Round 3
Kort moves to fire at the remaining foe.
to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
hp: 148/148
AC: 28/17t/23ff +3 NA more with barkskin
Saves: F9/R15/W14 +4 vs. enchantment, +2 vs. illusions +6 vs. poison
Lowlight. PBS.
Movement: 60' typically flying 5' up off the ground in dungeons.
Aroden's Verve: 0/10 used
Adhere to the Law: 0/4 used
Extend Rods: 4/6 used
Quantum Leaps used:
Pathfinder Carry: 0/0
Staff of Courage: 0/0
Boots of Speed: 0/10
0: (create water, detect magic/poison, light, stabilize,read magic)
1: 1/11 used (CLW*0,Shield*0,PfE*0,DF*0)
2: 2/11 used (Inv*0,RE*1,*CE*0,SInv*0,LesRest*0)
3: 4/11 used (H*2,DM*0,DayBreakArrow*1, MCaE10'*1)
4: 0/8 used (GrInv*0,CCW*0,FoM*0,StoneSkin*0)
5: 2/6 used (CLWM*0,FlStr*0,TruSee*1,MassStoneskin*1)
6: 0/2 used (Heal, LegendLore)
[ spoiler=Daybreak Bolts]Creatures that take penalties in bright light take these penalties for 1 round after being struck by such ammunition. Undead and creatures harmed by sunlight take an additional 1d6 points of damage from such projectiles. This extra damage and half of any other damage you deal with an affected projectile results directly from radiant energy and is not subject to damage resistance. Such a projectile sheds light as if it were a sunrod for 1 round after it is fired or thrown.[ /spoiler]
[ dice]1d20+8[/dice] to hit;
[ dice]1d6-1[/dice] damage.
[ dice]1d20+19+2+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
[ dice]1d20+19+2+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
[ dice]1d20+14+2+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
[ dice]1d20+7+2+1[/dice] to hit; (+PBS,+heroism)
magic cold iron damage; (clustered)
touch to hit; (heroism,PBP)
fire damage
Major Kort hits twice, and one a crit! Kamari tumbles in with style, and then sticks his blade in the floor. Edelmira sticks all three attempts severely damaging the construct. Elen dances in, and only hits once, but it’s sufficient to destroy what’s left!
Everyone within 10’ (Kamari, Edelmira, and Elen with the killing blow) is hit by the shrapnel as the thing explodes.
Reflex DC 18 for half
And with that, the danger is past as the constructs have both destructed.
Kamari pulls her blade out of the floor while dodging the shrapnel. She then looks around to see if there's anything that was worth their return to this place.
It would be a shame to have destroyed those things for no reason. Maybe someone more knowledgeable would have been able to repurposed them.
She starts at the obvious bookcases to see if anything might have been left behind out of sight from the hallway.
"They created the constructs so they explode when destroyed. In a library. That's interesting." Muri does his best to remember where those two special books were. He'll wait patiently for the Professor to pour over the collections, and secure what he can to bring away from this newly discovable place.
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The shelves high above still hold a small number of books, many of them outdated census reports or minutes from town hall meetings, but three valuable manuscripts remain.
An Account from the Army of Exploration (2,200 gp),
The Heretical Prophecies of Kalistrade (6,100 gp), and
The peace treaty signed between the Ulfen king and the Taldan grand prince in 2003 AR (10,000 gp).
The shelves also contain two heavy tomes, one bound in silver leather and locked with a clasp set with a large piece of optical calcite and the other bound in gold and locked with a ruby clasp. These are a tome of clear thought +1 and a manual of gainful exercise +1.
Elen solemnly collects some gears then heals herself.
Kort will pocket the books, and will be happy to offer them around if others have interest.
”The Prophecies of Kalistrade? How blasphemous! What a delight. This will be a capstone to our library,” Kort mutters, thinking about wasting a lot of time in there once this is all over.
He waits for others to heal and then will query.
”Are we done here? Shall we see to the safety of our rescues?”
You collect the texts worth having and leave the wreckage behind. As you head into the next room Virgil warns, ”There’s a bird waiting for you outside. I thought it best we wait.”
You pass by and head outside first.
A falcon stands in the dirt of the road, just outside the door. It stares at you patiently, as if waiting for something. It doesn’t wait long though before pointing to a small scroll tube lashed to its leg with its beak. It scratches with that talon in the dirt, reaching for you.
Presumably, you collect the scroll tube, freeing the mighty bird of its burden. The bird flies off, confused, and you open the scroll.
- - -
The scroll (image) reads,
”Something is gravely wrong with Carrius. His demeanor has changed radically, from kind boy to power-obsessed tyrant. He’s seizing the throne, arranging a quickly approaching coronation, and has blamed YOU LOT for Eutropia’s assassination. You’re possibly the most wanted figures in all of Taldor. He’s like a man possessed, with magic greater than anything even my brother or father could wield, and skill with a sword that would rival Gennaris himself!”
