HP 224/246
AC 42 (43-45, plus physical resistance 5, when inspired), sonic resistance 10
Fort +30, Ref +30, Will +32 (+1 status vs. magical effects and/or +1-3 status to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 3
Focus Points: 0/3; Affinity Ablaze: []; Antimagic rune []
Spells: 1st [][][]; 2nd [][][]; 3rd [][][]; 4th [][][]; 5th [][][]; 6th [][][]; 7th [][][]; 8th [x][x][]; 9th [x][][]; 10th [x][]
Effects: inspired (defense)
Chkirri screams.
He ducks back away from Syndara and casts another spell, helping his allies fight! He fires an arrow directly into the sorcerer's face.
Getting a mighty walloping from Syndara, Khorash lets the necromantic energy that animates him surge through his body, reinforcing the magical connection that keeps his bones together.
He then stabs at Syndara, hoping to make the bastard end up a skeleton like him.
Chikirri's divination spell guides the team's aims as they unerringly assault Syndara. The Sculptor is pierced, pummeled, and drained of his life force, and he staggers back against his throne and sinks down into the seat, gritting his teeth and clutching his wounds. Glowing dust and esoteric mathematical symbols stream from the axiomite's body as it begins to destabilize. His dancing reflection dissipates.
"N-no! Not like this! It does not end like this!" the Syndara shouts defiantly. With a shattering sound, the axiomite refracts into infinite tessellations of faces and arms. The walls of the Glass Lighthouse distort as the very space of the demiplane spirals inward to a central point, folding itself protectively around the writhing mass of limbs and bodies like the shell of some ancient sea creature, borne by sinewy, crustacean legs, with tentacles and vines that twist and bite and a large version of Syndara’s torso that extends from the top of the carapace. As the demiplane collapses, all that’s left behind is the null space between planes, taking the form of an endless, starry void.
"NOW YOU FACE MY FINAL FORM!" the warped Syndara bellows!
Before you can react, the monstrous creature tears into Lazarus with his pincers and batters him with his tentacles! Blow after blow rains down on the fighter, almost too much for even the mighty warrior to bear!
Storm Adder sends some healing Laz's way, then uses his healer's gloves on himself.
HP 224/246
AC 42 (43-45, plus physical resistance 5, when inspired), sonic resistance 10
Fort +30, Ref +30, Will +32 (+1 status vs. magical effects and/or +1-3 status to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 2
Focus Points: 0/3; Affinity Ablaze: []; Antimagic rune []
Spells: 1st [][][]; 2nd [][][]; 3rd [][][]; 4th [][][]; 5th [][][]; 6th [][][]; 7th [x][][]; 8th [x][x][]; 9th [x][][]; 10th [x][]
Effects: inspired (defense)
Chkirri scream, going hoarse with it.
He adds to the healing benefits for Lazarus and fires an arrow again at Syndara.
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Ooouuuchhh!
After the Heal and Soothe, the Fighter actually looks like he barely cut himself shaving!
Thanks, Gentlemen! Is it me, or is this particular combat more like three finals?
The Fighter smiles.
Good thing we studied!
The Martial Artist flexes, stretches and poses just before going all Gorilla Style!
Lazarus Strikes again!
Lazarus casts Shield.
As Lazarus attacks Syndara, Khorash uses the opportunity to get a quick stab in.
He then attacks twice, hoping to pin down some part of Syndara's eldritch bulk to the ground.
Both Khorash and Chkirri attack Syndara, to no avail. His twisted form is incredibly tough! However, Lazarus is able to land a single grievous blow!
Syndara roars as he assaults Lazarus again, piercing the fighter with his pincers with a critical hit before slapping him with a tentacle and trying to teleport him away!
HP 224/246
AC 42 (43-45, plus physical resistance 5, when inspired), sonic resistance 10
Fort +30, Ref +30, Will +32 (+1 status vs. magical effects and/or +1-3 status to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 2
Focus Points: 0/3; Affinity Ablaze: []; Antimagic rune []
Spells: 1st [][][]; 2nd [][][]; 3rd [][][]; 4th [][][]; 5th [][][]; 6th [][][]; 7th [x][][]; 8th [x][x][]; 9th [x][x][]; 10th [x][]
Effects: inspired (defense)
Chkirri says, going back on the offensive. His arrow again goes flying past Syndara.
Storm Adder advances on advances on the creature and opens his mind to channel the full force of his curse!
