Leaning in toward the others, he speaks low in an effort not to be heard by the demons. "Should I bury their heads under me hammer?" he asks, looking for confirmation before he does anything. "Especially the one with the loud mouth. That one'll be first. I may not be able ta understand what she's sayin', but I know it's somethin' stupid. And I know she has it comin'."
Nasira translates the demon's speech for her friends. To the party, she says, "Need we fight?"
”Think.” The old dwarf said, a tired smile on his face. ”If we weren’t already welcome, then whether ye let us in or not we’d never leave. You’re welcome is pointless, as there are no visitors to the maze, aye? So step aside and let us pass. Or don’t, and we prove ourselves yet again. Your choice, on whether the fight is worth it to ye.” Hammer in hand, he waited for the response with an indifferent expression on his face.
Lershim, still with that new-guy smell, keeps his trap shut. He figured there were smooth talkers among them, but he's surprised by Thurin's abrupt approach. Still, probably the best approach with a demon.
He readies for combat, eager to test himself and prove his worth to his new allies. He leans into the balls of his feet, ready to move.
Ansha replies in Abyssal, “’Delightfully ridiculous’ is not how you should address guests of your master. No doubt he’s expecting us, as he did send a special invitation that demanded our response.”
It was true enough, anyway. The capture of the Herald had certainly demanded a response, and after all, the best lies were half-truths.
Mogrym remains quiet, wondering how the demons are going to take Thurin's and Ansha's words. This ought ta be good.
Sense motive
The marilith hisses at you as Thurin and Ansha both speak to her. Trying to keep both stories straight and discern any fallacies was difficult the way both validated each other. Very well, you may continue on. I warn you though that there are betrayers to our Lord Baphomet around here. We have been put on high alert ever since he returned grievously hurt. Stay vigilant.
She then moves aside to allow full entrance to the Ivory Labyrinth.
Somewhat taken aback, "Impressive. Not gonna lie," Morgrym mutters under his breath before leading the way forward, keeping an eye on the demons, for just in case purposes, as he walks past them.
Once they've all moved in, "Okay, now where to?"
As Morgrym walks by the Marilith gives him the evil eye in return. You get the sense that while you may have made it past her this time, she does not fully trust you.
In addition, Radiance is a legendary item (Pathfinder RPG Mythic Adventures 169) that bonds with a mythic paladin as soon as it is wielded in combat—in this adventure, Radiance bonds if a paladin uses it in the final encounter against Vorlesh’s babaus. The weapon has two daily uses of legendary power that recharge each day, but does not currently possess any legendary attributes, for it has yet to be wielded by a mythic paladin. As Radiance has its own ability to grow in power, it cannot be given the upgradable legendary item ability.
Nasira does not believe that Yaniel's blade will function for a non-proficient individual such as herself. The blade remains heavily wrapped in cloth and is now stowed under her voluminous robes. Awkward, but the cleric cannot bear to leave the potent weapon - it's as much a part of the party as any of the living members.
”A damned good question.” Thurin responded. ”I thought we’d need to kill ‘em for sure. But now we know our enemy is wounded and is recuperating. Mayhaps we can convince a cultist or two that we are here to protect the outside of his chambers? Could get a guide that way. Or a body to stack.”
"Works for me. If you two can convince that thing out there ta let us through, then I'm willin' ta bet either of ya can talk anybody into anythin'."
Glancing around, "Well, I guess we just start walkin'. I'm just not sure which direction. This whole thing is just a blasted maze. Is there a right way?" he asks, shrugging. "I don't suppose there's some type of magic that'll lead us the proper way, is there?"
Lershim chuckles as they’re waived through, Damn, it worked! Pretty slick stuff.
He strides in like he owns the place, though he’s watching out for traps…
Nasira leans close to Thurin and Lershim, waving them closer if necessary so she can whisper, "We were aware of Baphomet's injuries. We must have failed to mention it to you, but we angered him and he charged heedlessly into Nocticula's realm to teach us a thing or two. And the Demon Queen of Assassins did not brook his trespass. She killed him, sending him home with his tail firmly between his legs. As it the way of things for gods, he has resurrected in the core of his realm but if he suffers another such defeat before a year and a day, his death will be permanent. I'm sure he is still no pushover - but he's well aware that there is no second chance for him currently and even a god fears final death. However, remember that the Demon Lord of Mazes is not why we are here, no matter what we tell his minions."
Standing back up and speaking in a normal voice, she reiterates, "As Morgrym has stated, we must find a way to navigate the maze. Think back on our research before departing the Material Plane."
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"Well, near as I can tell, let's just start walkin' and see where it takes us. Give me a minute, maybe I can come up with a decent start." Morgrym slowly pans from one direction to the other, trying to get a sense of what might be the best path to take.
Morgrym has an excellent sense of direction and leads off confidently to the north. After 2 days of travel though they end up right back where they were…or at least it looked like the same place. Not to be discouraged the dour dwarf plunged onward again to pass through the maze.