”I’m sheltering in the Grandbridge Vagabond Camp, on Barrier Island just outside Oppara. The crowds and running water seem to help block the most reliable of Carrius’s divinations. But the city crawls with investigators and paid informants, not to mention an angry citizenry eager to rally behind their “grieving” prince.”
For now, Carrius seems untouchable. The Ulfen Guard have welcomed the heir into the Imperial Palace, and so he now commands an army of Ulfen warriors and the royal guard, along with the building’s unmatched magical protections. Much of my support network has been wiped out, and even now he targets your own supporters. You must be swift if you hope to act, or else flee Taldor and do not look back! If you return to the city, do so with utmost caution, or else do what you can to operate from a distance. I will try to arrange whatever I can on your behalf; you have only but to ask.”
”Yours in spirit and blade, Martella”
Barrier Island is four days by magically fast horses, maybe a little less - assuming you don’t take the sickly. Virgil, if asked, can probably take them to a nearby village and make his own way back readily enough however. Though you’ll need to do something to vouch for this Virgil with your people. Or they’ll be really confused and won’t know who to believe. (Remember someone is impersonating Virgil back at your coach, which by now is probably back in Stachys.)
Know (Arcana)
Kort snorts stiffly at something.
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A falcon stands in the dirt of the road
”Oh!” Elen gasps, ”How beautiful! What is that you have there?” She collects the tube from the bird. She watches the confused avian fly off.
Poor guy. He’s wondering why he’s here.
”Something is gravely wrong with Carrius.”
”How do you excise a forged soul from it’s host?” asks Elen, still not quite sure how things work. ”Is there truly nothing left of Carrius?”
”I’m sheltering in the Grandbridge Vagabond Camp, on Barrier Island just outside Oppara.”
”If there is now some bounty on our heads, maybe it is best not to head to Barrier Island lest we draw attention to Martella.”
She looks at Virgil. ”Is it best to head toward Stachys. Maybe Virgil’s apparent doppelganger is something we can use as leverage... If nothing else we should consider outing Vigil’s impostor, and getting the rest of the prisoners to shelter. Then focus on resurrecting the Princess."
Nope! I made a suggestion, though the plan certainly has holes which Elen is trying to fix.
Lots for the party to discuss and decide what to do...
Kort re-reads the Raven's missive.
"How could this have happened? I guess we were too late," Kort nods at Elen's suggestion for the prisoners.
"Seems like we're not done yet. I had hoped...I had hoped for some rest, but apparently not. We need a place to regroup and think for the night, and then to plot."
He looks to see what Muri and Kamari think about all this.
Kamari's first instinct to head to Martella is put in check by Elen's words.
"I'm not sure what to do, but let's simplify the problem and decide how to care for Virgil and the others. If he can get them to the next village then make his way back to Betony to check on things it would be helpful. He might have to sneak in but perhaps the Domovoi would know him and assist with keeping him hidden."
"As for ourselves, Elen's question seems key. Is Carrius Carrius? is he in there? Has he ever been there or has he just been a flesh and blood automaton until he could be taken over? Would killing him just bring rest to his soul and end all this madness?"
Kamari pulls out a bag of toffee covered almonds and crunches on them while she ponders.
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Sounds like two possible plans - so far.
- Head to Stachys, try and question the doppelgänger, and resurrect the princess. It’s about two days, maybe slightly more, to reach Stachys with doubling up on the horses. You are wanted criminals, but you doubt that’ll hold much sway in Meratt County. So you should be fairly safe from arrest and can plan your next steps.
- Leave the prisoners to Virgil and rely on the domovoi to identify the true Virgil. You know the domovoi can cast Augury (link), so putting together the right questions is key. You can do something around who to imprison, or some such I suspect - we don’t need to get bogged down in the details. However, what do you do then? It’s a little less than three days, without the prisoners, to Oppara from here if that’s what you were thinking.
Oh, and Stachys to Oppara, with your current steeds, is about a day. It’ll be slightly out of your way to go to Stachys then Oppara, but only like a half day’s travel or less. You lot are fast with these horseshoes! But, as Elen mentioned, you'll need to keep your heads down in Oppara to avoid being locked up as murderers of the Princess!
And of course, everyone wants to know about Prince Carrius. They are good questions, and you do not now know the answer. You know the Prince was cobbled together from old Emperors. You don’t know if anything of the boy came too.
Using the ring (link) should enable you to enter his mind, and do battle only with the emperors within. But there might not be enough of Carrius leftover to survive the process. It’s possible you can figure it out once you’re within him, but you might not be sure even then. You're also not sure what the range is on the ring, and whether it can penetrate the magical shields around the emperor's home.
You know the Duke (stab, stab, stab) was able to manipulate the emperors, in part with the ring, but it could take months, or maybe years, to figure it out. Or you could heal him up and ask, though you suspect that wouldn't go well.
Lastly, let's go ahead and sort out the negative levels before I forget. At this time tomorrow, please make Fort DC 19 checks for your negative levels to see if they go away, or become permanent (healing aside - and there are two scrolls of Restoration (1k) available if you fail).
