As you head into the jungle you find a small trail where Mohini obviously moved through.
Mesdoram is now riding Smiley while the Gurkhals are dragging the carts along with them and the riding lizards, and Trip yips mournfully in your ears - he dislikes this
Eventually the evidence of Mohini disappears and you find a trail that is choked with weeds and undergrowth.
nature
survival
While examining Mohini's trail you find delicate steps first in the sandals she worse, then bare feet, and then finally a cloven hoof.
While you can't tell much from the trail, Mesdoram draws your attention to the hoof and to the state of the trail.
Look at the undergrowth in the trail - this used to be well used, but it's been overgrown for the past few months. It's seen some use but not the original movement that cut the trail in the first place. And who shapeshifts out of a human form and then lifts off like this? The hoof print is deeper so it looks like Mohini jumped and then didn't touch back down.
Well, magic is obviously at work here. Can't wait u till we run into her again. For now why don't we continue with our mission. We need to find the missing pathfinders, if she has something to do with it then I am sure she will find us.
+2 for traps
+2 for traps
+2 for traps
+2 for traps
+2 for traps
You travel for four days through the jungle - through dense copses and overgrown paths.
Finally you come across a village - the huts, woven from grass and branches are dark, and a stone temple rises in the center, apparently devoid of life.
Rameth stretches out a bit and says to Mesdo
Ask our allies here to form up so we can move in. I don't want us getting attacked without being ready for it. If this place is empty it can't be because they all won the lottery and moved to palaces in the sky.
As the sun sets, casting the village in the dark light of twilight, the Gurkhals tighten the perimeter as much as they can - several men have to guard the convoy and supplies you have with you. Four of the eight remain with the lizards and the others come with you into the village.
As you approach you continue to detect no signs of life in the common area of the village - a large earthen area denuded of plant life by hundreds of years of passing feet surrounding a well.
There are about twenty huts of various sizes, including a larger house that may have served as a communal dwelling, assembly hall or the home of the head of the village.
In the middle squats the temple - now that you're closer you see a large tower, ornately carved with the figures of gods and mythology, standing above an opening to the temple's interior. The style here is quite different from the temple you remember from your drug-induced wandering, with a double row of columns supporting a covering for a porch that runs around the temple wall, but the temple is no more than a hundred feet on each side and is perfectly square.
Mesdoram has his sword drawn as he walks, quietly, into the village.
Where do you think we should start?
have the men check the hits first.. While they confirm nothing hiding Ramesh will circle the temple and see how many options there are to get in
As Rameth circles the temple and gauging the difficulty of scaling the pillars and clammering across the wall, the Gurkhals fan out.
Mesdoram looks over the ground and begins poking around the village with Smiley following along on his heels - the giant tiger appears to be trying to keep itself unobtrusive, which is comical for a giant, sabertoothed tiger.
The Gurkhals emerge from the smaller huts disgusted and making signs to repel evil spirits, some of them clutching small amulets that normally rest beneath their armor.
Yaduraya comes up to Rameth and there's a disgusted look on his face.
This place is unclean. No respectable Vudrani lives like this - human waste simply left on the floor of the huts, instead of removed. And it still smells, so it is relatively fresh. We'll wait for you before we enter the lodge, or do you prefer the temple first?
Let's check the lodge.
Rameth frowns at this turn of events
What the hell is going on?
Lodge it is
The inside of the lodge is a nightmare.
There are long stains of the floor and walls that have attracted flies, and at the end of the lodge a corpse sits on a thatch chair.
Trip's ears flatten against his skulls and he emits a low growl.
The stains on the floor appear to be blood, and the man's wounds look like they've been inflicted by claws. He has long tears and parts have been burned by fire. It also looks like he has marks where he was at one time tied to the chair.
As you're examining the room, Mesdoram comes in grim-faced.
I found this outside - I really, really don't like the looks of this.
On the tip of his sword there's a small, human skull - small marks in the bone look odd to you - and somewhat symmetrical.
I think those are teeth marks.
heal
It would seem this fellow was tortured. Well lets hope the beast is inside this temple. Gentlemen, are you ready, there is a good chance there is a nasty foe inside that temple.
He takes a hit of whiskey, searches the room for anything of use
perception
then he goes to the temple and checks it for traps
perception then unlocks or disables
disable
Then he downs his mutagen and Iron Skin
There aren't any traps or locks in the outside of the temple.
Inside the outer wall is what was once a carefully tended garden. It's been neglected for sometime and weeds and grass are choking flowers and statues - piles of bones appear to be stacked in the courtyard.
