"Right, Dro'gan, yes. We should get rid of these heads, and then talk it over a cup of tea."
Clearly these floating heads are out of control, and need to be dealt with before the situation can calm down.
Hasimir takes a step forwards, and delivers a couple of cuts with the sharp edge of his fan.
"Hasimir, snap out of it! A woman who disguises herself as a wounded ram to draw us toward a trap that would carve us into pieces is no one to take tea with! At least," Naliah concedes, "not without a royal introduction, but I don't think your 'friend' is willing to let such introductions take place before she kills us all."
She takes a step back, smoothly reloading her crossbow. She eyes the head carefully, trying to discern the best way to strike before shooting.
"You know, for the first time I wish I'd paid more attention to my arcane studies. An invisibility spell would come in handy about now."
"Just because she's blue and likes to pretend to be a ram doesn't mean we couldn't be friends." Hasimir tries to explain, not quite understanding the hostility. "Gods know there's stranger things among the nobles of Oppara.""
Amandine tries to bob and weave away from the floating head Hasimir is attacking. She approaches the head on the other side of Dro'gan to engage with it while moving closer to the div.
Hasimir's mind works its way through the maze of the div's spell, finding a loophole that allows him to strike down one of the summoned creatures even while believing their mistress to be his friend.
Although Dro'gan's dagger swipes catch only empty air as the flapping heads bob and dart around him, Naliah and Amandine manage to wound them as they move to rescue their compatriot.
Vyranos, realizing that Hasimir isn’t going to snap out of the charm spell willingly, rolls his eyes and speaks an incantation.
Meanwhile the hound archon focuses its entire attention on the div herself.
Hasimir's mind suddenly feels magnitudes lighter as the div's spell upon him is broken.
Amandine uses her sword to turn aside the snapping maw of one of the flying heads, while another one lunges forth and nips at Vyranos after he finishes his spell.
The pairaka endures more futile scratches and bites from the monkey swarm as she steps back and aims her magic at the summoned archon. The spellcasters among you recognize that it is the same spell she used upon Hasimir. She maintains her concentration despite the grasping monkey paws, but the divine outsider aiding you manages to resist the spell's effects.
"Dear gods..." Hasimir's eyes widen as the charm is dispelled. "How could I have ever thought that blue... tart as a friend. I'm terribly sorry, friends. Vyranos, I thank you humbly for opening my eyes. Let me repay you by getting rid of that head-creature."
He takes a step closer to the flying head, and the cuts he makes with his fan happen faster than eye can follow.
Amandine continues to battle the head next to her, thrusting again with her rapier.
"I'll handle this Dro'gan. Can you do something about the pairaka? We should move on it while we have summoned help."
Taking the moment of respite Lady Amandine gives him, Dro'gan backs up a bit and reaches into his magical pack again. This time he whips out an old scroll and starts reading quickly, the words in old Draconic leaping from his lips as fast as he can read it...focusing on the Craptastic Pile of Trap!
If the scroll reader meets all three requirements (I do) but thier own caster level is lower than the scroll spell’s caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC = scroll’s caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully. If she fails, she must make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid a scroll mishap. A natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers. Activating a scroll is a standard action (or the spell’s casting time, whichever is longer) and it provokes attacks of opportunity exactly as casting a spell does. If the caster level check fails but no mishap occurs, the scroll is not expended.
Determine Effect: A spell successfully activated from a scroll works exactly like a spell prepared and cast the normal way. Assume the scroll spell’s caster level is always the minimum level required to cast the spell for the character who scribed the scroll, unless the scriber specifically desired otherwise.
The pile of junk and bloody blades begins to move towards the Div!
Huge Crap-tastic, Broke-ass-pile-of-Trap!(Animated Object!)
N Huge construct
Init -2 Senses darkvision 60, low-light vision; Perception -5
~
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch 6, flat-footed 15 (-2 Dex, +9 natural, -2 size)
hp 78 (7d10+40 +size)
Fort +2, Ref +0, Will -3
Defensive Abilities:
Hardness 5
Immune (Construct Traits)
CMB +19 CMD 27
Speed 30 ft.
Combat:
Melee Slashing Attack +15 (1d8+15)-Crit on a 19-20! (+5 ft Extra Reach)
+
Melee Piercing Attack +15 (1d8+15)-×3 multiplier on crits!
