The shaken Aira is unable to withstand the blast of colors. Blinded she holds her hands to her eyes as she can't even move.
HP 31/31; Swift Refuge: 0/1
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16, CMD 18 (+1 dodge bonus against Large creatures; +2 vs. Huge or bigger creatures)
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1
Challenge: 1/1; Tactician (5 rounds): 0/1; Champion challenge: 0/1
Effects: shaken, blinded and stunned 3 rounds, stunned 1 round
"Aah!" Mithralline cries out as the lights overcome her.
Thras did not even see his allies falter as his rage swelled, eyes shooting with lines of gold as his muscles swelled!
Damn. That blast caught Mith and Aira hard. I need to see if I can do something else to slow this creature down.
Sarela moves closer and casts another spell, this time firing a blackish-purple ray to try and sap Pedipalp's Strength.
Sarela's spell misses as both Mithralline and Aira go down for the count due to the color spray spell. Despite this however, Thras shreds flesh from Pedipalp at an alarming rate. Even with her damage resistance, even with her innate healing abilities, it's clear he's winning the battle against her.
And she knows it.
The look on her face switches from one of confidence to more of a panicked expression as she realizes she's losing more blood than she's healing. Even with two down, this big guy was a problem and need to be dealt with.
She casts another spell in an attempt to get him away from her, once more successfully casting it despite him being in front of her. "You can't stand me, can you!? Get away from me!" she chitters at Thras.
Thras's stomach suddenly turns at the woman. The way her flesh felt, the disgusting appearance. He could not stomach it. Thras vomits, spraying chunks of half-digested food over the ground as he retreats.
Things had gone badly - very badly. Mith and Aira were stunned from that brilliant flash of color, Thras had fallen violently ill and was forced away from Pedipalp, and Aralah was still recovering from her illness. It appeared they were doomed. Perhaps they could run away? But then Pedipalp would come after them, and she could heal from her wounds. They had to stop her now. Sarela moved up next to Mithralline and pulled the mithral warhammer from her pack, holding it in both hands. It wasn't as heavy as a normal warhammer, but the grip was still unfamiliar to her, and she held it awkwardly.
Sam calls out "Sarela! What's going on with all this?"
A spell that makes someone sick and forces someone away from you.
"Sam, she cast a spell that makes someone sick and compels them to keep their distance from an object or creature. Aira and Mith look to be stunned, and the way they're covering their eyes, I don't think they can see."
Sam moves over a bit and calls out to Thras "Jump down here, Thras! And I can help with that!"
Sam's magic washes over Thras, shielding him from the hostile compulsion making his stomach turn.
Pedipalp is infuriated that Thras once more is able to overcome her spell. She chitters at him in frustration and tries to cast another spell defensively. This time however, her agitation costs her and she is unable to finish the spell properly and loses it before it can be cast.
Thras turns with a boiling vengeance. He wipes the bile from his mouth and draws the long-hafted sword he's been holding onto. He begins to crouch and shudder, and like a fire roaring to life he roars and crashes back into Pedipalp!
This was probably the most foolish thing Sarela had ever done. She was no warrior, no fighter, to engage with someone in hand to hand combat. Still, here she was, unfamiliar warhammer in her hands, preparing to do something that would probably get her killed. As she stepped up, she began muttering, "I'm tired, I'm upset, I'm depressed, and I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!" She steps up to Pedipalp as she yells the last bit and swings the hammer with all her might.
Sam cheers as she sees Thras leap back into the fray with a vengeance and her cheer pulses power and energy into her allies.
Sam blesses the two melee fighters, but only Thras's attack connects.
Thras's naginata slams into Pedipalp, cutting her badly. Though the weapon is less effective than he'd like and though he strikes clumsily with it, it seems to do the trick. Not only does Pedipalp go down, her regenerative abilities seemingly cease to heal her from the injuries she just took.
Pedipalp had done nothing to show she deserved any kind of mercy, and Thras was far from being in a merciful mood. He kicks her over, laying out her neck, and brings down the silver blade to take her head with a victorious roar!
Sarela drops the hammer with a squeak as she leaps back from Thras's beheading of Pedipalp so that she doesn't get splattered with any blood.
That done, Sarela turns to Aira and Mith and says, "It'll be okay. Everything should wear off soon. You'll be alright."
Mithralline blinks back the dazzling lights as her vision finally restores itself.
"Damn thing," she says. "What'd she hit us with?"
She doesn't actually look quite as happy as might be expected but she nods to Thras.
"Good job. I guess we need to go get Salighara now."
