Sealman is taken aback as the dialogue begins between the dragon and them. While he doesn't know what they are saying, he knows they don't sound like threats or battle cries. Seal was looking forward to a new shade of dragonhide, the idea of being able to ride a dragon enters his mind's eye. Slowly, the giantslayer begins to drift into a daydream.
Ghlorofaex shifts upon his pile of treasure, coins clinking down to the floor. He casually plucks a gem and studies it with one wizened eye. "Interesting. But a Runelord is a powerful and reliable ally. Many of my ancestors and brothers allied with the Runelords of old and it served them well... until the downfall of Thassilon, that is. And yet who are you? Newcomers with high ambitions, surely, but can I rely upon your alliance when Karzoug has fallen? Would you hand this city to me, to be its governor and ruler?" Ghlorofaex drops the gem unceremoniously and rests his claw upon the pile of gold once again, awaiting an answer.
"Please allow me to confer with my companions, as their spokesperson."
Lucian turns to his companions, translating and explaining the situation to them.
"I wouldn't mind leaving Xin-Shalast to this dragon. He could be a formidable asset in our fight against Karzoug. In my eyes, it's a situation we'd both benefit from. Of course, I'll gladly accept your decision."
"Do you think he would eat all the giants or just not get involved while we work?"
"If we are to ally with him, he would have to do so proactively. If we wished him not to act, we might as well slaughter it." whispers Lucian.
Ghlorofaex raises his head and smirks, switching to the Common tongue. "Proactive? You should be more careful with your words, you never know who is listening and who can understand the implications of your plots. I do not like the sound of that word, human. To openly act against the Runelord would be folly, for either of us. However, I am willing to let you meet your own fate in the heart of the city by confronting him, but when you inevitably fail I will not have Karzoug's wrath brought down upon me."
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Miana will disagree, she will offer the dragon a chance to escape if it chooses to run.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"You know nothing, wyrm. Prepare to meet your doom then. Let it be known that we gave you a chance to withdraw."
"We found some old blue dragon bones down the hill? Cousin of yours? Makes no difference, I'll add your hide to my collection."
Sealman readies his bow ...
Rissi, quietly meditating on the proceedings up until now, raises but a single finger.
Ghlorofaex snarls, crackles of electricity sparking out from his nostrils. "Pity. Now I have to do Karzoug's dirty work for him."
Lucian already cast blessing of fervor for his action this first round. Use it!
Rissi laughs. There is a tinge of megalomania in it.
"Ghlorofaex, you have a *squeak* wonderful body. May I borrow it?"
Ghlorofaex's eyes blaze with anger as Rissi tries to take over his mind. "I think I'll keep you alive, to toy with like a poor house cat might. Dirty rat!"
Sealman slowly strolls forward away from the party. In mid-stride, he draws an oversized Black Arrow from his quarrel. The arrowhead is barbed with raven feathers for fletchings. Once in position, Sealman notches the arrow into Icc Taang and pulls back the thick drawstring. The fibers can be heard as they strain from the pull as the barbarian begins to rage. Arching up for more angle, his arrow goes screaming towards the dragon.
Seal takes aim for the dragon's heart but unlike in some tales this one does not have a breach in his tough armored scales and the arrow only glances off , broken in two.
Kufieno glides forward in a hasted motion, his claws flicking in and out in agitation.
He hisses, his voice strangely non-humanoid. "I know you - I feel like I've always known you. Your blood... I know the monster you are, for I am the same!"
The sorcerer drops to the ground - his wings swell in size while his body becomes elongated and serpentine. A tail materializes out of nowhere. Kufieno becomes duplicate of the larger wyrm, if only half the size.
Haste, form of the dragon II, BoF, Good Hope, Resist Electricity 30, arcane strike +3, Burrow 20
AC 32/19/32
STR 30 CON 24
HP 231
F/R/W +14/17/13
bite +25 2d6+19 (+22 2d6+28)
2 claws +26 2d6+14 (2x +23 2d6+20)
2 wings +25 1d6+9 (2x +22 1d6+12)
tail +25 1d8+19 (+22 1d8+28
Kufieno decides the dragon needs a taste of his own medicine! Ghlorofaex only laughs at the smaller simulacrum before him as he casts a spell causing his form to shimmer. displacement
"Oh, now we *hiss* play the game of magic? I think not!"
Rissi quickly launches a greater dispel magic!
