Goldur casts remove fear and Nemrok decides to delay his morning jog. You head on to the next room, the elemental slipping through the walls to accommodate for his large form. By the time you get there, there is a little over a minute left on the summoning.
Please confirm or adjust the marching order while I put together the icons for the final opponents and figure out the BBEG monologue (and drop off my car for maintenance, go to work, etc.).
An enormous machine takes up the majority of this chamber, its various complex and seemingly illogical components made up of a combination of stone and blackened lypenia wood. Half-engine, half-gnarled dead tree, the tendrils from this otherworldly device crawl up the walls in every direction as if to choke the chamber that holds them. A faint sound like that of a breeze rustling through leaves can be heard coming from the machine.
A tall woman, presumably the infamous Elessia, with strange mismatched eyes sits on the bole of a lypenia tree working intently with something hidden from your view. Arrayed between her and you are three bugbears reminicent of the one you killed in the kitchen. Except these three are all bloody and beaten up . Well, not that different actually. Oh, and quite dead, no more than bloody skeletons at this point (must have been a doozy of a trap) which makes it rather surprising that they are up and about and walking around. Though, seasoned Pathfinders that you are, perhaps it is not so surprising after all. I mean, what would a pathfinder mission BE if there weren't a few undead thrown in?
Elessia shrieks in anger on spotting your intrusion. "How in the many levels of the Abyss did you get here. I'ts mine! All mine. You can't have it! Kill them!" Naturally her obedient undead minions leap towards you in obedience, and they are fast buggers.
And with that we launch into the final battle of the module.
The bugbear with the green shirt is the first to engage but, though fast, is pretty clumsy and flails wildly at Aurus.
Basically his only purpose in unlife at this point is to block the door.
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions:
Green Bugbear
Aurus
Uldar
Red Bugbear
Black Bugbear
Jack
Elyssia
Goldur
Nemrok
Bolded are are up.
They ignore you of course. Now Memrok? That might be a different story. Since you are uninjured I'm wondering why cast CLW and target yourself?
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Aurus knows he knows nothing about these, but knows a skeleton when he sees one... even if the skeletons look strange.
"We, uh... walked?" Aurus says to the lady's question. "All the way through every one of your piss-poor guards. Just wanted to say hi."
He tries to cut his way through the green-shirted skelegob.
Aurus knows next to nothing about these skeletons, but every good pathfinder knows that skellies, being mostly air, tend to ignore a lot of the damage from a bladed weapon. Yet though the un-bugbear seems to take a little less damage from the sword than most critters, it still takes a mighty blow. The other two run up and try to smack Aurus from around the corner of the door, and in spite of their ineptitude and in a fluke of luck, both manage to hit with very lucky blows.
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions:
Green Bugbear (-14 hp)
Aurus (-14 hp)
Uldar (-9 hp)
Red Bugbear
Black Bugbear
Jack
Elyssia
Goldur
Nemrok
Bolded are are up.
The elemental gets an AoO on the Black bugbear and if it gets lucky it may never get that chance to tag Aurus.
Unfortunately none of his shots hit and the bugbear remains standing.
Elyssia does not like the looks of her oncoming doom and, in a panic, pulls out a wand and activates it, vanishing from sight!
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions:
Green Bugbear (-14 hp)
Aurus (-14 hp)
Uldar (-9 hp)
Red Bugbear
Black Bugbear
Jack
Elyssia (invisible)
Goldur
Nemrok
Bolded are are up.
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Nemrok tries to control one of the undead, casting command undead on green, the only one he's able to see and commands it to move 10ft. up.
Move there! he says in Goblin then he asks his comrades to not attack the creature. I control the green squeleton, don't attack it or I will lose my control on it.
Nemrok, you sense that the skeletoid is under your control. By up do you mean away from the party?
The earth elementals posture subtly changes to face a little bit to it's left.
Goldur is up!
