Kuduro lets fly some fire and Phos does the same, although with less effect. Kuduro's fire seems to hurt Guard 3 a little more than Guand 4. Aamiri gives two mighty swings and knocks the life from the Servant.
Guard 2 backs up before jabbing at Elizabeth with his rapier.
Guards 3 and 4 swarm into the same square and attack Seelah.
Seelah, feeling a bit angry, lashes out at Guard 3 and leaves him bloodied and near unconsciousness. Elizabeth strikes at Guard 2 and leaves a nasty wound .
Aamiri hears a voice in her head saying "Constrain the paladin, she's been charmed!" but she shakes it off.
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It shouldn't be too difficult for Phos to discern that the rat in the back is casting spells, and that he needs to put a stop to it. Knowing it's a bit of overkill, but not wanting to take a chance on the caster getting off a lucky spell, he decides to drop the ratfolk into a hungry pit.
5 (3/day) Teleport, Prying Eyes*, Cone of Cold (DC 24), Hungry Pit (DC 24)
4 (4/day) Black Tentacles, Invisibility, Greater, EMPTY SLOT, Arcane Eye*, Emergency Force Sphere
3 (5/day) Haste, EMPTY SLOT, Stinking Cloud (DC 22), Arcane Sight*, Dispel Magic, Daylight
2 (6/day) Darkvision, Scorching Ray, Mirror Image, Web (DC 21), Detect Thoughts* (DC 22), EMPTY SLOT, Protection from Evil, Communal
1 (7/day) EMPTY SLOT, Vanish, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Comprehend Languages*, Ray of Enfeeblement (DC 20), Air Bubble, Touch of Gracelessness (DC 20)
0 (at will) EMPTY SLOT, Mage Hand, Detect Magic*, Message
*Denotes a specialist spell.
Bold spells have already been cast.
Empty slots are left with the intention of preparing them later in the day (Fast Study arcane discovery allows spells to be prepared in approximately 1 minute).
Kuduro takes down Guard 3. Aamiri is able to move past Guard 2 and hits the enchanter, killing him in one foul blow.
Pillar Chamber (the room you are in, in case you need refreshing):
A ten-foot-diameter pillar fills the center of this square chamber, with the narrow steps of a spiral stair rising up its sides. Murals of the raising of the Pagoda of the Rat dominate the walls. Doors stand in the center of three of the four murals. In the scene on the northern wall, the pagoda stands nearly finished as a majestic ratfolk female—a giant among her kind—looks on approvingly, her hands folded behind her back in a regal pose.
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Eastern Hall
A round window fit with closely spaced bars opens into the dark caverns beyond. Opposite the window, smoke curls up from two sticks of burning incense thrust into a pot of sand. A nearby shelf holds jars of incense.
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Kitchen
A battered stove, a few tables, and benches mark this as a kitchen and dining area. Grease and grime coat every surface.
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Rock Garden
Sand and a scattering of large rocks cover the floor of this hallway. The sand has been carefully raked and shaped into intricate patterns and whorls. The dark, echoing caverns of Round Mountain lie outside a circular window fit with closely spaced bars.
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Shrine of Lao Shu Po
A fine carpet leads to an assembly of five statues that dominate this temple. The largest depicts a withered ratfolk woman, stooped with age yet radiating power. To her right stand two smaller statues of female ratfolk, and to her left are two statues of ratfolk males. All gaze toward the entrance to the temple in its northern wall. In front of the statues, two braziers light the room. A curtain cordons off the back of the temple. In an alcove outside the temple stands a small statue obviously depicting the same ratfolk woman portrayed by the central statue; before this statue lies a well-worn prayer mat.
Behind the curtain can be found a long bookshelf filled with religious writings on Lao Shu Po, pottery jars holding oil for the braziers, and a round table with three chairs. Also in the bookshelf is a curious sculpture of a six-legged rat.
