Dwozer hustles around the outside of the room, then somehow throws his enormous sword at one of the creatures, before instantly calling it back to his hand. I may not know what you are, but I still know you're future.
Crunch:
Move Movement
Standard Hand of the Apprentice (teal)
@Draga, Wraith, and Dwozer: Please give me a will save (against an illusion if that matters for your character)!
Draga, Wraith, and Dwozer all attack the smoky beings before them, but only Wraith is able to actually make contact. Despite her blow landing, however, the creature does not seem to have suffered any actual harm.
INITIATIVE
Echoes of Exploration - Round 1
Bold may go!
Elemental (red)
Hannar
Elemental (teal)
Draga
Wraith
Dwozer
Dale
Dale's missiles slam into the smoky creature, which lets out another shriek.
Just as it does so, the face of the venture captain calls out from the statue, "Wait! This place is just a memory. Those belkars can't be real. They're some sort of illusion!"
Dale, please give me a will save with a +2 bonus from the VC.
Everyone else can have this same bonus.
Hannar, you can go ahead and make the will save too.
The red-limned creature drifts up through the gap in the catwalks, just in front of Dwozer, giving the magically-gifted warrior an opening to attack. As the smoky belkar rises up, it wraps itself all around Dwozer and tries to force some of its form into his mouth and down his throat!
Dwozer, please give me a Fortitude save!
Dwozer:
With the VC's advice, you recognize that the smoky creatures are illusions!
INITIATIVE
Echoes of Exploration - Round 2
Bold may go!
Belkar (red)
Hannar
Belkar (teal)
Draga (Will save +2 bonus)
Wraith (Will save +2 bonus)
Dwozer (Attack of opportunity, fortitude save)
Dale (Will save +2 bonus)
As the belkar rises up and begins to move toward Dwozer, the arcane warrior responds by striking out with his greatsword. At first, it appears the blade simply passed through the living smoke-beast, but a cold look in Dwozer's eye shows that he knows the beast for what it is: an illusion. More importantly, he knows it to be a destroyed illusion.
Redirecting Hannar's attack because the red belkar got destroyed by Dwozer's attack of opportunity. Dwozer also does not suffer from the effect of the Belkar's attack.
Hannar, realizing that the elementals are illusions as the VC warned them, fires off a beam of flame at the belkar threatening Draga. His beam strikes the belkar right at its core, and the beast screams in agony.
With an absolute barrage of slashes, stabs, and blasts, you quickly dispatch the remaining belkar, but not before it gets its smoky form inside of Draga. Within her, she feels the smoke as it turns to hard claws and rakes at her insides.
Smoke Claws Damage:3d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 1) = 8
Fortunately, Draga knows the belkar is an illusion, and so she resists the greater part of the harm the creature deals to her. You only take 20% damage from this type of creature when you know it is an illusion. So you take 1 point of damage!
With the belkars destroyed, VC Yuul sighs with relief. "Thank goodness those were just some sort of conjuration instead of the real thing! You might've had quite a bit more trouble if they had been real, though you all handled yourselves quite well I must admit. Now, what did we find here again, oh yes! It was the golden icon hidden within the altar!" As soon as the words leave her mouth, a hidden panel in the altar falls open, revealing a glass icon within.
Dwozer senses magic emanating from the tablet, similar to the aura he had perceived in the VC's childhood room from a few minutes ago. From her position in the statue, Yuul watches Dwozer as he ponders the artifact. "What is it? I cannot see the inside of the altar from here? Is the golden icon there?"
Wraith easily spots the icon hidden within the altar and finds no traps, but something doesn't seem to match up to the venture captain's description. She has repeatedly referred to a golden icon, but the one within the altar appears to be made of glass. What could be the cause of this inconsistency?
Just as she and Dwozer begin to focus on the details of the icons, they are reminded of the inconsistent details of Wulessa's childhood bedroom. Perhaps this place, too, is a sort of illusion!
Female Human (Keleshite) | Barbarian 1 | 18/18 (20*) HP | Init +1 | Perc +5 | SM +1 | AC 14 (12*) T 11 (9) FF 13 (11*) | CMB +5 (+7*) CMD 16 (FF 15) | F +4 (+6*) R +1 W +2 (+4*) | Rage* 6/6
Sorry. I posted a Will save, just after Wraith. And it was a nat' 1. So I edited right away to put a comment up (Meh+), and I do not see it. Post got lost? Draga's Will Save = Nat' 1.
