Waving away the ectoplasmic mist as it disintegrates back into the Aether naturally, Dro'gan frowns.
"We have capatured it, but unless we find a way to bind it...? It will eventually wake up and escape, and it will be even more angry than before. Suggestions? One of us could run back to the market and purchase some heavy chains and a lock or manacles of some sort? Heavy strong-animal style manacles I would assume. Hold a moment..."
Naliah puts away her crossbow, retrieves her hanbo and stows it, and pulls an ornament out of her hair. With a flick of her thumb, a sharp, slender blade springs forth from it.
"Nonsense, good sir, we finish it off now and save us the headache. Surely you don't think it has value as a prisoner? I doubt its summoner has feelings for it, nor is it likely to have information..."
She squats by its fallen form and leans to identify whatever its jugular might be, then pauses. "It will be unconscious about an hour at least. If there is something you want to do, do it quickly. I dislike loose ends."
Dro’gan shakes his head sadly.
”Politics in this city are complicated. We arrived already behind the times and we are desperately trying to catch up and answer a lot of questions. This…thing…might have some of these answers. Hells…Proof of its presence here could be used as evidence possibly. If its extraplanar in origin if we kill it, it will merely dissolve into goo. Usually. We need it alive and answering questions. For now.”
“I vote to kill it. We don’t have the resources to restrain this thing, nor the time. And don’t say I have magic that can bind this thing, because I don’t.” Vyranos said, a little snappy that they’re even having a conversation about keeping a greater barghest alive.
Amandine purses her lips as she looks at the barghest and thinks.
"We don't have the time. We're here looking for a div, not a barghest. This thing is more likely to be the div's minion than the cause of the problems. Intelligent enough to serve, but lacking the ability to effect mind control and devise plans based on it."
"If we leave for restraints or spend time trying to question it, we create opportunities for the true danger to notice our presence and act against us. We must kill it now. Anything else is simply too risky."
She walks to the barghest and carefully places the point of her rapier in the monster's ear. Using the all her strength with both hands plus the weight of her upper body leaning on it, she drives the blade down into the ear and through the weak area of skull behind it into its brain.
"Well done, darling. We shan't suffer the beast to live." Hasimir commends Amandine for her brutal finisher.
He looks at his blood-covered fan, and with a rapid snap of his wrist shakes the blood off the weapon, leaving a crimson arc painted on the wall.
"Moving on, then. Shall we?" Hasimir casts a healing spell on himself and moves to the door to the north. He reaches for the handle, but stops.
Could there be traps? Why would anyone put traps on doors inside a slaughterhouse? On the other hand, why would anyone have a barghest guarding a room?
And he looks for traps.
Naliah, already close to the ground and about to strike the creature, starts as the tip of Amandine's rapier bursts through the creature's ear. "Oh!" She throws her blade upward in shock, and just manages to catch it with her other hand before it flies toward one of the living.
"Well, my lady, you're decisive at least." She flicks a bit of brain off of her shirt, and eyes the beast to be sure it's dead--hard to tell, with extraplanar creatures.
Dro’gan sighs at the creature’s death and uses a cantrip to quickly clean himself and the others from the creature’s death throes.
”Well thats that…”
Whipping out the group healing stick, Dro'gan taps the human with it.
He then reloads Dignity's Barb and looks through the room's exit.
You sense that the barghest looks forward to her visit, since she brings him victims to feed upon.
When you deliver the killing blow to the barghest, its death lasts but a few moments before its body dissolves into nothingness, the outsider returning to its home plane.
Hasimir finds no traps rigged to the office door, reasoning that who or whatever has been operating out of this abandoned business may have thought the barghest was enough of a defense for the office and side entrance to the building.
However, Hasimir and Dro'gan both stop the part from advancing too far onto the main floor of the old slaughterhouse, as they spot a trap.
This cavernous chamber has several doors leading out to the south, west, and east. Two of these are the massive double doors that lead back outside, their side brackets cradling heavy beams that bar the doors from within. A catwalk high on the northern wall winds around three tall towers, but the stairs at the other end of the catwalk are tumbled down and mangled wrecks.
Much of the machinery that once spanned this slaughterhouse and facilitated its grisly business has been pushed together into a pile in the center of the room. This conglomeration of conveyor belts, tables, and articulated hooked arms all jumbled together rises up to the level of the catwalk.
You spot that this heap of machinery has actually been rigged to lash out with cutting saws and jagged hooks when someone draws close. Despite the danger, this heap also presents the most readily apparent route to climb to the catwalk, perhaps meant to bait unwary intruders.
A pitiful bleating catches your attention, and you see a white ram sprawled on the floor near the dangerous machinery. It tries to drag itself along, apparently wounded by the trap.
Not hiding his disgust, Dro'gan moves into the room but not close enough to activate the trap/pile of junk.
He whispers quietly to the others...
"The monster's mind relayed some facts before it expired. Keep an eye out for a blue-skinned fiendish woman or tiefling with diseased-looking skin and horns. She has been 'feeding' the thing and may be its master, or just some sort of caretaker. Should we help the animal? Its giving us some cover noise at minimum right now and could be a problem if it starts moving around more quickly trying to escape. I can heal it later, once we clear this place and everything is safe."
