Though hurt by the attack, Sarine manages to stand her ground against the swarm's assault. She moves out of the swarm before throwing her alchemist fire behind her.
"Spread out!" Sarine shouts.
Sarine throws her alchemist's fire with pinpoint accuracy, guided by Abardar's blessing. The vial lands in a small hollow in the ground and erupts into fire melting the small metal balls which cannot escape the natural firepit they find themselves in.
Elizar lashes out with his fists but achieves nothing, his ectoplasm simply falling over the balls and leaving them unharmed when he pulls back for a second blow. Ashlyn hurls acid at the swarm, sending a few of the balls still as the acid corrodes them from the inside out.
Aurelian lobs his own vial of alchemist's fire at the balls.
Aurelian too sends a pinpoint vial of combustible substances sailing into the swarm and as it explodes a number more creatures melt and fall still. The remaining few seem to lose cohesion and roll away in different directions - any overarching intelligence clearly gone.
"That was interesting. Almost like living caltrops," Sarine comments while looking up the hill. "Should we head for that tower?"
Ashlyn pumps her fist in the air and lets out a happy laugh. "Yes! Good job everyone!"
She bends down over the weird metal balls and picks some up, examining it closely.
"What on Golarion is this?" Eventually she lets out a "Huh!"
"Hey, Jenner. Do you think you could make something like this?"
She picks up a few handfuls of the least damage balls and puts them in her backpack. Then she turns and looks at the ruins. "Definitely! Lead the way, Sarine!"
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"Yes, Aurelian Fache is ready to go to the big shaft and see what is going on with these balls," the swordsman agrees. "But you should stay behind him, as there may be more of these things to come."
He draws his sword and heads up the hill, intent on leading the way, eyes peeled for further signs of danger.
Elizar rolls his tear-filled eyes and groans loudly at Aurelian. He looks at Ashlyn for a long moment, clearly not impressed.
Ashlyn looks at Elizar strangely for a moment, as if confused. Suddenly her eyes widen and she blushes a bright shade of pink.
She turns without a word and strides off towards the tower.
Elizar gives Aurelian a hateful scowl, then hurries off after Ashlyn, wailing loudly.
Aurelian looks in confusion at the others.
"The dead man inside Ashlyn is very loud, often for no reason," he observes.
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"Hmm... I dunno, Ashlyn, I'm better at makin', say... a shield than a... this," Jenner says, frowning at the little fragments then pocketing a few of them himself, for later study.
When Ashlyn hurries off and Elizar sets up the requisite wailing, Jenner just shakes his head, hooking his thumbs into his belt. "Well, technically, it AIN'T inside her right now, is it? Or... him. Whatever. When it IS inside her, it's a lot more quiet."
Jenner pauses, registering perhaps the supreme awkwardness of speaking about a man, however dead or ghostly, being in.... anyone.
"I mean-- I mean spiritually. You know. Oh, hell with it. You know what, let's just go look in that tower."
Aurelian grins at Jenner and nods in appreciation.
The hills ahead give way to a steep rocky incline with a solitary stone tower, at least three stories high, partially embedded in the rock that surrounds it. The cyclindrical edifice is oddly undamaged, however, as if the rock were only the tide lapping at the tower's lower half, frozen in time. The strucutre has no windows or rooftop battlements. A metal double door is st in the base of the southern side and is slightly ajar...
In the rock above the doorway are carved words in a flowing script that you all recognise as Azlanti, even if only a few of you can read it.
"Spindlerock Research Facility: a division of the Spindle Solution, making tomorrow's humanity, today. Authorized Personnel Only." Ashlyn reads aloud. "Huh! What a weird name for a building."
She reaches for the door and pushes it open.
"Hello?" she calls out as she enters.
"It's going to be dark in there," Sarine says as she pulls out a sunrod and lights it.
"What is this spindlerock that they are researching?" Aurelian wonders, looking around as the others read the note.
"Wait," he tells Ashlyn, pushing past her quickly as she enters the building. "You should let Aurelian Fache make sure this tower is safe before you go in. Many foul creatures live in such places, and Aurelian would hate to think of you being stabbed or choked should you not want to."
As Ashlyn opens the door, the room beyond lights up, just in time to save Sarine using her sunrod. The spacious chamber Ashlyn has revealed seems designed to impress. Pale gray tiles decorated with faint, intricate geometrical designs cover the floor. The walls of the chamber are pure white, illuminated by unnatural light emanating from the ceiling in a way that makes the chamber appear slightly larger than it really is.
Apart from the doors which Ashlyn has entered through, there are a matching set of double doors at the far end of the room. In the centre of the room, between each set of doors, stands the man you saw before at the stone dais. This image says nothing and simple stands, frozen.
"That's odd. The azlanti really built things to last," Sarine says. After putting away the sunrod, Sarine moves forward to face the man.
"Wow!" Ashlyn gasps. "This place is... Wow..."
Focusing on the man, Ashlyn waves hello.
Elizar scowls and rushes forward, placing himself between Ashlyn and the mystery man. He lets out a howl of anger.
The image doesn't move, or speak, or respond in any way. Although, just for a second, Sarine thinks its head turns - just a fraction...
