
Omari the Landless |

Ok, I assume that Ohrmizd (and Heshan) did their scout alone and came back to report.; Invisibility Sphere (radius 10') isn't going to hide multiple large+ creatures (Khedron, Shazathared, Hazreem). @ Hazreem, what form are you in?
Omari replies to Hazreem and Ohrmizd "Actually, I think trying to talk to the harpies might just be a good idea. First, they might be able to tell us something, after all. Second, if we need to retreat at some stage, having either made acquaintances or settled the problem, means them not sitting on our line of retreat. With respect to using wind walk to get in, we could do it, but it leaves us very vulnerable if we get discovered in cloud form."
Takes 5 rounds to solidify, and we can't fight until we do. It only gives us DR10/magic, and takes away armor, shield and NA bonuses, so just about anything at this level can beat on us.
"Did you check our where the salamanders were denned up?"

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

@Omari: Hazreem is currently in human form.

Ohrmizd |

"Yes, I checked" Ohrmizd looks up at the harpies and tries to figure out the plan "So what is the plan, just come by and say, hey, we come here to get rid of the big genie, could you please tell us where is he hiding?"
"Maybe I have to be more explicit here. One harpy just ate our minds and I can only figure out she tried to sell us instead of outright killing us because of the money of the Slave Market" the Kheleshite remembers back for the group "What are we supposed to do against a whole community of them?"

Heshan Antar |

"So hiding is out of the question," Heshan sighed. "But it does seem weird that all of the genies left the area without a bit of a thought. So it may be best if we can retrieve some information out of them. Our bard may have some magic that could coerce one of them if the need arises."

Omari the Landless |

"I Think that our new ally (bard) could use her performances (Countersong) to protect us from the harpies song if need be. And if it comes to combat, I expect a lot of birds to drop from the sky rapidly; Heshan is quite capable of making things explode. I'm a pretty good shot... With respect to what we can get from the encounter, I see two possibilities. First, the harpies are in league with Javhul, at which point I don't want them blocking our retreat if we have to run away. Second, the harpies just happen to be roosting here, at which point, if we can reach a detente, they might have useful information. Either way, our line of retreat will be clear..."

Ohrmizd |

Ohrmizd grits his teeth at the sight of the harpy. He takes a deep breath, forcing his features to soften as he steps forward "Undrella... I must admit, your song is as captivating as it is dangerous. Truly, a delight for the senses, but one I'd rather not experience again" he forces a polite smile, though his hand remains close to the hilt of his scimitar.
"We are here for answers, not conflict. Jhavul's whereabouts, his plan, anything you know would be invaluable to us. And we are willing to make it worth your time" Ohrmizd pulls a small pouch of coins from his belt and holds it up "Gold, gems, or perhaps something else you desire? We will compensate you fairly for the information"
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 21 + 2 = 24
He glances at his companions, pausing briefly on their bardic ally "And if our friend Cadenza here" he gestures toward the genie-bard "needs to sweeten the deal with a performance of her own, I'm sure she’d be happy to oblige"

Undrella __ |

"Oh, so generous this time. You found already that they made sure no one walks in on them. And I see you also found the vents they use to enter and leave. They bring another batch of prisoners from Kelmarane every now and then and open one of the entrances for that. But what I've heard there will be no such delivery anymore." Undrella muses.
"But as you're still standing here I'd say you didn't do your homework and don't know where to go in this rather large complex. I do and if that pouch you hold contains at least 6000 gold, I'll tell you."

Ohrmizd |

"That's... a large sum" he looks at the others for their thoughts "But if the information is accurate I think it is a tax we can pay at this point..."

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

Hazreem stares at Undrella a brief look of confusion on his face.
Undrella? But we slew her...all those years ago...she must have been returned to life...
He gives the harpy a withering glare. "Right Undrella, how would YOU know what we seek? Did Jhavul take you on a grand tour of the Palace here before sealing it up? Do you take us for fools??"
Cadenza is quiet but does watch the harpy carefully and listens to her words...
Cadenza Sense Motive: 1d20 + 34 ⇒ (7) + 34 = 41

Ohrmizd |

"Oh, we are the kind that fights first, talks later" Ohrmizd explains doing a figure with his hand "As our relation explains, but now is later, and so, we can talk without breaking our rule"
He turns to the Omari and Heshan who have not spoken yet "That is so, if my friends agree your information is worth the coin"

Omari the Landless |

Omari nods and says "The information, if true, would be worth it. But a question for you Undrella, do you know what Javhul's up to in there?"
Sorry, as mentioned, posting will be spotty, so I'm not going to be part of a long conversation unless we wait a lot... But a couple of points 1) I'm assuming the answer to my question is no; otherwise, why is she (and the rest of the harpies), sticking around where Xotani might break loose anytime? The obvious answer being she's in league with Javhul and this is trap ... at which point we should probably kill her. 2) Assuming no again, if we tell her about Javhul's goal, we can probably talk her into taking her flock and leaving, as the neighbourhood is about to become less hospitable (whether we win or lose - either the Firebleeder is loose, or we won (and we don't like her that much)). This will clear our exit if we need to run away (see previous discussion of tactics)... 3)@Hazreem, who/what is Cadenza? Do you mean Serilye?

