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Jakwin drops down the shaft and is unable to cushion his fall appropriately. The Taldan bard hears something cracking inside his left leg, but it’s nothing too serious, or so it seems, since he’s even able to stand up immediately thereafter. In the meantime, Dolgarth brings his new flail up above his head and sends it crashing down over the rat's. The giant rat cannot avoid the strike, and gets hit violently, although the damage it takes is not enough to force it to give up the fight.
Aldus climbs down using the rope and takes position into the room, although his threats do not seem to shaken his foe’s confidence. In the meantime, another giant rat darts towards Dolgarth, trying to bite the half-elf’s foot, but once again the Pathfinder is able to pull back his leg before the rat can plunge its wicked teeth into it.
Nebraska also climbs down the rope immediately after Aldus, landing safely and drawing her rapier as soon as he feet touch the floor. In the meantime, Fiammetta sends a red acid cloud through the trapdoor against the druid, who is caught unaware by the attack and gets hit by it. “DARGH!”
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The druid joins the fray, still shouting unintelligible words as he moves past his rats to engage Dolgarth in melee. “Die, mhì-chreidmheach thu! Tha an saoghal gu crìch!”
Magic and rage are not enough to make up for the different levels of martial ability between Dolgarth and the druid. The half-elf Pathfinder easily parries the druid’s assault and is even able to pull back his right leg in order to avoid another rat’s attack.
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: mage armor (Nebraska 5 minutes remaining)
Nature’s Cataclysm Druid
Dire rat animal companion
Jakwin
Dolgarth
Aldus
Dire rat
Nebraska
Fiammetta
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Aldus glances quickly at Jak behind himself and takes a step forward, rolls on the ground in hopes of avoiding an incoming blow and positions himself between Dolgarth and the cultist.
As he gets up, he thrusts with the rapier. "Be silent," says the bard, the weapon in his hands taking a warm glow.
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"Keep trying, devil, but if it wasn't for gravity, I don't think you could hit the ground!" Dolgarth smirks even as he remembers this happened almost the same way with the half-orcs. 'No need to get cocky just yet, if at all,' he cautions himself. "Or, better yet, How many times need I say that today, no reason to kill everyone!"
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Jakwin moves forward, but as he does so, one of the rats tries to bite at him. The Taldan bard is quick enough to pull his leg back and avoid the bite, and immediately after he brings down his longsword on the rat. The beast doesn’t stand a chance, and Jak’s sword severs its oversized head.
It’s a matter of seconds before Dolgarth removes another threat, smashing his flail on the other giant rat’s head. The creature lets out a painful shriek and collapses.
In the meantime, Aldus thrusts forward with his rapier, in the hope of hurt the druid. The Galtan bard is quick and not so predictable, and manages to pierce the druid’s chest with his rapier, although the tattooed man steps backward and does not seem like is going to give up anytime soon, despite the bleeding wounds on his body, unless before Nebraska pops up behind his back and pierces his body once again. This is the final blow. The druid collapses just like his rats, and the Pathfinders are victorious!
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Now that the battle is over, the Pathfinders have some time to search the room and the body of the druid they’ve just defeated.
The room appears to be well lived-in, though not by anyone who values cleanliness. Insects skitter along the floor, small annoying clouds of flies buzz near the ceiling about 10 feet up, and a sickly, wet smell permeates the room. There’s a set of wooden doors to the south.
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Nebraska kneels down next to the druid after he falls. She collects the coin off his body and jingles the purse in the air for all to take note. "This one appears to be holding, we can split this up backbat the lodge." and then she ties the purse yo her belt.
Wiping her sword clean on the druid's dirty clothes, she stands and nods to the wooden doors. "Hopefully this is Cestis."
While inspecting the southern doors, Nebraska finds something sketchy. The doors seem to be trapped―specifically, there’s a swinging-axe trap on the doors. While Nebraska tries to find a way to disable or bypass the trap, Aldus uncovers something as he uses his rapier as a stick with which to check the makeshift beds. There’s a switch under the nearest straw pallet.
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Raising one of the pallets, Aldus releases a loud "Huh?" He kneels down and inspects the switch, taking care not to press it. He then waves at the closest person "There's some sort of switch here. Perhaps it would be good to have Nebraska check it, once she's done with the trap? I wouldn't want to press it and have a loud alarm going off, alerting every cultist hidden in this gods-forsaken place."
