Yndra wacks at the grounded swordsman, and he almost dodges the blow, but with a glimmer of divine judgement the staff connects and the man goes down.
Aw rats... as he falls in a heap, bleeding slowly out.
Graxzos takes aim and fires a bullet up to the top eastern platform and drops his previously injured target as well.
Double rats... as he falls in a heap, bleeding slowly out.
Sapper calls to the skittish cat and hurls a bomb, hitting it on the nose. The cat is burned (not sure if it gets a save or not, but is moot)
The cat, burnt fur and all, bolts into the jungle with a howl.
Thaia makes a leap into the center of the small pool, the waist-deep water starts to turn red with her injuries still fresh.
The two men on the platform look down at the woman in astonished frustration.
The archer calls to the one with daggers...
"Um boss, I can't see her under the bridge."
Fiveknives replies back.
Then go down and get her you idiot!"
He moves over to get a better view and calling after the black cat.
"Saphira! Come back right this instance or you will face the whip harder than you ever have before."
He glares down at Thaia through the floor planks of the rope bridge..
The other archer moves and shoots at Sapper.
On Sapper for
The archer bellows.
They are all hiding from me, Kalim.
The leader replies in a snap.
"OF COURSE THEY ARE. MOVE!"
The archer nods and moves closer into the central hut where he can just see part of Yndra hiding behind the tree.
On Yndra for
Meanwhile, the leader steps back to the western hut and cuts one of the rope bridge's ropes.
You won't hide from me for long, missy!"
|
Graxzos briefly considers the sleep arrows stuck into his belt. I wonder if...eh, what the hell. Worth a shot. Seeing the leader cutting the bridge, he stows his pistol, steps out slightly from the tree and bellows, "OI! KALIM!"
The bow comes off his back and he yanks the white-fletched arrow from his belt, loosing it at the leader. As the arrow bounces off the hut near him, Graxzos winces.
Graxzos shoots a wild sleep arrow at the leader, but the bow is not as accurate as his pistol and the white arrow flies into the jungle.
Yndra takes her sling and hurls a bullet but it also sails overhead of her intended target. She reloads behind the tree.
Thaia, holding onto consciousness, readies to throw a dagger.
Sapper delays as he tries to figure out who to shoot next.
The remaining archer, unable to see a target, moves to the other bridge and shoots down on Graxzos.
On Graxzos for
The leader cuts the bridge and it falls to the ground/pool. Thaia hurls her dagger but it misses the man. The activity injures her further and she collapses into the pool.
There. Now we will have a better look at you, missy. Hey, you like to throw daggers? Me too. Oh, I see you like swimming better. Let's check on your friends.
The two henchmen will dash under cover of the central hut and try to fish Thaia's body out of the water to necessitate her.
|
|
Seeing that Thaia's crew are trying to pull her out, Graxzos grits his teeth. Runnin' outta options here... Ducking the arrow from above, he draws the final sleep arrow and takes desperate aim at the leader. As the arrow flies, he steps back around the main tree and drops the bow, drawing his pistol.
Graxzos fires another white arrow at the leader, but this time the arrow bounces off the man's armor. Closer, but not enough to find flesh.
Yndra tries her sling again...but hits the side of the central hut.
Sapper fires his crossbow and actually connects, hitting the archer while he looks down at where Graxzos went.
Thaia stabilizes as the two henchmen pull her from the pool, under the cover of the central hut.
"We gotcha m'lady. Not sure what we can do to heal ya yet. But at least you won't be a drowning."
The archer sees the halfling that shot him and moves to the center of the bridge to try and get a better shot.
"I see you pipsqueak!"
On Sapper for
Meanwhile the leader with the knives decides he has had enough and climbs down the tree (T10).
"Why is it I cannot find any competent help? I have to finish this myself."
|
|
Grax tosses the bow away in disgust. "So much fer tha'." Hearing the arrow whiz by and seeing Kalim clamber down the tree, he snarls. Gotta end this... Dashing past Thaia and her crew, he takes aim at the Aspis leader just as he hits the ground. His pistol comes up and he squints down it. Steady...breathe...
Sapper reloads his crossbow.
Graxzos drops his bow and moves up to the trio under the central hut and fires upon Fiveknives Kalim.
The bullet grazes the man's shoulder. He turns with a snarl.
Ye'll be the last to die dwarf. So you want watch me end your friends first.
The henchmen call out to Sapper and Graxzos.
Do any of you have anything that will help revive her?
Their plea sounds more of panic than compassion, but sincere nonetheless.
Jakob, seeing the cat has not returned, will dash to retrieve the dropped musket and horn from the north of the pond.
Jakata catches the potion and forces Thaia to chug the contents.
Hmm, is it universal solvent or a potion of secret door detection?
