Amaranti casts Displacement on himself as he doesn't have confidence in his personality manifesting on this plane. Finarin and Ibid prepare for the return of the shades as Gunari heals up Lort.
As expected, the women erupt from the stones and focus fire at Ibid, the apparent ranged attacker.
Their mental attacks, however, appear to be quite weak and only one seems to injure Ibid.
Initiative:
1st: Gunari; Finarin
2nd: Little Things (Red; Blue; Green; Yellow @ 30) [~10-20' off the ground-Outside and Below Cover (Need LoS to target)]
3rd: Ibid; Cyrus; Amaranti; Lort
Status
Gunari-Fatigued @ 42/75 HP
Finarin-Fatigued/Shaken @ 57/57 HP
Lort-Fatigued/Shaken @ 59/81 HP (1 Charisma Damage)
Amaranti-Fatigued/Shaken @ 57/67 HP
Kaisharga-Fatigued/Shaken @ 51/51 HP
Ibid-Fatigued/Shaken @ 35/55 HP
Cyrus-Fatigued/Shaken @ 43/43 HP
Active Effects
Haste (3/8)
Pending
One Will Save from Ibid (11; 3)
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Lort quickly chants "Fly!" and rushes up to meet the yellow hued insubstantial psychic freak.
"Can't get away from me this time," he boasts, brandishing his new ghost touch sword.
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Cyrus' invisible feet float off of the ground and he grins. The only thing that will save these whispers of nightmare is when they hide like cowards in the stone, and he will be here, waiting for them.
Cyrus flies straight back towards his aging mentor, and interposes himself between the bluish nightmare and Ibid, though the shadow creature cannot see his invisible form.
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"Ha, there! Fly, Kaisharga! Let you and me kill one ghost woman!"
The incorporeal creatures slide out from their hiding places, and Amaranti has a target once again. A command to his eidolon send them both flying towards the enemy. Kaisharga is too weary from the planar travel to create the necessary speed for Amaranti to use his weapon as intended. But all the same, the pair glide upwards and spring their attack in unison.
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"I guess I need to do something. Beacon of Luck isn't a great idea, since we're not clustered enough, and I am not sure Life Pact will help enough against these things. So, I guess I just need to start flying?"
Gunari summons his inner focus, and attempts to cast fly on himself.
Gunari's inner focus holds true, and he summons the ability to fly from the Dreamscape, and surprisingly angelic wings appear to grow out of Gunari's shoulders, lifting him up. "Well, that's unexpected."
He sees that the one nearest him is likely taken care of by Lort, so flies to help out the other two. Not seeing the invisible Cyrus, as he has not triggered invisibility purge he flies on his angelic wings up to the one that Cyrus is next to. He is now 10' above the surface of the landings.
To protect the already hurt, and recently mostly dead old man, he then decides to call once more upon the Lucky Drunk, and spread the luck of heroes to his friends.
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The old man once again feels a tearing of his consciousness and his vision is sent into a spinning, dizzying tunnel. A splitting headache at once bombards his skull while his eyes begin to water.
He then shakes his head, trying his best to clear his mind of the splitting headache and blurry vision. Taking a step back, he tries to line up a shot with the closest ghostly figure, and fire as many arrows as his shaky hands will allow.
Cyrus tries to actualize the power of the dream realm, but the lingering aura of the feargaunt seems to have clouded his mind, keeping him from casting Fly, leaving the man ground-bound while Gunari does the same, but is actually successful.
Lort takes the sky as well and tries to corner one of the women, as Ibid fires a salvo of arrows. The first three shatter the blue-tinged shade as the fourth shatters the injured one. The fifth hits the green one as Amaranti and Kaisharga flail about in the air.
The remaining shades, trapped by the Pathfinders, duck silently back into the rock.
