Gears, glass, and chunks of wax litter the polished wood floor under a sign that proclaims “Scars of the Lich.” The corpse of a Kellid warrior lies in a pool of blood, her furs soaked through. A constant ticking and whirring sound echoes in this area as three clockwork figures patrol haphazardly. Their motions looking increasingly jerky
|
Froderik scans the automatons in an effort to ascertain the threat they pose and a means to shut them down or disable them.
Spying the woman on the ground, Froderik remarks, "I do not believe this woman to be a part of the lich exhibit."
He reaches for his wand of cure light wounds and approaches the woman. Before he uses the magical device, he turns to his companions, "Any objections?"
|
After a loud crack and a ripple of arcane energy, silence falls across the museum as the construct guards freeze in place and haunted relics drop to the ground. Nigel’s voice rings out, magically projected throughout the museum: “We’ve disabled the magical security measures. Since we haven’t found the thieves yet, they must be hiding in my third-story study. Please subdue them; they have much to answer for!”
Nigel Aldain’s announcement echoes through a museum littered with shattered clockwork and toppled exhibits. There’s no question that the Pathfinders have quelled the building’s defenses, and perhaps the peaceful silence will set whoever hides on the third floor at ease.
As Froderik appoaches the corpse he realises she is beyond the help of his wand. with the clockwork figures coming to a halt you are free to approach Nigels Study
The mahogany walls and domed, plaster ceiling both show signs of heavy damage. Most of the luxurious furniture and the crystal chandelier are intact. The contents of cabinets and bookcases lie strewn about the floor. A small wooden panel near the door hangs open, revealing an arcane sigil covered in scorch marks.
A Kellid woman dressed in furs with intricate scars all over her body steps forward. She holds a hand up and says, “Stay back. We are members of the Twinhorn following, and we have only come to retrieve what was stolen from us.”
A towering figure steps forward; his translucent red form is that of a man clad in heavy armor and wielding twin warhammers. “Medda,
they must be in league with the thieves; they should die for crossing us.” The man’s voice sounds hollow and unnaturally loud, and as he speaks, the chandelier glows with a dull light.
The woman, Medda, puts a hand on the figure’s arm and says, “Maybe we should give them a chance to explain themselves, Anok.”
Two other kellid warriors eye you nervously
|
|
"Stolen? My dear, we, too, were summoned here for the purpose of pursuing suspected thieves." He points to his comrades. "And by your presence here, it appears as though you are the very persons that we were sent here to retain."
"This building in which you are now found is a museum and it is our understanding that its contents were lawfully acquired." Froderik continues. Though, I must confess that I would not be shocked if that were not the case, he thinks to himself.
"If you have evidence to the contrary, then I suggest you provide it hastily, before my companions here and those elsewhere within these walls remove any such choice from you. For, as you may well concede, the breaking and entering of a building is rarely an activity engaged in by a party that is entirely within the right!"
Medda responds, “These Blakros people stole our most precious heirloom.” Medda retrieves a bundle of bloody bandages, then unwraps it to reveal a dagger hilt with only the fragment of a black blade. “It belonged to Ivvora, a champion of Vildeis who vanquished the great black evil from our land over 900 years ago. We kept it safe until the Blakros agents stole it three months ago.”
Anok adds in his deep, booming and hollow voice, “They came into our camp asking about Ivvora. Medda gave them shelter and told Ivvora’s story, but we would not part with the hilt. The next morning the hilt and the Blakros agents were gone. We tracked it here, to this building.”
The other Kellids although watchful and although they are ready for a fight appear happier there is talking not fighting going on.
|
"Perhaps we should talk to Nigel about this. He is the one who purchased the dagger from those agents." Puck puts his hands up, meaning no ill will. "I'm sure there is a peaceful way out of this. Please, tell us more about why this dagger is so precious." He smiles, tentatively. "Help us understand."
The witch looks at Froderick slyly. "Fortunately, my friend here is quite the diplomat."
|
|
"My fiery friend, speaks truth." Froderick adds, affirmatively.
