Dot and delete at your convenience.
Bdu
You’re in Absalom, the mighty City at the Center of the World, and you’ve always longed to explore one of the countless ruins of failed conquerors that litter the plains outside the city’s walls. You’ve heard rumors this morning that one of the sealed siege castles has been laid open by a minor earthquake! Word on the street is that no one has yet entered the tower, which folks are calling the “Fallen Fortress”.
It's obviously too dangerous to go it alone, but you notice a few other adventures like yourself assembling in the common room of the tavern to plan an expedition. Well, what better way to start a life of excitement and adventure than by exploring the long-abandoned, dusty halls of the "Fallen Fortress" and perhaps claiming its ancient treasures?
|
Nuwa, a half-elf that obviously has cultural origins in Tian Xia, looks at the other Pathfinders in the room with a warm smile.
"Greetings to you all, I am Nuwa! May I ask if you are also the Pathfinders that were sent here by their mentors to investigate this 'Fallen Fortress'? Zaarah Katsu sent me here! I really have to admit ... I am absolutely intrigued by the mission!!!" she says with genuine interest.
She moves towards you and walks with slow steps and it is obvious that this gracile and beautiful woman knows her worth.
Her traditionally cut dark hair in Tien fashion looks like it has been recently perfumed and she has a flower in her hair.
She is wearing a Lamellar leather armor and also carries a backpack.
“I have never been in a fortress like this before! But you all might have some experience with such adventures?“ she asks.
|
A stooped mwangi male looks up at the half-elf. He is as ugly as the woman is beautiful - his flesh melted as though it were wax. His silver eyes gaze intently at Nuwa before he speaks in a dry, flat voice.
"I am Swarm. Father sent me. I am to be a Pathfinder. The Fallen Fortress no doubt holds many useful relics. Do you desire relics?"
A cockroach crawls across Swarm's face. Swarm opens his mouth and the insect crawls inside. Spiders weave webs amongst his tattered robes.
|
Upon hearing the exotic looking woman and the insect-eating male speak of Pathfinder mentors, a cloaked figure sitting at the bar, with a bow slung over his shoulder and a wicked looking curved blade sheathed across his back, slams back his mug, finishing off his ale. He approaches the couple, pulls back his hood to reveal sharp Elven facial features along with long stark white hair.
After a curt bow, he murmurs, ”Beleg Strongbow, at your service…I suppose you can call me Beleg. My teacher, Venture-Captain Flyndyngylyn, sent me here to meet with you…whether I’m to be a Pathfinder or not is yet to be determined. Master Flyn said this’d be a good ‘test’ to see if I was cut out for this life; we shall see…”
|
|
Nuwa looks at Swarm with fascination.
“Ehh … Swarm-San it is a pleasure. You … eat bugs? Delicious?“ she asks with genuine interest.
She then bows to Beleg.
“Beleg-San, also a pleasure to meet you! And sorry! Yes, yes, of course we are not pathfinders yet but I’m sooooooo excited!!“ Nuwa says clapping her hands.
“So where do you come from?!?“ she asks.
|
"Fascinating." A bearded man is the last to enter the room, carefully leaning his staff against the wall before turning to the other occupants. He watches the cockroach crawl into another man's ear, then continues in a brisk, crisp voice. "But irrelevant. I have been tasked with accompanying the three of you on your first expedition with the Pathfinder Society. Introductions are in order. You may address me Bry-Anne." He nods to the three other agents. "This will be my second mission with the Society. I hope it runs as smoothly as the first."
|
|
Nuwa’s eyes go wide when she hears that Bry-Anne already had a mission!
”Bry-Anne-Sama, oh you have to tell us what the mission was about and … “ Nuwa is about to continue addressing the Magus when a flash of bright light startles her and something appears right next to the beautiful half-elf.
A rune of fine pure light that looks like a serpentine creature with an elven face appears on Nuwa’s forehead!
The light reveals a large portal which lets you look into a silvery-grey void …
… and out of this void steps a 6 ft large Lillend Azata with a serpentine tail of deep green scales and the body of an elven woman!
The serpentine Azata also bears a glowing rune on its arm that is identical to the rune that appeared on Nuwa’s forehead when the celestial creature appeared.
