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Uesugi instinctively falls into his stance as the serpent statue before him comes 'alive'. He clears the stairs rushing to the statue.
"More wu jen magic!" he curse something under his breath and swings his katana at the body of this creature even as he watches the barbarian miss with his first punch.
His spirit is commendable even if his ways are not.
Blaster fires a shot from his musket at the statue.
The shot shatters off a very small chunk of stone, and most of the damage seems resisted by its body.
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Sirettis seems to bob and weave instinctively with the creature before finally paying attention when it clobbers her shoulder.
Stepping back, Sirettis calls upon Isa for protection. The bird circles around her from head to toe, with a thin mist emerging from her tailfeathers. When Sirettis is done, she is covered in a thin layer of mist.
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Mr Peppers watches in frustration as Sirettis takes a vicious wound, not able to do much to help other than keep on shooting.
He nods with approval as she tries to protect herself.
"Hang in there Sirettis, I'm doing all I can against that beast!" Mr Peppers aims and fires his wand at the Ydersius statue's face. But the missile doesn't do as much as he'd hoped.
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Once again, D and Peppers slam the statue with missile attacks, sending flecks of stone scattering in all directions. Gallix averts his eyes to keep from getting gravel lodged in his cornea and sees Blaster rushing up the stairs behind him. As he nimbly rolls beneath Uesugi's swinging blade, he calls out to the Kitsune, "Corsac, line up the shot!"
He rises up out of his roll, assumes a defensive posture to avoid taking a massive blow like the one Sirettis had just endured, and takes aim at the side of the statue's head, just where the other lizard folk had possessed some kind of ear hole.
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Gallix hooks the statue along side of the ear and its stony snake head cracks off from its neck, falling to his feet and crumbling into a few large pile of rocks - its cheek now below its mouth, and its stone teeth haphazardly scattered around.
The remainder of the body falls forward onto the stairs in front of you, allowing you the opportunity to investigate the remains of the idol.
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D easily identifies the statue's intricacies, and tells the party what he sees as he looks over the idol so that someone may take notes.
Now that you're closer up, you have a better point of view to take in the entrance. In front of you are the steps to a pyramid. Buildings and stalls line the other sides of the plaza, and heavily inscribed stone columns stand throughout the area, forming a spiral pattern. Banners and tarps hang between the columns, creating distinct areas of light and darkness. Smoldering coals surround the bases of large, heated ceramic cylinders, which glow softly. They're warm enough to be felt from a distance, but not hot enough to ignite the blankets draped over them or the banners dangling around and above. Beyond the statue you've already noted, there's quite a wide array of serpentfolk religion, art, and civic engineering here.
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Mr Peppers will check on Sirettis to make sure she's ok "You've had a rough afternoon today with all the snake bites and now this. Are you ok? Maybe you should hang back a little bit out of the fray... at least while you're still recovering from the snake venom? We wouldn't want to lose anyone on this mission." Mr Peppers then gives her a reassuring pat on the uninjured shoulder.
Once things have calmed down and everyone seems to be recovered Mr Peppers will retrieve his journal from the oiled bag and begin taking notes, starting with D's observations about the statue. He'll then go take a look at the caged creatures and make some notes about them, before finally heading over to the heated columns to take a look.
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Uesugi looks at the statue as D. describes the statue to the ever waiting Mr. Peppers. He appreciated Mr. Peppers attention to detail and noted it was probably his long years that made him so committed to documenting.
He then turned at looked at the barbarian and wondered if that man even knew how to write. Still there was no questioning the man's disregard for his safety. Clearly this man had a desire to meet death in the most gruesome of ways.
His eyes wandered to take in the full view of the courtyard. The banners fluttering about the heat of the coals were curious to him.
Only one way in. This will not be easy.
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Gallix stands and shakes the stiffness out of his arm. "Yeesh! Been a while since I punched a statue," he says, a nostalgic expression playing in his eyes.
Unfortunately, the nostalgia doesn't do him any favors as he looks at the temple entrance and its unfamiliar features. Fascinated by the strange, fluttering banners and the play of light they create, he moves closer to the entrance and lays a hand on his hip as he calls back to the others, "Can't say I appreciate the welcome these snakes have shown us so far, but they sure know how to set a scene."
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As Mr. Peppers and Blaster near the heated columns, a stone comes flying through the air in their direction. The rock is way off target, and ends up far behind the duo, adding to the serpent statue's pile rubble. Mr. Peppers notes the appearance of a few scaly creatures hidden among some of the plaza rubble. They duck as soon as they're noticed, but appear to be gathering more projectiles to toss.
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Gallix hangs back as Mr. Peppers and Corsac venture nearer to the columns. As a stone sails over their heads and clatters against the ground past his feet, he cranes his neck to look further into the area and spots those throwing the stones. He stands up on his toes and points toward the offenders, "Hey! You lot there! Either come out and fight like you've got a spine or get outta here!"
