Once you're ready to continue onward you investigate the double-doors at the rear of the shop, which open up into an empty antechamber. You press onward up a small set of stairs; well-worn carpet hangs by threads in some places on the sturdy steps, the wood underneath scored by countless tiny claws traveling up and down. At the top, wooden double doors bearing hints of gilt and paint hang open to reveal a large chamber beyond.
It’s clear that at one point this was a grand theater. The gold railings still gleam despite years of sitting unpolished, and plush red velvet covers the walls and cushioned furniture. The cushions are mostly brown now, covered with mold and dirt. The damp, pervasive scent of moldy fabric and rot fills the air. There are two large balconies on each side of the theater about twenty feet above the orchestra level, both packed full of kobolds that whisper and scratch their scales anxiously. The floor slopes down slightly, ending at a theater pit at the base of the stage. The stage itself is empty save a large, comfortable-looking chair in the center, illuminated with an ingenious system of magical lighting and mirrors.
Upon the chair sits a grizzled old kobold, his muzzle white with age and his scales well-creased. Beside him lounges a large, blue-scaled creature that sure looks like a young dragon. As you enter the creature stands and stretches its' wings, as though about to take flight. The kobold himself raises up a hand to halt your progress.
"Go no further," he commands. "If you have dared ventured into the heart of Sewer Dragon territory it can only be for one reason."
Chief Kibizax peers at the group of you for a moment and then cocks his head slightly to one side, as though puzzled. "Well? Where is my tribute?"
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"Greetings Chief Kibizax," Zithembe says with a formal bow. "What we bring has the potential for greater reward and wealth than any single offering of tribute. We represent the Pathfinder Society from the city above your territory and seek to negotiate a truce or more. Our leaders are wealthy and need access through the tunnels beneath the city, where you have claimed territory and, unfortunately, slain members of our guild. However, rather respond with vengeance, we respect your claim to the tunnels and offer peace. The alternative would assure our guild success, but we believe working together would be more profitable in the long run."
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Maria inspects the potions, giving each a few swirls to check for sediment and coloration, then ending with a sniff.
”Oh nice, neutralize poison and remove curse. Those aren’t common potions.”
She shoves the formula book into her pack and whispers to Hepsubia, ”We can copy anything of interest later.”
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Maria whispers back to Rumble, "The lady Kobold actually convinced the tribe to annex this place, I don't think they had it until she discovered a love for theatre. It was all in the briefing, do you want to read my notes?"
Her hand is on her bow as she waits for the chief's response. Since they haven't been attacked outright, maybe they can talk their way through this?
"Peace? You come offering peace?" Kibizax retorts. The dragon next to him flaps his (or her) wings again and utters a low rumble deep in its throat. "After you have the gall to ignore our warnings to leave? After you attack my subjects?? My own son?? When you surface-dwellers have all the world above as your pathways and your roads!?"
Kibizax shakes his head. "No, your offering of 'peace' is worthless to me! I demand gold, silver, flawless gems! NOW!"
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"Your people fired upon us first without giving such a warning," Parison responds. "We only acted to defend ourselves and even then, we tended to the injuries they sustained. The same with your son. He threatened to kill us, but unlike the other Pathfinder Society agents your tribe has killed, we showed your subjects mercy. They are all alive, including your son, and all are physically healthy and hearty."
While Parison speaks, only the presence of the blue dragon prevents him from stepping forward. "We do not have abundant riches to give you, but the Society offers you not only a chance for you and your subjects to prosper from a mutual alliance, but we will fight with you against any rival kobold tribes as well as other enemies who would seek to wage war against the Sewer Dragons and we could work to ensure that you and your subjected will not be bothered by those who live above you in Absalom. All that we ask is to be able to move things through your territory should the need arise. We might be able to arrange it that in return, the Society would be able to give you the things you ask of us now in return for mutual protection for both sides."
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"If I can get closer, I may be able to cut through his anger," Zithembe says quietly to the others. "However, I would prefer to not be eaten by a dragon."
He removes the cut quartz from his pouch and holds it in his open palm where, in his presence, it begins to glow.
"Very well, great Chief Kibizax, that is how your son Yippitok said that you would respond. If nothing but tribute will do," he slowly approaches, managing to glance over his shoulder for his companions only once.
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"I'll deal with the dragon" Effie says. "At least, if it likes juggling..."
Effie holsters her pistol in her extra-dimensional bandolier and pulls out some glittering balls. She begins juggling, and slowly moves forwards.
