Algon makes to step around Rak's outstretched hand after hearing his summoner suggestion, having every intention of sending the foul altar toppling off of the platform to shatter on the floor below until Bela's next statement gives him pause. Turning to fix his caller with an inscrutable look, it is nonetheless clear to her that the idea of leaving such an evil shrine intact is not one that sits well with the outsider. Even so, cautioned against disturbing the altar by both his summoner and the goodly dwarf, Algon has no choice but to heed their advice. With a grumble, the golden warrior stalks away from the Lamashtan shrine to check that their way forward is clear instead.
"Though Cayden does grant some the ability to do such things, he's never blessed me with the power to consecrate. We should just give it berth, I think." Now that everyone appears to understand the water's threat, he relaxes, and begins following Algon further down the hall.
"Yes. Better to move on for now and bring a more experience holy man in later to bless the area." Akuleh moves on with the others, never taking his eyes off the altar as he passes by, as if he is watching a snake that is coiled to strike at whomever comes too close.
This huge room looks like nothing more than an immense underground cathedral. Stone doors stand to either side of the main entrance, but beyond this, the walls are carved with strange, spiky runes. In the center of the room is a large pool, with a ring of polished human skulls balanced on stone spikes arranged in a circle around the deeper midsection. At the far end of the room, a pair of stone stairways lead up to a pulpit on which sits a second pool, this one triangular and filled with churning, bubbling water that looks almost like translucent lava. Yet while wisps of what look like heat and steam rise from the strange orange liquid, the room itself is deathly cold.
Standing up on the pulpit next to the triangular pool is a tiny humanoid with wings and horns and a dagger in one hand. It immediately turns it's attention to you and screams "HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT ME! GET OUT! LEAVE, NOW, OR I WILL KILL YOU ALL!"
The outsider is a quasit. Immune to electricity and poison and resistant to most other elements, they're very hard to kill. They are susceptible to cold iron or good-aligned weapons and have minor fast healing and can even go invisible whenever they want.
Momentarily startled by the extraplanar creature, Kadrian draws his rapier and simply states "no". The swashbuckler races up the stairs and stands in a dueling stance.
"Fine. Your blood will feed the wells and help raise the Mother's army."
She flutters over to the lava-like filled pool and with her dagger, slashes her own wrist. Blood wells up from the wound and she forces it to drop into the pool. The well bubbles and churns as a dark, purplish light begins to grow like a giant bubble. It explodes and a sinspawn begins climbing out of the pool, darkness still dripping it off of it like oil. The color of the pool seems to drain away significantly as the Quasit snarls.
"KILL THEM!" she screams as she points in your direction.
The sinspawn crawls out of the well and immediately continues on towards Kadrian. It's lips pull back as it lunges at him and attempts to bite him, but Kadrian is quick and prepared. As the beast's mouth comes in with bared teeth, Kadrian's rapier moves to intercept.
A brief look of worry washes over the Quasit as the light drained from the well.
Kadrian sends the rapier's tip deep into the sinspawn.
Rak's eyes open in horror, but advances into the dark chapel nonetheless. Kid just rushes in with no support. Move little legs, move!
"In Cayden's name your foul work will end today!"
Izbela frowns at the tiny winged humanoid, confused and a little irritated at not having heard of creature's like in all her studies and classes. She lets the ranseur go to clatter noisily on the floor, freeing her to draw her crossbow and ready a quarrel as she steps through the double doors.
Algon rushes the platform, drawing his greatsword as he does. Once up the stairs, he moves to within striking distance of the diminutive outsider, intending to strike her down before she can unleash any more foulness from the churning well.
Akuleh runs in after his companions, drawing a javelin as he passes through the double doors. "Be careful, my friends! Who knows if this foul monster will call more of these spawn down upon us!"
Kadrian's rapier pierces the chest of the sinspawn so deep that the tip protrudes from the back of the creature as well. Meanwhile the others use the moment to slip into position, ready to surround both the sinspawn and the little quasit.
