Whisper notices the excitement level of his master ratchet up a couple of notches and he climbs ever so carefully out of his familiar satchel. The tiny bird is careful to stay within the protective shell of his master's Life Bubble. He then checks out the creatures of interest.
He is unfamiliar with the goat but knowledgeable about the lady. He conveys what he knows to Rokgurn before retreating to back into his protective satchel.
In response, her Captain orders the Gull to come about and fire a full broadside, which appears to do full damage to the Barometz.
At will—charm monster, detect thoughts, suggestion
3/day—quickened glitterdust, hold monster
1/day—commune with nature, mind fog, wall of thorns
Whisper ducks out of his mobile nest to research the Alraune and pass his findings onto his Master, before retreating. Rokgurn catches the Barometz in a snowy cross-fire with the harpoons of the Gull.
The druid’s frigid missiles also do full damage!
Marta identifies the Alraune as an Alraune and ✨casts some defensive wards.
“Kawaii baby-faced boy, where did you go?”
The spurned Blue Lady ✨casts quickened glitterdust in an attempt to find Arnaut, but only manages to hit Marta and Omrax.
She then advances five feet and calls out to Hamish ✨ “Some help wouldn’t go astray. Please move at full speed to the north-west until you find some humanoids willing to assist you.”
BUT I need another DC 24 Will Save (DC 26 if Arnaut likes girls to avoid the non-aggression effect of the perfume in Round #2.
Jack
Arnaut
--
Big Red Goat
--
Hamish
Rokgurn
Marta
--
Blue Lady
--
Omrax
are up in any order.
|
Swift as foie gras through a goose, Jack starts bustin' a rhyme to inspire greatness in Omrax and Marta, Marta, Marta.
We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the world
"Better, I'll wager, than that holy water high colonic you got at temple last sabbath, Marta." Jack winks at the tightly wound inquisitor.
Then Jack steps to his right, draws a wand from his handy haversack, and activates it, casting protection from evil on himself.
|
Omrax watches helplessly as the enormous thorn goat smashes Marta next to him.
Then blinks as the glitter assaults his eyes from the sorceress-plant-lady
+7 vs mind-affects, +2 vs enchantments
he nods in appreciation.
You have my thanks, Sir Jack.
I have no quarrel with a walking plant, no matter how large. The spellcaster has a sinister appearance about her, and therefore must be vanquished.
He will spur the smoky wolf and circles, quick-drawing his bow as he calls down smite upon the plant lady.
By the power of the Inheritor, thy reign of seduction and vile madness shall end today!
Omrax
for
Omrax
for
Omrax
for
|
"But darling, we have company!" Arnaut replies innocently. "We promised we'd never use our secret names for each other where anybody could overhear them! How could you betray me so, shugamami!?" Still invisible, he pulls out a handkerchief and dramatically blows his nose with an exaggerated honk, sending a swirl of silvery dust through the trees towards the two massive plants.
Marta and Omrax’s lower digestive tracts appear to be the muse for Jack’s winning ♫singing ♫
The Chitlin Champion also ✨taps himself to be protected from evil.
As glittery as a Lost Boy learning to fly, but not vision-impaired, Omrax and his mount pad boldly past the Barometz, which does not retaliate.
Two of the angelic archer’s arrows are accurately aimed. They hit the evil plant in the trunk for full damage. Unfortunately, Omrax’s third missile flies wide.
“How could you betray me so, shugamami!?”
“But honey-bunch pumpy-umpy-umkin snookums gumdrop, you were fine with me and another girl. So why can’t I have you, four guys, a girl, a shipfull of sailors and a smokin’ hot wolf?”
Though it’s blind as a big blind billy goat, the Barometz remembers Marta’s last position.
Jack
Arnaut
--
Big Red Goat
--
Hamish
Rokgurn
Marta
--
Blue Lady
--
Omrax
do something awesome!
|
|
"If'n yer looking to start a proper shindig, lass... you're talkin' to the right man!" Hamish calls, as he shakes off the compulsion to run off. "But there be nothin' but cursed jungle off that way... or that."
