Humble looks around. A less disciplined cleric might perhaps yawn, but he knows not to tempt fate; hubris is a kind of indulgence that the wise Kalistocrat would do well to avoid… that is, at least until the Golden Hour of victory has been signed, co-signed, witnessed, stamped, authenticated, certified, validated, notarized, and delivered!
Kyrie slams her shield through the ghost, momentarily disrupting its ectoplasmic form. When it reconstitutes itself, it seems less present, but it is still able to dodge her following strike.
The ghost on the other side of Kyrie tries to take advantage while her attention is focused on its partner. However, its ephemeral fists pound ineffectually against her armor. The memories of life chain him to the physics of the living. However, a wave of sand, brick, bone, and rusted iron rises in his frustration. The ghost opposite of Kyrie is caught in the poltergeist wave.
Restless Defenders! Round 3.
Kioko (159/160 hp) (immune to wail: black) (Will DC 25 vs. Frightened 2, CF = 3) (Basic Reflex DC 25 vs. 15 bludgeoning)
Humble (110/118 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (Basic Reflex DC 25 vs. 15 bludgeoning)
Ghost (black) (-8 hp)
Ghost (blue) (prey) (-58 hp)
Rakka (107/127 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (Basic Reflex DC 25 vs. 15 bludgeoning)
Kyrie (165/173 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (Basic Reflex DC 25 vs. 15 bludgeoning)
Ghost (yellow) (-2 hp)
Humble once again waits to see if people actually need healing.
[ooc]Damn, so close.[/dice]
Kioko follows her target around to the staircase.
Slashing, Deadly d8, Two-Hand d10, versatile P
Slashing, Agile, Deadly d8, Finesse, Uncommon, Versatile P
She returns her blades to their normal defensive position.
Slashing, Deadly d8, Two-Hand d10, versatile P
Kioko chases after her designated prey and tears through the ghost's physical manifestation with her katana. The following strike with her wakizashi disrupts the last of its cohesion, and the spirit returns to the ether.
The ghost on the sand with Rakka charges and makes a leaping high kick at the tengu. The ghost's foot collides with his face, but it is not the force of the blow that hurts. Rakka feels his life force being wrenched from his heart and out through where the ghost struck. He narrowly evades a falling elbow but more deftly side steps a jab.
Restless Defenders! Round 3.
Kioko (159/160 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (black) (-8 hp)
Humble (103/118 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Rakka (74/127 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Kyrie (165/173 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (Basic Reflex DC 25 vs. 15 bludgeoning)
Ghost (yellow) (-2 hp)
"Hrgh!" Rakka grunts in pain as the ghost connects, trying to fight off the draining sensation the blow brings. He grits his beak as he draws magical energy into his bow. Not having anyone to draw the ghost's attention, he fires an arrow point-blank into the spectral form, the shot wreathed in a spectral claw "Could use some help over here, Kioko!"
The pain of his wound throws off his concentration, and the quick shot clatters against the ground beside the ghost.
Humble finally springs into action! Warm yellow light, the color of old coins, shines forth as the cleric presents his golden key, washing over humanoids and ghosts alike.
Wealthy Father, allow me to make a withdrawal from your Holy Contingency Reserves! His halo flashes, empowering the spell.
Rakka's arrow slips off of the string just before he releases. Humble calls upon his god's power, and warm, golden light washes over the courtyard. Most everyone's wounds completely heal, though Rakka still feels a faint aching in his chest.
The ghosts lose some of their cohesion as the life energy burns away at their corrupted existence.
Restless Defenders! Round 3.
Kioko (160/160 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (black) (-30 hp)
Humble (118/118 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Rakka (121/127 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Kyrie (173/173 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (Basic Reflex DC 25 vs. 15 bludgeoning)
Ghost (yellow) (-24 hp)
Kyrie is much slower to dodge this time, taking the full brunt of the damage. She focuses instead on a flurry of attacks on the closest apparition.
The ghost dodges all but one of Kyrie's slams with her shield. However, one of her strikes tears away some of its ectoplasm.
The ghost beside her continues its assault, the corrupted will that traps the soul on the mortal plane is dogged in its drive to defend the temple and continues to strike against the steel bastion. Its fist punches a split in the shield, and the ectoplasmic monk's arm passes through and comes into contact with Kyrie. The knight feels her vital energy being leeched away.