(Greater Resolve)
Despite the devastating assault on Lazarus, the tides of battle start to shift in your favor. Syndara is partially affected by both Chkirri's and Storm Adder's spells. Lazarus charges back into melee, delivering a crushing blow, and Khorash takes the opportunity to backstab Syndara. Lazarus misses with his follow-up attack, but Khorash manages a critical hit from behind!
Syndara grudgingly pays tribute to Chkirri. Then, with great regret, the twisted Sculptor calls his masterpieces from the firmament to crash down upon everybody but Chkirri! Four worldspheres, lovingly shaped and crafted over millenia, plummet from the boundless heavens and detonate with concussive force!
The world sphere crashes into Storm Adder, who just manages to stay on his feet.
He dashes over to Laz and manages to patch the fighter up, then unleashes a burst of healing magic into him as well.
HP 224/246
AC 42 (43-45, plus physical resistance 5, when inspired), sonic resistance 10
Fort +30, Ref +30, Will +32 (+1 status vs. magical effects and/or +1-3 status to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 2
Focus Points: 0/3; Affinity Ablaze: []; Antimagic rune []
Spells: 1st [][][]; 2nd [][][]; 3rd [][][]; 4th [][][]; 5th [][][]; 6th [][][]; 7th [x][x][]; 8th [x][x][]; 9th [x][x][]; 10th [x][]
Effects: inspired (defense)
Chkirri screams.
He quickly casts another spell to heal Storm Adder, then fires again at Syndara.
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Lazarus just watches the World Ending with a sigh!
The Fighter then Bounce(s) Back from the End of Worlds thanks to Storm Adder.
That certainly was an experience.
The Medic then returns the favor once he Kip(s) Up
Try not to get this wet.
The Fighter then--Freely--Strides back to Syndara. He then delivers a Grievous Blow!
With Lazarus back in action, Khorash takes yet another opporunity for a sneaky stab at Syndara before launching into a flurry of stabs and slices.
Chkirri and Lazarus both manage to hit Syndara, but Khorash struggles to land a blow. Syndara pays tribute to Chkirri again before attacking Lazarus with a tentacle. He restrains the warrior before ripping into him with his pincers!
Storm Adder heals Laz once again. Sparks of lightning run down his arms and over his sword, and he swings at the monstrosity.
for and and
HP 224/246
AC 42 (43-45, plus physical resistance 5, when inspired), sonic resistance 10
Fort +30, Ref +30, Will +32 (+1 status vs. magical effects and/or +1-3 status to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 2
Focus Points: 0/3; Affinity Ablaze: []; Antimagic rune []
Spells: 1st [x][][]; 2nd [][][]; 3rd [][][]; 4th [][][]; 5th [][][]; 6th [][][]; 7th [x][x][x]; 8th [x][x][]; 9th [x][x][]; 10th [x][]
Effects: inspired (defense)
Chkirri screams, his voice starting to crack as the constant cries over the course of the battle.
He starts casting spells faster than he ever has before before firing again at Syndara. The flaming shaft flies toward his target, and then seems to almost miraculously adjust to slam into the horror!
Chkirri fires an arrow directly into Syndara's central mass! While Storm Adder's attack comes up short, Lazarus delivers a powerful punch to the mutated axiomite's solar plexus! Then Khorash is upon him from behind, ripping and tearing with his claws!
With a ear-splitting shriek, the gargantuan shell of Syndara's alien form shatters in a haze of glowing dust! When it clears, Syndara, in his humanoid form, is left standing, breathless and panting, his clothes ragged, hair tousled, and flesh badly bruised, in the center of a plain stone room. Syndara assumes a fighting stance, but his form is sloppy and exhausted. He reels, barely able to remain on his feet...
HP 224/246
AC 42 (43-45, plus physical resistance 5, when inspired), sonic resistance 10
Fort +30, Ref +30, Will +32 (+1 status vs. magical effects and/or +1-3 status to all with inspire defense)
Hero points: 2
Focus Points: 0/3; Affinity Ablaze: []; Antimagic rune []
Spells: 1st [x][][]; 2nd [][][]; 3rd [][][]; 4th [][][]; 5th [][][]; 6th [][][]; 7th [x][x][x]; 8th [x][x][]; 9th [x][x][x]; 10th [x][]
Effects: inspired (defense)
Chkirri screams, casting spells and firing arrows again.
