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As Aram Zey appears, Desmond tries to keep a stoic, uncaring countenance.
Of course he ain't one of 'em.
"Well, I suppose I'm ready to go whenever everyone else is."
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"It was only fitting," the elf replies to Desmond. "May your quest to rid yourself of Guaril's influence find promise on our journey."
Hal doesn't like going in blind, but the Venture Captain's words appeal to his considerable vanity and simply nods in acknowledgement before going to see to his squire and mount.
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Terrill laughs out loud at nearly everything Dragorin says, ”A Chell lectures me about the deaths of innocents, when their slaves die from overwork or mistreatment, having done nothing but been born or forced into slavery?”
He listens wide-eyed as the man whispers to him, then bursts out into laughter once again, ”You would tempt me, a servant of the Song of the Spheres, with the false promises of the Prince of Lies?” Laying a hand on Dragorin’s shoulder, he says, ”Keep making me such offers, Asmodean, they amuse me no end. I will enjoy this journey with you far more than I expected.”
With a quick look to Basalte, he adds, ”Obedience may be fine for some, though I find it hard to imagine such a view. The important thing is choosing for yourself, not having someone decide for you that you’ll be obedient.”
With a wave to the Venture-Captain, he turns to his fellow Pathfinders and says, ”Ready when you all are, let’s go.”
The crowd of gardeners and landscapers peering in from the window chant "Duel! Duel! Duel!"
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Desmond nods at Halbarad's observation. "Ayup. I don't know or care much about religion - or politics. This little tiff here," Desmond points his finger back and forth between Dragorin and Terrill, "seems to be about both."
With a rare smirk on his face, Atum nods to Desmond. "You should travel to my homeland of Rahadoum some time. This nonsense," he waves at the two apparent zealots, "doesn't seem to happen as much with religion mucking things up. More trouble than it's worth, that's the opinion in Rahadoum. I've been around long enough to see the truth in that too, and even though I now call Osirion my home I still hold that the Law of Man is the height of Garundi achievement."
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”Perhaps we should sit down some time, and teach each other a thing or two, then,” Terrill replies to Dragorin. ”You can teach me about not judging people by where they’re from, and I’ll give you a sound lesson in not determining the course of a person’s life because they were born into servitude, or forced into it by someone who happened to be bigger, or stronger, or unconcerned about the suffering of others.”
”Now, I believe we’ve got a job to do.”
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You sound like my cousin Kayluss. It seems a pity the two of you were not on some adventure together, you would get along quite well. Dragoin says as he heads out the door to the (I assume) awaiting transportation to take us all to Cheliax.
---
You are met by a Magnimarian tradesman sailing from Sothis to Cheliax at the port. "I have been hired to drop you off at Macini. Please board within the hour, otherwise the ship leaves without."
The trip is uneventful as the tradesman puts you ashore at Macini,
and you then make yourway along the inland roads to the provincial capital at Belde, stopping long enough to purchase whatever equipment they need.
From there, you follow the Maiestas upriver until you arrive at the Collapsed Halls. This portion of the trip is also uneventful.
---
The Collapsed Halls is a well-known, centuries-old ruin on the upper reaches of the Maiestas River. It lies only a quarter of a mile from the river’s western bank and is easily located. It has been picked over for centuries by adventurers and treasure seekers alike but very little of any value or significance has ever been discovered, so complete was the fortress’s destruction.
It is largely considered a “dead” ruin—meaning it contains nothing of interest or value—and has been ignored for decades.
The Collapsed Halls seem to be aptly named—where once a wilderness fortress stood is now nothing more than a rubble-filled crater overgrown with scrub brush. Not even the scavengers seem interested in picking it over.
The ruins of the Collapsed Halls are as impassable as they look. There is simply nothing to be found within them.
There is one location of note in the ruins: a single surviving cellar room that can still be accessed. It contains no further access into the ruins and is known primarily for a riddle chiseled into the back wall of the eastern alcove. The entrance to this cellar can be found by anyone as they explore the ruins.
You recognizes them as barghest tracks.
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As the Pathfinders arrive at the ruins, Terrill stops suddenly and raises a hand, "There are tracks here, going to and from the cellar. Wolf tracks, I'd say...except there's something wrong about them." He pauses a moment, gauging the size of the tracks and the size of the creature that made them, studying one pawprint in particular for a moment before saying, "Not a wolf. A barghest made these tracks. Nasty things."
Barghests are known for their innate, minor magical power to affect emotion as well as to travel through space. They can take the form of either a goblin or a wolf with this magic, however the front paws on a barghest are reversed, which is likely what drew your attention.
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So much for this being a 'dead ruin'. Tell me Dawn-follower, do these barghest tend to be chaotic in nature?
That's kind of flattering. I try and play all my character differently. If you didn't notice that Dragorin is G.M.E.W, who is also Nevaeh (the sarcastic Paladin from Lyrics) hopefully I'm doing something right!
I'm very excited for you to start up Decline of Glory Looks like I'll be bringing Iron Man.
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Desmond gives Sahrek a keen look, "You are Sahrek, aren't you boy? Not some barghest in disguise?" He gives the wolf a hearty scratch behind the ears.
Having not seen any riddle scratched into a wall, the ranger answers the archaeologist, "Sorry Flinders, don't know anything about a riddle, but I do know some limericks. There once was a man from Nantucket..."
Atum leads the way with his orcish battering ram to the only door that could possibly lead to the famed cellar. His arm over Dragorin's shoulder as he strides deeply into the room.
