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"Ah good, there is a team nearby. And it is you lot? You will do. It has come to my attention that some explorers from the nearby planet of Akiton have sent a group of their own explorers to investigate the asteroid and learn its secrets. They are also installing devices of living red sand to disrupt the portals that are being caused by the asteroid's passing. Unfortunately, this is also interfering with our own portal, and while our power is enough to keep the portal open for now, we cannot let them continue for long. The duration of this spell is running out, so I will give you directions to their location. You will need to stop them by any means necessary. Use your words or sneak past them and disable their devices, or just employ brute force if you prefer, but whatever you do, make sure they stop setting up more of those damnable devices!"
Ralph gives you a few hurried directions before his image fades away.
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Els, you almost made me feel bad for that poor creature. Blind, knocked down, and disarmed... hardly a fair fight. You remind me of a friend I had when I was young. Tudo the snake we called him. We'd practice wrestling and fighting together - he'd slide all around you, trip you, flip you put you in choke holds, all without you even realizing what was happening, and then once it had happened, leaving you wondering how you ended up there.
Kramac listens as Ralph explains the situation with the Akitonian explorers.
Well, if they're just another group of explorers, I vote we try talking to them. Maybe we can convince them to delay setting up their equipment for a bit. Perhaps offer to share what the Pathfinder's have learned in exchange for them delaying their activities? I tend to rub people the wrong way, so I'm happy to let someone take the lead on talking to them. And if they won't listen and it comes to blows, we should try to avoid killing them. Based on what Ralph said, I don't think they mean us any harm. But before anything else, lets head to where they are and scope out the situation.
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"Don't feel bad, Kramac, the creature failed to appreciate the strength of Els cunning and was caught out by it."
She claps Els on the back,"Els, you are making us look good!"
"If these Akitonians disrupt our portal without knowing then I concur; we should let them know the trouble they cause us before it certainly comes to blows. If we can't negotiate a mutually beneficial solution, then at least it will give us time to assess their attitude and strengths."
"Perhaps there will be some way we can lend aid in return for their co-operation?"
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Doldrak is nearly doubled over panting and leaning against the wall to catch his breath. "Yeah, I'm all for finding a peaceful solution. Now, I myself ain't much of a talker, believe it or not, but I can do my best to not antagonize them."
He tosses his wand to Els. "Here Els, you mind giving me one last zap?"
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You follow Ralph's directions and eventually come across a trio of red-skinned humanoids. Apart from their skin-tone, they look remarkably human-like. They meet your appearance with evident suspicion, but from their exchanged words you recognise a few snatches of Taldane (common) to realise that they might understand you a little if you spoke in common to them.
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"Greetings," Melissa approaches slowly, open handed, and with her weapons bound. "Like you we are visitors to this rock; explorers. We were hoping we might provide assistance or advice to you and, in return, you might assist us with a difficulty we are having?"
Assuming silence to be a concord she continues.
"It would seem that you are attempting to disrupt the portals, gateways opening from here to your own world,rather successfully I might add, for you have been unknowingly disrupting the portals we have created that are our only way to return to our homeworld. We would appreciate it if you could delay your efforts for a short while or work with us to eliminate the disruption to our portals, for otherwise a large number of my friends will be unable to ever return to their homes.
In return we can offer maps, and information about this rock and perhaps a few supplies. But really we stand at your mercy. Only the strong make the rules and you have the strength here"
Melicsa bows her head and kneels.
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Well, it looks like we have a few moments to rest.
Kramac stands and stares into the sky, with Golarian visible in the distance.
This place is so different from where we all come from. No air, no weather, unlivable without potent magic. Being a Pathfinder sure has sent me places I never thought I'd go before, growing up in the Mwangi expanse. Who'd have thought that helping out some strangers in a bar fight against some a$+*&#~s from the Aspis Consortium would lead me beyond my own planet? Comapnions - how'd you get mixed up these Pathfinders... where are you from?
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"I'm from Absolom, former watch constable, from a family of watch constables. Got tired of too many weak-minded Sergeants and limp-wristed Captains telling me what to do." Missy flexes a bicep, "So I got strong," she taps her forehead, "and I learned more about the law than they'll ever know. One day I'll help write better laws, ones that protect the vulnerable and keep power from those too weak to wield it selflessly. Joining the society was a stepping stone towards that goal."
