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Merephel spends the next several seconds picking pieces of web off of her armor, and trying to get herself unstuck.
'Cursed webbing! Of all the times to get stuck, and right at the end of our journey too!'
She rushes as fast as she can, hoping she can aid her allies.
"Ancestors, strike her down!"
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"She still fight like human! Watch how she move, how she act. Every time she dodge, she turn left side to you - use that!"
Korech then fires a single arrow.
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Calden takes an involuntary step back, shielding his face against the heat radiating from the fiery creature that Iramine has turned into. His other hand goes up to behind his back, but doesn't feel the hilt of his temple sword, the one that he received in Tamran and lost in the river of molten gold.
Thinking back on Tamran brings back memories of his time with the cult. No, the Razmirans prey on fear, and rely on bullying to get their way. "No!" he proclaims in a clear voice, growing in confidence as he speaks. "You are through ruling by fear, or guile. I won't back down. No!" Then, heedless of the flames, he launches himself in a relentless flurry of attacks. He punches at the mass of fire with his right fist, continues the attack with his right elbow and then jumps up, twisting around his axis for a spinning kick.
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Even though Iramine has transformed herself into a huge fire elemental, she was heavily wounded when she did, and the Heroes of Kassen are quick to seize the opportunity and use their advantage. Calden hits Iramine’s burning body once, Shirzon twice, and Korech and Merephel do the same with an arrow and a spiritual ancestor respectively. When the flurry of attacks is over, the mass of fire collapses gradually, revealing Iramine’s true form once again. The elf falls to the ground, dead. The Jewel of Everlasting Gold rolls away from her hand as the elf’s eyes close forever.
With Iramine finally defeated, Tar-Baphon’s fabled jewel, capable of creating gold out of nowhere, lies on the ground: you only need to stretch your hand and grab it. If you want to do so.
Also, Iramine’s amulet lies on her dead body, and you can easily take it from her now. On Iramine’s body you also find a potion of cure serious wounds, a wand of false life (CL 3rd; 8 charges), a +2 mithral chain shirt, a +1 elven curve blade, a cloak of resistance +1, a ring of counterspells (containing dispel magic), a spell component pouch, and a spellbook.
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Shirzon takes in ragged breaths as the fiery form shrinks back down to Iramine. She takes a moment to let everything sink in as she watches the Jewel roll away. She lets her weapons drop to the ground and runs to the nearby Calden, throwing her arms around him in a hug. She repeats this with Merephel and Korech, grinning hugely. "We did it! We actually did it."
Shirzon helps the others gather up Iramine's belongings, and slips on the completed amulet for safekeeping. She leaves the Jewel - it can get swallowed up in the molten gold for all she cares.
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Out of the city, with only a few handfuls of golden treasure in her pockets, Shirzon stares out over the cursed island. She idly plays with the amulet around her neck, reminded of everything they went through to get it. "What do you think we should do with this? Bring it back to Kassen's crypt? Break it into pieces again?"
Korech lets out a whoop as Iramine falls. The initial cold, sucking feeling in his gut at taking a human life is immediately gone; replaced by the elation of knowing that their enemy has fallen and the region is now safe from the plots of the cult of Razmir. He swings Shirzon around in a bear hug, trying the same with Merephel before realizing she's in heavy armour.
If there is treasure to be had, Korech takes enough to live a modest but comfortable life for a while, and to help out his community where needed. He looks over to Shirzon as she speaks.
"Kassen and Asar need to rest. I think they need amulet, uh, the amulet back together for that."
Calden hugs Shirzon as she approaches him, relief and disbelief both plain on his face. "We really pulled it off, didn't we?" he half-asks. He helps pull Merephel from the web and hugs her as well, and gives Korech an awkward punch on the shoulder.
With the initial celebration over, he joins Shirzon at the body of Iramine. He picks up the Jewel and carefully places it back on the dais in the middle of the room. "This should belong here. I don't think it has a place in the world outside." With that done, he urges the others out of the room. "Let's go. It's way too hot in here, and we should been meeting up with the Captain." Home... Finally, we're going home.
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Calden thinks for a moment, on the question of what to do with the amulet. "We should keep it with us, I think. Maybe we can use it to lock the door to the city. What about we split it in three, and keep it among us? That's what Ekat Kassen and his companions did. It feels... right to me, somehow." At Korech's suggestion, he answers "I'm not sure that Kassen and Asar still need it. We talked with his... err, ghost. And he seemed at rest. Also, I'm not sure that the Crypt has the necessary defenses. And the cult of Razmir knows that it's been there. Maybe others will try?"
Merephel sighs with relief.
'I'm so glad this is over. Maybe know I can settle down and actually focus on my studies...'
She walks to stand next to Iramine's body, still wiping webs off her arms.
"I agree, let's keep the amulet."
She ponders for a moment, and then nods.
"We break it up, into four parts. We hide them better this time too."
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Iramine has been defeated, and with her death, Razmir’s plans to claim the endless riches of Xin-Grafar for himself crumble as well. The Heroes of Kassen and Tamran, Saviors of the Lake Enchartan region, were able to defeat the powerful elven eldritch knight, stop the Razmiri faithful from claiming the Jewel of Everlasting Gold and finally pacify their own country.