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Nebraska moves right into disabling the axe trap once she finds it, "Oh this won't do." As she starts tinkering away she begins to think aloud in a whisper, "A horrible use of their fulcrum, and what, dung? As a counter weight? You know, I always wonder in these situations what the real trap is. Is it the swinging axes, or is it leaving trace that someone was here, alerting people ahead. The lethality, it's, uh, there we go, usually less deceptive than their possible true motives. Maybe the trap is just to steer us in a more deadly direction? Either way, let me check it out Aldus."
Nebraska skips over and crouches by the gross mattress and immediately begins to feed her curiosity as she fiddles with the switch.
Nebraska quickly realizes that by pushing the switch under the straw pallet, she would be able to disable the trap. Mustering her courage, the Qadiran girl presses the switch and a clinching sound testifies that she was right. Now the doors can be opened with no danger for the Pathfinders.
Dolgarth opens the doors, which open onto a long, steep staircase leading down to another set of wooden doors.
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The Pathfinders descends the steep staircase, and one all have taken position, Dolgarth opens the doors. Tall vaulted ceilings disappear into darkness high above as candles and torches barely illuminate the lower reaches of this room. Along the west wall are three cell doors, thick wooden affairs bracketed by solid steel bracings with small, six-inchsquare windows set high in them. Enormous crates, barrels, and sacks of goods are stacked neatly in the southeast corner of the room. The floor is clean granite, etched with a wavyline pattern that permeates throughout the entire room; the design even climbs the walls and disappears into the vaults above. A rat-shaped chalk drawing dominates the floor in the center of the room, clearly depecting a dire rat leaning forward as if to pounce.
The cells to the west are packed full of Cassomirites of all stripes.
A man with long raven hairs is in the room as well, and his side is a terrifying creature. Rotting vestments hang across the withered flesh of this walking corpse, and its mouth hangs open in a silent scream.
Most huecuvas remember little of their former lives except for the blasphemies that led them to their cursed fates. They often find themselves drawn to the ruins of old temples, where they rage against or seek hopeless absolution from the deities who so afflicted them. Huecuvas sometimes work in concert with other undead creatures that share the same area.
“Welcome, my friends”, abruptly says the man in a deep and rich voice. “Did you come to witness the end of times? You’re in the right place!”
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“Don’t be shy, come in!” There’s a mischievous smile on the man’s lips. His arms are wide open as he gestures the Pathfinder to get inside the room.
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: mage armor (Nebraska 2 minutes remaining)
Nebraska
Jakwin
Dolgarth
Walking dead
Aldus
Fiammetta
Dalirio
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”Good,” Jak replies brightly, ”I hate to miss the fun stuff.”
Holding his shield defensively in front of him, he strides into the room, yelling out his song.
”We'll dance all night until the moon runs free,
And dandle the lasses upon our knee,
And then you'll ride along with me,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.”
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Nebraska fails to hit her target, while Jakwin starts to encourage his companions. Dolgarth closes in on the walking dead, but the undead parries the half-elf attack with its staff and tries to grab the Pathfinder’s neck with its bony free hand. Fortunately, Dolgarth is quick enough to pull his head back.
In the meantime, Aldus fires an inaccurate arrow at Dalirio, while Fiammetta’s aim proves to be much, much better, and her cloud of red acid hits the cultist right in his face. “Damn you, profane miscreant!”, cries out in pain Dalirio has he covers his face with both of his hands. When the man puts his hands away, though, his acid-disfigured face is smirking. “Tremble before the might of Groetus!”, the man shouts maniacally, his eyes set on Jakwin. “No more songs, no more joy. The world is ending!”
Bolstered by his own song, however, Jakwin’s will refuses to give up on the mental assaults from Dalirio.
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: mage armor (Nebraska 2 minutes remaining), inspire courage +1 (Jakwin, 1 round)
Nebraska
Jakwin
Dolgarth
Walking dead
Aldus
Fiammetta
Dalirio
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Nebraska is again unable to damage her opponent. Fortunately, however, Jakwin is much more accurate, and his longsword slashes through the undead flesh. Jawkin can feel that he’s doing less damage than expected, as though the walking that was something very different from a common zombie and normal weapons were not as effective against it. Dolgarth quickly surrounds the walking dead and attacks with his flail, and although he manages to hit the target, the half-elf can feel the same as Jawkin―his weapon is not being completely effective, on the contrary, it actually fails to deal any damage at all!
