Ci Ci wreathes her hand in shimmering flame, quickly kneels, and touches Dervak.
Mara cursed her poor choice of tactics and backed up, calling on Sarenrae to send Charlabu to aid her. The gold-colored hound archon appeared next to the hostile apparition and struck with his scimitar. She started to chant.
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Round 2
Theophilus watches in horror at the mangled, bloodied, battered, sliced, chopped, desecrated, filleted, cut to ribbons Dervak!
Oh, my! Stay strong, my friend! Help is on the way!
The Witch summons a Lilend.
The Lilend appears next to Dervak. She looks at Theo.
Theo smiles.
Performance
Round 1: Allegra swift casts Divine Favor, moves up, and Improved Vital Strikes.
Round 2: She enacts Sacred Weapon, 5 foot steps into the flank, and attacks twice.
If the ghost is still up after Allegra's attacks, then Dervak will cast Magic Missile. He is prone, fatigued, and disarmed, but this is at least something he can do.
Charlabu’s scimitar cares not for the ghostly blue flames and lays into the apparition with abandon. Allegra rouses from her stupor swiftly coming to the aid of her nearly killed companion, freezing herself in the process.
With a final blow from the exiled hellknight, the apparition of the woman drops her bastard sword; it dissolves into ethereal mist. Her eyes fill in and look human again, her form becomes soft and devoid of anger. She speaks in a strange language that occasionally sounds like Kelish but definitely isn’t.
Kaklatath creeps back into the room now that the danger is passed she speaks into your minds with visions of a titanic dinosaur-like creature squashing a great and ancient city, ”I can translate her words if needed.”
Mara thanked Charlabu for his loyal service, "I always know I can count on you."
She healed Allegra saying, "This should help with some of the wounds."
She said to Theopilus, "I shall need some help healing Dervak. I can meditate and gain a small number of curative prayers."
Allegra thanks Mara for the healing. "I continue to detest this place, for the record."
She then dutifully records her own comment in The Record.
3/day—darkness, hallucinatory terrain (DC 18), knock, light
1/day—charm person (DC 15), speak with animals, speak with plants
Spells Known (CL 7th)
3rd (2/day)—charm monster (DC 17), cure serious wounds
2nd (4/day)—hold person (DC 16), invisibility, sound burst (DC 16), suggestion (DC 16)
1st (5/day)—charm person (DC 15), cure light wounds, identify, sleep (DC 15)
0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), detect magic, lullaby (DC 14), mage hand, read magic
Theo continues to sing, as Lilly begins Healing Dervak.
Dervak does feel that Lilly is a professional!
Theo also taps Dervak with his Wand of Cure Light Wounds.
The Witch (still singing) taps Mara next. He switches Wands.
He then sauters over to Allegra.
As the gentleman finishes, he then concludes his song next to Lilly; who also joined in the singing!
Allegra's Record is not what used to be. A jumbled scramble of disorganized reports with insane ramblings. Reports she doesn't remember making and marginalia reneging previous entries. The hand is unsteady but distinctly Allegra's.
In the background a ghostly woman in ancient dress gazes at you with the patience of someone who's waited 5000 years to speak to someone.
"Ask her if we are too late to stop Count Lowls," Ci Ci says to Kaklatath.
Dervak stands, picks up and sheathes his falchion, and addresses the ghost.
"You fight well. That freezing shield is a tactic I should be wary of."
Dervak speaks modern Kelish, so the ancient language might be partially intelligible to him, but only partially. He relies on Kaklathath to interpret.
"How can we put your spirit to rest?"
The dead still unnerve him, even after all this time. Especially those that speak.
Lilly uses 4 more Cure Light Wounds.
Theo and Lilly have a moment....
Kaklatath dutifully translates the ghost’s words, after apologizing again for the attack she introduces herself, ”I am Upianshe formerly of Ninshabur. A group of mercenaries who followed a madman were able to quell my anger, only to perform a ritual on the monument before you. It briefly activated and attuned to the madman. They then left the way they came. It only feels like moments ago but it must have been longer.”
On the subject of putting her spirit to rest, ”My blade must be recovered and set to its purpose again. The evil that blights this city must be removed. One in the undercity and one in the lake.”
Kaklatath tenses as she conveys the last of the message and adds for the party’s benefit only. ”Xhamen-Dor still lies dormant in the lake, it cannot be truly defeated. If all knowledge of it can be erased it will not be able to find minds fertile enough to grow and consume your world.”
Kaklatath hesitates, ”If the seals below the city have been broken then my people’s ancient foe, the flying polyps, are on the verge of escaping. I’m sorry to ask more of you but we need to repair the seals.”
Mara knows something of Ninshabur due to its importance as a cautionary tale in her faith.
