The urbane voice answers, fairly vibrating with a chuckle as he answers, "My name is Tentagard." Clearly answering the first questions.
After a slight pause, Tentagard continues, "I was imprisoned here by the first leader of the nearby boggard tribe. He was a wizard and bound me to answer questions." The chuckle grows a bit as he answers the second question, "One hundred and one questions which had to be answered truthfully, in fact."
As far as you can tell, it also spoke the truth.
"Greetings, voice," he yells, slowly and loud. "Who are you and how did you come to be a jar?"
At this last question, Faith casts a look to Zaine, points at the open door they passed through, raises his eyebrow, and grins. Clearly proud of the joke.
Zaine shakes his head in disgust, but he does smile. "He who would pun would pick a pocket."
Faith frowns at Áine's croaking sack. "That was a vrykolakas," he says. "They only find true death if you prevent their essence from returning to the soil of their lair. And they can possess animals to pass from body to body."
"Well caught."
"Oh." she says, "I guess that means we should kill it then, huh?" she seems a bit crestfallen.
In the stone building, Faith floats over to the jar.
"Greetings, voice," he yells, slowly and loud. "Who are you and how did you come to be a jar?"
At this last question, Faith casts a look to Zaine, points at the open door they passed through, raises his eyebrow, and grins. Clearly proud of the joke.
Áine snorts under her breath, the hint of a smile playing about her lips. She snorts and turns to continue her scouting.
"One hundred and one questions which had to be answered truthfully, in fact."
Áine returns briefly, passing a quick message to Pakshee or Sasha, whoever might be outside the stone building. "Bad odor coming in from the lake. Something or something's might be approaching. Warn the others and stay on your toes." she grins, flashing a smile and giving a shrug before again disappearing into the surroundings, "and I do wonder how many questions the voice has been asked so far."
"Oh." she says, "I guess that means we should kill it then, huh?" she seems a bit crestfallen.
Zaine pulls the pistol from his belt, cocks it, and hands it over by the barrel. "It won't feel a thing."
Áine returns briefly, passing a quick message to Pakshee or Sasha, whoever might be outside the stone building. "Bad odor coming in from the lake. Something or something's might be approaching. Warn the others and stay on your toes." she grins, flashing a smile and giving a shrug before again disappearing into the surroundings, "and I do wonder how many questions the voice has been asked so far."
"We could always ask it."
"We might be able to figure out how to force out the vrykolakas essence from the croaker," Faith says. "We are resourceful."
"That is quite a tale," Faith says loud and slow.
Not in Polyglot, to Zaine. "I am not sure that I can avoid asking this one, lad."
Polyglot again, loud and slow. "How many questions have you answered truthfully for this spell, Tentagard?"
Faith taps his temple with his finger. ”You bait your hook with your eyes and your mind, and the words you catch are not so much stolen as… as….” He shrugs.
”Bait for the next one. The one that won’t get away.”
Faith steps over to Aerys, and leans down to whisper in her ear. ”The fish are biting any time you need a break and I am around.”
He steps back, opens his mouth, then closes it.
”It always comes back to swimming and fishing,” he says.
"You didn't ask the right question, disciple of the martyr, you should have asked why did the wizard choose me." The voice chortles as the glass of the jar shatters revealing a grotouque creature with flesh both scaly and moist. It's very large, toothy mouth gapes below a pair of hungry, intelligent, reptilian eyes.
The voice is the same and seems so wrong coming from the toad-like creature, "Your answer is this is the one hundred and second question I have answered truthfully." The rot Aine noticed is now impossible to miss, rising from the creature's flesh in almost visible waves. It smiles, all tooth and flesh, "I should thank you for my release."
"Don't you think?"
"Fantastic," mutters Zaine.
Initiative Zaine
Initiative Tulip
Zaine fires.
Tulip takes a bite out of the monster thing.
grapple
Zaine pulls the pistol from his belt, cocks it, and hands it over by the barrel. "It won't feel a thing."
Áine does not make a motion towards the weapon, "No, but I will. Whether it is killed by my bow or your gun, it will be dead just the same." Despite her words, she does take the time to summarily finish the little frog off.
"We might be able to figure out how to force out the vrykolakas essence from the croaker," Faith says. "We are resourceful."
Áine nods, "We might. And I thank you for the thought, but our resources here are more valuable then my feelings, or one frog of countless thousands."
"Oh, yeah, like we didn't see that coming." Áine rolls here eyes, casting Instant Enemy as her carpet moves up behind Faith. She launches a barrage of cold iron arrows which disappear into the creatures fatty underbelly.
”I am bad at those puzzles,” Faith shrugs. ”Why did the wizard choose you? What qualities do you possess that make it worth sticking you in a jar for ... how long were you there?”
