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Aroden's earlier spell shields N'Aranav from some of the fireball's flames, but the conflagration inflicts new wounds on the scabs of those Dale had just healed.
Executing an aerial tumble, the vanaran tries to sneak up behind the giant raptor, but he suffers a bone-jarring smack across the skull. It could have been worse: The same spell protects him from the bird's burning touch, and having withstood the banishing strike of the first phoenix, he discovers he's not susceptible to its effects.
Battered and bruised, N'Aranav achieves his immediate intent, positioned on the guardian's flank.
Kahwen has no trouble evading the explosion of the fireball, and despite a foreboding sense of déjà vu, he launches himself forward, "Once more unto the breach!"
His swordmaster's training and his crane trance prove better able to keep him alive than does his aerobatics.
He reaches the roby phoenix in an aerial skid, the drag of his blade through the guardian's ribs, bringing him to a halt. The blow almost staggered the raptor.
Alarmed by its near death experience, the ruby phoenix guardian beats its wings, frantic to get beyond the reach of its foes' weapons. It manages to ascend five more feet, enough to safely heal itself
Quillen
Kahwen
Dale
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Ruby Phoenix Guardian
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N'Aranav
Aroden
Kimiya
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Kahwen is surprised and pleased when his hurtling approach ends with more damage to the Ruby Phoenix than to him. It was a dicey maneuver from the beginning.
He scowls as the phoenix heals itself. He wonders if his opponents feel cheated like this when he gets healed up in the middle of a battle, too.
He follows the creature up and takes another swing at it, though he is careful to keep his sword presented as a defensive measure.
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Dale raises an eyebrow a few times as the group scores some good hits on the flaming turkey "Why do you insist on burning us to death? Don't you realize we're here TO REPAIR THE TAPESTRY!" He scurries closer, nearly right beneath the bird and tosses another frosty bomb.
[dice=Frost Bomb, Ranged Touch, Cognatogen, Targeted Admixture, Range]1d20+6-2;3d6+6+6
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Dale throws a frosty knuckleball at the ruby phoenix guardian. A trio of Pathfinder yetis support the alchemist with a barrage of giant snowballs.
The combination of the creature's elemental fire and the bombs' frigid temperature creates an implosion-explosion that shatters the creature and dusts the surface of the gorge in light snow.
A tattered ruby feather floats to the ground.
If you can act quickly, there might be time to use the feather's magic to put the final touches on the tapestry's repairs.
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Quillen stands over the ruby phoenix for a moment to be certain it won't rise back up again - hadn't he heard something about phoenixes rising from ashes? If there's one thing the halfling knew about, it was ash...
Not wanting to get in the reincarnated deities way, he stood back as Aroden worked to restore the tapestry.
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The colossal ruby phoenix grows more resplendent and terrifying with each restored feather that soars into the sky to meet it. The magnificent bird lets out a final screech as its shroud of flames intensifies, utterly consuming it. The phoenix is gone. As ruby ashes drift towards the tapestry, the invaders, seeing the tapestry’s last defense has failed, pour through, their entire force pushing through the largest rift in a massive final attack. The entire world shudders as the rift widens.
Aram Zey steps forward to rest under the falling ashes. “Pathfinders, you fought bravely and well, and your sacrifices were not in vain.” Aram Zey pauses, and his expression turns pensive. “But, the tapestry’s tale has not yet ended. There is clearly a force at work here that is greater than we realized,” he gestures out toward the invaders, “Furthermore, we have not permanently repaired the demiplane—we have only patched the worst of the damage and prevented irreversible catastrophe. I fear that…” Aram Zey’s voice trails off for a moment, “Yes, just as I thought.”
The ruby ashes begin to glow, faint as smoldering coals at first, and then intensifying, coalescing, and swirling in beautiful patterns as they lift Aram Zey into the air. “It seems the key to defending the tapestry is allowing its guardian to be reborn. I will do whatever I can to provide the arcane energy necessary to keep the tapestry stable. In the meantime, I hope the Society will search for a more permanent solution. I refuse to believe that the knowledge of the legendary Ruby Phoenix herself has been lost to us forever.” The ashes and Zey converge on a single point, a great ruby ember in the sky. There is a spark, and then the ember explodes. A wave of fire engulfs the tapestry as the Ruby Phoenix emerges from the explosion with a triumphant, piercing cry. Aram Zey floats within its heart, his body engulfed in ruby fire. The explosion’s flames reach the invaders first, turning them to ash and cinders. The flames wash over the tapestry’s defenders without harming them. The tapestry burns—but the fires replenish it, scouring the wasteland and restoring the tapestry’s original environments. The phoenix beats its wings, sending wave after wave of fire into the Astral rift and searing the portal shut. The phoenix soars in a great arc across the sky and flies off toward the sun.
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"Huzzah!" Kahwen calls out as they defeat another Ruby Phoenix.
His excitement and sense of triumph fades as more invaders pour in. He sets himself to defend the realm with stoic resolve.
Then, Aram Zey makes his sacrifice and he practically drops his sword watching the saga.
When it ends, he looks around. "What happened Companions? Did we win?"
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Dale watches the scene play out, quickly grabbing for his notebook and jotting down the story as it unfolds. "Pay attention companions, this is history in the making!"
With the resolve of a stoic, if not slightly odd scholar, Dale notes the happenings. More concerned on their documentation than what actually happened.
"It looks like we won and Zey cemented himself in history, forever tied to the Tapestry. I'm sure his mother would be proud." He smiles, a slight look of admiration across his furry brow.
"So who wants to do a bit more site seeing and botanizing while we're here? The march of evolution likely continues on this demiplane, and we can document it for the Society!" As he speaks a rather tall and well dressed Dwarf strides towards the man.
"Excuse me, Dale was it?" He reaches out a large and weathered hand "Name's Harold, pretty solid rock hound and gemologist from Slave Mountain. I was one of those zapped and soul-suckled Dwarves you guys rescued back there. I gotta get outta this place for a while, mind if I tag along on your wanderings?"
Dale's eyes light up, knowing full well the the racial strengths of Dwarves, and always having too much stuff to carry around. He reaches out a welcoming hand shake "Great to meet you Harold, sounds like we'll make an excellent duo, but before we go back you've gotta give me a guided tour. I've always loved geology, one of my favorites of the earth sciences!"
With his new found friend, colleague, and occasional porter, Dale and Harold head off to look at all things nature. "Oh, grab that rock Harold!" Is a phrase you hear repeated frequently until the pair disappear from sight.
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N'Aranav lands next to Kahwen as gracefully as he can on the hill and watches the denouement to the tapestry's defense.
"I thinks so. Looks like that Zey-man has a job ahead of him though."
He nods noticeably once more than takes off again, determined to eak out every bit of joy out of his first flight spell.