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Setare calms down a bit but adrenaline still pumps in her veins and her voice is strong.
”What would have created such a strange being! I’m alright but this could have killed innocents if we would not have been here! Let us go further!!“
"Indoor voice, please." Rilia says examining the golem.
She starts to run into the remaining rooms checking those.
As the little woman rushes off, Rilia pulls out a small metal file and rubs it along a damaged nail. "Stop. Don't. Come back." she says distractedly while concentrating on her filing.
She looks up at everyone else. "I don't suppose the rest of would care to just wait and let her alert all the guards and trip all the wards do you?"
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The door opens easily and you all file through to the other side. A chandler’s working clothes lie scattered around this simple room. A mattress lies along the wall, and stacks of ledgers block access to the wardrobe. In one corner, a trap door covers what looks to be stairs leading down.
______________________
Status:
Barley (43/43 hp)
Etienne (20/20 hp)
Hoprah (27/27 hp)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
Rilia (25/25 hp)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp)
_____________________
Current Effects: None.
_____________________
.
_____________________
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As Setare is at the trap door, Barley pauses at the stack of ledgers and picks one up, looking where or what might have happened to the chandler.
Not seeing anything that plainly says 'I did it', he hands the book off to Etienne. He then picks up the clothes with a sai, checking to see any signs of foulplay.
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Barley does not find anthing of interest in the cramped quarters, so you all prepare to descend down the trap door. Unfortunately, as the ifrit paladin grasps the handle, an arc of electrical energy shoots out from the trap door, arcing from Setare and traveling over to the ninja!
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Status:
Barley (43/43 hp, Reflex save pending)
Etienne (20/20 hp)
Hoprah (27/27 hp, Mage Armor)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
Rilia (25/25 hp)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp, Reflex save pending)
_____________________
Current Effects: Hoprah Light, Message.
_____________________
.
_____________________
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As her two companions get shocked, Kit shouts "OUCH!" with such heartfelt vigor that you would have sworn she was the one that was shocked.
Kit motions to Kane as if to say 'you first'.
Kane responds with a vigorous shake and motions Kit forward first.
Kit more insistently waves Kane forward and Kane responds with his own insistent motion. This goes on for a while until the pathfinders sort themselves out or the two tire of the game, whichever comes first.
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Barley was holding a metal sai at the perfect moment when Setare springs the electric trap. The jolt sends him into the wall, then down as heaping pile on the floor, "Ow my head..." He rolls over and shakes off the buzz. "I'll be ok," he says as he opens a medicine box and produces a wand. Evoking his master's name, "Pinche", he waves the wand a couple of times to activate the healing magic. "Maybe you better take the rear guard Setare, in case there are trap doors behind us."
, 3 charges
"On second thought, the trap is already sprung, you go ahead. I'll be over here.", and Barley takes the rear guard.
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Seeing the trap door is no longer trapped the ifrit proceeds down the stairs and into the basement. This room is piled high with crates and boxes filled with candles and packing material. Though there was once some semblance of order to this place, it is long gone as spools of twine, pots of dye, and other elements of candle manufacture have been dumped here haphazardly.
Of note here is the corpse of a young female woman splayed out on the ground in a pool of blood, with a large gash in her throat.
Before you can move to investigate the corpse, the temperature seems to drop rapidly as a pair of shadowy wisps, vaguely humanoid in outline, coalesce and move towards you!
.
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Round 1:
Etienne (20/20 hp, Mage Armor)
Rilia (25/25 hp)
Barley (43/43 hp)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp)
Hoprah (27/27 hp, Mage Armor)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
====
??
_____________________
Current Effects: Hoprah Light, Message.
_____________________
.
_____________________
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No warrior herself, Kitoro begins a bardic performance, this time deciding to take a crack at an oratory.
"Choose life, my friends, not death nor undeath. For you join one favored by Sarenrae and under her protection, and the dead shall fall dead once again and the sun will warm your faces soon."
There, that should perk the little cleric up.
Then she pulls out her crossbow for all the good it will do her and smushes herself into the corner.
Aiming her voice to the group behind her she adds in a way she hopes Setare cannot hear, "uh, guys, Serare could use a little help down there," and waves the others past her.
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Etienne moves down the stairs at the start of the commotion.
Seeing the shadows, Etienne casts chill touch and then delivers it via a Harrow card flicked towards the more southernly creature.
2dex+1BAB+1magic deck+1pbs+1inspire courage
Will Save DC 15 or panicked and flees for rounds.
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Rilia who is never shocked by anything (including traps apparently), waits patiently above with the shorter, rotund ninja. This sort of thing never happened to her back in the schoolyards of her youth when teams were chosen. It certainly was a mental image anyway.
"Choose life, my friends, not death nor undeath. For you join one favored by Sarenrae and under her protection, and the dead shall fall dead once again and the sun will warm your faces soon."
Aiming her voice to the group behind her she adds in a way she hopes Setare cannot hear, "uh, guys, Serare could use a little help down there," and waves the others past her.
"Oh what now? Did she find a big chest that's trying to gobble her up? And what are you sniggering at, man?"
Suspecting something evil given Kitoro's none-too-subtle oratory Rilia clutches her rapier and provides herself some magical protection first.
She lightly storms down the stairs, coming to rest beside Kitoro. She looks around.
"What?" she demands.
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”Holy おもち!” Barley exclaims when he sees the shadows. He takes a defensive stance, and still holding the healing wand, goes with his intuition on dealing with undead creatures.
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Etienne realizes these shadows are indeed incorporeal, which means non-magical weapons are useless against them, much to Setare's dismay. Also their very touch drains a person's strength from their bodies. Even worse a person slain by a shadow will create a spawn of that shadow as well! Shadows have decent saves yet their willpower is their strongest, which does not stop Etienne from using his own magics against it...
