Obidiah reloads.
One of the giants casts a spell, and the area gets full of mist which obscures your vision. Then Bo sees them start to run for it.
No, away. They figure the cave is too obvious a hiding place. They aren't dumb and you just blew away their boss in six seconds.
"They are in full retreat.. We should check out that cave before proceeding on.."
Bo reloads and proceeds to check the leader for magic before moving to the cave..
His weapon and armor are both magic (and gargantuan), plus he has a magic ring. By observing you'd guess featherfall, but you'd ned spellcraft to be sure.
Once you get around to going into the cave you find a fair amount of coins and a huge and nice bear cloak, all of which doesn't mean much given how I do treasure.
Bo will take the ring since those things resize normally..
and since we are obviously into enemy territory he will cast extended see invisibility and extended heightnend awareness on himself too.
"Well, the're probably going to know we're coming"
I'll assume you proceed on the yellow brick road. Eventually you reach the mythical city.
This tableau defies belief. A narrow mountain pass opens into a glacial valley extending north and then turning to the west at the base of the vast mountain at the far end. Filling this valley is an ice- capped city of enormous proportions. The near end is mostly blocked by a huge fortress of smooth black stone, with multiple towers rising from its high walls. Exiting the bailey of this fortress is a massive causeway of gold that dominates the city as it travels down the center of the vale. Enormous towers and spires of many-colored stone pack both sides of the central thoroughfare, rising to prodigious heights and giving the illusion that the road itself is a valley. The eastern slope of the valley has been partially subsumed by an ancient volcanic flow—nearly a quarter of the city appears to have been so buried. That section is now little more than a great mass of ice, with the jagged angles and peaks of ruined structures poking through its topmost layer here and there. Where the valley curves slightly to the west, the structures, if anything, grow even larger, becoming truly gigantic as they climb up and over the rocky spur. At the far end of the valley, the city abuts the lower slope of a truly massive peak. Yet the city builders appear to have taken no heed of this change in slope, for the great causeway merely elevates at a steep angle and continues to climb the incline in a nearly straight line, transforming into an immense stairway. Additional buildings cling precariously to the mountain face alongside the causeway, growing even larger and more impressive as they ascend. The gigantic buildings finally give way a few thousand feet above, but the mighty road continues to wend its treacherous way to just below the mountain’s peak. There, a spired citadel looms, its size and proportions truly magnificent. It, too, fails to summit the mountain—instead, its topmost spires end just below the dominant face of a stern man, carved into the peak of the mountain and surveying the city below. The otherworldly quality of this strange panorama is further reinforced by the sound of the cold winds slicing across the high peaks, making strange cries and shrieks in the thin mountain air.
Bah. Cowards. I was looking forward to breaking down their magic there.
Boom will reload his clip fully with shot
This tableau defies belief
Will save....
Now I'm an understanding kind of gun nut, and can accept someone calling a removable magazine a 'clip' without getting pedantic, but calling an internal magazine a clip is crossing a line.
I have the map up for the city. Things are rather in sandbox mode for the moment. I believe you are starting at the south end of the map.
Do we have to return to get our air breathing spells cast every so often?
You have 30 hours on your life bubble per casting.
I should note that it won't be many levels before Yap can cast it himself.
Actually just looked it up. He can cast it now, but doesn't know it. When he levels he can pick it up.
Jan will also reload, then flip his lever to chamber a round.
No one ever freezes. They always either run for it or stand and die.
He spits, then looks around.
You guys decide what to do, it's basically a sandbox. One hint which you ought to remember is that there are potential allies in this city, so don't just try to kill everything. Not to say you will lack for good targets.
"Well we have the carpet, so we could fly about and check things out from, the air.. That might bring to much attention though.. Perhaps we should just move in slowly and try to keep our presence unknown.."
"There's a whole bridge made out of gold guys! Why would we head anywhere else?"
Don't think you have a choice to bypass E, it seems to be the fortress guarding the entrance.
The ruined road branches here, a narrower route leading around to the west while the main thoroughfare passes through a looming stone wall flanked by glossy black towers. It seems to be some sort of ancient gateway to the city proper. A dark mass of gritty, rocky ice presses up against the fortress’s northern face, the ancient lava flow apparently stopped (but only just) by the stone walls.
