Fort Inevitable. Ruled with an iron fist by Lady Commander Audara Drovust, a paralictor of the Hellknight Order of the Pike. She has both complete civil and military authority, and makes nearly every important decision in the town. The Paralictor also carries the titles of high magistrate, tax assessor, director of public works, keeper of the treasury, and chief regulator of business and commerce. In such a freedom-loving place as the River Kingdoms, one might expect that the citizens of the town would chafe under the Hellknights' draconian rule. Instead, they seem to tolerate the Commander's heavy-handed method, preferring it to the risk and lawlessness of other nearby towns such as Thornkeep.
You can see it in the distance as the sun sets, but the caravan leader calls a stop for the night. Nobody questions the decision, even with the town so close; guards in these types of cities have itchy trigger fingers and deadly aim. No legitimate traveler wants to appear even close to threatening, just in case one of the guards gets startled. After the wagons circle, and a fire gets started, most of the caravan passengers find places to drift off to sleep but a few remain awake.
Hired guard captain - Tiberious Eagle-Eye
Various guards
Man in shackles - Michus
Hooded man - Artemis Baenre
What do you do?
As we pull to a stop and the fire gets started, Sköll and I draw back into the shaddows, well be safest here. Together we observe our surroundings, continuing to scout. We see the hired guard captain, who might be of some use to us down the line, various guards (more like minions), A man in shackles and a hooded man, both a mystery to untangle.Im not sure yet who can be trusted, but I don't think we'll be getting very much sleep tonight.
Shaco takes a good look around and shrugs.
He pulls out three vials and mumbles "Mix mix swirl mix..."
Arkis glances out of the corner of his eye at the caravan guards as the sun sets. Not impressed with their positioning, and intending to bolster security on his own, he picks a vulnerable spot and leans his shield against a caravan buggy wheel. He sits down with his back against the shield and his belongings between his legs. He begins to drift off with his sword hilt grasped in hand, as it is every night.
Intimidation check when the elf strolls onto the path of the settled caravan in the middle of the night with a murderous look on his face and a creeapy smile, hand behind his back, not on his weapon at his hip or the clear kunai on his belt, just the one twirling in his hand. (Intimidation)
He checks around the encampment of the new caravan for easy marks, and boldly walks up to the first one that he watches clearly fail the check(Perception with his hand on his blade and a kunai twirling through his fingers(sleight of hand
A couple of the caravan members see an elf walk out of the darkness and scurry quickly into their personal wagons, one of them uttering a quick shriek of fright. The commotion however, draws the attention of the guard captain who motions towards two of his guards. The two indicated guards move to intercept the elf, one hand on their undrawn weapons and their shields held defensively in front of them. "This is a private caravan, Traveller. Please -" the first guard begins to say before he is interrupted by what looks like a golden firework shooting into the sky from the woods almost due north of the encampment. The guard captain yells out "Ambush! Guards, outer perimiter! Move!"
A smile crosses Zhoron's face when he hears the ambush is coming, and tells the Captain, I'm going to help your privates survive, but I'm going to need a place in the caravan!
And then he skips happily into the forest and stealths off the path, yelling behind him to the same Captain: Don't skimp on the membership!
Perception
Stealth
Initiative
Prolly going to be 10 ft closer(15,G1) to 7-10 on the battle map checking for tracks.
Startled by the sudden shout of an ambush, Shaco shouts "Gahh! Right when I was getting to the good stuff! Shaco quickly prepares himself as he takes another look around the general surroundings.
Arkis senses the goblins just before hearing the Captain shout. He bounds up, sword and shield swinging into a ready position. "You stand no chance, mischievous little monsters!" he shouts. He glances over his right shoulder and makes his way towards the road to challenge a group of goblins who look like they might overwhelm the lonely guard in the area.
We hear shouting coming from the caravan direction, curious, we attempt to sneak closer.
(Kamali)
(Sköll)
I'm startled when I trip over something, not usual, I look around to see what has tripped me, a Goblin??? Quickly, using my spear to get up, I take a fighting stance and stab at the goblin still on the ground.
Sköll, also startled, slips deeper into the darkness to observe.