Regardless of what soul or essence may be in the frog's body, the body is a normal standard frog. It dies.
"Oh, yeah, like we didn't see that coming." Áine rolls here eyes, casting Instant Enemy as her carpet moves up behind Faith. She launches a barrage of cold iron arrows which disappear into the creatures fatty underbelly.
"How about you thank this?" Zaine says, leveling his gun.
Zaine fires and hits. Tulip takes a bite out of the monster thing. Tulip misses - either uninterested in biting down on something that wafts so noxiously or still depressed by the recent loss of a new friend.
Both attacks do significantly less damage than either attacker would expect, but significant damage.
The creature stumbles back a few steps (provoking AoO from Tulip and Aine for movement) through the open door. From the cover of the wall, the same urbane voice though undeniably rattled, "Guess you'd like neither reward nor answer, priest." And he vanishes.
Regardless of what soul or essence may be in the frog's body, the body is a normal standard frog. It dies.
Zaine takes the pistol back, carefully lowers the hammer, and tucks it away in his bandolier.
The creature stumbles back a few steps (provoking AoO from Tulip and Aine for movement) through the open door. From the cover of the wall, the same urbane voice though undeniably rattled, "Guess you'd like neither reward nor answer, priest." And he vanishes.
grapple
Tulip, apparently recovered from her squeamishness, chomps on the demon and latches on with her powerful jaws.
The creature stumbles back a few steps (provoking AoO from Tulip and Aine for movement) through the open door. From the cover of the wall, the same urbane voice though undeniably rattled, "Guess you'd like neither reward nor answer, priest." And he vanishes.
Faith shakes his head. "I should have seen that coming."
Faith shakes his fist at the empty air. "Come back here and let us kill you!"
Áine flies out and up looking into the distance around them, checking if there are any disturbances (a flock of birds suddenly taking flight, a sudden quieting of animal sounds in the not-too-far-away, etc) that might signal where big ugly might have disappeared too.
Áine quickly snaps off a shot as the demon moves, but it is only a glancing wound.
Tulip, apparently recovered from her squeamishness, chomps on the demon and latches on with her powerful jaws. For a brief moment, the dinosaur looks to be overwhelmed by the noxious taste of the monster, but she doubles down. And grapples the monster in place.
Despite this, the monster tries to use its ability, carefully. And succeeds, leaving Tulip with an empty mouth.
On her quick flight out of the small building, she doesn't see a sudden disturbance of animals within her admittedly far eyeshot. Within the room, you see there is a small pile of offerings beneath the table that held the demon jar. Pretty rocks and carved wood for the most part, but there are a few coins that were left in offering.
Based on the aging of the items near the bottom of the pile, you'd guess that the jar has been used by the tribe for a decade, maybe two.
Zaine curses as the demon gets away. Then he reloads Daredevil, peering into the middle distance as though that'll cause the monster to reappear. Tulip squawks, then vomits, then proceeds to eat the half-digested monster she just brought up.
"What I like about dinosaurs is how majestic they are," Zaine opines as he tamps another round down the barrel of the musket.
Faith scrutinizes the rocks and wood, and nods at Zaine's explanation. "Not the first time I have disappointed a boggard," he says.
Faith gives the room a once-over, then shrugs. "Onward?"
Faith scrutinizes the rocks and wood, and nods at Zaine's explanation. "Not the first time I have disappointed a boggard," he says.
Faith gives the room a once-over, then shrugs. "Onward?"
"Unless Aine found something." Zaine nods at the arch in the back of the room. "Why don't you have a look back there first. I'll cover you from here...I'm not sure how well Tulip will fit."
Faith turns his attention to the arch, pauses to Detect Magic, and passes through.
The back bedroom proves boring just an old room unused for many years and covered in dust.
Outside, are you still sees no signs in the visible surroundings that would give clue to where the hezrou teleported.
This only leaves boggard village at the base of the spear.
Áine rejoins the group. "Nothing for sure, but the water here is bad. I don't think normal creatures could easily live in it. Yet there is something within it causing ripples. Not just the wind."
She pauses, considering options, "Given time to change my magicks, Life Bubble could give all of us the ability to survive within it, but not to easily see or move. Air Bubble could give Zane the use of one of his guns. Not optimal. But I think it's all I've got. If that thing is anywhere in the area, though, that's the most likely place I'm aware of. Any thoughts?"
Zaine shrugs. "I'm game if everyone else is."
Áine looks a little grim, "With an hours meditation, I have enough to give everyone Life Bubble and one Air Bubble for one of your weapons. Our range will be drastically reduced, but we should still have the advantage of numbers." she purses her lips, "okay, if you want to check it out, I'm in." another pause, "if we find another way to survive down there, I think I can be of some more help to just about everybodies offense."
