Krysta enjoyed a good rest and was more than ready to proceed the following morning. As they made their way out of the place she started to feel like it was going far too easy when the ambush happened. There was a flash of lightning that startled her just as the trolls appeared and before she knew it they were under attack.
Recovering her wits Krysta was quite happy to see the foolishness fo the trolls, bunching together when there was a dragon around. She took in a deep breath and began to vibrate as the familiar sound of her sonic roar came forth and slammed into the pair of trolls.
That accomplished she then stepped forward getting intot eh face of the closest troll.
Elisai switches to her Champion Spirit, moving and drawing her greatsword in a single swift movement and she tries to take down one of the remaining trolls
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Drawing her carnelian wand, Yavenee moves to the downed trolls and sends a wave of flame washing over the bodies.
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Krysta blasts both trolls were sonic blast, causing them to hold their hands to their ears. Sunday and Delendir followed up directly with numerous shots that left the creatures all but toppling to the the ground. Elisai misses the blinded beast and Yavenee's "flames" were more like a lit match, but fire is fire and does the trick and takes them both to the ground.
With the corpses of the trolls burned, the party searches the chamber and locates a small treasure cache that consists of a cracked emerald worth 400
gp, a bent gold comb that looks like a behir (with its legs comprising the comb's teeth) with tiny pearls for eyes worth 850 gp, and a pair of lacy pink gloves.
These lightweight gloves are actually gloves of swimming and climbing.
With that, the exploration of Skull's Crossing is complete. You've successfully purged all troll and ogre presence from this location and released the water from the damage, preventing the town from being flooded and thus completing your objectives.
It hasn't stopped raining however, nor have you found your escaped lamia matriarch.
You make the trip back to town to inform them of your accomplishments and receive word that Jakardros would like to speak with you at Fort Rannick when you have the time. Since it is late in the evening when you return back to Turtleback Ferry, you decide to stay the night and leave in the morning.
While the group traces back to town, Delendir checks the defeated ogres and collects any valuables and weaponry of masterwork quality or better "This was a hard work. I am starting to understand why the Lord Mayor gave us that pile of coin for the work"
Letting Ghina come to his shoulder, the half-elf makes the way back to town with a grim humor due to the tiresome of the trip "This part of the land is just too rainy. I do not know how they do deal with this"
Once at Turtleback Ferry the ranger looks for a warm foyer "I need something strong to come back to my toes. Are you up for a real drink Daud?"
Before the group heads back to check with Jakardros, Delendir attempts to find a buyer at town able to buy most of the spoils of war the party has made fighting the ogres and trolls.
"Maybe they like the rain?" Sunday absentmindedly muses as they head back
"Always." Sunday replies when Delendir mentions alcohol.
The pair heads to the inn to get some of the "strong stuff" to wash away the last few days troubling efforts. The discussion of rain does come up and the bartender remarks "It's NEVER been this rainy before. I'm not sure who pissed off the Gods, but this is the most rain we've ever had that I can recall. It's like it's never going to stop!"
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In the morning, Elisai's door is open, bed made, and a letter placed on the bed addressed to everyone.
Hello Everyone. You will need to forgive me, that I didn't tell you all my preparations, but I felt I had to make this decision on my own, and I wasn't sure how you would all react.
I'm writing this letter, as a farewell, of sorts, although with good fortune, I may see you soon. I never told you this, but I did want a life after this task of ours, I wanted to be free, and happy."
"With the release of the pit fiend, I feel that this is no longer much of an option. It distracts me, leaves me always looking over my shoulder. Not only does it prevent all of us from moving on, its also a risk to our task, for we never know when it might appear to spoil our mission. I don't think delaying our mission is a good idea, so I'm splitting off, and I'm going to try and hunt this pit fiend down myself, hopefully with some allies along the way. It will be a large task, but if I succeed I can remove a potential obstacle to our futures. Currently, it is our fault that it was unleashed on the world, and I will take responsibility to clean it up. If good fortune permits, and I can successfully vanquish it, then I will track you down, and join you once again, should your task not yet be complete."