The asteroid groans as if an invisible weight had been lifted from it, leaving the air cleaner and breathing easier. The reassuring breeze emanating from tunnels suddenly drops in intensity, leaving a feeble stream that whistles weakly as it drifts off into space. A moment later, portals wreathed in tumbling stone open all across the asteroid, and Sorrina Westyr urgently beckons everyone to come through.
“We've truly grabbed the scorpion by the tail. Whatever entity was holding us at bay has loosened its grip, but it has redirected its efforts to cutting off the source of air that allows us to survive in this place. The path forward is no longer filled with lethal energy. We have at most…an hour or two before we must return home or face asphyxiation. But if we press forward and find the source of the air, I believe it is tied to whatever captive is imprisoned here. Our portal minders will stand ready in case we need to evacuate quickly.”
Sorrina leads the assembled Pathfinders toward the edge of an immense, steeply sloped tunnel that descends into a miles-wide, spherical cavern. A crude stone fortress floats near the cave's center as if it were a rocky sun, and enormous slabs of earth orbit it like a miniature asteroid belt. These slabs gravitate inward toward the fortress, but periodic blasts of air slow their approach and cast the jagged masses back toward the edge of the cavern. Each gust is slightly weaker than the last.
Robed figures cling to the rocky slabs and chant loudly, as if empowering the stone. Unimpressed, Sorrina Westyr casts a spell at one of the distant cultists and flings him off his crude platform.
“iiiiiieeeeeeee!” The cultist screams, arms and legs askew as he hurtles toward the fortress and collides with its surface with a faint splat.
“Woo hoo, Bullseye!” Drandle Dreng claps, then goes back to organizing a party of Pathfinders who are busily unpacking knotted ropes. “Hurry, there’s not a moment to lose!”
“We must get to that fortress,” Sorrina announces before signaling others to lower knotted ropes down to the cavern. “Clear off the opposition, then we'll make our way inside. I find it reassuring that whatever lies within the fortress has an aura of good, and no doubt seeks our aid.”
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A rune-scribed floating island begins drifting beneath the tunnel and brushing against the lowered ropes.
“These rocky fragments gravitate toward the fortress,” Sorrina shouts as she hangs from a rope. “If we can cling on before it travels out of reach, it should carry it toward our destination.”
The iceberg-sized rock spins slightly, revealing a host of undead cultists that cease their chanting, point toward the Pathfinders, and let loose unholy wails.
“Now!” cries the Master of Spells, and agents begin rappelling
down to the crude platform.
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Kramac spends a few moments foundering on the rope, trying to find a good grip. He quickly finds a good grip on the rope and scurries down 10 feet. Once he reaches that point, he lets go and drops the last 5 feet.
edit: Reading comprehension for the win. I'm not up yet. I doubt everyone else acting will change what I do though...
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Melisca and Doldrak spend their turns getting down safely. Els just drops down and prepares to fight.
Melicsa down 0hp wand used up
Doldrak down 0 hp wand used up
Els down 5hp 0 wand charges used
Kromac down 0hp 6 wand charge used; elevation 15ft
Els is rushed by the two undead but he blocks their attacks. When he tries to trip the nearest one, his opponent tries an attack of opportunity but misses and is thrown off his feet.
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Melicsa down 0hp wand used up
Doldrak down 0 hp wand used up
Els down 5hp 0 wand charges used
Kromac down 0hp 6 wand charge used
Kromac makes it to the bottom just before the island moves further.
Els jumps around.
Melisca and Doldrak hack one of the undead into pieces.
The other undead gets to his feet and swipes at Els with a claw, but misses again.
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Melicsa down 0hp wand used up
Doldrak down 0 hp wand used up
Els down 5hp 0 wand charges used
Kromac down 0hp 6 wand charge used
7
The undead monster tries to strike Els as he tries to trip it, but misses.
Despite his target being prone on the floor, Doldrak misses him. Kormac and Melisca hit once each, but their weapons are only semi-effective.
THe undead monster sees that it is surrounded and chooses to fight prone instead of provoking four attacks. It strikes at Els from the ground but misses.
