Looting Rasputin's body yields a Cassock of the Black Mmonk and a headband of Alluring Charisma +4, and an amulet of natural armor +4.
The statue is wielding a Labrys of the stone Idol, and there is a cache at the back of the cave, consisting of a dark blue rhomboid ioun stone, a scroll of insect plague, a pile of uncut gems (worth 2,8000 gp in total), seven bits of mammoth ivory with rough scrimshaw carvings of elk and plains bison(worth 50 gp each), and a section of petrified tree trunk 3 feet high, 1 foot thick, weighing 225 pounds that has been carved to resemble some crude prehistoric deity or nature spirit (worth 3500 gp).
Baba Yaga begins to speak to the party telepathically, "Elvanna has already been here and has likely turned my guardians against me. There's also a native creature of the frigid steppes that inhabits the demiplane. Can't really remember what it is. Since it never inconvenienced me, so I never bothered about it."
Baffled, Mr. Whiskers watches Crummock try to heal Rasputin. What is he doing?
When Einar asks if that should finish him, Mr. Whiskers looks at the holy symbol and tries to figure out what is happening.
When the knight appears, he decides it is better to keep quite until it is over.
Once she has left, Mr. Whiskers turns to Einar and asks "Where did you get that from?"
Staring at the spot Rasputin was, he adds "I am glad they broke that cycle, but really there should have been a few more charges filed given all he did on Earth."
Crummock shrugs at Mierul's glare.
"It mattered to me once... but now, not so much. I saw no need to continue with the baggage of a previous iteration, and simply returned them to the Cycle."
He then frowns.
"That reminds me... I don't know whether you are free to do as you wish, at any stage, but your mother would appreciate it if you visited her in the Chaotic Good afterlife; she feels bad that she was never able to return, and keep you safe..."
He staggers slightly when he receives the vision, but otherwise remains stoic.
Once there has been a chance to loot the bodies / room, Crummock tosses a gold coin...
...then nods to himself, and heads left.
"As it is the way it should have been all along." Meriul answers Crummock.
"When Pharasma determines I have earned it and not before. I cannot as yet, not because I do not want to."
"I certainly hope not!" Mr. Whiskers immediately replies when Einar mentions Linnorm.
Thinking a moment, Mr. Whiskers says "There are a fair number of creatures that would likely qualify. One of the more dangerous is probably the remorhaz -- partially because they generate heat rather than using cold as a weapon. It is said any weapon striking them will instantly melt."
"Drakes and dragons can live almost anywhere, although the White Dragon is the only one likely to enjoy the more frigid climates. Mastodons, dire bear, winter wolves and wooly rhinoceros are also possible."
"Given the situation, I also wouldn't be surprised by some cold fey."
Six pillars support the wooden ceiling of this chamber. Four marble statues of marble saber-toothed cats whose bodies and faces are covered in decorative etchings and runes stand between the pillars. The Saber toothed cats predictably animate and attack the party.
Mr Whiskers identifies them as taotiehs
"Adamantine, Einar!"
Shortly after saying that, Mr. Whiskers decides to see if he can prevent them from pouncing.
He casts Web on them, centering it so the near edge gets the rear area of the front two statue cats.
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All 4 cats have been grappled by Mr Whiskers web!
Einar reduces one of them to rubble with 3 swings of his sword then turns to the next one. It's marble exterior turns away one of the strikes, but the other blow gets through.
The remaining three try to break free of the webbing to attack Einar and he slashes at one of them as it comes close. The other two do not have the room to approach Einar.
Einar's sword stroke hits the cavern walls.
It tries to bite Einar, but only bites a doppelganger.
Well-struck, girl
"It's all in the swing," Greta winks back at Einar.
Greta wades in to thwack the damaged marble cat, smashing it to bits with a single blow.
Crummock hangs back, whilst Dimitri happily starts blowing-up marble cats.
Dimitri blows up both marble cats. He also spots an instant fortress among the rubble, which Einar retrieves after Mr Whiskers dismisses the web.
Two earthen tunnels converge here, and the floor of the intersection is clogged with broken bones and bits of dried flesh from creatures that obviously met violent deaths. The cobwebs and advanced state of decay of some of the remains show that these remains have been collected here for many, many years.
The wooden ceiling of the corridor ends 20 feet before this intersection. Above the intersection itself, the ceiling rises 50 feet. In the south wall of the intersection, 35 feet up, a ledge has been cut away to form a lair for a hideous shape that has the head of a feral elk with jagged teeth and sharp antlers. Its humanoid legs end in blackened, burnt stumps, and it floats 5 ft above the ledge
Mr Whiskers identifies it as a wendigo.
