Argor's warning pierces the self-preservation of the beast who is Grommesson. He closes his eyes and advances on the slithering medusa following his gut instinct . When he gets within melee, he slashes her with his falchion.
Grommesson hacks into the medusa's chest, inflicting grievous damage.
The invisible naga pops back into sight around the corner of the ruins ahead. She spits a stream of black poison at the Golden Hand. The poison misses him, as the ape jerks him around. It splashes harmlessly on to the stone.
The huge ape then flings Gianluca over his shoulder, as is if the tall golden man weighed no more than a rag doll. Gianluca soars through the air to smash into one of the ruined walls behind the ape, before falling prone. Then the ape ignores Thrassk and Grommesson to charge past them, straight at Cladissa. Both men manage to get in an attack on the creature, injuring it further as it passes.
Meanwhile, a new invisible humanoid figure appears from the ruins behind the ape, where it had been hiding in the shadows. At first glance it appears to be a woman with wild hair and a longbow in hand. She darts past the ape before releasing an arrow in mid run at Cladissa. The arrow sizzles with lightning as it sinks into the witch's flesh. After firing, the woman becomes visible. She runs a bit further, before pivoting near Argor. Now it is clear this is no woman at all, but some kind of monster. Her face has serpentine features, and her hair is nothing but a mass of wiggling serpents.
”A Medusa!" Argor calls out. ”Do not look her in the face! Keep your gaze averted!” Argor turns towards the new threat, keeping his eyes focused low near her body on the floor. He then attempts to bind her in his magic as the Archons continue to blast the ape. Argor manages to get a telekinetic hold on the medusa.
Thrassk hisses as the ape ignores him. "No! You won't hurt her!" He leaps on to the ape's back like a pouncing cat, leading with his talons before it can hurt Cladissa. Both claws tear through the thing's hide to expose the vertebrae of its neck. Thrassk bites down on the ape's spine and rips a mouthful of bone and nerves out with sickening crunch. He rides the ape's body to the ground, leaping gracefully off as the monstrosity collapses, dead.
Argor's warning about the medusa behind her is just in time to prevent Cladissa from spinning around and facing it. Her mind works, deciding to try to deal with the naga instead, that maybe she can help it. She clambers over the corpse of the giant ape and targets the naga with her Ice Tomb hex, hoping to put it out of the fight for the moment. "Don't resist this! It will prevent you from further attacking us, and we can free you!" she pleads before throwing the hex.
"Not...my...choice..." the naga replies as she fights off the hex. "Kill her!" she suggests, staring at the medusa.
Argor's warning pierces the self-preservation of the beast who is Grommesson. He closes his eyes and advances on the slithering medusa following his gut instincts. When he gets within melee, he slashes her. The falchion hacks into the medusa's chest, inflicting grievous damage.
Gianluca rises unsteadily to his feet, grabbing his sword. He sprouts a pair of familiar crane wings, and leaps into the air. Dust kicks up as his wings snap and propel him across the ruined courtyard. Gianluca lands next to Thrassk, averting his gaze from the medusa.
================================
The naga spits another stream of glittering venom at Thrassk.
The poisonous spit coats Thrassk's face, but his metallic scales seem to shed the venom as easily as they do water. It drips off him without having any noticeable effect.
The medusa glares at Argor, hoping to remove her captor from the fight.
Argor feels his flesh stiffening, but he manages to fight off the petrification.
Argor continues to exert his magic against the Medusa, attempting to pin her down and make her helpless, as well as force her head to look away from the team. Meanwhile, the Archons assail her with blasts.
With his eyes firmly shut, the beast who is Grommesson slashes her with his falchion.
Cladissa wags her finger at the naga. "You have a funny way of resisting your mind control! I would jump at a chance to be taken out of the fight if I were forced to fight good and decent creatures!"
She sighs and turns around, focusing her baleful gaze at the medusa. She rips away the medusa's defenses and cackles bitterly.
A pinned creature is tightly bound and can take few actions. A pinned creature cannot move and is denied its Dexterity bonus. A pinned character also takes an additional –4 penalty to his Armor Class. A pinned creature is limited in the actions that it can take. A pinned creature can always attempt to free itself, usually through a combat maneuver check or Escape Artist check. A pinned creature can take verbal and mental actions, but cannot cast any spells that require a somatic or material component. A pinned character who attempts to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability must make a concentration check (DC 10 + grappler’s CMB + spell level) or lose the spell. Pinned is a more severe version of grappled, and their effects do not stack.
