GM_DBH's Shattered Star

Game Master DBH

Axton lets his summoning spell fizzle. He praises Intrepid for the rat's crucial role in this battle, nods sympathetically at Vhane, and goes over to stand next to Elathras.

"So this water, any benefit to bottling a little of it up?"

"It would be easy to find out! I can magically scoop some of the water into a vial or some such other container, and then we can see if the water in the vial still emits a magical aura."

Axton pats his robes absently for a moment. "I don't seem to have any containers that can hold a liquid on me, unfortunately."

"Oh! I have an idea!"

Axton pulls out the Whispering Coin they found in the Lady's Light. He flips the coin in the air, and before it lands, he asks his question:

Standing by to the side all innocently, Elena channels a heal for everyone's mostly superficial wounds.

channel: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 5, 2) = 16

When the conversation turns to the water, she regards it with great trepidation, from a very respectable distance. "Those were hydrodaemons, one of the few creatures able to live in the River Styx. And since Axton sensed magic in the water earlier..."

She shudders. "Water from the Styx tends to wipe your memory. And with the Insanity trap at the entrance as well al the brain-devouring creatures earlier, this Runelord was no stranger to targeting the mind. I'm inclined to think their presence is no coincidence and that this water is actual water from the Styx, meaning if you touched it, you'd lose your memory. I think we should refrain from taking it as both the risk of that as well as its potential for evil just seem too great."

Shrugging, "Maybe collecting some of the water was a bad idea." Nodding towards the other side of the cave, "Let's press on."

assuming the bridge is safe.
Shifting his pole arm back to a defensive posture, Elathras moves across the bridge and heads towards the cave on the other side.

Across the bridge and just around the corner you find:

B15. THE BLACK MENHIR
This small natural cavern has a wide opening on the side leading to the bridge, and a much smaller passage opposite it. The only feature of note is an eight-foot-high square pillar of black stone, each of its clearly ancient sides etched with thin lines depicting a dense forest beneath an eclipsed sun.

Creatures: Three creatures wait patiently next to the pillar and make no move to approach. Two are emaciated humanoids wrapped in flowing robes, with flat patches of skin where their eyes should be, large crests of bone sweeping back from their skulls, grotesquely overlong fingers, and
two mouths each.

The third floats in the air between these two-a bloated sack of what appear to be numerous brains, its flesh curded and whorled like brain matter.

These are the emissaries from Xavorax-two caulborn and one of their living libraries: a chrestomath. As soon as you enter, one of the two caulborn uses telepathy to whisper directly into your minds, its voice like the drone of a million insects.

"We sense that you fear us. Do not. We know you are not the original agents from the City Above, yet your politics do not concern the Quivering Palace. Our offer still stands. If you would recover the Sihedron fragment from the Black Keep in the heart of the Dark Forest, we will send you to it, for this goal aligns with our needs as well."

What are you doing now?

Caulborn.

Chrestomath

Couldn't find many images of the Chrestomath, so you got that one. :)

While looking for it I did find this one though. :)

Runelords

Does Elathras recognized either creature?
Knowledge: (monsters) Caulborn: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Knowledge: (monsters) Chrestomath: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Asthe enter the small natural cave, Elathras eyes fall on the three odd creatures. Raising an eyebrow as one speaks telepathically about fearing them and being agents from the city above, Shifting his polearm to appear unthreatening, he gestures. "Then we may assume you are the Caulborn the librarians told us of."

Looking towards the Pathfinders for a brief second, he turns back to the trio, "And you will bring us back here once we are successful?"

Hoping to tell if they are speaking the truth
sense motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

"Wow. they look so... exotic," Elena whispers from the back, her guard lowering when there was seemingly no hostile intent from these beings. She quickly checks her map if there were any warnings of these people. "It's great to meet you, emissaries. Um... may we ask what exactly this 'offer' is, and what you mean by 'your needs'? Why do you need the shard removed from there and is there any particular reason you specifically need outsiders to do it?" She wonders.

Sorry Elathras, your rolls were a little low.

The Caulborn don't visibly react to your words, but you do get answers.

