GM Ladile & the Pathfinder Society Present: The Night March of Kalkamedes (Table A) (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

Does Denair open the door?

"Being muscular isn't a great strength for me, but I'll give it a try," Marcel says as he tries his luck with the door.

Strength (Guidance): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

The blonde-haired ranger tries to open the door. Muscle cords stand out on his neck and arms as he tries in vain to gain entrance to whatever lies beyond. But all the pushing, pulling, man-grunts, and sweat have no effect on the door and he finally sinks to his knees, exhausted. The door hasn't budged an inch and if it was sentient, you could almost swear you heard it horse-laughing at Marcel's feeble attempt to move it.

Is there anything on the doors to attach a rope to so they can be pulled open? IE: Tie a rope to and back off the dais and pull from there?

Even with now knowing the trick to getting the door open, it takes the group several tries to finally, finally pull them open. With a loud groaning sound, the iron doors open outward and reveal yet another, wider corridor that runs for roughly 50 feet before ending at what appears to be an open shaft with a cage shaped like a demon's head hanging in the center of it. A small, narrow walkway leads out to the cage.

As you ponder this, you all also wonder if maybe Luurg's idea for getting the doors open in the first place might have been easier in the long run. A mystery for the ages.
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Map updated!

Denair hops off the dais to regain her strength, and then to catch her breath. Her poor muscles!

Once she has recovered, she looks down the corridor and begins sneaking towards the demon cage, keeping an eye out for traps and ambushes. If something is in here, it must have been here for a while...

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18
Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (8) + 14 = 22

Marcel moves down the corridor after Denair, watching for danger or anything out of the ordinary.

"Going to be a little hard for anyone trying to hide from us in here," he whispers.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Denair and Marcel resume their scouting duties while the rest of the group waits just on the other side of the iron doors, blessedly free from the strange effects of the dais. Marcel's words about the feasibility of hiding anywhere prove accurate as neither he nor Denair find any signs of hidden foes, traps, or other oddities in the corridor. They carefully make their way to the far end of the corridor, stopping just short of the small walkway.

Suspended by thick chains, a massive metal cage shaped like a demon’s head hangs over the dark shaft, no bottom in sight. The cage’s door—by all appearances a menacing maw, filled with incisor-like fangs—hangs open. A small console on the north edge of the bridge bears a single lever.

When given the all-clear, Meredith walks up the corridor. "Unseen Servant, enter the cage." A bit paranoid, Meredith makes sure it isn't obviously a trap.

"Alright, I guess this an elevator. Kalkamedes wants to go downstairs, yeah? Let's get in and pull that lever."

Luurg looks down the hall, wrestling with the rope leash "You sure its ready fer me to let dis mang go? Mebe ask dat talkin sword?"

Luurg lugs on the leash a bit, making sure the others are ready before releasing the Krak.. Kalkamedes. CMB: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

"I don't think we want to let Kalkamedes go in there by himself. How many of us do you think we could fit in that thing?"

Malusha looks down the shaft in a futile effort to see the bottom.

"Good idea Luurg. Let's ask the sword."

"I am glad Thunder is not the widest of axebeaks, she has got quite a narrow frame actually." Yarricki says when she sees the elevator.

Serge focuses, shutting his eyes as he scans for the presence of evil in the demonic cage or its associated lever. Detect Evil

"I do not like the idea of entering a demon-shaped cage leading into a bottomless pit, friends. Gamin, do you know anything about this? Has Kalkamedes ever been this far in?" He asks the sword.

"I don't believe Gamin would know. He always said Kalkamedes never took him with him when he started sleepwalking," Marcel chimes in before looking around at the group.

"I'll volunteer to go down in this cage if someone wants to pull that lever," he says, pointing at it. "If something bad is waiting, the only person that will get hurt is me. Maybe I'll have time to yell out a warning, too."

Marcel readies his bow and steps through the cage door.

"No no Marcel mang. Luurg tough. Luurg go down wid you. Zerge, take dis guy till we get back ok?" He hands the leash off to Serge and goes with Marcel into the death trap after getting a close look at it.

Perception + Heroism: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 2 = 17

Fairly convinced that at least the corridor is safe, the rest of you move to catch up with Denair and Marcel. Understandably paranoid cautious at this point, Meredith sends her Unseen Servant into the cage - which thankfully doesn't crash to the bottom or blow up like she'd thought it might.

