Inquisitor 5 HP: 40/48 | AC 23 | T 13 | FF 21 | Fort +6 | Ref +3 | Will +6 (+2 vs. illusions)| CMD 18 | Init +4 | Perc +9 | Sense Mot +13
Reflex:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
"I'm still a little hurt, Lore, if you've got any more healing left in you for the day."
Down 8 hp at this point.
Ignatius will gladly take watch with Eadie or whoever else would be willing to sit with him.
Sorry again for my silence today. I was asked late yesterday to travel to lovely, scenic Wendover Nevada to test a student. However, I downloaded the Adventure Zone podcast, and was thoroughly entertained the whole 6 1/2 hour drive here.
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
Male Dwarf Fighter (Two-Handed) [8.1] : HP 88/92 | AC 24 T 12 FF 23 | CMB +14 (+16 sunder) CMD 26 (30 vs trip/bullrush, 28 vs sunder) | Fort +12 | Ref +5 | Will +6 (+2 to all vs poison, SP & SL) | Init +5 | Perc +1 | SM/Ride +0 | Climb/Swim/Surv +4
August doesn't care about when his watch is but he does wonder aloud why the group doesn't grab some of the gold now that the creature is dead.
Female CG Human (Chelaxian) Fighter 13 | HP 161/161 | AC 27, T 15, F 24 | CMB +18 (+25 with heavy blades), CMD 34 (37 vs disarm, sunder) | F +21, R +13, W +19 (+2 vs death effects, +3 vs fear) | Init +10 | Perc +20, SM +3 | Speed 30ft | Active conditions: none
“Tell you what, August. Tomorrow, after we’ve sorted out the Razmirans, you can spend as much time as you like gathering gold.”
Eadie raises an index finger. “However, I'd guess any gold you manage to get back to civilization will be claimed by VC Flaxseed on behalf of the Society … AND what do you wanna bet there’s some kinda magic trick at play that converts the gold to lead or something, once we leave the island.”
FYI: There are still two Cure Moderate potions left.
Male Dwarf Fighter (Two-Handed) [8.1] : HP 88/92 | AC 24 T 12 FF 23 | CMB +14 (+16 sunder) CMD 26 (30 vs trip/bullrush, 28 vs sunder) | Fort +12 | Ref +5 | Will +6 (+2 to all vs poison, SP & SL) | Init +5 | Perc +1 | SM/Ride +0 | Climb/Swim/Surv +4
Oh, that's a good idea. We might find gems and jewels later on!
Niko jams the lock so that if the Razmirans are in the next room, they presumably can't get out or disturb you while you rest. As it happens, nothing occurs that night.
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
Before Niko opens the door, Lore asks to see Eadie's broken weapon and spends a little while casting over it (casting 'Make Whole') to repair the weapon.
"There ya go, hon.. good as new. Okay, Niko.. I'm ready to go now, open it up."
Female CG Human (Chelaxian) Fighter 13 | HP 161/161 | AC 27, T 15, F 24 | CMB +18 (+25 with heavy blades), CMD 34 (37 vs disarm, sunder) | F +21, R +13, W +19 (+2 vs death effects, +3 vs fear) | Init +10 | Perc +20, SM +3 | Speed 30ft | Active conditions: none
The warrior-woman re-hangs the lizard chief’s shield on her backpack and takes up her repaired polearm. “Oh, thank-you Lore! I’m ready to go watch something burn.”
Eadie will again offer her endure elements wand for Lore to use on everyone.
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
Lore will cast the endure elements on all who want or need it, though it doesn't really seem necessary here... it's not all that hot if you don't fall into the molten gold and then end. elem. won't help anyway, right?
The large room before you has high, arched ceilings and a floor made of simple white tiles. Four statues frame the room, two of them recessed in wide alcoves along the south wall and two more standing against the north wall. The statues in the southern alcoves are carved from granite polished as smooth as glass. Both statues depict the same man, tall and regal with a full head of windblown hair. They are both completely nude, and each statue has one hand crossed behind its back while the other hand points toward its twin. When viewed from the front, the statues look like a mirror image of the same person.
The two statues against the north wall are sculpted from lightly veined marble and depict two different women, nude to the waist and draped with robes from the waist down. The one to the east scowls and points accusingly at a plain wooden door in the north wall. The one to the west smiles and regards the door with a curious expression.
And of course, there are three Razmirans waiting for you to let them out.