You exit the City of Golden Death and quickly head toward the place where Captain Walren is waiting for you. The dwaven captain quickly allows you to get aboard the Black Mist. After a week or so of sea travel, you reach Tamran, where you meet again with Reginar and tell him all the details about your latest adventure. The Pathfinder Venture Captain is very pleased with the outcome of your endeavor, and rewards you with enough gold and wealth to never need to work for your entire life. Unfortunately, all of the riches you had claimed from Xin-Grafar disappeared as soon as you left the city, revealing their deceiving nature; therefore, the Pathfinder Society’s reward is particularly precious to you.
After spending a whole night drinking and celebrating your success with Reginar, Captain Walren and Asina in Tamran, you stay in the capital city of Nirmathas for a few days more in order to sell all of the loot you’ve acquired during the course of your adventure. Calden is able to restore his weakness, caused by his death in the molten gold canal.
After that, you depart, leaving Tamran for Kassen, your hometown, the place where it all began. Captain Walren ferries you back to Kassen, and as soon as you arrive, the whole town appears to be waiting for you. A grand feast has been prepared in your honor, and once the Black Mist docks in Kassen, you’re celebrated as great heroes and your deeds gets publicly exalted and praised by your fellow villagers. Everyone is ready to praise you and what you’ve done. Calden meets with Dimira again, Shirzon has made proud her mentor Jimes and those who believed in her at the Seven Silvers, Merephel becomes a shining paragon for the younger priests at the Temple of Erastil and is highly commended by Father Prasst, Korech earned a proud toast from the local hunters’ guild and from Arnama, his mentor, and is greeted as a full member of Kassen’s Society.
As suggested by the Heroes, they split the amulet, which has revealed itself to be the key to the fabled City of Golden Death, in 4 pieces: each of them is granted a single piece of the amulet, to prevent anyone from attempting to claim the cursed riches of Xin-Grafar in the future.
The Heroes of Kassen are now renowned heroes of Nirmathas. They’re famous and loved by their countrymen, their deeds have brought great renown to Kassen and their endeavors have struck a final blow to Razmir’s schemes on Nirmathas. Kassen’s spirit can now rest in peace, and the whole region of Lake Encarthan is safe.
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Shirzon contents herself with life in Kassen: helping out at the Seven Silvers, spending time with her fellow heroes, and enjoying admiration and acceptance from the townsfolk that she had always craved. This suits her - for a time. After recovering from her adventure to defeat the Razmiri cultists, Shirzon grows restless in her small home town. She packs up, says her goodbyes, and sets out again for Tamran.
Back in the city, Shirzon seeks out the Pathfinder Society. She meets up with Reginar and takes on field work, ever seeking mysteries and fighting against threats around Lake Encarthan, but always returning to Tamran to report her adventures and visit Asina. She proves a capable agent, facing numerous close calls but always managing to get out of a tough scrape with her team's lives intact. Working with other Pathfinders wins her new friends (or at least begrudging respect, depending on the person), but it never feels quite the same as the bond she formed with the others from Kassen. She still writes them letters when she's not working on reports or on missions, of course, but those early days hold a special place in her memories.
After years of experience, having traveled all over the Inner Sea and survived mortal dangers (although she does acquire an eyepatch after a particularly nasty trap), Shirzon feels ready to pass on her knowledge to other, newer Pathfinders. The Pathfinder Society, recognizing Shirzon's experience and expertise, promotes her to a Venture-Captain. She stays in Tamran for a little while, but decides to leave and form her own lodge. With the substantial wealth she's carefully saved over the years, she heads north west and follows Kassen's example by forming her own town. Her new home, which she names Beacon in a drunken moment of sentimentality, sits on the border between Nirmathas and the Hold of Belkzen as a hopeful experiment where humans, orcs, and half-orcs alike can live and trade in (sometimes tentative) peace. After some careful negotiation with both words and steel, Shirzon establishes her new town and builds a tavern in the center to be her new Pathfinder lodge: The Quarter's Hall. Under Shirzon's leadership and with aid from the Pathfinder Society, Beacon grows from a plot of borderland dirt to a proper town, a gateway and haven inhabited by both Nirmathi and orcs willing to trade and abide by a cautious truce. Whether it will last remains to be seen, but as long as Shirzon keeps her (remaining) eye on things, kids like she used to be will have a place to go.
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The simple life that Korech had dreamed about for so long never really came to him. His life had been hard. Abuse at the hands of the orcs to nearly starving to death as a young teen while in the Fangwood finally left him in Kassen, where he was comfortable but traumatized, alone, and scared. His selection for the Quest of the Everflame changed his life, tapped into his incredible potential, and made a hero of him.
After returning to Kassen, Korech bought a little house and settled in to what he hoped was a quiet life of hunting. Unfortunately, in Nirmathas nothing is quiet. The neverending dangers of the Fangwood, the nearby Hold of Belkzen, and the war with Molthune ensured that there were always problems to fix, and Korech's reliability and expertise in battle always found him at the forefront of Kassen's defense.
