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Seeing the vile creature darting down the rockface and fearing the awesome destruction it could reap upon his friends, the serene monk taps once more into the Ruby sage's power, giving him the chance to loose a shot with much greater accuracy than normal.
moving to within his effective range and puts all his might and precision into the shot, letting fly.
for
With the sudden rush of mythic energies leaving him he launches two more.
for
for
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Pooka spurs Luna into action when the creature finally gets close to the base of the cliff. Dog and rider streak across the desert sands, turning gradually to line up their angle of attack straight on. For once, the halfling cavalier keeps his lance tip angled up, ready to use his powerful legs to thrust its deadly tip up and into the gigantic creature.
for
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As Toorin finishes his casting, he directs the arcane energies at Xûll. The bloodrager grows to twice his normal height and eight times his normal weight.
Then he steps close enough that the descending creature is in range of a snowball attack, using the mythic powers at his disposal to cast the spell at a higher level than he normally would be able to cast it and preserving the version he prepared this morning.
"Nix Chisanu Mira," he states boldly, his words having a faint overtone of the winds of winter. A gleaming sphere of snow and ice coalesces in his hand in a fog of white vapor. He hurls it at the creature's huge flank.
The Pathfinders, using many of their new found powers, make the behir's decent horrific. The tnegu, able to bite into the beast last time, is unable to sink his beak into the behir's flesh this time.
Amarok's first arrow is dead on, but a wind gust ever so slightly pushes it off course. His other arrows fly wide of the mark, all striking the rock face.
Xull moves forward and slices into one of its eight legs.
Shortly there after, Pooka and Luna charge past it skewering it in the side with his lance.
The behir slips off the wall and falls to the rocky ground.
Though both Pathfinders hit, their hits seem to lack the full power that they thought their blows would deliver.
Strong Wind: Gusts that automatically extinguish unprotected flames (candles, torches, and the like). Such gusts impose a –2 penalty on ranged attack rolls and on Perception checks.
Toorin conjures a snowball in the desert and flings it at the behir.
Strong Wind: Gusts that automatically extinguish unprotected flames (candles, torches, and the like). Such gusts impose a –2 penalty on ranged attack rolls and on Perception checks.
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Warpac makes a full move, probably provoking an attack of opportunity, but finally arrives. Desperate to get at least one blow in he channels his mythic Amazing Initiative power to get in a shot. Before delivering his blow he activates his sacred weapon as a swift action to grant it the viscious ability.
plus
for a total of 38 points of damage.
This does however deal backlash damage to Warpac in the form of
I will edit my stats after my meeting.
Toorin's snowball flies through the air and hit the behir square in the chest. It almost instantly melts seemingly ineffective against the beast.
Warpac boldly strides up to the prone beast. Before he can reach it, and swing with his axe, the behir bites out.
Warpac is able to turn the bite aside and move in and bury his axe deep within the beast.
Knowing almost all is lost, the behir once again inhales deeply. Opening its serpentine mouth, it issues for another stream of electricity at Pooka and Xull.
Sadly, the trusty canine takes the full brunt of the bolt as she cannot get out of the way
Pooka and Xull are able to shift mitigating some of the damage.
Strong Wind: Gusts that automatically extinguish unprotected flames (candles, torches, and the like). Such gusts impose a –2 penalty on ranged attack rolls and on Perception checks.
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Xûll takes the electrical blow with a smile on his lips. He wants the creature to know just how ineffectual its last effort was. The massive man moves around the edge of where he thinks the thing's spindly legs and hacks into the beast it with all his might.
Calling upon the reservoir of power bestowed upon him by the jeweled sages, Xûll manages to strike again!
With a mighty blow, Xull decapitates the behir. It's lifeless stump bleeds out into the surrounding sands.
The behir slain, the Pathfinders once again pick up the thief's tracks. The trail descends among many red sandstone arches and hoodoos as the afternoon sun heats the rock formations to baking temperatures. Periodically, the Pathfinders find signs of Kafar and Nefti’s passage, such as a discarded bottle, footprint, or shred of cloth. As the afternoon heat abates, the you all begin to ascend taller peaks
After hours of hiking, the scarps on the sides of the canyon gradually descend, until the whole of the terrain becomes a gradual slope encircled by distant mountains and deep chasms. .
Deciding to rest the Pathfinders bed down for the night.
Getting an early start, Warpac gently nudges Korasu awake. Gathering gear and checking supplies, they start off at a brisk pace. The group watches the beautiful desert sunrise while entering the plateau. Deep reds and vibrant oranges blur with the desert colors so the entire horizon looks as if it is one large painting.
