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At the end of the Age of Enthronement the death of the god Aroden shook the very foundations of reality. Deskari, one of Aroden's ancient foes, had long plotted an attack of massive scale upon the mortal world of Golarian, Aroden's birthplace. As the God of Humanity passed into Pharasma's judgment the old kingdom of Sakoris was rent asunder as an abyssal horde exploded from a fresh planar tear orchestrated by one of Deksari's mightiest servants. The defenders of Sakoris could not resist the armies of demons that marched against them and the kingdom fell.
A hastily assembled Crusade arrived soon after and managed to throw the demons back, penning them within the borders of Sakoris and erecting a line of Ward Stones that trapped the army within. The battle line has surged back forth in the following years with the Fourth Crusade secure behind the walls of Kenabres, a fortress city built on the edge of a cliff that used to be a much shallower river.
Rumors and dark thoughts have been circulating among the despondent crusaders as they suffer setback after setback, the demons seeming to hedge them in from every direction. Whispers speak of the end of the fourth crusade as the remaining faithful continue to hold back the tides of darkness from overwhelming the rest of the world. Have the gods of Light abandoned the Crusade?
A hopeful note has risen to temporarily boost the morale of everyone within the city, Armass is coming! A city-wide festival filled with music, jousting competitions, mock duels, battle reenactments and other festival events. Originally an opportunity for scholars and priests to come together to study the lessons of history from past wares it has evolved into something far grander.
All of the PCs know each other by this point and you will spot each other in the crowd in Clydwell Plaza, just west of the massive Cathedral as noon and the opening ceremonies approach. Describe your characters and your first actions for Wrath of the Righteous!
Jazdac stomped around the Armass celebration in a foul mood. He couldn't understand the point of having a party in the middle of a bloody war. Wasn't there real battles to be had? Why waste time with fake ones? Grim thoughts dominated his mind and a brooding scowl left his already rather terrifying visage even more ugly than usual.
Jaz was a sight to see, and he tended to draw oblique stares wherever he went. His skin was an even-toned grey and scaled, rock-hard to the touch. He had a dwarven height, not quite topping the 4 foot mark. His hair was pure white throughout, as were his eyes, which completely lacked any visible pupil. He wore a well cared for and well used breastplate, with more than a couple little dings and dents, but it looked serviceable enough.
As he wandered, he ate his way through whatever food was offered. That was the one redeeming quality of this insane party, the food. There was plenty of it, and it was top quality. His pointed sharp teeth were at the moment tearing into a turkey drumstick, grease running down the side of his mouth.
Along with the eating, he kept a watchful gaze out at those around him. Mostly, those gazes avoided his own, most simply bouncing away to other prettier sights, though more than a few kept their distrustful eyes near enough to keep track of his movements. He ignored them, as he had his whole life. There were some who knew his true worth, and more soon would. In the mean time, he kept watch for any friendly faces in the crowd, as he took another bite of his food.
Jaxminthe was leaning against a wall of one of the buildings and keeping to herself mostly, her eyes jumping from person to person as she gently chewed her lower lip in thought. She didn't like social gatherings or parties as she found herself surrounded by those that teased and jeered her when she was younger and too few of those that she could remotely call friends. She gave a wistful sigh as she pushed back a stray lock of hair that drifted in front of her face.
Jax looked human enough from a casual glance, with her fiery red hair and pink skin. When close though, that is when her unnaturally golden eyes and the carefully filed stumps that remained of her broken horns could be seen. She wore simple clothing, favoring comfort and practicality overt ostentation, and thankfully it was loose enough that she could hide her tail with it without too much effort. She didn't need to draw unneeded attention considering the number of times it has led her to trouble. Unfortunately, some looks were hard to avoid with her strange metal rod she had slung across her back, with a simple chain keeping it in place on her. She shook her head at the bitter thought and decided to move, already feeling eyes upon her and wanting something the satiate the hunger she finally felt gnawing at her once she drifted back from her melancholy thoughts.
She tried to follow the smell of whatever seemed most appetizing as she made her way quickly through the crowd.
Jasaka was moving through the crowd, her soft murmurs of pardon lost mostly to the excitement and sounds of the crowd. She was mainly absorbing the atmosphere, for such life, such joy, such carefree would make great songs for later. She would often stop and listen to those playing music, or even checking their instruments, but soon she would move on
Jasa was human enough, but those who looked for a few more moments noticed just how deep blue her eyes were, like dark sapphires backlit, which was a similar manner to her long curls of hair, with its white strands that danced, given the appearance of stars on a midnight sky. Every so often she would brush her hair backwards under the hood of the cowl she was wearing, giving a chance to see how dusky skinned she was, or when her hand would reach out and feel a particular instrument. A few of the shop keeps would even growl at her, for they knew that such dark skin was generally the mark of those touched by demons. She wore simple gown with a lamellar breastplate, worn and well cared for, along with a rather nasty looking knife that she had held on her left side. A crudely matched wooden shield was on her right, the symbol of the wolf snarling engraved on its wooden face
Soon the smell of food was overwhelming, and soon there would be some tasty morsels to be had, and the start of the the midday events would be soon
Caelian stepped out of the alley he had used to cut through some of the crowds further back, his face obscured by the hood of his robe to prevent people from staring. Too often he had been accosted by the faithful of Shelyn who had claimed he had been blessed by the Goddess, his otherworldly beauty all the evidence they needed. He couldn't help a small sneer from flitting across his face as he pushed through the thick crowd towards where the food carts waited, his instinct pushing him to fill his stomach before attempting anything else in the day.
