Barkot sighs. "Great, it's locked. Hang on." He pulls out his thieves' tools. "I'm not as good at this as Paë, but I can probably get it open, maybe not on the first try. Deric, you wanna try a more direct way through first, be my guest."
He takes a 5' step away from the door.
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Kylee looks frantic with worry. She stands back by Jasper, wanting to help but trying to stay out of the men's way. She racks her brain, going back in her mind through her Pathfinder training, and all the lectures, books and exercises, trying to think of some way to overcome this ridiculously mundane obstacle. But in the end, all she can do is clasp her hands and silently ask her deity for aid and comfort.
Constrained by the conditions, the party does it's best to prepare.
@Deric may roll for his temporary HP
Deric -6
Paeral
Incubus -47
Squint
Lawrence
Ulyi -11
Barkot
Jasper -14 (25 NL)
Kylee
Deric's stare is on the door, calculations underway. Without moving his aim, he says "Stay with me Kylee." He then moves to the door and tries to force it open with his strength and his shoulder.
As two of Paeral's sink into the bleeding Incubus, it steps close and swings twice.
Deric -6
Paeral -8
Incubus -71
Squint
Lawrence
Ulyi -11
Barkot
Jasper -14 (25 NL)
Kylee
Barkot squeezes past Deric and tries to pick the lock.
The lock opens.
Deric -6
Paeral -8
Incubus -71
Squint
Lawrence
Ulyi -11
Barkot
Jasper -14 (25 NL)
Kylee
First arrow kills the Incubus
As Paeral's arrow sinks into the Incubus' heart, Paeral can't help but detect what seems to be a look of relief. The incubus leaves behind a masterwork scimitar and a body that quickly starts to decompose, filling the room with a sulphorous stench.
------
A pair of columns carved to resemble a beautiful woman flank a fifteen-foot-wide alcove in the west wall of this forty-footlong hall. A mural of the same woman standing atop a towering pyramid is painted on the wall of the alcove, but it, like the walls and floor of the hall, is splashed with blood.
------
Given time to look at the mural, Deric quickly realizes that the pryamid Sorshen is standing on is the Grand Mastaba of Korvosa, the central landmark of the city that serves as the base of Castle Korvosa.
Heading down the corridor to the south leads to another door. Paeral checks it for traps before opening it, revealing another large room.
The air in this large octagonal chamber is dreadfully hot—the very air shimmers with heat and almost drips with humidity, leaving every surface within shiny with condensation. The walls, floor, and thirty-foot-high domed ceiling are of polished white marble. Ten feet into the room, the floor rises up in a three-foot high step, then again at twenty feet in. At the center of the room, a strange gray flame dances in a central firepit. Two smaller octagonal chambers lie to the south and west, while to the east a ten-foot-square section of wall is a dull gray, contrasting with the white of the walls surrounding it. A single torch in a sconce protrudes from the middle of this gray square on the wall.
"Better late than never. I was sure you were a goner. Impressive work Paëral." Deric tries to make sense of what the party has experienced so far and comes up empty handed. "I agree with Kylee's observations on the location of the body we found. Perhaps she was tucked all the way in the back and we came in that way. This place makes no sense to me."
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”I was sure you were a goner…”
Paëral nods. ”You weren’t the only one, pal…me and my friend here thought the same thing…weird, he kind of looked relieved as he was dying…”
As Kylee heals him, the Elf lowers his eyes, murmuring, ”Thank you…”
Hearing Squint, Paë agrees. ”Aye, my friend…methinks we should find a place where we could hole up and get some rest…”
In the meantime, Paëral checks out this octagonal chamber…
"That was some good shooting, Paë!"
Barkot stops to sketch the blood-spattered mural in the room where Paëral killed the incubus. "Huh. You say that pyramid's still there, in Korvosa? Figures." The oracle spits on the floor at the mention of Magnimar's rival city.
Squint grimaces.
”I wasn’t too useful there, amd I’m not sure how much more useful I’m gonna be. I’m out of spells.” He offers a disdainful look at Jasper’s form.
”And what are we going to do with him?”
