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Uesugi swings his blade sideways at the blue-hooded cleric, but it's easily dodged.
"So much chaos, and right when you arrived! I don't suppose this is a coincidence!" The cleric calls above the cacophony of thrown punches and smashed goblets, then swings at Uesugi with his rapier.
The temple guard shakes his head at the cleric's act. "Why are you trying to kill them? I cannot condone this behavior! I will stop them, but then you're coming with me."
The brawl continues to escalate. In an uncharacteristic burst of anger, a green-haired gnome throws a feast table into the bonfire while cursing at two half-orcs. The fire surges and grows rapidly, setting the neighboring furniture alight.
-- Bold is up --
D, Mr. Peppers, Uesugi (-6)
Green (asleep)
Sirettis, Stali
Blue, Guard
Gallix
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Mr Peppers catches a glimpse of the unruly gnome out of the corner of his eye, his breath momentarily catching in his throat, but he maintains his composure, at least for now. I'll be sure to report him to the local magistrate for a lengthy stay for attempted arson...
Instead, tall, dark and focused speaks his Elven words and waggles his finger slowly from side to side while focused on the rampaging cleric. "It is time to come to your senses cleric, you've got demons likely in your basement."
With a wave of his lady fingers, the most powerful Arcane Master in the room clears the man's senses.
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How best to shame those gnomes? I know!
Stali shouts “FIRES BELONG IN THE FIREPIT! ACT LIKE GNOMES, NOT GOBLINS!”
I have to wonder if they really are gnomes. Given that someone has already tampered with minds of the clergy, it wouldn’t surprise me too much if we have some enemies infiltrating the crowd.
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The cleric is suddenly stunned when his befuddled mind clears. "Oh, my. What have I done?" He looks at Uesugi's blood dripping off the edge of his rapier. "Please, forgive me! I wasn't in the right mind!"
The guard grabs the cleric. "The hall! The hall! ... The hall is on fire! Ring the bells!"
The cleric pulls himself free of the guard's grip, and finds two other clerics. The trio rush through the brawl and ring deafeningly loud fire-bells mounted on posts. At each post sits a small cask of water.
"A brawl like this isn't unusual, but if that fire spreads, Cayden's Hall will be burnt down in no time! Come on, help us put it out!"
The brawlers don't seem to care about the fire or the insanely loud bells. The temple guard rushes off to gather more guards and hopefully quell the fighting.
"Come say that to my face, DUCKLING!" The gnome shouts back at Stali.
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Hearing the shouts and then seeing the smoke starting to cloud the room Uesugi pushes himself past the others and enters the main hall. Seeing the chaos he shouts at the patrons trying to organize them into a 'fire brigade'.
"EVERYONE! Assist with the barrels and use the water to put out the fire!"
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"NONONONONO! Save the Hall! Save the Hall!" Gallix screams in panic as he ducks and dodges through the crowd, carried by his magic shoes. He had just found this wonderful wonderful place, and he was not about to lose it. He rushes over toward one of the barrels, ready to move over and dump the water out as quick as he can.
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Stali, Mr. Peppers, and Uesugi rush through the crowd, dodging fists and falling chairs. Gallix employs his extra fast shoes and ends up right next to the bonfire, while Sir D telekinetically dumps a barrel of water onto a burning table, dousing it with a loud hiss, and soaking a few of the neighboring patrons.
"Hey! What the hell? So you're gonna throw water at me now, are ya?! We'll see about that!" Master Dwarf says, winding up another punch at the soaked, bloodied half-orc.
Then the fire surges, and the brawlers begin to choke and wheeze as thick smoke fills the air.
"Gods, it's spreading!" The brawlers shout, pausing their pummeling as they desperately wander out of the flames, the taunting gnome now screaming instead. The more brazen and perhaps drunk patrons tear their tunics off and attempt to smother what they can. The cleric you'd fought grabs a water barrel and throws it on top of the inferno.
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Uesugi also rushes ahead next to Stali. D uses his power of telekinesis to dump another barrel on a burning table, while the rest of the party closes in in preparation of putting out the what they can.
The brawl has turned into something quite different, with all but two of the inebriated patrons now combining their efforts to put out the fire. They form a line near the southern edge of the bonfire, several of them stripping down and using their liquor-soaked garments to smother the flames. "For Cayden Cailean! If this place burns down, where will we drink?!"