The tall figure obscured with plain brown robes twitched in surprise when he noticed a familiar figure slipping towards the food carts with the same intent as him. Caelian altered his course and slipped up behind Jasaka just in time to poke a stiff finger at the base of her spine in the way he knew she hated the most. "Boo."
A flash of light, a scream, a roar, an explosion...no one is sure what happened. You awaken to find your noses and throats clogged with dust and darkness blinding you, your body listing a list of complaints but nothing seems damaged beyond a few scuffs and bruises. You can hear others around you and as you begin to move you feel the weight on your body shift in a clatter of rocks and the hiss of shifting dirt and a strange echo in the distance.
A man began to speak and coughed a few times, the words being interrupted twice before he was finally able to spit out the words to a spell and light flared from the palm of a tall man in a brown robe. Caelian's hood had been thrown back in the chaos and everyone could see a mix of kellid and elven features. In the light of his spell everyone would see that they laid scattered on a pile of rubble that continued to climb to one side until it formed a wall in the cavern they had fallen into.
As everyone starts to take stock of their situation their memories begin to return, the horrible events that led to them felling into the caves under the city.
Armasse officially began at noon, with the blessing of the festival by Lord Hulrun himself, ruler of Kenabres. The crowd gathered in Clydwell Plaza quieted as the aged inquisitor took the stage, clad in resplendant, shining armor. He cleared his throat, but just as he was about to speak, a bright light shone from the west, as if the sun were rising from the wrong direction. Hulrun's shadow fell huge and distorted across the cathedrals facade. A moment later, the sound of a thunderous explosion ripped through the air and earth, along with a violent tremor.
To the west, the fortress known as the Kite—the location of Kenabres’s wardstone—had vanished. In its place, a brilliant plume of red fire, lightning, and smoke erupted into the heavens.
A moment later, a powerful roar accompanied a welcome sight rising from the crowd—Kenabres’s greatest guardian, the ancient silver dragon Terendelev, who had until that moment been attending the opening ceremony disguised as a human. Above, another form appeared, as nightmarish as the dragon was breathtaking. A humanoid shape three times the size of any man, with skin coated in fire and lightning, gripped a flaming sword and whip. The creature’s identity was immediately obvious: Khorramzadeh, the Storm King of the Worldwound, had come to Kenabres!
As the ground continued to shake and disgorge demons into the streets, the dragon and the balor lord clashed above. The fight was over in a few harrowing moments, as the balor cut deep into Terendelev’s body, swooping down to strike the dragon and arresting her charge. A few more blows, and the titanic duo spiraled downward toward the crowd.
At the time the ground under the plaza began to shake ferociously and the street began to crack while buildings began to crumble and fall. What was a celebration quickly turned into panic and the PCs found themselves pushed one way and then the next as people began to die. Jazdac had intervened when a large stone began to fall and was about to crush a small child, the ugly tiefling grabbing the stone from mid air and using his prodigious strength to toss it to the side. Jasaka had used her shield to protect Caelian from falling debris while the healer bandaged the leg of a crusader. Jaxminthe did her best to take potshots at the lightning clad Balor while dodging people and falling building with a dancers grace, most of her shots failing to penetrate the hide of the powerful creature.
The sight of the dragon smashing into the facade of the Cathedral of St. Clydwell is one no witness would ever forget. At that moment, a titanic demon erupted at the far end of the plaza, reducing several buildings to ruins as it smashed into this world. The rift it created shot across the plaza, and this time there was no escape—it opened below your feet, angling away into darkness.
Even as you fell, the dragon noticed your plight. Though she saw death standing over her, she seized this final chance to save a few
more souls. After she uttered a few arcane words and stretched out a bleeding talon, you felt her magic take hold of you, slowing your plummet into the darkness as if you were feathers falling into a pit. Yet the fall remained as inexorable, and as you drifted downward into the depths, the last thing you saw was the Storm King standing before the ancient silver dragon, his sword lashing out and cleaving full through her neck. As her severed head fell, the rift above you slammed shut, and the light of the world above was gone.
As the party begins to climb down the rock pile they see numerous crushed and buried bodies, testament to just how close they had come to death. An older human male was pushing the light debris that fallen on him off and groaning theatrically in pain as he managed to climb to his feet without aid from anyone. Further down the pile a human woman with short brown hair was struggling to keep the tears from her eyes as she struggled with a stone that had pinned her leg. A third figure stirred not far from the woman on the floor of the cavern, moving slowly and obviously in agonizing pain as a white haired elf managed to turn himself over to reveal a badly burned face in a strip that crossed his eyes, now ruined and the elf obviously blind.
Caelian managed to pull his spear from the under the rocks, miraculously still whole and used it in a two handed grip to balance himself as he picked his way down the rock pile to the woman with the crushed leg. He had felt Jasaka push his body off of her hers just as he had awakened so he knew his adopted sister was fine and focused his mind on doing what he did best, seeing to health of others.
Once he made it to the woman he tossed his spear on the ground and knelt besides her, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling. "Peace on you sister, let me help. Hold on a second I should have this-!"
