@Shasta: You were close enough to understand the whispered prayer Zaril called to Angazhan to imbue his weapon against humans.
Wyeth moves over and tries to strike at Zaril with his weapon!
The Angazhanite is given a powerful wound by the entangled Wyeth.
Aspex summons more grease, this time placing it under Zaril's feet!
With a thud, he falls to the ground. "Ha ha ha!", Zaril shouts maniacally. "My wounds will heal and your tricks shall only delay your impending demise!"
Init Order Wave 2 Round 2 (bold = up)
Aspis Blue
Hakime
Aspis Red
Zaril (31 damage, 5 acid next round, prone)
Marduk
Wyeth (entangled 5 rounds)
Gob (20 damage, FH 1, deafened 1 hour-20% spell failure chance if it has a Verbal component)
Aspex
Shasta (22 damage)
Seeing Gob is still a threat, the Aspis agents in the doorway fire arrows at the wounded half-orc!
The arrow hits Gob in the chest, but not enough to hit any internal organs.
Hakime's arrows both miss as another arrow from the other Aspis agent strikes at Gob.
The arrow goes wide as Zaril gets to his feet, Wyeth reacting as best as he can!
The entangling goo is not enough to hamper Wyeth's blow and the Angazhanite is wounded once more.
Bloodied yet defiant, he looks at Wyeth and tries to cast a spell, but sizzling acid brings Zaril to his knees before falling unconscious.
The other Aspis agents, seeing their leader (and provider of paychecks) fall, turn and run!
The kobolds cheer as the party stands victorious, if not a little bloodied.
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Gob pulls the arrow from his shoulder and lets his healing spell slowly patch him up. "Well that could have gone a lot worse he says to the others." He then looks to the kobolds and addresses them in draconic, "We have what we came for and we will leave you in peace, as long as you stop attacking the near by human settlements."
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Shasta takes her wand and begins to close up the hole in her torso.
HP: 8/30
HP: 16/30
HP: 19/30
HP: 24/30
HP: 30/30
Shasta tucks the wand back in her wrist sheath and enjoys the warmth and the lack of pain. She eyes the hole in her blouse and armor. "Need a spell that cures the damage and repairs the clothes and armor," she comments to herself, before checking if anyone else needs healing.
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Gob pulls the arrow from his shoulder and lets his healing spell slowly patch him up. "Well that could have gone a lot worse he says to the others." He then looks to the kobolds and addresses them in draconic, "We have what we came for and we will leave you in peace, as long as you stop attacking the near by human settlements."
"Not so. We came to find our missing venture captain, Mr. Sharrowsmith." To the kobolds: "Show us where the building collapsed around him. We need to see if he is still alive. If not we will take his body back, along with any of his possessions."
Between Wyeth and Marduk, Zaril is thoroughly slain and no one in the room will shed any tears for the inquisitor of the great demon ape.
Hakime manages to fire land a single arrow, wounding one in the back, but is not enough to stop them as they flee outside and into the jungle.
Vanei breathes a sigh of relief as she looks at Zaril's corpse. "Thank you for that. I think I can escape this area safely now without my former employer hunting me down."
The kobolds respond to Shasta and Gob. "We can take you to the collapse.", they answer, although the Guardian chimes in. "I will assist in removing the rubble; it is the least I can do for the honored saviors.
It takes about an hour, but the rubble is mostly cleared away, revealing Sharrowsmith's month-old corpse. Although blood-stained and partially crushed, a blood-stained ivory wayfinder as status of a Venture Captain is enough proof to confirm it is the missing Pathfinder leader.
[b]"Likewise, as long as no others come here, I am sure the kobolds will leave them alone too." Even blind Naktok, with a blindfolded and sleeping Stinkeye nearby, chimes in. "Yes, you aren't too bad for bigfoots and at least some of you speak properly. But this is our home and we don't want any other snooping around here.", answering in Draconic.
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"We can't speak for all big-foots ... big-feet?" Shasta pauses to consider her right foot. "But we can promise to report on your help defeating the Aspis agents and your promises of peace if left undisturbed. We are on good terms with the leader of the fort. I'm sure he will do what he can to keep settlers away from your home. I don't think the Pathfinders will be back, once we report the situation and return our comrade. Perhaps with your guardian's help, you will not be bothered again. I'll do what I can to heal any of you who were injured in the fight with the Aspis agents."
