A night's rest can work wonders sometimes, I feel whole again. On to the tower.
The well preserved stone streets show a strange crystalline substance that you did not notice the previous day. Whatever dirt and debris had settled there previously appears to have been swept clean and are now covered with a strange thin shimmering coat of the substance.
Give me an additional perception check and a survival/tracking roll to see you navigate towards the tower and its ill looking jade lights...
It feels like you are making progress towards the tower but the strange layout of the city and alien architecture make it hard to determine how close you really are. The flashes of jade light are definitely brighter and the malevolent air of the place weighs heavier upon you.
As you navigate the streets you hear the faint sound as if something massive was being dragged across dry sand. The sound becomes less faint by the moment and you know whatever it is approaches your location.
Ang will use divine bond to add the flaming ability to his hammer.
At least it doesn't sound like shadows.
A massive primeval slug, about the size of a large wagon, rounds a nearby corner moving at pace much faster than you would expect given its smaller brethren.
Its various tentacles and antennae probe the air searching for things to consume. Given the increase in the twitching of the various pseudopods at its head, you assume that it senses a nearby meal (you) although it does not appear to have found your specific location as of yet.
Use detest evil.
Is it evil?
Is it too big to enter buildings? Any nearby I can enter to avoid the slug?
It is not evil; it is also big and you would guess too large to enter a building but you don't know what dangers might be inside any building you choose to enter and hide out in. It took you a little bit the night before to find a space you found trustworthy to rest in.
Whatever may inhabit these structures is likely just as dangerous as this thing, maybe I can just avoid it.
Ang will throw a rock away from him in another direction and then try to duck behind the nearest structure and circle around it to see if that will confuse the thing and enable him to avoid it.
The thrown rock clatters down the street and is completely ignored by the giant gastropod. It does, however, 'see' you as you try and evade it and picks up the pace. You don't think you are going to be able to outrun it and guess that it knows the layout of the streets better than you do.
That didn’t work as planned, guess it’s time to fight.
Ang lays in wait for the stalking slug and attempts to get the drop on it but the creature's strange senses give it the edge.
Round 1:
As it moves towards your position, the slug disgorges a blast of mucus at you (above). If it hits DC 15 REF save to avoid being further coated in mucus causing 1d4 acid/round for 5 rounds and reducing your speed by 5.
You first hammer strike connects, but the spongy body of the creature diminishes some of the damage.
Round 2:
The slug uses its speed to trample you
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rule s/
1st damage is physical; 2nd is acid, if DC 27 save is failed take additional 1d4 acid/round for 5 rounds and reduce speed by 5 (not cumulative).
DC 27 REF save for 1/2
Ang action
43 dam taking into account acid resistance 5
Maybe I should have tried a building.
-11
Ang's hammer mashes twice more, stinging the massive beast which hisses in pain before lashing back with its ravenous radula
The last 2d8 is acid.
Hiss away foul beast, you should have sought a meal elsewhere.
full hp
You mash the giant slug again and it disperses an opaque cloud of acid to cover its retreat; clearly it agrees with your assessment and quickly moves off in search of a different meal.
DC 20 REF or take ; save for 1/2.
Ugghh, a parting gift I suppose.
Ang will channel energy and then continue on.
-3hp
After a few additional mis-turns and double backs you find your way to the base of the tower. The peculiar edifice is a testament to the genius of some insane architect as you can't imaging how it is able to stop itself from falling over. Various levels of the building jut out at awkward angles making it appear to the eye as if the disjointed weights of the structure are pulling against each other at just the right angle to prevent the entire construction from falling over.
The bottom level of the tower is made out of brick that appears to be fired from mud pulled out of the surrounding lake, about 40' high. The bricks are dark grey in color, with some lapis lazuli murals set in. The only entrance you can see is at the edge of a jutting triangle protruding from one side of the structure. There is a ramp that leads from the street down through a low trough (like a moat) before leading back up to the door. The trough is currently dry, but there is a thick layer of green fog layered over it that eddies about as if driven by some current of air even though there is no apparent breeze.
