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"Let me get close to her. I can cast Share Language to help her understand Taldane, but it requires contact."
Grigorii moves forward and casts his spell, holding the charge in his hand.
Let's get down to business
To defeat our foes
Did they send me experts when I asked for pros?
You're the saddest bunch I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Wizard, I'll wake a rage out of you
Tranquil as a forest
But on fire within
Once you hear my rage song
We are sure to win
You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot
And you haven't got a clue
Somehow I'll wake a rage out of you
You’re never gonna catch your breath
Say goodbye to those who knew you
Boy, were you a fool in school for cutting gym
This guy's got 'em scared to death
Hope that he won’t cut right through me
How I really wish that this fight looked less grim
(Embrace the rage)
You must be swift as a coursing river
(Embrace the rage)
With all the force of a great typhoon
(Embrace the rage)
With all the strength of a raging fire
My furious axe, my dark side, and the tune
Foes are racing toward us; into the fray we dive
Heed my every order and you might survive
You proved ready for the rage of war
So back up, go roam, you're shrewd
How could I wake a rage out of you?
(Embrace the rage)
You must be swift as a coursing river
(Embrace the rage)
With all the force of a great typhoon
(Embrace the rage)
With all the strength of a raging fire
My furious axe, my dark side, and the tune!
As you take a short break off the road before entering the Nesher mines near sunset, you see four men ride past you with ghostlike horses with black heads and bodies, grey mane and tail, and smoke-colored, insubstantial hooves. Although all four are dressed like prospectors, each of them has a black amulet around their necks. One of them even looks familiar. You're sure you remember that skinny pock-marked guy wandering around town back in Macridi. What's he doing here?
The four men dismount, and enter the mine. What do you do?
If the crab wasn't dead before, boy is he dead now. He winks out of existence. Meanwhile Wei holds up his shield, and Grigorii prepares and holds a spell, and Wei proposes a game of charades.
What skill are you proposing to use for Charades? Tell me what you are doing here...
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Grigorii sings softly, attempting to mimic the sounds and melody of the strange creature's song while projecting a sense of calm. He playfully ruffles the tengu's feathers before carefully extending his arm toward "Nanananana" and gesturing for her to take his hand.
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To do his part of the interaction, Wei attempts to look like he's gained insight -- not hard to do -- on cue -- A bit harder to do.
He wasn't expecting the feather-ruffling. That has to explain it.
"Meant pat me on the shoulder or something, not give me a Calistrian Inquisition..." Despite the somewhat angry words, though, they're more playful than any sort of angry.
The bat elf's eyes widen and she lowers her bow.
«តើអ្នកជាអ្នកបើភ្នែកបានដែរឬទេ?
តើអ្នកទាំងពីរមករកអ្វី? ហើយហេតុអ្វី?"
"Who are you, if not of the Eye?
What do you seek, and why?"
She will let you touch her, but she flinches when you do it.
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"I still can't understand a whit of what she's saying. But, she should understand you now, Wei Ji."
Grigorii reaches out to touch her gently. The spell held in his hands discharges, and floating words in common Taldane and ancient Thassilonian runes flow up the creature's arm and into her head.
"There now, we are not here to hurt you."
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"Wei Ji is my name, that man who touched you is Grigorii, this is Kiku and Yojimbo. The shorter woman is Shel, and over there is Harsk. We are Pathfinders, we seek to explore, we write our findings, and work together.
What is this Eye, that has you so terrified?
And do you need your affliction treated?
We can't tend to it here, but we can bring you to a place nearby to have it taken care of?"
Wei will look hopefully to the BAT ELF.
The Bat-Elf squeaks as Azara and Harsk come into view, and hides behind Grigorii’s bulk.
“Ask those who serve the Eye!
Stole the planets, stole the sky!
It comes, and doom is nigh!”
Her bat-winged arm points with its remaining fingers first at the ifrit and the dwarf, then at the wall where dozens of cartoonish eyes loom over equally cartoonish houses and buildings, in deep contrast to the beautifully detailed solar system.
She shakes her head, then she looks confused. Finally she nods, then shakes her head again, furiously. She raises her bat arm, sweeps it up then crashes it down.
"Sonarisa flew too high!"
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They leave their smoky horses outside the mine, standing still like statues. When you approach the cave again after waiting a few minutes, the horses take no notice of you. You see a single lift with a winch to lower yourself down. It's fairly quiet, but a little creaky as you step on it and prepare to go down. Do you go straight down?
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Well. Alrighty, then!
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Baaldryn, upon discovering that the lift is slightly creaky, you wait a few minutes before descending . There are shovels, picks, torn up pieces of track, and other mining tools. As you step quietly into the darkness, you see a light in the distance and hear the four cultists ahead of you, arguing. Much of what they’re saying is in a language that is half shriek.
“You think Al fixed the lif... OW!”
«ចូរប្រាប់ បិសាច ! អ្នកមាន មួយនៃ យើងឥឡូវនេះ "។?
“Do you have to... ” There’s a pause and then the voice truculently continues, “ មិនអីទេ, ខ្ញុំនឹងនិយាយ បិសាច ...”
“Shhh... ។ លា ក ! បញ្ហា !”
“Okay, okay, I’ll speak Aklo...”
“Dumbasses! Trouble!”
You watch as the men up ahead look towards the left hand passage, then each cast two spells, then turn invisible and finally, extinguish their light.