~
4 Construct points!
*Additional Attack (Ex, 1 CP): Gains an additional slam attack.
~
*Slashing Attack (Ex, 1 CP): Replace one slam attack with an attack that does slashing damage and has either a 19–20 threat range (for blade-like attacks) or a ×3 threat multiplier (for axe- or scythelike attacks). Replace all melee attacks for an additional +1 CP. Object abilities that specify slam attacks do not work on slashing attacks.
~
*Exceptional Reach (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains +5 feet of reach with one melee attack. Increase reach on all attacks for an additional +1 CP.
~
*Piercing Attack (Ex, 1 CP): Replace one melee attack with an attack that does the same amount of piercing damage and has a ×3 multiplier. Replace all melee attacks for an additional +1 CP. Object abilities that specify slam attacks do not work on piercing attacks.
As she reloads her crossbow, Naliah gasps as the trap comes to life and joins them as an ally. "Oh. Good show!"
She resolves to help finish off the minions in this case, and, stepping back, shoots a bolt at the nearest doru, swiftly reloads, and then fires another. If by chance the nearest doru is dead, she will aim for the next one.
As the second one lands directly in the creature's eye, Naliah smirks. "That's what you get for poor manners."
Now freed, Hasimir utterly annihilates the flying head betwixt him and Vyranos.
Amandine and Naliah eliminate the third and final head, thus freeing Dro'gan to demonstrate his magic ingenuity and conjure a jangling brute from the trapped junk set up by the div - thus having perhaps sown the seeds of her own defeat.
"AH, MOTHER OF-" Vyranos yelled out as he felt the div's fangs enter him. He then feels the poison enter his body. "Oh...that's not good..."
The archon continues its attacks on the main div.
The div finds her back literally up against the wall and can slip no further back from the hound archon, even though she evades and deflects its latest swings. Thus, she turns her own claws upon the good outsider.
She gouges at the archon, even as she is distracted by the rising of her own contraption and the continued tugging and pulling of the monkey swarm.
Naliah moves just a bit closer for a better view of the paraika while reloading her hand crossbow (), giving the div a good look, especially as she's now panicking, hoping to identify a weak point. . And then, of course, she shoots.
Naliah is certain she can get right at the monster's eye, but the movement of the swarming monkeys makes her aim just slightly off, still striking, but not as hard as she'd hoped.
With a 'CRUNCH-SKREEEEEE, CRUNCH-SKREEEEEE...' the 'Pile-o-Crap-Trap' scrapes its bulk across the stained floor of the slaughterhouse towards the Div, reaching out with a blood-stained scythe on a heavy chain and a wooden beam-arm with pitchfork welded to its end!
+
Smiling at the Div's situation suddenly getting much worse, Dro'gan shouts to the others.
"Stay back! Let the...animated trap-monster...rip the Div to shreds! Shoot the monster from range!"
Hasimir moves closer to the Paraika, but keeps his distance and studies his opposition. Perhaps the conjured servants are able to defeat the creature on their own.
Dro'gan is being very sensible, but Amandine doesn't have any adequate options for an attack at range. She moves closer to the paraika, but stops short of engaging it so she can get a feel for it as it fights the scrap construct.
Naliah's shot leaves a small but stinging wound upon the pairaka that distracts her long enough for Dro'gan's creation to deliver a stout blow with its amalgamated mass.
This is quickly followed up by two strong swings from Vyranos' summoned archon, and then a volley of magic missiles from the evoker himself.
The blue outsider is reeling, her natural defenses failing her. She takes a step back and, maintaining her concentration despite the clawing of the monkeys, begins to cast a spell...
AoO!
Pile-O-Crap-Trap!
The "fist" of Dro'gan's contraption comes within a few hairs' breadth of connecting with the pairaka, but sadly only clips a few summoned monkeys that get in the way.
The blue outsider completes her spell and blinks away from view, but rather than simply being invisible, you do not feel her presence nearby at all anymore.
The slaughterhouse floor is not quiet, though. As the summoned creatures return from whence they came, Amandine and Hasimir can hear something through the nearby wall.
It sounds like someone feebly pounding on the wall and calling for help.
Naliah frowns as the fiend disappears. "How rude. One should never leave a party so early." She puts away her crossbow.
"Are we safe from the ah... trap thing? I mean, clever trick. But what happens next?"
Dro'gan shrugs and waves the trap thing away.
"No idea. The scroll was pretty vague. Such magics are limited usually to attacking my enemies once the spell is cast."