The open valley offers an unobstructed view of the region, and you all spot a campsite on a mountain
nearby, and the wisps of smoke of a campfire is clearly visible just a few miles away. The signal soon disappears, but it is enough to confirm that you are on the right path.
To reach the campsite, the Pathfinder will have to brave some rigorous and dangerous climbing conditions.
Low Peak or High Pass (5,000 to 15,000 feet): Ascending to the highest slopes of low mountains, or most normal travel through high mountains, falls into this category. All nonacclimated
creatures labor to breathe in the thin air at this altitude. Characters must succeed on a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or be fatigued. The fatigue ends when the character descends to an altitude with more air. Acclimated characters do not have to attempt the Fortitude save.
When you reach the campsite over an hour later, you find a recently extinguished fire, bloodied bandages, and fresh tracks.
After an inspection of the bandages, you can find thin, glassy worms caught in the gauze.
Leaving the campsite, the Pathfinders follow a trail down the mountain, returning to a more comfortable place. The air thicker, tyour breathing less labored, all the Pathfinders take advantage of the conditions by taking in more oxygen and recovering from their ordeal.
The narrow and sinuous path down the mountain limits visibility. Once you reach the base; however, you spot your quarry just as you reach the end of the trail. They seem to be headed towards a large structure that must be the Sanctum of Sages!
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Pooka calms his quickened heart rate once Xull expertly chops the head off of the monstrosity. Without hesitating he drops from his saddle to check on Luna after she took the brunt of the blast. Pulling out his wand of healing, he yells for Warpac to come give him a hand. Once the dwarf has completed the healing, Luna licks his hand and nuzzles against his bearded face, saving one last lick for his cheek, which manages to leave a trail of slobber up his sideburns.
”Yea, sorry about that. Heh.” Pooka chuckles, pulling Luna’s reins away to prevent her from dropping more slobber on the warpriest of Desna.
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Xûll allows a foul, black, tar-like substance to pour forth from his wand and cover his body. It exudes an infernal sulfurous smell, but his wounds begin to knit up.
"Anyone else want a go of my Chelaxian happy stick?" Xûll asks, his friendly smile belying the pure evil crawling over his body.
Xûll calls out, "Stop!" knowing full well that they won't. With a hoot and a holler, he trundles off down the path as fast as he can.
Against the odds, baby!
Against the odds, baby!
Against the odds, baby!
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Toorin keeps his comments to a minimum for the arduous trek through the mountains, but he continues to be impressed with how dramatic and colorful the landscape is as well as how it changes with the changing light. At night, the stars seem more numerous than he has even seen, glinting and sparkling in the welcome cool.
The high mountain air takes its toll for a while, but Toorin manages to keep up. When the group inspects a campsite recently abandoned by the thieves, Toorin's attention is caught by something glistening and wriggling in one of the bloody bandages. "I think these worms are a nasty parasite. These are probably from the Arcata, whose bite can infect a victim with a worm that can turn the host into void zombie. They move faster than most zombies and the creature infecting their brains has a tail that sometimes sticks out of the mouth, looking like a forked tongue. Did anyone get bitten by that arcata we fought?"
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High Ground!
-- There they are!
Steep Slope
-- Grab and drop
Narrow Pass
-- Break Free
Cliff's Edge
AGAINST THE ODDS -- Natural Handholds
The ioun stone whirling madly about his head, Warpac grasps starknives in both hands while stashing his shield and axe away. Plunging the firmly gripped unnatural pitons in various crevices he weaves his way along the cliff like some kind of bizarre monkey.
Crack in the Mountain
-- Brute Force
Quicksand Patch
-- Spot it first
Natural Bridge
+2 vs. spell or spell-like -- Nefti's Enchantment
CLEAR THE PATH - Had to do it with a roll of 30!
Warpac immediately realizes that an illusion is hiding the bridge and in a burst of intuition pulls a smidgeon of the sand he got from the ritual of stardust. Calling on a blessing from Desna he sprinkles it into the eyes of those that remain confused by the illusion. Though not exactly meant for purpose, and normally not enough sand to make a difference, his mythic bond with Desna somehow grants the sand the extra power to cut through the delusion.
Illusionary Wall
+2 vs. spell or spell-like -- It's not real!
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Against the Odds
Against the Odds--
Korasu's keen eyes pick out the fleeing foes, and the chase begins in earnest! Yet as he runs, his shadowy form flicking in and out of visibility appears to pick up a host of black ravens, illusory harbingers of Vengeance!