-11 = 16th level caster
-11 = 7th level caster
-11 = 8th level caster
-11 = 23rd level caster
Kufieno roars, spreading his wings gloriously and leaping upon his ancient blood-kind and attempting to latch on with his teeth!
Haste, form of the dragon II, BoF, Good Hope, Resist Electricity 30, arcane strike +3, Burrow 20
AC 32/19/32 (30/17/30 after charge)
STR 30 CON 24
HP 231
F/R/W +14/17/13
bite +25 2d6+19 (+22 2d6+28)
2 claws +26 2d6+14 (2x +23 2d6+20)
2 wings +25 1d6+9 (2x +22 1d6+12)
tail +25 1d8+19 (+22 1d8+28
"Sealman, Miana, need a ride? Come to me." says Lucian as he moves to Sealman.
"Get me close enough for one more shot."
Rissi gets rid of Ghlorofaex's magical protections so that Kufieno can rush in.
Kufieno's teeth can't manage to sink past the dragon's hide though. Lucian then teleports the other warriors nearby.
Once Sealman has Teleported to the frontlines, he pulls out another oversized Black Arrow from his quarrel. Closer now, he tries to find that legendary chink in the scale the stories of yore tell of. With a prayer, he fires.
Once they arrow has been loosed, Sealman puffs up his chest and nods no matter the outcome. Dropping his bow, he slowly and methodically retrieves Isoult. Tapping the haft on the flat of his hand as he floats to within melee range, the dwarf growls, "Time to get the kitty some new armor."
Lucian teleports Miana and Seal behind the dragon. Miana only takes a defensive stance for now but Seal tries to put another arrow in the dragon.
Seal's arrow bites into the dragon but doesn't kill him outright. Ghlorofaex wheels around and lashes out at Seal with all his might:
Seal is bit, clawed and smacked by the dragon's tail. He is barely able to stand after the assault.
"Gonna need you stay on me like honey, priest. That dragon hits hard."
Seal takes an all defensive stance as he tries for quicker feints and hacks with Isoult.
*SNARL!*
The dragon-blooded snarls with a mindless fury, lashing out with everything he has.
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Assuming the first attack hits and lowers his AC by 2, then:
If (pre-debilitating injury) AC<42, 138 damage
If (pre-debilitating injury) 41<AC<48 He only takes 102 instead
Its AC is definitely higher than 33 to start, so no other result applicable.
Kufieno technically has 1d6 electricity on his claws which I'm ignoring
Haste, form of the dragon II, BoF, Good Hope, Resist Electricity 30, arcane strike +3, Burrow 20
AC 32/19/32
STR 30 CON 24
HP 201/231
F/R/W +14/17/13
bite +25 2d6+19/19-20 (+22 2d6+28)
2 claws +26 2d6+14 (2x +23 2d6+20)
2 wings +25 1d6+9 (2x +22 1d6+12)
tail +25 1d8+19 (+22 1d8+28)
Rissi puts her stave into her hand and fires a dark black ray at the mighty beast.
Seeing Sealman about to falter from the dragon's onslaught, Lucian focuses his thoughts on keeping his dwarf friend alive.
"Evanya, we need your help!" shouts the oracle.
"Got it, Lucian!" smiles the little azata, producing a gnarled wand and activating it. A deathray emerges, aimed at the dragon.
Kufieno finally gets used to his new dragon form and combined with some heavy hits from Seal, the two bring down the evil dragon!
The skulks must have kept their word and must be passing along information to your giant ally Gyukak because to the south in the city you can hear a commotion coming from the giant camps....
Kufieno the Wyrm exultantly roars over the corpse of the mighty Ghlorofaex, and then takes a spot on top of the treasure pile. He snorts in satisfaction has he settles on top.
Rissi frowns. "I hope he doesn't get too comfortable up there. He can't stay - *chhhh* especially with the potential of a giant civil war looming above us." She squeaks in nervous anticipation.
Lucian is extatic as he beholds the dragon fall dead.
"Desna be praised, we made it! Well done everyone. Allow me to heal you with the holy music of the spheres." The Varisian boy then starts singing a duet with Evanya, as a soothing tune surrounds his friends and companions.
Thunderpuss pads up the gold hill and curls up next to Kufieno the Wyrm. Sealman begins making coin angles among the treasure.
[b]"On to killin' giants then? I wonder were the wizard is in all this?"
"Do we really *chhhh* understand what we face? I do not know - who knows what we may find when we come upon the runelord."
