Magic and arrows fly through the room, Orm recovers some of his vitality, thanks to Madame P.
Negative energy crackles across the room, and the dark tendrils linger on the enemies.
The priest steps up to Madame P and her hand glows with green energy as she brushes it against the cleric's arm.
Madame P: Fortitude save vs poison, please.
~+~Round 3~+~
Blue (-34, 2 p. negative)
Derrikk (-10)
--Celery
Papillon (Fort Save)
Junebug (-16)
Yellow (-31, p. negative 1)
Orm (-7)
As Papillon’s healing energy courses through Orm, not only do his wounds close, but little tendrils of growth sprout up, making him look in need of a mowing.
Orm will cast ki strike, circle around to get in the priest’s face, and then flurry.
Hero point to reroll that first attack:
Orm's blows take down the priest and the persistent damage causes the storm cloud to discorporate.
The leopard cringes in the corner, but Celery goes over and noses at her a bit, calming her down. The cat's fur occasionaly flickers with flame, but it otherwise seems to have weathered the half-completed ritual.
Celery looks up at Derrikk expectantly.
There is little else of interest in this room, but the priest carried a key engraved with the symbols of the Wind and Wave tied to her belt.
"Haha, Orm, you're getting a bit over grown. You're going to want to trim yourself before our next performance later..." The halfling wanders over to the leopard, taking her time and keeping her distance, "Poor thing, you must be so confused. Hey Derrikk, anything you can do to help?"
The leopard accepts the food. It actually seems to be fairly well trained.
"Now may not be the time to consider it, but a flaming leopard might be a nice addition to the Wayward Wonders."
The leopard and Celery are getting along well. Whenever you leave the room, the leopard will follow.
"Now may not be the time to consider it, but a flaming leopard might be a nice addition to the Wayward Wonders."
"What a wonerful idea. Maybe we can come back for him when we are done clearing out this church." She walks over, gives the tiger a pat, and then takes the priests symbols of the Wind and Wave on her belt. "These might come in handy."
The halfling will tend her allies wounds.
As they begin walking back into the main complex, "So, shall we see if those two clerics we left yesterday are still there?"
"Yes, at the very least we should check the abbot's room for any more information, and then I think it is time to test these keys against that talking door."
When you reach the abbot's office, the door is closed and locked, but there's no sign of the priests who were bickering here before. If you are quick, you might be able to check out the office before they return.
Papillon casts a quick guidance on Derrikk. :)
She tugs at Junebugs tunic, "He's getting awfully good at that, dont you think?"
Beyond the locked door there is a small office furnished with a desk and a few chairs, and it is lined with bookcases that hold Harlock’s personal library devoted to historical and religious lore, bestiaries and beast fables, and the occasional adventure story. Past the office is Harlock’s bedroom, furnished with a double bed, armoire, and metal bathtub.
Harlock’s desk contains a recent letter from a distant Gozren abbey discussing rare spells. Included with this letter is a scroll of personal rain cloud, a scroll of sea surge, and a scroll of sudden bolt. A small cash box in one of the desk drawers contains 29 gp.
In the bedside table, you also find a small book which looks to be Harlock's journal. It would take you several minutes to examine it.
"Surely the abbot wouldn't object to taking these scrolls if it would help us free his abbey from demonic taint?"
Junebug blazes through the abbot's most personal thoughts, which start out as pretty banal, but start to get interesting about halfway through the book. The journal note becomes obsessed with a place called the Erran Tower and an artifact there that the book refers to as the "aeon orb."
According to Harlock's writings, the aeon orb once emitted a powerful primal energy, making the land more abundant, the seasons milder, and harvests more bountiful. In just the past few generations, however, this bounty has faded. The soil is drying out. Vegetation is stunted, and some crops won’t grow at all. Birth rates among animals are declining. While some of the druids of the hermitage blamed this on the growing town of Abberton, Harlock believed that the the true cause was the fading power of the aeon orb.
Harlock had made several trips to the Erran Tower over the years, but he was not able to unlock the secrets of the aeon orb. Just a few weeks ago, he attempted another visit to the tower, but he abandoned the trip when he spied some foul-smelling reptilian creatures surrounding the tower. Harlock refers to them as xulgaths, but they are known by many people as troglodytes.
The final entries in the journal hint at some type of dissension in the ranks of the druids at the hermitage, but is light on the details.
Orm becomes very interested when Thelonious begins recounting the powers of the aeon orb. He grows quiet in thought, certain he wants to visit this place and learn more.
Could the magic of this orbs be harnessed to propagate my people? If it has vital life force and helps things to grow, why not? After lifetimes of searching, could the answer be here at the center of the human world?
The Erran Tower is pretty obscure, but what you know of it squares with Harlock's journal. From what you remember, it's a large tower, almost 200 hundred feet, made of baked clay and located about 15 miles southwest of the hermitage.
According to Harlock's writings, the aeon orb once emitted a powerful primal energy, making the land more abundant, the seasons milder, and harvests more bountiful. In just the past few generations, however, this bounty has faded. The soil is drying out. Vegetation is stunted, and some crops won’t grow at all. Birth rates among animals are declining. While some of the druids of the hermitage blamed this on the growing town of Abberton, Harlock believed that the the true cause was the fading power of the aeon orb.
"So interesting, i wonder if the town of Abberton remembers this part of their history. Hey team, what do you think, maybe we can use this in our performance, maybe tell a story of Abberton. Do you think people would enjoy something like that interwoven with all our awesome performances?"
She thinks on it a moment.
"Shall we go check the talking door?" She takes the party back to the large door, and presents the signs and keys of Wind and Wave, "We present these to you, oh...great door...?"