"I'm not entirely thoughtless though, and I wouldn't leave you in a worse position than before. I have a friend that I met through Wicked Grace, someone I trust deeply. She is a good fighter, and I think she will be useful. I have already contacted her, and she will try and meet up with you soon. I will miss you guys, but I hope to see you eventually, when our tasks are complete. Love, Elisai."
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Always one to enjoy a good rainstorm, Yavenee makes no hurry to get out of the rain. though she does note the unusual intensity. Eventually getting to the inn, she smiles at the sight of Sunday and Delindir well into their cups, glad to see some of the weight relieved from the often dour warrior.
She considers the recent weather, looking for signs of its significance or knowledge of anything similar, sensing the touch of the supernatural.
When she turns in for the night, stripping out of her wet clothing and dries off before crawling into bed, lulled to sleep by the falling rain.
Awakening, the communes with the spirit of the city before getting dressed, her clothes dried by the fire and heading out, coming across Elisai's empty room as she does. Picking up the letter, the witch reads it before going to find the others.
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Content to spend the evening drying and downing a couple of bottles, it had been awhile, not having to think about anything going on, least of all the things in his own head, Sunday let out a relieved sigh when drowsiness came for him.
Returning to his room he crawled under his bed and drifted off to a dreamless sleep, wakening hours later when he hears dainty feet moving from one room to another. Crawling out and rubbing his head he moves into the hallway. "Everything okay?" he asks Yavenee.
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"Elisia is gone." she replies looking up at the not-yet-fully-awake Sunday. "Nothing bad.." she manages before alarm registers in his eyes, "She feels that she needs to hunt the devil we relased, and end it before it can cause trouble for us later."
She walks over to him, handing him the letter as she considers the impact.
Sunday's eyes widen then narrow in relief, then moreso to a focus as Yavenee quickly fills him in on what transpired.
Looking over the letter he traces the words and letters that make them up with his finger. "... have you seen Elisai's handwriting before? I haven't, so I don't know... we need to see if anyone saw her leave." he thinks aloud before handing the letter back top the Witch.
At the inn "So you say the weather has suddenly changed like that?" Delendir turns to Daud while he brings down the holy liquor into his belly "Are you thinking same as me? That sounds like something provoked, but whom?"
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Delendir takes the letter from Daud as well and checks it up. The ranger cannot avoid a smile "I have never read her handwriting, but you cannot deny looking forward for greater challenges like that devil is definitely her style" and handing it back to Yavenee he just adds "I am curious about this person she said that can help us"
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The rest of the day, Delendir will invest in selling all the stuff obtained during the fights with the ogres and getting the coin for the group.
"Who knows, local gods? Was some shrines or something destroyed during the flood?" Sunday absentmindedly responds?
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Sunday resists rolling his eyes at the mention of "challenges" and instead says "Yes, I curious about that as well. And by curious I mean concerned."
"I can awaken Krysta, while the two of you question the innkepper. At least that way we would know if she left on her own." Yavenee suggests.
Sunday nods then heads downstairs to find the innkeeper.
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So you say the weather has suddenly changed like that?
Nodding he shrugs his shoulders. [b]"Ain't never seen anything like it! One day, it's sunny as can be. I was out loading the wagon and had to take me shirt off it was so damn hot. Five minutes later the skies are black and it's pouring. Been that way for weeks now, non-stop. All day and all night.
Later when Sunday goes to find the innkeeper, he remarks that Elisai left on her own accord very early this morning and not appear to be under any duress. When he questioned whether she would be back she confirmed she wouldn't be.
Sunday gives the innkeeper a bow before returning to the others. "He says she left on her own, and didn't seem to be under any signs of duress. He asked when she might be back and she told him she wouldn't be."
