Ahhh...kill it! Jebediah gurgles as he drops to the ground spitting blood... then there is nothing only a soft voice beckoning him closer... and Jebediah slowly treads forward ever closer to where he belongs...
Cringing at the sight of Celes brutally obliterating a kobold, Cobb suspects things are well in hand and swiftly moves over to Jeb, uttering a prayer to The Wanderer as he does.
"Not your time yet, Jeb..."
The group eviscerates the remaining kobold and the other two remain dazed on the ground. The gates are open.
Status
Jeb @ 4/31 HP
Lukas @ 21/34 HP
Take these for Jeb. They are all I have, but you are welcome to them.
Sarasha drops a scroll case near Jeb.
I want to see what's ahead, and if anyone has raised the alarm.
Sarasha moves quietly through the gates, pausing just on the inside where she thinks she may be hidden.
If she doesn't sense anything , she will quietly move up to the red star location and look to the East.
She will go no further than the red star without the party.
Cobb gives Sarasha a nod, but doesn't hesitate to step in immediately alongside her, trusting her to do little to object while she's working so diligently at being quiet herself.
Jebediah looks up and sees Cobb instead of Pharasma. He shakes violently and needs a while to get back up.
All the while the two Kobolds affected by his magic are beginning to stir.
CLW
Lukas makes short work of the dazed kobolds, giving each one a short, sharp punch in the windpipe. After Jeb has patched himself up, Lukas asks, "Can I get some healing before we move on? Those little guys were pretty good with those spears."
He waits for Jeb to heal him with the wand, then moves up quietly to join the others.
Well there's more of them in there so be quite with your big stompin feet. And when we try playing tricks on them keep your big mouth shut...
Jebediah sneers at Lukas.
The group kills the kobolds before quickly repairing the damage. They move into the monastery and spy a tired-looking man wearing a red hat with a blue feather sitting on a large rock in the northwest corner of this courtyard
He quickly stands as you approach and speaks to you before you attack. "I had a feeling you'd be the ones coming here. Did the baroness manage it? Have you brought the ransom? Gozreh's bones, where is it? I pray the beast will be satisfied-my wife's life depends on it." he admits as he sees you lacking giant bags of coin.
Status
Lukas @ 32/34 HP
Sense Motive
Your wife? The beast? And who are you anyhow?
Jebediah inquires slightly dumbfounded.
Lukas, as puzzled as Jeb, waits to hear the tired-looking man answer the questions.
"Yes. Aeteperaxx has my wife, so I am required to do his bidding. Now, present me the gold and the books so that I may go save my wife and you can be the saviors for the town." the man says, his eyes narrowing down as he sees you lacking any sort of large sums of money.
The gold demand was too high. This is the only way. Join us if you wish.
Sarasha looks him in the eye.
We will do everything in our power to save your wife.
Lukas shrugs sadly as Tessa and Sarasha explain the situation, adding, "That's about the size of it. I don't suppose you can tell us anything that would be useful in fighting the dragon?"
Cobb just shakes his head.
"Ain't a good idea, either. Giving money to a dragon. Beast'd just come back in a few months or a few years and want even more gold for its hoard, and who's to know who it'd take then as prisoner. Maybe someone's wife. Maybe someone's son or daughter."
Cobb narrows his own eyes in response.
"Can't have that on our consciences. We're armed with dragonslayin' weapons, so only one way this ends for the good of the people..."
As you inform him of your plan, he blanches. "Are you mad? The beast is enormous! You have neither the skill nor the numbers to face a dragon of his size-all you'll accomplish is an agonizing death, and then Aeteperax will raze Belhaim to the ground!"
Jebediah eyes the man, who has yet to identify himself stoically.
Considering what will happen if we do not slay the dragon, him eating your wife, torching the countryside and gobling up all inhabitants of Belhaim I'd say the risks of defeat are bearable. Now if only we knew wh you are... and whether or not you are allied with the Dragon...
Diplomacy
Wow, is Jeb trying to anger the man? Lukas thinks to himself before attempting - quite ineptly - to aid in swaying the stranger. "Yeah, um, who are you?"
Cobb shrugs, being a man of reason, he sees the man as either an obstacle to saving Belhaim, or a culpable accomplice to the dragon.
"There's a saying... the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
He holds up his odd but effective keen longbow.
"This bow's magically enchanted to slay a dragon. And it ain't the only weapon as such. So you've got a hard choice as you face this fork in the road in front of you. Are you the fella who helped bring down Aeteperax and save the land, or are you the fella who abetted evil and stood in the way of the heroes of this tale?"
Cobb adjusts his mustache.
"Maybe that choice ain't so hard after all."
You must consider this. The only way this ends well for your wife is with the dragon dead. Dragons are notorious for their greed and avarice, and appeasing them now only makes them want more. Your wife will never escape the dragon's clutches, and will never be let go. If you want to be reunited with her, join us and put an end to this menace once and for all.
You think the dragon will keep its word?! Even if we did have the gold, and gave it over, it would probably still destroy the town. We are the only hope you got old man
"I have just as much faith in the dragon to keep its word as I do in you to save her, however I have no other recourse at this point and I don't know you lot, so why should I place my faith in you when I could merely wait for the dragon to raze the town and steal away with my wife in the gory aftermath?" he asks, clearly very self-interested in himself and his wife and not interested in helping the greater populace of Trunau.
You admit that you don't trust the dragon, but DO trust the damned thing to NOT eat your wife BEFORE it razes the town as you claim it will. You claim you have no other plans. What is the worst that happens...we fail and you still are left with your bad plan of trying to use the town as a diversion to get your wife back. Not to mention, if we all perish at the claws and teeth of the dragon...you will be rid of our annoyance!!
