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Lucifer moves up to get into flanking position and does two quick thrusts at the enemy. "Go down!"
Debilitating Injury (Disoriented): Foe who takes sneak attack damage takes -2 attack penalty (-4 attack penalty if attacking Lucifer) for 1 round.
Bleeding Attack +4: Sneak attacks also deal 4 Bleeding/round.
Yanda - 56 dmg; 14 non-lethal dmg;0 temp hp (False Life);Protection from arrows (120, 20:00); Ablative Barrier (12/40, 20:00); Ant Haul (04:00); Orchid's Drop (20:00); Mutagen (13:20); Barkskin (14:05); unconscious;
Kala - 83 dmg; Aspect of the Bear (+2 Con, gives +6 hp); weapon dropped in square; dead;
Stinky - 65 dmg; dead;
Lucifer - 31 dmg; 2 STR dmg; disarming trap (2/?);Light & Darkness (r17);resist acid 10; poisoned (1/?) Fort save vs poison needed on your turn;
Tofang Revenant - 0 dmg (28 hp); 1 STR dmg; Heightened Awareness (13:00); Barkskin (13:00); cognatogen (13:05);
Tofang's dog II (13 hp, AC 13, 15 Con) - 32 dmg; dead;
Uhvat - 86 dmg; shield (12:52); dead;
Ashwell - 10 dmg; 3 images; mage armor (13:00); resist acid 10;
Uzar-Kus, Green serpentfolk - 117 dmg;
Stone snake heads spitting acid -
Giant Cyan cobra - ? dmg; no longer visible;
Tiawask - 80 dmg; wand of CMW; 20% miss chance; -2 attack penalty (-4 attack penalty if attacking Lucifer) for 1 round; Bleed 4;
Blue Constrictor Snake - 8 dmg; no longer visible;
Tofang rises from the dead, pistol in hand!
Ashwell circles around the statue to trap Tiawask in a flank.
Lucifer is unable to resist the poison in Tiawask's bite.
The wily rogue doesn't let a minor bit of poison slow him down. He gets into position and delivers two solid blows to their enemy, both of which hit, opening up a bleeding wound.
The poison continues to make him - slightly - weaker.
The trap spits at Lucifer but he is immune to acid now and can safely ignore it.
Tiawask, looking for the first time somewhat concerned, calls out to Ydersius for aid. "O Great one, let me feast on these Lightlanders' blood!"
... but she misses and her frown deepens. And blood pours from her wound.
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Yanda - 56 dmg; 14 non-lethal dmg;0 temp hp (False Life);Protection from arrows (120, 20:00); Ablative Barrier (12/40, 20:00); Ant Haul (04:00); Orchid's Drop (20:00); Mutagen (13:20); Barkskin (14:05); unconscious;
Kala - 83 dmg; Aspect of the Bear (+2 Con, gives +6 hp); weapon dropped in square; dead;
Stinky - 65 dmg; dead;
Lucifer - 31 dmg; 2 STR dmg; disarming trap (2/?);Light & Darkness (r17);resist acid 10; poisoned (1/?) Fort save vs poison needed on your turn;
Tofang Revenant - 0 dmg (28 hp); 1 STR dmg; Heightened Awareness (13:00); Barkskin (13:00); cognatogen (13:05);
Tofang's dog II (13 hp, AC 13, 15 Con) - 32 dmg; dead;
Uhvat - 86 dmg; shield (12:52); dead;
Ashwell - 10 dmg; 3 images; mage armor (13:00); resist acid 10;
Uzar-Kus, Green serpentfolk - 117 dmg;
Stone snake heads spitting acid -
Giant Cyan cobra - ? dmg; no longer visible;
Tiawask - 80 dmg; wand of CMW; 20% miss chance; -2 attack penalty (-4 attack penalty if attacking Lucifer) for 1 round; Bleed 4;
Blue Constrictor Snake - 8 dmg; no longer visible;
Tiawask is beyond startled to see Tofang rise from the dead. "My son slew you! I saw it! What foul necromancy is this? Ydersius, protect me from these monstrous invaders!"
Before she has time to do anything about it, however, Lucifer - with helpful assistance from Ashwell - hits her twice with his sneaky shortsword. She teeters from her wounds and then - with a loud retort - Tofang Revenant blasts her twice with his pistol! "Ydersius! Why have you forsaken me!?! Uzar-Kus, my son, I am coming to join youuuuuu...." She collapses with a thud, quite dead.
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Tofang also moves to Kala immediately.
"I ... I cannot believe that you saved us Ashwell and Lucifer! If you would not have joined our group then we would all be dead ... well ... I think that I am dead. But a force greater than life is allowing me to aid to take this evil cult out of the picture I think!!" Tofang says with an inexplicable determination.