At the Guard Captain's shout, the goblins, for the most part, charge out of the woods attempting to overwhelm the guards through sheer numbers, paying no attention to those they perceive as "lesser threats". The goblins get a couple of small hits in against the guards, but nothing fatal. The guards, on the other hand, fare better against the goblins - completely killing four of the attackers in the initial reaction.
The hooded man sitting near the fire seems to have disappeared completely while everybody's attention is focused outward. And the Guard Captain makes no move to help, focused on ensuring that his captive doesn't have the opportunity to escape. The other caravan passengers, and the caravan leader are smart enough to remain in their wagons and tents, shielding themselves and comforting their loved ones while the battle begins raging out of their view.
Not confirmed.
Not confirmed.
Arkis charges at the nearest goblin. "ON YOUR LEFT!" he alerts, bounding beside the nearly surrounded caravan guard. As he steps forward he plants his lead foot and deftly swings the blade. The metal tip stirs the dust as Arkis brings it up...
As the chaos continues around the encampment, Shaco notices that Tiberious seems fixated on the prisoner. Shaco turns to Tiberious and shouts : "WE SHOULD TRY TO KEEP A FEW ALIVE FOR INTERROGATION! I CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO DETERMINE THEIR LEADER AND MOTIVE"
Tiberious glances around before continuing, "My men have their orders: Kill them all."
Shaking his head and smiling, "Aye Aye Captain"and Zhoron goes in for the kill on #9, using STUDIED TARGET for my move action,
Melee elven thornblade +4(ST +1)
Damage "WooHoo this is fun!"
My spear hits the dirt as the goblin that tripped rolls to the left swiftly getting up to join the others and charge. Within all the chaos, I quietly slip back to join Sköll in observation. After all, we are still scouting.
In the initial attack, it seemed that the goblins had an almost overwhelming advantage sheerly due to their numerical advantage, but while they are aggressive, the goblins are largely ineffective against the well armored hired guards, causing only minor injuries. A couple of the goblins violently turn towards the paladin and the rogue in retaliation to their attacks, and manage to score a decent hit on each.
The guards, on the other hand, continue their reactionary slaughter of the goblins, killing four more in the next few seconds. Those guards who have finished with their attackers move off to assist their brothers-in-arms.
Experience has taught Arkis to never let the enemy think you are hurt. He immediately reacts to the goblin's blow, bringing his sword around and stabbing at the creature.
Shaco nods his head as he moves to cover an area that appeared to not be guarded. Shaco notices the dead goblins and tries to determine if there are any distinguishing traits from a distance.
Having an uneasy feeling about the situation, Shaco readies his hands in case anything decides to surprise him. "Just a... Little... Bit... Closer...
Done observing, I signal to Sköll to attack South at the nearest goblin.
I first throw my spear but miss when the goblin, on the defense, dives right into the path of Sköll. He picks up where I leave off, biting the head of goblin and crushing his skull. With one Quick chomp, the goblin's eyes burst and the guards nearby get splattered with Goblin gunk.
Taking a lick from the goblin that he attacked prior round, from their weak weapons, Zhoron winces and stretches his arms and then swipes at the only #9 Goblin left
Preferably a stab in the neck, then immediately wiping the blade on the dead Goblin..
"Ha! Another one bites the dust!"
The goblins only seem to be enraged by their kin dying around them, however their anger makes them sloppy. Only two of the remaining goblins manage to land hits, and both of those were against distracted targets. The attacks themselves, little more than flesh wounds, generate no reaction from the guards as if they didn't even feel these newest wounds over the adrenaline.
In the openings created by the goblins' angry, sloppy attacks, the guards let their effectiveness and their teamwork shine through. In a rotational pattern, the guards who have dispatched all of their immediate foes rotate mostly clockwise towards the next potential threat. In the confusion wrought by enemies charging in and moving away, the goblins fail to react well and five more die in the coordinated movements, one unfortunate goblin getting skewered by two of the charging hired guards - it never even saw them coming.
After Sköll finishes his snack, I signal him to circle the camp searching for additional threats. As he moves off, I quickly make my way closer to the fire, informing Tiberious that my wolf is securing the perimeter of the camp. I take a seat cross legged near the camp fire and enter a meditative trance, combining my senses with Sköll's, allowing me to use Sköll's senses as my own.
