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The face seems to have an angry type of personality. It immediately fades away and appears out of the tree directly behind Lolly. In a hard voice, he yells out "We're not trees! You wouldn't understand my pain. Nobody does. What business do you have in the blighted forest!?"
Loudly, the face jovially responds "What am I? I'm a face in a tree of course! HAHA!"
Contrary to the other two, this face seems to act in a calm and rational manner. "Please excuse us, we are souls trapped in this very forest, and have seen many that wander through the cursed lands. Pray tell, what brings you to this blighted path?"
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Face #2 please.
Ridley is a dense sort, but perhaps will be able to figure something out this time. After taking a moment to listen to the faces, Ridley will turn to the Jovial face and engage it in conversation.
Well, obviously you are a face in a tree. But you could also be so much more than that! A fey perhaps... maybe a trapped spirit. Maybe an untrapped spirit who just loved the forest so much you stuck around! Maybe an illusion cast by a wizard. Oh, the possibilities are endless. C'mere, let me get a good look at you and see if we can figure it out.
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Kahwen is quite nonplussed by being surrounded by faces in trees. He doesn't know if the possibility that the trees will start to move and attack them or if the faces just come out of the trees to attack them is more disconcerting. But he's not sure what he would attack, or even if he should, so he tries to figure out what is going on.
"We are here to find a magical dagger," Kahwen answers the calm face, directly enough.
[b]"How did you get trapped here? Wait, could we get trapped here?" he squawked (literally.)
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Ridley finds it odd, although the face is calm, it doesn't like reason or logic.
"Hah! You are a funny man. Please please do look at my beautiful face. We could stare into each others eyes eternally!" the voice maintains a high spirit.
"The dangers beyond this forest is great, and we are a result of that. Lost souls and memories, we are cursed to roam the forest. Anyone who walks these paths may come to our fate at the hands of the Blight." The spirit explains.
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Lolly not usually good at making emotional appeals, nevertheless gives it a try with the angry tree spirit.
Well I'm sorry, I have a spirit that lives in me and can walk around, you see him their the green one. So I know the pain of being a spirit, I understand how hard it is to be something different than you use to be. You ask why we are here. You said it yourself this forest is blighted, we want to find out why and end it if we can.
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"Help us to end this blight. We are your best chance in a long while and while we are it, we can also take this chance to study what afflicts this part of the wood."
Heorn attempts to show off the one thing he is assured off. His knowledge....as he begins to explain what he knows about the natural order of things and invariably explains how it makes alcohol taste better.
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Addressing the calm face,
If you folks want some help clearing out this blight, there is no better group than the Pathfinders to do it for you. We have a legion of varied clerics, oracles, and paladins that do quite enjoy smiting some undead. In addition to that, our wizards and arcane magic users are second to none. Fireballs are particularly effective at killing mummies. And scholars that have encyclopedic knowledge on how to slay undead and purge the area of any residual taint. You might think a temple of Sarenrae might be better equipped - but you'd be wrong. While good at slaying undead, they lack the breadth of knowledge and abiltiies that Pathfinders bring to deal with both undead, as well as those who would create it, and any other fearsome creatures that might come along with the undead.
Before making his plea, Ridley will down extracts of heightened awareness and investigative mind.
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The whispering elevates all around you as you pitch ideas and show a strong appeal in wanting destruction of the blight. The faces are shocked, moved, worried, happy, a whole slew of emotions. The three faces speak in unison as they did at the start. "We shall lead you. Follow us."
The spirits move once more from tree to tree, but this time down a path for you to follow. As you travel along, more spirits reach out to speak to the brave heroes. Some explain their circumstances, mostly lost Fey who died at the blight, some even warriors from Ivvora's tribe, majority with only partial memories, but it becomes clear that every spirit here is somehow connected to the blight, the blight that was created by a creature called Mother Bloodleaf.
A while in, suddenly all the faces come to a halt, and vanish into the barks momentarily, a booming voice echoes from all around the forest.
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The leaves around you rustle unusually as a cold wind chills your spine. The booming voice, no where to be seen, continues engaging you as the faces continuously vanish and appear into the trees keeping a silence, but appearing curiously to observe the interaction.
"HAH! You! Weaklings! End the blight? Surely you are joking! You are not worthy to see me. You couldn't defeat me, what makes you think you can end the blight!" It mocks you, but also keeps an angry demeanor simultaneously.
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It is difficult to tell how much time has passed through the smothering canopy as Medda addresses the regrouped Pathfinder and Twinhorn forces. “The ancient battlefield is just beyond those trees. There, Ivvora and her comrades scattered an undead army, but the necromantic taint never left this land. Instead, the plants and animals have gradually absorbed the evil, encouraged by someone calling herself Mother Bloodleaf.
