27/2= 13 - dr 5= 8 HP
26/2= 13 Hp
8 +13= 21 total damage.
The creature takes 21 HP of damage but is still up.
Bug you've noticed that it's wound began to knit together, (regardless of vampiric touch) when it tried to hit you.
"Oh, you think you can heal up what I dish out. We'll see about that."
RD 2: Xavier DMPC
The priest stabs at the undead with his cestus,
confirm crit:
The creature floats in the water givng you all an opportunity to pulverize it.
Search the room for any goodies (which I suppose involves diving since the room is under water). I do have swim at +13, so since this isn't active water, it's a freebie).
You all find the following treasure while searching the undead seaborn captain.
items
Scroll of create undead
wand of disguise self (CL 1st, 42 charges)
Trident: barracuda’s bite,
ring of protection +1,
scale of the mariner,
1st: mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, color spray,animate rope, unseen servant
2nd: blindness/deafness, false life, invisibility, scorching ray, flaming sphere, see invisiblity, glitterdust
3rd: hold person, lightning bolt, vampiric touch
Aura Moderate transmutation; CL 6th Slot —; Price 4,315 gp
DESCRIPTION
The tines of this trident are fang-like, and its haft is wrapped in small-scaled dark green leather. Three times per day on command as a swift action, the weapon can extend its reach by 10 feet for a single attack. The weapon is otherwise a +1 trident.
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, blink; Cost 2,315 gp, 160 XP
Aura Faint abjuration and transmutation; CL 5th Slot amulet; Price 8,000 gp
DESCRIPTION
These simple silver brooches are often found pinned to the capes of captains of the Andoren merchant marine. The wearer of this brooch
gains a +1 enhancement bonus to natural armor and fire resistance 5. In addition, the wearer can always choose to take 10 on a Swim
check, even if distracted or endangered.
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, barkskin, resist energy; Cost 4,000 gp, 320 XP
Quiz peers down the tunnel and casts detect magic.
"I suppose we'd better follow this tunnel. Rena can you please make sure there are no surprizes?"
Quiz you still get that lingering magic effect that most of the cavern has been created with the assistance magic. Other than that there is nothing new.
the passage proceeds downward than there is sharp right hand turn, as Bug leads the way he soon find himself standing at the entry of a roughly spherical chamber is mostly dry, and the stone walls appear to be unworked. A passage in the east wall winds away to the southeast.
As you peer into the room a ghost appears as an insubstantial human figure with features continually shifting between those of two men: one
is stern and stooped leaning on staff, while the other is young and energetic and dressed in sailing attire. The two share common traits.
“Greetings, sailors. My name is Pelastour, and I built this place. I am ashamed to say that I am also the grandfather of Poltur, who seeks to sell our family’s honor to the highest bidder. My only hope is to help
you destroy him.”
"Ok, we can do that. Where do we find him? "
Quiz nods at Bugs words and asks the specter, "Can you tell us why Poltur is here? Knowledge will help us stop him..."
The insubstantial ghost leans on it's staff and begins the tale:
"Though the two are no longer at war, tensions remain high between Cheliax and its former holding of Andoran. For two powerful merchants on opposing sides of the border, this feud long ago became personal. For years after the schism, both sides hired pirates and buccaneers
to raid each other’s ships and drive trade into their own borders. Unsatisfied with these tit-for-tat strikes, the Chelish merchant nearly bankrupted himself creating a new, necromantic maritime weapon: an undead dragon turtle called the Terraken, bound to an amulet which
allowed his captains to see through its eyes and guide its movements. With its fearsome claws and ability to stave in the hulls of even the mightiest frigates, the Terraken became the scourge of Andoran’s waterways, smashing ships and sending their crews to the watery deeps."
"On his deathbed, the merchant Gavut Wyrvale of Andoran passed his business to his eldest son, but gave his younger son a more important task: to save his family’s livelihood by becoming a pirate among pirates. The son set off in the middle of the night with a hired mage and, with the aid of his family’s considerable fortune, built a small concealed port within the islands off Chimera Cove, linking huge natural caverns with spell-formed canals. The son took the name Pelastour, and, commanding the black-hulled Scythe and sailing covertly out of Chimera Cove, quickly became the scourge of the Inner Sea, sinking pirates and Chelish merchant vessels alike, yet always waiting for the Terraken to come for him. When it finally did, Pelastour lured the marauder back to Chimera Cove and into his cavern-port, where it
smashed his ship to bits. Though it quickly killed most of his crew, Pelastour and his wizard cohort managed to flee through the canals, finally meeting their ends in a deep cavern amidst a powerful whirlpool summoned by the mage and a bound water elemental. However, in his
death Pelastour achieved victory, as once the whirlpool’s water drained away, the Terraken found itself bottled up in a deep oubliette, unable to climb or swim out. When the creature’s commander attempted to enter herself and recover the creature, she fell prey to one of the many
traps Pelastour had left behind, and so the Terraken’s fate remained unknown to those back in Cheliax."
