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Laiashi makes a dash for a low-hanging vine, and notices as she does so that a leaning branch isn't just leaning-- it seems to be stuck in place, lodged beneath a boulder high up on the cliff. "Got an idea. Everybody look out!" She swings herself over to the branch, hoping to use her momentum to snap the wood in half and send the boulder tumbling.
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As you climb, you all cooperate in classic Pathfinder fashion to send a cascade of rocks tumbling down onto the distraught momma dinosaur's head. The rocks certainly leave an impression, and the beast abandons the chase as it recovers from its dazed state at the base of the cliff.
While the dino wanders back to see what it can salvage of its ruined nest, you all crest the ravine and finally make it out in one piece! You've even managed to keep the eggs in one piece, despite Jann's best efforts otherwise. As you continue to take stock of yourselves after your thrilling escape from Deepblood Ravine, Denair looks closely at the glowing fruit she plucked as she had run along the jungle path toward the cliff.
"Sorry!" Denair yells at the dinosaur. "She'll be okay, and she can find more later."
Meredith gives her a little bit of guidance. "Thanks, boss! Now, to identify this fruit..."
"It's...tasty?" She sniffs it. "I'm gonna hold onto it!"
Meredith nudges Denair, urging her to think harder.
Denair studies the fruit carefully, and even gets Meredith's magical assistance, but she is only able to recall that the fruit is called a Kaava sun pear, and that it is edible. Whether eating the sun pear will be of any benefit, however, remains a mystery.
With that brief investigation completed, you make your way back through the Kaava lands toward the village. At the outskirts of the Krihirik village, grippli possessions lie scattered about as if they were dropped or tossed carelessly from the dwellings above. Where before gripplis hurried about the village, now none are to be found. Shouting from the direction of the elders’ hut carries through the empty jungle—“Find the others!”—followed by the loud crash of something falling to the jungle floor.
An arrow flies from one of the rope bridges overhead and catches Saritirnen across his side as you enter the village center. Gazing up to find where the arrow came from, you see a woman with a bow drawn and aimed at you, a big red serpent painted on her tunic with the letters AC emblazoned upon it. "Boss," she shouts, "The Pathfinders made it back! Look out!"
"Looks yummy." Denair focuses. "It's called a Kaava fruit, and even you can eat it! I don't remember anything special about it, though..."
Denair becomes alert as an arrow flies by. "Oh no! They attacked the village!"
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Laiashi calls out, drawing her daggers. "We're on your side!"
"I have an idea," she says quietly to the others. "Follow my lead."
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With her outstanding perceptive abilities, Denair is instantly able to tell that the crashing sound you heard was the sound of a 20 foot tall ladder crashing down to the jungle floor. Following the sound up to the rope bridges and platforms in which the grippli live, you see that your attackers are not the grippli, as Laiashi thought at first, but are in fact more Aspis agents, who had apparently hung back or returned to the village earlier to pursue other means of obtaining the Krihirik's sacred talisman.
As Denair points out the ladder, she also sees a large panther, its face covered in long scars, skulking away into the jungle.
Laiashi, please give me a bluff check to go forward with your plan.
As you strategize and try to pull your ruse on the Aspis agents, all else seems relatively quiet. All that remains is to see if they will fall for it.
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Laiashi runs a hand down the front of her shirt, and where she does the material adds to itself an Aspis Consortium badge to match the one she'd seen on the dead agent they'd found-- but with her own name on it instead of his. "Weren't you told to expect us? We've been working undercover."
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The two agents along the rope bridges look at Laiashi and notice her badge. "Boss, it's okay! She's got a badge and everything." There's a moment of silence, and you see a figure appear in one of the crude windows of the structure on the central platform, then you hear him laugh loudly. "Hah! That's just some cheap disguise. She probably stole the badge off of one of your dead friends. Kill them!"
The Aspis agent with the green head scarf nods as his boss gives the command to kill these people who are clearly other agents. "Sorry, guys. Orders are orders." He levels his bow at Laiashi and fires off an arrow.
The arrow flies into the trees behind the ifrit, however, and Jann prepares to take his own action against these vile Aspis slime.
"Uh....no? I'm gonna kill you!" Agent Orange barely manages to shake off the power of Jann's enchantment thanks to his elven blood, then fires an arrow at Denair, who is one of the few targets not concealed by trees or bushes or horses.
The arrow fails to meet its mark, however, and so the Pathfinders prepare their counter-counter attack!
Ignoring the arrow, Denair lumbers up to the ladder and grabs it.
"This wouldn't be a problem if I could climb..."
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Nine hells. I could've sworn I had all the details right. Holding both daggers in one hand, Laiashi climbs up the nearest ladder.
