Bashiel's attention is split between the Nightshade and the two Kuthites about to duel it out. He hopes his allies will be able to get the Kuthites to back off, but decides that the bigger risk right now is the enormous bat-creature. He slowly steps towards it, circling the two kuthites in the process.
Feeling reassured, Laori picks up Ilsa's thoughts and biting her tongue while blinking an eye she spats to Sial "Because as you himself said the Star Tower needs be watched to avoid the Spawn of Rovagug to prowl the land, isn't it?"
Sial scowls in rage staring at Kalem and Zamanda. He makes a gesture to force Assyra's spikes down "I see. There is no option for me to survive here but to accept this role..."
Still eyeing the group he talks towards the tower "I beg your protection Ildervok in front of this group of traitors and bullies, I accept the curator role before they become assassins too..."
Laori smiles satisfied and steps back.
Zamanda's flashes an annoyed look at Ilsa before controlling her expression again. An opportunity to get rid of Sial, who was dedicated to an evil god, and sure to turn on them later? Why interfere and try to save him? ... Well, because of course Ilsa was trying to be good in her own way, just like she was.
She said nothing, waiting to see what would happen, and luckily, the man volunteered. Her face remained impassive, but she was happy, hoping that would prevent a future conflict... as long as Kalem could keep Laori from doing the same thing, of course.
Kalem watched dispassionately as Sial went to his fate. He had nothing against the man. If anything he liked him, as he had been nothing but helpful, even going so far as to offer Ilsa a job. But the man had made the mistake of threatening Laori, and that had sealed his fate. He eyed Zamanda warily though. Her hatred of the evil God was both plain to see and understandable. He just hoped that she would see Laori in a different light.
An enormous, bat-like creature shaped from utter darkness, materializes next to the well, its eyes tiny red stars in the blackest night "Come, accompany me to the Plane of Shadow were you will be indoctrinated in the Midnight Lord’s palace itself"
Sial finally relents and lowers his hands "Shall this be my fate then, to serve the Lord protecting forever Golarion from Rovagug's spawn"
Ildevork flaps its dark wings around the man and before leaving looks at you and tells you "I know you are here to reclaim Serithtial and hope to use it to drive Kazavon’s spirit from Queen Ileosa. The Midnight Lord himself told me through recent visions"
"I assure you that you have nothing more to fear from Zon-Kuthon. He desires that Kazavon’s spirit be removed from the petty young queen as much as anyone, for such a fate does not befit even a fragment of one of his mightiest warlords. Here was were Mandraivus and the Esoteric Order finally cornered Kazavon and the holy sword was able to pierce its true form" Ildervok looks to the well "The blade has been taken, but it is not far from here. It is currently held in the clutches of the “Children of Rovagug” deep below the Star Tower, and by stepping into the shaft, you will be transported to these deep chambers where Serithtial has languished for so many years"
Once he tells that to you, he casts plane shift and disappears before you can pose any answer.
Assyra slowly fades while she breaths deeply and lowers her chains until she completely disappears as well.
The well shaft is filled with cold blue fog, making it impossible to determine how deep it might be.
After watching all of that, Zamanda looks at the blue fog, wondering if it really does what the evil prophet said.
She considers using a rope and going cautiously, but then just shrugs and says
I'll test it. If you hear me splat, don't come after me. If I'm able to come right back and let you know it is safe, I will, but it looks like a fall, so I don't know if I'll be able to.
Does anyone have a Message spell? I didn't learn that one, but it might be useful if I can't get back to tell you.
Bashiel shakes his head "Was that really the right choice? Do we really feel good about Sial or that Nightshade serving as guardians?" His questions are more for himself than for the group, and after a moment he shakes his head. "I guess its too late to take it back." He peers into the fog and decides to trust in his protections from Osiris for this one.
"I don't have a message spell, but I did gain flight in case we needed to fight that bat-creature. I could go first Zamanda, then fly back up to let you know what is down there."
Thinking about what Bash said about it being the right choice, Zamanda says
Well, I don't necessarily feel good about them having any power at all, but if it is centered here, it doesn't seem too threatening, plus I do feel good about Sial not being around to inevitably betray us. Plus, immortal guardian guy... not sure what it would have taken to kill it, so I also feel good about avoiding a fight. Perfect, no, but I think it works.
