Jocephus tries to blind the men but they are to quick to cover their faces. Dustwich misses but Carlyle sinks his dagger into the man's leg!
Both fight off the drowsing effects of Myrd's spell and dodge the splinter from the tengu! Torean sets up the ladder as Cyrinda's spell plunks the leader in the chest.
Seeing that the ladder is now back up, the leader holds a dagger and the half-elf pulls a longsword, both of them moving to guard the way up.
fkk: 15 dmg
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Torean begins to climb up the ladder, carefully watching the men ready to attack. As he gets just out of reach, he invokes Torag's divine blessing. A steel-colored aura fills the surrounding area. "You better hope my mates kill you, otherwise you'll have to deal with me, and I will not be happy about having to climb up there!"
Dustwich finally hits the scarred Aspis leader. Jocephus then finishes him off! The remaining Aspis keeps his footing but doesn't seem willing to fight any further.
The few gripplis still in the immediate area come out of hiding and begin praising you for saving them from the backstabbing Aspis they once trusted. They begin to gather the other Krihirik together and defer to you regarding the treatment of the Aspis agents.
Mother Bogwynne graciously accepts the tyrannosaurus eggs you have recovered. The Krihirik elders agree that the talisman the dwarves gave them so many years ago is best employed by yourselves, especially if the rumors of the Golden Guardian awakening are true. The talisman is an egg-shaped mass of dry clay the size of a melon, its surface smoothed and intricately decorated with linear pattersn, plant imprints, and the symbol of a mountain standing under dozens of stars.
Mother Bogwynne raises a hand and lifts her head as if performing a blessing and dozens of gripplis gather to listen. "More than a thousand cycles ago, the dwarven refugees came to us from the distant north, fleeing a home lost ages ago. We aided the dwarves and welcomed them as neighbors in the nearby hills-a land even harsher than our own. When they fled their home for a second time, we offered them aid once more, though they requested only that we honor their memory and accept a gift: this talisman that bears the power to defeat the golden beast that now haunts Ashkurhall." She holds the melon-sized ovoid made of clay. "The descendants of Sigrin spoke of this as their greatest treasure, which tehy had left behind. it is a legacy that continues to this day, for none have ever braved the Golden Guardian to claim the riches as their own."
A chorus of croaking vocalizations follows the elder's story, and she adds, "The talisman's power is hidden within, and it must be unsealed in the beast's presence. To do so too soon would expend its energy needlessly or even invoke a terrible disaster. We have entrusted you with this relic of our people; use it wisely."
Upon their return to Fort Bandu, you receive a letter from Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin.
Pathfinders,
News of your mission in the Bandu Hills has reached me. It is unfortunate that Venture-Captain Sharrowsmith angered the kobolds so much that they attacked the local miners, but I have also heard that thanks to your efforts, the kobolds have ceased their attacks, at least for now.
According to the latest report, you learned about an ancient monster watching over the dwarven ruins that Sharrowsmith had been studying, and you decided to visit the Kaava lands to acquire a powerful weapon that could defeat the guardian. I hope that your negotiations with the tribe of gripplis guarding the weapon were successful and you are now ready to continue your mission to find Sharrowsmith.
I want to remind you that Nieford Sharrowsmith is our foremost scholar in the region, and thus, your first priority is to bring him back alive, or at least find evidence about what has happened to him. Naturally, also record any information of historical value as you explore the ruins.
If you run into kobolds while exploring the dwarven ruins, try not to antagonize them any more than is necessary to find Sharrowsmith. The earlier trouble with the kobolds has already harmed our reputation with the locals. It is vital to the continued success of the Nantambu lodge that we secure allies, not make enemies.
One more thing: we have reason to believe that the Aspis Consortium is planning to intercept your mission and kill or kidnap Sharrowsmith. Make haste and keep an eye out for trouble at all times.
Blessing of the Ten,
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin
Before you leave Fort Bandu, you may ask around for rumors about the Aspis Consortium, the Golden Guardian, and the kobolds.
You may ask the locals about the Aspis Consortium’s latest movements.
You may ask around Fort Bandu for rumors about the Golden Guardian.
You may ask the local miners about the kobolds of Mount Nakyuk.
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Myrd talks with the miners and manages to gather some information regarding the Aspis agent's in the area. He shares this with the other pathfinders when they are alone
"A team of Aspis agents is in the area, coming from the direction of Bloodcove. Their leader is an Ustalavic aristocrat named Zaril Namoth, who is also known to be an expert tracker and hunter. I suggest we make haste and depart as soon as possible for those dwarven ruins."
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Jocephus nods in agreement with Myrd. "Aye, and most in these parts have heard of the Golden Guardian, but know little else. Since the stories about the local boogeyman have circulated in the region for centuries, most locals speculate that the creature is immortal or not a living creature. I've heard that some people believe it is a gold dragon, while others say it is probably a living statue, a golden machine, or a god-like entity. The only thing the locals agree about, is that only a special weapon lost to antiquity can defeat the Golden Guardian." Pausing he thinks a little more.
