Sahess flies at the black Bugbear and rages and slices at the bugbear!
Jordan then shoots at that same bugbear!
Attack: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (13) + 19 = 32
Damage: 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (5, 1) + 14 = 20 plus Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 1
But despite all that the bugbear is still standing.
The warrior on the bridge stands his ground and shouts
The warrior’s shout catches the attention of all other people in the cavern, who turn to him to see what is going on and consequently sees you all!
Round 1
Field Effects: Haste, Good Hope
================
Arnaut (invisible)
Sahess
Jordan
Warrior (Delaying)
Zhu Li
Bugbears (Black: -60)
Cale the Calistrian
Green
Scallywags
================
|
Zhu Li slips off the cliff nimbly, rushing down with Sahess to flank the bugbear with her, assuming her Kirin stance as she moves.
Her rapier comes free of the sheath as she blurs through the cave under the effects of the Haste spell, attempting to harry the bugbear with a hasty strike of her own.
Unfortunately, she stumbles over a stone, her strike skittering across the floor as she aborts her lunge to recover her footing.
1:6
2:3
3:2
4:3
5:1
The white bugbear charges Zhu Li with the sound of a war cry!
Black steps out of being flanked and attacks Sahess!
Cale the Calistrian—still a walking, talking skin-suit, stares at the new guests and smiles wickedly as he casts a spell.
”Archers! Focus on the snake-woman! She’s the primary threat! Teko—“
The warrior glares at Cale. ”Tell me what to do, Cale, and I’ll finish what the Tien woman started.”
“Duly noted. Geppa, take care of the two in the—huh? One. Two. Three. One of them’s missing! Geppa, would you please make sure one of them’s not invisible?”
The woman in green—Geppa —nods as she herself casts a spell.
”You were right, Cale, one’s invisible. I’ll take care of it.”
The woman casts a spell and suddenly a horde of…
…appear out of the ground and wrap around Arnaut’s and Jordan’s bodies!
The two scallywags step to the right and shoot their arrows down on Sahess!
*
Round 2
Field Effects: Haste, Good Hope
================
Arnaut (-10) {invisible, grappled}
Sahess (-6)
Jordan (-10) {Grappled}
Teko (Delaying)
Zhu Li (-7)
Bugbears (Black: -60)
Cale the Calistrian
Geppa
Scallywags
================
The black black tentacles tentacles vanish!
”Lies! Your foreign ways do not affect me, woman! You shall die for what you did to me!”
Round 2
Field Effects: Haste, Good Hope
================
Arnaut (-10) {invisible}
Sahess (-6)
Jordan (-10)
Teko (Delaying)
Zhu Li
Bugbears (Black: -60; White: -15)
Cale the Calistrian
Geppa
Scallywags
================
”Then I shall drag you with me to the grave!”
Jordan’s first two attacks knock the first scallywag to the ground! The next two hurts that scallywag badly, but he’s unfortunately still standing.
Cale points his finger towards Zhu Li.
”I STAB AT THEE WITH MY HEART!!!”
Five bullets of force shoot out from Cale’s finger and strike at Zhu Li.
Geppa, seeing the invisible Arnaut moving, quickly hurls a ball.
The ball then explodes in a burst of the worst thing known to all of mortalkind: glitter!!!
Geppa then focuses her energy with all her might as a ball of fire the size of a pinecone shoots from her hand!
The “acorn” lands amid the trio of adventurers and violently explodes outward, sending an overwhelming wave of heat coursing throughout the chamber!
The three Pathfinders dodge out of the way of the not-so-subtle attack, but are still hampered by 33 points of fire damage!
The remaining scallywag sees his friend fall and turns his attention to Jordan!
The warrior, Teko, points his longsword at Sahess.
”Enemy of the Raven! Step up that you may show the world your mettle!”
Round 3
Field Effects: Haste, Good Hope
================
Arnaut (-43)
Sahess (-39)
Jordan (-10)
Teko (Delaying)
Zhu Li (-52)
Cale the Calistrian
Geppa
Scallywag (-48)
================
|
|
Zhu Li drinks another vial , to no apparent effect, before moving closer to Arnaut, holding out a hand for him. "Sahess, Arnaut, just like the armory," she says in a normal speaking voice, hopefully not loud enough for Cale to hear at this distance. Louder, she calls, "Last chance, Cale! You're hanging by my thread! If I cut it, you're done. Your body's destroyed, and I'll burn your skin myself. No more chances! No coming back from this!"