_____
Regarding the fog and Bash going first she responds
Okay, sounds good. Wait... can you carry someone? If so, take me with you, and then if there is something bad down there right away, at least you'll have back up.
|
Ilsa watches the whole thing unfold, unsure if the creature of darkness is playing a trick on them, or whether they might all come to blows.
Ilsa shakes her head, not having a message spell. To Bashiel, she says "I'm surprised at the choice he made. I'm not sure we would have loved any choice. But it is what it is. There's nothing good to come from second-guessing it now."
Considering their options, Ilsa says "I do have a possession spell I could use. Someone would have to trust me, but I could see through their eyes and report back."
Bashiel jumps down the well, perhaps with Zamanda strongly braced on his arms.
As you jump, you experience a plummet of unexpected and vertiginous length, but use your flight to control the fall. You do descend for miles and miles.
Finally, you suddenly find yourself appearing in a new area deep underground.
The air in this empty chamber is cold and still. The jagged walls of the tower are broken to the northeast by a single stone door, and the floor is polished to a reflective sheen. Thirty feet above, the ceiling is completely obscured by a roiling bank of glowing blue mist.
This is the Star Tower’s foundation, and the door once provided access to an ancient temple of Zon-Kuthon. This temple was not built of the same ageless material as that of the Star Tower, and volcanic activity and the passage of ages have erased most remnants of this complex.
The door is heavy, but can be opened with some effort.
If you do fly up, you find the rim of the shaft to be just 30 feet over the ceiling. If you do, you emerge in the well chamber and are free to explain to your companions.
If you take Zamanda, your speed and maneuverability descends as if under a heavy load.
You wait, after a minute, Bashiel has not yet returned.
Zamanda listens to the word "possession" and internally shrinks back, but then she glances at Cinnabar and realizes that she is a hypocrite, and she says, somewhat reluctantly,
Okay, Ilsa. Go ahead and do the possession thing, err... as long as it isn't going to incapacitate me and make me unable to defend myself...
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Bashiel settles shakily on the ground of the chamber below, letting Zamanda off his back. "Well that was... weird. Was it messing with my mind? Must have been, since my fly spell shouldn't have lasted as long as we were dropping." He looks back up at the ceiling, shaking his head. "Ilsa, if you're hearing this, the way is clear... but its either a very long way down, or the fog just made it seem that way. Drop something down and I'll shout to let you know if it gets here quickly."
"Otherwise-" He glances around the polished room "It seems safe enough."
He waits for the rest to confirm that it won't take an age to climb down, and then assists them in their descent if needed.
Zamanda looks around for anything threatening.
She doesn't try to open the door for now though, waiting for her companions.
|
|
Seeing through Zamanda's eyes, Ilsa reports back everything that she's seeing to the others.
She responds to Bashiel through Zamanda. "Yes, I can hear you." Zamanda's voice does not sound like her own.
"I'll drop something down."
Reaching into her bag, she pulls out a coil of rope.
"In three, two, one..." then drops it.
Ilsa drops a rope through the shack fog. You wait below for it to fall, a minute or so passes. Bashiel's angelic bond comes to an end. Ilsa's mirror images come to an end.
There is no trace of the rope.
Bashiel frowns behind his mask "You're seeing this Ilsa? Did it eat the rope?" He peers up at the fog "I can't make heads or tails of how this works. Does it not let inanimate things through unless someone's holding them?"
"In that case... maybe have Kalem fly down carrying you all? Or I can fly up and get you."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You think the strange fog distorts the fall to the low underground. Bashiel saved against the fog quickly reaching down.
The problem with non-magical unatended items is they automatically fail all their saves, incidentally falling in a limbo of a never ending fall.
Zamanda explores around the underground chamber and reaches the conclusion if there is anything else of interest here, it must lay behind the jammed door.
With Zamanda's explanation, Bashiel shrugs "What weird magic. Come on down. If you're taking a while because the magic has you confused, I can fly up and help you get out faster."
”Right, let’s do this...”
Kalem picks up Ilsa on his arms and extends his wings "Do not look at me, I am not jealous, the more to play with, the better" Laori says with a smile while casting air walk on herself.