The gates of Krak Naratha fell long ago, leaving an empty gatehouse to provide entry to its bailey. The former garrison blockhouse has partially collapsed, as has much of the northeastern wall. The ancient volcanic eruption did significant damage to these structures, but not enough to completely destroy them. A smaller gate to the east of the ruined blockhouse once opened into the Slave District, but this is now blocked by a mass of ice.
There are three vaguely humanoid looking vulture thingies on the tower. As they see you approach, they get a bit worked up and one of them drops a rock which erupts in a really loud noise (thunderstone you imagine).
"We were never much for stealth..."
Nature.
BOOM!
Boom smiles
Probably just saying hello to me.
"A wizard sure would be nice at times such as these.. Oh well.."
They are Kuchrima, a sort of Lamia-Kin. CE Monstrous Humanoids. Either case 1 question (no you do not get to coordinate and ask separate questions).
Special Attacks
"In general those things are evil.. Prepare for a fight! Don't fire just yet though."
They have a special ability to expand the threat range of bows when taking single shots.
More of the critters come out of the tower. All are armed with bows.
One approaches a bit closer to within shouting distance and yells at you in Thasselonian.
"What are you humans doing here? How did you come to Xin Shalast?"
Well there was this dwarf you see and he had a map. Or his ghost did. Or his undead cannibal brother. Wait, ghosts are undead aren't they?
Jan will look towards his companions for confirmation.
But anyway there was a map, and a dwarf...uh...like thing, and anyway you know how it is. When a dwarf shows up with a map to a lonely mountain...fastness...you have to go on an adventure. It's like a law.
"So you are just explorers?"
Well I wouldn't say we're just explorers. We have outside interests - for example I like sampling fine cheeses and looking at interesting rock formations. My friend Bo here is a scholar on a wide range of topics aren't you Bo? Obi likes to make things on an anvil and Boom...uh...comes from a long line of Booms so he's very interesting indeed.
The critter gets a bit of a puzzled look on it's face " but do you serve Karzoug? I don't care about cheese. "
Jan will turn to his companions and, not in Thassilonian or Giant but in Varisian say, How truthful do we need to be here do you think?
Gnome Scout truthful or more down the scale towards, say, things you say to a barmaid when the inn is short on beds and she's bathed in the last week?
"Never met Karzoug."
Yea lots of booming in my family. Though there is some pastry chefery in the family.
Bo whispers to Jan..
"I sir cannot tell a lie, and I'm not to fond of being involved in one either to be honest. These are super evil creatures and they will make me out for sure once we get closer.. By all means try to get us past without a fight, but I do not think it will be possible.."
OK, barmaid-level honesty it is.
Turning back to the giants and in Thassilonian.
Why yes, we do serve the mighty Karzoug. He is powerful and handsome, a sure hit with the ladies and his fellow, uh, compatriots. My good friend here, he says after jerking a thumb at Bo, is actually his court jester, here to astonish with jokes and stories. So we'll just be moving on if you don't mind. Praise to Karzoug and his mighty, uh, toupee.
That seems to be good enough for the vulture thingy, and it waves you into the ancient city at the top of Golarion.
Jan will look at his compatriots while waving at the vulture things.
Bo, try and look entertaining but we should be fine.
Bo looks disgusted with himself for being slightly involved with Jan's storytelling..
"Please just leave me out of your future dealings with such creatures.. We should purge them before leaving this place.."
This elevated stone causeway is 75 feet wide and runs nearly a hundred feet off the ground in places. This elevation is not immediately obvious, though, as huge buildings and towering structures constructed along the road’s entire length give the illusion that the causeway remains at ground level. This illusion is broken somewhat where small “feeder alleys” branch off from the main course of the causeway to descend into the various districts of the city below. Though the bricks of the road are of basalt, they do in many places retain gold plating that might once have covered the entire run.
The Golden Road remains sound, though here and there stretches of up to 200 feet in length have collapsed into rubble. In areas abutting the Slave District, the Golden Road is often bordered to the east by the lava f low and in many places has been destroyed or overflowed by it.
Jan shrugs at Bo.
If you're going to make it in law enforcement you've got to get comfortable with undercover work. How do you feel about broad brimmed fuschia hats with extravagant feathers stuck in a leopard print hatband? I think you could pull it off.
Jan whistles at the gold plating in the road.
Now that's class. I'd hate to see the bill for this place.
Bo smiles and pulls out the bird feather quill that tells them answers..
"You mean like this one? I suppose I could tape it to my close faced helmet for a bit of style.. Jokes aside we could use this thing if anyone has any pertinant questions to ask."