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As soon as the final fighter makes a break for it, Kala gripes as she turns around: "Danged hybrid form's messing up my--" And then her eyes fall upon the prone form of Selune, with a clearly grieved Mun beside her. The image sears into her heart, bringing to mind a particularly tense time when she almost lost Stinky. A pit of emotion opens in her gut, freezing her in place with the intensity of remembered panic and anguish. Once Mun's healing has revived Selune enough, however, Kala is able to shove those memories back to the depths from which they sprang. Shaking herself to clear her head, she steps over to Stinky, crouching down to give him some full-hearted loving. "There's my good boy!"
After a moment, she rises and walks up to Mun. Not knowing what to say (and with her grandmother's voice snapping in her head: "Fumbletongue!"), she simply gives him a solemn nod, all her emotions expressed in her eyes.
The next object of her focus is Theodorous. With a resigned sigh, she casts Stabilize on the pompous troublemaker, then cuts 5 feet off her rope to bind his hands and feet. That business done, she takes stock of the men's possessions. Her voice shaky at first, but getting stronger as she continues, she suggests: "I say we take the vampire hunting things along with us. Who knows--we may have to fight more of them. And I'm not a fan of leaving him with any arrows, considering... Well, let's take what we may need and hide the rest, in case that one who ran away comes back for him." She picks up Theodorous's fancy wooden stake and offers it to Mun.
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"I understand your grudge Mun. What they make today is criminal. But I will not commit the same crime here today. Neither I will let an Abadar faithful die whatever miss-leaded he is. I will show him to see the truth and then he will be judged back at Magnimar" Arbiscar will help Kala to tie up Theodorous.
Then the dwarf helps healing Selune, and once all that is done Arbiscar uses his own wand to heal up Theodorous to the point he can stand up and be pushed forward by the dwarf "You are arrested. You will witness the truth now, and then answer to justice for your assassination attempt"
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I know, Arbiscar... and I know what our faction teaches as well.... Mun seems to reject Arbiscar's argument, steadfastly ignoring that the words were even spoken. He joins Kala as she examines and sorts the gear.
"Some of those arrows might be useful, just in case." He stows the offered stake and garlic in his pouch, along with what arrows Kala can spare. "Thanks for your concern; I could read it in your eyes. Most don't understand the relationships we have with our companions. Thank you for showing that not all humans are as bad as they seem," the elf whispers as they sort and stow the gear.
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"Stop yelling. You have a second opportunity to life to see the truth. Keep moving forward if you do not want others less patient than me to take you out of my hands" Arbiscar tries to convince Theodorus to depose his attitude and collaborate "As I told you already but you were to exalted to listen we are going to defeat a will-'o-the-wisp. There are no vampires around that we know. Stay put and try to help Magnimar instead of keeping that unhelpful rant up"
In any case he will take full charge of the inquisitor.
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As much as I would like him out of our hair...if Arbiscar wants to take responsibility for him, who am I to get in his way. He is abiding by his god's doctrine. I understand completely. the Sarenite says as he goes up to Theodorus.Do not make trouble, worm. Nothing in my church's doctrine about not smashing a lunatic in the head with a morningstar...
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Kala splits the arrows with Mun, mumbling: "Yeah, sometimes words don't work, even when you mean well. Our friends here understand." She claps him on the shoulder and rises, fishing a couple of scraps of jerky from her pocket: one for Selune, and one for Stinky.
Clearing her throat, Kala speaks out, a little too loudly at first, but eventually she finds an even tone: "I think Finnius is right. We don't need him announcing our approach to that evil will o' wisp. Who knows what traps and ambushes we'd have to deal with if they knew exactly when and where we're coming. Arbiscar, I know you want to keep your eyes on him, but we can't let him undermine this much-more-important mission. He should be safe enough if we tie him up here. We'd be between him and the worst things in this forest, anyway."
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Theodorus is unconvinced by Arbiscar's pleas to calm. "I am not a fool who is going to believe your absurd lie about some kind of mastermind wil o'wisp. I know that vampires are behind the cursed monuments and by Abdadar's golden scales I am going to see a stake put into the heart of all your masters and you so called "Pathfinders" burning on a pyre."
The party takes his gear and leaves the Abadarian fanatic tied to a tree. Therin's threat subdues him briefly, but as the party departs he can be heard shouting, "Thieves! Abomininations! You will feel my wrath!" Eventually his voice recedes in the background.
Following the moonlit path leads to an ancient, moldering lichyard in the middle of the marshes. Crumbling tombs and moss-covered gravestones stretch out along the northern and southern sides of the path. To the east, the way narrows and splits, plunging into thicker brambles and dense undergrowth. At the center of the fork in the road, a group of small, glowing creatures carry the bloodied and inert body of a regal woman in silvery armor, whisking her away into the gloaming woods.
A disheveled woman in dented armor and a feathered cloak hobbles after the group, crying out to them. Her golden hair is a tangle of knots and twigs, and blood seeps from numerous cuts across her dirt-covered skin. “Cybelle! No! Bring her back!” She reaches out a trembling hand, and feathers start appearing on her arm. A sharp cry of pain escapes her as she shudders. Her arm goes limp at her side, and the feathers vanish.