Nimbly he scales the cliff wall, little flecks of shadowy ravens illuminating the path he takes for the others to follow. He spins through the narrow opening, not hesitating a moment as he runs recklessly along the cliff wall. Again, the ravens that trail him call out the most treacherous of locations for his pursuing party!
He literally flies through the mountain crevasse narrowly avoiding the quicksand and marbles that would slow him, before he sees a massive wall ahead of his path! Calmly he runs straight through the wall, thinking to himself, You cannot evade the Avatar of Vengeance
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”Oh we’re gonna get ‘em now, aren’t we girl.” Pooka smiles as he hops in the saddle. They would have to be possessed of amazing speed like his friend Haafiz, whom he met destroying a slave ring not too long ago, in order to outrun Luna now. ”Get their scent girl. We’re going to run until we catch them.”
Pooka focuses on the visions of the threads of time, the sight given to him by the ruby sage. He sees where he can take shortcuts, negating the pull of his armor, making it feel as light as a feather and as supple as a soft cotton shirt.
Pooka urges Luna into action, and his mount cannot be more eager to respond. Like an arrow shot from Amarok's bow, dog and rider rocket forward, getting a jump before their quarry even know they are hot on their trail.
"C'mon girl! Jump!" Pooka urges once again. They get close to the slope and the halfling decides to put his full plate to good use. He spins and slides from his saddle just as Luna is about to dip into her descent. He slides and bumps along on his back, the armor taking the brunt of the roots and stones that would otherwise pummel his backside. Luna beats him down to the bottom, where he slides right into her saddle again, running forward on flat ground again as if they had never missed a beat.
Behind him the slope has been beaten and patted down to create almost a gentle, hard packed decline as each bump and chatter that Pooka felt created a rippling effect behind him.
Seeing the narrow opening in front of them, Pooka pulls his feet from Luna's stirrups, jumping up to stand on the saddle. He turns sideways to keep himself skinny as the dog blasts through the space. Sparks fly from the back of his armor while his nose rubs on the stone in front of him, the two barely make it through.
The mythic powers that were bestowed on the halfling once again exude from his essense, turning his armor into a ghostly apparition around him. He kicks his feet into natural holes on the cliff, reaching for roots and other protruding rocks, scaling the cliff with ease. Luna grumbles in her harness, attached to his back, but it isn't long before they get to another flat spot where the dog can use her own feet, and carry her beloved master.
Rushing towards the crack, Pooka begins to growl. Luna's hackles stand up, and her growl begins to hum in harmony with her master's. Just as they reach the crack, Pooka shouts with all the passion he can muster from the depths of his soul, flexing his shoulders and leaning into the crack as dog and rider charge without slowing.
Behind them they leave a halfling and dog shaped hole in the mountainside.
By this point, Pooka is getting cocky. He sees a wide open field in front of him, and urges Luna to sprint all out. Unfortunatly, he doesn't see the muck and mire in front of him, and the two barely swim out, now covered in disgusting, slimy sand.
"We got this girl, just like the caltrops!" Pooka encourages Luna as he sees the bridge covered with the marbles. Alas, his guidance is miscalculated, and Luna's hind legs slide out from underneath her, nearly knocking Pooka off the saddle. He quickly decides to slow her down, to avoid risking injury as they pick their way across the bridge.
Finally, a wall he hadn't noticed before separates him and his quarry. Pooka pulls hard on Luna's reins, stopping short. "Dammit! So close girl! Let's see if the others find a way around..." He looks to his left and right to see how his comrades have fared.
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Toorin senses the group is going to make a mad dash down over the steep slopes, something he is not well equiped to do. His surge of powers gave him an instant realization of how magic could enhance his climbing ability with a few bodily transmutations. He made a few motions with his arms, said some words he had never spoken before, and his fingers elongated, with webbing between his fingers, and his knees became double jointed. Then he set off with the others, saying, "Don't wait for me. I'm not very good at this kind of thing."
Toorin's sharp eyes spot the Aspis agents far below. He points them out to the others.
With his transmuted arms and legs, the scramble down the slope went by with dizzying speed and a few close calls.
Just as he was thinking he might keep up with everybody, his way was blocked with a huge boulder. He tried to push it aside, but it would not budge.
Getting past this point again was made easy with his transformed limbs.
Here he could either try to wriggle through or force a wider opening. His strength was not sufficient, however.
The patch of quicksand was relatively easy to navigate by falling forward and letting swimming strokes pull him forward and break his feet free of the muck.
Nefti tried to foil pursuit with some magical trap to cloud his mind, but Toorin was focused at this point and shook it off.