Hidden in the statue alcove in the pagoda’s northeast corner is a secret door leading out to the cavern beyond, a postern gate to allow the ratfolk an exit in times of emergency.
The large statue and the smaller one in the alcove to the north of the shrine both depict Lao Shu Po, the Old Rat Woman, but as a ratfolk rather than a human.
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Armory
The racks and shelves of this armory stand mostly bare. A trio of battered training dummies occupies the center of room, resembling a band of bald dwarves dressed in scraps of chainmail. What weapons and armor remain in the armory are worn out, damaged, or corroded, and have no value.
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Seelah presses a hand against the area where she was stabbed by the bane infused spear and says, "Kuduro, think you could lend me a hand with this wound? That spear he hit me with had a foul enchantment on it indeed."
Seelah will assist the party in searching the floor, but stands ready to take the narrow steps upward when they are ready.
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Phos takes the time to scan each room with detect magic, and check each room thoroughly.
When they reach the rock garden, Phos examines the patterns in the sand and rock thoughtfully, reflecting on some similar aesthetic from his elven youth that he is reminded of. He admonishes everyone to avoid stepping onto it, or disturbing it in any way, instead requesting that they move around it. If anyone ignores him and disturbs the garden, he glowers at them, and mutters something under his breath in draconic.
Phos finds nothing magical on the first floor except what the ratfolk had on them.
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Each of the guards had the following:
Combat Gear potion of bull’s strength, potion of cure moderate wounds, +1 dwarf bane bolt, +1 human bane bolt, screaming bolt, alchemist’s fire (2), tanglefoot bag; Other Gear masterwork chain shirt, masterwork buckler, masterwork light crossbow with 20 bolts, masterwork rapier
Shenru had the following:
Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of resist energy (CL 7th), scroll of scorching ray (CL 7th), wand of magic missile (CL 5th, 15 charges); Other Gear masterwork dagger, cloak of resistance +1, spell component pouch, spellbook (contains all prepared spells as well as comprehend languages, shield, sleep, and true strike) Other spells:
3rd—fireball (DC 17), suggestion (2, DC 18)
2nd—hideous laughter (DC 17), mirror image, see invisibility,
web (DC 16)
1st—charm person (DC 16), grease, mage armor, magic missile (2)
The Servant carried the following:
Combat Gear potion of barkskin, potion of cure moderate wounds, scrolls of false life (2); Other Gear masterwork chain shirt, masterwork dagger, masterwork spear, belt of mighty constitution +2, spell component pouch, silver holy symbol of Lao Shu Po
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The party heads up the central staircase and emerges in a small square room. A 10-foot-wide diameter pillar circled by a narrow staircase rises at the center of this room. Pedestals scattered around the room hold bits of ancient wood and the desiccated remains of plants and vegetables native to Tian Xia. Each of the four walls depicts a different scene from the surface world. To the northwest, ratfolk bask at a lush desert oasis, with others standing guard or waiting in queues for their turn to bathe. To the northeast, the sun sets over towering mountains, setting the sky aflame. Seemingly endless legions of ratfolk armies muster to the southeast, and in the southwest, ratfolk lay the foundations of a grand fortress. The fortress painting appears to have been intended to conceal a door, but the hidden portal stands ajar.
Everyone but Kuduro is able to notice at a quick glance that there are several hidden doors in this room (indicated on the map). The northwest door is hidden in the painting of a date palm. A pass between two mountains hides the northeast door. The southeast and southwest doors are hidden by the palanquin of a ratfolk general and a heap of quarried stone, respectively, with the southwestern door standing open. All of the doors are sized for ratfolk; larger creatures must squeeze through them.
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Phos looks through Shenru's possessions, picks up the potion, the scrolls, the wand and the spellbook, "I wish to claim these items for my own use. Would any of you contest my claim?" He waits for any response.
He then points at the crossbow bolts and a mw light crossbow and says, "I would also suggest that a skilled marksman (or markswoman) prepare to utilize the bane bolts. If there are agents of the Aspis Consortium about, a conflict is not unlikely."
