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The fiery flapper's wounds seem to heal a bit in the flames, as it lashes out at Amiri!
Amiri is able to fend off all three of its attacks, however.
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The remaining fires once again flare, singeing Amiri, and a rain of fire falls down onto Professor Whitegourd.
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Amiri furiously tries again to destroy the fiery flapper!
A hint of caution peeks through Amiri's rage and she backs off from the burning trees, ready to charge in again once she's caught her breath.
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The fiery creature remains in the flames, its wounds seemingly closed up by the heat of the blaze. It spouts something in a fiery tongue and flaps its wings ominously, and Amiri's head suddenly begins to ache!
The fire then flares up again, causing a burning rain to fall on...
...Professor Whitegourd!
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Amiri rushes forward and tries to stamp out the fire with her boots.
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Amazingly, Amiri is successful! Though the smoke linkers for a moment, a breeze eventually wafts it away. Taking its place is a white mist which seems to rise up from the ground around you, enveloping you as a gentle rain begins to fall. As the mist clears, you no longer see Urxehl's burning abyssal domain, but are instead back in a smoldering yet clearly natural bit of the Finadar Forest with no enemies in sight! A wooden mask lies at Amiri's feet, slightly charred and still smoking a bit, bearing a demonic visage. A short distance away you can see Urwal, tangled up in a thicket.
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Urwal continues to stare into the sky, not responding to Krellin. When the monk tears away the vines and sets Urwal back on clear ground, the Iruxi immediately begins walking forward once again.
Once allowed to continue wandering, Urwal continues on as if nothing has happened. The following morning, Urwals relentless wandering leads you to the base of a cliff wall, soaring some 60 feet up. The most striking feature of the wall are 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 the base, 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. He seems a natural climber, as is common with Iruxi, but is heading directly for the rotating sections, where he seems likely to get stuck.
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Working together, you’re able to identify a strategic place to direct the rope to attach itself and then knot for easy climbing. Taking your time and helping each other up the rope, you can get a better look at the rotating cylinders, each of which seem to have several faces, some blank, some with a single star, and some with a cluster of stars in a pattern. Urwal seems stymied by the cylinders, holding in place and in no danger of falling but unable to proceed.
Amiri scratches her head in confusion at the spinning wheels and climbs up after the rest of the party.
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When Urwal reaches the entryway sealed by the teeth-like portcullis, he tries idley to walk through the stone bars in his trance, predictably to no effect. After a few minutes of this, he collapses into a fitful sleep, after which he awakens and looks at you with an awareness you haven’t seen in days! ”I seem to be in one piece, so you have succeeded in your task, Pathfinders.”
After listening to a description of the situation, he climbs back down to the spinning rotors, immediately stopping them in a particular position. ”The Stargazer. The Stranger. Together they form the Forest Dragon.” When he arranges the two constellations together, a grinding noise near you draws your attention as the stone portcullis steadily opens to allow access to the passage beyond!
The cavern within spirals down from the top of the cliff, down far enough that it takes you below the cliff’s base underground. ”Though I have been your guide thus far, the journey has taxed me. You must lead from here.”
A subterranean pool lies within the cavern the opens before you at the end of the spiraling passage. A simple wooden boat sits at the edge of the motionless water, large enough to accommodate all five of your party. Amiri effortlessly paddles the boat forward, towards a structure at the far end of the pool where 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, and to ask a favor. I need protection for my forest after I pass.”
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Seeing that you have no immediate questions, 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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”Even for a mighty being such as yourself, time passes as the constellations move across the sky” Urwal says. ”The Society and our allies will do all that we can to protect your forest after you have passed beyond our horizon.”
”Very well.” The immense green dragon attempts to stand tall as she begins. “In the ancient days of the cyclopes, many of their kind fell into the worship of demons. These worshippers served the demon lord Urxehl, the master of storms and father of trolls. They attempted to summon Urxehl onto Golarion, but the coming of Earthfall stopped their efforts.”
The dragon wheezes for a few moments before continuing. “My ancestors guarded the Finadar Forest for ages, though the corruption that overcame me diverted my attention from the legacy of those demon worshippers. Your society’s stumbling into Min-Khadaim unleashed an ancient spirit—one instrumental in the rituals to summon forth Urxehl.
“This spirit now roams the world freely, possessing the body of one of your own. I have monitored this through one of my many relics, scrying the spirit’s actions as best I can. Though it hides the full extent of its schemes from me, I have caught glimpses of the body the spirit possesses. The body is known to you as Drandle Dreng.”
Urwal seems immediately startled by this revelation. Turning to you, he says quietly ”please keep this information to yourselves, for now. Dreng is well known in the Society, and this knowledge outs him as one of the Decemvirate.”
”I understand that Dreng is of some importance to you,” Jadirahx continues. ”Though his form seems to be entirely combined with that of the corrupting spirit, his will yet remains underneath. He cannot save himself, but take heart—he is not beyond rescue. To purge the demonic force, you must call upon the aid of a spiritbinder of considerable skill. I have seen the children of the godcallers of old walking these forests. Perhaps they can show you the way.”
Her message delivered, the dragon slumps to the ground, her imposing presence collapsing with her. ”Your journey takes you beyond our skies, guardian” Urwal says. We will do our part.” After a few more ragged breaths, the dragon lies still. ”Come” Urwal says to you. ”Our journey back begins.”
As you exit the cave, you see the trees nearby seem to have lost a portion of their vitality. Their boughs droop, their color paled; it seems whatever blight the dragon was containing is once again spreading. Urwal notes that this will take further study, but that now is not the time for it. Instead, you begin your long journey back. Though it is faster without having to guide Urwal, it still takes several days to return. Upon your arrival, Urwal immediately goes to confer with his fellow leaders, promising to contact you soon with a new mission to begin hunting down the possessed Dreng!