Goldur hasn't posted since Thursday so I'm going to bot him and have him start a bardic performance. I'm sure he would approve (particularly since it says to in his botting instructions :)
The green bugbear backs off to the amazement and consternation of Ellesia and some of its wounds start repairing themselves!
The elemental takes a wild shot at Ellesia and chews up a bit of the floor but there is no blood.
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions: Inspired +1 (Goldur)
Elemental (controlled by Uldar)
Aurus (-14 hp)
Uldar (-9 hp)
Red Bugbear
Black Bugbear
Jack
Elyssia (invisible)
Goldur
Nemrok
Green Bugbear (-13 hp, controlled by Nemrok)
Bolded are are up.
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"C'mon Apsu, don't let what I'm about to do hurt too much," Aurus mutters as a quick prayer, dropping the greatsword with a clang and holding his hands over his heart to channel his divine energy.
He then moves through the gauntlet of skeletons, daring them to attack him as he draws his flail. He swings at the redshirt.
Aurus runs the gauntlet with fearlessness and the buggies totally whiff, but not so Aurus who crunches a bunch of bones with his far more effective flail.
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions: Inspired +1 (Goldur)
Elemental (controlled by Uldar)
Aurus (-9 hp)
Uldar (-9 hp)
Red Bugbear (-18 HP)
Black Bugbear
Jack
Elyssia (invisible)
Goldur
Nemrok
Green Bugbear (-13 hp, controlled by Nemrok)
Bolded are are up.
Uldar cures more of his wounds and feels much better. The two bubear skeletons do not know any better than to stick with the nearest target and continue their attempts to bring Aurus down and are too stupid to flank.
but one of them still gets lucky and Aurus again feels the business end of one of their morning stars. fortunately it was a glancing blow and did not do all that much harm. The red bugbears' bones start knitting themselves back together again, though very slowly.
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions: Inspired +1 (Goldur)
Elemental (controlled by Uldar)
Aurus (-13 hp)
Uldar
Red Bugbear (-17 HP)
Black Bugbear
Jack
Elyssia (invisible, -13 HP)
Goldur
Nemrok
Green Bugbear (-13 hp, controlled by Nemrok)
Bolded are are up.
You hear Elessia start casting a spell, obviously hoping the elemental misses this time around since it seems to have a longer casting time than a normal spell.
COMBAT CARD
--------------------------
Conditions: Inspired +1 (Goldur)
Jack
Goldur
Nemrok
Green Bugbear (-13 hp, controlled by Nemrok)
Aurus (-13 hp)
Uldar
Elemental (controlled by Uldar)
Red Bugbear (-17 HP)
Black Bugbear
Elyssia (invisible, -13 HP)
Bolded are are up.
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Nemrok unable to do anything with the invisibility, continue to take control of the skeletons moving closer and using the power of his bonded ring to do that.
I control another one! Only one skeleton is remaining in the control of the cleric! It's time to move in guys.
He orders green to attack red.
With only 33 HP to her nane, Elessia collapses after the first arrow finds its mark. The bugbears are also handily defeated as the last uncontrolled one goes down in a bloody heap.
As you investigate you find two wands, one of which you know to be a wand of invisibility, a magical set of chain armor, a magical chime, a gem, and a few odds and ends.
The big find is a magical artifact embedded in the tree, the item Elessia was so desperately trying to claim. The narrow volume is bound in green leather with silver inlay shaped in the forms of letters from the elven alphabet. It gives off a moist earthy smell, like a forest after a light rain.
Goldur makes short work of the other items and quickly has them cataloged.
Nemrok takes his best crack at the book but is unable to learn enough to actually use the thing. He knows it is magical and so unique that it just quite doesn't match up with anything he has ever learned about. But he thinks it might have been the spellbook of a powerful mage, perhaps that wacked elf that haunts the place in various guises. Worse, it't stuck in the danged tree and won't be budged. Any bright Ideas for getting it out unharmed?
