The southeast corner of this room has broken off along with part of the floor. Rubble, loose bricks, and masonry litter the edges. Beyond the opening, blue sky and the Absalom’s city skyline are plainly visible. A solitary door is closed to the south and a full length mirror is bolted to northwest wall. The mirror shimmers as each of you step through and the wind can be felt blowing, while the air temperature is a bit colder up here.
"Goldur can you please open the door. I for one do not want to fall to my death." Ruth does not move until the others have passed thru the doorway giving her room to move away from the drop off safety.
After exiting the ruined room Ruth draws her sword and chants a few quick words.
Ruth casts her spell, while Goldur places his shoulder against the door and pushes with all his might...
And the tower suddenly lurches to the side! Reflex saves, everyone!
The door, however, suddenly opens as a marble column that was blocking it rolls off the edge of the floor and plummets to the grounds below, a long long way down!
Jester, Etune and Goldur keep their feet, but Ruth and Florin go sprawling. Hands grab each one and keep them from falling off the tower, but they have a moment of uncomfortable terror as they look down...
down...
down..
WAY DOWN to the ground below.
You find yourselves on a floor of the floating tower, looking at three doors to rooms very similiar in size to the one you came from. Above you can hear the faint sounds of feet on the stone floor that forms the ceiling above. You quickly explore, discovering a guard barracks covered in dust, a dusty supply room where you can find any mundane ammunition you wish and a stair case going above.
Above, you can see a large open room. The top floor of the tower is an open, undivided by interior walls but for the small space partitioning the stairwell. Windows large enough to step through line the exterior walls. Immense magical circles are permanently etched into the floor, their lines and curves inscribed and filled with several types of metallic powder. Faint, multi-colored mist roils within the southern circle. Two strange contraptions stand near the northwest and southwest windows. Each device is a large, red-tinted crystalline lens mounted in a frame so that they may be angled in all directions.
After helping the rest of the party get up and out of the Room of Impending Doom, Etune will quickly help explore and point upwards. She picks up a handful of crossbow bolts and loads one into her light crossbow as she follows along cautiously to the stairs, letting the ones with the heavier armor take the lead, even if it will hamper her aim.
Knowledge(Arcana) on any magical meaning to the room?:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
It obviously looks like some sort of summoning set-up, but Etune doesn't have Kno: Planes...
"AAAHHHH." Ruth's eyes go wide as she desperately grabs at anything to prevent form falling off the ruined edge of the floating tower but the stone is flat a provides no hand holds. She begins to slide and her legs are over the ledge when Goldur's arm shoots toward her to grab on too and she frantically claws at the dwarf's sleeve able to grip the barbarian's wrist at the last moment. "PULL ME UP!!!! PULL ME UP!!!!"
After getting back on her feet she scrabbles out of the room and sits against the wall crying. Blubbering she mumbles. "My sword ... it fell."
"Nothing you'll concern yourselves with for long, Pathfinders. First you'll hurt, then you'll die. Then we'll kick yer corpses over the side." Stepping from the shadows are three figures. Two are slight and wiry, while the third, the speaker, is hulking and brutish.
"Kill them all."
The biggest speaker also carries a pouch on his belt, with bulges with a suspiciously Sky-Key shaped bulge.
CORE Male Dwarf Bard 5 | AC: 17/10/17 | HP: 40/40 | Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +7 (+2 vs poison/spells/SLA's, +4 vs performance/sonic/language-dependant) | CMB +4, CMD 13 | Init +1 | Perc +10 | Performance: 20/20
As Ruth loses her footing and slides toward the edge, Goldur instinctively reaches out and grabs her hand. Fortunately for both of them, his other hand manages to find a solid hold, and they stay on the platform. Too stubborn to fail, he pulls his arm in, his muscles bulging so large they ache. When he's sure she has a solid hold herself, he lets go. "Hunnerds more where that came from, lass. Was it special?"
* * * * *
"The Sky Key! Give it back, yeh thieves!" Pushing past Etune and cresting the top of the stairs, Goldur closes with the brutish one holding the pouch and swings his axe.
Not sure what the marching order was or if Jester would be able to see any of the enemies from the stairs. Really just trying to find out if there's a way for me to move and shoot before I make my action ;)
… why am I crying … I never cry … well I also have never been so close to death … Ruth looks up a Goldur. ”Thank You for saving my life.“ She wipes her face as she stands. ”The sword has been in my family for three generations and has been my companion throughout my magical training. I hope it has survived the fall.” Ruth draws her club and dagger.
The sword is my arcane bonded item and Ruth will have a hard time casting spells for the rest of the adventure. Good thing she is out of spells. the dropping of the sword was mainly for role playing reason. I hope to find it sticking in the ground straight up when we get out of the floating tower.
Goldur runs forward, his axe cutting deep into one of the Aspis agents. Jester follows him, his arrow hitting the speaker, whose hood falls back in his pain to reveal a scarred half-orc, who grimaces in pain before roaring and producing his own greataxe!
