Thron's Rise of the Runelords Campaign

Game Master Thron

Ryli blinks in surprise. "That's hardly a proper question to ask someone!" she says, sounding affronted. "Anyway it was -- some time ago, I assume. My memory's a bit spotty."

“Proper or not, you were not pregnant when you died yesterday. My...my Setsu was. You must understand my confusion.”

Jeevika opens and closes her mouth like a fish for several seconds.

"Just when I thought that I've seen everything," Jeevika finally murmurs in disbelief. She composes herself and says more audibly, "I understand, Grandma. Shion caught me by surprise too, and I hate to endanger the life of my new aunt. Well, if you are unable to help us, then I am going to get ready to storm the Gluttony wing. However, perhaps you could still prepare some spells for us such as Freedom of Movement and Death Ward."

Jeevika turns to Eugeni and Zoli.

"Mr. Silva, Miss Tileani, if you could assist me, then I would be immensely grateful, but you can stay here if you wish. With Grandma out of commission, time to see about that angel. Hopefully, I will be able to activate the circle; from what you all told me, that Pride wizard certainly seemed rather sure that he could."

Jeevika makes a point to return all of Ryli's gear. After confirming the golem's password from Zoli, the Herald Caller begins to depart, suddenly seemingly on a single-minded warpath...

“Madame, I must insist you delay until we can all go together. Dividing our strength is foolish beyond measure, and the inhabitants of this place are not to be underestimated!”

Ryli Marwari wrote:

Ryli blinks in surprise. "That's hardly a proper question to ask someone!" she says, sounding affronted. "Anyway it was -- some time ago, I assume. My memory's a bit spotty."

“Proper or not, you were not pregnant when you died yesterday. My...my Setsu was. You must understand my confusion.”

"Well, then, let me think," Ryli says as she furrows her brow and concentrates hard.

After a few moments, her tail swishes animatedly and a pleased smile grows on her lips. "There was a time on a pile of treasure. Dark fellow, cold hands. Mmm. Oh, and this halfling thespian. The bedroom was his stage, definitely." Her hind legs stamp the ground subconsciously and she traces a finger down her neck and along the cleft between her breasts. Her eyes flutter open dreamily. "Maybe one of those?"

When she hears Eugeni's plea, Jeevika stops and takes a moment to center herself.

"You're right, but we can't take an infant into a warzone; Azaven will probably murder her out of sheer spite. I left my youngest with my parents for this exact same reason."

Jeevika turns toward the others.

"Unfortunately, we are at an impasse. Grandma is clearly adamant about staying put, and I want my daughter back or at least her remains for proper burial. The longer we wait, the more time that blasted lich has to prepare. We have delayed long enough.

"Firstly, we need that celestial. Secondly, Miss Tileani, how about you order that golem of yours to join our assault? As a construct, it should be immune to almost everything the undead can do to it. Thirdly, Ryli, if you insist on staying where you are, how about you put on your headband, prepare some select spells, and then provide us with a few summoned giants for the assault? Alternatively, you could buff Olympus into a juggernaut and send him in with us."

Zoli takes a few moments looking at Ryli while the others talk.

The same...but not the same. I'm SO still not used to this!

"Ryli. It's me, Zoli. You remember me, don't you? Can I hold your hand? If you need some time to adjust, I understand.

"Also, I think the thespian you're thinking of is my dad, so, eww."

Ryli snaps out of her blissful reverie and looks down at the halfling swordswoman. "Zoli? Yes, I-- no, wait. No, I don't think--" She looks around at the decadent surroundings, frowning. "I remember... some."

She pulls her eyes away from the decor and focuses on Zoli. "We've fought along side each other in my previous lives, right? Have you gotten smaller somehow?" She lowers herself down to the ground and holds the sleeping baby centaur out for Zoli to see. "See? Kallie is almost as big as you!"

Ryli is rubbing the cherub-like cheeks with a motherly smile when Jeevika asks her about spellcasting and sending Olympus with them. Her youthful face grows troubled, looking at each of the intruders in her domain, then looking worriedly at the stone statue of Olympus.

"I could do that. But I could also use him to watch closely over Kallie, here. Right? If she's well-fed, she might sleep all the way through, and never know I'm gone."

"Well, that would seem to indicate a time traveling fetus. Fascinating!" Eugeni's curiosity wars with something else on his face. But the child still is not mine. I will have to grieve them when this is all over. For now, you must remain focused, Eugeni.

