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Bardiel easily tears open the leading bandit and leaves the Aspis agent splayed on the ground. Barnaby dazes the other agent. With the way clear, Lanz moves around the grease and hits the half-elf leader with his flail.
half-elf: 4 dmg, prone
blue: dazed
Tsutanaga and Tsuchihebi try to attack the half-elf on the ground but have no luck. The half-elf tries desperately to roll out of the grease and away from danger but only rolls over in the grease.
Meanwhile the other Aspis agent stands dazed....
half-elf: 4 dmg, prone
blue:
Bardiel and Lanz quickly knock the half-elf unconscious and the terrified archer throws down his bow and pleads mercy. He looks back towards the trees behind him where two Ekujae elves are tied up and gagged. "It was all Waolu's idea, to sell them into slavery I mean. We was just taking orders!"
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Barnaby takes his dagger and spends the next few minutes cutting the elves free.
Barnaby appears to struggle with the speech, but is sure that what he said is correct.
"Orders?!" Barnaby yells, indignant. "Fine. If you are only fit to take orders, then you are now my slave!" bellows the man. "I will sell you off when I reach an appropriate area."
"Grovel before me, slave!" Barnaby yells as he brandishes his dagger menacingly.
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Bardiel approaches the Ekujae in a peaceful manner and heals their wounds with his wand.
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At the sudden muted nature of the now-enslaved Aspis, Barnaby ties a rope around the man throat. "You should be okay with this since you clearly believe that slavery is okay and that orders should excuse your every action!" he declares, trying to make a point.
After expressing his anger, the man turns to the elves.
The elves aren't talkative at first but after you loose their bonds one of them finally asks, "Are you Pathfinders? We've been looking for Sharrowsmith. We've taken in several Pathfinders lately but none know where he is."
The Ekujae offer to lead you in the general direction of their territory and are rather grateful to you for rescuing them from their fate. The next day they warn you that you have now crossed into Ekujae territory....
A broad, shallow stream cuts across the path here, flowing around the edge of a 10-foot-tall boulder. The air is slightly cooler and there are few insects flying about.
Standing atop the boulder, an Ekujae woman with dark skin holds her hands empty and relaxed at her sides as she addresses the party in Common. She begins, “I am Fola Barun, speaker for the Ekujae. Why are you here?”
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Barnaby bows graciously to the woman. "I am Barnaby Williams of the Pathfinder Society. We have recently rescued two of your men and are returning with them." he says as he gestures to the two male elves with him.
"Additionally, we bring word of Sharrowsmith's demise and wish to maintain his fruitful alliance with the Ekujae." he adds.
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Bardiel glances at Mitarat, seeking his guidance in dealing with the Ekujae without ruffling any feathers. He simply nods to agree with Barnaby's words, adding: "You will find your men healed and well taken care of. We have nothing closer to our heart than the well-being of the Ekujae people, and repaying Sharrowsmith's debt."
Fola listens and seems pleased that you know Sharrowsmith and can act as his representatives, although she is of course sorry to hear that he has passed. "Sharrowsmith made a deal with the tribe in exchange for the privilege of listening to some of our sacred stories, but I do not know what he was supposed to do in return. However, I've been directed by the tribal elders to find and bring Sharrowsmith or his representatives to meet with the elders at Jalunth."
Three scouts emerge from the brush around you. Fola continues, "Will you come with us? We would be glad to hear your own tales along the way."
The jungle elves are paranoid about revealing information about themselves and their homelands and don't tell you much as you travel towards their village. Instead they only ask you about your own tales.
Soon you spot the appearance of the jungle shifts subtly over the course of a few hundred yards, moving from thick undergrowth among towering trees to more controlled vegetation. Several small buildings formed of woven branches and grasses rise out of the ground.
In the surrounding trees above are many other buildings that match the style of those on the ground, although they seem to flow even more gracefully from the vegetation even than those below. A series of vines hang from branches throughout the area. Some are short enough only to swing from one treetop building to another, while others reach all the way to the ground.
Colorful birds and noisy monkeys call out from all around, yet their calls are fainter here than those in much of the surrounding jungle.
When you first arrive in the village, a group of elven guardians rappels down from the treetops above and demands to know the group’s business. Fola speaks a few words and you are allowed to pass.
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As you pass through the village you get some rare insights into the secret lives of these elves....