To Vanei, Shasta says, "Good luck and keep in touch. Talk to the Pathfinders if you want to share what you know about the Aspis apes ... I mean agents. They usually pay well for such information and they may offer you a place with the good guys (well, mostly good guys)."
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Answering in Draconic, Aspex adds "With the Guardian finished and if you refrain from attacking the humans in the hills, you should be left alone." She glances at Shasta and nods. "But you would be better off if you were able to start working with the humans; they're less likely to try to take your lands if you're their allies."
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Gob nods and then adds in draconic. "Actually the leader of the human camp asked us not to wipe you out. He understands that you are part of the delicate balance of this area, and your removal would just cause more problems. You would do well to remember that and seek peace with the local humans. Good luck little dragons."
Naktok nods, and finds Hakime's word choice amusing. "Very well, perhaps we can sacrifice some non-bigfoots to our Golden God instead.", the Guardian noticeably rolling his eyes, but a wry smile shows it appreciates the attention, even if it was barbaric.
With Sharrowsmith's body and gear collected, the party makes their trek back to Fort Bandu. Praetor Sylien is ecstatic, his otherwise stoic face breaking out in smile as he finds relief that the party has not only quelled the kobold violence, but perhaps allowed for enough peace for the Fort's influence to expand once more.
Back at the Nantambu Lodge, Aya Allahe, your original mission briefer, is solemn as she hears of the party arrives with the body of her beloved friend. "Nantambu will not be the same without my friend Nieford Sharrowsmith. When he was younger, he traveled to all corners of the Mwangi Expanse and truly made the region his home, despite having been born hundreds of miles away in Avistan. He never truly lost his adventuring spirit, and as this lodge grew, he found his hours dedicated more and more to paperwork and less and less to exploring the lands’ rich history. I know his soul would take no offense at my saying
he died as he would have wished—active, engaged, and in the field. I take solace in being able to provide him proper funerary rites.
With his passing, Sharrowsmith's Exports has no venture-captain, but I have corresponded with Nieford's colleague Ambrus Valsin and agreed to act as the temporary manager of the lodge. After all, the full extent of the Pathfinders' involvement in Nantambu has remained a something of an open secret, and it would be an embarrassment for anyone but a friend or family member to take command of the business so soon after the owner’s death.
I dearly appreciate what you have done for the Society, for your venture-captain, and for me.", the aasimar woman bowing at the group's presence.
Aya Allahe then examines the metal component the party found in the Krihirik talisman. After a moment's study, she quickly stands, recovers a piece of stationary bearing five graphite illustrations, and slowly smiles. "This is remarkable," she announces. "The shape of
the talisman matches one of the drawings Ambrus Valsin sent me. What you have found is a piece of the Sky Key, the device even now the rest of the Society is at its wits' end attempting to reassemble!" Then, with quiet affection, she murmurs to the Sky Key component, "Congratulations, Nieford. You and your agents have once again done what the rest of the Society could not—a fitting tribute, and a fine legacy."
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After the long heat of Mwangi, the party heads to Katapesh for heat of a different kind. They also say farewell to Shasta, who has been reassigned to a mission in her native Varisia, but instead are met with a familiar face to some of the party.
Venture-Captain Roderus sits at his desk in the lodge beneath the popular Winding Road Inn in Katapesh. Maps cover every wall of his workspace, and precarious stacks of journals and papers nearly reach to the ceiling. The venture-captain glances up from his work. "Welcome, Pathfinders. I hope your journey here was not too arduous. I have a fascinating assignment for you." He plucks a single sheet of paper
from the middle of pile on his desk. "This is a letter from the Osiriani investigator Amenira, who works with the Temple of the All-Seeing Eye. Mercy, the town she mentions in her reports, wasn’t even on our map until now. It’s a small settlement out in the Mana Wastes. Magic is unpredictable out in the Wastes, and it sometimes coalesces into deadly storms. People in Alkenstar reported seeing one of these magical disturbances heading in the direction of Mercy, but the town weathered the
fearsome storm without so much as a scratch."
At this point, the veteran Venture-Captain hands a sheet to the party to review before he continues.