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After thanking Kuduro, Aamiri grabs a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds and a Potion of Bull's Strength from one of the guards. She offers a nod to Phos as he claims his bounty from the caster. "Maybe Merisiel should take the crossbow and bolts. She seems to have a steady hand as well as a keen eye." Girl power, indeed!
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Miss Elizabeth takes one of the masterwork light crossbows and all of the +1 bane human and +1 bane dwarf bolts. She also grabs the standard bolts.
"I'm not accustomed to using such a weapon, but I look forward to trying this out."
"Now, shall we take this path of the mountains?" she asks, referring to the secret door behind the painting.
"Oh, before I forget, thank you Kuduro for the healing. I was feeling a bit weak there."
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As Kuduro heals the wounded party members, and treasure is divided, Phos steps away from the party, saying only, "I must take a few moments in private to better prepare myself." Finding a place that is away from the commotion of the party, but still within sight and earshot, he reaches into his backpack and produces his spellbooks, lays them out before him as before, and proceeds to prepare spells in the 5 slots he left open from that morning in a fast and precise manner (taking less than 5 minutes to do so, thanks to the his Fast Study arcane discovery). When finished, he packs his his belongings and rejoins the party, renews the message spell upon the party members, and indicates that he is ready to proceed.
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) Haste, Stinking Cloud (DC 22), Arcane Sight*, Dispel Magic, Daylight, Mad Monkeys
2 (6/day) Darkvision, Scorching Ray (x2,1 cast), Mirror Image, Web (DC 21), Detect Thoughts* (DC 22), Protection from Evil, Communal
1 (7/day) Vanish, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Comprehend Languages*, Ray of Enfeeblement (x2) (DC 20), Air Bubble, Touch of Gracelessness (DC 20)
0 (at will) Ghost Sound (DC 19), Mage Hand, Detect Magic*, Message
* Indicates specialist spell.
Bold spells have already been cast.
Miss Elizabeth heads to the northeast door hidden in the picture of the mountains. This chamber bears depictions of rising flames on the northwest and southeast walls, paintings of a glorious dawn to the north and east, and a darkening sunset to the southwest. A dizzying array of alchemical equipment clutters the room: beakers, flasks, alembics, retorts, and racks and shelves brimming with reagents. On a central table, a green flame burns in a steel brazier. Bundles of dried herbs surround it. There is a cache of notes on alchemical processes buried beneath the dried herbs strewn across its surface.
The alchemical equipment includes 7 flasks of acid, 12 flasks of alchemist’s fire, 10 vials of antitoxin, and a thunderstone.
Having explored the northeast room, the party heads to the northwest room behind the picture of the oasis.
Two ornately sculpted basins brimming with water occupy this chamber. Murals depicting lakes, oceans, rivers, and oases decorate the walls. A jumble of buckets and carrying yokes lie in one corner.
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Moving along counterclockwise to the southwest, the party emerges in yet another hidden room. Granite blocks polished mirror-smooth make up the walls of this chamber. Dozens of niches pocket the wall; a few are empty, but most hold samples of rocks and minerals. A few display gems or precious stones. Along the walls, three opaque crystal monoliths stretch nearly to the ceiling.
Aamiri, Phos, and Elizabeth notice a falchion half pulled from its scabbard lying behind the monolith in the southwestern corner. There are also tracks left some days ago, two barefoot ratfolk and a Medium humanoid in boots entered the room and walked over to where the sword lies.
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Finally the party enters the last room in the southeast. This room is part armory and part shrine, and several racks of well-oiled weapons take center stage. Each wall features a painting of a martial scene, some on the surface, some in the Darklands, and one of well-disciplined troops drilling in front of the Pagoda of the Rat. A tall, well-dressed figure reviews the troops in the latter painting.