When Luurg and Malusha suggest consulting Gamin about their safety concerns, the sword sighs. "Lads, ye gots about as much of a clue as I do. Like yer scoutin' man said, Kalk's never taken me with him when he's gone on these nightly constitutionals. But what I ken tell ye be that neither one of us ever found this place durin' our own scoutin' trips in tha daytime." Gamin is silent for a moment and then adds, "Of course if thar's a fancy 'chantment on tha place ta hide it then it's nae wonder we never found it durin' tha day anyway."

Wanting to make absolutely sure that nothing sinister lies in store for anyone braving the cage, Serge focuses his attentions on it and allows the divine power of Ragatheil flow through him. He detects no evil auras surrounding the cage. Luurg also gives it a good once-over and finds no sign of traps or other shenanigans. It seems that in spite of the rather horrific choice of motif, the cage really is just a cage.

As assured as they can get that the cage is safe, both Marcel and Luurg then boldly step inside. The cage is actually quite sturdy and now that they have a better look, they can see that it would easily hold at least two more people if anyone else wished to step inside. Meredith notes that the nearby lever mechanism has three positions and that it currently sits in the middle position. The lever can be moved up or down.
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The cage can hold up to 4 medium-sized creatures...or one Thunder with a Yarricki on her back or one Thunder + Yarricki and maybe one or two others if people don't mind a tight squeeze :3

"Alright. How about one more of you get on? Malusha? I'll move the lever to the up position and we can see what happens."

Malusha looks tentatively at the cage but then after an internal struggle nods at Meredith. "Yes, I'll go too." He steps into the cage and squeezes towards the back. He chuckles nervously. "I don't often step willingly into the mouth of a demon."

Serge looks at the cage and its latest inhabitants with concern. "While I do not like the idea of you descending into that pit without me, I must keep Kalkamedes safe and secured. Perhaps we can lower it slowly and raise it back up at the first sign of danger. That is, if it does not just free-fall upon using the lever."

Willingly stepping into the mouth of a demon... I cannot envision any positive outcome here. Ragathiel, guide them.

"I think it best if Thunder and I wait for a second lift. We can take care of Kalkamedes so we have a strong force in the lift"

"Yeah, Denair and I will stay behind. I can dismiss Denair if it gets too crowded in there." Meredith hasn't really thought about it, but she doesn't like dismissing Denair unless she absolutely has to.

Yarricki, Thunder, Meredith and Kalkamedes will wait down here.
Serge, Malusha, Luurg and Marcel enter the cage and I pull the lever to the up position. Did I forget anyone?

That looks correct except I think Serge is staying with Meredith & Co. for the moment.

With Marcel, Malusha, and Luurg willing to brave the cage, the group takes a collective breath as Meredith reaches out and pulls the lever to the 'up' position. The cage closes its 'mouth' and moves...nowhere, since it's already positioned at the top of the shaft. Moving the lever to the lowest position causes the cage to descend down the shaft. To the surprise of the three inside the cage, the ride is actually quite smooth and you marvel at just how well the entire mechanism has held up over the centuries and perhaps millenia since it was built. The cage descends down...down...down...for nearly 200 feet, before finally coming to a gentle stop at the bottom. As the cage door opens, you can see a small tunnel stretching away to the south and another lever identical to the one at the top positioned along the eastern wall.
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Map updated slightly!

Marcel nocks his bow and takes a look down the tunnel, ready in case anything hostile should approach and then looks to Luurg and Malusha. "I'll keep an eye on the corridor," he says. "Looks like that lever there would send the cage back up. If one of you wants to do that, everyone else can get down here with us."

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

"Well? What do you see down there?!" Serge yells into the pit with concern, his voice bouncing along the chamber.

"Huh, that's outside of my message spell's range. It must be really deep, down there..." Meredith worries. "Serge, Yarricki. Thunder. I'll... ugh. I'll dismiss Denair so the Unseen Servant can come with us when the cage comes back up."

"Denair, I'll summon you right back, I promise. I don't want you to get hurt when we go far, alright?" She looks upon the fey with a bit of concern in her voice. As much as Meredith didn't like admitting it, separating from Denair feels like tearing off a fingernail. Not lifethreatening, but not pleasant either.

"Yes. I'll get the lever. Let's get the rest of the group down here." Malusha hears Serge's voice echoing down the shaft and he shouts back up. "There's a tunnel here. I'm sending the cage back up. Can you all come down?"

Malusha pushes the lever into the up position.