Thras picks up the bloody decapitated head of Pedipalp. He exhales, his limbs trembling from his exertions. He ties the head to his belt, then checks his body and thumps a fist against his chest. "Bah! Just magic tricks, she was all or nothing. Didn't do any permanent damage to any one of us. Sam, good save on whatever spell she put me under." He grins, reaching out a hand to take the warhammer from Sarela. "Brave of you to run in like that, very brave."
"The spell she hit you and Aira with is a spell that creates a cone of colors that can cripple those it affects. When the weakest creatures are subjected to it, they can even fall unconscious. You are fortunate both you and Aira are stronger than that."
Sarela gestures to where she dropped the warhammer. "After she hit you with that spell to force you to stay away from her, I just thought someone might be able to do something. I'm rather fortunate Sam was able to help you shake it off so you could get back into the fight."
Thras removes Pedipalp's head from her body without anything funky happening.
Before going to Salighara, you probably ought to deal with The Dream Gate.
Sarela turns her attention to the Dream Gate.
Aira blinks repeatedly, as she snaps out of the phase she was locked in. Her vision returns, and she slowly regains control of her lmbs.
"Ugh! It is as if I could still hear everything going on, but I could not control myself, I could not even move! Thank you, to everyone."
She gags a little bit and turns her head away at the sight of Thras removing Pedipalps head. "Bleh. I suppose we each deal with our anger and frustrations differently. Here Sarela, Let me see if I can give you a hand"
Sam shudders as Pedipalp's horrible head is brutally severed then nods to Thras and smiles weakly, appreciating his words but deeply disturbed by the brutality. "It's like I always say: If we stick together, we'll make it through. If Sarela hadn't told me what happened to you, I would have just been guessing how to help."
Thras flashes his roguishly charming green at Sarela, only slightly off putting with the flecks of blood across his face. "Ahah! Can always rely on the magic users to keep you safe, even when you don't know what they're up to! Just put yourself between them and the monsters and they'll see you through safely!"
Mithralline shrugs and tries to do what Sarela says ... with her usual luck. Apparently trying to force the damn thing doesn't work that well.
"I am not the best at these sort of devices, but I can give it a try for sure."
Aira tries to pick up where Mith left off.
Mrs. Pedipalp has a belt and bracers that look mighty fancy. There are three planar cosmological models are worth 100 gp each, but even more valuable are the components they contain. One contains a bead, another a ring, and the third a stone.
With Pedipalp out of way, the Dream Gate beckons.
An array of machinery lines the walls of the tower’s highest level, a balcony 10 feet above the research room floor. A metal hoop 10 feet in diameter hovers vertically here, a foot above the floor. Several wires connect the hoop to the machinery. Within the hoop is a roiling surface of swirling black and gray, from which issues a chill wind and faint, distant screaming.
Mrs. Pedipalp had told you that the Dream Gate needed to be rotated to be closed. As Aira and Sarela look over it, they quickly surmise that had they actually turned it, the gate would have damaged their life energy in the process.
Their combined knowledge of arcana help determine that the magical energies here can be disrupted with a few minutes of work which they immediately set out upon. When they finish that portion, Sarela tells Aira that to finish the job they need to disconnect the power sources. With nimble fingers, the sorceress is just able to pull it off without causing a major catastrophe.
The gate powers down, the waving field in front of it winking out and returning to nothing more than strange looking contraption. Afterwards, you report back to Salighara about your success. The psychopomp nods brusquely. "Well done. Here is your stamp, as promised." She stamps each of your bodies with an ornate device similar to an embroidered scroll.
After a few long, awkward moments, she coughs. "I suppose you've earned another reward, too. Here you go." She produces a soulscribe quill and presents it to you. It's a few more moments before she remembers to add, "Thank you."
Thras knows he won't be helpful with the Dream Gate, so he takes watch at the door to make sure nothing interrupts the work of the others. He glances over on occasion to see how things are going, but he doesn't even understand what they're saying when they talk about the "life force" and the "waving field".
Thras grins to Salighara after presenting the head. "So, want it on a pike? Or, uhhh..." He frowns, looking around. "Got something like a stick around here? I thought I saw some trees somewhere along the road, maybe."
Mithralline can't do much with the magic items, and is content to let the others figure out what they are. She rolls her eyes at Salighara's brusqueness, happy to return the lack of consideration with some of her own. Regardless of the woman's attitude, she needs rest.
She awakens, refreshed, the next day.
"Well, let's get back on the path. The sooner we get going, the sooner we're back to Golarion!"