"We are the Caulborn. Yes we will return you when you have retrieved the Shard from the Dark forest. The menhir sends those who touch it to the dark forest. We will be here keeping it open. All you need to do to return is touch the menhir in the dark forest."

"We need the shard taken from the Dark forest as we cannot enter the region until it is gone. The Runelord Karzoug placed a warding effect on the area as long as the Shard of Greed remains there. We wish to explore and gain knowledge long barred to us."

"Be warned travel through the menhirs can be painful. As long as we focus here the way remains open and you can make several trips, but it is best to make as few as you can. The Dark forest contains many undead including the Dark rider. Also be prepared to fight as soon as you emerge. Strange worms from between the dimensions sometimes try to follow travelers and devour them as they emerge."

Any other questions?

"Okay... but *why* do you need the shard removed? Do you wish to obtain it yourselves?" Elena repeats.

Unsure if it matters here but we should have good hope up, which might have boosted Elathras' roll by 2. Elena will also assist Elathras on the sense motive here since they are apparently dodging questions about why the shard has to be removed?

Sorry Elathras, your rolls were a little low.

Can't blame a fellow for trying :)

The creatures' answers bothered Elathras, not so much the wording of them, but the sense of them seeping into his understanding. Like the sensation of a tiny spider crawling across the nerves of his brain. Shuddering at the thought, almost as if to cast the spiders out, Elathras tried to focus on the questions and answers.

Without a better understanding of the creatures, Elena was correct to be concerned. The pathfinders clearly had no understanding of these creatures' motives, and it made sense Elena would want some verification that they would not try and take the shard away.

The thought caused Elathras to smile slightly as he looked over towards Bharak. Turning his gaze back to the odd 'doorkeepers' Elathras felt confident, that they could prevent the creatures from taking the shard.

Just some fluff

Just to make things clear. The shard is yours. The Caulborn want it gone as they can't enter the Dark forest until it is removed. After that they do not want it for themselves! :)

Sorry for the confusion but doesn’t Bharak currently have the shard of greed? So is there another one there that they want removed?

Whoops. I meant the Shard of Gluttony

Still confused why the Whispering Coin didn't work, Axton catches up with the others in time to get the gist of what's going on.

"When you've asked what you can about their intentions, ask about the 'Dark Rider' they mentioned."

Showing no visible reaction to the information relayed to them, "Great. We've got worms that want ta eat us as soon as we show up. We've got a horde of undead ta deal with along with someone - or something - called the 'Dark Rider'. Sounds fun," he states flatly.

Looking to The Caulborn, "Okay, question: What is this 'Dark Rider' ya speak of?"

@Axton. Sorry I missed your post. The coin very firmly said no!

Bharak nodded at the question. He wanted to move forward, lest their momentum die off. Another shard was within reach and he truly wanted to recover it. But Vhane's question was a pertinent one, and he was not willing to rush forward without an answer.

"The map said the Dark Rider was a Dullahan. What is a Dullahan?" Elena adds, wondering if these emissaries had any idea.

There is a pause and then Elena & Vhane feel information being placed softly in their heads!

That is what they can tell you about a standard Dullahan. The one in the Black keep may have abilities they can't tell you about as they can't enter the area.

Anything else?

Shaking his head to get rid of the weirdness, "Well that's just great. It's called a Dullahan, apparently. An undead rider that's headless. I'd have ta say it's like the complete opposite of a paladin. Except it doesn't have a head. I've never met a holy warrior without a head." He shrugs. "Anyway, its blade is sharp and has a cold effect to it. Also, if it calls death upon one of us, that's just gonna make combatin' it a bit more difficult. Whoever it targets, I'd recommend fightin' it off with all ye got. Otherwise, we'll be at a great disadvantage against it."

Bharak listened and then shrugged. ”Right. So don’t aim for the head. Otherwise kill it or be killed?” With a slight smile he said ”Doesn’t sound so bad. And if I’m wrong then we’ll be too dead to care.”

Axton nods his readiness.

Frowning at Bharak's pessimistic answer, Elathras thinks of all the the things he's not experienced yet. Shifting his polearm, he turn to his friend. "I'd just as soon not die if I don't have to."

