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Rasamoro is visibly disappointed at not being able to actually retrieve the axe for his mighty companion to wield. Kernuffle need axe to pray! When Nana reappears, an already bummed nagaji becomes downtrodden. With a defeated hiss of his tongue, he bows his head in melancholy and shuffles onwards with his companions. No axe. No Battle Buddy. Rasamoro alone again.
"Rasamoro not understand what happen. What Nana and Remy do?"
"Rooaarrgh! Rrroargh? Hgruff!"
Kernuffle goes directly to Nana and wraps his arms around her.
"Rroooaaaarrr!"
His confusion and distress at his temporary severance from his mistress is abated. He glances over his shoulder at Rasamoro, and howls again. Is it a challenge, a denial, or perhaps a thankyou?
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"What's the matter Kernuffle? I is here. Nana will protect you! The Holy Mama blesses you!
Extricating herself from Kernuffle's embrace, Nana answers Rasamoro: "I looked in the doorway and I saw the angel! I went towards him and suddenly I was here! But the angel isn't here, it's like he's stuck somewhere. We's got to find him!"
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Rémy gets a very strange feeling, as though you are being watched, but sees nothings, even with his enhanced vision that is meant to reveal the unseen. Sharing it with the group, Kernuffle does not smell anything, but is likewise on edge for some reason, perhaps his bestial instincts aware of something.
Suddenly, as you search the room, 5 vey strange, red skinned, four-armed insectiod creatures seem to materialize. Rémy spots them first, seeing what seems to be cloudy figures first appear when no one else can see them at all, but as they phase into this Planes existence, they become clear to all.
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(+3 in Surprise)
(always acts in surprise round)
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Two of the insect creatures are able to get their ambush attacks in quickly before anyone else can react, but Rasamoro reacts quickly, perhaps quicker than any mortal should be able to. Each of the four insectoid creatures carries two short swords and also a pair of longbows (each). However, it is clear that all four of their arms have nasty claws on them, and they can also deliver a powerful bite as well.
SURPRIZE ROUND
Two Insects
Rasamoro ()
Two Insets
Round 1
Insectoid RED (Grappling Torean)
Eladrian ()
Insectoid YELLOW ()
Rasamoro (), Torean (Grappled, -5), Nana (), and Kenuffle ()
Insect PURPLE () and Insect BLUE ()
Rémy ()
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One of the creatures attempts to swing a nasty claw at Rasamor as he begins to call on divine aid, but misses, and in frustration swings again, again, failing to actually connect.
The other focuses on Kernuffle, likely thinking him the biggest threat of the pair, but likely is very mistaken. The creature that is holding Torean goes all out trying to sink it's trifocal mandible into the dwarf and render him powerless.
Round 1
Insectoid RED (Grappling Torean)
Eladrian ()
Insectoid YELLOW ()
Rasamoro (), Torean (Grappled, -5), Nana (), and Kenuffle ()
Insect PURPLE () and Insect BLUE ()
Rémy ()
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The creature follows Eladrian as he slams his maul into the one trying to grab Torean, caving through it's chittonous exoskeleton, but not killing it.
Eladrian luckily is able to avoid the bite, and with it the toxin that forces the body to go stiff, but does take two slashes from short swords as well as a claw swipe. Fortunately the claw does not catch him as well as it could, and he avoids being grappled as well.
Round 1
Insectoid RED (Grappling Torean, -25)
Eladrian (-18)
Insectoid YELLOW ()
Rasamoro (), Torean (Grappled, -5), Nana (), and Kenuffle ()
Insect PURPLE () and Insect BLUE ()
Rémy ()
Kernuffle fights back against the Xill.
"Roooaaaarrrrggghhh!!!"
Full attack vs purple xill.
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Rasa unleashes the fury of his chosen weapon against the nearest Xill, striking it three times solidly and leaving it on the verge of falling over as dark, insect-like ichor seeps from it's wounds. Torean, rather than attempting to break free, uses his own chosen weapon to cave his attackers head in, sending it to the ground in a pile that almost immediately begins to curl in on itself, reminding you of what happens to spiders when they are killed.
