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Realizing it is rapidly running out of alternatives, Xukong reaches for another wand, with which it reluctantly sheaths its kimono in slippery petroleum!
Jarl aims carefully, but the cloaker cleverly uses Selune's bulk to keep the water bender from getting a clear shot. Xukong lubricates itself in the hopes of escaping the creature's grasp, and the cloaker scrabbles to maintain its hold.
With a sudden screech of stone-on-stone, Round Mountain shifts suddenly! The Pathfinders try to keep their footing...
...but most of them fall to the ground - Selune and Xukong are the only ones who remain on their feet. Ashwall, Jarl, and Kitoro are dangerously close to the chasm's edge...
...and with a yell, the undine rolls off the cliff into the darkness! Thankfully, the rotation of the mountain means Ashwell only falls partway down the ravine before the wall watches him.
Meanwhile, the cloaker tries to keep ahold of the slippery Xukong...
...but the magus is too slippery for the creature to keep ahold of. The other cloaker lets out a low moan, filling the Pathfinders with dread...
...which blossoms into full-blown panic in Kitoro, Selune, and Xukong!
Round 2, 3! Bold may act!
Xukong (-21, Panicked 1/??)
Adumariel (Prone, FoM 3/3)
Kitoro (Prone, Panicked 1/??)
Red
Blue (-38)
Mun (-6, Prone)
Selune (Panicked 1/??)
Jarl (Prone)
Ashwell (-5, Prone, Fallen)
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Xukong is kensei; a master of mind, matter, metal, and magic - its sense of fear is no match for its sense of vindictive bloodlust!
It swings its extraordinary sword, which glows an intense black (a sight you likely would never have comprehended until this moment), glints at the edges with mysterious dark vitriol, and seems to audibly *scream* as it is swung against the cloaker!
Anyone sufficiently keen, quick, and well-positioned of sight may notice the strange numerological glyphs upon the delicate Tian prayer scroll dangling from near the top of Xukong's mask as they seem to dance in place the eyeblink before...
The cloakers lash out at Adumariel...
...but the occultist's power of the mind protects her from the toothy embrace of the creature. Her riposte misses the mark though as she slips on a stone dislodged in the recent tremor.
Xukong skewers the cloaker with his sword, black vitriol rushing out of the blade to consume the creature from the inside out. As the hole in its center grows, it falls limply to the floor. After a few seconds, only scraps remain. As Kitoro flees, Jarl's blast of water only dislodges more chunks of rock from the walls.
Round 2, 3! Bold may act!
Xukong (-21)
Adumariel (FoM 3/3)
Kitoro (Panicked 1/??)
Red
Blue (-38)
Mun (-6, Prone)
Selune (Panicked 1/??)
Jarl
Ashwell (-5, Prone, Fallen)
Mun stays on the ground, holding his spear ready to help deflect any incoming attacks. Selune, on the other hand, roars in panic and flees back down the tunnel. As she goes, the cloaker snaps at her...
...but its double rows of teeth catch only a few hairs from the bear's hide as she races away.
Round Mountain groans, but does not shift noticeably as the cloaker screeches again - this time without added effect. It tries to wrap Adumariel up in its leathery arms again, but the last vestages of her talisman's magic keep the beast's grip from sticking. Screaming again in hate and pain, the cloaker flaps its wings and flies above the chasm, stopping right next to Jarl!
Round 3, 4! Bold may act!
Xukong (-21)
Adumariel
Kitoro (Panicked 2/??)
Red
Blue (-38)
Mun (-6, Prone)
Selune (Panicked 2/??)
Jarl
Ashwell (-5, Fallen)
Adumariel uses the cloaker's failed attempt to restrain her to get into an advantageous position. As the cloaker turns to run away, she lunges with her blade, jamming it deep into the creature's side. It screams and tries to pull away, but its angle is all wrong and it only tears a long, jagged gash in its leathery wing on the elf's weapon. With a final shriek, the cloaker flops gracelessly to the floor and falls into the chasm. As he climbs out, Ashwell watches the beast fall past him and land in an unmoving pile on the floor below him.
As the second cloaker falls silent, the ratfolk return from their hiding places. "You're amazing!" a fellow with grey fur says in awe. "Now hurry - we must get to the pagoda before anything else happens!"
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The Pathfinders reach the Pagoda of the Rat without further incident. Inside the seven-story structure, an older ratfolk with brown fur and white whiskers and muzzle rises from a simple wooden seat. "Greetings, Pathfinders, and welcome to Round Mountain. I am Krella, leader of the ratfolk within the mountain. Your arrival here must mean that the repair teams are not far behind. For your help, I thank you on behalf of all of us here." She bows her head, as do the ratfolk scouts escorting the Pathfinders. As they rush off to other tasks, Krella beckons the Pathfinders closer and speaks in a whisper. "While we wait for the repair team, I must caution you. We ratfolk have many eyes and ears in the tapestry. Your old enemies, the Aspis Consortium, have poisoned many of the tapestry’s people against you, but I sense that something far more sinister lurks just out of reach. Someone - or something - is at work in the tapestry, and has taken great effort to remain hidden. I fear that this is just the beginning of our trouble." She clears her throat and speaks in a more normal volume again. "And we of Round Mountain stand ready to assist the Pathfinders and save our home. Our scouts have been hard at work collecting information across the Tapestry - perhaps you can make use of it as well."
