Edwin figured he was going to need to bypass the priestess' resistances, so he empowered his weapon again, this time against undead.
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Zendara isn't sure if her arrows are doing anything to the woman, so she continues to sing, but she mixes in a spell to make her arrows do more damage.
The griffon continues to eat Mr. Teller, but is still wary of anyone trying to get past it as it stands in front of the other exit.
After casting that spell, Zendara starts weaving an acid arrow spell into her song. She is going to try delivering it with one of her arrows. She's never tried it before, but if it works, it might mess up the creepy priestess more than her magic bow can do alone.
Not dropping her defensive stance, Xindyra continues making jabs at the priestess.
Xindrya thrusts but misses. The priestess glances at the fallen form of Mr Teller and darts towards him, placing the palm of her hand on his head, she purrs, "Arise! Your work is not done yet!"
Mr Teller's battered limbs start thrashing around, and low moan escapes his dead lips.
Edwin decided it was time to smite the priestess; he slashed at her, declaring, "That's quite enough of that!"
Zendara, still singing, shoots the priestess.
(point blank, inspire courage, rapid shot)
(point blank, inspire courage, arrowsong strike (acid arrow))
(manyshot)
(rapid shot)
(rapid shot)
__________
The Griffon is pissed off that its dinner is trying to get away, and keeps slashing off pieces and eating them.
Edit:
(rapid shot)
"Hey, that's cheating!"
Xindyra continues jabbing at the priestess.
Yukarii realized the vampire needed to die for a second time before she raised more defeated enemies and began to cast. When she finished thoughts of scorching heat and the fear of being burned before she pointed letting a red beam.
The priestess gets absolutely pin-cushioned by Zendara, and stabbed several times by Edwin and Xindrya. This proves to be too much, as the damage adds up her form suddenly turns to vapour before she could complete her unholy ritual.
Her vapours form floats slowly towards the window.
Belt
Mithril breastplate
"Should we follow the vapours?", Edwin asked his companions.
"We could, maybe even should. She'll slowly regain form, killing her again in that process will be permanent death. Besides, do we want to risk a vampire on the loose, whose boytoy we killed? She's a priestess to boot."
"Right!', Edwin replied. He scanned for magic auras, and removed the magical belt. "The sword and breastplate are magical too!" He moved towards the window to follow the vapours.
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Follow her quickly. I will catch up.
Zendara gathers up all the loot quickly and commands the Griffon to break the table in the conference room. She then returns the Griffon to statue form, collecting the statue and a suitably large splinter of the table, thinking... wooden stake. She isn't sure if a broken arrow is hefty enough to work as a wooden stake to finish off a vampire, but a large splinter from the table leg should work.
Thus equipped, she runs after the party to help finish off the priestess permanently.
In gaseous form the priestess isn't particularly fast but she's not constrained by what's on the ground. Floating just above roof height she gives you a merry chase as she head more or less due east deeper into town.
Edwin told his comrades, "I think she's heading towards Hajak square, a lawless area beset by petty gangs. The square itself is well known for its itinerant preachers hawking for a dozen obscure cults."
Well, try not to get into a brawl. We need to finish her.
As you follow the cloud towards Hajak square, the buildings get increasingly shabby, clearly this is a deprived area where maintenance has not been a priority. The people you pass seem despondent and idle. Some of them try to beg half heartedly but you easily shoo them away.
Eventually you enter the Hajak square, a wide area pathed with great slabs. In noticeable contrast to the surrounding slums, the square has a number of grand buildings in various states of disrepair. Various boxes are piled in places used as stages by sharp eyed missionaries protelysing for half a dozen or more obscure cults.
The floating cloud floats at roof level steadily towards a once grand building adored with faded frescoes, that now has the look of a flophouse. There is a large crowd listening with rapt attention to a wild eyed man in a hessian smock on top of a pile of wooden boxes. The preacher's statements seem elliptical to you but one thing sticks out, he's promising a great change where the poor get what's due to them, replacing the indolent rich as long as they obey their new master.
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(pass)
Zendara notices people chewing purple leaves and determines that they must be some local narcotic. She points it out to the party.
As the cloud nears a specific building, Zendara takes note of some other details.
(pass)
(pass)
(pass)
She fills the party in about the history of the area, and points out a preacher who is almost certainly preaching about Nylarlathotep. . She also notes that this flophouse might be the cult base.
They might have a fight on their hands here. For now though, Zendara keeps her eye on the cloud, though she readies herself to take down anyone who tries to stop them from ending the vampire.
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While you decide what to do, you notice various people milling about. There seem to be a lot of comings and goings from the flop house, so getting in probably won't be too difficult as long as you're willing to pay a small fee.
