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"It is about time to give it all" Eldon drops the wand so he has the hand free to cast shocking grasp.
His rapier crackles with electrical power, and determined, Eldon attempts to discharge the spell on the blue incorporeal.
Dekion and Eldon both score good hits, and Zarnel destroys one before turning on another/
Haste in effect
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Through the terrible dark and palpable evil of the dungeons of Gallowspire, the expedition fights its way to the surface. The earth beneath and around them continues to shake, and undead monstrosities continue to fight, but the Pathfinders are implacable in their progress. Finally, after many more hours, the dim light of day greets the surviving Pathfinders who emerge from the outskirts of the Gallowgarden. Most show signs of desperate battle and deep exhaustion. As the light grows and shatters the clearing clouds, a few shouts of congratulations soon become a rousing cheer.
Marcos Farabellus steps forward triumphantly. “My friends, I have never been so proud to call myself a Pathfinder as I am today. Thanks to you, and to everyone who gave their lives to this mission, the world does not need to fear a terrible undead blight. The Whispering Tyrant may be a figure of legend, but you have challenged his plots, and you have emerged victorious. Your bravery and determination stand as a shining example, not just to your fellow agents, but to the world. Let us face the challenges ahead in the same spirit. Let us honor our dead and carry their memory and stories with us as we move forward into a new day. Explore! Report! Cooperate!”
Broker gets a bite out of the wraith, and then Mun is able to put one arrow into it dead center, causing it to dissipate.
The last remaining one attacks Zarnel.
Haste in effect
And with that, the last wraith is destroyed.
Surprisingly, there is nothing of interest at the altar.
You enter the red zone and find similar cells. These rooms are lined with shelves, each with a small metal plaque and a name. Atop the shelves are crowns, diadems, and headgear of rulership with staggering diversity.
Moving on to explore the remaining area, you find that the stone doors to this chamber are decorated with a stylized skull wearing a horned headdress marked with arcane symbols. Oppressive dread radiates from the walls like waves of heat.
There is a powerful spell protecting the door - a symbol spell.
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"Let me try something..." Eldon unfolds the scroll the Pathfinders gave him and uses the erase spell written on it trying to remove the symbol spell protecting the door.
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Zarnel shakes off the wraith's attack. With the battle over, he joins Dekion and follows the others as he reads from the scroll.
Feeling that trying to walk and read scrolls at the same time might be beyond his ability, he stops and tries again.
He tosses the used-up scroll on the ground. "Let's hope we don't need more," he says as he watches Eldon and Mylvwara examine the door.
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"That can work. Although without knowing more perhaps it will reset just after. I might also try to break the runes that compose the symbol so it cannot trigger. It is complex and dangerous, but I think I can make it work. Please provide any inspiration and help you can" Eldon waits in case he can have guidance, inspire aptitude and other type of aids before attempting to disarm this clearly magical trap, whatever it is exactly.
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In addition to guidance, Mun asks Ashava to give Eldon a fallback strategy.
While this spell is active, you may reroll one attack roll, combat maneuver check, or skill check before the result of the roll or check is known. You must take the result of the reroll, even if it’s worse than the original roll. Once the reroll is used, the spell ends. You can have no more than one fallback strategy active on you at the same time.
Eldon spends a few minutes figuring out the exact nature of the situation, and manages to disable the spell from triggering. He opens the door, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. (I assume all were standing back, just in case...)
+2 for traps
The room is rather boring, but Broker quickly points out a loose flagstone. After a little effort to pry it loose, you find a hidden small locked coffer of unadorned steel
Mylvwara recognizes the figure as a representation of Chaldira Zuzaristan, a halfling god of battle, luck, and mischief.
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With the other Pathfinders fighting off the threats of the Black Caverns, Ollysta Zadrian leads the remaining members of the expedition hurriedly toward the source of the ritual. Waves of minor undead rise to block the way but are quickly cut down by the Pathfinders’ weapons and spells. After what seems like hours, the caverns change to worked stone, and the rolling waves of necromantic energy become more pronounced. Abruptly, the passageway opens into a massive chamber housing a towering pillar that rises from the center of a pit. This Pillar is made of strange metal that shifts colors, and each of its five faces is covered with arcane runes.