So Ang would have to travel through the green fog to get to the tower? How deep is the layer of fog?
The depression/moat is about 10' deep and thick full of the fog. You don't see any apparent way to the door without going through it. It appears as if the low rolling mist that pervades the city has pooled up there.
Cast Protection from Evil on self and then through the fog.
Torag give me the strength to prevail.
You do your best to hold your breath as you navigate the ramp which turns out to be slippery from the thick greenish fog. The air stings your nostrils and makes your skin incredibly itchy; it almost seems to feel like it is clawing at you.
DC 15 REF save or slip off the ramp into the depression surrounding the tower taking .
DC 20 FORT save or become sickened.
Ang will activate his slippers of spider climb if he believes that will help avoid continued chances to slip.
.
(Should've detected evil last round to see if I could find anything in the fog that way.)
Keep moving forward.
(Should've detected evil last round to see if I could find anything in the fog that way.)
A miasmal form of barbed tentacles emerging from the central mass, coalescing into razor-sharp talons and claws pops out of the fog and attacks you.
Surprise round on FF AC:
The tentacles don't do much damage but they are able to grab you and bring you in close to the central mass and the evil mist of the creature sucks away your health dealing
The evil mist creature maintains the initiative and continues its attack!
It is unable to maintain its hold on you and you break free from the CON stealing mist!
Make a DC 15 REF save each round to avoid falling into the pit. If you fail the save you can activate your slippers to avoid the fall as well, or just activate them now to avoid rolling for 10 rounds.
Is second set of attacks on FF AC as well, makes difference of 2hp!
Definitely would have activate slippers last round upon noticing chance to slip.
Is the creature made of mist or just came from the mist/fog?
Use divine bond to add +1 to hammer.
Fool! You could have detected this abomination had you thought to use your divine abilities.
-19/21 of 51
-2 CON (max hp 51)
Second set of attacks was on regular AC.
Your activated slippers give you firm purchase on the ramp, preventing you from having any chance of slipping. The creature's semi-solid body appears to be composed of a strange, white smoke, the tips of its misty tentacles ending in wickedly barbed talons.
You connect with two hammer blows dealing what appears to be significant damage as it rips back at you:
Your defenses prevent the creature from enveloping you once more and siphoning away your vital fluids.
Back to whatever hell you came from creature!
-24 of 51
-2 con
You smash the savage thing with your hammer twice more and it falls lifeless into the depths of the thick fog on the side of the ramp.
Ang will perform LOH, activating his bracers of the merciful knight to provide the lesser restore.
Look about for sacks of treasure and use detect evil!
No more blundering about.
Move forward to the tower.
You don't detect any direct evil, but you do find the strange nature of the fog seems to be in fused with some evil. You wonder if you would have been able to sense the mist creature in it?
There might be sacks of treasures down below in the fog, but you think it better to not take the risk and make your way to the tower door.
The door is large (about 10' tall) and made entirely of dark stone inlaid with various sigils and glyphs. There also appears to be some strange strange writing on it penned in what you think is blood. You see no handle or other means to move the door.
Ang searches his memory regarding anything that might help with the door or the symbols and writing on it.
Looks for anything that might operate the door and for any other openings higher up the tower.
The most that Ang can figure is that the glyphs and sigils are mostly some type of art work in lapis lazuli, probably inscribed by the original builders. There appears to be some language included as well and you would guess that it is instruction on how to open the door through verbal or magical means.
The blood writing appears much newer (maybe just a couple of months old?) and is written in a different language entirely. Your guess is that it was involved in some form of spell casting.
There are additional openings further up the tower but they start at the second tier (40'+ high) where the dark mud brick transitions to a smooth series of granite blocks. The strange and uneven construction of the building might allow for a climb up to the closest opening. It would require several difficult but not impossible climbing rolls (DC 20).
Guess I’m heading up.
Use slippers of spider climb to reach closest opening.