Initiative:
1st: Gunari; Finarin
2nd: Little Things (Red; Green) [15' off the ground-Inside Cover (Cannot target)]
3rd: Ibid; Cyrus; Amaranti; Lort
Status
Gunari-Fatigued @ 42/75 HP
Finarin-Fatigued/Shaken @ 57/57 HP
Lort-Fatigued/Shaken @ 59/81 HP (1 Charisma Damage)
Amaranti-Fatigued/Shaken @ 57/67 HP
Kaisharga-Fatigued/Shaken @ 51/51 HP
Ibid-Fatigued/Shaken @ 24/55 HP (3 Charisma Damage)
Cyrus-Fatigued/Shaken @ 43/43 HP
Active Effects
Haste (3/8)
Pending
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"They go hide again!" Amaranti cries out in frustration as the creature slips away again. At least Ibid was able to deal some serious damage on the incorporeals. Since Kaisharga made the decision already for him, and slowly swoops near the rock surface, Amaranti also prepares to strike out with his lance in case the creature re-emerges.
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Cyrus wills himself off the ground, ready to float up and confront the shadowy nightmares, and it is several moments before he realizes that the dreamy fly spell didn't actually work.
It takes every bit of his miniscule willpower not to scream and curse and throw a temper tantrum like a little child.
Are we sure we really want to save 322? If we weren't trying to find Arem Zey, I would say $*%& this place and leave. Not entirely sure Arem Zey is worth all of this actually. I suppose, duty, explore, report, cooperate and all that crap.
Cyrus reaches for a scroll that is wound tightly into one of the slots on his bandolier. He pulls it out, unfurling it and reading over the arcane words scribbled on the parchment.
"Can't trust this stupid, worthless dreamscape, so I just have to do it myself. It's not like I can do anything else right now." He laments, allowing some of the childish tantrum to escape past his mental filter anyways.
"Screw you 322 and your petty nightmares! You want something done right, apparently you just need to do it yourself!" the ninja yells into the void, his feet actually released from the imaginary gravitational pull in this imaginary space."[/b]
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"Be ready! Let's take these things out!" Gunari moves to the other side of the rock that the things are hiding in. "Maybe try and become ethereal so you can chase them in there?"
He ponders calling upon the favor of this patron to heal his fatigue, but decides to wait. Instead, he calls upon him to buffer his armor, and his weapon.
[spoiler=Readied: When a "little thing" comes out of the rock]
[/spoiler]
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With a sigh of dissappnment the old man watches the ghostly forms of the attacking woman dive once more into the stone outcroppings surrounding the platform. He shakes his head as they vanish, hoping he and his companions were finally turning the tide against the creatures, but now once more they were left unable to strike out at their targets. After waiting for a brief moment, spent watching for signs of their emergence from the stones, Ibid wrestles to find his magical wand then douses himself with the healing magic.
The shaded women burst out of the rocks, howling as they try to relentlessly assault Ibid and Lort's mind once more.
As the women attack, the feargaunt's aura of fear seems to dissipate and the Pathfinders feel less afraid.
Initiative:
1st: Gunari; Finarin
2nd: Little Things (Red; Green) [15' off the ground-Outside Cover (Need LoS target)]
3rd: Ibid; Cyrus; Amaranti; Lort
Status
Gunari-Fatigued @ 42/75 HP
Finarin-Fatigued @ 57/57 HP
Lort-Fatigued @ 59/81 HP (1 Charisma Damage)
Amaranti-Fatigued @ 57/67 HP
Kaisharga-Fatigued @ 51/51 HP
Ibid-Fatigued @ 30/55 HP (3 Charisma Damage)
Cyrus-Fatigued @ 43/43 HP
Active Effects
Haste (4/8)
Pending
Lort - Will Save (6, 5)
Lort slams his sword into the one near him as Gunari takes the other. The warpriest of Cayden has better luck, though his target was already injured by Ibid's arrow as he shatters it, while Lort only damages his target.
Initiative:
1st: Gunari; Finarin
2nd: Little Things (Red @ 27) [15' off the ground-Outside Cover (Need LoS target)]
3rd: Ibid; Cyrus; Amaranti; Lort
Status
Gunari-Fatigued @ 42/75 HP
Finarin-Fatigued @ 57/57 HP
Lort-Fatigued @ 53/81 HP (6 Charisma Damage)
Amaranti-Fatigued @ 57/67 HP
Kaisharga-Fatigued @ 51/51 HP
Ibid-Fatigued @ 30/55 HP (3 Charisma Damage)
Cyrus-Fatigued @ 43/43 HP
Active Effects
Haste (4/8)
Pending
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Finally.