Restless Defenders! Round 3.
Kioko (160/160 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (black) (-30 hp)
Humble (118/118 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Rakka (121/127 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Kyrie (142/173 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (shield -31 hp)
Ghost (yellow) (-37 hp)
With her first target down, Kioko casts her eyes around for another. She decides to join Rakka, first taking a good look at his opponent.
She darts over and strikes twice.
Slashing, Deadly d8, Two-Hand d10, versatile P
Slashing, Agile, Deadly d8, Finesse, Uncommon, Versatile P
Kioko's katana tears through the ghost, leaving two floating segments of the ethereal monk for a moment before the ectoplasm begins to knit itself back together. Her wakizashi draws a little bit of the ghost's form away as well.
The ghost throws a pair of blows each at Kioko and Rakka, but the two tengu manage to weave away from each strike in the warrior ghost's dangerous dance.
Restless Defenders! Round 3.
Kioko (160/160 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (black) (-68 hp; <50%) (prey)
Humble (118/118 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Rakka (121/127 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Kyrie (142/173 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (yellow) (-37 hp)
"Woof, that packed a punch!" Rakka calls back to Humble as he draws more magical essence toward himself. Timing his blow with Kioko's, his beak glows as he pecks at the ghost between them.
Humble decides to conserve resources, as even a lay on hands Ould overheat Kyrie. He moves into the room and ducks his Spellguard Shield, which is shaped like the Golden Focus.
Rakka's magicked arrow rips through the ghost's ectoplasm. The ethereal form of the monk is very faint.
Restless Defenders! Round 3.
Kioko (160/160 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (black) (-101 hp; <50%) (prey)
Humble (118/118 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue) (spell guard raised)
Rakka (121/127 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Kyrie (142/173 hp) (immune to wail: black, blue)
Ghost (yellow) (-37 hp)
Kyrie focuses all her attention on taking down the spirit next to her.
The ghostly monk engaged with Kyrie continues to press his furious assault. The knight of Lastwall is a true bastion. The ghost manages to find an opening, but Kyrie's experience with her shield allows her to shift fast enough to stop the damage.
In the end, however, the ghosts are dispersed, which gives you free reign to search the courtyard. Before you begin, however, both Humble and Kioko notice a halfling-sized shadowy figure withdraw from the western landing into the entry chamber and seems to vanish.
Ingdani begins to tell you a story that her grandfather told her. "There was a story about the Irorian monks on this island. A splinter sect from the temple came to believe that the true path to perfection required physical dominance over any and all. The sect was expelled from the monastery, but..."
The Broken Rebus
He tried to remember what he might know about them…
Ignoring the stealthy halfling or gnome for the time being, you continue your search of the courtyard. Ingdani continues her story uninterrupted. "...they returned once they had recruited and trained sufficient numbers to overthrow the other monks and their master. They called themselves the Broken Rebus. The battle was fierce and deadly. The monks defended the monastery with everything they had. The Broken Rebus was defeated, but the last few surviving Irorian monks died soon after from grievous wounds ."
Humble thinks Ingdani's story rings untrue, probably corrupted by hundreds of years of oral history. He recalls reading about a Minatan sect of Irorian monks called the Broken Rebus who studied mystical healing arts and taught that even the infirm could achieve perfection through rigorous training regimens and special diets.
Most of the things you find in the courtyard are weapons rusted beyond use. However, the Irorian iconography and artistry would make them valuable to a historical collector. There is a rune covered hook sword that shows no rust and a ceramic bottle, both of which are magical.
Kioko looks to Humble. "Should we follow after that shadow next?"
Indeed we should.
Humble pockets the tongues potion and, once everyone is healed, follows the shadow. (Rather, follows Kyrie who follows the Shadow :)
"What a strange sword" Rakka says, examining the weapon. With a shrug, he slings it over his back. "Maybe we can trade it for something more useful."
A series of paintings line the walls of this large chamber, depicting a faceless man undergoing various trials. The man wades through a river, balances atop a tall tree, and meditates amid a terrible storm. Several small tools and some partially eaten food lie in the room’s northern alcove, before a depiction of the faceless man picking a flower among a field of brambles. The western wall features a large pair of wooden doors; in the eastern wall is the open doorway through which you followed the shadow.