"You speak to your pet with such care, Meredith. I am certain she knows that this is only temporary, and she will be summoned back with haste." Serge then walks into the demon cage, thoroughly shuddering, and waits for the others to board.

Meredith mumbles "She's not a... not a pet." not really turning in Serge's direction.

Denair stands upright and grins. "Like Serge said, I'll be back in a bit. Hurry up and get down there. Maybe you can buy a scroll to get around this?" Denair waits by the elevator. Now, if she can care about everyone else the way she cares about me, we'll have our queen back, woo!

When it's time to head down, Meredith calms down, enters the elevator and snaps her fingers. Denair lays down and she begins to whiter away. Fur, leaves and bark are blown back by an imperceptible wind, leaving behind a rose that wilts away. Meredith picks the roses off of her head as they too crumble into dust.

With a bit of shuffling around, the rest of the group makes the trip down to the bottom of the shaft in the elevator. Marcel keeps his eyes on the tunnel leading south, but nothing approaches in spite of all the noise of the group yelling back and forth.1 To everyone's surprise, Kalkamedes walks into the elevator and stops as if waiting for someone to pull the lever - as if, on some level, he knows that's what he needs to do. Once down the at the bottom you all take a moment to recollect yourself and Serge passes the leash back to Luurg, as Sleepwaking Beauty is back to his usual antics of attempting to plow right ahead. After Denair is summoned back, the group readies and then presses on down the small tunnel with Marcel and the eidolon taking the lead once more.

The small southern tunnel runs only 15 or 20 feet before opening up into a large cavern. Palm-sized shards of jagged steel jut from halfway up the walls of this large cavern, bathing the cavern with a dark green light. A set of natural rock columns support the chamber’s ceiling, which rises to a height of twenty feet. A small tunnel leads to the northeast, back the way you came, and several rounded alcoves branch off from the main cavern.

Immediately upon reaching this large cavern, Kalkamedes begins pulling and straining at his leash as he tries to make his way towards the southwestern alcove. Meanwhile, from your position you can see into the alcove directly to the south. This circular alcove buds off from the larger cavern to the north. An elaborate set of concentric circles inscribed in dull metal of different colors occupies much of the space within the room. Within the circle sits a gnome dressed in threadbare clothes and sporting an unkempt mane of fuschia-colored hair. Upon seeing you, he cries out,

"H-hey! You there! Oh thank goodness, I thought I'd never see another living face again! Please, you've got to help me get out of here!"
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Map updated!

Not sure if this is a retroactive roll or not, but I'll attempt it

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

"Interesting," he pipes up as he and Denair lead the way in. "This is not a natural cavern. Look at all of the different claw marks on the walls and ceiling. Looks like a lot of things worked together to shape this room."

Marcel comes to a halt as he sees the fuschia haired gnome inside the circle and hears his pleas for help. Seeing no obvious barriers that would prevent the gnome from just walking to the group, he scratches his head in bewilderment.

"Doesn't look like there's anything preventing you from walking to us," he says to the gnome. "Are you stuck? And also, who are you?"

I'm going on the fact there's nothing obvious that I can see that would keep the gnome from just walking over. Correct me if I'm wrong about this.

As soon as they get back, Meredith focuses inward. A trio of roses sprout upon her forehead as a triple of roses burst from the ground. Fur, bark and leaves grow from beneath them until Denair is back. "See? I'm back!"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
"Oh no! He's been stuck here forever! We gotta get him out!"

Meredith pets Denair as soon as she's back.

Sense Motive, Guidance: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
"It takes two to operate the elevator, remember Mercel? Even if he got in the elevator, no one would be able to bring him up. Hey, what's your name? We'll be right there." Meredith tries to put the Gnome's mind at ease.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

She turns to the Unseen Servant. "Walk up to the Gnome and stop if you hit some kind of barrier."

With concern washing over his face, Serge yells back down the hallway. "Are you alright? How did you get here anyway? Please, allow us to assist at once." He follows the Unseen Servant, never one to completely ignore a plea for help. Serge would sooner walk right into a dangerous trap than risk anything happen to someone in need.

Luurg takes the leash once again and stands there with his 'pet' while he looks at the walls, nodding in agreement with Marcel Take 10 Perception, 20.