Shaco moves in closer to get a better look at the dead goblins. "Let's just make sure there aren't any pretties out here!" Shaco reaches into his pouches to quickly prepare a bomb, he then proceeds to throw it into the woods, and shouts in strange gibberish.
Zhoron jets over to R19 and preps a kunai to throw as soon as I'm in range at #14,15,or 16 if they're still alive when he gets there.."Sneaky sneaky at the gobby wobblins..." he whispers to himself
Arkis steps over the downed goblin in front of him and brings his longsword crashing down onto the next creature in view...
... and connects to the goblin's head.
The blade enters the large skull of the goblin and rips through both flesh and bone, splitting the monster almost in two. Arkis pulls his blade out of the soft fleshy stomach of the goblin and looks for another.
The next thing Kamali sees is Sköll bounding through the underbrush, intelligent eyes scanning the shadows and his nose following the wind. He finds a large number of tracks in the dirt, broken branches, and disturbed dirt. Quiet the goblins might have been prior to the attack, but they were ineffective in concealing the signs of their movements in the woods.
Sköll lets loose a loud howl, audible to the entire encampment
Some of the guards, having lost no men and with only one injured more severely than a flesh wound, continue their pincer movement against the groups of goblin attackers, leaving only death in their wake. Their movements slow down as they, Arkis, and Zhoron turn their attention to the last remaining goblin. The remaining guards maintain their positions around the camp, not willing to let their vigilance lapse while focusing on a downed foe.
The sole surviving goblin, instead of cowering in fear or begging for its life, only seems to grow more feral and aggressive. Perhaps it can sense the lack of mercy emanating from the guards.
Startled by the explosion, we take a quick assessment of our surroundings
but are slightly blinded from the bright burst of light which makes it difficult for us to get a clear look around.
Seeing no sign of goblin threats, I pull myself back from Sköll's point of view and let out a shrill whistle - the command for Sköll to return to my side.
Arkis rotates his still-dripping longsword and thrusts it towards the remaining goblin.
The goblin's crazed eyes slowly relax. Arkis pulls his blade from the throat of the creature. "Are there any others?" he asks.
With the last of the goblins dead, the guards use the garments on the bodies to wipe off their blades. Each of the guards unclasps a white potion from on their belt and downs it quickly, their wounds closing and healing before your eyes, leaving behind only a faint, thin scar to remind them of the incident. Satisfied that none of them have fallen against so minor of an enemy, half of the guards move back into position around the encampment while the other half move into their tent to rest before their actual shift begins.
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As the commotion appears to have subsided around the camp side, Shaco decides to return to the center of the camp .
As he walks back towards center of the camp, he's perplex about the goblins he's seen. "Curious... Very curious... Shaco then notices Kamali is in some kind of meditation stance. Setting that aside, Shaco's focus is turned towards the prisoner as he remembers what was told regarding the prisoner.
Shaco then turns to Tiberious and says: "Those goblins... They're not... Not normal. They were so... Clean. What troubles lie with this place and what is the purpose of this so called Cult?"
Zhoron approches the captain with weapons away and his arms crossed. "So captain may I PLEASE stay in the circle of this private caravan, I promise to play nice with others. i even have my own toys to sleep with." He holds up his Goblin blood-stained hands.
Slow, sickly laughter on the wind catches Arkis' attention and he manages to find the source before it can teleport away, giving him just enough time to concentrate on the being in front of him, praying under his breath, "Iomedae, Light of the Sword and Inheritor of the Sun, cast away the shadows and reveal the Beast before me."
Waking from my meditative state, Sköll now by my side, I don't forget the grin received from the prisoner. I haven't unraveled his mystery yet, but Im left feeling real uneasy.
Tiberious glares at Zhoron for several moments in silence, which is still more attention than he's given any of you so far outside of the prisoner and the other guards, before speaking. In an altogether unsurprisingly deep, gravelly voice, Tiberious says "If you cause any trouble, of any kind, the Lady Commander will have your head. If you're lucky. You leave my men to their orders and you obey my directions, should I give you any." With a double take at his surroundings, Tiberious seems to come to some sort of realization and with a huff of annoyance, reaches up and to his left to pull on a piece of rope suspended in midair that none of you had noticed before.
