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He stands there and smiles to himself a bit until he hears something about a skull shaped holy symbol. K Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
"Profane runes? Sounds like I need to do some scrubbing with the 'evil be gone' cleansing light. Do you think if I channel some sparkly goodness into it it could fix the problem?" Asks Hanlin, sounding like he really doesn't understand completely how spells and magic work.
Serge observes the statue and its magical auras and learns a few things about it.
A strange, chalky substance coats the ground around the monument even after several weeks. Markings resembling runes are scrawled upon the ground.
The butterfly emblem in the statue’s hand is a holy symbol of Desna. However, in place of the typical images of stars within the symbol’s wings, there are leering skulls.
A spot of dried blood is splashed on the side of the monument, indicating that something violent occurred here recently. Based on the blood’s location, it stands to reason that there was once more blood here, but it was cleaned up in a hurry. Someone must have been attacked here.
Hanlin looks at the symbols and... it certainly refers to a divine figure. But it must be extremely obscure.
Some kind of ritual could be used to dispel the profane runes, but it must be done carefully and correctly. If you knew a local mystery cultist, he might be able to instruct you in the matter.
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A tengu walks up to the group, yawning wide, looking as though he just woke up not long ago. This ancient tengu's feathers are a calming grey, not the vibrant deep black usually expected of his people. He wears the plain robes of a Tien priest, and he carries no weapon and wears no armor. Between the shape of his beak and the arrangement of his facial plumage, he appears to have a permanent kind smile.
"What an excellent idea. I know a wonderful place to have tea." He speaks at a measured, even pace, no words pitching too high or two low from a calm baseline. We walks into the middle of the group and waits patiently for them to all get going, as though he had been venturing with the group since the beginning. He stretches and cracks his back and talons.
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Noke is a small Wayang woman with shadowy long hair that almost darkens her surroundings. She has a mithral buckler in her hand and wears a custom-fit Haramaki suit that looks like it has been recently oiled.
Resting on top of her chest, an amulet showing the holy symbol of Chaldira Zuzaristan is visible.
Noke is sitting on a military saddle on top of a riding dog that looks like a mixture of a black wolfhound and a mastiff. It is clear that this dog can fight while carrying a rider and Noke is not really fully in control.
On Noke's shoulder you see a tiny horned lizard that has dark black scales which in some areas have a red coloring that curiously forms the holy symbol of Chaldira and glows.
Noke, her riding dog 'Happu' and her tiny horned lizard familiar 'Divune' enter and you see that Noke is somehow almost out of breath.
Noke's eyes turn white when she gets down from her riding dog and she looks at you.
"Divune, Happu and I are here to support you and bring luck into your lives ... if destiny allows!" Noke says to the team with a strange smile.
It isn’t too hard to find the Rose and Rake Theater once you arrive. The open-air playhouse hosts town hall meetings and other large gatherings. To the side of the theater is a tavern known for its waitstaff uniforms: slick and well trimmed. Informally people call it the Rose and Rake Tavern, but the town still hasn’t approved of the name.
You walk under the sign of the rose and a small garden rake and enter the tavern. It’s easy enough to find Davorge. The human sits in the back of the tavern, a Varisian man wearing a flowing tunic and trousers with silver embroidery. He is also waving you over, as soon as you enter the tavern.
”So… did you find the rest of your friends?” He grins and nods at Noke and Ginko, then looks at the rest of you. ”You must have met some supernatural entities in your journeys.” He waits patiently for your response.
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"Welcome, Ginko Nakami. Glad you could join the party. Birds of a feather must flock together, no?" Gitano shakes the shaman's, em, hand. Easy, Frallino. No need to ruffle his feathers. At least not until you know him better.
The Varisian bravo flashes a winsome smile at the wayang witch. "Noke Tiiz. Hello, hello. How do you pronounce that? Tease?" He motions for her to sit next to him. "Love the way you maintain your armor. Can never use too much oil, am I right? Lubrication. The world can't turn without it.
Gitano turns to the mystery cultist. "Thank you for meeting with us. Tales of the supernatural? Met a girl once, too young for my tastes, had some dead friends in the Precipice District of old Absalom, ghosts it turns out. One of them was friendly. They kind of hooked up, afterwards. Only mission I ever had where nobody got killed. The Society called it 'The School of Spirits'." The bard pauses, "But then again, the antagonists were already dead."
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"Say, Davorge, did you get a chance to look at the Mistress of Angels after all the commotion? I took a look at the runes one of the witnesses pointed out. They're not Thassilonian, but there's some faint profane magic around the statue. Some kind of ritual, perhaps?"
"My friends here spoke to some witnesses. They can tell you more."
