"IT SEEMS I HAVE UNDERESTIMATED YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS, MORTAL, CONGRATULATIONS," says the twin-headed asura, not even trying to hide its dismay that Gunari's wounds are now fully healed and its own wounds continue to calcify, "BUT THIS IS FAR FROM OVER!"
With that, the asura scurries up the wall and across the ceiling, past Cyrus. Stone chunks and ancient dust drop from the temple and sprinkles the ninja as it rushes over him.
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Miro again releases his cure spell into the warpriest, trying to patch him up as the fight drags on.
Then, everyone out of the way (more or less), Miro casts and discharges a whole heaping wad of grease on the ceiling. He mentally apologizes to those who may be under the grease pile, but hopes it will bring the creature back down.
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Seeing his target running away like a little baby, Gunari will imbue Finarin's bow with Goodness as his standard action. He will then run underneath where he thinks the thing is going to fall after Miro greases it, preparing to take his AoO if the thing falls by him.
Oh, and on his AoO from before (if possible -- see discussion why I believe we should get AoO attacks)
The companions lash out as the asura rushes up the wall and clings to the roof.
Both Ibid and Finarin's arrows go wide, the warriors clearly are not used to firing at creatures attached to the ceiling! Gunari rushes beneath the creature and prepares to attack...*
Despite its advantageous position on the ceiling, the asura realizes that it is not winning this fight. Eventually, a good-aligned arrow will pierce it's hide, someone will enlarge the warpriest or the Garundi will also eventually get good-aligned weapons. Its blink spell also has bare seconds remaining. Growling with one head, the other head spits the following words with as much venom as it can manage, "YOU WIN THIS ROUND! I WILL BE BACK, THOUGH, AND WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT... YOU WILL FIND ME CLAWING AT YOUR BACKSIDES. DON'T BOTHER WATCHING FOR ME, YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME COMING!"
It is then that Ibid remembers, too late, that most extraplanar fiends like this one can greater teleport at will.
The asura scuttles backwards along the roof, already concentrating on summoning its innate arcane abilities.
The big Garundi with the distended arms pokes the retreating adhukait asura through both of its torsos, despite resistance to his weapon from its thick skin. Shrieking in pain, the asura falls from the roof to slam heavily upon the ground in a shower of fiendish blood.
The silence that follows allows the Pathfinders to hear the sounds of monkeys approaching. As they lay into the asura with their good-aligned weapons to finish it off once and for all, the macaques cheer wildly, slapping their tiny chests and leaping up and down in sheer joy. Unable to maintain its life, the fiend no longer maintains its physical form on this plane. The asura's twin forms blacken and begin to smoke. Within but a few moments, it has completely vanished.
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The exhiliration of winning this battle nearly overwhelms Cyrus. Tears creep at the corners of his eyes as his excitement comes out in wobbly shouts of joy. He quickly wipes the tears away lest anyone make fun of him.
"Woooo..... OWW! Yea! I.. You.. AAArrrhhhGGg!!!! YES!!"
He sits down on the ground, recovering from his near hyperventilation.
That was incredible... I don't even...
Once the excitement dies down a bit, and his appreciation for monkeys is greatly increased, Cyrus begins to search around carefully for anything of import, making sure to take notes to give to Ibid, who is obviously the master note-keeper.
The room the Pathfinders are currently in has been cleared of anything valuable by the Asura, and nothing interesting or important can be found here save for some defaced statues.
Moving on to the last room in the whole temple:
A large statue of a monkey-faced man sits on a pedestal at the north end of this small shrine. The statue’s arms and legs are missing, and deep scratches have been gouged into its face. Pieces of broken stone, rotting plant matter, and other assorted rubbish lie in heaps on the floor of this room. The smell of rot is particularly strong here.
This room was clearly the asura's resting place. It has taken great pains to creatively desecrate this shrine as best as it could. It appears as though this room was made its base of operations.
For some unfathomable reason, the asura has left a magical furry monkey belt still on the statue of Ragdya. In its arrogance, it likely didn't wish to wear such a holy item. It probably thought it looked foolish on the statue and left it there. That'll teach Ragdya!