"Hey, did you hear about the crazy wizard who tried to breed a dragon turtle? Got his spells the wrong way round and ended up with a crushed turtle instead!"
"Hmph! If you knew that these sewers belong to the Sewer Dragons then you should've expected our patrols and safety measures," Kibizax snorts. "And why would we trust that a group of humans and other surface-walkers means us no harm...when any kobold would be thrown into one of your prisons - or worse - the moment they set claw or scale on your streets?"
The old chieftain shakes his head. "No. You say you spared my son and my subjects. If that is true then I'll give you one last chance to leave this place - and to not return unless you return with a tribute fit for the king of Absalom Below!"
Having studied him closely you get the sinking feeling that there'll be no further negotiations with Kibizax. His continued insistence on receiving tribute in the face of what is surely a better offer (in the long run) is very strange - almost as though the old kobold is slightly off his rocker.
However, things begin to go south as both Zithembe and Effie slowly begin to approach - him with his cut quartz and her with her juggling act. The dragon launches from its perch on the stage and takes to the air while Kibizax angrily leaps to his feet.
"I commanded you to halt - and you defy me!? Then I'll take whatever's on your miserable corpses as my tribute and stake your skulls as a warning to anyone else who dares enter Sewer Dragon territory!"
Please make a Will save. If you beat DC 16, open the spoiler below.
As you attempt to fascinate the dragon with your juggling it doesn't seem to react in the slightest and you suddenly see it for what it is - an illusion!
The dragon looks to be a young blue dragon, judging by its' small (relative to most dragons) size.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
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Dragon
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Rumble
Active Conditions: None
Environmental Conditions: None
Hepsubia, Effie and Parison are UP!
Maria is certain that blue dragons this young haven't yet developed the typical resistance to magic that is common among their kind nor do they have any other resistances to speak of. Much of their defenses tend to come with age.
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"Okay, there's no way I can distract the dragon if we have to fight the chief now. We need to get closer and fan out."
Effie forgets about trying to fascinate the big scary lizard and goes for bolstering the team's courage instead. She lets the glittery balls fall, and pulls her pistol as she advances, tossing the weapon over and over.
Taking advantage of her current placement back behind Rumble and outside of the actual theater to draw out her bow and meld into the shadows. She feels pretty confident that no one can see her now!
Meanwhile Effie and Parison both use their respective talents to bolster the group, realizing that the group probably has a heck of a fight on their hands.
"HAHAHA! NOW YOU WILL SEE THE TRUE MIGHT OF THE SEWER DRAGONS!" Kibizax crows as he takes a few steps forward and begins casting. As the spell concludes a writhing mass of wyrms made out of pure electricity shoots from his hand and races down the aisle, catching Effie, Parison, and even Rumble in its wake! Hepsubia is juuuust far enough back that the lightning doesn't reach her but is still close enough to feel the charge in the air as every hair on her head stands on end.
Oh yeah, that was a Lightning Bolt.
Kibizax then bows as the kobolds in the seats and stands cheer wildly at such a mighty display of power.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
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Dragon
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Rumble
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1/+1
Environmental Conditions: None
Maria and Zithembe are UP!
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Maria jumps back as the kobold electrocutes at least one of her allies, but cheers as Effie backflips over the stream of lightning completely.
The elf waits to see what Zithembe does then darts forward, ducks just barely out of the middle lane and looses an arrow at the dragon.
for
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Zithembe's eyes transform into opals as he strides forward, dropping the prism, which causes its light to wink out, and pulls his sling from his belt. Rumble feels a brief rush of spirits of long past musical conductors, choreographers, and playwrights inspiring their thoughts before the shabti moves too far away.
"Be careful. He may do that again," he cautions the others.
As the lightning races down the aisle Effie manages to see it coming in time to do a truly impressive backflip dodge and it passes harmlessly underneath her. Poor Parison is not so lucky, only having enough time to register the smell of ozone before getting blasted. The shock is powerful, leaving the priest still standing - somehow - but on the verge of collapse!
Zithembe continues to advance on the stage, his connection to the beyond drawing forth the spirits of the theater and those who once performed within it for one last encore.
Meanwhile Maria scoots into the theater proper and ducks behind the back row of seats before taking a potshot at the dragon that's presumably getting ready to circle up and attack. The target is fairly large...but the arrow still misses the mark and sails off into the back.
