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"Galilah is still wounded after that last skirmish with those Aspis. However, I have more than enough innate magic to solve the problem, with some to spare for others. Also, I would hate to be in a room with any invisible spies thinking to compromise our position in this contest..." At this, Melea touches two fingers to her temple and her eyes brighten until they are completely a glowing white. She then scans the room for anything out of the ordinary, visible or otherwise.
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Word of the authorities of at the tavern travel to you by word on the streets. But the word spreads like wildfire, keeping you update almost to the mark about what the authorities are doing.
The inn you enter neither looks rundown, nor prim and proper, old in age, but has a wise old feel to it. Kept well, with no broken pieces. Upon checking into the in, you are immediately met by a paunchy innkeeper with strikingly walruslike features. He walks to you slowly, eyeing each one of you closely. As you walks by you, he loosens his coat a little, and as he loosens it, you can clearly see a wayfinder emblazoned with the Glyph of the Open Road. "Greetings, ye folk look like yer ere for the tournament eh?"
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He looks at the party and says. "Of course, we've got the accommodation, it only cost 2gp for the night’s stay, dinner, and breakfast the following morning for outsiders."
He then again gives a flick of the coat, and for a moment, the light clearly shines on the wayfinder emblazoned with the Glyph of the Open Road. Almost as if he wanted you to see it.
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Upon seeing Archer's wayfinder, he mentions "Pathfinders are free here anytime!" He hands you a key, and tells you the details of the meals, and the location of the room. "Please, I shall not require any payment, your room has already been paid for."
The room itself, when you enter it, is that of similar apprearance to the inn, well maintained, nothing out of the ordinary, but has all the amenities you shall require to have a good's night rest.
During the night, two of the rubies start to glow.
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"Rules? What are rules, Human with Bow? Is it against the rules for Pig to help me? Is it against the rules for me to help Person with Horns since I do not know him? Come to think of it, I do not know any of you. So would that be against the rules for me to help?"
"I admire your sense of duty to an arbitrary set of ideals, Erastil must be proud of his sons, but nature cares not for Man's rules. Nature's rules are inviolate; you can not break them. But man's rules we can and sometimes must."
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"I meant the rules of the contest. If it is cheating to give someone else your glowing ruby, then we should not do that." says Archer in a deadpan voice. "That would make us no better than the Aspis Consortium. And we are better."
To Grippli he says, "Rules are agreements for communities to work together in harmony. Communities need rules, and one should not break them.
"In nature, if you break the rules, you will likely end up being eaten. In human society, the penalties are often... different."
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Arxus chimes in while polishing his sword,
"Seeing as the 'rules' so far have been to 'fight amidst yourselves for the rubies, and to cause chaos,' I think sharing would be alright. The rules seem... less restrictive.
And if the test was to see who has the mettle and luck to gather a glowing Ruby, then the Pathfinder Society has both, and is worthy of having multiple entries."
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The room you are situated in is very comfortable and has two windows that look towards the docks. As you discuss out your situation, one of the rubies in your possession starts to flicker and the light dies out after a while. A defective ruby it seems. Suddenly there's a knock on the door.
The door up opens to reveal a black feathered feather tengu in robes of maroon "Greetings, I am an emissary to the ruby phoenix, your next test shall be at the large shipping house where the docks meet the sodden district known as the puddles, meet tomorrow before dusk." As she finishes her words, she vanishes in a smoke.
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"Hello, what can we do for-?" Melea manages before the tengu starts talking and disappears. Upon that, she returns to the table on which her bow lies and resumes polishing and readying it for further use. "No mention of what the test is to be. How foolishly optimistic would we be to not expect a fight?"
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"Perhaps, but it can still be looked upon as sad that it does. Strange golems, the risen dead, the occasional tomb raider or fellow seeker of knowledge and treasures - that would be more acceptable, foolish as it may be to use the word. Bandits on the Drumish border - that I am less inclined to accept. I would gladly see my talents in a fight obsolete were it to herald a new age of peace in the world. Of course, given the absurd likelihood of this, we must press on." Melea says in but a few breaths, particularly verbose for an Erastilian.
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"Ok, let's get some rest. We should keep our watchers inside." he says, indicating the windows. He then spends some time arranging the huge number of arrows he carries, stowing some in their quivers so that they don't spill, keeping others ready for fighting. He does this all with a practiced precision, though it is clear that the sheer number of arrows that he has purchased makes his organizing all the more difficult.
This being done, he says to Melea, "Would you like to pray with me in the morning?"
Then, he turns to the rest. "You all may pray with us, if you would like. Pray that we can avoid bloodshed whenever possible. But, we all know that you should never trust a fool, and I fear that many fools will have entered the contest."
"Good night, my friends."
The arrival of the morning brings with it the joys of a glowing Ruby!