In the meantime, Aldus fires a precise arrow at Dalirio. The ammunition pierces the cultist’s chest, causing him to shriek in pain as he dislodges the arrow from his bleeding body.
The walking dead attacks Dolgarth, trying to choke him to his death. The half-elf feels the long, bony hands of the undead clamping his neck. Sharp, long black nails delve deep in Dolgarth’s neck, holding him tightly before letting him go...but as soon as he’s let go, Dolgarth collapses to the ground as a sack of potatoes.
In the meanwhile, Fiammetta sends another cloud of acid at Dalirio. The cleric can’t stand no more acid burns and collapses to the ground in a screaming agony before losing his senses.
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: mage armor (Nebraska 2 minutes remaining), inspire courage +1 (Jakwin, 2 rounds)
Nebraska
Jakwin
Dolgarth
Walking dead
Aldus
Fiammetta
Dalirio
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Aldus watches the cultist fall to the ground with relief, only to see Dolgarth being maimed by the undead. Noticing his companions' weapons seem not to be hurting the creature as much as they should, he moves further west to get a clear line of sight and shoots another arrow. "I can cover for you when you stop, don't worry! Now, let's see if some magic can hurt this thing. Begone, foul creature!" he yells.
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Now that the master behind the kidnappings has been revealed and defeated, the Pathfinders just need to deal with his most powerful minion before completing their first assignment. As the group fights against the walking dead, the prisoners in the cells yell cries of encouragement for the Pathfinders, rooting for their success that would also result in their likely liberation.
Nebraska, still flanking her opponent, and performs an elegant lounge with her rapier, piercing her foe’s rotting flesh. As Jawkin and Dolgarth before her, the Qadiran girl instantly realizes that her attack has caused less damage than normal to her undead foe. Jawkin brings his longsword down on the walking dead immediately thereafter, hitting the undead at its shoulder with great power. Again, a normal, living foe, would have probably fallen as a result of such an attack, but the undead the Pathfinders are facing is clearly gifted with some resistance to mundane weapons.
The undead suddenly retaliates. The walking dead tries to grab Jawkin’s neck in the same way it did with Dolgarth’s, but the Taldan bard is quicker to react than his Varisian peer, and pulls back his head at the right time, preventing the undead horror from choking him to death. Proving an unsuspected tactical subtlety, the walking dead moves past Jawkin after the unsuccessful attack, preventing both Nebraska and the bard from flanking him without having to move.
In the meantime, Aldus decides to try and use magic against the undead, but unfortunately his aim is poor and the Galtan bard does not get the opportunity to verify the validity of his hypothesis. Fiammetta is more accurate, however, and her cloud of acid burns the undead’s rotten flesh, causing several shreds to fall on the ground.
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: mage armor (Nebraska 2 minutes remaining), inspire courage +1 (Jakwin, 3 rounds)
Nebraska
Jakwin
Dolgarth
Walking dead
Aldus
Fiammetta
Dalirio
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Aldus replies "Then let us hear the inspiring words of the masses yearning for freedom, Jak! Comrades, listen to their cries for help, their spirits eager to be released from their captivity!" The Galtan takes a step closer to the cells and motions towards the crowd, beckoning them to continue their yelling and cheering. "Freedom!", he yells, dropping his bow and drawing his rapier above his head, ready to charge.
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Thanks to Nebraska’s clever repositioning, Jawkin is able to strike at the unded from behind. Although his sword proves once again not so effective against the walking dead, Jawkin’s slashing strike is powerful enough to sever the undead’s head from its body. It’s only a matter of seconds before the glow in the walking dead’s eyes fades and the whole creature crumbles to dust.
It was a tough fight, and the Pathfinders learned a valuable lesson about how much difficult is to kill an enemy when you don’t have the right tools for the job. Anyway, the adventurers managed to make it. With the undead threat dealt with, the Pathfinders have all the time they need to free the prisoners from the cages they were being held into.
Half of the crates in this room are marked with gigantic red X’s, painted on with a wide brush. The supplies include flour, grains, sugar, coffee, tea, dried goods, and so on—everything the cult needs to supply its operations. The citizens held captive in the cells to the north thank the Pathfinders profusely for helping them and tell tales of dark- or gray-skinned humanoids with enormous gray eyes who came frequently to negotiate with Dalirio before buying a handful of captives and taking them from the room. Where these creatures took them, the captives don’t know and Dalirio won’t say, even if questioned the hard way.
