"Darganfyddwch ble mae Armnel wedi cymryd y bobl. Ymladd ef ac achub y bobl hynny. Byddaf yn casglu'r rhai sy'n ffyddlon i mi ac yn delio â'i heddluoedd." Erich writes.
Find out where Armnel has taken the humans. Kill him and rescue those humans. I'll gather those loyal to me and deal with his forces.
"Clywais i Armnel amseroedd clwb nos a adeiladwyd i fod yn debyg i un yn ardal Montmartre yn "y Paris arall" ar y Ddaear. Nid oes gennyf ddim syniad lle mae'r clwb nos yn union yn yr ardal, na'i enw." One of the Leng ghouls suggests.
I heard Armnel frequents a nightclub that was built to resemble one in the Montmartre district in “the other Paris” on Earth. I have no idea where exactly in the district the nightclub is, nor its name. He might have brought the humans there.
"Fe allech chi geisio gofyn am batrollau goul y gendarme, ond nid yw pob gouls mor gyfeillgar â ni." Another ghoul cautions the party.
You could try to ask the gendarme ghoul patrols,but not all ghouls are as friendly as us.
" Mae ardal Montmartre i'r dwyrain o hyn." Another ghoul informs the party.
The Montmartre district is east of here.
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Howard nods thoughtfully.
"Yn dda iawn yna. Byddwn yn mynd yn edrych am y clwb nos hwn, ac yn delio â'r Armnel hwn. Gobeithio na fydd yn rhaid i ni ddod i mewn i'r gendarmes yn y broses."
He then turns to the others.
"Come on - let'sss go ressscue sssome humansss!"
”Yeah, lets get moving.” Sir Amrivast says as he follows Howard out.
Erich dutifully strips off all the gear that Howard had earlier given him and returns it to Howard, while scribbling,” Diolch am eich rhoddion, ond rwyf nawr yn ddiogel ac ni fyddwn eu hangen.”
Thank you for your gifts, but I am now safe and won't be needing them.
Once they are out of sight and hearing of Erich and the Leng ghouls, Sir Amrivast remarks, ”Those were the weirdest set of ghouls I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t help a ghoul..but since Erich asked us…I suppose it should be ok.”
The section of the city is quieter and less chaotic. Fewer cries are heard in the distance. Many businesses still appear looted, but there is less vandalism and there are fewer burned-out buildings. Several large structures and monuments in the distance appear to be controlled by large groups of creatures in military camps. Snatches of mist and fog grow thicker around the river.
Among the streets, the party runs into a party of 4 leng ghouls in dark blue military uniforms, caps and ponchos, brandishing revolvers and white military batons.
”Hoi – what are all of you doing here?” One of the Gendarmes calls out to the party.
”We just shot some looters – we’re trying to keep things in order, so don’t try anything funny!” Another of the Gendarmes calls out threateningly.
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Howard bows politely to the Gendarmes.
"I assssssure you, we are not lootersss, and I applaud your effortsss to keep the ssstreetsss sssafe, in thessse trying timesss. In an effort to fossster continued ssstability, we ssseek Armnel; can you tell usss where we might find him? We heard that he might be in a club in the Montmartre dissstrict."
"Armnel? Stability? Pah. He's told us to confiscate any magical items or items of high value that they come across, for the city's defense, and who the heck willingly parts with their valuables. It just causes a fight and adds chaos to the equation. Not to mention bringing in the occasional living human to satisfy his voracious appetite. I ain't doing any of that." One of the Gendarmes grumbles.
Sir Amrivast grows as black as a thundercloud on hearing where Armnel has been ordering the Gendarmes to do and his claws make a distinctly unpleasant sound scratching the cobblestones.
"Meh, he frequents the Cabaret du Oubli. It's just 15 min down the road." Another of the Gendarmes answers as he points. "Now be off with you."
Following the Gendarmes directions the party finds themselves at a building whose exterior is a gruesome facade featuring thousands of bones and skulls surrounding a monstrous open mouth that frames the front door to the cabaret. Three Leng ghouls stand outside, smoking cigarettes and they regard the party indifferently.
One of the ghouls nods affirmative.