The quasit immediately retreats from the much larger outsider and steps away from Algon before fading from view. The sinspawn roars in outrage and bites and claws at Kadrian, one taloned hand managing to slip past the man's fluid defense and slash into his forearm.
The quasit casted invisibility on itself.
Once the crossbow bolt slides into place, Izbela takes aim at the demon-worshipping creature, intending to pin it to the wall as if it were a specimen in a most vile display case. But before she can press the trigger lever and do just that, the demon simply vanishes, leaving Bela to hastily adjust her aim in an effort to help Kadrian put down the abomination attacking him. But hastiness and worry do not make for a steady aim, and her bolt flies wide of the sinspawn.
"Take care! The demon masks its presence, but it is still in the room with us."
Algon blinks as his quarry suddenly vanishes from sight, but his golden eyes narrow a moment later at his summoner's explanation. "Face me, demon!" he roars out in challenge. When naught but silence and empty air answer him, the guardian moves to assist Izbela's suitor in cutting down his attacker, though his frustration shows in his imprecise swing.
Kadrian wines slightly from the sinspawn's claws, but his resolve is strong. The swashbuckler presses the attack against the monstrosity.
Rak summons up his connection to Cayden, and the ability the Drunken God grants to detect alignment sources. Rak begins his search focused on evil; he tries to narrate what he learns as best he can to help the others locate their foe.
At will, an inquisitor can use detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, or detect law. She can only use one of these at any given time.
You can sense the presence of evil. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or subject.
1st Round: Presence or absence of evil.
2nd Round: Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) in the area and the power of the most potent evil aura present.
If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura's power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura's source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.
3rd Round: The power and location of each aura. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.
Akuleh continues to run around the edge of the pool in the center of the room, his javelin in hand. As he comes to a stop, he shifts his momentum into his lead foot, pivots his center of gravity around that anchoring point, and launches the javelin at the sinspawn.
Izbela's bolt soars through the air just like Akuleh's javelin. Algon's greatsword fares no better but Kadrian's repair strikes true again. Rak can sense a moderate aura of evil somewhere within his sight but he cannot pinpoint the creature's location, at least not until it fades into view chanting.
The sinspawn, now fearful of Kadrian's sting, is hesitant in it's attacks and scores no wounds.
"Blast this infernal fountain!" Rak grumbles, wishing for a more direct path. Still, he'd never be able to look Kadrian in the eye if he allowed the creature to harm Izbela. He quickly moves to interpose himself between the two as he strikes out.
Kadrian sees the falter in the abomination's continence, and presses his attack. Yet, the noble's strike does not aim true.
Akuleh maneuvers around the base of the stairs, ready to move up to assist Kadrian and Algon, when he hears Rak cursing the fountain. He turns to see what the cause is, and sees the quasit appear from thin air! With a whirl, he brings his longspear up and jabs it at the outsider's back.
Izbela startles as the demon reappears frighteningly close, but before she can feel truly threatened by its proximity, Rak is there fending the creature off. "Thank you my friend," Bela says, putting some more distance between the quasit and herself with a step backwards. After slotting a new quarrel into place, the summoner takes aim at the fiend once more and fires.
Algon's chest seizes uncomfortably as Izbela's fear makes itself known through their bond. Though the intense emotion is only fleeting, it's all the golden guardian can do to not leap off of the platform and rush to her side. At her telepathic behest, he grudgingly stays where he is to help Kadrian end the abomination, though it becomes readily apparent that his focus remains on his charge.
Akuleh's spear pierces the hide of the quasit and blood splatters the floor. Izbela's bolt misses as her aim is impeded by Rak at the last moment. Algon and Kadrian fair no better against the sinspawn than Rak did against the quasit.
The sinspawn, sensing its own end, pushes the attack against Kadrian. A claw rakes across his chest and the vile creature's teeth sink deep into the man's forearm as he brings his free hand up to block the attack. The quasit snarls and closes on Akuleh but before it attacks, it begins to fade from view again.