Please make a DC 16 Will save. If you succeed, open the spoiler below.
As you study the dragon and release your arrow something suddenly clicks - there's nothing actually there. It's an illusion!
Perhaps angered at being shot at - the nerve! - the dragon utters a mighty roar and ascends into the air, circling around towards the north side of the theater.
"YES, MIGHTY ZIBIVAX! UNLEASH THE POWER OF THE TRUE DRAGONS!" Kibizax crows.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
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Dragon
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Rumble
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1/+1
Environmental Conditions: None
Rumble is UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Hepsubia, Effie, Parison are UP at the top of Round 2!
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Rumble barely starts moving his shield up when the lightning strikes him, sending him staggering backwards. There's the lightning trap...
The smell of singed Dwarf begins filling the room. Gritting his teeth, he lumbers up the stairs with his shield raised. "Aye'll 'old off tha dragon an' protect our flank!" he shouts, but it is clear to his allies that there isn't as much strength in his voice as there usually is.
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"Dammit, he got Rumble and Parison!"
Effie tries to keep the party's spirits up. "I know a really great joke about a big lizard" she perks up, glancing over her shoulder at "Zibivax" as she keeps her gun in the air. "But it's really long and I'm afraid it'd just dragon."
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Parison staggers and it takes all of his willpower not to surrender to the welcoming arms of unconsciousness and possibly death. Every part of him feels as if he is burning up on the inside as all of the nerves in his body begin to pulse and twitch uncontrollably.
"Sarenrae," he gasps out, incredulous that he could live despite so much agony coursing through his form. The cleric sways on his feet, feeling the pain start to fade away to numbness. This is what it is like to die, he thinks as his knees start to buckle under him.
Suddenly, he feels a presence, warm and glowing envelop him as the throne room vanishes and with it, his friends, Kibizax and the dragon. A soothing, yet wonderful and comforting calm whose touch was like water to a fevered man, a mother's protective embrace of her child. She was here. He was with his goddess.
A guiding force took hold of him, like a parent holding the arms of their child as they take their first steps. As the pain and awareness of where he was begin to return, he pushed through the motion and spoke the necessary prayer.
"Please bestow your healing touch on me and my friends, my goddess," he implored, letting that presence flow through him and out of him.
Rumble finds himself also caught off-guard by the lightning blast but still manages to come out on the other side in better shape than Parison did. The dwarf quickly calls upon the fervor of Torag to mend his wounds, restoring blackened skin to a rosy pink.
Effie continues to hustle towards the stage, cracking wise and readying her gun. Someone's about to be eating lead!
Not wishing to get fried, Hepsubia also moves into the theater proper and ducks behind some seats. She takes aim and fires, delivering a beautifully-timed shot to the dragon's underbelly!
Except...that's what would've happened, where the dragon real. Instead, as the arrow 'connects'...the dragon disappears entirely! You've been had!
Meanwhile Parison finds himself on the brink of going home to be with his goddess...but his time has not yet come. Instead, he's filled with a sense of love and guidance which allows him to push through the pain and channel a wave of positive energy. Rumble's burns very nearly disappear entirely and the worst of his own close over as well.
Up on stage, Kibizax snaps his clawed fingers as his little illusion is vanquished. "Lucky shot! But I've got many tricks up my sleeves!" The kobold begins casting again...
Whee, Invisibility!
...and vanishes from sight.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
Rumble
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1/+1
Environmental Conditions: None
Maria, Zithembe, Rumble are UP at the bottom of Round 2 and Hepsubia, Effie, Parison are UP at the top of Round 3!
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Hepsubia shrugs at the chief words, listens for footsteps or other clues about the kobold's probable whereabout and simply shoots, confident in the power of chaos, erratic actions, and taking your chance with the odds instead of planning carefully, acting as a team, and boring lawful, sensible, reasonable actions like that.
And I got so much tricks my sleeves fell under their weight.
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Zithembe strides forward, the spirits peeling from his allies in the rear and resuming their attention upon Effie. He makes an guess as to where the chieftain may have gone and whips the sling stone at the location .
"Return and we can still negotiate!" he calls out for the benefit of the crowd more than for the king assessed by Parison to be mad.
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Parison nods at Maria's words as she passes him by. He takes a couple of steps forward, but refrains from drawing a weapon since it would be of no use against a kobold chieftain he can't see nor discern Kibizax's last position.