He uses the proper dramatic pointing implement this time, as he draws his cutlass, which bursts into flames as it leaves the sheath.
"Mr. Phips! Give that thing all guns!" He commands, pointing the cutlass at the barometz.
"You heard the cap'n!" Mr. Phips yells. "Fire!"
Immediately, small puffs of white smoke start to explode from the sides of the ship, and you hear the retort of dozens of miniature explosions, as the Seaward Gull wheels around from port to starboard, cannons firing as they come in line.
As the last of the cannons fire, the ship spears directly for the giant plant creature, slamming into it with the silvery seagull-shaped ram attached to the bow.
There is a cheer from the tiny crew, who then all rush to the rails, swinging at it with with even tinier cutlasses, belaying pins, and gaff hooks.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
At Hamish’s command the Seaward Gull’s cannons blow huge holes in the sides of the Barometz. If that weren’t enough, the Captain decides to ram the ram goat, ordering the crew to take a leisurely sail up the back passage and out the jungle’s river mouth into calmer waters.
It’s enough to make Jack smile – and his companions' eyes water.
Now barely able to stand, and to the accompaniment of from one of the bards, Marta’s first unarmed strike shreds what’s left of the Barometz like her hands are steel scythes.
Rokgurn shoots off another snowball at the Alraune, but it *plops* harmlessly at the clawed ends of her woody undercarriage.
Blind, but not discouraged, the seductive plant recalls Marta’s last position, and moves 10’ at half speed in that direction before running into the Seaward Gull.
With a cry of “You’ll do!” she lashes out at the shipelon with a viny tentacle, like a Sargasso variant of an awakened Kraken.
Jack
Arnaut
--
Big Red Goat
--
Hamish
Rokgurn
Marta
--
Blue Lady
--
Omrax
have the green light!
|
|
One of the sailors, still perched in the crows nest on the main mast of the Seaward Gull, lets out a warning cry, pointing towards the stern of the ship, and the approaching alraune. "Siren, approaching abaft!"
"To the harpoons!" Mr. Phips shouts in response, as there's a sudden burst of activity on the foredeck. "Get us turned around!"
The guns on the deck appear to easily rotate, and a brace of harpoons quickly sail through the air, to fend off the approaching enemy.
, for damage.
Then the tendrils start swiping past, you see crewmen screaming and some being swept off the deck in its wake, as they turn to face the new threat.
Cries of "Kraken" are heard everywhere.
The tiny sailors desperately try to drive away the lashing tendrils, stabbing with hooks, and slashing with their cutlasses. Unable to bring all cannons to bear, more crew join those topside, weapons in hand, while the cannons on the starboard side manage one last volley.
The harpoons on the foredeck are quickly reloaded, and another volley is sent at the encroaching plant, though in their panic, they rush the shots.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
, for damage.
Hamish, for his part, seems content to shout words of encouragement from well back. "Get men on those aft cannons!" He yells.
|
|
Jack's palms get sweaty watching the Gull go 'up the back passage' and 'out the mouth'.
He stage-whispers."Reminds me of burlesque comedy I tried to produce a couple of years ago, Iomedae's Midsummer Night's Dream," the bard explains during a breath in the midst of his improvised rap, continuing to inspire Omrax and Marta to greatness. "The Inheritor's nuns-in-shining-armor nearly stoned me to death. No sense of humor at all, that lot."
"Go, team! Fight, fight, fight!" he mimes shaking a pair of large, em, pom poms, waiting to see how things progress. "Marta, Marta, she's our woman. If she can't do it, no body can!"
Wait your turn, Jack ol' boy. Give your buddies a chance to shine.
|
|
Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng emerges from the jungle, addressing the scouts. “Sometimes, there is great power to going unnoticed. Especially when you’re walking into dangerous territory. Not everyone in the big, obvious group of Pathfinders on the front lines understands the value of subtlety. Let’s make sure that they know what they’re walking into, so they are ready to act fast when danger strikes.”
|
|
The mounted paladin calls down to Jack.
Sir Jack, while I appreciate thy inspiration, thy choice of comedy justly earned the scorn of Iomedae's faithful.