Mara explained to her companions, "Ninshabur was once a great empire. But it was largely destroyed by the spawn of the Rough Beast: the Tarrasque. Its once-grand structures are now little more than dust-choked ruins, and its people only wandering ghosts." She glanced towards Kaklatath.
She asked the spirit, "Was the madman named Count Haserton Lowls IV, of Ustalav? Did he leave with the mercenaries?
"Is this monument part of a portal? If so, where does the portal lead?"
Theo looks concerned.
Is Lowls still in the City?
Allegra scowls quizzically at her Record, then hastily slams it shut and slips it back into a pocket.
"Ah, madam, do you know if there is any way to...de-attune the monument? Or perhaps foil his plans by attuning it to one of us instead? How do we repair the seals, and where can your blade be found?"
Mara explained to her companions, "She asked the spirit, [b]"Was the madman named Count Haserton Lowls IV, of Ustalav? Did he leave with the mercenaries?
"Is this monument part of a portal? If so, where does the portal lead?"
The spirit explains, ”I cannot travel far from this spot. I do not know his fate. He carried a blasphemous book bound in leather cured from the faces of several people, their agony preserved in grimaces on the book’s hideous covers. He spoke the language of death and muttered about Xhamen-Dor and The King in Yellow. I understood little of the ritual but I was able to glean its purpose, to open a path to the Black Stars.” She is clearly describing the Necronomicon and Lowls in a feverish maddened state.
Kaklatath finally explains herself, perhaps the gravity of the situation necessitating it, ”The King in Yellow is a Great Old One, a kind of demigod, served by aberrant beasts of all kinds. Xhamen-dor was his most powerful weapon: a fungal entity that consumes entire worlds and siphons their essence to grow the Unspeakable One’s realm. My people, the Great Race of Yith, have fought the Yellow King’s servants throughout time and space since time immemorial. We won a victory on Golarion eons ago, when snakes strode on legs and humanity was young. We destroyed the King in Yellow’s servants, and sealed what we couldn't destroy beneath the earth. I am one of the guardians left behind, slumbering in wait should Golarion come under attack again. Our minds are not tethered to our bodies like yours are, I am unable to return to my body or leave this one and I don’t know why. We should find what remains of Lowl’s camp.”
"Ah, madam, do you know if there is any way to...de-attune the monument? Or perhaps foil his plans by attuning it to one of us instead? How do we repair the seals, and where can your blade be found?"
Upianshe says, ”I apologize I don’t know the answer to your questions.” Kaklatath however does know something, ”We need to travel underground and examine the extent of the damage on the seals. I should be able to advise you then. We should find anything Lowls left behind, perhaps if we find his method of attunement we can form a plan.”
Theophilus nods to the White Rabbit.
The White Rabbit takes out a notebook and he begins writing in it.
The gentleman then slowly walks about the room. His hand absently rubbing his beard.
So, once again, we are left to find clues to further understand Lowl's plans. I fear that we may be pawns being led on a snipe hunt.
He stops in front of Upianshe.
These seals are believed to be in the basement of this particular building? Seems like lazy writing.
The Witch then snaps his fingers in remembrance.
Where does that other path outside lead? We will need to scout that also for clues...
Theo winks at The White Rabbit; who seems to have began pantomiming tracking...
Theophilus then places his arms across his chest in closure.
Will we have to fight this King in Yellow? Or his fungal weapon?
Despite his swift defeat at the hands of the ghost, Dervak is still rather looking forward to an epic battle with one or both of these otherworldly foes.
I will be smarter next time.
Dervak leads the way outside and follows the path, searching for tracks.
Mara asked Kaklatath, "What can you tell me about these flying polyps? Are they from this dimension, or a different plane of existence? Is there any specific thing that they hate or fear?"
Mara told her companions, "I should meditate for some additional prayers."
She sat down with her dolls for a few minutes and cleared her mind.
Kaklatath sends images from a lost age, an army of serpentfolk facing a threat from the sky; masses of flesh, eyes, tentacles, and mouths haphazardly and partially shimmering in and out of reality. A score of the floating affronts to nature and sanity dot the sky, they tear into the serpentfolk’s ranks with a tornado of wind. The ones that manage to hold their ground send arrows only to have them blown off course or the targeted flank disappear. The serpentfolk manage to eke out a pyrrhic victory by calling lightning from the sky to strike the beasts. They have complete mastery of the air. Electricity is their one weakness.
Despite having first entered the tower which must have been 100s of feet below you, the exit from the fungal chamber inexplicably leads to a street level set of doors. Four dun-colored tents stand in a crescent around a massive well covered with a cracked stone lid. Despite the audible whistling of wind, no air stirs the campsite.
