"The fastest, best tracker should go after the Wayfinder," says Kanthuun. "That is a small item and it will be taken speedily and secreted somewhere. Rogar, on the other hand, is doughty, in armor, and a dwarven paladin. He will be hard to apprehend and so we may capture his captors, or seducers, or whatever they may be. Although I'm not sure what entices a dwarven paladin...a holy symbol made of mithral? Is he a dwarven teetotaler?"
Kanthuun gets distracted as usual, but then focuses on his old caravan partner. "Arasmes. We don't have a ranger, so you'll have to do. You are good at tracking and can detect dweomers."
"Unless, of course, we all want to run after the 'finder, and leave Rogar to the lovely maidens of Abbadontown."
"I think I can handle tracking down Rogar if we want to split up. And since I'm no good with magic, it'll free Arasmes up to hunt down the wayfinder. Shouldn't be too hard to find a walking suit of full plate here."
"However we split, I can make sure that five of us can speak messages to each other at a distance," says Kanthuun.
"I owe it to myself to help retrieve the Wayfinder," he continues. "While I am not fast, I have ways of slowing others down." He wiggles the fingers of one hand, and an eerie gelatinous substance appears for a moment and then winks away.
"So how do we want to split? You go after the way finder and I go after Rogar. Any volunteers either way?"
Arasmes nods reasonably "Well, I'm apparently with you, Kanthuun, as each group needs a tracker. I think we need a third, and Talon a second. So, who do you other two wish to go with?"
Hanethes considers the choices.
"I'd probably be better at finding the Wayfinder. Its a small item, similar to those I'm used to palming and such. I might know a bit about who took it and how."
I will go with Talon, although I still think this separation is a bad idea. I can grant him a bit of an arcane edge and hopefully we can find Rogar quickly, then come back and find the rest of you. We should all try to leave an obvious trail for each other. Kanthuun, if you have a way to keep is all in touch, let's have it. And lovely Dancer, will you come with us as well?
The Shadow Dancer nods to Drovya. "I will come with you."
"This entire trip was probably a bad idea," laughs Kanthuun.
He utters strange words and makes a gesture, and the ears of Arasmes, Hanethes, Talon and Drovya seem to pop and buzz for a second before having a strange magnified sound effect, as if the four of them and Kanthuun were whispering in each other's ears.
"Don't use this channel to rhapsodize about Petrova," he whispers almost soundlessly, smirking, the speech clear as day to the quintet. "We have almost an hour of spell."
"No promises. Let's go." Talon smiles.
Talon's Group
The trail weaved behind the tavern, and by extension, around the monstrous tree it was attached to. As soon as the group began to wind their way about the enormous trunk, it was possible to hear the sounds of battle coming from a hollow the size of a small cave. The mouth of the hollow was visibly seeping something that resembled violet smoke, interrupted intermittently with the sickly sap that bled from the bark above it, giving it all the appearance of a flesh wound within a burn.
The inside of the hollow was pitch-black, leaving only Petrova with any way of telling what was going on, and she could only see one form that blocked her visibility in the entrance only large enough to allow one human passage at a time-a petitioner that might have been recognizable if the woman was watching the various forms in the upon their arrival. He'd seemed unremarkable at the time, but the bard could tell he was armed with a surprisingly well-made bastard sword, already slick with blood.
The sounds of combat indicate there are more enemies within than just the one seen, however.
Team Arasmes
Following the information of where the wayfinder was last sensed, the group made their way back into the tavern to investigate the small hole in the boards of the common room. The petitioners in the room left them alone, more or less, what with Baema's heavy handed approach to reconstructing his common room involving forced labor (and he who had the knife made the rules).
The gap that allegedly allowed for the wayfinder's escape was hardly large enough for a halfling acrobat to fit through, and a close inspection of the outside region showed that it was so close to the tree's trunk that no petitioner could have made the climb. Since the building actually converged on the tree higher up due to its slant, this further eliminated any suspicion of a climber.
No windows existed to allow entrance to a higher story of the building for a flyer, either.
The lingering auras Kanthuun described as being present earlier persist for one round, and then vanish.
While the tavern itself could partially be ruled out as the final resting position of the wayfinder, there was another building next door that, while half the size of Baema's Place, was tall enough to be considered two-stories high by common logic, and it did have a window, or something similar(being a circular hole with a tattered curtain wafting on a nonexistent wind) on the second floor.
"Can either of you see or hear anything?" Talon remarks with a little frustration.
Perception:
"She's got a sword, and it's covered in blood," Petrova whispers to the spell, moving forward to engage.
Charge attack against the woman with the sword:
Damage:
The attack connects, but not for as much damage as the bard would have imagined for all the force behind it. The smoke coming from within the hole begins to make her feel ill, as well. The man takes notice of her with a turn of the neck and an otherworldly glare.
Petrova slashes again, then takes a five foot step back and to the right.