This time Morgrym leads them onward and the corridors begin to change. Instead of the ivory walls 10ft wide the path opens up until it is almost 30ft wide. The floor takes on the color and feel of a granite mountain. The ceiling gives way to a soaring landscape with the sun high over head. Breathing out at the beauty of it all you realize that you can see your breath.
No longer are you in a maze of corridors but instead you find yourself in a trackless mountain range. You turn around to backtrack into the maze only to find that the maze proper has disappeared. The entrance is gone!
With raised eyebrows as he looks behind him, "Well, now, that's interestin', the entrance is gone," he says before looking forward again, "And now we're in the mountains. I swear, ya just never know what yer gonna get in this place. Well NOW where do we go? I'm gonna take another look around, maybe I can find a lead that'll take us the proper way."
”Ha!” The dwarf laughed bitterly. ”Can’t even tell if this is the maze or if we were kicked out.” After days of walking followed by this, he had come to the conclusion that demon lords were, at the very least, inconsiderate hosts.
”Then again, this could all be an illusion as well.”
He then went about doing what he could in assisting his kinsman…
Nasira muses, "It is as we were warned, environments flowing from one to another. Perhaps it is illusionary in nature. We were told that flight is not a solution, that trying to fly over the walls or see the pattern is prevented magically."
Weapon Equipped = Anista
Conditions = Heroism (140m)
War hatchet Anista: Attack: BAB +11/6/1, +11 dex, +3 magic +2 focus -2 two-weap Damage: +11 dex +3 magic
Ranged Dagger: Attack: BAB +11/6/1, +11 dex Damage: +11 dex
Mythic Power: 17/17
Legendary Power: 4/4
Demonic save: Reroll save vs Demon (1/1)
Resiliancy: gain 30 temp hp when brought below 0 (1/1, 1m)
Rod of Extend, lesser (3/3)
Spells: Fly (3/3, +4 fly, 5m, boots), Prestidigitation (at will), Shield: (7/7, +4 AC, 15m)
War hatchet Anista: Feather Fall (1/1), Heroism (2/3, 140m), Invisibility (3/3, 14m), Liberating Command (1/1, +20 escape artist)
”I don’t see any demons.” Lershim begins quietly, ”And it’s cold. I think we took a wrong turn.”
He looks about, and will consider activating his flying boots until Nasira reminds him. Still, he says ”My dear, heroism if you please.” he asks of his war hatchet, who complies. Then he too looks around to see what can be seen.
Morgrym doesn’t see any tell tale trails to follow or even any tracks in the snow. However his keen eyesight along with help from the others does mean that he is able to spot an area bad ice. Spitting along the edge of it the party manages to avoid the death trap. Out of curiosity Morgrym pries free a large chunk of ice and throws it into the suspect area. The bad ice crumbles immediately revealing a chasm that extends down for thousand feet down.
A benefit of being as old as dirt was that one had tended to have a plethora of experience to fall back on. Therefore it wasn’t exactly the last second that the group nearly walked off a ledge, but he did manage to find the danger far sooner than he had in his youth.
Lershim tries to help avoid trouble on their journey.
Morgrym follows suit after the others, working to keep them going at a steady pace and hopefully a successful one.
= 31
It takes the party some time to get through the mountains. However the keen eyesight of many of the group keeps them from avoiding dangerous cliffs, rotten ice, hideous creatures, and dangerous storms causing avalanches. The 16 days pass as you finally see a break in the mountain chain. What appeared to be a crevasse was actually the beginning of another set of tunnels and corridors of the maze.
A short distance into the corridors you hear the soft sound of a flowing water. Rounding the bend you find yourselves at the banks of a flowing river 100ft wide. The beach head you are located at is clean and the sun shines overhead. Under other circumstances this would be a perfect picnic spot for a family. That is until you realize that the sand is actually the ground remains of bones. Looking up and down the river you see that cliffs line the shore preventing you from going cross country away from the river. Occasionally you see a foot bridge overhead spanning the water but no trail at either end of the bridge.
”Bones, ground up fine enough to become sand? Well. Points for creativity. Makes me wary at looking too closely at the trees.” He took a moment to nonetheless enjoy the weather, seeing his enjoyment as being a small victory in and of itself against the Lord of Mazes.
Looking down at the sand, Morgrym sighs heavily. "Aye. That it does." He looks up and around, now wondering what the trees could possibly be made of.
Lershim tries to help avoid trouble on their journey.
vs DC 25
The quiet scout continues as he always has, keeping to shadows when they can be found. He watches for threats from all sides.
Lershim looks around.
Ansha inwardly preens at the success of her bluff as the party is waved past the marilith guard. She is considerably less useful as soon as the enter the maze. Mostly, she just idly twirls a strand of hair between her fingers and looks around, bored.
If you've seen one layer of the Abyss, you've seen them all. (Not really, but the novelty wore off a long time ago for the enchantress. And who wants to wander around a boring old maze when you could be wandering the streets of Alushinyrra?)