Their efforts are remarkable, and the worshippers manage to slow the fire from spreading much further.
Most of them then stumble out of the way at Mr. Peppers warning. "Magic, eh!? Let's see it then, before this whole place goes up in flames!"
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Mr Peppers holds his fingers up to eye level, as he gets a rough distance of the room. He looks to the east, then nods. "That looks promising." He looks to the south, nodding again, but this time squinting his brow a bit in disappointment. "It will have to suffice."
He draws out a single white scale of a dragon, points it towards the flames, and calls out in Elven before unleashing a massive blast of snow, ice and frigid air from his dainty lips.
"I do apologize for any damaged furniture or frozen beverages." He points to Gallix to take care of the remaining lonely blaze.
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Gallix nods in agreement with Peppers’s plan. ”You got it, Peps!” He launches into a diving roll past the flames, rises out of the roll to his knees, spins closer to the nearest barrel, and aims a powerful punch from his adamantine cestus right at the base of the barrel to spill out the water within toward the fire.
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Stali sees the elf put out most of the fire.
Not sure if enough of the water from Gallix’s barrel will reach the remaining flames, he goes skating across the ice that Mr. Peppers summoned so he could take care of any remaining embers.
Ledge Walker (Ex): This ability allows a rogue to move along narrow, uneven, or slippery surfaces (such as ice) at full speed using the Acrobatics skill without penalty. In addition, a rogue with this talent is not f lat-footed when using Acrobatics to move along such surfaces, and retains her Dexterity bonus to AC.
Would have a standard action left, but it takes a full round to use survival.
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Dragon Disciple Mr. Peppers creates a miniature blizzard in his lungs, and exhales a swath of ice, snow, and pure cold over the flames. The fire is quickly doused and subsequently frosted over, with wisps of sublimation dancing along the edges of the frozen furniture and kegs. Even the bonfire sputters out.
The final embers are extinguished when Gallix smashes open another barrel.
"Did you see that? This guy breathes ice!" The dwarf says as he tilts a keg into a frosted mug. Half-frozen beer slumps out. "Look at that! Ice cold beer for all of us!"
The revelers cheer and hoist Mr. Peppers over their shoulders. "Looks like we've got us a savior of Cayden's Hall! That calls for another round!"
...
In between the worshippers cleaning up the mess, rubbing their wounds and hauling any debris out of the temple, a tall, robed woman emerges from the eastern hall. Long locks of braided blonde hair flows out of her white robe.
"Well, it appears I'm late, but I am glad things have calmed down. Let's be more careful around the fire next time, yes?" She remarks icily at the patrons, who quiet down in her presence. "I'm High Priestess Saphira. To whom do I owe my thanks?" The woman says.
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Sirettis lets her hair aid with the debris. She's used to this kind of work.
Eventually High Priestess Saphira arrives, and Sirettis is cordial, yet suspicious. "Greetings, High Priestess Saphira." She does a curtsy. "We represent the Red Arm of Absalom, and Mister Peppers was able to put out most of the fire."
"We came here to speak to you about a potential invader. Some of your clerics were already compromised, but we freed them. Have you heard about strange voices in the hall?"
If the High Priestess has been compromised, we are in great danger already...
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Mr Pepper's eyes go from a smug, self important look to that of pure terror as a bunch of drunk miscreants lay hands on him and hoist him up off the ground, including the Gnome, who's got their hands on his posterior trying to help support his weight. "For the love of all that is Magical, PUT ME DOWN!" He struggles to no avail, giving 'please help me' eyes to his companions as the dirty, sticky paws of the drunkards soil his magnificent cape and possibly rifle his pockets.
"If you don't put me down this instant I'll glitterbomb this whole damned place! You'll never be able to escape it! EVER!"
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"Alright, man, relax!" The patrons say, setting Mr. Peppers down. "No need to be uptight, we're all friends here! The blonde guy is way cooler!" They shuffle over to Gallix, and lift him up instead.
"Strange voices? No, I have not," the High Priestess responds to Sirettis. "Has anyone else heard such things? Who was compromised?"
The cleric Mr. Peppers magically dispelled earlier approaches. "High Priestess, I had come under some sort of spell earlier that caused me to attack these visitors. I am unsure what, or who caused it. One of the other initiates came under the same curse, but was hauled off by the temple guard after this lady put him to sleep."
