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Quang Chi kneels in the upper room awaiting the signal. He holds one arrow nocked and ready, and he has propped his quiver upright against the wall for easier and faster access. He settles his breathing, the key to his school's technique. Two beats in, hold for 2 beats, 4 beats out, and hold empty for 2 more beats. As he repeats this breathing cycle, he enters a meditative state and his heartrate drops though he remains fully aware. So aware and attuned that he reacts instantly when Meredith shouts ... someone's name?
Who is this Leroy Jenkins? An old lover or mentor of hers, perhaps? he thinks, before he chases that monkey-thought away and begins firing at the crossbowman in the fancy Orange shoes .
Once you hatch your plan, ready your magics, and get into position Meredith announces her presence by kicking in the door to the chamber with one of the stranger battle cries you've heard. But it does the trick as you catch everyone inside the chamber off guard! Meredith rushes into the room and Denair sneakily flies in after her as Quang Chi fires an arrow at Orange...
...leaving him bloodied right off the bat! Vosk then drops his glitter bomb into the room...
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Vosk
Frankie
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Red
Yellow
Blue
Green
Pink
Orange
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Quang Chi
==============
Twincandles
==============
Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Vosk, Frankie and Zirt + Benedict are UP!
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With Meredith letting all of Golarion know we've arrived, Vosk stuffs a hand into his robes and slings a mighty cloud of glittery dust at the back of the room!
________
Also invisible, Frankie rides along with Denair, ready for anything! Vosk drops his glitter bomb on the four crossbowmen in the middle and leaves all of them but Pink yelping and pawing at their eyes!
Zirt commands Benedict to go for the guys up on the stage before playing a little spoon ditty to grant him a bit of heroism for the task. Benedict has no trouble obeying, moving through the water towards the eastern dais.
______________
Vosk
Frankie
==============
Red
Yellow
Blue
Green
Pink
Orange
==============
Quang Chi
==============
Twincandles
==============
Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Vosk and Frankie are UP!
Vosk continues to yell. A wand slides into his hand and he levels it at one of the crossbowman.
Adding urgency to his words, a swirling vortex of fire emerges from his wand and begins to extend towards the group of men. The big man pretends to barely be able to contain the raw arcane might stored within the tiny piece of wood.
________
Invisible Frankie continues to cling invisibly to the invisible Denair, trying to be stealthy and waiting until the perfect moment to strike...invisibly.
Meanwhile Vosk puts on a surprisingly convincing display of magic and bravado, trying to keep the bowmen focused on the doorway and from realizing that other shenanigans are afoot. And judging from the looks on the faces of the ones that can actually see the display, it seems be working! More than one of the bowmen look to be wishing they'd worn their brown pants today.
Yet they don't back down.
"Ain't n-nobody here named Leeroy! You've made a b-big mistake comin' down here, though!" Red yells. He fires a bolt at Meredith and cries, "May the lightning raze the lands of my enemies, while the tempest churns his ships to flotsam."
As Red speaks one of the phrases you found etched in the hidden room, two things happen. One, the hum and crackle of electricity fills the air as bolts suddenly shoot down from the ceiling, striking the small stepping-stones that litter the room! The second thing that happens is that two translucent creatures, their shapes alternating between spinning columns of water and crashing waves, coming spilling out of the mouth of the bearded face on the southern wall.
These two creatures are medium water elementals.
Though unseen, Denair and Frankie have the misfortune to be hovering over one of the stepping-stones when the lighting strikes...
...and though they remain invisible, it's now fairly obvious to anyone paying attention that something is there.
The two water-things set their sights on a couple of the surprised and startled Twincandles, swinging big, watery fists...
...and giving one of the individuals a sound thrashing and leaving the other collapsed and bleeding out.
Yellow, Blue, and Green all paw at their eyes to try and get rid of the glitter blinding them, but only Yellow manages to succeed, while Pink and Orange also fire at Meredith.
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Vosk
Frankie
==============
Red
Red Water
Blue Water
Yellow
Blue
Green
Pink
Orange
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Quang Chi
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Twincandles
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Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Quang Chi is UP!
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I knew there was some meaning to those phrases. The other one was about the storm sparing those showing humility. Though I do not understand how that would work, Quang Chi thinks as he continues the ranged assault.
