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The group finds the book without any trouble and quickly reads aloud the words. Looking at the two acolytes you notice the blood dissipate as they regain control and look at you with gratitude. The haze of the nightmare fades and the wisp flies onward. This time you are lead to the meditation room...
The sight unfolded before you is several monks contorted in painful positions throwing glass spheres about the room. They chant "Bind my soul to Sifkesh!" aloud while doing so. Possibly more disturbing is the worms crawling over the room and monks.
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The chapel is filled with enraptured members of the temple while a bloated corpse preaches profane sermons from the balcony. The heresy and ugly truths set you at unease.
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The refectory houses the dining room where two dozen acolytes gorge upon a rotting mess of scorched dirt and decaying vermin. The sounds of choking and gagging fills the room.
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Finally in the kitchen is a halfling in great distress. He waves around a fingerless left hand as he wails in anguish.
"Korada has forsaken us! Abandon all hope!" he cries again and again.
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Kranzer moves forward and attempts to dodge through the spheres, demonstrating the agility a dwarf body might attain.
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Then, Kranzer tries his best to distract the congregation by producing a set of playing cards and flashing them about. "Anyone wanna play a game?!"
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After that, once the group moves on, Kranzer tries to flip over the table.
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Lastly, Kranzer attempts to instill hope in the halfling. "Don't give up on yer god now, neh? That's when ya need to believe the most!"
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I've seen some odd things as a Pathfinder, thinks Travail, but this takes the cake.
As he dances through glass spheres, , pulls the queen of hearts out of Kranzer's deck and flashes it about , knocks the rat carcasses out of the way , and tells the fingerless halfling, unaware that he's told a joke,, "The dwarf is right, halfling, Korada always helps the little people."
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Aram Zey stands once more before the tapestry, a renewed light in his sunken eyes. “The Hao Jin Tapestry is stable at last. While you were performing your duties, I have reached a better understanding of the chaos you faced. The tapestry is still in dire condition. Lacking Hao Jin’s own magic, the tapestry has been using small pieces of departing souls to maintain itself over the centuries. This mechanism is depleting the tapestry’s water sources and spawning undead horrors. However, thanks to you, we have time to search for a more permanent fix. For now, get some rest, and—”
The former Master of Spells staggers back as a three-foot tear down the center of the fabric gouts sudden flame. Pathfinder agents flock around him, scrambling to assess the damage. A vein pops out on his forehead, and he yells sharply, “Pathfinders! What have you done?” He cuts himself short, taking a deep breath and muttering to himself, “Keep it together. Don’t take it out on the agents.” Frowning, he returns his gaze to the tapestry, his eyes darting wildly across its surface. When he speaks again, his voice is low and determined, “This new rift is no accident. Something is attacking the tapestry from the Astral Plane. Damage of this magnitude must have spawned hundreds more undead. Quickly, re-enter the demiplane and fend off the invaders!”
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Hudor attempts to show proper technique with the glass throwing monks but stumbles his way through.
He has better luck in trying to distract the congregation.
He goes to flip the table to get rid of the foul stuff some of them are eating.
He finally tries to talk down the mad halfling but doesn't seem to go anywhere.
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Seeing more battles are about to start, Hudor enchants himself as a field of force forms to protect him.
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With Zhuang’s demons defeated, he comes out of his twisted nightmares. He gathers his pupils around him and begs forgiveness. Then he turns to the group, bowing and offering his deepest gratitude.
"The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment will forever remain a haven for Pathfinders! It it the least I can offer but we will also aid you on your mission." he says with graciousness and determination.
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As the group gathers around Aram Zey he points out two points of focus for the new tear. One depicts undead pouring out across the tapestry while the other shows astral foes tearing away at it.
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With the group leaning towards the countering the astral invasion they all place their hands on the tapestry...
As they look up from the ruins they are teleported to a gaping hole mars the sky of the tapestry. Beyond the rift, dozens of strange vessels float in the Astral Plane, crawling with invaders. Every surface of the tapestry realm stretches and tears as it tries to repair itself, creating more rifts in a slow but devastating chain reaction. The vessels deploy invaders to wreak havoc as the demiplane disintegrates.
