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"We probably scared a herd of antelopes during the hunt. All of their hooves must have stamped out the tiger tracks."
The Baron says dismissing the findings.
"Just get into the machan's and be prepared. No lights until the tiger returns for the kill."
Bomande is clearly on edge.
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It's not long before night falls, and all of you are waiting uncomfortably among the machans, nothing but darkness and the flow of water in your immediate vicinity. Eventually there is some rustling from the brush to the north west and a voice calls out.
"Bomande!" It's Count Falroun "Bomande your tiger has attacked the camp! Come to the sound of my voice! Quickly!"
"Damnation!" Baron Bomande says slinging his rifle behind his back as he descends the tree. Konner and Mortag do the same, attempting to climb down without a ladder in the darkness. Konnor succeeds and starts walking toward the sound of Falrouns voice, but Mortag makes no progress out of the tree.
The bushes rustle again and soft hoofsteps can be heard in the darkness followed by the sound of the Baron hiting the dirt hard.
"It's the tiger!" He shouts in a pained voice.
Kroone
Will & Don
L
Mortag
Raleigh
Konner
Bomande -
Bold May Act
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Kroone attempts to leap from the blind to assist Bomande.
He lands by the fallen noble but can't see the attack so offers him some healing assistance.
Will tries to climb down but makes no progress as he misjudges the handholds.
Don however is able to leap from the blind and rushes toward Baron Bomande and the creature the struck him.
L
The Baron shouts in pain as the pathfinder hear teeth gnash one more time.
Mortag tries to light his way and climb down the tree however he makes no progress.
Raleigh fires a shot into the pitch darkness ahead of him.
Konner continues forward, withdrawing an ioun torch as he moves to see better. As he arrives next to the Baron he sees a strange creature with the head of a jackal and the hooves of an antelope removing it's bloody teeth from the Baron's leg. It's legs are striped like a tigers.
Bomande takes potion from his belt and downs it. "Make sure I get the final blow!" He says through gritted teeth to the pathfinders.
Kroone
Will & Don
L
Mortag -
Raleigh
Konner
Bomande - 16 Damage
Bold May Act
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Kroone attempts to circle around the creature and take it's attention off the Baron. Succesfully cutting into the creatures flank.
Will struggles with the tree in his rush to assist but eventually makes it down.
Don slams itself successfully into the creature twice leaving a lasting effect.
L - the creature stubbornly sticks to the baron refusing to acknowledge it's new foes.
"You'll be joining you're old friends soon enough!" it says as it tears into his flesh.
Mortag continues searching for a ladder that isn't there, perhaps that's why he keeps missing the obvious handholds in the tree.
Raleigh despite not being able to see anything fires his crossbow into the clump of shapes in the distance, miraculously not striking any of his friends and scoring a hit on the Baron's tiger.
Konner spits on the jackal like creature and in one smooth movement cuts deep into the creatures chest, killing it even as its teeth sink into Bomande.
"It's almost dead, I can kill it!" The Baron says leveling his rifle point blank at his old for, before realizing he's lost his shot and Konner has finished the beast. He looks dissapointed only for a moment before remembering his life was just saved and he nods a thanks to the Pathfinders while catching his breath.
The Baron takes a few moments to relax once the combat is over, though it's clear he's in awful shape. He looks at the stars above and, breathing heavily turns to the Pathfinders.
"We're not terribly far from your temple. If you escort me back to camp, the porters can care for my wounds and I can guide you there in the morning. If any of you are savy you might be able to find your way there yourself but..." He motions to his wounds "I wouldn't mind an escort back if you don't mind."
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Bomande nods at the corpse and beckons Konner to shine his torch on the creatures stripped haunch. "See this bullet wound Raleigh? This is where I got the creature when it killed my friends. I thought it was a tiger, but I got my revenge all the same. This is my last hunt, thank you for assisting me Pathfinders."
So begins the trek back to camp. It's a few hours travel, but are unbothered by the wildlife and Falroun organizes the porters to assist his father in law. The night is quiet, with little to do but prepare for the day ahead.
In the morning the Baron greets you, solemn but unbothered by his duty as guide. As you travel the terrain around you quickly becomes swampland, and it's thickly overgrown. The Baron seems sure of where he is going however and pushes onward despite his limp.
"Can't slow down even if we wanted to. Camped out in this swamp once and half my companions woke up with malaria."
A few hours more and you come upon the temple.
Columns line the walls of this small room, each decorated with a high-relief carving of a monkey in a different pose. Some of the monkey sculptures sit serenely in meditation or reach out with their hands as if to deliver blessings to the viewer, while others adopt more naturalistic poses. The floor is littered with decaying plant matter and mud, and the stench of rotting muck pervades the area. An open archway leads south out into the jungle, while a second leads north deeper into the temple.