Then he realizes that he failed to call upon the strength of the bull. He is humbled as he corrects his error.
Safe his in cubby, Quang Chi continues raining arrows upon the disadvantaged bowmen, swiftly dropping Orange with his first shot before shifting to Pink. Quang Chi's second arrow lodges deep within Pink's ribs, leaving him wide-eyed and swaying on his feet...and then the third arrow puts him down, too.
The one Twincandle who got punched in the face by the Red Water shrieks in pain and fear and flees out of the chamber, shoving past Vosk as he does and dripping blood everywhere. Vosk and Zirt see him race through the elongated chamber they're standing in and out of sight up the stairs. Back in the chamber, the four uninjured Twincandles drop to the ground and cower in fear and the fifth continues to bleed into the surrounding waters.
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Vosk
Frankie
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Red
Red Water
Blue Water
Yellow
Blue
Green
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Quang Chi
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Twincandles
==============
Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Zirt + Benedict, Meredith + Denair are UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Vosk, Frankie are UP at the top of Round 2!
Frankie manages to expertly duck away from the lightning bolt even while clinging to Denair and then turtles up even further, providing a little extra defense to both himself and his eidolon friend!
______________
Vosk
Frankie
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Red
Red Water
Blue Water
Yellow
Blue
Green
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Quang Chi
==============
Twincandles
==============
Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Zirt + Benedict, Meredith + Denair are UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Vosk is UP at the top of Round 2!
Denair can't help but yelp.
But Frankie's wiggling helps out at an opportune time. She quickly twists to safety, evading the bolt altogether.
She continues to fly to the raised platform and drops Frankie on the table.
With that done, Denair materializes as she tries to smash the Red clad archer.
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Meredith sees the plan go off, but there's always something unexpected. She maintains her position, hoping to distract for as long as possible.
Especially when watery wraiths wallop an unarmed person. She keeps her anger in check but swings at the Red one, hoping to draw it away from the conscious person and give them a chance to escape.
"Come on, chumps!"
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Zirt gasps at the bad man's actions, and particularly his disrespect toward the crypt and all the stories and lore that are represented here. With a big frown at him, she strides into the room and stands for a moment, hands on her hips as she glares at the situation. After just a few seconds, her spoons begin rattling even more loudly, pounding rhythmically even as she calls out, "Oh yeah? Well may the storm spare us, 'cuz at least we're humble! Err, I mean... may the storm spare us in our humility!"
She pauses for a few beats, as if to see if anything happens, then continues, "By the way, you should know that you're a terrible shot! And you there — your choice of clothing is absolutely worse than the Great Clothier of Findoo, and everyone knows why he earned that moniker! You really ought to go change clothes right this minute! Imagine what your mother would say if she were here! Just imagine!" Her taunts don't always perfectly match the beat, but the spoons' rhythm seems to act almost as a counterpoint, accentuating her insults and adding a little extra sting.
... the creature is angered by the performance and seeks to harm the prankster. While the prankster maintains the mocking, the target takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and skill checks until it has successfully attacked the prankster with a melee or ranged attack, or has harmed the creature with a spell that deals damage.
The invisible Benedict, meanwhile, continues toward the dais, climbing the stairs and chomping viciously at the red-clothed fellow's leg!
Thanks to Frankie's help and her own quick reflexes Denair is also able to evade the lightning entirely! She quickly flies across the room to the raised dais, gently dropping Frankie off before swinging a mighty fist at Red! Red quite literally never sees it coming and drops like a rock to the eidolon's slam attack.
Back down on the ground, Meredith jabs at the Red Water with her spear, trying to draw its ire away from the unarmed Twincandles. It's a miss but the creature does turn to look at Meredith, so at least she seems to have its attention!
Highly offended by the actions of these jerks with the crossbows Zirt strides into the room, spoons-a-rattling, and, acting on a hunch, calls out the second phrase that you found scrawled in the hidden mouth-room. Instantly the hum of electricity within the room fades and the two water creatures seem to lose interest in the battle, turning back towards the face on the southern wall.
The gnome continues to mock the remaining combatants, focusing her ire on the three remaining bowmen since she gets the feeling the water creatures probably don't understand her. Green and Blue don't seem to pay Zirt any attention - their blindness is probably the more pressing concern - but Yellow's face flushes red and he splutters with anger.