Female CG Human (Chelaxian) Fighter 13 | HP 161/161 | AC 27, T 15, F 24 | CMB +18 (+25 with heavy blades), CMD 34 (37 vs disarm, sunder) | F +21, R +13, W +19 (+2 vs death effects, +3 vs fear) | Init +10 | Perc +20, SM +3 | Speed 30ft | Active conditions: none
Eadie drops her polearm and draws her enchanted falchion as she charges the middle (mace-wielding) Razmiran.
Male Dwarf Fighter (Two-Handed) [8.1] : HP 88/92 | AC 24 T 12 FF 23 | CMB +14 (+16 sunder) CMD 26 (30 vs trip/bullrush, 28 vs sunder) | Fort +12 | Ref +5 | Will +6 (+2 to all vs poison, SP & SL) | Init +5 | Perc +1 | SM/Ride +0 | Climb/Swim/Surv +4
August follows Eadie and attacks the one on the right!
Suddenly the door they were guarding opens and a very beautiful woman in white opens the door muttering in frustration, "Acolytes. I have to do everything myself!" Her form blurs as she casts a spell, calling an ice storm into the room!
Inquisitor 5 HP: 40/48 | AC 23 | T 13 | FF 21 | Fort +6 | Ref +3 | Will +6 (+2 vs. illusions)| CMD 18 | Init +4 | Perc +9 | Sense Mot +13
Iggy winces from the pain of the ice storm. He levels his sword at the woman and calls down a judgment of healing on her. He then trudges through the now-snowy terrain towards the caster and takes a swing.
Female CG Human (Chelaxian) Fighter 13 | HP 161/161 | AC 27, T 15, F 24 | CMB +18 (+25 with heavy blades), CMD 34 (37 vs disarm, sunder) | F +21, R +13, W +19 (+2 vs death effects, +3 vs fear) | Init +10 | Perc +20, SM +3 | Speed 30ft | Active conditions: none
Leaving her left hand alone on her falchion, Eadie allows the heavy blade to hang at her side as she draws and hurls a chakram at the pale woman.
Blur (miss chance) high is good in d20 games:1d100 ⇒ 26
crit confirm?:1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 7 - 4 = 4
Thanking her featherstep slippers, (allow a 5’ step in difficult terrain) Eadie then takes a 5’ step to the north-east as she re-establishes a firm grip on her falchion.
“First hot … now cold. This durn weather can’t seem to make up its mind, huh?”
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
Male Dwarf Fighter (Two-Handed) [8.1] : HP 88/92 | AC 24 T 12 FF 23 | CMB +14 (+16 sunder) CMD 26 (30 vs trip/bullrush, 28 vs sunder) | Fort +12 | Ref +5 | Will +6 (+2 to all vs poison, SP & SL) | Init +5 | Perc +1 | SM/Ride +0 | Climb/Swim/Surv +4
August double moves to get in front and threaten the enemy.
Inquisitor 5 HP: 40/48 | AC 23 | T 13 | FF 21 | Fort +6 | Ref +3 | Will +6 (+2 vs. illusions)| CMD 18 | Init +4 | Perc +9 | Sense Mot +13
Ignatius shuffles past August and through the doorway, making sure to leave room for whoever else wants to follow. (possibly drawing an AoO, but I don't think the woman is armed, and she doesn't seem like the type to be proficient with unarmed combat)
Spellcraft:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
"She tried to cast a fireball!" he calls out to the others.
Female CG Human (Chelaxian) Fighter 13 | HP 161/161 | AC 27, T 15, F 24 | CMB +18 (+25 with heavy blades), CMD 34 (37 vs disarm, sunder) | F +21, R +13, W +19 (+2 vs death effects, +3 vs fear) | Init +10 | Perc +20, SM +3 | Speed 30ft | Active conditions: none
Eadie delays until Lore acts. I think Lore is before me in the initiative order anyway, but just to be sure.
“Fighting fire with fire, Iramine?”
The warrior then moves through the doorway beside Iggy with a Trademarked Special Delivery for Iramine.
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
Lore steps out of the ice storm to the side of the door and watches the battle while she readies an action to cast another disruptive fireball if and when Iramine tries to cast, placing it carefully so it misses her companions.
Ignatius moves in but misses in his strike, perhaps distracted by her ability with both magic and a blade. Eadie, though, lands a solid blow against the crazed cultist. With an arrow from Roland though, she falls!