Celes, veins bulging in frustration and slight anger, tries her best to get through the thick skull of the stupid man in front of her.
Hmph, this fool will be the death of me before we even get to the damned DRAGON!
The fact that your egoism migt bring a great catastrophe over this town and country side surely must have crossed your mind? Anyhows were sent on this missiion by heroes of old who once slew the real Aeteperox, and his bones are still locked down in a crypt. That is why we know that this one is not who he pretends to be so slaying him will prove doable!
Cobb shrugs.
"You've got a choice to put your faith in fellow man, or an ancient draconic monster? Don't seem like a hard choice to make... especially when you got your wife to explain what you did. I imagine she might not really think too highly 'bout you tryin' to murder the folks tryin' to save the countryside."
After chewing on this thought for a minute, he adds a little wit.
"Reckon that might be some expensive counseling to stay together after that. That's the kind they only got in a big city like Absalom."
The man looks at you, his face still as a stone for a few moments before he speaks. "Alright, well, if you are so confident, then I won't stop you, but I believe most of the creatures in the monastery will, either through sheer instinct to kill or devotion to the dragon." he offers.
"I can aid you a little for the moment, but my magicks are natural in nature and can only really heal or harm." he adds.
So where is the rest of the Kobolods?
Jebediah inquires.
"And what other creatures are in here?" Lukas asks, relieved that the man is at least not an enemy. "And can you tell us where the dragon is? Maybe we won't have to fight everything in this place if we can go straight to him."
Lukas considers what he's just asked, and wonders whether it's a good plan or sheer foolishness, to be asking for directions to a large, undead dragon.
Cobb smirks as the man reveals his magicks can only really "heal or harm".
"Heal or harm? Well, that's exactly what we need. To harm those who stand in our way to stop the dragon, and to heal us if they manage to hurt us while we try... and well..."
He glances to Lukas, Celes and Sarasha.
"That does happen from time to time."
Cobb then extends a hand to the man.
"Put 'er there. I'm Cobb. This here's Lukas and Jebediah. That there is Celes, don't get on her bad side. Tessa's right there if you need a light for your other kind of natural magicks and finally here's 'Asha."
The man grips Cobb's hand firmly. "My name is Asmur. I cannot act to harm Aeteperax here as word may get back the dragon, but I can heal you if you need it." he tells you and you seem to recognize that a few postings were in the tavern you were staying at about a missing couple with the husband being named Asmur.
After introduction, Asmur informs you of the nature of their quarry: a young green dragon who goes by the name Aeteperax. In his time here as the dragon's hostage, Azmur has spent many weeks studying old journals and tomes he discovered in rooms throughout the monastery. He learned that the monks were tinkering with knowledge about the Dark Tapestry, a subject the green dragon Aeteperax is obsessed with.
"I believe that the reason he came here is to learn what dark secrets the monks uncovered as well as to obtain the wizard's research." he hypothesizes.
"As for other dangers, the three primary dangers will be Aeteperax's lieutenants, aside from myself. These three are the enormous grioth Goladryth in the Saint's Library, the mad alchemist Pentosh who dwells up in
the belfry, and the lunar naga Thaena who can be found somewhere on the third floor, usually." he informs you. "Of the three, Azmur knows the naga has served Aeteperax the longest, and is nonsensical and distracted. Perhaps she may have more knowledge of Aeteperaxx, but she is not as kind as I and may just eat you on the spot."
Well sounds like we will be rather busy...
The group heads towards where Asmur pointed (F9) in order to locate Thaena and enters through the door and finds a room with eight pillars painted with faded quotations and prayers from Irori's teachings. These pillars support the ceiling of this large chamber. A statue of a man with a long braid stands to the south and the group spies a scroll tube behind the man.
Investigation of the scroll inside shows that it is a scroll of marionette transformation.
Knowing that you are trying to ascend to the third floor, you spy a set of spiral stairs in the corner and move upwards (to F16).
Before you reach the second floor, you hear a bit of loud noises as if books are being thrown around.
Lukas turns to Asmur and asks quietly, "Any idea what that noise is?"
"Hey, Asha, how about we creep up those stairs and see what's making the ruckus?" Lukas asks his grey-skinned companion.
Lukas sneaks as sneakily as he can sneak up the stairs. Remembering his experiences with the kobolds, he keeps an eye out for traps or other unpleasant surprises on the way, signaling for Asha to do the same.
Lead on, good sir. Asha follows Lukas up the stairs.
The creature rapidly shifts its gaze towards the stairwell as Lukas and Sarasha advance upwards and it bellows out in its violent language as it readies its crystal sword.
it screams as it moves towards the top of the stairwell as you fail to move stealthily.
Initiative:
Initiative:
1st: Cobb; Lukas; Tessa; Celes
2nd: Giant Winged Creature
3rd: Jeb; Sarasha
Need a little help up here!
Asha calls for help and strikes a defensive posture , waiting for the creature to come between herself and Lukas.
Dungeoneering +5
Planes +3
Jeb scuttles up the stares and seeing the foe decides to try his luck, he incantes a few ancient words and showers the winged creature in a magic rainbow.
This better work...
Lukas darts into the room and around the strange winged creature, hoping to bring it down before the fight starts!
Hearing the eerie scream, Cobb hustles up the stairs and smirks at Lukas and Asha from behind the copious cover provided by his moustache.
"Ah, you found a cute one up here!"
With a practiced rhythm, he reaches for an arrow and fires it.
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