"Kallie is a beautiful foal, Ryli. Congratulations. If you would like to come with us, I could veil the babe in a powerful illusion to help hide her. I would need time to prepare the spell though."

Ryli lays the sleeping foal down on a pile of cushions. The she turns with a measure of trepidation to the objects belonging to her old life. When she places The ivory headband on her forehead, she gasps softly. "Oh. Time, yes. I'll need time as well to make better use of this."

She smiles at Eugeni. "Thank you for offering to hide her. Yes, I'd like that."

She goes through her old belongings slowly, putting on each piece of gear and magical object reverently, but also reluctantly.

She picks up the staff last with trembling hands. She holds it to her cheek, feeling its faint thrum of power. "I don't know if I can do this again," She whispers to no one. She lets the staff fall to the floor and she goes back to Kallie and kneels beside her, stroking her soft hair.

As Zoli and Eugeni attempt to convince Ryli, Jeevika watches quietly and then nods with content approval when they get her fully onboard.

I wonder if Kallie is technically the first or second baby to travel through time. According to Sabrina, Shion and Setsu will eventually time travel to some point earlier this year. Since that already happened, does that mean that Shion time traveled first? However, if Shion has yet to actually time travel yet and Kallie already has, does that mean that Kallie is the first time traveling baby in existence? And then there's Sabby's idea that the Shion and Setsuna she met come from a parallel universe and wow I'm going on a tangent.

Jeevika bashes the stray thought with an earth breaker and returns to the situation at hand.

"Thank you, Grandma. Your assistance is much appreciated. Now let's go build our army. Zoli, could you go see if your golem will be able to help us? From there, we should go see about that celestial."

Thron, unless something stops her, Jeevika is going to attempt to call a Movanic Deva via the magic circle in Wrath. The DC to identify one is 20 (10 base + 10 CR), so Jeevika knows about them by taking 10. It's not entirely clear if only Zoli could activate it, but Vraxeris definitely seemed certain that he could work the exit function of the circle. If only Zoli can do it, then Jeevika will politely ask that she does it.

"My golem will of course to do whatever I command it to...but I don't know if it can get out of Wrath. I had assumed it was too large to teleport...and that at any rate, I'm not sure teleportation magic can overcome it's resistance. If that's possible, it will come with us. If not, it will guard my wing.

"As for binding...I'm confused. I would happily request the aid of a Deva but don't want to force it. I know I can use the circle now...but should I? If I can use it to make a case and then give the Deva her rightful choice, I am happy to. If it would truly bind them against their will then I won't, and refuse to let you use it as well."

"My familiarity with this place is not the best, but I could have sworn that your golem was guarding the entrance from the central room, which is connected via a direct hallway. No teleportation would be involved.

That's how I remember it, and Thron mentioned that it would be possible for the golem to come out and play.

"As for the Deva, they naturally dislike the undead, and they have a lot of resistances and immunities to their powers. My plan was always to explicitly request assistance and reward them for aiding our cause. If they refuse, then they can leave no strings attached. Lady Shelyn would certainly object if we made an angel fight against their will. However, now that you mention it, I suppose the act of calling them here would be rather... questionable. That might be... You know, what let's bench that plan. I think I was getting Planar Ally and Planar Binding mixed up. Ally is a nice spell; Binding is not."

After rereading Planar Binding, I don't think that it would be a resource that Jeevika would use unless the situation was truly dire. I got it mixed up with the much nicer Planar Ally.

When they were short a party member and needed the assistance. That card is once more off the table.

When the golem refuses to leave Zoli's wing, Jeevika shrugs and says, "It was worth a shot."

When she and Zoli rejoin the others, Jeevika explains her ideas, "Grandma and I should divide the Freedom of Movement, Death Ward, and Heal spells. I can also coat her and Eugeni in Anti-Incorporeal Shell, which should stop the Wraiths cold. I will also prepare a Word of Recall to make falling back to safe location easier on us; that way, we will not to have to dogpile Eugeni in case something goes wrong. Finally, I will split a Communal Air Walk spell with Zoli. I suppose that she and I will fight in front, while Eugeni and Ryli stay in the back and blast. Any thoughts on our approach? Are we going to storm the place or be stealthy?"

