Azra absorbs the hurt from her fellow Pathfinders, then heals herself.
The Shoanti warriors, still weaponless, cry out as they are struck down again and again by the faceless ghosts bearing the flag and insignia of Cheliax. The apparitions also strike the Pathfinders in a rush of endless forms...
...opening fresh wounds and causing blood to stain the stones underfoot. Through the translucent forms of the soldiers, the wooden bow can be seen lying on the ground next to the northeast stele.
Round 3! Bold may act!
Haunt
Melea (-9, Earthbreaker)
Galilah (-14)
Azra (-9)
Felicitas (-14)
Biesi (-11, Bolas)
Zarisha (-14)
Grandblade (-5)
Nicodemus (Klar)
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Bielsi isn't feeling great. He's used to dealing with spirits (and one surly one in particular) but these entities are downright vicious. He's not sure how many more rounds of these Chelish assaults he can take.
He quickly places the wooden bolas on the stele, hoping to lay them at peace, both to provide them rest and to avoid that final rest for himself.
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"What a bunch of whiners. As though these prime material weapons are going to help them with their eternal suffering," Zarisha snarks as she is swept over by another wave of faceless opponents.
"But, I suppose if it will shut them up...
She picks up the bow then steps to the stele and plants the faux weapon atop it.
As the Pathfinders try to place the wooden weapons on the steles, they find to their dismay that there is no place on the stone slabs to hold the items. The Shoanti warriors cry out in dismay and despair as they are cut down yet again by the faceless ghosts.
Round 3! Bold may act!
Haunt
Melea (-9, Earthbreaker)
Galilah (-14)
Azra (-9)
Felicitas (-14)
Biesi (-11, Bolas)
Zarisha (-14)
Grandblade (-5)
Nicodemus (Klar)
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"THose of you without weapons to place, get out of here! Or maybe create or pour water into the fountain?!?!?"
Nicodemus desperately examines the stele, seeing if there's some place he could place or attach {or stab!} the klar to make it stick to the stele. Any Shaonti depicted with an empty hand, perhaps? He'll place the klar in the most likely spot.
Felicitas follows Grandblade outside the room, slogging through what feels like knee-high mud. As Nicodemus examines the stele frantically, he doesn't spot any obvious place where a weapon would fit. As he glances over at the fountain, his eyes are drawn to the small plaque - and the four shallow recesses carved into the stone at each corner.
Again, the Shoanti weep as ghosts without faces strike them down without mercy or emotion. Again, the horde of apparitions streams through the room in an endless storm of steel. Again, the Pathfinders find themselves on the receiving end of their ghostly blades...
Round 4! Bold may act!
Haunt
Melea (-9, Earthbreaker)
Galilah (-9)
Azra (-11)
Felicitas (-9)
Bielsi (-13, Bolas)
Zarisha (-18)
Grandblade
Nicodemus (-10, Klar)
As Nicodemus places the wooden shield in the indentation, a cry rings across the battlefield. Standing tall amidst the Chelish forces, one brave Shoanti warrior easily deflects their swords and spears with her klar before knocking down a handful of soldiers with a single swipe. The faceless apparitions seem to hesitate for a moment before beginning to flow endlessly once more.
Another challenge rings out across the battlefield, and a terrified scream bursts from a ghostly soldier as they are tossed through the air like straw. Looking up from the wooden earthbreaker, Melea watches as more apparitions fly through the air or fall to the ground as another Shoanti warrior swings her massive hammer with ease - an island amidst the sea of soldiers. The faceless apparitions hesitate again, their numbers noticeably thinner, before returning to the fray once more.
A whirling, clattering sound fills the air as Bielsi slides the wooden bolas into the indentation. More soldiers fall as a third Shoanti warrior twirls a pair of stone spheres held together by an iron chain with expert precision, his arms guiding the motion of the bolas to keep them from falling still even as they smash through armor and weapon alike. For the first time, the faceless apparitions begin to fall back.
And then they fall - at first a few here and there like a spring drizzle, then in droves like leaves in the autumn tempest. Arrows fly from a bow just like the one Zarisha held moments ago, now held by the last of the Shoanti. The soldiers of the Chelaxian army drop their weapons and flee, though it does them little good against the might and ferocity of the four Shoanti warriors. As the last of the faceless ghosts fall to the ground, the warriors embrace each other warmly. Only the sound of their jubilant victory song lingers in the air as they fade from existence.
The sound of running water also lingers, but now the source is apparent - the recess in the middle of the room slowly fills with crystal-clear water. The floor is once again steady under the Pathfinders' feet as they examine the two doors on the western side of the room (one to the north, the other to the south).
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"Sarenrae grant me wisdom!" Bielsi says as the simple and obvious answer that he missed originally proves effective. He watches the Shoanti warriors gain and celebrate their victory with an approving nod.
He pats his arms, legs and torso then looks to Azra. "I hope you don't always have to babysit your fellow Pathfinders as much as you have us."