Putting his arms around the rock the cleric attempted to heave the stone off of the woman's leg without success. He heaved again and found the rock barely budged. "I need help here!"
As Jazdec stood, the rubble and dirt bouncing off his skin was barely discernible from his rocky body, but he sure felt it. The frown he had been fighting off all day exploded onto his face as he let out a low growl. "Stupid parties!" He began to take inventory of himself, and found himself largely unharmed - his vast body had barely any cuts or bruises, despite being a rather large target for falling debris. His armor had a few new dents in it, and his fine bardiche seemed untouched. There was dirt everywhere though. "Never a good idea to play when there are damn demons wanting to kill you. What's wrong with people?"
The bluster was genuine, but if one were to look closely they would see the huge dwarf shaking ever so slightly. Truth was, he was scared. They all had come closer to death than they ever had before, and had encountered Khorramzadeh himself. He didn't know what was going to happen now, with the wardstone gone and Terendelev dead. It wasn't going to be pretty.
One step at a time, Jaz, like always. What's next? He began to take stock of his surroundings, peering into the darkness to see who might need help. Just then, he heard a voice calling out for help, and he was pretty sure he recognized the voice. He got moving, and sure enough found the prettyboy Caelian trying to lift a bloody stone off a poor woman's leg. He stomped over to them, and placed his massive hands on the stone as well. "We'll get ya out of there lass, hold tight. Caelian, on three. One, two, three!" On three, his muscles bunch up, and he tries to lift.
Jasaka jumped high when someone came behind and managed to find the one spot she hated being poked at. Nice or not she was fixing to turn and curse them out when she realized it was her older brother! She hugged him tightly and was starting to tell him all about the horrible crowds when the speech was starting. Everything was going well until well, she doesn't really remember. All she remembers is screaming and reaching out for Caelian as she fell, and suddenly waking up in the dark, until the blinding light flared to life.
After her eyes adjusted back to the light, she coughs out some blood and rocks, and everything as a bit tined red. She feared a massive head injury until realizing she was bleeding slightly from her head. Nothing to bad, but she struggled to extract herself from the rocks, with a bit of a heavy one on her shield. Finding the rest was not to much harder, and already her brother was off saving someone, no doubt without checking himself. She saw some strange rock creature try an help her brother, and goes and assist them.
" Brother, what happened? There was an explosion.... then the ground opened up?" her voice held the fear she was feeling, along with the shaking of her hands. In fact about the only thing odd here was despite the head wound and dirt, Jasaka was very pretty. Like, to the point it was hard to not look at her pretty. But she still seemed a bit more focused on her brother, straining with him and the rock creature to move the rock
Jazdac succeeded where Caelian had failed, the short teifling getting his large hands on the rock and lifting off the woman with ease. The human stifled a cry of pain and grimaced as the rock was moved and she attempted to stand. She was stopped and forced back to the ground by the intervention of the healer who none to gently reminded her her leg had just been crushed by a very heavy boulder and not to be stupid.
Caelian pulled a dagger from his belt and without warning cut the front of the pant leg open to reveal the swollen and unnaturally bent leg. He frowned at the injury and held his hands a fraction of an inch over her skin, trailing them back and forth as he tried to sense any other injuries, his eyes fluttering shut. "Sarenrae I am the instrument through which your majestic light flows, ease this innocent's pain."
Golden light erupted from Caelian's hands and a holy symbol that had been tied unobtrusively to his wrist fell out of his sleeve, shimmering with power. The light swelled until a blast of radiance exploded in all directions, washing over everyone with a sensation of gentle warmth that erased any abrasions or bruising.
The swelling of the woman's leg vanished completely and the burns on the elf's face faded until they looked as if several days of healing had taken place. The woman gasped as all the agony from her leg simply vanished and her leg deflated like a punctured balloon. She accepted Caelian's aid in standing and tested the healed limb with a surprised expression. She gave a short cry and hugged Caelian, a beaming smile plastered on her face. "Thank you thank you! I am-"
"Yes yes you've seen to her, now check on me if you please! My suffering is just as important as hers!" the old human man interrupted suddenly, stumping over to Caelian with barely a limp.
The woman's eyes flashed with irritation as she disengaged from the hug and glared at the older man. "As I was saying, my name is Anevia Tirabade. If you've a mind to get out of here, I'm with you."
The older man harrumphed at Anevia. "I know who you are."
Jasaka gives the woman a death stare when she hugs Caelian, bad enough if looks could kill the woman would be dead a few times over. But she bites her tongue for like always, everyone, mostly women, seemed to find her brother just the greatest thing in the world. Though anyone who caught her calling him brother would be confused. While both were overly attractive, they were like night and day. Different hair, skin tone, even apparent race didn't change anything. She moves to the other man, trusting in her brothers healing enough to approach him.
" Well Sir, may I have the honor of knowing your name? I understand there has been a terrible accident, but if you would please calm down some, I am sure my brother would be more than delighted to help you." The tone of her voice was not displeasing, but anyone smart enough to understand the cutting tone would pick up on the fact she was making fun of the pompous man before her. Surely he had felt their wounds heal? If not, he was as dense as the rocks that is going to spell their doom.
