Tuich uses cause fear on the blue hobgoblin, who temporarily freezes as he feels a shiver running down his spine.
Vincent's weapon cuts straight through the hobgoblin in front of him, separating the hobgoblin's upper body from his lower body. Wary of his front-line status, he adopts a slightly more defensive posture.
Vyk begins spinning again and takes the dog out with his spell. For his scimitar there's nothing but air left to cut.
Round 3:
Vyk 30/31HP
Kawrock
Akre
Blue hob
Khismia
Miko
Red hob (Bane penalties)
Green hob (Bane penalties)
???
Vincent 22/27HP
Tuich 36/39HP
Kawrock steps forward and slams his flaming hand into the frightened goblin, burning it severely.
Akre continues to hope and shoots an arrow at... the ceiling.
The hobgoblin Kawrock just burned tries to take revenge, but its longsword hits the wall instead of Kawrock.
Round 3:
Vyk 30/31HP
Kawrock
Akre
Blue hob -11HP
Khismia
Miko
Red hob (Bane penalties)
Green hob (Bane penalties)
???
Vincent 22/27HP
Tuich 36/39HP
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Standing behind friends, Khismia was nicely protected, so she dropped her shield and looked for healing wand, which somehow happened to be in her shoe.
-Look at Akre, whispered voice in her head, he is as useless as you. How do you think, who will die first?
-Ayu, you are not helping me at all
-Do you want me to steal all the sounds again?
-No, stop, just give me some time.
-Doesn't matter, I'll stick around. Find me a proper body, if you want me to leave you alone
Khismia drops her shield and pulls her healing wand from her shoe.
Miko holds her curing wand in hand, but does nothing for now. She hopes there's no more hobgoblins coming up, but then the double doors on both sides of the hallway open.
From the room beyond the set of doors in the west comes a human man in half-plate armor, wielding a bastard sword and heavy steel shield. He's followed by two whip-wielding hobgoblins in scale mail.
"Flank them!" the man orders the hobgoblins you were already fighting.
From the east set of doors emerges a female hobgoblin who wears the robes of a monk. She holds a vial and drinks the potion within. "My, my! What a pleasant surprise!"
With a wicked grin on her face, the monk tosses the empty vial onto the floor. "Everyone, hold your attacks!"
The human looks confused as he turns to look at the monk. "What?!"
The monk ignores him as she addresses you. "State why you're here. We may be able to make a deal. I don't wish to see my troops killed."
"Traitor!" the man yells.
The monk frowns at the man. "Oh shut it, Vos. I never worked for you..."
Round 3:
Vyk 30/31HP
Kawrock
Akre
Blue hob -11HP
Khismia
Miko
Red hob (Bane penalties)
Green hob (Bane penalties)
Orange hob
Purple hob
Lieutenant Pavo Vos
Monk hob
Vincent 22/27HP
Tuich 36/39HP
"I'm Fethi Ken-Shakkas. The hobgoblins are under my command," the monk replies to Vincent. "The reason we're in this keep is we were hired by Vos's ally, Elessia."
Fethi shrugs. "But frankly, I've been rather bored here lately... And I think we've done enough for the gold we've been paid. So I'm looking for new ways to earn some gold. If you give me 500 gold pieces, I'll call back my men. In fact, me and my men will leave the keep right away."
"You wouldn't!" Vos yells at the monk.
"Oh yes, I would," Fethi replies to Vos, showing him a wicked grin, "and I get the pleasure of screwing you over while I do it."
Vincent doesn't sense any lie or falsity in Fethi's words.
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Miko looks amazed at the sudden turn of events, but wicked is as wicked does.
It's a done deal, and I couldn't agree with you more. Who wants to defend a stuffy castle anyway. Wouldn't you want to rule it instead?
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I knew we were far from safe in that castle basement, and it didn't feel like the time and place to haggle, so I decided not to. After all, the risk of losing the opportunity was far too great. It was worth the try, though, to see if we could rile the hobgoblins against Vos.
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- My name is Khismia al-Khair, Trade Princess of Qadira. I am an owner of Lucky Child Caravan and several smaller trade venues. I am ready to pay your price as long as you keep your side of a deal. I think, you are not accepting a signed letter for bank of Abadar, so... - Nothing can strengthen a deal more than money changing hands. Khismia took out her belt pouch and reached for hand full of gold, - ...this is your payment.
