Eloisa studies the pool again. "I guess we could leave it alone. We're assuming that when we leave today another demon won't arrive and begin using the pool again."
Shaedeen shrugs and accepts yet another dagger to her growing arsenal. When Merrick leaves behind the small amulet (holy symbol), she scoops that up as well.
Ooh--a black dragon head with three eyes! Interesting!
When the others begin discussing the pool and how to disable it, Shae's eyes get a bit glassy.
"I might be wrong but I've been told demons are summoned to this Golarion, so chances are if we deal with whatever is controlling this dungeon we might have seen the last demon for at least a short while."
Shaedeen's eyes refocus at Rast's suggestion and the potential of some ranged violence. "I'm game!" she announces, positioning herself 25 feet from the weird well.
for
"The fiend's corpse will still be here when we come back, Rast. If not, if one of us has a vial we can store some of its black blood for that purpose. We have been lucky so far with these fiends, but no sense in bringing in more of them before we ensure that there is nothing worse further on."
It is clear that Asa has little desire to face another of these creatures, especially after seeing its effects on Calin.
"Merrick doesn't know my nature yet. I don't know if I could keep it hidden under the influence of such... anger."
He moved torwards the dead flappy creature and moved closer to the strange waters..
"A drop of blood you say? Everyone get ready then."
He began waiting to see if everyone was prepared... He was after all the closest to the device there wasnt any doubt if a creature emerged it would go for him first.
"So...it's unanimous, as usual!" Shaedeen quips in amusement.
"I don't mind fighting against evil, but I don't like the idea to summon it to us ourselves. That's just asking for trouble and I would perfer to neutralize this thing without summoning demons. I will however help to fight them off." The Desna Knight says, rather eager to get away from this thing. "If they summon something more terrible then we've already dealt with, they are never gonna forget it."
"I agree with the Knight. Fighting and killing these creatures because something else brought them into our world is one thing. Summoning them ourselves, even with the express purpose of slaying it, is another. What if the one we brought forth somehow overpowered us? Or we inadvertently brought out twenty a the same time? Who would keep them from reaching the town? Even supposing the guards have finally taken posts around the Glassworks above, I somehow doubt that they could prevent their escape if we couldn't." Asa shakes her head. "The risk is not only needless at this point, but too great." Asa walks toward where the path continues.
"I am continuing on. There are likely more evil beings to slay further. Catch up with me once you finish here."
So saying, Asa begins walking down toward whatever trials await them next.
Eloisa's head bounces back and forth between Asa an Calin. "I'm one for using all the magic right now, but I agree with Asa we don't know what it might summon. It could be worse than what we've seen. Let's finish this area."
Actually, at this point, you guys have gone through the entire area. You managed to save the boss room for last :p
So what do you wish to do?
"Guess it's time we clear out, maybe the father can help with those magical things you like to render powerless. At least he would be able to be of more help then I am with those kind of things." The knight says getting ready to leave himself "I should maybe find a place to change so I can stumple into them as Selaros on the way out if possible"
With your Spellcraft rolls you get a sense of the workings of this device.
There is Conjuration magic about it; essentially, this acts as a portal that summons Sinspawn. From what you can tell, it was once connected to much more powerful sources of magic; perhaps ley lines. However, these days it is a self contained item with only a limited number of charges. Once these charges are expended, the item will cease to function.
Some such summoning apparatuses have a command word and others require specific actions to trigger. It seems that this one requires a bit of blood to summon the Sinspawn. It is not keyed to anyone specific; anyone could use it. You surmise that there is enough magic in the item for perhaps three or four more Sinspawn to be brought forth.
Asa sighs. "Well the good news is I think it no longer is tied to whatever it was that created it. Historically, these would be tied to powerful sources of magic to enable them to function indefinitely... this one has at most enough magic for four more spawn. It is conjuration based, so if someone knows counters for such magic it might be able to be dispelled instead of summoned through."
Asa shakes her head. "The key seems to be blood of any kind, so if a farmer from town happened upon it with a bleeding hand..." Asa trails off and looks at the pool, then at Calin.
"If we are going to do this, I will be the conduit. You have been bitten once already, and unless I am much mistaken the effects of such bites can be cumulative."
Taking her falcata, Asa draws blood from her spell casting hand.
"Hopefully this only brings forth one at a time, not all four." Pitching her blood into the pool, Asa braces herself for the inevitable.
Merrick will not leave without dealing with the pool. He readies an action to attack.