When the woman sees the party, her eyes grow wide and she runs over to the party. She seems to recognize that the Pathfinder's moon-colored fur signify a celestial blessing as she runs toward the group. When she gets close she collapses to her knees and begins sobbing with exhaustion and desperation “Please, help! Those little fiends stole my daughter, Cybelle. They’re in league with that terrible will-o’-wisp. Please save her!”
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"Don't worry about my wounds. My daughter," she says, pointing to the armored figure being carried off into the marshes by several small glowing creatures. Wheezing on the ground she stammers, "Fey things...evil...I don't know what they're going to do to her. Swan...cloak...please...they're getting away."
The obstacles are not measured in rounds, so you will be able to cast buff spells before starting or during an obstacle in addition to your action. Effects with a duration of 1 minute/level or shorter only last for one obstacle, but spells with 10/minutes per level will last the entire chase.
You will get a +2 bonus to your checks for every 10 feet your movement exceeds 30 feet. You will get a -2 penalty if your speed is below 30 feet.
There will be a choice of two obstacles that you can try to overcome. You can split the party and try to tackle both, but generally its better for everyone to tackle one so that all their aids count towards the same goal. The DCs for these obstacles are pretty high and you probably won't overcome all of them.
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The party leaves the injured swan maiden behind and begins to run through the marshes after the glowing creatures. Although the chase takes them off the moonlit trail, the faint silver lights are seldom far. Coincidence or not, the path these creatures are following seems to be the same as the one leading to Tulvatha.
The flying creatures lift the armored figure up, up, up into the air and the party quickly finds out why as they run headfirst into a thicket of sticky brambles. The thorny leaves tug at the party's fur and poke painfully at them. Without the thick skin and fur of their lycantropic flesh, these branches would rip them apart.
Slip Through with a simple Dexterity check
OR
Bust Through with a CMB check!
The party can see the lights from the glowing fey shrink as they struggle through the bramble patch but start making ground as they rush across open ground. The creatures zig and zag, then abruptly veer off to the left. The lights begin to get larger and larger and soon they can make out the silvery armor of the abducted warrior they are carrying off. Suddenly the solid ground disappears and the party finds themselves sinking. Quicksand! They pull themselves out easily enough but now have another obstacle to get over.
Jump over with an Acrobatics check!
OR
Wade in and Swim to the other side
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Now Kala is in her element: the hunter is on the hunt! Her prey is so close; she can almost taste her victory! She sprints at the head of the group with Stinky bounding at her side, reveling the power and stamina this form gives her. She feels invincible!
The brambles have a different, however. Kala is practically stopped short by the thorny canes. Growling in pride-wounded frustration, she forces her way through them, making sure to smash as many of the offending brambles out of Stinky's way as possible.
Once she is free of that hazard, she is bounding off again like a hound on a scent. She is just beginning to think this is going to be easy when the quicksand begins sucking at her feet. Using what little of her drastically reduced forward momentum remains, Kala plunges into it to swim across, giving herself and Stinky the Aspect of the Frog as she does so. "Come on, Stinky! I've got you!" Knowing that he likes to keep his paws on land, she reaches a hand out to help him along.
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It's so cute that Kala is trying to clear his path through the brambles, but Stinky doesn't need it. He powers ahead of her, knocking away all the brambles below her waist. She still has to deal with the higher ones, though. Oh, well.
Uh, you know I don't like swimming, Kala. Uggh! Fine! Stinky reluctantly follows Kala into the quicksand, gladly accepting her help getting across.
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Arbiscar is barely managing to keep up with the chase, running last on his heavy armor and small legs until he sees the brambles and the dwarf grumbles "Oh, really?!" then, noticing how Finnius transform into a wolf and leaves them behind, Arbiscar saves his hammer at her back as he runs and let's the moon take him.
The nails grow and get thick, the dwarven beard goes wild and covers his face and chest, the eyes steal the silver of the moon and the position goes closer and closer to the ground until he is running on paws! Arbiscar is a wolf! The green grass smells fresh, the sky is clean, and the moon watches his actions. Suddenly the dwarf feels more free than he ever has, his arms, propel him like if they had been running wild all his life, and soon enough his powerful race makes him past the slower ones and clash with the brambles at all his strength.
Mun and Selune both race along with the rest of the party. When they are hampered by the thick brambles, Mun lets Selune lead the way, using his longspear to catch and divert the coarser branches that would otherwise snap back in the bear's face.
Encountering the quicksand, Mun quickly grabs his traveler's any-tool. Twisting a catch, it inflates into a flotation device. Mun kicks as hard as he can, grabbing Selune's back as they both kick towards the opposite side, Selune again leading the effort.
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Mun and Selune lead the charge through the brambles, with Finnius and Kala on the wings chopping and biting through the thick, thorny vines. The Pathfinders work well together, clearing a path quickly for the everyone in the group. Eredur's shirt snags on a branch, Finnius turns and snaps the vine in half, freeing the wizard to keep running through the brush.