Turning towards the three very odd creatures, he gestures towards the eight-foot-high square pillar of black stone, "Thank you for the warning I assume the menhir in the dark forest looks the same as this one?"

Assuming all he has to do is touch the stone on this side, Elathras turns towards the others, "Shall we go?"

Once it seems like everyone is ready, Elathras turns towards the three, and approaches the stone, "We are ready."

You step through, any other questions will be answered in OOC. Use the Black keep map for this area. As Elena cheated you do know the general layout of the keep and what will face you in each room.

As soon as you touch the black menhir in areaB15, you suddenly find yourselves on a sharply sloping hillside covered with grass so dark it's almost black, standing near a menhir almost identical to the one you touched, but far more weathered and leaning precariously to one side.

All around you, a black forest of strange trees looms, save for in one direction, in which rises an eerie structure that climbs at an angle into the air.

When you appear, you are in one of the eight adjacent squares surrounding the menhir itself at area C1.

C1. WRIGGLING HORROR
The world has changed. While the nearby presence of a black stone menhir similar in shape (although more weathered and leaning to one side) to the one touched in the previous room provides a sense of familiarity, everything else about this place is different from the dungeon rooms.

This world appears like nothing so much as a roughly spherical bubble of stone measuring miles across. Above, the vault of the ceiling glows
softly, casting the whole realm into an eerie kind of twilight.

The lower hemisphere is an enormous bowl-shaped basin, its sides wooded with green fir trees and gnarled, naked snags. Thick fog blankets the realm, and the entire place seems leeched of color, tending toward grays and blacks.

Closer at hand looms a strange structure. This towering black keep rises up into the air, each new wing resting upon nothingness and creating a strange, stepped structure of towers and domed roofs that carries with in its facade an almost palpable sense of menace.

Black Keep

Creatures: The caulborn's warning to you to be prepared once you travel to the Dark Forest is good advice, for only 1 round after you arrive, the menhir begins to glow with a nauseating yellow shimmer.

A heartbeat later, a hideous outpouring of ravenous rot grubs writhes and wriggles out of the sides of the stone, spilling out onto the
ground to the north and south of the stone itself.

This nauseating carpet of wriggling white grubs undulates outward in a pallid wave of hunger.

@Vhane. Please fill in your stat bar.

As you had warning this would happen you get a round of actions before we go to inits. You are at C1, standing around the menhir. Two swarms beside you.

What are you doing?

"Back! Everyone back away from the menhir!"

Axton takes his own advice and scuttles backwards.

"They are worms. Surely, we can easily outrun them."

When he has an opening to do so, he casts a fireball at the rot grub swarm.

Empower spell feat used. DC 21 Reflex for half.

Fire damage: 10d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 5, 4, 6, 4, 3, 1, 1, 3) = 31 <-- 15 extra damage from the feat, plus it's a swarm taking AoE damage, so I think that's an additional 15 for 61 total.

Bharak listened and then shrugged. ”Right. So don’t aim for the head. Otherwise kill it or be killed?” With a slight smile he said ”Doesn’t sound so bad. And if I’m wrong then we’ll be too dead to care.”

Frowning at Bharak's pessimistic answer, Elathras thinks of all the the things he's not experienced yet. Shifting his polearm, he turn to his friend. "I'd just as soon not die if I don't have to."

With a stoic look about him, Vhane turns his attention from Elathras toward Bharak, nodding and saying, "Ye make a great point there, lad."

Another thought then crosses his mind. "'Don't aim for the head', huh? That's funny," he confesses honestly, wearing no expression of any kind.

As Elena cheated you do know the general layout of the keep and what will face you in each room.

I prefer the term 'creative use of game mechanics'! That said I asked for a lot less than I was given, so thank you for so readily going along with the painter shenanigans :P

Nature: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

"He's right! Rot grubs are very slow; we can probably just run! But be careful; if they catch you, they will bury into your flesh and kill you unless we use magic to damage them through your body!"

Following Axton's example, she quickly sets to make distance to the swarms. Double move away from them or one move if this is a surprise round.