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"Greetings, Ginko and Noke," Serge smiles warmly. "It is great to have you join our investigation. Already we've heard some interesting rumors. And some alarming." His face shifts from intrigue to horror and back to intrigue as he fills the two newcomers in on the details from the interviews a little earlier, with emphasis on the vampire section.
"What an adventure," Serge applauds Gitano's story. "I'm not sure I can top that, Davorge. What of yourself? We are told you can help us with supernatural matters tied to Ordellia. From an interview, I heard of a butterfly winged, blue-skinned man calling out for Ordellia as he fled through the streets. Any ideas?"
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"Hey there. Take a load off strangers. Have a beer and some lunch and we'll catch up." He hails the young bartender stuck with the lighter drinking lunchtime crowd. "Couple more beers here for these two if you could."
Hanlin chuckles a bit at Serge when he keeps fretting over the vampires "Iomedae vaporizes the dead. They shouldn't give us nearly as much trouble as you expect Serge."
He takes an overly large bite of his mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich on crusty bread, chews a few times and starts to swallow before chewing a few more times with a worried look on his face This mutton sure isn't rare... leather!
"Whew. Anyhow, Davorge, do you recognize this unholy symbol? Its all over that statue, hidden in Desna's symbology." He grabs up a fresh napkin and sketches the skull and slides it over.
"Now, that's a good tale." Davorge tells one of the waiters to buy some extra ale for Gitano. "Love is in the air, even for the dead."
"As for spirits I've been acquainted with, there is Ordella herself, founder, guardian and protector of the town. Sadly she died when two Chelaxian merchants associated with a Skinsaw cult murdered her as part of a
failed conspiracy to discredit local Sczarni merchants. Her spirit manifests in town to protect it though."
"Ordellia Whilwren's claim to fame: she called out to an angel who was said to watch over the local Varisians for protection from a mighty storm. Her prayers were answered with a dramatic flash of light that parted the clouds and cleared the skies. People like me believe this is Ashava, the Empyreal lord of dancers, lonely spirits, and moonlight. The butterfly is her symbol." He pulls out his holy symbol. "See?"
He looks at the drawing of Hanlin's symbol and frowns. "What an... unsettling image. And the Mistress of Angels shows this symbol? How terrible. Maybe one of Ashava's agents came to investigate and was attacked by... whomever this is. Let's go to the statue and take a look."
You return to the Mistress of Angels with Davorge and show him everything in the are. ”What a mess. I have a suggestion: Let us sanctify this monument. I want to summon Ordellia, and she should see her monument as clean as the morning daylight. The sanctification will fail if there are too few participants.”
”Ordellia is a guardian of this town, and she may know what’s happening here.” He looks at you all. ”I’ll help you here and show the basic ritual. Now come. Calm your mind, and focus...”
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"Yup, something's going on. Maybe you can see something we couldn't. Otherwise we should head off to another one of those monuments and see if they bear any fruit." He quickly drains his mug and grabs his sammich to go, leaving a few silvers behind.
Along the way over Hanlin happily chows down on his sandwich, wincing every time he hits some over cooked mutton. I bet its stuck in my teeth.. not a good look.
While Hanlin pokes at his teeth and listens to the directions he nods along. Yup, I best look my best if we're summoning in a spectral guardian. Oh Iomedae, please give me a sparkling smile!
"Lead on man, I'll do what I can to impress the Lady!"
Touch of Glory (Sp): (6x/day) You can cause your hand to shimmer with divine radiance, allowing you to touch a creature as a standard action and give it a bonus equal to your cleric level on a single Charisma-based skill check or Charisma ability check. This ability lasts for 1 hour or until the creature touched elects to apply the bonus to a roll. You can use this ability to grant the bonus a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
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"Thanks for the ale," Gitano says. "Next round's on him." He points to the paladin.
On the way to the statue of the Mistress of Angels, Gitano continues his banter with Davorge.
"I'm Sczarni myself. We're sometimes scapegoated by those who don't appreciate free spirits. Such as myself."
Gitano grins. "Of course, some assume my roguish good looks suggest a roguish profession."
He winks. "A few jealous suitors have named me guilty of stealing a lady's virtue. Once or twice. But it seemed more like a gift the ladies gave than any theft."
Arriving at a spot before the statue, Gitano tries to calm his mind and concentrate. Not as easy as it looks.
"Tell me how I can help."
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”This mission is truly troubling! And I hope that we will be able to find out what supernatural powers are trying to corrupt the spirits of this city!“
Noke nods to Davorge.
”Of course we will participate during the sanctification! Divune... aid me please!“
The horned lizard familiar suddenly starts to glow.
Davorge draws a circle across the ground and spreads blue flower petals across it. He stands in the center and begins to sing an old Desnan lullaby while dancing. All of you help contribute to the ceremony, either by pleading for aid or analyzing the magical energies.