Another looks over the party, seeing both Sir Amrivast and Havigan armed, then remarks, "That fat pig has a couple of his guards with him, so you take care now. I would not try to call out the captain unprepared.”
Havigan focuses and calls out a violet shield.
"Ooh hey, who was talking about finger waving?" Sir Amrivast says genially as he gives him a pat on his shoulder. "Welcome to the club."
"Oh shuddit. My dagger hasn't been very useful for a while, so I'm trying a different tact. "
Sir Amrivast casts bless on the entire party and divine favor on himself.
The walls and doors of this spacious room are painted black and are decorated with skeletons and skulls, horrific battle scenes, and paintings of guillotines in use. Tables are arranged throughout the room in a tavernlike setting, save that the tables are coffins that rest on wooden biers. Drinks are served in small skulls that cradle a glass inside. Dim light is provided by fat, dripping candles set in two chandeliers fashioned from human bones, each topped with a skull. A black upright piano sits in the northeast corner of the establishment with a swivel piano stool before it. Festive music, laughter, and conversation fill the chamber. Opposite the piano in the northwest corner is a bar area with racks of bottles and kegs behind the counter. Two individual black doors exit to the north, a third door stands behind the bar, and a double door leads south.Throughout the club, bones adorn the walls, furniture, and fixtures. It is a grim place, but the conversation within is lively and upbeat.
A number of other Leng ghouls, and even a few humans, occupy the tavern. Waiters, most of them human, thread through the room dressed in undertaker costumes and delivering drinks on silver platters. A fearsomely jovial Leng ghoul tends the bar.
An an enormous ghoul, overweight even for his 9-foot-tall stature. He sits precariously on a wooden chair that appears almost ready to collapse beneath him. Tucked over his shoulder is an enormous greataxe with a razor-sharp edge.
With him are his two gendarme body guards.
With that challenge, the fat ghoul rises to his feet, and pulls out his axe while giving a guttural laugh, "You think anybody will care what you said after I pick my teeth with your bones?! You die, now!”
Most of the patrons start screaming as they head towards the entrance Howard used to flee the scene, while a few others look on.
Howard manages to rip a minion of the big ghoul apart.
The remaining gendarme attempts to tumble out of the way, then fires a single shot at Howard.
Howard gets shot by one of the bullets in the shoulder.
Armnel takes a 5 ft step up, and begins to froth at the mouth as he swings at Howard with his great axe, which seems to glow and eerie red.
Howard ducks under one of the swings, but the rest bounce harmlessly off his reptilian hide.
Sir Amrivast moves in and claws at Armnel, but before he can do so, Armnel lashes out with his greataxe, which bounces off Sir Amrivast's plate armor.
Havigan flies above Sir Amrivast and fires an acid splash Armnel, but doesn't quite get close as he is trying not to hit Sir Amrivast.
Howard bites, claws and tailslaps Armnel but is unable to grab him.
The remaining Gendarme begins to unload his revolver onto Howard.
Howard gets two shots into him, as the third shot goes wide.
Armnel continues to swing his great axe at Howard, without any success.
Sir Amrivast begins to claw and wingslap him.
One of the wingstrikes miss but he manages to land on the rest.
Havigan then moves to the side but misses him by a hair breadth.
Howard bites Armnel's head off then moves to the nearest Gendarme.
The Gendarme shoots at Howard point blank and Howard tries to tailslap and grab him.
Howard manages to tailslap and grab the gendarme and the effect causes one of his bullets not to hit a vital spot,but is shot another two times in his abdomen.
Sir Amrivast flies over and claws the Gendarme.
Havigan moves to the side and attempts to zap the Gendarme,and leaves a nasty mark.
Howard rips the Gendarme in fairly short order and the onlookers quickly make themselves scarce out of the tavern lest the same fate happens to them.
On each of the Gendarmes Howard finds a scroll of greater invisibility, a scroll of harm; a +1 distracting revolver, gunfighter’s poncho,
mwk club, 20 bullets.
On Armnel's body he finds two scrolls of harm, a cloak of resistance +2 and realizes that the faintly glowing axe he wielded is a +1 vorpal greataxe.
