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Grum's initial axe blade disrupts the remaining air elemental, dismissing it from this plane of existence.
The griffons eye the party with suspicion from the entrance to their obvious next, but make no move to delay your remaining short climb to the summit of the mountain where the sky gate can be seen.
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Grum calms down. "Could use some more healing, if you don't mind." He asks, looking over at Nina.
"We avoid the nest. Make the climb here." Grum pulls off his bag and grabs his rope and grappling hook. He moves closer to the cliff face and tosses the hook up, looking for purchase.
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When Grum starts getting out his grappling hook, Jeeves suggests, "Perhaps we should take a few minutes to heal and refocus, first." Seeing the griffons, Jeeves adds, "And maybe talk to them?"
Jeeves approaches the griffons guarding at the cave entrance. He stops a respectful distance away, doffs his cap, and bows.
"Greetings. I am Jeeves. We are Pathfinders, explorers and protectors of the land."
At this point, he switches to Common so all can understand. "Are you okay and can we provide you any healing?" After pausing for a response, he asks, "Can you tell us why those wind beasts were attacking you?"
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The remainder of the party hears the lead griffon call out in a particularly loud screeching squawk. It wiggles its long neck at Jeeves as Nina finishes healing the goblin and the orc.
At this point, he switches to Common so all can understand. "Are you okay and can we provide you any healing?" After pausing for a response, he asks, "Can you tell us why those wind beasts were attacking you?"
No response to Jeeves' questions comes from either griffon.
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Jeeves turns to the group and introduces the 2 winged animals, "These griffins are He-Whose-Talons-Catch-Many-Fish and She-With-Amber-Wings-Dives-Fast. I don't think they understand Common. I'll ask if they need help."
Turning back to the griffins, Jeeves respectfully approaches and squawks in Griffin. "It is an honor to meet such noble creatures. Why were those wind beasts attacking you?" Gesturing to the sorceress, he continues, "My companion, Nina, has offered healing if either of you are injured. Do you require aid?"
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The larger griffon continues to squawk, click, trill, and gesticulate wildly with his head and neck in response to the similar squawks (minus head gesticulation) coming from Jeeves. Nina is then ushered forward to the cave, where she spies the blood dripping from a deep gash under the left wing of the smaller but brighter-coloured griffon who sits at the cave entrance. As Nina begins to provide healing, a few wide-eyed griffon chicks
pop up from over the edge of the nest just beyond the matron griffon.
After healing has been provided, the matron griffon stands and throws her golden-feathered wings wide, walking slowly at Nina. The other griffon squawks at Jeeves.
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Jeeves bows and squawks, "As you request, my friend."
Translating, he explains to the group, "These griffins are protecting their young. They thank us for handling the wind malevolents." He pauses and adds, "It seems the mother griffin, after receiving healing from Nina, is proud to introduce us to their offspring. If you wish to see, everyone should gather around me." Turning to Nina, "She-With-Amber-Wings-Dives-Fast is grateful for your healing and asks that you stand back here, a few steps away."
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From behind the mother griffon, nine wide-eyed, gawky, and fuzzy golden heads peep out from within an expansive nest inside the cave. With a gentle prodding from the mother, a handful of the griffon chicks clumsily totter out of the nest towards the party, stretching their necks with their beaks open wide, a few hesitant peeps escaping.
One griffon chick backs out of the nest with great effort, its beak pulling on something as it tries to come toward you all. With a sudden jerk, it pulls itself free, tumbling onto the ground. In its beak, it clutches a golden necklace with a pearl pendant. It picks itself up and toddles over to Nina, plopping it down in front of her and scurrying back behind its mother with a worried cheep.
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Jeeves kneels down and gently squawks to the chick in Griffin, "We thank you for your kind gift, young one." He turns to Nina (and all the group), and tells them he will translate anything they wish to say to the griffons.
Once he translates on behalf of the party, Jeeves peers into the cave. He turns to the larger griffin and squawks, "We're explorers and curious about the cave you're guarding. Is that your home? If possible, maybe when your young are grown, could we return to explore the tunnel?"
After his response, Jeeves indicates the aerie serving as the Sky Gate, and continues squawking, "We have some business to do at that aerie. We must repair some magical ley lines that flow through that space. Our actions will not cause harm to you or your family. Would that be okay with you?"
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With a few more squawks and head movements, the paternal griffon steps back into the entrance to the cave to allow the team to pass unmolested (and without further need to climb).
As the team ascends to Soruseiji Peak, the ancient shrine gate appears, relatively intact though wind erosion has worn away at some of the stone elements. At the centre of the gate is a dais covered in carved channels, many of which bleed onto the back wall.