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Phos will take a flask of acid, 2 flasks of alchemists fire and 2 vials of antitoxin.
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Upon examining the painting and noticing the backward hand, Phos gasps! Touching his left hand with his right (), he quickly drops his pack and rummages through his various journals until he finds a leather-bound tome with various disks and symbols etched upon the cover. Flipping through the pages, he comes to rest towards the center and reads....
The tracks go to and from the falchion but can not be followed beyond the room. It is towards the back of that room.
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Phos reads his prior notes about the creature depicted before him, and turns towards his companions, speaking in an even, matter-of-fact tone, but with a sense of urgency, "Look at the figure in this painting. She may appear to be ratfolk, but look at how the hand that holds her scepter is backwards. I believe her not to be ratfolk, but to be a rakshasa; a planar creature of significant power. They have the ability to read your thoughts and change their shape to mimic other humanoid races, so be wary of strangers. They are most damaged by piercing weapons blessed by the holy gods, but they have significant defenses against most spells, and are significant spellcasters themselves.
"Warriors,"He looks towards Aamriri, Seelah and Liz, "Do you have piercing weapons at your disposal? Seelah and Kuduro, are you able to bless your weapons with your gods' power ()? Kuduro, have you prepared a silence spell? Who has the Thunderstone we found? These creatures are at once dangerous and manipulative to the extreme, so we must proceed with caution, but let us not rush to assumptions based on a painting. It may have been placed here to mislead us, but let us be prepared none-the-less."
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Seelah nods to Phos, "Good idea. While not at my best I should be able to make use of one. Unfortunately I am unable to bless the weapon, but if Kuduro is willing, her oil handle that." Seelah thinks for a moment, "Although, with only two oils available, it might be wiser to give them to Elizabeth and Aamiri. I might just have a trick up my sleeve for this beast."
Seelah will indeed retrieve one of the masterwork rapiers and tuck it into her belt, just in case the need should arise.
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Seelah, realizing how tiny the weapon is when she retrieves it, tosses it aside for the useless thing that it is. "Aamiri, with your strength I think you will likely find a way to chop the life out of whatever we meet without the need to resort to using such puny weapons. Trust in yourself, I know I trust in you."
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Watching Seelah pick up the undersized weapon, Phos sighs, then turns towards Elizabeth, "It appears that you are our greatest hope, should we encounter a rakshasa. If we find ourselves facing such a creature, I would suggest that you use one of Kurduro's oils upon your blade; that is, if she would be willing to relinquish one of them to you for the duration of this mission." He turns towards the cleric with an inquiring look, but proceeds before she can answer, "Kuduro, you should cast Silence upon her then I will cast Greater Invisibility upon her." Turning back to Liz, he continues, "It is then your duty to stay as close to it as possible, striking at it swiftly and often. To that end, I will haste us as soon as I am able to cast again." Turning towards the paladin and the barbarian, he says, "Seelah and Aamiri, strike with bow, javalin or rapier as you see fit, and you might beg the other oil from Kuduro, but be prepared to utilize the thunderstone should Elizabeth's advance be impeded. A deafened caster is at least hindered, though not incapacitated." He pauses for a moment, then continues, "Also, we should be prepared to fight multiple opponents, should the need arise."
Phos ponders for a moment, then looks towards the previous room, "We have yet to examine the weapon left in the other room. Might it be a valuable weapon? If so, why was it left there?" He looks to his companions, "What say you? Is this plan fitting in your eyes, or have you more to add? And should we retrieve the dropped weapon in the previous room?"
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Miss Elizabeth listens carefully to the Diviner's advice.
"Well, my rapier and my daggers should suffice for piercing needs. Kuduro, may I have one of those vials of oil? I understand the responsibility that is on my shoulders for what we may face."
She takes a closer look at the crossbow that she had picked up previously. "Even if this thing were the right size, I don't think I could find much use for it should I follow the plan laid before us. Plus, I think it cramps my style a bit." Elizabeth sets down the crossbow and various bolts.