The Temple of the All-Seeing Eye is the most prominent temple to Nethys, the god of magic.
The venture-captain clears his throat before he continues. "One of my contacts at the temple received this missive from her four months ago, and he hasn’t heard anything from her since. I’m sending you to Mercy to figure out why. If she’s still there, ask her why she hasn’t contacted anyone in months and help her finish her investigation; if she isn’t, find out what happened to her. While you are there, see how much of the mystery of Mercy you can unravel. Several of the clergy within the temple are intensely curious about why the mana storm didn’t level the town, and so am I. I will gladly provide you with additional pay for the information that you retrieve. I’ve booked a ship to the city of Alkenstar, which is a few days’ journey from Mercy itself. The ship departs in three hours. If you have any questions, ask them now. You’ll have time to purchase supplies when you arrive."
"Unfortunately, I do not.", Roderus answering Gob's question. "I am curious, too; I hope you can find Amenira to figure that out. In this case, I expect your wages will be earned through information versus artifacts returned, so do be a good Pathfinder and try to root out the truth."
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"Do you know what sort of affliction was affecting her? Was she ill before she left on this mission or was this disease something that afflicted her after she left? I wonder if this ointment she was seeking was meant to be a balm to relieve her illness, or if it was what she was sent there to find?"
"Perhaps a remove disease potion might come in handy if we find her? I will buy one if no one already has one."
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"Magic storms, infighting, and paranoia over strangers," Wyeth says as he reads the document. "Sounds a lovely place."
Frowning, he continues, "This reads like she wasn't well and was getting worse; that could be the whole explanation for her falling out of touch. I do hope she's still with us, and not so ill that she can't be helped." He looked up from the page to glance around at his comrades. "This bit about trying to hide her illness seems... disconcerting. I'm hopeful she's not become werekin," he adds with an uncomfortable laugh.
"At any rate," he says, passing the document on to the next person, "we'll unearth whatever's going on."
"I will trust your judgment on what is needed, although I do agree that I hope Amenira is ok. While she is in a small town, I wouldn't suspect that she is so remote that a courier couldn't deliver a notice."
Looking at Wyeth, Marduk, and Benson, he adds, "I know you have had experience in, well, backwater towns and hostile locals, so I hope those experiences will be useful in Mercy."
The ship travels down the coast of the Obari Ocean, tacks northwest up the Elemion River, then sails south down the Ustradi River, finally stopping at the city of Alkenstar. It docks slightly short of a five-hundred-foot-tall waterfall in the middle of the city, where southbound ships painstakingly ride a winding elevator to the river above. Nearby, carriages wait to lead passengers into the smog-covered city.
A bustling city of over 50,000, mostly humans and dwarves make up the populace, although halflings are in good number and a few half-orcs, gnomes, and elves can be found among the mix. With magic only functioning in section of the city east to the Ustradi River that splits it, the technological marvels that allow the city to function is a true sight to behold.
Mercy is located a little over 20 miles south of Alkenstar. The people there worship an obscure nature deity. Rumors speak of a vampire who occasionally hunts travelers along the road.
The people of Mercy have a reputation for being insular and extremely devout to their god Robori. The town has rigid, inflexible rules, but the quality of its harvests encourages traders to occasionally stop by the town to purchase produce.
For the past year, an Osiriani woman from Mercy named Amenira came to Alkenstar every month. She traded for supplies and sent large collections of letters before returning to Mercy.
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Hakime advises the others as to some information on the town of Mercy, the little bits she's been able to learn around Alkenstar.
"Mercy is just about 20 miles south of here. They worship a little-known nature deity they refer to as Robori. There are rumors that a vampire hunts the road, seeking travelers to or from Mercy, so we need be wary, and perhaps restrict our travel to daylight hours. The town itself is said to have some very strict rules, but their harvests are rumored to be of inordinate quality and traders do go there to purchase produce as a result despite the dangers."
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Wyeth nods. "Good. That's more than I got from asking around. Well done."
"Vampires," he says thoughtfully. "As long as we're talking blood... alongside my alchemical studies, I've been researching magic. I've worked out a way to reduce the chances of death during an encounter. I can link all of us together -- as long as we stay in proximity, at least -- so if anyone is gravely wounded, all the others will donate a bit of health. It's quite limited, but it's better than nothing. Presuming we're in an area where magic works, of course," he says with a frown.