Jax had been enjoying a bite of something rather savory when all hell decided to break loose... almost literally. She had readied the weapon that she had been carrying on her back, careful to dodge various detritus when it fell doing a strange dance of sorts of stepping, stopping, firing, twirling, next shot readied, and repeat until each time she would need to pause and carefully load her next set of shots into the weapon once more. Though she frowned heavily as firing upon the creature in the sky, it would largely ignore her as she was an insect to the massive creature, her shots barely scratching or reaching.
Still she tried as she did not want to be crushed under the heel of demons to be little better than a slave or food or worse... Unfortunately she had to stop to reload, several times and as she had just finished loading a clip is when the ground seemed to yawn and swallow her up, unable to even try to leap to safety and down she went.
Thankfully the guardian had done her one last service, but it was still a very long way down into a very, very deep hole. Next thing she knew she was at bottom and taking stock of her condition and possessions as quickly as she could, knowing that anything forgotten above was lost to her for good. Once satisfied with her check and the status of her weapon, she peered through the darkness with her golden eyes to see who all she ended up down here with and if they were friendly.
Well somewhat, she saw the rocky one that had been almost as dour at the party as herself, and a pair of rather attractive individuals, as well as a slew of various unfortunate townsfolk that had ended up below as well and far more injured than themselves. She felt the power of the spell called upon by the healer wash over her and felt a sense of peace and comfort from it.
She grimaced at the response from the older gentleman not really caring for his attitude, though understanding as deep down part of it reflected her current feelings. She moved a bit closer to the group that had all found themselves alive down here, moving with the same grace she displayed above during the attack.
Finally she spoke for the first time since the party started. "I don't suppose..." Her voice was extremely quiet and only heard because of the proximity she had made herself to the others. "that we know where to go? Or what we should do now?" She looked around at the others, shouldering her weapon and brushing dust from herself. "It almost seemed like a nightmare and I doubt pinching myself is going to help."
Caelian stepped up next to Jasaka and held up a hand to stop any argument from continuing between the two humans. "Now is not the time for grudges. We have all been through something horrible and only by the light of Sarenrae have we somehow been spared. I will be more then happy-" he looked back and forth between the two humans to indicate he was talking to both of them."- to ensure everyone is as healthy as they can be before we go anywhere. Sir as you are able to stand there unassisted I assume that means your wounds are minor. I beg of you to give me but a few minutes to see to the one who has been badly burned.
Without waiting for either person to agree the healer moved over to kneel next to the blinded elf."Peace on you good sir, please hold still so I may heal your wounds as best as I can."
When the elf nodded with a groaned pain, Caelian pulled a vial filled with a dark, syrupy liquid from his belt and tipped the elf's head back. Once the healing tonic had been poured into the mouth of the elf the horrible burns and cuts simply smoothed away as if they had never been there and the ruined remains of his eyes formed into milky white orbs that remained blind. "I am afraid your eyes are beyond my talents to heal, that requires powerful magic that only the most faithful are given. For now please let me be your eyes."
Caelain helped the blind elf stand and led him slowly back to group and sat him on a large boulder. He stepped over to the human man spent several minutes examining any sign of blood. "I am afraid you are fit as a fiddle sir. Any wounds you might have had are long gone."
The cleric stepped back and gave a bright smile to everyone in the group. "Some of you may not know me, my name is Caelian Silvermane, faithful of Sarenrae and professional healer. If you've any wounds please step forward."
Jaz gives a brief smile as the stone pulls away from the woman's legs, feeling that familiar satisfaction of the world yielding to his muscles. Even in the dark and such a dire situation in this, it still made him happy. The smile was short-lived, though, as the prettyboy got all of the attention. Typical. Not that Jaz needed the gratitude, mind you, but it just piled on to an already rotten day.
As the seemingly inevitable bickering ensued, he was more than happy to fade into the background of the situation. His muscles weren't needed at the moment, nor his summons, so he stood back and rested until next steps could be figured out.
While Caelian saw to the wounded, Jazdac tried to see more about their new location. His eyes scanned the area, trying to see if he could spot anything that would help them figure out what to do next.
The heavyset older human man attempted to brush some of the dirt off of his shirt as he stood and only succeeded in smearing some of his not quite dried blood. Giving up the endeavor with the grumble of discontent he looked around at the group before locking eyes on Caelian. "Horgus Gwerm, merchant...thank you for the healing." he managed to say with obvious grudging respect. He looked around at the rest of the PCs and obviously held back his previously grouchy attitude. "If the rest of you can get me out of here I'll reward you with 2000 gold. Keep in mind I am no fighter."
"I've only a handful of arrows so I can only offer my skills at scouting and trap disabling." Anevia said as she stepped forward with a noticeable limp. Despite her handicap the woman was thin and moved with in quick and precise movements. She looked back at the mountainous pile of rocks and dirt and worded a silent prayer for those who did not survive. She finished by kissing a ring on her left ring finger and whispering "Please be safe my love."
"I'm not sure what use my magic can be with me like this." the elf said with a melodious voice while he tied a strip of cloth over his eyes. "But I'm very well versed in magic, demons and those who worship them. I will give whatever advice I can. I ask that if you plan to escape, please take me with you. My name is Aravashnial."
Anevia slipped a tied roll of leather from her bag and handed them to Caelian. "I'm no alchemist but that potion you gave Aravashnial was not like any healing potion I've seen before. If they are of your own making these herbs and other alchemical supplies should be of more use in your hands."
