The portions of the library obscured by faded memories and time momentarily disorient Ynam and she fails to make contact with Helven.
She, nevertheless, has Zaul's attention. The antler-helmed foe draws his longbow and fires at the Pathfinder.
The man sneers as his shot misses.
Combat Round Two Cont'd
Jovis/Ynam
Zaul Blystone (red)
Fimbrik/Brakkik
Idena/Waggi -7 HP
Eylysia (purple)
Sera/Salvadore
Myrin/Veilblade
Shadowfang
Helven Leroung (blue)
Veldrid Goldborough (yellow)
|
Perfect!
Brakkik steps to the side and grins. "Incoming!" he yells, his mind racing as time seems to pause momentarily. 57 degrees up, offset two centimeters left, counterclockwise spin... There! With a toss that merely looks effortless, the alchemist throws a bomb straight through the mist at the horned archer.
The vial strikes true against the Zaul's helm, momentarily coating it in flames.
Veldrid steps away.
She avoids the full heat of the flames.
As the prone Pathfinder crawls, the dominated wolf goes for a bite.
The Pathfinder makes it unscathed.
"Yes! Yes!" Eylysia cries as she rushes over to weave magical threads within the library, "Keep them occupied just a little longer!"
Combat Round Two Cont'd
Jovis/Ynam
Zaul Blystone (red) -6 HP
Fimbrik/Brakkik
Idena/Waggi -7 HP
Eylysia (purple)
Sera/Salvadore
Myrin/Veilblade
Shadowfang
Helven Leroung (blue)
Veldrid Goldborough (yellow) -3 HP
|
|
Savadore moves 30' and fires a Force Missile at Veldrid...
A bolt of magical force strikes the helmed dwarf, but do not stop her advance.
Combat Round Two Cont'd
Jovis/Ynam
Zaul Blystone (red) -6 HP
Fimbrik/Brakkik
Idena/Waggi -7 HP
Eylysia (purple)
Sera/Salvadore
Myrin/Veilblade
Shadowfang
Helven Leroung (blue)
Veldrid Goldborough (yellow) -5 HP
The naginata strikes deep within the helmed dwarf. Already suffering from prior wounds, the slash of the blade causes her to fall hard to the floor, which she lies unconscious and dying. Her song is silenced.
The dominated wolf acts on its last command.
It once again manages to sink its canines into the Pathfinder's leg and bring him down!
Helven flashes his blade in a display of prowess, then lunges at Ynam.
But, he fails to fool the Pathfinder or make contact with her.
Combat Round Two Cont'd
Jovis/Ynam
Zaul Blystone (red) -6 HP
Fimbrik/Brakkik
Idena/Waggi -9 HP
Eylysia (purple)
Sera/Salvadore
Avera/Veilblade
Shadowfang
Helven Leroung (blue)
Veldrid Goldborough (yellow) -17 HP
Wearing leather armor, Helven appears well-insulated from the electrical spell. Suddenly, it becomes clear that the one area most vulnerable to such an attack is the villain metallic, Decemvirate helm.
With the speed and precision of a dwarven monk, Ynam lays her hand upon the helm. The surge of electricity that follows drops Helven instantly!
Seeing his other ally fall so quickly, Zaul Blystone unleashes an angry, primal yell.
"YOU'RE DISCOVERIES END NOW!" he cries. Ignoring the flames consuming his armor and flesh, Zaul draws his dagger. With the sheen of his helm sending light from the flames dancing off in multiple directions, the last standing member of the Decemvirate single-mindedly seeks to bury his blade within the Pathfinders.
The villain's blade pierces Ynam's armor, then slides deep through soft flesh and between bone!
Eylysia gasps in horror as she sees another comrade inching towards death's door!
Combat Round Two Cont'd
Jovis/Ynam -5 HP
Zaul Blystone (red) -10 HP
Fimbrik/Brakkik
Idena/Waggi -9 HP
Elysia (purple)
Sera/Salvadore
Avera/Veilblade
Shadowfang
Helven Leroung (blue) -18 HP
Veldrid Goldborough (yellow) -17 HP
|
The little gray thing drops his naginata, draws his katana, and steps to the side. He raises his blade and pauses, saying something about how Zaul has shown much dishonor by betraying a faithful pathfinder. Then he brings the blade down in a mighty blow.
[Ooc]move action to draw
5' step
Swift action to challenge (+2 damage and DR/1 vs. Zaul; -2 AC vs. everyone else)
Standard to attack[/dice]
|
|
Savadore moves 5' and fires a Force Missile at Zaul...
One Pathfinder's blade slices into the remaining villain. Another strikes with bolts of force. Zaul falls to the ground, defeated and dying.
Suddenly, the library around you appears to shimmer, the items within begin to slightly distort, as the vision wavers.
Eylysia smiles at you all, observing, “That went differently this time."
