Theophilus takes out a notebook, pen and a measuring stick.
The White Rabbit is seen working on a rubix cube.
Mara was dizzy from walking around in this crazy metropolis. She went inside to find a place where she didn't have to look at the bizarre architecture.
"This may or may not be the same opening we came out of. I can't tell."
Thoroughly confused, Dervak will cast Shield and go inside.
The disorienting shifts of the building and her perspective remind Ci Ci of a story from her childhood.
"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the..."
She trails off, then shakes her head.
Don't go mad. Keep it together, Ci Ci!
Allegra looks around grumpily at all of these things that make zero sense but soldiers on, trying to put them out of her mind.
Ropey strands of sickly fungus stretch across this rough-hewn chamber’s walls. Vine-like growths hang down from the ceiling, some ascending through a ten-foot-wide aperture more than forty feet above.
Mara didn't like the look of the sticky fungus. She recited a prayer to keep protect herself from being grabbed.
"I'm going to fly up there. Dervak, if you don't want to climb the sticky strands, we could support you. Be careful in case the gravity does something weird again; this place is messed up!"
"I'll climb as long as someone can cover me."
I can summon someone to do that scouting to see if we die stuff?
Allegra will cover Dervak, ascending the 10 ft cylinder that goes through the aperture like a spiral staircase with her Airwalk. She'll try to avoid the strands as much as possible.
Kaklatath waits as the rest of the party ascends and then easily starts climbing up the fungus.
The ease at which she climbs suggests that she’s not as incapable as she has made herself out to be.
Dervak climbs through the fissure in the fungus. Here the fungal growths are even denser, forming a thick mat of alien, organic matter whose many projections make for treacherous footing. As Dervak looks around he sees a number of small birds staring back at him silently; they all show signs of the same corruption you saw in the chambers below, misshapen fungal growths sprout from their bodies.
They take flight, massing in a twisting undulating swarm, swirling ominously closer.
You've encountered diminutive swarms before.
Mara flew into the chamber, trying to identify the fungal birds, and bestowed good luck on Dervak; she didn't like the look of the infected avians!
Round 1 Chamber of the Gutswarms
Theophilus flies into the chamber.
Gutswarms?
The Witch decides to take a chance. He recall a time once when he would wait for the information from his brain to make it to his fingers; but, these Gutsswarms? seem to be about to descend down upon them with great vengeance!
The Witch fans out his fingers aiming a bit upwards.
Dervak, duck, duck, gooose!
The Witch then smiles.
The gutsswarm twist and reel away from the frigid cold blast. But at least three score of the birds are frozen solid.
After thinking on it Theo is certain that these birds are small and simple sea-birds, given twisted new life by the Neruzavin corruption.
Ci Ci calls upon her power, and discorporates into a cloud of burning ash. She rushes up to the swarm of birds attacking Mara and Theo, singing the flock as she goes.
Mara backed out of the swarm, her divine magic helping her keep her footing. She bestowed Theo with good fortune and started chanting.
Round 2
Theophilus frowns. He looks at his fingers. He watches the Flock of Seagulls begin circling him.
The Witch's foot seems to be tapping, tapping, tapping on the mossy floor!
He does seem overjoyed to be Fortuned!
Fortunately, our slightly distracted Witch seems to be only distracted by the music; thanks to our gracious Mara!
Theo decides to follow the Yellow Brick Road across the room. He floats over.
The Witch then decides to light the Flock of Seagulls up!
Everyone's a critic!
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Dervak has a Swarmbane Clasp, so he is immune to Distraction, and can deal full damage to swarms with his sword.
He should get an AOO as the swarm enters his space.
Then he Str-rages, uses Arcane Strike, and starts destroying the swarm.
The swarms of birds don’t seem to be bothered much by Ci Ci’s now smoky body, but a few of the infested sea birds die in bursts of flame. Theo begins tossing lightning, causing a great number of fungal birds convulsing. Devak’s blade, enabled by his clasp, cuts down birds by the hundreds.
Theo whispers to Allegra something about these birds being given "twisted new life?"....
Allegra steps up into the room and calls upon Torag and Iomedae to cleanse the filth in the room.
Allegra takes Theo's hunch and runs with it, the light of the Inheritor and the Father of Creation fills the room burning away some of the corruption in the birds.
The fungal sea birds continue to peck and harass Dervak and Mara.