"Phos, you have not lead us astray at any point in my adventuring with you, I stand ready to follow any advice you have for me."
The party heads up the stairs to the third floor. A great sprawl of makeshift tents and ramshackle stone huts fill this square chamber, some homes built right on top of others. The air is thick with smoke and the miasma of urban life. In the center of each wall, a round barred window opens out onto Round Mountain. A spiral staircase circling a central pillar leads to the upper and lower levels of the pagoda.
The fourth and fifth floors are much the same, although a bit smaller, containing nearly countless ratfolk swarming amongst their small tents and homes.
The party continues ascending to the sixth floor. A statue occupies each arm of a great chamber shaped like a four-pointed star. In the center passes a pillar encircled by a spiral stair. The statue of an angry Tian woman stands to the north, her arms extended as though weaving a spell. To the east, a jackal-headed humanoid with a scarred belly raises her arms, one holding a sacrificial knife. In the south, an elderly ratfolk woman looks on sternly. The western alcove contains a butterfly-winged elven woman bearing a gracious expression. Beyond each statue a round barred window can be glimpsed.
Elizabeth, Phos, and Aamiri recognize immediately that each of the four walls holds a secret door and upon stepping out onto the sixth floor, the southwest door begins to open.
Emerging from the door a is hunched reptilian beast with an eyeless head dominated by a huge, circular mouth filled with sharp teeth.
In the surprise round the beast releases a terrible scream that erupts in a burst of destructive sonic energy. .
Kuduro recognizes three of the statues described above as Desna, Lamashtu, and Lao Shu Po. Kuduro also recognizes that this room is in the shape of starknife, the weapon of choice of Desna.
Phos recognizes this beast as a Destrachan but doesn't know much about them except for their extensive resistance to sonic attacks.
Phos delivers two beams of fire at the beast. Aamiri steps up and deals a nasty blow to the creature.
Elizabeth deftly moves into position next to the squirming creature.
The destrachan lets out another shriek .
Aamiri and Phos are stunned for 1 round and deafened for rounds.
Kuduro silences the screeching with a quick spell and Seelah gives the thing's mouth a nasty gash.
With a well-placed jab at the base of the spine, Miss Elizabeth downs the beast.
Looking about the room, Elizabeth, Phos, and Kuduro notice that the statue of the unidentified woman is hollow and someone (small) could feasibly fit inside and look out from the eyes. The statue itself is accessed through a secret entrance on the back of its left leg.
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As the creature falls, Phos looks around carefully to make sure no other enemies have arrived, then scowls wondering if his hearing will return on its own, of if he will need to obtain magical treatment. When it returns half a moment later, a brief look of relief crosses his face, though he is quick to return to his stoic demeanor.
He crosses the room and examines the creature closely, leaving his companions to search the room. Placing his backpack on the floor next to him, he removes a small, sharp knife from his sash, and uses it open the creature's toothy maw, peering down its throat and examining the various types of teeth within. Systematically, he moves to examine the creature's skin, arms, claws, legs and any genitalia he may find. The then makes diligent search for any sensory organs. Finding none, a frown of skepticism crosses his face. He reaches forward with the knife, as though he were going to make an incision just below the mouth of the creature, but pauses, and glances behind him. Realizing that his companions are waiting for him, he sighs, and instead uses the knife to pry a few of the bestial teeth from its mouth. Then producing handkerchief from yet another pocket on his sash, he wipes the blade clean, places the teeth inside, wraps them up, places them in his backpack and replaces the knife in his sash.
Reaching into one of the side pockets of his haversack, he produces a book bound in strange, gray leather, then a small box containing his pens and ink. He stands, and says, "Your patience is appreciated. I can make notes as we proceed." A quick incantation and a gesture causes the book to rise and open floating before him at chest height, where he proceeds to jot down various notes regarding the destrachan laying dead on the floor behind them.