DM Carbide's PFS Emerald Spire

Game Master John Woodford

I'm out of spells so I think we should head back and rest.

"Let's return to the surface and rest, I'm still feeling a little sick from all that poison." Kali says with a sigh.

I agree with Torque.

Senja shrugs and says ”Okay by me,“ in response to Kali’s suggestion.

Battered, weakened, and low on spells, the party retreats from the dungeon to rest.

You're not on a clock, so take as long as you need to get yourselves together.

I don't think we needed to do any prep beyond resting, to get spells back and such, and maybe some healing, so I'm ready to go once we've rested.

As the party prepares to head back to the land of lava, Senja offers to lay a dreadful scar on each of his companions, in order to apply his hexes to them at a greater distance.

Me too.

Rested and ready, you return to the site of your last fight. The unpleasant smell still lingers in the air in the narrow passage, but you can avoid it by going through the hole in the wall the gray render left behind when it broke through. There is a good-sized chamber on the other side.

Torque will casts some protective wards on the party before venturing forth into the next chamber. Shield and Shield of Faith on myself. Barkskin and Resist Energy(Fire) on Asvald. Magic Circle vs Evil and Shield of Faith on Eva. Freedom of Movement on Senja. Barkskin on Kali.

Senja lays a quick finger on each of his companions, causing terrible, disfiguring scars to appear on any who don't stop him. "It doesn't look that bad...I guess," he says quietly to himself as a thick, ropy scar grows across the bridge of Torque's nose and up his broad forehead.

He borrows Eva's wand and taps her and himself with it, as protection for whatever surprises await through the hole in the wall.

Put Scar hex on everyone, and cast mage armor from wand.

With the ill effects of the poison now out of her system, Kali seems much more resolute in the team's mission. She casts Resist Energy on herself to give her resistance to fire and gracious accepts any buffs from the others.

A narrow flow of magma wends its way across the cavern floor. To the south, a promontory of jagged stone juts out over a lake of molten rock. Just to the other side of the broken wall is what was apparently the grey render's lair--there are a pair of suits of Hellknight armor that have ben torn apart, but of their occupants there is no sign save dried blood on the armor. Among the wrecked armor bits there is a composite longbow and a pair of arrows that have survived the heat of the area.

Assuming we move into the lair a bit:

Senja follows his companions through the shattered wall, muttering, "You'd think a door would be more practical." Considering the wrecked armor, and the intact bow and brace of arrows, he raises a hand, palm toward the surviving weapons, and concentrates a moment.

Cast detect magic on bow and arrows.

Spellcraft on bow: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17
Spellcraft on arrows: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

The arrows are magical, but the bow is not. Both of the arrows are chaotic outsider slaying arrows.

Torque continues south to explore more of the area.

Torque reaches the promontory jutting out over the roiling lava lake. Here, the ruddy glow from the molten stone joins with the familiar eerie green of the Spire core, which emerges untouched from the magma and pierces the ceiling high above.

The magma enters the chamber from the south, where twin falls of incandescent stone pour down from a higher pool, and seeps away through passages in the northern wall. To the southwest, another promontory juts over the lake; steps on it lead up to a passage that travels further south.

As Torque approaches the promontory, a soft glow catches his eye. It's a "T" rune on the floor, alongside an arrow scratched into the stone and pointing to the southern passage.

"Well, unless somebody has a better idea, let's follow that arrow and see what the 'T' is about," Senja suggests to his companions. He waits for them to lead the way, then follows along behind.

There is a small matter of a lava lake between the party and the southern passage.

Sorry, was having a hard time matching the description to the map, but now I get the bit about the promontory to the southwest being that staircase-looking thing near the Spire - with a pool of lava between us and it.

With a frustrated roll of his eyes, Senja sees his friends hesitate and asks, "You guys don't mean to tell me you don't have a way over this lava? I can fly, but I don't think I can carry any of you. Got any ideas for other ways we could get across this?"

DM - another map question - is the spot where I've drawn the yellow arrow on the map just the end of that bit of passage, or does it continue? From where we are on the map now, I'd think we could see if that's a narrow hallway or just a wall.

That is indeed a narrow passage, just past a narrow lava stream that should be easy to jump over.

"Ababar provides a way. I can get all of us across." I have a Dimension Door prepared which will get us there.

Where to? You've got the short jump to get to an area you haven't been, or you can take Torque up on the d-door.

Let's save the d-door for now.

Short jump to our doom/destiny!

The ceiling and floor slope to meet each other at the far end of this narrow pocket. Torque can see an armored figure half-buried in the far wall, its chest and left side exposed but its right side and head buried under a thin crust of cooled lava.

Taking 10 on Knowledge gets me a 24.

Also, I have a d-door available as well. And I can fly, though am not very strong - with bull’s strength (if someone has one) I could probably carry folks across that gap.