Zendara points out the cloud to the party and that it is going in on the penthouse level, then she pays the fee and rushes in, headed for the stairs.
Edwin followed Zendara, paying the fee at the entrance.
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Yukarii was more than a little annoyed the vampire managed to get away but at least it wasn't so fast they couldn't follow her. The exotic half-elf followed Zendara closely and was becoming worried as they got into the seedier part of town. Hearing that there was a cultist preaching of that unspeakable monstrous entity was more than a little disturbing but this was neither the time nor the place to deal with him, there was a vampire to put down for good.
Seeing that they had to enter the flophouse Yukarii was not exactly enthused with the idea but she knew they had little option at that point. They needed to follow and put down the undead priestess once and for all. Yukarii paid her fee and stayed hot on Edwin's tail now as they made their way inside with Yukaari safely nestled within her consciousness.
Despite the imposing size of its grandiose architecture, the flop house looked even shabbier than it did from outside. Chunks of plaster were missing from the walls, the tiled floors were uneven and dirty. The unwashed humanity around stank.
As you headed up a succession of petty thugs offered just about every vice imaginable. It wasn't however, the low life scum that made the biggest impression, it was the masses of vacant looking emaciated acolytes all in loose yellow robes that set your minds on edge. What gripped them was something more dangerous than any drug, these were the followers of something alien, vast and inhuman.
The final staircase lead to a small foyer which was in stark contrast to the deprivation below, the decor was impeccable, the floor scrupulously clean. A double door lead into the penthouse, in front of which were a pair of thugs in expensive suits.
One of them looked you up and down before saying firmly, "Entrance is by appointment only and you don't have an appointment."
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Zendara says
We do though. We just talked to the priestess and Teller, and she wanted us to come over here immediately. Better let us in. It is a matter of urgency and we don't have time to argue with you. It would be a shame to get blood all over those nice suits.
Zendara isn't sure whether they are going to let them in or not, but she starts casting gravity bow just in case. Even if it prompted a negative reaction rather than fear, time was of the essence. The thugs were going to get out of her way, or die, and she didn't much care which.
The thugs is suits share a glance when Zendara mentioned Mr Teller. The taller of the two replied, "Friends of Mr Teller eh? What did you say your names were again?"
Edwin had a funny feeling this wasn't going well.
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(pass)
Zendara finishes her spell.
You wouldn't know us, we're from the Union Hall, and there is a problem. Someone broke in over there and Teller and the Priestess are fighting them off, but the security scheduled for tonight isn't there yet, and she said she needs a specific hidden magical item from here. I just cast the divination spell that will let me find it. Let me in quickly, or everything falls apart. No show tonight, and honestly, those two are talented, but I don't know how long they can hold back those magical bird-lion things... whatever they are. Our weapons couldn't even touch them, so they sent us to get something that will solve the problem. Quickly, now, or we'll have to go through you! Those creatures are tearing up my building!
The taller guard shares a meaningful glance with the other one who says, "Inform the strike team, we must send reinforcements! By our master's will the show must go on."
The tall guard slips inside giving you a glimpse of a large luxury modernist style apartment. Less than a minute later a dozen goons all in expensive suits rush out and pound their way down the stairs.
The shorter guard turns to you and says, "Follow me please. Prime-arch Vaskia will want to see you when she returns."
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Edwin whispered, "I think he's talking about the priestess herself. I don't think we want to wait for her return."
Zandara slips inside the room after the tall guard and the others rush past, intentionally ignoring the plea to follow the short guard. She's glad they didn't have to fight all of those, but it's been another minute already. She didn't know how fast vampires could recover, but they were quickly losing their opportunity here.
We have to get the magical item for her and get back to help. Pure brute force won't work; I thought I explained this! she says, as though frustrated and in a rush.
If the short guard objects and follows her, she motions the others to get behind him and shut the door, then she shoots him , but if he doesn't object, she looks around to see where the vampire has holed up.
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The short guard leads you into what must be the priestess's luxury living room. There's all sorts of expensive and disturbing looking art on the walls which comes in two varieties: firstly various demonic beings laying waste to towns and villages modern and ancient, secondly art depicting various succubui seducing kings and sometimes queens, leading to the downfall of their kingdoms.
He leaves you inside saying, "Wait here, no doubt the priestess will want to reward you." He then leaves the room to stand guard behind the door you came in through.
There are three exists, the door you came through, another that leads onto a kitchen which seems very spartan. The final door is locked and you presume it leads to the priestess's bedroom.
(fail)
(fail)
(pass)
They already know she is a vampire, so she doesn't remark on the unused kitchen, but starts saving up jokes about that for a time in the future where this horror is behind them and they can laugh about it.
