"Screech!" Silence bites at the centaur with his powerful jaws before launching himself into the air.
extra damage on the first hit.
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Rhaegal is taken off-guard by the centaurs' stampede, but the Dragon roars and flexes. "You have awakened The DRAGON!" The kobold's scales shift and bulge and the small kobold grows and elongates and comes to rest on all fours...like a dragon would!
But the kobold then begins growing sparse fur and no wings grow. The resulting beast seems to resemble more of a large scaly wolf! The wolf snarls and sniffs in frustration as it then tries to bite the closest centaur.
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First Brownie gets trampled and disappears from this odd place with a loud scream turning into shriek.
Then Xun is unable to dodge the big creatures. "Maybe if we would practice defense from a centaur charge it would do us better than bringing leashy over obstacles"
Xun ignores the enemies for a moment and begins to play. He first begin to match the chaotic and destructive rhythm of the burning forest but then changes the tune trying to remind the forest to go back to nature and not to be demon's servant.
Then he tries to inspire his allies to fight
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Zallarra moves back a bit and makes a rude gesture towards Blue...
At the start of each of your turns, the target can attempt another Will save, ending the effect on a success.
Success The target is unaffected.
Failure The condition's value is 1.
Critical Failure The condition's value is 2.
She then casts Guidance on Yngra...
Edit: DC 20 Will save for the Hex.
Zallarra gets overrun by a trample, and just as she's recovering, a flaming bolt hits her in the face. She casts a hex at Blue.
vs DC 20
Blue looks drained. Zallarra guides Yngra.
Yngra suddenly charges at Blue, guided by Zallarra.
Meadow manages to avoid the worst of the trample, but Silence is run through. Silence pecks in return, but doesn't understand four or six. Meadow fires three arrows, all missing.
Rhaegal dodges some of the trample, and wild shapes into a wolf. He bites at the closest centaur, but can't get through its tough hide.
Xun inspires his allies, and calls out a song. The song reverberates through the forest, and the flames waver; the forest returns to that of the true Findahar Forest.
Panarug gives Red the evil eye.
vs DC 19
Red is frightened.
The spiritual scimitar slashes true.
Red, trembling a little, draws a longsword. "Bow to Urxehl, and I will allow you a swift death."
It Strikes at Xun.
With a mighty blow, it strikes Xun down. It then steps up to Meadow, menacingly.
Blue also draws a longsword, but eschews the speech. It Strikes back at Yngra and Rhaegal.
vs Yngra
vs Rhaegal
It strikes a mighty blow at Yngra, and then nicks Rhaegal.
--Round 2
Meadow (-6 hp, hunted Red, magic weapon, IC 0/1) / Silence (-12 hp, IC 0/1)
--Round 3
Zallarra (-20 hp, IC 0/1)
Panarug (-12 hp, IC 0/1)
Rhaegal (-24 hp, wolf form, IC 0/1)
Yngra (-23 hp, IC 0/1)
Xun (-40 hp, IC 0/1, Dying 2) / Brownie (-22 hp)
Red Centaur (-25 hp, frightened 1/1)
Blue Centaur (-13 hp, drained 1)
Hazard
"Screech!" Silence swoops down into position and strikes.
extra damage on the first hit.
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Meadow cheers "Great job Silence. You're the best!" She grins evilly at her target. "Okay you big jerk. Take that!" The ranger fires two more arrows at the possesed centaur.
extra damage on the first hit.
"Ha! Look at him. He's scared. He's a scaredy cat clompstomper. Nyeah, nyeah." She sticks her tongue out at Tombu while holding her hands up by her ears and wiggling her fingers. How she manages to hold on to her bow is a mystery.
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Panarug seems to go into a trance as he starts to split his mind multi-ways. At one level, he maintains up a chant that keeps the spirit harrassing the further centaur/vermlek.
At the same time, another overlapping chanting keeps the ghostly scimitar slicing away.
Then, he starts yet another chant, sending yet another spirit to harass the other centaur/vermlek.
Zallarra heals Xun, and then guides Rhaegal. Rhaegal bites Blue and then takes cover.
Silence pecks Red in the neck, and then flies off. Meadow, much more adept with a taunt than with an arrow, fires two warning shots into the woods and stinging Red with mockery of his fright.
Panarug sustains Red's fright and the scimitar attack, but the attack misses. His eyes move independently as he gives a second creature the Evil Eye.
It is extremely unsettling, even to vermlek demons! Yngra runs up and smashes Red, while it's flanked, and smashes the centaur open. The inside shows that the centaurs are long dead - the vermleks have been wearing the centaur skin as a shell.
Xun gets up and, undaunted, continues singing.
Blue sees the tide of battle beginning to turn. Surrounded on all sides, it charges through Rhaegal and Panarug as it seeks to regroup with itself.