(Link to Aoa’s picture in serpentine form)
“Wha … what?! Really bad timing Nuwa!!“ she says agitated.
After you provision yourselves, you strike out to make your Pathfinder mentors proud. It is a journey of only a few hours from the city’s walls to the Cairnlands, where the Fallen Fortress lies open for exploration.
The ruined siege castle now being called the Fallen Fortress rises out of the churned earth of the Cairnlands. No doors or windows mar the otherwise smooth expanse of the tower’s walls. The tower is quatrefoil in plan; its eastern wing has largely collapsed, exposing the interior floors to the open air. Only the topmost level seems whole, though its eastern portion hangs precariously over the mountain of rubble left by the collapse. At ground level, the rubble frames a gaping hole in the side of the building that provides access to the tower’s darkened interior.
Aoa looks at the rubble and her serpentine form climbs up the rubble.
"You owe me for this Nuwa ... and your friends, too! I am only a shadow of my true glory in this realm! Look at my limb wings ... I cannot even fly with them!" Aoa, the Lillend Azata, says a little agitated.
|
|
Nuwa bows to the serpentine elven celestial.
"We are bound to each other and there must be a reason for that Aoa-Sama. So please all mighty Azata accept your fate. I know that I can only siphon a fraction of your power to my side but I am eternally thankful for your guidance and support Aoa-Sama!" Nuwa says with true gratitude.
|
|
Several large beetles emerge from Swarm's ears and mouth. Perching on his head, they appear to fix the azata with oddly synchronised stares as the melted man comments: "I owe you nothing, eidolon. You are a mere shade, as you recognise, and are bound to Nuwa here. Your protestations are futile, and in the end, both you and Nuwa will turn to dust."
Swarm loads his crossbow and looks towards the tower's opening.
|
|
"I owe you nothing, eidolon. You are a mere shade, as you recognise, and are bound to Nuwa here. Your protestations are futile, and in the end, both you and Nuwa will turn to dust."
"An outsider's essence does indeed discorporate upon their death, but such creatures do not decay into what we would qualify as dust," Bry-Anne corrects briskly. "They also do not age, unlike mortals such as ourselves, so there is no guarantee of their death. Your statement is false." He folds his arms and nods with satisfaction as Aoa ascends the broken tower wall.
|
|
Swarm laughs: a dry, hollow sound accompanied by an echoing drone from the creatures that inhabit him.
"Do you think your flesh will be spared when the One comes? It matters not whether you issued from an outer plane or this earth. Even the gods fear the coming of the One. All flesh, mortal and divine alike, shall wither away, and only the blessed machines shall remain."
Aoa is watching you all and listens but the conversation clearly seems to hurt.
She then looks away.
|
|
Nuwa lowers her voice so that Aoa who went up the hill can’t hear but Swarm and Bry-Anne can.
“Please be a little considerate regarding Aoa. Well, I’m not a planar expert but I know something about religion … and I can only tell you that I called Aoa into my own soul from the Astral Plane where dead souls travel and not whatever plane Azata’s come from. I always thought something happened to her but she doesn’t talk about it!!!“
She then looks a little confused at Swarm and then Bry-Anne and Beleg.
“Ehh … and whose this ‘the One’ that we’re talking about? Did I miss something or is this is insider information?“ she says crossing her arms.
As the fledgling Pathfinders discuss the nature of the eidolon's soul, or facsimile thereof, their conversation is disrupted. From behind the debris of the fallen mortar, a small pack of feral canines growls aggressively. While normally a group the party's size may be able to run the dogs with ease, you don't think yelling will be enough to deter them. Ribs are clearly seen under the skin, a telltale sign of their desperate starvation.
Round 1 Bold may act
Swarm
Aoa
Dogs
Nuwa
Bry-Anne
Beleg
Without saying a word, Aoa moves forward and simultanously draws her sling. She then shoots at the dog nearest to her.
|
|
Swarm is about to explain something to Nuwa when the pack of mangey dogs appear. His attention turns to the mutts and he steps to one side to get a clear shot.
At the last moment, a beetle crawls from Swarm's hand behind the crossbow's trigger - resulting in a crushed beetle instead of a skewered dog.
Swarm's errant bolt shatters into the stone wall of the castle.
Aoa skips a rock off the head of the lead mongrel. In turn, the pack snarls as they move as one toward the eidolon. Claws dig into the loose rubble as they charge up the hill of debris.
