JJ easily pulls the picture out of its hangs in the wall and put it down into the floor.
"Oh d-dear...we c-can't use Dispel Magic or Break Enchantment on th-this," Marigold frowns as she studies the painting. "The m-magic holding th-this together is t-too strong - it's almost l-like there's some s-sort of c-custom Binding sp-spell on it."
She looks up. "We'd h-have to use Mage's Disjunction or Anti-Magic Shell to b-break this - if we w-wanted to do it s-safely, anyway. Just d-destroying the wood f-frame might work b-but it could h-hurt Celeste if we d-do that..."
"And I have no c-clue on how to open this d-door, either," the halfling sighs.
Maxim eyes the final archway, then shrugs nonchelantly;
"Me neither Lil' Miss. All these sigils an' such bit o' a mystery to me. Hang fire..."
He produces two spell books from his magical pack, one belonged to Fedor Abadius, the other Lady Thifirane.
Black-powder stained fingers flick through the pages, as he scans the contents;
"God's be darned... The enchantments ye mentioned ain't in these pages Lil' Miss. Looks like we'll need to delve further into this place afore Surabar's beau can be freed."
Eidi frowns as Marigold explains the binding effect on the frame "Those solutions are out of our reach. But I need to free Celeste. Why don't we try to break the frame cautiously?"
Examining the last gate for a while the half-elf raises an eyebrow "This one is out of my sleeve. This requires a disintegrate in order to open..." then looking at Maxim "Why don't you try to just force it open bypassing its magics? If it remains open at least for a few seconds we could check what is beyond. Don't fear becoming trapped, I have the magic to have us out if needed by" the elder smiles.
JJ slips the painting into his bag.
"Sorry Celeste, but I have an idea."
Turning to the group he checks. "An antimagic field would free her? So, if, for example, we took the painting into the zone of a beholder... We might suddenly get another ally?"
Kikinnin nods to Eidi. He bids JJ hand over the frame, then sets it down on the floor. He doesn't trust Eldgammel to resist magics in the painting prison, so he takes the adamantine axe, and leans down and into it, trying to crack the frame, not the painting. He doesn't force it, but he amps up the pressure, testing it until it breaks, if it breaks.
"Wait... we can get her out without risk... well, apart from the risk of facing a beholder, which now I think about it..."
Sighing, JJ hands over the painting.
As JJ hands the picture and Kikinnin starts to force the frame, it starts to bleed profusely. The blood seems completely real.
Ahhh! Woaaaaah! Aaaaaah! as you force the frame you hear a woman's horrified mental screams in your brain.
"Oh m-my g-god," Marigold gasps in horror as the frame begins to bleed under the pressure Kikinnin puts on it. "St-stop, st-stop! We c-can't b-break it, it'll b-be t-too m-much!"
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Kikinnin grimaces as he sees blood pooling from his work. His mind splits into two opposing thoughts- finish the job, so she wouldn't have bled for nothing, or stop mid-crunch, and ease the trapped woman's pain temporarily.
The black beard closes his eyes, and gives the frame one good slam with the adamantine axe, quietly hoping the picture doesn't change the woman's expression.
Resolved, Kikinnin ignores both Marigold's plea and the screams of horror in his head and completes his job. As soon as the frame breaks, it crumbles into dust and the painting vanishes, an unconscious Celeste appears in its place. Bleeding wounds torment her body all over but she seems stable.
Kikinnin drops the adamantine blade, and places a hand on the unconscious woman.
Kikinnin lays his hands on the fallen woman and prays to his god. A soothing light emanates from the dwarven hands closing permanently the worse wounds.
Celeste suddenly gasps when Kikinnin finishes. She tries to stand up with effort. When he raises her face to look at you with her sky blue eyes she loses her breath "Kikinnin? JJ? You saved me?" she also looks at the half-elf elder and stretches her eyes but says nothing.
"Th-thanks for saving me... I thought I was trapped forever..." she coughs and stands up accommodating her dress "I guess you want to know what happened... While you were rescuing Zenith, I began some investigation on my own. I was hoping to find a solid lead as to who the conspirators were, and when you returned I was going to ask your aid in exposing them. My investigations led me to confront Vhalantru. I realized my error too late. He is not a half-elf at all..."
"Slow down, Celeste. Don't work yourself up. We were debating whether to leave you in the painting until we got out, but Eidi here, I think you two know each other? He asked for the attempt, here and now. We got lucky in freeing you. Could have gone either way, if I'm being honest." Kikinnin picks up the adamantine, and tucks it behind his back.
"If Vhalantru isn't an elfblood, what is he?"