"You little runt! I'll punt you like a ball!"
Meanwhile, Benedict splashes through the water and up the stairs, just managing to get within reach of Green who he chomps with great gusto!
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Vosk
Frankie
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Red Water
Blue Water
Yellow
Blue
Green
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Quang Chi
==============
Twincandles
==============
Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Vosk is UP!
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Ending the charade with a shrug, Vosk drops the wand to the floor, hikes up them hem of his lush (and recently blood-spattered) robes, and delicately tiptoes over to Meredith. Just managing to spare some fingers to take on the burden of his other hand, another wand slides into view and he whisks Meredith from sight.
He then looks longingly at the small bit of clothes that managed to drag in the water and sighs.
________
Deciding to get a bit more hands-on, Vosk gingerly tip-toes through the water to Meredith, whereupon he hides her from sight with the aid of one of his magic wands.
He also recalls that the two water beings are medium-sized water elementals. While they have no notable resistances they have immunities to a number of effects such as bleed, paralysis, poison, sleep, and stunning. They're also unable to be flanked or dealt massive damage or precision damage . Water elementals of this size have the capability to deliver powerful attacks as well as strike multiple opponents in succession .
Last of all, Vosk recalls that water elementals have a number of special attacks and abilities relating to water. Specifically, the ability to put out non-magical flames with a touch, the ability to create water vortexes to trap their foes, and the ability to strike harder and more accurately when both they and their opponents are in contact with water.
The elemental's touch puts out nonmagical flames of Large size or smaller. The creature can dispel magical fire it touches as dispel magic (caster level equals elemental's HD).
A water elemental can create a whirlpool as a standard action, at will. This ability functions identically to the whirlwind special attack, but can only form underwater and cannot leave the water.
A water elemental gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls if both it and its opponent are touching water. If the opponent or the elemental is touching the ground, the elemental takes a –4 penalty on attack and damage rolls. These modifiers apply to bull rush and overrun maneuvers, whether the elemental is initiating or resisting these kinds of attacks.
But it looks like perhaps the elementals will no longer be a problem as both of them enter back into the mouth of the bearded face on the southern wall and vanish.
Yellow, enraged by Zirt's mockery, takes a step away from Denair, raises his crossbow and shoots at the gnome...
...and misses. What a loser! Realizing that they're in trouble, Green and Blue both drop their crossbows and draw out short swords. Blue tries to strike at Denair while Green attempts to get whatever just chowed down on his leg...
...but they miss as well. And they still can't get the dang glitter out of their eyes, either!
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Vosk
Frankie
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Yellow
Blue
Green
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Quang Chi
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Twincandles
==============
Zirt + Benedict
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Quang Chi is UP!
"Hey! No shooting!" Denair swings her arm at the bowman.
Denair tries taking a swipe at Yellow as they fire their crossbow but just barely misses!
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Unable to even see the crossbowman in the northeast corner (he deigns not to call them "archers" as they do not deserve the title for using such weapons), Quang Chi fires at the one wearing the bright tropical Blue aloha shirt. It's an unusual outfit for this part of Varisia, though perhaps he recently returned from vacation.
His musings on warmer climates and friendly women distract him for a moment, and his first shot nearly hits Denair. He quickly refocuses with a silent apology and fires twice more.
Though Quang Chi's first shot is foiled by thoughts of pleasant places and pleasant faces he more than makes up for it with his second and third shots, which finish off Blue and then Green!
And as the Twincandle workers continue to cower in place or underneath the worktables it's pretty apparent which way the battle is going to go at this point, though Yellow seems determined to go down swinging.
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Quang Chi calmly picks up his quiver and slings it over his shoulder as he lets the Mouse replace the Bull once again. He walks purposefully back to where Ylandria and Eun waited with the injured Twincandle.
"You are needed," he says in the way Master Kae would when he expected to be obeyed. "There are others of your people in the chamber below. It is completely safe, and I will escort you, but I would have you speak to them."
He turns to lead them onward without looking back, fully expecting at least one to follow.