"Clearly, this hilt is an item of great value to you and your people. I can assure you of one thing, if it is within the walls of this institution--one guarded not only by magical means as you have seen, but by the skilled and honest hand of the Pathfinder Society as well, at least when so called--then your heirloom is quite safe." Froderik says, trying to assure the intruders. "Therefore, if the item is truly yours, as I have no reason at present to doubt, then it is merely a matter of retrieving it."
"As for the manner in which the heirloom arrived within these walls, I cannot attest to validity of the method, but I can say that mistakes occur--objects misplaced, words misunderstood--and that once exposed, such mistakes can often be rectified without violence." Froderik sheathes his sword for emphasis and as a show of good faith.
"Come now, my companions and I have means to detect magical auras. Perhaps, if you tell us more of this item, we may be able to help you in retrieving it from this reputed establishment once the issue of ownership has been settled. Those of us here can aid you in looking while others of our Society send for a museum representative." Froderik offers.
"I am a bard, you should know. Perhaps, we can exchange stories with one another and, once this is all resolved, have another amusing tale to share together in the future!" The bard smiles, hoping to elicit a similar response from the Kellids.
Rivani listens quietly to Froderick and Puck's exchange with the Kellids. Aware that she has no great gift with words, she doesn't want to risk angering the four warriors with a slip of the tongue and so stays quiet. She uses the time to review her memories for mention of the Twinhorn Following and Vildeis.
Medda answers, “We did. That Nigel man refused. He said he did not honor ‘seller’s remorse.’ As for the hilt. It is bound to me.” She grasps the hilt tightly, then her eyes begin to glow with a brilliant white light as her scars begin to seep thin rivulets of blood. “Does that answer your question?”
|
|
"Oh. There goes the easy way out. " Puck frowns, thinking. "You should know, we were sent here to keep you from stealing this artifact. That is what we are bound to do. " His eyes light up, as he gets an idea. "However, we would be happy to help you take this case to court. A judge may be able to help you and Nigel come to an agreement. Perhaps we could even help find the real thieves. "
|
|
I have heard of these courts They are a long winded and prone to much deviousness. We have on ly taken what is rightfully ours2 medda responds. Amok adds “When the metal men attacked us, Ivvora’s spirit called through the hilt to her allies’ armaments. She protects us, even now.”
It is at this point the chandelier decides to crash to
the ground. A seething devil manifests atop the wreckage he deftly wields a vicious, saw-toothed glaive, while below its toothy maw writhes a hideous, twitching beard.
He turns to Medda "Killing the wielder of a paladins blade what better way to celebate my freedom"
Bold to act
Puck
Jesanna
Medda -5
Anok-5
Froderik
Ree
Benny
Devil
Rivani
for every 5 you beat the dc by choose one of the following
DR
SR
Glaive
Beard
resistances
|
|
Puck shakes his head. "Silly me, thinking we could talk." Then, the chandelier falls and the devil appears. "What evil is this? You would summon a devil to do your bidding?" Puck is disgusted by these two and their devious scheme.
Devil? Demon? No matter, it will need it's eyes either way. Puck stares hard at the creature, then utters a magic word.
Sorry the red circle is the debris from the chandelier and is difficult terrain. As the devil seems intent on attacking Medda I dont think they summoned it especially as the breaking chandelier caught them both for five damage. You suspect you have Nigel to thank for the devils apearance
Puck soon realises that this creature is resistant to his magic
Bold to act
Puck
Jesanna
Medda -5
Anok-5
Froderik
Ree
Benny
Devil
Rivani
This is a Barbazu or bearded devil. Devils are evil outsiders and immune fire and poison
for every 5 you beat the dc by choose one of the following
DR
DR 5 silver or good negates
SR
they have spell resistance 16
Glaive
their glaives cause vicious bleeding wound that are hard to heal by physical and magical means heal dc 17 and SR 16
Beard
this gets free attack when both its claws hit causes disease
resistances
acid 10 cold 10 (yes immune fire and poison too)
Medda calls out Defend me from that thing!" as she steps back and casts a spell on Anok
It winces slightly as the green feathered arrow draws some blood but the blue just bounce off its glaive
Anok steps between the creature and Medda drawing its aoo
It lands a powerful blow but Anok attacks as his essence seems to be dripping to the floor
and lands a solid looking blow that gets the creatures attention
Bold to act
Puck
Jesanna
Medda -5
Anok-11 (Bleeding)
Twinhorns
Froderik
Ree
Benny
Devilish figure -18
Rivani
This is a Barbazu or bearded devil. Devils are evil outsiders and immune fire and poison
for every 5 you beat the dc by choose one of the following
DR
DR 5 silver or good negates
SR
they have spell resistance 16
Glaive
their glaives cause vicious bleeding wound that are hard to heal by physical and magical means heal dc 17 and SR 16
Beard
this gets free attack when both its claws hit causes disease
resistances
acid 10 cold 10 (yes immune fire and poison too)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
|
|
Froderik orates, "This evil from a realm beyond our own is no match for those of us assembled before it. Individually, each of us is formidable, but united, we are unstoppable and will easily dispatch this creature to whence it has come!"