Using your magical footwear you move up the 40' to make it to the opening above. The stone jutting out from the tower appears to be some type of landing. Maybe beings that flew or rode on flying creatures entered the tower this way?
The landing is about 5'x5' and there is an obsidian door in the tower. This door appears more normal than the one below and you can see a handle that you think would open it even if it clearly was not designed for a human hand. There is artwork on it as well but nothing as elaborate as you saw on the ground floor door.
More bloody script, probably some sort of trap.
Ang attempts to open the door.
Ang opens the door and a blast of electrical energy flows from the door INSIDE to the room beyond. It seems as if maybe the trap was designed to keep things from getting OUT of the tower instead of in to it. You wait a few moments to the roiling electrical storm to subside before moving in.
The room holds the shattered remains of strange looking wooden furniture. There are doors on the left and right sides of the asymmetric room as well as a set of stairs curving down. As with the cavern outside, there is no lighting and you are totally dependent on your darkvision.
Detect evil.
Check out the furnishings and doors.
Does Ang believe the stairs lead down to the front door based on location.
If everything is clear, move to and open door to the right.
Interesting trap. Thank Torag for my ability to see in the dark, using light in this place would surely draw even more strange things to oppose me.
The doors are made of a strange, soft wood. Some type that grows in underground caverns? The furnishings are largely destroyed from the magical blast, but the pieces that are intact-ish (also made from the soft wood) are as alien and foreign to your mind's concept of furniture as the architecture of the city is.
Your guess is that the stairs should lead down to the first level of the tower, but given the size of the base (40' high) it is entirely possible that there is a level in between the ground entrance and where you are now.
Seeing no threat you make your way towards and open the door on the right hand side of the awkwardly built room. The door opens to another strangely formed long room (almost like a super wide hallway) with no furniture, only oddly carved alcoves that are naturally recessed into the stone walls. At the end of the room is another door that looks like it is constructed from the same soft wood as the last one.
Scattered throughout the long room are the remains of several shattered and broken bronze statues that appear similar in craftsmanship to the massive ones you destroyed at the entrance of the causeway to the city. Intermingled with the remnants of the statues are several corpses of humanoids.
Detect evil.
How old do the corpses look? What type of wounds?
Hmmm, perhaps the humanoids fought the statues?
Move through the room to the door and open.
The corpses are a little more than 2 months old? The wounds were clearly made by the sharp claws and edges of the brass figures. The humanoid corpses radiate strong evil.
Does Ang think the corpses are going to animate? Do evil things usually detect as evil after they have been slain?
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/d/detect-evil/
You sense a lingering evil throughout the hallway; something horrible happened here at some point in the not too distant past. The corpses also detect as evil and although they are not currently animate it would not surprise you in the least if they are just waiting for a trigger to do so.
Let's see what lies the other way.
Ang will back out of the room close the door, then open the left door in the first room.
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The door opens to what appears to be a form of stables, you guess for arial steeds. There are several sets of stables, some what you would expect some with perches and bars hanging from the ceilings. There are groups of barrels and boxes spread throughout. The room curves around the side of the tower and ends where you guess the wide hallway is.
In the mess your keen eyes pick out a gem encrusted bridle, for what type of beast you can't tell, that you guess is worth 1,000GP.
Detect evil then move forward to secure the bridle.
An aerial steed, that would be a sight worth seeing.
Any other exits from this room?
If not return to the corpse room.
You don't sense any evil in this area or other exits. You secure the harness and return the area with the corpses and destroyed bronze statues. Nothing appears to have changed since your last visit.
Move forward to next door and open.
Avoid corpses moving through the room.
Hopefully my presence doesn’t cause these corpses to animate.
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You make your way through the long room, the scent of rotting death still lingering in the air, and make it to the door on the far side without incident. You see a few of the dead humanoids wear tabbards with the symbol of an evil looking rat biting down on a gold coin.
Hmm, can’t recall having seen that before.
Open door.