Mhar Massif provides the very backbone of the World’s Roof and supports one of Golarion’s tallest peaks. Reaching a staggering elevation of 31,565 feet, the peak shares its name with the entire massif, whose eponym is derived from the gigantic carving of Karzoug’s visage that graces the south face of the mountain. This feature is itself 1,500 feet high and reaches the crown of the mountain. Just below this carving soar the mighty towers of the Spires of Xin-Shalast, though even the highest of these dare not intrude upon the elevation that is the face’s alone.
Mhar’s failed attempt to come to Golarion scarred the region in other ways—most notably, in the thinning of the boundary between this world and the nightmare realm of Leng. The inf luence of Leng grows ever more powerful the higher one climbs along the slopes of Mhar Massif, almost as if the mountain’s sheer height were piercing the firmament and allowing this other world to leak in around its crown. Scaling the Face of Mhar is extremely dangerous, with even the most direct route (the ascending Golden Road) posing numerous difficulties along the way.
Lucian dons his new ring and stores the restorative scroll in his haversack as he explains.
"What I'm about to tell you may frighten you, but we must be aware of what we're stepping into. A legend tells of a powerful entity called Mhar who attempted to enter Golarion from some alien realm, only to be caught and petrified midway through its emergence from the mountain. What Mhar might have been and what power might have been great enough to stop him is unknown, but none dared contemplate the consequences had Mhar been successful in his transition. The entity’s face was all that remained, frozen at the mountain’s peak in stone. Runelord Kaladurnae (the original Runelord of Greed) chose this site to build his city partially due to these legends, and now, thousands of years after Thassilon’s fall, tales of Mhar can still be read in moldering tomes. With each new runelord, arcane sculptors changed and altered the features of the face to match the new lord, yet still, even the runelords themselves couldn’t completely shake the feeling that something else, something far older than Thassilon itself, looked out from those cold stony eyes in the World’s Roof.
Mhar’s failed attempt to come to Golarion scarred the region in other ways—most notably, in the thinning of the boundary between this world and the nightmare realm of Leng. The influence of Leng grows ever more powerful the higher one climbs along the slopes of Mhar Massif, almost as if the mountain’s sheer height were piercing the firmament and allowing this other world to leak in around its crown. Scaling the Face of Mhar is extremely dangerous, with even the most direct route (the ascending Golden Road) posing numerous difficulties along the way."
At which point, the oracle beams a bright smile to his dear companions. He concludes with a cheery note in his voice:
"But that won't stop us, will it? By Desna, nothing can ever go wrong with our bonds of friendship! Onwards, and let the Lady of Dreams watch over us as we tread where few have before!"
Far above you can see the Spires of Xin-Shalast, the fabled citadel on the World’s Roof, which houses the end of the party’s quest. Situated on the steep face of the mountain, deep in the death zone, these fantastic spires served as the administrative heart of the Satrapy of Greed and the seat of power of Karzoug and his runelord predecessors. Composed of multiple towers clinging to the side of the mountain, surrounding the central Pinnacle of Avarice, this vast citadel was once a city in and of itself, with each tower soaring hundreds of feet in height and containing countless passages, chambers, and battlements.
As you wind up the path, you first come to a set of large obelisk-like structures. These structures of cut alabaster rise on squat bases to pyramidal peaks 400 feet high. Their interiors are largely hollow, composed of a few cavernous chambers. In days of old, these towers served as the guarded gateway into the domicile of the Runelords of Greed.
Sealman is transfixed by the story Lucian just told.
"You mean something with a head, THAT big almost came into this world. Just the head! I don't know what is worse. The magic that allowed it to come through or the magic that stopped him."
As the task of scaling the mountainside presents itself, a figurative ball of light pops atop of the dwarf's head.
"Don't we have dem potions that prevent getting sick from high elevations? That looks like a lot of hiking and climbing."
"You're right Sealman, we have those elixirs of the peaks. Let's drink them now."
As you examine the teeth-like structures you spot something coming down the slope to investigate you. Three mastodon-sized spiders (each bearing an odd number of legs—seven or nine or 11, but not eight, like one might expect of a spider) approach warily. The lead spider, quite a bloated creature, calls out in Common, "Hmm, we do not wish to use you for sustenance. Hmm. Our enemies, those from Leng who play at aping your vexingly symmetrical appearances, have returned to this world to honor an ancient alliance with the recrudescent lord. We would demand a service from instead of eating you. Yes...."