The stone walls of Farseer Tower melt away, replaced by warm blonde wooden wall paneling and a plush, lemon yellow carpet. A canopied bed sits between two windows, through which the spires of a grand city are visible. A small army of dolls is pushed over to a corner, its slumping forms indicating some level of neglect. Instead, the preferred playthings in this child’s room seem to be books. A row of titles line a shelf on one wall, and several opened ones lie on the bed. Opposite the bed are a closed door and an elaborate vanity table. A mirror on the vanity reflects some motion not apparent in the room itself.
Wulessa’s memories fade into a different reality as the stone walls again become glass. The room’s dimensions remain the same, but the altar, catwalks, and vents all vanish. The statue remains, but its form distorts into that of a featureless humanoid, all signs of either demonic or Wulessa’s likeness melting away. Beneath the statue, a glass portcullis blocks off another passageway. Opposite the passage and statue the wall once again crumbles away into a fathomless void.
Map updated again!
Once again, the crystalline figure appears drifting out of the void and more pixelated images bear its thoughts out to you in a series of images. Having communicated with you previously, you better understand its meaning, and it better understands how to convey its thoughts to you.
First, it shows a chest full of scrolls, then shows a new scroll with the face of Wulessa Yuul upon it being added to the chest. You take this to mean that the Archivist is attempting to absorb the venture captain's mind to the Monadistic Archive. It then explains why it chose her by showing you a montage of images of her life beside piles of coins, jewels, and other valuables, growing alongside her life experiences.
Wraith pulls out two pieces of paper. On one, she draws a quick sketch of herself. She points to herself to show the entity who she means. She then rolls up the paper, making it look like a scroll, pantomimes placing the 'scroll' into the chest and then falls downs to show herself dying. She then gets up unrolls the scroll and copies it and places the copy in the chest, then places the original scroll over her heart to show that she lives and the copy of the knowledge stays in the chest of knowledge.
She then points to the scroll of Wulessa going into the chest and falls down dead.
I hope you understand all this. You're killing her.
The images stop for a moment as Wraith performs her rather brilliant pantomime. When she finishes, however, another set of images appears on the wall again, flashing images of each of your faces, then showing you all in the form of a nest of rodents rummaging in the walls of a well-ordered house. An image of the crystalline being appears in the midst of the house, and the rats are destroyed. Despite the apparently threatening message, the being seems to show it to you as the natural outcome of its duty as keeper of the Archives rather than out of any ill will.
The images fade from view once again, and the crystalline being retreats into the void. As you watch it move away, you hear a crushing noise from behind you. Turning to find the source of the sound, you see the large statue descend from the wall above the portcullis and raise its fists to attack!
Hannar strikes out on the animated mass of crystalline power that descends to attack, and his fiery ray glances off harmlessly. Dwozer is able to explain that, even if the ray had struck true, it would have done no harm to the construct, as it is immune to fire. He also knows that this being, called a giant terra cotta soldier, is resistant to physical damage from all weapons except those which deal bludgeoning damage.
Dwozer, since you would have known on your turn that the creature has DR/Bludgeoning, I'll allow you to use a different weapon on that same attack if you have one. Just reroll the damage as necessary.
The soldier, for its part, raises a massive fist to strike at Dwozer, as he is the closest target available to it.
Dowser's flail causes massive cracks to run across the soldier's surface. Unfortunately, Draga's mighty strike slides off of the ailing construct, but Dale's magical darts unerringly find their mark. With a series of arcane blasts, the creature crumbles to dust and the room falls silent.
Combat over! Excellent work everyone!
As a reward, here's a refresher of what the room looks like!
Wulessa’s memories had faded into a different reality as the stone walls again became glass. The room’s dimensions remained the same, but the altar, catwalks, and vents all vanished. Beneath the spot where the statue had been stationed, a glass portcullis blocks off another passageway. Opposite the passage and statue the wall once again crumbles away into a fathomless void.
Wraith finds no traps on the portcullis. In fact, she finds no mechanisms whatsoever. No hinge, no lock, no levers. Nothing. Apparently, the portcullis is immovable. It is apparently constructed as part of the glass walls and glass floors of the strange halls of the Archive. It is made of glass, though, and it is much thinner than the solid crystalline blocks that make up the floors and walls. Perhaps it would break if someone applied enough raw physical power?
"There seems to be no other way. However, that course of action may bring unexpected consequences." Wraith draws her blade and steps aside so Draga can approach the portal.
Try as he might, Dwozer cannot will himself out of the chamber. It looks like it will take physical force to break through the barrier cutting them off from the passage beyond.
Realizing this, Draga and Dwozer combine their efforts to shatter the portcullis and open the way. Once past the open portal, you find the same corridor you had begun to traverse off to your right, while, the corridor continues into unfamiliar territory to your left. As you turn a corner, you find yourself blocked by a door.