The arrow impales Syndara! As he collapses, the hourglass on the pedestal next to him falls to the ground and shatters, releasing the ashes of Hao Jin. His body dissolving into crystalline dust on the wind, Syndara turns one last time to the new winners of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament.
His final words: “You win.” Then, he is gone.
At the same time, the floor of the Glass Lighthouse shatters beneath you! Inexorable gravity asserts itself as you fall through a kaleidoscopic void. Each miniature world around you similarly cracks and explodes into golden crystalline dust. You continue to plummet into the unknown as the demiplane unravels...
"Stick together! We'll come back through!" Storm Adder reaches out toward Laz and Khorash.
Chkirri screams. He activates his snapleaf.
Chkirri arrests his fall with his snapleaf, simultaneously disappearing from view. But the rest of the group continues to tumble as the worlds explode all around.
Once the last world has winked out, the Glass Lighthouse itself unravels, leaving you high in the sky of the Material Plane. All of Syndara’s island plummets toward the ocean off the Flying Mountains!
As the island plummets, Yoh brings the Solar Jian II around to its shoreline and, with a grin, catches you out of the sky. From the deck of the ship, you can see the unconscious members of Tino’s Toughest safely secured to the back of the Spirit Turtle you met with earlier. The turtle flies away from the falling landmass, and not a moment too soon.
Mokku, the scion of the kaiju Mogaru, also manages to leap from the sinking island, and he is caught by a hulking figure whose mass and height eclipse that of the crumbling Glass Lighthouse: the mighty Final King himself, drawn to his child by some preternatural instinct, rising from the shallows of the ocean! The two saurian monstrosities nuzzle each other affectionately before Mogaru, with a bellow that shakes the airship even as it soars overhead, opens his maw and lays fiery waste to Syndara’s crashing island demesne, wiping away the last works of the nefarious Sculptor, his employed demons, and any foul relics remaining on that ruined demiplane.
The flames of Mogaru—who, his revenge complete, returns to the ocean’s depths with Mokku in tow—burn like the sun and shine just as bright, searing into the eyes of onlookers, before they rapidly whirl toward a central point, concentrating further and further until they reach the size of a human woman. With a flash, the flames burst back outwards, not as a column, but in the shape of a great bird, blazing wings stretched out over the horizon. Amid the chaos and conflagration of this cataclysmic scene, the Ruby Phoenix is reborn, her crimson hair shining like rose madder...
Stormy manages a rough landing on the deck of the Solar Jian II, "Yoh, you scoundrel! May the Shizuru and all her court bless you and this crazy boat!"
Looking out at the horizon, he shields his eyes, "Ah! Hao Jin returns. That bitter pretender couldn't keep her locked up for long."
Chkirri's voice breaks as he seems to have finally screamed himself hoarse.
Taking flight and landing aboard the deck of the Solar Jian II, Hao Jin gives you a grateful smile. "Thank you. You've done a great service to myself and to all of Goka, stopping Syndara's nefarious plots." With a casual wave of her hand, she tears open a rip in reality. On the far side of the portal, the lights of Goka shine invitingly, and with another flare of magic, Hao Jin moves the airship through the magical doorway. "You have defeated the Lightkeepers," Hao Jin idly notes. "I suppose that now is as good a time as any to officially name you the winners of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament."
Flowers of fire bloom in the evening sky behind you as the passengers deboard from the airship at the Icefang Aerie in Goka. Thousands of onlookers cheer from below, and the Ruby Phoenix encourages her champions to soak in their victory. “Enjoy this moment,” she says solemnly, “for it’s the last before you make what may be the most important decision of your adventuring lives.” She opens a dimension door before turning back and winking to this decade’s Ruby Phoenix Champions. “Come with me when you’re ready, winners. It’s a big vault.”
Storm Adder does as instructed, pumping his fists in the air as his fur still crackles with electricity and smolders with flame.
"Champions!"
"Ha! I knew it!" Chkirri exults. "I bet them I could win, and I did!"
He looks toward the vault and then back at the others to see if they're interested.