"I know who he is, or better... who he was, but never met before" Celeste looks at the elder who gives back a wily smile.
Looking back at Kikinnin the blonde woman nods and continues "The man Cauldron takes to be Vhalantru is in fact some sort of disguise worn by the true Vhalantru, a beholder. I tried to escape but he got me with one of his beguiling eyes. For the next few days, I was not in my right mind. Eventually, he and Thifirane used a scroll to bind me in that horrible painting, and now, here I am"
"I have nothing to reward you, but I will do as soon as I can" she then looks to the gate that goes forward "How can I help you? They took my holy greatsword and sold it to buy the scroll that bound me I fear... but I... I have access to some divine magic that I can try to use to help you if you wish so"
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Kythel has been in a bit of a daze for some time now, it seems that the Beholders powers tired him out, though he has been here he has really not been here.
"We have found a great many items to equip you with if you wish.
We are battered from these trials and need flying magics.
It seems we also need access to other spells which none of us possess, I wonder whether we could acquire any scrolls if we withdrew. But then, would our enemies not simply retake the areas that we have fought so hard to gain access to with fresh horrors?"
"Wait.. Vhalantru is a beholder?" stammers JJ.
He sits, stunned. "Why didn't we put two and two together before?" he says, banging his head.
"He was probably the one we saw right back at the start when they..."
He sighs, and goes silent for a moment.
"Vhalantru seems to be engaged in some odd rituals to try and become even more powerful, some type of demonic beholder cross." he adds quietly.
"We have seen lots of evidence of it around here. Whether succeeded in using it on himself yet... we don't know. "
"It seems the crafty noble has been behind your conspiracy all the time" points Eidi, then looks back at Celeste and smiles "It is nice to finally meet you in person. How does it feel to be two dimensional?" he touches her further healing the suffered wounds.
She is still considerably wounded.
The elder nods supporting JJ's statements about the rituals "We better rush before it can take the 'Zar'ilkoth Tarteros' ritual. Facing a true beholder is enough of a problem without inter-planar level added powers"
"This gate surpasses my powers, Maxim, do you think you can force it open with your tools?"
JJ rummages in his bag and extracts a couple of potion bottles, offering them to Celeste.
"Th-that was s-scary but I'm g-glad the g-gamble paid off," Marigold admits, still obviously shaken by witnessing the bleeding painting. "And Vhalantru a b-beholder? I...th-that makes even m-more of this make s-sense," she sighs.
"B-but Eidi and JJ are r-right...we c-can't let him m-make himself even m-more powerful. If we can p-press on, I th-think we sh-should!"
Celeste accepts both potions gratefully and smiling to the young man "JJ... your staff... indeed you are one of us, I could feel it the first time we met" and she consumes the potions.
The woman puts her hand on the rest of the wounds "There is no sense to hide to you anymore, specially when we might not survive much longer" an halo of divine energy surrounds the woman as most of her wounds heal.
She then touches JJ and gives him death ward and aid, while casting bear's endurance and shield of faith on herself "I will do whatever is in my hand to free Cauldron from this menace"
Celeste directs then his attention to Kythel "Indeed if you had a greatsword I would be grateful to use it if you could lend it to me"
"We have the one we picked up from that mercenary..." notes JJ.
"It seemed to cut Kikinnin well enough."
"And I m-might have a belt you c-could use, t-too," Marigold offers.
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Maxim watches as Kikinnin frees Celeste from her artistic bonds, and holds back as the others fuss and heal.
He kneels my the dwarven warrior, muttering an aside;
"Stenkugler er der. At der var indbegrebet af et skud i mørket! Men det fungerede, og 'hun er her ..."
"Balls of stone there bror. That there was the epitome of a shot in the dark! But it worked, an' she's here..."
At the reveal of Vhalantru as their multi-ocular foe, the gun-mage grimaces and shakes his head;
"Hell's Teeth. Always figured he was workin' hand in eye with the monster... Not that it was him..."
When Celeste requests arms, Maxim chimes in wryly;
"We got weapons, arms an' a passel o' items that might be o' use to you Celeste. Am mighty sure Surabar there'll help strap ye into anything you plan on girdin' yourself in."
He turns his attention back to the gate;
"Sure Pops. I'll give it a whirl. Ain't sure my picks and such can o'er come magical locks, but who knows..."
He begins to ticker with the portal:
"Y-yeah, we've g-got enough g-gear to help you g-get by until we can g-get out of here," Marigold agrees. While Maxim fiddles with the portal and JJ fusses over Celeste (and she fusses over him), Marigold unbuckles her old belt and straps on the one that Maxim had been wearing until a short time ago. Once that's done, she offers her old belt to Celeste.