The inner temple, a small shrine, holds another statue of Chammidu that has been altered - the mouth has has fangs hammered into them, weapons have been forced into the statues of the hand and a small pile of offerings is heaped in front of the statue.
There are even lines of crude writing carved into the stone.
Rameth gestures for the men to take up positions around the perimeter w ranged weapons then he downs his comp languages extract and reads the writing
The carvings say "Praise to Andirifkhu! Glory to the Queen of Carnage!" in Abyssal.
religon to learn about her
Andirifkhu is the patron demon lord of marilith demons, sadistic inventors, and those who inflict pain for pay or sport. Andirifkhu appears as a towering, tall, beautiful woman who is covered from head to toe in green scales, furthering this unnatural appearance her hair is a bright crimson. Her eyes are the eyes of a predatory snake and from her body sprout an extra two pairs of arms, in each of her six hands she wields a different razor sharp blade though her worshipers believe that she favors the kukri. On the Material Plane she is worshiped by a wide variety of sadists, derro, gremlins, and drow.
Rameth whispers what it says to Mesdoram.
Search the room ready for something evil
percep
You don't find anything in the desecrated temple itself, but when you look behind the statue you find a trap door - and it doesn't appear to be trapped.
This day just went from bad to awful.
Yea, any ideas?
Assuming Mes has no ideas wtf is going on, open the trap door and see what we see
Well, this wouldn't be the first time some demon lord tried to corrupt a church. You said this Andirifu-And-oh who cares, this demon b&!!% had six arms and green skin? Think it's related to your vision of green stone?
Mesdoram's lit a torch and under the trap door is a ladder descending into a cellar.
You first or me?
I think after your stunt in the temple you have earned the right to go first. With luck this is where we will figure out what the hells that was all about.
Mesdoram looks positively wounded.
What stunt?
Nonetheless he'll hand you his torch and then nimbly shimmy down the ladder.
He catches the torch you drop adroitly and pulls his sword, seeing a stone undercroft.
Rameth tells the guards to keep watch and hopes they ubderstand then zips down after him with his ioun torch out
Underneath the temple, the undercroft holds only one real item - a large bier with the image of a man dressed in robes and holding a rod and a sword carved in it.
As you approach however a mummified hand pushes the top of the crypt aside and a body heaves itself into view.
It speaks in a gutteral tongue you can't recognize and shambles towards you.
Mesdoram studies the mummy, then flèches across the crypt to drive his blade into the undead fiend.
I do have comp languages up
It's literally nonsense - a mummy can't speak intelligibly.
Oh
Religion to know resistances
Ha! I told you! Undead!
Mummies have a flat damage reduction, and like all undead are immune to bleed, diseases, mind-affecting spells...
Rameth slams down his shield extract and charges
for
The mummy manages to avoid the spear point, and responds by flailing at Rameth.
Mesdoram takes a step back, quaffs an extract and then exhales a massive gout of fire.
Rameth studies his foe, wishing he had prepared fire breath then he attacks and attempts to Aid Mesdoram's next attack
for
fails on a 1
Dex check[/ooc]
The mummy staggers as it is on fire. It makes a terrible sound that unleashes a wave of horror on both Rameth and Mesdoram. There's a cry from the temple as the Gurkhals feel it too.
Mesdoram breathes fire again on the mummy, seemingly intent on causing it to self-immolate.
Wow. Just wow.
That's...3 1's in a row? Did you spit on the Paizo board's dog?
The mummy turns to attack Mesdoram, whose alchemically enhanced body barely manages to avoid the hideous blows.
Mesdoram spits fire one last time at the terrible mummy.
Finally able to speak he sighs at the sight of Rameth's paralyzed form.
That blow really unmanned you.
The mummy renews its attacks on Mesdoram.
And misses.
Mesdoram responds with his sword.
This last blow meets the stubborn resistance of the mummy, but it finally keels over dead.
Mesdoram experimentally pokes the mummy with his sword a few times.
So, do you think it would be overkill to cut off its head? Does that count as desecration when the corpse is deanimated?
Rameth comes to again. Desecrate away!
Rameth starts using his wand on himself
Mesdoram will cut the head off the mummy and stick its head on his sword and extend it to Rameth as he's healing himself.
Mummy pop?
If Rameth doesn't take him up on it he'll flick the head in the corner and start searching the room.
He'll hunt around in the crypt and find some jewelry in the coffin the mummy emerged from.
Hello, hello, hello. What have we here?
He'll lob a ring at Rameth while he looks at a necklace himself.