One of the shadows abruptly turns and flees away from the battle and into the wall!
Rilia bolsters her own defenses while Kitoro inspired the Pathfinders onto greatness. Still, as Setare rushes forward to attack the remaining shadow she sees her blows travel right through the shadowy form, but Barley is there to back her up, using the positive energy in his wand to damage the shadow!
The remaining shadow concentrates on the one who successfully damages it, reaching out to touch Barley...
,
...managing to breach the ninja's defenses and sapping his strength!
______________________
Round 2:
Etienne (20/20 hp, Mage Armor)
Rilia (25/25 hp, Protection vs. Evil)
Barley (43/43 hp, 4 STR damage)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp)
Hoprah (27/27 hp, Mage Armor)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
====
Shadow #1 (Panicked until round 6.)
Shadow #2 (-9 hp)
_____________________
Current Effects: Hoprah Light, Message,
_____________________
.
_____________________
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Kit curses and just drops her crossbow, instead activating her spring loaded wrist sheath to draw her wand of CLW, making a mental note to get some quarrels with ghost salt on them.
Muttering the command work, 'help me!' she advances on the shadow and
attempts to touch the thing and damage it with the stored positive energy.
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Barley is completely surprised that using a healing wand against the undead actually worked. Before he can celebrate any win, he almost drops it suddenly feeling like he was holding a polearm. If he took another ghostly blow, he'd become a liability to the mission, so he lets the others in with thier wands.
[Withdraw]
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Hmm...
"I cannot hurt them!” Setare exclaims when she sees the shadows hurting Barley.
Hmm...
"Choose life, my friends, not death nor undeath...."
"Ah!"
Rilia lowers her rapier. She traces a finger around the holy symbol tattooed around her exposed navel, and calls upon the aid of the Lady in the Room. "Calistria! Feel her sting!"
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Rilia sends a wave of positive energy over the undead shadow...
...and it shrugs off most of the effect!
While Kitoro fails to strike the shadow Setare is able to damage it further, allowing Barley a chance to withdraw.
______________________
Round 2:
Etienne (20/20 hp, Mage Armor)
Rilia (25/25 hp, Protection vs. Evil)
Barley (43/43 hp, 4 STR damage)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp)
Hoprah (27/27 hp, Mage Armor)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
====
Shadow #1 (Panicked until round 6.)
Shadow #2 (-14 hp)
_____________________
Current Effects: Hoprah Light, Message, Kitoro: Inspire Courage .
_____________________
.
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Etienne holds off on his magicks for the moment, thus allowing the shadow to strike again...
,
...yet the paladin easily dodges the blow!
_____________________
Round 3:
Etienne (20/20 hp, Mage Armor)
Rilia (25/25 hp, Protection vs. Evil)
Barley (43/43 hp, 4 STR damage)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp)
Hoprah (27/27 hp, Mage Armor)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
====
Shadow #1 (Panicked until round 6.)
Shadow #2 (-14 hp)
_____________________
Current Effects: Hoprah Light, Message, Kitoro: Inspire Courage .
_____________________
.
_____________________
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Setare fails to connect with her target and Barley's arrow flies straight through the shadow's body without effect! Fortunately the combined efforts of Rilia and Kitoro is enough to scatter the shadow's essence to the void!
Despite waiting for several moments the other shadow does not return to face you, thus leaving you a chance to examine the corpse.
______________________
Status:
Barley (43/43 hp, 4 STR damage)
Etienne (20/20 hp, Mage Armor)
Hoprah (27/27 hp, Mage Armor)
Kitoro (31/31 hp)
Rilia (25/25 hp)
Setare Katsu (32/32 hp)
_____________________
Current Effects: Hoprah Light, Message.
_____________________
.
_____________________
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Kitoro whirls around, wand held out like it is some kind of sword, bully expecting to see a shadow emerge from the wall behind Setare. Seeing nothing she glares at Rilia and then gives a hearty laugh.
"Got me!... Can someone who knows something about these things take a look at the body here and see what you can find out?"
Kitoro herself backs off, up the stairs to be a 'lookout', half expecting the corpse to rise as another shadow. Undead have that annoying way of reproducing themselves.
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A closer look reveals this looks like, thanks to Gavril's description, the lifeless body of Catalina the chandler. Her corpse is splayed out on the ground in a pool of blood, and she has a large gash in her throat, which looks like it was the cause of death. Interestingly enough, the wound does not look like it was caused by any weapon you have seen before.
On Catalina’s corpse, you also find a key to a lockbox, a ring, two potions, and an everburning torch. The ring and potions do radiate magic.
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"These are magical, but I'm afraid I can't tell you what they are."
"Friend Barley, let's see if we can't do something about that nasty wound the shadow gave you!"
Looking at the murdered corpse of Catalina, Hoprah shakes her head. "This is a nasty business, no doubt about it. What do you think made that wound?"
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Barley offers his numb arms to Hoprah, and in utter awe when a user of arcane magic heals him. "How .......did you do that? I still have much to learn of these things." he whirls his arms like a windmill, feeling sensation returning.
"I am in your debt, Hoprah."
As for the dead woman, he pauses for Kit, expectantly looking to cleric Rilia to check the body.
"Maybe something came out of her throat?"
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Setare is really astounded to see Hoprah provide such aid.
”You ha... have such a goo ... good heart Hoprah! What do we do with this poor soul? Do we nee ... need to look throu ... through the rest of the hou ... house to be sure no more dan ... danger awaits us?“ Setare says still shocked by the woman’s death and these creatures.