"I will wait for you here if you do not mind" comments Cinnabar.
"What shall I do?" requests Risibeth to Ilsa.
Laori jumps down the well, then Kalem follows with Ilsa in his arms. As you jump through, you experience a plummet of unexpected and vertiginous length, but use your flight to control the fall. You do descend for miles and miles to the underground.
Quickly enough, Laori appears in the bottom room.
Kalem gets distracted, perhaps due to the extra burden of carrying a companion, but after two rounds, he manages to go through the fall and appear in the landing.
Interestingly, you see the rope falling during your trip down, it takes some maneuver, but Ilsa can pick it and recover it.
Finally, you suddenly find each of you appearing in a new area deep underground.
The air in this empty chamber is cold and still. The jagged walls of the tower are broken to the northeast by a single stone door, and the floor is polished to a reflective sheen. Thirty feet above, the ceiling is completely obscured by a roiling bank of glowing blue mist.
The door is jammed, but with the combined effort of Kalem and Bashiel, you have it open in a second. The exit leads to a complex of caverns.
The walls of these tunnels look moist, yet are strangely dry to the touch, being covered with a sheen of glittering mineral deposits. The ceiling averages fifteen feet in height.
This short network of caverns is unlit and slopes downward slightly as one travels forward.
Over the hard ground of the caverns you find marks of some creatures whit two feet, three nails forward, one nail in the back of each foot. There are also remains of a blue pestilent hairy fur.
You identify the fur and four nailed feet as those of gugs. Terrifying Darklands dwellers.
Huh. Tracks look like Gugs. They head east.
"Gugs? What kind of creatures are those? Something related to Rovagug?" He pauses for a moment, then awkwardly adds "Rova...GUG. Oh. Yeah, I got it."
"I say we follow the gugs. They might lead us to the heart of this place, and hopefully Serithial." He takes the lead unless Zamanda starts ahead of him, and keeps his eyes peeled for any ambushes by wayward gugs.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The rank odor of decay, filth, and wet fur clings to this cool chamber with a palpable tenacity. The chamber is an immense, twenty-foot-high cavern that fades into the dark to the north. A wide rocky shelf sits in the southern portion of the cavern, and upon this shelf are four crude, domed hovels, each nearly twenty feet tall and built from rough stone blocks mortared together with a nasty mix of mud, hair, and assorted debris. Each stone hovel has a large arched opening into its darkened interior.
To the east, a silent lake of black water stretches into the distance. Few ripples disturb its surface, giving it the appearance at times of a massive sheet of polished obsidian.
Far out in the water to the northeast, a single point of light glows just above the surface, a bright star with a radiance that illuminates several stony islands about seventy feet out in the lake, though the source of the glow isn’t discernible from shore.
The hovels are dirty and hold little more than disgusting clumps of shed fur, and the bony remains of many past meals.
Four gugs dwell here currently, and while infighting and bickering is common among their kind, they set all differences aside as soon as they spot your light sources approaching, immediately attacking you in an all-out rush to establish feeding rights over the slain.
The head of the first gug opens to show its mouth as he talks "រកមើលអ្វីដែលយើងមាននៅទីនេះ ... អ្នកទេសចរហ៊ានសេកមីណា។ ពួកគេនឹងធ្វើពលិកម្មល្អ ៗ ដល់កូនរបស់ព្រះរ៉ាវ៉ាហ្គគ។"
Kalem smiled at Laori's comment as he carried Ilsa down. He saw Ilsa like a little sister, but the comment showed him that when they got out of this hell hole that they could have a very good time together. Not for the first time he wondered what a follower of Zon Kuthon could be into. The distraction was enough to make him fall prey to the spell, but that snapped him back to reality. Now was not the time to get distracted.
Seeing the foe, Kalem's scythe erupted into flames, shadowy wings grew from his back, and he launched himself into combat.
Uh, they're sixteen feet tall and weigh like 2,000 pounds, but they can slip through small places like cats...
She trails off as Bash determines to go after them. She defers to his urge to go first.
When they see the Gugs, Zamanda begins to sing, moving (perhaps unwisely) into the room after Kalem to ensure that her voice would reach him as he fought.
