|
Twig replies Time will tell walk lookers. New Bakten will be making known when ready.
You contact Amari Li with your report.
Several weeks have passed since your return to Amanandar. Since the death of Venture-Captain Bakten Shengrah, New Oppara has been in mourning. The heavens echo the city’s grief, bestowing shrouds of inky storm clouds on the city, rolling down from the Zi Ha Mountains to the north. On orders from the Lantern Lodge, all local Pathfinders have cloistered themselves within the samsaran guru’s sanctuary, combing his libraries for clues that might explain the strange resuscitation of Bakten’s candle of conveyance, for none of the sages of Amanandar can explain how the candle still burns when Bakten’s soul has departed.
As the black clouds hurl blizzards from above, an unlikely source of aid appears at the sanctuary’s gates: an elderly elven noblewoman stumbles in, frostbitten and half-delirious. It's none other than Lady Ishigo Shiori.
“I came to atone,” she cries, “Bakten was once Malash—a hero. But what was Malash next? That evil woman! I loathed her so. I thought she stole my love’s heart, and blamed her next life, Bakten, too! But if he knew nothing of his own veiled life?”
Her ancient hands clutch a weather-beaten scroll case, as if it were a lifeline. “Tell me he is not dead, please!” She begs, “If Bakten is fallen, I fear the shrouded one may rise and doom us all!”
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Watching the interchange between Elska and Lady Shiori, he'll make them both a cup of tea and walk over to sit with them and give them their tea.
"Yes, it is a rather dire situation, Bakten new's reincarnation is a troublin' matter and we hope to either find who they are or hope they made themselves known to us soon."
|
|
Lady Ishigo Shiori leaps from her chair Bakten lives!
Then settling herself down.
Or rather a new Bakten or a new someone.
That is good news indeed and makes it all the more important to find out who and where he is. She adds further. After you Pathfinders visited Jinin, I realized if Bakten himself recalled nothing of the shrouded one, then perhaps she was a separate soul entirely. Word soon spread that you had told Daimyo Haraka Kasashige Lord Mata Ryuu was under psychic control and it all began to make sense. So I sent one of my daughters to ransack Ryuu’s chambers. I had to know what creature had ensnared him centuries ago. She brought me this scroll.
Trembling, Shiori proffers a letter
|
|
"Giltman, may I?" Elska takes the letter from her friend when he has finished reading it.
"Huh. That's interesting. I don't think I'd like to see this 'eon of night' come to pass. I would prefer to face these storms." She smiles and adds, "Honestly, they remind me of home." She passes the letter to the next person.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
At Giltman's request Lady Ishigo elebraotes.
Perhaps I should start near the beginning, Lord Mata Ryuu and I were devoted to one another. But one day I saw him dallying with a samsaran woman whose hair was a black shroud. He swiftly rejected me, and he was never the same man after that. Her face shows the pain of this slight still grieves her to this day.
She continues, Samsarans are rare in Jinin, and in my centuries I have known truly only one despite its many shells, Bakten. Then another was Jujanil, the evil creature who stole my love’s heart. I was certain that she was one of Bakten’s past lives, a being of the same soul, but now I am not so sure. I made a terrible mistake, and now we may be doomed. Clearly ashamed her voice grows shakey as she goes on.
When I learned that Bakten was nearing the end of his cycle of reincarnation, I sought to fulfill an old oath—to kill the woman who stole my one true love. I arranged for some assassins to visit Bakten, as I believed he was once that same woman. But the truth is more horrible, now that the scroll has come to the light of day.
Regaining some of her strength she puts the final piece into the puzzle. What if this ‘other soul’ she speaks of is Malash—and Bakten? What if Jujanil were somehow separated from her other incarnations and is waiting, now, for Bakten’s soul to leave, before she can arise?”
That's why it is so important that he did not yet pass on to enlightenment and why we must find out if I'm correct, it is of utmost urgency. Please launch an immediate expedition to the Black Grave Tower, find out if I'm correct.
Between Elska, Giltman, and Mido you actually know a good deal about the Lord of Envy.