Zoli, I currently don't have the spell slots to keep casting Magic Vestment on your buckler. That's something that you should plan for.

Once outfitted with her gear and leaving only the useless breeches behind, Ryli follows the others slowly out of the Wing of Lust. She still keeps Olympus in statue form for the trip into the Halls of Wrath.

"So, this place you wish to go? That's the danger I remember, isn't it?" she asks once she settles in with the others in the new wing.

Kallie wakes and spends a little bit of time babbling and kicking her legs before soiling her swaddling cloths. Ryli cleans and mothers her attentively while the others make their main preparations to assault the Wing of Gluttony.

When it grows closer to the time to go, she restores Olympus and spends a bit of time familiarizing her with him, and introducing the roc to Kallie who giggles whenever she sees the big bird. Ryli also notices a few spots where his plumage is grey and flat. "What's happened here?" she asks, checking him out. "It's not a wound, but something else. Poor guy! Yes, it makes sense not to send you back into danger until we've had that looked at!"

"I think it would be best to hid Kallie somewhere near Olympus, but not too near. If they were attacked somehow, we must take in to account that the enemy may utilize area of effect evocations. Perhaps we could create a cubby in the pavilion, sealed but not enough to asphyxiate the girl. I can make her look like whatever would normally be there."

Ryli, your current spell selections look good, but since you're leaving Olympus behind, I recommend switching Echolocation with another Freedom of Movement so the entire party could be covered. Since it is 10 minutes per caster level, I think one should be plenty for you.

Kneeling down next to the big bird, Jeevika examines Olympus' wounds and ponders what could have caused them.

"This looks like the damage from those wraiths. Luckily, I brought some diamond dust with me. After we send that lich back to the Boneyard, I will fix this damage."

Ryli nods with a brave face but the concern is still there when Eugeni tells of his plan to keep Kallie safe. "I understand, but I'd rather Olympus be there to defend her. He's quite good at evading those kinds of attacks if I recall correctly. Can't we use Olympus and Zoli's golem for her defense? If they're here in this wing, why hide her in another?"

After a rest interrupted by some nighttime feedings, Ryli goes through her morning obediences and draws her powers from the Wheel. In preparation for the fight ahead, she casts barkskin and freedom of movement on herself and Zoli and echolocation on herself. In the moments before entering the section of gluttony, she casts death ward on herself and Zoli, trusting Jeevika to cast similar wards on herself and Eugeni.

She also casts call lightning storm before following them in.

"Ready when you are, Sapphire."

At the start of the day, Jeevika casts Magic Vestment on her buckler and her sundress. She casts Tears to Wine on the water in one of her canteens and shares it among the party. She splits a Communal Air Walk on herself and Zoli. She then casts Freedom of Movement on herself and Eugeni. Finally, she drinks her Potion of Barkskin from her Bountiful Bottle and charges her buckler with a Vindicator's Shield.

Before they enter Gluttony, Jeevika casts Spell Resistance, Bull's Strength, Extended Bear's Endurance, Extended Shield of Faith, and Extended Beacon of Luck on herself. The Holy Vindicator then casts Death Ward on herself and Eugeni. She also casts Shield of Faith on Zoli and Anti-Incorporeal Shell on Eugeni and Ryli. Finally, she casts Good Hope on the entire party.

As per Inner Sea Gods, Clerics of Shelyn can prepare Good Hope as a 4th level spell. If Thron objects, then I will switch it with Greater Magic Weapon, but when I mentioned it in Roll20, he seemed fine with Good Hope.

"Do not be aggressive with the Anti-Incorporeal Shell; it will fail if you try to weaponize it."

Jeevika then draws her falcata, bears her buckler, and then takes point behind Zoli.

Ryli nods with a brave face but the concern is still there when Eugeni tells of his plan to keep Kallie safe. "I understand, but I'd rather Olympus be there to defend her. He's quite good at evading those kinds of attacks if I recall correctly. Can't we use Olympus and Zoli's golem for her defense? If they're here in this wing, why hide her in another?"

"Of course, I meant to say here where they are, just not within thirty feet of Olympus. He is not smart enough to take arcane tactics into account should something molest them. Maybe put her in a corner of a room with one door, and have him guard the door, yes?"

False life: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Ryli wrings her hands as Eugeni talks to her about protecting her foal. "Arcane tactics? You don't really think she'll be attacked, do you? Even after your veil? Because Olympus has not been trained to guard a place. But he does know how to defend someone I tell him to."