Jordan kills the last scallywag, but is only able to hit Teko with his second-to-last shot
Arnaut pulls out a scroll, steps over, and readies to cast dimension door once Sahess takes a five-foot step. Sahess steps back and Arnaut’s readied action goes off as the group teleports to the other side of the chasm, and Sahess full-attacks Geppa!
With her last swing Sahess chops Geppa’s head clean from her body!
Teko is shot by Jordan and glares at the bard. ”’Peasantries’?!” He then hustles up to Jordan .
Cale watches with shock and awe as Sahess kills Geppa. His shock deteriorates as his face twists into laughter and glee. He catches his breath once more before announcing ”May she smile upon us!”
Cale then jumps down off of his perch before turning around and casting fireball right on top of the clustered group of adventurers .
Arnaut and Sahess take 20 fire damage, while Zhu Li takes 41.
As Zhu Li falls to the ground, Cale laughs maniacally once more.
”Not before I burn you!”
Round 4
Field Effects: Haste, Good Hope
================
Arnaut (-60)
Sahess (-56)
Jordan (-10)
Zhu Li (-90)
Teko (-25)
Cale the Calistrian
================
|
Sahess, forgoing all semblance of restraint, flies through the air at their remaining foe (with haste, no worries about movespeed. Even if I call it 30, at double, I'm golden). She practically smashes into him before bringing the sword down in a vital strike. She similarly channels her rage into the strike to just make it HURT. "Dragons do not burn... though they burn you."
|
|
"Arrogant and more useful alive, and if he's working with the Raven I doubt he was completely irredeemable. Plus, five years in this line of work, and I'm dead sick of nobody being quick-witted enough to banter even a little bit. Hearing people scream praises to the Runelords, or Shax, or Lamashtu... gets kinda frustrating after a bit. You need variety in your life."
|
Seeing only the lone opponent remaining, Arnaut pants and raises a hand. "By the Eternal Rose, let us cease this unnecessary bloodshed!" The sound of a songbird fills the cavern, its otherworldly melody so beautiful it is almost painful to hear. As it bounces from ceiling to floor to wall, the sound becomes stronger and stronger near Jordan and his pursuer.
Teko lowers his sword slightly.
|
|
"Okay. Listen, friend. Our party got crashed, the loser got killed, and then y'all used OUR portals. We're here to make sure these portals aren't going to be used again, and to talk to the Red Raven. Assuming he talks, we leave all peaceful like, and all your problems stay gone. Sounds like a good deal to me, whatd'ya say?" Jordan lowers his bow.
As Arnaut’s spell runs out the warrior looks at you all in turn before lowering his sword.
”Fair enough.” He turns to Zhu Li. ”You really pissed off Cale. More than a little cathartic to see the loud-mouth get his comeuppance—gotta admit, though, a part of me’s gonna miss that hateful man.
“Look, anything you have to say with the Raven isn’t my business—I am simply muscle following orders. If you want to talk to the Raven then by all means.” He gestures toward the northwestern passageway, pauses a moment, then adds ”Your sword’s upstairs.”
Teko doesn’t say a word as you all loot the corpses only to find literally nothing of note—nothing, that is, except for a ring on Geppa’s finger that seems to hum with magical power. If/when someone puts the ring on, they get an instinctual feeling to say a certain phrase—as if the ring itself were telling you its command word:
”Zaliex, rise from the ashes.”
As the phrase is uttered a loud CAW resonates from deep inside the deep chasm—rising like a rocket erupts a Gargantuan raven of brilliant red and orange plumage—As you all watch, the creature’s appearance shifts from that of a raven to an appearance similar to that of the rest of its kind—phoenixes.
The phoenix perches on the edge of the chasm and bows deeply to the wearer of the ring, then to the rest of you almost as an afterthought. ”Greetings. I am Zaliex—but my now-former owners referred to me as the Raven Spirit . I am at the service of the bearer of the phoenix ring, crafted long ago by my original master: the Pathfinder Lord Teppin Montrose. How may I be of service?”
The wearer of the ring also intuitively knows of another of the ring’s abilities: as a free action they can change Zaliex’s energy type from fire to any other energy type (except force).
|
|
Aranaut is surprised as Zaliex appears, but even more startled when she mentions Montrose. "Isn't that the fellow the Raven was avenging?" he asks his companions before turning back to Zaliex and giving her a sweeping bow. "Greetings to you, fair Zaliex. I only wish it were under better circumstances. Pray tell, how did you come to be bound to this ring? And what do you remember of Lord Teppin Montrose? Much of our knowledge of the Pathfinder Society from those years has become lost, and it would do the Society good to hear of their forebears."
