Archer looks at Unnvar blankly and tries to hit him as if that was an instinctive reaction. The half-orc is caught out defence and surprised, but his armor deflects the blade in the last moment.
Farg clearly listened where Ouidda cast the slow spell and attempts to pierce through with his spear but only finding air.
Kleetus overcome the powerful magic of Ouidda. Helped by Archibald and his own senses, the half-orc counter-attacks approaching the Spider in an attempt to smash her.
You see how Ouidda attempts an attack of opportunity with her rapier against Kleetus when he passes over her space setting himself out of the doors.
Something pierces on your arm causing a small wound as you cross the doors to fight the invisible foe.
After a wound appears in his arm, the half-orc ends his movement next to the door and attempts a powerful smash that slashes through air without finding anything to damage.
Lamare casts a dispel magic spell and closes by Ouidda trying to touch her to discharge the spell.
Ouidda looks in rage at you as you signal where she is. Clearly avoiding to touch even the carpet's edge she moves away from the melee and closes by to you, placing herself just in front and attacking with her rapier.
She succeeds to pierce with it through your shoulder.
You observe Archibald fighting against an imaginary foe and suddenly something pierces through his shoulder causing him great pain. The wizard fights to keep his concentration on reading the scroll at his hands.
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He cries out as his scroll clatters to the ground, expended. It takes a sharp intake of breath, waggles a finger at her and launches into a tirade, wildly gesticulating at the empty air in front of him. "... now... now I SUFFERED THROUGH WEEKS OF THE ENDLESS COMPLAINING OF DWARVES TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT SCROLL!... Confusticate and bebother those dwarves..."
"Hwa... What was I? Oh yes! Buried in the Enigma Vaults they were! Watched over by those Ancient Azlanti buggers. Flung into a time paradox for that scroll I was, and you had to go and bloody well interrupt me. NOW WHEN I WAS A LAD, WE USED TO THINK TWICE ABOUT INTERRUPTING OUR ELDERS, YOUNG LADY! HARRR-UMPH!"
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Unnvar pays special attention to where Archibald is pointing at the Spider and takes his cue from that. Keeping his boots of speed activated to counteract the slow, he shifts (or moves) as appropriate to where Archibald is pointing, then does his best to sense the location of the Spider and takes a big swing.
Archibald keep telling us where she is!
Archer stays at place producing a horrible gibberish no one seems to understand, blaming himself for his confusion.
Lamare guided by Archibald shouts and his direct view of the scene, moves next to the wizard and attempts to touch Ouidda with his dispel magic spell. The Spider seems to avoid Lamare's hands again.
Farg attempts to hit Ouidda, but staggered as he is, he is unable to react fast enough to move to the Spider new position and hit.
Archibald trembles when the rapier pierces through his shoulder, the arm becoming numb and unresponsive, he is unable to keep performing the required gestures and the spell is lost.
The wizard steps back and retrieving a lion ear from his pouch he casts a spell and his mouth starts to change, his limbs becoming tougher and big, growing jaws, hair becoming longer... as his transformation into a lion completes, his body starts to press into the narrow corridor he is, his back hitting the wall and forcing him to squeeze.
Unnvar attends to the sounds of combat hasty thanks to his boots and successfully locates where the Spider is. Surprised by the fierce lion his blow seems to find something but be deflected by some kind of armor or weapon.
Kleetus tries the same move, and seeing Unnvar and Lamare attacking into one spot, he attempts the same move, but again he only finds the air.
Again something pierces through Kleetus skin in exchange as he manoeuvrers to cover the corridor with his blow.
"You are Pathfinders, aren't you? Yes, pawns, when will you realize you are just being used? The Decemvirate only serves themselves. Or perhaps Torch sent you in an attempt I do not take him first?" says a voice as she feels found on the spot and attacked.
After Ouidda curses you and finishes his chat, she moves between Unnvar and Kleetus and disappears to your right.
You feel someone moving between you both.