After only a minute or so, both the Monkeys disappear and the Trap-Thing slows down to a screeching stop finally.
"Fun spell though. I will see if I can learn that one eventually..."
Dro'gan searches out the noise and checks the entrance doors to I4 on the map.
"I hope that was the last we saw of her." Hasimir states after looking around for any traces of the div.
"Meanwhile, let us have a look around in the rest of this place."
And seeing Dro'gan already at it, he moves by the door and is ready to give a second opinion about the possible traps.
Vyranos speaks to the hound archon.
The hound archon nods before vanishing. Vyranos then perks his ears as they say they hear something. He will also keep his eyes out for potential traps.
"You all right, Hasimir? You seemed rather confused for a bit."
She helps the others look for additional trouble.
"Let's start by tracking down that sound, like someone trying to get attention. Maybe a voice and pounding on a wall or a door."
Amandine switches her cold iron rapier for the enchanted one, and tries to track down what she's hearing.
"You all right, Hasimir? You seemed rather confused for a bit."
"I apologize. A bad judgement of character." Hasimir looks awkward. "Somehow she seemed trustworthy. Must be some abyssal tricks in play. I should not have succumbed to such."
Dro'gan smirks as he finishes looking for traps...
"Gotta' thing for horns, huh Hasmir? Its OK. I've seen it all. Pretty face, pretty horns, oozing sores...every guy's dream girl."
Disrupted from its original configuration by Dro'gan' magic, the pairaka's trap no longer poses a threat.
Similarly, none of you can identify any other traps rigged upon the series of doors upon the rooms occupying the southwestern corner of the slaughterhouse. Based upon the rubber edging, you suspect the second and third doors lead to meat lockers.
The odor that some of you detect, wafting out through the cracked rubber edging of the third door, reinforces this suspicion.
Opening the first set of doors, you find a long-disused storage room. Thick layers of dust suggest the creatures occupying the slaughterhouse have had little use for this room, although the dust is broken by the tracks left by its current occupant.
"Thank Abadar, you could hear me," sighs a human man. Dressed in tattered, dirty clothes that were once worth a fair bit of money, the twenty-something year-old slumps against the wall, sits down, and allows himself a moment of relief.
"I lost track of how long those demon women have kept my father and I captive here with their wicked wiles. I thought I would die, hiding in here. Whatever they did to me...I'm very sick. I can feel it," he groans.
Holding up his hands, Dro'gan waves the man back a bit.
"Hold up! Deception and magic are these monster's bag of tricks. Stand where you are and submit to examination first!"
He then casts a detect magic spell and if nothing appears to be off, he will cast another Detect Thoughts spell...
"Maybe one of these others with me can scan for poisons and diseases...and curses?"
School divination [mind-affecting]; Level bard 2; Casting Time 1 standard action; Components V, S, F/DF (a copper piece);Range 60 ft.;
Area cone-shaped emanation; Duration concentration, up to 1 min./level (D); Saving Throw Will negates (see text); Spell Resistance no;
DESCRIPTION:You detect surface thoughts. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or subject.
*1st Round: Presence or absence of thoughts (from conscious creatures with Intelligence scores of 1 or higher).
*2nd Round: Number of thinking minds and the Intelligence score of each. If the highest Intelligence is 26 or higher (and at least 10 points higher than your own Intelligence score), you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends. This spell does not let you determine the location of the thinking minds if you can’t see the creatures whose thoughts you are detecting.
*3rd Round: Surface thoughts of any mind in the area. A target’s Will save prevents you from reading its thoughts, and you must cast detect thoughts again to have another chance. Creatures of animal intelligence (Int 1 or 2) have simple, instinctual thoughts.
Each round, you can turn to detect thoughts in a new area. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.
"Demon women, I see..." Hasimir joins the conversation.
"My math might be wrong, of course, but I counted we have only met one thus far. So our apologies if we appear a bit suspicious."
Abadar has gifted him to peer into the souls of men, so Hasimir takes a judging look at the man.
Naliah doesn't approach him unless Dro'gan indicates he's safe. "What they did to you... can you tell me how you feel?"
Based on his appearance and anything he describes, can she tell if he is poisoned?
Hasimir detects no evil from the man. He also doesn't seem to be some sort of outsider in disguise.
Naliah suspects that rather than some poison, this man may be afflicted by a disease inflicted by the outsider the party just fought.