After she passed money to Vincent, standing in front of her, she turned to Vos:
- Vos, you have been not in contact with your superiors lately. Your head now has a price tag and we are doing you a generous offer, allowing you to keep it for yourself.
Fethi motions for one of her fellow hobgoblins to take the gold and bring it to her.
"500 gold pieces, as agreed," Fethi says after counting the money quickly.
The monk bags the money, takes another potion, and drinks it. She nods her head at Vos. "Precaution, in case he decides to do something funny. Or in case you try to the moment we walk off."
"Give them the sign to gather at the courtyard. Once there we'll head out," Fethi tells the same hobgoblin that took the money from you. He takes his horn a sounds it thrice.
Fethi and her hobgoblins leave through the set of double doors north, beyond which you spot a room that looks like a library. From the rooms to the east and west each comes a hobgoblin archer. One of them raises an eyebrow as he spots you and Vos. Both of the archers also leave through the set of double doors in the north wall.
Vos stands alone in the empty hallway, the tip of his sword resting on the floor. His face is a mix of anger, confusion, and desperation.
"No... No, I'm not giving up!" he says to you as the anger clears out his other emotions. "I'm not letting you get anywhere near Elessia!"
Vos position himself with his back against the pillar in the middle of the hallway, then readies an attack. "I will keep my head! I will kick you out! And I sure as hell will keep this effing keep!!"
Round 1:
Lieutenant Pavo Vos
Kawrock
Vincent
Miko
Tuich
Khismia
Vyk
Akre
Miko casts a daze spell and absolutely nothing happens.
Vos glares in the direction Tuich's voice comes from, unable to see her where she currently is. "I will not die here, whoever the hell you are!"
An arrow flies past Vyk and Kawrock, and hits Vos in his chest.
"Remember me, Lieutenant?!" Akre yells from beyond most of you, having moved slightly so he could aim better. "That's for betraying your own men and killing all of them! Except me!"
Round 1:
Lieutenant Pavo Vos -10HP
Kawrock
Vincent 22/27HP
Miko
Tuich 36/39HP
Khismia
Vyk 30/31HP
Akre
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- "Ayu! Could you please show this mortal your love? A picture of your day? Make something he understand that dying is not the way he want to go", - Khismia spoke with her haunt in Qadiran whisper, waiving her hands to Vos side.
- "I thought you never ask me for that... I will show those to you as well, but later"
Handful of sand, moved across the floor like snake, than it formed a body and quickly climbed over Vos leg, filling his eyes and ears.
Tuich steps forward and gives Kawrock a shroud of darkness, which partially conceals him in shadows.
Khismia casts her spell and Vos's mind is filled with images of Ayu's death.
"No! No, I won't go down that way!" Vos yells, but his knees begin to buckle.
Round 1:
Lieutenant Pavo Vos -10HP (Shaken)
Kawrock
Vincent 22/27HP
Miko
Tuich 36/39HP
Khismia
Vyk 30/31HP
Akre
"Shut it!" Vos yells at Vincent, who moves forward and imposes his sword between himself and Vos defensively.
Kawrock then steps forward and tears through Vos's armor with a flaming claw. "Agh!"
Round 1:
Lieutenant Pavo Vos -26HP (Shaken)
Kawrock
Vincent 22/27HP
Miko
Tuich 36/39HP
Khismia
Vyk 30/31HP
Akre
Vyk turns invisible and moves up to Vos.
Vos swings his bastard sword at Vincent, but Vincent's armor deflects the attack.
Another arrow flies overhead and hits Vos in his shoulder.
"Take that, you ass!" Akre yells.
Vos drops his sword and shield, then drops himself onto his knees and burst out in tears. "I surrender! I surrender, please!"
Akre lowers his bow. "Hmpf..."
Vos looks at Khismia for a brief moment before answering, "She's my, uh... lover," and quickly looks away with a blush that would better fit someone in his teens.
"We're here for the underground vault," Vos tells you. "Have you heard of the legends about Tessarael's mysterious artifact?"
Vos looks at each of you in turn, and starts explaining when it becomes apparent you have no idea what he's talking about.
"In order to return to Sovyrian, the brainwashed Tessarael would need to devise her own means of interplanetary transport. With aid from Treerazer's vile forces, she constructed a tower so she could focus on her research. As she performed her strange arcane experiments-many of which explored using the elven practices of druidism as a means of expedient travel she added numerous chambers beneath the tower. It took years for her to acquire the necessary resources and build her machines, but eventually, by using a book of infinite spells procured by her demonic liege, she was able to fuel the arcane engine in the belly of her lair. Fusing the artifact with a sizable lypenaia tree from Sovyrian, Tessarael stepped through the tree and was sent hurtling across time and space. She did not arrive at Sovyrian as intended, however, and no one has seen or heard from the elven wizard since the strange incident."
