As you fill their head bowls with water, they all rise and thank you profusely. Now more dignified, one of them cuts to the chase, "You must all deal with this dragon! she's the one responsible for drying up our lake! she shut down the mystical fountain housed in the temple north of here which feeds the lake’s waters! help us please!"
The road from the lake to the temple is at the bottom of a deep riverbed and takes a few minutes. The ravine is normally filled with water that flows from the fountain in Taikaga Temple. The walls of the ravine are 20 feet high.
After several bend in the newly formed canyon, the passage opens up directly at the foot of the stairs leading to the temple. Standing proudly at the top of the stairs, the dragon sees you all, as if she was expecting you. This magnificent dragon is covered in splendid golden scales and horns jut from its head like a crown.
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Charlotte steps forward ”Oh great and wise dragon Aoitsun! We pathfinders are humbled that you would grant us an audience at all, and are deeply indebted to you and your kin for all you have done over the centuries to keep this marvelous wonder of magic from operating in harmony for so long! We mere mortals beg your indulgence for a trifle more, that we may plead our case, and deliver unto your immaculate self some information of which you may not be aware!” she will take a deep bow before him, taking off her hat at the same time, before donning it again as she straightens up.
The dragon sits and looks at you all for several minutes, seemingly enjoying the silence and gauging your intent. Out of nowhere he begins to speak again!
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Charlotte continues her theatrics, apparently at home with over the top bombastic speeches."Thank you oh honorable and magnanimous Aoitsun! Indeed, I could see that no knowledge in the past has ever eluded you or your ancestors! But I do not think you nor your kin have ever seen this particular problem with the tapestry before! Indeed, I doubt such a thing has been seen in all the universe before. But a wise scholar among the pathfinders named Aram Zey believes that, should the water be allowed to flow freely, it could act as a stabilizing force! For example, the Kappa could be persuaded to bring messages of how to fix the tapestry to other tribes, but not if they have no water and cannot move!" Charlotte will then launch into a bit of a preamble about how the magic in the water being allowed to flow freely could be used to aid the local denizens in repairing the Tapestry should they get water.
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"Your ancestors? Would you like to speak with them? Maybe they would have a new point of view on what occurred here." Nyloth suggests.
Location Channel (Sp): At 5th level, a medium can perform a special seance at the site of a person’s death—or a location that was precious to that person in life—to call forth that person’s spirit into the medium’s body so his allies can ask it questions. The effects are similar to the spell call spirit (see page 160), except that the duration is 1 round per medium level and the spirit possesses the medium’s body instead of appearing in a wispy form. The other participants of the seance must ask the questions. Once the medium attempts to call a spirit, he cannot attempt to call the same spirit again for 24 hours. Once per round, the medium can attempt to end the seance early by succeeding at a Will save (DC = 20 + 1/2 the medium’s class level).
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The archer advances to take the lead during a while: Your magnificent Aoitsun ! You can't be deaf to the crying people and animals who are in need of water. Water is life. Your greatness can't ignore the death of living ones because of the water stop it occurs. The mystical fountain housed in the temple north of here which feeds the lake’s waters. Putting an end of the shut down of these waters will be an act worthy of a great sovereign like you. Please !
Knowledge Nobility:
Charlotte continues her theatrics, apparently at home with over the top bombastic speeches."Thank you oh honorable and magnanimous Aoitsun! Indeed, I could see that no knowledge in the past has ever eluded you or your ancestors! But I do not think you nor your kin have ever seen this particular problem with the tapestry before! Indeed, I doubt such a thing has been seen in all the universe before. But a wise scholar among the pathfinders named Aram Zey believes that, should the water be allowed to flow freely, it could act as a stabilizing force! For example, the Kappa could be persuaded to bring messages of how to fix the tapestry to other tribes, but not if they have no water and cannot move!" Charlotte will then launch into a bit of a preamble about how the magic in the water being allowed to flow freely could be used to aid the local denizens in repairing the Tapestry should they get water.
bellows the dragon.
"Your ancestors? Would you like to speak with them? Maybe they would have a new point of view on what occurred here." Nyloth suggests.
The dragon roars some more. When the noise stops reverberating against the canyon walls, Nyloth steps forward and asks if the dragon would like to speak to his ancestors!
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Nyloth walks up to the dragon, an image of a human brawler appearing to hover over him for a moment, but it quickly vanishes. Once Nyloth is next to the dragon, he explains his ability, "Ok, so I'm going to call one of the spirits of your ancestors into my body, and then you, or someone else, can ask it questions. I'm only strong enough to let them join us for just shy of a minute, about 40 seconds, so ask quickly, ok?"
When the dragon, and possibly the party, are ready, Nyloth channels the spirit of one of the dragon's ancestors that considered this location important to them in life.
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The dragon admires how straight-backed the halfling remains as he gravitates the steps without fear. Upon making the last step, the dragon coils herself lightning quick around Nyloth and brings her draconic eyes down to his level, staring deep into his soul. Nyloth feels a nigh palpable aura of fate and destiny emanating from the dragon, a sense of awareness of natural and cosmic forces so strong that his most altruistic intentions and past benevolent actions are now given second thoughts.
Unbidden comes the questions within his soul, Why did I ever care about anyone else but myself? what was the point of all that guilt and self-sacrifice?
As he focuses on the spirits of past dragons who have served and died as guardians here, Nyloth draws a complete blank. No spirit appears to answer his summon, and as if the dragon could sense his mounting fear, the golden coils around his waist and shoulders now tighten... and tighten...