She moves over to the locked door and moves to unlock it.
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Edwin followed Zendara into the room and whispered, "I'd guess that we might have at most 20 minutes before the priestess reforms.
The lock was very good, an eight pin design with an awkward keyway and extreme bitting, along with several security pins (likely spools) which meant pins 3 and 5 were in deep false sets. Zendara however had come across this sort of thing before and had it open in short order, but a novice would likely have found this impossible.
The door opened smoothly to reveal a small study of sorts with a large window (open a crack) rather than a conventional bedroom, albeit a study with various manacles on the wall and what appears to be a coffin in the corner. Like the rest of the flat, the walls are whitewashed plaster adorned with disturbing art of superior quality. There is a closed bureaux (writing desk with a lid) along one wall were a bed would normally be.
(pass)
Zendara tells the party that there is a suspicious rune on the writing desk, and not to touch it or open it. She waits to cast detect magic until they take care of the problem.
(pass)
She notes the dried blood on the manacles, surprised that the vampire is so sloppy.
______
Okay, you guys get ready to lift the lid.
She pulls out her Traveler's Anytool and configures it into a mallet, and readies her sharp stake made from the broken table leg.
Then she nods, hoping the vampire wasn't aware enough to fight back yet.
"I kind of suspect her to jump out bare fanged. Pity it would be obvious, as we could set it on fire."
Still, Xindyra has her rapier at the ready, drinking another shield, and an extract of cat's grace, to improve her AC.
Edwim cast a spell to raise a magical shield and empowered his blade, then helped lift the lid of the coffin.
The lid is pulled back to reveal the misty form of the priestess, her ayes are closed and her arms are crossed. Clearly she hasn't quite reformed yet, but you know when she does she'll be weak and vulnerable until she has a chance to feed. The problem of course is timing, there's likely fifteen to twenty minutes until she solidifies but will the goons be away that long?
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Zendra sighs.
Okay, we have to wait till she solidifies. Bother. I'll lock the door again and try to disable it, then let's finish looting the room quickly. Someone get a rope ready. We'll likely have to leave through the window.
She leaves the mallet and stake there in case someone else needs to do the deed.
Zendara then re-locks the door, and attempts to disable the lock completely so that no one can get in.
She casts Detect Magic and concentrates to identify the trap on the desk.
Explosive runes. Wow. I don't think that thief tricks are going to work on that one. Unless someone can dispel these, I think ... hmm... wait. Stay back at least 10 feet from the desk. I am going to try something.
Zendara takes a roll of ion tape and tapes around the rune area, trying to protect the desk around the rune as well as she can. She can't get exactly under it, but if she gets every other inch of space that the explosion will touch, hopefully most of the contents of the desk will be saved.
When she has the area protected as well as she can, she uses her zipstick to bond the tape into a plasticlike protective material (hardness 8 / 30 hit points).
Once she is confident she has protected as much of the desk from the direct blast as possible, she casts silence, and then stands back farther than 10 feet and opens the desk with mage hand.
Yukarii was a bit surprised at how easy it was to get inside the room, the guard was a fool and she felt a bit sorry for him. As they began to examine the coffin Yukarii felt relieved that they had made it in time and the priestess had not reformed yet, that meant they had a chance to end this. Before Zendara tried to mess with the spell Yukarii said, "Wait, let me try to dispel it first."
Yukarii gestured for everyone to move back she began to focus on thoughts of erasing the magic and the feeling of relief at a trap disarmed. When she finished her casting she unleashed her magic to try and dispel the trap spell.
Yukarii cursed in her native tongue when she realized the magic had failed and gestured for everyone to stay put. She began the casting again and hoped she would pull it off this time.
She cursed again and Yukarii looked back at the others and said, "I am sorry, I am simply unable to break the magic."
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If the plan works, Xindyra will write it into her journal for future references....
Zendara deftly jams the key to the priestess's living room with a bent wire, nobody is going to be opening it with a key anytime soon!
Meanwhile Yukarii gamely attempts to dispel the magical trap but it proves to be remarkable resistant.
Zendara wraps the bureaux with a great deal of ion tape, reinforcing it as best as she can. She was careful to leave a vent for the hot gasses to ensure that the bulk of the force wasn't directed inside.
Then she lays a zone of silence over the area and detonates the trap with her magehand. The resulting explosion is as violent as it is silent which is an extremely weird combo. The bureaux is mostly trashed but a number of things inside survived - albeit with light singing.
There's also a large ledger with a great many pages written in dense handwriting in a language none of you recognise...
Edwin looked inside the bureaux, and examined the contents for magic auras. He retrieved the golden rod and tried to discern its properties.