Much like you noticed before earlier, this area contains numerous alcoves to store skulls and bodies. However, all that’s left of these remains are smashed fragments.
Walking into the light cast by Thoriel's wayfinder, a headless corpse staggers into view. He paces, tearing at his ragged neck in. You guess he has repeated this pattern for centuries. Suddenly, he senses your life energy. It turns toward you, enormous ax in hand. A few painful words croak through his ruined throat. "Come again have you? Will you never leave me in peace? I'll have your bones this time linnorm."
For every 5 points you beat the DC, you may ask a question from this list.
Initiative
Round 1 Bold may act.
Touchy
Thoriel
The Beheaded King
Dolamite
Fahd
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"Bloody draugr." Touchy says, nervously. "Ran into some before... but they were underwater... and had heads. No idea if this one is different."
He stops suddenly, then grins. "Oh, hey... no head. That sucks... or doesn't, I suppose." He laughs at his joke. "Don't suppose that's that Colbraid fellow?"
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Thoriel chuckles at Touchy's joke as she glides forward into the chamber, her sword once again charged up with powerful electrical sparks. As she reaches the headless horror, she slashes upwards into his stomach and chest. "Well, this seems a little unfair. I'd usually aim for the neck on something like this...this is cramping my style!"
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Touchy is not nearly as sure about entering the chamber, memories of his last encounter with draghr still fresh on his mind.
"If you're cramping up, may I suggest one of Lord Touchy's signature massages later?" He offers Thoriel, with a leer and waggle of his bushy eyebrows.
Knowing his whip would be little more than a gentle reprimand to the thing, given its tortured nature, he instead decides to try to relieve it of its weapon.
Everyone winces and turns away from the discharge as the cavern is lit briefly by a brilliant blue star. The elf's blade sizzles as she withdraws it from deep in the dead man's chest.
A crack then echos off the walls as Touchy's whip wraps around the handle of the ax. With a tug, the heavy weapon clangs to the ground.
The headless figure pauses as if considering something. The corpse flexes his hands. Callouses clearly riddle his palm to the bone. This is perhaps the first time in two centuries the fallen king has not held a weapon...has not held that weapon. The moment passes. If he realizes the magus will get a free shot at him, he does show it. His body lumbers over as he reunites hands and ax. The blade drags with a metallic scrape as he stands upright again.
With a sudden lunge, the beheaded monarch swings with violent confidence. Thoriel reels at the feeling of dark energy coursing through the weapon. She quickly surmises that it is unlife radiating from the former regent.
Second, I do not see that you cast Shield, so unless I have missed something, the attack hits your posted AC.
Third, if the attack did hit, you need to make a DC 17 Will save versus the energy drain. Failure means you are bestowed a negative level.
Round 1 & 2 Pathfinders may act.
Dolamite
Fahd
Touchy
Thoriel
The Beheaded King
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If she is surprised that the undead king is still standing, Thoriel doesn't show it. As the headless horror reaches down for its axe she swings at its arm with her blade, then quickly flings up a shield of magical force to block its violent retaliatory strike.
The magus then charges up her sword once again, if not quite as powerfully as before, and tries to put the the king down once and for all.
Fahd races up to join in the fray. His attack just slips by the fallen king's defenses. Wary of the dwarf's antics, Touchy's whip does not come close to fouling the monarch again. However, the spelldancer is able to continue her onslaught, felling the royal for the last time. Once defeated, the Beheaded King croaks a resigned, “Cannot rest. Dragon…” before collapsing.
The party moves on to the sound of combat that has drawn you through the cavernous complex. An ethereal woman and a serpentine dragon are locked in combat here, each countering the other’s strikes. The beast briefly looks toward the chamber’s entrance with curiosity, and the woman takes advantage of its distraction to tear its throat open with her axe. The dragon rears back in pain and sinks into the floor, but the warrior’s apparition remains.
With the linnorm temporarily defeated, the warrior leans on her axe wearily.
***FROM THE PAST***
Touchy believes that the King was under the effect of a death curse from a linorm.
***IN THE NOW***
There is an audible thump as the ethereal warrior's helm comes to rest on the haft of her ax.
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"Well, that was quite the show!" Touchy calls out, to the spirit lady. "And I've seen many a lady wrestling with unruly serpents, let me tell you." He adds, with a waggle of his bushy eyebrows.
"You wouldn't happen to be Kolvi would you? I am Lord Touchy, of Kravenkus." He pauses for a moment, then adds, as if by habit. "Or anywhere else you want me to be from."
"We have come to try to learn what happened here, with you, and that bastard back there." He hitches one thumb back towards where the headless draugr fell. "Was a powerful linnorm curse on him. Mighty powerful if it meant he'd never get head... er, ahead... again." He waves absently at the big axe looted from Alvard.
"And by the looks of it, you might be caught up in this curse as well... it has certainly plagued your family, and his, to this day. Potent stuff indeed. Calistria would be impressed!"
With a tired smile, "Thank you Lord Touchy. Yes, I am indeed Kolvi. You speak of Alvard. You would be better not to waste your time. As much of a coward he was in life, death has only served to make him more craven. Even when given the chance to aid me in ending the linnorm, he hides in the darkness." She almost laughs, "It would be funny if this all weren't so dangerous." She stretches, "But, I'd bet yer right about the curse. I think the two curses are linked. It'll keep comin' back so long as either curse remains."