Nana quickly casts a spell, but rather than empower her own sword arm, channels it into her loyal beast-friend, and the massive ape uses it well. The Xill targeted wobbles on it's feet, completely stunned by the onslaught leveled against it, and it's candle so, so close to being blown out, but with perhaps a single precious few seconds left, it is not out of the fight just yet.
The slightly purplish-tinted Xill focuses it's wrath back on Kernuffle while the blueish one steps over and focuses on attacking Rasamoro.
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Round 2
Rémy () and Eladrian (-18)
Insectoid YELLOW ()
Rasamoro (-7), Torean (-5), Nana (), and Kenuffle (-4, grappled by Purple)
Insect PURPLE (-65, grappling Kernuffle) and Insect BLUE (-47)
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Taunting the Xill, Rémy levels a powerful curse upon him that causes the Earth Fiend to simultaneously become more clumsy and doubt it's abilities just as Eladrian moves into and crushes it with his large hammer. It survives, but it definitely feels it.
The yellowish Xill turns it's attention on Eladrian, and despite it's curse, seems to have the best luck of it's nest mates.
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Round 2
Rémy () and Eladrian (-30, grappled by Yellow)
Yellow Xill (cursed, -33, Grappling Eladrian)
Rasamoro (-7), Torean (-5), Nana (), and Kenuffle (-4, grappled by Purple)
Purple Xill (-65, grappling Kernuffle) and Blue Xill (-47)
The ape-beast Kernuffle attempts to dispose of the insect that has latched onto him.
"RAAAARRGGGGHHHH!!!"
Mighty Kernuffle beats his chest and stamps forwards through the semi-ethereal flora.
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Kernuffle easily murders the Xill attempting to implant some sort of egg into him, allowing Nana, (likely a little bit jealous that she was not chosen to be the host of the new generation of Xill) to move over and dispatch the other Xill with bluish chitin.
Rasamoro ends the last of them with he last of them some ease. Besides a great many short swords, the Xill have very little on them, and none of it of particular value, allowing you to move onto the next section.
A seemless wall at first, as you approach, suddenly the crystal breaks apart, as if a part of the wall could simply slide aside, reveals another room. A crystalline grill is inset into a bulkhead with an aperture in the overhead that once provided ventilation, though it is now blocked by a seamless crystal plug. Side chambers are empty but still have meat hooks and hanging nets embedded in the overhead to provide storage for foodstuffs and other supplies, though they are all now currently empty, save for the occasional odd coin that seems randomly scattered about. The design is unfamiliar, and in some cases, even the metal, or rather metal-like material used to construct them. All together, you find 250 of them, with many different types, styles, and imprints upon them.
The far portion of the room contains berths for 39 humanoids line the
bulkheads of this chamber in 7-foot long by 3-foot high concavities, stacked three high. Likely some sort of crew sleeping area, there is no trace of personal effects, and it looks to have not been used for a very long time. The farthest tendrils of the strange plant are semi-corporeal and extend through the walls and deck of this cabin.
At the far end of the room, (left on map), Rémy notices something protected by some sort of magic of concealment. This simple compartment ends where two angled walls come to a point. Lines engraved into the crystal along these walls give the chamber a sense of motion toward the terminus of the bulkheads.
Moving forward to exam in closer, he suddenly vanishes. Calling to him in concern, only to hear him respond in the distance somewhere behind you. He replies that he seems to have been teleported to another area, though it has to be close, describing a very small oval shaped room with a single staircase, all made of the same crystal, travelling upwards. As the rest of the party joins him and ascends into what lies beyond the crystal stair. . .
This chamber is empty except for a giant brass cube, 5 feet on a side, spinning slowly as it balances on one point atop a 3-foot-high crystal plinth. The entire construct is covered in a dizzying array of glyphs, symbols, esoteric script, and pictographs, virtually all of it opaque to translation. This feels like the heart of the strange ship, and the pulse of its energy is almost palpable. The cabin is dominated by a cube composed entirely of brass that balances on one point atop a 3-foot crystal plinth, where it rotates slowly counterclockwise. Every inch of this cubiform monolith is covered in cramped script, symbols, schematic designs, and glyphs. Blue tracers of power flash across its surface every few seconds and are absorbed into these etched characters.