Looking carefully, Cyrus and Miro located a small cabinet in the base of the statue that the asura appears to have missed over the centuries. Inside is a richly illuminated copy of the Vigrahin Patitraka (a Vudran holy text) and a handwritten journal belonging to a priest who accompanied Khiben-Sald on his travels around the Inner Sea. The cabinet also holds copies of the Azvadeva Pujila and Mizravrtta Brahmodya. These great works are exactly the sort of thing the Society was hoping would be contained within the lost temple. A great find for all!
Unfortunately, the defiled artifacts and carvings in the rest of the temple are of little value save to anyone interested in restoring this temple. Ibid takes drawings of all writings and carvings he can find, even the blasphemous ones written by the asura, before the Pathfinders exit.
As they leave, they discover that two of the monkey carvings in the entryway have changed. Two carved monkeys are now kneeling and holding out their arms with their palms upwards. The kukris formerly wielded by the asura are being held aloft by each carving. Ragdya has truly approved of the Pathfinders' actions!
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Miro helps everyone carefully wrap up the valuable texts, as surely the Venture Captain would be very happy to see them. Waiting while Ibid makes his drawings, the Halfling points out the monkey carvings at the entrance to his companions, smiling at their changed positions. It had been a hard-fought battle, but they had once again proven victorious!
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"I wonder if the monkeys would be opposed to me wearing that belt?"
Cyrus goes around doing his best to 'ask' the monkeys if it might be ok like some awkward foreigner trying to communicate without knowing the language. Eventually he gives up and moves to carefully remove the belt, paying attention to the reaction of the monkeys as he does.
Cyrus spends the next minute passing around with his more nimble acrobatics tricks and the interesting things he can do with his temporary tail.
This should freak Sheeba out...
-Posted with Wayfinder
The monkeys whoop and cheer excitedly when they see Cyrus trying on the tail. Several of them parade around in direct (proud) mimicry of the ninja.
Slowly, the companions file out of the temple. The trek back through the swamps is very uncomfortable, as before, but at least this time it is direct. After over an hour of swatting away mosquitos and worse, the Pathfinders gratefully enter the protection of the hunting lodge once more. They arrive just in time to hear the closing verses of the baron and the count singing the classic bawdy duet, The Jolly Maid’s Flower. The pair are clearly well into their cups already, and have obviously continued to grow closer over the last day.
Bomande and Falroun are inordinately pleased with you all. Both offer Finarin the chance to come to Alkenstar court as their guests any time he likes, and will respond in the affirmative to any invitation he sends for them to go the other way.
”So, after avenging my fallen comrades, it is now time for me to retire,” says the baron grandiosely, ”Well, almost time. I propose that tomorrow, we all go on one last big hunt! I will personally help you track down a prime example of the game of your choice. We will kill it, and I’ll have it stuffed at the finest taxidermist in Alkenstar. We’ll have it shipped to you in Absalom not long after the Vengeance returns you there. What do you say?”
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"I shall have to defer to my companions, for my game of choice stalks the taverns and inns of Golarion, and is a truly dangerous beast indeed. My weapon of choice is my everlasting charm, of course aided by the bounties of Cayden Cailean. I shall join you in the quest, giving aid where I may, but the wilds are not the place I prefer! Thank you, though, milord."
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"Anything is fine with me," says Ibid laughing, still apparently in high spirits after surviving their particularly difficult struggle in the temple. "I don't know that I know enough about what makes a good showpiece, stuffed and mounted on a wall. So I too will defer to my companions, or your expert opinion, Baron Bomande Rudyahm. But I will certainly help in the hunt, however I can manage."
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Gunari thinks about it for a moment.
"Perhaps a sampling of the local tasty beverages, and the proper drinking glass would be the 'trophy' that I would be most interested in. Oh, and maybe a sampling of the meat of the animals we take down. We can eat the animal before the taxidermists get their hands on them, can't we?"
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"The Jaguar - The most ninja of all the animals in the jungle. That would be incredible. However, if we hunt it, I need to be a part of the hunt. To test my skills against it. And to figure out how to explain it to Sheeba..."
