GM supervillan's Fiend series (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

“Buck up, Daedîn.”

Aeliah bounces the statuette of Tiddles up the archer’s arm, and onto his shoulder to whisper in his ear.

“Abrogail II sits the Chelish throne, the Whispering Tyrant stalks the dungeons of Gallowspire, Treerazer threatens elven civilization with extinction, advanced weaponry from an alien world makes up the arsenal of a drug-addled savage, the Worldwound threatens to unleash a plague of demons on the Inner Sea, and some say the Runelords sleep fitfully in disremembered vaults.”

She smiles drily and shrugs. “In comparison, what’s another lich queen gonna do?”

She smiles drily and shrugs. “In comparison, what’s another lich queen gonna do?”

Daedîn shrugs back. ”If she kills just one innocent person, that person’s blood is on my hands…I don’t shy away from killing if it needs to be done, Erastil knows I’ve killed many…but the overwhelming majority of those I slew were evil and had it coming. This lich had it coming too…and I did nothing…and now I have to live with it…”

The rogue let’s out a long sigh. ”Nothing can be done about it now…we should get the hell outta here and report back…”

”If she kills just one innocent person, that person’s blood is on my hands…I don’t shy away from killing if it needs to be done, Erastil knows I’ve killed many…but the overwhelming majority of those I slew were evil and had it coming. This lich had it coming too…and I did nothing…and now I have to live with it…”

The rogue let’s out a long sigh. ”Nothing can be done about it now…we should get the hell outta here and report back…”

"Well...at least we know her name and what she is," Nina offers, seemingly trying to console herself as much as Daedîn. "We'll report everything we can to the Grand Lodge and hopefully they can keep an eye out for anything that ties back to her. At least that's better than if she'd killed us all and got out anyway..."

Teric glances at Daedîn and simply shrugs. "Stop her now or stop her later. She doesn't have any golems anymore. Her power base is gone and whatever she knows is outdated by thousands of years. Now we know what she is and when someone finds her, a proper force can be prepared."

"Like Nina says, we will report it. Report, Explore, Cooperate. Nothing about killing ourselves. We have what we came for."

Smashing the Aspis and the Hellknight constructions with your force of golems takes comparatively little time. Marching the stone courtiers back to the hidden staircase - and then getting them to pass - takes rather longer.

There's only one loose end remaining: Dralneen's agent, Marianix Karn. You left her back at the plaza, cataloguing the jistkan ruin.

You can leave her to it if you like, or go back and check out the Imperatrix's throne room before you depart Rachikan.

"Hey, um...what about Marianix?" Nina whispers. "Are we just going to leave her here? Doesn't seem very safe," she points out.

Oh, thought she was with us :)

"Nah. You right, Nina Brightspark. Us should at least escort Marianix Karn to safe place, if she not want to come back with us see Paracountess."

Aeliah considers the lich's lair. "Aeliah coulda sworn somebuddy said us should Pathfinder Imperatrix's treasury before smashing Hellknight shaft."

She shrugs. "Not matter. Us can still do now, yes?"

Teric nods. "Or at least give her the opportunity to decide, though it seems like her cover has been blown."

He goes to find Karn. "Marianix? What are your plans? Do you wish to stay in Rachikan or come with us? The Paracountess might be able to issue you to safety. I think your link to us is going to be known now. Also, have you found anything here in the Throne Room?"

Returning to the plaza you find Marianix Karn engaged in meticulous cataloguing of the jistkan monuments and mosaics.

"Huh? I thought you went into the behemoth's interior? Hours ago as well. How is it that you approach from the main tunnel? What happened?"

“Yes, us did. Hours ago. Found undead Imperiatrix Serena of Jiskan Empire inside secret door. Weird, huh?”

Aeliah gestures at the golems trailing behind the party. “Her gave us these golems as gifts. We use them to shaft Hellknights!”

<< Get it, Daedîn? Shaft the Hellknights. Clever, yes? >>

The druidess then holds up her Tiddles statuette. “Downside, her got tired of talky-talky and turned poor Tiddles to stone.”

“Aeliah sad at first, but got to admit it much quieter ‘round here now. Also, Inky not have to worry about being mouth-tackled by big dino.”

“How is it that you approach from the main tunnel? What happened?”

“Huh?”

Aeliah also seems confused by the chronology of events. “Oh, yeah.”

“Imperiatrix Serena show Teric how use crystal present from Golem-whisperer platonic bestie morlock to go to all dark crystal objects all through Rachikan. Pretty cool, yes?”

