Yousef olan Ahmad |
Perception 1d20 ⇒ 9
16 normal or 21 sight
Knowledge Local to see if he knows anything about the witch. 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Sense Motive 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
"He says that they are trying to kill him and some witch is out there banging gnolls."
Yousef barks angrilly.
Intimidate 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid raises an eyebrow.
"Who exactly is trying to kill him, and why?"
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20.
His voice hardens slightly.
"Also, what is he trying to hide, there? Tell him that full disclosure will convince me to look after his leg."
Assuming his request is carried out...
Rashid pulls out his tools, and, after a muffled prayer to the Dawnflower (Guidance), he attempts to cleanly remove the arrow, and sew-up the wound.
Heal: 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 11 + 1 = 24.
Lavender Leaf |
Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Lavender sighs. "I came to kill gnolls, not to help them. Take whatever it is he is hiding Yousef."
Lavender then cast's invisibility and spiderclimbs up to where the other gnolls were hiding, trying to be silent about it.
Stealth 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
ProfPotts |
Keldar's expression darkens when Yousef mentions the 'witch'...
'"The Witch"... that's what they call the leader of the gnoll tribe known as "The Circle"... who held me as a slave before the Kulldis got their paws on me,' he glances up towards the summit of the great mountain, 'Their camp is up there, somewhere - they have slaves just digging... constantly... pointlessly... nothing like a proper mining operation - they say The Witch is searching for something of great power to use as a weapon for her master, the Carrion King,' he glances back at the gnoll, then to Yousef, shrugs, and adds, 'we didn't see much of The Witch herself, and she was always in full robes with only her eyes visible, but she appeared to be human and... well... she did seem to take a shine to her male gnoll underlings and take one of them back to her quarters every now and then... usually the uglier and more brutish, the better...'
As for the wounded gnoll, you get the impression that there's certainly elements of truth in what he's saying, but that he's also holding back on something important...
Between Yousef's threatening tone, and Rashid's offer of assistance, the wounded gnoll only takes a few moments to make up his mind (although in the state he's in, that's a long time indeed...). Reaching inside his tattered shirt he removes a bloodstained rag folded around a roughly palm-sized object. With a certain reverent care he folds back the cloth to reveal a hunk of green rock from which is protruding a sun-like semi-circle which appears to be made out of gold...
With a quickly intoned spell, Lavender vanishes from sight...
At the back of the overhang a different trail leads off up the mountain, through a pretty rocky path - it seems likely that the second gnoll headed off in that direction...
With deft hands, and the guidance of the goddess, Rashid makes quick work of safely removing the arrow from the wounded gnoll's thigh and closing the wound. The gnoll winces as the operation takes place, gritting his hyena-like teeth into a snarl, but manages to avoid crying out (or passing out for that matter). As the dwarven priest finishes up the gnoll slumps back a little, with a sigh, then puts his hand on his chest, indicating himself, and says in crude Kelish,
'Me name being "Purkor"... me be thanking great priestess of Flower of Dawn!' he bears his yellowish teeth in what could be the gnollish equivalent of a smile...
ProfPotts |
While you sense a faint magical aura radiating from the golden object, you get the impression that the rock it's imbedded into seems to be somehow suppressing it...
The wounded gnoll - Purkor as he's apparantly called - turns his bared-teeth smile on Yousef as the half-orc addresses him in his own tongue of yips and barks...
Turning back towards Rashid, Purkor bows his head a little and utters in his crude Kelish,
'Dawn be bringing new light, yes? Many praise to Flower of Dawn!'
Bahram Zarishu |
kn arcana: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33
kn dungeoneering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
"Hey! Uhhmm..." Bahram says with a start. "Think you can get that rock off the gnoll? That's.. eh.. that's really quite an interesting bit of rock he's holding there eh.. That gold has survived much greater heat than it possibly could and it looks like the rock is covering magical auras coming from the disk, that eh.. that thing could be really valuable. Interesting to say the least."
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid (barely suppressing a smile at the Gnoll's clumsy, but presumably sincere, turn of phrase) glances from the Gnoll, to the lump of... debris... that seems to so fascinate Bahram.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25.
Knowledge(Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11 (caps at DC10 ;-)).
"Well, he certainly seems friendly enough, for a Gnoll; although to be honest, before he met us, his chances probably were not too good... Still, I am a firm believer in giving most sentient creatures at least a chance to redeem themselves, if they are willing, and he certainly seems willing..."
He then turns to Yousef.
"What on Golarion are you saying to Purkor? You certainly seem to be having an in-depth discussion with him..."
Yousef olan Ahmad |
Dungeoneering 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
"negotiating. I think we got us a guide. And Sarenrae is the redemption goddess is she not? I'll see if he'll give me the rock."
