Mirilani's sharp tongue is out down by her sharp blade. She immediately cuts the man's throat! He drops to the ground, his blood sinking into the jungle floor.
Rayquaza enters the Dragon-ryu and closes distance
Nykal's spiritual scythe cuts into the half-elf (who only gets grumpier). It's a solid hit, but he keeps it together.
The remaining thug keeps his courage for the moment and bolsters it with a potion that makes his muscles bulge.
The half-elf takes a more defensive approach and draws forth a scroll, when he reads the words they burn off the page and he turns into 4! Each version passes through the others to make a confusing series of images.
Round 1:
Mirilani: Kill
Rayquaza: Move
Nykal: Spiritual Weapon
Baddies: Stuff
Mercutio: Go
Blodgett: Go
Bhielli: Go
Blue:
Half-Elf: 8 (3 images)
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Mercutio fixes his golden eyes on the enmuscled goon.
"I heard a joke once: There are three hunters in the dark forest. Two are faster and stronger than the third, but the third is older and wiser to the ways of the woods. The first two get a bit separated from the third, and then one of them trips and hits his head on a sharp rock, sending ruby-red blood everywhere! His companion is frightened, and calls out to the third, wiser hunter, who he cannot see, but is in shouting distance.
'Our friend fell onto a rock!' he says. 'I think he is dead! What do I do?!?' The older hunter replies, 'alright, calm down. The first thing to do is make certain he is really dead.'
The sound of a blade swinging through the air and chopping into flesh then the silence of the forest, and then the first hunter says, 'Okay, now what?'"
Desbit ethe macabre nature of the joke, the goon begins to giggle, the giggle turns into riotous laughter!
Round 1:
Mirilani: Kill
Rayquaza: Move
Nykal: Spiritual Weapon
Baddies: Stuff
Mercutio: Hideous Laughter
Blodgett: Go
Bhielli: Go
Blue: (Tasha)
Half-Elf: 8 (3 images)
Blodgett gets ready to deal with the foes, closing distance.
Round 1:
Mirilani: Kill
Rayquaza: Move
Nykal: Spiritual Weapon
Baddies: Stuff
Mercutio: Hideous Laughter
Blodgett: Move
Bhielli: Go
Blue: (Tasha)
Half-Elf: 8 (3 images)
The dwarf with anger issues closes with the enemy, ready to undo their attitudes by way of an axe to the face...
Round 2:
Mirilani: Go
Rayquaza: Go
Nykal: Go
Baddies: TBD
Mercutio: TBD
Blodgett: TBD
Bhielli: TBD
Blue: (Tasha)
Half-Elf: 8 (3 images)
Rayquaza's expert technique of using the middle row of knuckles slams into the laughing man. It knocks the wind out of him, yet the joke remains funny!
Nykal's spiritual weapon just barely tags one of the numerous images, foiling the magic!
Round 2:
Mirilani: Go
Rayquaza: Hit
Nykal: Image destroyed
Baddies: TBD
Mercutio: TBD
Blodgett: TBD
Bhielli: TBD
Blue: (11, NL Tasha)
Half-Elf: 8 (2 images)
Mirilani makes a solid stab at center mass and the resulting blood spatter is satisfying! The half-elf grunts in pain, the wounds taking their toll, but he doesn't drop...
The man tries to get over the joke , but the punchline is just too good.
The half-elf, with the tide turning, steps back and retrieves yet another scroll, casting a spell towards Mirilani as payback A wave of irrational fear washes over her...
Round 2:
Mirilani: Hit
Rayquaza: Hit
Nykal: Image destroyed
Baddies: Stuff
Mercutio: Go
Blodgett: Go
Bhielli: Go
Blue: (11, NL Tasha)
Half-Elf: 18 (2 images)
Blodgett's magic missile ignores the defensive spell and slams into the wounded spellcaster. He takes the hit, but it's obvious the wounds are slowly overcoming him. The Shaman also recognizes the spell that conquered Mirilani's will as Cause Fear.
Round 2:
Mirilani: Hit
Rayquaza: Hit
Nykal: Image destroyed
Baddies: Stuff
Mercutio: Go
Blodgett: Magic!
