Is it really a ghost?
If incorporeal, full round action to cast Ectoplasmic Scorching ray.
Kiorec - It is a ghost, in fact, but something seems to be off about this ghost. It seems to be harder to hit than a ghost normally would be with your magics.
Silas blinks, as he feels the heat come off the wave that comes off of the ghost. "Not the diplomatic type I see."
"Mea vox in astris. Sit circulus vocare ad exercitus caelorum, et viri fortes mihi mittat. Contractum offero ad arma vocare libeat emittere bellatorum sanctus caeli!"
Silas works quickly as a pair of armored celestials appear on opposite sides of the Ghost. They are both wielding a pair of Flaming Greatswords, which they strike out at the apparition with.
damage: 98
The party and summoned creatures assault the ghost with spell and blade. The ghost seems to be flickering in and out of existence, however, making targeting exceptionally difficult. One of Veritas's attacks that really should have hit his shoulder, bites nothing but air, and Kioric's spell goes straight through a chest cavity that decides existing simply isn't for it at that moment.
The Archons hit about half the time, doing a decent bit of damage. The ghost is looking frayed and battered after only a few seconds of combat.
The ghost lashes out with his whip and scratches her across the cheek. Immediately, fell magics fall on the Eidolon.
Silas blinks as Veritas comes back and attacks. "Wow..., hot temper. I suppose that is her Kal."
Silas looks on watching, and chooses to simply wait, readying himself in case the creature wants to try and cast again.
With a combination of arms, the Archons and a very angry Veritas tear the ghost to shreads.
Silas sighs softly to come up and examine the fallen body once again, nodding his thanks to the archons before sending them back home.
"Uhm..., are you two ok over there? You seem a bit..., involved?"
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As the ghost falls, Veritas' shoulders slump, her great white wings sagging and folding in on her body. Dropping her greatsword with a thunderous clatter, she focuses on her summoner, looking him over like a mother fussing over a child's scrape. The only incongruity is the fear etched on her face.
"Kal, what did he do? He took me from you! It felt so cold, so wrong..."
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Kal wraps his arms around the angel's neck, trying to calm her. Between mutterings of "Shh," and "Everything's ok now," he answers Silas.
"I'm alright, and she's pretty wounded." He points out the deep lash on Veritas' cheek, and the burns on her wings and armour. "She can heal herself over time, though, which is good. It was a long time before she learned to do that. See? It's already happened." He points to the lash again, which glows faintly and seems to close a fraction of an inch as he speaks.
"As for us..." He shrugs, as if unable to fully explain. "'Involved' is definitely a word for it. I first summoned Veritas when I was about thirteen, experimenting with the Harrow for the first time. I drew the Paladin - the most righteous card of the Hammers - and she appeared, saying she was sworn to protect me."
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"Exactly. And on top of being a personification of the Paladin card... I think she's literally part of me, as well." Kal looks up at the eidolon, his eyes shining with adoration, the silver beads in his beard dancing as he grins. "She's really special, that's for sure. So if she clings, it's because she literally cannot exist without me. And if I seem overly attached, it's because she's the most important part of me."
He's silent a moment, but then claps his hands together, grinning. "So. What was the dead guy carrying?"
He doesn't see Veritas bury her face in one large palm, shaking her head.
The body has a cloak of resistance +2, bracers of armor +2, Ring of force shield, and a signant ring worth 250 gp.
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Kal looks over the items, the ring taking particular interest. "I'm a bit loaded down," he chuckles, nodding to his own gear and his eidolon's. "Can either of you make use of these?"
After the spoils have been divided, he looks around. "Okay, Silas. You're the smart one here - where should we go next?"
Silas would be willing to take the ring of force shield. Anything else could just be packed out into their bags to go fence later for more gear to get deeper into the mausoleum.
Silas looks about. "Well, we need to look about, and try to get further in."
Silas looks for someplace closeby that they can start their search.
Silas nods in agreement. "That it is. I suppose straight ahead is the best place to go. Don't want anything behind us as we make the search of this place. Don't mind if I let you fine gentleman and..., angel go first, do you?"
This dull gray granite building looms in the center of the necropolis. Its entrance has a domed ceiling that rises to a height of twenty feet, and is decorated with intricate geometric designs. In the center of the chamber’s floor, a carved medusa crest stares endlessly upward. To the north, a pair of stained-glass windows depicting a handsome man and a beautiful woman look on. A motto engraved around the circumference of the medusa engraving on the floor reads, “A Blade Answers Even the Most Vexing Question.” The antechamber to the north is empty, leaving a choice of right or left.
The stained-glass windows depict Aroden and Arazni as they appeared while they were human.
Silas puzzles, looking at the stained glass. "Well isn't that a sight. That is a depiction of Aroden and Arazni. And if I am not mistaken, that was them in their human states. Makes this place even more interesting. Well, left or right..., I suppose start left?"
Silas cautiously moves over to the left antechamber.
Once an elegant domed shrine, this place of reverence has been foully and thoroughly defiled: statues lie broken on the floor, and the mosaic symbol of Aroden under the great dome is smeared with all manner of filth. The walls, bearing once-beautiful frescoes of deeds of the god, are soiled with ordure. Pools of red-tinged water stand to the north and south, while a scorched curtain that once sheltered the altar to the west hangs in tatters.
A Mithral dagger covered in gore lies in the northern pool.
Careful examination of the mosaic symbol in the center of the floor reveals a single word written in dried blood: “Abandoned.” The western curtain has been slashed and partially burned; beyond it is a begrimed altar, the ritual objects atop it shattered. The statue behind the altar has also been smashed to pieces.
This shine was once dedicated to Aroden
Silas looks about. He notices a curtain that has been slashed, items smashed. "Oh my, this once was a shrine of Aroden. And from the looks of it, it has been abandoned and desecrated. I would advise you to stay away from the pool. Something about this place feels wrong."
