"Oh, of course we'll keep working!" Juliet says, "We'd never think of leaving! If we leave we might never find it again, so we have to stay here until the work is done." The pounding sound from within the ruins continues to thrum, drowning out some of her words in a rhythmic pattern.
"What's that noise? Have you found some sort of intact machinery?"
Juliet pauses and looks at a few of the other agents for a second before shrugging and saying, "We haven't noticed anything. Now, if you find any glowing discs though... we've been finding them throughout the site... there's a crack in the wall in the corridor beyond. Just slide them through there, if you will." She smiles and nods as Karina speaks of heading in.
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To the east of the breached entranceway and in the middle of the chamber, steep, narrow stairs lead up to a platform, thirty feet above the lower chambers. The platform faces south, with a commanding view of the Terwa Uplands. An immense ivory hemisphere fills the platform, leaving only a few feet of stone around its edges. If this balcony once had a railing, it has long since crumbled away, leaving a vertiginous drop to the stones below.
When you examine the sphere you notice a smudge in the dust, where the orb’s light glows more brightly.
hand brushing against the orb.
Down below and past the stairs, there is a small room that is open to the sky. Within the room is a tidy camp consisting of six tents. A few sheets of canvas stretched between rivets in the wall provide shade to a table and chairs. A solid stone door leads north.
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Annum confirms his suspicions "Yes, Jane. There is another here who is skilled with crafting the mind. I was correct in thinking this would indeed be a valuable trip to take."
Examining the sphere he notices the slight smudge print. "Careful not to touch this orb. It may act as some sort of vessel as my prison of a crystal does. It looks as if someone has touched it." A quick flash of movement catches his eye from the tents. He floats over as if guided by the wind.
"You there! What is it you seek and why are you hiding?" Anuum's voice echoes.
A woman, quite dirty and disheveled-moreso than the others, at least-peeks out from behind the tent. "Oh! You're new... anyways, I'm Arletta Tolkir. But I'd also like to know who you are. And what do you think about those snakes outside? What about the discs around here? And what are opinions on," she nods her head to the entrance area where the others are working, "them."
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Karina takes in her surrounding as she enters into the room and sees Anuum quickly approach the woman hiding behind the tent. Instead of joining immediately, Karina moves to thoroughly investigate the surroundings before arriving at the place of conversation and notices the wariness of the archaeologist.
"Do not be afraid. We have not been charmed like those outside. We are here to investigate what has happened." she says with authority. "In addition to my... friend's questions, whose hand touched the orb? Was it Juliet?"
Arletta looks a bit worried when Anuum seems ready to deny the existence of snakes outside but then sighs and relaxes as it becomes apparent that you are not charmed. "No, actually it was my hand that brushed the orb. I touched it on accident and then when I wiped the sweat from my head I must have discharged whatever it was onto myself. I broke out of the mental hold right away. But not so for the others, they're still... loopy."
She takes a deep breath, seemingly want to spill all she can now that she has someone sane to speak with. "And this pounding? They'll deny it or say it's not a problem but I'm worried. Really worried. This golem stormed through this room 2 days ago. It must be making the noise, but I'm not sure."
"And there's a crack in there - they probably told you to put the discs through the crack. Don't! I don't know why, but I suspect its dangerous. Whatever charmed us wanted us to put them through there. But luckily... I saved one!"
She pulls out a light warding disc wrapped in cloth to show you. "There's this monolith inside... these discs might be connected with it somehow or at least whatever charmed us is interested in them so I think it's best not to put them through the crack like it said."
She thinks for a moment and then hands the disc over. "I think it's best to give this to you. I can keep a watch on them," she nods her head at the others again, "to make sure they don't get up to anything. You've got to stop whatever is banging about in there and whatever charmed us all!"
Karina is surprised at how heavy the disk is when she takes it from Arletta. It seems to be made of some supernaturally dense stone and is about 7 inches in radius and almost 1 inch thick. Despite its small size, the warding disc weighs 30 pounds. The warding disc has two important magical protections that you can easily discover: the first is the obvious light spell emanating from it, which can not be turned off or dispelled. The second the warding disc has an enchantment to prevent theft or mishandling: any creature carrying a warding disc is unable to pick up a second warding disc.