It seems to be a puzzle device of some sort, and you get the sense that perhaps it controls many of the functions of the ship, maybe even directing the ship itself.
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Along the way Nana uses her wand of clw on Kernuffle.
"Well done, Kernuffle! The Holy Mama is very pleased with you. I think you'll get a nice scar there!"
In the room with the strange cube:
"A person? Is it the angel?"
Nana says a short prayer and studies the cube.
"Oh, in the pillar! But I's can't tell if he's the angel or not! Shall we free him anyway? I's got my bestest chopper!"
Nana readies her falchion, as if to strike.
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Eladrian looks over his team to make sure that everyone survived the assault in reasonable condition before seeing to his own wounds. As he begins to staunch the bleeding, he manages to hand his wand of healing off for someone to assist him with.
Once the golden glow of healing energies fade away, Eladrian hurries off to see what else lies in wait. He is busy picking up the coins, when suddenly he sees Remy stepping towards the hidden corner and right as he is about to call a warning, the man disappears! Eladrian is only slightly mollified by hearing Remy calling out from not too far away. Tentatively, he steps through the "portal" and finds himself surrounded by the strange writing and odd monoliths.
"I have no idea what all this writing and symbols mean, but I too see the little man trapped in the crystal. Shall we try the box or the plinth?" he asks, hefting his earth breaker.
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Rémy's attempt, perhaps aided by the ether, seems sufficient. For something at least. As soon as he slides some of the pieces around, the cube itself grumbles and shakes, at first acting like it might explode as if it where some volatile concoction, but then it continues it's normal rotation. The Crystal Plinth flashes with light for a moment, and suddenly it is as if one of it's sides vanishes, allowing you to see clearly within a female form, weak and sick. With whatever magic the crystal had been providing now gone, she slumps to the floor, falling out of the crystal chamber, and as she lands hard, she awakens, looking up at you weekly and confused. Grisly fetishes and the rags of once fine clothes hang off the corpsethin frame of this horrifying, sharp-fanged crone, as the old woman whispers "Thank you. . .".
The old woman is far too weak, too drained to put up a fight, and does not appear to know where she is or what has happened. Oddly, she speaks with an accent you do not recognize, though seems to understand Taldan <Common>. The old woman identifies herself as Skarja, and through haggard whispers, relates that she has been trapped in suspended animation within the crystal hull of the ship for untold years. She explains that many creatures are so held and that the ship uses them as fuel sources. She was recently moved by the ship into the plinth and was slowly being leached of her life force. She knows that it is the hated xill who now control the ship through a rare plant found on the Ethereal Plane that has some natural empathic abilities, which allow the xill to tap into the helm. She felt its presence while serving as the ship’s fuel source.
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"Hello old lady Skarja. Blessed be the Mama! I is called Nana Grilka. We is looking for the angel in the doorway. He must be trapped like you were!"
Nana smiles warmly at the crone. Then Nana speaks again, but her voice is different, almost as though someone or something else spoke through her.
"સ્કારજ, તમે મોનસ્ટર્સની મધરની દિવ્ય જીભને ઓળખો છો? તે તેના નોકર છે જે તમારી સામે છે. તે તેના હાથ દ્વારા છે કે તમે મુક્ત છો!"
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Rémy looks quizically at the card in his hand, then shuffles it back into his deck.
"You are welcome." he says extending a hand, "What a terrible device. Do you know anything of its past or function?"
Rémy will quietly explain Skarja's nature and his intuition that she is not a danger, but perhaps a new friend.
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Torean helps the old woman up and to a seat on his backpack. "The ship uses creatures for fuel?! That's horrible. What happens when it has used up someone?" Torean frowns. "We're here to explore this strange ship, but I won't cry if my hammer get to smash more Xill along the way. Skarja, we plan to leave this ship before it departs again. You should come with us."
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When the woman falls out of the plinth, Eladrian rushes over and helps her to sit up, then offers her his water skin. He listens, horrified, as she tells her tale before asking "We have defeated several of these creatures.. do you know how many there were? And would you have any idea how to control this thing?"