From seemingly no where, a hooded man drops into existence, a long length of rope falling to the ground behind him. He winks at Tiberious and says, "Ah, Tibbles! Good show, ol' Chap. Way to show those ruffians what's what!" The man seems to drift off as he stares at the captive, looking at the captive intently, as if searching for something. The captive mouths a single word once he grabs the mysterious man's attention. As he is silenced, nobody knows exactly what he said, but even being bound and silenced couldn't stop the effect his single word had on the surrounding environment.
The man's eyes begin to glow a pearly white before a green glyph appears on his forehead.
A sickly green fog bursts from the captive's body and the bodies of each of the goblins. One of the guards immediately starts choking and after only a few seconds, falls over, dead. You've breathed it in before you could safely move out of the way, but it does not appear that anybody else has come down with immediately ill effects.
Arkis makes his way to the center of camp through the lingering green fog, trusting in Iomedae to protect him. He sees the remains of the prisoner and quickly puts the pieces together. "I can only assume that this ambush was not happenstance. I've kept my distance out of respect for your command, Captain, but now I need to know if you know exactly who this man, and apparently the goblins, served? If my knowledge of religious lore is correct, everyone on Golarion may soon be dead."
"Hey what's that guys problem? His eyeballs are going white!"
When the noxious cloud clears the area..
And with that note, I'll take my rest!
Zhoron sets up his bedroll and canopy closest to Y12 and quietly meditates the rest of the night, keeping a ready kunai sheathed under his cushion..filthy gobbles... he mutters under his breath.
(He only 'rests / meditates' for 4 hours', so after that he'll wander around the camp, not poking at anyone or being a nuisance, just patrolling.
Staring in awe as Tiberious pulls the hooded man from thin air, Shaco shakes away his awe and speaks: "Well, there's a trick you don't see everyday. Artemis was it? What's your part of this caravan? As the prisoner starts to wither and Shaco turns to Arkis and says: How'd you figure out the goblins were serving someone? I took a good look at the Goblins and they were clean, none of the normal goblin markings or any traits from regular goblins. Ahh sorry, I've never introduced myself to you, Shaco, pleasure to meet ya." Shaco stares around the group as he thinks as to why he never spoke with these people before. Shaco then turns to look at Zhoron and thinks to himself, there's something about this guy...
Zhoron is out for adventure and killing Aberrations, this is what he's trained to do. He cannot remember some of his past but he knows that he's in the business of hating Aberrations.
Zhoron has been around quite some time, but being 120 years old is just long enough to learn how to survive on your own. 40 years ago he survived a trip to a dark place and came back a changed man. He's on a hunt to find the wizard that sent him back, that same Red Robed Wizard named Danzibal sacrificed his love when he was sent to the Shadowfell and he traded his Shadow to come back. He's been heading to Fort Inevitable to earn coin in the meantime, time is on his side if he keeps his wits about him.
Startled by the sudden turn of events I sit quiet trying to puzzle together what just happened. Feeling as if the goblin attack and the prisoners death are some how tied together. Breaking from my thoughts I turn my attention to the others, maybe they have some insight on the matter. I hear Arkis speaking to Tiberious and butt in "What do you mean, religious lore? What is the story behind this?"
Tiberious watches Zhoron wander off into the darkness of the camp, deftly avoiding the still-lingering pockets of billowing poison, before deigning to respond to the paladin's inquiry, "Believe me when I say, boy, that my Order, when it arrives, will have this crisis in hand and we don't need some upstart nobody meddling in affairs which are ours to handle. I give you this one warning: Stay out of our way."
Tiberious nods at Artemis, who, with barely a wave of his hand, summons all of the green clouds into a spot just above his open palm, forcing the very particles of the gas to squeeze together into what appears to be an emerald at first glance before stowing the gem into one of his many pockets. With the "cleanup" completed, Tiberious walks off and begins his rounds for the night and finally going to sleep. Artemis turns towards the group and drops a small pellet at his feet. When it hits the ground, it explodes in a flash of light and when you've regained your vision, he has disappeared.
Arkis looks at Shaco and Kamali, seeming to really register their presence for the first time, and sighs. This is going to be a long night, he thinks to himself. "Okay, take a seat. This could take a while..."
