"If there's guards here they'd be protecting the stairs. People can just walk in the main door to that hall," Jynnjun says as she collects her spear. "I guess there's not much point trying to sneak after that fight either. Up it is?"
Alaka channels, leaving out the bears.
Anyone in the party who is injured is healed for 11.
"Haha!" Trinket exclaims triumphantly, posing atop the dead-dead bears! "Heroic VICTORY!"
Trinket then remarks: "HEROIC VOICE!" and leads the way up the stairs.
Xakroo was about to cut off Trinket in fear of getting heard, but then he decided that if anyone hadn't heard the battle already, then they may not be able to hear Trinket's loud demeanor.
Though anyone ignoring her yells would be something the kobold can't even fathom.
"Thanks Alaka! Those bears were scratching and smashing poor Poxy's face."
He follows Trinket up the stairs.
Xakroo sighs, and waits for everyone to go up the stairs, scratching Zarvak's head to make sure she's calm-and to remove himself of the headache he has.
Alaka follows everyone else.
The stone of this room has been smoothed and reshaped like soft clay. A door stands to the north, but the stone wall flows over the jamb, blocking it shut. Stone rods crisscross arrow slits in the southern and eastern walls. A staircase descends on one side of the door, but the ascending staircase has been completely sealed at the ceiling. Beakers and woodworking tools cover the low stone tables lining the walls, while the center of the room is filled with a six-armed wicker mannequin stretching from floor to ceiling. A wooden box the size of a footstool rests in an opening in the mannequin’s chest.
In the room, you find a squat korred with thick, wiry hair that sticks out from his head and ears. He pokes at the incomplete puzzle box with his hands while his animated hair shifts the pieces around. He notices you, and turns, shouting, "I said absolute privacy!" and hurls a handful of rivets at you in frustration.
Sorry whispers Alaka. We just broke in here. We didn't know.
She also whispers Trinket, don't be loud.
Still whispering she asks Are you making a puzzle box? That's really cool.
"Go away, and let me finish my work, and I'll let it go." he then very obviously turns his back on you and gets back to his tinkering.
Xakroo blinks and cautiously walks up to the korred and beings to talk. We apologize for barging in on important work, but perhaps we can be of assistance?
Of course his headache from Trinket's rambling and near death experience has still put him in a grumpy mood, and he comes off as impatient and gruff.
Alaka wishes she could talk to him, but he doesn't want to, and she doesn't think he looks evil, so she starts walking away.
"Jarvak thinks he really wants privacy," he says. He looks at the rest of the room for interesting things.
Poxy is exceptionally curious about the room, but doesn't want to disturb the furball man, so he just looks around the room resisting the powerful temptation to touch anything, or rather everything.
, mostly trying to recall what he knows about the furballman.
"Hey, you! Hairy Villain!" Trinket exclaims loudly. "What happened to the Amazing Hero-Rangers who lived here!"
"Ask my stupid brother, in the rest of this building. He had taken over when I got here. Now go away, or I will make you regret it!" The end almost sounds like a growl.
Zarvak snarled at the end of his sentence, but Xakroo held her back. Where is your brother?
He turns his back on you, studiously ignoring you and refusing to answer any more.
You see nothing of interest here; it's just the materials for his odd tinkering.
"A-HAH!" Trinket replies as she poses dramatically. "You ARE a Villain! And a brother to the Most-Evil of all villains! The MASTERMIND!"
She gasps and waggles her finger at the hairy fellow.
"Come, then, HAIRY, LAZY VILLAIN! The Great Hero Trinket's here to reclaim this fortress in the name of HEROES EVERYWHERE! BUT MOSTLY IN THIS FOREST!"
TRINKET STOP! Xakroo yelled, jumping in front of Trinket to stop the attack, He's not a threat, let's leave him be!
"What?" Trinket asks Xakroo. "Why? He's a villain! And his brother's the WORST villain! Has he used tricky, villainous mind control on you?" After a moment of thought she enquires, "Will me punching you in the brain help shake the enchantment off?"
Trinket, he's NOT a villain-if he was, he'd attacked us by now! Heroes do NOT attack innocent people! I'm not under any spell either! Xakroo snarled, a vein pulsing on his very forehead.
Poxy sides with Xakroo and says "Yeah if furball man was villian he would use his hair to throw something at you instead of make his box thing. Irritated Poxy say we leave furball man alone and find hero school for Trinket when we done here. It's where they make you use a book if you don't be good."
Trinket laughs as if Xakroo and Poxy just said the funniest, silliest sentence in the history of Golarion. "Don't be silly! Villains can be sneaky, you know! They sometimes have this terrifying thing called PATIENCE! And they... LIE!" She nods sagely. "You shouldn't let words and laziness trick you so easy!"
"Books are awesome, Poxy! It's where they store neat information and stories about Heroes! One day they'll write a book about me, you know!" She poses dramatically. "TALES OF THE GREAT HERO TRINKET AND HER AMAZING SUPER-FRIENDS! AN EPIC OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!"
Trinket smiles proudly.