Returning her switchblade to its usual mount in her hair, Naliah steps into the room to look at what Dro'gan is talking about. She responds via message,
"This is supposed to be an inactive slaughterhouse, yes? And clearly the..." she fishes for the term Vyranos identified it by, "barghest had more exotic appetites. So what on earth is a sheep doing here?" She raises her crossbow, pointing it toward the suffering creature. "At best, it may be a mercy to end its suffering. At worst, it is itself a trap. What say you?"
"Best put the ram out of its misery." Hasimir nods to Naliah. He studies the surroundings.
"I'd rather not get anywhere near that trap, unless someone can disable it. The catwalk would offer us a way to get around the machinery."
Amandine concentrates and scans about for evil auras again, including the ram.
Amandine spends a few second reaching out to feel the presence of evil.
She detects a single, strong emanation of evil from the direction of the trap and ram.
With no one objecting, and having had time to give the ram a good look to see where would be the most effective and merciful shot, Naliah moves in range of firing (not in range of the trap) and fires a bolt at the ram.
Dro'gan grimaces. Since no one listened to his advice...again...Dro'gan finds a shadow nearby to duck into.
I warned them that silencing the beast might draw attention and reveal the group's location... But when everyone carries a hammer, everything else looks like a nail. Heck the Ram could be another monster in disguise even!
He then taps himself with his newly purchased Wand of Protection from Evil.
Hasimir observers, and keeps his distance to the ram, to the trap, and to Naliah. Something is not right here - let's see if a crossbow bolt sheds more light.
Vyranos stays in the back, expecting the worst.
Amandine passes on her discovery of an evil aura in the vicinity of the injured ram, but she can draw no conclusions from that alone. To her thinking the ram could be the source but something else, out of sight or invisible, could be as well.
She makes herself invisible and repositions, sneaking around to the left, closer to the ram, so she can see the ram more clearly as well as around the far side of the pile of machinery. When she has a clearer view, she looks carefully again, while continuing to hone in on the aura.
The ram sharply leaps up and its form shifts wildly as Naliah looses her shot. The bolt seems to graze the creature without doing any appreciable damage.
The creature twists and contorts until it takes its true form: a horned humanoid woman who might be sultry and alluring if not for the foul landscape of blazing rashes, oozing pustules, and taut blisters across her blue skin.
Whether because of your mere presence or because you did not stumble into the trap she constructed, this monster woman appears very angry with you.
As Amandine focuses on the ram-turned-woman, she narrows down the source of the strong, evil aura to her, but the monster woman seems to have lost track of Amandine as she turned invisible.
Dro’gan curses silently to himself as the monstrous woman reveals herself.
Naliah smiles as she smoothly locks another bolt into her weapon. "Oh look, I found the horned woman!"
"Commendable, Naliah. A horned woman indeed." Hasimir notes. He wonders if this is the div they were expecting.
“SWEET MOTHER OF THE GODS!” Vyranos shouted as the ram turned into a horn woman. Then, right as he blinked, she seemed to have disappeared, causing him to look around stressfully.
The horned woman raises her hand upward and calls out in a strange, harsh language.
A quartet of disembodied and bestial heads covered in lashing hair and curling horns begin to tear into your dimension. The horned woman keeps two in front of her as a screen, sending the other two out to confront and harry the party.
Noting the bolt did little to harm the "ram" and remembering what Vyranos advised about the possible planar occupants of this place earlier, Naliah pauses to retrieve her cold iron blanch from her haversack and 10 bolts from her efficient quiver and, time permitting, dips the latter into the former.
She also steps five feet back for good measure. Doesn't hurt to get a little farther from the bulk of the enemies.
Vyranos stares intently, trying to figure out exactly what kind of fiends they are dealing with.
Noticing the group was now basically surrounded, Dro'gan moves to the middle of the room, and conjures some aid as well...right on top of the horned woman!
School conjuration (summoning)
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, DF
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: swarm of monkeys
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
DESCRIPTION:You summon a swarm of screeching, mischievous monkeys. The swarm understands and obeys your commands and has the statistics of a monkey swarm. Creatures failing a saving throw against the mad monkeys’ distraction attack are deafened for 1 minute as well as nauseated. The monkeys attempt one disarm or steal combat maneuver each turn as a free action against any creature that begins its turn in the swarm, using your caster level plus your casting ability score bonus (Intelligence for wizards; Wisdom for druids and oracles; Charisma for bards, sorcerers, and summoners) for its CMB. Recovering an item from the monkeys requires a successful disarm or steal attempt against that CMB +10. An object stolen by the monkeys takes swarm damage each round the swarm is in possession of the object.
Primate, Monkey Swarm
Screeches and bestial calls precede this pack of monkeys, each primate propelling itself forward on calloused knuckles.
CR 2
N Tiny animal (swarm)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5
DEFENSE:
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 size)
hp 22 (3d8+9)
Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +2
Defensive Abilities half damage from weapons, swarm traits
OFFENSE:
Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft.