"I'll h-help make you a l-little more hale and h-hearty," she explains.
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Kikinnin nods his head slowly, watching Celeste return to something divine. When she starts preparing JJ for a nasty confrontation with a Vhalantru beholder, he heartens.
"Det bedre utfallet er jeg enig i. Ellers ga jeg henne ut til Boneyard, noe som virker bedre enn den maleriske skrekken."
"The better outcome, I agree. Otherwise, I was releasing her to the Boneyard, which seems a better fate than that painting horror."
As Maxim tackles the central gateway, Kikinnin renews his blade's glow. He turns to the more knowledgeable folk.
"What else? What do we need to worry about here? We know all about its several spells, but do we need to prepare for anything specific to that kind of creature?" The black beard considers additional protections before the door flies open.
Maxim's brow furrows in thought as he continues to work on the portal;
"All I heard 'bout Be-holders, is they veer betwixt young fresh faced warriors an' old farts as their favoured hors-d'œuvre. US dwarves are a mite too tough, an' religious types stick in their throats."
He pauses, tapping his noggin with a pick;
"Lemmesee now, what can I recollect about them Eye Tyrants..."
"Probably too much hair. Easier to skin a balding elfblood..." Kikinnin taps his nose, and points to Maxim. "Makes sense."
"We should do our best to endure our resolve, because if there is truly a beholder behind the gate, his eyes are going to put our fortitude and will at test" Eidi frowns but smiles in an strange combination.
When ready, the half-elf uses his staff to cast shield on himself, then casts weapon of awe in Maxim's gun, sun metal on Kikinnin's axe, and just as Maxim works on the gate, he casts extended haste with the help of his rod.
You know beholders typically have 10 rays and can shot up to 3 in the same 90º section: finger of death, flesh to stone, disintegrate, sleep, charm monster, charm person, inflict moderate wounds, scare, slow and telekinesis.
In addition their central eye creates a 150' cone antimagic field that supresses all magic.
They are large size, they can fly, and their weakest saves are reflexes.
Celeste takes Coldburn in her hands impressed "This is much more than I was expecting honestly" she also does accept Marigold's belt.
Maxim deactivates a trap on the gate, but his attempt is not enough to open the gate. Anyway, he thinks provided enough time and given some help, he can trick the magic sensors in the gate to think the proper spell has been used.
Celeste and Eidi provide divine guidance to the dwarf.
"Hmm...I've g-got one or t-two tricks up m-my sleeve that should h-help," Marigold smiles grimly.
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JJ offers Celeste a shy smile. "My thanks!" he sighs, eyes somewhat dreamy.
With a nod to Kythel he admits "Having met your lady once in the not too distant past, she kind of indicated that she'd prefer I didn't bother her again in a hurry. So maybe that bears endurance..." he asks hopefully.
Booned by magicks, Maxim sets to work overcoming the portal's spell barrier...
Celeste casts bless before the gate opens.
Maxim works dutifully on the gate trying one and again trying to understand how it works until he finally misleads the magical sensor and triggers the gate opening. The door creaks letting you see the interior at the other side.
This is a fifty-foot-wide, fifty-foot-high hemispherical chamber with weird, abstract murals painted on the ceiling. Everburning torches in sconces brightly illuminate the room, revealing its contents. At the far end of the room is a large desk, heaped with books and scrolls. What looks like a horribly deflated human body is draped over the desk's chair. A bloated sphere with nine flailing eyes talks floats in the middle of the room, pale green fluid weeping from knobby, festering sores covering its body. It hovers above a twenty-foot-diameter symbol carved into the floor: a triangle inscribed within a circle, both inlaid with gold. At the three corners of the inscribed triangle, chained to the stone floor, are three figures wearing crude leather straitjackets fitted with black straps and iron buckles. They appear to be a human male, a half-orc male, and a gnome female. The figures are held in place by ankle and wrist manacles, their heavy chains looped around iron rings securely fastened to the floor. Suddenly, arcs of black lightning leap from their eyes and strike the beholder causing its great bulk to heave and become even more distended for an instant. The three figures collapse into heaps of ash on the floor, leaving behind nothing but charred straight jackets and burnt buckles.
As Vhalantru notices the gate opening, he turns his orbital appendage eyes to face you.
The beholders superior intelligence makes him able to immediately comprehend and merge with the demodand's spirit without suffering disorientation or confusion from the transformation.
