DM Carbide's PFS Emerald Spire

Game Master John Woodford

It attacked you?

Pfft, it's probably just confused and sad and lonely.

Carbide - whether or not Eva decides to join the rest of the party in abandoning our previously made plan and attacking the crysmal, the beastie still needs to make a DC 19 Will save vs glitterdust.

So, I assume we're all supposed to be in the room at this point, yes?

Separate question for the group: are we killing this thing, or no? Eva is happy to go charging after the kyton with her 50' movement speed, if we want to go that route...

Up to you.

The crysmal is blinded by Senja's spell!

Eva, seeing that the crysmal is no longer a threat, goes charging after the kyton! Pursue up to 100ft (a double move). If it's less than 50', she'll still have a standard action.

The kyton was already fleeing, and it flies as fast as Eva can move. Eva, do you really want to get that far away from the party in unfamiliar territory?

Am I able to see how far away it is when I start? I can get up to 70' with a single move by using a ki point. If it's within that range, I'll approach it and attempt a grapple. If it's not within that range, I'll just stay here and grapple the crysmal.

That's something of a problem, in that (not anticipating you were going to do something that depended on map positions) I didn't move anyone into the room to reflect the minute or so you spent searching it. Rather than try to replay this, you just grab it.

Eva rushes up and grabs the kyton!

Asvald charges blade with arcane power and rushes into the melee against the crippled crysmal!

Attack: 1d20 + 15 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 15 - 2 = 20
Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 7 + 2 + 4 = 14

Asvald kills the crysmal!

I think we've all acted, right? Is Eva now some distance away and surrounded by beasties of great evil?

She's not that far away, having rushed the kyton before it could get away. Eva, burn a ki point.

Just waiting to see what the Kyton and Eva are doing.

The kyton is keeping still, at least so far.

Consider it done.

The kyton looks at Eva.

Eva glares at the kyton.

After a moment of it not struggling, she raises an eyebrow (being careful to maintain her hold on the creature). "Can you speak?" she asks slowly.

Its eye moves in a way that, in a humanoid, would be an eyeroll. Then its eye moves rapidly from side to side.

"But you understand, and can answer questions?" replies the monk, still not loosening her grip.

Its eye moves up and down.

The schoolteacher's eyebrow raises further and she speaks a little louder for the benefit of her companions. "Well, we seem to be at a bit of an impasse, don't we? What are we to do with you, then?"

Before the flying eyeball can start again with its eye-rolling, she adds, "I don't expect you to answer that. But what do the rest of you think?"

We find ourselves in possession of a miniature cyberman beholdermetal-covered eyeball. What shall we do with it?

More like a refugee from a Don Coscarelli movie, IYKWIM.

The kyton does not roll its eye, but does wiggle a bladed limb tentatively.

"You think we should just let you go, eh? That it's all a big misunderstanding?" replies the northern schoolteacher, shaking her head slowly in mild disbelief. "Or perhaps you're saying that given half a chance you'll go right back to doing evil things, slaying and slaughtering peaceful creatures who've done you no harm?"

It taps the blade against its shell--three quick taps.

Let it go, unless it tries to harm us or it is obvious it will go on to do evil stuff.

"What does that mean? Is that yes or no?"

"Let's find out why it's not aggressive before we just kill it. You'll probably have to let it go though." Kali suggests with a confused expression.

It's a CR 2 creature. *Senja* could probably beat it in a standup fight.

Let it go then. I wouldn't want to pick on the poor thing.

It is aggressive, just not toward us... it's also evil (to the best of our current knowledge).

Eva controls her urge to sigh, returning her focus to the creature in her grasp. "Very well. I will release you. I warn you now that a single false move, including any attempt to flee, will constitute an affirmative answer to my last question—and things will not go well for you thence."

So saying, the schoolmarm slowly loosens her grip, finally releasing her hold completely (though she remains fully prepared to launch into action and recapture the creature if she deems it necessary).

The kyton flies over to one of the bodies, dips a claw into the blood pooling around it, and carefully writes out "HELP."

"What do you need help with?"

"MY MISTRESS, HELLKNIGHT CHAID DIVIRI, IS DEAD, ALONG WITH HER TROOP. PLEASE RETURN HER BODY TO FORT INEVITABLE."

"I see. Tell us which body is hers and we will bring it back for a proper burial."

"IT IS NOT HERE. FOLLOW ME AND I CAN SHOW YOU."

Torque nods and will follow the Kyton.

Everyone else doing likewise?

Eva follows as well, though she keeps one hand ready to extend beyond its normal reach and grab the kyton at the first sign of the betrayal she's certain is inevitable.

"Okay flying eye blade thingie, but if you walk us into a trap you can be sure we will destroy you." Kali says sternly as she follows along with the others.

Asvald silently follows the desperate little monster.

Eva follows as well, though she keeps one hand ready to extend beyond its normal reach and grab the kyton at the first sign of the betrayal she's certain is inevitable.

It's a kyton, not an inevitable.

The creature leads you through a room littered with the glittering remains of many crysmals.

Pausing if you want to search the room.

Torque will take a moment to look around.
Perception: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (15) + 21 = 36

Torque sees nothing of interest.

Senja follows along, quite curious about the little bladed creature.

I’m back, limited connectivity for the next day or so.

Moving into the next cavern, the air is filled with an acrid, rotten stench, rumbling through fissures in the floor and bubbling up from a river of magma coursing through the cave. A stony formation at the cave's center forms an arching bridge over the fiery current. Senja, Kali, and Asvald are pretty sure that there has to be some sort of protective magic operating here, because proximity to that much magma would ordinarily make this area too hot to remain in for more than a minute or two. Torque notices that the vapors seem to have coalesced into discrete clouds near the ceiling.

This is post #28,000 for me. My pace has continued to slow lately with the loss of posting privileges at work, but it obviously hasn't stopped completely.

Senja studies the bridge before them skeptically for a moment, then remarks, "Surprisingly, and in spite of the cracks you can see in a couple of spots, the bridge seems in good enough shape for us to cross it."

Knowledge (dungeoneering): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Awesome, Carbide! It's an honor to be the recipients of such a worthy post number. I'm about 10,000 posts behind you.

"Indeed. The vapor clouds are concerning though."

"Okay, well let's keep going and see what blades wants to show us. I mean, unless this is the trap."

Asvald joins the others in boldly marching across the bridge.

Does anyone have some kind of wind magic for diserseing the potentially hazardous vapors?

The party crosses the bridge, still following the kyton. It flits to the left after the bridge, entering a small cave with rivulets of magma trickling down the north wall. There are four armor-clad bodies here; three are laying on the ground near the north wall, their armor fused and their bodies blackened and charred by contact with the molten rock. The fourth body, a woman, is upright against the wall, where a stray rivulet has cooled against her armor, securing it to the wall. The kyton hovers near this one and points to it with a claw.