As the Pathfinders soon find out, though, there’s also good news. The Pathfinder Cestis is among the freed prisoners! The man thanks the group with humbleness and swears that he will find a way to pay them back in the future.
The mission finally accomplished, the group can go back to the Pathfinder Lodge to report the success along with the most evident proof of it―Cestis himself. As for Dalirio and the mad druid, the Society will take care of them, reporting their crimes to the authorities as the Ten see fit.
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"Ow..." Dolgarth mutters, slowly returning to consciousness and not liking it much more than being safely knocked out. At least then the pain had been less concentrated. Seeing the freed slaves and dusty undead corpse, he surmises the threat has been dealt with. "Good job, everyone," he grins weakly, standing up or taking any proffered hands. "Now, shall we get back to the Lodge?" He is a little too far gone to much care about the marked crates, but he nods in Nebraska's direction in case she did not notice them.
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Jak grins over at Dolgarth, "Glad to see you back on your feet, bud." Despite a glib tone, he sounds relieved. "I didn't know what to expect once that ... thing choked you out. Hells, I thought I was next."
He steps over and claps Dolgarth on the shoulder, "But now we know our boy Dolgarth is made of sterner stuff, eh?"
He leans back on the wall, giving the Lodge a look that seems to encompass all of their superiors. "Sooo ... do you think they'll just give us the title to the Thunderbucket?" He winks at Nebraska, "Or do we have to jump through the hoops of actually saving up the cash, first?"
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Aldus helps Dolgarth standing up and says "It's a relief to see you with your eyes open, Dolgarth. Take it easy; the Tepish has been dealt with, as well as that abomination. Cestis was amongst the prisoners and the Venture-Captain is debriefing him as we speak." The bard looks around for a bit and mutters "Now, do they have anything to drink around here…?"
He disappears for a moment and comes back with a cup of tea and a smile of resignation "Best I could find," he says with a shrug, offering it to the half-elf, "now, what do you all say about hitting the tavern as soon as we get debriefed by Hestia and discuss Thunderbucket? And celebrate a very successful mission, of course."
He moves to the painting he was staring at when he first arrived at the lodge, a wave of joy making his heart beat a little faster. He looks at his companions and thinks 'No innocents were harmed. The captives were released. And, somehow, my companions are all alive. I haven't failed them this time.'
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Nebraska removes the scroll she purchased and uses it to heal Dolgarth on the ground. "Hey there! I think we all got an unwanted nap today. Man, this is a rougher line of work than I expected." When Dolgarth nods to the boxes Nebraska leans forward to whisper to him.
As the head out of the subterrainian prison Nebraska grabs the smallest looking "X" marked box before she leaves.
Out on the street again Nebraska pipes up, "Hey I need to run an errand quick, I'll meet you back at the lodge!" She then runs off.
Nebraska wanders in just a few minutes behind everyone else. She heads to the fireplace and starts to stoke it.
"I could totally go for a drink. So whatdoya think? Do you prefer the floating Thunderbucket or the brick and mortar?"
With her chores finally done she sits on the floor by the now rolling fire and begins to stretch. "So, we should probably coordinate how we gear up if we're going to be continuing to work together. A healing wand is critical, but I was also thinking of a wand of Mage Armor. Do you guys have any thoughts?"
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At the Lodge, Dolgarth gratefully accepts the offered cup, smiling wanly. He is happy about the team's success, but there are still matters to be attended to. "I think we should discuss the letters we were given upon leaving the Lodge," he states bluntly when they are all together. "Not to go so far as to reveal what we were instructed to do, but to clear up what they represent. Most of them were different, you may have noticed Nebraska's and mine told us to do the same things. We were certainly acting suspicious. And Aldus, Jak, you two knew Nish, whoever he was, when he introduced himself. I think, if any of us notes another doing something out of the scope of the mission, we can accept it as orders and move on. I'm not sure how allowed we are by our superiors to talk about this at all, but we need to trust to triumph."
Despite the fact that he brought up the subject, he is relieved when Nebraska changes it, after any comments it draws. "Hard to say which wand is more important. Getting hit is useful to avoid, but inevitable, the same goes for needing to heal."