Saphira's expression turns worried. "Mind control magic? There is only one sort of creature willing to use such a thing for their own benefit. Initiate, find Brother Dunnamast. He worked closely with Baldimar, who knew much of ... creatures who controlled minds."
She beckons for you to follow her. "We should be careful speaking of such things around everyone else. Come, let's discuss privately in the cask room."
Sirettis doesn't sense that the High Priestess is being dishonest.
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"Of course. Let us speak in private." Sirettis follows the high priestess.
"My apologies for being so vague. We come from the Pathfinder Society, and one of our superiors discovered a quasit who said his master's voice rang from these halls. We came to investigate when some of the compelled guards and cleric attacked us and fire broke out."
"We are willing to offer any assistance we can. The quasit said its master's name is Graz'ith Ur Maurgith. If it is returning, and manifesting here, we will banish it."
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Mr Peppers brushes himself off and gives the rowdy crowd a scowl "Thank you. I'm sure Gallix will enjoy the ride and groping, far more than I." He takes a step back and casts detect magic, scanning the crowd for more enchantment magic or illusion predominately before heading towards Sirettis and the new woman, keeping his detection active.
"Good afternoon. I am Mr Peppers, lead on." He follows along, his blue gaze digging.
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Gallix grins broadly as the crowd forms around him and hoists him up! "Yeah! Come on! Every with me. Red Arm! Red Arm! Red Arm!" He thoroughly enjoys the celebrations, but directs the crowd to move him along after Saphira and his team as they head into the chambers further back. Once he's crowd-surfed his way over, he follows the others into the more private chambers and approaches the high priestess. "Question for you," he says, a giant grin spread across his face "How does one become a member here?"
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Saphira closes the door behind her when the entire Red Arm, even the invisible D, are inside the cask room.
The priestess stands with her palms open and out. She speaks with a soft voice. "If it is as you say, we will provide you with any assistance needed to stop these demons. I fear the fire that just occurred is more than just a drunken mistake. Cayden's Hall has been burned down before. You'd think we'd be more careful lighting bonfires in here."
When asked about membership, Saphira smiles brightly at Gallix. "Oh, we welcome just about everyone. Do you worship Cayden Cailean? Even if you don't, it is not as if one needs a permission slip to enter and join us in our worship. We do accept donations, of course."
Then, a cleric comes racing upstairs into the cask room.
"High Priestess, it's Brother Dunamast! He's unconscious downstairs, wedged between a the wall and a keg of rum!"
Heading downstairs with the Priestess, you find Brother Dunnamast unconscious but breathing. He reeks of a flagon of pure grog, and any attempt to awaken him doesn't seem to work.
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So there is reason to believe the gnome did it on purpose.
“It was a green haired gnome that caused the fire.” Stali volunteers, holding his claw to show the gnomes approximate height. “I fear I can not tell you much more than his appearance.”
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While Sirettis and Mr. Peppers are inspecting the unconscious priest, Stali looks for anything that might be out of place or somehow suspicious in the area where he was found.
“Any idea how long he might have been like this?”
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"Excellent! I've never really given all that much mind to the gods before, but if this is what it looks like to worship Cayden, sign me up!" Gallix's face turns grim as the discussion turns back to the near-destruction of the temple. "Yeah, it was the gnome alright, but maybe he was under someone else's control just like those guys you ran into at the door."
Heading downstairs with the others, Gallix helps get Dunnamast out from between the wall and the keg, then helps Stali look around for any sign of what might have happened in here.
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Gallix looks uncomfortable as Mr. Peppers suggests some gnomish profiling in order to root out the culprit. "Eh, I don't know, Peps. That sounds like something straight outta my younger days back in Cheliax. Look, I think we need to get this guy awake and see if he can point us in the right direction."
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Mr. Peppers doesn't sense that Saphira or the new cleric are under any magical compulsions. He also doesn't sense a magical aura stemming from the unconscious Dunnamast.
As you look around the body, between the kegs and along the basement floor for any signs of a struggle, you aren't able to see any sort of helpful hints. Maybe he really did just pass out here.
But then Brother Dunnamast's flesh pales. And then, his entire body goes into a massive seizure.