For the most part the party is able to navigate the unending river and its steeps banks. However one of the days the river splits to go around an island in the center of the river. What should have been a 2 hour journey to get back to where the 2 paths converge took a full day. The island seemed to elongate at times as you moved along. Yet for all of that Morgrym kept his wits about him and seemed to gain a mastery of this section of the realm. He feels confident that should you ever need to return to this portion of the maze he could direct you here and get out again quickly.
The river continues onward unending but on the 6th day a major change occurs. A break in the cliffs along the banks of river can be seen far in The distance. As you near this break you see that the cliffs have been carved out to create space for a mining area to be constructed. The town sprawls away from the docks along the river. This mining town consists of crude stone buildings interspersed with looming sculptures and stone cliff walls ranging from 20 to 50 feet high. The mazelike streets average at 20 feet in width, with some narrow alleys and frequent plazas. Many mine entrances open into the cliffs—the twisting mine tunnels themselves are considered to be a part of Echostal’s overall maze realm. Eerie screams and moans drift along the mine tunnels and alleys, remnants of the strange haunts and flittering souls whose wailings give the town its name.
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Ansha looks the cliff-side "town" over with a dubious eye as the party nears. "I wouldn't expect much in the way of civility if we feel the need to get closer to that place. Echostal's not got much in the way of rules--especially not compared to where we were a few weeks ago," she says, referring to the Midnight Isles obliquely.
"Looks quite unpleasant. Do we need anything here? Resupply or whatever? Maybe we can skip it and press on to our goal?"
"Seems like the sort of place we're likely to attract attention."
He grins, half-wanting the attention. He hasn't bloodied his war hatchets on any demons in a while...
"I'm thinkin' the halflin' has it right. I say we skip it and keep movin'. With the lass's description of it, I'm thinkin' nothin' good can come of our visitin' the place."
”Aye, looks filled with fookers. Good way to waste a lot of time in the inevitable bloodbath. If we need nothing from it we move on. And come back to it if we see reason for it.”
The priestess nods, "I concur. We'll find plenty of trouble we cannot avoid soon enough."
"There once was a time when I would enter such a town just for the sport. Just to see how much of a challenge it would be to get back out. Now, though... I think you lot have rubbed off on me. Or I'm getting older. Certainly no wiser."
”And that, lad, is why an old man in a young man’s job is so dangerous.” The very obviously old dwarf said. ”And at least if, worst comes to worst, we are stuck here forever, we have found a town to conquer.”
Lershim is surprised everyone else agrees. Grinning, he looks to Morgrym, "So if we're skipping the town, where to from here do you think?"
”Good question.” Thurin said. He glanced back at the town. ”I don’t rightly know where the fook to go. It leaves us two options, well, two I can think of. We keep moving, hoping to break out of this place by skill or luck. Or we find a demon to interrogate. Maybe even trick or bribe one into being a guide.”
"Let me see what I can learn."
Without waiting for approval from the others, Damiel heads into town and disappears.
”Good question.” Thurin said. He glanced back at the town. ”I don’t rightly know where the fook to go. It leaves us two options, well, two I can think of. We keep moving, hoping to break out of this place by skill or luck. Or we find a demon to interrogate. Maybe even trick or bribe one into being a guide.”
Narrowing his eyes, "What are ya thinkin', Thurin? Ya thinkin' we should try the city? If that's what ye're about, I've got no problem with it. Blast, we just came from the blasted Abyss and survived. Can't possibly be any worse than that," he shrugs, looking around at everyone, curious as to their thoughts. "What do the rest of you think?" He asks the others.
Ansha laughs quietly. “Morgrym, this is the Abyss, also.That said, I don’t think it’s really necessary to check out Echostal. We’re not going to find anything without a fight, and we’re going to be better off keeping a low profile, considering how outnumbered we are here.”
Although, I do wonder what to do about our impetuous scout…..
Nasira watches where Damiel disappeared. ”The gods watch over fools and madmen. May they guide Damiel back to us or home. I don’t think we can afford to wait long.”
"If we have no other leads, then the city is an obvious choice to find, hire, or coerce, a local who knows where to go. So sure, as it seems we have no leads, let's head in."
"I share Ansha's concerns about being too obvious though. Though I may be a little, ah, shifty, disguise is not something I trained in. Maybe we can try a lesser used gate in case there's a ruckus?"
"Hrm. I wonder. Is this a situation where we find the biggest demon and smack him around? Then all the littler demons leave us alone? Would that work?" He grins, thinking it might be fun to try anyway.
Nasira slowly shakes her head, but looks thoughtful. "I don't think that's wise. I feel like the nature of the maze is that we need to explore it successfully. It is a living thing and we need to earn its respect. There's nothing to say that a demon or a doomed mortal within those walls is going to be able to answer our questions - or would do so truthfully. We would be expending resources to very possibly no gain."
"If we find ourselves in need of resupply, however, the merchants within might offer insight in addition to products in hopes to earn our business again. Which gives me an idea," Looking at the enchantress, she asks, "Do you have means of communicating with Damiel though he's out of sight? Perhaps he can scout the town and its merchants and find potential allies for us if we need to return. Insert himself into the local culture, if you will."