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

3)@Hazreem, who/what is Cadenza? Do you mean Serilye? Sorry a bit of miscommunication I went by what Ohrmizd said earlier.Ohrmizd wrote:He glances at his companions, pausing briefly on their bardic ally "And if our friend Cadenza here" he gestures toward the genie-bard "needs to sweeten the deal with a performance of her own, I'm sure she’d be happy to oblige"

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

Hazreem steps out of earshot of the harpy before speaking low, "I don't trust her. Who is to say she would not betray us regardless whether she works for Jhavul or not. Wasting time and energy fighting her would not be wise though."
My thoughts: If we are going to pony up the money here then we should try to verify if she is telling the truth. Detect Lie or Zone of Truth would be good here. Serilye also has Detect Thoughts too, may be worth a shot. Fighting her would be a mistake as I think we need to save our resources for fighting Jhavul and his guardians.
.
PS Merry Christmas all!

Ohrmizd |

"Here you have half the coin" Ohrmizd gives 3000 golds and looks with his discern lies inquisitor gaze into her "The other half once you have given the information you promised. Don't even try to lie, you should know I am well trained at finding out those..."
Will DC 18 for the discern lies, and also rolling
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 21 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 21 + 2 = 41

Undrella __ |

Undrella catches the pouch and weihs it in her hand. "Why should I lie to you?" Undrella replies with a grin. "You need to go to the cave where the stone guardians are. I hope you remember that place from your last visit. There is a portal into the grave where Jhavhul resides now."
She holds open her hand for the second half of the payment.

Ohrmizd |

Ohrmizd rolls the coin bag and tosses it to the harpy "I remember well. There were some Terran inscriptions. The question is, which of the entrances has not been walled by the genies?"
He will try to obtain information to figure out what path to follow to reach the portal on the current configuration of the House.
Survival: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 16 + 2 = 27

Heshan Antar |

As the harpy made her way out, Heshan pulled out the key they received from Davashum. "It is a good thing Omari is great at handling our inventory," Heshan mused with a smile. "It is also good that Undrella was willing to play nice to us... even if it took a bit of our coin to do so."

Foxy Quickpaw |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

How on earth does Undrella know all this?
Some time earlier
Neither Davashum, nor Jhavhul have the hots for harpies. So the usual way of charming up to the big guy didn't work out for Undrella. But as a silent shadow in the sky there is much to be learned.
On a trek led by two Jann offices to bring new prisoners from Kelmarane to the Pale Mountain.
Cap1.: "That's a s$*@ty job. Walking through the desert with those lame prisoners. This is going to take forever."
Cap2.: "How about you tell the boss that you want another task. I'm sure he'll find something. Also you're not walking, you're flying."
Cap1.: "You're a suck up. I hope you didn't forget the key."
Cap2.: "What key?"
Cap1. freezes in place : "The key to the portal! Don't you tell me you forgot to bring it!"
Cap2.: "I know of nothing. It's the first time I do this trip and no one told me nothing about a key?"
Cap1.: "Great, just great. So what are we going to do now?" the janni asks with baraly supressed anger.
Cap2.: "I don't know. Keep walking and ask there for a spare key?"
Cap1.: "No, you idiot! The Stone Speakers wont talk to you, despite the name and you'd stand in front of a locked portal! I'll tell you what will happen: You walk your stupid ass back and get the key! And you'd better be back before we reach the pale mountain!"
Cap2 shrugs, turns, and travels back towards Kelmarane.

Ohrmizd |

Ohrmizd lets out a soft chuckle as he watches the harpy ascend into the sky. Then, turns toward Heshan "Harpy ears have a way of growing where they shouldn't, don't they?" he muses, the faint trace of a smile playing on his lips "Still, luck is a peculiar ally. It seems we have found the key she overheard us needing. Let's hope our good fortune holds a while longer"
With that, Ohrmizd begins to use the wind walk magic still flowing through his body "Time to find out where these vents lead"
His form becomes a shimmering mist, sunlight catching in the edges of his vaporous outline. The words seem to echo as his misted form begins to descend gracefully, weaving through the cracks and crevices of the terrain below, carried by the unseen currents of air.

Ohrmizd |

Once he finds the area of the portal, Ohrmizd just starts to revert to his corporeal form in any area without enemies.
Survival (find the path): 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 16 + 2 = 25

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

Hazreem avails himself of his wind walk spell as he follows along behind Ohrmizd.
Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 Plus any Stealth bonuses for gaseous form.

