RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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When the discussion between Caranthir and the kobolds turns hostile in tone, Fensyriath quickly moves up behind the stern-toned elf, getting a better look at the red-scaled kobolds across the river. Fensyriath doesn't recall much about kobolds from his training, other than that they're classified as humanoids in A Pathfinder's Essential Chronicle of Subterranean Fauna. The remainder of the book was a bit dry and dense.
But even as Fen gets his first look at the kobolds, Caranthir has raised his bow and the situation escalates quickly. In the same moment the kobolds begin making threatening gestures, Caranthir launches a volley of two arrows into the air. They arc swiftly across the cave, and the lead kobold takes an arrow to the shoulder, but it is stopped by the thick leather of his armor. He turns, swiftly, at the sound of a wet gurgle behind him only to see his fellow comrade having taken an arrow to the throat. Laying on the ground now, writhing and grasping at his neck, the smaller kobold of the two spits up blood and falls motionless.
The lead kobold turns, eyes wide with fury and indignation. "Jaci jahus sia isthasy! Wux nadra sia isthasy! Si geou svadri dout juroshog ekik mrith sia othi!" Amahl hesitates, not wanting to be the first one to offer violence to the kobolds, but ready to defend his friends if need be, and the kobold begins spinning his sling again. But before he can let his sling stone loose, Taelbin fires an arrow from his place in a cavernous nook. Unfortunately, the cover provided by the niche gives just enough obstruction to make his arrow fly too far aside, grazing the kobold's leather pauldron.
Staggering away from the glancing blow, the kobold is unprepared as Hans makes a ferocious charge towards the riverbank, but hesitates a moment later with a vicious smile as the barbarian's right leg sinks too deep into the gravel at the shoreline, followed by a mechanical snap sound and an explosion of dirt and debris as a small mechanical dart gun rises up on a flexing arm from a cover of silt and gravel, firing a dart directly at Hans that sticks into his side. The barbarian hardly notices the tiny sting.
Bounding over the river, Hans lands with a crash on the other side, skids to a halt and uses his forward momentum to swing his sword in a wide arc that cleaves through the enraged kobold with enough power to slaughter an ox. The blade divides the kobold into two halves, both dead.
In an instant, diplomacy turned into disaster and two creatures lay dead or dying on the cavern floor.
In the instant after that flash of a battle concludes, a single droplet of blood falls from Hans' sword to the ground, but seems to land with a thundrous crash. The noise causes the barbarian's brows to furrow, but it is then followed by another resounding crash—steel on stone. The sound echoes from a tunnel beyond where the kobolds lay in pools of their own blood, and is accompanied by a familiar, demanding voice.
"As the legendary Gregaro Voth successfully battled the wild beasts in the deepest reaches of the Mwangi Expanse, so shall I defeat you, foul servant of Lamashtu!" Janira's voice is unmistakable, though distant.
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Fensyriath 23
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Once again Taelbin is amazed at the ferocity of Hans, he slowly moves up carefully watching the area for any more traps.
Amazingly done, Hans. Though it does seem like you tripped a trap, devious little things.
Looking down at the dying Kobold, Taelbin glances over to Amahl.
Good Amahl, would it be against your ethics to allow one of us to end this creature's suffering? Or would you like to try to stabilize it? Either way, we should be moving. I believe our lady halfling is still in combat with that brute. Perhaps we can lend her some aid.
"Hmmm?"
Hans looks down, only now truly noticing the dart sticking from his side.
"Huh. Tricky creatures!"
He quickly pulls the dart out and tosses it into the river, where it quickly sinks beneath the surface.
Hans then cocks his head to one side, and frowns.
"I agree, it sounds like she is still fighting the creature. We should continue, and see what aid we can render!"
So saying, he moves for the tunnel from which Janira's voice echoed.
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"Do not mourn for these wretched kobolds," Caranthir says as he moves toward the sound of Janira's voice. "They take no pleasure save it be in the pain of others, as demonstrated by the trap they had set. Now let us make haste to succor Janira!"
The elf moves quickly up the tunnel as he pulls one of the magical arrows from his quiver.
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Fensyriath is again shocked at the violence of his comrades. Kobolds are hardly a friendly race, but surely our mandate of "Explore, Report, Cooperate" is hampered by killing everything we meet... He shrugs, accepting that he still does not understand his new home, then turns in alarm as he hears Janira's voice.
