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"I was a devout follower of Roidira," Zarisha answers after a moment of shamed pain crosses her face.
"I made a pilgrimage to her great temple in the desert and there...there I was shown the truth of her religion. I don't know how long I contemplated that terrible revelation, how long I was lost in that miserable reality but the next thing I truly remember is Bielsi and a group of Pathfinders arriving. I was like this, then, the dust and water that once housed me now only a rotting shell. I tried to drive them away but they continued."
She pauses again, hope mingled with embarrassment on her face, now. "The hope they showed in the face of that divine hopelessness was foolish and when Bielsi offered to try to show me the redemption given by his goddess, I accepted, knowing that I could eventually prove to him the truth that I know."
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"Yes, I can see in the dark. I was just trying to find a way to produce charcoal. It is not easy to find wood to burn here in the mountains," Bielsi replied.
As Ren starts to make the rubbing, the Oread approaches the other door.
Open slightly though it may be, that seems like it might be a ruse so he checks the area for traps or loose stonework.
Moving down east, you see a statue of a soaring pegasus rising above the pool of stagnant water in the center of the room.
A door leads to the northwest.
To the northwest:
Somber statues of Alcastis past line this hallway, their hands
broken apart and lying at their feet. A pile of shattered rubble
lies strewn across the floor, the stone pierced through with
abandoned spears and swords. The air is thick with dust and
neglect.
...notices distinct features in the
shape of the stone, such as a paw and an ear, that suggest
that it was once part of a statue of a dog. The weapons all
came from the hands of the Alcasti statues—spears from
the statues on the south wall, and swords from the statues
on the north wall. All of the weapons bear a pegasus crest
upon them, which matches the wax seal on the letter
you received from Remaio. There are 3 longswords and 4 spears.
...you can hear scraping and crackling noises through the door to the
next room to the west
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Bielsi glances at the rubble, briefly then, when warned of the noises coming from the other room, prepares for combat. In these close quarters, he won't have to worry about running as he did with the scorpion and he readies his scythe.
He then uses his psychic abilities to enhance Zarisha's durability. Her tattered robes are now covered in largely transparent armor.
Moving on west:
Stairways lead up to a marble dais, where rotted wooden offerings lie in splinters. The tiles of the floor are scorched black, and the smell of magical ozone fills the air. A sickly pale glow sputters amid a pile of debris, illuminating a shattered sword upon the ground. In the chamber’s walls, rows of niches bear ceramic urns labeled with bronze plaques. A repetitive grinding sound echoes through the chamber, erratic and yet unceasing.
The shattered sword has the same design and style as the longswords you just found in the previous room.
The urns hold the remains of members of the Alcasti family.
The grinding sound and pale glow come from the tomb’s last remaining guardian, who was smashed into pieces centuries ago. Despite the smasher's best efforts, the ruined guardian clings to life, vainly attempting to perform its duty. Formerly a statue of a proud, doglike creature, it now lies in fragments, only able to move its intricate metal frame with its magical animating force. The guardian’s jaws spark wildly as the disparate pieces drag themselves towards you, struggling to destroy the intruders.
As you spot the ruined guardian, you note that it is magically unstable and likely to explode. The remnants of the tomb’s magical wards also animate three of the stone hands from the statues in the room you just were.
Inititiative [bold can go]
Kim
Bielsi
Ren
Frostwind
Yuukyou
Umberto
guardian dog and crawling statue hands
One crawling hand explodes in a hundred tiny bits, and the two other nearby are severely damaged from the blast.
Umberto widely misses the dog with his mace, somekind of protective field around the dog pushing the weapon far away from the Alcasti dog.
Kim destroy the second hand easily... only one remains.
--> Bielsi, Ren and Yuukyou you're up!
Kim misses the incoming (last) hand!
[MISS!]
...and the hand misses Kim's throat as it bonks off her shield and back to the ground!
--> Bielsi, Ren and Yuukyou you're up!
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Bielsi sees the dog statue thing coming at them and decides quickly that, even with magic, he's not going to be able to frighten it. The same goes for the hands behind him. There are lots of people who can move to engage the dog but Kim and Soldier's Glory are stuck facing the hands by herself.
So, he moves to help her.
He hefts a bit of the broken statue with his mind and flings it at the one of the hands, a hard target given the fact Kim is engaged in combat with it and is between him and the little thing.
Zarisha widely misses, some kind of protective field pushing her unholy hand far away from the Alcasti dog.
Despite the difficulty, Bielsi hits! alas, the force of the blow is insufficient to put an end to that last remaining crawling hand... it keeps crawing somehow... down to one finger and a thumb!
--> Ren and Yuukyou you're up!
Ren hits the mecha-dog! his joints slow down momentarily, stuck with ice!
--> Yuukyou you're up!
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Bielsi sees the dog statue thing coming at them and decides quickly that, even with magic, he's not going to be able to frighten it. The same goes for the hands behind him. There are lots of people who can move to engage the dog but Kim and Soldier's Glory are stuck facing the hands by herself.
So, he moves to help her.
He hefts a bit of the broken statue with his mind and flings it at the one of the hands, a hard target given the fact Kim is engaged in combat with it and is between him and the little thing.
[dice=Telekinetic Projectile minus Firing Into Melee minus cover]1d20 + 1 - 4 - 2
[dice=Damage]1d6
Bielsi did destroy that crawling hand, after all: it crumbles to the ground! All hands have been destoyed: only the dog remains.
-->Yuukyou you may redo your action: you're up!
No effect! the marble is deflected by some unseen force field!
The small guardian dog attempts to bite Zarisha!
for plus electricity and CMD.
Round 2! (bold can go)
Kim
Bielsi
Ren
Frostwind
Yuukyou
Umberto
guardian dog and crawling statue hands
Umberto manages to splash some beer into the construct's eye sensors, and the construct appears to be blind at this time!
However, his mace has very little effect, just doing a minor dent! deflected by some unseen force field! same for Ren's dagger, which is completely deflected and completely unable to do any kind of damage whatsoever!
-->Bielsi, Frostwind, Yuukyou: you're up!
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Zarisha is largely immune to much of the damage inflicted on her, at least the physical portion but the electric jolt sends an unpleasant ripple through her ectoplasmic form.
"Fool! I'm trying to help you!" she angrily exclaims, venting her full fury on the dog, now and swinging at it with both fists.
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Bielsi is completely stunned by how successful he is. His ability to throw things around with his mind is usually no more than a nuisance or a way to eliminate minor enemies. It's almost as surprising to him as just how effectively he eliminated that kobold with his scythe.
Bolstered by his success, he swaggers into position and hurls another piece of debris at the stone dog.
Zarisha's and Bielsi's attacks are completely deflected by some unseen force field and completely unable to do any kind of damage whatsoever!
No effect! the marble is deflected again by some unseen force field...
The small guardian dog attempts to bite Zarisha again!
for plus electricity and CMD.
Round 3! (bold can go)
Kim
Bielsi [Zarisha at negative 7 hp]
Ren
Frostwind
Yuukyou
Umberto
guardian dog and crawling statue hands
The sword flashes momentarily as it overpowers the Alcasti wards protecting the creature!
Glory says, "Down Guardian! your time is done! This is Soldier's Glory, and this female warpriest has business into Honaria's tomb!"
A large gash in the dog's frame is now evident, sparks of raw energy sputter noisily unto the floor...
Round 3! (bold can go)
Kim
Bielsi [Zarisha at negative 7 hp]
Ren
Frostwind
Yuukyou
Umberto
guardian dog and crawling statue hands
No effect!