That day you are greeted by a black-feathered tengu who introduces herself as your liaison to the Emissary of the Ruby Phoenix. She informs you that all contestants are to meet within a large shipping house near where the Docks meets the sodden district known as the Puddles and provides you with a specific time and directions to the event.
***
Following the directions given to you by your tengu liaison, you arrive just past dusk at the shipping house. Soon enough, a small crowd of would-be contestants begins to gather.
Approaching the entrance you spot a dishevelled, barefooted man dressed in plain sackcloth leaning in the shallow doorway. As you draw nearer, he slowly raises his head to examine the crowd. Then, grinning a toothy smile, he holds out his hand and asks “Any of you happen to find a ruby?”
The crowd excitedly signals their affirmative response and several glowing rubies are thrust into the air, there is an electric vibe flowing through the assembled host and everyone seems very ready for action.
The man nods and pushes the door open. Then he holds out a sack to collect the rubies of those seeking entry. As the various contestants enter, he directs them towards a flight of stairs near the back of the warehouse. These stairs descend into a wide and shadowy basement converted into a crude, make-shift arena illuminated by a ring of greasy-scented torches. The main floor is cleared of all objects save for a dusting of sand and straw that covers the cold stone floor. An assortment of contestants have already arrived, anxiously scanning the room. Almost all in attendance are recognizable from the previous night’s brawl.
From across the arena floor strides Kiang Zhen, the terrifying creature who represents Sifu Xho Nuo. Clapping her massive, clawed hands, she calls for silence, and with a low growl addresses the entire room as she runs her hands over her gruesome golden horns.
“Bringing defeat upon your perceived adversaries is only part of what it takes to walk the path of a truly great warrior. A true master sees beyond his adversaries; he sees the war and not just the battle. Last night, I watched how all of you were quick and eager to fight one another—therefore today... today I shall see how you fight together! Let’s see how well you can keep each other alive!” As she finishes this exuberant and enigmatic statement, smoke flashes erupt throughout the arena, and several dozen hidden trapdoors suddenly spring open, unleashing a horde of otherworldly beasts!
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Grippli snaps his hand forward. A burst of light from a wand reveals hundreds of spirit gripplis and pigs floating about the room. Each pair look exactly alike and move in concert, aiding Grippli's allies. They guide a sword here, an arrow there. Seeing the ancient gripplis and pigs bolsters everyone's resolve.
Greeting his ancestors with a slight nod, Grippli puts his wand away.
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Melea's bow appears in her hand in a flash, and she takes a hasty potshot through the throngs of people at the nearest hostile creature. "Watch out, there're some strange Tien creatures, giants and tengus or some such, at the edges! They aren't doing anything now, but keep an eye on 'em!"
Galilah, meanwhile, stays by her mistress's side for the time being. The aasimar is wary of the crowds and lurking menaces.
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Melea's arrow flies to far from the mark.
The creatures move forth their advances tip party. The stirges fly closer but we're at too far a distance. The metal like looking cobra reaches Arxus though and steps attempts to bite him. But fails to do so.
Conditions:()
Gripli,Chamius,Archer,Melea
Stirge,Cobra
Arxus
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Archer notices Chamius taking a guard position, and nods in appreciation to him. "I am fine." he says, matter-of-factly.
"Be on the ready. Move forward cautiously."
He remains in his position, tracking the arena for additional hostiles.
On a whim Archer calls upon the blessing of Erastil, infusing his bow a green glow.
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Grippli's quick thinking manages to note a couple of trapdoors within the walls of the arena. The rest of the party stay on high alert to await what comes next.
Out of the shadows, two small sized Oni's step out into the light of the arena. They are hovering in the air as they approach the party. And from the looks of things, they look hostile!
Melea
Oni
Archer,Grippli,Chamius,Arxus
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Melea recognizes these creatures as an Oni, evil spirits from the material plane who form themselves in the embodiment of human desires. It may not seem so, but the lore tells it that way. Once an oni manifests its physical body, that body becomes its true form for the rest of its life—all oni are shapechangers, but this original form is the form in which they are born and the form they revert to upon death.
The arrow and the leopard strikes the Oni and hurts it, but it seems that the Oni's wounds starts closing up a little.
The Oni retaliates and strikes the leopard with it's horns. While the other Oni floats himself and attacks Melea from the other side. They both hit them with the horns although it does very little damage to any of them.
Melea (Fort) Leopard (-1 Fort)
Oni Red -5 Green
Archer,Grippli,Chamius,Arxus
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Archer sees the two Oni attack his companions, and decides to do something about that.
He fires cold iron arrows from his magical bow, first at the one attacking Galilah, and if it drops, then at the other. He will shoot from where he is standing, as he can ignore one creature for soft cover.
"Please yield. There need be no more blood shed this day."