"After Tessarael's failed attempt at space travel, her ruined arcane engine continued to produce random bouts of magical energy every several decades. Monsters and beings from the darkest corners of the multi verse were drawn in through temporary portals it created, but few were able to escape the subterranean chambers. The elements quickly eroded the rest of Tessarael's fortress, and for years the ruins of her lair lay quiet on an unusually barren hillside along the Marideth River valley."
"In 4648 AR, when the secessionists who would eventually form the nation of Nirmathas broke away from their avaricious rulers in Molthune, the Molthuni generals ordered the construction of Fangwood Keep, choosing the ruins of Tessarael's tower as the location of their border fort. The Molthuni used the broken stone from her tower in constructing their castle, and unknowingly built it over Tessarael's mysterious underground chambers, in which a powerful relic was entombed alongside her magical inventions."
Vos coughs loudly. "Ugh... I have dry throat now..."
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Betraying your superiors, taking over a castle together and bossing hobgoblins around. That's so romantic. Miko says in a caustic tone. Where is Elessia now? How many guards do you have in this castle?
---
I did the calculations in my head: Elessia would attack us on sight if she saw us, but the presence of Vos could mitigate that. We had to keep the lieutenant close anyway - we could have him turn on us, even if we did disarm him. We were in a castle full or armed guards, after all. A hostage, then, not a situation I am particularly fond of, so all I could do at the time was nod sideways to Vyk, who surely would have reached the same conclusion by now, and whisper...
---
Hostage? Miko whispers softly to Vyk
"Elessia's out collecting additional reinforcements for the siege. The hobgoblins... they were our guards..."
Vos gives you a nervous glance. "What will you do now...? Please don't hurt Elessia."
Akre puts his longbow away and moves up to Miko and Vyk. "Let's take his weapons away and bind him with rope. The man has no honor and will try to stab us in our backs at the first opportunity."
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Vyk nods to Miko, just as Akre approaches with his plan.
"I agree. It just so happens I have some rope right here."
The tiefling approaches Vos, but nods to Vincent to step behind the traitor, in case the desperate man tried something stupid.
"You're dropping your weapons, getting tied up and coming with us. Whether or not your conscious throughout this process is completely dependent on you. Savvy?"
"As for your lady love, if you can convince her to come quietly, then we won't hurt her. You have my word."
You search Vos and take the following items from him: potion of cure moderate wounds, heavy steel shield, +1 bastard sword, dagger, key, and signal horn.
Vyk ties Vos up, and the former lieutenant nods solemnly. "She should be in the courtyard."
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Vincent fusses with his hair as Vyk ties the lieutenant up. When he deems it satisfactory he checks his blade for new nicks.
"Out of curiosity, what was your plan if you found Tessarael's artifact? Keep it for yourselves? Go back to your country and turn it in for fame and glory? Sell it to the highest bidder? Why not ask for aid from your military superiors instead of going rogue?" He pauses and remarks to the others, "I know we're just here to help international relations, but I'm sure the Pathfinder Society would love it if we acquired it ourselves for the Society. Since we're here anyways..."
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- "It's very nice of you sharing this story and your part in it. Now, we know that Elessia wants to find a millenia-old artifact famous by spawning creatures of wild nature and demonic appearance to this earth as well as opening her way to travel through space and time. Am I the only person, who think that if this thing is brought to this world this might change fine balance we already have?" - Khismia was trying to think rational and her speech was cold and contained no emotions, though deep inside she felt scared. She heard lots of rumors about Worldwound and now, Elessia and her boyfriend were planing to use something alike. Another rift with thousands of monsters rushing throughout into Golarion? This will ruin all the business!
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"Nuts?!? I love nuts! Where do you see them Tuich?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Well, for one it sounds like a rather complicated device. I'm skeptical, but the story sounds a bit overblown to me. Blame it on my brother, who had his own means of interplanetary transport - it would give him terrible hangovers in the morning.
If this device truly exists, and if it is still active, it is too dangerous to leave it there. If it is not active, then we must make sure it never becomes operational again. Either way, we must inspect it.