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Krysta had been sleeping soundly on the bed in her room when Yavenee came in. She found the dragon in her half elven form, a much more manageable on efor staying in a room like this, and found could see that Krysta was still sound asleep. The was a snore coming from her as she lay there and she seemed curled up on top of the blankets clutching them like some kind of trasure.
"Erastil protects her in the journey..." is all that Delendir adds when Daud explains about her early departure.
"The locals inform the raining happened just very abruptly and it is strange. We might need to investigate more on that matter" the half-elf starts counting the money he has made selling stuff at the local stores "There is this thing about Jakardros. We should depart to check with him what is it required from us before we leave to find out about the strange rains"
The witch smiles at the sight of the dragoness in her elven form sleeping peacefully. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yavenee gently shakes Krysta. "Krysta...god morning. How are you feeling? ."
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Krysta didn't seem to notice Yavenee shaking her, at least not at first, but that quickly changed. While she didn't wake up she did make a snatching motion to grab Yavenee's arm to pull her into her dream horde.
A creature can also add any circumstance, deflection, dodge, insight, luck, morale, profane, and sacred bonuses to AC to its CMD. Any penalties to a creature's AC also apply to its CMD. A flat-footed creature does not add its Dexterity bonus to its CMD.
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Caught completely off guard, Yavenee lets out a little yelp of surprise as Krysta grabs her arm and pulls her close with surprising strength...or perhaps not that surprising considering she really was a dragon.
"A..whaa??"
Sunday cranes his head towards Krysta's room as Yavenee yelps. "Hmm?"
Sauntering over he peeks his head in. "... want me to shut the door?"
"What?...No I...she's dreaming apparently." Yavennee says, getting over her surprise. "Krysta, wake up." she says again, softly now half sitting, half lying beside her, Krysta's arms wrapped around her.
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Krysta managed to snatch Yavenee and pulled her onto the bed and curled around her. How she could curl quite like that in the body of a half-elf was beyond understanding but she did it ending up with her head on Yavenee's lap. She rubbed her cheek against that lap for a few moments and then mumbled, "Mine, my horde, no.....urt... ZZZZ" At Yavenee's second attempt to wake her Krysta did little more than nuzzle her lap again and try to pull her down on the bed with her. "ZZZZZ"
Sunday thinks for a moment as he watches the dragon hoard her horde. "Psst! Krysta! Someone is stealing your horde!" he tells the slumbering dragon.
It takes perhaps a day or so longer to sort things out at Turtleback Ferry and formulate a plan. Fortunately country folk are more adept at turning their hands to what needs doing than city dwellers and it looks like the new village should be safer from floods in future. You estimate that the lake level is probably a permanent three feet higher than it was before you sorted things at the dam.
Returning to Rannick you spend a few uneventful days putting the place in order with Jakardros, Vale and Shalelu. One of the main orders of business being to pile the ogre corpses up in a ravine and cremate them. All seems to be going well until one morning when Jakardros escorts a waifishly thin 2 foot tall fae into your presence.
"This is Yap" he says "and he has a disturbing tale." The Pixie looks at you with tear filled eyes his rumpled clothes showing how rough things must have been for him in recent days. He speaks in a choking voice his sorrow evident.
"My mistress, she is… ill. Very ill. Death would have been a kindness. The land sickens with her heart, and it cannot be cleansed until her misery is purged. I cannot do this myself. Please, you must help her! You are friends with her human lover, yes? He wouldn’t want her left like this! I can take you to her—maybe you can do something. I have tried everything to cure her forlorn heart, but to no avail. She wails and moans in Whitewillow, and the trees and plants and nixies and frogs and everything are dying or worse! I can take you there! Please!"
Jakardros informs you that the pixies Mistress is a nymph called Myrina and that she was the paramour of the Forts Commander Lamatar Bayden. He adds "As of yet I have been able to account for the body of our commander. Do you think that could mean he is still alive somewhere? If so, I cannot rightly ask this of you but if you could look into this incident, perhaps he is still alive to be rescued as I was?"