Aravashnial's head snapped over to look in the direction of Anevia's voice and a frown marred his face before quickly vanishing. He took a steadying breath before returning to look at nothing in particular, his head tracking to look in the direction of any who spoke.
"Given everything, I think it behooves us all to work together and get outta this hellhole. We need to get back to the city as soon as possible." He looks around at the assembled group. "M'name is Jazdac Strazdec. Pleasure to meet y'all." He says this with a toothy grin around, in a sight that could only be described as disconcertingly disarming.
"We might have some trouble already." He says, gesturing to the spider. ” Hope nobody is afraid of spiders. “
Jaz notices something at his feet, and bends down to examine it. Some sort of silver scale. He picks it up to examine it more closely.
Feeling unimpressed with the new girl as well, Jasaka fidgets with her torn and battered dress. The words spoken by her brother seemed to calm everyone down, but she had no idea what the cause was. They had demons attacking, what seems to be something down here with them, and they want to bicker over this silly tart of a human? Men. They can never think about anything but showing off. Perhaps this rock looking thing will be better company. She makes a face, more so do to with the lack of apparent options, nor solutions.
A few more moments she looks at the other woman with them, the one whose name she didn't know but had all that red hair, along with the clear lack of whatever the elf and two humans had going on, maybe she was their lover? Who knew with loose women like that? and asks her " Go where? Well, clearly not back into that demon. Did you see how big it was? My brother is strong but even he would have trouble with that! But, perhaps we can get out if we look around? Maybe that big thing will move that Jazdac is speaking of, and we go that way." She frankly was out of ideas, but standing here doing nothing will get them nowhere fast. Though Jazdac seemed to be digging in the dirt and making shiny things appear. She looks down as well, perhaps there was some gold or other things around to help?
She finds nothing but another scale matching, and takes it in her hand as well. Scales seem odd here, as she didn't know any dragons other than the cities legendary defender.
When it seemed as everyone was calming down and taking stock of their situation Caelian looked around and noticed the silver scale near his foot almost immediately. He bent to pick it up and the moment his fingers touched the palm-sized scale he went rigid, freezing as knowledge and memories flooded into his head. This only lasted a second before he boldly picked up the scale and cradled it in his hands with a sad look before storing it in a pouch within his robes.
He had also noticed the large spider further into the cave, very obviously dead from the way it's legs were curled up. Something however still lived within the corpse and he could see it twitching as something from within moved. Without a word he threw the glowing stone in his hand and it landed next to the dead spider and made it clear for anyone to see the back of the spider's abdomen was flexing. "Trouble."
Your scale imparts the following power on you.
Sacred Weaponry: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast align weapon, but only to make a weapon lawful or good. Unlike a normal align weapon spell, this effect can be cast on an unarmed strike or natural weapon.
Your scale imparts the following power on you.
Cloudwalking: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast levitate. A pillar of roiling clouds rises below the levitating object or creature, growing and shrinking with the target’s altitude. This pillar is 5 feet in diameter (regardless of the target’s size) and provides concealment (20% miss chance) to any creature or object wholly contained within.
Your scale imparts the following power on you.
Disguise: Three times per day as a standard action, a scale can be used to cast alter self. While disguised, the target gains a +4 bonus on all Bluff checks made against evil creatures.
Jax shook her head, "Of course not." Was her quiet reply, furrowing her brow some. She then let out a sigh, "Jaxminthe if we are to continue introductions. Bonds are temporary, but I feel more comfortable not getting displeasure shown my way for not being at least somewhat amicable."
She shook out her long red locks, noticing the exchanges between their other three companions and clicked her tongue some. Not going to be stuck down here when they decide to come to blows if I can- Her thought immediate was stopped as she turned to feel her foot come in contact with something odd. Bending down she retrieved the strange shaped and somewhat shiny stone, a scale of some kind, only to be met with the flood of emotions that made her gasp. She didn't know why, there was a terrible sadness she felt, and she wiped away a stray tear.
She cleared her throat and then turned back to the others, noting the spider off to one side as well. She did feel that Anevia may hold some skills similar to her own, though with her injury the way it was, some of them may not be as useful currently.
Being more curious than cautious, Jasaka calls out in Abyssal at the squirming thing in the spider, a short series of sounds spilling forth from her. She basically told the creature rooting around in the spider to get out, this was their territory. She had no idea what the creature was, but perhaps her speech would work.
Jazdac looks puzzled as the woman next to him starts spouting out in Abyssal. Even if the random thing in the cave was a demon, it seemed unlikely to be moved by a random territorial claim. Regardless, nothing responded, so Jaz stepped forward.
"If yer done, miss, I can see what sort of thing we're dealin with here." He frowns and stares at the spider shell for a moment, and the burning feeling in his forehead opens up as it does whenever he releases his holy sight. He looks for a moment longer before shaking it off. "Whatever it is, it isn't evil. Doesn't mean it isn't dangerous, mind, just won't go being evil for the sake of it. Well, let's see what we got."
He makes a few brief gestures with his free hand, mutters a few words to Angradd for guidance, and summons forth a tiny little dancing light.
Jaxminthe almost has to roll her eyes as Jasaka shouts at whatever decided to exist within the spider. She puts a finger to her chin looking rather thoughtful as nothing happens further.
