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Lowering her weapon, Kuduro bows deeply to the dragon. "Peaceful greetings unto you oh great and majestic dragon of the earth. Please magnificence, I humbly request to be enlightened as to what name you allow mortals to address you that I may properly offer you tribute on behalf of myself and my companions. I am Kuduro al-Lazuri, Keleshite Princess of Qadira and Holy daughter of the sunlight given form, Sarenrae. We have been granted safe passage along the Sundered Path to the Pagoda of the Rat by Captain Tang Man Kuo. My most humble apologies for my misunderstanding of the customs involved in approaching the Pagoda, if your celestial immanence would but educate this one I am willing to proffer suitable tribute."
Diplomacy:
"Behold! I am Xianganeur, most powerful of the futsanglungs of Round Mountain. The rat captain's letter holds no power over one such as I, for the little mice must bring me tribute. The mice are terrified of the great Xianganeur and thus bow before me and place before me unique and wonderful items. If you wish to pass, you must do likewise, Kuduro al-Lazuri, and forget not the customs when entreating with Xianganeur on your next visit."
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Speaking under her breath to the party, Seelah says "It's a foul creature infused with the taint of evil. I'd just as soon put this thing down than deal with it, but I'll leave it up to you to decide how we proceed. My vote has been cast."
With that she readies herself for what may just be the inevitable.
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Bowing even lower, Kuduro continues "Great and terrible Xianganeur, allow me to bring you tribute from the distant Padishah Empire of Kelesh Calaphate of Qadira." Removing her dawnflower sash and laying it on the ground before her she continues. "The very finest silks taken from silkworms which give their silk only during special ceremony. A quality and craftsmanship rarely found outside of Minkai, let alone making it's way to the Inner Sea. Far beyond the highest quality of workmanship found in this wrap, it contains many magics which may serve to amuse or interest you. While we mortals are not born with wings as majestic as those of powerful Xianganeur, the sash has been imbued with magic to prevent one from falling to their death. Since our skin is but paper compared to the thick scales of powerful Xianganeur the sash makes even the blazing sun of the Qadiran desert a comfort. Our simple eyes are no match for the darkness which all seeing Xianganeur can pierce since you were a hatchling, the buckle can provide light. Should the unthinkable happen the sash is also prepared with a healing kiss of Sarenrae Herself should the wearer be rendered unconscious."
Kuduro removes her wayfinder, opening it to reveal a dusty rose prisim ioun stone, and lays it on the dawnflower sash. "Based on the magics of the ancient Azlanti, a symbol of my tribe. The Pathfinder is known throughout Golarion by this symbol, and excellent tool for finding direction and a steady light source, the wayfinder is also capable of transferring the magic of ioun stones stored within to the bearer of the wayfinder."
"Again, please forgive our ignorance of the offering of tribute to you, o powerful Xianganeur. Please accept these unique and wonderful items into your endless treasure, and should they please you allow us to continue onward to the Pagoda of the Rat."
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Phos glance over towards the rock with unabashed disdain, knowing that a dragon's senses are so acute that the ninja's statement was undoubtedly overheard. For a moment, he contemplates offering up the ninja as a sacrifice, but with a sigh, he removes the Apsis Consortium Agent's spellbook from his pack and holds it up, "Mighty Xianganeur, as valuable as the tokens my priestly companion offers are to her, they would obviously be of little or no use to one such as yourself. We have 2 other items which you may consider of value. The first of which is this. I am sure you recognize this as a spellbook. This particular book contains a variety of useful spells, and if you are like most of your kind, I have no doubt that you may find value within. Alternatively, we have a magical weapon, a great flail of elemental power. While you may not have a need to wield such a weapon, it is a marvelous trophy, and an assurance to know that it would not be used against you." The elf motions for it to be brought forward. "Please tell us, which of these items would be the most suitable tribute to your greatness?"
Feeling like a fool for having walked right into this, he knows very well where this will undoubtedly lead. Keeping an eye on his companions, he waits for the wyrm to decide its next move.
"Hmmm, hooom." The dragon ponders as he looks over the treasures presented before him. "All very nice, yes. You bring many interesting treasures to Xianganeur, but one shall suffice. This," Xianganeur pokes at the Dawnflower Sash, pushing it back towards Kuduro, "I have no interested in. Such pitiful treasures of goddesses far away I have no interest in."
Xianganeur picks up the wayfinder and ioun stone. "This is interesting and ancient magics, and a token of your Pathfinder tribe, you say. A special item that shall be considered."
