Dervak flies closer to the giant and casts a spell.
Hasted, Allegra pounds sand and runs toward the giant on the ground. On the way, she prays for the battle prowess of Iomedae herself.
Allegra and Mara realize just a moment too late that the sand underneath the brush pile begins to suddenly shift and move. With an explosion of sand and black chitin a scorpion of truly monstrous size emerges and charges Allegra!
The scorpion grasps Allegra in both claws, her armor screeches and groans as it begins to squeeze the hellknight. It's gigantic stinger punctures through her armor, right behind her clavicle. Allegra's feels weakened and sluggish as the wound lights on fire with pain.
Two rocks sail past Mara and Dervak crashing and breaking on desert ground.
Mara flew forward and spoke a command word to loosen the scorpion's grip on Allegra. Then she concentrated, causing a stream of stardust to flow from her towards the arachnid, surrounding it in a twinkling halo.
Ci Ci flies forward and extends her hand towards the scorpion.
"Mirv Elarem!"
Dervak flies forward and slashes at the giant.
Theo double flies 45' and 10' up.
Allegra keeps her axe in her shield hand and starts punching the scorpion with a gauntleted fist.
Allegra struggles to escape the scorpion’s grasp but it’s claws give her little opportunity for leverage. Ci Ci’s missiles unerringly strike the scorpion but it does little to slow the gargantuan arachnid down. Dervak crashes into the pus and pustule covered giant, falchion first. Allegra punches chitin and thick crack lines form, spilling hemolymph onto the sand.
The scorpion responds by squeezing tighter until she passes out from the pain.
The nearly dead giant swats at the flying bloodrager but only manages to disrupt one of his illusions. Another rock slams into Mara.
Mara feared for Allegra's life; she flew down to the ground, created a portal and yanked the warrior through it. She hoped that Theo and Ci-Ci could kill the giant scorpion before it pounced on her.
Dervak slashes at the giant again. If that drops his foe, he will fly down into combat with the giant scorpion.
Round 3
Theophilus watches in horror the Giant Scorpion squeezing Allegra like Charmin!
Don't squeeze our The Allegra!
The Witch (25' high in the air) decides to fight fire with fire...sort of speak!
He cast Summon Monster 6.
Fiendish Big John Studd bursts forth from Hell to roar a challenge to the Giant Scorpion (which will be from now on referred to as Andre the Giant!).
Ci Ci unleashes another volley of magic missiles at the scorpion.
As Theo's triceratops and Ci Ci take down the massive scorpion and his clan-mate the remaining giant laughs with a certain of sadistic glee. He sets down the rock he was about to toss at Mara and says in common, "Your brutality is to be commended! Mother Grim Moon sent us to test you. Come, I will bring you to her."
Mara started healing Allegra; she wondered who Mother Grim Moon was. In any case it was imperative to get her friend back on her feet again.
Theophilus flies over to Big John Studd. The floating Witch (25') gives the remaining Giant a hard look...
Seems honorable to me!
Theophilus begins speaking Giant.
And he looks to Theophilus. "Yes, I speak their language."
Mara healed Allegra again, then told everyone, "I'm going to meditate for some healing spells, before we meet Mother Grim Moon." She found a comfortable spot and sat down with her dolls to meditate.
3rd lvl: Heroism
4th lvl: Cure Critical Wounds
5th lvl: Breath of Life
6th lvl: Mass Cure Moderate Wounds
Once she had finished, she asked the wounded party members to gather around her and intoned a prayer.
The giant goes to pat Theo's head. "No treachery. Mother Grim Moon wants to talk to you."
The giant climbs the cliff and then slaps the fallen giant. After no response he slides down. He chuckles at the thought, "It will be funny to leave Kal! You're right little man."
As you walk for the next couple of days the giant, who's name is Pohup, answers your questions to the best of his abilities. "Mother Grim Moon serves Groetus. She is with the Shattered Smile tribe for a month, then she will go to the Laughing Night and around all the other tribes in turn."
Pohup is leading you slightly off course, it will add a couple of days to your journey.
Dervak does not know of Groetus...
He rejoins Kaklatath and the camels, mounts up, and follows Pohup through the Parchlands.
Theophilus grins from ear to ear. as the Giant pats him on the Head.
He deftly removes his Hat; just before the aforementioned pat!
Theo will offer his Wand of Cure Moderate or Light Wounds to those that look f$~$ed up.
The White Rabbit seems to be making a homemade poultice. Smells like teen spirit....
Mara healed Allegra some more.
She also recalled a curative spell with her pearl of power and healed herself.
"Groetus is the god of the end times, isn't he?", Mara whispered to her comrades. She presumed it must be some sort of doomsday cult.