Grommesson manages to slash the pinned medusa once, while Cladissa tries and fails to hex the snake-haired woman. A few of the archon's light beams burn small wounds across her as well.
Thrassk flies over, with his eyes averted, and rips a gobbet of flesh from the medusa with his teeth. His follow up roar seems to put a deep seated fear into the medusa and she struggles to get away from the angry dragon-thing.
The medusa can't manage to break free from Argor's telekinetic grip. In a matter of seconds she is scorched, slashed and torn to bits by Thrassk, Grommesson, Gianluca and the archons. As the medusa dies, the naga freezes and turns back into stone, becoming visible as it does.
The rage visibly drains out of Thrassk as the combat ends. He leans against one of the ruined walls, breathing hard. "That wasss...unexpected. What wasss that ape thing? I have never faced sssuch a ssstrong enemy before..."
"Let me think..." Cladissa sighs as the combat draws to a close. She considers the large ape, as well as how a medusa could so thoroughly control a creature she had petrified.
Cladissa is unfamiliar with the ape's species, but Argor recognizes it from a book he read once. It appears to be a carnivorous dire ape from the Mwangi expanse, grown to abnormally monstrous size and strength. The longer he studies it the more familiar it looks, until he has a sudden realization.
This is in fact, D'tunga, the dire ape that the party slew in the Blakros museum so long ago. Apparently someone saw fit to resurrect it and do whatever it was that transformed the beast into the huge monster laying dead before them now. He also notices that the dead ape is wearing a thick leather collar under its fur, which has the links five broken chains attached to it.
As for the medusa's abilities, none of the Pathfinders know what caused them. As far as they know, what happened here is generally believed to be impossible. They can only assume that this medusa's powers had something to do with the ancient magic of the Maze.
”D’Tunga,” Argor says in reply to Thrassk. ”We slew it in one of our forays into the Museum. Someone has seen fit to resurrect it and alter it further through arcane manipulations.”
Cladissa's face twists into a sour look as she considers Argor's conclusion and its implications. "That means our enemies are still acting against us, and still capable of sick, twisted machinations."
Cladissa checks the body of the medusa for any treasure or, more importantly, any notes or missives she possessed.
Argor will also scan the other fallen enemies for any signs of potent magical items.
The medusa's body appears to be rotting abnormally quickly. It is already bloated, and stinks terribly the way a corpse many days old normally would. After searching the bodies, the Pathfinders find some minor gear but nothing germane to their current endeavor.
Cladissa's face twists into a sour look as she considers Argor's conclusion and its implications. "That means our enemies are still acting against us, and still capable of sick, twisted machinations."
Cladissa checks the body of the medusa for any treasure or, more importantly, any notes or missives she possessed.
"Doesss it? We found an idol to some Mwangi demon-ape god in Hessstram'sss room did we not? Wasssn't he famousss for hisss work in the Expanssse? Which venture captain sssent you to the Blakros Museum when you encountered D'tunga?"
"And the naga, I heard her whisssper, 'I'm sorry Kyalla.' Wasssn't that one of the namesss on the map we found in Hessstram'sss room?"
Cladissa looks stunned at Thrassk. "Of course! Gods, I am all twisted about. Thank you, Thrassk, for being so clear-headed."
"I do not pretend to know what it meansss. But...I'm not sssure this has anything to do with the Onyx, other than through Hesstram himssself."
"Calm yourssself, Grommesssssson, our foesss are dead!"
Cole again purrs softly in the beast's ear.
After helping to search the area and receiving healing from Adrenia, Thrassk bows to the small angel. "Thank you, dear. That'sss much better."
"Ssseemss we've found everything that we will here. Shall we continue to follow the Raven'sss trail?"
Adrenia uses up the wand, then looks to Argor, and then the others, ”I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the healing wand is depleted.”
Thrassk frowns. "We ssshall have to purchase another at firssst opportunity. The Lodge ssshould have sssomething on hand whenever we return to Woodsssedge."