He felt sure the wall blocking his path had not been there when he was looking down on the scene a minute before. So although he was certain the wall in front of him was an illusion, it did not yield to a concerted mental effort to get past it.
Hope this is what you were expecting.
The prey within sight, the Pathfinders instantly mobilize from the butte. Pooka spurs Luna into action will the others follow them to a naturally sloping trail to the valley floor. Warpac is momentarily left standing there, not understanding that they have spotted the thieves. He charges with the rest, yelling, "Why are we running!??!?"
Once they reach the edge of the butte, the Pathfinders can see Pooka leaning low over Luna as they have chosen a perfect route. Traversing the pebbly game trail, they make excellent time. Off in the distance Kafar and Nefti can see the dust cloud forming behind the swiftly moving Pathfinders. They turn tail and begin heading towards the beautifully carved door of the Sanctum of Sages.
The winding path narrows as it curved back towards itself. Looking left and right, the Pathfinders silently speed up or slow down, deferring or accelerating, to travel single file through while still maintaining their speed. Except Toorin, who speeds up when he should slow down. Bouncing off the shoulder of Warpac he careens into the rock face, and falls a bit behind.
As the ground straightens and levels out, Pooka tries to spur Luna on faster and does not realize that there is a patch of quick sand in front of him. Pulling hard on the reigns, he tries to stop her, but not in time. Her front paws sink to the first backward joint before he can hop off and pull her back. Korasu easily spots it and jumps on the rock face next to the pool. He thrusts his legs against the solid surface and pushes himself past the quicksand's edge. Toorin makes up some ground as Xull helps Pooka. Warpac, determined not to fall more behind doesn't realize what all the waiting is and plunges into the quick sand. As ropes are tossed, Korasu glances back and wavers between helping or continuing on.
Finally disgorging themselves from the water earth mixture, the Pathfinders are back on the trail and gaining ground. Korasu can see where the thieves passed this part of the trail, and shows the rest of the Pathfinders how to leap sideways through the narrowing crack. Leaving behind some oily feathers, the slickened rocks prove less of a challenge for the remainder of the party.
Reaching a short climb, Warpac pulls out his starknives to assist his ascent, while Xull trails knotted ropes to help those less able to nimbly climb the rock face. At the apex, they all look down and can see the thieves holding an upended bag. They all redouble their effort and easily avoid the hazard placed by the thieves. Losing valuable time in attempting to lay traps on the path, the thieves drop supplies to lighten their load and sprint towards the gates. Warpac shouts that he sees a switchback that can cut off their escape. Following the dwarf's advice, they all scamper ahead. The Pathfinders emerge in a natural bend cutting the thieves off.
Seeing that they cannot hope to reach the Sanctum of Sages, the thieves turn to face the upcoming Pathfinders.
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Xûll rushes free of the wall, appreciating that the power coursing through his veins helped him to see the illusion for what it was. "Ha! Little thieves, caught at last!" he cries out, "Give up now and we won't hurt you, promise. Otherwise, we'll chase you to the ends of the world if need be."
Knowing exactly how this will go, Xûll grins savagely and reaches for his nodachi... a gift from the merchants of Tian Xia.
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Toorin takes advantage of the slow reflexes of the enemy and steps west until he has a clear space over which to hurl another magic snowball, this one from his prepared spells. He gestures, holding out a hand expectantly, says "Nix Chisanu Mira," and waits a second as the pristine white sphere of snow and ice materializes in his open hand. Without delay, throws the snowball at Nefti.
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Upon awaking from a night of quiet contemplation and meditating upon their path and the flow of power coursing through his veins, the monk awakes with the rising of the sun to find himself fully refreshed and stretches out, going through a few rudimentary poses and exercises whilst he awaits the readiness of his allies. The hike up the mountain path saps the air from his lungs, It would seem my monastic training is slipping, perhaps I should return once this over for a refresher he thinks to himself as he takes a breather at the campsite.
Moving on from the disturbing bandages, Amarok spots the two thieves as they begin to flee, his eyes flitting perceptively between the tracks they have left on the floor and the sight of them fleeing through the mountain passages. He calls upon all of his training and skill to ensure his swift passage through the various hazards in the groups route to destiny and the reclamation of the stolen age jewels.
Finally seeing their prey before them, Toorin cast his defensive magics. His elven body becomes wrapped in a shimmering case of protective magics.
The bold Tengu takes a different approach and strikes out at the thieves. He slashes with his curved blade, slicing into Nefti. The ex-Aspis man takes some sever damage, bleeding profusely from the two deep gashes in his chest, but remains on his feet.