Bashiel gets distracted by the single point of light in the distance, leaving him open to the gugs engaging. "Is that...?"
Risibeth nods to Ilsa. She becomes a cloud of gas and descends the shaft.
----
The dim light from Bashiel's ioun stone let you only glimpse the first three gugs. This is no problem for Kalem and Zamanda, whose ancestry gifted them sight on darkness.
Kalem's scythe opens a wide cut in the first gug's chest, the flames cauterizing the wound at the same time it opens up.
Zamanda's voice empowers the scythe that reverberates with her voice, the vibrations further damaging the bone structure of the beast.
Ilsa's voice booms through the chamber, her fearful presence storming the gug's worst nightmares. They start shaking in panic.
Cornered by Kalem, the blue gug cowers in fear, performing a total defense in a desperate attempt to survive.
The green one starts to shout alarmed and run panicked towards the shore and into the lake "ចាប់កូនព្រះ! សុវត្ថិភាពយើង!". Thanks to the calm waters, he performs a fast advance.
"Gug child of the gods! Safe us!"
The yellow one climbs up the hovel, and continues climbing back in panicked retreat to a height of 10 feet.
The one Ilsa did not see, emerges from the darkness into the dim light of the ioun stone, and attempts to free his mate with an awesome blow on Kalem.
The desperate attack takes Kalem by surprise, and the adrenaline-boosted strength of the gug pushes him flying 10 feet back!
The blue one straightens desperate to start running in whatever direction that might save him.
Zamanda starts pumping arrows into Red.
(inspire, point-blank, rapid shot)
(acid, cold, sonic, inspire, point-blank)
Against the cowering foe, Kalem actually found it harder to hit. Rather than attacking him, the creature put all it had into defending itself. Which really was just delaying the inevitable
Having been slow to engage, Bashiel is left to charge in and join Kalem in fighting the blue gug. He thrusts his rapier into the gap between Kalem's swings.
The gug roars in rage when two of Zamanda's arrows stab deep into the aberration's chest.
Despite its best efforts, the cowering gug is unable to dodge any of Kalem's attacks. The scythe opens to wide cuts before Kelm decapitates the gug's mouthy head with a final clean strike.
Seeing the other gug fallen, Bashiel instead charges on the red one, stabbing deep with his rapier. The aberrations bleeds profusely, looking with a mixture of fear and rage.
Ilsa steps forward, slashing with her claws and making a non-lethal cut on the gug's right leg, further bullying him.
The gug is left frozen in place by the ghoulish touch.
Laori double moves starting to climb in the air "We have them! They are running away!"
The red gug remains paralyzed.
Yellow keeps climbing, running away from Ilsa.
The green gug's desperate shouts muffle as he starts drowning in the waters of the lake without him managing any advance.
With one creature down, Kalem calmly stepped towards the one Bashiel had stabbed. His scythe flashed out, going low, and then came back high, taking the gug at the neck. A combination of speed, strength and perfect timing turned the blow into a decapitating one, sending the gug's head bouncing across the floor before it even had a chance to realize what had occurred.
"Don't pursue alone!" Kalem called out to Laori. The memory of what had happened to Malen was still fresh in his mind.
Zamanda shoots at Yellow.
(inspire, rapid shot)
(acid, cold, inspire)
Kalem turns and with a series of blows, cuts down the paralyzed gug into pieces without any kind of retaliation.
At the edge of her darkvision, Zamanda puts three arrows on the climbing gug's back.
Not wanting to dive into a lake and find out that it's full of even worse horrors, Bashiel stays exactly where he is. "If the gugs still want to fight, they'll be back."
Bashiel stands in the lake beach and Ilsa probably just follows his example.
Meanwhile Laori rushes through the air without being able to really catch the climbing gug.
The gugs disappear screaming in the darkness.
Bashiel starts considering to grab a bow while things chill off, but attracted by the gug's shouts, their god child suddenly emerges from the waters spilling water all around.
Before you appears a disgusting creature, part immense worm and part humanoid and over 80 feet in length, with sickly pale flesh infested with rot and pustules, dozens of spiky legs twitch along the length of his body, while his upper torso, bloated and pallid, is still vaguely human.
The first thing the monster does is to open its mouth and pour a vomit of acidic blood all over the beach.