Korech joined the rangers as an inevitability, and again and again he found himself called to battle dangers, and by besting them he rose despite his own complete lack of ambition.
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FOOOOOOOM
Korech flattens himself to the ground as a fireball goes off, causing several nearby trees to burst into flame.
"NICE TRY YOU MOLTHUNI BEAN COUNTERS!" shouts Korech as he grips his bow. He pokes his head up over the edge of a hillock before firing an arrow at the wizard who fired the spell. The arrow bounces harmlessly off. He looks to the men and women under his command. The Company of the Green Cloak, one of the dozens of independent groups to loosely float in and out of the Nirmathi military during the endless war. The Cloaks had formed loosely under Korech from students and friends during his years as a ranger in Kassen.
"Hold position, Old Deadeye's blessing is with us. Our families will not fall to this menace."
Inhaling deeply, Korech rises to his feet, his battered holy symbol at his neck shimmering with green energy.
"Lord Erastil, I beseech you lend your blessing to us. Let the forests rise up and entrap those who would threaten it! Lend us your aid!"
Korech's entangle spell takes effect as the forest itself turns against the Molthuni vanguard, entrapping the spellcaster and a team of infantry. Korech lets out a battle cry and The Company of the Green Cloak charges, he stands with them and fires arrow after arrow in defense of his adopted homeland.
The war in Nirmathas may be never ending, but it was one Korech would always fight. Kassen had given him a home, a purpose, and now a family with three young children and more on the way. If Erastil had chosen him to be a protector, then a protector he would be.
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Once the group of heroes return to Kassen, Calden immediately heads over to Dimira. He's worried for a moment about what she might say about his golden eyes, but seeing her again makes all the doubts go away. He proposes to her on the spot, and the next morning they ask Merephel to perform the ceremony. They get married within two weeks. Calden has something small in mind, but that turns out quite impossible for one of the new heroes of Kassen.
Following their wedding, Calden and Dimira leave on their first journey out of Nirmathas. They visit Druma, Andoran and Absalom, looking everywhere for places for the both of them to study, to learn, and to experience all the world has to offer. They return to Kassen after almost a full year later, just in time for next year's youths to set off on their own Quest to Kassen's Crypt, to bring back the Everflame. They take a few weeks time to catch up on family and old friends, before departing once more.
The pattern continues for several years, with the couple traveling further and further. Over the years, they hit on nearly all of the nations of the Inner Sea region. Nearly all, because for some reason Calden always finds a reason - or excuse - not to visit Qadira. After having seen most of Avistan, the couple even travels abroad. On one trip Calden and Dimira reach Vudra, where Calden spends several months training in monasteries of which he could only have dreamed before. The year after that, the pair book passage on a boat to Tian Xia, exploring the exotic wonders of that distant continent. They cannot stay too long, though, because it's become a tradition that they always make it back to Kassen before Neth the 4th, to send off the hopeful youth to bring back the Everflame.
After precisely ten years, and ten voyages, Calden considers that he's seen as much as he would like, as does Dimira. There can be no other place for them to settle but Kassen, and Calden returns to the farm where he grew up. Before long though, the house looks very different; it is decorated with souvenirs from all over the world, one of the barns has been transformed into a small dojo and a comfortable lodge on the grounds has been built for his aging parents to live in.
Calden quickly settles in the role of the wise and mysterious patron of the town, even without meaning to. The fact that he has golden eyes doesn't help, of course. It starts with the youngsters, who only know him as the man that come in town to send off the youngsters in search of the Everflame. Adding to the are the rumours that he's studied with the wisest men and women on the entire world - which he considers greatly exaggerated - and the continuing rumours that he is Ekat Kassen's true heir - a fact that he cannot really confirm or deny. All of that, combined with the stories of their original adventure, now ten years ago, is enough to give Calden a legendary status in the town. And so, at the grand age of 28, he's considered one of village elders, giving advice where needed, teaching children on the virtues of self-reliance and self-reflection, and doing what needs to be done to keep Kassen safe.
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Merephel busies herself checking in with everyone in town. She helps at the temple, and performs a few weddings. The wedding between Calden and Dimira is especially nice. She even dates a little, but never quite makes the connection she is looking for in another.
Eventually she takes a sabbatical, and journeys back to Tamran, to study at the Temple of Shelyn. She spends a year there, in quiet contemplation of what real beauty means. She paints, she sings, she laughs, and she teaches joy to her fellow worshipers.
It takes her a long time, many months of contemplation, but eventually she realizes that all she really wants is in Kassen.
She moves back home, and takes back up with the local church. Life continues as normal, but this time, Merephel is different. Nothing has really changed in her, save for her mindset. She went all over the country, and never found what she was looking for. It took her leaving Kassen again, this time on her own, to realize that what she'd missed was in Kassen.
Her family.
Merephel is happy, living a quiet life. She eventually does marry, and the townsfolk don't know what to think, as she marries both a man and a woman, but they all live happy, productive lives, and the village of Kassen is all the better for it.
She names her three children Calden, Shirzon, and Korech.