Very wary of what their wily foe can do and worried that he may have more lightning bolts or other nasty surprises to throw at them, he calls upon Sarenrae once more. "Dawnflower, please continue to aid me with your healing touch," he requests. Parison feels her healing presence build up within him once more and he releases it again, trying to repair the more serious wounds to his body and to make Rumble hale and hearty again.
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"Ah, hell. Here we go again Effie. Rumble? Where are you, battle buddy? I'm not supposed to be in the bad guy's face! How did this happen? Here it comes Effie."
Effie grimaces and runs for the stage, still juggling her pistol.
She easily clears the orchestra pit with an acrobatic tumble, and lands perfectly right in front of the spot that Kibizax vanished. Flames appear upon her head, burning away her scarf and revealing her horns.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!" Effie holds out a hand and a burst of flame appears, shooting towards the 'throne'.
Though Hepsubia isn't too worried about Kibizax's invisibility it's still a very difficult thing to shoot at an invisible target - especially from way back in the back of the theater. The arrow sails off into the back and sticks in a piece of hanging curtain.
Zithembe advances forward, spirits in tow, and takes an educated guess as to where Kibizax is hiding. He whips a sling stone in that general direction, but the stone catches nothing but air and clatters off into the back somewhere.
Maria cautiously advances as well, warning the group to stay spread out and to watch out for any additional tricks that the kobold might have in mind.
Opting to largely hang back for the moment Parison channels another healing burst from Sarenrae; his battle buddy Rumble's wounds mend completely this time and his own largely close up, leaving the priest with only a few minor burns from the lightning bolt.
And deciding to take the dragon by the horns, Effie takes a running leap over the orchestra pit and onto the stage! From her hands a cone of fire billows out, partially burning the 'throne' Kibizax had been sitting on.
But it doesn't look like the flames caught anything else.
On the bright side though, Effie herself also notably does not catch a blade or claw for her troubles.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
Rumble
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1/+1
Environmental Conditions: None
Rumble (bottom of Round 2) is UP!
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Rumble bellows across the theatre to Effie. Not like I could keep up with those long legs of hers! Impolite it is.
Not seeing any obvious means of getting from the stage area into the balcony seats, the Dwarf turns on his heel and ducks behind some seats. "We've gotten ourselves intah ah pickle this time, they've tha superior firepowah ah range," he grumbles to himself.
Rumble expresses some understandable indignation at being scolded by someone with much longer legs than he but does shuffle forward a bit and takes cover behind the seats next to Hepsubia.
Up on the stage, the sound of chanting can be heard and Effie can at least tell that it's coming from somewhere very close by....
It's an Obscuring Mist spell.
...and a thick, misty vapor rises up from the stage, obscuring everything within from sight.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
Rumble
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1/+1
Environmental Conditions: Vapor Cloud (Blue Grid)
Maria, Zithembe, Rumble are UP at the bottom of Round 3 and Hepsubia, Effie, Parison are UP at the top of Round 4!
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With only a few minor wounds, Parison slowly begins making his way through the seats, trying to spread out from the others in case the wily kobold has any more nasty surprises he could hit everyone with at once.
Trying to think of something to do, Parison thinks back on what spells he has prepared for the day that could either help pin down where Kibizax is or disperse the vapors on the stage.
Nothing.
If only there was a way to narrow down where he could be,]the cleric thinks. An idea comes to his mind, an unorthodox one as well as ridiculous, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Hey, Effie," Parison calls out, hoping that perhaps she might pick up on what he's doing and run with it. "Why do you think Kibizax is so angry?" He pauses for a couple of seconds to let the question drift over the theatre before answering himself, deadpan. "It's all the rage."
Parison continues to pick and crawl and clamber his way forward through the rows of seats and as the vapor cloud goes up he laments his inability to be of more help with the situation. That is, until he gets an idea. Taking a page from Effie's book he cracks a joke, hoping to get *SOME* sort of reaction from Kibizax that might give away his position - but nothing happens.
Tough crowd, apparently.
Zithembe and Maria are less worried as they also advance, reasoning that the mist won't last forever and that the kobold cannot hide forever, either.
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Hepsubia
Effie
Parison
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Kibizax
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Maria
Zithembe
Rumble
Active Conditions: Bless, Inspire Courage +1/+1
Environmental Conditions: Difficult Terrain = Seats, Vapor Cloud (Blue Grid)
Rumble is UP at the bottom of Round 3 and Hepsubia, Effie are UP at the top of Round 4!