There appears to be an indentation in the central dais that seems well-made for the sky diamond given to you by Kukuha.
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Jeeves turns to the group and says, "They say that we're free to continue and we're welcome to return if we wish." Addressing the paternal griffin, he bows low and squawks, "Many thanks, my friend."
Following the group up to the peak, Jeeves studies the carved dais.
Indicating the carvings on the back wall, Jeeves says, "I believe this katana/sun combo honors the Sun deity, Shizuru. And this crescent moon honors the Moon deity, Tsukiyo.
He looks around to see who has the Sky Diamond and asks, "Before we set the Diamond in place, do we want to spend 10min to heal and refocus first?" He's fine with whatever the group chooses to do.
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As Nina places the prism into the identation, it catches the afternoon sun and refracts golden light across the summit that flows through the dais’ channels and into the mountaintop.
The golden light races across Nina's forearms and into her pack. The sorcerer's healing tools burst forth from the pack, dancing lightly in the air for a few seconds before falling to the ground. Despite their now-inert status, they retain their magical aura.
The team take their leave of the Soruseiji Peak and make their way back down the mountain to Kukuha and the ruined fortress. Kukuha listens enraptured at the story of the Open Sky Gate. Once finished, she suggests a rest before she prepares the ritual to align the magical ley lines.
"It is best performed at dusk, by my research, so we have some time to enjoy an early dinner."
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Once again, Jeeves is awed by the beauty of these activated gates. When they return to Kukuha's camp, Jeeves pours himself a drink and wets his lips. He readies his lyre and regales the tengu with a heroic song of our latest adventure.
"We climbed up a mountainous road.
Soruseiji could be seen.
A bridge is where all of us strode
That crossed a scary ravine.
But sadly the rope had been frayed.
The bridge was in very bad shape.
But soon a decision was made.
Nina turned into an ape!
She climbed with the bridge in her hand.
Then secured to the opposite side.
Now that the chasm was spanned,
Our path we continued to stride.
Atop, we all were chagrinned.
We witnessed a battle among
Sev-eral weasels of wind
And griffins protecting their young.
Brave Grum and MugVug attacked.
And Nina created a sword.
The weasels, they clawed and they hacked.
"Wait for me!" Kamil implored.
We all slew the beasts in the end.
To the Griffins did Jeeves want to talk.
We healed them. Made a new friend.
This bard needs to practice his squawk.
Their offspring bestowed us a gift:
A necklace of beautiful gold.
Our spirits, the present did lift.
And up to the sky gate we strolled.
Uncovered a most ancient shrine
That honored the Sun and the Moon.
The prism was set and did shine
Golden light in the late afternoon."
When he's done, he takes a drink and then strums softly in a corner of the room, praying to Shelyn.
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After the meal, Kukuha prepares for the ceremonial rite. She asks for you all to stand off to the east of the open archway leading out of the ruined fortress in order to avoid interference with attuning the magical ley lines.
Dusk is beginning to fall on Kayajima, lighting the clearing in a sunset glow. The spires and walls of Kayajima fortress cast long shadows across the expanse as Kukuha dons a ceremonial cap and sash and stands at the centre of clearing, eyes closed. She performs a brief series of gestures with a feather fan before sinking to her knees and thrusting her talons into the earth.
A low rumble sounds, and the earth shakes. From the northeast, tendrils of golden energy ripple through the air like gusts of wind. From the southeast, waves of azure light flow across the ground, like the ocean crashing against the shore. And from the northwest, lines of verdant energy snake like roots through the earth. The energy trails dance toward Kukuha, gathering in larger and more vibrant swaths and forming a dome around her.
Suddenly, a loud droning hum emits from the statue outside the fifteen foot walls of the fortress. You can see only the top of the statue above the walls, but its etchings begin to glow...and then it begins to move with the sound of grinding stone. The massive construct steps away from the wall, bathing the clearing in cobalt light. It turns around, and you can see its glowing eyes, crackling with power, are fixed on Kukuha.
The sound of kinetic energy building within the construct heralds incoming destruction. Before it can unleash, Kukuha flings lines of multi-coloured energy at you all, calling out:
"Don't worry about me! I am somewhat protected by the mystic energies, but you need to defeat this guardian dogu! It has somehow been corrupted or misdirected by the ley line malignment. It sees us as malicious interlopers!"
The ley energy, as it touches you all, invigorates your spirit.
[b]"
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With the battle commencing, Jeeves looks up in horror at the huge guardian. He plays his lyre and sings an inspirational tune, finishing with a flourish.
"A statue that sparkles and glows.
From its eyes to the tip of its toes.
.....Must stop its advance.
.....Give the tengu a chance.