The gnome's form, too, begins to shimmer and distort, as if being slowly drawn away, but not before a smile can be seen clearly on her face.
"I like this ending better...” Eylysia's words seem to echo even after her body fades from view.
As her words reverberate within your mind, you are instantaneously overcome by a flash of insight, which you know with certainty must be the past’s true events:
You see an injured Zaul fleeing the battle, abandoning the others as he disappears into the strange mist swirling around the library.
Only one of Eylysia’s companions remains visible. The gnome wizard
Fimbrik the Illusionist, sends a crackle of spell energy at Veldrid that drops the masked dwarf to the ground where she disintegrates into motes of color that the unstable magic quickly devours.
A badly wounded Helven points his blade at Eylysia and stalks towards the defiant gnome woman.
“Your secrets cannot remain hidden forever!” Eylysia cries, before tapping a foot on the ground and vanishing. The broken strands of magical mist explode in a whirlwind of rainbow light as Eylysia’s vision concludes and the battered old spell finally ends.
As the final vision fades, the you once again find yourselves fully within the present. The library again stands as it did when you first entered. The appearance and form of your bodies are once again solely your own.
Before you stands Kreighton Shaine, shadowed by the two helmed members of the Decemvirate.
"You...experienced a vision of some kind?" Shaine inquires as the two helmed figures looks on with interest.
|
Waggi finally stands, cautiously as the normally friendly mutt still lingers nearby. "Good thing you ended that or I was going to put my axe through your dogs skull!" He barks, clearly annoyed and in some pain.
"Aye, the spirits came to us. The spirit of Eylysia the gnome and her friends. We fought you.." He points to the helmeted ones and nods with a smile "And WE won while YOU lost. The gnome woman's spirit was happy with the victory. Her secrets ready to be shared for all to see..." He starts rehashing the battle and how the woman and her friends were being murdered.
|
Looking very apologetically at the venture captain, "We...we didn't know...did we even have a choice in there...we were only doing what we had to..."
The timid sylph listens as Waggi recounds the events that just unfolded. When he finishes, "Was that...were were experiencing the events of the past?"
The wrinkled gray thing nods solemnly. He says there is much dishonor in the history of the Pathfinder society; members of the decemvirate attacked Eylisia as she tried to share her findings.
Upon hearing Veilblade's account, the two masked Decemvirate members appear to listen intently, yet say nothing. Instead, they turn towards each other as though sharing a silent conversation.
"Aye, the spirits came to us. The spirit of Eylysia the gnome and her friends. We fought you.." He points to the helmeted ones and nods with a smile "And WE won while YOU lost. The gnome woman's spirit was happy with the victory. Her secrets ready to be shared for all to see..." He starts rehashing the battle and how the woman and her friends were being murdered.
If the two Decemvirate are offended by being equated with the villains in the vision, they do not show it. Instead, in strangely neutral voices produced through the magic of their helms, one member of the Decemvirate replies, “These secrets have remained hidden for too long—from the Decemvirate and the Society both."
"In doing so," the helmed figure continues, "the organization defamed an upstanding agent. What we have learned here grants us an opportunity to correct past crimes."
"Was that...were were experiencing the events of the past?"
One of the Decemvirate nods solemnly in reply, then says, "Well done, Pathfinders.” With that, the the two masked figures turn and head for the door.
As they exit the library, Kreighton Shaine steps forward, looking pleased. "Yes, excellent work, Pathfinders." he says.
"It would seem that you were experiencing the events of the past, at least in a way." he continues. "Although the Decemvirate’s identities were magical hidden, it appears that Eylysia, along with some of her hand-picked allies, had pieced together many indirect clues that let her identify several of the leaders of the Decemvirate. She was dismayed. Although she considered several to be upstanding visionaries and had been rising stars of the Society, several others she believed had reprehensible records of deceit, abuse, recklessness, or even betrayal. She was appalled that such ne’er-do-wells were to lead the Society and be responsible for shaping its future."
"She, and her allies, sought out evidence to allow them to better understand the helms’ powers, to call out corrupt Decemvirate members, and see them replaced. Her investigations took her to the locations referenced in her notes."
"Upon returning to Absalom, she made sure to hide away her most sensitive notes before laying an ambush to confront the first Decemvirate wrongdoer with her proof. Her investigations had already attracted her foes’ attention, and rather than one leader, all three appeared in force to take the bait. What should have been a verbal clash instead became a lethal combat. By the end, one of the Decemvirate was dead, and another was terribly wounded. But so too had several of Eylysia’s companions been killed, and the gnome herself was forced to flee the Society, never to be heard from again/"
"Yet, it would seem, not before she was able to hide a latent message that the Decemvirate could never uncover." he notes with a smile. "A latent message that, it would appear, you all have experienced."
"You have done well, indeed, Pathfinders." Kreighton Shaine concludes. "Now, go and get some rest. The Society will soon have more tasks for each of you."