He can fly. He can fight. He can crow.
Cyrus picks up a knee slightly, extending his left arm forward and leaning into the magical forces that allow him to swim through the air like a fish through water. His right arm, holding the magical blade, trails behind him, in position to strike.
The ninja streaks through the air, or would streak if he were visible, unerringly towards the remaining shadow creature.
Better late than never!
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Amaranti glides slowly along the cliffside, alert and ready to lash out. But after a while it becomes evident that no enemy is going to emerge from this rock, and the eidolon needs to pick up some speed to stay in the air. Then the eidolon senses sounds of combat from the other side of the cliff, so the enemy must be there. The dragonfly wings start beating again, and it soars through the dreamscape.
Gracefully it rolls its great form, and flies around the cliff. Getting the remaining enemy in its sight, it speeds up to deliver itself and its rider to melee range. And there it opens the great maw wide open and sinks the teeth into the incorporeal form of the enemy.
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The fight having turned into chasing ghosts, Amaranti already lost his thirst for battle. But luckily it is his eidolon that keeps directing the duo this time. So the Garundi can just enjoy the ride, and marvel at the unique scenery of the dreamscape. But of course, as they approach the last ghostly woman, Amaranti's mind focuses back on the things that matter. And the flight feels almost like slow-motion, wading through the oddly colored air. This feeling, together with sharpening senses give the summoner ample time to aim his weapon just where it needs to go. Both hands tight in the haft of the lance, he guides the tips straight into the woman's heart. Or the place the heart would be, were she a creature of flesh and blood...
"Hah! Take that, evil woman ghost!"
Finally able to contribute to the battle, Cyrus gleefully stabs out with his wakizashi at the remaining shade, shattering it in a single blow. (As long as you disregard Lort's previous attack.)
As the last woman shatters into the pieces of the dream world, you see the world around you begin to crumble, the pieces of the first landmass with the mirror libraries fracturing into smaller pieces. The land nearest to you (and the giant mirror seems unharmed as this happens).
The gigantic mirror cracks from top to bottom, showering the ground with shards of glass. Dark gray mist, churning like boiling water, seeps from the fissures and forms a shadowy cloud. “Fated, that one. Bound in threads not of her making, impotently thrashing against them and yet—as long as they tug, she dances.” The voice, coarse and ancient, emanates from a feminine silhouette now visible within. Far taller than any human, she shakes her head and sets her wild mane of hair dancing between her jagged horns. “She dances on and on, and there you are—running behind her. But who, they ask, threaded the strings?” The silhouette raises one arm, holding aloft a familiar-looking lantern burning with a cold blue light.
“Introductions now, I suppose. I am Aslynn.” Her tone is heavy with amusement. “I am the weaver, the maker, an inveterate taker. Here I am, dreamers. What now?”
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"Greetings Aslynn. I am ... Lord Finarin Moonstep. Honestly, I am a bit parched. Perhaps a glass of ... red? No? Very well. Right, these are my companions." he extends hs hand in a sweeping motion.
"We seek what is lost ... and what was stolen. We are here to retrieve a lost soul. Mayhaps two lost souls.
"We seek the lantern you hold, and the one who is called by 322. Shall you allow us to retrieve these .... items? Are you here to hinder our way? What accord shall we agree upon for these items that shall cost you .... nothing? Many and more questions we always seem to have, yet I feel that you have an equal share of .... answers, Aslynn, or she that holds the strings."
Finarin ends with a courtly bow, resting his scimitar at his side in an nonthreatening pose.
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"Yes, a lantern... but as for what now?" Lort scoffs as he comes down to land, "Let me first thank you for utterly destroying the library. You've no idea how much I've wanted to do that myself since we came here."
A big grin crosses the half-orc's face as he admires the wanton destruction, "Oh, yeah, what now? Well, Three-Hundred-and-Twenty-Two is ex-Aspis, right? Wants redemption right? Pretty sure we'll try to recruit her. It's what we've done every single other time in such circumstances. This doesn't strike me as the time to get imaginative about things." The irony of such a statement when in a land wrought of imagination is completely lost on Lort.
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"Yes! Not totally useless!" Cyrus exclaims, pumping his fist as he destroys the last feminine figment of shadow and imagination.
