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D'lack decides to use his magic to stop the werebat, his ability to hit something being quite unimpressibe to this date.
He moves to be able to catch only the creature in his spell, letting Dunkel manage to take care of the last demon.
Once in place, he casts color spray.
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Dunkel gives a satisfied nod to the decapitated demon and takes a couple steps working to gauge how Doubtful is doing in his wrestling endeavors.
"Right there Doubtful. Hold 't... t's givin' meh ah memory o' a particularly stubborn chunk o' granite ah once 'ad t' deal with!"
for
HP: 42/55 (50 max;no temp); AC: 14 (T10/FF14)
F: +8*, R: +2*, W: +4* (+2 vs poisons, spells, SLAs)
Telekinetic Fist (1d4+1) Uses Left: 5/5
Cure Light Wand Charges Left: 34/50
Mage Armor Wand Charges Left: 40/50
Cold Iron Arrows Left: 50/50
Spells (CL 5th; concentration +7)
1st — [ ] burning hands (DC 14), [X] enlarge person (DC 13), [ ] expeditious, [ ] feather fall, [ ] shield
2nd - [ ] false life, [ ] resist energy, [ ] see invisibility, [X] spider climb
Stats above reflect mage armor is active
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The werebat goes limp in Doubtful's arms with the first arrow. The second strikes the bat-demon, but the power that allowed the arrows to work so well against the werebat do not have the same effect on the batlike creatures.
Screaming in rage, the last demon dives at Wyatt, biting him with razor teeth.
The party may act.
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Doubtful is torn, unsure whether to let the unconscious creature go or not as he's reasonably certain that it will start regenerating any moment now.
He's not sure if he should try to stop the thing from bleeding out, nor if he wants to get its blood on him either way.
"Probably already infected." He concludes finally, and tries anyway.
He then pulls out his staff, prepared to beat on it should it start moving again.
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Mega-Dunkel shambles over, trying to time the bat demon's dives to ensure his axe strikes at the right point.
for
"Ready... swing... ach, damn wily buggers!"
HP: 42/55 (50 max;no temp); AC: 14 (T10/FF14)
F: +8*, R: +2*, W: +4* (+2 vs poisons, spells, SLAs)
Telekinetic Fist (1d4+1) Uses Left: 5/5
Cure Light Wand Charges Left: 34/50
Mage Armor Wand Charges Left: 40/50
Cold Iron Arrows Left: 50/50
Spells (CL 5th; concentration +7)
1st — [ ] burning hands (DC 14), [X] enlarge person (DC 13), [ ] expeditious, [ ] feather fall, [ ] shield
2nd - [ ] false life, [ ] resist energy, [ ] see invisibility, [X] spider climb
Stats above reflect mage armor is active
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The last demon shrivels, but the sinister whispering continues. Releasing the Ekujae from the altar and cage. Beaten and exhausted, they are extremely grateful. One offers a pair of fine emerald earrings.
One will explain, "That creature was once Kaghaze, the leader of our scouting patrol. We were pursuing a mobat. We followed it to the edge of the forbidden area, and Kaghaze persuaded us to overcome the taboo and cross the border."
"We cornered the bat in this chamber, but it took Koros and killed her upon the altar. That voice screamed, and Kaghaze was transformed into that...thing. He's been sacrificing us on the altar one by one, and each time the voice grows louder."
Kaghaze wore magical leather armor, a magical longbow made of an exotic sort of wood, different from the yellowheart, an assortment of mundane arrows, and a magical cloak.
What do you want to do with the werebat?
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Once it seems like the bat-creature is not going to be causing further trouble in the immediate future, Doubtful will go over to Imrana, pulling out one of the potions they found a few days prior at the Aspis camp.
He kneels down and starts to feed it to her, but stops himself, a suspicious look on his face. He unstops it, and sniffs it a few times, as if not sure it does what he thinks it does.
After a while, he scowls, and starts to feed it to her again. Then stops himself again.
With one finger, you see him push back her lips, as if examining her teeth, making sure they haven't grown fangs when no one was looking ... or worse.
Finally satisfied... or at least with no further issues nagging... he carefully has her drink the potion.
He then quickly steps back, staff at the ready, in case he was wrong.
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When the freed elves start talking about mobats, Doubtful starts peering around suspiciously when nowhere in said story do they ever mention killing it.
"So where is it now?" He asks with a worried scowl, even though he has no idea what a mobat is.
"Is it you!?" He adds, pointing his staff at the elf that was on the altar.
Eventually, he will back off, sure that one of them is probably this mobat thing, waiting to ambush someone. Or perhaps all of them...
------
"You wanna destroy that?" He says, with a frown, looking at the blood-stained altar. "Sounds like a job for a Diggerson."
"Though can't imagine much good will come of that." He adds gloomily.
"Pit there's full of bodies, they need to come out?"
"Probably full of disease too." He adds unhappily.
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It sounds like people want to destroy the altar. To go about that, anyone who can at least sometimes do 9 points of melee damage can contribute. Don't bother rolling damage, you'll just have to pound on it a bit.
The elves are extremely thankful for the offer to recover the bodies, so that they can be interred properly, and explain that the mobat was also sacrificed by Kaghaze.
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Dunkel eyes the altar for a moment.
"Looks jess like a normal bit o' stone... not e'en granite... ah got th' right tool fer th' job!"
Rummaging around himself, Dunkel unstraps a pick and gets to work, taking advantage of the fact that he's still Mega-Dunkel.
"Ye know, this super sizin' may come 'n handy for n' accelerated diggin' job..."
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"Mobats are supernaturally powerful bats. They have all the predatory cunning of a hunter, but with an intellect that almost matches that of a man."
Dunkel pummels the altar until it shatters into thousands of pieces. The whispering voice immediately ends, and the werebat convulses, arching his back as he transforms back into an Ekujae elf.
The elves, with Fola Barun's assistance, gather the bones Doubtful recovers, and wrap them in bundles made from the leaves of local trees, insisting on carrying them home personally.
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Exploration of the room reveals several collapsed passages that have been sealed with many tons of rock. For now, the question of whether they can be cleared and further investigation of the cave system can be done will have to wait.
Elder Kalwe meets with you, Fola, and the rescued Ekujae. She listens patiently to the stories of what transpired. Afterward, she sits silently for a few minutes before replying.
“What you say is troubling in many ways. Some of our stories spoke of the evil in Dehu Inu, but not of its nature. That an Ekujae’s spirit could become so corrupted so quickly and completely by this bat-god makes me wonder what other secrets our long-held stories may contain. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done, and the respect you have shown to our people and our customs. I will spread word of your deeds. Perhaps we Ekujae may find that we have room for friendship with your Pathfinder Society. Please join us for a ceremony tonight.”
Those who accept get to participate in a celebration with the villagers, including the rescued prisoners and the still-recovering Kaghaze. Elder Kalwe paints your face in the Ekujae style. Both she and Fola add special marks representing gratitude for rescuing Kaghaze, Koros, and the other captives.
Later in the evening, Fola approaches you.
"I would like to help the budding relationship between our peoples bloom. The elders have given me permission to return to Nantambu with you, if you don't object, to visit your lodge to learn more about your Society. While we will always be reluctant to share our own history, there is much about the region's broader history, cultures, and environment that I can share."