Voices's whirlwind tosses Orange around until it flies apart. Fran gives Mavaro a supernatural boost.
"Kill the ones by the azata!" yells the demon. The dragon, ever obedient, flies away from Reckum and past Fran and Mavaro .
If it makes it past all three, it will reach over and bite at Kalkamedes.
Round 2/3
Fran (-2 hp, AoO)
Mavaro (fortune, AoO)
Reckum (AoO)
Voices
Skeleton Dragon (-67 hp)
Red Claws (-18 hp)
Orange Claws (-19 hp)
Shandy
Reggie
Kalkamedes (-32 hp)
Swole! Sun's out, guns out!
Mavaro swings Gamin at the dragon as it flies by. He doesn't need to do much, Gamin relishes the opportunity to slice the dragon in two as it flies by.
The demon tries to hide his disappointment at his ally being defeated. He sweetens the offer to the Pathfinders - if they release him, he will not kill any of the Pathfinders.
|
Nice hit, Mavaro!
Shamus holds a fist up in victory.
That was quite the show, Reckum.
Shamus seems very impressed by the little halfling's fighting style.
We may want to give Kalkemedes some healing.
Shamus shuffles towards the sleeping woman in the circle.
Anyway, I believe we should free this Azata. She could be the sworn enemy of this demon and Kalkemedes seems to be captivated by her in a special way. She must be the one calling to him. Speaking to him in his dreams. I am very familiar with this type of communication. My ancestors from many generations speak to me in a similar way. You could say I am a "speaker for the past".
Shamus uses the last two rounds of his spiritual weapon to pound on the stone circle, unless anyone wishes to stop him.
Shamus smashes the azata's summoning circle, and between the party, they find enough healing to revive her.
The first thing the azata sees is the dead dragon on the ground, and she breaks into a smile. But then she sees the summoning circle around her destroyed, her gratitude quickly turning to panic. She tries to rise, but her weak legs give out and she collapses to the ground.
"The other circle ... you didn't ... release him, did you?"
When the Pathfinders assure her that they have not, she breathes a sigh of relief. She looks at Kalkamedes, and frowns.
"First things first," she muses. She calls a volunteer over, touching them. They gain the ability to cast banish once, which they use to unceremoniously send the demon back to the Abyss.
Then, the azata grasps Kalkamedes' head with both hands, and touches her forehead to his.
"Be free, and thank you, my friend."
Kalkamedes wakes with a startle.
"What the ... ? Where am I? Who are you?"
The azata explains.
Millennia ago, during the reign of the runelords in ancient Thassilon, a conclave of powerful thaumaturgists known as the Thrallkeepers experimented with calling forth all manner of horrors to further the cause of their runelord overlords. Thinking their techniques flawless, the Thrallkeepers summoned numerous otherworldly creatures and attempted to force them into servitude. Thousands of years later, the Thrallkeepers have long since gone extinct, but several of their forgotten projects remain, lurking in ancient, abandoned vaults such as the Black Edifice. One such forgotten conjuration was the powerful glabrezu demon known as Koth’Vaul.
A month ago, she (Sulianna) took it upon herself to seek out Koth’Vaul and destroy him before he could complete his escape. Unfortunately, with the protective runes that bound Koth’Vaul already breaking down, he was much stronger than Sulianna anticipated. Using an undead servant to push her into his reach, the demon battled the azata for two days and three nights, and despite grievously wounding Sulianna, Koth’Vaul was unable to deliver the killing blow before she withdrew into the summoning circle for protection.
Enter Kalkamedes, who had been slowly mapping the Fenwall Mountains, having set up a rustic cottage as a comfortable base of operations. Although he didn’t realize it, Kalkamedes’s travels recently took him past the hidden ruins of the Black Edifice. As soon as he came close enough, Sulianna sensed his presence, reached out to him with her mind, and tried to contact him with a plea for help. Koth’Vaul, however, used his own limited powers to dampen Sulianna’s magical link, blocking the communication.
Kalkamedes walked on by, never cognizant of the dueling forces that had touched his mind.
"When I returned home to his cabin and fell asleep, my subconscious must have remembered Sulianna’s call for help and took control of my body! I unwittingly made a beeline for the Black Edifice to mount a rescue for the dying celestial. I'm a hero!"
Sulianna accompanies the group back to Kalkamedes’s cottage and then departs for Elysium, but not before promising a favor in return for the Pathfinders’ assistance.
Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch expresses visible relief upon seeing the Pathfinders return and offers them heartfelt thanks for their patience and hard work.
Kalkamedes is also grateful, spreads word of the Pathfinders’ good deed to his long-time Pathfinder colleagues, and—with Gamin’s consent—gives his sword to the Pathfinders as a gift.
"I want to kill more dragons. Please?"
|
|
"It has been a pleasure working with you, honored Gamin," Mavaro says with unfeigned wonder, "but my one-eyed blade would be jealous of the competition. However, if you will remain with me a while longer, I know a promising young Pathfinder who studies the same traditions as me I could introduce you to."
As they return to the Grand Lodge, Mavaro strikes up a conversation with his companions. "That was quite the experience, friends, and not at all like anything I have done before. Too much time studying relics and chasing my past, perhaps, leaves me with a narrow view of the world. You all had marvelous and creative ways to solve problems, and I would love to hear how you used them in other missions."
|
"First things first," she muses. She calls a volunteer over, touching them. They gain the ability to cast banish once, which they use to unceremoniously send the demon back to the Abyss.
Reckum gleefully accepts the boon and marches over to the other summoning circle to wallop the fake-gnome back to Hell - or wherever it came from, he's not fussy about the details.
------------------------------------
"Oh! You should hear about the time we went on a hike, and then we found a cave, and there was stuff inside, and that was really boring, but then we found things to smash and that was fun!" the gnome explains later to Mavaro.
|
Reggie's eyes shine bright as the dragon rushes him. He looks equally crestfallen as Mavaro and Gamin leave it a scattering of bones and rotten flesh long before it ever gets to him.
"You done took us on a wild ride," he tells Kalkamedes before the explanations begin in earnest.
He listens intently to the explanation from the Azata. "Oh, well, that all makes perfect sense. Next time you go huntin' demons, hook up with some Pathfinders first, though. We'll take care of ya."
Although it is daylight by the time they get back, Reggie is yawning and waits basically just long enough until it's not rude to find a shady spot and take a nap, his wolf curled up next to him.
