Mordack rushes in, while Cortica blesses the party. Jasmine lands an arrow in the wormlike demon, and the strength of force she put behind it causes it to cut through its tough flesh.
Shadow Lion's cold iron lance strike at the demon wearing peasant skin, but the stab is ill-adjusted and misses, as does Oleander's shot.
---
Shadow Lion
Apples
Mordack
Jasmine
Oleander
Thaddaeus
Cortica
---
Vermlek - Purple
Vermlek - Green (13)
---
Thaddaeus rams at the wormlike demon, which is much easier to hit now that it doesn't have a buffer of flesh around it.
The demons step back, and once again bring forth wave of negative energy
---
Shadow Lion
Apples
Mordack
Jasmine
Oleander
Thaddaeus
Cortica
---
Vermlek - Purple
Vermlek - Green (4)
---
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Apples charges forward and Shadow uses the boars momentum to drive his lance home.
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Shadow Lion doesn't mess around and charges the skin-wearing demon, driving his spear deep into the shield of meat.
Mordack hits the worm-like demon with acid, but the creature just laughs at the Sorcerer's feeble attempt at harming it.
---
Shadow Lion
Apples
Mordack
Jasmine
Oleander
Thaddaeus
Cortica
---
Vermlek - Purple (22)
Vermlek - Green (4)
---
Jasmine misses both of her shots, but Oleander sees a clear opening, fires an arrow and hits the demon in the head, the arrow firmly lodged in the peasant's brain. The human form bleeds a strange green ooze
---
Shadow Lion
Apples
Mordack
Jasmine
Oleander
Thaddaeus
Cortica
---
Vermlek - Purple (27)
Vermlek - Green (4)
---
Thaddaeus really puts the smack down proper on the exposed worm-demon. His sword cuts through the worm-like flesh despite its resistance, and exposes more of the dark green slime inside.
---
Shadow Lion
Apples
Mordack
Jasmine
Oleander
Thaddaeus
Cortica
---
Vermlek - Purple (27)
Vermlek - Green (19)
---
The two demons move up to Thaddaeus, and attack: they first sweep in their scythes, then try to bite him. Attack after attack fails against the thick armour of the warrior.
---
Shadow Lion
Apples
Mordack
Jasmine
Oleander
Thaddaeus
Cortica
---
Vermlek - Purple (27)
Vermlek - Green (19)
---
Shadow Lion drives his lance one last time into the demon in front of him, and finishes it off for good this time. The human skin that the wormlike creature was wearing shreds as Shadow Lion drives his lance into the demon's cold, dark heart.
Oleander adjusts her targeting to the last demon standing, but fires wide.
Mordack send another two magic missiles at the demon, and has apparently found the creature's arcane weak spot. Both missiles burn and hiss as they strike the demonic worm.
The distraction is good enough for Thaddaeus to bring down an accurate strike to the head of the worm, and he cleaves is straight off.
Nothing remains on the battlefield but two dead commoners, two slain demons and - further down the flooded plain - two unconscious commoners.
Sir Ilivan looks on, and waits for moment before he says Well fought, though you should have focused on attacking and finishing a single demon at a time. That would have saved you a lot of trouble with those negative energy spells. You were foolish to attack an unknown threat like that. Let's move.
“They're trying to kill me," Yossarian told him calmly.
No one's trying to kill you," Clevinger cried.
Then why are they shooting at me?" Yossarian asked.
They're shooting at everyone," Clevinger answered. "They're trying to kill everyone."
And what difference does that make?”
The commoners have little of value, except the scythes they carried.
|
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Shadow Lion pulls out a wand. "Can anyone use this to heal my boars wounds?"
Shadow will go and check on the unconscious peasants and allow the use of his wand if they also need healing. He then looks to Sir Ilivan, "Thank you for the tactical notes Sir. However I can not help but wonder why you did not wish to help these people. Is this not the purpose of a Mendevian crusader? Has something happened where you have wandered off the path of justice and honor?"
|
Oleander reaches out and uses the wand for Shadow Lion.
She then carefully approaches the commoners on the island.
"We must at least get them to somewhere they can recover. It will only take a couple of minutes."
After making sure they are human, and not demons she'll carry them one at a time to shore if necessary.
"Great, now I smell of human."
We have out mission Sir Ilivan replies to Shadow Lion and walking into this trap was not part of it. You were lucky to be able to best this group of demons, next time you might not be so lucky.
Oleander carries the severely beaten humans to safety.
The commoners are thankful for their rescue, though their reaction is one of deep trauma and shock: It was horrible, our own townsfolk. They acted so strange, as if something possessed them.
Once the party has finished its business, Sir Ilivan leads the group onward to Fort Portolmaeus
A dark plume of smoke rises in the distance, which Sir Ilivan confirms as coming from the Fort.