"Hey, those were some grade A pits you made. And if Paëral hadn't been able ta fill that guy full of holes, Laurence would've been a big help. I dunno what to do with ol' Jasper, though. He seems fine until we get into a fight, and then he loses it when we need him to keep it together." He looks around the blood-splashed room. "I don't think we oughtta leave him here, whatever else we do. Anybody got any ideas?"
"I think we should get him out of here somehow." says Kylee. "He's only a danger to himself and to all of us as he is right now, poor man. If I had more time, I might be able to help him."
"Probably the right call, Kylee. If we had the Nag with us, we could just sling him on her back and..."
"Yeah, anyway... if we're gonna go a little further, we should just carry him until we find someplace safe and less disgusting to stash him. But if we're gonna rest, we shouldn't go much further before deciding whether we're resting inside or heading back out."
The big half-orc starts sweating in his armor immediately upon arriving in the heated room. He casts detect magic and scans as much of it as he can from near the entrance, leaning against a wall.
Deric nods in appreciation as the cleric heals him. "What do you make of all this blood on the walls? There seems to be no source for it. Agree, Barkot. Find a safe place for him if possible. Certainly keep him out of fights."
Deric inspects the blood to see how aged it is.
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|
A pair of columns carved to resemble a beautiful woman flank a fifteen-foot-wide alcove in the west wall of this forty-footlong hall. A mural of the same woman standing atop a towering pyramid is painted on the wall of the alcove, but it, like the walls and floor of the hall, is splashed with blood.
|
|
"You left the Nag back with Maroux, I think..."
Squint looks uncomfortable.
"There's also the matter of Ulyi. I'm feeling a bit sheepish in summoning him back to my side, given how he took down Jasper - even though Jasper attacked him. Regardless, I'm pretty ineffective in a fight without my grumpy buddy."
The blood appears fairly fresh, perhaps weeks old.
Barkot detects magic emanating from the torch on the eastern wall. Faint Transmutaion, though he can't determine the exact effect.
Paeral notices that the torch is sooty, as if it has been lit before, though it is not lit now.
Deric smiles at Paëral and says "Hey, Demonslayer, this blood is relatively fresh. I would say a matter of weeks. This place appears to be very active with a gatekeeper and this crew we just rid it of."
"Kylee, you are on to something with the placement of that crypt. It will all make sense soon enough but I fear our demonslayer will be kept busy as we move forward."
"Show us the way, Demonslayer."
|
|
"Something violent happened herein this room a few weeks ago. Which is significant, given how long this place has been here overall. Don't you think it's odd that we're finding guards at these doors? What are they protecting, or who?"
"And I wonder if this has anything to do with the graves we found back on the beach?"
"At any rate, we must deal with Jasper before moving forward."
Kylee goes back to the unconscious man, kneels down and taps him with the CLW wand.
"Jasper, can you hear me? Wake up. The fight is over." she says in soft tones, patting his face gently.
|
|
”And this torch has been lit recently as well…so this room must be well traveled…”
"Show us the way, Demonslayer."
Paëral nods, ”Aye, my friend, I will…but methinks we need to rest first. The casters amongst us need to replenish their spells and, to be honest, I could use a break as well. We can hole up in the incubus room next door; the only two entrances there have doors that we can either lock or bar, so it should be relatively secure…
“What say you all?”
Jasper jerks awake and looks around fearfully. "What? What happened? The demon... where is it?"
Seeing the party relatively well and standing around looking at him, he calms. "You defeated it? Good, good, though I can't recall any of it. Did I black out again?"
He groans and puts his head in his hands. "Oh! I did, but I can remember a fuzzy dream where demons were all around us." Looking up, he notes Kylee putting her wand away and his eyes go wide.
"The Harbingers! They were injured?" He grips Kylee's hands forcefully. "You kept them well? Oh, thank Groteus for sending someone along to help in my times of weakness."
Releasing Kylee's hands he grips his holy symbol and channels energy.
Deric
Paeral
Squint
Ulyi -1
Barkot
Jasper (6 NL)
Kylee
Barkot pulls Squint aside for a quiet word. “I get what you’re saying, Squint, and he hit ol’ Ulyi pretty hard. But how’s Jasper gonna get back to the exit by himself? You’re the sailor here, pal, so you tell me, can he even get one a’ those boats back upstream the way we came? And if he does, are the rest of us gonna fit in the one left behind when it’s our turn to skedaddle?”