Rak steps closer, trying to do his best to stay with the quasit and not let it get away again. "Blast! None of that disappearing from you! Pay the price for your evil!"
He studies the quasit as he yells at it, trying to get as much of a sense for its strategy in the little time he has before it disappears again.
A slayer can study an opponent he can see as a move action. The slayer then gains a +1 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks attempted against that opponent, and a +1 bonus on weapon attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against it. The DCs of slayer class abilities against that opponent increase by 1. A slayer can maintain these bonuses against only one opponent at a time; these bonuses remain in effect until either the opponent is dead or the slayer studies a new target.
As the quasit comes in close, Akuleh strikes with his gauntlet
As the demon begins to fade once again, Akuleh steps back and strikes again with his spear.
Kadrian winces from the predatory strikes of the sinspawn, and aims to end it's miserable existence.
Feeling helpless after a streak of demonstrably bad luck with her new crossbow, Izbela sets the weapon down and resorts to calling upon what little magical energies she can still muster. A globe of acid materializes above her extended hand, the viscous orb sizzling only inches above her open palm. Her eyes lock on to the retreating figure of the quasit, but when it disappears once again, Bela redirects the spell toward the sinspawn instead.
Catching the demon's disappearance out of the corner of his vision, Algon gets the impression that the creature is toying with them, and so anger is the next emotion that wells up in the golden warrior's chest. But instead of letting his emotions getting the better of him once more, he focuses the anger into a more accurate swing in an attempt to finally end the wretched abomination's existence.
Akuleh's gauntlet lands a glancing blow before the quasit disappears from sight again. His spear and Rak's rapier only find empty air where the quasit once stood. Izbela's glob of acid fares no better. Kadrian's rapier punctures the sinspawn yet again and steals it's life force, but it is Algon's giant sword that cleaves the body in two.
You can hear arcane chanting coming from 5 squares north of the defeated sinspawn.
Kadrian, relying on his sword training experience, visualizes the invisible quasit in his mind, and lunges to stab the area the swashbuckler can hear the chanting.
Akuleh, believing he hears the quasit chanting away across the other side of the pool, makes his way around and thrusts his spear at the point where he thought the sound was coming from.
"Blast! Where did that thing go to now!" Unable to locate the quasit, Rak pivots in place, trying to get a bead on the enemy.
Channeling what remains of her dwindling magical reserves into her heirloom Harrow Deck, Izbela draws and empowers a random card in the hopes of giving Algon a slight advantage.
Homing in on the demon's location, Algon swiftly makes his way toward it, seeking to interrupt whatever foul ritual the Abyssal creature is attempting. As he moves, Izbela's bolstering magics set in; a heatless flame seems to engulf the outsider, and his golden eyes burn coal red as his already prodigious size increases. Intending to leverage his new strength against the demon, he swipes one hand at the seemingly empty air, trying to crush the small fiend in his grasp.
Kadrian leaped down from the raised stage and danced across fountain, water splashing up as his boots hit the ground. His rapier lances out and manages to catch the quasit by surprise, nicking it right in the throat. Akuleh follows his lead but his spear finds nothing while Rak is left wondering what the others are carrying on about. Izbela can hear the chanting abruptly interrupted. She was sure that the quasit was trying to summon something but whatever it was, it will not be coming now. Algon too pinpoints the quasit by it's chanting and subsequent cursing but is unable to grab the tiny creature.
Suddenly, the cursing goes quiet and all are left wondering for an instant on where the quasit had retreated to. The mystery ends quickly as it can be heard behind Rak, arcane words ringing out and almost digging into the dwarf's mind as it begins to fade into view again.
Rak pivots. "Out of my mind!" he yells, plunging his rapier forward as he finally pinpoints the quasit.
________________
"Rak!" The swashbuckler shouts in concern for his friend.
Kadrian runs around the fountain to strike at the tiny outsider.