She clucks her tongue and whistles to Olympus, who spreads his wings and shakes his head in obedience. He begins watching over the foal intently, turning his raptor's head this way and that.

Ryli mothers the foal a bit more, then tears herself away. "Let's go. The sooner we're done the sooner we can come back."

She watches Eugeni cast the veil over Kallie and Olympus intently. Then she turns to him. "Can you cast that spell again, on us? What if you made us look like undead creatures? Do you think Azaven would suspect?"

"Those wraiths would be our best bet; I doubt that he has enough mummies left for us to practically hide among, but the wraiths are likely so generic and numerous that we could blend in with them for a time. However, since he is a lich, I would not be surprised if Azaven was just too smart to fall for such a trick."

"He... killed me, didn't he? And someone else? Set-- Setsu?" She clutches her stomach and recoils from the memory that threatens to bubble to the surface. She shakes her head vigorously, fighting it off. Her hooves paw at the ground and threaten to rear up.

"It doesn't matter what it's done," she says finally, settling. "The undead creature exists, so it's a threat to Kallie. It should be destroyed."

She casts barkskin on Olympus as a precaution, then places a kiss on the foal who is drifting in and out of sleep. "I'll be right back. Stay asleep and you'll never know I'm gone."

"Azaven murdered you, my daughter Setsuna, and our grandchild," Jeevika confirms solemnly. "...I am truly sorry if I have acted angry, bitter, or irrational since my arrival. This situation is terrible and grueling, but it is utterly wrong for me to take my frustrations out on my allies. As such, I sincerely apologize, and I pray that you all can forgive me."

Ryli waves off her apology. "I understand some of what you are going through. If I had lived, I would-- I don't know. But for me now, it's like a storm has passed, and everything is fresh. I sympathize, but I don't want that storm to return."

She looks around the Halls of Wrath. "I was so comfortable in that other place, but I see now that I'll need to take Kallie from here soon. We need meadows and plains to run once her legs grow strong enough. She should know what the sun is, and rain, and a blue sky. Plus, I'll want to find a strong stallion and give Kallie some siblings." She gives Jeevika a knowing smile.

The anger behind Zoli's eyes continues to blaze, but she lays a hand on Ryli's flank. "I'm glad your memory has softened the blow. That said, Azaven needs to face just retribution. I pledge that Baern's Breath will be the last thing he ever tastes."

As they start to make their way to the halls of Gluttony, Zoli gasps and says, "Oh I almost forgot! Do you remember what happened when your elementals glided into the walls there? That seemed to be what released so many wraiths. I don't really know the details but we should all be careful not to disturb the walls in any way."

Ready to go.

Zoli, I think that the numbers even out to 41, but I could only give you Shield of Faith. I didn't have the slots to commit a Magic Vestment.

Jeevika holds up her falcata and replies with a smirk, "Love Hurts might beat Baern's Breath to the killing blow, but I'm not picky."

The Holy Vindicator nods at Zoli's advice. "I have no plans to summon anything, and I asked Grandma to stick to giants for that same reason; I doubt they will do much to any Wraiths, but I doubt that Azaven and his mummies will be feeling great after taking a hit from a power attacking fire giant. That being said, Miss Tileani, only you and I need to worry about the incorporeal undead. Unless Mr. Silva or Grandma try to weaponize their Anti-Incorporeal Shells, the Wraiths will never breach the wards."

Ready to rock.

"Good to hear. Get behind me if they come for us; I found them too clumsy to make contact with me.

"And please, call me Zoli. Or Lil' Highlady if you prefer," Zoli smiles.

Jeevika: got it, thanks. I'll happily buy you a pearl to cover magic vestiment in the future.

Ryli looks back and forth between the two swords being held up. "Good. It seems he will not be long in this world. Lead the way, Lil' Highlady."
Ready

Eugeni casts his normal enhancements and follows along with the others, trying to stay to the center of the group. Just before entering the gluttony wing he casts an extended heroism on himself with his rod.

Was Azaven able to see invisible creatures last time we were here? I don't recall.

As I remember it, hostilities ended before we actually met him, so we have no way of knowing for sure. We do know that the mummies could not see invisible creatures, but the Wraiths seemed to have no problem finding Setsuna.