Omari the Landless |

"Hopefully we can get in and transform back before we are spotted."
Knowing he is not the stealthiest of men, Omari hangs back, taking the tail-end charlie spot...
stealth, Omari: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 - 1 = 9
+5 dex -1 ACP
Stealh, Khedron: 1d20 + 1 + 3 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 1 + 3 + 4 - 4 = 19
1 rank+3 trained +4 dex -4 size

Ohrmizd |

"Yes, let's transform back on the first area without danger" Ohrmizd proposes while he tries to seem just normal mist.
Stealth: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 2 = 11

Foxy Quickpaw |

The first cave you find yourself in is patrolled by fire giants. It is the large chamber of the lower floor separated by a row of columns from the carrion pit and the maggot throne. (I1 in AP#20)
Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31
Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16
Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
The group is spotted immediately and the patrol of threee fire giants comes to investigate with weapons drawn.
Heshan: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Omari: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Hazreem: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (3) + 0 = 3
Fire Giant: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5
Fire Giant: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Fire Giant: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0
Ohrmizd, Omari, Heshan <--
Fire Giant
Harzeem
Fire Giant, Fire Giant

Omari the Landless |

Init, Serilye: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
+10 statblock
Ok, we need 5 rounds to tranform from Windwalk to normal... You can't fight in gaseous form, but you can cast. Also, you can use abilities, like bardic Fascinate; might be just the ticket here: quiet, will save DC 10+5+7=22. Serilye can hold them while we transform back...

Ohrmizd |

I assume we became corporeal at first chance as I suggested in my post
Throne map uploaded
"Tsk! They have spotted us!" he raises his shield with the symbol of Sarenrae saying words of protection that bring a shield of faith around him.
HP 143/143 AC 36 TAC 17
shield of faith (+4) 14 min
greater magic weapon (+3) 13 h
magic vestment (+3) 13 h
keen edge 130 min
bloodhound 130 min
clay skin 130 min (DR 5/adamantine 50/50 hp)
heroism 130 min
heightened awareness 130 min

Ohrmizd |

Ohrmizd flies the farthest away possible from the giants while he becomes corporeal.

Omari the Landless |

I have no figures on the map here. So maneuvering is an issue. Also, how high are the ceilings here? How tall are the giants and what are their weapons?

Omari the Landless |

I have added an icon for Serilye to the map
Omari considers his inventory of blessings from Erastil, and the tactical situation. He curses "S~~!!; he doesn't have much of immediate use. Still, what he has he will use. He mutters a prayer and a small whirlwind of sand springs up in the face of the nearest giant, as he does so, he floats backwards, away from the giants...
standard action : casts Sand Whirlwind, Will DC 17, targeting fir giant black
Move action - move 30' float back behind the staircase.
free - command Animal companiong
At Omari's signal, Khedron backs off, vaporous hooves touching silently on the stone floor...
Khedron - double move

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

While Serilye would love nothing more than to take the fight to her mortal enemies here she knows her allies need a few more seconds to rematerialize so she intends to buy them that time...
"Hold your spells I will buy you some time to change back to your solid forms!" She warms the party telepathically.
Standard action: Bardic performance Fascinate all three giants. Will Save DC 22 to resist, failure means he creature sits quietly and observes the performance for as long as the bard continues to maintain it.
Move action fly 20' closer.

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

Hazreem grunts as he sees one of the giants shrug off the effects of Serilye's performance. This is where the fun begins...
He casts a defensive spell here, also using his newly purchased rod to extend the duration. Move action: Draw Rod. Standard action: Cast Barkskin on himself (AC now 28 for 20 min.)

Foxy Quickpaw |

Seeing the effect of the performance on his companions, the giant tries to end this foolery with his sword.
Greatsword: 1d20 + 21 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 21 + 2 = 433d6 + 15 ⇒ (2, 2, 5) + 15 = 24
Confirm: 1d20 + 21 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 21 + 2 = 353d6 + 15 ⇒ (6, 6, 1) + 15 = 28
Which proofs that bards are not made to stand on the frontline.
Ohrmizd, Heshan, Omari, Serilye <--
Fire Giant (fascinated)
Harzeem <--
Fire Giant, Fire Giant

Ohrmizd |

Ohrmizd silently retreats away from the giant, flying up and out of reach as much as he can.

Omari the Landless |

Omari and Khedron try their damndest to solidify themselves more rapidly. As they do so they reposition themselves to be able to act effectively once they are solid...

Hazreem Al'Shakar_1 |

Serilye glares at the puny mortal who dares wound her. "So you wish to battle? Very well I shall oblige you!" She then shifts her form to match one of the most feared giant types that exisit on Golarion: a rock troll!
Free: maintain Fascinate: 28 rds left.
Standard: Change Shape (Giant Form: Rock Troll)
Swift: Quickened Quench targetting the Fire Giant. Damage: 10d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 2, 5, 6, 4, 2, 4, 5) = 36, no save.
Seriyle Tracker:
HP: 142/194
Bardic Performance 28/29 rds
Gaseous Form: 4/5 day
Quickened spell: Quench 2/3 day
+6 size bonus to Strength = total 29 (+9)
-2 penalty to Dexterity = total 21 (+5)
+4 size bonus to Constitution = total 20 (+5)
+4 natural armor bonus = total 29
low-light vision
darkvision 60 feet
rend (claws, 2d6+9 damage)
regeneration 5
rock catching
rock throwing (range 60 feet, 2d6 damage)