When they stopped for the night, she healed herself again before going to sleep.
”Well, if we won her respect, and an audience with her, it might be poor manners to refuse. In fact, it might bring the entire tribe of giants down on us. That would be Nine Hell’s of an adversary instead of a potential ally. As long as we make it clear that we can’t hang about for festivities, we should be okay.”
On the 12th day
Several dozen broad tents of hides stretched across bone and chitin supports sprawl out in the shadow of a steep-sided hill. Glassy rivulets of broken obsidian slither down the dark slopes, and the entire peak is cleft in two as if split by some tremendous force. A dozen or so giants leer at you with ghastly smiles but change to worried glance as they realize where you're being led, you are brought before Mother Grim Moon.
Wrinkles radiate like cobwebs across the leathery mask that is the face of this aging ash giant. Her stare intensifies, and her smile twists into a rictus of delight. “At long last, the dreamers arrive. Survivors of Sarnath, delvers of darkness, seekers of the oasis, they who walked the sleeping forest and spoke to the Yellow King. You have walked upon the moon with footsteps that echo of the end times.” Wheezing punctuates her cackles. “Yes, yes, I have awaited you. Tell me of what you would do before the world dies.”
Theophilus smiles at the mention of the Moon bit. He sighs in remembrance...
The White Rabbit looks up, sees Theo in another daydream, and promptly kicks the Mad Hatter!
Ouch! How rude! I was just thinking about that fun trip to the Mooon!
Another swift kick to the pantaloons (one must try to fit in) from The White Rabbit.
Yes, well, much gratitude Madam for seeing us on such...err...I was about to say short notice; but, it seems that is false.
He smiles at Mother Grim Moon.
Theo then bows to her; sweeping off his Hat. He proudly; most assuredly proclaims
To beat the s+*$ out of Lowls! And stop his f+%@ed up schemes once and for all!
"I hope we have much time before the world ends. We need to stop Lowls, as my friend says. He is tampering with things that could mean the end of Golarion, sooner rather than later, though I am not exactly sure how.
But we must find him and stop him.
Do you know anything about where he has gone or what he is attempting to do?"
1st lvl (6): Ant Haul, Endure Elements x3, Liberating Command, Unbreakable Heart, Color Spray (spirit)
2nd lvl (6): Barkskin x3, Calm Emotions, Delay Poison, open slot, Hypnotic Pattern (spirit)
3rd lvl (6): Heroism x3, Dispel Magic, Sylvan Hideway, open slot, Daylight (spirit)
4th lvl (5): Blessing of Fervor, Freedom of Movement, Slowing Mud, Spiritual Ally, open slot, Rainbow Pattern (spirit)
5th lvl (4): Baleful Polymorph, Breath of Life, open slot, Overland Flight (spirit)
6th lvl (3): Greater Dispel Magic, Wall of Stone, open slot, Chain Lightning (spirit)
During the journey to meet with Mother Grim Moon, Mara asked Pohup, "Did a human nobleman come this way a few days ago? We think he was on his way to this area. He calls himself Count Haserton Lowls IV."
She also asked Kaklatath if she knew about the ominously sounding woman they were on their way to meet.
Before meeting with Mother Grim Moon, Mara said a prayer to prepare.
She replied to the old giant woman, "Yes, we have seen much. We are following a man called Count Haserton Lowls IV, from Ustalav. He stole a rare occult tome from the Mysterium in Katheer. He is not to be trusted!"
"You clearly know our mission already. If you wanted to stop us, you would have sent more of your tribe and ordered them to kill us, not simply test us. What do you wish to tell us?" Ci Ci asks.
The giantess's voice is dark and deep, her voice threatens to push you into a restless slumber.
“The Shattered Smile saw him travel to the holy city from the west, but he had entered its sacred ground before our people could catch him. He was not alone. Many small folk kowtowed in his wake. He is a fool, yet even a fool can awaken the world-eater, and he has its taint upon him. I shall not help that puny man condemn this world. I shall not stand alongside those who would prevent it. If the world ends, that is Groetus’s will. I shall only offer you my blessing and my wisdom, that you might be heralds of this realm’s salvation or its damnation.”
Allegra heals up and does a lot of glowering and keeping her opinions to herself over the next few days. She absolutely scans all of the giants she can for chaos, and consequently keeps her distance from them wherever possible. She's very uncomfortable going to their camp, and will voice this privately to the group, especially given that they were set on killing the group earlier and seemed to have little value for life. She absolutely keeps up her long term buffs and watches them like a hawk, but as long as they're not actively trying to kill the group, she'll wait to see what information they have on the man actively trying to end the world.
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Allegra detects lots of chaos.