Among the tents you find enough rations and water to sustain you for several weeks, hundreds of feet of rope, ample writing supplies, and other mundane gear. Scanning for magic a bag lights up, a bag of holding, it contains noble’s outfits in the Ustalavic style, a sun bleached parasol, several journals of notes, and two dozen books covering an array of eldritch subjects.
Most importantly you find the dreaded book, the Necronomicon. The faces of agonized men and women leer at you from its hideous covers. It's several hundred pages long, and its leaves are remarkably thin parchment that feels cool and almost greasy to the touch.
"The guardians wanted us to turn that over to them," Ci Ci says, pointing at the tome. "Is there any reason not to? Is there anything valuable we could learn by reading through it first?"
Well, just look at all these clues! If I may, my dear, I just need to skim that over for a bit...
Theophilus sits down with the Necronomican. The White Rabbit loos nervous....
I will need to Summon a few friends that speak Necril...
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"The guardians wanted us to turn that over to them," Ci Ci says, pointing at the tome. "Is there any reason not to? Is there anything valuable we could learn by reading through it first?"
"Well, as Kaklatath said, we need to find out how Lowls attuned the stele. I would guess he used this book. That's why he wanted it. So maybe something in the book can tell us how to undo it.
And then there is the matter of the broken seal that imprisoned the flying polyps. A seal like that might be this cracked stone lid over this well?And we hear whistling wind even though no air moves?"
They have complete mastery of the air...
Dervak holds his sword ready.
Mara surveyed the campsite, "Do you think this could be Lowls' camp? We should search it thoroughly — perhaps there's some notes lying around!"
Mara told the hatter, "I have spent some time learning that accursed language."
She replied to Dervak, "That is indeed concerning. We should be ready for a fight!" She started to recite a prayer.
You spend quite a while going through the camp.
White Rabbit kicks Theo in the shin and holds up a piece of paper that fell out of the book as Theo flipped through the pages and gawked at the amazingly detailed diagrams of otherworldly horrors.
After perusing the notes and journals Lowls’ plan is laid bare. After learning of a set of Star Stelae in a place called Neruzavin from the dreams of Ulver Zandalus he uncovers the secret of traveling to the Dreamlands with help from Melisenn. Once in the Dreamlands he sacrifices the minds of a number of his servants to the Mad Poet. His grim price paid the Mad Poet instructs Lowls to seek out the Necronomicon in the Mysterium of Katheer. Lowls first travels to Cassomir to enlist the aid of his friend and colleague, Miacknian Mun.
In Katheer Lowls and Mun bribes the Nethys priests for access to the restricted tomes within the Soul of the Mysterium. When his plan to steal the Necronomicon awakens it's guardians he abandons Mun by teleporting to Biting Lash’s estate in Okeno. There he purchases the necessary mercenaries, slaves, and equipment to mount an expedition to Neruzavin, its location learned by studying his newly acquired book.
Once he arrives in the Parchlands he is greeted by a strange woman with auburn hair, holding a spear, and curious fungal growths erupting from her skin. She has been waiting to to finally meet him having been transformed by Xhamen-Dor’s design. Together Lowls and Daridela pieced together a number of rituals that will allow Lowls to take Xhamen-Dor into his body and journey to Carcosa to offer himself to the King in Yellow, so that He Who Shall Not Be Named can gain enough power to become an Outer God.
As you go through the notes and journals Lowls’ writing becomes increasingly frenetic, and his handwriting more exaggerated. Each morning he records his dreams and is less and less concerned with scholarly discovery, instead replaced with obsession for Xhamen-Dor.
Daridela and Lowls attuned each of Neruzavin’s Star Stelae with a ritual called Beckon the Stars, a preliminary step. The last entry describes the final preparations needed to open the Path to the Black Star, Lowls planned to travel to the unholy domain of the King in Yellow where he would attune its Star Stelae and draw Golarion into Carcosa. He conveys with fanatic delight writing of his desire to call to the Black Star and “make our two worlds one under the Yellow Sign.”
Kaklatath expresses dismay at the discoveries, corroborating their horrible truth, Lowls succeeded in his plans having already opened the way to the Black Star, and now is certainly working towards drawing Golarion into the King in Yellow's realm. She notes, ”He has not brought the Inmost Blot with him, its taint still haunts this city.”
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Theophilus reads and reads and reads. The Mad Hatter looks excited!
So, she has joined up with Lowls--after all that posturing--and they--together--have opened up a bridge between Worlds; pulling this one into His.
The White Rabbit hands the gentleman a clean handkerchief.
This is such a mess! And, at this moment, we need to push an Inkblot back into its vial!
The White Rabbit hands the gentleman a clean handkerchief.
Carcosa, after. Anyone got a pamphlet?