After this battle, I would like to share the tenants of the Inheritor and you may see the error in thy decisions. Which reminds me, I still owe Sir Hamish a brochure.
Omrax may qualify for a level in divine tracker ranger after two more arrows strike at the Alraune’s heart –– if she had a heart.
Rokgurn practises temporary social distancing.
Jack and Arnaut stand back and let the others do all the work provide vital direction and vision to the team through effective verbal motivation and coaching.
Appropriately inspired, Hamish and Marta combine to return the Plant-lady to the corrupted jungle eco-system as mulch.
“Wooh, Jack, Arnaut. Great job!”
VC Dreng looks very impressed."Your outstanding leadership was clearly the difference maker in this fight."
"I’ve always said, ‘too many Shoanti braves, not enough chiefs’ in the Society."
The older man brushes Alraune clippings out of his beard. “Now, how about we see how my young’uns do at scouting, eh?”
“If you’ve got any tips for 'em – I’m talking to Jack and Arnaut ONLY natch – don’t be shy!”
|
|
”Fer cry in’ out loud, Dreng, yer gonna let everything ‘n this abyssal jungle know we’re here,” a gruff-looking woodsman grumbles as he emerges from the woods next to the venture-captain. ”Wilk! Get yer nose outta there ‘fore ya catch something that bites worse‘n you!” He snaps his fingers at a horse-sized wolf that whines pitifully. ”Don’t mind ‘im - some puppies don’t grow up.”
|
|
"Well done, team." Jack fist bumps his companions.
He turns to Venture-Captain Dreng. " A scouting mission, eh?"
"I'd designated my associates, Glen, Rico, and Slim to other key roles, such as Guard, Muscle, and Spellcaster," he says. "I'm not sure it's possible to change their focus now."
When Arnaut nudges Rudzik forward, Jack looks at Marta and Omrax. "Didn't you guys bring some scouts along?"
|
|
Rokgurn glides along a warm thermal in this very strange jungle.
"Another day. Another successful scouting mission."
"It is nice to see some up and coming Pathfinders pull their weight."
In the meanwhile he recovers his spells cast with pearls of power and switches out one rod for another in his Handy Haversack.
Drandle Dreng's head swivels from Jack-to-Rudzik, back-and-forth, like he's refereeing a Royal Tennis match.
"I didn't know you had a twin brother, Jack."
|
|
Mart a shrugs. "I brought a Skald with me. I asked for volunteers and he volunteered," she adds as if that explains everything, "But he clanks a bit when he walks and I'm thinking they will stick him with simple patrol jobs."
When she sees the druid pull out a pearl of power, she offers hers to him.
"I can't use this myself. I keep it as an encouragement for someone to cast a Mage Armor on myself. Since the good Hamish is of the sort to use the Runestone, I have no use for it. So you hold on to it and use it if needed."
Having taken a bit of a beating she downs a Troll Styptic which heals her for * 2 = 6 points of healing. The thing has been in her possession for years now and at this point, she might as well use it up.
"Nasty stuff."
After using it she pulls out hew wand of Ablative Barrier and refreshes the spell.
|
|
"You heard the man." Hamish says, at Omrax's comment. "Mr. Phips, get some men puttin' up new canvas... and fix that breach, port side."
"Aye cap'n!" Mr. Phips calls back, before starting to yell at the rest of the crewmen.
Soon tiny figures are racing about the deck, and up the masts, and hanging over the gunwhales, all of them working to repair the damage done by the barometz.
He glances back at the others, and grins. "Gotta keep on top a these dogs, else they'll be lazin' about in no time."
"Lazin' about is Captain's work!"
When Drang shows up, he wanders over to the Venture-Captain. "What kind a show you runnin' here? This shindig definitely needs more libation! How we supposed to keep the troops motivated?!"
|
|
”Marta, you know how I miss seeing your face around the Grand Lodge,” Arnaut announces as he picks his was through the poisonous underbrush. ”And while I’m glad you finally found something as hard-headed as yourself, I’d hate to have your continued absence weighing on my soul.” He blows a long note on his horn, then begins to sing about perseverance and just rewards.
|
|
Rokgurn gratefully accepts the loan of Marta's pearl of power.