Mara bowed slightly to the aged giantess, "We are those who would prevent Lowls' destruction of the world. I would appreciate any information about where he has gone, and what exactly he is trying to do."
“It is a dead city, abandoned by all but those who can gaze into the apocalypse and survive. Only the seeded, the worldeater’s children, stir the dust with their feet. Stone buildings loom and twist, rising too high and at strange angles without windows. Three pillars stranger than all others are not half so tall. Instead they bear the language of other realms, inscribed with rituals and promises to bind this world to another. I slept beneath each pillar once, each night awakening with overwhelming urges to consume, doubt, or revel. Last, beware the sleepers below. They sing. They whistle. They whisper, promising to consume all that live. They can taste your very breath. One lies near the city’s western edge.”
As Mother Grim Moon describes Neruzavin, Kaklatath tenses. Images of decaying humanoids topped with ropey fungus and grotesque webs enter your mind, ”The seeded are those infected by the knowledge of Xhamen Dor.” Your thoughts are further assaulted with visions of enormous flying masses of flesh, eyes, mouths, and tentacles. The polypous mass phases in and out of reality randomly, revealing its internal organs and structures. A maddening whistle of wind accompanies the vision. ”We need to hurry. The sleepers are a different threat but no less dire.”
With Mother Grim Moon’s description of the city you gather there are several distinct areas to explore. Each has a pillar with strange carvings on them. The first is near the southwestern approach, this is where Lowls entered the city. The second is located in an area called the Snarl, an area where a number of Neruzavin's towers have been toppled. The Third is on the northeastern approach.
"What can you tell us about the scorpion-people?"
Sounds like my mind. Can't be any more related. Mixed pieces of a puzzle easily solved if one only sees.
"How long ago did Lowls enter the city?", Mara asked. Were they even catching up to their former employer?
”The girtablilu dare not enter the holy city. They have warred with the Shattered Smile and other tribes and failed. Their weakness is of no consequence. The fool has been within the holy city for one moon.”
Mara followed up, "Do you know what he is after in the holy city? And what special dangers should we watch out for?"
Can't we just wait for him at the Third Pillar?
Theo sits, taking off his boots.
My feet hurt.
The White Rabbit looks a the camel; then back at Theo with a giggle.
The camel does not look even remotely amused!
"Are the Pillars gateways, doors, or locks of some sort that he must open, or are they sources of power he must tap into?" Ci Ci asks. "Either way, I would think stopping him before he has access to the first two would be preferable."
"The fool seeks to awaken the world-eater, that which slumbers within the oasis trading dreams for souls. Those who lack the spirit to understand its call are immune. Those of fecund mind become host to its evil and spread its seed across the world but to oppose it you must submit to its taint. If you seek it out, you will surely awaken it, if it has not been already."
"The dangers you will face will be myriad. Defiance of heaven, maddening winds, the saffron throne, an evil from your past."
"The pillars are gateways and the book is the key."
Theophilus seems distracted by trying to make shadow puppets.
The White Rabbit is furiously taking notes.
"Let's get started, then. This 'sleeper below,' near the city's western edge? If it poses a danger to us, and might come after us when we weren't ready, we should take the fight to it."
If we are following Lowls; wouldn't any guardians already been dealt with by Lowls? Unless he is amassing his own following along the way.
Ci Ci nods. "So, stopping him as soon as possible is our priority. It appears we will need to bid our farewells to our fine hosts and make our way to the city as fast as our camels can carry us."
Mara told her friends, "I'm going to meditate and prepare for the city of Neruzavin." She sat down with her dolls fo a few minutes, filling several empty slots with appropriate prayers.
1st lvl (6): Ant Haul, Endure Elements x3, Liberating Command, Unbreakable Heart, Color Spray (spirit)
2nd lvl (6): Barkskin x3, Calm Emotions, Delay Poison, open slot->Resist Energy, Hypnotic Pattern (spirit)
3rd lvl (6): Heroism x3, Dispel Magic, Sylvan Hideway, open slot->Sleet Storm, Daylight (spirit)
4th lvl (5): Blessing of Fervor, Freedom of Movement, Slowing Mud, Spiritual Ally, open slot->Blessing of Fervor, Rainbow Pattern (spirit)
5th lvl (4): Baleful Polymorph, Breath of Life, open slot->Breath of Life, Overland Flight (spirit)
6th lvl (3): Greater Dispel Magic, Wall of Stone, open slot, Chain Lightning (spirit)
Once she way finished, she stood up, "Ready! If we go after the sleeper below near the western edge, that would mean entering at the first pillar, right?."
You have 4 days of travel left.
Theophilus only falls off his camel
The White Rabbit has the over/under at 6 times. He is taking bets....