“We must strike as one, simultaneously attacking the corruption’s heart as well as the seedpods spread out around the swamp. Their destruction will unleash harmful energies, so we of the Twinhorn following shall head toward the center to ritually disperse that energy to keep it from festering anew! Each team should follow its Twinhorn mystic to an intended target, and from there, three blasts of a horn shall signal our attack. May Vildeis bless us as she did Ivvora before us!”
Medda, the Twinhorns, and the Pathfinders spread out and make their way through the woods to their striking positions. Even though much of the forest withers from some evil curse, eager faces flow from tree to tree as the friendly, whispering spirits encourage their would-be saviors onward.
Three blasts of a war-horn echo across the heavily forested battleground. As the Pathfinders rush toward their targets, startled figures with purple glowing eyes hurry toward the seedpods and the enormous dark flower at the heart of the swamp. A shriek carries over the battleground. “What treachery is this? My minions have fallen without so much as warning me? No matter, I shall rip out any trespassers’ souls and feed them to the blight!”
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After some time, the voice seems to have eventually leave for the time being, and you cautiously move forward and regroup with the rest of the Pathfinders and Twinhorns to embark on the final assault against the blight.
The ancient battleground has turned into a fetid swamp that fills the air with the scent of death and decay. Rusted weapons jut out from the patches of solid land. Here and there, skeletal remains and grimacing skulls clad in ruined iron peek out from the glowing mire. A seedpod pulsing with purplish energy grows on an islet across the swamp.
The spirits whisper amongst themselves as they come into view of the purple blighted seedpod, a large kernel with a hardened husk that pulses with purple light, and offer you aid, "We shall help you bring the downfall of the blight! You must destroy the pod!"
The swamp water glows unusually a light green tint, illuminating and creating visibility around the land.
But from around the corner, without warning, it seems a half-orc and a dire wolf have come into your view! They look as surprised to see you as you are them, and definitely look like they are going to get into a fight. The half-orc dresses in druidic green garbs, and carries a spear!
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Kahwen calls upon the blighted spirits for aid. Hoping to use the portal to get to the seed pod before the enemy druid can stop them.
"Lend us your aid, friends, so that we may aid you, as well!"
He fails to get the full aid he needs from them, but is able to slip through the portal they form.
He does not hesitate to plunge through the portal and continues a mad dash out the other side.
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I'll ask for resistances, immunities, weaknesses, special attacks, special defenses, special abilities in that order until I run out of questions.
Ridley moves to get into position to jump through the tree, then lobs a sonic bomb at extreme range towards the druid.
He misses terribly and doesn't hit anything.
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Ridley knows the throny vine plants to be something called as an assassin vine, resistant to cold and fire effects, and immune to electricity and has the typical plant immunities. It has a reach of 10ft and attempts to grapple, hinder (entangle) and constrict creatures to death.
While the pathfinders take their ground, the wolf immediately eyes for blood, and rushes through the to take a bite at Malvic. Malvic realises this early and his shield protects him from the wolves bite!
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"If you go through the portal, you can hold them at the fallen tree, Friends! If you can handle them, I'll take care of the seed pod!" Kahwen shouts from the other side of that fallen tree as he continues to plow forward
He doesn't bother trying to balance on the narrow fallen tree across the natural moat but just jumps across it, turning then to rush the seed pod.
With a Burst of Adrenaline Sir Trystas charges the giant wolf.
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Kahwen can't really see what's happening in the battle behind him, but his eyes take on an amused grin as he hears a bomb explode. That very likely means that Ridley is making sure that someone is having a bad day.
He trusts that his fellow Pathfinders are following through on their task of dealing with the wolf and half-orc. It is time for him to do what he has said.
It's probably not quite as good as an axe for this kind of work, but his elven curve blade is close enough to a machete that it should do the trick.
He swings at the seedpod with the long sword.
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If the phantom hits a creature with a slam attack, that creature must succeed at a Will saving throw DC = 13 or take a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting fear and emotion effect. Penalties from multiple hits don’t stack with themselves.
Lolly moves up behind Sir T and casts Chill Touch through the phantom.
The phantom fatigued from the last attack, receives the spell and reaches out to touch the wolf.
He then steps into the flank and slams the wolf twice.
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The pathfinders surround the wolf and swiftly take him out before the rest of the blighted creatures reach. But before the wolf goes down, he attempts to take the Phantom down, but is punished for not making the right moves.
The druid continues to move forward while buffing himself for the battle to come!
~~~