Xianganeur then deftly picks up the spellbook and begins to flip through the pages. "Hmmm, hooom, yes, very useful. This hand is not your own I take it?" She eyes Phos up and down before turning back to the book. "Hmmm, but I have my own magics and these spells are very well-known to many. No, not quite particular enough for my tastes." The dragon hands the spellbook back to Phos.
Moving on to the +1 frost heavy flail, Xianganeur carefully picks up the weapon which seems small and insignificant in her great claws. "Hooom, an interesting specimen. For as you can see, I hold the power of fire within my blood and being. But this weapon has captured the power of cold, and that is a thing inaccessible to me except through great trial. But, as the wise elf has said, I have no use for such a weapon." Xianganeur raises her other limb and flexes the adamantine claws before setting the flail back on the ground.
Xianganeur slithers back a bit and considers the company. Miss Elizabeth quietly comes out of invisibility as her spell wears off, but Xianganeur does not seem to react or mind. She moves over to the wayfinder to examine it once more. "This is interesting magics and I would like dearly to study it more. However, I wish you to keep the token of your tribe." Xianganeur hands the wayfinder back to Kuduro. "This," she says, raising the +1 frost heavy flail, "I shall keep as tribute. You may continue on to the Pagoda, Pathfinders. But now that you know the customs and expectations of Xianganeur, I shall not be so forgiving if you should forget to pay my respects and my tributes in the future. Well met." The great wyrm then lifts from the ground and flies away over the ledge, swooping straight down the cliff and out of sight.
You have reached the end of the Sundered Path and overlook the massive pagoda at its center.
It’s entirely possible to rest here, so allow PCs to heal or otherwise remove conditions from themselves as normal, but PCs within Round Mountain can’t attempt a Day Job check; purchase or sell equipment or spellcasting; or spend prestige points to acquire equipment, purchase spellcasting services, or receive vanities.
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Elizabeth sheathes her rapier and the alchemist's fire flask as she watches Xianganeur fly off.
She then rushes to the others. "Phos, Kuduro...Wow! I've never seen a dragon up close like that. There as a moment there when...well, I didn't know if talk would be enough."
She then sits down and lets out a deep sigh. "I do wish the ratfolk would've given us some warning about her though. 'Oh, by the way, there's a massive dragon that will demand tribute from you, have fun!'"
"I know - shouldn't complain. We made it through this path relatively unscathed, right?"
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Phos turns towards his companions with a brief look of disbelief. "I really thought that would go much worse than it did. Still, we should be wary, lest we encounter more resistance." He turns to overlook the pagoda, then walks over to where the dragon stood and moved about, searching the area for any lost bits of scale or other samples that the dragon may have left behind(). If he finds any, he places it in a pouch, sack or bottle for further research.
"Our mission is near it's completion, but we still have a bit of a journey to make. Let us rest and recover our strength, that we might be refreshed before meeting with our would-be allies. I shall sleep for a short time, and will take watch for the rest of the night. Divide the remaining watches amongst yourselves.
@Seelah: it helps when you talk your way past the ratfolk at the beginning and pay off the dragon.
@Kuduro: you can keep it for the next scenario since we're going straight to Part II and there's no reason to "liquidate" it at the end like a normal scenario
@Elizabeth: I think you heal ability damage 1 point per night of rest, but someone may need to check on that.
@Phos: At the 7-8 subtier you need to bribe the dragon with 7000 gold (or fight it of course) and the flail was worth 8000+ gold. And that way I didn't actually have to take any of Kuduro's stuff since the flail was going to disappear eventually anyways.
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Kuduro can do a heal check to help heal the ability damage overnight. Yeah DC 15 Heal check for healing 2 points of ability damage for 8 hours rest or 4 points for all day.
Heal - Long Term Care:
And yeah, my ~ 3000 gp worth of gear wasn't going to cut it apparently...worth a shot but I totally forgot about the 8k flail that was going to vanish anyway :)
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As Phos prepares to rest for the evening, he advises his companions on everything he can think of regarding Dragons (something he should have done in the first place). Stating that they have extremely acute senses, so their whispers were likely overheard. He also advises the party that dragons have blindsight, so stealth and invisibility are of no use against it, at least at close range. Should the party encounter Xianganeur or another of his kind, they should prepare with fire resisting spells, and if possible, use cold against them, to which he laments the loss of the flail, but hopes that they have no need for it in the future.