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Eris claps as she realizes she did something helpful.
To Raziya, she says "No, I haven't really been outside much. I'm a city girl. Honestly, my dad helped me find the tracks."
As they discuss options, she says "Maybe we should at least follow this set that goes back into the woods as far as the entrance. Maybe there would be more clues."
Brogol nods, his face betraying a faint smile. The addled girl was full of more surprises every day. "Agreed, Eris. Let's see where the trail leads..."
The Doctor hesitates before suddenly taking on a much more positive, if scheming, tone. He says "A vonderful idea Eris. There may indeed be more clues, if ve have you with your eyes out for them." As he speaks his notes come back out and he begins jotting something down.
Raziya quickly nods. "But if her tracks should join with too many others, be sure to warn us."
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Eris claps her hands as the others seem to find her doing something helpful.
"I think I'm going to be cured--I can feel it! I feel great. I feel wonderful."
Surprisingly perceptive for one who doesn't care about most things, she tries to follow the tracks where they lead.
I'm doing it, Dad! Help me find some more!
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Opting to follow the tracks into the Whisperwood for a time, Eris seems to have the nose of a bloodhound, following them with little difficulty. After about an hour of the tracks turning and veering in seemingly random directions, you arrive at some old ruins. Whatever the purpose of this place once was, it has been obliterated by time. A few columns, mostly ruined, can be found -- where they once held up a roof, they now simply rise as mostly broken and completely silent witnesses to your passing.
Here, the tracks seem to fade.
Ingrid was *not* used to being outside of an urban environment. Despite her best efforts to stay sharp, she did a piss poor job of being truly observant of her surroundings.
Brogol spends a long few minutes studying the ruins, walking from column to column, the driver's poor education doing him little good in this situation. He has little luck searching for tracks or clues among the columns as well, and eventually finds himself sitting atop a nearby rock, watching the others examine the scene.
This is exactly why I normally use agents to do the footwork...
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As they enter the old ruins, Eris pats the skull of her father, which is no longer floating magically but back at her belt.
"I liked when you saw the track in the mud when it came out of the stream. I don't think I would have seen that one--good job!" she exclaims.
Looking around, she tries to determine what this place might be, but the tracks seem to be getting more difficult to find.
"She must be a ghost--I can't see much more."
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The Doctor watches the others and takes notes. "Ah, ah yes. Of course." He murmurs to himself. When Brogol splits off to rest, he gives a cold smile "You're giving up already? I had you pegged for the doggedly determined sort. Ze kind that bites on and doesn't stop shaking."
"She could not have simply disappeared here, hmm?" He raises a hand and offers a simple incantation to focus his senses.
"There's nothing here," Brogol barks, his face pinched. "Even a cur knows when the squirrel is in the tree."
Still, despite his words, Brogol had to concede the Doctor had a point. Sighing, the driver stands, and helps others look about, helpfully pointing out what he has not found.
"No tracks over there, Raziya. Except my bootprints, as I covered that area like a blanket."
"Doctor, that column came down long ago. I'm no professor or archeaoptrix, but I'm pretty sure there's no hidden door there."
"Eris, dance a little to the left. You're standing in mud."
As you search the area, particularly with Eris and Brogol trying to give it a close inspection and look for tracks, two things become apparent.
First, this seems to be something of a crossroads. You find a variety of footprints coming into and leaving the place, but the hard stone surface obliterates the prints just as they converge and make it nearly impossible to follow as they go off into different directions.
Second...
... one of the columns is alive ...
... and it attacks.
As Eris is focused on the ground, trying to pick up the line of tracks she had been following, and Brogol is warning her about a puddle of mud, one of the statues suddenly begins to move, bringing a longsword forth and swinging for Eris' head. However, the vines that have grown upon the statue stick and cling to its form, making the first strike clumsy and ineffective.
Perception Rolls
Initiative Rolls
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Brogol's hand goes instantly to his sword, lifting it from its scabbard as the column springs to life. "Oi, what tha fook?" the driver asks, Brogol's brain moving slower than his reflexes and his mouth. "That column is mad?"
