Feeling risky, Enora steps forward next to Oloch and casts Color Spray at the Elk.
Unable to engage either creature in melee this round, Zamid moves along the shore to get into a good range to use his sling against the bear head.
The elk falls to the ground on the bank of the river,fascinated by the pretty colors. Zamid gets a great shot in at the bear's head!
Wading into the water, Oloch pummels the bear's head...which falls to the ground and out pops a tiny and very unconscious fey creature. Wanting the Grim Lantern for herself, he had been lying in wait for you ever since you left the inn. Moving the rocks was too large a task for such a tiny being...but stealing he lantern from unsuspecting adventurers was right up her alley. Or so she thought...
Following the next in Ulisha’s notebook, you learn of a Razmiri priest in possession of a gilded scepter rumored to have powerful magical properties. According to Ulisha, this priest has taken up residence in Allenstead, a village that lies on the borders of Razmir and the River Kingdoms.
Allenstead consists of a few dozen buildings built along either side of a solitary dirt road that leads from Razmiran to a ferry dock on the West Sellen River. At the center of the village, construction is nearly complete on a large stone statue of a Razmiri priest that stands nearly 20 feet in height. The head of the statue peers down at a stage.
Diplomacy (Gather Info) or K:History, Local or Religion
"What a cute little critter." Enora giggles as she looks at the fey.
In Allenstead, Enora takes a look around the town. She seems particularly drawn to the statue of the priest.
"Hmm, I thought this town didn't like Ramziri so much. They've always been so...old fashioned. Some people think Ramziri didn't really complete the Test of the Starstone, but let's keep that quiet."
"Stay alert! The journal entry would suggest this priest used some sort of magic to convert the village. I do not wish to spill the blood of innocents compelled by outside forces." Zamid quietly warns his fellow pathfinders as he moves towards the village center.
The tavern-folk seem all too willing to talk about their local priest, a fellow by the name of Folloch. “We were visited by Folloch, priest of the great Razmir. He has given our lives meaning and shown us the joys of servitude and obedience. He has even entrusted us with the sacred task of building a magnificent monument worthy of Razmir’s greatness. You simply must stick around so you can see the finished product!”
You discover that Folloch gives a sermon every day at noon.
"Noon it is, then. I need to change my foot wrappings, anyway." Enora grabs some bandages and unwraps her feet.
"Your priests throw axes at people's heads when they fall asleep? Oh my." Enora thinks Hakon is dead serious about axing those asleep at the pews.
As noon approaches, the townspeople stop their various activities and form a crowd at the base of the stage. Folloch - there is no doubt it is him, in his red robes and wearing an iron mask - exits from a house and makes his way to the stage. He starts the his sermon by praising the deeds of Razmir, until he stops and spots the adventurers in the crowd.
"Ah! My dearest children, it appears some stray lambs have wandered into our flock! Surely Razmir can uncloud the minds of these wayward souls."
With a flourish, Folloch extends the rod he is holding, grins malevolently,and utters an arcane word.
Nothing happens.
Nothing at all.
As cold realization washes over the priest, he shouts "Unbelievers! Followers of Razmir! Restrain these men!" the priest shouts as he leaves the stage in a hurry.
"Folks, do you really think he is a teacher of Ramziri? Look at that lowly iron mask. He would grace your village with one a great mask of gold." See momma? Religion can be good to learn. Or bad I guess, since that's why we're in this jam.
Casting Disguise Self, she appears to be a Gnome and runs through the crowd. Hopefully no one sees through her cunning disguise.
As a very desperate precaution, Enora casts Grease on herself. planning to slip out of anyone's hold if she should be grabbed.
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Intimidate
Perception
Survival
Oloch orders the villagers to stand down. "Gorum will have your head if you continue to approach, and I'll be the cutting tool," the half orc menaces, holding his wicked blade.
For the villagers unaffected by his harsh words, he quickly looks around, finding a defensible position, to keep himself from being surrounded by the group.
While doing so, he looks for any natural impediment he might be able to use to keep the townsfolk away from him.
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"Soft Sou...Noble Villagers. You are all being deceived. I have peered behind his iron mask and he is nothing more than drunkard. I have conversed with real priests of Razmir. They are whom you should be listening too."
'Let me tell you a tale of real priests"
Taking out his horn, he begins to weave the words of Sboren the Bold.
"Tänään kaikki elää ja hengittää
tomororw te kaikki taistelu
jotkut kuolevat, muut elävät,
ne, jotka eivät antaudu elää ikuisesti
paratiisissa."
tomororw you all fight
some will die, other will live,
those who never surrender will live forever
in paradise."
Muttering to himself, "Stupid southerns."
"If you will not listen to reason than I have no choice but to treat you like little children. You have not headed the lesson of words. You have not headed the lesson of music. Mayhaps you will listen to the lesson of ."
Whipping out Hagrum’s Keel and Limbrender, Hakon prepares for battle.
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"Men of faith without practicality are useless. Allow me to demonstrate the power of healing on a villager suffering from disease or illness.
Lini looks for high ground to escape the grounds.
"Droogami, clear a way for us to up there!"
Lini points to a safe landing and follows Droogami as he attempts to make a path through the crowds.
Lini deftly demonstrates that her own healing abilities are much greater than those of the false prophet...all the while her pet Droogami seeks out and clears a way for safe passage through the crowds.
Hakon attempts to sway the crowd toward his favor...they are almost convinced until he hits a sour note on his horn. Instead he relies on threats to intimidate the crowd...which works splendidly!
Oloch experiences little success in his initial attempts to frighten the crowd...and is unable to ascertain a way through until he relies on his survival instincts and sniffs out the path that Droogami cleared.
