Sensing the telepathic communication near by, Zhu attempts to make contact.
I've been waiting for you, surface dwellers. I've been instructed to aid you, but first you will need to free me of these forsaken wards.
Identify yourself.
I am most often addressed as Master by those outside my race, though there are few to who I am known as Zhu Da tusha. The drow have held me prisoner for many years. Recently a woman has reached out to me. We have struck a deal, which includes my aiding your efforts.
Illia's mindscape was a bit busy at the moment, First we have to kill the spiders! Gaaah... So.. Gross..
Yep, that's fine, since others who noticed stopped to cast buffs as well.
You will find no meager servants among this company. You would do well to abandon such thoughts if you have designs on joining us.
There is no need to be foolish, nor to prove your worth to me. If I desired a servant I would not have given you another way to address me. My aid was the cost in the bargain struck by her who sent you.
Prior to the arrival of the Bebelith, Dris casts a spell, causing his form to blur and waver.
As the demon spider appears, the Bralani unleashes a blast of lightning at it.
"Tsk... as always you act like a bunch of savages. You probably feel at home in these caves." Says Delyliath with superiority.
She flies in midair just outside the reach of the spider exposing a palm as to ask the spider to stop.
Calm down she says in abyssal and give us a sign of your surrender to us, If you do I will see that you are not harmed, and before the day ends, you will have a tasty morsel for yourself.
A Bebilith is one of those rare outsiders with no spell resistance, and Anaxian's Dimensional Anchor hits it hard enough to send a tangible ripple through the air. But this is just an overture.
And the Bebilith just barely fails its save, wavering angrily for a few seconds before suddenly panicking.
In that time, it takes 23 damage from well-placed scorching rays, aimed so well that they don't actually cause the web to properly catch fire. Shimsil's slash just barely grazes the creature's carapace, striking a blow that might have done significant damage if aimed an inch lower.
And the creature, which normally would have dodged nimbly, is too terrified to avoid Drisquar's lightning bolt.
The Bebilith has now taken 47 damage; burns and singe marks flicker red-hot in its carapace, its injuries more than just superficial.
After the rapid and terrifying beating it's taken, its psyche now cracking, Delyliath's assault on its sensibilities is just too much. The creature bucks and bows, clearly acknowledging the superior hunters in the room, and falls on its feet before Dely.
Waving its arms behind its head, as a sign of defeat, it bellows loudly and violently, in a telepathic scream, like the voice of a dying avalanche.
Surrender! I surrender! Mightier, you are, and I mean no harm! Simply wanted to see who wandered into my web, and you have taught me humility. I am at your mercy, cruel teachers.
The Bebilith is telling the truth, mostly, although surrender is not a part of its nature. It has no desire to attack you, but were you to perish at the hand of another monster in this dungeon, it would quietly make its way to the spot and devour what it could of your corpse.
A few seconds later, another Bebilith peeks in through the door--there is what seems to be a split-second burst of telepathic communication, and then, seeing and hearing what you've just done to its mate in the span of six seconds, it flees into the darkness.
Map updated to reflect penitent Bebilith.
"It amazes me, really, how quickly you resort at maiming what might be an asset to us."
The succubus flies closer to the bebelith caressing it's pincers.
"owww... don't be so apologetic. You saw flesh, you got hungry. It happens, and I am no stranger to the urges of the flesh.
Be a good boy and you will truly have a feast"
She turns to her party communicating by telepathy
"looks like we have another Bebilith lurking around. And yet another one who believes to be a master race.
So.. what are we going to do? free him? loot the dungeon?
I really hoped to have more time to enjoy this city but ... If you believe we are now in a position to take the skull and sack the vaults without being interrupted by any major disturbance ... I don't see why should I delay our actions."
Delyliath scratches the Bebilith's chin.
"What is it that you enjoy eating most? Drows? driders? fellow Bebiliths?" she says in the same tone someone would use with a cute fuzzy kitten.
Mal begins to charge with a slightly luminous mace toward the spider creature. When it gives up Mal slows his stride and lowers the mace, but still holds it firmly. Evil creatures in the room feel uncomfortable, though they may not understand why.
