GM Elberion's To Seal The Shadow (Inactive)

Game Master GeraintElberion

Yes!

Okaze maneuvers Lucentis back before striking with his lance.

Lance: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

"Continue the show while we handle any errant puppets, their handler seems to be incapable of keeping the show running like us!" he mocks.

Just to be clear, Eynemb did not call the wolf. It came through the gap that was created when he disrupted the show.

Okaze, did you assign your bonuses from the mask?

Oh no, I forgot to. It slipped my mind.

You can make one item +2 or two items +1. I need to know if you have assigned any bonuses to your weapon?

Assigning both to my weapon. Apologies for missing that.

Okaze's lance strikes true, piercing the great wolf's side.

Eynemb (-20)
Spider
Spider

Miseria (-1)
Yulau
Eka

Shadow Dire Wolf (-13)

Okaze
Lydia

Bold may act!

I'll take +2 to my scythe.

Lydia summons the spirits of the long-dead to swarm around her in a shield before moving toward the shadow-wolf...

...while Fomalhaut turns his considerable goading and provocation skills upon it.

Intimidate to demoralize: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

At the moment, he can't think of anything good, however.

Wounded and freaking out, Eynemb joins his shadows in controlling the puppets.

The shadow wolf, meanwhile, snaps its jaws at Yulau, trying to stop the show.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
trip it it hits: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

The large, shadowed fangs sink into flesh and send Yulau toppling to the floor.

Eynemb (-20)
Spider
Spider

Miseria (-1)
Yulau (-13, dying)
Eka

Shadow Dire Wolf (-13)

Okaze
Lydia

Bold may act!

GM, can I activate my You Be Goblin Whelp boon that gives me DR 5 to that last attack. It still puts me down but doesn’t kill me yet. Should put me at -8.

Yulau spins and dodges a bit of the wolf’s attack, but she is still knocked unconscious and is bleeding heavily.

Stabilization check 1d20 + 1 - 8 ⇒ (17) + 1 - 8 = 10

Somehow the bleeding stops and she seemed out of immediate danger.

Sorry, I haven't been clear. You are at -13 from your maximum. So, at negative one hit points and stabilized without needing the boon.

Or you could use the boon and keep on trucking with 4 hit points left? Up to you.

Sorry, I haven't been clear. You are at -13 from your maximum. So, at negative one hit points and stabilized without needing the boon.

Or you could use the boon and keep on trucking with 4 hit points left? Up to you.

Ill take -1 and stabilized, GM. With big bad wolfie next to me, Next round might be even worse.

Torn between defending Yulau and finishing the ritual's performance, Eka realizes that she is the only one in a position to do the latter, while the others can take care of the former. Gritting her teeth, she forces herself to focus on the puppets, trying to make their shadows communicate the true essence of the scene.

Perform: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Okaze strikes with his lance once more before moving back.

Lance: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10
Damage: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10

Eka's graceful movements combine with Eynemb's and the ritual performance is completed. The cloying darkness recedes and you hear a sigh of relief from Harjandi.

6/6 Aced it!

Although the ritual has closed the door between worlds, the beast remains, trapped in your world.

Okaze misses the fell creature.

Eynemb (-20)
Spider
Spider

Miseria (-1)
Yulau (-13, stable at negative 1)
Eka

Shadow Dire Wolf (-13)

Okaze
Lydia

Bold may act!

Miseria begins to close with the wolf.

double move

Fomalhaut closes in, flailing with his pseudopods in a tragic scene of otherworldly-shadow-monster-upon-otherworldly-shadow-monster-violence...

+1 Slam!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 plus -2 Strength penalty for 1 round if that hits; this is a negative energy effect, in case that matters

+1 Slam!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

...and Lydia braves the monster's reach to attack with her scythe, now visibly glimmering with spirit-energy!

+2 Scythe: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 3) + 6 = 11

The beast howls in frustration and bites at Formalhaut.
bite: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
trip if hits: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

The wolf's jaws snap shut on nothing.

Eynemb (-20)
Spider
Spider

Miseria (-1)
Yulau (-13, stable at negative 1)
Eka

Shadow Dire Wolf (-26, -2 strength)

Okaze
Lydia

Bold may act!

Emboldened, Fomalhaut keeps swinging...

+1 Slam!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

+1 Slam!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 plus Strength penalty

...as does Lydia.

+2 Scythe, flank: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (1, 1) + 6 = 8

"WHAT?!" Frustrated and surprised that the shadow wolf didn't disappear once the ritual was fully complete, Eka grabs her bardiche and steps into a better position to strike the beast, and potentially heal Yulau if she gets a chance next round(?).

cold iron bardiche: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 61d10 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Bardiches have reach. Not that it matters this time.