While Denair and Benedict and Frankie give the remaining crossbowman a good beatdown Quang Chi goes to fetch Ylandria and/or Eun while Meredith moves to heal the bleeding Twincandle. Luckily, the young man is salvageable. In short order Ylandria appears to collect the rest of her fellows - Quang Chi found the one that had fled cowering back at the entrance - and gives everyone rather effusive handshakes as thanks.
"That's everyone! Well, everyone that matters," she grins. "Terliss and that alchemist chump are probably still lurkin' around somewheres. Give 'em an extra kick or two for me and Eun when you find 'em, alright?"
And then, just as quickly, you find yourselves alone in this strange weather chamber.
Now that you have a better chance to really look at the room from the interior, you realize that this room must serve as a reminder of the dual nature of Gozreh, the Wind and the Waves. Namely the feminine spirit of the sky, wind, and storms and the male embodiment of the sea.
A quick perusal of the fallen crossbowman yields the following:
Smokestick x6
Masterwork Chain Shirt x6
Masterwork Light Crossbow x6
Short Sword x6
Everburning Torch x6
Thieves' Tools x6
Buncha Bolts (117ish or so)
In addition, the worktables here are littered with archaeological finds, art objects, and many other valuables that have likely been accumulated during the recent crime spree, including a set of white jade figurines, an ancient bronze sacrificial dagger studded with chunks of roughly cut obsidian, well-preserved Taldan tapestries, and several darkwood Mwangi masks. A few of these items are even magical - a brooch, an arrow, a candle, and a shield. There's also a pouch of granite and diamond dust.
Vosk grumbles as he delicately maneuvers back to dry land. He takes a moment to clean and dry his clothes. "This little trip of ours is certainly trying my patience," he announces.
Task complete, he takes a look at the equipment Meredith is hemming and hawing over. "Well, certainly you must know that's a shield and that's an arrow," he lectures, entirely unable to leash his smirk. "A Caster's Shield with... Dispel Magic inscribed upon it and, my my, what a specimen of Necromantic magic! A Slaying Arrow for you, dear friend. Hit a rat with it and I'm all but certain it'll implode," he explains, offering the arrow to Quang Chi.
________
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Meredith resists rolling her eyes, thankful she held back long enough to listen to him actually help. "I never really learned how to use shields. I did think about learning once, but, Denair wouldn't learn a lot."
She grabs an everburning torch from the fallen fighter. "Let's see what's going on past here." She approaches the door and waits for Denair and Frankie to take the lead.
Meanwhile, she tries to heal herself.
Once everyone is ready to continue Frankie eagerly sidles up to the door in the western wall and gives it a good, hard look. He's quickly convinced that there aren't any traps on the unlocked door, nor does he hear anything from the other side. And so he carefully edges the door open and peeps inside.
This 15-foot-by-30-foot room is very similar in configuration to the effigy crypt you passed through earlier. Here, however, the stained stone walls conceal actual sepulchers. The heavy stone lids that seal the tombs are each approximately 3 feet square, and etched with the name and rank of some departed sailor. Virtually all of the cells have been unsealed, their lids now lying cracked on the stone floor. Jumbled, crumbling skeletons lie heaped within each cell, recently looted of any valuables. One lid remains intact, on the chamber’s western wall at floor level. It swings open on visible hinges, no longer adequately disguised as a secret door. It leads to a curving passageway scarcely larger than the dimensions of the doorway. Harsh chemical fumes emit from the opened hatch, and the sound of voices and the flicker of movement in front of a light come from the passage beyond...
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Vosk sighs. Again. All four of him press a perfumed handkerchief to his mouth and nose. "Must every sense be assailed this mission? Perhaps I should make a game out of it. A Bingo of sensory suffering," he complains. Now there's a moneymaking scheme! Produce sheets of variable contents, charge a gold for a set of five and sell them to Pathfinders! Bingo, one might even say.
"Frankie, if you wish to scamper forth unseen, I've a spell for you, unless Meredith would rather do the honors," he offers.
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Meredith and Denair fly into the chamber. The acrid stench almost causes her to sneeze. "These tombs are a mess. Someone dug them up but... why?"
She turns to Vosk. "I can make Frankie Invisibility]invisible[/url] again." She grabs her mace and casts Long Arm, causing vines to bulge from her shoulders and intertwine into her arms. "Something tells me we aren't going to end this with a quiet conversation..."