Eyeing the swarm warily, Bharak could do little but do as he was bid. This was not a foe that he was equipped to deal with, nor even trained to fight.

Smiling at Vhane's dead-pan response as they are stepping out of the stone, Elathras lets out a sigh. The odd creatures had warned them, but the bleak terrain, eerie twilight and thick fog was worse than the dark cave they'd traveled through. Seeing the hideous ravenous rot grubs Elathras breaths a near silent prayer "Shelyn help...." Half way through he realies he'd started to pray to the goddess of beauty, not his own patron Abadar. Using the ugliness of the realm and the creatures as an excuse he finishes the prayer, "and protect us." as Axton identifies the vile creatures. Looking from Axton, as the sorcerer casts a fireball, towards Elena's as she chimes in with the idea of fleeing, Elathras remembers his Swarmbane clasp.

Pointing toward the building, "We move that direction." He looks towards Bharak, "My friend, take point, I have the most protection against these creatures, I shall bring up the rear in case they catch us."

Happy to start moving as quickly as his armored feet will carry him.

OK, they have 10' of move and you've all moved away. I'm going to hand-wave the rest of the fight. You keep picking away at the swarms and moving away. They die.

The notes that future-Elena left you say that your next stop is C2, but to be quiet as there are Wyverns nesting in C6 and too much noise draws their attention.

She also notes the C3 contains undead, specifically.

What are you doing now?

With his crossbow drawn and his attention on alert, "Wyverns and undead and fog, oh my," he says in an flat, yet, odd sing-song kind of way as they move along.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26 Only if necessary

Chuckling softly at Vhane's comment, Elathras adds softly as he sneaks along, "So he head quietly to the main entrance and once inside deal with the undead?"

Stealth: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (12) - 4 = 8 Only if necessary

"How the fook do we fight fog?" Bharak asked. Then, turning to Axton he added "Seriously. Will me hammer actually do anything to it, or is this another 'fireball' type situation?"

"I'm amazed I was able to cram so many details into these future rooftop drawings," The Shelynite whispers. "...And now dread having to actually make them when we're done here. Owwww... Maybe I should have considered that before we used that machines to read the future. Shelyn preserve me."

She makes a sign of prayer, then puts aside her existential dead for now. "Straight to the main entrance yes, I suppose."

Unless we are attacked at C2, Elena will cast Good Hope on everyone once we are inside the castle. (9 min duration)

"How the fook do we fight fog?" Bharak asked. Then, turning to Axton he added "Seriously. Will me hammer actually do anything to it, or is this another 'fireball' type situation?"

"I am delighted to confirm for you that this IS a fireball type situation!

"When future Elena let us know what we'll be facing, I asked the librarians for any information on the Hungry Fog when we stopped for the night, and you'll be excited to know that of the many resistances it has, fire is not one of them! Same with the flying torso thing!"

I'm making all of this up just now. If any of these claims need to be taken back, no problem.

Don't forget they are vulnerable to wind. Anyone feeling gassy?

Bharak nodded along. He didn’t even pretend to understand the intricacies of planning what arcane powers would be harnessed for the day. He assumed that it was an intricate process, and he was glad that Axton was excited. It was a good sign.

”Right. Light ‘em up and I’ll watch your back.”

Don't forget they are vulnerable to wind. Anyone feeling gassy?

And the undead torso thing is vulnerable to tiny blades!

Light 'em up, Axton!

Vhane pulls out a cigar and places it between his teeth, not bothering to light it. "Smoke 'em if ya can, lad."

Chuckling as Axton answers Bharak's question, Elathras moves towards the door C3. As Elena's spell washes over him, Elathras turns towards Axton, "While Bharak covers your back, I'll open the doors and keep my Guisarme at the ready to cover your front." Looking towards Elena, then the two dwarves he nods, making sure their good with the plan.

Once everyone seemed ready, Elathras shifts his pole arm to one hand, opening the doors with the other. Quickly shifting the guisarme back to a two handed grip he readies it to repel any attackers.

I don't think officially he can 'ready an attack' if were not in combat rounds...