”Personally, I think we should get this traitor false Virgil and interrogate him. He may be able to provide information on what sorts of conspirators we will find back in Oppara as well. I doubt the Duke would be helpful even if we did risk bringing him back enough to interrogate, and I worry he will slip out of our fingers.”
”Personally, I think we should get this traitor false Virgil and interrogate him. He may be able to provide information on what sorts of conspirators we will find back in Oppara as well. I doubt the Duke would be helpful even if we did risk bringing him back enough to interrogate, and I worry he will slip out of our fingers.”
Kort nods, not entirely certain that's the best plan, but yet unable to formulate something better.
"That's a good idea. Much better than my idea to go back bake cookies and redo the bathrooms," he suggests sternly. "I can't believe that's what I would want to do, but also, it's really the wrong time for that."
Kort looks around to see if others have better ideas.
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With so many options available, the suggestion of scooping up the Virgil doppelganger sounds at least feasible compared to some of the others.
"In the meantime, we should at least communicate to Martella what has occurred. She might have some ideas."
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"So she's warning us about..." Muri pulls out a single arrow, holds it like a director's baton, and starts drawing in the air in front of him.
"Investigators. So, folks like Martella? Then she mentions paid informants, so folks who like mentioning things to Investigators? So we're gonna need to be careful looking like ourselves and speaking anywhere near folks like that." Muri puts a dot on the last part of his thought before moving on. "Do folk really know what we look like? It has been awhile, and I don't remember sitting for any portraits..."
Muri moves to the third warning. "The people. At least the people who like Carrius. And we can't trust our own folk back at Betony with the false Virgil. That's a rough game, not trusting."
"The Ulfens, and the Guard. We have no allies there." Muri shakes his head.
"Feels like we swat one wasp, we anger more. So we can't just run into the Palace and call out Carrius. I mean, we could, but that feels like death or imprisonment."
Muri stops writing in the air. "If we strike at the sham and miss, we've alerted his web. If the sham already played his cards looking like Virgil, and now looks like someone else, we're not going to know until we get there." The halfling turns to Virgil.
"I don't mean any disrespect, but if someone were in your shoes right now, how much power do they really have in Betony? Do you think Myrna has already sorted out the fake? She might have been replaced too." Muri frowns as he thinks of all the bad things taking place, all the things that are currently out of their hands.
"We could return, use the Gem of Seeing to sort out face-stealers, but that feels like a trap. Everyone interested in us will be interested in Betony and Birdsong."
"We need the freedom to speak freely with each other, and we need powerful magic to conceal our true identities. Oh, and constant vigilance. There's no way we're not being hunted right now. It's only a matter of time before someone tries to ambush us, if we look like we do right now. We should ask Martella for more magics."
"Wait, what about the Princess? We're going to use that Crucible, right? Martella should learn about the Crucible. Maybe she can help us get the Princess's body back, so we can do that first."
Lots more to chew on from Muri...
You all seem to be headed to Stachys and Betony (at least), and maybe to do a little grave robbing at the Palace of Birdsong. Though Muri is concerned even there.
If Martella had to flee the Palace and go into hiding, you doubt you'd be welcome there - especially if you're trying to take the body of the Princess, who you are accused of murdering. But Stachys is your home, and they'll not rise up against you.
Seems though like there's maybe more to discuss. Please have at and I'll move us on when there's a little more clarity.
Oh, and don't worry too much about the non-Virgil prisoners. You can drop them off at a nearby village on your way home or on your way to Oppara. Easy either way.
”Do you think Myrna has already sorted out the fake? She might have been replaced too."
”Hrm, I think whoever swapped out Virgil did so to keep track of our movements, and to spy. If they would have taken Myrma also, we would have found her in the prison with Virgil. I guessing if we take Virgil there to Betony where where I believe the impostor Virgil is also supposed to be with our carriage – she’ll be able to sort this out in a few minutes.”
”I’m fine with getting a new disguise, but I am hoping anyone interested in us is going to be focusing on Birdsong and Oppara for now. Just until we get the prisoners and Virgil sorted out. Then we can head to Birdsong and perform some mausoleum raiding. But in Stachys – I do think we should be ourselves for the brief time that we will be there.”
Hits: 116/118
Current AC: 34
Current Saves: Fort: +15; Ref +17; Will: +10, +12 if Enchant (Elf) (+5 Wingz)
AC: 25; 26 (Bare naked save for Mask and Dodge, +1 Dodge (Sacred))
flat: 18 (ring +3, nat armor +2, mage armor +4) (+1 See above^)
touch: 28 (ring +3, Dex +6, Cha +7, Dodge +1) (Ditto)
Crits on 19-20
CMD = 35
WandofMageArmorCharges = 9/50
Wand of CLW: 31/50
Resolve = 7/8
Challenge = 4/5
Hero Pts: 3/3
"Elen's logic about no one we know aside from Virgil is hopeful--unless of course they just killed other people. And, we are beloved in Betony, so there's some room for optimism there, too. If fake Virgil is there, I'm sure we could keep him from escaping."
"Because your track record is so good in that area."
"If you have a better idea, speak up. Otherwise, shut up."