What he is not prepared to, is to see the group of Cauldron Watchers he so much has for so long undervalued. He is shocked to witness in the deepest area of his lair giving you an instant to react.
Eidi casts extended haste.
Marigold casts prayer.
Kythel casts blessing of fervor.
Celeste activates her holy aura and you see her shinning like the true azata she is.
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Taking in the horrific sight, JJ dashes into the room.
"Vhalantru ... I beleived in you!" he shouts out, dismay at the creatures betrayal deep in his voice."
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AC = 40/22/39 (Haste + Smite)
HP = 160/160
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel +4 Holy (Divine Bond)
Condition(s) = Aura of Greater Courage(Immune to Fear, 10' radius), Prayer, Blessing of Fervor, Haste, Bless, Protection from Evil
Smite = 2/day (+8 to hit, +13 to damage, +8 deflection bonus to AC when used.)
Lay on Hands = 8x (6d6, 7d6 if Greater Mercy)
Channel Positive Energy = 4x (6d6, DC 22)
1st Level- Divine Favor, Grace, Hero's Defiance, Liberating Command
2nd Level- Paladin's Sacrifice
3rd Level- Dispel Magic
Kikinnin takes the opportunity of the beholder's surprise to fly into the room, careful to avoid touching the blasphemous floor, and taking position opposite JJ. He clenches his teeth as he sets eyes upon the various eyes of the floating ball, remembering that each of them carries a deadly magic to any one of the Watchers.
As he comes to a stop, Kikinnin sets his faith against Vhalantru.
"Did you just finish the ritual, Vhalantru? You fixing to take over all of Cauldron, without asking? Your time's come. We've come to see if you'll fight to your death, or run like the skulking coward you've always been."
JJ moves up, Alakast ready to swing at the foul Vhalantru. With the burst of holy speed provided, the youth finds himself all too quickly next to the beholder, allowing Alakast to try and knock it to the ground.
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Before the gate is open, Kythel casts bear's endurance and protection from evil on Kikinnin.
As soon as the gate opens and spells are cast Kikinnin moves forward around Vhalantu marking the beholder. When the dwarf reaches the back of the aberration, he comes into sight of his central eye, and with that, all the magic and supernatural helps on Kikinnin fade away suppressed for the time being, falling on the pentagram.
With a burst of speed JJ sets himself next to the beholder who floats 5 feet over the pentagram.
Unwilling to chat the monster, Kythel holds high Pharasma's symbol and channels holy smiting energy trying to blind it.
The beholder resists the blinding effect.
The orb answers back angrily, Vhalantru's voice is distorted by his larger and rounded shape "You. I should have killed all of you after you came back from the Darklands victorious. But it is no problem, with my new power I will beat you all and no one will oppose my puppeteering of Cauldron!"
The eye appendages start to blast everyone at the doors, Vhalantru clearly focus intently on Celeste his more dangerous rays!
All three rays strike but only one pierces through the ghaele's spell resistance. Celeste survives the multiple rays.
JJ takes an opportunity attack on the beholder but he misses for just so little.
At the same time the other appendages are shooting at Maxim...
...the ray failing to pierce the holy aura protection...
...and JJ.
If JJ is transformed into stone, the scare ray goes to Maxim or Eidi.
At that point, Vhalantru turns around, his central eye moving and setting itself looking towards the gate where the most of the Cauldron Watchers stand. Pressed up against the convex pane of his enormous central eye, you can see the horribly fat visage of some demonic creature with a wide mouth full of sharp, triangular teeth. This must be the spirit of the shator demodand he has just bonded with in the Zar'ilkoth Tarteros ritual.
The central eye generates a conic antimagic field that automatically suppresses all the the magic and supernatural abilities that were protecting the party. That also means Kikinnin recovers his suppressed magic.
The beholder centers the rest of his appendages on the dwarf "I warned you not to look at me like that Kikinnin but you won't understand unless being more clear it seems!"
The beholder attempts to bite JJ's with his unsettling jaws.
Failing to catch him, Vhalantru goes up in the air ten feet while holding his central eye looking to the front.
Maxim nods to himself as the Eye Tyrant unleashes a volley of rays upon the Watchers:
"This here is a reckonin' Vhalantru... Got me some pizen fir one as venomous as you!"
He draws his revolver then levels and fires at the floating abomination with a pitted bullet...
Fighting off the beholders ray, JJ
Snarling, JJ turns and takes a running jump at the horrid creature, using his height and Alakasts length to full effect.
Gritting his teeth, JJ thinks of Celeste and Kikinnin and how they stand against the darkness. No puny beholder is going to scare him.