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Willem hears a chorus of ""Umm....no, that would be stupid!" in response to his taunt. Apparently, these Aspis goons know a thing or two about tactics.
Speaking of tactics, a sudden rustle in the leaves to Denair's left reveals a charging panther making straight for her! The big cat runs at full pace, then leaps through the air at the fey being, its dagger-like claws fully extended.
As Meredith moves toward the bridge, a man with a cruel look in his eyes emerges from the elder's hut, a long knife held in his hand. He stalks along the bridge and begins to flip the knife back and forth between his hands. He moves just far enough along the bridge that he can clearly see Laiashi climbing the ladder, then catches the knife by the tip of its blade, pulls back, and throws the knife spinning at the ifrit.
Saritirnen's arrow slices through the air and punches into Agent Orange's rib cage, sending him flying off the twenty-foot-high bridge to the jungle floor below.
Filled with rage at his fellow agent's demise, Agent Green steps away from the ladder and aims an arrow at Laiashi from point-blank range.
The arrow strikes true, but the agent's anger makes the shot less powerful, so Laiashi only receives a superficial wound this time.
Denair continues to wait by the ladder while pummeling the the panther.
She then wheels around the creature to open up a flanking opportunity.
"Boss, I could use some help! The panther tore some of my bark away and it hurts and someone's going to try to drink syrup from me and ewww!"
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"I was willing to let you go before," she lies. "But now you're dead!" Both her blades start to glow red-hot as she reaches the top . Laiashi tosses one of her daggers into her free hand and strikes with the other .
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The boss flinches somewhat against Jann's magical gift, but he shakes off the worst of the effects. The flinch does cause him to wobble on the swinging rope bridge, but his quick reflexes keep him in place easily enough.
The panther reels as Denair hits it with a crushing blow. Despite the grievous attack, however, the beast lashes out at the eidolon in return. This time with a full retinue of claws and bites.
The first attack lands solidly, tearing away more of Denair's bark. She is able to resist the other attacks, however.
Despite Meredith's ridiculous reach, the panther manages to avoid her attack, and the cat bares his long fangs at the woman.
Up on the bridge, the knife-wielding figure pulls another blade from a sheath on the back of his belt and throws it at Laiashi. The knife strikes Laiashi squarely between the shoulders, wounding her deeply.
Saritirnen displays an overabundance of caution as his arrow flies far above its target to safely avoid hitting Meredith and Denair.
Agent Green, on the other hand, decides it's time to abandon his bow. He drops the bow and draws a sword from his side, slashing at Laiashi's shoulder. The nimble ifrit avoids the attack, however, and dodges away fromt the stroke.
"Boss. Really sorry! This panther is shredding me!" She takes a step back, flanks with Meredith, and swings, carefully.
Denair hopes she bludgeoned the panther silly as she can't take another scratch at this point.
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That was close, Lai thinks as she dodges the blow. Not sure how much more of this I can take. "Just die, won't you?"
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Jann's ability to share the void catches the knife-throwing boss once again, but still he seems to resist some of its effects. Perhaps there is too much darkness in him for the void to trouble him all that much.
Down on the ground, Denair wallops the panther once again, and the beast, having obviously suffered years of pain as is clear from the scarring on its face, turns to the camera with a look that says, "Screw this! I'm out!" The panther begins to run wildly out of the Krihirk village.
Back up on the bridge, Laiashi tries and fails to harm the still-pristine Agent Green, while Willem begins the climb to join the fight.
Denair watches the panther flee. "Bye kitty! Try not to bite off more than you can chew."
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"Yeah, you better run!" Meredith hoots as the panther flees. She gives Denair a perplexed look. "Its guard is down, what are you waiting for?"
Denair simply shakes her head and points up to the treeline. Meredith pauses and then calms down. "Yeah, you're right."
Meredith runs right up to the tree, below the green Aspis agent. Using her Gold Crown (TM) longspear and her elongated arms, she jabs up from below.
Meredith's spear finds its mark, seemingly out of nowhere, as she stabs up into the green agent's belly from all the way down on the forest floor! The sight is not enough to put the boss out, though, as he pulls yet another dagger. He raises the blade, give's Willem a cruel look and says, "This one's for you, Ser Knight," and he throws the knife, once again, at Laiashi.
Inexplicably, Laiashi dodges out of the knife's way, and avoids further harm...for now!
Saritirnen's arrow misses its mark unfortunately!
The green Aspis agent, whom Laiashi can tell is a half-elf from this close distance, swings his sword at her once again, hoping she will either fall or back off.
It still remains to be seen whether she will retreat, but that attack certainly did not make her fall! The agent takes a step back and draws a small vial from a pouch at his belt.
Willem finally makes it to the top of the ladder and onto the rope bridge, where he stands face to face with the knife master.