Okaze urges Lucentis forward with a charge. The albino gecko lets out a trill scream as Okaze thrusts his lance forward.

Lance: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Damage: 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (4, 2) + 14 = 20

Together, the party defeats the creature, wisps of shadow blow apart with Okaze's final thrust and then dissipate in the gentle breeze coming off the shore.

The moon is briefly swallowed by an immense shadow, and when it returns, colour has returned to the landscape and everything is calm.

Mayor Farzhan rushes down from the magic lantern and embraces each of you in an enthusiastic and surprising show of affection and elation. You feel a warm glow of satisfaction emanating from your masks at the same time.

Harjandi smiles indulgently at the mayor's display and politely asks for the return of the ritual masks, "You have done an incredible service to our city, our people, to the whole of Golarion. Thank you."

Eynmeb is very contrite and apologises profusely to each of you. Even so, he is taken away by guards.

---

Harjandi escorts you back to your quarters and the next day you board the Spider's Silk to sail back to Old Pak in Ramprassad. Crowds wave you off as you go. You notice the people you spoke to in the bar, pointing to you and talking to their friends.

---

Old Pak makes intense notes on the ritual, quizzing you thoroughly. He also offers to have the body modifications reversed, free of charge, if anyone had them simply to indulge their hosts.

Apologies for the drawn-out confusion with the subsystem. I may well run that again one day and just speed up the debate. Chronicles to come.

"This certainly was an adventure that subverted all expectation. Yet, I learned quite a bit and met other wonderful Pathfinders. I do hope we will be able to visit again even when the festival is not happening?" he asks Harjandi.

---

On the boat Okaze waves back at all the people.

"Even losing the debate they are treating us like heroes. Feels good."

As soon as the shadow wolf was no longer a threat, Eka would have used Lay on Hands on Yulau until she came back to consciousness.

Standing beside Okaze, Eka smiles slightly. "Yess. It feelss good." Her eyes focus beyond the crowd as her thoughts turn inward. I didn't find any losst memoriess. A pit of sadness settles in her belly. With all the optimism of Eeyore, she reminds herself that she certainly *made* some memories, and who knows what the future holds?

When offered the chance to reverse the body piercings, she declines. Perhaps it's her dark mood that influences her decision, but one must admit, it certainly is striking to see three black spikes poking out of the back of her neck.

Later, she finds Yulau. "You kept your head about you well at the end there. I am ssorry I didn't protect your flank better. I misstakenly thought that the shadow wolf would dissapear onsse we finished the ritual, sso that was my priority. ... It is good that you were able to recover." Her reptilian eyes are somehow able to convey the sincerity of her apology.

Eynmeb is very contrite and apologises profusely to each of you. Even so, he is taken away by guards.

"Wait," Lydia unexpectedly calls out before the guards haul poor Eynemb away. She approaches him with a shrewd look.

"It takes courage to question your own society," She begins. "Great courage, in fact. You were wrong this time - and I guess the consequences of your pride could have been, I don't know...very bad. You know what, though? I'm well over a hundred years old, and if there's one thing life has taught me, it's that most people are miserable cowards. I wish more people had your pride. You were dead-wrong this time, but you had your reasons for your conclusion. I've seen that kind of conviction before; its the conviction of someone who actually thought about what he'd been told, and wouldn't accept 'because it is said so' as an answer. I don't know where they're taking you now, but once they let you out-" Lydia looks over to the Mayor for a moment. "Um...they're not putting him to death or whatever, right?" Then she turns back to Eynemb. "ASSUMING they let you out, I happen to know more than a few people who happen to think very, very highly of a willingness to explore heresy: The Dark Archive. If you can make your way to distant Absalom - or perhaps to Goka would suffice - seek us out." She finishes by dropping a token depicting a lurid purple flame over a black book into his trembling claw.

Knowledge (Arcana), Faction Pin, to recruit knowledgeable individual for the Dark Archive (per Season 8 Faction Objectives), DC 18: 1d20 + 6 + 1d4 ⇒ (13) + 6 + (3) = 22 Qapla'!

"...Of course, if they DO put you to death, the Dark Archive will in all likelihood have an even EASIER m-*MMMMPHH!*" Fomalhaut's contribution is cut short by an inhumanly-strong sock to what would moments ago have best been described as his face, though now it mostly just resembles a deep imprint of the back of Lydia's fist.