, Frightened DC 19 basic Reflex
--Round 3
Meadow (-6 hp, hunted Red, magic weapon, IC 0/3) / Silence (-12 hp, IC 0/3)
--Round 4
Zallarra (-20 hp, IC 0/3)
Panarug (-12 hp, Reflex vs -8 hp, IC 0/3)
Rhaegal (-24 hp, Reflex vs -8 hp, wolf form, IC 0/3, AC +2)
Yngra (-23 hp, IC 0/3)
Xun (-21 hp, IC 1/3, Dying 2, Wounded 1) / Brownie (-22 hp)
Red Centaur (-68 hp, frightened 1, Per -2 0/10, Will -2 0/10)
Blue Centaur (-20 hp, frightened 2, drained 1)
Hazard
Meadow puts an arrow right in the demon's throat , followed by a second that strikes it in the chest , and Rhaegal runs up and bites it in half .
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As Rhaegal howls over the two half-bodies of the Pathfinders' demonic foe, the forest reverts to its true self. Mist pours in and a gentle rain falls, leaving a smoldering yet natural stretch of Finadar Forest with no enemies in sight. The Pathfinders find Urwal nearby, caught in a thicket.
A smoldering demon mask on the forest floor is all that remains of the demiplane, having fallen through the tear in realities.
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Rhaegal recovers from his changed state and returns to his kobold form. He sniffs at himself and grimaces. "Ugh, mammal sweat glands too..." He sighs in disappointment but vows to continue to try and find a suitable dragon shape.
The kobold checks on Urwal to see if the ordeal with the demon has affected him at all. "Was that was he sensed? Or is it something else?"
Urwal is still marching towards something else; he seems entirely unaffected by the demons. The next morning, the Pathfinders arrive at a cliff.
The cliff wall soars upward some sixty feet, featuring sculpted, rotating cylindrical sections of stone that display carved images of constellation scenes of dragons. Along the edges of the cliff-face artwork, carved dragon heads loom, all in poses of gnashing teeth. Near the cliff’s top, some forty feet above, lies the entrance to what appears to be an enormous cave, its arched mouth similarly etched in decorative stone, though sealed behind a portcullis shaped like stony teeth. Urwal, still in his trance, begins to climb.
Silence bumps his head on Meadow's leg and hoots softky.
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Rhaegal looks up at the cliff in awe at the dragon carvings and sculptures. "If that's where he's headed, there's something draconic about this!" The kobold's eyes shine with excitement.
"I believe Urwal actually planned for this." He rummages around in his pack and pulls out the Greater Rope of Climbing he had given them.
Rhaegal ties an ordinary rope to it, and then points up to one of the dragon-carved stones at the top. "Tie yourself to that stone with the free end hanging down, please."
The Pathfinders remember the greater rope of climbing, but still need to locate a suitable anchor spot, and it's not easy to spot from ground level.
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Xun looks at the demon mask and walks towards it and picks it up. He put it on his face which at first looks a bit off, but very quickly it adapts to his features. His hat that he is carrying makes him change his look which makes him look like the mask is his new face, giving him even more demon-like features.
When they come to the wall and they see the cavern, Xun does not say anything he puts his backpack on the ground and looks up. Soon from his back, a pair of demon wings emerge and he flies off the ground towards the cavern...
Then he wakes up.
The next day he comes to the same wall that he saw in his dream. He is glad that he does not have to climb that...
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"I would think he is trying to get to the cave, but what about the spinning columns? Does anyone see if the symbols on them look like the same one he kept drawing?"
Yngra would watch the cylinders for a minute to see if Urwal's pattern comes around (if she can remember it well enough).
"If not, I still think it will be best if one or two of us head up ahead of Ural, and make sure that the top is clear before we let him climb up, himself. I will head up after Xun, and drop another rope. Tie it around Urwal, so that we can have a safety line in case he does not climb properly in his trance. We can do the same for anyone who is not confident they can climb the rope well."
Yngra will attempt to climb the anchored rope, and do as she's said.
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Meadow rummages through the pack that Urwal gave the party earlier and pulls out the climbing kit.
"I almost forgot about the climbing kit that Urwal gave us. I'll go next. I'll hammer in some pitons along the way so that if anyone falls they can catch themselves. Xun, you can hold on to Urwal while I climb."
She unties herself from Urwal and hands the rope to Xun, then pulls out some of the very sticky jam and appliies it to her hands and feet.
"I bet this jam can help me climb. It's soooo sticky."
She plays with the jam on her hands for a moment, touching things and slowly peeling her hands off of them before she finally begins to carefully ascend the cliff.
Silence awaits Meadow atop the cliff. He greets her with a loud cry as her head appears. "Screech!
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"Yeah, yeah, you beat me. Well don't just stand there gloating, smarty pants. Help me up." Meadow grins as she reaches the top.
The young archer leans over the edge of the cliff to call to her companions below.
"Okay I've set some rope and pitons in the cliff face. Yngra and I can help pull everyone up but make sure you use the ropes and pitons to secure yourselves periodically just in case you're too fat for us to lift and we drop you."
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Meadow guides the rope of climbinmg up to some kind of petrified chicken, and the group begins climbing up.
About 20 feet up the rockface is a section of wall adorned with rotating stone cylinders, each of which is decorated with constellations. Each cylinder turns to reveal different images: blank faces, single stars, or clusters of stars in patterns.
Urwal stops climbing the rope at this point, and stares blankly at the cylinders.
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"Urwal? Why are you stopping?"
Meadow's mouth forms an 'o' of sudden comprehension.
"Wait! I get it now. If we make the Stargazer and Stranger constellations overlap it makes The Forest Dragon. I bet that opens the gate. You know, because we're in the forest and this cave looks like a dragon's mouth."
She ponders for a moment.
"I can't figure out how the chicken comes into play though..."
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Rhaegal stares up at the carved cylinders. His eyes light up. "Dragon's Breath! Those are constellations from the Cosmic Caravan zodiac. And if you have the Stargazer and Stranger constellations overlap, they create the “The Forest Dragon”, a constellation from Tian Xia." He yips in excitement at the Dragon constellation.
"We need to get someone up there to turn them properly!" The kobold leaps onto the wall in excitement and begins changing shape. You instinctively think it will be a dragon, but the shape only grows more humanoid until it nearly becomes a caricature of one with long arms and a small head. As tufts of fur again sprout out, the ape-like Rhaegal easily begins climb up the face of the cliff. He comes up to where Urwal is facing the cylinders and begins turning them to create the Forest Dragon constellation.
As the Forest Dragon constellation begins to line up, a loud, metallic grinding noise can be heard. A portcullis near the top of the cliff opens.
The cave near the top of the cliff winds deep into the mountain, and then spirals down underground, leading to a large cavern.
As the Pathfinders enter the cavern, Urwal staggers out of his trance and blinks repeatedly. "We've ... we've arrived," he moans, exhausted. A subterranean pool lies inside, with a simple wooden boat that the Pathfinders use to go further into the lair.
Urwal paddles the boat towards a structure at the far end of the pool. An immense draconic form in dark green scales hunches in an immense stone entry chamber that opens up onto a rocky shore. Fungal blooms dot the massive form, while tears on the scales weep with a sickly violet liquid.
“You were almost too late.” The wounded dragon wheezes, barely able to raise her head. She sits on her legs, attempting to display some sense of majesty, despite her vicious wounds.
“I am Jadirahx, last of the guardians of the Finadar Forest, and I will not live much longer. I have required your presence so that I may impart my last wisdom onto you. Imparting this information will be my last act, taking all the strength I have.
In addition, I need protection for my forest after I pass - I will not leave my forest unguarded. I have watched you explore Min-Khadaim, and seen you disrupt the demon worshippers there. Will your Society care for the Finadar when I am gone?”
Urwal clears his throat before speaking softly. “I know of a ritual, one I learned in the Sodden Lands, that might manifest the corruption out of Jadirahx, but it brings great personal risk. If I perform it, you will need to slay the manifested corruptions that emerge ... or be slain by them. This will be in no way an easy battle, and you could easily lose your lives. In fact, I would be unable to assist you during such a struggle. I offer you a choice: do you choose to hear Jadirahx’s last words? Or do you want to take a deadly risk to save her?”
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Rhaegal's eyes go wide as he sees a real dragon in the flesh. Then his mouth drops open as he realizes it is dying. He scampers forward, kneeling before the mighty dragon. "Mighty Jadirahx! It is my greatest honor to be in your presence. I am your humble servant, Rhaegal. Forgive my weakened form. I endeavor to grow my might and learn from your great example!"
He raises his head to look Jadirahx in the eyes, trying to show that while he honors her, he is fierce in his own right. "Do you know what ails you, mighty Jadirahx? What is so foul that is can take the strength from a dragon?"
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Xun follows the others and looks amazed at the dragon. And at first, let Rhaegal speak.
He takes a step forwards and bow
"Be greeted oh mighty Jadirahx. We followed Urwal to whatever was calling us. And let me second what my friend Rhaegal said, we are humbled to be in your presence. If whatever happens to you we will take care of Finadar. Whatever happen I shall make your name immortal in a story."
Xun puts back his hat and puts on the demon mask that they found earlier. He turns towards his allies and says
"This is what I think...."
as his eyes shine with yellow light