"Janira needs aid!" he yells, running towards the river, heedless of any potential traps. He leaps across the river and sprints down the cavern until he can see Janira.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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Hustling down the tunnel alongside the river, the neophyte Pathfinders hear the sounds of battle getting more pronounced the deeper in they go. Deadly sounds of clashing steel and shouts fill the air, followed by a sudden and loud sonorous hum that builds into a nearly ear-splitting shriek and the noise of fracturing steel and a bellowing, bestial cry. By the time the team had wound up through the curving tunnel enough to see daylight, the river has forked off from their path, dipping down through a narrow straw-opening in the rock glistening with luminous fungus. Their path twists westward, then curves up more towards the pale glow of moonlight.
Emerging from the caves to cool, fresh air, the light of the surface world above provides a welcome reprieve from the blue and green fungus of the caverns below, and light illuminates a stream whose water is hastened by
runoff from a recent storm further up the mountains. A ledge to the west rises up to the nearby forest canopy. Near one hundred feet from where the Pathfinders emerge from the caves, Janira Gavix remains locked in a ferocious battle with the minotaur she'd engaged earlier. Deep fissures run through the minotaur's axe, but aside from a few superficial cuts on his shoulders and chest from Janira's whip he seems little worse for wear.
Janira, however, is sweat-drenched and exhausted, having been relentlessly fighting and evading the minotaur this entire time. "You vile beast!" Janira screams at the minotaur, "I know not what drives your black heart, but I shall not fail in my duty. I shall see you driven from this forest, back to the hills from whence you came!"
As Hans and Amahl lead the way out of the cave, the minotaur turns to look in their direction, exhaling a threatening snort before his attention is drawn away by a whip-crack across his face. Bellowing in anger, the minotaur takes a wide swing at Janira and—while missing the halfling—slices a nearby tree clear in half with a single stroke. The tree topples over, crashing down to the forest floor in a shower of leaves and branches.
Trying to buy the Pathfinders time, Janira cracks her whip again and steps back from her brutish opponent, watching him intently. Instead of defending herself, she begins reciting lecture of the accomplishments of the Pathfinder Society, hoping to inspire her charges with tales of Pathfinder valor and accomplishments. "And it was Selmius Foster’s race against a marid and efreeti on the isle of Jalmeray, which taught us that nothing is truly impossible and every situation can end in victory!”
She hopes Selmius Foster's teachings remain true today, for her sake.
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Fensyriath, Amahl, Taelbin, Caranthir, and Hans are up!
"Ah, Hells! We're coming, Janira!"
Hans moves as quickly as he can, bashing aside ferns and leaping over small shrubs in his haste to reach the minotaur.
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Caranthir glances sidelong at his companions as they move to engage the minotaur.
Oh, that I had the hope of redemption for these foul creatures we face.
"I do not share your enthusiasm that this beast can think, let alone repent, Acrobat!" Caranthir says grimly.
He steps forward and pulls a magical arrow from his quiver and fires it quickly, followed in rapid succession by a second arrow.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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"Ah, Hells! We're coming, Janira!" Hans moves as quickly as he can, bashing aside ferns and leaping over small shrubs in his haste to reach the minotaur. The barbarian's quick pace soon has him outpacing his allies as he charges through the thick underbrush, closing in on the horned beast.
"Beast! As the light of the sun does both bake our flesh and grow our crops, so you have a choice! Repent and begone, or die this day beneath Saranrae's hand!" Amahl calls out as he races toward the fray, scimitar in hand. Mired in the undergrowth, Amahl can see the distance between he and Hans growing by the second.
Caranthir glances sidelong at his companions as they move to engage the minotaur. Oh, that I had the hope of redemption for these foul creatures we face, fills his thoughts as he moves into position.
"I do not share your enthusiasm that this beast can think, let alone repent, Acrobat!" Caranthir says grimly, stepping forward and pulling one of the magical arrows from his quiver. The arrow is notched and fired, followed by a second in rapid succession. Both arrows careen over the forest floor, then come down to end their violent arc, each one punching into the minotaur firmly. The beast lets out a howl of frustration, turning towards the group emerging from the river, its enormous axe held fast in both hands.