"Andoran and Cheliax both lost a great deal in the months of this conflict, and piracy subsided afterwards. The Chelish assumed Pelastour had destroyed the Terraken, as the magical screening of Chimera Cove made it undetectable. Pelastour’s son and his few surviving crew remained in Chimera Cove to guard its secret, founding the fishing settlement for which the cove would become known, and the Terraken remained trapped in its prison. Decades passed before Poltur, Pelastour’s greedy grandson, decided to sell the secret of Chimera Cove and the Terraken’s existence to Andoran’s traitorous Baron Vendikon rather than spend his life watching a desolate bit of seashore."
"Poltur’s first expedition commanding the baron’s troops in search of the Terraken was a disaster, nearly sinking their boat and forcing him to swim into the concealed port. He did, however, eventually learn what he would require for success, and sent a map back to the baron with a request for additional resources. His forces now stand divided
between the occupied village of Chimera Cove, where they await support from the baron, and the concealed port. To add to the confusion, Poltur’s treasonous act was so loathsome to his ancestors that it caused the awakening of his grandfather’s ghost. Those who had given their lives to deter the Terraken’s threat could not rest as Poltur
inched closer to releasing it, and Pelastour’s spectral form now shadows him, speaking for all those whose memory he is betraying and whispering of the torment Poltur’s disgraceful actions will earn him."
After he explains the background information he goes on and tell you, "my ties to Poltur unfortunately keep me from attacking the scoundrel myself, and that it was he who added “The Accursed” to Poltur’s note in a failed attempt to scare off the baron."
He looks at Bug and answers, Where is Poltur now? Very close, as the
spirit flies. He was in a chamber known as Fluxhold which you just passed though perhaps you just missed him, almost directly above us, and he was there because Fluxhold offers a view of the Terraken and other locations within the islands through a scrying pool. Looks like he fled elsewhere if you did not kill him.”
Quiz whistles, "That shape we saw inside the elemental must have been the Terraken... Strong as we are, I think it would have gone badly if we'd attacked it unawares. It probably has a fearsome breath weapon, and without the right protection, well that doesn't bear thinking about!"
He pauses for a moment and adds, "We didn't see anyone else in the fluxhold, Poltur must have fled, perhaps through one of the other exits. I think there are ones to the north east and north west which we haven't explored. Maybe we can spot footprints, or perhaps we should risk using the scrying pool."
What's in there... with the elemental? What happens if we free them? Most of her experiences with incorporeal entities had not gone so smoothly, and she eyed the ghost warily.
That shape is Shirqual companion a two headed constrictor snake. Shirqual raises and lowers the water for the locks it is bound against it's will, it is bound to obey him. If you attack either they will fly into uncontrollable rages.
Quiz starts pacing as he considers what to do, "Poltur must know we are here, I can only assume he'll have put on quite a reception for us. It would be good to know more about that, I don't fancy a fight on his terms... We need to find his bolt hole, I suspect it's in one of the areas we've yet to explore. I've not tried it before, but in theory I know how to perform an augury which could help us narrow down the choices."
Assuming the party thinks this is a good idea, Quiz will use his 1/day ability to cast an augury to divine the consequences of going NW from room #11.
At 7th level, an occultist can cast augury once per day and contact other plane once per week, using her arcanist level as her caster level.
This ability replaces the arcanist exploit gained at 7th level.
"Yeah, more information can't hurt. Don't want to walk in blind. "
Before Quiz does his planar contact here is some additional information the ghost will reveal in the course of the conversation:
What is the purpose of Fluxhold and the scrying pool? “An
elemental is bound into the magic of Fluxhold, required by magical oath to lower and raise the water in the cove and the locks in response to certain signals. The scrying pool allows it to do this while remaining in Fluxhold.”
Where is the Terraken? “Just where I left it 50 years ago:
trapped in the oubliette, and unable to climb out as long as these tunnels remain dry. There, too, lies the amulet which controls it—the treasure Poltur is undoubtedly seeking even now.”