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Els kicks sand into the huecuva's face. Prone and blinded, there is nothing it can do to prevent itself from being brutally murder-hoboed.
With the undead monsters defeated, you and several dozen other Pathfinders are able to cling to the rock as gravity pulls it back toward the fortress.
The floating Vault is nearly a half-mile wide with defenses established in every direction. An adamantine shell encloses the structure; however this has been ruptured, and strands of the sky metal practically bleed from the holes in a vain attempt to repair the damage and reseal the area completely. The ground bulges all about, and chunks of earth and metal explode periodically as blasts of air billow out from within, driven by an unseen force.
The fortress almost seems like a life form in its own right. Its contortions and regeneration make it difficult for you to alight on its surface, find an open passage, and make your way inside before another gust flings your island back toward the cavern’s edge.
Fortunately, several of you are able to identify a suitable breach in the fortress as your miniature mountain crashes into its side.
You have only a brief window in which to clamber off, make your way toward an entrance, and slip inside.
Once inside, you are faced with a slowly shifting tangle of tunnels. You must navigate the twisting passages found within the fortress itself.
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Melicsa down 1hp wand used up
Doldrak down 0 hp wand used up
Els down 5hp 0 wand charges used
Kromac down 1hp 6 wand charge used
Els jumps over safely and Doldrak finds the right handholds at the right time to climb over without incident. But both Kromac and Melisca land badly and are cut by the fortress' jagged surface.
Els leads the party with his superior druid-sense. He easily finds the path with the most tracks and leads you past several traps to a heavily worn set of stairs.
The stairs lead from the claustrophobic tunnels into an eroded cavern studded with sand-scoured crystals that emit cool, faint light. The jagged foundations are all that’s left of metal walls—the fragments of which now jut from the wall like throwing knives. An immense, intricate, thousand-sided polyhedron made of sky metals floats within a tight series of binding circles. As blasts of air erupt from the polyhedron, the surface’s shattered facets regenerate before being blasted apart on another side.
The metal walls here are demolished; what appear as such on the map are in fact the lowest several inches that remain from the walls, resulting in a mostly open cavern. Near its center floats the 20-foot-diameter faceted orb, which hovers within a series of concentric circles, each a rune-carved solid ring of gemstone inlaid in the ground.
Each of these facets appears to represents some kind of riddle, conundrum, or digit in a massive combination lock. Several other Pathfinder agents are already here attempting to decipher the many facets, crack the lock, and open the orb.
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"Ah, good, more have arrived. If I had time, I could easily do this myself, but our time here is limited, so it would be wisest to split the work as much as we can."
"In brief, the gemstone circles you see around you are magical wards. I have been resisting their effects thus far, but they are a faint nuisance, and might be more deadly to you than they are to me. Finding some way to suppress to destroy them would help."
"You can also try to decipher one of the facets. Even with your relative inexperience there are enough facets here that even deciphering one of the simpler ones will expedite the overall effort. I will be taking care of the facets that confound the most experienced agents. Ah, I believe I am being summoned. Hurry along now."
Without a second glance, Ralph flies over to a circle of flashing orange and blue lights conjured by another pathfinder flying several feet away.
You are on your own.
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Doldrak down 0 hp wand used up
Els down 5hp 0 wand charges used
Kromac down 1hp 6 wand charge used
The stone circles flare up as you approach the facets. You feel a noise in your psyche that confounds your efforts and only Els is able to decipher one of the simpler facets, and he only barely succeeds. Melsica and Doldrak are able to shake off the effect before it does more damage, but Els is shaken by the ordeal, and Kromac succumbs to it in the worst possible way as he begins to believe that the air in this room is fast disappearing and that he is suffocating!
What is worse is that before you have time to recover, the very earth and stone around you begins to shift and churn before taking concrete forms. All around you pathfinders cease their efforts at solving the facets, and you are no different.
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As Kramac examines the circles, and attempts to decipher them, he is struck by a magical sensation that he is suffocating. He panics for a moment, before calming himself, and closing his eyes for a moment, and focusing on what he knows is real. He shakes off the effect, and when he awakes, he is faced with two new opponents.
Wasting no time, Kramac advances and strikes the concrete foe.