A chanting voice comes again from close by the stairs and again a wave of magical energy goes over your brains.
Although Archibald, Kleetus and Lamare are able to successfully wash out the confusing energies in their brains, they succeed to confuse Archer even longer than before, and even take over Unnvar's brain.
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DEFENSE
AC: 18; Touch 11; Flat-Footed 18 (w/mage armor)
HP: 57hp (7d6+27)
OFFENSE
Speed: 30ft.
Melee: bite +7 (1d8+6 plus grab), 2 claws +7 (1d6+4)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce
STATISTICS
STR 18 DEX 10 CON 16 INT 20 WIS 10 CHA 7
CMB +8 (+12 grapple)
Skills: Appraise +9, Acrobatics +4, Craft (alchemy) +13, Fly +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +13, Knowledges (others) +9, Linguistics +13, Perception +6, Stealth +4 (+8 in underbrush), Spellcraft +13
Shaking his mane, pointed hat soaring from his head, Archibald snarls and gives chase, leaping into the hallway. Rearing up onto his hindquarters, he opens his jaws for a vicious takedown.
The lion Archibald squeezes with effort out of the corridor, and pushing Unnvar and Kleetus to the side, he roars and leaps over the carpet as he sees Ouidda hiding just in the corner by the stairs.
Her face changes to one of fear as the beast lands just in front of her. The jaws find the woman's right leg and attaches to it as she screams in pain!
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Unnvar's thoughts become muddled, he mumbles to himself. Must stay focused!
Concentrating heavily, he manages to hold the confusion at bay if only for a few seconds. It's long enough for him to spot, the lion seemingly attacking something. There's the mark!
Boots of Speed helping him along, he pushes past the lion on its right side to avoid the carpet, taking a position in the hall, he's pretty certain where the spider is, he takes a mighty swing, hoping to connect.
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"like you are a pawn of the aspis. What do you want from Torch? Guerilla is not your target?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Farg moves past the carpet and sets himself behind the large lion.
Unnvar maneouvers into the corridor next to the invisible Ouidda.
Even grappled, Ouidda attempts to strike Unnvar as he passes by.
Something pierces through the half-orc shoulder distracting him and only cutting through the air.
Lamare follows close to Unnvar and squeezes into the corridor attempting to touch Ouidda without success.
While Archer keeps saying gibberish, Kleetus lands a powerful blow at the grappled Ouidda to his own surprise. A scream of pain comes from the menaced caster.
Apparently damaged, cornered and grappled on Archibald's jaws, you see a rapier falling on the ground then you hear Ouidda's words of surrender merged with a tone of pain "Ok... I... I have lost... I surrender. Let me be alive, I am sure I am more worthable alive to your superiors than dead"
As Lamare touches Unnvar the strong magic of the cleric destroys the fabrics of Ouidda's magic erasing the confusion from Unnvar's brain.
"Why did you came here in origin?" asks Ouidda, her tone clearly trying to discern what is your interest in her as to discover how to get out of this situation.
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The cobwebs clearing from his brain thanks to Lamare. Unnvar recalls the mission briefing.
Team! Remember Torch said to bring her in alive. I think it would be bad news for us if we don't accept the surrender. That said Archibald hold onto her until we all can see her.
Then sternly looking at the place where he thinks she is, We are suppose to bring you to Torch...if you don't want that to happen you better give us a convincing reason why we shouldn't.
After accepting Ouidda surrendering it takes still almost one minute to help Archer out of his confusion state.
Meanwhile you search through the Spider's office finding over the table a gold inkstand, an engraved hourglass, and a stack of fine paper. But the most prominent object on her desk is a list titled "The Ten" containing several dozen names. Yes, several dozen names. Ouidda rejects saying anything of the reasons why there are not only 10 names in the list. She seems to enjoy observing your confusion and speculation on the unusually long list.