The hour passes, the late afternoon shadows turning into the dark of twilight. Tulip sniffs at the water then gives Zaine pleading look. Exploring the Green Lake reveals no fish but a great deal of rot. Approaching the southern into the Lake you see some writhing creatures like oddly non scaly snakes.
You recognize the odd green snakes as the tentacles of a froghemoth. You know the creature must be lurking near underwater, although the tentacles do heavy 30-foot reach.
You also know that froghemoth are vulnerable to electricity.
One of the numerous snakes suddenly pops out of the water and wraps around Pakshee's ankle. She doesn't even have a chance to scream before she is dragged 5-ft under the water, being pulled towards the mass of ... tentacles.
"Shame no one could be like, 'look, it's a snotworm supreme!' before that happened," Zaine mutters, bringing up his gun.
Initiative Zaine
Initiative Tulip
Zaine aims carefully and fires.
Tulip sinks her teeth into the worm, and attempts to haul it out of the water.
grapple
"Tentacles," Faith says unnecessarily.
Faith casts quickly, and is into the water, and after Pakshee.
"You know, if I knew this was going to be at the surface I could have been a whole lot more effective." Áine sighs and casts Aspect of the Falcon.
"You know, if I knew this was going to be at the surface I could have been a whole lot more effective." Áine sighs and casts Aspect of the Falcon.
Áine's flippant comment in the heat of battle focuses you on the enemy. While there are some tentacles at the surface of the water, Pakshee is being dragged down, under water, where there is likely something large.
And hungry.
Just barely through the algae choked water, you can see something else, a different shape and different shade of green than the tentacles snap out and wrap around Pakshee. The tentacle releases her as the tongue drags her down deeper. After a moment of panic, you see that Áine's air bubble is keeping her from drowning.
Zaine aims carefully and fires. He hits one of the tentacles at the surface, which quickly retracts to the depths near to sundered from the creature, but not touching the unseen core of the creature.
Faith casts quickly, and is into the water, and after Pakshee. And then past where Pakshee is held as he makes out the huge form 15-feet down in the water.
Pakshee tries to cast something, having the breath to do so, but the tongue jerks her suddenly causing her to lose her concentration.
Tulip sinks her teeth into the worm, and attempts to haul it out of the water. Her teeth sink in and just tear through the rubbery flesh, giving her no purchase to pull the body toward the surface of the lake.
Sasha takes a (unnecessary) breath, then dives off Tulip, trying to free Pakshee by slicing through the rubbery tongue.
Zaine fires again, quickly reloading.
Tulip squawks and attempts to grab hold again, but once again she rips right through the rubbery flesh.
grapple
"Release yourself!" Áine shouts at Pakshee, her voice booming with the power of magic. She quickly follows it up with a barrage of arrows.
Faith may or may not yell something -- it's impossible to say with him underwater. He swims to the creature, there is a dim glow as he pulls Cherish from her resting place, and then ... an utter absence of sounds of combat.
plus fire plus electricity
plus fire plus electricity
"You know, if I knew this was going to be at the surface I could have been a whole lot more effective." Áine sighs and casts Aspect of the Falcon.
Áine shouts at Pakshee, her voice booming with the power of magic. She quickly follows it up with a barrage of arrows. Two of the four arrows she shoots quickly rise to the surface of the green water broken but not bloody.
At Áine's command, Pakshee's body slips free of the grappling tongue and she starts to sink in the water despite the flailing of her limbs.
In response to losing it's guaranteed meal, all of the 'snakes' at the surface pull down, disappearing into the green muck. The huge creature attempts to flay and grab the metal-coated treat which presented itself. Due to armor and his layers of divine magic, only a single tentacle manages to tag Faith.
Zaine fires again, quickly reloading. Knowing the bulk of the creature is hiding under the water, Zaine adjusts his aim and the bullet zings through the water, keeping velocity despite the density of the water. A bit of blue black blood to pool on the surface like an oil slick.
Faith may or may not yell something -- it's impossible to say with him underwater. He swims to the creature, there is a dim glow as he pulls Cherish from her resting place, and then ... an utter absence of sounds of combat. There is a blasting bubble of steam and the water flashes with a pulse of electricity. Beneath the water the froggy monster slows as if it moving through thick jelly.
Pakshee casts a spell, her hand glowing with white blue. She kicks, trying futility to swim to the monster to no avail.
Tulip squawks, dives into the water and attempts to grab hold again, but once again she rips right through the rubbery flesh.
Sasha, who had been about to drag Pakshee to the surface, instead helps Pakshee towards the frog behemoth. When Pakshee's hand touches the monster, it starts to rise in the water, taking both monster and Faith to the surface of the water.