The Doctor spins around in surprise from the stones he was looking at. "Not ze clue I was expecting."
Seeing that the dead seem to have no place here, Raziay turns her attention to the quick instead.
Ingrid looked in horror at the statues. How was she supposed to claw or bite those?! Sometimes life just wasn’t fair.
Karik moves 25’ to the east, drawing his mace as he does so. He casts Acid Splash hoping that will do some damage.
Following her master’s lead Vaelor moves 30’ East. As she moves she unwinds one of the chains from around her body and makes use of her reach with it to lash out at the statue
Brogol draws his sword and Raziya casts bless upon the party. Raziya isn't sure the statues represent anything in particular.
* They are immune to most magic that allows for spell resistance.
* Shatter Weapons (Ex) -- Whenever a character strikes a caryatid column with a weapon (magical or nonmagical), the weapon takes 3d6 points of damage. Apply the weapon’s hardness normally. Weapons that take any amount of damage in excess of their hardness gain the broken condition.
* It has DR 5/-
* It's slow (20' movement)
==Begin Round 1 / Top of Round, Statue's Turn==
The column makes another swing at Eris. A heavy strike that would kill an average person is deflected by her surprisingly tough armor.
==Bottom of Round 1 / Villains' Turn==
Eris slips to the side of the statue to flank it with Brogol, but just as the statue's attacks on the mad priest have failed, so too does her own. Karik fires off a splash of acid that sizzles on the marble surface, while Vaelor's chains go wide.
Eris: Move to Flank and Attack
Karik: Acid Splash
Vaelor: Attack and Miss
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Pending: Brogol, Franz, Raziya
Against more - for lack of a better word - standard enemies, like the tanner's dog, Brogol would look for a weak spot; a vein, an eye, an exposed throat. He takes a second appraising how the thing moves, how it attacks. And then he stabs at it with his shortsword, fully expecting his attack to be harmless, none-the-less testing the creature's defenses.
"A caryatid column, here? Zer must be something it is protecting." He quickly takes on a businesslike tone as he warns the group "It is a golem, immune to most magic - though clearly not acid. It vill resist ze strikes of your shortsword Brogol, and if you manage to connect, it vill build a resonance within your veapon. If you value that toothpick of yours, hold back."
"Typically zese are single minded and slow. If ve retreat, it may not be programmed to follow. If ve vish to destroy it, you must strike hard. Aim for ze joints."
Well then, do we need to destroy it?
"Let's see if we can find what it's guarding..."
Vaelor’s voice is whiney and pitiful. ”You will fix my chains won’t you master?“
She reluctantly steps closer and sends her chains lashing out.
”Do it! The pain will make it all worthwhile!”
Karik continues with the acidic assault.
Ingrid prayed to Asmodeus to harden her teeth and claws so that she might strike down that which stood in the way of his plans.
Eris: Move to Flank and Attack
Karik: Acid Splash, hit, 1 point
Vaelor: Attack and Miss
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Pending: Brogol, Franz, Raziya
Brogol: Attack with Shortsword, rolled a 13, MISS
Franz: Combat Advice to Ingrid and Vaelor with two move actions. You two get a +2 bonus on your next attack roll against the statue.
Raziya: Detect Magic
Brogol swings his sword at the statue but misses at the living marble deflects the strike with its own sword. Franz begins to explain the nature of their attacker and offers insights on how to attack it. Raziya tries to look over the area for magical auras and, other than those carried upon the Chelish loyalists, does not detect anything.
==Top of Round 2; Statue's Turn==
Seemingly fixated upon Eris, the column swings at her again, but it seems years of inactivity have dulled it's fighting ability.
==Bottom of Round 2; Villains' Turn==
Karik fires off another splash of acid, hitting the statue as the marble sizzles and froths. Eris follows-up with a flask of more caustic material, while Vaelor and Ingrid move up into melee range.
Karik: Acid Splash, 1 point
Vaelor:Attack with Chain, Hit.
Eris: Acid Flask, hit, 1 point
Ingrid: Move up and attack.