The blue petals rise into the air and clump together in groups of four, creating the likeness of a dozen butterflies that flit about before resting on the ground in calm silence. Davorge turns to you. ”The Mistress of Angels smiles again, thanks to your help. I think if you offer a dance or prayer here, you may get a boon.”
Moments later, a spectral visage of a Chelaxian woman with black hair and plain clothes appears in a nearby alleyway, clutching a silver butterfly in one hand and a starknife in the other. She stares off into the distance, terrified, and mutters a single word: “Help!”
The ghostly image seems distressed. “Monument corruption siphoning my essence. Cannot manifest properly. Please, sanctify the Cenotaph and the Founder’s Flame. You must hurry. A life depends on your haste!” The woman mutters.
Davorge’s smile fades as he sees the apparition. ”C-calm down. Please.” The apparition is clearly distraught, unable to say or do much more. ”I must- I must try to calm her down. Maybe you can sanctify the other monuments?” He muses. ”See what you can do at the Centopath and the Founder’s Flame, then talk to me.” He stays near the apparition.
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Gitano does his best to meditate for ten minutes or so, reflecting on the religious practices of Desna, his own patroness. He feels the benefits of the boon, a quickening of his reactions.
He watches in wonder at the beautiful apparition of the distressed woman. "Fear not, lady. We'll make haste, and save the one in danger."
Gitano nods at Glorne's suggestion. "The Founder's Flame it is."
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Serge watches the ritual, surprise growing on his face. "As much as I would like offer our Goddess of Fortune a prayer, my own lord of vengeance may not take kindly to it," he jokes.
When the apparition mentions a life being in danger, the paladin's face turns to stone. "I see. We must make haste, and find out what's going on here. Corruption? In what ways? Vampires, I bet." Already he reaches back to check his greatsword. "To the Flame, and quickly."
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Hanlin drops an elbow into Serge's ribs "Do your God's and Desna's portfolios differ so much they can't agree to grant you a boon in your mission? The good Gods all work together when the time is right." He assumes his morning meditation position within the circle and asks Desna for her aid in their coming battles.
A group of blue petals floats down from the sky and lands on Hanlin's forehead and a smile spreads his lips "See my friend? The forces of good work together." He rises and rests his hand on the pommel of his longsword "I am ready, let's bring the fight to them!"
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Ginko takes his languid time getting ready for the ritual, casting a couple of spells on himself as he gets around to it .Sadly, the ritual is already done by the chance he gets up to contribute. He merely shrugs and smiles. "Ghenshau says good things come when you take your time." He then joins the others who pray to the shrine for its blessing.
Ginko stretches and yawns as he listens to the others, his eyes lidded and sleepy. "Ragathiel is always too stressed. He should learn to slow down and enjoy a nice cup of tea. We think better with tea." He slowly shrugs again. "But that is just this old crow's thoughts. No point in making a fuss about it."
Davorge nods. "Thank you for your help. I will stay here and help Ordellia. Maybe I can figure out more clues here. Please, sanctify those other locations and quickly, before nightfall." You wish Davorge good luck and move towards the Founder's Flame.
This relatively unassuming monument stands at the center of a small park in Magnimar’s Naos district. The Founder’s Flame consists of a pedestal bearing a small bowl filled with green oil. Normally the flame burns in a swirl of multiple colors, but now it has a sickly green hue.
When you approach the flame, it surges violently. Some of the flames spew out and take form. Prepare yourself!
Hanlin
Ginko
Serge
Noke
Gitano
Enemy
Glorne
Glorne is too surprised to react before the enemies do, but the rest of you got his back.
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Hanlin hustles along with the others through the streets of Magnimar. If not for the haste of their mission he'd really love to stop and admire some of the scenery and arcitecture. "These frontier cities are so different than those back East. Cleaner. More colorful. Less things lurking to kill you... or not." As the winged creatures attack.
Hanlin watches two creatures burst out of no where and then something else catches his eye "That green flame is some sort of haunt! Iomedae, snuff that thing before it ports in some firey fellas!" He slings his shield off his back in an instant and wades towards the conflict.
He raises his shield hand and a burst of golden light washes over everything nearby. "May the cleansing light of Iomedae wash the stink of taint from your souls!" Stink? Taint? Heh, I crack myself up.
Noke knows all haunts can be weakened with positive energy. She knows this haunt can exhaust itself by spawning elementals.
Hanlin gets the hint and flashes the glory of Iomedae upon the haunt. It shudders in response.
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"Indeed, Hanlin. I spent several years in Magnimar. I'd often walk along the Varisian gulf, admiring the sunset. It's a splendid place."
