Tiny, not able to get any specific new instructions from Talethia through her empathic link, climbs through the window and goes to the nearest now-unconsious bad guy. He starts looking for anything shiny that he can Fetch back for his mistress.
In a last-ditch attempt to do some damage before his inevitable demise, the last agent drops his longbow, draws a longsword, and slashes at Mei in front of him!
The agent leaves a pretty good gash down the foxes side, looks up at Ki-Chin and smiles.
Even I realize it's the end, but there will be a cost!
Mei -11 (moment of greatness)
Ari-Ani
Soleil -13 (unconscious, STABLE at -4, moment of greatness)
Gaskar -2 (moment of greatness)
Talethia (inspire courage, moment of greatness)
Meux -9 (moment of greatness)
Magmara (BANISHED)
--------
Safira (-27 lethal, -17 non-lethal)
Yellow -26 (Locked Eyes round 1/3)
--------
Tiny (moment of greatness)
Ki Chin -5 (moment of greatness)
--------
Green -2
Fiveknives Kalim -29 (???)
--------
Mei -11 (moment of greatness)
Driven mad by the wound she received Mei jumps the remaining thug trying to tear his throat out in revenge, her eyes taking on a golden glow. Know your place worm!
Gaskar trudges over towards the agent brandishing his imposing flail, causing the agent to go white in the face for a moment. In his shock he's able to lean back and just watch the spiked ball fly by his nose.
Still focused on and frightened by the close-call with the flail, the agent doesn't notice Mei lunge to tear into him in revenge for the serious gash moments ago. The blood in the fox's fur deepens, but it's no longer just her own.
Ari-Ani cautiously backs away from the crowd.
Ari-Ani
Soleil -13 (unconscious, STABLE at -4, moment of greatness)
Gaskar -2 (moment of greatness)
Talethia (inspire courage, moment of greatness)
Meux -9 (moment of greatness)
Magmara (BANISHED)
--------
Safira (-27 lethal, -17 non-lethal)
Yellow -26
--------
Tiny (moment of greatness)
Ki Chin -5 (moment of greatness)
--------
Green -9
Fiveknives Kalim -29 (???)
--------
Mei -11
Talethia and Meux climb up the ladder to join the rest of the team.
The panther remains still on the forest floor.
Ari-Ani
Soleil -13 (unconscious, STABLE at -4, moment of greatness)
Gaskar -2 (moment of greatness)
Talethia (inspire courage, moment of greatness)
Meux -9 (moment of greatness)
Magmara (BANISHED)
--------
Safira (unconscious, -27 lethal, -17 non-lethal)
Yellow -26
--------
Tiny (moment of greatness)
Ki Chin -5 (moment of greatness)
--------
Green -9
Fiveknives Kalim -29 (???)
--------
Mei -11
Tiny runs over and climbs onto his perch on Talethia's shoulder as she climbs up the ladder. He hands his mistress whatever item he found in Yellow's belt pouch or on his person somewhere.
Tiny ruffles through the pockets of one of the downed agents and comes up with... a potion! Cracking the stopper just a hair, Talethia is able to easily identify it as a Potion of Cure Light Wounds.
The agent starts hyperventilating, his head turning rapidly in all directions towards the party. His breath is visibly shallow, and you don't think he could muster words right now. The conclusion here is obvious to him. He starts and stops several actions as if he can't decide what would even work. He looks down at the forest floor for a brief moment, as if determining if he could jump and get away.
Deciding against that, he winds up with his longword one more time, but is clearly frail, anxious and unable to put focused power into it as he swings at Mei...
and the blade clatters hopelessly into the wooden plank that the fox dodges away from.
Mei -11
Ari-Ani
Soleil -13 (unconscious, STABLE at -4, moment of greatness)
Gaskar -2 (moment of greatness)
Talethia (inspire courage, moment of greatness)
Meux -9 (moment of greatness)
Magmara (BANISHED)
Tiny (moment of greatness)
Ki Chin -5 (moment of greatness)
--------
Green -9
Gaskar bonks the frantic agent on the head, dropping him out of his spazzing-in-place. Those nearby can hear him whimper I failed you..., as he glances at FiveKnives and drops into peaceful unconsciousness.
There are now two dead agents (one of them the infamous FiveKnives), one unconscious nervous wreck, and an unconscious panther.
Meux has his companions help him carry Soleil to a safe distance at which he can heal her alone.
You begin to hear claps and ribbits emerge from the surround trees, and soon after the grippli offering the praise emerge from the trees. Continuing to smile and clap for you, they head down their trees and scamper off into the forest to bring back those Krihirik that had fled. It is safe now, and they have all of you to thank.
You make your way back to the large hut in the middle of the village, unpacking the FOUR eggs you'd carefully stowed in the haversack. Mother Bogwynne graciously accepts them. She raises a hand and lifts her head as if performing a blessing, and dozens of gripplis gather to listen. “More than a thousand cycles ago, the dwarven refugees came to us from the distant north, fleeing a home lost ages ago. We aided the dwarves and welcomed them as neighbors in the nearby hills—a land even harsher than our own. When they fled their home for a second time, we offered them aid once more, though they requested only that we honor their memory and accept a gift: this talisman that bears the power to defeat the golden beast that now haunts Ashkurhall.” She holds up a melon-sized ovoid made of clay. “The descendants of Sigrin spoke of this as their greatest treasure, which they had left behind. It is a legacy that continues to this day, for none have ever braved the Golden Guardian to claim the riches as their own.”
A chorus of croaking vocalizations follows the elder’s story, and she adds, “The talisman’s power is hidden within, and it must be unsealed in the beast’s presence. To do so too soon would expend its energy needlessly or even invoke a terrible disaster. We have entrusted you with this relic of our people; use it wisely.”
The Krihirik elders agree that the talisman the dwarves gave them so many years ago is best employed by the Pathfinders—especially if the rumors of the Golden Guardian awakening are true. The talisman is an egg-shaped mass of dry clay the size of a melon, its surface smoothed and intricately decorated with linear patterns, plant imprints, and the symbol of a mountain standing under dozens of stars.
Soleil, Meux, and Ki-Chin note that the talisman radiates faint transmutation magic, though this is simply a long-lasting spell to preserve the clay.
Having bested the Aspis Consortium and recovered a powerful weapon, the party must return to the Bandu Hills to delve into its ruins, confront the ancient guardian within, and find their missing venture-captain.