On the body of one of the Mwangi cultist warriors is a small piece of folded paper. Written on it is the same list of name as was on the map found in Hestram's room, with the name Teppin Montrose crossed off. Kyalla, Prince Odrian, Shemis and Eddington Keel remain.
As Grommesson comes back to his right mind, Gianluca slaps him on the back. "Well done, young man! You're really getting the hang of this."
The Honeyed Hand nods at Thrassk's suggestion. "Indeed, let's make haste."
Eventually, the Red Raven’s trail leads through the winding, leafy corridors of the Maze of the Open Road until it comes to a solid oaken door mounted on what otherwise appears to be a dead end.
Argor studies the door for magic auras as well as traps.
It appears to be a normal wooden door, unmagical, and untrapped.
Seeing that Argor has cleared the door, Thrassk motions everyone back just in case. He approaches the door, and opens it cautiously. The portal leading from the Maze of the Open Road opens into a natural cavern system.
The winding tunnel opens onto a high platform overlooking an enormous chamber lit by distant torches and small clumps of phosphorescent fungi. A relatively flat floor about twenty feet below falls away into a black abyss at the center of the huge chamber, bridged by a thin natural span at the center of the room about forty feet away. Several torches light the bridge, illuminating a tall human warrior in red plate armor pacing nervously, sword in hand. You can just make out the forms of archers along the far ledge, and lurking shadows near the close edge suggest skulking humanoids somewhat larger than an average man. Immediately east of your high platform, about twenty feet below, is a pool of dark liquid, perhaps fed from some natural spring.
Adrenia refreshes everyones enchantment of hope before the group enters the door. Once the group sights humans, Argor holds a hand up to halt the group’s advance. ”Let us not take life unnecessarily. Let me speak with them.”
Argor hovers ahead quietly, making sure to keep his hands visible, though he maintains his grip on his staff. ”Peace be with you, guardians of the Roost. We do not seek harm to you or the inhabitants within. We are, in a manner, allies of your master. He said to inform his paramour, Lady Geppa, to ‘Remember the Vernal Key,’ as a show of good faith and our momentary Alliance. If you serve her, we humbly ask you relay this message to her. We shall await audience with her peacefully. However, if you do not, and seek to harm us, know that we will defend ourselves as necessary.”
Prior to opening the door, Cladissa cracks open her first aid kit and tends to the rest of her wounds. After a while, her expertise in the healing arts has her almost completely hale.
As Argor gets ready to introduce himself and try to do things diplomatically, Cladissa uses her new appendages to climb up to the ceiling and make her way around several stalactites, hiding among the cave features.
As Argor flies forward a bit he sees the hulking figures are bugbears, not humans. When he speaks the Raven's followers turn towards him.
The human in platemail is clearly in charge, and steps forward. "Well, you ain't the Raven, you ain't Cale, and you ain't anyone else I know. Geppa ain't here right now, and you shouldn't be either. Fact is you being here means you've done my friends no good, and must be a dirty, traitorous, lying Pathfinder dog! You can't trick me into betraying the Revolution." He considers the situation for a moment before saying, "Tell you what, I'm bored as f#@@ sitting down here guarding nothing. If you can beat me in a one on one duel I'll have one of the boys here go fetch Geppa. But, if you don't accept my challenge, I guess we'll all have to show you why no one messes with the Raven's crew."
Argor sighs. ”Being a mage, I do not believe a one on one fight betwixt the two of us would be considered fair no matter who proved the victor. Perhaps one of my more Combat inclined companions as a proxy, would prove more adequate an exercise? And, can we agree to try and avoid true harm to one another, as a show of good faith? No need to risk one another’s life and limb when we wish to prove our honest intentions.”
The bugbears move to flank the bridge, where they stand at attention like guards.
Thrassk growls. He flaps forward and lands on the cavern floor. "Honorlesssss cur! How dare you ssspeak sssuch to your bettersss!"
”Easy, Thrassk,” Argor says. ”Very well. I accept your challenge and appoint my friend here as my proxy. Do you agree to fight with honor as if sparring?”
"No sport in that, this will be a fight to surrender, or death...whichever comes first. I haven't had a real challenge in years, smacking someone around with the flat of my blade hardly counts."