"Madame Papillon, did you look for a key hole first?"
The door remains silent, but there is a keyhole near the center, and both of the keys that you found seem to fit it.
Beyond the door is a large and resplendent shrine to Gozreh, the Wind and the Waves. The floor, which bears a mosaic depicting Gozreh’s battle against Rovagug in the defense of all creation, is broken by two narrow
moats, one filled with churning water and the other with shrieking winds. Four slender bridges cross these moats, which appear bottomless. At the far end of the chamber is a raised dais with an altar in front of two massive statues. One depicts a bearded storm elemental holding aloft a
bolt of lightning; the other is a stern woman wearing clothing of sea
foam and wearing an ornate coral crown.
Inside the room, a corrupted priest is houting at the crumpled form of an older man, "Demon worship is sanctioned by Gozreh! It's the only
path to protecting the wild lands on the Isle of Erran!
A pugnacious-looking retainer stands amid the moats in the center of the room. They hold metal leashes to two giant monitor lizards. The lizards have shimmering, nacreous green skin. Acid drips from the lizards’ jaws, dissolving small holes in the stone floor.
The priest stops his diatribe when the main doors of the temple open. "Intruders in the sanctum! Destroy them!"
~+~Round 1~+~
Derrikk
--Celery
Red
Papillion
Blue
Yellow
Junebug
Green
Orm
"Madame Papillon, did you look for a key hole first?"
"You think i can see that high? It's a tall door, Orm! Haha!" She laughs off her own incompetence to notice or even look for the keyhole.
...
On her turn, she will cast bless on the group.
She will then throw a starknife at an enemy.
Derrikk's attacks fall short, but Madame P hits the lizard handler.
The priest raises her arms, entreating the elements for aid, and a water mephit emerges from the moat and flies up into the air in the corner of the room.
Meanwhile, the animal handler drops the leashes of his lizards and orders them forward, then raises his shield.
The blue lizard rushes eagerly to the doorway and attacks Orm.
for and d6 persistent acid
~+~Round 1~+~
Derrikk
--Celery
Papillion
Red
Blue
Yellow (-2)
Junebug
Green
Orm (-3, 1d6 p. acid)
Junebug's inspiration rings off the high roof of the inner sanctum as he ducks behind a pillar.
The other lizard sidles up to the door as well and bites at Orm.
for
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage +1/+1 (1/3)
~+~Round 1~+~
Derrikk
--Celery
Papillion
Red
Blue
Yellow (-2)
Junebug
Green
Orm (-7, 1d6 p. acid)
~+~Round 2~+~
Derrikk
--Celery
Papillion
Orm will enter his Mountain Stance, flurry on the lizard in front of him, and then try an assured shove against it
Papillon concentrates on her starknife, "I hope you can all feel Desna's light right now, she has bless us." As she begins to chop up the beast infront of her.
Orm spars with the lizard, but he isn't able to land a blow, and the lizard resists his attempts to shove it out of the way.
Derrikk is more successful, sinking two arrows into the lizard. Madame P also slices at the lizard.
The priest in the back moves up and casts a spell. A burning orb appears in Derrikk's square.
Reflex save for Derrikk.
The blue lizard chomps at Orm, then opens its jaws and sprays a rain of acid on Orm, Derrikk, and Junebug.
for
Reflex saves from Orm, Derrikk, and Junebug.
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage +1/+1 (2/3)
~+~Round 2~+~
Derrikk (Reflex)
--Celery
Papillion
Red
Blue (-23)
Yellow (-2)
Junebug (Reflex)
Green
Orm (-18, 1d6 p. acid; Reflex)
Junebug shrugs off most of the damage, and his hammer bonks the blue lizard into the ground.
Meanwhile, the other lizard steps up and bathes the group in acid again.
Reflex saves from Orm, Derrikk, and Junebug.
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage +1/+1 (2/3)
~+~Round 2~+~
Derrikk
--Celery
Papillion
Red
Blue
Yellow (-2)
Junebug (-3) (Reflex Save)
Green
Orm (-18, 1d6 p. acid; 2 Reflex Save)
~+~Round 2~+~
Derrikk (3 Reflex Saves)
--Celery
Papillion
Lizard acid dripping off his body, Orm loses his cool a bit and goes berserk with a flurry and strike, ending with a different tactic and trying an assured trip on the lizard.
She will cast her moonbeam at the red caster.
She will then move into the room.
Madame P hits the caster with her moonbeam, interfering with her eyesight. Orm punches the creature twice, but fails to trip it. Junebug manages to get a lungful of acid while performing.
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage +1/+1 (2/3)
~+~Round 2~+~
Derrikk (3 Reflex saves)
--Celery
Papillion
Red (-4, dazzled)
Blue
Yellow (-16)
Junebug (-29)
Green
Orm (-27)
Derrikk is on a roll! He dodges the ball of fire and one of the acid sprays, and barely takes any damage from the last lizard's breath.
In return, he sinks an arrow deep into the lizards and sics Celery on him. The wolf takes the wounded lizard down.
The priest concentrates on his summon and the mephit swoops down and fires a bolt of acid at Orm.
for
For her part, she launches a bolt of fire at Derrikk.
for
Orm is coated in sticky acid, but Derrikk's luck holds.
The yellow cultist holds his position on the bridge.
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage +1/+1 (2/3)
~+~Round 2~+~
Derrikk (-6)
--Celery
Papillion
Red (-4, dazzled)
--Mephit (+10 ft.)
Blue
Yellow
Junebug (-29)
Green
Orm (-34, d6 p acid)