Pointing at the hairy villain, Trinket exclaims: "All right, sneaky, Hairy Villain! Your tricks have fooled my not-so-clever companions, so we're letting you off for now! But you only get one 'SPARE ME' pass, so you'd better use it well! Be nice! And be Redeemed by our Heroism and Stuff!"
Trinket poses dramatically again, hands on her hips and staring off into the distance.
After a few moments of posing, she exclaims, "Come on then! Quit being lazy, lazy-bones! Let's find the Mastermind Villain!"
And with that Trinket prances off down the steps.
Despite running off ahead of the others, she waits patiently for them at the bottom of the stairs, pointing dramatically into the distance.
Xakroo glared in Trinket's direction for a bit, then whispered to the group, Remind me to make a leash for her when we get back...
Alaka starts laughing at Xakroo's joke, but then remembers that she is supposed to be quiet, and stops.
You leave the grumpy fey creature in peace, and go back down the stairs. Then you go through the door in the room downstairs. This lofty entry hall contains a set of stairs ascending to the north, a double door to west, and a swinging door to the east. The odor of cooking meat wafts from the eastern door. Angled halls exit to the north and south, ending at stout wooden doors. Thick tapestries depicting forest scenes adorn the walls, but each tapestry is badly torn and stained with blood. Standing in the middle of the room is a strange creature, a hulking thing which is a patchwork of rotten cloth and grotesque skin, with stray bits of straw poking out the seams. It turns to see you enter, and prepares to attack.
The entire party is up. Know:arcana to find out about monster.
"HaHA!" Trinket exclaims happily. "A VILLAIN! Even YOU can't be fooled THIS time, Xakroo!"
Pointing her rapier at the strange, ugly creature, Trinket shouts, "BACK VILLAIN!"
---
---
Suddenly, Trinket's blade is crackling with lightning.
Poxy's first inclination is that fire will burn this fairly flammable looking thing. If he doesn't identify it and either remember it is resistant to fire or vulnerable to cold in some way he throws a fire bomb at it.
"I hope this is the crazy brother's work, because I don't want to see crazier than this" comments Jynnjun as she dashes forward, sending a burst of silvery light at the monster before stabbing it.
Alaka climbs up on the table so she is closer to the same height as the creepy thing that wants to kill them, and she goes to hit it with her torch.
She doesn't swing very well though, maybe because she was too tired from climbing on the table.
Xakroo doesn't even have the time to respond to Trinket's words, and fires at the being.
Trinket's words injure the creature, and Poxy's fire hurts it even more than he expects (vulnerable). (-24 HP)
Alaka is unable to hit the weird stitched together creature. Xakroo hits it with several arrow, but each one does less damage than expected.
creature at -40 HP, perhaps -44 depending on Jynnjun's damage type.
Waiting for clarification from Jynnjun and action from Jarvak.
Xakroo, your fierce little friend may act, also, if you want.
Jynnjun's spear pokes the creature, but seems unable to do any damage to it.
"W-what creatures are these?" Jarvak wonders.
Jarvak also starts singing. "Oh look Strawmen... we're going to pluck you out..."
Poxy and Jarvak know this is a construct made by stitching chunks of skin and fabric together and stitching the result together with straw. The creature has damage reduction which slashing weapons get around, resistance to cold and electricity, and is vulnerable to fire.
The creature swings its sword at Jynnjun!
The entire party is up again.
Jarvak conveys the information to the rest of the party. "Kill it with fire!" he says.
He keeps on singing.
Alaka tries to hit it with her torch again.
(inspire)
(2 bludgeoning, 3 fire, 2 acid, 2 inspire)
"FIRE!" Trinket shouts at the creature.
Then she sheathes her rapier.
"Burn! Burn! Hahahahaha!" Poxy jumps up and down as he scampers along the side to throw another bomb at its back side.
Jarvak's arrow hits the creature, but it seems uninjured.
Alaka's torch hit damages it, although the actual physical blow seems to be negated. Trinket's words strike the creature, and it starts to wobble. Poxy's firey bomb then smites it, leaving only a little pile of charred straw, skin bits, and fabric bits, with a beat up sword sticking out of it.
Alaka casts Cure Light Wounds on Jynnjun
"Thanks! It doesn't seem as dangerous as all that though. Have you ever tried to armwrestle a shapeshifted dragon?" Jynnjnun says as she shakes out her previously bruised arm.
She casts a defensive spell anyway, mirror image.
Then all five Jynnjuns scuttle under the table to the monster's north side against the remote chance that flanking will help against something with that many faces.
"Haha! Take that, VILLAIN!" Trinket exclaims proudly, posing dramatically as the strange straw man dies.
"Nice fire, Poxy!"
"Burn! Burn! Bur---" Poxy continues hopping up and down as the straw creature turns to cinders and ash, but stops suddenly when he smells the cooking meats in the next room.
"Sniffing Poxy smells something tasty! Hopefully they has enough for all of us. Or else last one in doesn't get to eats!"
Poxy darts across the room and tries the door to what he assumes is the kitchen.
Jynnjun slips her spear back into the loop on her pack before following. "Watch out Poxy, the villains might want to have us to dinner in the wrong way..."
Xakroo sighed, Well, at least that thing is taken care of. I have no idea what to expect next-let's go visit this brother as quickly as possible.