When Ash moves to check on Kala he discovers that she is quite dead, well beyond the power of a healing potion. Uhvat and Stinky are also dead, as well as the poor nameless dog that has been carrying Tofang around. Tofang is, somehow, alive, at least for the moment. Yanda, on the other hand, is merely unconscious and could be revived with normal healing.
After Tiawask dies her form reverts to that of a serpentfolk, with perhaps something of a family resemblance to Uzar-Kus, though of course with only a single head.
It doesn't take long for the pathfinders to explore the last room of the level. This entire chamber is bathed in a green radiance emanating from the Emerald Spire that pierces the room. Carved into the wall around this pillar are large nests holding 14 pearly eggs.
It also appears as though a giant snake ordinarily resides here - perhaps as the guard for the eggs - though they quickly realize that this must be the same giant cobra that they slew at the start of the epic battle in the temple.
When the time comes to haul the bodies of their friends back to Fort Inevitable, Lucifer recalls that part of the telepathic suggestion from Tiawask, that he successfully resisted, involved returning through a passage at the bottom of the pool back in the sauna (where the three serpentfolk were defeated earlier).
When the group navigates this underwater passage - with difficulty no doubt given the need to pull the corpses out as well - they note that someone has left an arcane mark with the runes "TWSK" beneath the surface of the pool, marking the entrance to the submerged passage. When they swim through this passage they find themselves back at the very entrance to the level where, just a single hour before, they had first entered and been caught up by the magical transportation trap.
It is slow going to return to Fort Inevitable with all of the dead bodies and when they finally pass through the gates, to the tune of sad trombones, the normally grim hellknights appear especially morose watching them pass.
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Yanda is equally morose and the psychic wounds plague her far longer that the physical ones, which are easily healed whether by magic or rest. You can hear her mutter "I'm so sorry." in various forms throughout the trip and she takes special care with Kala and Stinky's corpse, which, might I add, is even stinkier in death.
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A tall, muscular Kellid woman with a prodigious hooked nose nods her greeting. "Hi. I'm Kala, and this is...Smelly." She indicates a bear splooting on the floor beside her. There's an awkward pause as she remembers that her animal companion is not her beloved wolverine, Stinky. Quickly stowing her grief, she composes herself enough to gruffly offer an extremely firm handshake. "Don't know how good he is in a real fight yet, but he's doing well in training."
The bear slowly lifts his eyelids. Wha? Oh, someone new. Lumbering to his feet, Smelly ambles over to Azreal, snuffs at him, then rises onto his back legs to give the newcomer a...well, a bear hug. That's what it is. Hiya newbie. You're my friend.
The musk of the bear is pungent at this range, and speaks to Kala's originality when she chose Smelly's name.
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Azrael makes a gesture and a spectral hand pats the large bear on the head. Stick close and we'll see how wicked those claws get with a little encouragement.
Greetings Kala. You can call me Azrael. Hope you don't mind me standing behind you and providing encouragement when the inevitable fight starts.
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Behind Azrael you suddenly see a frog like creature not more than 3 feet tall sitting on a dinosaur approaching.
The Grippli looks quite strange as the right half of his face is completely burnt and this burnt part of his face looks like black coal!
On top of the Grippli’s head you see the bones of a tiny animal which has been fixed like a crown or crude helmet to his head.
Aaftaab stays silent but bows slightly.
After some time watching the exchange with Azrael he shows a sign showing the Pathfinder society’s glyph of the open road.
Aaftaab points at the Velociraptor and the animal bones on his head.
”Hello, I am Aaftaab! This is Sabz. Do not dare to animate my crown .. no one!“
As the pathfinders - a mixture of battle scarred veterans of the Spire and new recruits who can barely conceive of the horrors that await them - make their way out of Fort Inevitable, one of the Hellknights at the gate looks on with amused pity. "Dyin' once down there weren't enough fer ye, were it? Heading back to die agin'?" But, like a typical Hellknight, he isn't much for conversation and he quickly turns back to his duties, lest one of his superiors overhear his banter and sentence him to a fortnight of potato scrubbing. There is nothing for the pathfinders to do but continue out of the Fort and down the dreary forest lane that leads to the entrance to the Spire. The Hellknight's mocking question rings in their ears, perhaps the last "civilized" conversation they will enjoy for some time.
The entrance to the Spire is much as they left it during their hasty retreat from the domain of Vissk-Thar and the journey back down into the depths is uneventful.
The pathfinders emerge from a long set of stairs onto a small landing. At the foot of the stairs, the passage leads off into a strangely angled foyer. Most of the walls have been reduced to rubble. One of walls connects to a small corridor, but the passage ends in a collapse after a few feet. In the southern wall of rubble, a small dark hole in the rock is the room’s only exit.
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"Well met Azrael. I'm Lucifer. I usually handle the traps and locks. Though I can be very helpful in fights when in the right situation."
Lucifer is a small gray skinned halfling-looking person.