Anaxian was slightly disappointed at the lack of bebilith corpse, and at the waste of a fairly powerful scroll.
Perhaps in the future, Deliliath, when you decide on befriending our enemies, you could make your plans known before we commit to an ambush. Magical resources are not a bottomless well.
"I'm very sorry for achieving a better result than every one of you would have ever managed by tapping my resources which indeed are a bottomless well. Wasting even more resources on top plus a potential cannon fodder would have made you feel better?" she says telepathically to the dracolich.
"not wasted all together nonetheless, there was a slim chance of failing. yours was a decent fail-safe. But maybe an exaggerated one given the menace.
I could stop bending our enemies to my will if you want, but honestly, shouldn't we invest our limited resources on whatever has the willpower or the lack of will necessary to resist me?
It's not like I will ever run short on glamour.
Let me handle the rest, by now you should have noticed that I'm fairly good at this"
Quite. You skills are impressive. I am suggesting that when you plan to employ them, I would appreciate you saying so. That way the rest of us can wait to see the results of your attempt before engaging in our own attacks. At the very least that would prevent your prospective pets from being damaged."
"Well... sure, whatever... I guess I'm just not used to be around people that are so Trigger happy!"
Says the succubus in a slightly bored tone.
"but for the sake of preserving our depletable resources, I think I should probably try something like that whenever we are not facing undeads, constructs or other creatures unable to appreciate my charm."
Dely's spell successfully identifies the other two shields, and they are quite unusal. Added descriptions to loot list, and bolded for flashiness.
The Bebilith recoils a bit at having its chin scratched; this is no housecat, or creature of comfort. We eat demons... it rumbles slowy, Demons like you... no, I mean, not like you, certainly not. Drow are empty things, and to eat one's kind requires a very painful sort of boredom. But these Driders you mention... the rare creatures up above, not-Drow, not-Demon, in-between pale imitation of one like me... I would like, perhaps, to sink my teeth into one, see how it tastes, if there were not so many armed things surrounding them.
And Da tusha has the time to explain his situation.
Years ago, Zhu Da tusha set out to enslave the Drow of Lavosha, or at least gain their treasures. There is a rift, further into the fortress, leading all the way down to a very dark part of the Darklands, and it was there that he found his way into the city, attacking from the darkness until he was caught by a whole battalion of guards and some very clever traps. He was bound, with simple ropes and chains, in a very strong antimagic field, only able to feed on the occasional guards and rats and ... other things... that occasionally wandered into his prison room.
And then the Crimson Stranger appeared in a vision, and weakened the magic that holds him, enough for him to reach out for help. He knows a little of the layout of this fortress (and I'll update the map to add a few rooms he remembers), and more importantly knows exactly the path you can take to free him.
Ok, I'll head over to Zooda.
Illia will try to cautiously go through the safe(?) hallways to free
Zhǔ Dà túshā via application of sword to rope/chains.
Zhu Da tusha, fiend...
Wow, that's cool! How did you know just from our mind-talky thing?
Illia- is observant enough to notice a number of traps in the halls around her—pressure plates, poisoned arrow launchers, discolored tiles, etc. They've all been worn down over the ages to the point of nonfuction, or stripped and disabled by the Drow, but she still manages to look so keenly that she sees a few of the tiny bits of them left behind.
Zhu Da tusha bears thick, well-crafted monocles around his limbs, with heavy chains connecting them to several brackets in the floors and ceilings of his room, which is unlocked (though marked with a sign that says "Warning! Dangerous psychic prisoner")
Wow, that's cool! How did you know just from our mind-talky thing?
Your mind carries a unique scent.
Huh. Illia was fairly impressed by the feat and it showed now that she was in visual range.
If there are any easily noticeable "press here to release the prisoner" things, she'll use those.
Otherwise, she'll stow the shield for two handed strike for 1d8+9, which should get through iron manacles after a couple swings.
That should be enough to break the chains, in under a minute. There's little else of significance in the room, other than a pile of bones which Da tusha might be responsible for.