After they start off Luurg tightens his grip on the rope just in case CMB + Heroism: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 2 = 23, causing Kalkamedes to futilely spin his tires. "Hold on mang, we goin, we goin already!" He lets the man lead him down the tunnel, stopping as they see the Gnome, Luurg gets a funny look as he scratches his belly with one hand and holds the leash in the other. Perception: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 2 = 17

Kalkamedes jerks the leash towards a different alcove, sans gnome CMB: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28 but Luurg isn't having it. "Hey dare guys... dis fella wants to head down dare, not dis half man. Whatcha want me to do?" The smell of burning boot tread is starting to hit your noses.

Malusha looks around curiously at the cavern and what he can see of the alcoves. The gnome puzzles him. "I've you've been down here for so long, how have you surived? Where have you gotten food and water? And where is the evidence of your living here? I mean, well, uh, you know, bodily functions." Malusha tries to sound neutral asking the gnome these questions but he can't quite avoid some awkwardness.

Malusha turns to Luurg. "I think we should find out a little more about the gnome. We don't want to go into one of those alcoves and then get trapped."

"Oh my, how long have you been trapped down here?"

Yarricki asks while she leads Thunder into the room "It must have been dreadfull"

As the party members speak to the trapped gnome, Marcel moves over to Luurg and Kalkamedes. Seeing that the sleepwalking man is trying to move past the gnome to another area, Marcel takes a peek in that direction to see if there's anything in the direction Kalkamedes is trying to go.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

"Just want to make sure nothing's trying to come in the direction Kalkamedes is trying to go," Marcel says to Luurg as he ambles to a stop next to Kalkamedes.

"Yes, I've been stuck here for years and years, positively a lifetime," the gnome calls, plaintively. "I'm Koth'Vaul and I was trapped here centuries ago by a group known as the Thrallkeepers," he explains. "They bound me here in their Black Edifice to power their magics with my fey essence! And even though they're long dead their binding spells keep me trapped here, keep me young!" As if to prove his point, Meredith's Unseen Servant seems to easily cross into the circle with no ill effects.

The little gnome reaches out a hand, imploringly. "All I want is to be free of this place, so I can taste the fresh air again. And maybe once I'm free of their foul magics the power of time will catch up with me at long last and I'll be able to leave this shell as well and return to the First World where I came from so long ago."

While the group listens to and considers the gnome's extraordinary tale, Marcel decides to take a moment to peek into the southwestern alcove to see what might be spurring Kalkamedes' subconscious. The inside of this alcove looks quite similar to the one in which Koth'Vaul is trapped. Faintly glowing lines trace the platform’s floor in concentric rings in this alcove. Within the circle lies a beautiful elven warrior-woman; she seems to be gravely injured and unconscious.

Noticing that Marcel's attention seems to be drawn towards the second alcove, Koth'Vaul calls out, "You, friend human! Is...is she there? My sister?"

"Do you know how we can free you? And do you have any idea why this human is drawn here in his sleep?" Yarricki points to the still sleeping Kalkamedes

"There's an elven woman over here! And she's hurt badly! Maybe she's who Kalkamedes is trying to get to!" Marcel exclaims.

Marcel moves toward the fallen lady in the second alcove, trying to get an extent of how badly hurt she is.

Heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

"Him? Why..." the gnome stares at the straining man for a moment and then his eyes widen in recognition. "...Johanis! No...not Johanis, but...but the very likeness, just the same!" he exclaims.

"Johanis was my friend, a human adventurer that me and my sister traveled with long, long ago, before I was imprisoned here," Koth'Vaul quickly explains. "When the Thrallkeepers came for us, he was the only one to escape - but he swore that he'd find us and rescue us or send trusted allies to do it." He stares at Kalkamedes, fascinated. "He must be the descendant of the friend I had so long ago, surely here to answer his ancestor's call ten generations later!"

"Ancient gnomes, elven lasses in danger, me man Kalk bein' called on some kinda ancient family promise?" Gamin suddenly exclaims, having been listening intently to the conversation. "This's all gettin' too complicated for poor ol' Gamin ta keep up with!"

As Marcel cries out aboout the elven woman, Koth'Vaul calls out, "W-Wait a moment! You speak of my sister - my adopted sister, Sulianna! She's hurt, you say? If you free me, I might be able to heal her with my magic!"

"Okay, let's work on freeing them." Meredith looks around for clues.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

Denair's Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

As the Gnome speaks of his healing magic, Luurg looks his way "I gut healin stuff too little mang. You just wait yer turn, we be goin to help Elf lady first, we be back fer you."