Dro'gan begins to read the man's thoughts as he is examined by the party. He picks up that the man's name is Erdmond, and he is quite traumatized by the ordeal these creatures have put him through.
What's more, Erdmond's memories suggest there are at least two and perhaps three more of those blue monster women inhabiting this place.
The forefront of Erdmond's mind, however, dwells upon his father, who is still being held in thrall by the leader of these monster women.
Dro'gan shakes his head sadly.
"I think the man is telling the truth here. He's sick and there are more of the blue-skinned Divs here holding his father in thrall. This definitely a source of one of the city's problems. We need to find the rest of these creatures and get rid of them...permanently."
Keeping his spell going, Dro’gan starts scanning the rest of the structure as best he can looking for more signs of minds that are not obvious.
"All right, good man. I see no evil in you." Hasimir agrees with Dro'gan, detecting no tarnished soul in the man.
"We will look for your father and his captors. Do you have any idea where they could be?"
The man, who formally introduces himself as Erdmond Navin, informs you that the leader of the divs, who still holds his father captive, keeps her personal room in the upper floor of the rightmost tower . He also mentions that the other divs use the upper floor of the middle tower as their own boudoir.
Some of the horrible experiences and hallucinations that Erdmond describes being inflicted upon him by the divs makes it abundantly clear that these blue fiends are almost certainly the cause of the terrible nightmares that have been plaguing the people of Yanmass.
Dro’gan frowns.
”So it is worse than I thought. Multiple divs here…and we barely survived fighting one of them! Now they probably know we are coming too. More traps? I would say we should just light this place on fire and burn it down around them, except that they appear to be immune to fire. Oh and they can summon allies at moment’s notice, and…fight like demons and devils combined. Did I miss anything?”
Naliah ticks a few items off her fingers. "And just as they are likely the source of the nightmares, that one shapeshifter did something to confuse Hasimir to think she was his friend. And this gentleman here has been made quite ill by them, although luckily or unluckily, I see no signs of poison."
She shifts her weight. "However, we've confirmed the cold iron can kill them and if any of you folk good with magic can bolster our defenses from enchantments, then that's a help. And it took that one woman a good six seconds or so to summon her friends, so we just need to disrupt that from happening before a summons completes itself. It is frightening. But I don't think it's hopeless." She slides a bolt into her crossbow before placing it in her magical quiver, where the firing mechanism can't accidentally trigger.
"Look, my assignments to this point have been entirely of the humanoid variety. And for better or worse, that's what I'm trained and skilled to deal with. To the point I almost worry if I'm ill suited for this assignment. But we're not in this work if we can't be adaptive. You were remarkably so in this last fight, Dro'gan. And if we leave now, they'll know we're onto them. So we must try to finish the job--flee of course if we must, but I don't think we must yet. Let us use our strengths to the best of our ability. This includes cleverness and stealth. I don't suppose any of you could make me invisible?"
Vyranos sighs, "If I had known we would deal with more than one fiend like that, I would've prepared some potions or scrolls or something. Unfortunately, I have nothing like that at my disposal."
Waving off the sniper's comments Dro'gan scratches his illusory head of long hair.
"I'm not suggesting we retreat, just mouthing off on our new worries as we continue. We have to deal with this now...we cannot wait. But that scroll I used was powerful and the only one I had of that nature. I can't guarantee anything like that again any time soon without some sort preparation in advance. I'm assuming these div are immune to poisons too. Right? Most fiends are resistant. If you have any tricks that will help here today, now is the time to find it and pull it out of your @$$."
He then pulls out and uses his Cure wand on Hasimir.
"I don't have any ability to make someone invisible. I have natural talents that allow me to blend with shadows easily, so I have never needed such before."
Amandine wishes she had something clever to suggest for dealing with a second div, but she doesn't All she can offer is a few minor tricks to potentially help here and there.
"I can make you invisible Naliah. I don't think the div we just killed saw through it when I used it before. I can also screen for traps as we move forward. I didn't do so before, but we've seen a few by now, and we don't need any mishaps wearing us down more on the way."
"Vyranos, if you have anything that can hurt her, I can set you up to cast, forcing bad fortune on her to make magic more likely to get through. What I don't have is anything that will harm her directly aside from my rapier."
"Maybe our best chance is to simply close the distance between her and us as fast as we can and mob her, force her to fight physically because she can't cast."