Can we do it? Let's see how it goes!"
Studying the creature, he attempts to recall what he knows about such constructs.
He quickly relays to the group what he knows.
Finally, he says "Wield shield"
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Grum's blade caroms off the huge creature without a scrape to show its passage. The Kayajima guardian stills as pulses of mystical energy reverberate up and down its form, emitting a pale blue glow. The pulses stop for two heartbeats, then a wave of force bellows out from the construct in a cone that blasts through Grum and Nina!
The construct then swings a massive energised fist down at Grum.
Grum dodges to the side at the last possible moment.
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MugVug stands and looks up at the massive construct. He lets out a loud laugh at the sheer absurdity of this moment. He stands and observes it attacking Grum and tries to identify any weak spots it might have.
MugVug then drops into his combat stance and focuses his energies to channel the Tiger spirit inside him.
With his preparations done MugVug launches himself into battle.
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Kukuha concentrates, trying to shift the energies of the ley magic from within the dome of multicoloured hues that obfuscate her form from your vision.
Suddenly, a harsh musical notes sounds out on the scene, and the rush of serpentine wings on the wind herald the appearance of Aojimitsu streaking across the battlefield. The sea dragon breathes on the massive construct, steam and scalding vapour rising from its upper half as Aojimitsu boils the thing. Just as the enigmatic dragon arrives, he shoots off with a cheeky smile, his fly-by attack causing the dogu's armour to droop.
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Studying the Dogo rising over the walls, Jeeves calls out, "Its armor reduces damage until we destroy outer shell. Otherwise, normal construct resistances."
Jeeves barely contains a squeal of excitement at seeing Aojimitsu swoop in to assist. Focusing on the massive guardian towering high above, Jeeves pulls out a scroll from his bandolier and casts a spell.
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Both Nina and Jeeves lash out with bolts of electrical energy at the massive construct; the former is deflected while the latter blackens and cracks the creature's helmet. Grum relies on his axe instead of electricity, smacking the dogu a hearty whack to its greaves. His snarling scowl, however, seems to do nothing to deter the creature.
In response, the dogu decides to take matters into its own hands...and eyes.
A beam of blue energy blasts from the guardian's eyes over the fortress walls at the gnome. Jeeves ducks, but the beam bores straight into his body, searing him terribly. Fists then fly at the orc, bloodying his nose with one swing, but failing to connect with the second as Grum jukes to the left.
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MugVug seems almost overcome by a case of uncontrollable giggles as he launches himself towards the monstrous statue. He picks out a weak seeming spot next to the statue's little toe.
With all of his might he channels every bit of tiger spirit into a flurry of attacks, trying as he might to break through to some tiny weak point.
for points of slashing damage.
for points of slashing damage.
for points of slashing damage.
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Kamil slices across the construct's knees, scoring a crack along the statue's greaves. MugVug has less success, boring only a small chip of stone out from the giant guardian's toes.
The tengu continues to struggle with the multicoloured energies encapsulating her, physically moving to shift the ley lines back into form.
As she does so, a sonorous screech sounds out from directly above as twin shadows dive-bomb down the fracas. He-Whose-Talons-Catch-Many-Fish followed by She-With-Amber-Wings-Dives-Fast hit the dogu guardian in the face in a fantastic one‑two combination, causing the statue's eyes to flicker erratically. The griffons retreat, screeching a triumphant cry as they fly off into the skies.
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As Jeeves and Nina both heal themselves, Grum works away at the guardian with his axe. One of the orc's scoring strikes breaks through the dogu's armour, and two sheets of worked stone - front and back - fall away from the statue's form, revealing glowing blue sigils underneath. The statue swings one of its energised fists down at the orc in cold retribution.
The guardian's powered fist slams down on the orc. Over the sound of cracking ribs and teeth, the locomotion of building momentum emanates as the inscrutable lines of energy along the giant's form flicker and then just as quickly still...until a blast of impulse energy bursts forth from the statue, enveloping the reeling Grum, Nina, and the newly-arrived Jeeves.
A wave of kinetic force rips through the sorcerer and the bard, pushing them both backwards five feet.
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MugVug has tears in his eyes from the unstoppable wave of giggles as he looks up, and up, at the size of the statue creature above him. He looks at Grum and lets out a loud laugh, and then can't bear it as he watches the wave of force envelop his friends.
He returns to his task of trying to create a larger crack in the stone before him.
Flurry of Blows
for points of slashing damage.
for points of slashing damage.
Attack action 2
for points of slashing damage.
Attack action 3
for points of slashing damage.
MugVug bends over as the giggles turn into guffaws when he makes no headway at all on the stone and the skin of his knuckles begins to peel away.