She then watched Jazdac stare at it before enlightening them with his own revelation. "That's good, I suppose..." Was her quiet reply. Though she was rather surprised at the little thing that he managed to whip up from nothingness. That's handy. She smiled and watched the little sprite for a moment longer.
She checked her weapon, uttering an annoyed sound at the one shot available. Deciding to stow it for now, she casually pulled her rapier and held it relaxed, but available to swiftly pierce anything that decided to get on her bad side.
There was a flash of light followed by the appearance of a solemn faced humanoid creature no bigger then a house cat with fluttering butterfly wings that kept it hovering with ease. The sprite blinked in surprise at it's new surroundings before turning to face Jazdac. It listened to his request and nodded once, giving the paladin a salute. "As you wish summoner." it said in a comically high voice.
The creature turned and flew over to the spider in a blur, circling around the creature twice before landing on one of it's legs. It drew a needle thin rapier and appeared to be about to cut open the top of the spider's abdomen. Before he got a chance a pale white worm-like creature erupted from the spider's abdomen and bit at the sprite, causing the fey to fly quickly backwards and out of danger. It flew back and hovered next to Jazdac, it's eyes locked on the creature as it withdrew back into the spider. "Two of those things are feeding on the remains of the spiders. I have no idea what they are."
"Giant maggot." Anevia said with a grimace as she unsheathed a shortsword and moved back, away from the dead spider. "Better nip them now before they eat enough to change into flies that are entirely too large."
Jaska appearing to be brave, but also curious to see what this maggots were, she approaches with her shield raised between her and the body. She has her gandasa ready for any trouble that is clearly ready to come from the spider. She had brushed her hair behind her head in preparation for the coming battle, for surely giant maggots will be a worthy oppenent.
Jazdac nods to the little sprite. "Thanks. Go with Angradd's blessing." He gives a wave and dismisses the sprite. He then begins another ritual, and a small badger appears near the spider carcass, on the other side of it from Jasaka. The badger appears dirtier than one might expect, with some kind of liquid dripping from its jaws.
Then Jaz puts his bardiche to hand and prepares to wade in as well.
Buffs: Chthonic template, Focused Divine Energy
HP: 9/9
Attacks: bite +2 (1d3+1+1 acid), 2 claws +2 (1d2+1+1 acid)
AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 12
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +1
Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.
Darkvision 60 ft.
Resist Acid 10
Blood Rage - When the creature takes damage in combat, on its next turn it can fly into a rage as a free action. It gains +2 Constitution and +2 Strength, but takes a –2 penalty to its AC. The rage lasts as long as the battle or 1 minute, whichever is shorter. It cannot end its rage voluntarily.
The moment the trio got within ten feet of the carcass the two maggots exploded from the side of the abdomen and slithered/wiggled forward with greasy, pale flesh and a dripping, circular mouth filled with tiny, sharp teeth. Their battle cry was a faint shrieking whistle as they galoomped forward slowly and covering the ten feet to their new food taking all of their effort.
Getting closer to the beast, Jaska takes a swing at one with her gandasa, twirling the blade around her like a beautiful, but deadly dancer, her skirt twirling around with some of her hair flying behind her in a ponytail, the blade flashing towards the slimy crawling maggot with gusto. She still had her shield in one hand, ready to parry any strike back from the other creature as she was hoping to have finished at least one beast off.
The earthen badger that Jazdac had summoned moved up to the rear maggot and promptly goes to take a big ol' bite out of it.
However, perhaps it was too eager, or not focused enough, or just plain unlucky, but not only does he not bite the maggot, but his jaw slams down on his own tongue, causing a painful yelp from the poor thing.
Jazdac gives a deep sigh and steps up to do battle with the beast, swinging his bardiche down on the slug like thing from 10 feet away.
Rose had moved closer with the other two, her face pulling a bit of a look of disgust as the bulbous gross creatures erupted from the corpse of the spider. She brought her weapon up to attempt and skewer the same creature that Jasaka had previous struck.
Despite the immense size of the maggots they died quickly from the concise strikes from the adventurers, sans the gunslinger. Aravashnial had tensed up at the first sound of combat, held down on his rock only by the reassuring hand of Caelian on his shoulder. Anevia continued to hold her bare shortsword and looked past the spider to the two openings that led out of the cavern.
"So what now?" the blind elf asks. "In my opinion we should push forward, we can't stay down here. The creature that burst from underground on the plaza could still be lurking around here along with who knows how many cultists and demons."
"Relax Aravashnial, they have healed all of our wounds and protected us thus far. Here, let me help you." Anevia motions for Caelian to step away and puts her hand under the elf's arm and helps him stand. "I will be your eyes."
Horgus kept silent throughout the ordeal, casting a critical eye on the young adventurers as they displayed their martial prowess to him for the first time.
Stepping away from the elf Caelian moves to stand next to Jasaka and wrinkles his face at the rotting smell coming from the spider's corpse. "Lovely. Shall we totter on then? I for one would like to spend as little time as possible down here. I prefer sunshine."
He moved to the left passage which seemed to be bigger and still had to step into it sideways, moving slowly into the darkness until he could poke his head out into a larger area and look around. He saw what remained to be the remains of a campsite with a dead fire and pile of bones, broken equipment and debris just past that. Something in the trash pile was moving so the cleric ducked back into the passageway and made his way back into the cavern.