Dervak will continue to save the Fortune hex for any saves he might need to make.
He continues attacking with his sword. If he drops the first swarm (Black), he will redirect to the other.
Mara stood within the swarm of infected bird and focused on maintaining her chant.
Not wanting to endanger her companions by unleashing a large fire spell on the swarm, Ci Ci instead remains in her burning ash form and swoops into the flock of birds again.
Round 3
Theophilus claps his hand together! He Hexes the Flock of Seagulls around Mara and CiCi!
Theophilus will decide to shake his fist in fury at the Flock of Seagulls.
Between Dervak's falchion slaying birds by the hundreds and Ci Ci's fiery form nearly all of them are destroyed. The rest of the flock disperse back to the fungal strands above.
Behind a thick sheet of fungus your find a set of stairs that ascend upwards. An opening also leads outside.
Dervak ends his rage (2 rounds, so 4 rounds fatigued) and begins cleaning off his blade. He'll throw away whatever rag he takes from his pack to clean the falchion, not wanting to carry any of the fungus with him.
Once the party is ready to continue, he will lead the way up the stairs.
Theophilus taps Dervak repeatedly.
Anyone else?
You ascend the stairs for over 200 feet. The iron fittings here have crumbled to rust, and desiccated scraps of wood mark where furniture once stood in this nearly square chamber. Broad, short windows provide a commanding view of the city, indicating that this room is at the top of one of the tallest towers. At the room’s center stands a twelve-foot-tall column with a single flat face inscribed with dozens of runes.
You've seen something very much like this before
Mara healed herself with her healing hex and a charge of her own wand.
Then she turned her attention to Dervak's wounds.
She followed Dervak up the stairs, finally arriving at what looked like another Star Stela. She scanned it for magic auras and examined it carefully.
"It looks like the Star Stelae in Thrushmoor I'm guessing there's two more here in the city."
Dervak will look for signs of recent passage.
"Any idea what we should do with this one?"
Ci Ci detects faint conjuration and transmutation auras from the stone; it provides no other insight into its purpose. Ci Ci and the rest of the party still feel drawn to it . It's important but you don't know how or why.
As you continue to investigate the area for recent passing from Lowls or others you begin to hear a mournful wailing that grows angrier and louder with each second. The sound comes from above you.
Mara tried to determine if there was a haunt at play here. She looked up to find the source of the wail and concentrated, causing her form to waver.
Theophilus sighs.
There better be a refreshments stand up these stairs.
Theophilus sighs.
There better be deja vu looking at this column with a face on it.
Theophilus sighs.
There better be some poor sap who walked up all those stairs, expecting to have some refreshments; moaning up there.
The translucent image of a woman with silver voids instead of eyes descends into the chamber. She wears ancient Ninshabur garb and holds a bastard sword in one hand. Ghostly blue flames dance around her. She speaks an arcane word and the sword drips with all too real acid.
The sight of the woman’s empty eyes causes your nose, eyes, and ears to bleed.
Ci Ci feels the darkness pulling the life from her body, and calls upon the light to keep it from slipping away. Her hands wreathed in flames, which travel up her arms and throughout her body.
Dervak will use Barroom Brawler to pick up Ghostslayer as a move action, activate the feat as a swift action, then Dex-rage casting Bladed Dash as a free action, and finally strike as a standard action. Using Fighting Defensively.
Dervak's AC against incorporeal touch should be a 28 (+4 Dex, +4 Shield spell, +2 Deflection, +5 Luck, +3 Fighting Defensively).
Round 1
Theophilus screams at the awful sight of the apparition!
He then promptly wipes his forehead with a clean handkerchief from The White Rabbit.
Should've made you a Valet.
The White Rabbit kicks him in the trouser leg.
Ouch! I am not certain of what it is; but, I am thinking our Dervak will find out!
The Witch then Fortune Hexes the Bloodrager.
The elderly former slave backs away out of the room when she sees the danger.
Dervak doesn't hesitate and confronts the ghostly woman and she becomes blurry where his falchion cuts her ethereal flesh.
Mara started bleeding from her nose, eyes and mouth. She concentrated to accept some luck from the Heavens spirits and flew around the stone, next to the spirit, determined to banish it by force.
As Dervak strikes the ghostly woman the blue flames reach out and burn the bloodrager.
The woman strikes Dervak through his armor and magical protections in a perfect strike. The blade cuts through his chest that burns his flesh and spirit.