“But now we back to Pathfinder Imperiatrix’s lair properly! Yay! You want help, Marianix Karn? Should be safe now – probably.”

"Sorry, we didn't come back to see you. Yes, we've dealt with the Imperiatrix. Her throne room is now empty. Would you like to see it? We have the golems and are otherwise ready to depart. But we can take time to explore her room if you wish."

"Have you also given any thought to your situation after this? The Hellknights know you have some tie to us. Do you want to return with us, or try to make it back on your own? We can guide you to the stairs we used to enter."

Marianix Karn stands mouth agape as first Aeliah and then Teric summarise the last couple of hours.

"You golem'd the lift shaft? After teleporting to it? So - Ambusta's squad are stuck down here. And yes, he already knows I'm a Pathfinder agent." She rubs her sides, but does not elaborate. "With no other way out, the Paralictor will likely lead his force back here. When he sees the golems, he'll join the dots, unless you took pains to cover your tracks with illusions or somesuch. That means we've got two or three hours to get out of here." Karn looks with regret at the mosaic she's been studying, which depicts the Imperatrix in her mortal prime.

"You and your new stone friends would defeat the Hellknights handily, I have no doubt. But I don't want my Athaeneum colleagues to come to harm, and as you have witnessed they aren't able to defend themselves against Rachikan's dangers."

Karn seems to be mulling over the situation. A Diplomacy check would be appropriate here to get her to share her thoughts. (Teric has swapped the Medallion of Detect Thoughts for the Talisman of Tongues).

“You golem'd the lift shaft?”

“OH, YEAH!”

Aeliah eyes light up like a Crystalhue tree. “Boulders big as houses, seismic events, rockbursts, BIG BANGS! Plenny of dust. Although golem-made, really replicated force of golarion-quake, which one of oldest natural events there is.”

“So - Ambusta's squad are stuck down here.”

“WHAT? How long it take to get Hellknight platoon up to surface in their mine cage? The Rack s’posed be crack unit, yes?”

Aeliah is genuinely surprised. “In the hours we spent talky-talky Imperiatrix and playing with golems, me thought plenny of time for Assbusta to go up fort. Apparently me wrong.”

“Not really fair to just slaughter them. Sounds like we need to escape + evade, but definitely leave Racketeers + Anathema History-peeps way out of Rachikan.”

Aeliah will try the talisman of thoughts if Teric doesn’t want it.

“What you say, Marianix Karn?”

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

”I think you need to come back with us. There’s no telling what they might do, knowing you are friendly with the society. It just makes good sense. You can decide how to proceed after we get out of here.”

Diplomacy 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (6) + 20 = 26

Teric nods. "We can depart before the Hellknights return. There's no need for us to have a showdown with them. And we can leave the stairway clear for them to escape. It may take them some time to find it, or we could even leave them a clue. As much as I enjoy the humiliation of the Paralictor, I have no doubt they are resourceful and will find their way out."

"I agree that your best chance is to come out with us. Your findings here will be of great interest to the Society and you may wish to discuss it with other experts. We ought to get you out safely."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32

"Oh, I assumed you dealt quickly with the Imperatrix. If it took you hours, then yes I'm sure Ambusta would have reached the lift before you teleported over and destroyed it."

It did not take you hours of course, and ten golems are going to wreck a lift shaft in a lot less time than it takes a squad of Hellknights to escort a couple of dozen noncombatants through hostile territory. You could have met them on the way back to the Plaza I suppose :)

"I'd hoped to catalogue more of the ruins before having to leave but... I think you're right that it's time to leave now" Karn seems to have made a decision.

"There's another way in. Ambusta knows about Grone's staircase but he doesn't know my route. If we go my way, we'll evade the Paralictor. He'll find your golems' tracks eventually but we'll be long gone."

"Well, well, my dear Marianix. You are a very resourceful and impressive woman if I do say so myself. Please, show us this exit you have and we happily follow." The Varisian gives her a leering grin and wink.

Aeliah borrows the ivory rod. “Golem #5, me shall call him Rocky and he shall be mine and he shall be Aeliah’s Rocky.”

“Please kneel on one knee, Rocky. Give Aeliah seat. Aaah ... betterer! This comfier than it look.”

"There's another way in. Ambusta knows about Grone's staircase ..."

“Gozreh backwards spell Herzog! Paralicker KNOWS about Grone’s staircase?”

The druidess can’t believe it! “Aeliah thought that supposed be top Pathfinder secritz.”

“… but he doesn't know my route.”