Enora uses her brains as opposed to brawn and everyone else finds her waiting on the other side of the crowd when you arrive with a look on her face that screams "What took you so long?"
You scan the crowd for signs of Zamid...
As the crowd rushes in to try to overwhelm the group, Zamid tries to remember the layout of the town to find a quick way out of the square, but doesn't recall it well enough for a significant advantage.
With his way of egress blocked, he tries to use what he remembers of Razmiran doctrine to his advantage, "Uh, your priest is mistaken, the rod naturally does not work on those with devout faith to the living god already! We all follow the steps!"
With his knowledge not doing him much good, Zamid resorts to trying to tumble through the crowd to get away.
The party finds a female Gnome covered in grease. "It's me, ya'll. Enora. Stop looking at me like that. We need to catch that lousy priest anyway."
In hot pursuit of the priest, the party finally manages to locate him in the stables, trying to saddle a horse to get away. Flanked by two guards, he raises his staff once again as the adventurers come running in, but seeing it fails again, he orders the guards. "Attack these infidels! Kill them!"
Round 1
JLW
Oloch
Enora
Lini
Bob
Priest,
Guard 1
Guard 2
"Killing infidels, good idea." Zamid says with a cold sneer as he charges the priest and slashes at him with his kukri.
Enora moves up and uses her Wand of Mage Armor. A translucent barrier forms in front of her, ready to deflect attacks.
Droogami bites at the western guard but fails to drag him to the ground. Zadim charges the priest and gives him a nasty gash on his arm. Oloch threatens the priest who now trembles with fear.
The priest takes a five foot step forward and thrusts a dagger at Zadim! ,
The easternmost guard takes a five foot step and slashes out at Zadim. ,
The westernmost guard challenges Hakon. ,
"Hmph. You sir give priests a bad name. I didn't learn about religion just to get controlled by shams like you!"
Moving to the side of Hakon, Enora uses her trusty rusty Color Spray and tries to mesmerize the guard and the priest.
Taking a moment to study the priest in more depth, the injured slayer tries again for a more decisive kukri strike.
Enora begins chanting a spell that will dazzle and amaze the opposition just as her fellow Pathfinders mercilessly assault the priest and his guards. She holds back her spell as the priest and one of the guards falls unconscious. The remaining guard throws down his weapon and surrenders.
With Folloch Teag defeated and the mesmeric baton drained, the people of Allenstead quickly regain their senses. While some still suffer from moments of amnesia, all are grateful to the Pathfinder agents
A few decades ago, a Pathfinder uncovered a cave containing petroglyphs of the Rain of Stars. He took note of the cave’s location and made rubbings of its etchings before shipping the papers off to the Grand Lodge in Absalom for evaluation. Although interesting, the find did not warrant further investigation, so plans to examine the rubbings or explore the cave were shelved. Recently, Ulisha found herself searching through a storeroom for a rare urn and came upon the rubbings. Unlike the Pathfinder who preceded her, Ulisha noticed that the rubbings actually mapped a crash site from the Rain of Stars. By traveling back to the Pathfinder’s cave and surveying the hills from that vantage point, Ulisha believes that she’s pinpointed the location of this crash site.
Accompanying her notebook entry, Ulisha filled the next several pages with crude maps, complex equations, and further notes. She apparently returned to the Pathfinder’s cave mentioned in her previous entry. By observing the angle of the ridgeline and her current position, she was able to calculate the crash site’s probable location. The last page on the matter includes a detailed map into Numeria with various landmarks and a destination. An addendum written in recent ink warns, “Tread lightly. Numeria remains a mystery to the rest of the world. Those who stay too long draw unwanted attention.”
Diplomacy: Gather Info, K: History or K: Local
"Fascinating." Enora isn't able to find many answers about the crash site, but she is enjoying the sights.
Zadim remains characteristically terse during the journey to the crash site, although he does assist as the group asks around to obtain more information about the area. What little information garnered so far appears to leave him troubled, but, then again, he almost always has a scowl on his face.
The view is phenomenal at the crest of this hill, where Ulisha’s map indicates a crash site. Vast plains extend to the north, where clouds gather on the horizon. To the south, the Sellen River cuts a definitive border between the River Kingdoms and Numeria.
The escape pod that crashed here embedded itself deeply into the side of the hill. Over time, the hill has eroded, covering the vessel in layers of dirt. It only takes a few minutes of digging to uncover a solid metal surface buried below. The escape pod is ovoid, just over 10 feet in length and 5 feet in diameter at its widest point.
The metal is strange and unfamiliar, quite possibly an alloy of iron and adamantine. The entire wreck appears to be relatively undamaged. Its surface is scratched and dented but unbroken, and by examining a 3-by-5-foot section of the side you are able to open the pod on a hinge.
The inside of the wreck is cramped. A single chair made out of the same strange metal faces the hatch, dozens of straps hang inside the device, and an array of levers and buttons lines the interior on one side. Several dozen palm-sized metallic discs and an unadorned silvery bracer lie scattered across the interior.
Enora casts Detect Magic inside the pod, looking for something to satisfy her intellectual curiosity.
Zadim assists Oloch in his search, still looking out of sorts by all this strange metal and technology.
The metal disks are Numerian “silverdisks,” a form of currency. There are 35 in the pod, each worth 10 gp. The silver bracelet gives of a faint magic glow...but due to damage the bracelet there is no way to determine whatever properties it once had. The adamantine used to create the escape pod is valuable, but separating it out of the iron alloy could be very difficult; the pod is worth little as scrap metal.
As you leave the crash site and descend the summit by working your way down the switchbacks, four humanoids step out from the surrounding brush and block the path.
“Stop there,” one of them demands. “You’re are not from here, and those things are not yours. Give us the silverdisks, all the gold you have, and anything else you found there. Then you may live.”