Before you can explore further however the heavy sounds of foot steps fill the temple and three humans can be seen exiting the temple and running toward the party.
"Out of the way or you'll be sorry!" The woman at the head of the group shouts in your directon.
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I think we now know why elves prefer the trees and dwarves the mountains...right, Mortag? the Taldan jests as they walk back to the camp.
I know I've painted the picture or Mortag as a generally... let's say unhappy? person, but he is much more angered by this comment than the vast majority of other words spoken or actions taken at his expense. He grinds his teeth, sulks, and glares his way back to camp, and anyone who gets near him swears they can smell char and smoke.
There's fear in her voice...
"There should be; she just made the brave or stupid mistake of telling Pathfinders to move."
Mortag then proceeds to move towards the front of the pack, conjure a ball of flame in either hand and shout
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William barely has a chance to register Konnor's remark before he immediately trying to step in front of Mortag. "Uh, I think what my friend here is trying to say is yes, we WILL move out of the way--" he says through gritted teeth, "--but we would also appreciate knowing why we were doing so, and if there is anything we can do to help whatever situation you are in!"
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The individuals begin walking passed the Pathfinders, at least until Mortag and Don disrupt the diplomatic approach the others are attempting to take.
"I-look, we'll leave the loot, please j-just let us leave. There is something evil in the back of the temple! Tiny little men with horns and eyes like rubies, they're stronger than they seem. Please, we just don't want to die." The leader says rapidly, dropping a sack of treasure at Mortags feet and then rushing off, the other two looters close on her heels.
As they rush off the sack spills open revealing the treasure inside. 70gp, 6 jeweled tiles, and an alluring golden apple. Once the treasure is collected you are free to explore more of the temple
A mosaic of a monkey-faced figure decorates the floor of this room, though the tiles that would form its eyes are missing. The north end of the room is filled with rubble blocking an arched passageway. To the west, vines and foliage intrude into the temple through an open-air balcony, while a similar balcony to the east remains relatively clear of plant life. An open archway leads south.
"Well Pathfinder, feel free to explore your temple as you Venture-Captains wanted. I'll wait here for when you're ready to leave."
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As soon as the other adventuring party is fully out of sight, Mortag dismisses the orbs of flame in his hands with a flick of his wrists, scoops the loot back into the bag, and holds it high (as much as a dwarf can) with a smug grin plastered onto his face. He then proudly proclaims, "Take note, laddies! That's how it's done!" Mortag then jingles the parcels of treasures with a chuckle. "I say we divvy up the spoils later, eh lads? For the now, we've got a ruin to pillage." If no-one objects, Mortag places the satchel of goodies into his adventuring pack and whistles his way into the temple, horribly out of tune.
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Raleigh boldly walks through the entrance to the temple.
"So, since we weren't the first people here, if this place is trapped to the nine hells and back like is to be expected of places like this, at least some of the traps are gonna be disabled or triggered already, so we can assume that it's mostly safe to explore the first room."
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You travel into the temple reaching the rear room. A 20-foot-tall, high-relief sculpture of a mountain dominates the
north end of this large chamber. A statue of a figure now missing
its head sits in the lotus position at the mountain’s peak, while
smaller statues of monkey-faced pilgrims rest on ledges farther
down the mountain. Shattered pieces of yet more monkey
statues litter the floor.
The southern half of the room is filled with rubble, obstructing an
arched passageway to the south. In the center of the room, a small
enclosed shrine made of dark brown stone faces south toward the
rubble. A hallway to the west leads to a balcony overrun by foliage,
while a hallway to the east leads to an open balcony.
Unfortunately none of you see the creatures that the looters attempted to warn you about and Raleigh takes two attacks from the top of the mountain statue.
Kroone
Raleigh 3 Damage
T2 - Black
Konner
T1 - White
Mortag
William
Kroone and Raleigh are up
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William, still somewhat worried about how the group handled the previous explorers, barely notices when Raleigh is attacked from the shadows. However, he seems less than dissapointed; he seems, if anything, more excited than he was. "Now THIS is more like--" he starts, before he realizes how it might be interpreted. "I mean, oh no, Raleigh, you've been attacked by some unknown creature from the shadows, possibly lurking here for centuries!" he shouts, his excitement getting the better of him as he speaks.
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Kroone climbs up the mountain relief, the strange tiny horned men chitter at him angrily.
Raleigh attacks back and hits white with an acid splash but the damage does not seem to bother the creatures.
The Black creature fires another shot at Raleigh and hits with his arrow.
Konner fires at white and his his mark as well.
White knocks an arrow and launches at the gnome who attacked him.
Mortag launches a fire blast unfortunately the creatures dodge the attack.
William & Don
Kroone
Raleigh 5 Damage
T2 - Black 5 Damage
Konner
T1 - White
Mortag
William & Don