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Mr Peppers will duck behind a pillar and pull out his journal and pen and begin to take notes. "Cover me guys while I jot some of this down would you? I could use some help on some of these too if you aren't dealing with the locals!"
Mr Peppers will quickly draw some sketches and put up some notes in the margins describing the markings and shapes.
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Uesugi is about to join the others and help persuade the lizards to stop assaulting when he catches of something in the banners and murals that surround this Plaza.
"Keep the lizards occupied there is something about these images in this Plaza that may be of use to us. Peppers I will need a sheet of your journal if I am to draw what I see.
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The hiding creatures don't seem to find Blaster or Gallix's words very threatening, but D's rock flies into one of the stealthy serpents, distracting it from its pebble onslaught.
Sirettis recalls some historical sculptures not unlike the displays in the plaza and successfully documents what she sees.
A sharper piece of rock flies across the plaza and cuts a small wound into Sirettis' arm.
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Sirettis winces as the stone cuts into her arm. Undaunted, she continues her studies.
She returns to the group, ready to help however she can. Noticing the jeering lizards, she turns toward them.
Her hair flares out, making her look larger than she is. She screams a single word at the creatures:
Sirettis spends the remaining time scaring the lizards more, with her hair swirling in strange angles and swirling erratically.
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Once he's finished taking down the important facts Sirettis recalls, and documenting some of the strange mating and birthing rituals of the serpent people, he'll move over to Uesugi to diagram the primitive, yet beautiful artwork painted on the side of the columns. "Sirettis, can you come over with us? Your wild hair really seems to be freaking these reptiles out. They must have a real fear and hatred toward hair covered mammals!"
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Mr. Peppers' work is as thorough as usual, and he's able to recall seeing similar banners from a serpentfolk tribe of the current time held during a sacrificial ritual. He chooses to document the features and does so with enough detail to provide the Society insight.
The hidden creature finds Sirettis' nest of hair absolutely terrifying, and D manages another direct hit on the other scaly being. As a result, Mr. Peppers is able to take the notes without any incident.
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Gallix's words don't seem to sink in for the lizardfolk, especially not in comparison to Sirettis' wildly flowing hair. Instead of wasting more words, he moves a bit closer to the interior of the temple and examines the paint covering the banners, curious about the make up of the paint the lizards used that could resist the head of the strange columns.
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After finishing his notes he thanks Uesugi and Sirettis for keeping him unmolested during his work. He's sees Gallix working on something near some interesting murals so he'll head over to investigate. "Wow nice work Gallix, you're an interesting man.. done some painting while in school perhaps? Let me see if I can't keep these snakes from tossing any rocks on that work of art."
Mr Peppers begins speaking harshly and emphatically in what you recognize as Draconic
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Sirettis continues her terrifying display and Mr. Peppers' speech is enough to cause the two harassers, who seemingly value their bitter red flesh, to flee in panic, zipping past the party and heading quickly up the stairs and deep into the temple. In the meantime, Gallix shows the group that he's more than just two fists and a smile as he paints an adequate depiction of the banners. The Society now has more than enough to understand the customs, festival traditions, and civil engineering of the past.
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Mr Peppers grins as he sees a couple scaly tails run past him in the tucked position, disappearing into the dark depths of the temple.
"Well, I guess I got my point across. Well done Pathfinders. Please bring your notes and sketches to me so we can review them and sign you names. I'll keep them safe in my dry bag."
Once the journal and bag are safely stowed in his backpack Mr Peppers will give himself a quick look over adjusting his robes and brushing off any dust. "I would expect the temple to bring our greatest challenge yet. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that people tend to rally around their beliefs and fight with greater resolve. Be prepared for more lizardmen, especially some magic users. The burns on our lady warrior and her description of mind effecting magic leads me to this conclusion. I'll be focusing my wand to try to disrupt their spells when I can. If you time your attacks to land as they are casting they could lose their focus and thus their spell. Be safe and vigilant."
With that Mr Peppers will reactivate his ironwood wand on himself as well as cast a spell causing light to once again spring forth from his fingertips as he proceeds into the temple.
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The so-far victorious group steps into the temple. Glowing coals warm this shrine and cast an eerie under-lighting on the towering, snake-headed statue behind the altar. The reek of ammonia and rotting flesh fills the air and burns the eyes. The ceiling is engraved with various serpentfolk nobles, and a large carving of Ydersius is centered on it and runs along the length of the temple interior.
As the group moves in, a creature just above the pillar locks eyes with Uesugi, and hisses at him as it begins fluttering around the ceiling. Mr. Peppers, D, and Uesugi notice the creature, but before they can react, the winged viper lashes out its long tongue and spits venom at Uesugi.
The splash of venom passes Uesugi and lands on the pillar next to him. Smoke rises up out of it as it burns through the stonework.
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"I don't know what that is but it certainly isn't friendly! If anyone wants to use my crossbow they are welcome to it!" Mr Peppers will fire off a shot from his wand at the flying creature then unsling his crossbow and bolts dropping them to the ground at his feet while he steps back to put a pillar between him and the snake beast.