“We are here, Pathfinders,” says Ollysta. “Let us finish with this foul place.”
The ceiling here is 150 feet high. The Pillar rises to a height of 140 feet and stands within a 40-foot-deep pit. Ollysta is willing to wait a round or two before moving in, giving the you a few seconds to prepare, but no longer.
The Pillar is covered in magical spells and formulae of all schools of magic, but taking his lead from the ancient power of Thassilonian sin magic, Tar-Baphon designed the pillar to have five facets, each attuned most closely one of the five schools of magic a Thassilonian necromancer would have focused upon: necromancy, transmutation, illusion, evocation, and conjuration.
The Whispering Tyrant has set up the five ritual stones (areas
E1–E6) to both draw negative energy into the Pillar until it
explodes. Each round, once will pulse, causing a related effect to the surrounding area. The stones then direct the flow of that explosion up through the dungeons to the surface and out into a radius of hundreds of miles. This explosion would destroy all life in that area and raise those killed as undead in the Whispering Tyrant’s service.
Disrupting, or destroying, these stones is the key to stopping the ritual.
Shortly after you arrive , more undead appear to welcome you.
One of them is composed of thick muscle and jutting bone from multiple corpses fused together form a winged, humanlike predator. The other two are grotesque tangles of twisted bones, decayed flesh, and rotted organs is shaped into a vague parody of the human form.
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Eldon is more than happy to follow the tunnel "Let's risk it, before it is too late, let's try to give a final score to this foul place!"
After tense hours of exploration through maze-like tunnels Eldon comes to a hold in the final room "Just a second Ollystra!" Eldon uses the scroll to cast the second mirror image within, then saving the remaining spells, the elf uses his wand to cast shield on himself "I am ready!"
As the assault begins, Eldon casts vanish on himself then moves forward completely invisible.
Eldon tries to recognize the creatures and how the ritual they are performing works.
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"So this is what an ultimate Evil looks like. No matter, we shall destroy it!"
Zarnel refreshes his shield spell from his wand and says a quick prayer to call upon the aid of an Ally of the Good.
"Dolok Darkfur, I ask that you lend me your strength in this fight."
He sheaths his sword and retrieves his hammer. He holds it up to the sky and asks for Her blessing.
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Ok, I'll try to keep those things off of us while someone works on this one," he says pointing at the stone nearest them. "Anyone know what those undead are?" he asks.
Dekion watches as the others of the group cast spells to prepare for battle. Without the ability to cast spells himself, he tilts his head from side-to-side stretching his neck. When the others are ready, he moves forward and readies an attack for the incoming undead.
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At Broker's question, Zarnel hefts his adamantine hammer and looks back to Mylvwara.
"Mylvwara, will you stay by me and study one of the stones more closely as I use this to try to smash it? Perhaps there is more we can learn about them or how to disrupt ... this," his voice trails off as he looks around him in disgust at the Evil being committed here.
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Mun retrieves the scroll that Dekion gave him earlier, reading the words to grant the team another Blessing of fervor. He keeps Selune back for the moment, wanting the bear's defense.
Each round for the duration of this spell, each of your allies can choose one of the following bonuses for that round at the beginning of its turn (their choice).
* Increase its speed by 30 feet.
* Stand up as a swift action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
* Take one extra attack as part of a full attack action, using its highest base attack bonus.
* Gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves.
* Cast a single spell of 2nd level or lower as if it were an enlarged, extended, silent, or still spell.These effects are not cumulative with similar effects, such as those provided by haste or a speed weapon, nor do they actually grant an extra action, so you can't use it to cast a second spell or otherwise take an extra action in the round. Blessing of fervor does not stack with haste.
Selune takes a step forward, keeping an eye out for threats.