Round 2 (continued)
Sees-Far-Ahead clubs the yellow skeleton into a pile of broken bones.
Marika moves through the attack the red skeleton, drawing an attack. She manages to zap the undead through the pain of her wounds, and drops it.
Green assaults Osten ineffectively with claws and blade.
Osten smashes the remaining skeleton with his acid-drenched flail, scattered pieces of it across the chamber as it comes apart.
Combat over!
The other minions are scattered by other Pathfinders, who bring down the serpentfolk priest and free the captive above. As this occurs, you examine the fallen creatures around you, trying to glean something of them. It seems clear that many of the creatures here were followers of, or servants of, the snake god Yderseus.
As other Pathfinders lead the captive down from the tower, you have the chance to speak to him.
The Azlanti looks at Osten quizzically, pausing to take in the powerful warrior. "Ndinonzi Krahnaliara Lac Suhn," he begins, pointing at his own chest. "Nyoka dai ini zvibayiro kuna vanamwari vavo wetsina. Ndiwe ani? Iwe kuonekwa vatorwa kwandiri."
"I thank you for dealing with the foul serpentmen. Are you here to aid our rebellion, or are you on a mission of conquest against the snakes?"
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Kageko bows courteously, then introduces herself. "We and our associates are... Explorers, from quite some distance away. We had little to no knowledge of these lands before we arrived here; I fear this is the first we've heard of your rebellion. Additionally, our time here is short; it's unlikely we'll be able to remain here long enough to be of much use, and those who sent us will likely be quite cross if we disturb more than we have to"
She waits for Sees-far-Ahead to finish translating, then smiles and continues, "That said, the Serpentmen appear to be objecting most violently to our presence, forcing us to kill a great many of them in order to continue our explorations uninterrupted. Depending on how defensible this complex is, and how quickly you can rally your kin and allies to hold it, well, what happened to this temple complex after we left would be no fault of ours, would it?"
Lac Suhn nods appreciatively. "You are fine folk, though strange. I had thought that our Empire had established colonies in most other lands, but I see there are still others waiting to make contact."
He sighs. "Sometimes, I think the colonies will be the death of me. I haven't seen my wife or children in years - marrying into a colonial family may have helped avert a war, but separation from kith and kin is a hard burden to bear..."
He suddenly realizes he's been lost in though. "Sorry, I always get nostalgic around Peacock’s Dusk. These damn family holidays. They always remind me I still haven’t taken my boys to the Western Colonies. They love their little-folk nanny, and they’d love to see one of the cities her people built. We rarely see them, as you can understand, but I tell the boys that when the red planet is visible in the night sky, she can hear our prayers for the health of the little-folk and our empire’s colony.”
He turns to Osten. "As for who needs to die... well, it's a long list," he smiles grimly. “Imperator Illsmus is a headstrong fool, and his notions about raising mankind to godhood will end in embarrassment at best. I don’t care if his great-great-greatwhatever grandfather did give us ioun stones, or even water itself - he's an -” he utters an oath that has no direct translation in Taldane, but which conveys "stupid," "narcissistic," and, "dangerous," all at once.
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Marika blinks - even she knows of ioun stones, as what Pathfinder hasn't at least gotten the 101 course? Then the notion of 'family name' comes through the translation and she nods sympathetically. "I fully understand. I've got a bit of a family line myself, but at least I've got the sense not to think that makes me at all capable." Or that I particularly want the job, she does not say out loud. "Does it go all the way to the top with your bloodlines as well, or is that a level of idiocy only my province deals with on an hourly basis?" After that question, she continues to probe gently over the next few minutes for more of the basics of their political structure.
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Sees-far-Ahead focuses on her job as an intermediary and translator, inwardly happy to be of some use. When there is a pause in the conversation (so as to not intrude on more important matters), she will meekly ask the attractive general about Azlanti forts- -mentioning that she learned the language via an old ruin (the Emerald Spire).
Lac Suhn seems most impressed with Osten, and directs most of his remarks to the barbarian.
"This recent attack will not stand. My warriors are not cowards! They didn’t surrender in the field, and if these snakes hadn’t taken their sikkar—their coiled knives—they never would’ve been taken alive. We had separated into two regiments, with shield walls, and I sent the left flank wide to take the serpentfolk from behind. We’d been clashing near the mouth of the Ilssele for years, trying to push the colonies’ eastern borders.” Lac Suhn grows more animated as he recounts the battle.
"The key to battling serpent-men is the night battle, or making your main thrust at dusk. Then the fatigue of battle hits the cold-blooded snakes at the same time as the cold reaches their hearts. Slows them down. That was General Akorian’s secret to victory at Esrogas, when they tried to land on the homeland itself, and it still works all these years later. Their war-beasts are fearsome, but subterfuge is truly what tore our lines down. Misinformation spread among the ranks, dissenters and the magically compelled turning on their own brothers. I’ve fought human opponents, and loath as I am to spill another man’s blood, I’d take that clean death over the slow, strangling suffocation these monsters mete out.”
"I'm not sure, to be honest," Lac Suhn replies. "Out in the Colonies we don't always get news. Last I heard he was still in his command - men like him never get old, they get tougher." He looks around suddenly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and see if I can rally my men. Thank you again, strange ones, and may we meet again under less difficult circumstances!" He bounds away through the tunnels, pausing to pick up a blade from a fallen serpentfolk.