“Hmm, can we use this stop Hellknights break back into Rachikan while save morlock buddies?”

Aeliah thinks for a while. “VC Benarry give us five days sort out ‘unopenable portal’ mission. Us solve it and been down here, what? Less than two days, yes?”

“What say we wait 12 more hours, so Assbusta got plenny time get his slow steel tail the heck outa Rachikan. Then teleport golems to Grone Staircase to cave it in.”

“Then teleport back here and move to Karn hole to escape with golems and Marianix Karn. We have golems mark walls as we travel, give morlock scouts good idea of where we going to get out.”

“What think?”

Nina thinks for a moment and then nods.

"I think that'd work. Gives everyone time to get out and we still get to wreck all of the known entrances into this place."

Daedîn nods to Aeliah’s plans. ”Aye, sounds good…but I’ll miss puttin’ an arrow in that Paralictor’s behind…”

The druidess can’t believe it! “Aeliah thought that supposed be top Pathfinder secritz.”

Karn goes pale. "Incubus demons are highly effective torturers" she says quietly.

Whilst you have the time, you investigate the Imperatrix's 'throne room'. Her books are in ruins, not having withstood the passage of the ages. It would take multiple Make Whole spells to rescue anything of them - do any of you have such resources and wish to use them?

The gilded sarcophagus takes a great deal of effort to open, but inside, amongst fragments of rotten cloth, you find alchemical reagents of extreme age and rarity. Not all are still of any use, but those that are have substantial value.

It's a simple matter to remove the crystal power cell from the obelisk so as to be able to activate obelisks elsewhere in Rachikan, and thereby transport the golems (which can't get back into the throne room without extraordinary measures being taken).

You're also able to evade Paralictor Ambusta - who eventually takes the Athaeneum archeologists out via Grone's staircase, before you follow up and collapse it.

At no immediate threat from Hellknights, nor morlocks, you're able to walk the golems back to one of the obelisks, power up the ancient jistkan teleporter, and take the whole force of golems directly to the hold of the Grinning Pixie.

Venture Captain Benarry is astonished. On the return trip she makes frequent visits to the ship's hold to gaze in wonder at the ten jistkan golems retrieved from the depths of Rachikan.

The morlocks, under king Bogipfen, are glad to have the run of the city once more, without inference from surface dwellers.

And as for Imperatrix Severina Helsprex, who knows where she may appear or what nefarious plans she pursues...?

This ends The Fate of the Fiend, and the Fiend series, except that I do need to know if you salvage any of Helsprex's books - for reasons. I should be able to get chronicle sheets done by the end of the weekend. See discussion thread for future plans!

Kn. Arcana (DC 25): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

"Hey, anything that isn't nailed down, right?" Nina remarks with a wry smile as she glances at the various alchemical reagents. "Especially since the Imperatrix probably won't be back for them..."

She glances at the numerous books with obvious regret. "Too bad I'm not a book-repairer-person. I bet the Society would have loved to see what they said!"
______________

Alas, Nina has no means to repair the books.

Knowledge, Arcana Aid: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Teric helps Nina sort through the various reagents as they search through the room. Then he takes out the dark crystal from the obelisk to use in the future. He glances over at the books and shrugs. "Dust to dust. A shame though, I bet they would fetch a dearly sum."

”I hate to see books ruined but I don’t have any way to repair them, unfortunately. So sad all of that knowledge is lost forever.”

"My good friend Sel' will kill me if I tell her we let these books rot, but I don't think I know how to save them, either." Thoriel muses.

Arcana 25: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 15 + 2 = 26

"These reagents looks like they would be useful if someone wanted to turn themselves into a lich!" the elven magus shudders at the thought. "I think I'll pass. Heavens knows what such a process would do to one's hair and skin...even the best products would be unlikely to deal help with the side effects of such a transformation."

“Bah! Aeliah got no make whole or mending cantrip either!”

She shakes her head sadly. “No faction favors neither. Aeliah take guidance orison instead, which not that good.”

"Incubus demons are highly effective torturers"

“Ah ... Aeliah say sorry, Marianix Karn.”

The druidess stands ashen-faced. “You not be ‘fraid to do talking back in Absalom — get help from healers if need, yes?”

On the return trip she makes frequent visits to the ship's hold to gaze in wonder at the ten jistkan golems.

Similarly fascinated, Aeliah accompanies the half-orc Skipper into the Pixie’s hold on one of her visits.

“See that one, Venture-Captain?”

Aeliah points. “Him Rocky. He good for relieving my tension.”