Aurelian looks perplexed as the figure doesn't respond and decides to remonstrate it.
"It is very rude to not respond when I pretty women speak to you? Aurelian Fache would never do such a thing!" he explains crossly.
Presumably getting no response, he pads toward, light on the balls of his feet in case it does choose to react.
The figure doesn't move - it appears to be some sort of permanent projection.
Ashlyn shrugs and walks around the image, stepping up to the double doors.
Elizar is sure to keep himself between the strange man and Ashlyn, howling at him the whole time.
Sarine moves up beside Ashlyn. "Someday, one of those images isn't going to be fake. I thought I saw this one move. Keep an eye out."
"If they try to hurt us, they would not move long afterward," Aurelian warns, though he glances again at the image to make sure it is in fact not moving.
He steps up next to Ashlyn to make sure she's safe when the doors open.
"He can be quiet, can he not? Everything knows we are here now if they did not before," he observes. "A good swordsman should be quiet and let their sword speak for him, or so Aurelian Fache's teachers said."
The talented young swordsman doesn't note any irony in his final comments.
"Not really," Ashlyn replies. "He always cries." After a moment she adds, "I guess, maybe he could do it quietly?"
Looking at Elizar, Ashlyn opens her mouth to speak...
Elizar glowers at Ashlyn and pointedly cries louder.
...Ashlyn shuts her mouth then shrugs and looks back to Aurelian. "Nope. Sorry."
As Ashlyn approaches the door, all hell breaks loose! Through the walls, which are suddenly revealed to be illusions, come a pair of hulking humanoids with the bulging eyes, tall crests and scaled skins of fish! They wield tridents and head straight for Ashlyn!
Flanking the spiritualist from either side they both lash out with their tridents causing nasty wounds on the unprepared young woman!
"I have to agree with Aurelian, he makes noise enough to wake everything in a hundred miles, and weeps enough to drown Azlant all over again--" Jenner grouses, but further words are cut off by the sudden appearance of aquatic monstrosities.
"Bloody hell!" Jenner shouts. "Ashlyn, get back from them! Mr. Sobby, you'd best protect her!"
As Ashlyn screams in pain Elizar lets out a loud howl. He slams into the monsters that attacked Ashlyn.
Ashlyn lets out a shriek of pain as the monsters tear into her. She places a hand to her wounds then looks at her bloody hand in surprise. After a moment of confusion she lashes out at the monster between her and Sarine, throwing a punch right at its face!
HP 21/21; Hero Points 0/2
AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will -1 (0/1 set mind; 0/3 charmed life)
CMD 14 (16 vs. disarm)
Panache: 3/3 (0/1 deed reroll);
Effects:
Aurelian moves in to attack, sword raised and then ready to parry a blow should it come.
"This island is full of horrible creatures," he points out. "Aurelian Fache does not know what you are, but you have made a mistake by attacking Ashlyn!"
"For once we agree, Aurelian," Sarine growls as she witnesses the sudden attack.
The group lashes out and fortunately for them, the skum prove less than agile
Jenner lands a mighty blow and Elizar combines with him to end the skum's life, leaving Aurelian to lash out at the other. Sarine finds herself unable to reach a new target.
Reeling from the blows the skum is unable to land an attack of its own.
"Think I finally found my land legs!" Jenner says with a triumphant grin at having landed a solid hit, even if he needed Sobby's help to do it. "Ashlyn, step on back this way!"
He does what he can to make sure she can do so with somewhat less pain.
Ashlyn throws another punch at the monster...
...but she's dizzy and her aim is off.
She takes a step back, at Jenner's request.
As Ashlyn steps back, Elizar leaps between her and the fish man and howls angrily in its face.
He slams his goopy form into the monster!
The monster still stands, barely... thick blood flows sluggishly from its wounds and its mouth gapes like a dying fish.
HP 21/21; Hero Points 0/2
AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will -1 (0/1 set mind; 0/3 charmed life)
CMD 14 (16 vs. disarm)
Panache: 3/3 (0/1 deed reroll);
Effects:
Aurelian does his best to put an end to the thing, going for a more accurate strike instead of a more powerful blow in hopes even a lesser wound (though it's not as if any wound Aurelian Fache gives isn't grievous) will do the trick.
And just in case it doesn't, he prepares to defend himself.
Aurelian's firm blow skewers the creature through its mouth and collapses it to the floor, dead.
Now that the illusions have been revealed, the two adjoining chambers appear to either side of you. Each room has a simple stone floor and undecorated gray stone walls. The stark nature of the rooms is interrupted by a large circle of silvery metal set into the floor in the center of each room.
When examined with detect magic each circle radiated an aura of transmutation. (DC19 to identify the exact spell)
Unable to divine the nature of the circles, Sarine still tries to examine the area. "The sign on this building said that it was a research facility, but all I see are illusions. What could the Azlanti have been doing here?"
Ashlyn stares at her wounds for a long time, imagining her wounds healing. A moment later, at her mental urging, her flesh begins to repair itself.
She smiles and looks around, realizing she had missed part of the conversation. She approaches one of the strange circles and examines it closely.
"What a strange thing... I wonder what is was used for."
She steps inside the circle.