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Both Wei Ji and Harsk hear a noise that sounds suspiciously like someone trying (and failing) to spell cast quietly.
Then, in the formerly trapped Nesher cavern , four rock guys appear, and Azara says, “Stop fooling with that loopy elf! We have company!”
Everyone but the Cultists and Harsk is up!
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"They've returned! Curse these cramped quarters."
Grigorii casts good hope on the party and begins to sing.
I threw an axe for the kill
Don't ask me I'll never tell
I looked at you as it fell
And now you're in my way
I trade in souls for a wish
Silver and gold for some bliss
I wasn't looking for this
But now you're in my way
Your stare was holding
Ripped shreds
Skin was showing
Hot night
Wind was blowing
Where you think you're going, puny?
They are both morale but they offer slightly different benefits -- having both is not bad. The rock guys are just out of range for a melee attack unless you delay for their approach or have a ranged attack, Shel.
Do you want to try the Planes check, Grigorii?
Grigorii offers his raging song to the party and casts Good Hope. Shel goes total defense (though the GM will let her retcon when she can see the map.) GM Hmm polishes her purple eyeglasses and realizes that she missed typing Kiku's name. Oops. There goes my GM cookies, eh?
Baaldryn, Azara, Wei Ji, Yojimbo & Kiku all may act!
Azara blows kisses at the other side of the room, where she presumes the invisible casters are. "Don't worry, I'll deal with you delicious tidbits later. But right, now, I'm angry."
She breezes past one rock guy to attack the other, gleefully triggering the attack of opportunity.
(Panache at 5/5)
"Ha! Take that, dirt bags!"
One Rock Guy dies instantly, crumbling to rubble.
The other one foolishly takes the attack of opportunity on the dashing Ifrit Swashbuckler...
...gets parried and dies, crumbling as well. Azara's attack is a smashing success, removing the "B" group of the Rock Guys off the board.
Baaldryn, Wei Ji, Yojimbo & Kiku all may act!
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Kiku spins around at the sounds of combat.
"It's probably the cultists attacking us from behind!"
She takes a deep breath as she suddenly realizes how easily her and her companions could all be trapped down here. She knows that this is the time for speed.
"Desna, Song of the Spheres, please grant us the speed of the stars. Haste!"
Azara is already a deadly cuisinart... If anyone in the group can handle being out of range of the haste, it's her!
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Hastened by his master's magic, Yojimbo rushes straight towards the sounds of battle, even plowing through the cavern wall and out the other side. He takes up position on top of the recently defeated elemental, hoping to cork the passageway against whatever unknown enemies are beyond.
The Cultists are invisible. Can Yojimbo see invisible?
Kiku casts haste. Yojimbo readies an attack. Baaldryn casts Shield of Faith and Invisibility Purge, and then calls for a parlay.
Wei Ji is now up!
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One of the suddenly visible cultists casts Charm Person on Azara, while two of his fellow mages cast on Baaldryn, and Yojimbo. "We're all friends here. Just escort these trespassers out and protect us, and everyone can be happy."
The one casting on Yojimbo casts defensively, but Yojimbo's readied action still goes off on him! "Ow! What happened to us all being friends?"
"Oh dear. This fighting has gone out of hand. We have to stop it or someone may get hurt!" The fourth cultist frowns and turns to Baaldryn, radiating concern. "A parlay, you say? Delightful! We're just simple prospectors working with the Nesher Brothers. Who are all of you?"
Yeah, they're lying through their teeth.
Then the rock guys attack!
Both attacks miss!
The bat-elf has curled into a fetal ball, shaking. "The Eye, the Eye..."
Baaldryn's second attack hits, and the cultist screams.
«ប៉ុណ្ណឹងបាន កំពុងលេងយ៉ាងល្អ គ្រាប់បាល់ ពួកគេ អគ្គីភ័យ ។ ! "
Of the three minds that failed their will saves, you detect a 4 int, a 7 int, and a 16 int.
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The tengu's feathers ruffle up as he hears and understands something.
"Hit *THAT* one with everything, NOW, before he can get a spell off!" Wei points to one of the individuals in the group. "If he drops, hit *THAT* one"
Wei moves up a bit, keeping shield at the ready and drawing an adamantine sawtooth sabre.
"Friends don't set Yellow Mold traps for friends!"
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Already in position, Yojimbo furiously swings again and again at the first cultist in line.
"Cowards, striking from invisibility. YOU WILL FALL."
"Grrrr...pointless...these cultists...shall pay for...that trap...."
Various images of the cultists falling into similar traps to the one he fell prey to flash through his mind.
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Kiku steps out from behind the turn in the passageway so she can see the battle better, drawing her wand of faerie fire and pointing it at the center of the cultists
"Don't worry! Ashava, the True Spark, shine your light upon the evil the lurks in the dark!"
She pauses for a moment, taking a breath to try to relax herself.
"Please let this work...."
Wei Ji maintains his spell. Grigorii and Glorymane utterly eliminates an elemental.
Yojimbo attacks the already-wounded Blue, who dies swiftly. Kiku lights up the corridor with Faerie Fire so that the Red, Green and Purple cultists cannot go invisible again. Harsk's arrows take out Red. Shel double-moves to set up a flank.
Azara moves through her allies and then deliberately moves through green to provoke from him as she attacks purple.
(Panache at 5/5)