Zaliex raises his wings in a majestic pose. ”Master Montrose was a cruel and indifferent man. The man captured me decades ago in the Windswept Wastes, several thousand miles to the east. Master Montrose bound me to the phoenix ring and this chamber—I may never leave. It was not long ago that I found the ring to be in the possession of a new individual: the Red Raven and his paramour.” The phoenix’s tone turns soft and kind. ”The Raven, while ambitious to a fault, has a noble heart and, unlike my previous master, listens to his conscience and knows right from wrong. Upon learning of my unfortunate binding, the Raven made this chamber into his…oh, what is the right word? ‘Batcave’? Yes, I think that’s it. He made this chamber into his ‘Batcave’ in order to utilize my capabilities in defense of ‘the Mob,’ though I am unsure what he meant by that.”
Zaliex sighs, its breath causing small pieces of rubble to fly around like dust. ”But I wish to see Sarenrae’s dawning once more—I do not wish to be imprisoned, forced to become a slave to any who would see itself as my ‘master’! Master, I have a request of you,” The fiery bird leans down to make eye contact with Arnaut. ”Please, will you gift me the phoenix ring that I may once and for all destroy it? While doing so may not free me from my prison, I will at least be allowed control over my own actions—that amount of freedom will suffice for now.”
Zaliex looks at Zhu Li in confusion.
I cannot fulfill orders that I cannot do—I am bound here, ordering me to do otherwise does not change anything.”
”How are you bound here?”
The bird shrugs. ”Magic.”
As Arnaut gifts Zaliex the phoenix ring, the phoenix takes the ring and plops it into its beak, swallowing it.
”Thank you! I shall assist you in any way that I can.”
Zaliex takes the time to cure all of you of the wounds that you have accumulated thus far.
A thin, winding passage leads up a steep incline from the massive cavern below to a dead end that is clearly the obscured side of a secret door. The door stands ajar just a crack, but appears to be built into the altar of a small private chapel. Light from stained glass windows above the altar suggests that you’ve reached the surface. Within the secret door, on your side of the chapel, a rough red cloth cloak and the headdress of the Red Raven hang from a wooden peg in the wall. A basin of water nearby is tinged red and a fresh pot of red paint sits next to the basin.
The secret door from the tunnel leading down into the Raven’s Roost opens into the false facade of an altar in an austere chapel dedicated to Abadar, Master of the First Vault. Numerous lit candles flicker from shelves built into the whitewashed walls, which extend thirty feet to end in what must be some sort of spire or steeple. The upper walls of the structure bear huge stained-glass windows. From the light illuminating their colorful scenes it’s clear you’ve emerged onto the surface. Two huge double doors on the far wall, about 20 feet away, stand open just a crack, revealing a sliver of the courtyard beyond. Several figures throng the yard, jeering and yelling. Inside the chapel, though, all is quiet.
More than a dozen angry Galtan citizens—torches and pitchforks in hand —throng the narrow courtyard of the keep, crowding around a tall wooden guillotine erected on the far end . Four tall, gaunt human men wearing long gray coats and armed with sturdy halberds patrol the angry Mob, keeping the peace while at the same time cheering along with the bloodthirsty crowd. Howls of and emerge from the loud din of the rabble. A richly garbed man wearing an absurd hat festooned with ribbons and badges looks down on the crowd from atop the courtyard wall, unfurling a scroll and preparing to speak. As the crowd shifts to reveal the guillotine, the focus of all the anger becomes clear. Kneeling in the mud, his neck exposed to the guillotine’s blade, is a dark-haired human man dressed in familiar red leather armor.
screams the hat-wearing man atop the courtyard wall.
Aric, his head positioned at the bottom of the guillotine, says nothing.
|
|
Zhu Li looks down at the crowd, rolling her eyes. The red face paint... it could be nothing. There are any number of things it could actually be... and if this man dies, they'll never have an answer.
"Guys. I have good odds that that man is the Red Raven, and I'm not up for letting anyone die to the Gardeners today. I'm pretty sure I can distract the crowd. Sahess, can you stay with me? Keep them from crushing me in a riot? Arnaut, Jordan, do you think you could free him?" She pulls out a missive sealed with the Chileaxian emblem, like many she and Jordan have seen from Zarta Dralneen's desk. "I'm going to deliver a message."
|
|
"If you say so," Arnaut says, eyeing the missive curiously. Pulling out his trusty scroll of invisibility, he looks at the scaffolding carefully. "I think I can stop that blade in a hurry, or keep the crowd from getting too rowdy," he murmurs to Jordan, "but with everything else that's been going on today, let's not take any chances."