He offers her a wand with a familiar white cross in a red background, one of the standard designs of a cure light wounds wand in the society.
"It seems like you can put this to better use than me."
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Azra sucks on the wand for a bit.
"All better! Honest guv! Now, right, Guvnor Neko, I learned over in the east a weird form of medicine where wee traces of 'erbs do WONDERS on the body. Oh, and I stared into the void and it gave me 'ealin' powers. Makes it so that anyfink I 'old don't work too well, right, but I couldn't swin' a sword or shoot a crossbow ter save me life in this armor any roads! A bit of Pafffinders luv me abilities, I'll add yer ter the list!"
Nicodemus doesn't see anything dangerous about either door. Opening them reveals a pair of hallways, one with a lone block of stone and the other flanked by four pairs of statues.
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"The statues sound good to me. If this guy's notes are at all trustworthy...which they probably aren't, there's nothing interesting about them except that they're too heavy to easily steal," Bielsi says.
"After that...oh, curse him to the Abyss!" he exclaims as he reads the next line. "Does he have no sense of sanctity? He broke coffins! I'd be surprised if we don't find some rightfully angry corporeal undead in there."
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"I hope there is a way to easily purify such undead," Melea says with concern. She draws her bow all the same. "Destruction may return their souls to rightful rest, but there may be more respectable methods."
At Nico's instruction, she takes a fortifying sip of water before helping him search. He doesn't seem to do things for no reason.
Clay statues line the walls of this claustrophobic hallway, but Nicodemus doesn't find anything dangerous about them as he investigates the closest pair of stone warriors - though he does notice a stylized eagle and a single line of Shoanti script carved into the base of each. As the Pathfinders move down the hallway, they notice that each pair of statues has similar carvings at their bases, but with different animals (a horse, griffon, and bat respectively).
Nicodemus doesn't spot anything dangerous in the hallway. At the other end, twin staircases lead to a raised stone platform overlooking this room. Four sarcophagi occupy the lower level, but the lids have been smashed open and stones shards litter the floor. A faint feeling of unease stifles the area. Doors exit to the east and west. The staircase to the south leads to a dead end.
Bielsi is able to gather enough stone fragments to repair one of the sarcophagus lids, decorated with a large bat. As he collects the pieces and begins magically repairing them, he notices that the base of each sarcophagus has a plaque bearing a line of Shoanti script. It is not clear which sarcophagus this lid belongs to however.
"Story Seeker 4430-4571"
"Meadow Grass 4457-4482"
"Meditates in Sunlight 4481-4565"
"Tranquil Shadow 4595-4692"
Nicodemus will Aid Grandblade's efforts, if he can.
Nicodemus, Beilsi, and Grandblade work together to re-assemble the other three sarcophagus lids. When all is done, they have four lids (each decorated with a bat, a horse, and eagle, or a griffon), and four lidless sarcophagi whose skeletal occupants stare at the ceiling with hollow eyes. The Pathfinders lift the heavy stone slab bearing a bat onto the third sarcophagus, leaving three lids yet unclaimed. The feeling of uneasiness hangs in the air like a shroud.
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Nicodemus smacks his head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. I believe those statues were arranged in chronological order outside, and they had animals on them. Their order was Eagle, Horse, Griffon, Bat. And if these dates are years for the lives of these famous members, we should probably go with:
Story Seeker EAGLE
Meadow Grass HORSE
Meditates in Sunlight GRIFFON
Tranquil Shadow BAT.
That should match the hallway statues, and thematically, they do make sense as well. What do you think?"
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Bielsi stands and stares at the lids, lips pursed and arms crossed over his chest as he contemplates. He jumps at the sound of Nicodemus smacking his head, the tension giving him a jolt.
"I can't read the dates, but that sounds exactly right. We know those statues were in order and the symbols there match up to these so they should be in the same order."
He moves to help put the lids on in the order suggested.
As Nicodemus, Beilsi, and Felicitas gently place the repaired lids onto each sarcophagus in the order suggested by the ratfolk, the feeling of unease in the air dissipates like fog burning away in the morning sun.
After exploring the room beyond (what looks to be a meeting room of some sort, only containing a large wooden table), the Pathfinders make their way back through the hall of generations to the shrine of four warriors. Down the other passageway, they find a circular room with a platform overlooking a shallow pit in the room's center. Peering over the edge, they see a heavily-damaged sarcophagus and a broken skeleton at the bottom of the pit.
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Bielsi stands in the middle of the properly rearranged sarcophogi and says a little prayer of thanksgiving to Sarenrae. He throws one toward Pharasma, too, knowing the Radiant Lady won't mind him acknowledging the suzerainty of the Lady of Graves in this particular circumstance.
He sighs heavily as they find yet another disturbed sarcophagus in their travels, this one with the body within similarly damaged. He doesn't even bother complaining. What else could you expect at this point out of this marauder in explorer's clothing?
He goes down to begin the repairs unless someone else has a better idea.