Giving a cursory glance of the room, "Everything looks stable but that collapsed area was deliberate. Picks and mattocks most likely."
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Guy is a small mousy man the color of sand from head to toe. Seeing the bear go for a hug, he darts behind the largest impediment he can find and maintains his distance during travel. He looks a bit nervous and excited. Before the descent he asks if anyone is able to use a wand to cast mage armor on him.
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Aaftaab looks at Guy and Azrael and nods.
“You are new here as well … hopefully we don’t die. I was asked to come by Tofang who I know for the church of
The Calamitous Turn!!“
He looks at Kala and Lucifer and shakes his head.
“You two had to endure a lot. Maybe you’ll let Chaldira into your heart! I am your lucky charm this time!“ he says while petting his velociraptor animal companion. “This is Sabz. Your companion looks strong Kala … sorry your former friend died!“
He jump on his companion’s back.
“I am the crown prince of a proud Grippli tribe but I have to prove myself and find luck in this life so that I can bring all fortune back to my people! Which tribe do you all belong to?“ the grippli with the half burned face asks.
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Guy is a small mousy man the color of sand from head to toe. Seeing the bear go for a hug, he darts behind the largest impediment he can find and maintains his distance during travel. He looks a bit nervous and excited. Before the descent he asks if anyone is able to use a wand to cast mage armor on him.
Mental note: Guy's skittish. Gonna hafta protect him a bunch. Why's he here? Seems like he'd be better off in a library or temple or something. "Uh, sorry Guy. I can do some wands, but not that one. I'll, uh, try to keep Smelly from bugging you."
“I am the crown prince of a proud Grippli tribe but I have to prove myself and find luck in this life so that I can bring all fortune back to my people! Which tribe do you all belong to?“ the grippli with the half burned face asks.
Kala thought she had a firm handle on her grief, but this question scratches at wounds that still haven't fully healed, even after all this time. Her eyes go unfocused, though her face remains an impassive mask. After a long pause, she mumbles: "My tribe is from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, far to the north."
Glancing down the corridors, Kala concurs with the others. "So do we spend time digging this out with that hole at our backs, or do we take the easy route that's probably trapped and ambushed? Me, I'd rather clear that hole-area first." She picks up a fist-sized stone and casts light on it, holding it up to see better. "I could throw this through that hole there. See what's ahead?"
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Looking a bit embarrassed and self-conscious, Guy mumbles "Not very good at that stuff. I'd probably drop a rock on someone's foot."
Indeed, during the trip you would probably have noticed the Guy is accident prone. Not supernaturally so, just uncoordinated.
"But I agree that digging it out now makes more sense that trying after we get all beat up or are being chased by something big with sharp teeth."
At which point Guy gives the animal companions a warry glance, both of which fit that description.
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"I do!" Guy pulls out his Traveler's Any-Tool and with a few hesitant twists and one awkward moment when he struggles to pop a joint and almost pops his own joint, he has a pick.
"Ta da!" he exclaims as he hands the thing to Azrael.
"It can also do a shovel. Remarkable contraption, but hella expensive, at least compared to a normal shovel or pick."
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"I got one of those too. Okay, looks like we're digging. Azrael and I will do it. Let's see how long this takes. Lucifer, can you keep watch down that other hole so we don't get ambushed?" Kala digs out her Traveler's Anytool and twists it into a shovel while directing Smelly to sit in the corner out of the way.
Huh. That actually worked. Odd how both he and Stinky had trouble with 'sit' and 'stay', but could do more complex battle commands without any trouble. She'll have to puzzle that out later. There are rocks to move.
Glancing at Azrael, she suggests: "You loosen it, I move it? We can switch when you want."
When the pathfinders emerge onto this level they find that it is in pitch darkness, with no light sources whatsoever.
After a bit of digging in the rubble, the pathfinders can easily determine that clearing a path through the collapsed passageway to the west will certainly take several hours of hard labor, and will also likely be quite noisy.
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Thank goodness! Kala wasn't really looking forward to moving rocks for hours on end, so she's relieved when the group decides to take the hole route. "How about those who can see in the dark go first and let us bigger ones know if there's anything on the other side that'll kill us while we're squeezing through?" She stows her anytool and casts light on her shield. Hope I don't get stuck. Wonder how long it'll take to get the scratches out of my armor when we're done.
The passage opens into a severely damaged chamber. Rubble torn from the excavated walls lies everywhere. Across the room stand the remains of a dividing wall now torn down to its foundation. The far wall is piled with slabs of broken stone. In a few places, badly damaged remains of ancient glyphs can still be seen.
With his keen eyes, Aaftaab spies two exits from the chamber: one is directly across from the hole through which they have entered - this hole is surrounded by more rubble but he is able to discern an exit concealed there.
He also spots the outline of a secret door to the West.
Lucifer finds that the door is locked.