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While the others speak, Skipper cocks his head curiously at Jala, and approaches her, rummaging into his deck of cards as he goes.
"Wise lady, fate spins us all around and gives each of us an opportunity, or a warning, if we are able to take it. I sense you have seen much, and the passions of the young do not sway you, but that you still pay a mind to the portents of the world around us, the signs of fate written by Gozreh himself. May I draw a card for you?"
Skipper's hands linger on the deck, as he studies the old woman intently.
Kragr leers down at Yami. "Don't worry, little one. I know what it means to be strong. This fight just isn't worth it."
Jala eyes the deck skeptically. "I have seen fate and omens come to naught too often to be easily swayed. Show me reason and facts , leave out the flattery and flash. "
Adsal takes a quiet moment to speak with Medda concerning the nature of necessary sacrifices, but though she's heartened by his words, she still hangs back from directly confronting Kragr and Jala.
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"This fight isn't worth it?" Mantis' astonishment raises his voice closer to a shout than he intends. He said something similar to Yami earlier "That implies only the outcome, the destination, matters. Indeed it is the journey that defines us. The journey is the root of our character. If you dip a fly in ink it will be too heavy to fly. So it will clean itself until it can fly again. Drop another drop on the creature and it will again clean itself until it can fly. It does not clean itself for food, nor water, nor even mating. Again and again the fly does what it must, to be a fly." Mantis takes a breath and holds up an empty hand. As he does the fingers begin to turn into claws, brassy scales appearing on his hand. "You and I have much in common I think. We are warriors who seak to defend. You: champion and protect the Twinhorns. Me: champion and protect against evils of the world. The more we fight for them the more we earn the role of champion."
"If we stop doing that, if we stop fighting the fight, we stop being what we are. There is no single victory, no end to the fight, that makes us champions. It is the journey."
"Be the fly. Be the champion, continue the fight.
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Kragr leers down at Yami. "Don't worry, little one. I know what it means to be strong. This fight just isn't worth it."
Yami turns to Jala, lifting an eyebrow. "Clearly he does not know what the undead are capable of if left to their own devices. They fester, like a disease, and spread like such as well. The longer one waits, the stronger they will be." The wayang makes several more scrapes on the puppet he is working on. "If a tree becomes blighted in a forest, you do not simply walk away and let it be. That is how you get a bunch of dead trees. You excise the tree and do a controlled burn. Same situation, just with people's lives. It makes more sense to strike now, does it not?"
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"Kragr Bloodhand: I am not of your blood, but I know a thing or two about the worth of fighting. I fight for what I believe! not for gold! we came here to help, and I could not wait to meet Medda's kin, for I had hopes to see a great tribe that made us look weak. After we defeat the enemy and return south, what will I say when I speak of Kragr Bloodhand? will I speak of boldness and courage, or will I speak of fear and doubt?"
Yami lays out his case, but Jala is unconvinced. "Your analogy is flawed. It presumes that but a single tree is blighted. If the forest has died, there is no point in remaining to mourn it."
Chaine's exhortations seem to give Kragr pause, but as Mantis launches into his spiel he is met only a bemused look, "Really? Be, the Fly?" He turns to Jala, "Why are we listening to these fools?"
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Skipper turns to Medda and lays a small hand on her arm. "Medda, you didn't come this far on your journey to fail now," he says sympathetically. "Vildeis has a plan for you. In this hour, see to your faith. We will not abandon you; even if your tribe turns from you, we will walk this journey with you to the end. My faith bids me do no less, and I know that yours does as well. Courage, now! The forces of good will bolster us."
Skipper's attempts to rally Medda goes a little off target. "I am grateful to hear that. Perhaps this path is one that I must walk alone. It would not be right to force my people to sacrifice everything to bear this burden."
Though you seem to have made some head way in speaking with Kragr, the elders are not yet with you. Regardless, time is a factor. You can't simply sit here until the undead overrun the camp!
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Skipper looks uncertain, having seen that his words had the opposite effect. "No, that's not what I... I mean, the point is you don't HAVE to walk alone, I..."
Looking around unhappily, he spots Yami. "Look-- alliances can come from unlikely places, Medda! Some people might think my friend Yami is a little, um... weird! Or question his methods! But he's proven a faithful ally, and he knows all ABOUT the gods! Er, right, Yami?"
(Skipper tactfully doesn't mention when his faithful ally tried to possess him.)
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As the halfling attempts to play up their camaraderie, the wayang attempts to smile. It fails spectacularly, with incredibly loud sounds of creaking jaw bones and twitching facial muscles.
"Errr...yes. Allies. I totally just tried possessing his soul not even an hour ago. It was great."