Both lunge at the winged guardian.
Round 1 Bold may act
Swarm
Aoa AoO Pending
BLUE
RED
YELLOW
Nuwa
Bry-Anne
Beleg
The map can be found on Slide #3
Aoa sees the injured dog opening up and uses her tail to slap the dog!
|
|
Bry-Anne circles around the rubble, careful to not twist his ankle on any loose stones. Once he has a clear firing line to the canines, he stops. One hand rises, precisely inscribes a simple amalgamation of circles and lines, points towards the slowest dog. The mage speaks a single word, and a sizzling orb of green liquid shoots from the symbol hanging in the air and arcs into the fray.
Aoa lashes out with her tail, crushing the rib cage of the pack leader.
Without filthy insects and other vermin crawling around her as a distraction, Nuwa's shot is true. The sinks deep into the cur's chest, piercing it's heart. With a yip, it somersaults to a stop.
Bry-Anne hustles forward in order to get a clear view of the slower dog. However, by the time he reaches his new position, that beast has been slain. Instead, he incants a brief spell and launches a small green sphere at the remaining mutt. Fearing he might accidentally hit the faux-azata, the ball of acid flies harmlessly behind his target.
Round 1 Bold may act
Swarm
Aoa
YELLOW
Nuwa
Bry-Anne
Beleg
Aoa sees the last dog and again uses her tail to slap the dog!
Beleg moves forward as the azata's tail crashes into the remaining dog. It yelps in pain as its tail tucks between its legs. In panicked confusion, it looks around for a place to flee.
Round 2 Bold may act
Swarm
Aoa
YELLOW
Nuwa
Bry-Anne
Beleg
The dogs turns away rom Aoa and limps down the small mound of rubble. It is clear there is no fight left it its heart.
Aoa does not hurt the dog anymore!
“Let us continue. Nobody is hurt!“
She loads her sling and moves up further.
The dog slinks off; perhaps to lick its wounds. Perhaps to die. Meanwhile, Beleg makes a circuit around the structure. Oddly enough, he finds no tracks worthy of mention, not even the dogs who just attacked them. He does notice several cracks crisscrossing the outer wall, but no other entrances into the tower. The tower stands 80 feet tall and its exterior walls are amazingly smooth.
He slowly makes his way to join Aoa entrance to a recently exposed interior chamber. Together, they peer into the windowless room.
The northern wing of the tower seems to have escaped the worst effects of the collapse, but rubble still litters the floor and everything is covered in a thick layer of stone dust. Thick cobwebs cloak the ceiling and hang down the walls like gossamer tapestries. A single archway stands open in the southwest wall. It is still and quiet.
Aoa enters and specifically watches the webs.
She tries to move to the next door.
Initiative
As Aoa enters the room, her instincts tell her to keep a close eye on the thick, silk curtain. Just as she scans the northwest corner of the room, the eidolon spies a large black mass. That allows her to see, and more importantly, avoid, a thick ball of webbing. Aoa twists her torso, allowing the missile to thud into the wall next to her. A spider the size of a man crawls silently from the depths of its funnel-shaped web.
The thick webbing makes it difficult for the team to see the arachnid clearly, despite it's size.
Round 1 Bold may act.
Swarm
Beleg
Spider
Bry-Anne
Nuwa
Aoa
Bolt and arrow both fly true. However, this is no ordinary spider. With a raspy hiss, it emerges from the web. The loud clicks of its legs tapping stone echo throughout the chamber. The dog-sized arachnid scrambles along the ceiling and launches a web.
A tendril of silk slams into Swarm.
Round 1 Bold may act.
Swarm .
Beleg
Spider
Bry-Anne
Nuwa
Aoa
Aoa snarls when Nuwa orders her to get back but the glowing on her body lights up and without saying a word, Aoa shoots at the spider with her sling and then retreats.
|
|
Bry-Anne carefully picks his way over the rocks and stones. "Passing through on your left," he states as he slides past Beleg into the room. Taking up a defensive position near Nuwa, he spins his staff slowly. "It is unfortunate that vermin such as this cannot be reasoned with," he states matter-of-factly. Again he precisely marks the sigils in the air to conjure an acidic orb of liquid.