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While Aldebert shoots three bolts at the daemon beside the dam Opal shoots a single arrow at the daemon with green eyes. Opal's arrow hits and also one of Aldebert's bolts pierces the daemon.
Susan continues to shoot arrows at the daemon.
Chaul
Wyrgan
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Daemon blue -38HP
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Opal
Aldebert
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Daemon green -77HP (no breath 2R)
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Susan -11HP
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Wyrgan swings again at the creature in front of him, but misses entirely. ALso the spiritual weapon misses. Chaul's wave of energy hits the daemons, but they still resist most of the energy damage.
The daemon with blue claws inhales and releases a cone of fire at Wyrgan and Chaul.
Chaul
Wyrgan
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Daemon blue -40HP (no breath 3R)
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Opal
Aldebert
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Daemon green -79HP (no breath 2R)
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Susan -11HP
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Chaul, still badly burned and aware that his companions are in a similar state, struggles to keep his fading connection to the celestial realms open. His whole body shakes with the strain.
Yet still it remains open, cool healing purity coming into the fallen world from the highest of celestial abodes.
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Chaul concentrates on another channel, but uses it to heal his companions. Aldebert's bolts miss the big daemon, also Wyrgan's sword does not hit the target. Opal's bomb hits, but the daemon seems to resist some of the electric damage. Susan moves up to the daemon.
The daemon attacks Susan with its claws and teeth.
Susan attacks the beast with his silver chackrams.
This attack finally kills the remaining daemon and it returns to its origin plane.
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Aldebert chuckles (or clucks), and lends Chaul a hand to bring him back onto his feet.
"All part of my clever plan agent Goodheart! The old Phalanx "spray and pray" tactic. It never fails to impress." Slapping Wyrgan heartily in the back, he begins searching for his remaining bolts, a task that should not prove too difficult since the bolts are stickign out of EVERYTHING. "The creatures were in such awe they lowered their guard for our soundless bearded yet genderless friend to finish them off. All in all, we did well."
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"I am just pleased we have managed to free the villagers from these demons. I can see they would have been quite a handful for the locals to worry about."
He kicks the bodies, curious about whether they remain, or vanished. If the outsiders bodies remain he puts a concerned look on his face. ""These were not just normal summonings..." Applying his scimitar to their heads he removes them. "Something to show our sponsors!"
After checking on everyone, and paying his respects once again at the shrine, Chaul leads the group back to the village.
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After you defeat the daemons, you see Yuzana and Arkar approaching from the village. Yuzana is running, she seems to be angry. "You are no angelse! Angels don't get wounds!" she shouts while running into the temple. Her sorely taxed faith is shattered. In her despair, she begins to vandalize the temple, cursing Malikeen for having deceived her all these years.
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Chaul steps between her and the altar, allowing the villager to take out her rage on him.
"I said I had the blood of angels. And good Yuzana, even angels bleed when facing the horrors of the underworld. But they are gone now."
His eyes speak of concern.
"What has happened? The demons are gone, but your anger is great. It is not right to take it out on the table of the gods."
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"No not angels, although some Mwangi kobold tribes do worship my effigy. Or use it as target practice. Either way, a flattering thought... Ahem. Madam? If I may, perhaps celebrating your newfound, wound-free days with wanton destruction is, perhaps... A smidgen over the top. Trust me, I'm Taldane, we pioneered overindulging."
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Before she can do serious damage to the shrine Wyrgan is able to calm the woman down and she heads back to the village, angrily.
Arkar approaches to apologize for his earlier accusations. "I'm sorry, but I have to confess, that I removed the craddle from the shrine several years ago. I replaced the authentic cradle with a duplicate, aiming to prove to Yukaza that the relics of Malikeen hold no actual power. I hid the true craddle in a cave beneath the dam." Arkar says and leads you to a entrance which is concealed by rocks. After he moved the rocks aside you see that the cave is little more than a crawlspace. The dark chamber is waterlogged and the cradle is lodged in mud and sand. A talisman hangs from the cradle.
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"Prove they hold no power? Why in the name of sweet Shelyn's mercy would you do that? From what I understand this portion of the Tian continent could give Nidal a run for it's money in the race to be the most miserable place on Golarion. Is getting your faith stripped away a local custom? Or is it something you do every time you decide your lives aren't quite atrociously bad" asks a flabbergasted Aldebert in a condescending tone.