It has DR 15/cold iron and magic, spell resistance, regeneration 15(fire) and it can howl.
Three times per day as a standard action, a wendigo can emit a forlorn howl that can be heard up to a mile away. Any who hear the howl must make a Will save to avoid becoming shaken for an hour. Creatures within 120 feet become panicked for 1d4+4 rounds, and those within 30 feet cower with fear for 1d4 rounds. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Mr Whiskers also detects a moderate divination aura on the wendigo.
It flies down and gives a spine chilling howl.
Everyone is not scared of the howl.
"Fey, so cold iron this time. Strange that it has a spell on it..."
Mr. Whiskers delays to see if there is any thing he needs to do.
"Well, I don't have any cold iron arrows around. I could use being turned into a gargoyle."Greta requests.
Mr. Whiskers casts monstrous physique on Greta, once again turning her into a four-armed gargoyle. I would think she would get tired of that form.
"Thanks Mr Whiskers!" Then she steps into the airspace above Mr Whiskers and Dimitri and yells gleefully at the wendigo, "It's hammer time!"
Unfortunately Greta's blows are a little too enthusiastic and only the first one lands.
"Oooh, thats a tough customer!"She exclaims.
"It's more fun hammering things." Greta answers with a grin.
Einar's strike is accurate and cuts a large gnash in the wendigo's stump.
Mr. Whiskers moves out from below the carnage, rather annoyed by all the blood flying around.
"You two enjoy that too much!"
"But its therapeutic...you know the satisfaction of having a good solid whack?" She replies to Mr Whiskers, " Granted, some nails are harder to hammer in," Greta gives the wendigo a dirty look.
Dimitri attempts to blow the wendigo away.
The wendigo looks about to fall over, but it is still up! Then some of its wounds heal.
It tries to get closer to Einar flying acrobatically.
Einar cuts it down. Then he rips its throat out with his teeth and claws.
The party spots a ring of shooting stars on a skeletal hand among the bits of bone and half-eaten flesh that remain on the ledge, and Crummock flies up and takes it, then returns to the party.
Mr Whiskers also sees a little green eye wink out as the wendigo's throat is ripped out. Mr Whiskers realizes that the Wendigo was the target of a scrying spell.
Crummock nods in satisfaction when the beast goes down.
"Right then."
He then heads down the south-eastern corridor.
The corridor widens here to create two alcoves containing stylized stone statues of saber-toothed tigers engraved by the ancients with crude glyphs and sigils. However the statues do not animate and attack the party.
The chamber is musty and smells faintly of decay. Stacked against the walls are hundreds of bundles of hides and pelts, votive offerings left by whatever people built this place long ago. The snakeskins animate and form an oversized snake formed from snakeskins, its body covered in barbs and maw filled with jagged teeth.
Greta recognizes it as a hollow serpent. It is an undead creature and has DR 10/magic and silver.
The serpent rears up and casts horrid wilting on the entire party.
Then it moves out of sight, though Crummock can see it has climbed up the wall.
Greta flies over into a cloud of dust surrounding the serpentand whacks it with her hammer.
The cloud seems to leech some of Greta's strength.
She still manages to give it a good smack.
Crummock frowns, then casts Quickened Divine Favor, and drags Dimitri (who doesn't resist), so that he has a better view of the serpent.
Dimitri then opens-up on the strange undead thing.
Dimitri does blast the serpent into little snakeskin bits.
The majority of the pelts and hides here have succumbed to age and are worthless, but secreted among the piles of stiff and rotten furs is one black bear pelt that remains as supple as the day it was cured. The pelt functions as a cloak of resistance +5.
Einar finds that the double doors ahead are trapped and tinkers with the trap. He peers through the double doors using the ring but only sees a dark, foggy mass.
When the cloak is discovered, Crummock nods to Greta.
"Do you think you could make use of it?"
Crummock then pulls out some wands, and starts healing the party.
"I could, but so could you. Or Mr Whiskers." Greta answers.
Crummock chews his lip thoughtfully.
"Let's do some recon..."
He then casts Summon Totem Spirit for a Small Earth Elemental, and instructs it to scope out the remainder of the underground complex, reporting back any creatures that it detects with tremor sense.
The earth elemental returns and tells you there are no other creatures, but beyond the double doors, it can feel nothing from the surface. As if it's blocked...
Crummock, noting that Greta's strength is reduced, attempts to fix it.
Crummock nods to the others.
"I... picked up a few things from my internecine existence, between the Crummock that was, and the Crummock that is. Allow me to share one of them with you..."
He then casts Particulate Form, covering the entire party, before Einar pops open the door.
Mr. Whiskers mentions "Unfortunately, they know we are coming. I don't know why, but they were scrying on the wendigo and saw it die."