Groaning, he steps back, he begins casting a spell. Suddenly images appear.
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"Amarok... with all those arrows you fire, I think you'd be best suited to pop a few of those!" Xûll smiles at the monk an instant before his expression turns to one of joyous anger . Xûll stalks forwards, not in any particular hurry as his arms turn gorilla-like, stretching the tattoos that cover them in strange ways.
The Shoanti taps into the legendary power that was granted to him and the others, hacking twice at the bearded man in the turban. Racial profiling was never his thing, but with four extra images of Nefti, Kafar was definitely the minority presence here.
Approaching the other thief, Xull slices with his nodachi. His first attempt misses the man, but his second attempt; however, is aimed right at the man's neck. Twisting at the last minute, the blow slices into his scalp covering his face with blood. Though also wounded, Kafar still stands.
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"You have one chance to surrender, or we will cut you down! We know you tire of the Aspis' games. You can see the might of the Pathfinder society first hand. It is your choice whether or not that might is brought against you or beside you!" Pooka shouts as he prepares to launch Luna into another of their devestating charges.
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Warpac casts Bull Strength using a fervor to make it a swift action. He then charges, attempting to Bull Rush Nefti in order to give us more open spaces to attack from and cut off the retreat for Kafar. He has +5, +2 for improved bull rush, +2 for bull strength, +2 for relentless, and +2 for charge
If that misses he will use a Mythic Surge to MAKE it work.
After which he will use the Amazing Initiative Mythic Power to gain an attack on Kafar.
Then cleaves on through to Nefti gaining a +1 due to the weapon bonus.
Note: That puts him at -4 AC due to the charge and cleave (assuming the 25 was good enough to hit Kafar).
"You should never have stopped running little thieves"
The intrepid dwarf decides to once again rely on his patroness' lucky blessing. Not sure which foe to tackle, Warpac aims for the middle hoping Desna gives him some insight.
Indeed, Desna smiles at him. Feeling his shoulder connect with a man rather then running through an image, Warpac pushes him back a few feet.
Not content to run the agents over, he then flashes out with his axe slicing into the thief.
Both agents bleeding profusely, they turn to the halfling, "We yield."
The men drop their weapons and raise their arms.
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"Excellent!" Xûll claps his massive hands together as he becomes more human again , "You have no idea how many of your former comrades, and many of the other foes we face, refuse to accept the inevitability of our victory and go noisily - and messily - to their deaths. You have shown profound acumen in your surrender."
Xûll strolls over and begins riffling through their packs. "So, I'm sure you have a lot to tell us. Why don't you begin at the start. Why were you after this?"
The Pathfidner secure Kafar and Nefti and riffle through their belongins. They find:
- potion of cure moderate wounds
- potion of delay poison
- potion of invisibility
- scrolls of comprehend languages (2), acid (2
- +1 studded leather
- +1 human bane sap
- mwk shortbow with 20 arrows
- shortsword
with false-bottomed scabbardUE, - cloak of resistance +1
- ring of protection +1
- 273 gp
- potion of barkskin (CL6th)
- potion of cure serious wounds
- tanglefoot bag (3)
- +1 mithral chain shirt
- +1 sickle
- mwk whip
- darts (4)
- cloak of resistance +2
- ring of protection +1
- blue whinnis poison (4 doses), & concentrated blue whinnis poison (1 dose)
- formula book (contains all prepared extracts plus cat’s grace, comprehend languages, crafter’s fortuneAPG, disguise self, expeditious retreat, and heroism)
- masterwork thieves’ tools
- pocketed scarfUE
- 23 gp
Upon a closer inspection, Korasu is able to find Kafar keeps ciphers in the pocketed scarf that he wears around his waist like a sash and Nefti carries a slightly different set of ciphers in the false bottom of his scabbard. They are most likely Aspis Consortium ciphers.
As Xull picks up the Topaz sage jewel, Kafar and Nefti give each other a silent look.
Karaf begins, "Why profit, of course. We already sold one."
Going back through their packs, the Pathfinders discover two terms of sale and a letter of credit worth 6,000 gp, all three signed by some buyer named Angvar Branmaz, and one is obviously a fake.
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Angvar Branmaz as one of Grandmaster Torch’s aliases.
"Was the person you sold one to a very ugly scarred man that likes to bathe a lot by any chance?"
"Six-thousand," Warpac chuckles. "I suppose fencers must take a cut and cutie pie likes as large a slice as he can get."
Warpac has a smug smile on his face and chuckles some more, in obvious delight at the pun he just made.