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With no idea about the power of the book, Nemrok tries to extract it from the tree.
First by strength, but his attempt fails and he quickly understand that that's not the right way to do it.
He then tries to use his intellect to get it out. Hoping to find a way, like solving a break-teaser, to extract it.
The wood is thick and strong, probably stronger than darkwood. As noted, the feat of strength did not work. However you do think that if you were able to make strategic cuts in the right place, you ccould loosen the boles and extract the book.
Give me a DC 13 Int roll and persuade Aurus to use his adamantine weapon on it and you will have yourself a book.
Eventually you manage to cut away at the surprisingly tough tree. A few sections are broken loose enough to allow a little finesse to remove the book. The effect is quite dramatic. The whole building lurches and for a moment you are sure the place will come crashing down around you, but the walls and more importantly the ceilings hold.
Aurus, with his elven blood feels the life energy drain from the tree and is quite certain that, without the artifact to sustain it, it will quickly die. Or slowly, depending on your perspective. Unable to control your curiosity (I assume) you open the book and find that it is full of spells. Many of the pages are blank or half faded, but there are still 18 pages left with spells from low to moderate complexity. A wizard would be overjoyed to have the book at his or her disposal.
Having completed their mission the group rejoins the survivors camped in the secret passages above and drag the invaders back to Tamran. Vos needs to be kept under wraps, but Akre meekly submits to your control, simply grateful for the protection from the fearsome hobgoblins and bugbears. In fact he offers to make sure Vos makes no trouble. As the trip proceeds the mood lightens and the former slaves you rescued from the kitchen become more talkative and hopeful, though the woman still flinches at any loud noise or sudden movement.
Your train of adventurers and prisoners finally make it to Tamran where you are greeted by a band and a flurry of excitement led by none other than your venture lieutenant Alex Tanagan. It seems that somehow he got advanced notice of your arrival. He is accompanied by a number of other bards in a chaotic jumble of performance styles including a Kitsune duettist with a Brownie familiar , a very loud dwarf obviously working on his oratory skills, and at least a half dozen instrumentalists.
You had no idea there were so many bards in the city. Alex must have recruited them all.
Alex steps up and announces, "THERE they ARE! The conquering HEROES! Home with a POWERFUL artifact no less!"
As usual every sentence seems to be terminated by an exclamation point. You have no idea how he knows all this since you haven't spoken to anyone about it except one another. You were met by a patrol and are currently being guided in by said military escort, but your exchange with them was very brief and certainly did not include any mention of an artifact. In fact you would have very much preferred to keep the artifact a secret and your escort is now eyeing you warily.
Alex struts up to Vos and gives him a poke with his flute.
"So THIS is the trouble-making Vos! Our hosts in Nirmatha will be ECSTATIC to have him in their custody, not to mention the authorities in Molthune TOO! I have been working on a report about your adventures and CAN'T WAIT to have your input!"
Indeed, he puts away his flute and pulls out a rather large bundle of papers and waves them around. It looks more like a short book or a play than a report.
The group retires to the comfort of the lodge and soon after you are questioned by some higher ranking authorities about the so-called artifact, but, them knowing Alex, are easily dissuaded from giving his 'exaggerations' any credibility. In fact you all share a good joke about the time the city was almost invaded by an 'army' of orcs. The report Alex creates is full of embellishments and world saving events in spite of your best efforts to tone it down and, in the end, you decide to submit your own report outside the chain of command just to make sure something reasonable makes it to Absalom. A practice recommended by other local pathfinders and almost expected from this particular lodge.
In spite of all that, Alex and his crew of bards does make your stay quite enjoyable. If there is one thing Alex does well, it is entertain. Any attempt to find out how he knew everything, though, is met by evasiveness though the other pathfinders will share all manor of guesses about how he does it.
In the end it is with regret that you each leave the lodge for your next mission.