Then he uses the ring to provide barkskin to Einar, Greta and Dmitri.
Getting out yet another scroll, he uses that to protect Greta from fire.
He then starts passing out communal resist energy cold, electric, acid, sonic and fire. He spreads the duration out amongst all the people. He uses the rod to extend the resist for sonic and cold.
Turning to Greta, he suggests "You might want to be able to pounce for this fight. If you still want the gargoyle form, that is your choice. Otherwise I would suggest a Tikbalang. If there is another creature that would work better, just name it."
He reads off his own scrolls of false life and moment of prescience.
He sets Nivean down someplace safe, where she will not be harmed in the coming battle.
He casts Anticipate Peril using the power from one of his runestones.
Finally, he uses the rod while casting a Fire Shield (Fire) on himself and then casts shield on himself.
"Tikbalang is fine, but I will need a way to fly as well. The wendigo was flying. I wouldn't be surprised if Queen Elvanna was flying as well." Greta replies.
Nodding, Mr. Whiskers provides her with an Overland Flight spell as well.
He then consumes one of his sixth level spell slots to partially refill his arcane reservoir.
Greta flies 10 ft in the air.
Then Einar opens the door.
This chamber has been cut from the heart of the kurgan in the shape of a crescent moon. A pale glow from the center of the room illuminates two tall stone statues. The one on the left is a crude female figure with exaggerated feminine features, an ancient fertility idol representing the nameless goddess revered by the original builders of this mound. The one on the right is much more skillfully carved with more modern techniques, depicting a beautiful woman standing tall and proud, robed in witch’s garb, her left hand extended outward to receive a supplicant and her right holding up a crescent moon above her head. Between the two statues, an ancient, pitted iron cauldron bubbles over a fire pit, steam rising from its contents, and giving forth the pale, white radiance that provides the room’s dim light. A tall mirror with a frame of glittering ice stands behind the cauldron. The cauldron has an overwhelming aura of transmutation - it has been the wellspring for many of Baba Yaga’s most potent magics, and now serves the same function for Elvanna’s ritual.
Mr Whiskers realizes that the entire chamber is warded by Mage's Private Sanctum.
The wooden ceiling 40 feet above is skillfully joisted, and no columns interrupt the floor space. The statue on the left was crafted by the original builders of the kurgan to propitiate their goddess of the moon.
”I carved the statue on the right myself to mark my own rise in power and to presage my ambition to supplant the goddess who once held sway over the steppes that I once walked.” Baba Yaga says telepathically to the party.
In the room there are two muscular, frog-headed humanoid has tattered flesh hanging from its bat-like wings and is covered in a viscous slime, 3 elder ice elementals and Queen Elvanna herself, in ice golem form wearing the royal garb of Irrisen and a crown made from ice, wielding a staff made from ice. All of them except for the elder ice elementals are flying.
Baba Yaga telepathically informs the party that they can give up the boon of damage resistance or spell resistance that she previously granted them, to control the statues.
Shield guardian stone golem (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 158, 163)
N Large construct Init –1;
Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0
DEFENSE
AC 26, touch 8, flat-footed 26 (–1 Dex, +18 natural, –1 size)
hp 107 each (14d10+30);
fast healing 5
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +4
DR 10/adamantine; Immune construct traits, magic
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +22 (2d10+9)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
SpecialAttacks slow (DC 17)
Spell-LikeAbilities (CL 13th; concentration +8)
1/day—shield other, spell storing (fertility idol contains bestow curse [DC 32], witch contains debilitating portent; both CL 20th)
STATISTICS
Str 28, Dex 9, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
BaseAtk +14; CMB +24; CMD 33
SQ find master, guard
Queen Elvanna and her lackeys, on the other hand do not look surprised. ”I’ve been expecting you. Now you DIE!”
Mr Whiskers recognizes the frog-headed humanoids as Slimy demodands. They have 10 DR/good and magic, are immune to acid, poison; Resist cold 10, fire 10; and have spell resistance.
They have the following spell like abilities:
Constant—detect good, detect magic, see invisibility
At will—detect thoughts, fear
3/day—acid fog, greater dispel magic
1/day—summon (level 6, 1d4 tarry demodands 50%)
And their attacks can affect divine casters.
Faith-Stealing Strike (Su) When a demodand's natural attack or melee weapon damages a creature capable of casting divine spells, that creature must make a Will saving throw or be unable to cast any divine spells for 1 round. Once a creature makes this save, it is immune to further faith-stealing strikes from that particular demodand for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based
2 Strong divinations
1 Strong Transmutation
3 Moderate Abjurations
1 Moderate Transmutation
1 Moderate Necromancy
1 moderate abjuration