Attack:
Damage:
Upizdysh! Drovya curses as he begins casting enlarge person on Talon.
Once it takes effect, Talon gets +1 damage, +0 hit, -2AC, -1 Ref, +2CMB, +1CMD, 10' reach and damage dice increase one step
"Up there," points Kanthuun. "Does anyone have a grappling hook? The first one up there is in danger of being attacked the moment they go through that hole, though."
He pulls out a Wand of Enlarge Person. "Perhaps this will allow someone to take a peek."
He pauses. "Petrova's under attack. Join them?"
Talon draws Stark as he moves towards the fight.
He finishes closing in and takes a swing at the unknown man.
After Drovya finishes casting enlarge person he moveos forward 30' after activating his arcane pool.
Arasmes tilts his head at Kanthuun "I think...yes. We cannot afford to lose people, and the item might be with them anyway. Let us go aid her and the others." he suits actions to words and heads in the direction of the battle even as he speaks.
Kanthuun nods and follows Arasmes, wand in hand.
Group Talon
Petrova took her step to the left to allow Talon purchase against the well-armed petitioner. The Taldan fighter's scythe bit into the otherworldly flesh of the petitioner, but failed to fell him entirely; the hunted were nothing, if not hardy. Still, he appeared to be badly injured.
Talon inhaled the violet smoke, but it did not affect him like it did the Shadow Dancer.
Desperate to survive, the petitioner turn to lash at Talon, his own large weapon cutting into the fighter's hip, despite the fighter's near-evasion of the attack.
Drovya's spell caused Talon to grow large before he moved forward and exerted control over Black Ivan to make it sharper, an action that always left his sword-arm tense. However, the magus's approach allowed the light of his ioun torch to shine on the entire combat with some amount of brilliance. Had Talon been shorter, he may have been able to see further into the hollow.
-------------
Team Arasmes
Deciding to join the combat, Arasmes, Kathuun, and Hanethes hastened to follow their comrade's footsteps, with the knowledge that the speed of their approach could mean the difference between life and death to their companions. However, beyond where they'd last seen their compatriots turn the corner, they had to rely on tracking, which slowed them just enough to cause extra anxiety in those prone to it.
Arasmes draws his blade and murmurs a quick prayer to his goddess for luck in battle.
Giant Talon steps back from the entrance and takes a huge swing.
Hanethes stops to swiftly load his pistol and then draw his blade.
"Yep... what a fun place."
"Not my usual job, Arasmes, but I can...enlarge you with this," Kanthuun cracks as he holds the wand.
Sorry, is it my turn? Petrova waits for Talon to remove his large posterior from the front of battle, then, activating her battle dance, takes a 5-foot step back and swings at the petitioner.
Attack:
Damage:
Talon's Group
Talon's enormous sweep brought the petitioner to his knees, causing his form to begin to slump, at which time the Shadow Dancer came back and discorporated him entirely, allowing her to see into the hazy darkness behind the man.
Her eyes were greeted with the interior of the hollow, which stretched into the tree twenty feet, with the purple gas coming from deteriorating organic canals in the rotted ceiling. Two more petitioners stood on either side of the door(one of which was recognizable as the woman who lured the paladin to the hiding place to begin with), bows at the ready, and pointed at Petrova, with two piles of equipment that indicated their had been more here before Rogar had resisted, but perhaps the most unsettling sight was a familiar form crumpled in the center of the room, facing away from the door-Rogar. And, standing over him was a creature that looked like a child, its head impossibly tilted as a gaping maw within the being's neck drips with blood that came from an obvious source. If it weren't for the extra maw and broken-necked position, one would think she was a petitioner. However, there was one more horrifyingly diconcerting detail; the being had three tiny orb-like, tooth-filled forms wreathing her like a fiendish halo.
The tiny creatures are cacodaemons, the vermin of Abaddon created from petty souls bound there. They can shapeshift into several tiny, vicious animal forms (including that of a lizard, octopus, scorpion or poisonous snake), and have a bite that carries a disease that allows them to telepathically taunt their quarry and slowly drive them mad. What makes them the most disturbing, however, is their ability to digest a soul into a soul gem, which larger daemons often bully off of them and devour. They are excellent flyers, and can make themselves invisible at will. In addition, they heal quickly.Like so many other denizens of Abaddon, they are immune to acid, resilient to all other elements, and do not take full damage from any weapon that is not holy or silver.
This is most definitely a vulnadaemon. Masters of assassination and the subterfuge, these clever shapeshifting killers often take the position and form of their last victim, and take great pride in causing fear and mayhem from hiding, typically savoring the fear of their prey as they leave only the barest hint of their presence. They embody death by betrayal and vicious murder, and are resilient to standard weapon attacks, fire, cold, and electricity. They are immune to acid altogether, but good-aligned and silver weapons cause it great discomfort.