On the south side of the village in the branches from 10 to 20 feet above, the Ekujae children play a game where the goal is to hit a target with a blunt arrow, but they move only by swinging on vines. Most startlingly, each team has a player with a knife who tries to cut the vines of the opponents. The elves call this game Makasse.
Both on the ground and above, Ekujae work to shape and change their homes through a combination of magical and mundane effort. As you move about the village, it becomes clear that the Ekujae are continually reinventing its appearance and function. There is a sense of action, motion, and life, and permanence and the past don’t seem to be valued much.
Scattered groups of elves, mostly younger, sit and listen to storytellers. The oral tradition is the primary means the Ekujae use to communicate about the past and hold information, and there are very few examples of writing anywhere at all. Most of the stories being told are about day-to-day life in the jungle, and typically revolve around hunts as well as patrols of the borders of the land by the scouts. As these storytellers notice you listening, they stop and stare silently until the outsiders move on.
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Near the center of the village is a 60-foot-wide area where the canopy does not block the sunlight. This space has been cleared of underbrush, and a single, 20-foot-tall tree with a straight bole, smooth gray bark, and a wide crown of emerald leaves stands alone. Arranged in a seemingly haphazard way around the tree are a series of smooth river stones, each two to four feet in diameter.
Nearby elves offer you places to sit on the stones, then take seats themselves.
Within a few minutes, two elves, a male and a female, move to the tree and pat it gently. They then approach you. Although the jungle elves seem to eschew anything resembling a hierarchy, they treat these two with great deference, and the paints that decorate their bodies are so intricate that their faces are almost entirely covered.
The woman introduces herself with a strong gaze at each of you. "I am Elder Kalwe." Her gray hairs attest to her great age. She is soft-spoken, but has an edge of iron in her personality. She motions to the male elf at her side and says, "and this is my husband Elder Nolanu."
"Who are you and why are you seeking out the Ekujae?"
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The paladin bows his head to the elders, introducing himself in return. "I am Bardiel, agent of the Pathfinder Society. I'm honored to sit among you today. We have been sent to you for two purposes. First, bear the news of Sharrowsmith's untimely demise,which was met as our Venture-captain led an expedition in the Bandu Hills. Secondly, we have come to make good on the Society's promise and repay Sharrowsmith's debt to the Ekujae. However, you have us at a disadvantage here since we do not know what do you need us to do."
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Barnaby listens to Bardiel's explanation and nods in agreement, choosing to let a single voice speak for the group. With a bow, he awaits their response as he takes in the sights around the clearing.
I wonder if any of these fine nature magicians need work or wish to see the outside world. I'm sure the Society could use talent like these. he thinks to himself.
The elven couple lower their eyes for a moment. Elder Nolanu then speaks up, "We suspected that something had befallen our good friend Sharrowsmith. In goodwill to our lost friend we have allowed the presence of you, as representatives of the Pathfinder Society, into our village."
"For years Sharrowsmith had been honest in his dealings. He wished to know the story of our legendary battle against the darkness in the jungle long ago. In exchange, he would investigate the place of evil to the east. We allowed him to listen to our stories, although we forbade him to write them down, for writing fossilizes the truth, capturing and holding it in place. There are some truths that change over time."
Elder Kalwe then takes over in her soft but businesslike tone. "If you wish to repay your friend's debt, then we will put his task on you. This evil that he was to investigate is at a place east called Dehu Inu, where we are forbidden to go. Sharrowsmith promised to investigate but never did, so we require his debt to be fulfilled. If you wish to settle this account, stop whatever it is that has arisen there. Since our stories tied to this place tell us of great battles in the past fought by heroes wielding yellowheart weapons, you may wish to take these."
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Bardiel seems also interested in those weapons. He looks for a two-handed weapon he could wield, if possible a greatsword.
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"Weapons aren't quite my forte, Master Kalwe." says Barnaby as he declines a yellowheart blade. "Let us head out." he says, motioning to the party, looking to finish this task quickly.
"Can our guides stay here for now?" he asks of the Ekujae, thinking the three guides might be a bit lacking in the fighting department.
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On the journey, Tsutanaga tells the tale of his being found in Nagajor by a visiting team of Pathfinders that were investigating a relic kept in a nearby shrine, although the nagaji there were warring with each other and the Pathfinders kept balance between both rival leaders and eventually made peace. He found this pleasing to him and his lord of earth, Yamatsumi, and decided to join the Society.