"Old campsite with one poor soul who now rests with the gods. Looks like something is nibbling on his bones." Caelian said while hooking a thumb over his shoulder.
While not the most cautious person in the world, Jasaka did wonder what would nibble on the bones of someone long dead it seemed. But she was curious enough to creep closer, trying to figure it out, observing all she could with her weapon at the ready just in case it got ugly
Jaxminthe quietly followed the others. She was not fond of Horgus' attitude, but who could blame the privileged merchant wanting to use his wealth as a bargaining chip to have him safely escorted from harm. She frowned inwardly at the thought of the man who would be so willing to leave the other two behind and injured if they had not a man of faith fall down with them and assist them in their time of need.
She was about to stow her rapier, but decided to leave it unsheathed when Caelian had already done a bit of a cursory exploration already for them. Falling behind, not a good sign for sure... She made motion to quickly follow Jasaka, but not directly behind her.
When Caelian returns from his investigation, Jazdac gives an annoyed little sigh and starts moving toward that passageway. "If there is somethin' moving, I'd just as soon not leave it behind us. Let's go see what it is." He walks up to the narrow passageway, eyes it critically while comparing it to his own rather stout body, and proceeds through the tight space with a grunt.
When he gets to the other side, he looks around and sees the layout as Caelian described. He readies his own weapon and maneuvers around the trash pile on the opposite side as Jasaka, trying to see if he could make out anything about what this movement might entail. Another maggot?
As soon as the three adventurers crept close to the moving pile of refuse and bones it collapsed as two enormous cockroaches pushed there way free and attacked the nearest person with hungry shrieks. The first one focused on the short and burly paladin and was dispatched with seemingly little effort in a crunch and squish. The second one followed the first and managed to latch onto the armor of the paladin's leg but did no damage. It could do nothing to overcome Jazdac's weight and strength as it attempted to bite down and pull at the same time, feet scrabbling uselessly on the floor.
Jasaka's huge dagger made quick work of the other cockroach and just like that combat was over, both bugs laying in pieces on the floor. After the combat Jasaka took several minutes to rifle through the remains of the campsite and refuse pile to scavenge anything useful and managed to find the following:
With Caelian ferrying the three survivors and providing light banter to keep them distracted the party moved into the next room where they could see another tunnel joining this way from over their right shoulder. A quick examination would reveal a stone ledge jutting out a right angle on the south wall of this cavern, fourteen feet off the ground. The leather strap of a backpack hangs from the edge of the ledge, while above, a narrow fissure yawns up into the dark.
With his longspear Caelian is able to jump up and hook the strap of the backpack on the blade and pulled it down with a strong tug. After he managed to catch it the pack was revealed to be a backpack made of superior materials that contained the following:
With Jaxminthe scouting ahead the party advances to the next area to reveal several mounds of rock lying in heaps in this cavern, recently fallen from the walls and ceiling. Now and then, bits of dust settle from the cracks in the stone above. On one pile is a pale, thick snake with several patches of dried blood on it's scales. The wounded animal attacked in berserk fury and was quickly put down by Jaxminthe and Jasaka without managing to bite anyone. A quick search reveals nothing of value in this cavern so the party pushes on.
The tunnel they are following is obviously natural and varies between five and teen feet as it winds back and forth. After nearly half a candlemark they finally start to see the tunnel widening up ahead in a junction. Straight ahead the tunnel continues on but on the northern side is a 5 foot opening in the wall that leads into a cave filled with soft green light.
Whomever poked their head around the edge of the opening would find a thirty foot cave of artificial construction. A single sizable 20-foot-tall building remains in the center of the cave, a bunkerlike structure with no windows and walls of worked stone blocks. A 10 foot long carving of a hammer decorates the building's facade. The ruins of collapsed outbuildings stand to either side.
Jazdac gets progressively grumpier as their journey wears on, and more and more minor annoyances pile up in their way. When he looks around the corner and lays eyes on the building, though, it gives him pause. "It's a temple of Torag, though a mite worn down of one. Abandoned?" After staring for a moment, he suddenly visibly jumps and brandishes his weapon, glancing about with wild eyes for a minute.
When nobody else reacts beyond looking at him strangely, he calms, and then seems to go strangely still while staring at the building. "That ain't no normal building. There's danger here." Looking around at his confused companions, he takes a deep and shaking breath and starts again.
"When I looked at that building, I suddenly heard this loud banging, like a hammer 'n anvil. Then th' whole buildin kinda blurred into a vision of a dwarf, no dwarf like I ever seen, working a forge. He looked right at me, deep into m' soul. Then he quenched his forged weapon and steam leapt out everywhere, and in the steam I see an undead dwarf with glowing red eyes. Looks like a dead priest of some kind. Then the first dwarf steps through the steam, dispersin' it, and then he nods toward the big buildin' there and just says Beware. This ain't a good place." Jazdac's voice quavers a little as he says this last, and it is apparent that he is shook deep by his vision. He grips his weapon tightly, and his knuckles whiten from the pressure as he stares at the building.
Staying close to Caelian after all this, for while she was able to deal with bugs, the snake she had to kill early was just not her thing. Bugs good, snakes are creepy crawling things. " Grand adventure today isn't it? Nice being underground, where the Gods can not see you... only the darkness... and demons..." her thoughts led Jasaka to shiver, and if anyone caught sight of it she was rubbing her thigh before quickly brushing it off and acting as if it was nothing.
