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Phos casts message on each of his companions so that they may communicate without being overheard. "While I do not believe we are in any immediate danger, posting watches would still be prudent. I only need sleep for 2 hours in a night, so if someone will watch for the first two, I will stay awake for the rest of the evening."
Once the party is settled in, he takes the time to use his arcane bonded ring to cast an alarm spell on the area, making it audible, to ensure that the party is awakened if the area is intruded upon. He quietly informs each party member that the password for the alarm is "Dresden" (an ancient word meaning "insane wizard"). Once the alarm is set and a couple party-members agree to take the first watch, Phos settles in to get some sleep.
The captain says little about the Sundered Path during dinner, having only rarely traveled it himself. The night is uneventful and the next morning you join the ratfolk for breakfast, after which the captain escorts you to his office and produces the key to unlock the door to the Sundered Path. "Good luck to you, Pathfinders. You have my blessings."
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5 (3/day) Teleport, Prying Eyes, Cone of Cold (DC 24), Hungry Pit (DC 24)
4 (4/day) Black Tentacles, Invisibility, Greater, Acid Pit (DC 23), Arcane Eye, Emergency Force Sphere
3 (5/day) Blood Biography (DC 23), Haste, Haste, Stinking Cloud (DC 22), Dispel Magic, Daylight
2 (6/day) Darkvision, Resist Energy, Mirror Image, Invisibility, Web (DC 21), Detect Thoughts (DC 22), Protection from Evil, Communal
1 (7/day) Expeditious Excavation (DC 20), Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Comprehend Languages, Ray of Enfeeblement (DC 20), Air Bubble, Touch of Gracelessness (DC 20), Vanish
0 (at will) Ghost Sound (DC 19), Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Message
As they make their way towards the door, Phos says to the Captain, "I've heard reports that a dragon may reside within round mountain. Can you confirm this?"
The captain furrows his brow. "Well, yes, there's a dragon somewhere abouts in the mountain. I have never come across it myself. Pretty deep in the mountain he dwells, I've heard, if there is just one them."
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As he walks and talks, Phos reaches into a side pocket of his haversack and removes a notebook, then a box containing a pen and inkwell."Thank you for confirming. I don't suppose you know the dragon's name, do you?" He opens the book, casts a fast spell (mage hand) and the book floats in front of him as he walks, medium waist height, allowing him to retrieve a pen, dip it in ink and start writing.
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After Phos finishes his inquiries to the captain regarding the dragon, Miss Elizabeth begs a moment of the captain's time.
"Captain Tang, I represent Aaqir Al'Hakam. The Trade Prince seeks to make arrangments with the good denizens of Round Mountain that should prove to benefit all parties. This letter," Miss Elizabeth hands a sealed envelope to the Captain, "explains all the particulars. Would you grant the Trade Prince his request?"
"No, I'm afraid I do not know much about the dragon."
Looking at Miss Elizabeth, Captain Tang responds, "The Trade Prince, eh? Well, if you recommend him I'll certainly consider the request." The captain pockets the letter and leads you all through the door.
The caverns and passages of the Sundered Path are typical
of primary and secondary tunnels through the Darklands
layer of Nar-Voth, the uppermost reaches of the world
beneath Golarion’s surface.
The Sundered Path has seen heavy traffic by the ratfolk who now inhabit Round Mountain’s central chamber, and as such its primary tunnels are generally wide and clear of obstacles. The tunnel runs steadily downward at varying inclines, twisting and turning as it descends. Tunnel segments range from 10 to 25 feet in width, with ceilings from 15 to 30 feet in height. The spacious caverns they connect can stretch to as much as 50 feet in height and with lengths and widths of over 100 feet.
After about two miles the winding tunnels of rough-hewn rock open to a large cavern painted blue by the soft glow of bioluminescent fungi. Flickering in the distance, the warm light of eight lit torches stands in stark contrast to the endless darkness of the Sundered Path as they line a narrow passage through the cavern wall.
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As soon as the party exits the Captain's office, Phos reaches into a pouch on his sash and removes a tiny spherical stone. Holding in his open palm, he hisses out the word, "Luumys!". The sphere responds immediately by rising into the air and shedding a soft yet bright glow, then begins to orbit the wizard's head.
He then removes a rune-covered rod () from his backpack, as well as a piece of cured leather from his spell component pouch, and proceeds to cast a protective spell upon himself (). As the party makes their way forward, he periodically raises a small copper wire to his lips in a "shh" gesture, then points it towards each member of the party in turn (, 190' range), casting a spell which allows the party to communicate at longer ranges.