"Wake up m'lady. We do not want you to miss the final battle.
healing on Thaia. She is still prone and musket-less but conscious.
The upper archer moves further east to get a better line on Sapper and those under the central hut.
On Sapper for miss
Kalim hurls a dagger at Graxzos.
Eat this!"
for
for
|
|
Graxzos makes a choking, gasping sound as the dagger plunges into his chest. Still glaring at Kalim, he drops to one knee, managing to choke out, "Some paper cartridges...on me...belt," in a last-ditch effort to be of help to his friends. Then he collapses.
The sturdy dwarf rolls over slightly, unconscious and breathing raggedly but consistently.
Graxzos falls.
Thaia reloads.
Yndra cuts Kalim with her axe.
Sapper takes out the archer with his shot.
Jakob and Jakata ask Any more of them potions?
Kalim retailiates on Yndra.
"You want some of this too?
Kalim for
He moves around the fallen dwarf, intent on finishing the rest of you.
Archer
Sapper's shot bounces off Kalim's armor.
Thaia's musket misfires to her dismay.
The henchmen reply to Thaia's potion "Not for us...for them!" as they point to the fallen dwarves.
Jakob runs over to Yndra and pulls out the 2nd potion like they one they gave to Thaia.
Jakata tries to find any potion on Graxzos to help stabilize the dwarf.
Fiveknives Kalim closes on Thaia.
And here I was going to save the dwarves for last. But I guess you will have to do."
On Thaia for
Jakob administers the 2nd potion to Yndra (prone).
"Drink this, lady...quickly
healing
Thaia stabs at Kalim with her bayonet, but it tangles and hits a tree branch under the hut.
Sapper shoots a bolt over the head of the knife expert as well.
Yndra stands and grabs her axe, but is on the far side of the pond.
"Now I will finish you all!"
Just as Fiveknives Kalim is about to attack Thaia and the rest, you all hear a croak and voices calling out from further to the west.
Quickly, this way, the intruders are still here
Kalim hears the voices of the escaped gripplis and he quickly withdraws into the woods.
"You have not seen the last of me, Pathfinder scum!"
As Kalim escapes, a small group gripplis assemble a small force to capture him, but by the time they reach his exit path, he has already obscured his tracks and evaded pursuit.
The others gather up the survivors and revive Graxzos.
"We could not find him. What do we do with these other dead or dying Aspis?"
The gripplis defer you regarding the treatment of any other Aspis agents who survived the conflict.
Mother Bogwynne graciously accepts the five tyrannosaurus eggs you recovered.
"You have the thanks of our people."
"We, the surviving Krihirik elders, agree that the talisman the dwarves gave our clan so many years ago is best employed by your group - especially if the rumors of the Golden Guardian awakening are true.
The talisman is an egg-shaped mass of dry clay the size of a melon, its surface smoothed and intricately decorated with linear patterns, plant imprints, and the symbol of a mountain standing under dozens of stars. The talisman radiates faint transmutation magic, though this is simply a longlasting spell to preserve the clay.
Mother Bogwynne raises a hand and lifts her head as if performing a blessing, and dozens of gripplis gather to listen.
“More than a thousand cycles ago, the dwarven refugees came to us from the distant north, fleeing a home lost ages ago. We aided the dwarves and welcomed them as neighbors in the nearby hills—a land even harsher than our own. When they fled their home for a second time, we offered them aid once more, though they requested only that we honor their memory and accept a gift: this talisman that bears the power to defeat the golden beast that now haunts Ashkurhall.”
She holds up a melon-sized ovoid made of clay. “The descendants of Sigrin spoke of this as their greatest treasure, which they had left behind. It is a legacy that continues to this day, for none have ever braved the Golden Guardian to claim the riches as their own.”
A chorus of croaking vocalizations follows the elder’s story, and she adds,
“The talisman’s power is hidden within, and it must be unsealed in the beast’s presence. To do so too soon would expend its energy needlessly or even invoke a terrible disaster. We have entrusted you with this relic of our people; use it wisely.”
|
|
Graxzos is barely able to stand once he's revived, and sports a new and ugly-looking scar where the knife's blade entered his chest. "Nnnngh...did we win...then?
-----------------------------
A few days later, Grax is back to his normal self, and is none too pleased at the final answer to his question.
"Yeh mean I took a knife t'th'sternum an' then we let him " he thunders, pacing and waving his pistol recklessly. "Why that...two-faced...philanderin'...cross-dressin'...cattle-proddin'..." He ends in a string of colorful epithets in Osiriani.
He's mollified very slightly, though, by the talisman transferring ceremony, perking up at one thing in particular. "'Riches' yeh say? Well, then, I think it's fer the best that we take this 'ere talisman an' make our way back to the Golden Guardian. Best fer all concerned, oh aye indeed. We'll use it wisely. Eyup."