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Miles shrugs one shoulder at Dunia. "They appear to be infested by Cynthigot Qlippoths. It is the taint of the dark tapestry. Chaos at its most vile, but we shall overcome it as long as we stay focused." He then lifts one of his wands up before him and softly speaks a prayer to Iomedae. A flash of holy energy engulfs everyone present, Hellknights included.
"You all seem very capable on the front line, I shall provide support for now." He glances briefly up when the spray of acid crests the ridge. "I think they are having fun up there."
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As the acid hits him, Crios spins in the air, avoiding a good portion of it, while his innate resistance helps mitigate it further.
With a grimace of pain he calls out to Obtrivi, "Please kill that thing my friend." I almost feel sorry for the poor creature. Almost.
He swiftly channels a spark of magic into his staff, enchanting it with fire and then flies up and around the thing, providing a flank for his friend, readying his attack to coincide with Obtrivi's.
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Obtrivi growls out as he tries to dodge the Acid, reving his weapon, the blades spinning like mad.
Obtrivi Steps forward, screaming out in battle cry as his eyes alight with the flames of rage.
Obtrivi's eyes go back to normal as the flames of his rage course out along his whirling blade of death, breaking into the beast with a blow that shatters the rain into an explosion around him.
Obtrivi revvs up his chainsaw and swings it at the chimera. He connects with a solid blow on the neck of the dragon head. Feeling the crunch of bone and sinew, he bears down with all his weight, muscles bulging, and forces the chainsaw clean through the creatures neck. It hits the ground and rolls down the steep slope, landing at Mile's feet with a wet thump, spattering him with ichor. Luckily for him, the heavy rains quickly wash the blood away.
As the horde of mountain creatures barrel down on you, the Hellknights unleach a torrent of spells and steel upon the mountain creatures. A pair of the Signifiers cast a spell, then touch the warriors on the front line.
Another three Signifiers unleash reddish bolts of magical energy that streak towards the beasts. It is knocked out of its stride, but regains its balance and continues it's charge, until Herr Magt's arrow takes it in the eye, and it collapses to the ground. The horde finally reaches the front line, and the three warriors work together to fell a pair of the beasts. The party stands ready to support the Hellknights however they can, when suddenly a pair of deformed badgers come burrowing up out of the ground. They each shriek in some sort of unnatural language, and the ground turns to mud beneath your feet. You see several of the Hellknights caught in the morass, unable to properly engage the Cythnigots.
Everyone standing on the ground with the Hellknights needs a DC10 reflex save of be unable move, attack, or cast spells for 1 round.
Herr Magt and Miles will both get an AoO on the one adjacent to them as it uses its spell like ability.
Pathfinders are up!
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Miles' posture doesn't even shift as the ground softens beneath him or blood rains from above to stain his clothing. It's all rather villainously dramatic while the heavy rains work to rinse him clean. There's no sudden attack against the new monster as he's unarmed. With the threat so close he holds out his hand and the shadows cast by Dunia and himself curl up into his hand, coalescing into a darkened metal great sword he holds at the ready.
"Deplorable, I agree."
Dunia whips her ectoplasmic lash at the two infested badgers. She strikes the first one in the head, which pops like an overripe melon, spilling discolored ichor all over the ground. The second one she takes in the torso, cleaving the creature in half. The remaining horde, seeing the efficiency with which the Chimera and the first wave of infested creatures have been dispatched, turns and begins to run. The Hellknights give chase, but are rapidly outpaced by the various woodland critters.
With the danger passed, Crios shuttles the party up, where you are all able to marvel at the corpse of the infested hydra created by Obtrivi. Out of the hole where the neck was, small spindly tendrils extend, probing the ground and air around the body.
Reaching the other side of the scree, the party continues their march for several more hours. The storm abates in intensity, and eventually it ceases raining. As it approaches dusk, Signifier Kavra calls a halt to the march.
Halt! We are about to enter the territory of the Severed Hand tribe. I'd prefer to be fresh and able to see when we encounter them, so we will camp here for the night.