However, nothing good came of the words of Jazdac. A temple, and one that isn't a good place? So that means demons. " So then why are we standing here? Let us leave this place. If it is haunted or demonized we have no way of fixing that. Let us return the sun light. Brother, tell them. We need to move on, to places where demons can not hide." Whatever the issue was, being down in the dark was starting to wear on Jasaka. Despite her clearly being able to see, the lack of natural light was not sitting well with her
Upon hearing that the temple belonged to Torag Anevia leaned against the wall with a gloomy look and rubbed at her misshapen leg. "Wonder how long this will continue to throb."
Horgus glances at Anevia from the corner of his eye and begins to mutter to himself, his hand shoved into his pocket and clutching something tightly.
Anevia explodes from the wall with a whiplike motion and gets almost directly into Horgus's face, screaming almost at the top of her lungs. "I'm not surprised to see such apathy from a man who can't even acknowledge his own faith! Being ashamed of one's faith is as bad as worshiping demons!"
Horgus steps back from the tirade and a black cloud crosses his face. "I'll not take such accusations from a child known to consort with thieves!"
Both humans dropped their hands to their weapons and were one step from drawing steel on each other.
Stepping firmly between the two with a hand on each shoulder, Caelian turned them so they were both looking at him and snapped his fingers right in front of their startled faces. "Enough! I understand tempers are frayed and the future is uncertain but this is not the time for personal grievances! No one will be left behind and we can spare a little time to clean out the undead from this temple."
His eyes shifted to look at Jasaka. "I will not allow us to leave this place tainted by the undead. The least we can do is send them to their final judgment and free from the agony of their existence. To do anything less is an insult to my goddess."
Caelian's tone of voice brooked no dissent and it was clear he would not leave the undead alone simply for convenience's sake.
Jaxminthe flinched at the sudden outburst slightly, pursing her lips. Part of her watched eagerly as they were about to come to blows and she found herself somewhat sickened at the notion.
She shook her head and was thankful for a voice of reason to cut the tension somewhat, but it was only a matter of time before words would not be enough to stay hands and keep blades clean of innocent blood. All it needed was the right trigger and there would be nothing the holy man could say to stop them.
However as that wasn't the time yet, she would keep her musings to herself and keep her eyes and ears peeled for what lay ahead until they could return to the surface soon.
Jazdac's milky white gaze lingers on the decaying temple while the others begin to argue; he doesn't show any signs of having heard them at all. Beware. Couldn't spare a few more words? Beware and stay away? Beware as you go in to fix it? Ye gods are a pain in my...
When Caelian takes charge of the situation, though, his gaze finally snaps to attention. "Alright then, let's deal with the pestilence and get gone. Knowin' what's in there, we can prepare. Just as soon not have any nasty undead comin' behind us."
Flushing from the chastisement from her brother, Jasaka mutters under her breath about pushy older brothers. But while she and him shared different beliefs, she knew that angering Gods was not the way to start their path out. "Fine. We shall clear out the undead. But tell me brother, what undead exactly? I see nothing." She was looking around, but without much of a guide, and her little experience of undead, meant she was not sure what she was looking for
Caelian gave Jasaka a withering glare before rolling his eyes in exasperation and pushing between Anevia and Horgus to come up behind the shorter dwarf...tiefling thing that called itself Jazdac and looking into the cave. He recognized the symbol on the wall and could tell from the architecture that a dwarven priest of Torag had built the sanctuary. The cleric sucked in a deep breath through his nose and scrunched up his face in disgust as if he just smelt something most foul. "Undead for sure and judging from Jazdac's description a Huecuva. Priests who blaspheme their god upon death rise as Huecuva and haunt places of worship to hunt the faithful. They have the ability to cloak their form in illusions during the day so assume anything in that building is our enemy. They also have a tendency to carry disease in their claws."
Caelian raised his left arm and shook it for a moment before a small, silver ankh on the end of a rosary chain tumbled out and hung from his wrist. Holding the holy symbol up the cleric intoned a quick prayer in celestial before lowering the symbol to touch Jazdac on the shoulder. "A little help for dealing with the disease."
Jaxminthe frowned some, "A heck of a- what?" She shook her head and waved a hand as if to dismiss further explanation. She kind of flexed her arm reaching down for her rapier.
Hopefully if it bleeds, it can be dealt with quickly and not belay their progress too much further. She did not like the extra knowledge of the thing being diseased, but knew what needed to be done should be done.
Jazdac gives a curt nod of thanks to Caelian, gives a firm look toward the building. "Anybody else have any prep work to do?"
Assuming nobody has anything, or after they finish prepping, Jazdac will take up his bardiche and begin moving forward toward the building. He moves deliberately toward the front door, looking for any traps along the way or at the door to the building.
Mustering up whatever courage she had, as the dark always bothered her, and now with talks of ghost it seems every corner had a hidden enemy, she readies her gandasa and hefts her shield forward, her mouth moving softly as she softly sings a small tune about fighting back the darkness with light. She tries her best to not be caught unaware.
She peers into the darkness, quietly following the others as she was watching for things to be jumping out. They were however many feet underground and they had to hope there was a way that would take them back up again. She was on edge, but she knew better than to have an itchy trigger finger at this time with their woeful escort they were performing for the others.