Alerted by the strange sounds and voices, Delendir wakes up and quickly runs to Krysta's room, only snatching his magical sword as he runs to. Opening the door served only by the sword in both his hands and his long briefs he shouts "What is attacking us now!?"
Delendir seems happy to see Jakardros and how he is refitting the Rannick fort little by little. The half-elf listents Yap's tale "She is ill? What happens to her exactly Yap?" the ranger looks at the others in the party Shall we do this and help the pixie? "What do you know about Lamatar Yap? Is he with Myrina? What happened to him? We are all concerned about his future"
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Yap closes the eyes of his tear-stained face and his body slumps. Speaking in no more than a whisper he says "It is a terrible story, but I shall recount it if I must."
Openin his eyes and swallowing hard he begins "Lamatar came to visit Myriana as he often did on this night of the month. While they were together a small group of ogres assaulted the Shimmerglens by attacking a dryad's tree. Lamatar and Myrina rushed to the defense, unfortunately it appears that is what the evil snake lady wanted. Both Myriana and her lover Lamatar were quick to respond to this assault, only to discover the attack was an ambush. Even as they put down the ogres who had attacked the dryad, the snake lady commanded dozens more ogres and the rest of her minions surrounded and overwhelmed them."
Closing his eye his voice returns to a whisper. "Lamatar was captured and made to watch while the snake lady let her nasty ogres have their way with the nymph."
Trembling and tears streaming down his face, Yap stops his story there assuming you can fill in the gaps without him going into detail. It takes him a minute to compose himself again before he continues. "The evil snake lady took Lamatar and the ogres and headed up into the mountains."
Looking to Delendir Yap pleads, "Please. You must help her."
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Sunday listened attentively to the little Fey. He didn’t know much about the fair folk in the woods, but he knew should always be respectful, no matter how tiny they were.
When he reveals the nymph’s fate he shakes, the only warning given before stomach fluid and breakfast immediately vomits out of his mouth. ”We will. We’ll kill them. We will. We’ll kill them. We’ll kill them...” he weakly says over and over, still shaking.
Delendir's fists crack as he tights them in an attempt to avoid his internal fury "It is terrible how these beasts are merciless with the weak... Ogres or goblins, they are the same riff-raff, entering peaceful homes to burn them down and destroy the families..." the ranger looks at the others then back at the pixie "I will help you Yap. I will end up with those ogres until the good peoples of Varisia can be safe at home once more"
The half-elf looks up into the mountains "We know now where Lamatar is. And this snake lady you say... it cannot be other one than the Lamia Matriarch. Xaneshas's sister... It is time to finish this" pointing to the mountains Delendir asks Yap "Into which mountain did they climb?"
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"Krysta, you need to wake up!" she says grasping her face and shaking her a bit less gently.
As she listens to the tale, the witch's expression darkens as she hears what the nymph suffered. She rests her hand on Sunday's back, rubbing it gently. "Yes we will help, and every one of those ogres will die screaming."
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Krysta seemed about to drift off again for a moment but then her eye snapped open again and looked at the semi captive Yavenee in her bed with her...wrapped in her embrace... She raised one amethyst colored eyebrow and said, "If you wanted into my bed you only had to ask Yavenee. There was no need to sneak into it, you could have just asked."
When they had made their way back to the keep Krysta involved herself in helping with keeping watch from both above and below. When Jakardos came back with the fey she shadowed him from below once she knew who it was. As they heard the story of the fey Krysta felt a rage come across her. She snarled slightly as she said, "Yessssss, I will tear that serpentine b$~&&'s head off and see if a snake can survive without one!"
Sunday jumps slightly at Yavenee's touch. Collecting himself he turns to her and nods. "Find them. Burn them."
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"I actually came to wake you up, and I think you were dreaming....you muttered something along the lines of 'mine' and here we are."
The witch nods silently, a sense of unnerving could anger glittering in her dark eyes.
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Yap looks to the northwest and points. "That way."
When you offer to assist him, he wipes away his tears and his expression brightens as he launches into the air with excitement. "Yes! Follow Yap! I'll show you the way."