AC = 40/22/39 (Haste + Smite)
HP = 160/160
Weapon Equipped = Eldgammel +4 Holy (Divine Bond)
Condition(s) = Aura of Greater Courage(Immune to Fear, 10' radius), Prayer, Blessing of Fervor, Bless, Protection from Evil, Bear's Endurance
Smite = 2/day (+8 to hit, +13 to damage, +8 deflection bonus to AC when used)
Lay on Hands = 8x (6d6, 7d6 if Greater Mercy)
Channel Positive Energy = 4x (6d6, DC 22)
1st Level- Divine Favor, Grace, Hero's Defiance, Liberating Command
2nd Level- Paladin's Sacrifice
3rd Level- Dispel Magic
The magic gifted to him by the elderly half-elf slips away, just barely. Kikinnin is slow to understand its loss, as he sizes up the ugly ball of eyes, and how easily it relocates its main eye, and its little eyestalks. This is not going to be easy...
With his flight returned, Kikinnin doesn't waste time trying to introduce Eldgammel to Vhalantru's backside.
Marigold's Round 1
Remembering what was said earlier about fighting such creatures, Marigold realizes that they need to spread out so that Vhalantru can't nullify everyone's defenses all at once. Cringing a bit, she hustles forward and into the room, willing to risk any bites that might come her way as she moves.
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Seeing JJ jumping around Eidi gets out of the antimagic field, and as soon as he does, he is able once again to wave new magic. With arcane gestures and a feather he produces from his pouch, he uses his arcane bond ring special power to cast again fly but this time on JJ "Get up there and finish that monstrosity boy!"
Maxim knows more than magic, with a grand conflagration he puts a poisoned bullet on the flying orb! The deomand Vhalantru has bound in the Zar'ilkoth Tarteros ritual has given him immunity to poison, but nevertheless, the bullet hurts.
Resisting stone and fear, JJ performs an astonishingly high jump over the room rolling over his own staff.
Avoids Vhalantru and strikes true with Alakast in the flying orb! His acrobatic skill is enough to land on feet afterwards while cushioning his fall.
Losing his haste due to the tyrant's eye magic, but recovering flight, Kikinnin flights and lands a solid strike on the large aberration!
Marigold, followed by Kythel move into the room trying to look for a place where they can use their magic.
Eidi enters too, risking to be too close, he casts fly on JJ.
With dashing speed Celeste also enters the spherical room, trying to hold as many people possible in her holy aura. "This is your end beholder! Kneel before the power of good!" casting hold monster.
But the magic is suddenly absorbed by a jade medallion in the shape of a beetle around one of Vhalantru's appendages.
"I have to admit you are going to be my most precious statues!" the beholder starts to shot rays in all directions! You notice one of the appendages does not have an eye, as this was given to Lady Thifirane and implanted on her front.
Once again, she resists the assault.
Celeste's holy aura protects the elder, magically deflecting two of the rays.
Vhalantru uses his innate magic to cast mass charm monster on everyone but JJ and Maxim. The spell automatically fails on Kikinnin, Eidi and Celeste due to the Ghaele's holy aura protection against mind control, and also fails on Marigold and Kythel due to the cleric's circle of protection from evil.
Displeased by the discovery Vhalantru takes further flight up at his maximum speed, going over Kikinnin's head.
At the peak of its height, Vhalantru redirects his central eye to the bottom. Everyone's magic except for Maxim, who recovers his, suddenly disappears.
With his flight suppressed Kikinnin plummets to the pentagram in the floor, while Vhalantru laughs evily "Muahahaha"
Kikinnin tries to thrash Vhalantru before he/it gets a chance to throw more rays about, but only manages to land a single second blow, before falling to the floor.
He thuds down, then looks up, somewhat frustrated that he can't immediately launch himself back at the beholder. He looks his companions over to see how they weather all the magical attacks...
JJ, aware that he beholder can probably not attack with its other eyes while the anti-magic is on him, keeps trying to fly up.
"He can't keep that eye on us all he time."
"Can he blink away, like he did when we first met him? Or did he need help back then? He's more powerful now, so I think he can keep staring us down, until he's good and ready to disappear again..."
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Marigold's Round 2
Marigold weathers the two ray blasts that come her way and angrily shakes her fist at the eye tyrant.
"તમારે તેના કરતા વધુ સખત પ્રયાસ કરવો પડશે," she snarls, slipping into a language that a snake like Vhalantru should be familiar with.
"You'll have to try harder than that!"
Taking a step forward she attempts to blast the creature with a barrage of ice, while it has its' anti-magic cone turned off...
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