At her orders, the Hellknights all begin quickly setting up camp. A pair begin to gather wood for a fire, while three more begin pulling out bedrolls. A pair of wizards begin circling the camp putting up protective wards to warn them of any approaching danger. The entire operation is very matter of fact and efficient, with little talking beyond what is necessary to complete their tasks. Kavra herself pulls out a map of the region and begins studying it. You can see her scratching some notes in a journal while referencing the maps.
Dunia's still not particularly warm towards the Hellknights, but she does have to admire their camp. Not wanting to be outdone, she sets to organizing watches among the agents as well.
I hate the utterly arbitrary process of deciding on watches, so I am cool with that, and will go with it unless someone else offers a different plan.
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Obtrivi sits down on his pack, wiping away blood and ichor from the strange "Chainsaw" weapon as he whistles a happy tune. Despite his apparent feeble mind, he's certainly a savant when it comes to the intricate workings of the weapon. Eventually, he lies down for the night with his weapon cuddled like a teddy bear, either unaware, or ignoring glares from the hell knights.
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While not nearly as obsessive as the Hellknights in preparing for the evening, he does make efforts to build a campfire for food, pulls out a bedroll, and goes through the motions of preparing for bed. No one actually sees him move his mask enough to eat, but at some point when you aren't looking and then turn back his meal is gone.
On his watch he sits by the dimmed fire, disturbingly still except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. The only thing that stirs him is signs of a threat or someone asking him a quest.
The night passes uneventfully. The Hellknights spend the evening at various tasks. One of the warriors sets to work engraving something on his armor.
The other two spend time sparring. One of the signifiers spends time casting divination magic, while the rest of the casters spend most of their time studying spellbooks or praying. The diviner casts some burning incense into a muddy pond, and a squelching pathetic devil crawls out and prostrates itself at the Hellknight's feat.
We enter the territory of the Severed Hand tribe tomorrow. How shall we fare?
The demon screeches and replies Woe! Woe! Death comes to the lands of the Severed hand tribe! After answering, the devil begins shuddering, then explodes into a small pile of goo.
Miles ends up on the same watch as Signifier Karva. During the watch, she asks How does one of our order end up as a member of the Pathfinders? I would think the responsibilities of being a Hellknight would leave you neither the free time nor the flexibility to join such an organization
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Miles observes the summoning and inquiry with moderate interest, but takes the imp's words with a grain of salt. He gives a look to Dunia. "They tend to do that, I would not worry. And ambiguous is good, it never said who will die." After a moment he adds. "Though I suppose that could be bad news for us as well.
While on the watch with Karva he's moderately surprised to realize she's a woman. The Hellknight armor tends to hide such things better than he expected, but thankfully his own mask hides his expression of surprise. "I was sent to work with them for experience and training initially. They tend to get involved with dangerous and chaotic things often. It was a chance to hone myself. I continue to do so now, but it also offers liaison opportunities. While some members are..." He cocks his head towards Obtrivi a moment. "Difficult to manage, they're usually well behaved, useful to have around, and have access to considerable knowledge and experience that can aid the Gate."
"This is my responsibility... and I am fond of a few of them."
Interesting... just be sure that you do not forget where your true loyalties lie...
The night passes uneventfully. After breaking camp, Karva informs you that the next stop on your journey is Gozreh's Fork, a large plateau that provides a good view of the entire area.
About an hour into your journey, you begin seeing green banners featuring a clenched fist with a spiked wristband on it (picture in the maps), marking this as the territory of the Severed Hand tribe. Surprisingly, you encounter no orcs. The journey continues throughout the day. While the landscape here is not twisted and deformed like the area where you encountered the Chimera, however there is noticeable and disturbing lack of wildlife. No birds singing, no rabbits foraging, not even any insects flitting about. You travel through the day, and at dusk you crest the peak of Gozreh's Fork.
The top of this flat peak shows signs of magic and combat. The smell of rotting flesh is thick in the air and roughly a dozen corpses litter the area. In the center of the plateau, a circle of runes is scratched into the earth, and staked to the ground nearby are the corpses of two humanoid creatures with great black wings. Inside the circle lay the corpses of many animals of various types. Patches of wriggling worms and centipedes swarm over the rocky ground. Ten dead orcs litter the battlefield, either crushed under rocks or pierced with strix javelins. There is one orc corpse that is slightly larger than the rest, wearing a strange mask engraved with what appears to be a locust swarm that shifts and moves. His arms and armor are nicer than his companions, and he bears many scars from old battles.