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid nods to Yousef.
"Very well. You can let him know that if he is sincere about throwing in his lot with us, I am willing to give him the chance; the Dawnflower is indeed the Goddess of Redemption, after all. If it helps, you can even sweeten the deal by letting him know that I would willing to grant him some healing, via the grace of the Everlight."
ProfPotts |
A 'Crack!' accompanies a bright flash of blue-white light from the overhang above, followed a moment later by the sound of something falling to the ground...
Purkor flinches at the display, eyes darting upwards and ears pricking up... then (when it becomes apparant he's not about to personally detonate or anything...) his smile slowly creeps back across his muzzle...
'Purkor give treasure!' he agrees and... with just a slight hint of reluctance... hands the green rock, along with the bloodstained wrapping it was in, to Yousef.
Lavender Leaf |
Lavender floats down. "Ehh, it was probably overkill, but I wanted to make sure it was dead in one shot. One less Gnoll that can murder, rape, and enslave. The other one got away, up a rocky trail that leads off up the mountain at the back of the overhang." Lavender answers Yousef.
"So, what is up with this one? Seeing as Rashid is healing him, I guess finishing him off is out of the question?" Lavender asks as ske searches the the burnt gnoll.
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid nods.
"Very well. If he is to be our guide, we should make sure that he is in good condition..."
He then turns to the Gnoll, initially with a serious expression, but ending with a smile.
"If you keep your end of the bargain, we will look after you, as well. The Dawnflower looks after Her own, and Her followers likewise emulate Her."
He then chants a short prayer, causing the worst of the Gnoll's injuries to close over.
CLW: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8.
Rashid then turns to Lavender.
"Apparently, he was escaping his tribe, who are controlled by a (?) Human female. He could certainly be useful as a guide. I say that we should give him a chance. Simply demonising him because of his race makes us no better than his people. Of course, if he betrays us, well, the Dawnflower only requires one chance at redemption to be provided..."
ProfPotts |
'Actually,' Haleen pipes up, in response to Lavender's words, 'I think generally you'd have to be a gnoll yourself to worry overly about being raped by them,' she gestures towards Purkor, 'good Father Rashid's latest (sudden...) convert to the Faith was pretty much saying that the idea of having to "mate" with a human woman was one of the big reasons he ran away in the first place...' the swordswoman then shrugs, and adds, '... although the murder and enslavement are probably enough on their own... and I guess any race can have its deviants...' she looks thoughtful for a moment, then concludes, '... like this "Witch" character, I suppose.'
Once Rashid has healed the worst of Purkor's wounds, the gnoll clasps his hands together and bobs his head in (somewhat exaggerated) gratitude,
'Purkor thank great Priestess!' he offers in broken Kelish.
Zaina floats down to peer at the green rock as Bahram turns it over in his hands... the tiny genie seemingly more fascinated with the unusual rock than the golden object it contains...
Touching Yousef's arm, Haleen steers him away from Purkor and Rashid for a moment, and over to where Lavender is examining the fallen gnoll's body (we'll say it fell off the overhang to avoid any unnecessary Climb checks!),
'Lavender has a point' Haleen whispers, 'just how useful is this gnoll really going to be to us... and does it outweigh the (let's assume big) chance that he'll betray us? With all due respect to the Dawnflower, pushing him off the mountain seems like a completely reasonable course of action to me...' she shrugs a little, '... Just saying...'
Dead gnoll's stuff: composite scavanged armour (i.e. studded leather in game terms), crude scimitar, crude composite longbow (+4 Strength rating if anyone checks), 12 longbow arrows, miscellaneous trinkets, bits of broken jewellery, and a few coins amounting to a total value of 1gp.
Bahram Zarishu |
Noticing Zaina joining him in the study of the object brings a smile to Bahrams' face. "You like the rock?" he whispers to her, "I believe the magic in this golden thingy here is powerful enough to have melted the rock around it, making it look like what it does. Isn't this exiting!? Let's brake the stone off, I'm presuming that anything powerful enough to melt stone is powerful enough to withstand a slight beating." he says with a wink and a twinkle in his eye, the curious scholar beast was awakened in him.
Finding a large rock on the ground Bahram kneels by it and, holding the object to the rock, picks up another rock and proceeds to chip away at it.
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid nods and smiles at Purkor.
"You are welcome. As the Dawnflower teaches, all should be given the chance to redeem themselves, and you certainly seem fervent enough. If things go well enough and you are willing to work with others harmoniously, I am sure that I could even put in a good word with the leader of Kelmarane; Everlight knows, if I can help a Harpy to learn to live with others, I would be willing to help you."
I just hope that he proves worthy of our trust.