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Chaine's exhortations seem to give Kragr pause, but as Mantis launches into his spiel he is met only a bemused look, "Really? Be, the Fly?" He turns to Jala, "Why are we listening to these fools?"
Mantis agrees with the big man's sentiment about fools. "I would rather follow the fly who is true to itself than a 'champion' who isn't what his people think."
Inspired by Yami and Skipper's heartfelt if slightly mangled expressions of support, Medda joins her voice to Chaine's, "They are right. To forsake our oaths would destroy us as surely as these monstrosities could ever do.
"We must fight!"
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Mantis goes straight for Kragr's pride. "We can probably defeat this enemy of the Twinhorns at great cost, but how much easier would it be for one whose hands have already spilled the blood of so many other enemies." Mantis mimes slaying enemies with the weapon of Kragr.
"The Twinhorns have been blessed by the 'man in bear form,' as Tala called him. The bear is the symbol of Strength in almost every people I have encountered. The dire bear packs even more strength into its frame. Now, having come this far north I discover the even stronger, hardier, and more fearsome white bears. And you wear one of these as a cloak? Truly the Twinhorns are blessed!" The big man paces about the tent liked a caged bear, but still has to look up to the champion of the Twinhorns by his awesome height.
"You have served this dagger's spirit for hundreds of years. With this victory the next hundred years these people will serve a new spirit. Let the name 'Krager Bloodhand' be known as the man who stopped this evil from escaping when the dagger had failed." Mantis kneels before the big man, holding his blade out as an offering.
"...Fine.
I'll not have it said that the Pathfinders were devoured when Kragr Bloodhand forsook his oaths. Leaving while we're being overrun can only save so many anyways.
"But Medda, we'll revisit this once we kill these damned undead. Again."
That said, he strides forth from the tent, bellowing to the Following,
The clearing on the riverbank features a circle of standing stones with a large stone altar at its center. A shadowy tear floats above the altar, so dark that what little light shines from the stars seems to become trapped inside. Eight large tendrils of inky darkness coil around the menhirs as if keeping the stones in a stranglehold. Other tendrils lick out from the shadowy rift as if tasting the air, but at this distance only Talathel can make out any sort of creature beyond the stones by the light of Chaine's lance, a ghostly Twinhorn with bow drawn.
Skipper
Yami's New Friend - Protection from Evil, unlit
Fallen Twinhorns
Brass Mantis - 1 negative level, embiggened, unlit
Fade - Fly, unlit
Adsal unlit
Wriggling Tentacles
Yami unlit
Chaine
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Mantis cast a spell and the image of a wyrm begins circling in front of him. It circles faster and faster eventually catching up to its own tail. As it does so, the air inside coalesces into a mirror that shimmers before him. He steps forward to keep the apparation on one side of him and his allies on the other.
After the success with the arcane spell he also touches the mask upon his face and curses a word, granting him darkvision.
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Darkness is generally not something Skipper's really too happy to see, so he first calls upon the light of the sun to illuminate their journey forward!
"Tentacles are never EVER good, guys! Let's see if we can get above them, okay?"
As they draw closer, Skipper shakes his head. "That just feels really super bad. Like very negative vibes. Everyone huddle up once more, okay?"
Skipper taps everyone with a silver rod that has the symbols of all the good aligned gods on it... "Okay! Now! Remember what I said about the tentacles, alright? Journey on, team!"
Skipper's light is enough to throw the shadowy area within the circle into some light, at least, revealing yet more of the ghostly twinhorns, as well as a dreadful creature that seems to be mostly composed of the same length tentacles that wriggle throughout the circle!
The ghostly twinhorns dismiss the bear as a threat, and instead open fire on Talathel, feathering the towering warrior with a hail of life draining arrows!
Seemingly in response to the revelation of their fallen brethren, a troop of Twinhorn Hunters arrives to lend their aid!
Skipper Daylight
Fallen Twinhorns
Brass Mantis -83, 1 negative level, embiggened, darkvision, shield, unlit, Four DC 19 Will Saves or -4 on saves vs fear, and immunity to fear lost.
Fade - Fly, unlit, Shield, 7 Images
Adsal & Friend unlit, Heroism
Wriggling Tentacles
Yami & Friends unlit, Spectral Hand
Chaine
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"The Falllen--," Mantis grunts as an arrow hits him, "--Twinhorns will remain here--ouch--unless we can bring their bodies back for--ugh--burial." He pauses as two more arrows interrupt him. "The other is a Body snatcher--oof--and it is surrounded in--ack--silence."
"Let me lead--ow--the way. Better me than y-- The paladin stops talking and shudders in serious pain.