Akuleh steps around the pool, stands behind his dwarven friend, and thrusts his spear past Rak's left shoulder to strike at the bothersome demon.
Izbela attempts to whittle the demon down with her cantrips, the only magic left available to her besides that which allows her to act as Algon's anchor to the material realm. If we die down here because we didn't rest... No! Don't think like that, Bela! Just keep casting.
Taking the most direct path toward his enemy, Algon storms through the water at the shallow edge of the pool to get to the tricksy demon. His fury at the demon's cowardly tactics only grows with each step he's forced to slog through the pool. By the time he reaches dry ground on the opposite side of the room, he's all too eager to bring his blade to bear against the fiend.
Rak is able to focus and put the quasit out of his head, but the concentration needed is exhausting and his stab has little force behind it. Kadrian was sure he was going to skewer the creature, but his rapier seemed to deflect off of it's skin and slide ride by leaving no wound at all. Akuleh's spear however, does not slip off and pierces deep into the quasit. It snarls and sneers as the Shoanti. Izbela's tiny ball of acid soars through the air, missing the floating quasit. Algon, filled with an unquenchable rage, stalks his prey like an executioner walking to the gallows. His massive blade arches through the air as the quasit fearfully tried to get out of the way. It can't move fully out of the way and the blade rips a gash right down the creature's back.
The quasit cackles maniacally as it flutters back away from the invaders! It's hand comes away from it's own wound covered in blood and it's evil laugh seems to grow louder and louder. This can't be right. No sane creature would find this entertaining!
You're not...afraid...are you, boy?
The voice seems to come from nowhere, and Akuleh is certain that he is the only one who actually heard it, yet it was clear as anything to him. What is more, he recognizes the voice. It is the same voice that propelled him on this journey. The voice that warned him of the coming darkness that is now just starting to reveal itself. It is the voice of his ancestor who called him to action.
Fortified by the voice of his ancestors, he shakes off the quasit's attempt to frighten him and strikes at the demon again.
Kadrian has seen a great many horrors since Desna has steered him on his current path to save Sandpoint. The sight of the demon reveling in his own bloody body snapped something within the noble.
With all thoughts of chivalry and nobility blown from his mind, the swashbuckler runs back into the underground passageways, trying to find a way out of this horrific situation.
This weird, chaotic, fluttering beast of a nuisance just... Rak can't place it. Nothing he's ever seen, nor heard, nor read about seems anything at all like this crazy creature.
Nevertheless... anything can be poked to death! He follows it, backing it into the wall, rapier snicking and snacking this way and that as he advances.
Izbela feels fear, bleak and oppressive, threatening to overwhelm her, but at the last second she overcomes it and is instead left feeling only deeply unsettled by the demon's maniacal laughter. Gathering up what remains of her resolve, she conjures more acid to throw at the quasit.
Algon's determination to see the demon slain is all that keeps him from succumbing to madness himself. Shaking his head in attempt to clear the lingering effects of the quasit's spell, Algon steps up to pen the demon in between himself and Rak before taking another swing at it.
The voice of hundreds of ancestors refuse to let Akuleh flee. Rak's own irritation at not recognizing the little pest when he just knows he should is enough to keep him from running away. Unfortunately Kadrien falls victim to the creature's natural magic and simply cannot maintain his composure in the face of such villainy. Both Izbela and Algon remain stalwart and continue their physical and magical assaults. Rak's pent of frustrations finally find release as his rapier punctures deep into the quasit's belly. The strike is deep but doesn't prove fatal.
The quasit, corned like a rat, tries again to use it's innate magic to disappear from sight but the many threats surrounding her are just too distracting and her efforts fail.
Rak continues his focused attack on the demonic creature, hoping to capitalize on this momentum and end the fight before Kadrian runs too far away!
"Kadrian, come back! We need you in this!"
"Let him flee." Akuleh calls out, spurred on by the wrath of his ancestors at this evil abomination, "We shall finish this vile creature together and send it back to the Abyss to suffer its master's disapproval."