Howard then checks out the door at the back of the room.
The walls of this chamber are decorated to look like black stone. Round tables fill the main floor and surround a catwalk that extends from a curtained stage to the south. A single door exits to the east, and on the west side of the room a corridor exits leading south. Howard notices several humans trying to hide under the tables.
Once they realize they have been spotted, they come out from under the table.
"You're not going to eat us, right?" They look at Howard nervously. "Please don't eat us, we're just servants here. Zann wouldn't approve...but he isn't here to stop you."
After Howard reassures them they are not on the menu, they spill the beans.
"They're in the second room in the passage next door."One of them mentions. "They were brought here for trying to organize a revolution against Armnel and he's been eating one of them every Sunday."
"I think they're mad with fear by now."Another remarks sadly.
"Well Armnel is already dead and you can't kill a fellow twice or I would." Sir Amrivast growls savagely.
Howars opens up the other door and finds himself looking into a long corridor which he painfully squeezes his way through.
The room contains dozens of crates of wine, liquor, and beer. Cartons of cigarettes sit stacked on a shelf near the drinks.
The room is locked, but not trapped. Havigan picks the lock open. Nine barred cells line the walls of this room. 3 prisoners in ragged, thread bare clothes are chained to the walls of the cell, and they start whimpering with fear and trying to hide in their cells the moment they see Howard.
The door is locked but not trapped. Havigan picks the lock.
A dirty and smelly pallet stands in the northwest corner of this room. Directly across from it is an iron chest. A table sits against the north wall. The iron chest is locked but not trapped and Havigan also picks that lock. The chest contains a ring of protection +3, a steel scroll case that contains a scroll of cat’s grace, a scroll of mage’s private sanctum, and a scroll of communal resist energy, 2,396 gp, and several tall stacks of worthless paper currency.
”Oh thank goodness that fiend is dead…”One of the prisoners cry out, relieved. ”He ate Tom last Sunday you know…we could hear him scream as he was being eaten alive..then there was one last scream..and that awful silence.”
”Erich is back?” Another asks, ”That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks…the city has been groaning under the tyrant’s yoke.”
The last one just cries tears of joy at being rescued.
Howard niftly picks open the chains holding them into their cells and escorts them to Erich Zann’s house. By the time the party gets to erich’s house, a small crowd of Leng ghouls and humans , and leng ghoul gendarmes has gathered in the street and meets the party with cheers. ”We’ve heard of your great deeds freeing us from the tyranny of Armnel,” One of the humans gush. ”You’ve saved us from being eaten!”
”And you’ve helped restore stability to Paris! We don’t have to go around extorting magic items from people to satisfy his greed!” A leng ghoul chimes out. A Spokesperson ghoul starts, ”Well since the guest of honor is here, let the ceremony commence.” A few ghouls blow a fanfare of trumpets, as the captain of the Leng ghoul Gendarmes formally passes his baton to Erich. ”I, Captain Zoltan, swear fealty to Erich Zann, and with my Gendarmes, will serve him in our undeaths.” Erich nods gravely at that, accepting the oath.
He then beckons the party to follow him, with the leng ghoul gendarmes to the ruins of a shop that used to sell musical instruments. He digs among the ruins then pulls out a gem of seeing, a horn of blasting and an orb of pure law, passes all of them to Howard and presses his claw over it.
Erich quickly scribbles on the board.” Capten Zoltan, ewch i Howard a'i ffrindiau i Dŵr Eiffel.”
Captain Zoltan, please escort Howard and his friends to the Eiffel Tower.
With that, the Gendarme that passed his baton to Erich steps out of the group and gestures to the other gendarmes, and 7 of them separate from the group and join him, forming a squadron of eight. ”Follow me.” He gestures to Howard, and leads the way north, through the ruined streets. 15 mins later, as the party approaches the tower, they are assaulted by flocks of predatory shataks, and the gendarmes put their revolvers to good use shooting them out of the sky. ”We’ll need to remain here to stop them from bothering your ascent.”