The creature can maintain an aura of fear at any time it wishes, and every attack it lands shows its knowledge of the anatomy of its prey, drawing out as much blood as it can manage to make its enemies bleed. They prefer to strike from the shadows, and can utilize an invisibility spell to do just that, but only a few times per day.
Noticing that the sentry had been brought down, the creature's head lurched, her pallid lips moving soundlessly, catatonic red eyes returning Petrova's gaze. An invisible flood of power washed over that momentarily threatened to raise Petrova and Talon into a panic, but they withstood it through sheer willpower.
"Ezgatyzzipuy, lashta, agradexiputna lattaney!" the creature shot these words straight into the bard's brain, with a voice like a cloud of vicious, biting insects.
The petitioners loosed their arrows at the entrance, one struck at the wood near Petrova's head, whilst the other one caught in her chain shirt, the mithral doing its work beautifully.
Presumably egged on by the creature in the center of the hollow, the petitioners nocked the next round of ammunition into place with shaking hands, the same fearful trembling that caused the arrows to fly wide of the Shadow Dancer.
The vulnadaemon and her three pets, however, disappeared entirely from view.
Drovya moves up to get a better view as the petitioner crumbles and dry heaves at the sight of the vulnadaemon feeding on Rogar.
By all that is holy, you will not have him! he shouts, and casts a handful of ground mica into the tree hollow. Golden, glittering flakes cover everything in a 10' radius sphere, originating 10' off the ground above the vulnadaemon's original location.
Strike them with silver if you have it! he cries out, but don't bother with acid, the daemons are immune to it!
The dust only falls a few inches away from Petrova's form, but the fetchling was spared. The spell revealed two cacodaemons swarming in the square in front of Petrova, their mismatched maws gnashing. One of the cacodaemons wasn't visible, persay, but a small shimmer of light from a retreating tail could be seen from one of the gas-belching canals. Perhaps the creatures were using them as transport?
The vulnadaemon had taken a position behind the female petitioner, a jagged knife visible under the layer of dust. It was impossible with the outline to know whom she'd been looking at, but both Drovya and Petrova felt her soulless eyes upon them.
The female petitioner, on the other hand, closed her eyes painfully, the dust having burrowed in.
Drovya felt the wave of power that had so nearly effected his teammates seconds before, but like them, his spirit was unwavering.
Presumably Petrova will have to move in before Talon. If she can, she'll charge the unblinded archer, continuing her battle dance for the moment.
Attack:
Critical confirm:
Damage:
Giant Talon will enter the tunnel after Petrova. He decides to go after the vulnadaemon. He brings his weapon low as to not hit the ceiling and takes a swipe.
Drovya casts arcane mark and moves forward to hack at one of the cacodaemons.
Confirm Critical
Talon's Group
Petrova's attack did little more than provoke the archer once it sliced in. The petitioner ceased to shake and got a murderous look in his eyes.
Talon entered into the hollow with some difficulty, but reacted to the scenario in front of him by moving to attack the vulnadaemon, pushing past the cacodaemons like the vermin they were(though one did give biting him its best shot whilst the other continued flying around like a slack-jawed idiot).
The large man's attack didn't hit; it was deflected by the creature's shortsword with surprising strength. Slowly, and with a sickening bone-grinding sound, the creature's lopsided head moved to look up.
"Yythraxital lukxmygegeg, shufchabilxidrahjdiba...," Talon heard the voice within his mind that had earlier invaded Petrova's, blaring in abyssal like an insectiod swarm.
"Savor my oblivion, hunted one."
The next few seconds passed like a blur, with the blinded female petioner dropping her bow and blundering backwards. Almost instinctively, Talon struck down at her, damaging her leg quite badly.
The other archer dropped his bow and proceeded to slam the Shadow Dancer
The cacodaemon that had tried to bite Talon earlier abandoned his blinded fellow to hover over Rogar hungrily(and right beneath Talon's enormous feet, to add insult to injury), but used the rest of its time to manifest a power that pushed Petrova into a confusion, even as she shook off her feelings of sickness.
The other cacodaemon remained in place, staring blankly at nothing, an easy target, with the third vermin nowhere to be found.
The vulnadaemon began its counterattack with a vengeance, its shortsword biting into Talon's flesh with each swing. His leg was slashed into twice, and both wounded managed to find their way to a large blood vessel. The injuries bled unnervingly fast for gashes so small.
After the sword damage was done, the creature bent forward and bit Talon's ankle.
Drovya's movement into the cave was heralded by two strikes at the blinded cacodaemon, the first doing nothing, but the second stripping appendages off the tiny, toothy monstrosity. It was barely alive when the magus finished with it. However, the gas in the hollow began to get to the man, and he became as sickened as Petrova had been earlier.
Team Arasmes
Drovya slew the blinded cacodaemon.
Can Petrova move (5-foot step) to flank anybody with anyone? She'd do that if possible, doesn't matter the target.
Attack:
Damage: