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Hotcha's got Xin's attention
You head south along the coast of the island, heading into the peninsula that juts out from Bonmu’s southwestern reaches. The terrain here is open and sandy, waves lapping at the shores of the beaches.
As you explore the area, you come upon a stone watchtower. The structure stands 80 feet tall and features a large, unlit brazier on the rooftop that was likely once used to send signals across the island. A double door leads into the tower’s interior.
Wu Xin looks at his companions. "Exploring is part of what we're supposed to do. For all we know, this building could contain a silver feather. All opposed to entering?"
Yog'Moi draws his sword and prepares for trouble. After all, on a ghost-infested island trouble surely will be found inside a long-abandoned watchtower? "No complaints here. Hei Feng be blessed, we might even stumble on the captain of the guard's personal cache and find ourselves some fine-aged rice whiskey!"
The doors open up onto the tower's bottom floor, which serves as an abandoned storage room. Crates and barrels line the walls, while stairs lead up to the next floor.
As you are looking around the room, you hear a rasping voice whispering menacingly. "Get... out..."
Xin and Yog'Moi shout their defiance at the unseen voice!
"The only thing we want from ye is your liquor!!!", the hobgoblin shouts menacingly.
"We're merely looking for a small trinket, a silver feather. If you don't have one, we'll certainly be on our way," I announce as I look around, trying to see where the voice was coming from.
”I said... get... OUT!” the voice shrieks! Suddenly, a skeletal, ghostlike humanoid appears in the air, howling with fury! The crates and barrels in the room wobble and shake before several of them fly across the room, battering Esh!
Well, I tried at least. I hold my blade in hasso while I pull fire onto it, weathering the storm. Once it lets up I charge.
“I ain’t scared-a you!”
Hotcha’s trembling hands hurl a fireball from a relatively safe distance. For tactical reasons, if anyone asks.
“Ha-d-d-dou-k-k-ken!”
The ghost's undying anger almost gets the better of Yog'Moi, but in the end, the ghost manages only to piss the hobgoblin off. "May the rage of a thousand storms drag your accursed soul to Pharasma's garden!!!"
Unable to inspire his troops to stand firm, he yells advice to his barbarian friend. "It's dropping its guard after a swing on the left!"
The spirit dodges Hotcha’s fireball, but Yog’Moi’s heal spell hits it full force, knocking it down. As Esh closes in, the creature reacts by battering him with a hurled crate.
The elf takes the hit and slices the undead, then stabs it again at Xin’s command!
The spirit abruptly vanishes from sight. A moment later, another storm of hurled projectiles batter Esh from all sides! The spirit cackles, revealing itself to still be beside Esh, though it remains invisible.
Hotcha fires again!
"Get out of there, Esh! Come to me!" And, to aid his friends with finding their mark, Yog'Moi unleashes a torrent of kaleidoscopic lightning that sticks to all it hits. The only damage it causes is that it makes them ever so visible.
I'm battered on all sides as the spirit brings the whole room alive and throws it at me. I grimace as I try to protect my eyes, pointlessly looking around for the invisible spirit.
"Get out of there, Esh! Come to me!"
He then limns the spirit, and everything else, with an aura of snapping but painless lightning. I slash at the semi-visible spirit and then sprint towards Yog.
Yog'Moi outlines the spirit in faerie fire, revealing it for all to see. The undead shrieks and hurls a bit of broken wood at Xin as he closes, but the rogue manages to dodge it as he stabs the undead. Hotcha hits with her fireball this time, and Esh slices through the spirit again. With the final strike, the creature shrieks as its essence is disrupted. Wisps of its body begin to float up through the ceiling, presumably towards the brazier at the top of the watchtower.
Without thinking, Yog'Moi moves towards Esh and starts righting what's wrong, mending the elf's wounds and injuries with the magical healings invested in the hobgoblin's staff.
Puzzled by the presence of the undead here, too, Wu Xin looks around for some means of pacifying the spirit to allow it to depart to judgment.
Hotcha asks, “Should we head to the top? Maybe if I light the brazier, that’ll… help somehow?”
She has a guess as to how, but it’s just that—a guess.
The other floors of the tower feature an armory, living quarters, and a rookery, but nothing of value remains. When you reach the top of the tower, you can see the wisps of the spirit glowing faintly within it for a moment before vanishing.
Lighting the brazier results in a feeling of peace settling over the tower. Two objects appear among the flames—a pair of hellfire boots, and a lesser Bonmuan swapping stone.
“Yay! Every time we beat up a sad ghost, we make ’em feel better!”
Hotcha is about to jump inside the boot, but it might have a foot smell that lingered for decades. Instead she takes a look at the stone. It looks heavy, but Big People can use these things.
As for Hotcha, she was hoping lighting the brazier would do something good and it did. She likes the way the flames dance. She makes her luminous skin flicker hues of amber and orange, and she thinks of dance moves that resemble a dancing flame while the men gather treasure.
"Esh, those boots have your name on them," says Xin. "But I know you've already got a pair of magical boots. Still, I think you get the right of first refusal."
It seems Esh really likes his elfy stuff, and—even if those came in her size—Hotcha could get the same protection with a new ruby in her earring.
She looks to Xin and Yog’Moi. “Soooo… one o’ you guys want ’em instead? I got a little fire protection already. Not sure how much we’ll need it, but the Trembling Meteors expressed interest in taking us on, and they got a fiery name.” (Says the fairy with a fiery name.)
Hotcha giggles as she dips her toe in a boot, and it resizes to fit her.
“Oh! I didn’t expect this!” She hop-hop-hops to the other boot and sticks her bare foot in. “SNAZZY!
“Oh, but then I don’t need my earring anymore. Maybe that can resize to one of your fingers??? Rings are weird.”
"My needs are few," says Xin. "Perhaps I will find something to make me better heard in battle."[b]
After Hotcha outlines a projected line of travel , Xin agrees. [b]"Alright. But let us get moving. We must rest well before the contest."
On we go!
You head south from the watchtower to continue exploring the southwestern coast of Bonmu. Here, you come upon a lighthouse that is being used as one of the other teams' headquarters, but nobody is here at the moment. Likely, that team is out exploring the island as well.
Further exploration of the area uncovers a small chest buried in the sand on the beach! The chest contains four greater healing potions, a high-grade silver buckler, six oils of mending, a 4th-level scroll of water walk, and a truesight potion.
You head back north through the forest, exploring the area around Tino's Toughest's headquarters. You do not find any other sites of interest in the area, though. Thus, you return to the temple of Irori and settle down for the night.
***
The night passes quietly, and the next morning, the pre-qualifier for the Ruby Phoenix Tournament officially begins!
Just as you prepare to set out to continue exploring Bonmu, a pair of fighters shows up at the temple of Irori to challenge you to your first match--the Ahmoza Twins. The Vudran sisters bow to you. "I am Manyala, and this is Rijana. We have studied at the Houses of Perfection in Jalmeray--the Monastery of Unblinking Flame, and the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves. Now, we challenge you! We wager one silver feather on the match!"
The same enforcers who visited you last night observe from afar as you form up in the temple's fighting pit. The Ahmoza Twins twirl their bo staffs and assume offensive poses.
"The Ahmoza Twins versus Three Men and a Fairy!" Ingdani declares, bowing to the enforcers. She turns back to you. "Ready? FIGHT!"
Manyala stands firm in the face of Xin's battle cry, but Yog'Moi succeeds in demoralizing Rijana!
Hotcha gets in her ▶️ Jellyfish Stance, ▶️ energizes her wings, and ▶️ takes cover behind her relatively-colossal friend.
"I am Wu Xin and these are my companions Esh, Hotcha and Yog'Moi. We represent four different styles, some formal and some learned in battle. We are honored you have chosen us for your first combat. I will not say that I wish there were four of you, but I will say that I admire your confidence to challenge twice your number. May the gods bring you luck... but not too much!"
Xin delays as Hotcha prepares for battle! The sprite takes cover behind him as both Ahmoza twins focus their ki, then unleash it in powerful blasts of fire and ice!
“Give the order, boss! I’ll show ’em a ki storm!”
But Hotcha thinks it best to focus her ki on one. She flies a 45’ arc to the cool twin.
“Make that a flurry!”
Fire and ice. Thematic at least. I smile and charge the fiery twin, parting through her flames with my own. I perform a low cut at her as I slide behind her, quickly rising back to my feet in jodan.
The corpulent hobgoblin bounces to the side in response to the deadly outburst. One beam fails to envelop Yog'Moi, but the blast of cold clips him. "Get stuffed, you bunch of ... prancing mountain goats!" It wasn't his finest insult, but it will have to do.
Huge amounts of food and drink fill the target. It receives a full meal's worth of nourishment and must attempt a Fortitude save.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target is sickened 1, but if it spends an action to end the condition, it succeeds automatically.
Failure The target is sickened 1.
Critical Failure The target is sickened 2.
A target sickened by this spell takes a –10-foot status penalty to its Speed until it's no longer sickened.
You plant fear in the target; it must attempt a Will save.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target is frightened 1.
Failure The target is frightened 2.
Critical Failure The target is frightened 3 and fleeing for 1 round.
Esh moves around to strike at Manyala, but she narrowly dodges her blade. Yog'Moi calls on Hei Feng's power, and Rijana's belly bulges slightly as it fills with magically conjured food and drink! The hobgoblin follows up with a fear spell that leaves both sisters slightly shaken.
Hotcha flies up to Rijana and unleashes her flurry, scoring a critical hit that leaves the Ahmoza Twin momentarily stunned! She follows up with a second good hit, then as Xin inspires her, she spins about with yet another critical blow!
Shaking off her stun, Rijana groans and focuses her ki to heal herself using wholeness of body. She then takes a swing at Hotcha with her staff, then manages to smother the flames that have engulfed her.
Meanwhile, Manyala ignites her staff with flames and swings on Esh. She scores two hits.
The hobgoblin gathers all his anger and kneads it into a raging ball of fury. Sparks fly from his hands as he gives spiritual shape to it and when he's about to lose control over it, it arcs towards the closest enemy.
Rijana cries out in pain as the sparks blast her, knocking her down to the ground!
The flaming twin repays my maneuver with two painful cracks as I'm returning to my stance. I smile through the pain and attempt to counter. Staff wielders are always difficult to combat, I recall a tale told to me long ago about a master swordsman whos only defeat was to a peasant with a staff. I needed to remove her reach advantage. Attempt to disarm her, then feint with a quick strike to cover my retreat. I'm confident in my ability to outpace her, and they're outnumbered, so harrying tactics are prudent.
Hotcha’s fairy body is surprisingly resilient (a.k.a. surprisingly not a gooey spot on Tijuana’s big stick). She shakes off the blow and says, “You’re strong! My one-inch arm can’t handle anything bigger than a One Inch Punch!”
Hotcha’s fiery fist punches her prone target square in the nose!
"Spring and Summer rains, Hotcha!" cries Xin as he advances to flank one of the sisters.
Hotcha delivers a critical punch to Rijana’s nose! Xin moves in to inspire Hotcha to deliver another strike, capitalizing on her hit to make an opportune stab of his own! Rijana groans as she slips into unconsciousness!
Esh seems to be having more trouble with Manyala. She dodges his strike, and as the elf falls back, she turns to attack Xin with her burning bo staff! She lands a critical hit!
Hotcha sings and dances!
▶️ Hotcha dances into position to flank with Xin!
I see the ice twin go down (Rijana? I need to get better with names), and I sprint back in to hopefully take Manyala by surprise.
Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Yog'Moi joins the melee and swings his sword with reckless abandon at the monk. "Ha! I missed this!"
The four of you gang up on Manyala, slicing, stabbing, and punching her repeatedly! The warrior monk groans as she staggers under your furious assault, and she falls to a knee and raises her hands in the air. "Enough! I yield!"
"Three Men and a Fairy wins!" Ingdani declares. The enforcers break out into light applause. Manyala Ahmoza stands, bows, and hands over the wagered silver feather.