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Paëral nods. ”Aye, I agree with you Squint…but, as Barkot points out, I cannot in good conscience abandon him here…t’would be a death sentence. I’m ticked too that he whacked Ulyi…and he’s swung at others among us…at least he has healed most of Ulyi’s wounds. Let us rest here for a bit…when he sleeps, we can take his weapons away, maybe toss ‘em back in that river, where he can do less harm. Then, first chance we get, we dump him somewhere relatively safe…”
"Good idea, Demonslayer. I'll carry his weapons in my pack."
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Squint looks at Paeral with open contempt.
"He HEALED Ulyi's wounds? HE WHAT?! That lame-brained excuse for worm food attacked my eidolon. Ulyi defended himself and knocked him out WHILE we were still battling those demons and you were locked in a room with that flying incubus. I dismissed my Ulyi back to his own plane of existence where he was healed."
Squint fixes Jasper with a hateful stare.
"He is useless. Do you hear me, you sad wretch? YOU, Jasper, are USELESS."
Squint hoists himself up onto Ulyi.
"There had better be other people between us and Jasper from here on. I will not be responsible for what happens if he swings at us again. We will take first watch shift."
Squint urges Ulyi towards the front of the cavern in order to take a watchful position.
Jasper hangs his head, but also grips his magical flail tightly. "What? I attacked Ulyi? I wouldn't do that. I was attacking demons that were sneaking up from behind.
I am doing my best to keep you all healthy and I will continue to do so the best that I am able. I know that I am not as capable as the rest of you, but my spells have protected Deric from the five-headed dragon. I even brought you back from unconsciousness after the spellcaster knocked you out, Squint. Perhaps you should show Groetus a little bit of gratitude."
"Yes, yes you did, Jasper. And I for one have not forgotten that. You did get confused and attacked an ally just now. Perhaps you would serve us better in a support role." Deric sheathes his greatsword and extends an empty palm to Jasper. "The flail, please sir."
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"Jasper, it does appear that in the thick of battle, a sort of confusion takes hold of you that has been leading you to attack your companions and yourself." says Kylee as gently as she can. "Perhaps you could take some time to contemplate and meditate upon these fervors that Groetus sends to you, and seek deeper wisdom?"
*****
"The main problem we were having with the boats was that we had no oars to fight the current, only the poles. If we could find something to row the boat with, we might be able to get Jasper back to the outside without so much danger to ourselves."
"However, I do also think that when we rest it should be here within the complex. I would expect other guards may be patrolling these halls, and they might just re-lock the doors and post new guards to stop us if we left here and rested outside."
"Confused? Certainly not. You are the ones who are confused if you think I was attacking you. I would never hurt any of you. Point to one wound caused by a flail."
Jasper backs away from Deric, worriedly clutching his flail.
Deric hears the Demonslayer and ignores him. He is already focused on Jasper. Deric's eyes fixate on Jasper's eyes. He will not blink and will know at the very same moment Jasper does as to what his next action will be. To Jasper, it is the look all predators have when they are about to pounce their prey. It is disconcerting and the seriousness is obvious.
"The flail, now."
Jasper is unimpressed by Deric's efforts to intimidate him, but begins banging his head on the shaft of his flail
"No! No! No! What is wrong with all of you? Why won't you just let me help?"
Deric takes ownership of the cleric.
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Even as things escalate between Deric and Jasper, Kylee attempts to reason with her fellow cleric.
"Jasper, please listen to me. We are all telling you the truth. In the heat of battle, a fit of confusion comes upon you, and you begin to swing your flail about recklessly at us and at yourself. We have all witnessed it. Think carefully, and try to remember back to the fights we had with the incubus and the dhampir. I'll guess the memories are a bit -- blurred?"
Deric grapples the feeble old man who struggles against his grip for a while before beginning to sob as Deric steals his only remaining possession.
Deric puts the flail in his backpack. Once Jasper calms down, Deric remains with him and gets Jasper to tell him about his magical abilities. Deric is impressed and tells Jasper that he looks forward to his support.
Jasper does not calm down. He continues sobbing and saying, "How can I defend myself without my flail?"
"We will protect you, Jasper. That is what we do." Deric will stay with him until he calms down.