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With the disc in hand and Arletta set to watch the other archaeologists, you finally head into the ruins. Straight ahead is a hallway. The east wall of this long hall bears numerous mosaics of cyclopes astronomers in battle with smaller, serpent-headed humanoids. Along the southern wall, stylized humans with conical hats debark from graceful ships. These humans lift up packages of spears, swords, and stranger weapons to the cyclopes battling the serpent-headed creatures. This long mural depicts the timely aid the Azlanti gave to the cyclopes of Ghol-Gan against the serpentfolk. The floor and walls here are badly gouged.
Down the hall to the left is a large alcove filled with a stone fountain beneath a carving of a cyclops breaking free of clutching tentacles. The fountain’s basin is full of clear water. The water is clean and safe to drink, but detects as strong abjuration magic to effects like detect magic.
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Karina shoves the disc into her knapsack as she draws her blade, holding it in a single hand as she progresses into the underground system. "Let's move." she says to the silent priest of Apsu and the amnesiac. "You were sent with us to help, not sightsee." she chides as they hang out near the entrance without moving.
As she reaches the pond, she finds herself a bit parched and cups her hand, dipping it into the fountain and sipping from the pool that formed in the slender depression formed by her palm and fingers.
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Jane breaks from her reverie, admiring the mosaics and construction.
"Apologies. Strange behavior or not, you must admit this is a once in a lifetime sort of find."
She opens her tome, flipping through for a particular page.
"Do any of you speak the Cyclopean tongue? I speak only Azlanti, but with a few moments, I can learn to read their tongue. I may even be able to speak with any undead shades or other remnants, with luck."
After the woman's revelations, she'd like to inspect the orb more closely, trying to discern a way to break the control over the other Pathfinders.
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Kel is shaken out of his distraction alongside Jane the same time that she is.
"My apologiesss asss well - jusst taking everything in like our companion here."
He rejoins the group but shakes his head to Jane as he renews his Message spell on the party, and the mentally-freed ally Arletta.
"My scholar training will permit me to undersstand that language for about an hour, but beyond that, no."
Kel will activate his Comprehend Languages Scroll-Scholar ability (50min duration) and will also cast Detect Magic and will scrutinize the auras on the basin.
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Anuum follows Karina through the door. "I do not speak the tongue as I always found the race to be rather....slow and dimwitted."
Looking around he notices Karina sipping the water. "You are correct. I have been needing to replenish this vessel with water for some time now." Not caring much for the waters safety Anuum plunges the slyph's head in and takes large gulps of water. He rises up as water trickles down his hair and face.
Seeing an open corridor nearby Anuum peeks inside.
Anuum checks around the next corridor and sees the crack in the wall that the archaeologists mentioned: this narrow crack, less than 8 inches high and 1 inch wide shines with bright light which makes it quite easy to spot in the dim hallway.
Down this western corridor are three more doorways.
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Karina strides to the first doorway. "Prepare yourselves. We face trouble!" she yells in an attempt to get the group's adrenaline rushing as she unsheathes her sword in a magnificent display.
Sssssshing!
With her left foot, she quickly pushes the door open, spinning to knob (if there is one) with her free hand, confident in her kicking abilities in case something tries to get the drop on her.
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Not one to take on a frontal assault Anuum hangs back. His usual method is to coax the minds of others, bending and shaping them to his will without breaking their souls to do what meager tasks are in his way.
Karina is interesting. Perhaps I will investigate these so called gates of his body. Unlock them for myself in the future."
Karina throws the door open, expecting the worst. But no enemies are inside waiting to attack. Instead, the walls here feature mosaics
of a stylized cyclops wearing an ornate one-eyed mask and commanding other cyclopes. In the carving, the cyclops places the mask upon other cyclopes to reverse several aliments, including blindness and even death. A large slab in the northwestern corner holds only dust, but a smaller shelf above it bears a one-eyed mask.
In addition, when placed upon a creature that has been blinded or petrified within Starwatcher Tor, the blindness or petrification is immediately removed. Each time this restorative ability is used, the wearer must succeed at a DC 14 Will save or the mask loses all of its magic forever after.
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Down this western corridor are three more doorways.
Kel, believing that Karina has found enemies ahead, casts Longstrider on himself and rushes to the doorway...to see an empty room. Grinding his teeth, he whirls on Karina, ignoring the room's contents for the moment.
"Curssse your impatience, girl! Thossse of us with magic have limited ressourcesss...we should not be wasssting them or any element of sssurprise we might have in this place by shouting that there are enemeies when there are none, and kicking doorsss when some of ussss are still invesstigating things that your impudence would leave at our rear! Have you no sssensssse of strategic thinking?! Do you jussst 'boldly stride' into everything without regard for thossse you deign to protect?!"
