to project an aura of calm confidence, though his mind and stomach churn with uneasiness inside.
Thankfully for the oracle, he cannot hear any extraneous sounds to distract him. He turns to look at the surprisingly calm caped crusader, nodding one last time to indicate that he is ready to begin the procedure. Raising his scaled hands, Thistle first extends his life force out in the shape of a greenish, glowing tentacle. The tentacle melds with Bruce's body, and both feel the ebb and flow of the life force between them.
Reverently, Thistle reaches over and takes the pristine, cleaned dagger in his hand. He holds it over the chest of the man, still surprisingly calm for what is about to happen. Thistle begins to mouth the words of a prayer, humming quietly as he focuses his mind. He pictures the cavity where Bruce's heart is supposed to be, and imagines the mechanical heart, what it looks like, and how it might lay in the chest cavity. He imagines the location where the blade will dig into the man's skin, and the location of the ribs that need to be separated in order to get the heart out.
He imagines using one hand to pry the ribs apart, and wrapping his scaled hands around the mechanical device. He imagines pulling, holding the device in his hand. He reviews the words of the prayer to pull Bruce's soul from the impending eather back into his body, and the prayer that will magically restore the organic heart that belongs in the man's body.
The oracle opens his eyes, grits his teeth, and plunges the dagger into Bruce's chest.
Sequence of events: Make the cut, separate the ribs, pull the heart out, cast restoration, cast breath of life and hope to the pathfinder gods I pass the saving throw in the meantime...
Breath of Life: 5d8 + 10 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 4, 4) + 10 = 23
Saving throw, if necessary, resistance and prot from evil: 1d20 + 1 + 2 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 2 + 11 = 30 If for some reason that is reflex or fort, subtract 2.
Caranthir Silverhand |
Caranthir averts his eyes as the dagger plunges into Bruce's chest.
Let us hope Thistle keeps us alive like he always does...
Kludde |
Thistle raises the blade, and carves into the human. With his knowledge of the human physiology, he carefully opens the ribcage. As he draws closer to the heart, he feels the life force connecting, and struggling to resist. Or maybe that is just the struggling and screaming of the Chelaxian. (Anaesthesia is for wimps)
As the Nagaji disconnects the heart, he feels the life force draining away. Knowing it is a race against time, he manages to ignore the evil attraction he has to the heart, and instead concentrates on regrowing Bruce's original heart.
Contrary to popular belief, Chelaxian heart aren't all black and rotten, though it seems Bruce's original does show some early onset of damage. He should probably cut back on the mutton.
When the life force finally gives in, a breath of life is all it takes to get the meat-heart in ticking order again. The natural pounding sound is a superior replacement for the the mechanical tick that was before.
Post-surgery goes smooth, all the more so with Bruce safely knocked out. One the wound is sealed shut, a brief linking of Thistle's life force with Bruce's is all it takes to awaken the man.
The mechanical heart lies silent on the side, still producing rhythmic tics and tocs.
Bruce W. |
Bruce wakes up checks to see everything is in the right place and then thanks Thistle profusely for his exceptional healing skills. His gaze then falls on the mechanical heart, it's ticking much louder now that it is outside of his chest. "Best destroy it before it does more harm. Any ideas on how to best get that done?"
Fellgrim Cogmaester |
"It worked?" Fellgrim whispers in admiration ...
Caranthir Silverhand |
"Amazing work!" Caranthir exclaims, glad to see Bruce alive and Thistle unharmed.
"Perhaps we should turn this cursed artifact over to the clergy," he observes. "Well done, Thistle!"
Thistle Voltare |
Thistle watches as Bruce's real heart begins to beat and the wounds seal. He watches the man begin to breath, and eventually sit up. He sees the other's lips move as they begin to speak. It feels like a long time before he finally realizes he is still holding his breath and allows the tension to flow from his shoulders. The bloody dagger clatters to the table top where the oracle places his hands, leaning over and closing his eyes as his nerves finish settling down.
"The heart must be brought back to... Whoever it was that Jelani and Fellgrim made their deal with. The heart and the head. We will have to trust that whoever that entity is will destroy it, or remove the binding that links the Lich's unlife to it. Come, let us get back down there and be done with it before the Lich revives."
Still hesitant to touch the heart for fear of what havoc it could cause, Thistle tears a portion of the blankets that Bruce was just laying on and wraps the mechanical device in it. Something about the wrappings gives him a sense of separation, as if the threads could contain the evil inside for a time. He throws the heart into his magical bag and begins to lead the way out of the bustling hellknight town and back towards the spire.
Whew! Back from spring break, sorry for the delay in posting. Glad that went well, now lets go toss the head and heart into whatever abyss we were supposed to and finish off this level!
Jelani |
"I dunno, that thing seemed more evil than trustworthy to me. I bet it will try to kill us after we hand over the head and heart. Why shouldn't we just renege on the deal and let him try to kill us without the power of the head and heart?"
Fellgrim Cogmaester |
"May be we can do both? Have a cleric 'kill' the heart, then return it? I must admit to be very worried to have that thing as an enemy, so I am incline to follow through with our bargain one way or another."
Caranthir Silverhand |
Sounds like a plan...should we go back to the level and finish it off? South of the lich room?
Thistle Voltare |
I'm good. I think we should just hand off the head and heart and be done with it.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Fellgrim Cogmaester |
Agreed
DM Kludde |
The group make their way down into the dungeon, carrying the ticking heart, now safely removed from Bruce's chest. Bruce, sounding considerably more natural, leads the party down to the lowest explored level The area is pretty much as they left it, which the corpse of the emperor of azlant still in place. There is no sign, so far, of the room with the disembodied voice.
Where do you want to go?
Caranthir Silverhand |
Caranthir draws a pair of arrows and nocks them in his bow.
"I am glad we are back and all in one piece," he says. "Bruce, is your new heart beating fast enough to check that door for traps?" the elf asks.
I put us on the map the door at M13a. Happy to be back!!!
Thistle Voltare |
After the travel, Thistle finds it unnerving that he has grown so accustomed to the ticking of the mechanical heart. He shakes the thoughts off and goes through his ritual of casting his cadre of protective spells.
I'll pull the list up when I get some more time, pretty much copy and paste from my normal routine though. Prot from evil, energy resist, life link, freedom of movement, etc.
DM Kludde |
Bruce opens the double doorson the balcony, to reveal a large circular, and seemingly bottomless shaft. In the middle, a small platform looks familiar to Jelani and Fellgrim.
Fellgrim Cogmaester |
"I'm thinking this looks familiar ... we still have the lich parts right?"
Bruce W. |
"So we just drop them down this shaft? Isn't that pretty much the direction we are heading anyway?" Bruce says as he peers over the edge.
Thistle Voltare |
Thistle pulls the ticking heart from his pack with a sense of dread. Suddenly doubts begin to creep into his mind.
What if Jelani was right? What if the Lich revives because the phylactory isn't properly disposed of? What if this ensures that no one will ever find it, and the lich can never be destroyed? What if...
His heart rate quickens as he continues to wonder before, in a sudden moment of clarity, he tosses the ticking heart and dessicated head into the endless shaft. (Maui voice: I am still fallliiiiiing)
A wave of relief washes over the nagaji, hopeful that this will be the end of it.
Where to next?