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Miss Elizabeth nods at Kuduro's suggestion and thanks Phos for the improved lighting.
"Let's see if anything is prepared for us." She crouches down on the ground, splaying her hands in front of her and checks along the floor for any irregularities. After this she sidles up to the walls and looks for tripwires or other mechanisms that indicate traps. Finally, she scoops up a bit of dust from the ground and tosses it in the air, looking for any odd shifts in the air currents.
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Seelah stomps along in her full plate armor, completely unable to sneak, find traps, or otherwise be of use as the party moves along the tunnels. She does however let the more skilled of the party do that thing that they do best, all the while watching their backs and protecting from an assault from the rear. At the mention of the torches she squints her eyes to see into the distance. "Were we expecting to meet anyone along the path? It could be an Aspis trap, be wary!"
There do not appear to be any traps.
As Miss Elizabeth and Bayushi peer down the hall, they see rising from a natural ledge in the center of the room is a four-foot-tall, six-legged rat carved from a single piece of obsidian.
A small, huddled bundle of cloth sits before the statue, seemingly deep in meditation.
of Lao Shu Po, the Tian goddess of night, rats, and thieves.
The passage narrows at this point to a small hallway with torches dimly lighting the shrine beyond. The tunnel continues past the shrine.
Miss Elizabeth sneaks a little ways down the passage, closer to the shrine. She does not sense any traps in the area and the figure at the shrine does not seem to notice her.
Miss Elizabeth and Bayushi begin to sneak towards the shrine and the meditating worshiper does not seem to move. The rest of the party follows up down the passage as Miss Elizabeth and Bayushi begin to scout ahead. As they pass by the shrine, however, they see a figure dressed entirely in black with a black scarf wrapped around its face below a pale brow and black, soulless eyes. The creature says a quick word and the entire room goes black.
This spell functions like Darkness, except that objects radiate darkness in a 60-foot radius and the light level is lowered by two steps. Bright light becomes dim light and normal light becomes darkness. Areas of dim light and darkness become supernaturally dark. This functions like darkness, but even creatures with darkvision cannot see within the spell's confines.
This spell does not stack with itself. Deeper Darkness can be used to counter or dispel any light spell of equal or lower spell level.
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Phos prepares to cast daylight.
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Upon being placed in utter darkness, Elizabeth instinctively draws her rapier. She also moves south , remembering that there was a slight ledge upon which the shrine sat.
Upon reaching this ledge, she follows it to the west as far as she can, but bumps into someone.
"Reiko, is that you? What happened? I can't see a blasted thing!"
She prepares herself to strike at this figure if it proves to be an enemy.
So in the surprise round someone behind the altar says a quick word and the room descends into supernatural darkness. Phos will have none of that and casts a quick spell, a burst of light shining out from the wizard that quickly returns the room to dim lighting.
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As the lighting flickers dramatically, Elizabeth is brought to alarm. She looks and sees a figure behind the shrine. She immediately races towards the cloaked figure and draws her rapier. Leaping onto the ledge and rolling around to the side of the figure.
As she does this, she calls out, "Reiko, help me out with this guy. Flank him!"
Once in position, Miss Elizabeth pauses, readying herself to strike once her ninja friend flanks the enemy.
Bayushi's movement attracts the blade of the worshiper behind the shrine.
[dice=Bayushi Fort against Black Smear Poison]1d20 + 4[/dice]
Onset immediate; Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds
Effect 1d2 Str damage; Cure 1 save.
Typical Users Dark stalkers and dark creepers
Miss Elizabeth then sinks her rapier deep into the thing's chest. He steps out of flanking and swings at Miss Elizabeth with his short swords.
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A piece of licorice root appears in Phos' hand, and words of magic flow from his lips so swiftly that even one skilled in arcane arts would struggle to understand them. Understanding them is not necessary though, as the method identifies the nature of the spell.
School transmutation; Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a shaving of licorice root)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets one creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. part
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
The transmuted creatures move and act more quickly than normal. This extra speed has several effects.
When making a full attack action, a hasted creature may make one extra attack with one natural or manufactured weapon. The attack is made using the creature's full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation. (This effect is not cumulative with similar effects, such as that provided by a speed weapon, nor does it actually grant an extra action, so you can't use it to cast a second spell or otherwise take an extra action in the round.)
A hasted creature gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Any condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses.
All of the hasted creature's modes of movement (including land movement, burrow, climb, fly, and swim) increase by 30 feet, to a maximum of twice the subject's normal speed using that form of movement. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus, and it affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for increased speed. Multiple haste effects don't stack. Haste dispels and counters slow.