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"This mask is interesting. It protects one's body from becoming blind or turned to stone by any sort of ailment. Just for this mask alone the trip was worthy."
He grabs the mask from the dust to inspect it further as his mind thinks. He tosses the mask to Karina. "You should use this. If you are struck blind or turned to stone then I can't stand a chance with this frail and wispy body."
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Karina snags the mask out of the air with her free hand, leaving the one-eyed mask in her hair, as a headband. "Probably the wisest thing you have said, mind-stealer." she says as Kel starts to go off on a rant.
The man starts to hiss and ask several questions, rapid fire, as Karina cocks her head, hair held back by the cyclopean mask. "Ummm... Strategy is the purview of those without confidence or power. I think Braugher might try to use strategy, but usually only to blast as many people as possible with his lightning fist..." she says, reflecting on the tactics of the first squad leader. "Either way, I kind of figured that the name 'Bold Strider' would at least be a hint of our nature. My father's tactics allowed him to ascend to Venture-Captain after saving the life of a Decimvirate member, so who am I to question." she says as she moves to the next door and kicks it in without warning or regard for the rest of the team.
"Bring it!" she yells sword resting on her shoulder, as she puts her boot into the door, slamming it open.
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Karina leaves her team members behind and kicks in the next door. The walls of this crypt are unadorned and its slab is empty; this crypt was clearly never used.
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"Place seems pretty empty. The only intelligent thing around here might be the orb outside controlling those fools."
Annum floats behind Karina as he waits patiently for the weak bag of flesh...er...mortal to open the door. Anuum has lost a bit of touch with reality over the centuries of his life. Each of these people he meets, elves included, seem like fleeting moments in Anuum's existence.
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Kel sighs in frustration before turning to the others.
"It seemsss the water has very beneficial properties - we should all partake, methinkssss. Asss for that one..." Kel trails off as Karina kicks in door number three. "She may be a masster of tactics in combat, but the concept of strategy seemsss foreign to her...perhaps we are meant to be here to show her a way that makesss more sensse?"
Kel will take a drink of the enchanted water and urge Jane to do the same, and will try to remain in the mid-point of the group as they travel (not including Karina if she continues to range far ahead of the others, though).
Karina kicks open the door at the end of the hallway. This wide room has two alcoves to the west and east. The western alcove bears mosaics of a burly cyclops with a flail and shield. In one image, a human with a conical hat hands the cyclops the flail; in each other image, the large cyclops is smashing fiends or serpent-headed humanoids with it. A large slab in this alcove is empty, but a shelf above it contains a fine-looking heavy flail and a steel shield. The smaller alcove to the east contains two slabs; above them are depictions of a pair of cyclopes servants tending to the burly cyclops’s needs.
However, much more pressing is the ongoing attack in the room: a large snake with two heads, one at each end of its long, coiling body and both displaying large sets of fangs, is moving across the room towards a woman cowering in the other corner with a shawl pulled up over her head in fear!
The snake-beast slithers slowly and awkwardly across the room, both its heads facing the same direction towards the woman....
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"Hah!" Karina exalts. "We have found trouble." she says proudly as she puts both hands on her blade and leaps into action, opening her first chakra gate as she tries to avoid the bite of the unique double-snake. "We shall save you madam!" she warns as she tumbles in, her feet coated with vibrant gold flames, and takes a slash at the reptile.
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Anuum claps his hands together and a wave of psychic energy radiates out from his prismatic crystal clutched tightly in his hands, slowing everything to a crawl.
"It is nothing more than an Amphisbaena. Be careful of it's poison. They are formed from the blood of a Medusa, or so it is said as they are immune to any sort of petrification. They are immune to cold and poisonous effects. This one seems to have some sort of fiendish traits to it as well." Anuum observes as he has time with his spell in place.
Thinking back a bit more he observes. "Be careful Karina. These creatures are normally the pets of a Medusa itself. I would leave that woman be as she is and avert your eyes from her."
Karina darts forward and cuts into the two-headed snake! Anuum slows the snake creature as he warns Karina of their connection to medusas...
Kell then offers a blessing over the party. Jane waits quietly to see how things will unfold.