"I've heard that, historically, the kobolds kept to themselves. It wasn't until Sharrowsmith riled 'em up, that most even learned there was kobolds in the region."
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Dustwich, holding the strange clay talisman as big as their head, looks it over with a frustrated expression. "Whatever the guardian is, this thing is the key to getting past it. But I can't figure out what it does. Do we...throw it? Does it hatch some sort of giant clay lizard to fight it? I dunno, maybe one of you can figure it out."
Setting the egg-shaped clay down, Dustwich briefly and ineffectually pushes the dirt-caked hair out of their eyes. "Anyway, it sounds like we better set off soon. We'll try to keep trouble with the kobolds to a minimum. But if we run into that scummy Aspis aristocrat, well--" Dustwich, scowling, interrupts themselves to stand up, create a wall of earth from nothing, and then blast it to smithereens with a flood of rocks from their hands.
Save for torrential rain alternating with scorching heat, the journey from Fort Bandu to Mount Nakyuk progresses smoothly. Ancient, crumbling stone buildings choked with vines and adorned with bone fetishes emerge from a patch of thick jungle underbrush. A scattering of bones and discarded tools hints that this location was recently inhabited. A gaping stairwell yawns behind a blood-spattered altar, descending to the mysterious depths where the Golden Guardian makes its home.
You descend into the musty depths of the mysterious ruins, where their exploration begins in a maze of half-collapsed rooms and corridors.
The air is pleasantly cool in the lightless halls of Ashkurhall. The ceiling is 10 feet high.
Two granite statues of dwarves in full armor stand guard in this entrance hall, flanking the entrance to a corridor to the south. Antelope skull patterns painted in red ochre cover each statue’s face. In the wall to the south are two rust-stained iron doors.
There is a hallway ahead between the two statues with doors along either side.
In the first room a 10-foot section of the wall lies in pieces on the floor. Jocephus notes that it would be easy to make the next 5-foot section of wall topple over if you weren't too careful around it; best to avoid it. Nothing else of note is in the room.
Across the hall is another small room. The air smells stale and a pile of rocks sits on the dust-covered floor in one corner. It is relatively easy to spot the tracks in the dust of a single human-sized creature wearing boots who entered this rooms some time ago.
The wall to the south is bent slightly inward and does not look stable. You have a hunch that trying to open the door would be a bad idea, as the whole wall does not seem likely to hold.
However, you can follow the tracks to a pile of rocks in teh corner that looks too orderly to be natural. Within you find a satchel containing a journal and several other items: a wand of cure light wounds (12 charges), a wand of lesser restoration (5 charges), and two potions of cure moderate wounds. There are also a wand of bear's endurance (14 charges) and two potions of spider climb.
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Cyrinda gingerly follows Jocephus through the underground tunnels. "What are we doing here?" she mutters nervously to herself glancing at the strange religious imagery and the crumbling nature of the walls.
She keeps clear of touching anything that looks unstable, but becomes excited at spotting the journal.
"Hey, looky here," she blurts out. After reading through the entries and going through the satchel, she offers up the items to anyone that would want them.
"So, you think he came in here and met his doom? Poor guy..."
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"This only says this gear is his. And it gives a hint that a temple is deeper down. Let's keep going." Torean grabs the wand of Lesser Restoration and one of the potions of Spider Climb. "Heh, maybe you'll see a dwarf climb the walls!"
Once all the items are claimed, Torean grabs the satchel and slings it over his head before opening the next door.
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Skimming over the journal notes, Dustwich frowns. "More kobolds, like we thought. We should try to avoid a fight, and definitely try to avoid the traps. Sharrowsmith might still be alive. Let's find him."
Dustwich checks the hallway going south carefully, making sure to scour the doors for more of the alleged traps.
In the next room a large pile of rubble blocks access to the room to the north where you found Sharrowsmith's stash.
This area still looks very unstable. The stone floors make it hard for Torean to track anything in this room; there is not an obvious layer of dust like there was in the other room.
As you examine the room, no one notices that you seem to have wandered into an ambush: three kobolds pop out around you, one of them holding a rapier and the other two holding bows.
The one holding the rapier does a fancy maneuver with his blade and ends in a defensive posture. One of the archers shoots from behind him, the other through the doorway.
"Hold!" the rapier-wielding kobold commands the others in Draconic.
Switching to Common, he asks, "Ok, who are you then and what are you doing here?"
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Jocephus lets his hands lower a bit and breathes a sigh of relief. "We are with the Pathfinder Society, and we are searching for a colleague. We believe he came this way." Motioning for his party to lower their weapons, he continues. "We are not looking for trouble, nor do we want any conflict with your tribe. We merely seek a friend. How you seen someone come this way?"
The leading kobold answers, "A human collapsed a corridor, that bastard! But we don't know where he went. our boss Naktok might know."
The kobold shakes his head. "We must stay on guard here in case there are others. But you can tell them Kaedo sends you. Our homes are to the west, and the temple is north from there. You can’t go to the southern part of this place anymore because a corridor collapsed. Naktok will be in the temple. But our good will doesn't mean you've earned his. You're just above our paygrade and we're passing you on. Understand?"