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The Hag looks on at Nana curiously, at first suspicious, but beginning to understand her particular brand of the blending of faith and insanity, responding (In Abyssal), that she does indeed understand, and while not herself a devout follower, she does hold Lamashtu
in high regards for her "blessings" that mortals call Changlings.
Turning her attention to Rémy, "I know that the ship is powered by the life forces and souls of victims, such as I was. While I was bound, there was a certain connection between me and it, and I was able to learn some. I know that it can be used to travel between realms, though I do not know how exactly, that it can also open up doors that you would not even see, normally within the vessel itself, and beyond hat, I am not sure."
The Hag is on the verge of collapse, having been drained for possibly years, possibly decades, who can say, but she manages to answer Torean and Eladrian .
"When the victim is drained fully, the Xill simply discard the remains. I am no sure how, though I do know that there are entire chambers filled with beasts from across the realms, all simply waiting to be murdered, slowly. I know not how many, perhaps hundreds. I was able to peek into their sleeping minds, but I myself was in some sort of fog. And no, I have told you all I know of the machine."
As Eladrian begins to try his luck, he slides different rune and glyph covered segments around, and suddenly, much like before, the cube begins to shake and hum, when suddenly a strange planar beast appears in the room, looking like some sort of dinosaur, but with a 3 hinged jaw. It attempts to take a bite from Eladrian, but is quickly put down.
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Eladrian picks himself up off the floor once more as the strange creature is destroyed. "By the gods what in the nine hells was that?!?! Ok.. we need to get her and get out of here.. If there are "entire chambers" filled with creatures, who knows what may pop out at us next?!" Eladian is obviously quite upset at being used as a chew toy!
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To Skarja: "તમે માતા છો, હું જાણું છું. તમે પર ઘણા આશીર્વાદ! મધર બનો! હું સાતની માતા છું."
To the party:"She's a Mama too! We has to help her get out!"
Nana then tries to help Remy and Eladrian.
"We's got to make the patterns right. Don't think too much, you'll just get confused! Try it like this."
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With careful thought, Rémy treats the cube more like a system than a puzzle, and manages to slide various pieces of it around until suddenly you hear a loud click and grumbling sound off behind you.
Skarja, in thanks for her timely rescue, offers each of you a special reward as a small gem pouch seems to materialize from nowhere into her hand. Sitting up uncomfortably, she empties it into her hand, and offers each of you a large emerald-like gem. "These I harvested directly from the Plane of Earth. Each is very valuable, and to those that know how to use them, are capable of great magic."
The narrow stairwell opens out into the ship’s main cargo hold, a massive split-level affair with the upper portion ten feet above accessed by a wide stair. The entire area looks like a giant botanical garden. A massive plant, milky-white and translucent, grows atop the upper hold area and curls about the entire chamber with a forest of fronds, tendrils, and clinging vines. The shapes of multi-armed humanoids can be seen moving about its thick growth of vines and
tendrils that appear to grow into the very bulkheads.
A number of strangely shaped flowers of deep violet bloom among this tangle, and at the top of the hold stairs, a great gnarled root crown stands like the trunk of a hoary old tree, a crease in its side opened wide like a dragon’s maw. Behind it stretches a winding taproot that disappears toward the bow of the ship, as large around as a wagon. Clearly discenrable within this taproot are the huddled forms of unmoving humanoids.
Throughout the room, you can see at least 11 humanoid form trapped in some sort of stasis, with one of them being actively fed up by the enormous plant, slowly drained of life by multiple vine-like appendages stabbed into it's frame. You also see four more Xill in the room, that seem to be tending to the plant.
They notice you immediately as you enter, and begin to prepare for battle. One of them, dressed as a spellcaster of some sort, stands upon a perch just above the others (Black), glares down at you and directs the other Xill to attack, but himself seems to be focusing on somehow controlling the large plant.
(+3 in Surprise)
(always acts in surprise round)
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ROUND 1
Rasamoro ()
RED Xill (), BLUE Xill (), and PURPLE Xill ()
Torean (), Eladrian (), Rémy (), Nana () and Kernuffle ()
BLACK Xill Leader ()