Don manages to shrug off the hold spell with pure will power. Niu is unaffected by the death throes of the tooth fairy. Niu and Etgar can both move again.
Round 12
Agnimitra 21/22 Donovan 23/24 Etgar 18/18 Niu 08/13
Uspid, blue ✔
Etgar, Don, Niu, Agni
Blue tries to bite Agni.
(plus paralysis Fort DC 11 )
Uspid charges Don ending his flight.
Etgar, Don, Niu, Agni ✔
Etgar stumbles into motion, seemingly surprised when he can move again. He catches himself just in time to make a lumbering step towards Don. He then snakes out across his ally, trying to skewer the little blue fairy.
Agni swings at the closest foe, hoping to help Don as soon as possible.
"Mmph, Ah don haf mus ta help wif dis."
Niu gives Donovan Protective Luck and gathers his teeth from the fallen fairies.
You can. Good call.
"Too many have died in your name, this ends."
A ghostly cloak of feathers flares around Donovan.
The paladin lands a crushing blow to the prince.
Round 13
Agnimitra 21/22 Donovan 23/24 Etgar 18/18 Niu 07/13
Uspid, blue ✔
Etgar, Don, Niu, Agni
Blue continues to nibble at Agni.
(plus paralysis Fort DC 11 )
Uspid swings his scepter at Don.
And he bites
(plus paralysis DC14)
Need a fort check, Agni.
Uspid, blue
Etgar, Don, Niu, Agni ✔
"Hit 'em again, Don!" Agni calls out, as she tries to do the same to the little one.
Etgar tries to skewer the little blue beast again.
Two misses. Etgar needs that feat in a big way.
Niu, Don ✔
"As you say lady Agni."
Donovan swings at the prince again.
Clutching the teeth as his life oozes out, Niu considers carefully, but decides to help the others first.
Cackling through the blood, he adds Protective Luck on Agnimitra.
The tooth fairy monarch explodes in a cloud of chattering, biting motes dealing of damage to Don. He is dazzled for rounds. The blue tooth fairy withdraws to the north east.
End initiative.
A fort DC14 check will reduce the damage by half and the dazzled condition to one round.
Jumping with grateful excitement, Niu then quickly puts his teeth back in and uses his healing Hex.
"How is everyone?
The bleeding stops and his charisma returns to normal.
Agnimitra 21/22 Donovan 20/24 Etgar 18/18 Niu 10/13
Donovan blinks against the biting dust. "Nui, did any thing of importance survive?"
"The four of us did. That is important, right?" He looks around for anything the fairies may have dropped.
There is nothing except dust and mote where the prince was. Even his scepter was destroyed. Three tooth fairies dropped their pliers which are rusting away at a highly advanced and unnatural rate.
Agni dusts herself of the fairy bits. "Hopefully this means that we can finally move on. I've seen far more of this place than I'd ever wanted."
"Well, if nobody needs more healing, let's return to the queen and get our stamps, shall we?"
When you enter the throne room, the queen is sitting upon her throne with Skritcher by her side.
"Were you successful? Did he fight well?"
Uh, sure...he fought well enough. But he couldn't withstand the strength of Don here's hammer. Blew up in a big cloud. Now, we need our stamps, as agreed upon.
"What proof do you have for me? Newly acquired assassins must provide proof until they gain The Queen's favor. Where did the deed occur?"
"On the upper floor of the main keep, near the stage. Even his scepter turned to dust. If the death was some type of illusion, it is much more advanced than anything I have ever heard of.
We will meet you there, if you wish to inspect the site yourself."
The overly plump fairy leans on her scepter while pushing herself up from the arm of her throne. She barks a command at Scritcher before taking to flight. When she returns she is overcome with joy. "This is such a relief! I have not felt so free of danger in years. Oh, Don. Keep that armor, you may need it. Here, come, let me stamp you!" She produces the carved jawbone with magic sigils and briefly touches each of you with it. It leaves a permanent tattoo.
"I suppose you are en route to Nine-Eves now. Please give Kishokish my best wishes. It has been some time since we have seen each other."
Niu bows to the queen. "Thank you, Your Highness. We will certainly pass on your greetings. Is Kishokish a fairy as well?"
"Kishokish is an elderly shoki psychopomp. He serves as the master of Nine-Eves, ruminating on all manner of confabulations. Reclusive and a bit annoying, he has a fondness for puzzles and games. He’ll almost certainly demand some battle of wits before granting his stamp, as he’s a depressing fellow. Humor him. I still wonder why it is called Nine-Eves. I counted only eight. Maybe I missed one.”
Agni joins Niu in bowing to the fairy queen. "We are happy to oblige, Your Highness. Thank you again for your help."
As you exit the palace and hit the road, Niu is ecstatic that he once again feels sand under his toes. Etgar is happy to have the dirt road under his boots. Don likes the road of cobblestones while Agni likes the road made of yellow bricks.
Donovan maintains a stoic silence, hoping the queen will not request her armor back.
Niu looses his shirt, relishing the heat of the desert. Reaching down, he scoops up some of the warm sand and throws it in the air, allowing it to cascade all over him.
"It certainly is nice that a desert exists in this realm. Don, is that armor getting hot in all this sun? You look like an oven."
Etgar is still bitter about this process, and he grunts at the observation. That was...trying. I could hope that this Kishokish encounter may be different, but if he enjoys games and riddles, then I fear more madness.
He closes his eyes as he faces the sun. It is, indeed. At least there's warmth in this place.
Correct.
"Niu, I'll never understand you. And maybe I am not sure a desert is, but this looks like the valley I spent my whole life in."
After about three hours you see a structure looming over the road like a wizened old man. This ancient manor of dark, splintery wood rises three stories tall. Several windows and small balconies jut from the manor irregularly, each under a sweeping eave of the building’s sharply pitched roof. A wide doorway stands in the front of the manor, with a greenhouse of grimy glass set against its side. The building exudes an air of gloom and age. The two front doors are closed.
"Niu, I'll never understand you. And maybe I am not sure a desert is, but this looks like the valley I spent my whole life in."
"What are you two talking about," Agnimitra counters, her mood drastically improved since they were in the house of teeth. "This is clearly a golden path, though why gold, I have no idea."
---------------------
"Well," she says when the building comes into view. "At least it seems to be made of regular materials."
Watching the sand kicked up by his steps, Niu quips, "Well, at least one of us is crazy" then giggles madly.
"It isn't very surprising that nothing we perceive here is real, though that does beg the question....". Niu pokes Etgar forcefully. "Hmph. You feel real, but does that actually prove anything?"
-----
Niu steps up to the door and examines it.
When he doesn't discover anything amiss, he raps on the door.
There is no response.
"Hello inside!" Agnimitra calls out. "We are here seeking the master of the house! May we enter?!"
She will wait a full minute before she tries opening the door.
When Agni opens the door, a vestibule is before her. The weak light thrown by two dim lamps barely illuminates this vestibule with several coat racks, benches, and an iron umbrella stand. The wallpaper is stained with age and decorated with repeating patterns of snails. A heavy, dark wooden door exits to the south, while a sliding double door leads to the north.
With the information that this test is supposed to be more of a nental challenge, Niu decides to move forward. He examines the sliding doors before opening them.