Why hasn’t Poltur released the Terraken already? “This may be my only success with Poltur to date. He has yet to locate the amulet that controls the Terraken, and is reluctant to make any further moves until he’s done so. Instead, he monitors the situation, too close to his goal to take a step back and find new allies, too concerned with you nipping
at his heels to give the matter his full attention. The stage is set for you to confront him.”
What can you do to help us? “Little, directly. As he is my own flesh, I have not dared attack him outright—the spells that bind this place are tied to me and my blood. I have some control over them, but he, being alive, has more. What would happen if he were to be slain, I do not know.”
Can you tell us more of the elemental? “Do not concern
yourselves with it. It is a bound servant, and matters only if someone gives it the command to flood the oubliette.”
How can we defeat the Terraken? “By leaving it in its trap. It is hopeless to fight it directly—its defenses are too strong and its weapons too dire. Retrieving the amulet from the bottom of its prison and taking control is probably the only hope if it escapes, although it would need to be sequestered in some new hideaway, or it would undoubtedly eventually find its way back to its Chelish masters.”
"You entered into this chamber backwards...one normally enter through that tunnel." He points towards the other tunnel. Perhaps, Poltur took refuge when he saw you coming and maybe he has not doubled back to the fluxhold." He ponders this. "Try your augury perhaps that can be revealed."
"Sounds like we just need to go kick Poltur's behind. Seems simple enough, but no reason to skip the augury. "
Quiz bows his head in thought and nods at Bugs words, saying "Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Still we need to be careful. He's desperate and and who knows what he'll do when cornered. Anyway let's see what the powers that be have to say..."
Quiz sits down crosslegged and flexes his fingers before producing several sticks of incense from his bags. He has some trouble getting them lit in the damp and drafty environs, ultimately having to resorts to a cantrip. Soon bluish smoke rises and with it a heady scent that reminds you of sermons. Quiz inhales deeply and his eyes become unfocused, nothing happens for long moments. Deep in a trance like state, he starts a low chant, his voice curiously deep for one so small. In a firm but polite tone, Quiz asks his question, carefully enunciating each word, "We seek Poltur through the other tunnel. Will this bring us weal or woe?"
Rena seems antsy...
Quiz receives a single reply - Woe
Quiz sighs and stiffly gets up and tells the others, "The answer was woe. Second guessing what that means is kinda tricky but on face value maybe we should check if Poltur double backed... Who knows, maybe he got careless and left some tracks behind. Or maybe he's planning an ambush..."
"Not like we have loads of choices. Let's go find him. "
Quiz smiles ironically and replies, "I don't suppose he'd be kind enough to stay put somewhere we can find him easily. I think we should try and find Poltur ourselves. If we have trouble, there's this hound archon I know of, an amazing tracker, like really amazing. Of course he's busy so we'd only get a few minutes of his time, still he would likely ferret Poltur out if close."
Quiz stands up and suggests, "I think we'd better go back to the room with the elemental and that snake and see if we missed something."
Any conflict is... woe. How did you expect otherwise?
Quiz laughs and replies, "Honestly you can second guess divination 'answers' in so many ways. I'm not going to over think it. Either the powers that be are trying to kill us, in which case we're doomed anyway, or they're not. Call me naive but I'm gonna trust them. Anyway, lets get a move on, we've got an insane mage to catch, and after that I want breakfast."
Follow me.... Rena leads the others back to the water chamber.
Bug follows.
As does Quiz, who tries to keep his eyes and ears open...
As you retrace your footsteps and get back towards the fluxhold Quiz hears some mumbling within the room ahead. It sounds like, "There..I see...there..."
Bug will move to the room from which the mumbling originates quickly.
Can we see the scrying pool from here? Is there anyone there?
You hear the voice before you are in position to see inside the room.
"Yes...yes...I agree Shirqual!"
Chimera Cove Initiative:
You remember the ghost suggestions, Kill Poltur and avoid Shirqual, if you can.
Order:
Amphisbaena snake
Bug
Quiz
Xavier
Poltur
Rena
Shirqual
The snake holds it's action at this point.
Bug will activate dragon style then consume his mutagen.
Quiz can't see anything from here, thinking 'I hope they get a move on.'
"Be careful! And be fast!", mutters Quiz as he incants a now familiar spell...
Haste: 8/8
Xavier says a little prayer then proceeds to touch Rena for +4 on Weapon damage for 1 minute.
Poltur yells, "Ah...come out, come out, come out from your hiding you filthy thieves. Face your match here in this room." He balances gracefully on the narrow walkways crossing the room. He has rapier in his hand and he wears wide brimmed hat with a peacock feather in it. He slashes the air a few time. "Or are you too afraid for a good sword fight?"