This creature is a Pharmakos. An abhorrent form the result of a powerful curse, usually inflicted by a god. This curse grants immortality; a pharmakos does not need to eat, drink, or breath to survive, and cannot die of old age—nor can a pharmakos willingly end its own life. This curse also constantly racks the pharmakos with agony; the creature endures this torment to an extent that all other sources of pain are meaningless (including those caused by magical effects such as a symbol of pain).
Zamanda continues to sing, and attacks the new threat, very very thankful that his acidic vomit does not reach her.
(inspire, rapid shot)
(acid, cold, inspire)
Bashiel raises his shield against the wave of bloody acid, but then realizes he detached it in order to pick up his bow. The torrent rains all over him. He retches in vain against the nauseating mess. "The.. mama... gug?"
Not wanting the group to be caught by another wave all at once, he heads along the shore.
Only by reacting on pure instinct, or through the divine intervention of a guardian deity, did Kalem managed to spread forth his wings and shoot up into the air, above the spray of acid. He then came down, using the momentum, to bring his scythe down upon the wretched creature. If he had just been a few seconds faster he might have gotten in a decapitating blow. Still, more than a little damage was caused.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zamanda keeps shooting arrows, this time at the new arrived oversized worm. Two of them bite the despicable flesh but only one seems to do some damage.
Bashiel is caught by the acid shower without anything to protect himself and ends having to move away and remove what he can of the vomit. The burns produced in his flesh have a very bad aspect.
As the acid pours over the group, Kalem remembers the lessons he learned from Chaldira, and in a tricky movement he raises the corpse of the gug that takes the worst of the acid for him.
The worm roars and claws Kalem as he approaches.
Despite Kalem has received similar wounds in the past, this one is abnormally painful. The tiefling is racked with waves of pain that make his attacks worse.
Despite the pain, Kalem puts his feet into the water and cuts deep in the worm's belly, his weapon seems fully effective, but does not vibrate because it is too far from Zamanda.
"Oh no Bashiel!" seeing the paladin's wounded state, Laori descends from the air and touches him with some healing.
Ilsa does something heroic!
"It pains" the monster roars "I am sorry! I should have not! I should have not opened the fortress for them! It pains!" the monster that Kleestad became attacks Kalem in desperation as if it was suffering an inhuman pain.
Although the tiefling's magic shield manages to block the worm's jaws, his claws are so strong that they penetrate any defense leaving two terrible marks on his arms.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Pass
Pass
Pass
To Hit: +28/+19/+15 (+14/+9/+4 BaB + 9 str + 4 Enchantment -0/4 Power Attack +2 Heroism -1 negative level, +3 bard song, -4 pain)
Damage: 2d4+34+1d6 (Fire) +20 (+13 str + 12 PA, +4 Enchantment, +3 Arcane Strike, +3 bard song)
"Bash, fly up here and flank the creature!" Kalem yelled. He was in pain. Far more pain that he was accustomed to. Out of everything they had fought, this creature was dishing out far more damage that anything that had come before it. But he wasn't going to back down because of anything as mundane as blood loss slow him down. No. He told himself that this creature was nothing. He had just recently hacked through a dragon. A dragon! He wasn't going to die to an overgrown slug! Gritting his teeth, he flew up, digging his scythe into the creature's chest as he did so, dragging the blade with him. He stopped when he got to it's neck, pulled the weapon out, and with a savage roar swung it with all of his might. If it landed as he hoped, then he didn't think that anything would survive such a blow. If it did....the problem was how much pain he was in. It felt like his arms were being ripped off. He had been wounded before, but there was something about these ones which made it much, much worse. It was only through sheer fortitude that he managed to keep his weapon in his hands, let alone fight to his full potential.
Bashiel regains his senses only in time to notice Laori descend to heal him. He shoos her away "Spread out! We don't all want to be caught the next time." Unfortunately with his rapier and shield stowed and no flight magic already functioning, Bashiel is left with a less-than-impressive bow. He squares his jaw and invokes his god's name. "By Osiris' name, may you find rest in another reincarnation, abomination."
He sends a volley of arrows up at the monster.
Since her arrows don't seem to be doing much damage, Zamanda takes the time to mix a spell into her song, casting Gravity Bow.