The remnants of a fantastic tower stand here over a broken and rubble-strewn street. The tower is fashioned from a lattice of riveted iron girders. The shattered remains of an elevator system occupy the leg area along with a set of iron stairs. The height of the tower was once approximately one thousand feet, though it has since bee snapped in half. The base and two floors are still somewhat intact, although wreckage and twisted metal litter the structure and surrounding area. On the second observatory deck, 380 ft above the ground is the star stelae.
Sir Amrivast refreshes Airwalk on Havigan. "I guess we fly up."
Howard heads towards the Star Stelae and begins severing the connection.
"I, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, seek to unthether the connection between Carcosa and Golarion. "
With those words, Howard feels that the party is being watched by some hostile presence.
Partway through the ritual, the party sees the ground begin to quiver and shake, as if something enormous is stirring in its sleep.
A titanic purple worm heaves its endless bulk into the air, raising a bleached end as if ready to strike with a massive set of hooked jaws, and starts curling around the base of the tower, pulling itself up with surprising speed. The tower creaks and groans under its weight but thankfully does not collapse.
At the sight of the colossal worm, both the Leng ghoul Gendarmes and the Shantaks begin to flee for their lives.
"Howard, what the hell is that thing?It looks like the thing we ran into in the Neruzavin!
Howard recognizes it as a Bhole all right. It has 10 DR/-, immunity to acid, fire, disease, magical control, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun and has Spell resistance. It can also grab.
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"That isss indeed what that thing isss... and it will dessstroy the sssupportsss of the ssstela! We need to ssstop it, but I can't move far from the ssstela; we need to attract it here!"
He then casts Limited Wish for Freedom of Movement, and returns to the Ritual, whilst he waits for it to reach him.
Sir Amrivast casts bless on the entire party.
Sir Amrivast casts greater invisibility on Havigan.
Sir Amrivast casts Divine favour.
Sir Amrivast delays as the creature gets into range.
The creature moves towards Howard and tries to bite him. It does not manage to chomp through Howard's reptilian hide.
Sir Amrivast casts grace and pounces on the Bhole.
All but one of his wingslaps land, though his attacks don't seem to be fully effective.
Havigan fires an acid splash at it, just to realize it's totally ineffective.
"You could have told me earlier!" Havigan complains.
Howard bites, claws and tailslaps the creature, wounding it.
The Bhole attempts to bite and slam Howard and manages to smack him once.
Sir Amrivast begins to claw and wingslap the bhole.
Its tough hide turns away one wing slap and a claw.
Havigan draws his dagger and tries to stab the bhole, but does not manage to stab through its thick hide.
Howard bites and claws at the creature and wounded beyond endurance, it pulls itself off the platform and retreats into the hole it came from.
Howard continues with the ritual.
Then Howard continues, as he draws Teralindar's honor "I,Howard Phillips Lovecraft empower this blade with my will to sever the connection Golarion and Carcosa."
The Star Stela begins to hum with a low vibration.
"Let me see the tether so that I may cut cleanly through."
Then looking at the yellow thread that only he can see, he swings his blade and severs it.
The party hears a high pitched whine from the Star Stela as Howard destroys the tether, as a wave of yellow energy bursts out from it.
The observation deck is now erieely still. There are no signs of the Shantaks in the air, nor the encounter with the Bhole, except by the twisted metal marking its passage.
Howard teleports the party to the grotto and the party begins to make their way to Bohlvarai.
As the party makes its way through the barren foothills, they run into an enormous animate mass comprised of dozens of armed and armored corpses undulates forth, like a living siege tower of steel-girded flesh.
Howard identifies it as a Warsworn. It has DR 10/bludgeoning and magic and can energy drain with its slams.
Havigan moves forward and fires an acid splash at it, scoring a nasty mark.
Havigan gets a scrap ball thrown at him, which he ducks out of the way.
No one is shaken by the sight.
Sir Amrivast pounces on the Warsworn, giving it a good mauling with guns claws and wings.
Havigan continues to move to the side and fires an acid blob at it.
Howard bites then tears the warsworn to pieces with a single claw.
The barren foothills begin to give way to snowcapped mountains and it starts getting very cold. and they run into an enormous animate mass comprised of dozens of armed and armored corpses undulates forth, like a living siege tower of steel-girded flesh.