The bard then moves to a more central location so that his voice can be heard throughout the chamber.
Jesanna moves to just outside the creature reach and tries to trip it
The devil falls prone he gets back up
Benny gets sneak attack
Riven
Puck
Jesanna
Medda -5
Anok-11 (Bleeding)
Twinhorns
Froderik
Ree
Benny -15
Devilish figure -36
Froderik moves forward and fails to find his Benny does with his spear although he does find the bleed trick is also in his enemies repetoir as he takes 2 bleed damage
Bold to act
Riven
Puck
Jesanna
Ree
Medda -5
Anok-11 (Bleeding)
Twinhorns
Devilish figure -51 Bleeding
Froderik
Benny -17
The creature shoots a sidelong look at Puck and seems mildly annoyed. It also seems distracted and easier to hit
Bold to act
Rivani
Jesanna
Ree
Medda -5
Anok-11 (Bleeding)
Twinhorns
Devilish figure -46 Bleeding?
Froderik
Benny -17(bleeding)
Puck
|
Realising that she can do little with her whip, Jesanna lets it drop and lifts her hand crossbow from her belt. She rolls her shoulder, and a crosbow bolt, its tip crusted with half-melted nodules of cold iron, pops from her wrist sheath. She rams the bolt home, aims and fires.
cold iron blanched bolt
Distracted by the sidelong look at Puck the fiend is caught by Jesannas bolt however it barely scratches it
Rivani
Ree
Medda -5
Anok-11 (Bleeding)
Twinhorns
Devilish figure -47 Bleeding?
Froderik
Benny -17(bleeding)
Puck
Jesanna
Ree skewers the fiend which looks bloodied and battered but is still fighting
Medda casts a spell and moves up to Anok to deliver it. She gasps no as it appears not to do anything. The two Twinhorn archers fire arrows into the fiend which topples over.
[ooc]Infernal Wound (Su) The damage a bearded devil deals with its
glaive inflicts persistent wounds that cause 2 points of bleed
damage. Bleed caused from an infernal wound is particularly
difficult to stanch—a DC 17 Heal check stops the damage,
and any attempt to heal a creature suffering from an infernal
wound must succeed on a DC 16 caster level check or the
spell does not function. Success indicates the healing works
normally and stops all bleed effects on the victim. The infernal
wounds caused by a bearded devil are a supernatural ability
of the devil, not of the weapon.
Intitative
Medda -5
Twinhorns
Anok-13 (Staggered Bleeding)
Rivani
Ree
Froderik
Puck
Jesanna
Benny -17(bleeding)
|
|
Froderik quickly scans the bleeding allies, Bennybeck and Anok, trying to assess which appears to be closer to death.
The bard races to the bleeding side of the more severely injured comrade in arms.
"Cling to life, Friend!" Froderik urges. "Your story has yet to end. We have more tales yet to weave together." Froderik casts cure light wounds on the person he believes to be more injured.
Turning to the other bleeding , he declares, "Do not despair, I have magic to spare!"
Rivani stands astonished as the Kellids and her comrades take down the devil with incredible speed.
She doesn't recognise Medda's spell, and can do little to help. She moves over to Benny and surveys his wounds. "Hold on Benny, I think I have a potion here somewhere," she says, rifling through her pack.