Bhielli: Go
Blue: (11, NL Tasha)
Half-Elf: 23 (2 images)
Bhielli's axe hits home with enough force to kill a normal man. This one is a bit tougher, but after the dragon style strike, he simply loses consciousness. The laughter finally dying.
The dhampir starts up his haunting tone again, giving power to those who let it.
The half-elf sees the situation, and looks like he's going to flee into the jungle, leaving the slaves behind...
Round 3:
Mirilani: Go
Rayquaza: Go
Nykal: Go
Baddies: TBD
Mercutio: TBD
Blodgett: TBD
Bhielli: TBD
Blue: KOed at 8 HP + 11 NL
Half-Elf: 23 (2 images)
Indeed,
Despite the images, the spiritual weapon lands true, dropping the half-elf!
With the enemy dispatched the elven slaves stare at you, not sure if this is a boon for them. From their point of view, you could be worse...
Miri begins taking their vaulables:
potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of invisibility, scrolls of levitate (2), scroll of ray of exhaustion, scroll of silent image, wand of entangle (20 charges), smokestick, mwk light crossbow with 10 bolts, mwk light mace, cloak of resistance +1, 190 gp. potions of cure light wounds (2), potion of hide from animals; mwk studded leather (2), mwk handaxes (4), mwk heavy crossbow with 20 bolts, 63 gp
The elves speak in Elven first, but switch to a heavily accented Taldane, "No. Kill them. They deserve death. Free us. We accept your help, difficult as it is."
Mitirat nods, and turns to the elves, explaining your mission.
The elves give nods of tentative approval, "Good. Thank you. In return, we will bring you to Fola Barun, our leader. We guarantee only safe passage, not a happy end to your mission."
Indeed the next couple of days are hard only because of the speed with which the Ekujae travel.
When you arrive, some of you have fought off disease, but the effects linger in a few cases:
Bhielli feels fine, and he's not sure what the hub bub is all about.
Mercutio, Blodgett, and Rayquaza suffer a bit, each taking
Nykal and Mirilani fair the worst, despite the repellent. Each taking , 1 CHA damage, and currently fatigued.
As you enter an area of the jungle with fewer large fauna and more vines, you eventually come to an area where the elves call a halt. A broad, shallow stream cuts across the path here, flowing around the edge of a 10-foot-tall boulder. The air is slightly cooler and there are few insects flying about.
Atop the boulder appears a half-elf. “I am Fola Barun, speaker for the Ekujae. Why are you here?”
Your guide looks at you expectantly. His expression is rather obvious, he's here to help, not lead.
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"Yeah, um. Hi. We are with the, ah, Pathfinder Society. I guess we're not your favorite society right now, but we're here to make good on whatever bargains Nieford Sharrowsmith made with you. He's currently unable to fulfill any promises he may have made to you on account of his being dead. So...sorry about that?"
Nykal would like to Take 10 for Diplomacy, enhancing his words with the power of Telempathic Projection, for a total of 20.
"Sharrowsmith!" The name makes her soften a bit, but also look mildly annoyed. "I am aware that Sharrowsmith made a deal with the tribe in exchange for the privilege of listening to some of their sacred stories, but I know not what he was supposed to do in return. If you speak for him, I have been directed by the tribal elders to bring you to meet with them at Jalunth."
Fola leads the way, and opens up. She pays special attention to Mercutio, and you think it's your physical features that draw her attention.
The appearance of the jungle shifts subtly here over the course of a few hundred yards, moving from thick undergrowth among towering trees to more controlled vegetation. Several small buildings formed of woven branches and grasses rise out of the ground.
In the surrounding trees above are many other buildings that match the style of those on the ground, although they seem to flow even more gracefully from the vegetation even than those below. A series of vines hang from branches throughout the area. Some are short enough only to swing from one treetop building to another, while others reach all the way to the ground.
Colorful birds and noisy monkeys call out from all around, yet their calls are fainter here than those in much of the surrounding jungle.