...then relent! Opening his eyes, Nyloth realizes he's missed something. Now standing a full ten feet away from Nyloth, the dragon, bowing to the halfling, is shedding tears. A look of pure gratitude upon it's draconic face.
The others down below, in the canyon, appear dumbstruck and in awe of the halfling. Charlotte and Styfis are both weeping, and as the halfling returns to the riverbed below, his limbs oddly moving as he regains control of them slowly, both adepts of psychic magic greet him with open arms and embraces freely given, laughter and tears like waterfalls.
The halfling, still not understanding, searches for meaning...
The archer advances to take the lead during a while: Your magnificent Aoitsun ! You can't be deaf to the crying people and animals who are in need of water. Water is life. Your greatness can't ignore the death of living ones because of the water stop it occurs. The mystical fountain housed in the temple north of here which feeds the lake’s waters. Putting an end of the shut down of these waters will be an act worthy of a great sovereign like you. Please !
On the heels of the very inspiring moment shared between her and The Halfling Master, Aoitsun is greatly receptive to Styfis' words and nods in agreement.
(+2 vs humans, +4 vs fey)
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Charlotte steps forward, clearly moved by what has transpired with the dragon and his ancestor. Tears still wet on her cheeks and a smile on her face. ”I’m. . . I’m sorry to break up such a heartfelt reunion with mundane, or even arcane talk, but unfortunately, we are out of time. I know that was precious to you, as I also gain power from my ancestors in a very real way. Let’s clear up any confusion we have about if this magic fountain will further degrade, be inconsequential to, or maybe even reinforce the tapestry’s Arcane energies from an arcane theory standpoint, and I can leave you to your pleasant memories. Please, if you’ll allow me a moment to collect my thoughts.”
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The elf stays stoic during Charlotte's monolog to the dragon. She has to impress the beast. The elf knows that they won't get more occasion to make it. He already stayed in such a situation, when he had to impress an hellknight chief. He choose to use his diplomacy and the whole party could get access to the information they wanted. If Charlotte does well they convince the dragon, otherwise they will have to fight. This perspective isn't the better one. Hopefully the negociation will be sufficient.
After several minutes of consideration, the dragon speaks.
When you return to the kappas, they are grateful and gladly share with you all that since the Aspis Consortium stopped turning up, the Tapestry has generally been more peaceful and stable- current events aside, of course! Lowering their voices to hushed whispers, they also share that many residents have begun having terrible nightmares... Finally, they urge you to watch out for mysterious strangers, "even stranger than you lot, with purple skin and evil eyes." The kappas agree to help inspire agents of the Pathfinder Society to complete their various missions across the Tapestry.
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Hamish merely watches his allies handle their business, Thank the Lady that I'm not the one everyone is relying on to talk. That did not work out for anyone in Heaven.
With the successful channeling of an ancestor as promised by Nyloth, he gives his congratulations to the halfling. "Well done sir, that seemed to really turn the tide for us. It is not hard to walk the line with spirits, be careful they do not gain any more control than you grant them. Souls get lost that way sometimes."
When the dragon gives his final verdict, he unclenches his fist and relaxes. "Well then, I'm glad we all worked together on that one. Nicely executed. Now let's go kill some undead, they cannot be left unchecked."
Using one of the bridges connecting different sections of the Tapestry, you are transported to Slave Mountain. To your amazement, the astral eddy has followed you to this section of the Tapestry.
You appear to be deep underground, and Theo recognizes that you are all under the Slave Mountain fortress. Incoherent murmurs and groans echo through this large, dark cave. Tall stalagmites emerge from the cave floor surrounded by shallow pools of water. Ahead, a dim purplish light emanating from a multifaceted black gemstone the size of a human skull illuminates several humanoid forms heaped around the stone.
Initiative (Bold may go!)
Rallas
Styfis
Theo
YELLOW
Charlotte
Nyloth
LARGE THING
RED
BLUE
Hamish
Wights are humanoids who rise as undead due to necromancy, a violent death, or an extremely malevolent personality. In some cases, a wight arises when an evil undead spirit permanently bonds with a corpse, often the corpse of a slain warrior. They are barely recognizable to those who knew them in life; their flesh is twisted by evil and undeath, the eyes burn with hatred, and the teeth become beast-like. In some ways, a wight bridges the gap between a ghoul and a spectre—a warped animated corpse whose touch steals living energy. This specimen once was a giant of some kind and it has been enhanced by further rites to strengthen his limbs and harden its flesh. For each exceedance of 5 over the DC, select another piece of knowledge from the following list
Cousins to dwarves, duergar are foul-tempered creatures that loathe intruders to their underground realms—but not nearly as much as they do their kinfolk closer to the surface. They can see much further in the dark than regular dwarves. For each exceedance of 5 over the DC, select another piece of knowledge from the following list
Knowledge Religion: 1d20+11
[dice=Knowledge: Religion + Dirge Bard Bonus]1d20+8+3
Theo's left boot begins to glow!
Initiative (Bold may go!)
Styfis
Rallas
Theo
YELLOW
Charlotte
Nyloth
LARGE THING
RED
BLUE
Hamish
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Theo keeps pace with Rallas, not wanting to leave him a lone target out front, especially since Theo himself has too short a stride to reach the duergar and their undead ally anyway.
Of course, the fact the duergar appear to recognize him, from his previous trip to the area he was not expecting, and takes a more defensive stance as they seem to focus on him, awaiting their arrival.
He calls out, in Tien, to Fairbeaks.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
Fairbeaks nearly quivers with anticipation, constantly ruffling its feathers, stubby wings flapping as it prepares for the command to charge in.
, for damage.