I'm not sure if I could actually kill it though... How do you kill such a fascinating creature? Maybe if I could find a way to keep a live one for my own... that would be so much better...
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"Ha! An elephant is tricky, but I'll see what I can do when I get back to Alkenstar. This island seems to have but one elephant, and I would hate to deprive the locals of their eldest living resident!" the baron laughs as he grabs for another mug of ale, finding it empty and waving at the warpriest of Cayden Cailean suggestively.
The following day, nursing hangovers, the group sets off for one last expedition into the jungle. It takes three days, but the baron keeps good on his promises
To get to a bear, the party travels up into one of the few mountainous areas of Jalmeray, on the northern side of the island. The baron wanted something other than a sloth bear, and the only other kind native to Vudra is the elusive Sikari Black Bear. Though smaller than the sloth bear, the Sikari Black Bear has very highly developed forequarters and a rich, lustrous coat. It charges the companions on all fours and the baron asks everyone to hold for a better shot. Standing their ground does the trick, and the bear is struck by bullets and arrows before finally falling prey to the Garundi's outstretched and readied lance.
The tiger is, oddly, much easier to find. A fine example of an Ajitashi Tiger is found hunting gaurs in the valley beneath the mountains on the second day of the expedition. As with the Leucrotta, the baron insists that they set up a series of machans, using the bear innards as bait.
"Just because we were waylaid last time, doesn't mean it isn't a good hunting technique!" cries the baron as he directs the companions, much less forcefully this time, "Chin up, boys, we'll get our tiger this time!" True to his word, the tiger comes to inspect the offal laid out before her. The companions' bullets and arrows strike good and true, with the count actually firing the killing blow. Miro suspects that the baron uncharacteristically held off on his shot for his son-in-law to have a better chance at bringing the tiger down. The two men share smiles as they prepare the tiger corpse for its eventual embalming.
On the final day of the hunt, a group of friendly macaques once more invades the companions' camp. The baron grits his teeth, but makes no aggressive moves. He almost cracks as a trio of the bearded monkeys approaches him, but they begin signaling with their hands as though he should follow them. Confused, he looks to the Pathfinders for guidance. Not knowing what else to do, the group sets out with the three monkeys leading the way. They begin creeping and the Pathfinders follow suit. Ibid and the baron realize that the monkeys are leading them with the wind at their faces so as not to attract the attention of whatever it is they're leading them to.
The monkeys stop some five yards before the forest parts to reveal a clearing. Just ahead, the group sees a clearing with a small rocky hillock at its back. A large cave is visible on the face of the hill, and sitting out the front is an enormous four-armed gorilla. Several monkeys, mostly macaques but some spider monkeys also, bring it offerings of food. The brutish, twelve-foot gorilla plucks up a macaque with one of its four arms while grabbing plates of berries and a freshly-killed rabbit with two others. It shovels down the food and swallows after one or two experimental chews. It licks its lips, still hungry, and holds the hapless macaque up by its tail and dangles it over its mouth like a bunch of grapes.
The baron can stand to see no more, and fires his musket, hitting the gorilla-like creature in the center of its chest. It casually throws the monkey in a crumpled heap to the side and charges on all six limbs towards the group. The fight is brief but bloody. At the end of it, the creature (which the group later identify as a Girallon) lies dead. The monkeys cheer at the baron (and the Pathfinders) for his bravery, and reverently follow the group for the remainder of their travels. One of the macaques even gets up the nerve to perch itself on Bomande's shoulder. After recoiling initially, he cannot help but smile and tickle the monkey under its chin.
"I guess this little guy didn't invade Alkenstar," says the baron, "Would that the charau-ka were this cute and content. In the end, I suppose it's beasts like this one that I detest," the baron indicates the corpse of the Girallon they've strapped to the elephant, "and not these little ones."
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It is several months later when the Vengeance finally deposits the Pathfinders back to port in Absalom. The baron departed long ago in Alkenstar, but insisted that the Vengeance take his companions the rest of the way as a parting gesture of friendship. With a small but valuable collection of artifacts from the temple, the companions make their way to the Grand Lodge and the office of Ambrus Valsin.