Florin moves up herself, drawing her own blade as she does so though she finds her way blocked.
Swing! 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 201d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 when she gets her chance to do so.
Yep, pretty much plugged up at the top of the stairs. Etune can't move through Jester's square to an 'open' spot without triggering two to three AoO and she's not confident she can pull that off, especially with greataxes in play. So much for her 'cunning plans'.
Etune sees all the action erupt right at the doorway practically and goes to the back of the formation. She doesn't have the armor or the grace to push past the thugs.
"Sorry, you'll have to get 'em. They'll chop me in half."
Move Action: Move DOWN the stairs to the back of the party.
Standard Action: On DELAY until the roadblock clears.
Ruth lets Florin pass her and readies her dagger to throw as soon as she gets a clear shot. "Try to clear a path we are stuck on the stairs!!" She yells up.
Florin steps up as Etune makes way and Ruth bristles at the delay. She cuts at the Aspis agent and he cries out in pain. Ruth steps up and her dagger flies through the air to sink in the wounded man's back, causing him to slump to the ground, a widening pool of blood around him!
Etune is up for Round 1, then Jester and Goldur for Round 2!
Jester's arrow strikes the bulky speaker, causing him to swear loudly.
Goldur is up, but I think he's going unconscious after last round. Etune is in a holding pattern. Let's move on!
The northern arrow-containing man steps five feet SW, while the other Aspis agent takes advantage of Goldur's sudden drop and the column to flank Jester! Together they attack!
CORE Male Dwarf Bard 5 | AC: 17/10/17 | HP: 40/40 | Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +7 (+2 vs poison/spells/SLA's, +4 vs performance/sonic/language-dependant) | CMB +4, CMD 13 | Init +1 | Perc +10 | Performance: 20/20
By my count, I'm at 2 HP still... I was at full before, I'm just bad at keeping my hit points updated. Plus the 2 extra from rage.
Thoroughly and painfully outmaneuvered by the two remaining Aspis agents, Goldur moves to one side and tries to swing his axe, gritting his teeth through the considerable pain.
Okay, small retcon: the greataxe wielder dies and the Aspis agent attacks Goldur instead.
Goldur's axe flashes as the hulking agent moves to attack Jester, and the man's head falls to the ground and rolls across the floor, leaving only the Aspis agent, who swings at Goldur, but fails to connect.
By my count, I'm at 2 HP still... I was at full before, I'm just bad at keeping my hit points updated. Plus the 2 extra from rage.
Thoroughly and painfully outmaneuvered by the two remaining Aspis agents, Goldur moves to one side and tries to swing his axe, gritting his teeth through the considerable pain.
Now that the crowd has been cleared out, Etune comes barreling back up the stairs, becoming a bit more draconic and hoary as her draconically clawed hands menace.
Free Action: Let there Be Claws!
Move Action: Let stairs be climbed and into striking range
Etune moves up and slashes her claws at the remaining Aspis agent, whose eyes dart about, trying to see a way out of this sudden turn of events. Florin swings as well, but his squirrelly motions cause her to misjudge and the sword whooshes through air!
Ruth for Round 3, then Goldur and Jester for Round 4!
Ruth's arcane fist of force hits the last man solidly on the jaw and his eyes roll back in his head as he collapses!
End of combat!
As the last agent hits the floor, the strange magic circle begins to hum and crackle with energy. A second later, the bulky agent's sack on his belt rustles and the Sky Key rolls out and begins to roll toward the crackling circle of its own accord!
CORE Male Dwarf Bard 5 | AC: 17/10/17 | HP: 40/40 | Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +7 (+2 vs poison/spells/SLA's, +4 vs performance/sonic/language-dependant) | CMB +4, CMD 13 | Init +1 | Perc +10 | Performance: 20/20
Succumbing to his wounds, Goldur's axe falls to the ground and he drops to one knee. Summoning the last of his strength, he dives after the Sky Key, hoping to keep it from reaching its goal. "No!"
Not sure if there's a roll involved here or what...
Goldur grabs the Sky Key, feeling a tingle as his fingers touch it. He's able to stop it moving any closer, but can't for all his strength move it any farther from the circle!
You have three rounds before Bad Things happen. Let me know what you're doing during the interval.
Etune lets her claws withdraw and heads to one of the pylon lens things to see if she can move them by herself, turning the 'north' lens away from the Key and the magic circle if that seems it would help, so the 'upper' lens is facing left-right relative to the top of the map.
If she gets a 'bad feeling' about that, she'll consider it north and south. Either way, she's going to try and aim it *away* from Goldur and the Sky Key.
If that seems to be helpful, she's going to shout to the others to move the other lens to north and south, so it isn't hitting the circle either.
We were just starting this room when time was called at GenCon, so I have no idea what the actual solution is, here. It seems logical but could also be a herring, red
Ruth scrabbles up the last few stairs to see what is going on. "Break the circle!!" Ruth says as she rushes pass Etune and Goldur to the large magical circle brushing away the metallic powder filling the etchings on the ground with her cloak.