When they reach the quicksand, the animal companions dive in and carve out a path for everyone to follow. Therin makes an unsuccessful jump over the quicksand and lands smack in the middle with a splash. Arbiscar turns around and swims back to the flailing cleric, and Therin grabs onto his fur as Arbiscar dog paddles to the other shore.
As the chase continues, the party encounters a murky looking river. The dark scales of river alligators can be seen lurking on the surface of the water and the water smells strongly of death and decay. There is a sturdy looking log bridging the river, but it will be slick with moss and river water. There are also thick, creeping vines hanging from the canopy of the swamp, which an adventurous person could use to climb over the river instead.
Balance over the log using Acrobatics
OR
Use the vines to cross the river with a Climb check
Once the party crosses the river, the forest grows thicker and the party suddenly finds itself struggling in a mass of thick spider webs, similar to the ones that Kala and Stinky found themselves stuck in while fighting Theodorus.
The party can slip through the webs using Escape Artist
OR
They can tear through them using raw Strength
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Arbiscar propels with his paws out, helping Therin to safety, then shakes his head abruptly splashing everything around. With a small howl the new wolf resumes the race.
As the group reaches the river, Arbiscar does not give too much thought he leaps over looking for the log.
At the other side he turns and pushes down a larger log for the rest of the team to cross and only then he grimaces because of the reek before resuming the race.
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Kala allows Stinky to take the lead at the bridge, knowing that he's more sure-footed than she is. She casts Guidance on him and herself just before they cross, placing her hand on his rump to steady herself.
She continues to follow Stinky, encouraging him when he runs into the spider webs: "Come on boy! Just like before!" She switches his Animal Focus back to the Aspect of the Bull for extra strength. Feeling the power rushing through her veins, she surges through the webs alongside her companion.
The Ashavan pair continue to tackle the obstacles with ease, Selune finding the log no difficulty with four paws. Mun tries to aid the bear's balance, but really he's just supporting himself on her bulk, and it's Selune's efforts that keep them both vertical.
Seeing the thick bands of webbing, Mun quickly buffs both he and the bear with bull's strength . Selune charges forward and tears at the webs to clear a path, but finds the webbing sticky and encumbering.
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Seeing the 300 lb Selune quickly crawl over the log, the rest of the Pathfinders have the confidence to cross it themselves in good time. Hungry eyes flicker in the swamp as they watch the party cross the river, but no one falls.
Finnius dashes jaws first into the webs, ripping them down as Eredur burns through them with a blast of fire from his wand.
The party moves quickly, especially Finnius and Arbiscar, who could easily run the fleeing fey on open ground. But the flying creatures us their advantage of flight to lead the group into hazards that they can not simply fly over. The party soon finds itself running through a fetid field filled with rank swamp gas. It is obvious that no one in the party can breath these fumes in for very long.
The party can take a deep breath using their Fortitude
OR
Or they can just try to get out of the swamp as quickly as possible, using their Initiative
As they pass through the field of swamp gas, they encounter a field of haunted ruins, slowly sinking into the marsh. The moonlit path is near and has grown several times larger in width. The air here is stale and the smell of life is absent here. Even the mosquitoes have ceased their incessant buzzing. Kala cries out in surprise and horror as a pale, cold hand rises out of the muck and grabs at her ankle. The ground ahead is writhing with ghostly hands.
The party could tread carefully using their Stealth skill, hoping to avoid attracting the attention of these apparitions.
OR
Those with a connection to the spiritual world could use their Knowledge:Religion to drive back these restless souls!
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Ashava's representatives in this battle both recoil from the fetid gasses in the swamp, and move quickly to try to get through as fast as possible.
Mun looks ahead at the ghostly apparitions, and hopes his learning is enough to guide the pair along the way. Selune does her best to be unobserved as she follows Mun's commands.
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"Whew! Stinky, hold your breath, like this!" Kala sets the example for her companion and grants Stinky the Aspect of the Bear as she dashes across the area of dangerous air.
"AAh! What the--! Uhhghg!" Kala's not too keen on the whole ghost thing. She *really* wants to avoid their notice. "Stinky, heel." Switching his Animal Focus to the Aspect of the Tiger , she proceeds to sneak across the unhallowed ground with her fingers laced into the rough fur at his neck.
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Ugh! Ack! Hack! Oh, this is awful! Kala! Don't breathe this air! It's bad for you! --What? Are you talking to me? What the heck are you saying? Uh, I don't know that one. Sorry. Just don't breathe this, alright? For reals. Stinky was able to smell the bad air long before Kala, so her exhortation and demonstration were totally unnecessary.
Through their empathetic link, Stinky immediately senses how creeped out Kala is by the ghosts. He sidles up to her and pads quietly alongside the woman he loves above all others, sending her all his heart through the link to help her feel better.
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If he thought the waters before smelled bad, Arbiscar starts to regret his wolf-form amplified scent when they reach the fetid gas area. Running without breathing is the only way forward but a difficult to endure for long.
Provided they reach the haunted ruins, the dwarven-wolf attempts to use his spirituality to go through the best possible.