Graxzos takes a mighty swing at the giant of a man. While he would have easily chopped a tree, the tall man avoids the axe entirely.
Yndra nearly drops her axe trying to hack the large foe but her axe strikes the stone floor so hard she nearly drops it.
Wiem likewise nearly fumbles her blade, but calling upon the powers of nature recovers, but still not enough to pierce her defenses.
The large man takes an opportune stab as Sapper is not quite nimble enough.
Not so fast there puny!"
for
Fortunately for Sapper, the spear stabs into the steps and not his hide.
The woman with the whip tries to take down Wiem.
"Die you little froggie!"
On Wiem for
The agent in the doorway slashes at Graxzos.
On Graxzos for
"Ah crud. Not again!"
but he hacks into the door instead.
Hold still you little rabbit!"
On Sapper for
Again he is frustrated as the gnome escapes being skewered by the 20' spear.
Thaia steps back to reload, preventing the large warrior from taking an opportune stab at her in the process.
Sapper steps back up the stairs and lobs a bomb. Hitting the man fully in the chest and neck.
"AHRHRHHRRRGGG! I will get you yet!"
Wiems attempts to shut both doors (2 moves since they are 10' apart to grab them). The doors are shut, but not locked.
Graxzos chops at the large man from behind, nearly toppling him.
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Yndra swings her axe once more. "Speaking of kobolds, why aren't they here helping us?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
The guardian shrugs at the question as it circles about trying to find an opening in the large man's considerable reach.
Yndra swings with a mighty axe but it is turned by the man's armor.
Open those %$#@ doors NOW
Next the double doors burst open again as the agent undoes Wiem's handiwork.
We are not finished yet!
the whip woman lashes out at Yndra
for
The tall man steps up the stairs and casts a spell of healing.
and some of wounds and burns close.
Yndra hacks at the large warrior with her axe and cuts deep into his thigh. He lets out a yell and turns to face her.
Wiem calls to his bird.
Grax rages and chops into the whip woman in the doorway, also cutting her severely.
You'll get yours soon enough."
W=3, A=5, Z=7+
Sapper hurls a bomb from cover. However the man's turn to face Yndra causes it to miss short and to the right.
However, the splash along the wall still catches him with most of the flames.
SHORTY!" he bellows in rage.
Thaia unleashes a blast at the giant of a man, and true to form, the bigger they are, the harder he falls. He falls and shrinks down to a normal size human man at the base of the stairs.
The whip woman screams out "NOOOO!!! Zaril NOOO!!!
She steps back and lashes out at Graxzos.
On Graxzos for
The other agent likewise hacks at the dwarf and then falls back.
On Graxzos for
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Relieved that the biggest threat has been dealth with, Yndra presses the advantage. Squeezing past Graxzos, she gets close to the woman with the whip. "Soon it'll just be you and us. If you have any sense, drop your weapon and we'll let the kobolds figure out how to deal with you." To lend strength to her words, she tries to land a swift chop of axe at the agent to the woman's side.
Wiem and Yndra miss the remaining Aspis with their weapons. However Graxzos, with anger management issues, hacks down hard on the whip woman and she gasps and falls to the ground, bleeding from a massive wound.
The last agent gulps as he sees both of his leaders fall. Rather than surrender he sees this as an opportunity to shine and a potential promotion once he takes all of you and the guardian and the remaining kobolds down. Piece of cake.
The severe brow beating from the combined group of season veterans is too much for him and he drops his long sword and slowly raises his hands.
"I surrender...enough already. I ain't gonna die for this...no way.
The injured kobolds in the back of the temple area cheer.
After a few seconds and a couple more injured kobolds straggle in from the front rooms.
"Did you defeat them? Are they gone?"
The golden guardian silently nods to you and flies back to his throne.
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Yndra pokes her head around the door. "Yep, seems like that was all of them." She glares at the remaining Aspis agent, urging him to stay put.
She walks back to the Guardian and the kobolds. "So, where were we, before this inconvenient interruption? Ah yes, I was asking you why you allowed these kobolds to worship you and defile the dwarven complex. Weren't you meant to guard it against intruders?"
The guardian regards Yndra before responding.
My role was to protect the talisman. Which was not here but in the hands of the grippli allies of the dwarves. That alliance seems to have been destined to repeat again today and the talisman was returned."
He looks to Wiem and back to Yndra and Graxzos before continuing.
Now my task is done. There are no dwarves left here to hold the talisman. And certainly there will now be others come seeking it.
These kobolds have no need for such a talisman. You best return it with you to an organization capable of protecting it."
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Yndra looks with longing at her surroundings, all the traces of the dwarven heritage of the place. She seems about to argue with the Guardian, until she takes out the talisman again. "It's a shame to leave this place, but if you look at it from the other side, the original dwarven makers left it long ago, even if not entirely of their own choice. And we still have this as a reminder. The 'Sky Key', or a part of it at least. Sapper's right. The Society will be very interested in this."