Kolvi relays her version of the infamous Jarlsblood Witch events, focusing on her desire to slay a linnorm, the king’s underhanded ambush, and the intervention by a supernatural elk-man that seemed to aid her by conjuring a blizzard to hamper her enemies. She admits that she is no scholar and cannot provide a deep understanding of what has happened since her death.
"There is something strong pulling at my soul. Can't say if its tuggin' up to the heavens 'r staight down. But, I know I can't leave...not yet. If I stop fighting that beast, I just know it will awaken and take vengeance on Frostbreach and beyond. Don't ask me how I know. I can't explain it. In anycase, even if them folks back in town killed me, I can't just leave. I won't abandon them to that fate." She then takes a moment, seeing how the team is equipped. She nods to herself. "What’s more, defeating the linnorm is a personal challenge. Maybe I couldn't get the job done in life, but I see this as a chance to accomplish something. I think you may know what I'm talkin' about."
"Look, I ain't too much fer booksmarts, and I'm not fer knowin' for certain what will destroy this linnorm forever. What I do know is that all I'm doing here is only slowing it down. Now, I'm willing to try something different, so long as yer up ta help. I've been fighting it's spirit, stopping it from getting it to its body. I think we let the linnorm return to its corporeal body and defeat it there. If you need time to prepare, I can keep it busy a while longer till you’ve had a chance to rest up or heal. However, I gotta tell ya, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out. If yer not fer helpin', well then I guess it's just gonna be me til I get pulled where ever my soul's gonna rest."
"Well folks, whattaya say, wanna kill a linnorm, solve the mystery and save the town?"
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"I'm in for all of the above, or at least everything from the linnorm killing through to the jugs full of ale...anything more than that will depend on how successfully we manage to complete the rest of the list!" Thoriel replies.
"A bit of rest before that sounds good, though. I've been dying to fix up my hair and powder my nose...oh, and of course replenish some spells if I've got some time left!"
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I too choose to fight this wyrm. My fists already work as cold iron Fahd. But, alas I know of no spell to make your's so. [] Iron Beard almost does it but in PFS you have to be dwarf to cast it.[/ooc] I shall prepare a spell that will make all of us resist fire. It shall only last 10 minutes though so timing the cast shall be important. And since I must close with the enemy to damage it I would benefit from wearing the offered boots.
Does she know what sort of Linnorm it is?
The Beheaded King wields a special weapon known as a Butchering Axe (Pathfinder Player Companion: Adventure’s Armory 2 ~ 8), an axe with an oversized head bristling with spikes. If your Strength is less than 19, you take a -2 penalty on all attacks with it. A butchering axe deals 3d6 slashing damage, deals ×3 damage on a critical hit, and weighs 25 pounds.
You would need Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Butchering Axe (to avoid the non-proficiency penalty).
Once you signal your readiness, Kolvi waits for the linnorm to reappear. As it rears up to attack, she steps aside, leaving the exit open. It hesitates, narrows its eyes with suspicion, then flies out of the cave. The entire catacomb rumbles softly as the linnorm’s bones reassemble outside, regrowing portions of its skin and scales in moments.
Once Kolvi’s ghost allows the linnorm spirit to escape, the linnorm rushes outside to rejoin with its slowly regenerating body. The process draws dark storm clouds, and where the bones rip themselves from the hill, the stones bleed rivulets of molten rock that quickly cool in the cold air.
As the party sprints through the cavern, parts of the ceiling begin to cave in. Running through the dust, you avoid the larger pieces as they fall and shatter on the stone floor. Your quartet manages to reach reach mouth of the complex and burst back into the daylight. However, the sun seems to dim as the linnorm regenerates.
Around you, Kolvi's voice echos. "You slay the body, I shall slay the spirit!" No sooner does she say this when images of the linnorm and Kolvi form in the storm clouds above. The pair slowly circle, both understanding that this will be their final battle.
Initiative
Round 1
Pathfinders may act
Once you signal your readiness,
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As the spirit linnorm is deciding what actions to take, Touchy will cast bestow weapon proficiency on Fahd.
He will also cast Bless.
At that point, he's too busy keeping up with the others as they race outside to the physical fight!
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Thoriel gives the group and herself a little bit more speed for the upcoming battle, herself a little bit more bravado and a few imaginary friends.
As combat ensues, the agile spelldancer calls on her arcane reserves to boost her speed. In a blur, the five Thoriels practically glide across the battlefield in a blur of colours, shimmering metal and long flowing hair. As she moves, her blade erupts in powerful sparks as she prepares an electrifying strike on the linnorm.
Dolamite calls for this deity's blessing as Fahd and shimmering images of Thoriel dart forward, slashing and stabbing at the regenerating beast. They seem to disrupt the process and rotting scales and bone fragments fall and seemingly melt back into the ground.
However, a moment later, bursting from the hillside is the fully formed linnorm. From its roost nearly twenty feet up, it bellows. A roar fills valley, its echo reverberating for miles.
Just as you begin to think your efforts were in vain, you notice a prominent scorch mark on its hind leg.
Round 2 bold may act.
Thoriel
Linnorm Vestige
Touchy
Dolamite {Need any personal buffs. May retcon Round 1 action}
Fahd