C3. GREAT HALL
This enormous, rectangular hall has a thirty-foot-high ceiling.
Taking up the entirety of the long northern and southern walls are identical bas-relief sculptures of a headless knight riding a horse whose eyes and nostrils trail gouts of flame.
In alcoves at each of the room's four corners stand imposing suits of black armor. Both the northern and southern walls hold doors, and the room's eastern end is taken up by a sweeping marble staircase leading up to an open landing a story above.

You are looking into C3, you can easily see the Manananggal trying to hide in an alcove. She is doing so extremely poorly!

What are you doing now?

"One moment, please!" Axton says casually, ignoring the weird zombie torso.

Axton pulls out his wand of spiritual weapon, and uses a charge to summon forth a force dagger, which hovers nearby.

Taking 10 on the UMD check. Daggers are light blades, DBH!

Then he pulls out another wand, this one containing charges for monster summoning IV, and summons forth a a hound archon. He then sends both the dagger and the archon after the Manananggal.

Spiritual weapon attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 5 + 1 = 21
Force damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 <-- spell description specifically says that this bypasses DR

Hound Archon greatsword attack 1: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 1) + 3 = 10

Hound Archon greatsword attack 2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 4) + 3 = 9

Hound Archon bite attack 1: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Aura of Menace (Su) A righteous aura surrounds archons that fight or get angry. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of an archon must succeed on a Will save to resist its effects. The save DC for a Hound Archon is 16. Those who fail take a –2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit the archon that generated the aura. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by the same archon's aura for 24 hours.

"Heh. Look at them go!"

"Anyway, what do you think Kaer Maga's food scene is like? The city is known for it's markets you can't find most other places, so it stands to reason that they'd have some unique cuisines."

Raising an eyebrow, the dwarf ponders questioning the healer about his odd question but thinks twice about it and decides it's better that he keeps quiet. If I ask, odds are he'll answer.

Elena stands by, undead-bane rapier drawn and wonders what to do when Axton's summons appear and head straight for the feebly hiding enemy. "True, we haven't really gotten to see to it yet. I guess it's just what happens when you go as fast as we do." Elena answers Axton anyway, as she begins directing the group towards the enemies...

Elena's surprise round action is using the wand of Heightened awareness. Good hope was already cast on the doorstep. She rolls init with +10 on the initiative on this fight. Her round 1 is starting inspire courage + use Bit of Luck on the ranged dps/vhane. Everyone has +4 to hit and damage, +2 saves and init and Vhane can roll all his attacks twice and take better for each roll for a round.

Axton's Spiritual weapon slashes the Manananggal. The summoned Hound Archon also hits it once.

will save Red: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14 Mutter mutter...

Anyone else taking a surprise round action? Vhane, Elathras & Bharak can still act.

Watching the dagger and the archon fly towards the Manananggal, Elathras, shifts his guisarme ready to defend the pathfinders if the Manananggal attacks.

Good hope, Readied attack: + 1 keen guisarme, WT, PA,FF
attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 15 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 31 damage: 2d4 + 9 + 1 + 2 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 9 + 1 + 2 + 9 + 2 = 28

Bharak took up position by Eltharas. There was no need to advance too far when they had the advantage at range.

Readied: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19
Damage: 2d6 + 16 ⇒ (1, 3) + 16 = 20
Acid: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Vhane doesn't have Silver bolts, and would only get 1 shot on a surprise round so I won't wait on him.

Elena you may act!

Yeah, that works. Gonna have to find me some silver bolts now, though.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

"Heads up, lot. We got the green fog hidin' within the armor at the other end of this room."

"Axton. You said hungry fogs could burn, right? And Vhane, could you shoot the floating torso while he does?" Elena says, putting aside her dislike of the gunslinger for now to try and grant him a Luck blessing for that task.

Vhane can roll all his D20's twice and take better this round. Also, inspire courage is active, so +4 hit and damage in total with good hope added.

If the fog moves out of the armor:

The priestess' demeanor abruptly changes when the 'fog' clouds seem to be composed of half-formed phantom ghosts, her normally fairly stoic demeanor replaced by one of fear. "M-mother...? Father? I... No! You're dead! Please stay away!" She stumbles backwards to hide behind Elathras as the fight starts.