"It's about time that you arrived," says the familiar, sour voice of the Venture Captain, "Now maybe you can get this stuff out of my office! Bomande insisted that I be custodian of it until your return. You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with that, would you?"
Entering Valsin's office, the Pathfinders see what he is complaining about. It appears as though the ship Bomande used to send their stuffed and mounted trophies was much faster than thje Vengeance. The black bear has been placed in a very menacing pose, rearing up as though in mid attack. It sits just behind Valsin's desk chair. The tiger is perched down in (what anyone familiar with taxidermy would realize) what is a very hard pose to stuff an animal in, the beast appears as though skulking through the forest fronds, lips peeled back in a snarl that reveals both rows of vicious teeth. Other animals from their hunts also litter the once-spacious office. The baron kept the girallon for himself as "a marvelous reminder of the war - and of the benign nature of the Jalmeri monkeys". Also cluttering Valsin's office are several kegs of incredibly hard-to-find ale, including several unique beers that Gunari has only heard of in legends (such as the famed Sarkorian Daemon Brew). Accompanying the kegs, Finarin also spies some crates of equally rare and delicious wines.
Valsin's surly demeanor disappears, however, when he spies the recovered texts from the temple, particularly the journal, "A journal of Khiben-Sald! This will be able to tell us so much of Vudra in days gone by. Every maharaja in Vudra attempts to trace his lineage back to the great Khiben-Sald. What a find! Well done, Pathfinders, well done indeed! You are rapidly proving to be one of the most capable groups it has been my pleasure to command.
"Now," he says, recovering his composure somewhat, "Get this junk out of my office. I'm sure you'll be eager to clutter up your own homes with it."
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Not surprisingly for the priest, Gunari first befriends one of the macaques, and then proceeds to get the tiny primate drunk. Throughout the voyage back, and afterwards, the two become fast friends, laughing constantly at each other's "jokes", and such.
At one point, on the way back to the landing, Gunari turns to the Baron (with both he and his monkey giving a very serious look), "Sir? I know I said I didn't really need a trophy before, but is it ok if I keep my little buddy here? I call him Gilligan, even though he really doesn't respond to that name, but we've become good friends. I can't see leaving my little buddy behind!"
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Cyrus is his usual, eager self as the group completes it's extensive hunt on their final foray into the jungle. The gorillian is a particular joy to bring down, and the bear hunt, while testing of his nerves, is a thrill as well.
As the companions prepare to leave, Cyrus is gone for a long stretch of time. Eventually as everyone is preparing to help load up for the trek back to the magnificent ship, Cyrus pops back up, along with one of the porters, and a large box with holes in it. He hands a heavy laden pouch to the man, all smiles, and slides into his expected portion of the packing, lifting, and moving as if he had been there all along.
Later, on the ship, he can be found in his cabin, doing his best to bond with his new companion.
"I've got no idea how I am going to train this thing. I just know when I was looking up Tigers in my research at the Grand Lodge, I came across information about these little guys. Kings of the jungle, or at least the Ninjas the kings would use if they needed them." he smiles, chuckling to himself. "The porters were only too happy to help me, since this guy's main food source is monkey meat. Looks like I will be heading straight back to the library to see if I can figure out how to start training this thing. Can't have my new pet eat me while I am sleeping!"
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Back at the venture captains office, he smiles the contented smile of a job well done. After receiving the congratulations, he collects the bear and heads down the street.
Hehe... Ibid is going to be surprised when he wakes up with this in his bedroom. Ha!
The note that is stuck to the back of it when Ibid wakes up to a viscous looking bear hovering above his head reads, A little something to remind you of our jungle adventure. Wish I could have seen your face when you woke up. At least I didn't have him stuff the two-headed Asura! -Cyrus
"Gunari, my friend," says the baron when presented with the little monkey, "Gilligan is welcome aboard. You have my blessing to keep him - and, it appears, the blessing of Ragdya to go with it."