With a swift and precise strike, Aetherys stabs the dwarf where the heart would be. His incessant preaching stops, and make place for a gurgling sound, until he keels over dead.
The duergar near Aetherys completes his spell and doubles in size, ready to pound on Pitbull. Apparently, though, this one is not very used to wielding weaponry of this size.
The other dwarf keeps defending himself, and hacks at Marra, while Grimaldus tries to get to the brain of Pitbull
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Marra
Castien
Aetherys
Maeglin
Pitbull
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Duergar - Blue
Duergar - Cyan (19)
Grimaldus/Zombie
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Horrified at IronWhip atrocity for killing helpless foe and turning his corps into a undead, Marra figures the Cyan Duergar is Owlbear food and charges forward to strikes at the large blue Duergar. All the while continuing the bardic inspiration and the arcane charge on her weapon.
if the attack fails, Marra cast Gallant Inspiration {link} Making the attack a
Asbo pecks and hoots, leaving nothing but a bloody pulp of a dwarf, studded with some feathers.
Pitbull hacks at his erstwhile friend - young viewers may want to look away - and ensures his unlife is short.
Marra charges up to the enlarged duregar, who sees the opportunity to strike as she comes in. His efforts are in vain, and with a furious strike, Marra stabs the duergar in the belly.
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Marra
Castien
Aetherys
Maeglin
Pitbull
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Duergar - Blue (14)
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Witha final stab of fury, Aetherys drives the dawnblade into the chest of the last dwarf, killing him on the spot.
Behind the barred door to the west, a room can be seen. A gleaming, solid, ovoid piece of metal with four cylindrical indentations and strange, fluid engravings rests on top of a long stone table.
To the east are two prison cells. In one, a gaunt wayang is manacled to the wall, suspended over a pile of dirty straw.
My name is Swareti the wayang answers, Ironwhip sent a raiding party to my village to capture and enslave. He and that Mueritt force us to work day and night, until we are too tired and weak. They say if we don’t keep up, they will sacrifice us to their god. So many people have already been taken away, and they never return. I collapsed and woke up here, chained to the wall.
There are many slaves like me, all chained up in this mountain. If only we had a key to these manacles, we could stage a revolt. The duergar don't know how to tell us apart, so one of us could slip in among the chained slaves and set them all free. The duergar are powerful, but they are slow. We are quick and stealthy, we'd sneak out before they find us.
Strange, the wayang says, looking at Aetherys' compass, while Castien opens his manacles are you pathfinders? Perhaps what we heard about them is not the whole truth. We were warned about the Pathfinder Society, told they are an organization of ruthless and greedy murderers, and that they always wear compasses.
It seems like this keys fit indeed! Let's set the plan in motion!
Leaving the dwarves fortress - there is little the adventurers can do for the slave revolt, other than get killed by overwhelming duergar odds - is straightforward with the revolt as a distraction, and the group returns to the grand lodge through the planar eddy.
When the party returns to the Grand Lodge, they find Aram Zey staring at the tapestry, deep in thought. He snaps out of it immediately upon seeing the pathfinders and says You're back, good. Report, please!
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"It appears you've been told lies about us. I'll let our actions speak for themselves so that you can make up your own mind, but simply know this: the Pathfinder Society is an alliance of archaeologists, scholars and truth-seekers about our past. While it is true that our motivation to join the Society differs from one individual to another, we strongly reject the behavior you've just mentioned. Actually, I'm a little curious. Did those who told you that bear insignas made of bronze or silver? If so, those liars are the Aspis Consortium, and I can honestly tell you that the words "greedy murderers" apply all too well to them. Their organization is based upon the will to make a profit from their operations, all too often at the expense of innocent people. As I've said, I'll let you make your own mind and decide if we are trustworthy or not. Know this - we would greatly enjoy a peaceful alliance with your people, if only to get to know you better. What say you?"
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"Master Zey, we found the dwarven village called the Taldak's point, but it was raised by some creatures, so we took a long way east to find their fortress. It was duergars, who were acting in the name of their dark god, and they were enslaving all the nearby villages. We found a Tanbark - a spirit oni creature, who offered us his help to guide and find the duergar leader. We travelled deep inside their fortress, but were unable to save... he paused for a moment, because he lost his idea, but then decided that pause is too long and continued, as previously, ... because he already desecrated the body, preparing it for transformation into undead creature, but then Grimbaru charged forward and was killed. I tried my best to save him, but he was in that blast and then dirty duergar channeled his evil energy, making him stand back as zombie, but Aetherys and her mythical blade was there to save us all. And then we set a wayang, name Swarety free, and he told us about duergars and we gave him a key, so he could set other wayangs free and start a revolt and prove that Pathfinder's who carry the wayfinders are not as they are told, but much... much better."
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Pitbull just nods along and grunts at appropriate times, she's not a great storyteller, and her stringing more than five words together is normally just a prelude to a fight.
"Grim fought well and died a glorious death, twice. We shovelled up his guts, now we need him kicked back to us from the heavens, as his killing and dying is not over yet"
“The transformation of Naldak’s descendants into duergar was an unexpected and unfortunate development, as is the presence of Aspis agents in the Tapestry working against us. However what matters is that you recovered another piece of the Sky Key. You successfully completed your mission.” The Master of Spells returns his attention to the tapestry. After a few moments, he barks, “Why are you still standing around? Do you want an award for doing your jobs?”
Despite his cold words, Aram Zey is actually quite pleased with the party performance
For each negative level a creature has, it takes a cumulative –1 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Combat Maneuver Defense, saving throws, and skill checks. In addition, the creature reduces its current and total hit points by 5 for each negative level it possesses. The creature is also treated as one level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level possessed. Spellcasters do not lose any prepared spells or slots as a result of negative levels. If a creature's negative levels equal or exceed its total Hit Dice, it dies.