He is blind ans stagger! How can you you miss?
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Beorin moves up to the hunter while Irisus lies on the floor bleeding. Tariq shoots a crossbow bolt at the cat, but almost hits Irisus lying next to it. Kalim takes out two more daggers and attacks Cathryn.
Cathryn strikes back, but misses.
Irisus
Tariq
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Fiveknives Kalim
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Radagast
Cathryn
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Panther bl./st. 3R, st. 1R
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Beorin
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Irisus is still down in the grass while Tariq shoots and hits the panther. Beorin attacks the Aspis agent, but misses. Fiveknives attacks the dwarf with his daggers before stepping back.
Cathryn steps up and lashes out, finally hitting the man hard on the chest.
Irisus
Tariq
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Fiveknives Kalim -19HP
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Radagast
Cathryn
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Panther bl./st. 2R, st. 1R -8HP
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Beorin
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Tariq shoots some more bolts into the cat's body while Beorin tends to Irisus' wounds.
The few gripplis in the immediate area show you with praise before scattering to gather the other Krihirik once more. The gripplis defer to you regarding the treatment of the Aspis agents who survived the conflict.
"But what's most important, did you bring us some eggs?" Mother Bogwynne asks.
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Radagast smiles.
"We did indeed retrieve you some eggs! Let me tell you, it wasn't easy, especially when the mother expressed her displeasure..."
He then looks at the Aspis leader thoughtfully.
"The minions were just following orders, but the leader on the other hand... Why don't we hand him over to the Gripplis, in order to do whatever they would like?"
Radagast then searches the bodies for any healing potions/scrolls/wands.
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"I'm glad you all made it back alive!" Mother Bogwynne answers. She raises a hand and lifts her head as if performing a blessing, and dozens of gripplis gather to listen. "More than a thousand cycles ago, the dwarven refugees came to us from the distant north, fleeing a home lost ages ago. We aided the dwarves and welcomed them as neighbors in the nearby hills — a land even harsher than our own. When they fled their home for a second time, we offered them aid once more, though they requested only that we honor their memory and accept a gift: this talisman that bears the power to defeat the golden beast that now haunts Ashkurhall."
She holds up a melon-sized ovoid made of clay. "The descendants of Sigrin spoke of this as their greatest treasure, which they had left behind. It is a legacy that continues to this day, for none have ever braved the Golden Guardian to claim the riches as their own." A chorus of croaking vocalizations follows the elder’s story, and she adds, "The talisman’s power is hidden within, and it must be unsealed in the beast’s presence. To do so too soon would expend its energy needlessly or even invoke a terrible disaster. We have entrusted you with this relic of our people; use it wisely."
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"so... Our venture captain didn't find the sky citadel . but why was he here? Didn't he should have the amulet? "
and still there the question. Are we better than the aspis? More compétent. But better? We killed innocents people who wanted just to eat. Stole eggs from her mother. I who is a diplomat didn't do anything for fear to be hurt. Maybe i pose the wrong question. I am better than the aspis. Intention desn't mean act. Gods looks at acts. If i see myself like a paragon of vertu. I need to act like one even if the other are not.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"I have no objections on handing the agents over to the tribe. Now that we have what we need, we should press on though it seems strange that this item is needed but our Venture Captain did not take it away with him." Beorin grunts though he's a little disappointed that he lost the egg he was carrying.
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Only the VC knows why he did not try to get the artifact.
A tribe of gripplis gave you a clay talisman bearing the symbol of a mountain under dozens of bright stars. The gripplis kept the talisman safe for generations, in the knowledge that it would be the only weapon that could hold the Golden Guardian at bay. Their instructions were simple: break open the talisman in the presence of the Golden Guardian.
Upon your return to Fort Bandu, you receive a letter from Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin.
Pathfinders,
News of your mission in the Bandu Hills has reached me. It is unfortunate that Venture-Captain Sharrowsmith angered the kobolds so much that they attacked the local miners, but I have also heard that thanks to your efforts, the kobolds have ceased their attacks, at least for now.
According to the latest report, you learned about an ancient monster watching over the dwarven ruins that Sharrowsmith had been studying, and you decided to visit the Kaava lands to acquire a powerful weapon that could defeat the guardian. I hope that your negotiations with the tribe of gripplis guarding the weapon were successful and you are now ready to continue your mission to find Sharrowsmith.
I want to remind you that Nieford Sharrowsmith is our foremost scholar in the region, and thus, your first priority is to bring him back alive, or at least find evidence about what has happened to him. Naturally, also record any information of historical value as you explore the ruins.
If you run into kobolds while exploring the dwarven ruins, try not to antagonize them any more than is necessary to find Sharrowsmith. The earlier trouble with the kobolds has already harmed our reputation with the locals. It is vital to the continued success of the Nantambu lodge that we secure allies, not make enemies.
One more thing: we have reason to believe that the Aspis Consortium is planning to intercept your mission and kill or kidnap Sharrowsmith. Take haste and keep an eye out for trouble at all times.