The amphisbaena turns its attention to Karina as the woman throws the shawl from her face as she moves into the open to reveal her true nature: hair made of writhing snakes and nasty scowl on her face.
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The snake bites into the hardened flesh of Karina as the woman ignores the poison and the gaze of the Medusa. "A Bold Strider cannot be subject to weak magicks like yours!" she yells as her second chakra gate opens.
She takes two furious swipes with her sword at the dual-headed snake.
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Having heeded Anuum's warning, Kel is able to keep his eyes locked on the floor around Karina's feet thus avoiding the gaze of the Medusa! He grits his teeth in anger as his Sylph companion is struck stone...hopefully not dead, not yet.
The vishkanya cleric focuses himself, thinking back to his trials in Irrisen and his receiving the Mantle of the Black Rider
He will back away until he is just a step past Jane, hoping she springs into action soon. He will pull his holy symbol of Apsu into his hand and thrust it forward as though he was about to throw it at the Medusa as he casts the spell Castigate.
"Remove thine ssserpentine ways from our path, and quake with fear at the ssymbol of The Waybrinder!!"
Mantle of the Black Rider: 9 rounds remaining
Anuum is frozen in place when he catches sight of the medusa but Karina keeps active, wounding the snake a little. Kel's spell is unfortunately not frightening enough to make the medusa hide in the corner but Jane fires some missiles from the back and hits the snake creature.
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The amphisbaena is moving rather slow but still tries to bite at Karina:
She recognizes that Karina is a powerful combatant and raises her bow at the Bold Strider.
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Karina stares down the medusa, seemingly immune to her petrifying charms, as the medusa and her pet snake damage her with three attacks, though the last arrow potentially strikes the weak spot in her chest, but Karina twists at the last moment, letting her dragonfire aura protect her from each strike.
The amphisbaena bites and sinks its teeth into Karina, injecting her with poison, but the stout Bold Strider body rejects the venom.
Karina emboldens her body with more of the dragonfire as it erupts from her spine, granting her a pair of fiery, scaled wings.
"You have stopped the mindtaker, but your little tricks are ineffective against me, snake woman. Surrender now and I will leave you your head." she says as she brings down her blade three times in under five seconds on the amphisbaena.
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Kel gnashes his teeth that his power was not strong enough to overcome the Medusa mentally, so he instead switches to trying to assault her physically! He strides (boldly?) forward until she is at the edge of his range (but hopefully outside of hers - he is still averting his gaze if he does actually enter her range, but fortunately his spell just needs to be cast next to her not on her), and casts Barbed Chains, shouting,
vs CMD
vs (prone?) AC
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Karina delivers a blow that severs the amphisbaena's spine and renders it unconscious!
Kel then summons a writhing chain next to the medusa which wraps around her legs and pulls her to the ground, snapping at her face in the process!
Jane throws some missiles at the medusa, who quickly stands up and glares at Karina, waiting for the Bold Strider to charge in...
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Keeping his distance, Kel drops his wand of Bless and uses a spring-loaded wrist sheath to snap a cold iron kukri into a waiting hand, just in case the worst happens to Karina and he is all that stands between the Medusa and Jane. His other hand silently moves in complex patterns as he casts Pilfering Hand on any melee weapon that might be on the Medusa's belt/person!
vs. CMD
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Karina stares directly at the medusa and shakes her head. "You had your chance, medusa." she says as she takes three steps before leaping over the fallen amphisbaena. As she flies over, a silver arc slices through the air as Karu's Blessing comes down hard onto the medusa.
As she brings down the blade, she keeps her navel chakra flowing, providing her with a solid defense against any attack made by the medusa.
Jane breaks into the medusa's mind as Kel tries to steal the medusa's dagger but is unable to get a firm grip with only a distant magical connection to the weapon. Meanwhile Karina rushes in, heedless of the danger of the medusa, and bonks her on the head.
Quite enraged at this point, the medusa draws her dagger into her other hand and again glares into Karina's eyes, hoping to stop the attacks stone-cold!
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Kel is at a loss for what else to do in this fight. In desperation, he draws his last Pearl of Power and uses it to refresh his Barbed Chains spell, in case Karina is also turned to stone or otherwise needs one last push from the young cleric in this fight!
Mantle of the Black Rider: 6 rounds remaining
Bless: 5 rounds remaining
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Karina scoffs as the Medusa continues down her fruitless path. "Your bow would have been a better use of your time. " she remarks as she takes three rapid swings with her blade.
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