Revealing the in it huge froggy glory.
The beast continues to look as if it is moving through jelly.
"All right, monster. Time to die," Zaine says, firing the musket.
Tulip squawks happily as the monster floats, chomping down on the first tentacle she can grab.
grapple
Áine's carpet circles the giant froghemoth, staying out of range of tentacles and tongue.
She fires another salvo.
Faith continues to attack the monster, even as he is moving from underwater to atop-water. Cherish glows with the scarred breastplate image that is Faith's holy symbol.
plus fire plus electricity
plus fire plus electricity
Áine's carpet circles the giant froghemoth, staying out of range of tentacles and tongue.
She fires another salvo. Three of the arrows sink into the creature's tough flesh.
The froghemoth, although still moving as through pudding, snaps at the grappled priest, clearly working to eat his meal before he looses it. Sadly he is thwarted by the heavy metal hide and looses his grip altogether.
"All right, monster. Time to die," Zaine says, firing the musket. A tentacle flashes out to slap at the gunslinger, even as he challenges, that blow lands hard.
Faith continues to attack the monster, even as he is moving from underwater to atop-water. Cherish glows with the scarred breastplate image that is Faith's holy symbol. He doesn't do any physical damage but the electricity from his weapon arcs through the monster, again slowing the creature.
Tulip squawks happily as the monster floats, chomping down on the first tentacle she can grab. Her teeth rend into the monster's flesh and, again, can not hold on.
After a long pause, Sasha surfaces dragging a kicking (flailing?) Pakshee.
Áine continues to circle, looking for the right opening, and touches her Pearl of Power to retrieve a spell.
[spoiler=Round 4]
A staggered Zaine takes careful aim this time.
A visibly frustrated Tulip hunts around for the right tentacle to bite before sinking her teeth in.
grapple
Faith remains grappled, and focused on the froghemoth's destruction.
plus fire plus electricity
plus fire plus electricity
Áine continues to circle, looking for the right opening, and touches her Pearl of Power to retrieve a spell.
The froghemoth strikes out at ... someone ... it's a really poor attempt that doesn't actually land close to a hit.
A staggered Zaine takes careful aim this time - allowing the monster a chance for another attack which slams into the gunslinger - despite this his bullet sinks deep.
Faith remains grappled, and focused on the froghemoth's destruction. This time Cherish penetrates the froghemoth, it's green black blood flowing freely as the electricity penetrates the creatures flesh, petrifying it as it dies. The magic keeps the immense creature afloat when its bulk would normally drag it under the soggy green water.
Sasha pushes Pakshee towards the shore and quickly pulls herself to Tulip to check the pair for wounds.
On the moderately near shore, you hear a concerned croak belonging to a boggard guard who starts to turn in the direction of the distantly visibly spire.
Faith pulls himself out of the water, dripping. "A swim was what the doctor ordered," Faith says. He turns to look and see what the concerned croak is about.
Faith moves over to Zaine, and casts Cure Moderate Wounds, healing HP. "Only a little bedraggled, lad.
Zaine nudges Tulip over to shore, not adopting an obvious posture of attack. Of course, he is still a man with a gun on the back of a t-rex, so it's hard to look completely non-threatening.
"Thanks, Faith," Zaine says. "Yeah, I think he saw us and is reporting in."
"Just means we killed two predators in their territory, 'stead of one, right?" Sasha asks as she wrings water from her red hair.
"Sounds about right." Áine says from above, slowly releasing the tension from her bow and still looking off in the direction of the bogard. "Sorry I couldn't turn up any signs of Big Stinky." she pauses, "Think they'll know enough to stay away from our Pathfinders?"
"Just means we killed two predators in their territory, 'stead of one, right?" Sasha asks as she wrings water from her red hair.
"Let's hope that's how they take it. I suppose like normal, we'll keep violence on a leash unless they choose it." Zaine looks down at Sasha. "Good swim, Pepper?"
Sasha lifts a hand tinged green from her swim, "It's cool at least." She looks over at Pakshee who has finally made it to the edge of the water. Kinda. She's pulling herself through the waist deep mud along the bank.
"Ecosystem doesn't have the prey fish to support that," pointing at the froghemoth. "So it has to have eating the boggards." She sounds certain but she chews on her bottom lip, her green eyes concerned.
"So they should be thankful. Getting rid of two of their enemies and all." Áine says, staring after the retreating bogard. She shrugs, "Guess we'll see."
She does scan the area, just to see if she might spot traces of something else the humongous frog thing might have been able to feed on on a regular basis.
"Thankful so long as we do not pose a new threat," Faith agrees.
"Everyone put on their non-threatening faces," Zaine says. Tulip squawks.