"She's been fighting that thing this entire time?" Taelbin can't keep the awe out of his voice as he moves quickly following Hans and Amahl, likewise slowed by the thick underbrush and twisting roots.
"Janira!" Fen calls out anxiously. He glances at the far shore, making a snap judgement. Unrolling one of the scrolls Janira had in her backback, the wayang Pathfinder intones words of power. "Impedios herba orionis!" The writing on the scroll flares brightly and the words begin to evaporate like water in a desert. As the ink fades from the parchment, the area behind the minotaur springs to life as the scrub growth in the dusty soil surges with life. Roots, vines, creepers and all manner of underbrush blossom up and wrap around the beast's legs. Letting out a howl, the creature jerks and tugs, uprooting the fresh plants and forcing its way to the edge of the vegetative barrier.
As the minotaur clears the rapid plant growth, he removes one hand from his axe and reaches to the leather quiver slung low at his back, hefting a cruelly barbed javelin out from within. Flipping it around in one hand, the minotaur steps forward and hurls it with tremendous force across the riving, striking Hans square in the shoulder. The barbarian jerks back, his forward progress momentarily arrested as the javelin tears into his body.
"You spies of the centaur will all die!" The minotaur roars in a heavily accented Taldan, gripping his axe with both hands once more.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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Stepping away from the enraged minotaur as it turns its attention to the others, Janira raises one hand in the air and weaves the incantations for a spell into her litany of Pathfinder successes. "In the jungles near Valshmai, Pathfinder Orlonde Duvann—chased by a pack of voracious spiders—slipped into a narrow tunnel and invoked the incantation avantum glissio!"
On speaking those words, the ground beneath the minotaur bubbles and boils with a thick layer of yellowish fat and grease, causing its hooves to slip, slide and scuttle across the ground. A six inch thick layer of this viscous substance fills the area around the minotaur, but it manages to keep its footing. "That—worked better for Duvann..." Janira sheepishly admits.
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With a roar, Hans charges forward...
...just barely managing to jump over the stream, and then attempting to bury his axe in the minotaur!
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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Fen shakes his head angrily. It's is too big for such tricks to work, fool! Chiding himself, he sprints towards the narrowest part of the stream, his mind racing. If I can just get close enough through this blasted undergrowth...
Amahl, meanwhile, attempts to charge through the thick underbrush but finds the terrain far too difficult to run through. As he trudges and slashes his way through the dense foliage, he finds himself at the riverbank and rushes across the muddy ground in an attempt to leap the river, but instead finds himself splashing into the water halfway across and struggles against the strong current.
Taelbin raises his bow, ready to fire and looses a single arrow at the minotaur that flies too wide and lands in the squirming tangle of vegetation created by Fensyriath's scroll. Two more arrows fly out from behind Taelbin, launched by Caranthir as the elven archer advances slowly. One arrow misses the staggering minotaur, but another plunges into his right bicep, spinning him around.
"That's the way!" Janira shouts, but her cry of encouragement ends as she hears a crashing sound coming through the brush. Fearing, by the sheer noise, that it's another minotaur she is stunned to see Hans explode from the treeline and leap straight across the river, landing with a wet squelch on the muddy riverbank. Sweeping his greatsword around, Hans steps forward and with a single mighty stroke eviscerates the minotaur from hip to underarm. Blood pulses from the deep wound, followed by a tangle of the minotaur's innards as it lets out a strangled groan before collapsing onto its knees, then down onto its side with a choking breath.
Blood running from his sword in a steady stream, Hans' shoulders rise and fall and Janira—sprayed by minotaur blood—stands wide-eyed and motionless at the display of efficient savagery.
"I—I—" is all the bard can muster. This time, she's at a loss for words.
Swallowing audibly, Janira makes a faint croaking sound that is almost speech as she reaches up with her free hand to wipe the blood from her face, only managing to smudge it around some. Meanwhile, Amahl carefully pulls himself to the other side of the river, sopping wet from his attempt to jump across, only to find the minotaur dead in a pile of his own insides and the gelatinous grease on the ground.
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Hans continues to hack viciously at the Minotaur for a few seconds, before the blood-rage fades and he realises that his opponent is well and truly dead.
Noticing that he is covered in blood, and that Janira is speechless, he has the grace to look embarrassed, clearing his throat, and saying:
"Ummm... Sorry about the blood splatter... Are you alright? Physically, I mean?"