Fumeiyoshi, Lord of Envy, is one of the 20 prominent deities of Tian Xia. He was once known as the God of Night. However, he grew jealous of his brother Tsukiyo’s love for the goddess Shizuru. This envy led him to fratricide, and he became the patron of dishonor, envy, graves, and undead. Fumeiyoshi often manifests to his worshipers as a nearly skeletal crimson humanoid with three eyes, jagged tusks, and twisted claws. His unholy symbol is a red demonic face, and his sacred animal is a wolf, sometimes shown devouring a freshly killed hare, the sacred animal of his brother Tsukiyo. His favored weapon is the naginata. Envious of the living, Fumeiyoshi grants eternal unlife to his most devoted servants. He particularly loathes samsarans, as their souls evade his clutches through reincarnation. An undead samsaran would be a favored follower of the dark god.
|
|
Elska looks stern, "That is a tragic story, Lady Ishigo. I am so sorry for you. You have been so kind to us, it would be our pleasure to help you learn the truth, right Bo?" Elska elbows Beauregard.
"How far away is this tower? How do we get there? What do you want us to do when we arrive? And what if we should face this Jujanil?"
Elska peers outside, "These storms look pretty bad, should we wait until they let up? Nuk and I will be fine, but I worry about the others," oblivious to the rudeness of her remark, she looks at her friends.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Hah, of course Elska, we'd love to help out." preferring his waterskin to tea or coffee or booze right now, Bo will listen to his companions rattle off what they know about the Lord of Envy "I'm not a godly man, by no means, a cleric of Saranrae and a cleric of Lamashtu both take a punch the same, I am sure these cultists of Foomooyooshoo will too."
|
|
Lady Ishigo looks slightly relieved for the first time. Excellent, I knew you could be counted on.
Pulling another parchment from her robes, The Black Grave Tower is a secluded pagoda of black basalt high atop the Wild Peaks of Zi Ha.
She unrolls map of the nearby mountains showing the most direct route to the tower.
I was able to find this map, it should lead to the tower.
Locals shun the tower, believing it to be haunted.
When the pagoda was built, a pilgrimage of crimson-clad priests traveled the lone mountain pass to christen the tower in the name of the Lord of Envy, the god Fumeiyoshi.
The funds for the pagoda’s construction came from the Mata house in Jinin, although a raven-haired samsaran supposedly oversaw its completion.
Lady Ishigo continues, I've arranged to have cold-weather gear delivered this afternoon for you all. It will be bitter cold and windy in those mountains. Also, I've brought you this, hopefully it will be helpful.
She produces a wrapped cloth, opening it she reveals a single bone-white arrow.
This +1 arrow is keyed to a particular type or subtype of creature. If it strikes such a creature, the target must make a DC 20 Fortitude save or take 50 points of damage. Note that even creatures normally exempt from Fortitude saves (undead and constructs) are subject to this attack. When keyed to a living creature, this is a death effect (and thus death ward protects a target).
With this offering she states, No such creature hails from the realm of the living. With this arrow’s purity, may you fell the beast that has vexed me for so long. Do this for me and help free my love from this monster’s thrall.
|
|
"Its either way, Miya, it is a rather precious arrow." Turning toward the Lady, "I also have no further questions. Seems pretty easy, climb this mountain, lay seige to a castle at the top and kill everything inside."
Bo stands up, flexes, stretches then cracks his knuckles and neck. "Let's do this!"
|
|
Lady Ishigo looks sheepishly at Beauregard, I would hope you free, rather than kill Lord Mata Ryuu.
Later in the day, as you make preparations, Cold Weather gear arrives for you all and you set off on your travels.
The arduous journey into the Wild Peaks in southern Zi Ha takes approximately 10 days on foot. While the travelling is hard, it is not overly dangerous on the morning of the tenth day, while in the lowlands, you encounter a group of yak herders, tending there yaks. High peaks loom nearby.
|
|
Knowledge History
Reroll with +1
Mido thinks long and hard about the tower then as he has cleared the cobwebs begins to retell what he knows of it.