I'm not going to make you guys roll for this; by being cautious and summoning one at a time, there are enough of you that can do enough damage that the creatures don't stand a chance.
Asa, you bleed yourself, three times, and you take 3 Hit Points of damage. Three creatures issue forth, and your group quickly slaughters them all.
The light, and the water begin evaporating into nothing...
And then you see that the pool wasn't empty.
The pool was shallow, only perhaps three feet deep, and ten feet wide. Plunged into the ground, sunken into the very stone, is an odd shaped blade. Asa, you recognize it immediately as a falcata, the very same weapon you are wielding. It is a falcata, and you feel a powerful, somehow comforting connection to it.
In your head, Asa, you hear the faintest whispering of a voice. You know that it is nonverbal.
"Can...can I truly be free? After so long? Please...take me from this place. Take me home."
"Well that's that, let's leave this accursed place and see how the girls are doing. Oh and dragged that no good prisoner out of here and... to the sheriff's office. He has some explaining to do, I'd like to have a go at him, but I might not be able to stop again."
As the last spawn falls, Asa falls to her knees by the pool. Looking within it idly, she is surprised to see the blade buried within the stone. Even more surprising is hearing the voice, presumably emanating from the blade itself. A quick check to her companions expressions confirms to her that they did not hear it speak.
*My associates don't seem to hear you, so I take it you are talking to me. What are you doing down there in a pool that, until recently, was being used as a conjuration foci for wrathspawn?* Hearing Rast, Asa nods absently.
"I would appreciate that, I ended up having to cut deeper than I would have liked."
Turning back to the falcata, Asa begins to stand. *I suppose I could take you with me. Where is 'home' for you... and how would I remove you from the stone you find yourself sheathed in?*
Eloisa is happy to help clear out the pool. She sees the Falchata and absently casts Detect Magic on the blade. "That looks interesting."
It detects as powerfully magic, Eloisa.
You are meant to wield me. Simply take me in your hand, and I will be bound to you; this stone will have no hold."
*If I take you from here it will not be an easy existence. I am sworn to slay the vampire who... affected... my birth, slaying my parents. And not just to slay her, but to dismantle her entire clan and organization piece by piece. It is an undertaking that will take a long time, and I cannot guarantee that I will even succeed in the end.*
Seemingly not hearing Eloisa, Asa reaches down into the water and hovers her hand above the hilt. Even stranger, perhaps, she addresses the blade out loud. "If you consent to such a bloody purpose, be freed from your slumber and follow me. If not, may you remain within the stone until someone worthier than I approach." Taking firm grasp of the hilt with her bleeding hand, Asa attempts to remove the sword from its grave of water and stone.
"You are talking to a sword, did you catch something from what remained of the pool's energy?" The Knight asks worried something has happened to Asa
"The weapon radiates strong magic. I don't know why she's talking to it. Up Rast or Merric is it evil?"
"Maybe it is cursed, I heard stories about cursed weapons in many a bardic tales."
"Honestly, this is far from the strangest thing we've found the past few days."
Merrick uses Detect Evil.
Merrick, the sword does not appear to be evil.
Asa, when you grab it, the sword feels light as a feather. Pulling it reveals that, in your hand, the sword slides out of the stone as easily as if you were pulling it from a scabbard. You feel your connection to the blade intensify, and there is a feeling of rightness. It's almost as though, until this moment, you had been color-blind. The world simply seems a bit more real and vibrant than it had a minute ago.
As I'm sure you've figured out, this is your Black Blade.
Which means, in game terms, everyone has leveled up! You're all level 3 now. If there's anything else you all wish to do in this place, you may, but you do have several pressing matters to attend to outside. What do you all wish to do?
Eloisa shakes her head at Asa. "You find the most interesting things. We should head back to the surface. We've got people to check on and a half-elf to interrogate." I have some scrolls to scribe.
The sensations from drawing the blade from the pool almost cause Asa to collapse to the ground again, but she maintains her balance at the last moment.
*I see. I thank you, not everyone or everything would agree to such an undertaking. You and I will speak more later. For now, rest.*
Only seeming to notice her companion's concern now, Asa smiles bashfully.
"Sorry if I worried any of you. The blade has bound itself to me, and I to it. I... will be honest, I am not fully sure on all the details of the nature of that bond just yet. For now, let us return to let the town know of what we have found here so far. I am sure that Selaros and the others are eagerly awaiting our discoveries... and that traitor needs to be shown the price of siding with evil."