She looks a little traumatised, but that is better than dead, I suppose...
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Fen stands dumbfounded at the swift conclusion of the battle. Perhaps the accompaniment of those well-equipped to deal violence has its place. What could you have done, fool, to save her?
Fen continues to the stream and leaps across, surveying the site of the carnage. "Is Janira injured?" he asks the halfling, concern in his eyes.
Once it is certain that no further threats remain, Fen will use the opportunity to record some notes on minotaur anatomy in his journal. Luckily, little further dissection is required! ;)
If there are no further issues, Fen wishes to return to the cave system, to recover his mount by the cave mouth, to speak again to the gillman and relate the story of the minotaur, and to copy the Aroden-related carvings and other archaeological lore into his Journal.
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"Janira, this one used Janira's scroll, in a failed attempt to contain the beast. Please accept this one's apologies for the waste of resources, and allow this one to replace the item." Fen hands back Janira's backpack, containing the gear he was carrying of hers: a tanglefoot bag, the scroll of mage armor (CL 6) three unidentified scrolls, and the unidentified wand as well.
"This amulet goes to the Society for study, as well. This one has not divined its purpose." Fen gives Janira the amulet of natural armor as well.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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After finally coming to terms with the brutal display of barbarian prowess, Janira takes the items offered by Fensyriath with a plaintive smile and soft tone of recognition. After collecting herself a little better, Janira looks back to the wayang and shakes her head slowly. "It's just paper and ink," she says of the scroll. "What matters are your lives... which, if my things were even the slightest bit of help, did their jobs."
Squaring her shoulders, the halfling looks at the amulet in her hands—seeming large in her tiny palms—and clasps her fingers around it. "You've made some wondrous discoveries it seems, in spite of this..." Her gaze settles near the minotaur's remains, but not on. Just enough that she can see it in her periphery. "In spite of these adversities. You've proven yourselves. Even if I'm not authorized to make this assessment, I know you've become true Pathfinders this day."
With a look up to the night's sky, Janira furrows her brows and clasps her hands tighter around the amulet. "We should camp the night, take care of any lingering business in the cave that need be done. Then, tomorrow, we'll set out for Absalom."
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Making his way across the river, Taelbin joins up with the group offering the wand back to Janira.
Well I don't think the masters quiet had this, he gestures toward the Minotaur's body, in mind when they had us head out on this task. Though i will say that you yourself performed exceptionally well, if you hadn't lured the beast away we might not have made it this far. Thank you.
Taeblin then bows slightly to the halfling before stepping away to make a few more notes in his journal.
Hans nods enthusiastically.
"We worked really well together. I agree, the minotaur was probably not on the intended syllabus, but we still managed to handle it, and the other challenges, with speed and confidence. I would be happy to be teamed up with any or all of you again, if the Society saw fit to send us on more missions."
He then takes care to wade out into the stream to wash the minotaur's blood from his body, and to clean his sword.
Returning to land, he shakes himself, sending water cascading everywhere, before settling down to make some more notes.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
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Ultimately, a night's rest helps settle the frayed nerves of the Pathfinder's in training—and their mentor—with regards to what happened below the Kortos Mounts. The journey back to civilization was filled not with peril, but with storytelling and discussion of everything the group learned after parting ways with Janira at the onset of their final lesson.
Returning to Absalom, the Pathfinders receive a celebratory welcome from Kreighton Shaine who excitedly pours over—and ultimately collects—each neophyte's journal. Janira maintains contact with the Pathfinders, grateful for the work they had done and for their saving of her life. Though she may always bear scars within and without from the events at the Kortos Mounts, she is still alive to tell others the harrowing tale, and for this she is eternally grateful.
Three days later, each of the neophyte Pathfinder agents are met by representatives of the Society who present them with a personally etched wayfinder and confirmation of their status as a field agent of the Pathfinder Society. Inside each of the wayfinders a small message is inscribed in Taldan, inlaid with gold. Both a sentimental reminder, and a final bit of motivation from an old friend.
"Persevere, for the stars don't stop watching." - J
I have not received one yet.
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Yes, we of table 2 were sadly mid-game when he vanished. He put up a post on 10/2, but apparently hasn't been active in games, or responded to messages.