Out of combat! And yeah, she was an Eldritch Knight. Cool stuff. Only the second time I've seen one in an adventure (there's a PFS scenario with one but he's pretty weak from what I recall).
Iramine is carrying (in addition to her adventuring gear) a very special jewel and the special amulet she assembled from the three pieces found earlier, together functioning as the key to Xin-Grafar. The amulet is a simple, unadorned, green agate on a silver chain that glows very faintly with a subdued blue light.
gear:
Combat Gear potion of cure serious wounds, wand of false life (CL 3rd; 8 charges); Other Gear +2 mithral chain shirt, +1 elven curve blade, cloak of resistance +1, jewel*, ring of counterspells (contains dispel magic), spell component pouch, spellbook (contains all of the above spells plus all 0-level spells, alarm, dispel magic, hold person, invisibility, levitate, and true strike), key to Xin-Grafar
Description
The jewel of everlasting gold is a fist-sized ruby mounted in a bejeweled, rune-carved scepter and held in place with platinum stems. Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, crafted the jewel of everlasting gold to be the centerpiece of his treasure city, Xin-Grafar. He used the jewel to summon the city’s rivers of molten gold directly from the Elemental Plane of Earth and to create much of the wealth within the city. He also placed a small portion of his intelligence inside the jewel—not enough to make it an intelligent item, but just enough for the jewel to act on Tar-Baphon’s instincts.
Tar-Baphon enshrined the jewel in the heart of Xin-Grafar, forever the linking it to the city. Should the jewel of everlasting gold ever be taken beyond the boundaries of the city, it simply disappears and returns to its perch at the city’s heart. Because he knew thieves would eventually gain access to the city, Tar-Baphon also created a trap using the powers of the jewel. Once the city is sealed, the jewel can sense intruders entering the city. When a trespasser is detected, Tar-Baphon’s trap is activated and the city floods with molten gold. This is an automatic response that cannot be stopped.
The jewel also has several additional powers, all of which the bearer knows how to use the moment she touches the artifact.
• Clairaudience/Clairvoyance: At will, the bearer of the jewel of everlasting gold can hear and see what transpires in any part of Xin-Grafar simply by concentrating on the jewel. This power functions similar to the clairaudience/clairvoyance spell but can be used to spy on any location within the city’s confines.
• Continual Flame: At will, the bearer of the jewel of everlasting gold can cause the artifact to burst into harmless flame, as per the continual flame spell.
• Touch of Gold: Once per day, the bearer of the jewel of everlasting gold can touch the artifact to a single inanimate object weighing no more than 1,000 pounds and transmute that object into pure gold. The object retains its basic shape and appearance, but it is now composed of solid gold.
• Elemental Transformation: Once per week, the bearer of the jewel of everlasting gold can transform himself into a Huge fire elemental, as per the elemental body IV spell. The transformation lasts as long as the bearer likes, but she cannot leave the confines of Xin-Grafar while in elemental form. This ability allows the jewel’s bearer to survive the molten-gold floods.
• Summon Wealth: Once per month, the jewel of everlasting gold can summon vast sums of wealth from the Elemental Plane of Earth, in whatever form the bearer wishes. This ability can only create mundane sources of wealth, such as art objects, coins, gems, or even rivers of molten gold—it cannot be used to create items with magical properties.
Because the jewel of everlasting gold contains a portion of Tar-Baphon’s malign will, any wealth created with its touch of gold ability or summoned with its summon wealth ability cannot be removed from Xin-Grafar except by Tar-Baphon himself. Like the jewel itself, any such treasure taken outside of Xin-Grafar disappears and reappears scattered throughout the city.
In addition, anyone touching the jewel is contacted by the fragmentary intelligence inside the gem and hears disturbing whispers in her mind, urging the character to claim the jewel and swear fealty to Tar-Baphon. From that point on, the influence of the jewel is never far from that character’s mind. How this influences a PC is largely up to the GM. Most good-aligned PCs will feel the influence as a nagging doubt, a subtle desire to return to the treasure city and take the jewel in hand again. Chaotic- or evil-aligned PCs may feel much stronger desires—sometimes overwhelming urges to return to the jewel no matter the consequences. These whispering influences can only be completely dispelled by remove curse or similar magic (requiring a DC 30 caster level check).