The Desna Knight slips away while the others begins to study the blade Asa found and runs for the first floor to find a suitable spot to change once again. "I'll try to bump into them as the come up the stairs to the glassworks."
He frowned when Asa volunteered to take his spot as the blood offering. but he said nothing else behind his scowl...her words did make some sense, though he didnt clearly realize the effects that had raged through him were that obvious...
Afterwords he frowned and eyed the other incredulously that they were not stopping Asa from playing with the strange blade found beneath an evil pool. He didnt fully trust her, and now... well now she was talking to swords... or swords were talking to her, either way, he would have to keep his eyes peeled and watching her. In case... well in case his judgement in keeping quiet to the Sheriff was wrong.
"Indeed, we should hurry, I would hate for well.. this place is a mess and I would like to be out of it... Thank you again Kni... Where did he go? The Desnan Knight? did he just slip away again?"
He began with a slight frown and scratching the side of his head in consternation. He of course saw the tail edges of the strange man hurrying away... but he figured if he could keep Asa's nature a secret from the town watch, he could let the strange man who had proved as concerned about the city as he was his disapearing nature. He 'stumbled' letting his shield clatter to the ground almost tripping over it to give the knight a slight distraction to his get away.
Asa, despite seeming to see things clearer than prior to pulling the blade, completely misses the departure of the Knight. Turning to Calin, she merely shrugs.
"Must have felt that his job was done and withdrawn. A pity, I was planning on asking him if he needed any adjustments made to his glaive. He seemed to make good use of my work, but there are almost always a few minor tweaks that need to be made... usually discovered after the first time it has been wielded."
Placing her old falcata in its sheath, Asa switches the new one to her weapon hand, impressed by its construction and lightness. "Later, I will have to make a worthy scabbard to house such a blade." Her stomach grumbles at her, "Well, after some form of brunch I suppose."
Turning back to Calin, she smiles. "I meant what I said earlier. Swing by Korvut's this afternoon. It is far past time for a prospective guardsman of such dedication to be wielding something more suited to threats this town has been facing of late." Before he can object, she raises her wounded free hand and adds, "This one is on me. Save your gold for something I can't make for you, like better armor."
"For better armor, visit Savrah's Armory!" Shaedeen gushes on cue, again pirouetting to better model the leather goods the woman had crafted for her. During her little spin she sees the Desna Knight slipping away, but such an occurrence rates pretty low on her internal Weird-O-Meter for her new friends...especially after seeing crazy Asa just talking to and apparently making some sort of deal with a dark falcata.
|
"Better armor does seem to be a good idea Shaedeen, depending on how much gold we end up with you may have to introduce me. I would like something, hm, sturdier."
As they head back to town Rast is feeling pretty proud to have helped in such an endevor. I would like the opportunity to work with these people more. We may have a calling.
Selaros returns down the stairs as the others come to begin climbing it again. "Ah there you are guys, I can see you have effectively cleared the upper floor and found the women. Did you find Ameiko's brother also?" he pauses for a moment and adds "Is there anymore to be done here?"
"I think we've taken care of all the physical threats that were lurking down there," Shaedeen says proudly to Selaros. "The town guard took Ameiko's demented brother to the jail. Turning to the others she adds, "Listen guys--I'm not gonna be much use in questioning that jerk, so why don't I see about selling some of the loot we found?"
Looking up at the half-orc, Shaedeen purses her lips, trying to picture how Savrah might give Rast a fashionable armor upgrade. Then she flashes a brilliant smile and gushes, "I'd be thrilled to introduce you and maybe help you pick out something functional yet also fashionable. I plan on visiting her shop immediately to see if I can afford any more accessories for myself, if you'd like to come along."
Asa nods. "I have business with Savrah as well, let her know that I might swing by later. After... whatever time meal it is... I will be at Korvut's working on a sheath for my new friend." Asa gives her new blade the same kind of smile a parent might show their child.
"If anyone else needs weapons made or refined, seek me then. I expect to see you there, Calin. At your leisure, of course."
Looking up at Selaros, she gives the man an exasperated look.
"About time you caught up! You missed the whole ordeal. Did the sheriff detain you for questioning or did you run into your friend after we freed her and lose track of time catching up?" Asa rolls her eyes, but it is clear that she was more concerned that something had befallen him while the rest of them were down below.
"Speaking of, where did Hemlock inter that traitor? I have a custom shaped glass coffin with his name on it to make... or failing that, questions that need answering before the mayor orders his head severed from his shoulders."