The black grave tower is said to be haunted. In fact I recall a tale about when the pagoda was built. It is said that a pilgrimage of crimson-clad priests traveled the lone mountain pass to christen the tower in the name of the Lord of Envy, the god Fumeiyoshi.
|
|
Right before you depart New Oppara you are joined by Kelson, a bard, sent by Amari Li to provide your further assistance.
-------
The herders shoot you disapproving glances as you move forward on the only trail. It leads through a 3-mile-long pass surrounded by steep cliffs. You climb higher and higher, the higher you climb you begin to feel the punishing cold, the wind blows fiercely cutting you from seemingly every angle, and constant snowfall makes travelling tough. When the exceedingly hostile conditions threaten to end your travels, you activate the small statuette of a yeti cradling a child given to you as a gift from the villagers of Dallo. Suddenly, a sort of protective bubble seems to surround the group, you no longer feel the effects of the altitude, the cold seems less punishing, the wind seems move around you without hitting you, and while the snow still hampers your speed the going seems easier. While before you often couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you from whiteout conditions, you now seem to be able to see through the swirling snow with little effort.
Perception:
Will:
Just as you think you'll never reach your destination, you see a crude wooden sign juts from the ice at the foot of a natural stair formation. Beyond, the mountain’s ridge drops away suddenly. The sign is written in something other than common.
The sign say "Turn back, for the world as you know it ends here."
A short distance ahead the sudden drop signals the end of one range and the beginning of another. Far below, the cracking squawk of shifting ice answers the thunder in the sky above. A rickety rope bridge extends across the gap, flapping like a flag in the relentless winds. The far end is shrouded in spirals of snow. On the other side ahead a jagged tower stretches 50 feet into the sky before disappearing into the thick storm clouds and blinding snow flurries.
|
|
"Welcome to the group, Kelson." Elska smiles warmly at the bard. "What a cute little racoon friend you have there."
_____________
Elska draws her bow. "Well, I'm a little scared. I'm glad we are all here together." She moves up front by Bo. "Stay close, Nuk."
Elska squats down, squints, and looks the place over.
|
|
Earlier: I wonder what the deal was with those Yak herders," Bo shrugs and continues on his merry way putting the yaks behind him in both thought and stride.
__________________
Noticing that they've reached the end of their journey, Bo will draw that idol out and use it for an endure elements.
"Hah, nothing to worry about, Elska," Bo moves up to examine the bridge "this bridge looks rather rickety, let's be careful crossing it."
He'll draw out his tekko-Kagi and begin wielding it, just in case combat should break out.
|
|
Elska notices three sets of large humanoid footprints leading towards the bridge.
With the help of Beauregard, you also make some observations about the rope bridge. It crosses a river 30 feet below. Teardropshaped floes of ice normally drift downstream, although a recent avalanche deposited a huge pile of packed snow directly beneath the bridge.
|
|
"Careful friends. There's been someone in the area recently. Judging by the size of those prints, the bridge should be sturdy enough for us to cross. But we better search it for traps, just in case."
"Nuk, VERJA!" Elska points at Bo.
Elska moves forward quietly and inspects the bridge.
|
|
Elska whistles, "Nuk, KOMA!"
When Nuk comes to her, Elska gets the rope out of his pack saddle, ties one side off to his saddle, and the other she wraps around her waist.
She crosses the bridge, paying out rope as she goes.
Once on the other side, she calls back to her friends, "I'm ready! Nuk and I will hold the rope for you. Start with the lightest, and we will go up from there!"
|
|
Beauregard moves up, activating his amulet; Kelson casts glitterdust.
The yeti manages to avoid the blinding dust and stares down at Elska with a frightful gaze.
Elska is not afraid by the intimidating presence.
The yeti takes a step forward then appears to be casting a spell.
Elska and Nuk begin to feel very sluggish.
Round 1 Judges Mountain
Beauregard
Kelson
Yeti
Giltman
Mido
Nuk Slowed
Miyako
Elska Slowed
Round 2
Beauregard
Kelson