"Thanks. It is for minor magics only but still quite handy."
"It would seem that the others have tended to your wounds this time but I will be able to aid you today if you become grievously injured in combat."
He turns to Omrax.
"With the flurry of new faces I have almost overlooked you this time. Please accept the protection of nature."
Rokgurn casts Extended Barkskin on Omrax (+5 AC,4h20min).
|
|
Shevar Besnik steps forward, his clothing ripped but a smile on his face. “Pathfinders! We’re almost to... well, the crater where Gallowspire once stood. Be sure you cut down any opposition; we don’t want them creeping down after us or blocking our exit!” Shevar raises a weapon and charges into battle.
With a final surge, the expeditionary force of Pathfinders finishes off the last of its foes. Shevar Besnik nods to Ollysta Zadrian, and the two lead the expedition to the edge of a massive crater. The crater’s sides are smooth and glassy, as if melted by an immense heat. Several passageways extend from the sides of the crater, many of them nearly blocked by tons of fallen earth. Ollysta Zadrian narrows her eyes and points at the bottom with her sword. “That way leads to the Catacombs, and beyond it the wards set up by the Whispering Tyrant. Steel yourselves,” she says, sheathing her weapon.
The crater lies just ahead. The sides are steep and uneven but seem to have some handholds. It's quite a long way down — too long for most rope.
If you cannot/ do not want to fly/air walk/etc, please make a climb check to get down.
|
|
Rokgurn chuckles a little at Marta's request.
"I can make you fly but you really should hitch a ride on the Seaward Gull. It is an experience that you will never forget. Or so I am told by some (as he glances fleetingly at Hamish)."
He pulls a wand out of his haversack increasing his readiness for the next encounter (Heightened Awareness). He then allows it to be swallowed whole by the bag again. Seeing the molten rock he shields himself magically against fire (Resist Energy Fire 30). He then allows his magical jacket to drink up a potion of Displacement.
|
|
"Might be best to conserve our resources," Jack says. Using his well-worn climber's kit, he scales the crater's walls with care.
Some ten minutes later, he reaches the bottom. "You cats ready?"
He takes a look around, relying on the darkvision of his aasimar heritage and casting dancing lights, if needed, and detecting magic to scan the catacombs.
|
|
Hamish floats above the edge of the crater, staring down into the darkness.
"Aye, that be quite the trench." He observes, unnecessarily. "I remember havin' ta go down one just like it, trackin' down Ol' Horton the Red's treasure, many a years back."
"Spent nearly an hour, getting everyone down... only to find that bastard Horton kept all his treasure in life-sized gold statues we couldn't so easily haul back up... and it was a bloody sea cave ta boot, with the tides were comin' in. Har! Crafty bastard."
"Lost a few to the brine there... but that just weighted the booty more in my favor!"
"'Course, things be much simpler... and Ol' Captain O'Toole a bit wiser now."
"The gull can ferry some cargo, if needed... but she ain't no passenger vessel! I can assign an acting captain if someone's feelin' frisky, and ye can sail her down." He digs around in his pack for a moment, eventually producing a slightly crumpled tricorne hat, that he tries to beat back into the proper shape. "But you'll need the proper headgear, or Mr. Phips and the crew get a little riled up."
|
|
"Captain, you wound me!" Arnaut mocks a wounded heart before pulling a bedazzled tricorne with a cascade of peacock feathers tumbling down the back out of his pack. "A true pirate is never without his trusty headgear, nor an actor without his costumes." With a bow, he turns to the ship. "Ahoy there Phips! Permission to come aboard? I hear there be plunder to be had!"
|
|
"Ah properly squared away!" Hamish exclaims. "Mr. Phips, Acting Captain Arnaut will be taking the helm."
Mr. Phips turns his featureless head to glance up at Arnaut, then salutes.
"Aye, Sir!" Mr. Phips returns, then calls back to the crew. "Acting captain on deck!" The other sailors only half-heartedly seem to mimic his enthusiasm, most of them continuing their repair work, ignoring both Phips and Arnaut.