Silas closely examines the room under detect magic.
The water in the pools glows with a strong necromantic aura.
"Ok, definitely stay away from the pool. That much necromantic energy is never a good thing." He sighs, and tries to move around, and use mage hand to pull the dagger out of the water without touching it.
The dagger floats out of the water and most of the gore stays behind, thankfully.
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Kal looks around the shrine in amazement, as if seeing the beautiful mosaics and frescoes and not the filth that desecrates the place. He follows Silas absentmindedly, constantly twisting and turning to look at everything. He seems somewhat more interested in the present when the arcanist draws the dagger from the pool. "Well, what's this?" he asks with a grin, still absently shuffling his cards. "Part of a puzzle, maybe?"
"No clue to be honest. Know anything about cleansing shrines?"
Silas goes about looking about the chamber and seeing if there is possibly a way that he can remove this deep seated necromantic aura on the shrine of Aroden.
You will need to dispel the twisted magic of the water which has wound itself up like a trap. After that cleaning should be relatively routine.
I fear my knowledge on such things to be limited.
Do you move on or attempt to purify the shrine anyway?
Silas takes a long moment to think almost as if he is adrift in thought. He then snaps his fingers as he reaches into his pack, grabbing out a tome and thumbing through pages until he smiles. "Ah ha..., Here it is!"
His eyes cast to the book, and runes seem to glow and float across both the tome and his eyes as he is reading, and a few seconds later, he claps the tome shut. "Ah ha! Right spell..."
Silas turns his eyes over to the pool, and begins to draw power and focusing, drawing in power to try and scour away the magical force that is tainting the pool.
The water shimmers as the spell impacts, then suddenly boils with magical force. The dispell is the greater force, however, and the pool slowly drains of its red color. Clear, clean water remains where once stood deadly danger.
The cleanup is rather mundane after that. Several castings of Prestidigitation are sufficient to scour the room of filth, but the statues and broken stone require a stronger hand. It takes about half hour all told. When you finish, you feel a light shine upon you and you are filled with a sence of approval. You somehow know that the Inheritor has seen your actions and greatly approves.
Across the hall, the walls of this domed and oval-shaped formal chamber are covered in complex geometric patterns of green and gold. It appears to be used for funerary rites, with marble tables to the north and south and two elaborate wheeled wooden biers at the center. To the east, the wall is made up of a huge iron oven with a closed door three feet square and two feet off the floor, with a shelf sticking out beneath it like the tongue of a huge, taunting beast
I will investigate the room, with caution. Assuming no traps I will take 20, for a total of 36.
If that is not possible or otherwise practical.
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"The Inheritor is pleased with our efforts," Veritas smiles, her face glowing as she looks around the shrine. Moving the statues and stones had been hard work, but the grin from Kal had made it worthwhile, and her wounds were slowly closing.
As Kiorec investigates, she watches with her head tilted to the side, then helps. Her eyes were keener than Kal's, at any rate. As she expected, he was too busy looking at everything while seeing nothing.
As you move about, the creaking grows ever more ominus until, with a final creak, the oven bursts open and four beings of fire spill out! Three look like massive living, mobile bonfires, tongues of flame reaching out in search of things to burn. The fourth is smaller and vaguely humanoid.
The mobile bonfires clearly have the jump on you, but do not attack..
all elemental traits
A fire elemental deals fire damage in addition to damage dealt on a successful hit in melee. Those affected by the burn ability must also succeed on a Reflex save or catch fire, taking the listed damage for an additional 1d4 rounds at the start of its turn. A burning creature can attempt a new save as a full-round action. Dropping and rolling on the ground grants a +4 bonus on this save. Creatures that hit a burning creature with natural weapons or unarmed attacks take fire damage as though hit by the burning creature and must make a Reflex save to avoid catching on fire.
This is a noble efreeti, but his long imprisonment has left the gleam of madness in his fiery eyes.
The three larger are defensive in their intent, but the fourth's crazed look clearly seeks blood.
A grim smile lights up Kiorec's face as his eyes flare with a dim light, a blue line outlines his form briefly as The Sure Edge flares with arcane might.
He moves into action to attack a fire creature (going after one designated by the smart people or the first one to threaten us)
Silas blinks as he watches the scene unfold. "Kiorec, go for the efreeti..., his eyes..., There is something..., unsettling about him."
Silas then squints, trying to determine the best course of action. He stops, thinking and then focuses his mind.
"Exercitus caelorum super mi vocis in patriae principes. Exaudi vocem meam fiant auxilio, et fortiter egrediuntur. Ego trado istam vocare omnem bellatorum ut discurrerent circa exteriores planis."
The winged female angel manifests near the efreeti, wielding a flaming greatsword in her hands, which she immediately takes to the Efreeti with extreme prejudice. She makes three strong swings of her blade, trying to cut into the flaming creature.
1:
2:60
3:
4:26
The angel does it's best, but is able to land a single blow on the Hunanoid.
The Humanoid glares at the threats to himself and casts in spite of the threat to himself. He manages to pull it off and disappears from view.
The Elementals, for that is what they are, attack as soon as Kiorec dedicates himself. As he is the only one in reach, they all assault the man with a fury. The hulking, raging man is almost impossible to miss. Their firey lashes wail on him, but to surprisingly little effect. Meaning no effect whatsoever.
Silas having finished his summoning, was starting to glance about he field, checking to see how Kiorec was faring against the elementals, when out of the corner of his eye he catches the efreeti starting to cast an invisibility spell. "Not so fast!"
The humanoid cries in alarm as his spell goes awry and fizzles. He glares at the only obvious mage in the group, a look that promised death.