Kioko notices the indistinct outline of a two-foot tall humanoid crouching in the northern alcove amidst the tools.
Kioko quietly points out the figure to her friends, then she herself fades back into the shadows.
humble looks directly at the creture. [b}We see you. Come out.[/b]
Humble If they try to escape Humble will cast a Faerie Fire on the hidden creature.
A small rift in the material plane opens, and a diminutive, tan-skinned humanoid like a halfling dressed in a simple cotton loin cloth stained with paint or dye and a belt bearing a number of tools hops out. Through the rift, you briefly glimpse a small room full of hundreds of tools and a workbench. Though barefoot, he is more similar to a miniature adult Tian-Sing than a halfling.
"Wh-what are you d-d-doing here?" he asks with a combination of fear and protective defiance. "I-I h-have b-b-been wor-k-k-king here for y-y-years. This is m-my w-wonder."
"We have no wish to harm you, noble anugobu," Rakka replies. "We are here for a competition, and were attempting to make this place safe for the next few days."
"O-oh? Is th-that what all those f-folk in red and gold were ab-bout the other d-day?" the anugobu says, beginning to relax. "If y-you're here to get rid of the m-monsters, then h-have at it! My name is Ahmitar. If I can h-help you, just tell me how. I've been here for more than ten years."
Kyrie bows, folding her shield arm behind her back as a gesture of goodwill. ”I am Kyrie. I am called Breakspear. I am pleased to meet you. I could not ask you to fight for me if you are not a warrior. My duty as a paladin of Iomedae is to protect others so they can continue living lives of peace.”
Humble ignores Ahmitar for the moment and turns to Ingdani. He murmurs: Is the Tournament legally allowed to lend us this temple as temporary residence? Do they own it? Do they lease it from the anugobu people? For it seems as if this person may have an ownership claim — either by virtue of having called this island home for a long time, or Adverse Possession.
----
He turns a beatific smile on Ahmitar. I am Humble. If we clear this place of monsters, perhaps you will share this temple — is it yours? — while we stay on the island.
It is good you wish to help. There are many passive means of assistance. For example, you might tell us about the temple's layout or any interesting dangers you've found — either here in this particular temple or elsewhere on the island in general.
As it appears the person means no harm, Kioko comes out into the open and sheaths her blades to be polite, but she leaves the talking to her other friends.
Ingdani goes wide-eyed and speechless when confronted with legal questions. "Uh. It's been abandoned and considered cursed since the fearsome King Mogaru crossed the temporary land bridge that formed between Valashmi and the Minatan islands during the Arcadian tsunami in 4606."
"Oh! No. Yes, no, I wouldn't want to fight," Ahmitar says. "The temple isn't mine but I have chosen the wonderful murals as my wonderwork, so I have been working on restoring the temple to its original beauty for over a decade. And I'd be happy for the companionship."
He nods. "Oh. Yes! I can certainly tell you about this temple. Most of the rooms have ghosts in them of one sort or another, like the ones you fought in the courtyard. But the pond in the center of the temple has become home to a pugnacious beast with lots of horns and a horrible reek. Draws lots of flies. I don't know how they survive the smell. Oh. And the garden is full of ticks. All the other rooms are haunted."
"There are kitchens through the north exit from the courtyard," Ahmitar continues, clarifying. "The ghosts there toss everything around. East is the pond with the big, angry beast. The north tunnel leads to a old artifacts. There's a powerful ghost there who started to summon a great power, but I ran away before he unleashed it. To the south is a room full of colored sand. Ghosts form from the sand. They are very angry."
"East from the pond is a great big open courtyard. I guess there's no ghosts there. Nothing bothered me, at least. The north hall out of the big courtyard are the gardens, which are full of ticks." Ahmitar shivers and brushes invisible bugs from his arms with his hands. "The south tunnel leads to a room with a tree. Very pretty. But there's a powerful ghost. Very scary. She wanted forgiveness. I don't know what for, but my forgiveness wasn't it and she chased me out."
The anugobu seems to conclude and then adds one more thing. "Oh! The statue in the room all the way to the east. The room with the broken wall. That is not simply a statue. I don't know what it is, but I can tell there's something more to it."
Kyrie stays quiet as she mentally notes each of the descriptions, only speaking when she is sure their new friend has finished. ”I am happy to have such detailed information. As our wizened gnome friend says in the Knights of Lastwall, ‘Knowing is half the battle.’ He was never clear on what the other half is, but I guess it must be actually fighting. Which we can handle fine.”