He then looks over to where Bahram is inspecting the object that Purkor recently handed over.
"Do you have any idea what that is? It certainly looks enigmatic enough..."
Yousef olan Ahmad |
'Lavender has a point' Haleen whispers, 'just how useful is this gnoll really going to be to us... and does it outweigh the (let's assume big) chance that...
"Rashid and Sarenrae took a chance on my redemption, I'll give that chance to a gnoll. I failed the brethren of our fallen friend Felliped a year ago and won't have anymore needless deaths on my conscious. If Purkor betrays us, Tempest will be the last thing he sees."
ProfPotts |
Zaina glances up at Bahram, then floats a little closer to lay her hands on the green rock and feel over its surface,
'Fire and earth, Master,' she says, with a smile, 'the blending of the elements is always so interesting... but what makes you think the golden... um... thingy melted the rock? Couldn't it have been dropped into molten rock which later cooled?'
When Bahram starts hammering at the rock Zaina flinches and darts aside,
'Oh...' she murmurs sadly as the elementalist begins to chip away at the interesting stone... although it looks like it's going to be slow going chipping away the green stone in that manner, as Bahram's battering only manages to dislodge a few tiny flecks at a time...
Listening to Yousef's words, Haleen shrugs then, plastering on a rather fake grin, turns towards where Purkor is still slumped against the rocks,
'Welcome aboard, you flea-bitten excuse for a dung beetle,' she says in her most friendly tone of voice...
Purkor grins back,
'Purkor welcome, yes...' he replies enthusiastically.
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid turns so that Purkor cannot see his face, and addresses Haleen with a frown.
"I understand that you may not be... fond... of Purkor; the Divine knows that I have seen and experienced my share of Evil at the hands of other Gnolls. However, in the same way that not all Humans, Dwarves, or Elves are Good, I refuse to believe that all Gnolls must necessarily be Evil - if there is even a spark of Goodness, I would prefer to nurture it..."
He then sighs.
"Shall we be on our way?"
ProfPotts |
Haleen pouts slightly and hangs her head in response to Rashid's chiding,
'Sorry, Father...' she mumbles. Then, once Rashid turns his attention elsewhere, she whispers to the others...
Bahram Zarishu |
Bahram stops his activities and stares a bit at the discussions with the gnolls and Rashids' chastisement of Haleen. Grinning he gives a short laughs at Haleens' comment and gives Zaina a wink.
Looking back at the green, magically altered rock and it's golden prize he shrugs. "Maybe we need heat to soften it up again. Lava perhaps?" he muses and pocket the thing with a shrug, ready to go.
Lavender Leaf |
"Well. I don't like it either, but I'm not about to go against Father Rashid and his religion." Lavender grumbles in response to Haleen.
It's not a mater of 'if' he will betray us, it is 'when...'
"Yeah, lets go." Lavender can't help but keep a eye on the gnoll as the travel with him. It's obvious she doesn't like it.
ProfPotts |
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Zaina smiles as Bahram winks at her.
Purkor stumbles a little as Yousef drags him to his feet and shoves him forwards along the track. The gnoll growls a little, but then brushes himself off and his grin returns to his jaws. Gesturing towards the gnoll Lavender executed he asks...
Glancing up the track he adds,
'Go to Fire Cave?'
Meanwhile Keldar stares at Purkor for a long while then, with a terse grunt, turns and heads off along the track, keeping a little further ahead of the group than normal (and away from the gnoll...).
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid ponders for a moment, before responding.
"I have no problem with him having the armor. I can see your point about refusing to give him weapons; how about if you tell him that when he earns our trust, by proving his usefulness, we will return that trust by giving him a weapon...? It gives him something to work towards, rather than slavishly following our instructions out of fear."
Bahram Zarishu |
Bahram just watches Rashid and Yousef discuss the extent of the trust extended toward the newest member of this mishap group, honestly his background and circumstance of joining wasn't all that different from say Feliped. The only distinction readily apparent to Bahram at the moment was the hair covered snout but the snout was enough for Bahram to eye it warily as he absentmindedly fingered the green lump of rock and it's golden treasure in his pocket.
ProfPotts |
Purkor listens to what Yousef is saying, then growls back...
... he trails off, glancing between Yousef and Rashid, then towards the rest of the group... then shrugs, grins, and quickly dons the fallen gnoll's armour, but leaves the weapons alone.
'Purkor friends save Purkor if fight?' he offers with a toothy grin as he tightens the last straps, then heads off along the track after Keldar...
... A while later...