After her near-fatal encounter with Syndara, Hao Jin takes a brief sabbatical to visit old friends in Axis and perhaps repair relationships with any other forgotten rivals from her storied lifetime. Lady Xhai Zhia beseeches you to share your stories with her, and afterward she produces and directs a well-received opera called Wings of the Phoenix, which recounts your exploits through the Flying Mountains and on Syndara’s Island. General Kaso Hida leads construction of new sea walls and—in partnership with his old flame Lord Aldanar Unmar—a series of enormous magical fighting machines to protect Goka against any future kaiju attacks along the city’s shoreline. Empress Nai Yan Fei, hoping you will visit often, grants you lavish permanent quarters in the Gokan Palace, available whenever your travels lead you back to her city.
After several weeks of celebrations, most of your rival fighting teams depart Goka for their respective homelands. Some of these teams vow to train harder and return for the next Ruby Phoenix Tournament, while others simply go their separate ways in the wake of this decade’s harrowing competition.
Tino’s Toughest falls into this latter category. The Toughest’s monstrous transformation in the Glass Lighthouse left Takatorra with yet more questions about purpose and sense of self, and the tengu swordmaster decides to sojourn across Tian Xia in search of ever-elusive answers. Yabin the Just languishes over his missed opportunity to come face to face with the Celestial Dragon, and so he commits to studying the ancient being at the Rao Sho Monastery until their next emergence. Ji-yook finds the stimulation of Goka too enticing to leave behind and decides to hire out her skills to the city’s highest bidders.
Finally, Tino Tung bids a personal goodbye to you and explains that he has decided to return home to Quain for awhile. He wishes to see his family again, though he promises to keep on training. He solemnly hopes to see you once again someday. Tino’s not sure if he’ll be taking part in the next Ruby Phoenix Tournament—this one has given him enough excitement for a lifetime. “I can’t explain it,” he says with a laugh as he bids goodbye at the crossroads outside Goka, “but these past few weeks have felt like a thousand years.”
And what will become of the Ruby Phoenix Champions? What does the future hold for them?
Storm Adder is content to bathe in the glow of attention in Goka, for a time. From Hao Jin's treasury, he chooses a great jeweled sword with mysterious powers. He renames the blade The Tongue of Diomazul and carries it on his adventures ever after.
Speaking of which, whispers from the blade drove him out across the multiverse, where he became a great collector of weapons. Eventually, he founded his own demiplane of treasures, known as the Eternal Armory.
Upon retirement, the kholo split his time between the sumptuous apartments at the imperial palace and the fine accommodations of his own dwelling, where it was rumored that worthy challengers could claim a legendary weapon of their own.
Having fulfilled the purpose so long denied to him, Khorash feels his time left running short. From Hao Jin’s vault he chooses a bound inevitable architect, capable of constructing any building no matter how ambitious or ostentatious.
He sets it in motion constructing a grand tomb complex, complete with a fountain of endless wine, a functional arena, a museum to his and the party’s accomplishments, and many statues of him in both his living and undead forms.
As he feels the unlife leaving his weary bones, he spends his last stretch of time upon Golarion basking in victory and celebrating with the party.
And then, once he knows his time is coming to a close, he inters himself into his tomb with a vast and spectacular fireworks display for all to see and goes on to meet Pharasma.
In his last few moments he is content, his name eternal in the victory he fell short of so long ago.
Chkirri looks at the portal to Hao Jin's vault, with the option of anything his heart could desire. In the end, though, he turns his back on the opportunity and makes his way toward his old haunts, in the meanest part of Goka's underbelly.
He walks into a familiar gambling hall and grins. "I told you I could do it. And I'm ready to make a new bet!" he pulls out one of the magical bows he's wielded over the last days. "Here's what I've got. I'll bet you I can guess what the rest of Victorious Secret will request! Khorash is going to ask for his skin and the rest of his flesh back. Lazarus will get back all his old memories of being a wizard. And Storm Adder ... well, he's going to ask for another friend as good as ol' Chkirri! What d'you say? Any action on that?"
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.... Lazarus walks into the same establishment as his friend, Chkirri.
I wouldn't mind taking that bet. Although, it may take me time to pay you back.
Standing behind the Bard is a Wizard. One can easily guess at this truism based on the mouse-colored robes, the deep hood shadows his bearded face. Calloused hands resting easily on an unadorned wooden staff, a perfectly pointed hat sitting on a mop of long and unruly blonde hair, and the bluest eyes smiling directly at the Tengu.
Tell you a secret...it worked, although I am starting all over. I do wonder what adventure awaits me this time....
The Wizard winks at his friend.
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And thus, the story of the 4721 AR Ruby Phoenix Tournament has come to an end. But the legend of its champions will endure for generations to come.