The group boldly strides into the cellar and, as they filter in, four shimmering beasts appear from nothingness lashing out at the few souls who actually made it into the room. As they appear, the barghests' muscles and physiques seem to grow as they quadruple in size!
Initiative:
(+4 Urban, +2 Underground)
---Surprise Round---
The four beasts lash out at the Pathfinders with their maws, savaging the four targets in the lead.
These creatures appear to be shimmering and parts of them keep disappearing from view, almost as if they are a temporal anomaly.
Initiative:
1st: Terrill @ 69/69 HP; Atum @ 86/104 HP; Dragorin @ 83/80 HP; Flinders @ 73/73 HP;
2nd: Barghests (#1-Red; #2-Blue; #3-Green; #4-Yellow)
3rd: Desmond @ 70/92 HP; Sahrek; Halbarad @ 72/72 HP; Th'reiwa-don; Basalte @ 52/70 HP;
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As the horrid beasts shimmer into being in the room ahead, Terrill's eyes widen in alarm. "By the Lady's Stars!" he cries, "These are no ordinary barghests! They're much bigger and stronger than any I read about back at the temple. Could they be...these might be the rare Greater Barghests, rumored to be created once a Barghest consumes enough souls. In addition to their greater size, they have a litany of spells at their disposal."
Calling on Desna to guide his blade and protect his body and soul, he blinks out of existence in the hall and reappears at the far side of the barghest's chamber, his blade already swinging down in an arc.
Demoralize - 3
Flinders attempts to burn the creature to the ground, however his spell seems woefully inadequate to deal with these creatures.
Terrill's blade phases through the creature as Atum unleashes a brutal assault on the same one. Atum is slightly luckier as one of his attacks manages to cut the beast.
Dragorin unleashes waves of dark energy however they seem to do very little against the creatures as well, both due to their mental fortitude and their weird phasing ability.
The beasts cry out in rage as they attack the people silly enough to enter their lair, focusing on those that injured them and conveniently have the highest defense.
An attack against Dragorin and one against Atum seem to phase through their bodies, however the barghests have a greater understanding of the phasing and apparently are much more capable of dealing with the consequences as they unleash a multitude of attacks.
Initiative:
1st: Terrill @ 27/69 HP; Atum @ 59/104 HP; Dragorin @ 42/80 HP; Flinders @ 73/73 HP;
2nd: Barghests (#1-Red @ 15; #2-Blue @ 50; #3-Green @ 28; #4-Yellow @ 15)
3rd: Desmond @ 70/92 HP; Sahrek; Halbarad @ 72/72 HP; Th'reiwa-don; Basalte @ 52/70 HP;
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Not liking the tight spaces of the stairwell, Hal fast dismounts , takes a quick 5-foot step down the stairs, and then looses five cold iron arrows at the barghest pinned between Terrill and Atum (Blue). As each shot is nocked and pulled, those nearest can hear a soft cry in Elven.
plus
Terrill lashes out at the beast in front of him with two of the slashes phasing through the creature. He is able to land one of the blows, severely wounding the creature, thankful to the added ability to fight from Flinders' Haste.
Halbarad fires off a volley of arrows through his friends to fell the beast.
Desmond draws his blade and lashes out at the creature to the right of the stairs, however he cannot seem to grasp how to overcome this phasing beast's defenses.
Dragorin tries once more to blast the creatures with negative energy, however the creatures seem only mildly injured by the blast with one shrugging off the attacks almost entirely.
13
6
6
15
7
15
Initiative:
1st: Terrill @ 27/69 HP; Atum @ 59/104 HP; Dragorin @ 42/80 HP; Flinders @ 73/73 HP;
2nd: Barghests (#1-Red @ 43; #3-Green @ 41; #4-Yellow @ 36)
3rd: Desmond @ 70/92 HP; Sahrek; Halbarad @ 72/72 HP; Th'reiwa-don; Basalte @ 52/70 HP;
Basalte's first two swings miss the greater barghest and his third swing looks to barely cut the beast before it winks out of existence as the blade passes through where it was. Milliseconds later, the creature reappears uninjured, laughing.
Atum has similar luck, however that barghest isn't able to dodge one of his blows, cutting the creature deeply.
The three remaining creatures lash out at the creatures invading their lair and killing their brethren.
The creatures lash out against their heavily armored foes, striking deeply into the front line. Atum is clobbered by four attacks as the whirling barghest decides it more prudent to lash out at everyone nearby, than solely at the Living Monolith. Terrill comes away uninjured as one of the attacks seems to phase through him at the last second.
Initiative:
1st: Terrill @ 35/77 HP; Atum-Unconscious(?) @ -1/104 HP; Dragorin @ 28/80 HP; Flinders @ 73/73 HP;
2nd: Barghests (#1-Red @ 70; #3-Green @ 41; #4-Yellow @ 36)
3rd: Desmond @ 70/92 HP; Sahrek; Halbarad @ 72/72 HP; Th'reiwa-don; Basalte @ 77(61)/94(78) HP;
Terrill teleports and slashes successfully into the barghest.
Initiative:
1st: Terrill @ 39/77 HP; Atum-Unconscious(?) @ -1/104 HP; Dragorin @ 28/80 HP; Flinders @ 73/73 HP;
2nd: Barghests (#1-Red @ 70; #3-Green @ 68; #4-Yellow @ 55)
3rd: Desmond @ 70/92 HP; Sahrek; Halbarad @ 72/72 HP; Th'reiwa-don; Basalte @ 77(61)/94(78) HP;