The ledgers contain fairly mundane transactional information regarding Ouidda's role as an Aspis Consortium Gold Agent in Riddleport. None of this information is particularly incriminating or valuable, but it could be embarrassing if made public.
It requires some time but it results not particularly difficult to bring out of the Weaver's Parlor the Spider. She refuses to give you explanation but shows a collaborative behaviour, gazing at Archibald from time to time.
As such, you return to Grandmaster Torch's elegant suite in the Cypher Lodge. It appears just as it did earlier today, except that the Sczarni entrepreneur Guaril Karela is absent. Grandmaster Torch lounges in a chair, reading, surrounded by his half-orc bodyguards.
He shows particular interest in the list of Decemvirate names recovered from Ouidda's office and asks you as he accepts the page "You performed a great job today. I am in debt to you for my life now. But explain me, what have you discovered in your incursion? What has Ouidda explained to you?"
Meanwhile, Grandmaster Torch steers Ouidda into a chair, where he prepares her for questioning.
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Kleetus finally wipes his brow, leaning back on the office door. "Whelp, that wasn't as easy as Ah thought it would be. But we brought her back! And she had all sorts-a thing's, like mirrors that can spy on people, things ta frame people. She ain't a nice person."
He gives her a stern look, wagging a finger as if to reprimand a child, then takes the opportunity to take a drink of water. But something doesn't feel ... right. Kleetus feels confused. Well, more confused than he usually is after these things. "Dere wuz a coupl' things. Like ... we're pawns of the Dee-Cem-Vir-Ate? Or your pawn? She knew you had sent us... Actually, where's Uncle Guaril?"
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"the names of the ten are in this book. That why she hasn't tell the aspis. She hasn't decypher the book. And probobly this the all the ten that existed. She seem to know to have contact to a lot of place."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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I mean that if she as find at least one name. She must have find the others. Unless if it is an another one in the fringe shadow lodge.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Once the confusion finally wears off, a significantly more subdued Acher stands guard over Ouidda as her more learned colleagues search through the Spider's papers. At the discover of the 'Ten' list, she frowns to herself. I thought she knew the identities of the Decemvirate already. What value does this list hold? Potential replacements for those she may later fell? Still the Shoanti remains silent as she glares down at the caster: displaying ignorance to an enemy is always a poor show of weakness.
Once their group makes its way back to the Cypher Lodge, she listens as Kleetus and Lamare deliver their reports. "Yes," Acher adds, "though I thought you said that she already knew who the Ten were? Perhaps this is some other trickery."
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This spider was well protected and obviously very paranoid.
Looking to Torch. While her hands seem to be in many places, I'm not sure she was as dangerous as you feared?
Waiting to see the information merchants reaction. He then interjects.
But she was working on getting that way. Probably best she was stop before she could do real harm.
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Archibald strokes his beard, a few clumps of matted gold fur coming loose in the process. "Good to see this Consortium-crook brought to justice, eh? The Pathfinder's still have claws, young missy!" he gloats, inadvertedly tearing his robe with a particularly sharp fingernail before sneezing as his shape corrects himself. "Blast it all. Why do I never remember that I'm a-ah-AH" he trails off ""
"Allergic to cats." he sniffs, miserably. "It'll take me weeks to get this fur out."
Ouidda laughs amused of the Pathfinders confusion and conjectures.
The Grandmaster Torch, visibly fed up of Ouidda's insolent demeanor, draws a slim dagger, whose hilt he uses to casually scratch an itch on his scarred face.
When the Venture Captain approaches to her, Ouidda whispers something to Torch that you cannot hear.
Grandmaster Torch nods agreeably to Ouidda and turns to you, saying "My endless thanks to each of you, Pathfinders, for your loyal service."
Without pausing he concludes, "But now I've finally got something to hold over the Decemvirate, so I'm striking out on my own." As he says this, the Venture Captain drives his dagger into Ouidda's throat, killing her.
Before you can really articulate any word Torch starts running towards the northern window in the office. His three bodyguards closing around him.