"But, it requires a drop of blood from each person as part of the material components. I have some small preservative phials so we can prepare ahead of time."
Looking around at the others he adds, "I can understand if anyone prefers not to participate, of course."
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Benson walks into the venture-captain's lodge and smiles when he sees familiar faces. He gives a hearty handshake (no laurels) to Wyeth and Marduk. He learns the names of the others and shakes their hands as well. Benson is a tall, strong young man, with a zest for adventure and a quick wit. He carries a dueling sword and an Elven curve blade, plus a composite long bow and a few light weapons. He wears a chain shirt and a buckler for defense. His face shows his dual ancestry of both Varisia and Tien.
"It's good to be back on assignment. I had to visit my parents, as I got word my mother was not doing well. She's much better now. I was further delayed by a short-lived love affair. My heart is broken," he says, looking momentarily sad, but cheers up instantly and adds, "but life is rich! Let's solve this mystery! Plus I got my dueling sword enchanted." He draws his sword and swings it around with some dangerous looking flourishes before showing the gleaming blade to the others.
Benson has no questions for the VC.
Benson learned nothing helpful from his exploration. He got distracted by a good-looking serving woman, tried to flirt with her, discovered she had a barbarian boyfriend in the bar, spent the rest of the time losing said barbarian in the marketplace.
Edit:
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Earlier:
Rendevouz-ing with the others, Marduk nods with a modest smile.
"It is good to see you all again."
He gives especially Wyeth a soft friendly smack on the shoulder.
"Benson, you too? How was your time off?"
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Current time:
"Vampires?"
Well that would be a challenge, if nothing else.
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"Thanks for the offer. I can afford a mount if needs be, though. If we're concerned about speed, maybe we should all ride?"
He claps Benson on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, my friend. And to hear your mother's doing better. As for the lost love... well, that comes with the territory. It's the price one pays for being ruggedly handsome," he adds with a grin.
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Benson says, "I haven't ridden horses enough to fight from one, but I have been thinking about getting one for such occasions."
He trots off toward the part of town where horses are bought and sold and comes back in less than an hour with a light horse and saddle and saddle bags (non-combat trained, riding saddle, cost 89 gp). "Ladies and gents, meet Fu Shi, which means fast one in Tien. At least the merchant who sold her to me promised she was fast. We'll see."
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Wyeth rejoins the group with a saddled and saddlebagged young horse in tow about a half hour after Benson. "Well, I see you go the last of the top-tier rides, Benson. By the time I arrived, there wasn't much selection left. Well, there was this one mare that looked promising. But they'd named her 'Pearly Gaits' and I was concerned that might be prophetic."
The Oracle pauses to rub his new mount's nose. "Fortunately, they had about fifty young ones penned up, and I scoured through them to find the oldest of the bunch. This is Colt 45."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Hakime goes and buys a horse of her own from a different ostler so she has more choice... Since she's unarmored and doesn't fight from horseback, a light rider is all she needs...
She returns with a black and white painted pony, which she introduces to the others as 'Spot'.
She mounts as if familiar enough with horses, but just barely.
The dirt road toward Mercy winds through rocky, tree-lined hills. Sporadic clearings occur where large sections of trees have been destroyed or damaged. Some are only missing a few branches, while others have been split almost in half vertically or chopped down to a short stump. The exposed wood is black and perfectly smooth. One such clearing reveals the opening of a narrow cave in the hillside. The trail splits, leading both into the cave and off to the north.
The black sheen on the wood is burnt sap, as if something intensely hot flash burned the wood.
The party approaches the bend, but everyone except for Aspex and Benson note a strange form near one of the rocks as it and another matching figure out, longbow armed! The creature looks gnoll-ish, but has a grotesquely large tentacle where its right shoulder and arm should be and its leg deformed into a barbed stump.
This gnoll is a mutant of the mana wastes. These particular ones seem to have a natural slam attack from the tentacle, but are slower due to the deformed leg. Wyeth feels their pain.
Init Order (Surprise Round - Standard action only)!)
Hyena Gray
Hakime
Benson
Aspex
Marduk
Wyeth
Gob
Hyena Orange
Gnoll Red
Gnoll Blue