"Some of those came to rest in Abaddon, and it was here that reality itself—tortured by the sudden shock of rage and despair caused by the first mass deaths on the Material Plane—allowed the twisted birth of something new. A singular soul, one filled with more loathing than all the others combined, gestated in its own rage until it erupted into an altogether unique entity: the first daemon. Surrounded by a sea of likewise hateful souls, the daemon gorged himself on his brethren and grew in power. In the depths of Abaddon’s wastelands he flexed his might, beginning to reform his surroundings into something as corrupted and twisted by hatred as the daemon himself. The daemon saw it was to his liking, and so he called out to those other souls damned and forsaken—those evildoers driven not by ordered ambition or chaotic frenzy, but by the impartial taint of purest evil and nihilism— and like a tidal pull and clarion call, they followed the daemon’s beckoning, incapable of imagining the doom that awaited them. Most of these lost souls found only oblivion at the hands of the daemon and his horrific domain, but others survived and likewise experienced that same transcendence into daemonic forms, becoming the first generation of their kind. As each soul arrived on Abaddon’s rocky, blasted shores like mewling, wretched flotsam, the daemons feasted upon their rotting souls, savoring each one with terrible glee.
"It was at this time that one of the daemons—the original, the First—whispered out to the cosmos, mocking it, taunting the gods with the knowledge that each soul that came to Abaddon was forever snuffed out, each light extinguished. Among all the gods, only one, the death goddess Pharasma, listened to the voice, as the other deities squabbled in their own wars and conflicts, and remained ignorant of its whispered mockery. Before long, the low growl of something else replaced it—the cries of thousands of souls, being devoured by the daemons of Abaddon.
"The cries went on for eons as Abaddon grew, its realms divided up between the greatest of daemonkind. There was no longer just the First—indeed, daemons of all makes and sizes now inhabited the horrid lands, preying upon the River of Souls that led deceased mortals to Pharasma’s Spire. The Styx channeled in evil souls from other planes as well, and the daemons welcomed the castaways with open arms and jaws. Finally, Pharasma looked down from her throne and realized that she could no longer ignore the voices that whispered at her—four voices where once there had been only one, all wet with unrestrained hunger.
"'Give us what is ours,' whispered Pestilence.
"'Or we shall take them, even more than we do now,' threatened War.
"'We must be fed,' demanded Famine.
"Last to speak was Death, who chuckled softly. 'You have seen the Beginning and the End,' the Boatman noted. 'You know what must be.'
"And it was true. With a nod, the Lady of Graves acquiesced, forming the Devouring Court and its gate to Abaddon within the Boneyard. Through it, she began to send those damned souls destined for the new realm of oblivion and unending hunger, delivering them to the Horsemen’s eager embraces. And with each soul consumed in that darkened place, each spark stamped out, the daemons further their goal, and the End draws a little closer."
With his tale completed, Arkis take several deep breaths before continuing. "I don't expect you to remember that; I just wanted to impress upon you the gravity of the situation - how old and powerful are the beings that we may soon be facing. The sigil which appeared on the forehead of the goblins, and I can only assume on the prisoner as well, before they died is the Unholy Symbol of Apollyon, the Horseman of Pestilence."
Arkis motions for everyone to get closer and he whispers to you, "Whether the Maralictor wants it or not, I cannot just sit idly by while the world ends around me... Where's the glory in that?" Arkis asks with a grin. "Sleep tonight and rest well. We make it to Fort Inevitable in the morning. Whatever your goals were in coming here, they pale before the necessity of stopping the machinations of the creatures. Should we succeed, our names will go down in history!"
Common knowledge for everybody: Maralictor and Hellknights
Common knowledge for everybody: Fort Inevitable
Realizing Arkis is on our side, I reply, "My wolf and I will join you on your journey to stop Apollyon."
After a slight pause I follow with, "Did you notice the symbol near Tiberious' neck? Does that have any meaning to you?"
Zhoron muttering under his breadth from his resting place in the circle, "Oh this one is special, reminder not to mess with that guy"
Shaco thinks to himself as he considers the recent events. Hmmm... Still many things I don't know, best to know than not know! Count me in!
As Kamali makes her remark, Shaco cocks his head in confusion. What the devil are you talking about? I didn't see anything... Is there a way you can perhaps draw it? Did you happen to see anything of the sort on Artemis as well?