Mission 5: The Aspis Consortium poisoned many of the tapestry’s residents against us. Three factions have nonetheless agreed to meet with us. You must convince them to trust the Society in this desperate hour.
The Pathfinders depart Round Mountain, which seems to have slowed in its movements for the time being. On the other side of the mystical bridge, they find an area of the Tapestry seemingly made of a strange patchwork of several environments: sand dunes abut jagged hills, and massive evergreen trees rise from a dry riverbed. Tense silence permeates the area, filling the space between three groups of humanoids: a group of stoic soldiers enshrouded in strips of cloth, a group of winged people with draconic features, and a group of lanky, owl-headed scholars.
As the Pathfinders approach, they see each of the three groups step back slightly. Kitoro quickly recognizes a hesitant audience and quickly whispers to the rest of the Pathfinders that too many strangers approaching a group will result in that group abandoning any chance of negotiations.
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Kitoro finally manages to get the panic under control, thankful it did not result in any injuries (especially her own). The reception by the ratfolk is quite welcome, and she reenacts the flight with her finger puppets to entertain whoever is interested after the rat-pow-wow is done.
When they get to the bridge, she is surprised to find, not Aspice, but odd looking folk. "They look pretty nervous. I highly suggest we pair up and approach them is small groups. Since we need to pair up. I volunteer to approach the winged folk. Comedy is the universal language! Anyone care to join me?"
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The battle spectacularly concluded, Xukong once again takes out its eerie self-effigy and uses it to magically torture the injuries out of itself.
Upon reaching their next task, Xukong is even more taciturn than usual; it is a fighter, a scholar, an artisan, and a mystic, but scarcely a diplomat. It therefore hangs back a short ways and prepares for what should happen if diplomacy fails, mixing the "healing" potion it had generously but erroneously been given earlier with the other potion it had personally selected: A slender flask of what appears to be dark red wine. The resulting concoction is black as Xukong's sword, and it quaffs it through an ingenious hinge mechanism in its beautiful-yet-frightful mask. After that, it takes out a preserved and lacquered Human skull, which it sets to magically floating about the dark kensei in a languid orbit.
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The repair teams have patched the rift at Round Mountain. Be on the lookout! Before closing the rift, the team glimpsed a mysterious sailing vessel lurking in the Astral Plane. Round Mountain is secured!
In addition, the repair teams have patched the rift at Slave Mountain. Many slaves are now free, and they have pledged their aid! Slave Mountain is also secured!
Xukong recognizes the owl-headed scholars as syrinx, though what they are doing here is beyond them. The draconic winged folk are probably wyvarans, and they have no idea what the cloth-wrapped soldiers are.
As Kitoro and Ashwell approach the syrinx, three of them hoot solemnly and step forward. "Greetings, Pathfinders," a brown-feathered one states. "We are the Hhruul. Tell us, why should we-"
"You're from outside the Tapestry, right?" another syrinx with white feathers interjects, his eyes wide. "What is the sky like there?"
"Hush!" the third responds quickly, holding a brown and white speckled wing in front of the inquisitive one. "They probably don't even know where our home in Arcadia is, let alone how to get there from here. Now let us hear what they have to say." All three syrinx look at Kitoro and Ashwell expectantly.
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As soon as the cloakers are down, Mun hurries to catch Selune; once the bear calms down, they return and Mun patches them both up.
Mun refreshes the heightened awareness spell on himself, but as they are ostensibly heading into a negotiation, that's the only enhancement he adds to either he or his bear.
Mun approaches the winged wyvarans, hoping that some past knowledge of dragons and their like might aid him here. He takes a leap of faith, and begins addressing them in what he hopes is their native tongue.
"Greetings. As you probably can tell from this wayfinder, my friends and I represent the Pathfinder Society. Our ancient enemies the Aspis Consortium have been poisoning our reputation here in the Hao Jin Tapestry, and we are here to remedy that. Tell me, what have you heard, and how can I assuage your concerns?"
"Hah! Look, a mudcrawler comes crawling over to us!" one of the wyvarans with reddish scales jeers as Mun approaches.
Another one with streaks of orange adds, "It thinks we'll listen, after what the Pathfinders did to our ancestors! It must have been dropped many times as a hatchling to be so stupid!"
"So tell us, mudcrawler, why should we listen to a band of thieves and murderers?" a third with a white muzzle finishes.
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Before arriving at this strange location, Adumariel will cast Heightened Awareness on herself too, the better to respond to this situation.