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Tsukiyo, give me strength, Quang Chi prays to the Jade Prince. Not for strength of arms though, but for the strength to stand these barbarians just a little longer. Home beckons more each day, he thinks while trying to understand what Vosk is talking about.
What does the height of a temple have to do with games and bad smells?
He shrugs his shoulders, scratches Benedict behind the ears, and heads into the next crypt. At first he is confused by the sight of Frankie pouring cocoa on the sepulchers, but then he understands what the boy is intending by his act. The kindness of children is the purest form. They give of the little they have and expect nothing in return.
Hearing voices and the talk of preparing for a fight, the monk decides what "buffs" he might do on himself.
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Vosk grabs hold of something in his bag while he casts a spell and floats a few inches off of the ground.
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All of you set about making your preparations and readying to get this show on the road, though some of you are much more quiet about it than others. At last, everyone is ready and in position and Meredith takes the lead as she kicks open the door!
This 30-foot-diameter cylindrical room is carved to resemble the interior of a swirling cyclone of air, although stringy roots, clumps of mold, and thin trickles of mud seeping from cracks in the walls break the dizzying architectural illusion. In the center of the room is a diverse array of glass flasks, plant-rubber tubes, mortars and pestles, and other alchemical ephemera, placed carefully on top of a large stone sarcophagus. Next to this makeshift worktable is a tall wooden barrel topped with a wooden lid.
A swaying lantern hangs from a 20-foot length of rusty chain set into the 30-foot-high ceiling, bathing the tomb in constantly shifting luminance that can be disorienting. A helical stairway, formed out of a plume of cut stone, ascends the interior of the hewn stone cyclone, ending at a balcony twenty feet above the floor. Neither the balcony nor the stairway has railings of any kind. A passageway leading west from the balcony is choked with stone rubble.
Meredith, Denair, and Frankie, being up closest to the front, can also see that the room is unsurprisingly occupied. Standing up on the balcony is a human man, dressed in a mithral shirt with a rapier hanging at his side, and down next to the wooden barrel is what looks to be a stout, bronze-skinned man with glossy onyx horns. While they don't seem surprised to see Meredith kick in the door, neither do they seem especially prepared for your arrival!
"Bah! I was hoping we'd have more time," the man on the balcony seethes.
The horned man must be a tiefling - humans born with some manner of evil outsider blood in their ancestry, such as a demon or devil.
______________
Frankie
Zirt + Benedict
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Horned Man
Blue Dude
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Vosk
Quang Chi
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Frankie and Zirt + Benedict are UP!
Frankie hoofs it into the chamber as fast as his little invisible legs will carry him. It's risky but he's gotta make room for the others to move up, after all!
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Frankie
Zirt + Benedict
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Horned Man
Blue Dude
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Vosk
Quang Chi
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions:
Environmental Conditions:
Zirt + Benedict are UP!
"Hah! Fools for the slaughter," the horned man laughs, a slightly crazed look in his eyes. He hesitates just long enough for his Blue companion up on the balcony to pull out a wand and give it a flourish, which seems to considerably speed up their movements.
Seems like they're now benefiting from Haste.
Immediately after, the horned man gives the barrel standing next to him a good, solid kick, knocking it over and spilling some manner of alchemical waste all over the floor. It forms a fairly large puddle, sizzling and hissing ominously, and begins to give off a foul-smelling smoke that fills part of the room and rises to a height of 20 feet, concealing him from sight!
______________
Frankie
Zirt + Benedict
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Blue Dude
Horned Man
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Vosk
Quang Chi
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions: Obscuring Mist (Green Grid)
Environmental Conditions:
Vosk, Quang Chi, Meredith + Denair are UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Frankie, Zirt + Benedict are UP at the top of Round 2!
Meredith and Denair beat feet up the stairs, albeit Denair has a slightly easier time as she's able to simply sail over all of your heads!
______________
Frankie
Zirt + Benedict
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Blue Dude
Horned Man
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Vosk
Quang Chi
Meredith + Denair
Active Conditions: Obscuring Mist (Green Grid)
Environmental Conditions:
Vosk, Quang Chi are UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Frankie, Zirt + Benedict are UP at the top of Round 2!