A group of elven guardians rappels down from the treetops above and demands to know the group’s business. While untrusting, the elves are not immediately hostile, and with a few words from Fola you are allowed to pass.
As you make your way into the settlement, you see all manner of things unknown to most of the world. On the south side of the village in the branches from 10 to 20 feet above, the Ekujae children play a game where the goal is to hit a target with a blunt arrow, but they move only by swinging on vines. Most startlingly, each team has a player with a knife who tries to cut the vines of the opponents. The elves call this game Makasse. Both on the ground and above, Ekujae work to shape and change their homes through a combination of magical and mundane effort. As the PCs move about the village, it becomes clear that the Ekujae are continually reinventing its appearance and function. There is a sense of action, motion, and life, and permanence and the past don’t seem to be valued much.
Near the center of the village is a 60-foot-wide area where the canopy does not block the sunlight. This space has been cleared of underbrush, and a single, 20-foot-tall tree with a straight bole, smooth gray bark, and a wide crown of emerald leaves stands alone. Arranged in a seemingly haphazard way around the tree are a series of smooth river stones, each two to four feet in diameter. Silent elves motion for you to take a seat.
Within a few minutes, two elves, a male and a female, move to the tree and pat it gently. They then approach you. The paints that decorate their bodies are so intricate that their faces are almost entirely covered. They are the oldest members of the tribe it seems. The first is introduced as Elder Kalwe whose gray hairs attest to her great age. She is soft-spoken, but has an edge of iron in her personality that you notice right away. The other is apparently her husband, Elder Nolanu.
Elder Kalwe speaks, "Tell us why you are here."
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Blodgett takes 10 on Kn (local) for an 18, to determine the appropriate greeting among the Ekujae, then attempts to do so with reverence. Greetings, honored hosts. We are envoys of the Pathfinder Society, and we understand that Nieford Sharrowsmith owes the Ekujae a debt. We come here in peace to offer to repay that debt, if we are able, in his absence.
Mercutio's words seem to come with a force of truth emotional content. Your guide, hired specifically for his ability to work with the Ekujae raises both eyebrows before turning to the Elders, "The group speaks the truth, and they have been a friend to the Ekujae from the moment they hired me. Please elder, help us fulfill this Sharrowsmith's bargain."
The elders look to the elves you rescued. They then look at each other, deep in a conversation executed only with looks and centuries of practice.
"“There is an evil whose source is at a place east called Dehu Inu, where we are forbidden to go. Sharrowsmith promised to investigate but never did, so we require his debt to be fulfilled. If you wish to settle this account, stop whatever it is that has arisen there. Since our stories tied to this place tell us of great battles in the past fought by heroes wielding yellowheart weapons, you may wish to take these. For years he had been honest in his dealings. He wished to know the story of our legendary battle against the darkness in the jungle long ago. In exchange, he would investigate the place of evil to the east. We allowed him to listen to our stories, although we forbade him to write them down, for writing fossilizes the truth, capturing and holding it in place. There are some truths that change over time. Will you honor Sharrowsmith's bargain? As a show of faith you may ask us what you will."
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"Thank you. For starters, it might help us to know why you are forbidden to go to this place, especially when we are apparently free to do so. Also, what is 'yellowheart?' And of course, What can you tell us about this 'evil?'"
After a second's reflection, Mercutio adds: "Would you still forbid us from writing down your stories? As curators of lore, it is normally the Society's practice to do so, you understand, although if you truly object, I believe there are other means we could use; the magic mouth spell, for example. That or other means would require they send someone else to you, though."
Elder Kalwe, “The legend would take too long to explain now and require full trust between the teller and listener. I can say this: the story says that none of Ekujae blood may enter Dehu Inu.”
Elder Nolani, “It is sacred to us. When a scout is first allowed on patrol, she is given a club of yellowheart that she must carve to her liking. Most believe them to be only ceremonial, but the stories often carry the truth when written records are lost.”
Back to Elder Kalwe, “No, the deal struck was with Sharrowsmith, not you. Perhaps you can earn our trust, but it will take time. Before we can even contemplate such a future, his debt must be fulfilled.”