His skin begins to redden violently with blotches of rash appearing on his face and arms and spreading as a bead of water might on a napkin. Except that this was a thousand beads of water all at once.
"Do something, quickly!" High Priestess Saphira exclaims as she worriedly looks on.
Brother Dunnamast convulses violently and uncontrollably. He starts digging his fingernails into his skin and ripping strips of flesh off.
Saphira shrieks. "What is he doing?! Restrain him before he kills himself!"
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Stali leaps in to help restrain Brither Dunnamast and prevent him from hurting himself by trying to control an arm while also preventing the priest from slamming his head into the floor.
“I’ll try to control his left arm, someone else get his right!!”
Looking towards Sirettis, he asks “Is he suffering from some sort of poison or something?”
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Sirettis has many theories.
Based on her analysis, she will try a few ideas:
She begins immediately by putting him to sleep.
She can do this again thanks to her Accursed Hex feat, if the first attempt failed.
She tries to heal Brother Dunnmast.
If he's still uncontrollable, Sirettis will simply hold him down.
Sirettis will fall to her trump card: Overwhelming Grief
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As Stali begins to hold Brother Dunnamast down, Sirettis holds her hand out to hex the cleric.
His violent movement quivers to a halt, but then, his eyes roll back in his head so that only the whites are visible, and he speaks in a low, demonic voice:
"I claim this mortal as my own,
His flesh is my flesh!
His blood, his bone, his thoughts, his soul,
All of this is mine!
Be gone oh you pitiful mortals,
You weary flesh clusters,
You maggot fodder!
Look ye not unto my claims,
Or as well shall you suffer this man’s fate
And upon you I shall feast!
For mine is the damnation of a thousand nightmares!
Of the blistering flame of eternal waking!
Of the madness that gnaws!
Of timeless devouring!"
Then, Sirettis' hex takes hold. Dunnamast's flesh again pales and he slips into a still, corpse-like rigor while small trickles of blood run from his nose, ears, and eyes.
Mr. Peppers recognizes this effect. Brother Dunnamast is under a psychic demonic attack and requires immediate aid before his mind is destroyed.
Saphira kneels to examine him. "Oh, he's possessed, isn't he?! What did he say? Gods, we have to do so something!" She puts her palms on him and begins to heal Dunnamast, but hesitates, unsure if it'll make things worse. "We need a demonology expert, and fast. You're from the Pathfinder Society, you must have contacts, right?!"
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Looking directly at Mr. Peppers, Stali says “I thought you were the experts! At least that is the impression I got at the briefing!”
Note to self: the elf is also a braggart.
Struggling to hold the priest in place, he also says “A little help would be nice!”
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Sirettis listens carefully. "I see. The demon has taken control of his body, and perhaps his mind. It bragged in Abyssal." Sirettis remembers the words, but they weren't important.
"While I can heal him physically, I won't be able to protect from mental intrusion. Mister Peppers, do you have Protection from Evil, or Break Enchantment? High Priestess, did you prepare either spell?"
"If not I will try to find a salesman as soon as possible- I can fly faster than the rest of you can run!"
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Mr Peppers nods in agreement with Sirettis as she translates "Experts is a relative term my friend. Compared to you and MOST everyone else on this plane I am an expert. But when it comes to experts, someone is always more of an expert." Well, unless its to do with the arcane...
"My spellbook contains Break Enchantment but I haven't yet figured out the proper somatics to cast it. As I've always said, somatics are the trickiest and most important part of casting any arcane spell." He starts to expound on that before clamming up as the situation grows worse.
"Summoning assistance may be our only option. The Society should at least have a scroll of break enchantment, I know for a fact we brought one back from one of our missions. They wouldn't part with it though without substantial recompense." Little do they know that I did indeed sneak it into my spellbook!
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"Hold on, sis! I think I may have another way. You guys remember that being we ran helped in the Plane of Water? Right before that d-bag dragon turned on us and nearly killed me? I think they said something about helping us in times like these. Hold on. Let me try something." Gallix kneels down beside the possessed man and holds a hand out over his forehead. He closes his eyes and begins to call out in prayer.
"Hey Aquel! Ya wanna come help us out here? This guy is possessed or something!"
Suddenly, Gallix begins to glow all over, and he radiates power in a whole new way.