... The sun is begining to set as Keldar leads the way across a relatively featureless slope of the Pale Mountain, bare of the larger rocks and outcroppings so common on the mountainside. The ground underfoot on the lonely slope appears blackened, and the trail is little more than a steep, overgrown, ridge winding up and across the slope. Soon enough Keldar stops and points to where, ahead along the slope, a deep crevase can be seen running across the face of the mountain. The wind creates an eerie whistling noise as it blows over and through the fissure (at least it's hopefully the wind...) and ashen smoke appears to continuously seep from the opening, like the breath of some foul firey fiend... (or something... ;) )
'Ooh!' Zaina darts to the front of the group to gaze at the smoking cave for several long moments, before floating back to Bahram's side. 'Fire and earth and wind too, my Master!' she exclaims gleefully, 'It's wonderful!'
Haleen raises an eyebrow at the tiny genie's antics, loosening her sword as she glances towards the ominous crevise herself,
'Wonderful or not,' she asks, 'what are the odds whatever... thing... lives in there can be killed by stabbing? I can stretch to repeated stabbing in their soft parts, but that's about as far as my comfort zone extends...'
'Fire Cave,' Purkor offers, looking less than enthusiastic as his eyes dart nervously this way and that, 'fire snakes in Fire Cave, and... and...' his brow furrows and he mumbles to himself for a few moments, then he appears to give up and turns to Yousef...
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Rashid raises an eyebrow.
"Fire snakes in the fire cave? That sounds... uncomfortable. I think I might pray for something useful..."
He then toddles off, and begins meditating.
Taking 15 minutes to prepare a Resist Energy.
When he is finished, he opens his eyes and gives the rest of the group a beatific smile.
"Our Lady still watches over us. We will prevail, for the good of the entire region! Come, less us approach."
He then trudges cautiously towards the entrance.
ProfPotts |
Purkor stops nodding, as Yousef instructs...
... he points towards the cave belching smoke and adds,
'Fire Cave... yes?'
Anyone else doing anything as Rashid prepares his spell? Oh, and since it's been a while, Rashid does recall those extra spells his superior back in Kelmarane gave him, yes?
Bahram Zarishu |
Bahram eyes the cave suspiciously but doesn't realy see any other options available to the group, this was their intended destinations, the fire cave, full of lava and, aparantly, fire snakes. Sighing he turns to the gnoll and says with exagerated slownes, "Yeess.. Fiierr Caavee.." and the turns to Yousef and asks in full earnestnes, "Is the creature slow or something? Repeating itself and nodding is a poor way of comunicating I must say, I'm half expecting it to start drooling at any moment... Can't you get through to it?"
Yousef olan Ahmad |
"Not sure. I'd rather go around something called a fire cave if we can. Is there another way....and I think he is just trying to please us. He asked if he should keep grinning and nodding. I told him he could stop. Gnolls aren't particularly bright you know."
I I can't remember exactly our planned course of action and am getting my own personal knowledge about the AP mixed with what our characters should know.
Bahram Zarishu |
Our path is Into the Fire Cave iirc. I remember a Sarenite priest who sent us on this quest to investigate the rise in gnoll activity, Zaina recognized his name back in the sphinx cave and I'm waiting for the appropriate moment to arise for Bahram to start asking about it (I actually just forgot 'till now) and said priest sent us here, to the cave, to start our investigations.
Rashid al-Gahiji |
Hmmm... I had actually forgotten about that...
Rashid frowns in thought for a moment.
"We need to go through it. That is our Path, after all. If you are *that* concerned, though, Yousef, the Dawnflower will provide... just be aware that we cannot call on Her power indefinitely; we need to look after ourselves as well."
If Rashid prays for a further 15 minutes, he can prepare a Communal Resist Energy, which he can use to provide each of Bahram, Yousef, Lavender, Haleen and the Gnoll, with 10 minutes of Fire Resistance 10.
ProfPotts |
Assuming everyone heads towards the cave once Rashid's finished doing his thing...
Approaching what Purkor refers to as the 'Fire Cave' up the winding, narrow, overgrown path, it's soon apparant why the place earned the other name it is commongly known by - the 'Mountain's Maw'. The cave entrance is a cleft like a fanged maw cutting horizontally through the pale cliff side, a dark fissure lined with stony outcroppings. Black streaks stain the earth outside the opening, sooty residue as if from some great heat. In uneven blasts faint smoke exhales from the crack like the noxious breath of the mountain itself.
Once the entrance is reached, impressive heat can be felt radiating from within, despite the howling winds battering the mountainside. Flickering blue lights from further into the cave cause shadows to dance and leap as if the gaping stone 'maw' contained untold creatures frolicing chaotically just out of sight...
'Marvelous!' exclaims a wide-eyed Zaina as she takes in the cave.
'Dangerous...' mutters a frowning Haleen as she loosens her sword in its scabbard, and edges a little closer to Yousef...