Adsal knows that the Fallen Twinhorns are resistant to turning, and lightly resistant to acid and fire, as for weapons, they aren't particularly protected, aside from their general resistance from their incorporeal state. As for the Body Snatcher, it isn't particularly resistant to any elements.
Nonetheless, the Azata's bolt of lightning spatters harmlessly from the Body Snatcher's inky form, and even the Fallen Twinhorn who is struck by it full on appears far from mortally wounded...
Skipper Daylight
Fallen Twinhorns (Blue -4, Yellow -9)
Brass Mantis -83, 1 negative level, embiggened, darkvision, shield, unlit, -4 on saves vs fear, and immunity to fear lost.
Fade - Fly, unlit, Shield, 7 Images
Adsal & Friend unlit, Heroism
Wriggling Tentacles
Yami & Friends unlit, Spectral Hand
Chaine
Though Adsal's conjuration speckles the undead with shiny, they don't appear to have suffered any ill effects...
For a second, Mantis's footing slips on the air, but the next moment, it's solid again. For now.
The Body Snatcher erupts out of the circle of shadows, an awful energy surrounding its tendrils as it reaches out unerringly for the real Fade, wrapping him up and drawing him within the circle of silent shadows!
As the wayang warrior enters the circle, the tendrils that dwell within reach forward, ensnaring Fade, who is off balance from already being grappled, and holding him fast.
Skipper Daylight
Fallen Twinhorns (Red - shiny; Blue -4, shiny; Yellow -9)
Brass Mantis -83, 1 negative level, embiggened, darkvision, shield, unlit, -4 on saves vs fear, and immunity to fear lost.
Fade -29 Fly, unlit, Shield, 7 Images, grappled
Adsal & Friend unlit, Heroism GM Question Outstanding
Body Snatcher - Shiny, 15' up
Wriggling Tentacles
Yami & Friends unlit, Spectral Hand
Chaine
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"Dangit."
Skipper dashes forward on hasted feet, hurrying to Mantis's side. "No dying today, okay??"
He slaps Mantis with a hand, and Mantis is filled with holy energy that repairs his wounds.
From this new vantage point, he's close enough to see Fade, so he does something about Fade's awkward position, or tries to.
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Yami Move Action: Yami moves east(right?) 20 to 25 feet and upwards using Air Walk to a height where he would have line of sight on the Tentacle creature. If this requires more/less horizontal movement within the 40 foot total speed granted with Haste, he will do so.
Yami Standard Action: Yami activates his Arcane Bond to cast telekinetic charge on Spiky, the spell allowing him to elevate and move Spiky into melee range with the Tentacle monster.
Spiky Immediate Action: Spiky makes a claw attack per telekinetic charge. , ,
If Bodysnatcher become grappled
Spiky Standard Action: Spiky attempts to another grapple check and will pin; ,
If Bodysnatcher takes claw damage but avoids being grappled
Spiky Full Attack Action: Spiky makes a full attack on the Bodysnatcher, only following through with the last grab attempt. Attack 1: , ; Attack 2: , ; Haste Attack: , , , , .
If Bodysnatcher is completely unaffected by Spiky's initial charge attack (e.g. incorporeal or other nonsense)
Spiky Move and Standard: Should it be in Spiky's capabilities, if Fade is unable to be freed from tentacles by Skipper, Spiky will attempt his own check to pull him out, moving and provoking if required to appropriately to do so.
or
Spiky Full Round Action: Should freeing Fade not be in Spiky's capabilities or if Fade is freed by Skipper, Spiky will withdraw as far as possible back to Yami.
Skele-Grizzly Move Action: Skele-Grizzly will trundle up to the Bodysnatcher.
Skele-Grizzly Standard Action: Skele-Grizzly will attempt to attack Bodysnatcher, regardless of Spiky's success. ,
As his wounds vanish, Mantis's courage returns to him as well!
Spiky is flung headlong into the monstrous Body Snatcher, striking it with her tremendous claw, though it wriggles free from her grasp... The first time. However, the slippery snatcher is no match for the undead might of the Mother of Spikes, and she grabs it tight, though her backup bear is unable to capitalize on her good work.
Skipper Daylight
Fallen Twinhorns (Red - shiny; Blue -4, shiny; Yellow -9)
Brass Mantis 1 negative level, embiggened, darkvision, shield, unlit
Fade -29 Probably Fly, unlit, Shield, 7 Images, grappled
Adsal & Friend unlit, Heroism GM Question Outstanding
Body Snatcher -66, Shiny, Grappled
Wriggling Tentacles
Yami & Friends unlit, Spectral Hand (Mother of Spikes - grappled)
Chaine