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
AC21/T14/F18/CMD23||HP77[67]|F:+8 R:+12(+2 vs traps) W:+6(+2 vs illusion)|Init.+3|Percept. +15(+18 trapspotter) Human Professional Detective 8
Niko moves closer, nodding. "Well done, once again." Rifling through the woman's gear, he spies the jewel and uses a cantrip he learned when he was young. Magical Knack for Detect Magic
Spellcraft:1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 8 + (4) = 29
Peering at the jewel, his eyes widen ever so slightly. "This is extraordinary!" He then explains the properties of the jewel. [ooc]Read spoiler
HP 69/69 AC 21, 13, 20(18 T 12 FF 17); bab 7, (scimitar) +9/+4, (lt xbow) +11; F +10 R +7 W +11; INIT +3; Perc +22; CMB +6 CMD 19; channel 8/8 | gnome cleric(theologian)/5; exalted/6 | -01 *
"I don't know... it seems perhaps we should know or find out exactly what she intended to do here and make sure it never happens,,, perhaps we need to destroy that amulet... or at least make sure it never sees the light of day again."
Female CG Human (Chelaxian) Fighter 13 | HP 161/161 | AC 27, T 15, F 24 | CMB +18 (+25 with heavy blades), CMD 34 (37 vs disarm, sunder) | F +21, R +13, W +19 (+2 vs death effects, +3 vs fear) | Init +10 | Perc +20, SM +3 | Speed 30ft | Active conditions: none
“Thanks for keeping us healthy throughout the adventure, Lore.”
Eadie removes her helm to better listen to Niko’s mini-lecture on the jewelled artefact. She ends up shrinking from Tar-Baphon’s ruby, as the drawbacks of making contact with it are explained to her.
She has no such fear of Iramine’s amulet and holds up the key to Xin-Grafar in triumph. “We have earned the Key to the City of Gold, my friends!”
Lore wrote:
"... perhaps we need to destroy that amulet... or at least make sure it never sees the light of day again."
Eadie nods with Sarenrae's servant's assessment. “There are not too many bosses I’d trust to safeguard this trinket, but VC Flaxseed is definitely one of them. Maybe he’ll box up this trinket from the Age of Enthronement with all the other relics he’s collected over the years and store them in the Flaxseed Lodge’s basement for Top Men to study.”
wrowdy wroland wrote:
"Is zhis zhe end of our journey?"
Eadie scratches her chin. “Well Iramine has been killed. SOP says we’re supposed to take her stuff now. Then if what Niko says is right, we need to high-tail it out of the city before we get locked in with the golden flood.”
“We should also collect poor Dusan on the way back to the Black Mist and get him some help. Personally, I am very much looking forward to a long, hot bath followed by a cooking lesson from a renowned expert.” Eadie *winks* at the gnomish priestess.
I just realized that's actually a DC 35 Spellcraft I think. But that was my mistake so oh well.
As you are unable to take the jewel from the city, you are forced to leave it here as you run for your lives from the inevitable gold flood. However, you hold the key in your hands and rest safe assured knowing that no one else will be able to enter and knowing that Razmir will not now have a nearly unlimited source of funds.
Dusan waits outside the city for you and joins you as you flee through the swamps. He proves a worthy guide and helps you avoid the lizardfolk tribes on your way out and soon enough he even joins you aboard the Black Mist as you make your way back to Tamran and eventually the Flaxseed Lodge.
Venture-Captain Trotter decides that the safest thing to do is to split the three pieces of the amulet up. He keeps one in his Cassomir lodge, sends another to Absalom, and the third to Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir in Sothis.
And with your mission now complete, you are free to remain in Cassomir (or leave as you please) and rest up for your next mission!
That concludes City of Golden Death! I hope everyone had fun with that and I'll get the chronicles out right away!
Breathing a sigh of relief as they depart from the golden city.
" Zhis is hard to believe Zhere is zhis much gold and we must leave it behind, but the evil zhis could cause in zhe wrong hands necessitates us doing so. Tis truly a shame, but glad we survived. "
Male Dwarf Fighter (Two-Handed) [8.1] : HP 88/92 | AC 24 T 12 FF 23 | CMB +14 (+16 sunder) CMD 26 (30 vs trip/bullrush, 28 vs sunder) | Fort +12 | Ref +5 | Will +6 (+2 to all vs poison, SP & SL) | Init +5 | Perc +1 | SM/Ride +0 | Climb/Swim/Surv +4
We can take some of it with us, can't we? August pouts as the party leaves. Did we find any of them little gems?