She shakes her head at Graxzos' questions. "It seems there's nothing her anymore. The dwarves must have taken most of it with them. Their most prized possession they left with the Grippli. All the rest must have been looted over the years. Speaking of which..." She turns to the kobolds. "What happened to Sharrowsmith? The human that was here first? You didn't kill him, did you? We'll take him with us when we leave, if he's still alive."
Finally she addresses the Guardian. "So, what will you do now? The dwarves are gone, and now the talisman as well. Will you stay here, among the kobolds?"
You are able to stabilize the large man if desired, but the whip-woman and other agents have bled out.
With Zaril Namoth and his Aspis Consortium expedition thwarted, the Golden Guardian and kobolds assist you in clearing the collapsed corridor of rubble.
The blind elderly kobold speaks.
We know of the fallen of your order you seek. Once he is recovered, then leave you must as we have lost our defenses and having you here will only draw further attacks.
They uncover the remains of Venture-Captain Nieford Sharrowsmith, which are badly damaged but identifiable thanks to his crushed wayfinder and other belongings.
The kobolds allow you to extract the body and its possessions in peace, but afterward they state "You have overstayed your welcome here and should leave immediately. Go. Take your trinkets and fallen ally. But leave before others come"
The guardian appears to re-enter some form of stasis as the kobolds act like a colony of ants trying to rebuild their defenses and clear the dead bodies...humans and kobolds alike.
Thaia is greeted by her two henchmen, who admit to hiding in the jungle for the battle which raged within and above the temple.
The journey back is hot and humid but otherwise, uneventful.
Aya Allahe receives you into her office in Nantambu. She listens to your recounting of their mission, and when she learns of Sharrowsmith’s death, she nods sadly and voices her thanks.
“Nantambu will not be the same without my friend Nieford Sharrowsmith. When he was younger, he traveled to all corners of the Mwangi Expanse and truly made the region his home, despite having been born hundreds of miles away in Avistan. He never truly lost his adventuring spirit, and as this lodge grew, he found his hours dedicated more and more to paperwork and less and less to exploring the lands’ rich history. I know his soul would take no offense at my saying he died as he would have wished—active, engaged, and in the field. I take solace in being able to provide him proper funerary rites.
“With his passing, Sharrowsmith’s Exports has no venturecaptain, but I have corresponded with Nieford’s colleague Ambrus Valsin and agreed to act as the temporary manager of the lodge. After all, the full extent of the Pathfinders’ involvement in Nantambu has remained a something of an open secret, and it would be an embarrassment for anyone but a friend or family member to take command of the business so soon after the owner’s death.”
“I dearly appreciate what you have done for the Society, for your venture-captain, and for me. Did you find anything else of interest?”
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"Anythin' else?" Graxzos glances at his companions. "Why sure. We found friendship." Then he explodes. "Yeh loony venture-lady! Did yeh not 'ear us say we found a massive unexplored dwarven ruin called Ashkur'all?! Does that mean nothin' t'yeh?! Anythin' else?!"
The dwarf subsides, but continues to grumble and rant under his breath.
He pipes up suddenly as someone else is speaking. "Oh, an' we found an intern. A good'un." He claps Wiem on the back.
The Venture-Captain stands as if about to chastise Graxzos, rage quickly flaring in her eyes, but as quickly subsiding with measured calm.
Why yes, good lord of stone, the ancient dwarven hall will be of great interest.
But no, I was thinking of perhaps something you were able to bring back. Notes or items?
I had a premonition Sharrowsmith was seeking something.
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Yndra nods solemnly when Graczos mentions their new-found friendship. It's not clear whether she's sarcastic or not.
She finally regards the new interim Venture-Captain with a critical look. "You're either very well informed, or have a very keen intuition. Either should come in very useful in your new position." She looks sad as she rummages about in her backpack. "You are right, though. I'm sorry that we were unable to save Sharrowsmith, but as you said, he died in the field. And though he may not have known it, he was in the process of making a marvellous discovery. First off, we have found his journal. You would like it back, I thought. Secondly, we've found this." She retrieves the Sky Key fragment with a triumphant smile.
"As we've told, we discovered Ashkurhall. From interpreting paintings and talking to its ancient Guardian, we learned that the site was founded by a group of dwarves from Avistan, who took with them a part of something that fell from the sky: A piece of a thing called the 'Sky Key'. We recovered it from the Grippli - and plan to take credit and investigate it further - but it was the work of Venture-Captain Sharrowsmith that took us there." She holds the fragment up for Aya Allahe to see.
Aya Allahe examines the metal component Yndra provided from the Krihirik talisman. After a moment’s study, she quickly stands, recovers a piece of stationary bearing five graphite illustrations, and slowly smiles.
“This is remarkable,” she announces. “The shape of the talisman matches one of the drawings Ambrus Valsin sent me. What you have found is a piece of the Sky Key, the device even now the rest of the Society is at its wits’ end attempting to reassemble!”
Then, with quiet affection, she murmurs to the Sky Key component,
“Congratulations, Nieford. You and your agents have once again done what the rest of the Society could not—a fitting tribute, and a fine legacy.”