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Actions Still Needed from Brogol, Franz and Raziya
Vaelor moves up behind Brogol. Her chain sweeps across the statue, damaging and tripping it.
Ingrid then moves up and swipes her claws across the statue, chipping the marble. Her natural claws resist the statue's shattering effect on manufactured weapons.
Still need actions from Brogol, Franz and Raziya
Statue: -12 HP and Prone
Rules-Type Links
Question on Damaging the Chain: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs433lk?Damaging-a-SpikedChain#1
Raziya hustles closer, not particularly expecting to hurt the statue with her mace, but hoping to give Vaelor an easier shot if she wants it.
"Very good Karik, you have an excellent control over zat obscene manifestation. Please continue." The Doctor sounds quite pleased. "And Ingrid, do you see zat hairline fissure within its upper dorsal flank?"
Raziya moves up and Franz continues to use his analytical eye to offer advice to the Ingrid and Vaelor.
Brogol swings his shortsword again at the now-prone statue...
...and connects but the statue's hard marble ignores the blow. The strike reverberates up Brogol's arm but the blade seems to be unharmed.
==End of Round 2; Begin Round 3==
The statue uses its sword as best it can to protect itself, then pushes itself back up to its feet.
==Bottom of Round 3; Villains, Go!
Statue: -12 HP, Total Defense
Aided by the positioning of her allies, advice on where to strike, and the aid of her God, Ingrid attacked the construct with savagery and precision.
Brogol winces as his sword strike reverberates back up the his arm, his attack probably causing himself more pain than the statue damage. Still, there was another opening once the construct lumbered to life, and Brogol swung again.
Brogol follows his attack all the way through, planting his sword behind the statue and shoving into it, trying to send it back onto the ground.
Raziya batters the statue ineffectually, mainly just trying to draw its attention away from truer threats.
Oh lovely The statues defenses don't seem to be damaging her chain but the recoil is wonderfully painful.
Vaelor swings with her chain as the statue attempts to regain its feet.
She then moves around so she can get closer and a flank. With a shiver of anticipation she swings out again.
Karik continues to pick away at the stonework with his Acid Splashes in sullen silence.
Why can't we be attacked by someone I can feed off?!
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Seeing that his allies appear to be chipping away successfully, the Doctor nods his approval. "Yes, perfect. Excellent. It vill be destroyed in no time at all. Ingrid and Karik, ze lower dorsal extremity has a structural flaw just over ze knee."
While the statue's hard material seems impervious to Brogol and Raziya's attacks, Ingrid and Vaelor manage to chip and slash away at it. As Vaelor's spiked chain rips and tears at the statue, many of its own barbs begin to pop and break. However, the statue finally collapses to the ground and breaks apart into rubble.
The other remnants of statuary in the ruins are unmoving. It seems as though you are safe.
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Eris falls to her knees next to the fallen statue after it stops moving. She cradles its head on her knee.
"We hardly had a chance to get to know each other," she laments, kissing it. "I'm sorry it had to end this way. Perhaps we will see each other in the afterlife."
She takes a shard of the statue and puts it in her belt pouch. "I will never forget you," she says as a tear rolls down her cheek.
She then stands and wipes away a tear, and a broad smile splits her face again and the statue is forgotten.
"Where were we? Oh, yeah. Trying to follow tracks. Let me see if I can find any more."
Brogol raises his sword to strike at the statue again, and then it tumbles to the ground, and Eris follows it. Sliding his blade back into the scabbard, Brogol scratches at his chin as the girl laments. "I, ahhh... OK." Shrugging, he helps Eris to her feet and then with looking for more tracks.
"Oi, not that one. That's from the statue..."
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As Eris talks to the 'deceased' statue, the Doctor takes out his pad and takes another note - this one in quite alarming red ink. He pockets the pad afterward and strides purposefully over to watch the other more practiced people try to pick the trail back up.
"Well, it should be no coincidence that a killer construct was left here with instructions to guard zis location. Perhaps zer is somesing here to find beyond simply footprints?"