Melee swarm (2d6 damage plus distraction)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 14)
STATISTICS:
Str 7, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 11
Base Atk +2; CMB —; CMD —
Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
Skills Acrobatics +11, Climb +10, Perception +5; Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics
SQ coordinated swarm
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Coordinated Swarm (Ex):A monkey swarm coordinates its attacks more than a typical swarm, and deals swarm damage one step higher than a swarm of its HD would normally cause.
"Good heavens! Disembodied heads and monkeys! I should just stand back and see how this play unfolds." Hasimir states, but doesn't stand back. Instead, he takes out his scroll of align weapon and unleashes the magic onto his war fan.
Then he takes a battle-stance, and prepares to take on the enemies.
vs. first attack only
Amandine is surprised by the sudden appearance of several defenders for the div, but she's careful to keep quiet since it seems she is undiscovered. The addition of summoned monkeys convinces her that she should hold on and see how things develop before taking action.
She trys to identify the summoned creatures and shifts her position slightly in case she's wrong about being undiscovered. Then she restarts her Message links with the others while looking for her advantage to present itself.
Vyranos recognizes that your prime opponent is a pairaka, a type of div who embody the corruptive nature of unbridled lust. Besides possessing an array of resistances as an outsider, they are also able to manipulate the dreams of mortal victims in a way that would explain the plague of nightmares that has befallen many residents of Yanmass. They can also infect others with disease through their claws or even mere contact.
Amandine identifies the smaller creatures as dorus, the least of all divs, who act as messengers for their more powerful kin. Despite the discrepancy in size and power, they possess lesser versions of their kind's resistances.
Hasimir and Naliah make preparations for their own assault, while Dro'gan unleashes a swarm of simians upon the pairaka. However, their claws and teeth are unable to pierce the outsider's tough, blistered skin.
Mad Monkeys!
*Quick Hands (Su): At 1st level as a swift action, a busker can call on his stunts to gain a +1 competence bonus on Acrobatics checks, a +1 dodge bonus to AC and on Reflex saves, and a +1 bonus on attack rolls as if from haste. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 11th level, and +4 at 17th level. At 5th level, while maintaining this stunt the busker also gains an extra attack at his highest base attack bonus as if from haste.
...
"Please, my dear..." the blue woman pleads with Hasimir, turning her eyes upon him, "Don't let these murderers hurt me. Don't let me die."
The winged head creatures flap their way forward and, in pairs, surround Naliah and Dro'gan. Naliah manages to duck and dodge out of the way of their snapping jaws, but one of them manages to chomp down on the base of Dro'gan's neck.
Having finished dipping her bolts, Naliah smiles charmingly at the fiends moving in to flank her. "I'm so sorry, but my dance card's full."
She attempts to twirl and backflips away from them, moving next to Vyranos, so she becomes a closer target than the elf casting the spell. As she moves, she slides one of the bolts in her hand into her hand crossbow.
Unless this writer does not know something, Naliah's swift maneuvers should be adequate to avoid retaliatory strikes from the divs.
And with that, she fires a bolt at the doru closest to her.
Alas, trying to do all that at once causes her aim to be off, and the bolt flies wide.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 14)
Dro'gan quickly draws one of his many cold iron daggers and strikes at the monsters biting at him!
+ Swift Hands bonus attack!
Amandine is sadly unprepared to take advantage of the floating head that passes by within her reach. She moves to help Dro'gan as two of the heads move in on him, sliding the cold iron rapier out of its scabbard on the way. Coming around behind one, she gives it a careful look hoping to find a vulnerability somewhere. When she in position behind it, she strikes.
Vyranos shouts out an incantation, “From beyond our mortal realms, I call forth a celestial warrior to aid us in slaying this fiend!” And surging right next to him is a humanoid figure with a large sword and a dark brown, canine head, who immediately attacks the pairaka!
Despite the swarm of monkeys clawing and biting feebly at her abyssal skin, the pairaka continues to work her fell magic unabated.
Amandine emerges from thin air and delivers a cold iron thrust that sends one of the conjured heads back from whence it came.
The pairaka reacts with horror as Vyranos' summoned archon marches forward and delivers a slash that actually pierces her blue skin.
They got this all wrong... Why did they have to attack the blue lady - she seems very trustworthy.
"Hold on here!" he cries out to his companions. "We all started with a wrong foot here. Cease all that fighting and let's have a chat with that nice blue lady over there."
The div's summoned creatures don't seem to be very peaceful, however...
...but it all must be a misunderstanding.
"You too, disembodied heads... Calm down, and let's discuss this over a cup of tea."
The remaining doru flap forward, with two of them surrounding Dro'gan and nipping at him. His system remains resolute against whatever poison may sneak in through the tiny wounds.
The third tries to bite Naliah, but doesn't even manage to break the skin.
The pairaka at the heart of this terrible situation, meanwhile, lashes out at the summoned archon with her disease-ridden claws.
Swift Hands: 5 Rounds left!
+ Swift Hands bonus attack!
”A little help??!”