He continues to twirl his wakizashi in his hand as he watches the dreamworld crumble around him.
Is this just happening in here? Or in the really real world? Cyrus looks as amused as Lort watching the library crumble behind him.
He looks up at the figure holding the lantern, unimpressed.
"Cyrus, son of Darius, and child of the streets." he dips in a slight bow, not actually in a mocking fashion for once. "Cyrus the Flea I am occasionally called. As for what know? I can't say it any better than Lord Finarin or Lort here. We are searching for one of our leaders, whose soul is captured in that lantern. We have been on a mostly boring, but occasionally wild journey in our search. I suppose this is the part where we make nice with you, and if we are nice enough, you give us what we want?" He looks up, quizzically at the figure.
"We will do what we must to retrieve the soul of our wayward leader, but do not mistake us for the fabled three fools in a tub, the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker."
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"Aslynn, was it? Good to meet you. Your poetic statements are likely lost in translation with this lot. I mean, we all like our poetry, but it tends to be a little more... ribald perhaps?
"Anyways, it is as my friends have stated. We are here to see 322... and to retrieve that lantern. It is... important to us. So, the real question comes down to, oh weaver, maker, inveterate taker, what would it take for you to grant us the small token of that lantern?"
"She is gone. Away from those who would harm her, for now. She has a role yet to play in what is to come, but, venomous serpents are ever so persistent, aren’t they?" the hag responds when asked about 322.
At mention of the lantern, she smiles wryly. "Oh child, this is neither the time nor the place. My little light has a much longer part to play in the events to come."
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"Ah yes ... Gunari a child. Finally a being that recognizes the ... truth. So what role does this lamp have? And I speak for all of us ... you are quite right. This is not the place we would have .... chosen. But methinks ... this is the time. What next, Aslynn?"
Finarin tenses somewhat. His scimitar is still resting by his side, but he tightens his grip and tactical thoughts begin to course through his brain.
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"I sincerely hope you don't simply think that by telling us no and slapping our hands after all the tedious and ridiculous stuff we have gone through to get here that we will just go away with our tails tucked between our legs." Cyrus puffs out his chest a little, inching closer as Finarin has done, just in case things get dicy. His blade never went back in its sheath following the fight with the nightmare figments, but his arm remains relaxed at his side.
"It is one of our core tenants to cooperate, and so this need not get hostile. The pathfinder society is a powerful organization, and can be powerful allies. But imprisoned within that lamp is the soul of one very dear to the society, and the organization will stop at nothing to get their leader back." Cyrus states this, not as a threat, but as a simple fact. Whether this being would count the society's efforts to win back the soul of Aram Zey as an annoyance or a true threat doesn't really matter to him.
"I am sure there are many things we can learn from each other. That is the true purpose of our organization. Let's start with the lantern and how we can retreive our wayward leader's soul, and see where a relationship between you and the society can go from there."
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Lort pulls out his wand and fixes his wounds while these folk chat.
The big half-orc smiles the biggest of grins at Cyrus's comments. "So... what do we do next?" he asks the party, right in front of the hag, and genuinely confused about how to proceed, "We can't leave without at least trying to get the lantern, and she won't give it to us willingly. Do we just kill her and take it now? To be honest, all this combat is far more exciting than romping through the library, and she only gets so much credit for destroying it..."
Lort draws his vicious greatsword and shrugs his shoulders and rotates his arms to loosen up his killing muscles, "So, hag, give us the lantern or we take it by force. Simple as that."
"Ah! The elf begins to ask the correct questions! The lantern holds the truth!" she says in response to Finarin's first question.
"Working with the Society would seem prudent, wouldn't it?" she says, chuckling. "But, alas, it is not foretold at this point for such cooperation."
She cocks her head at Cyrus as she continues. "Your dear creation has absconded from this realm with the lantern. Who can say where it or she is?" she says quizzically. "However, she should not be your concern. Those that chase her and created her should be."
At Lort's threat, Aslynn laughs openly. "Pity that I cannot choose force. It has been a good while since I was able to stretch my muscles, but sadly you wouldn't even make a good partner for me, dearest half-orc." she says with a bit of open glee.