Once you arrive a another set of ruins a horde of towering humanoids approaches, Aram Zey’s voice booms. “Pathfinders, these giants may be simpleminded, but our allies can’t outwit them without your help. Get out there and teach them a lesson.”
The creatures look like monstrous humanoids but like the undead from before have strands of the tapestry woven around them.
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Yabatha notices the forms underneath the swirling tapestry strands are ogres. Brutal hideous creatures that delight in the misery of others. These basic ones have nothing special about them other than brutish strength and one track minds, your death.
The creature’s python-thick apish arms and stumpy legs conspire to drag dirty knuckles through the dusty ruins. The stooped giants blink their dim eyes and an excess of soupy drool spill over their bulbous lips. The misshapen features resemble a man’s face rendered in watercolor, then distorted by a careless splash. It snarls a sound the offspring of bear and man might make, showing flat black teeth well suited for grinding bones to paste.
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Kranzer jabs a stubby index finger at the tapestry's sky. "Well ain't I a gargoyle's pimple. Look'a that!"
Then he turns his attention to the astral ogres, drawing out his short bow. "I assume stabbin' and shootin' still works on these guys, eh?"
He moves forward, and tries to take a shot at the lead ogre.
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Daerons arrow burrows into the arm of the ogre with blue armbands but Kranzers misses it's mark.
The ogres roar as the red one charges forward tossing a javelin. The large spear sails over the group however.
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Kaya blasts the blue-banded ogre with missiles of force energy drawing his attention. Hudor attempts to put the ogre with the red armband on ice as the beam encases its legs in a thin layer of rime.
The rest of the ogres also appear to lack accuracy as their javelins slam into the shattered walls around the group.
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Travail and Daeron both have shots that just barely miss their marks leaving the ogres unscathed but in a worse mood. However Yabatha is able to leave a small lump on the side of the rear ogres face.
One of the ogre charges forward drawing his greatclub and swinging at the closest enemy, Hudor. The club crashes down to his left leaving a sizeable crater in the dry earth.
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The ogres begin unraveling at a much quicker pace and the beam from Hudor causes the closest one to explode into frosty wisps of aether.
The last ogre roars defiantly and rushes forward as his own body threatens to fall apart. It reaches the group and slams down at Travail with its greatclub...
...however it misses and a the rage falters for a moment.
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Kaya smiles as the beastly enemy collapses under the scorching flame. She turns to Yabatha, "Oh sweetie, you can do it too. It just takes hours and hours and days and weeks and months of practice!"
She casually steps back out of range of the last enemy and takes a similar stance, though with a much smaller effect. A small beam of cold zips out instead of the swath of heat from earlier.
for (She has Precise Shot)
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The onslaught of beams and blades sends astral threads and chunks of ogre careening into the air. The group only gets a moment to revel in victory before a team of Pathfinder agents burst through their own portals.
"Let's go! The astral enemies have been routed but some undead are still pouring through the Tapestry. We are almost clear of the disaster...at least before something else happens." they go on while using magic on your own portals. They usher you through and instead of the briefing room you are now back in the ancient ruins you once helped the Lizardfolk with.
Atop the ziggurant is a humanoid figured covered in funeral wrappings shambling around.
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"Wow, okay, I guess we are moving on! More astral enemies...oh wait, what is that?" She looks at the creature to determine what it is.
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She turns to Kaya, and put a hand on her shoulder casting guidance. "You are a powerful wizard, Kaya, but even the strongest of hero's could always use some guidance from a friend. May your spell find it's target." She smiles warmly, and moves toward the enemy.
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Kaya and Yabatha both recognize the foe as a mummy. The moldering linen covered corpse is often raised to guard tombs of forgotten nobles or sacred sites. Their flesh is more resilient than more basic undead but the coverings make it susceptible to flames . More worrisome is the rumors that all but the bravest who approach a mummy suffer paralyzing fear and then are left to the cursed attacks that cause victims to wither away
The group prepares for battle while Daeron fires an arrow that goes wide.
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