Anyone searching the body of the fancy orc, please include a perception check with your next post to see how thorough you are.
minor mutation. Most are covered with small stingers,
grasping claws, or terrible pincers. You know that mutations
like these sometimes appear as the result of the taint of
powerful evil outsiders summoned into the world.
Hellknights! Set up a perimeter and keep watch for any hostile forces in the area. Pathfinders -investigation is one of your specialties, is it not? Examine the battle scene and tell us what we can learn from here
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Dunia draws on her spirits' strength and wisdom to gain greater clarity as she examines the battlefield.
As she does so she scans the violated bodies for signs that they might soon rise to strike at the Pathfinders and their... allies.
Lot here I ain' sure of. But a circle like that? Tha's set up to call up t'ings from de deepest bits o' de Abyss. De Chimera an' de animals? Dis here's de place they were infested.
She bends to examine some of the worms and their mutations, But we probably got somet'in' bigger as well. Ripple effects o' this kind? On'y happen when you call up somet'in' big.
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Miles wanders over to the runic circle carved into the ground and squats onto his haunches. He reaches an hand down towards one of the symbols, but draws it back after a moment so he never quite touches anything. "This... was made to bind creatures from the Abyss. Far down where Qlippoths reside, and I think they used the animals to become hosts for them. It is reasonable to assume this is the source of the host we fought before."
His eyes wander over the ground for a moment longer and he scoops up a wiggling worm between his fingers to bring close to his mask. It stays there as he examines it, then finally crushes it in his hand before letting it fall back to the earth. [b]"Everything here is mutated. Worms with stingers and claws. Those changes can happen when the taint of powerful outsiders are summoned. These orcs are up to something larger than we may have anticipated."
And finally he steps over to the orc leader's body where he can examine it, roughly pushing aside bits of armor and gear to getting a better view of his skin. "They have been writing their own history into their bodies in Abyssal, talking about their crimes they have committed. They have also rotted." There's a cough behind his mask as he gags slightly on the smell.
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As Crios surveys the scene for clues, he tilts his dead in thought, methodically going through the scene in his mind and cataloging it with books on magic, runes and planar bindings from deep in the dark archives...
"I concur with Miles and Dunia.", he says with a thoughtful nod.
"This scaring on the bodies ties directly to the Abyss and evil deeds in the life of the scarred person." he says regarding the orc bodies.
Gesturing to the circle he continues, "The circle is also tied to the Abyss, the deepest of levels to be more accurate. Those levels are known to be the home to Qlippoths, which are something very different than the demons we so often associate with the Abyss. It was used for several planar bindings."
Looking to the Strix, he shakes his head with narrowed eyes, "These seem to have been ritually sacrificed."
And finally when he moves over to inspect the fancy orc's body...
"I can't be sure of much when it comes to this poor creature's death. But I did notice something..."
The party begins surveying the battlefield to learn what they can. Dunia, Mile, and Crios all discover some startling revelations about what has happened here. Miles and Crios begin to haphazardly examine the body of the orc warlord. They are removing his armor, when they spot some more words carved into the Orc's flesh, similar to the others. Miles and Crios begin to examine them when Dunia shouts for them to stop.
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So we have Orcs summoning with Qlippoth influence. They have even sacrificed some of their enemies in the summoning circle. Worse yet, they may have lost control of the creatures they summoned. Since we encountered them days later, miles from here, with no one apparently directing them. Trust the Orcs to be just intelligent enough and just stupid enough to do something like this.
There is something very disturbing going on here. Good work uncovering all of this Pathfinders.
As she speaks, she walks to the orc with the runes on it and strips off his shirt, while begin careful to cover her eyes. She then walks fifteen or so feet away and turns around, squinting. She calls out in a loud clear voice
Cowardice! Sloth! Weakness!
After reading the runes, they being to glow, and then explode, leaving a charred carcass behind.
Light is rapidly fading. Let us make camp and continue in the morning. We are nearing the center of the tainted region.