With that he loosens his grip on the leash to let Kalkamedes head towards the lass he must be seein in his dreams. "Easy now mang, dis ain't no dream so nuttin' below da belt!" He warns Kalkamedes as he heads towards the woman.

Meredith also scans for magical auras, and summons the Unseen Servant to approach the woman.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 = 9

Yeesh.

Everything seems to be ordinary to her. They concealed this magic well.

Serge can't understand what's going on, let alone accept that these two have been down here for so long. Regardless, he rushes over to the elf, pulling out his waterskin from his pack and kneeling before her. "You work on freeing Koth'vaul. I will see what I can do about the elf's wounds."

He lays two glowing palms on her head, channeling Ragathiel's divine energy into her.

LoH: 1d6 ⇒ 6

"Yes, you are right, it is time to act!" Yarricki shouts while she casts detect magic to see what magics prevent the other gnome from escaping.

Alrighty, several things happening at once here >:D

Meredith, Denair, and Yarricki turn their attentions to finding a way to free the trapped gnome and begin to look around the circle, examining it for magical auras or other anomalies that might shed some light on removing it. In the meantime, Meredith sends her Unseen Servant towards the other alcove to test the circle surrounding the elven woman for barriers.

Marcel and Serge both immediately rush to the elven woman's side. While Serge uses the holy power of Ragathiel to mend some of her wounds, Marcel quickly examines her for clues as to her condition. Although she appears to be stable, Marcel is shocked to find a wide array of injuries - vicious claw marks, bite wounds, and burns. And though Serge's healing magic mends a few of these injuries, it isn't enough to bring her around to consciousness.

Also deciding that the woman - and Kalkamedes' insistence on reaching her - trumps Koth'Vaul's current predicament, Luurg allows the leash holding the sleepwalker to go slack. Kalkamedes immediately begins to head towards the southwestern alcove and Luurg follows along behind him.

Despite Meredith and Yarricki turning their attention to freeing him, Koth'Vaul's face contorts with anger as Serge, Luurg, and Kalkamedes move to assist the elven woman.

"So you'll not heed my words, then? Very well," he hisses, anger and a cunning malevolence shining in his eyes. "Illvaster! Come and dispose of these pitiful creatures!"

From the pool of water to the northwest, a great churning and rattling sound is heard as a large, black-scaled creature emerges from within. Following behind, what look like three tiny, grasping hands also skitter out of the pool!

"Slay them all, starting with the tin can and the bowman!" the gnome cries.
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Round 1

Yarricki + Thunder
Malusha
=======
Hands
=======
Luurg
Serge
Marcel
Meredith
Denair
=======
Illvaster

Active Conditions: None

Yarricki + Thunder and Malusha are UP!
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I tried to place everyone roughly where their posts indicated they would be. Also, please remind me if you've still got any buffs and the like running so I can account for them!

"Wait, what?" Denair is startled and backs up a bit. "Boss, look out!"

Denair's Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

She scans around the room. "Uh, what's with the small band on the creature's left horn? Is that important?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
What is going on here? Now the boss will be suspicious again...

"Guys, something isn't right. His story doesn't line up. The Thrallkeepers were..." Malusha is interrupted by the gnome's outburst and the creatures coming out of the water.

Knowledge(religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Knowledge(arcana): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Resistances and special attacks on the Crawling Hands please

Malusha looks in shock at the creatures. "Not good!" He locates his wand of bless and casts the spell on the group.

Malusha recognizes the hands as necrotic crawling hands, undead constructs capable of zeroing in on a target with uncanny accuracy. In particular, they often attempt to grab their foes by the throat when they attack and cut off their air - especially dangerous against those who need air to cast their spells. Undead Traits, plus they have a Grab attack and can Strangle a grabbed foe. They can also Mark Quarry which gives them bonuses against a particular target until that target is slain.

Reacting quickly, he draws his wand and uses it to Bless everyone within reach except for Marcel and Serge, who are too far away to benefit.
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Round 1

Yarricki + Thunder
Malusha
=======
Hands
=======
Luurg
Serge
Marcel
Meredith
Denair
=======
Illvaster

Active Conditions: Bless (sans Marcel + Serge)

Yarricki + Thunder are UP!
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@Denair - I'm not sure who or what you're directing the Sense Motive check against? :)

I'm wondering what the Black flying thing's mood is. Something about that band around its horn intrigues her. Maybe it's not a mindless bloodthirsty beast? Too many people think Denair is a dumb fox tree, you see...