"Haha. The Aspis are not after the little creation. Her creators are! They made her who she is, not realizing who she could become. Then they marvel at their own shortsightedness. How amusing." she remarks to Lort.
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”You no give lantern?” Amaranti asks, slightly unsure if thing will turn out in violence or not. ”We no need take lantern. We need know how get back soul of Aram Zey. Aslynn use lantern for this, and we go back. Yes?”
Amaranti has had quite enough of crazy women in this strange world. Sooner he’s back in Absalom the better.
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"My dearest Lady Aslynn, it seems that you read portents of the future. Who is telling you ... that the lantern holds the truth? What truth does this lantern contain? How do you know that 322 has left along with her ... creators?" The elf spits the last word, only imagining what horrors they inflicted on their experiment.
"If they have fled ... can you tell us where? You seem to know much and more about these creators. We would be .... honored if you would enlighten us. I fear that we are still a bit ignorant in this matter. However ... it is quite fortuitous that we have happened upon you, who know so much."
Finarin ends with a grin, hoping to placate this creature, and use her ego against her.
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Lort nearly slices the hag in two just to get this over with, but luckily Finarin's honeyed words stay his hand. This b&@&+ chooses to talk around the topic, then so be it. He doesn't have to let her... but his friends think she has useful information. She gets a pass. For now.
Lort doesn't even consider the possibility that he could be completely and utterly outmatched.
"It seems you are smarter than you appear, holy man. The Criers are one of many layers to an onion, rotten to the core. Players on our stage who have been here far longer than you Pathfinders have ever realized." she says with a smile. "But, alas, that is all the clues I shall give you today. Until next time Pathfinders!" she says before her form seems to dissipate before your eyes and the dreamworld around you begins to crack and crumble.
You quickly close your eyes and concentrate on returning to the real world as your psyches abandon the realm of dreams and you awake in the hidden area of Lort's favorite library.
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You awake safe and sound back in the Archive Absentia. Hours have passed while you slept, despite how much time appeared to pass in the dream. Second Archivist Qilaus Sandaril has followed you here and is in conversation with Aliyas.
He is astounded by the discovery of the Archive Absentia and thanks you for your heroic efforts in subduing the planar disturbance. Aliyas, likewise, thanks you for helping to reunite her with the Forae Logos’s staff, and she intends to carry out her duties for as long as she remains capable of maintaining her spiritual form.
Kreighton Shaine eagerly awaits your findings. He is astounded by your story, especially since you were able to communicate directly with the Aslynn. Armed with knowledge of the lantern’s powers and that it now is in the possession of a powerful night hag, the Master of Scrolls seems even more determined than ever to recover Aram Zey’s soul. He and several other planes-savvy Pathfinders begin launching their own inquiries to track Aslynn and the elf 322 before any further harm befalls the deceased Master of Spells. You have secured critical intelligence in the name of the Pathfinder Society, and their accomplishments will not soon be forgotten. However, the mysterious Criers and the night hag Aslynn are still at large. The night hag now knows of them and will watch them more closely; you earn the Acquainted with Aslynn boon on your Chronicle sheets as well as the Impossible Feat boon.
Since you defeated the creatures in the dream realm, you were able to acquire additional intelligence that especially impresses Kreighton Shaine. In return, he rewards each of you with one of the following items of her choice: a malleable symbol (Ultimate Equipment 309), a lesser ring of revelation (Ultimate Equipment 173), a seducer’s bane (Ultimate Equipment 274), or a voidfrost robe (Ultimate Equipment 219). These items appear on the adventure’s Chronicle sheet, and a PC may only purchase one. In Subtier 8–9, the options also include bracers of sworn vengeance (Ultimate Equipment 272), a manual of gainful exercise +1, a ring of blinking, or a robe of scintillating colors. You must purchase the manual on the Chronicle sheet in order to benefit from reading it.
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Lort hangs his head as he is debriefed by the eccentric elf. "I am sorry that we were not able to do more. It is just that, well, after all of that wading through demons, libraries and everything, and finally making it to the dream realm. I feel... cheated that not only were we not able to retrieve the lantern for you, but we weren't even able to meet and question this three hundred and twenty two woman. I fear that the entire expedition was pointless."