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A crack of thunder and the tang of ozone cut through the complex. The figures before you, and indeed the walls, the floor, even the air itself seem to crumble and fall away like glittering sands through an hourglass. Unfamiliar figures—their heavy, hooded robes embroidered with the symbol of a winged eye—stand about the field, their hands crackling with lightning. Dozens of Pathfinder spellcasters lie dead at their feet. A gargantuan image of a woman appears and shimmers like a desert mirage. She has a regal bearing, but her features are lined as if by years of endless duty.
”Arrogant Pathfinders! Your ridiculous Society spends fortunes and lives to reassemble a treasure that turns time itself like the pages of a book—a key that could undo all the misery and suffering our world now knows—and you use it for this? Poking at snakes and playing at heroism? Golarion knew a true hero once! Our Lord Aroden—who raised the Starstone from the sea and imprisoned the undead tyrant Tar-Baphon—could already walk the world again were it not for your petty games and delays. Every death in your hours of playtime now hangs as a weight around your collective necks, you spoiled children.
“I am Lady Arodeth, and on behalf of the Harbingers of Fate and the God of Mankind himself, I have seized your Sky Key. Its defenders threw their lives away trying to stop compassion and destiny from returning to this world. I advise you not to throw your own lives away attempting to do the same.
“Behold the return of the Last Azlanti! Behold Aroden!”
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Marika stops, gobsmacked. When she finally does open her mouth, it's with some serious irritation. "You know, that's actually a worse plan than the one we've been trying. And believe me, I was opposed to this from the beginning as a bad idea, so I thought you'd really have to try to convince me we're doing it right." the young woman can't resist pointing out. "Sure, we were using it for research, but we're not even sure if we can actually change anything or just look yet. I think you missed a few steps between 'figure out what this thing does' and 'resurrecting the god of morons." She finally snaps. "You know what? These Arodites I'm allowed to electrocute, right?"
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"I'm not against trying," Marika comments, "But seriously, they just stopped a major work of magic in the middle. I'm a little more instinct than study, but that is insane. We could be trapped in a never ending series Toildays right now, or there could have been a smoking crater where there used to be Kortos." She's left breathing heavily. "Seriously..."
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"For one, I know that when we get back to our time proper, I intend to severely injure the first five followers of Aroden that are fool enough to introduce themselves as such to me," Kageko comments. "In the here and now - wherever and whenever that might actually be - I suppose I'll have to settle for this."
With that, she flicks her wrist and sends one of her kunai flying across the plaza towards Lady Arodeth's head.
The robed Heralds begin casting, and arcs of lightning leap to the rods made of skymetal. A deep thrum from somewhere below reverberates with chest-tightening force, then the earth begins to heave and quake. Emerald green miasma lashes out, snaking back along the arcs of arcane lightning and infecting hooded casters throughout the crowd. Your body—or perhaps the whole world—crumbles to dust and you hear a distant scream of “She’s overloaded it!” And just as swiftly, the world is whole again, but in place of a flower-speckled field stands the sprawling marketplace of a small city. Ivory-white buildings and columns feature reliefs and endless statuary all depicting physically perfect human specimens in poses of glory over serpentfolk. A chiton-clad crowd of gawkers stares, both at you and at the roiling dome of green light that encompasses nearly a square mile of territory, beyond which this strange city stretches on. Robed Heralds panic as they sprint beyond the edges of the glistening dome, only to collapse just beyond its border. There they scream and writhe, their bones cracking as flesh and sinew age to dust in mere moments. Meanwhile, those unfortunates consumed by the green miasma scream and stagger, their features warping and bloating as if the power seeking refuge within them were too big for mere flesh to contain.
And high overhead, a looming stone glows with a light visible even in the growing light of dawn.
You have not arrived in this time unnoticed. The citizens of the city, Azlanti by the look of them, come out of their houses and temples and do not seem pleased to see you. Their demeanor is hostile, and Sees-Far-Ahead can catch various threats in Azlanti, as well as references to "ulat-kini" and "aboleth trickery". While no violence has erupted yet, the crowd is growing increasingly unhappy. How do you deal with the crowd?
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Kageko looks up at the looming stone, then down at the amassing crowds, and says something in Tien that, judging by the tone of voice, probably isn't terribly polite.
"Milady, while I normally pride myself on my ability to soothe troubled waters with a kind word, I don't think these people are of a mood to listen. Might I recommend the better part of valor?"
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Another angry mob. Citizens, though. Not warriors.
"Vade in domum tuam," she tells the gathering crowd, hoping her Azlanti sounds commanding enough. "Quod suus 'non securus?"
"I told them to go back inside; it's not safe. I hope they listen," she tells the rest of the party, motioning towards the thinnest part of the crowd. "Hurry, before they have a chance to decide I'm wrong."
The crowd does not seem impressed by the seer's words, and several of them approach you, shouting nasty things in Azlanti. In your immediate area are four citizens, armed with knives, stones, and various artisan's tools. They seem intent on driving you away. One yells loudly for the guard to come and drive the strangers away.
Initiative order: Uthread, Kageko, Purple (armed with glass vial and knife), Green (armed with knife), Osten, Sees-Far-Ahead, Marika , Yellow (armed with knife), Red (armed with shovel).
Uthread, Kaegko are up!