Blessing of the Ten,
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin
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A contingent of Aspis mercenaries was seen approaching the Bandu Hills from the northwest—the direction of Bloodcove.
The leader of the group is an Ustalavic aristocrat named Zaril Namoth, who is also known to be an expert tracker and hunter.
According to some rumors, Zaril Namoth takes trophies from the people he tracks down and kills. Some say he needs their heads for dark rituals he learned while held by the Bekyar—a people infamous for kidnapping, cannibalism, and demon worship.
Almost everyone at Fort Bandu knows the legend
of the Golden Guardian, but no one seems to know
anything substantial.
Since the stories about the local boogeyman have
circulated in the region for centuries, most people speculate
that the creature is immortal or not a living creature.
Some people believe it is a gold dragon, while others
say it is probably a living statue, a golden machine, or a
god-like entity. The only thing the locals are unanimous
about is that only a special weapon lost to antiquity can
defeat the Golden Guardian.
Until recently, the kobolds have largely kept to
themselves. Most local people didn’t even know about the
kobolds before the incident with Sharrowsmith.
Decades ago, a local boy went missing but returned
weeks later with amazing stories about a hidden city
protected by cruel traps that he only narrowly escaped.
Learning this fact about the kobolds’ defenses grants the
PCs a +1 bonus on all skill checks and saving throws to find,
disable, bypass, and evade traps during this adventure.
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Irisus seem angry. "This is the bogeyman of this place! and they tell us now! Nobody know what it is! It need a secret weapon to defeat him."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Praying to Torag for Guidance on finding which direction should the party go, Beorin presents his holy symbol. Touching it to his forehead each time as he considers each question to be answered.
Then looking up,
"It seems that a contingent of Aspis mercenaries was seen approaching the Bandu Hills from the northwest—the direction of Bloodcove. Their leader is an Ustalavic aristocrat named Zaril Namoth, who is also known to be an expert tracker and hunter. Strangely enough no one knows about the Golden guardian."
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"So why they are here? We had a group who search for the golden guardian.. No...it not that. To give a positive reputation of the aspis.
Could it be they wish to extablish a colony here? Control the region? There lot of priceless artifact here and ressources here
I suppose when the armada of aspis come. They will hunt first this bogeyman and then take control the region.
We need to tell the practor. It is bad for most of the workers here."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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The evening before you leave Fort Bandu again you spend the evening in one of the finder taverns. While you are having food and drinks Cathryn tells you her story.
Save for torrential rain alternating with scorching heat, the journey from Fort Bandu to Mount Nakyuk progresses smoothly. Ancient, crumbling stone buildings choked with vines and adorned with bone fetishes emerge from a patch of thick jungle underbrush. A scattering of bones and discarded tools hints that this location was recently inhabited. A gaping stairwell yawns behind a blood-spattered altar, descending to the mysterious depths where the Golden Guardian makes its home.
You remember arriving here just in time to rescue a group of miners from kobolds who were in the middle of sacrificing them only a few days ago.
You descend into the musty depths of the mysterious ruins, where your exploration begins in a maze of half-collapsed rooms and corridors. The air is pleasantly cool in the lightless halls of Ashkurhall. The ceiling is 10 feet high and the floor is hard granite.
The dwarves built this area soon after they arrived in the region and found a vein of gold under Mount Nakyuk. Their journey through the Mwangi Expanse had been trying, and it seemed that almost everything was out there to kill them. They had lost many kinsfolk to wild animals, poisonous (and sometimes carnivorous) plants, quicksand, and other jungle dangers. The Bandu Hills had not been much gentler: landslides, sudden thunderstorms, and scuffles with local tribes of humans and humanoids had worn them down. Though the dwarves had to live their first years in these poor, cramped quarters, they felt safe for the first time in many years.
The architecture in this area is quite plain by dwarven standards, which means the dwarves probably built this area in a hurry.
The ruins are about 3,000 years old. When the Nakyuk kobolds moved in eighty years ago, they made a few changes of their own.
Two granite statues of dwarves in full armor stand guard in this entrance hall, flanking the entrance to a corridor to the south. Antelope skull patterns painted in red ochre cover each statue’s face. In the wall to the south are two rust-stained iron doors.
Somebody opened the eastern door with a crowbar leaving visible marks on it. When he continued his exploration, he closed and jammed the door again.
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Beorin sits and waits as Cathryn tells her story.
Stroking his beard, he contemplates his answer and after pondering on it for some time, he gives it.
"I have heard your story and seen you bared your very soul to us. That is a gift and I shall treasure it greatly, Cathryn Nesteruk of the Sliver Crusade. Your ancestors and mine have being at war for centuries before neither of us was born and though blood has being split between us. There can be no Emity between us. We have shed blood, treked through inhospitable trees and jungle, ran away from hungry predators and fought side by side." Pausing as he gives the others to take in his words.
"Right here and now, we are pathfinders and are friends. We have travelled far together and I say leave it to the gods to say when our paths will part. For now I'll walk along you as you seek out your own path, by Torag's own hammer I so Swear."
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Noticing the Crowbar marks, he calls out.
"Someone's being here."