On arrival, and seeing the welcome Mun received at the Wyvarans, Adumariel takes her chances and approaches the soldiers wrapped in cloth.
She bows and says "I am Adumariel Odranti, agent of the Pathfinder society, and these are my allies. We are here to help stabilize this demi-plane. Will you help us?"
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As the group makes its way across the bridges Jarl stops and takes a moment to concentrate. With a slight grimace the swirling waters around him slow and disperse leaving him almost but not completely dry.
Jarl looks over the scattered groups and elects to follow Mun over to talk with the Wyvarans.
"Stupid? Us? Perhaps, but what is it that the Pathfinders have done to make you so angry?
Adumariel does not recognize what these once-human soldiers have become, but she realizes that they look remarkably similar to mummies. The cloth bandages wrapping them have become as frayed and tattered as the Tapestry itself. As the elf approaches, one of them with a large mildew stain calls out, "Halt! Present yourself for inspection by the eternal guards of Lung Wa!"
"How can we hear her if she halts over there?" a second with a grey wrappings challenges back. "We can take her, we can take them all, we can take on everybody!"
"Silence. We have come here to listen." All three mummies nod and look expectantly at Adumariel, their faces all incredibly calm and collected.
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Kit decides to put on an impromptu skit about a vast library with an ancient tome with owl wings as its librarian. some Aspice agents arrive and attempt to loot the library but they are successfully thwarted by the librarian and a team of pathfinders come to protect the lore.
"We have had many dealings with the Aspice. They are looters and manipulators. Pathfinders try to protect lore and knowledge at all costs" Which can be very irritating at times.
"And here we are again in opposition to the Aspice. Just what lies have they told you and how can we prove our good intentions?"
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Lung Wa, where have I heard that...
She approaches closer, though she is gravely afraid. It was her recent encounter with a Mummy that caused her to purchase the necklace to protect against paralysis, and she is already without its protection.
"We are here to help all peaceful residents of the tapestry. Will you work with us and not against us?"
Her voice cracks and wavers, but she stands up to them nevertheless
Mun's silver tongue slips for a second in the face of the wyvarans' jeering taunts, but Jarl calmly finishes his sentence and gives the elf a chance to collect himself before returning to finish his thought. The wyvarans pause, impressed. "We will think on this," the white-muzzled one says slowly, his voice missing the venom present a few moments ago.
Seconds later, all three groups stir. "Enough!" the largest syrinx announces loudly. "The others of our tribes have met with the Pathfinders as well, and these ones have reinforced their trustworthiness. We will help save our home." Cheers, growls, and enthusiastic hoots fill the air.
As the group takes a well-deserved break, other Pathfinders drift by to chat. One tells about a ziggurat filled with undead monstrosities and ancient serpentfolk magic, now in the hands of the Muckmouth tribe of lizardfolk. Another speaks of visiting the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment and battling the doubts of the high priest that had taken shape in the form of demons! They are eager to hear the group's tales as well.
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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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Venture-Captain Arnaut rushes effortlessly to the group again. "Agents!" he announces with a dramatic flourish, "we have identified two major problems - a massive surge of undead creatures, and invaders from the Astral Plane. While we need to contain both threats, I leave the choice of which to tackle first to you." He taps his foot as he waits for the group's decision.
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While resting Adumariel tells the story of the mighty Xukong the inscrutable, and how they disintegrated a cloaker in a single blow.
During her preparations for the next day she spends more time investing mental focus in her boots and her locket, based on the demands of the previous day's adventuring
"I've always had something of an interest in the planes, I wouldn't mind seeing what these invaders from the astral plane look like"
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Kit murmurs a groan as she is once again called back into service, largely due to a massive hangover caused by the celebration with a pack of bards the night before. One of her finger puppets is Velcroed to her pony tail holder, which is half undone in the mess that is her hair, and it looks like a rats nest with an actual rat in it. She managed to miss Zey's big announcement and tried to miss the resulting gathering to no avail.
So there she is, much subdued compared to her usual self, bleary and red eyed. She mutters something foul about undead and astral beings alike and it is quite evident that when given the choice between a(stral) and u(ndead) she would pick zzzz.
As the Pathfinders place their hands on the Tapestry once more, they find themselves beneath a gaping hole that 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.
The Pathfinders hurry along a patchwork bridge towards a set of ancient ruins in the desert. As a horde of towering humanoids approaches, Aram Zey’s voice booms. The giants raise their fists and bellow a challenge!
You're not sure what this creature is.
You're not sure what this creature is.
These are trolls, giants renowned for their regenerative abilities. Canny hunters of these beasts know to bring acid or fire on the hunt to stop their injuries from repairing themselves. Trolls also have large, biting mouths and very sharp claws that can rend their prey.
Round 1! Bold may act!
Adumariel
Kitoro
Xukong
Mun
Selune
Jarl
Red
Blue
Yellow
Ashwell