Anaxian eyes the bones, walks over to them, and like a stage magician doing slight of hand, he makes them vanish one by one.
Come to think of it, it's a pretty large pile of bones, at this point taking up about a third of the room. Immediately, you recognize the skeletons of several Drow, carrying ordinary masterwork arms and armor. There are a number of rats and other small dungeon-dwelling animals as well.
The skeletons also include what appear to be several mangled Morlocks.
And one strange skeleton, with many of the bones split down the middle, that you do not recognize.
The skeletons also include what appear to be several mangled Morlocks.
And one strange skeleton, which appears to be from a Gug.
The tiny dragon had all but ignored the living creature in the cell. It appeared to be a normal and otherwise unremarkable specimen of its kind, probably a familiar of some kind, but it was behaving oddly.
It had cleared quite a few bones in quick order when he stopped and stared for a few moments. It arranged a few large bones into a large inhuman configuration and spoke telepathically.
I do not recognize this creature. What is it?
Zhu Da Tusha is... a special creature indeed. There aren't a lot of Illithids in Golarion , with Psionics pretty rare for the same reason, and knowing anything about him (for instance, the fact that mindflayers exist, have psionic powers, and eat brains) would be a Knowledge (Arcana) or (Dungeoneering) check of 18.
Zhu Da Tusha looks up and clenches his fists with a sigh at his freedom. I am in your debt. But let us exterminate the drow before we speak of repayment.
One member of the party appears to be a Drow Sergeant of the palace guard, but even a cursory glance at her mind reveals that she is under some sort of powerful Dominate effect.
Ummm...
Illia awkwardly looks around the room at anything but Zhu Da tusha.
Well... Do we have to do that right now? Because there are some of them mind controlled on our side, and killing all the drow isn't exactly our mission objective.
I would not consider the two mutually exclusive... the little dragon mused.
Delyliath smirks, amused by the Bebilith's protests.
"Of course you are a big bad eater of demons. I'll see what can I do to let you taste a little morsel of Drider.
And if you help us through these dungeons, I can see you came out from here with us and return to the abyss. Hell, I would give you the directions to a couple of delicious succubi that I wouldn't mind seeing devoured by you."
"But now... just wait here a second, and do not try anything foolish on my friends. You already saw it's against your best interest.
Besides, most of them have nothing to munch on but a small pile of bones."
Delilyath starts to speak telepathically to her party, and the newcomer.
"Maybe I should head back and make sure to turn those 3 peons at the entrance into more malleable ones. I don't want them to create problems or raise alarms should we encounter resistance down there.
Also, I suspect we will have to march through them with all these goods, it's not like they are going to let us without some extra persuasion."
Dris looks at Del with a bit of disdain "Dearie, if you're planning on walking out with all the loot, you're doing it all wrong. Tween the mighty dragon and I, we can easily make off with it all and return post shortly to gather more."
Dris looks at Del with a bit of disdain "Dearie, if you're planning on walking out with all the loot, you're doing it all wrong. Tween the mighty dragon and I, we can easily make off with it all and return post shortly to gather more."
"I did not try to teleport out of here, but if they have prisoners the bulk of their treasury and native creatures of the abyss that in normal conditions are able to return to their plane in the blink of an eye, I suspect there should be at least some dimensional anchors and other spells of protection going on.... as a matter of fact..."
I'll cover the results of the rolls, especially since Delyliath rolled high enough to identify the skeleton on her own.
The strangest skeleton in ZDt's room is that of a Gug; strange, aberrant creatures from the depths of the Darklands with the ability to deform their bodies and strike at great range.
Delyliath's search for anti-teleportation wards reveals that there are some spells on this level that appear to have such an effect, but they are spotty and old, and with a careful search you might be able to find a few holes in them.
So, where should I lead the way too next? Illia asked fairly cheerfuly, kind of missing the back and forth sniping going on.
This was all rather good fun. They were working together and beating the bad guys, teamwork yay! And no one had shot her in the back, not even once!
#loweredexpectations
This will do nicely. Anaxian's dry voice echoed in the mind of his fellows.
The bones vanished, as did the Drow weapons and armor.