Fort Portolmaeus sits on a tall rock outcropping in the West Sellen River, surrounded by rushing waters on three sides. A stout, stone bridge connects the fort to the river’s
eastern bank, with a closed wooden drawbridge protecting the final approach. The keep itself is built of dark stone with tall curtain walls surrounding a squat central keep that peeks out above the outer fortifications.
Portolmaeus has been the scene of a recent battle. Soldiers dressed in the colors of Mendev move around it making repairs, while others use carts to remove the bodies of humans and demons slain in the recent attack.
As the party approaches, a patrol of four horsemen from Fort Portolmaeus quickly approaches, arrows knocked in their bows. "Hatl in the name of the queen", the patrol shouts from 60 feet away.
Sir Ilivan gestures the party to not draw their weapons and respond That the
Black Prince might be redeemed
This is a reference to one of the eight works of Iomedae
Upon hearing this passphrase, the soldiers lower their weapons. Come forward you the leader of the patrol says. I am Sir Morgan, what is your business in Fort Portolmaeus?
A drawbridge is lowered, and a soldier quietly stares at the party.
The guards raise a portcullis studded with cold iron spikes, after which a handful of soldiers lead the group through a narrow zigzag tunnel to the central courtyard. The fort’s central building sits squat in its center, an impressive, monolithic edifice with few openings. A number of young stable boys come out from a side building to care for Apples and the horse of Sir Ilivan, quartering them in the stables.
With the mounts taken care of, the party is led into the central building to meet Commander Manaria Wardroxan, a charismatic young nobleman with pale skin and black hair who is dressed in a mud-spattered uniform that hasn’t been changed since the last battle.
Commander Wardroxan relates the previous night’s events with obvious regret. “The demons attacked in the dead of night, a mixed group of dretches and schirs led by a terrifying brimorak, a creature of horn, claw, and fire. The wardstone had been buzzing like it is now, and it didn’t seem to stop them. They captured a scout patrol alive and staked them out on the ground in front of the fort. There they tortured them close enough for us to hear. I am ashamed to say that we deliberated on whether we had the strength to retaliate, but as the screaming and begging continued, I sent our cavalry to put
at end to the suffering.”
She sighs heavily before continuing, “Of course it was a trap. A group of schirs wielding halberds met our cavalry and wasted no time in dragging them from their horses. The dretches then overwhelmed them with sheer numbers, clubbing them into submission. They slaughtered the horses and dragged off the soldiers while we looked on helplessly from behind the fort’s wall. I sent out another party after that, but most of the demons had already withdrawn with our captured men.”
I simply do not have the reserves to send out a rescue mission, Wardroxan says but a specialised team such as yourself may have a shot at rescuing these brave men, before it's too late.
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What do you know about these Demons? Anything you can tell us that can help us fight them better? And do you know how many there were?
He pauses for a minute Anyway, I'll do it, as I have to silence these Demons. Yeah, if they figure out who I am, I'm in trouble, I'll have all of Hell after me, they have been searching for that reincarnated soul, luckily I'm in human body, but my demonic powers will show as I get more powerful, I better take these guys out quickly before they tell every Demon in Golarian who I am, that is of course if they can figure out who I am, as there are plenty of others out there with Demon ancestry, but it is a rarity to have a reincarnated Demon floating around.
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Oleander nods to the captain.
"Sir Ilivian leads here. He has a long noble history fighting these horrible creatures. Nobody here more than him can understand the horrors they can inflict, or know they must not be rewarded for their wicked actions here."
Looking around she asks "Have you any cold iron arrows spare? I loosed a fair few at some demons back up the road."
Wardroxen answers At least three score demons attacked last night, and we counted fourteen dead dretches and schirs among their fallen this morning. Our lookout reported seeing the chained cavalrymen heading westward into the Worldwound a mile north of here, surrounded by a small group of guards—no more than a half dozen strong.”
I will open up the fort's armoury to you, to aid you in your quest.
Among the available supplies are 2 potions of cure moderate wounds, 3 potions of shield of faith (CL 6th), 10 flasks of holy water, and any simple or martial weapon from the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook.
Once the briefing is over and Wardroxan has left, Sir Ilivan wastes no time in chiming in: This is a fool's errand, construed by a inexperienced commander who is wracked with guilt over a poor decision. There is little hope for these cavalrymen, they have likely been killed for food or sport already. His words are matter-of-factly, talking about the cavalrymen as one would talk about cattle, or about crushing insects under one's boot.
Hmm. Sir Ilivan says, you sure are a stubborn lot. Very well, I shall accompany you on this mad quest.
Sir Morgan gives the PCs a small map that marks a shallow ford across the West Sellen River where they can cross with their mounts.
You manage to pick up the kidnapped soldier's trail
There's traces of three demons driving eight humans.
Two of the demons are dretches, while one is a fiery brimorak that leaves charred hoof prints in the ground.