Sarela points at the ring and says, "This is a ring of feather falling. If you fall, it will allow you to gently float to the ground. This," she points at the stone, "is a stone of alarm. We can set it and it will alert us if anyone approaches our camp. I'm not sure what these are, but I'll take a look again in the morning."
Aira takes a look at the remaining items that Sarela could not identify. "I know some magic that might help us figure out what these are. Let me try"
She looks a bit disappointed in herself. "I am pretty sure that is a belt of constitution, which will sturdy up your overall stamina for sure for whomever wears it. The other two, well I am having difficulty concentrating today. I can also try again tomorrow. "
Once you are ready, you bid farewell to the Scriptorium and follow the path Umble and Thoot set out for you. After an uneventful hour, the road crests a low hill of thorns and dead grass before dropping into an enormous valley strewn with gravestones. The road is plain in the moonlight, but it suddenly wavers as a garden of bright flowers and high hedges rises up to block the road. From this high vantage point, the garden resembles an enormous skull adorned with flowers.
You can't see any details of the garden from this distance, but it's clear you must traverse it. Attempting to leave the Dead Roads to go around it would only dump you back into the Boneyard...
As the party moves up to the outer edge of the gardens, they find a wrought-iron arch, set into the flower-covered hedge, reads “Deathbower” in an ornate script.
As you step through the arch into the garden proper, two shabti gardeners notice you, they stop pruning the flowers and prepare to fight. One says, "Mistress Mictena said you would be coming. It is our honor to stop you." You quickly engage the pair only to find another two gardners join the fight. It's not very difficult to put them down though as they do not possess any weapons and seem ill-prepared to face you.
Each of the four men had a wooden holy symbol of Pharasma on their persons.
Once everyone is ready to move on, you push further into the gardens by moving southwest. You find an open space that is tiled with gray bricks in intricate patterns. Inset mosaics display various scenes of a stylized skeletal woman releasing humanoid figures from painful situations— from torture and illness to mourning fallen children. A short dais in the center of this space holds a statue of a thin, robed male elf clutching a dagger to his chest. A look of resigned sorrow is etched onto the statue’s face. Gaps in the carefully pruned hedges lead to the north and east.
As you enter the area, the statue animates, and it speaks Elven.
Thras is in high spirits as they leave the Scriptorium. It was a bloody and successful adventure, and for the moment he had managed to suppress thinking about his brother Laurel. He jests and roars and makes light-hearted jabs at the others as they walk.
Then the garden rises up and Thras growls, tensing his knuckles. "This damn place has no end of tricks for us." Thras leads into the gardens (stopping briefly to see if he can rip his way through the walls, which he concludes would be too time-consuming to be worth it), and then proceeds to rip through the gardeners instead.
Thras enters the open space and looks around with curiosity at the morbid displays. When the statue moves he stares at it suspiciously.
"This garden could use a good fire." He growls, then crouches and rushes forward at the statue, bringing his bardiche to bear and chopping sideways at it!
Mithralline joins Thras in high spirits. With her lance out in the Deathbower following their first fight, she lets out a whoop of joy as she charges alongside him toward the statue.
Sarela says, "The statue said that 'Finality is inevitable for all.'"
Leaving the Scriptorium, Aira feels her powers grow, new magic seems to flow through her veins as her trusty staff to grows with a new light.
She follows the others along through the gardens, seeing the status come alive, she ponders if this is a new opportunity to try out her new magic.
"I don't always agree with some of your methods Thras, but you did say my favorite word." She holds out her staff, summing a massive orb of fire that seemingly drops from the sky right into the statues square.
17 reflex negates
Rounds remaining 3/4
Waking up refreshed after their trials at the scriptorium, Aira once again tries to identify the remaining magical items, casting a spell to boost her own knowledge.
She relays to the team the remaining magical items as Bracers of Armor and a Bead of Force.
Sam is happy to get out of Pedipalp's horrible taken-over-lair and smiles when she sees the garden and the gardeners. But then they attack and she gasps in shock at their recklessness, dying at the hands of Mithralline and Thras. She shakes her head sadly "They didn't even try to talk... so senseless..."
When the statue attacks, Sam raises a confused eyebrow then sighs and pulses energy out to her allies. "Ok stick together. I guess it's ok to destroy a hostile statue..." she says, conflicted.
Both Thras and Mithralline hit the stone guardian, but it's clear their weapons aren't as effective as they could be.
The guardian produces a very sharp dagger and slashes at Mithralline twice with it, cutting her once