At the meeting, the nagaji is quiet, waiting until called upon to speak. "We shall go in Sharrowsmith's ssstead. What are these yellowheart weapons you speak of? Is there a suitable longspear that I may use for this quessst?"
"...yellowheart weapons? I fear I haven't heard of those. Can you tell us of their magic?"
"It is sacred to us. When a scout is first allowed on patrol, she is given a club of yellowheart that she must carve to her liking. Most believe them to be only ceremonial, but the stories often carry the truth when written records are lost."
"Can our guides stay here for now?" he asks of the Ekujae, thinking the three guides might be a bit lacking in the fighting department.
"Yes, that would be safer for them."
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Before you leave, the elders agree to provide you with four yellowheart wood weapons (choose from the following: spear, longspear, club, greatclub, terbutje, or quarterstaff). They also provide you with 50 pieces of yellowheart wood ammunition, in any combination of arrows or crossbow bolts that you wish.
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Ahead the jungle foliage thins and becomes an open area of stunted, low-growing brush and grasses that is nearly half a mile wide. The perpetual sounds of life in the jungle fall silent. A series of worn stone monoliths, each roughly ten feet tall and spaced evenly every 100 feet, marks the perimeter of this clearing.
On the northeast border, a 60-foot-tall cliff rises to a plateau above. More of the stone monoliths loom from the top of the cliff. About halfway up the cliff, a ledge juts sharply into the clearing.
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Bardiel thanks the Elders for their gifts, then accepts a finely-carved greatclub made of yellowheart wood. "Now let's settle that debt."
Once in the jungle, the paladin remains ever watchful, his newly-acquired weapon in hand. As he reaches the cliff, he looks up, trying to detect evil that may lurk there. "It looks like we don't have a choice. Up we go, I suppose." Taking a grappling hook and a rope from his backpack, the aasimar throws the former tied to the latter and uses them to get a hold on the ledge. "I shall head up there first, unless one of you wants to study these monoliths first?"
With a rope the climb up the cliffside is manageable and eventually the four Pathfinders make it to the top.
A semicircle of twelve wooden stakes, each topped with a severed head, is arranged in front of a wide split in the cliff face. Some are barely more than skulls, their flesh nearly gone, while others appear to be more recent. Two are almost completely covered with ants, busily working to take anything they can eat. The victims appear to be elven. Eleven of the heads have been mounted in such a way that they face toward the split in the rock, while one faces outward toward the clearing.
As you study the elven heads and wonder at their significance, something becomes clear: three of them are still mobile and begin to twitch and rise from their stakes!
Tsutanaga blasts one of the heads before it can do anything and Tsuchihebi darts over to the other one and bites it in two! The third one makes some feeble attempts to attack the party but is easily put down.
The persistent heat and humidity of the jungle fades away quickly beyond the cut in the rock that leads to a sloping passageway. A subtle breeze, tinged with the odor of bat guano, flows from deeper within.
[spoiler=DC 20 Knowledge (history)]You recognize that the human figures are depictions of Old-Mage Jatembe and his Ten Magic Warriors. You also knows that Old-Mage Jatembe and his warriors are legendary heroes, responsible for protecting the people of Garund from countless evil forces and establishing schools of arcane learning, such as the world-famous Magaambya academy in Nantambu.
You eventually finish your examination of the etchings on the wall and move into the chamber beyond.
A cool breeze flows through this large cavern from a ten-foot diameter hole near the center, carrying with it the metallic tang of blood. The floor and walls look to have been shaped long ago and stained with mineral deposits over time, but the ceiling fifty feet above remains in its natural state, covered with stalactites.
East of the hole is a crude stone altar formed of rock. Just past the altar to the east, a massive stalactite hangs from the ceiling and stops five feet from the floor. It has been carved into the shape of a gigantic bat, its wings outspread and its fangs exposed as if about to consume a victim below. Bloodstains cover the altar.
Inside the chamber reveling in the bloodied ceremony it must have just finished is a batlike humanoid with crimson fur and long, sharp claws. In addition, a zombified victim shuffles towards the newcomers....
The voice says in your mind, “Open your veins and give your lifeblood to The Hungry Dark.”