Serge already had his greatsword drawn, especially after the apparition's warning. He looked on at the flaming drakes, approaching them slowly and carefully. "The holy light of Iomedae should extinguish the corruption with haste," the paladin nods as he walks past Hanlin. "I'll handle these angry spawn in the meantime." Serge swings his greatsword in a smooth arc.
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Alerted to danger, Gitano whispers a swift prayer to Lady Luck for good fortune.
As Noke's spell settles over him and the rest of the team, he feels his heart race and his pulse quicken.
He takes a look at the creatures and the Founder's Flame, and he, too, recognizes them for what they are, two flame drakes and a haunt. Gitano shouts a warning, "Those are a pair of flame drakes. They love hit and fly tactics and can spew fireball breath. Their resistances include __________ and they're immune to __________. Their special attacks include ___________."
"The Founder's Flame is corrupted by a haunt called a Flamespawn Spirit. It can create medium-sized fire llementals when threatened. Positive energy can weaken haunts, and _________."
The bravo moves around and into a flanking position with Serge,
Spend 1 panache point and expend 1 AoO to:
Gitano recalls some information about Flame Drakes. They are immune to fire, sleep and paralysis thanks to the draconic heritage. No resistances, but he knows they are weak to cold. He moves into action and quickly impales the drake.
He also knows destroying the elementals summoned by the haunt will damage it.
The purple- lined drake flies 20 feet into the air and spews a ball of flame, catching everyone except for Noke in its heat.
The other drake finds itself caught off guard and fights with a bite and a tail slap.
Gitano fails to parry and he is bitten. It's not just the teeth, but the intense flames as well.
Some of the flames leap out of the Founder's Flame and creates a roughly humanoid shape.
Glorne
Hanlin (23 Fire Damage, Reflex DC 16 for half)
Ginko (23 Fire Damage, Reflex DC 16 for half)
Serge (23 Fire Damage, Reflex DC 16 for half)
Noke
Gitano (15 damage) (23 Fire Damage, Reflex DC 16 for half)
Haunt surrounding the Founder's Flame (10 damage)
White Drake (8 damage)
Purple Drake (20 feet above the ground, Misfortune by Ginko)
Fire Elemental
Current Map
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Serge holds his arm up over his face, shielding himself from the flames. When the flames die down, his skin is scorched, but only just. "Rest, fiery fiend. Someday, someone will best me. But it won't be today, and it won't be you."
With Gitano opposite him, Serge uses the distraction to swing hard at the elemental, in hopes of taking it down.
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Gitano dodges much of the purple flame drake's fiery breath. "Lady Lucks's fuzzy dice, that was close!”
With a swift flick of his wrist he infuses his rapier with arcane energy and thrusts twice at the white-hot flame drake. "Nice swing, Serge!"
Spend 1 panache point and expend 1 AoO to:
Glorne takes 11 damage as he avoids most of the blast. He retaliates with an ice-cold shot that causes the fire drake to shudder. It survives, but it can't take another hit like that.
Hanlin lets Iomedae's divine will weaken the haunt some more, yet it is still active.
Serge's blade cuts into the drake twice. It still stands.
Hanlin (11 Damage)
Ginko (23 Fire Damage, Reflex DC 16 for half)
Serge (11 Damage)
Noke (summoning)
Gitano (26 damage)
Haunt surrounding the Founder's Flame (19 damage)
White Drake (38 damage)
Purple Drake (40 damage, 20 feet above the ground, Misfortune by Ginko)
Fire Elemental
Glorne (11 Damage)
Current Map
To the drake, the fight seems so... pointless. What is her mission in life? Does she exist just to suffer? Burdened with thoughts, the purple drake lands next to Glorne and tries to bite him.
Gitano lunges his rapier once into the drake and tries to lunge again, but the monster's hide is too strong.
The drake bites at Serge, but Noke's magic hastes his reactions and he dodges a red-hot bite.
The newly spawned Fire elemental runs up to Gitano.
Gitano is ready as always and quickly reacts to swat its fiery fist away. He catches it off balance and ripostes.
The sickly green flame pulses again and produces another elemental.
Noke finishes her summoning ritual.
Glorne (11 Damage)
Hanlin (11 Damage)
Ginko (23 Fire Damage, Reflex DC 16 for half)
Serge (11 Damage)
Noke (summon finishes)
Gitano (26 damage)
Haunt surrounding the Founder's Flame (19 damage)
White Drake (47 damage)
Purple Drake (40 damage)
White Fire Elemental (14 damage)
Black Fire Elemental
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Serge looks to his left dumbfounded, and watches the drake sputter to the ground. "Amazing! It simply listened to your command, Ginko. What unique power you have over these things."
He turns back to the white drake. "As for you, you are far too stubborn. Know when you are outnumbered!" The paladin strikes twice more, his body hastened by Noke's magic.
With his first slash, Serge slays the White-tinted fire drake.