Senja peers out from behind Torque and studies the figure half-buried in the wall, then offers his assessment, ”That is a kolyarut inevitable. It’s kinda part statue and part machine. And it’s stuck pretty good.“

Carbide - how much do I know about these things that I can share? I looked it up so I could give that little description, but would my result of 24 tell me anything about their role in the cosmos?

You get that information as part of general inevitable traits, Senja.

"Is it still functioning? Should we aid it?"

"Is it even alive?" Asvald asks after leaning in enough to spot the figure.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

If so:

"Let's cut it loose. Maybe it'll be thankful and point us in the right direction."

Although the kolyarut's face is covered and it's largely immobilized under the congealed lava, every now and then it tenses as if it's trying to break free. It doesn't have the leverage to do so, though. From outside it looks as though you could free it readily. DC 20 STR check.

"Agreed. It may prove useful."

I'll aid Asvald in breaking it free.

Str: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 And fail

Asvald works with Torque to free the trapped inevitable.

Strength: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Strength: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Strength: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Asvald and Torque manage to break the inevitable free of its stony prison. The outsider does not acknowledge the party, though, as it rises ponderously to its feet. It utters a word in a metallic voice.

Eva studies the creature thoughtfully, wondering whether "kebab" is an expression of gratitude in its language.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

As his companions work to free the kolyarut, Senja provides a little more information on the nature of this particular sort of ineevitable, "These guys are enforcers of bargains. They travel the planes to punish oath-breakers and make sure people stick to deals they've made. As I understand it, they don't care much about the terms of any contract or agreement they're enforcing - they just want to see to it that promises are fulfilled, debts are paid, and balance is maintained."

Once it's free and it says its shiny metal-sounding word, Senja says, "Well, I guess that's to be expected. It just cast the spell discern lies, which does just what it says on the tin." Glancing at his companions, he says, "I don't know if it matters whether we're charming or not, but I seem to get us in trouble when I'm the first to speak to someone. Anyone else want to introduce us?"

Diplomacy, Aid someone if needed: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (7) - 2 = 5

"A kindred spirit as it were then. I should be the one to speak with it in that case." Torque replies to Senja before turning to the creature. "Well met. I am Torque the Lawbringer and these are my allies. We mean you no harm. What brings you to this place filled with chaos?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

With the stony encasement removed, it's clear to Torque that the inevitable was severely damaged by the lava. In a flat voice it replies, "The question is its own answer. Where is the Spire core?"

Do we as characters know what the Spire Core is? I've honestly forgotten if we have.

It's the glowing green heart of the Spire.

Senja points back the way they've come, towards the Spire Core, and responds, "Uh, it's right over there, I can see it from here. Though it's on the other side of a big pool of lava, so it may be tricky to get to." He scratches his narrow chin with a long, slender finger and says, "What do you want with the Core?"

The inevitable ignores Senja's question and limps past the wayang, looking out over the lava pool at the Spire core.

"Abadar has granted me the power to get you to your goal. But as my friend asked, we need to know why you need the Core. Our goals may very well be aligned."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

It gazes back at Torque. "You did free this one from stone. Deep beneath here a struggle exists between this one's ilk and the spawn of the Maelstrom. This one would return to the struggle, though there is little this one could do before being disassembled. Violent interaction with lava has left this one at no more than ten percent capacity."

"We are at full capacity. We would be more than happy to aid you in your righteous quest. But more details would be prudent and useful."

"Yep, prudent and useful, as my friend here says," Senja weighs in. Studying the creature a bit, he adds, "If you're only at ten percent capacity - which sounds pretty rough - is there anything we can do to bring you closer to full capacity, so you can return to the struggle and not just get destroyed?"

"This one requires healing."

"Well, okay, that sounds easy," the wayang replies. He raises a hand tentatively toward the inevitable, as a field of somehow glowing shadow appears on his fingers. When he touches the damaged creature, the shadow spreads like a salve over its surface, filling in cracks and smoothing rough spots.

Healing hex: 2d8 + 9 ⇒ (7, 2) + 9 = 18

"This one expresses gratitude. This one is now between fifteen and twenty percent capacity, depending on the situation. Priest of Abadar, you may not yet have the skill and capability to be of assistance in the conflict. This one advises proceeding carefully."

Which is to say, give it a few levels;-).

Considering how quickly we're leveling against how long in-game we've been delving, it'll be a couple weeks at worst!

"Was there more to see on this level?" Asvald asks his companions that might have been paying more attention. "If not, let's see what's on the next level down."

"Understood." Torque replies with a tinge of disappointment. "I will aid you with further healing." The half orc says as draws a wand on taps the construct with it. Gonna burn the last 3 charges on the wand.

CLW: 3d8 + 3 ⇒ (4, 1, 8) + 3 = 16

There's a bit more on this level yet.

The wand charges restore a bit more of the creature's natural luster, but it's still heavily damaged.