As the party moves deeper in the Shimmerglens, nature becomes increasingly hostile. Soon, nothing but chill silence surrounds the party, though they occasionally glimpse tall, dark-robed figures in their peripheral vision. The creatures’ enlarged skeletal claws extend from their outstretched arms as if reaching toward the party. When the PCs look, they see these apparitions are nothing more than horribly twisted black trees.
Continuing on the path led by Yap, a natural pool of water created by runoff from the hulking dark trees stands in a clearing ahead of you. The water looks clear and refreshing enough to stop and take a break. Delendir points out that no algae or larval insects dwell in the pool, possibly indicating the water is poisoned.
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There is a rustling in the trees before a large tiger pokes its head through the bushes, before withdrawing slightly. Moments later, a slim human female strides through the gap, Elisai's greatsword slung across her back.
"Oh, finally we managed to find you! You guys are not the easiest to track down, Elisai wasn't kidding about that" the women remarks, before flashing a pleasant smile.
"Ah, where are my manners, I'm Valonia, close friend of Elisai's, she, Grace and I used to go way back. She thought I might be able to help you guys out while she worked on that mission of hers, so here I am. I see that you have found yourself a sufficiently creepy forest to test your mettle in."
The unnatural claws unsettle Delendir, but given the relevance of the task, the half-elf keeps focused nevertheless.
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It takes Delendir a second look to discover the image in the pool of water is just an hallucination "Thousand Stags! This place is cursed! What kind of depravities lurk in this natural location?" the ranger looks down at Yap.
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Delendir makes a sign to stop the march as he notices someone approaching. The half-elf looks glowingly alarmed as he spots Elisai's greatsword in the back of the newly arrived woman, but he eases considerably while Valonia presents herself. Something in the woman gives him calm "Curses! For a moment I thought you had killed Elisai and took her sword. Fortunately she left a letter telling us she knew about someone to cover our backs while she is hunting down that demon"
Sunday nonchalantly walks through the woods with the group as Delendir tracked, they reminded him of UStalav. Which comforted and unnerved him at the same time.
When the tracker points out the pool he gazes into it, and holds that gaze briefly in morbid curiosity before his instincts correct him. Jerking his head back in panic with his hand bringing his sword he halts himself when he sees everyone else is exactly fine. Letting out a heavy breath he uses his free hand to rub his head as he keeps breathing.
Twitching he brings his sword to the ready again when Valonia. Not really knowing what to make of the current situation he stops himself as the newcomer and Delendir converse.
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As the group let the tiny fey lead them into the Shimmerglens Krysta became anxious. She didn't like this place, not one bit, she could feel the perversion of nature here and it didn't want her here. As they went she happened to glance into one of the pools of water.
For an instant she thought something was off about her friends but the young dragon shook her head and things were just as they always were. It didn't make her feel any more comfortable but that was to be expected here.
After a short while there was a rustling and a tiger popped it's head out and looked at them. Krysta had never seen a large cat like this one before and was both curious and wary. She was about to approach the creature when it disappeared and was startled at the appearance of the new person. Krysta was prepared to leap into action if needed but the first words of the new person caused her to back off, a little, and she said, "You are a replacement Elisai? Hmmm, I don't think a substitute is acceptable for my horde but I suppose we can try it. I'm Krysta." She looked curiously behind Valonia and asked, "Where'd the big kitty go?"
Valonia nods to Delendir in a slightly apologetic fashion. "Yes, that was partly my fault, I didn't think about the impact it might have on you all. Elisai and I agreed to swap weapons, as I had some Bane weaponry that she could use better than I could."
Nodding, Valonia clicks her fingers and the large tiger steps through the gap again, standing at Valonia's side. "This is Rajah. He is a very close friend, so be nice to him" she says absently, lightly petting it with her free hand, before looking up at Krysta with a curious expression.
"You have people as part of your horde? Isn't that a little possessive?" she asks, slightly confused.