Is this room safe?
Humble turns to his friends. None of these seem palatable options, but we are here to do work. Perhaps we should begin with the courtyard and avoid the gardens altogether.
Further, we have no need for kitchens. I can prepare — and in fact prefer to [url=https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=52]create food[/url; as it is pure from the extravagance of flavor which can lead one to overindulgence and wicked idleness. There is no need to deal with poltergeists.
Kioko face softens, and she says the most words in a row that you have ever heard from her.
"My job at home is to protect the Spirit Forest. That is normally from outsiders who would harm it. But it is sometimes from angry spirits. While we must often fight them, sometimes they can be appeased in other ways. Right some wrong from their lives. We should go see this spirit who seeks forgiveness."
"Agreed."
You part with Ahmitar in order to seek out the ghost by the tree, intrigued by the anugobu's description of its behavior. You cross the courtyard with the name-carved stone pagoda where you defeated the four ghosts. Cautiously, you enter the room with the reflecting pond, but you do not find any sign of the horned beast.
A small stone walkway lines the perimeter of this open‑air chamber. A sandy area in the center of the atrium surrounds a pond full of dark, dirty water. From the center of the pond rises a small stone structure with a wide, flat top. Large, open doorways lead to the north, south, east, and west.
You continue on through the doorway to the eat. Stray leaves and twigs dot the sand pit in the center of this oval, open-air area. Halls lead north and south; an open doorway to the east leads to a large shrine.
The southern hall is the path to the tree and the ghost.
A large and colorful eucalyptus tree stands at the center of this chamber, reaching toward the sky through a square window in the ceiling. An old skeleton lies slumped against the base of the tree, bones spotted with fallen peels of multicolored bark. Amid the bark scraps lies a single silver feather. A hallway to the north serves as entrance and exit from the chamber.
As soon as Kyrie steps into the room, ethereal wisps rise from the skeleton and coalesce into the form of a Tian-Sing woman. The ghost kneels on the ground and reaches out toward you as she cries in a slightly archaic Tien, "Forgive me! Please! I was wrong!"
Humble narrows his eyes, unmoved by the tragic figure. In Tien: What were you wrong about and why should it necessitate forgiveness?
The ghost beats her chest and reaches back out toward you as she cries, "Will you not forgive me!?" Ethereal fire burns in her eyes and an unfelt wind begins to whip her hair.
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Kyrie takes a step forward and kneels. ”How could I not forgive such a heartfelt cry? All is forgiven, now and forever.” She pulls the line from The White Knight and Her Bright Lady, one of her favorite knightly romances (in multiple respects).
The ghostly woman sits back on her heels and lowers her arms. Ectoplasmic tears trail down her translucent cheeks, and her hair settles. "I regret leading you astray. My pride blinded me. Our assault on the temple was wrong--morally and tactically--and I doomed you all. Thank you, for your forgiveness."
She lets out a long sigh of infinite regret.
Rakka moves forward, one hand held peacefully out in front. "This recent addition does not belong among the tableau of your remains. Please allow me to remove it for you." Unless the spirit objects or otherwise stops him, he picks up the feather.
Kioko nods her appreciation to Kyrie for talking down the spirit.
"Do you wish to tell us more? Why did you assault the temple?"
So, you led the assault the Broken Rebus here?
"Yes. I began the Broken Rebus movement. Foolishly, I came to believe that power was the pinnacle of perfection. I swayed many of my brothers and sisters to this way of thinking," the ghost says with a voice heavy with sadness. "The grand masters chastised us for our way. Rightly so, I now understand, but then I did not. I was too hungry on my path to power to see how it weakened the temple. In desperation, I led my fellows who I had convinced to my side to attack those who refused to see things our way. The result was the end of the temple and the death of my friends. We all perished before our names could be carved onto the pagoda of graduates."
She pauses as the ethereal tears begin anew. "Now I will be forever separated from my brothers and sisters."
What is your name?
Humble will tell what he knows. I think we should bury her. She should not have her name carved upon the pagoda of graduates, as she did not graduate.
"Kinnitri," she answers. "I am Kinnitir of Bonmu. A fool. A murderer. A woman full of regret."