With that, the Hellknights begin making camp. Signifier Kavra pulls out a spy glass and begins surveying the surrounding area.
Guttural shouts and screams of fear echo up from the slopes below. Seconds later, six bedraggled orcs run onto the plateau. Hot on their heels is another band of orcs, each marked with runes carved into their flesh. With terror in their eyes, the frst six orcs cry out in Common,
Help! Save us! We be good!
Behind them, the rune-covered orcs laugh cruelly and ithe air with harsh howls. They plant a banner depicting a severed hand into the ground, then rush forward. At the same time, another, larger group of orcs emerges from behind, adding their screams to the terrible chorus.
Signifer Karva calls out, Hellknights form ranks to the rear! Pathfnders, deal with the orcs attacking from the front![/b
The apparent leaders of the orc pack both train their longbows and javelins on Obtrivi and Herr Magt.
Due to his surprise, Obtrivi is slow to dodge, and takes a solid shot to his shoulder. The second shot bounces harmlessly off his armor. The orc sergeant trips as he is throwing the spear, and manages to lob it all of three feet.
Orc Leaders
[b]Herr Magt
Orc Mooks
Obtrivi
Crios
Dunia
Miles
Herr Magt is up!
Magt launches a grievous blow at the second in command, who seems severely injured but not dead yet. The other orcs move in to surround the Bloodrager. The first one takes a blow to the arm that leaves him close to death, but he is able to yell out, I have failed! Weakness! Sloth!, and the runes on his chest begin to glow and then explode.
The second one does similarily, taking a blow to the leg that topples him to the ground, but leaving him able to read his sins; Disobedience!
The other two orcs are able to move to surround the massive foe.
However, both swings go wide.
Orc Leaders
Herr Magt
Orc Mooks
Obtrivi
Crios
Dunia
Miles
Rest of the pathfinders are up~
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Miles is once again confident in the overwhelm ferocity of the front line and feels no need to draw a weapon. Instead he moves himself behind the two massive warriors and casually reaches out to touch Obtrivi while speaking out a spell. The ifrit finds himself even more resistant to fire on top of his natural ability to heal from it.
"Enjoy big guy, now when they pop you will not even notice it. Destroy all these things, please."
Obtrivi strikes the orc in front of him with his chainsaw, and leaves the poor fellow in two pieces afterwards. Dunia strikes the second orc twice with her lash, channeling negative energy into his body as she connects twice. He convulses, then drops to the ground dead.
The two orc leaders both step back and continue their assault from range, not wanting to engage the terrifying foes in melee.
Behind you, you can hear the sounds of a pitched battle going on between the Hellknights and the orcs coming from the tunnel. Twice, you hear the sounds of sins being recited followed by explosions. Looking back you see One of the warriors has fallen. Signifier Kavra is pulling him out of the front lines and attempting to render aid. For a few moments, the tunnel is clear, the runes having done just as much damage to the orcs as to the Hellknights, but quickly the sounds of orcish yelling fill the air once more, and you see a second wave charging forth to engage the Hellknights.
Orc Leaders
Herr Magt
Obtrivi
Crios
Dunia
Miles
Pathfinders are up! I feel a little bad for the two remaining orcs...
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Obtrivi waits for a moment as the magic takes of him, growing in size... his already massive weapon growing with him. He steps forward a pace and hefts the massive weapon, bringing it down towards the (Blue) orc leader. His eyes once again light up with fire and begin to travel his body and weapon.
OBTRIVI BREAK!
Another booming thunderclap as his weapon strikes the foe and the fire in his eyes extinguishes.
And with that, all of the orcs facing you have been slain. The Pathfinders turn to the Hellknights holding back the tide to the north. With their considerable might added to that of the Hellknights, you are able to push back and rout the orcs. The group of six orcs that were running away continue to cower in the center of the Plateau. None, save one, appear to have any runes carved in their skin.
He pitifully shouts Please! Spare us! We'll tell you whatever you want. Just save us from That Which Peels flesh!
As he speaks, the runes on his skin shift and move. At the beginning they say 'Laziness', but as he pleads for his life, they rearrange themselves to say 'Traitor' and 'Coward'.