Mara read through the notes with growing alarm, "Lowls has indeed gone mad! Knowingly accepting the taint into himself?"
She asked Kaklatath, "Where can we find the entrance to the undercity? We must destroy or banish the evil that remains in Neruzavin!"
She motioned towards the cracked stone lid, "Is this the broken seal that you were talking about? Or do we need to travel underground?"
"Let me guess. If we can't undo what Lowls did from here, we will need to follow him to Carcosa to stop him there. Which means doing the same rituals that he did. They are probably in this book."
Carcosa is probably a world full of Dark Tapestry abominations.
"But the Inmost Blot is still here. Yes Mara, I will do my best to destroy it, or at least its physical form. Maybe that combined with somehow wiping out knowledge of it will be enough. If we need to die or have our minds purged at the end of this, that is a price I will pay to destroy such evils.
And also some other evil in the undercity, which seems closer. Down this well?
Deal with that first, and then the dormant evil in the lake."
Theophilus looks up from his Book; a startled, worried expression on his usually fun face.
Ah, my friend, Dervak. We would be better off not dying in this endeavor.
The White Rabbit is seen with his thump up.
The Mad Hatter smiles.
Are we prepared to go down this well immediately; or, do we have a bit of time?
He continues to read his Book.
He will then cast his Buffs: Heroism. No Feather Step for Dervak.
Kaklatath answers Mara, "The seals are below. The well might lead us there."
After a couple of hours of investigation, almost when you think you're safe the whistling wind intensifies the stone well cover shatters into a thousand pieces as a translucent worm covered in screeching maws and bloodshot eyes springs up from deep below the city. As it does the tents begin to tear free of their anchors and papers fly about, blown up by the intense winds that gutter from the well in the creature's wake.
There's no place like home; there's no place like home...
Round 1
Theophilus looks up at the tent, papers, tea bag begin whirling about like a house in a tornado!
I feel like we may be plagiarizing
The White Rabbit would have agreed; but, he disappears once initiative begins....
The Witch watches in terrorish delight the disgusting appearance of the Flying Polyp.
Well that escalated quite quickly!
He shouts to Dervak.
We successfully avoided going down the Well! That has never been a good idea, since the beginning of the Boxed Sets!
The Witch then grants his 1/2 Orc friend Fortune Hex. He then ducks behind the solid-looking stone thingy for Cover.
Having only a relative handle on reality, the Gentleman winces as his tent (which looked like a solid-looking stone thingy) flies about in terrorish retreat!
Well that happened!
Not liking his position so close to the apparition of DOOOOOOMMMMM, Theo creeps way behind Dervak.
Mara had a sudden premonition of danger and reacted quickly. She tried to coat the flying horror in sparkling stardust.
She moved behind Allegra and Dervak, ready to provide emergency healing if necessary,
Mara calls upon her ancestors to force the awful polyp fully into her reality but the starlight she creates flickers and winces, it is powerless against the polyp's might.
"Scintillating slivers!" Ci Ci cries, extending her hand towards the thing.
As the polyp bursts out of the well, Dervak, with uncanny reflexes slices the monstrosity.
Ci Ci sprays the beast but the worst of the shards are blown off course around it.
Then the wind around you explodes in a horrendous torrent. It scours off your skin and stray pebbles and other debris bludgeon your body enough to cause bleeding wounds.
Tornado strength winds
Kaklatath's elderly body crumples against the wind and she's blown back against the wall, when the violent wind dies down she doesn't move.
The polyp after delivering its blast flies up into the air.
Mara somehow maintained control in the whirlwind and flew over to Kaklatath and healed the elderly woman.
"Auntie Em; Auntie Em! Round 2
Theo grabs his Hat!
I have every confidence in our ability to with stand...holy s%!% it's windy!
The remaining words that follow are not understandable; as our fun Witch flips, flops, twirls, twists, rolls (but doesn't rock), summersaults, pole vaults, begins doing the worm and the electric slide, skips and fizzles; landing promptly on his face!
This is a bit unseeming!
The Witch winces.
May need a minute here...
The sounds of Ci Ci's screams are lost in the buffeting winds as she goes sailing backwards.
She manages to right herself in the air once she has cleared the effects of the tornado. He face and exposed skin are peppered with lacerations.
she retrieves a potion vial from her bandolier and quaffs it.
"Theophilus, ready to blast it with lightning!"
Dervak resists the worst of the windstorm, and he is not blown away. However, there is very little he can do.
He casts Fly, dex-rages casting Shield, and tries to make headway against the wind.
Allegra grits her teeth and stands her ground, implacable against the wind and debris howling against her. She extols a brief prayer to Iomedae to grant her a swift victory, and prayers to Torag to strengthen her arms and armor.