"It occurs to me that my new bulk might be a liability. I'll make sure you three have room to maneuver," Ryli says, then Wild Shapes. For a moment, it's almost as if she completely disappeared. But then a small thrush flits through the air and alights on Jeevika's shoulder. She chirps, then hops over to Eugeni, then Zoli. She then takes to the air and circles the group.

I doubt I'll be attacking physically this fight. As a diminutive animal, I can occupy even Zoli's space if necessary to keep her protected with the anti-incorporeal shell.

"I would rather save the rest of my energies for offensive spells. Veil is no cantrip, to be cast without effort. I see little point in disguising ourselves as wraiths when we don't plan on staying in disguise anyway."

The group returns to the Wing of Gluttony, it’s exquisite craftsmanship and artwork now bearing a newfound foreboding, especially for Ryli (Same penalties as before). As you enter the first chamber, all appears quiet.
__________
Just using your old tokens for now, since my ipad’s being dumb and I haven’t had time to fire up laptop.

Ouch. I've now got a -4 penalty on most rolls.

The thrush acts as if it hit a wall when it enters, dropping to the floor. It hops back up and shakes it off, then takes to the air again, chirping mournfully.

I can't see the map, so I'm going to just be general.

"Let's advance directly to Azaven's chambers while looking into any of the additional rooms as we go. Since Anti-Incorporeal Shell has a 10 foot radius, as Ryli is with Zoli and I am right between them and Mr. Silva, the Wraiths cannot just fall on top of us again. Moreover, with the Wine, Good Hope, and Echolocation, we should detect any danger provided we actively look for it."

For the sake of time, let's just say that we will advance directly to Azaven's chambers while briefly investigating any rooms along the way. If something happens, then we can deal with it when it happens. We're here on a seek and destroy mission, not exploring.

As long as we actively look for danger (only a move action) as we travel, I believe that we can go where we want without too much worry. Even with her negative levels and penalties, Rilee still has a functional +32 Perception and Echolocation. Zoli has an effective +27 Perception. Jeevika has an effective +22. Unless Azaven has a bunch of Setsuna stealthy, incorporeal, invisible goons with immunity to blindsight hiding inside the walls or floor, I really don't see these characters getting ambushed. Most traps allow perception checks as well.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Agreed

Zoli nods and starts to lead the way forward, Lion on one shoulder and Rylibird on the other.

You Advance directly across the tomb pit and into the chamber littered with bodies. Both of the doors exiting the room are closed.

Via Detect Magic, Jeevika studies the door that would take them to Azaven's chambers.

Perception - Taking 10: 10 + 22 = 32

"Grandma, mind double checking this for me? If it is trapped, chirp once for yes; if not, chirp twice for no."

Jeevika waits for Ryli to double check the door. If it is safe and not locked, the Kyoni Ambassador to Varisia lets Zoli open it. If it is safe and locked, she just waits for Zoli and her +27 Disable Device to unlock it. If it is not safe, she suggests the idea of summoning cannon fodder to set off the trap.

Forgot the tears to wine

Ryli flits back and forth, checking the doors and trying to sift through her fuzzy memories about which door they would need to go through.

Perception: 1d20 + 29 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 29 + 5 - 4 = 40

You also have +2 from Good Hope.

Okay, then that's a 42.

The door is unlocked and appears to be safe. Opening the door reveals the visage of one of Azaven’s mummies, however. However, it’s aura does not wash over you all immediately like last time. Instead, it speaks in Thassilonian ”The Master would still treat with you, despite your earlier aggression...”

The opposite door also opens and somemore mummies file in.

Rylibird chirps uncertainly and looks at Zoli and the others.

Before committing to a decision, Jeevika waits to see if Zoli or Eugeni have anything to say.

"I'd rather not allow any undead to continue their existence," Eugeni comments in Sylvan.

Zoli feels rage well up within her as the mummy speaks.

"Our earlier aggression?! Your master's minions killed Setsuna--and then he failed to revive her as he'd claimed--and then he disintegrated Rilee."

Zoli lashes out at the mummy but is blinded by her rage and the swing goes wide.

Baern’s Breath: 1d20 + 30 ⇒ (1) + 30 = 31 (13 BAB +8 DEX +1 size +1 enhance +5 w.training +2 w.focus)

(I'm assuming just a single swing for a surprise round)