"Perhaps you're addled. In the head. Or Kuthite. Either way, you disgust me sir; I bid you Adieu." He turns around, takes a pace forward vefore asking maintaining his back to the probably confused farmer: "Inform me when you are done Pathfinders; I have turned my back on this local and in that process have forsaken a clear line of sight on our activities. Unforseen consequence and so forth, I trust you understand."
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"You don't know us, you don't know anything about our lives. Who do you think you are to judge?" Arkar answers to Aldebert's verbal offense and ignores him for the rest of the night.
Chaul and Wyrgan take the cradle back to the shrine and light the candle of conveyance. Once exposed to the authentic cradle it flares blue to indicate that Bakten is studying the relic psychometrically.
When you are done Yuzana and Arkar lead you back to the village where you can stay the rest of the night.
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Chaul does what he can to smooth things over with Arkar.
"He is a rude man, but invaluable when dealing with physical threats. Without his skills the demons would still plague your village." he tries to point out.
With a sigh he adds "His heart is in the right place, but his company can be grating at times."
When alone with the rest of the group he says "So it looks like the first stage of our journey is done. Tomorrow we head on to the woods?"
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"The woods?" asks a puzzled Aldebert as he applies more wax to his lustrous mustache. "Oh yes. To make our way towards Ayajinbo. Or Jinin. Whichever, one reveals the other I suppose. It'll be good to spend time in the forest. I expect the local wildlife to be somewhat mildly nourishing. Or perhaps we can purchase some food. If I might make a suggestion, perhaps in a place that doesn't reek of misery and self-flagellation. Poor fellows. Their leaders are addled. Good thing we in Taldor have managed to avoid such a fate. Keeping the bloodlines pure and all that." And with that he tucks himself in, cradling his crossbow as he readies himself for some well-deserved rest, a nightcap in the colors of the Taldane flag upon his head.
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"Purity... a goal for us all." agrees Chaul, with perhaps a hint of the heavy handed about the wording.
Other than looking after his fellow pathfinder, Chaul will take time to update his diary on the demons, and preach the saving word to the people of the village, healing those who are in need as he does so.
"We can at least leave these people in a better state than we found them."
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After the night and a simple rice breakfast you leave the village towards Ayajinbo. The journey takes 16 days by foot through dense woods but is uneventful. Jinin is a peaceful land.
When you arrive in the silver-spun city of Ayajinbo, streamers and flags proclaim that a major festival is in progress.
Three noble families—the Haraka, Ishigo, and
Mata—use a cavern called the Court of the Ancestral
Sky to honor their ancestors as part of the Festival of
the Fortunate Moon. The clans gather at dusk in the
underground grotto, then exchange tales of honor until
the moon shines down through a hole in the ceiling,
striking a mirror and granting good luck to any who
behold it.
The Court of the Ancentral Sky also houses the family
crypts, although outsiders are not ordinarily granted access.
The clans fought for centuries until 6748 ic
(4248 ar), when Malash the Magnanimous united them
to repel a threat from the Darklands. Malash died during
the conflict, as did Sorin, the great-grandfather of the
current daimyo, Haraka Kasashige.
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Chaul casts his mind back to the old VC.
One relic is the skull of an elven daimyo, Haraka Sorin. He died alongside Malash, he who was reborn as my veiled self. The skull now rests in the Haraka family shrine, in the Court of the Ancestral Sky in Ayajinbo in Jinin.
"It sounds like we should try and attend this festival and seek permission to pay our respects at their family vault."
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"A fine tale of the power of order. Let us hope that same old-fashioned discipline will allow us to access these crypts based on our impeccable behavior. In that spirit, I will keep my inspirational anecdotes to a minimum; it seems as though they distract disproportionately to their content. I suppose it is the Taldane Flair" announces Aldebert after contemplating the information provided. "However, how do we suppose we shall be allowed entry? If our last encounter was any indication, people here have embraced some very peculiar notions. I suppose they include a complete disregard for the accomplishments of the Phalanx, which bars me from using my distinguished career to get us in" he grumbles contemplatively.