The Pathfinders dedicate this round to patching each other up.
Round 3 - bolded may go
Blue
Featherwit (-11 HP, wounded 1, stupefied 1, prone)
Yellow (-25 HP)
Elfino (-2 HP)
Bun Bun (-5 HP, stupefied 1, Will save)
Ulrich
Green
Red
Mrs. Crinkle
Jyllian (-9 HP)
With effort, Bun Bun manages to cast his spell.
Ulrick helps surround Yellow and slashes it once.
Red turns to Mrs. Crinkle, the only meal left in range.
Round 3 - bolded may go
Blue
Featherwit (-11 HP, wounded 1, stupefied 1, prone)
Yellow (-32 HP)
Elfino (-2 HP)
Bun Bun (-5 HP, stupefied 1)
Ulrich
Green
Red
Mrs. Crinkle (-3 HP, Will save)
Jyllian (-9 HP)
Jyllian does, in fact, make Yellow super dead.
Mrs. Crinkle, confused, has trouble finding the right place to put her teeth.
Round 4 - bolded may go
Blue
Featherwit (-11 HP, wounded 1, stupefied 1, prone)
Yellow
Elfino (-2 HP)
Bun Bun (-5 HP, stupefied 1)
Ulrich
Green
Red
Mrs. Crinkle (-3 HP, stupefied 1)
Jyllian (-9 HP)
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"Suffering psychopomps," Featherwit groans as Elfino revives her. "That'll teach me to insult family, no matter how remotely distant." She grabs her ichor-covered rapier and rolls to her feet with gritted teeth.
Quickly taking stock of the situation, she wisely stays put where she is, but pulls out a juggling pin and begins flipping it end over end in her off hand as she watches her allies surround the remaining voidworm.
There isn't even a red one after Ulrich and Elfino tag team it.
Featherwit (-11 HP, wounded 1)
Elfino (-2 HP)
Bun Bun (-5 HP)
Mrs. Crinkle (-3 HP)
Jyllian (-9 HP)
After the battle, Tels tries to hand you some equipment while he looks at you in the mirror, and thanks to the chaotic influence of the voidworms, it works! You receive a low-grade cold iron short sword.
After the battle is over, the students decide to report back to the main hall to share the techniques with their classmates and report on the
condition of the chaperones.
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Featherwit sighs in relief when the last protean goes down, and takes a moment to carefully clean her rapier before putting her weapons away and pulling out a potion to drink. "I haven't been in this much pain since a dinosaur nearly bit me in two last spring."
"Aaah, that's better. If and when we finally get home from this mission, I am getting thoroughly, stinking drunk to thank Cayden that I survived it," she promises herself as she follows the children back to the main hall. She climbs onto a couch to rest while she listens to their conversation.
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Elfino pulls out his medical supplies and gets to work patching everyone up. "I tink dat's all de class assignments completed, but we still 'ave ta figure out de whole failsafe thin'. We'll need ta find de foci n Armeline’s chamber before we can restore reality. Dere seems ta be plenty of de lodge left ta search, so de sooner we get ta it de betta."
Jyllian finds that shoving herself against the door does not open it, but she passes through with the same feeling of resistance as before.
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Featherwit sighs in relief when the last protean goes down, and takes a moment to carefully clean her rapier before putting her weapons away and pulling out a potion to drink. "I haven't been in this much pain since a dinosaur nearly bit me in two last spring."
t's a story I want to hear!" Mrs. Crinkle declares as she shrinks back to her normal form and begins dressing herself again. "Over drinks, of course. All stories are better with booze. --Ooops! Hope the kiddies couldn't read my lips for that one! Heehee!"
"Aaah, that's better. If and when we finally get home from this mission, I am getting thoroughly, stinking drunk to thank Cayden that I survived it," she promises herself as she follows the children back to the main hall.
"Ooo, I knew I'd like you! You know how to have a good time. First round's on me! Heehee!"
When Jyllian strides through the next door, Mrs. Crinkle bustles along after her.
The Pathfinders heal up and shove themselves through the door into the southwestern room.
Like the rest of the building, the conference room is deserted. Sheets of notes on the table detail efforts by the staff at the Woodsedge Lodge to stabilize the Maze of the Open Road after recent incidents during which the Maze unexpectedly connected to strange destinations.
On the table, among a pile of various records of Lodge business, you find a note in Venture-Captain Jirneau's handwriting.
The Pathfinders heal up and shove themselves through the door into the southwestern room.
Like the rest of the building, the conference room is deserted. Sheets of notes on the table detail efforts by the staff at the Woodsedge Lodge to stabilize the Maze of the Open Road after recent incidents during which the Maze unexpectedly connected to strange destinations.
On the table, among a pile of various records of Lodge business, you find a note in Venture-Captain Jirneau's handwriting.
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Jyllian leans over the table to read the note. "Hey, here are the foci they were talking about! Pitcher of water, steel shield, lodestone. Lodestone is in her quarters. I love a woman who plans."
She reaches over her shoulder and grabs the as yet unused shield on her back. "I got the shield. We can probably get the water in the kitchen. Just need to find her quarters and we can get out of this ridiculous whereverweare."
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"Well, so much for my theory about randomly appearing objects," Featherwit replies with a shrug--which she immediately regrets, given her very recently healed wounds.
"I'll check the kitchen for a pitcher." She's pretty sure the danger in that room is past, so only hesitates for a heartbeast before stepping through the door that leads there.
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Elfino also examines the note over Jyllian's shoulder. "Dere is sum question as ta whether we can manipulate de foci ourselves or whether we will need ta recruit de students ta 'elp us."
"If our personal shields dunna do de trick, den we can prolly pick one up at de battleground. I presume de kitchen contains a jug of water. Dat leaves de lodestone ta find, which means findin' de Venture-Captain's quarters. I spect it's upstairs. Let's finish up our search of de downstairs n den see whut awaits us upstairs."
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Jyllian leans over the table to read the note. "Hey, here are the foci they were talking about! Pitcher of water, steel shield, lodestone. Lodestone is in her quarters. I love a woman who plans."
"Well, if she was really good at planning, she'd keep all three things together in an easy to access place, along with a second set of instructions. Though I suppose locked doors won't make much difference to us until this is fixed. Heehee!"
The little room north of the kitchen is a pantry. There are a water barrel and pitcher among the items stored here, neither of which you can interact with.
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The little room north of the kitchen is a pantry. There are a water barrel and pitcher among the items stored here, neither of which you can interact with.
Professor Bun Bun makes several attempts to lift the pitcher, even going so far as to pretend to give up and turn to walk away before suddenly turning back and pouncing on it as if to catch it by surprise. Once it is clear that any attempt will fail he turns to the group.
"It theemth ath though we will need to enlitht the aththithtanthe of the thtudentth in order to perform thith ritual."
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"Hmmm, well, that gets complicated then. Did anyone see another shield in the rooms? Can we get the kids to get some water? Or should we find everything before trying to herd the kids?"
"Wathn't there a shield in the armory? I thought I thaw one." He shrugs. "Admittedly I wath a little woothy from thtuffing lothth tho I could eathily be mithtaken."
There was indeed a shield in the armory, so you know (mostly) where the items you need are. Now it's just a matter of getting them.
The Pathfinders now must figure out how - and where - to obtain the lodestone.
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"No you kiddies behave yourselves well enough that no one gets seriously hurt while we're gone. Buh-byyyeee!" Mrs. Crinkle might as well be talking to the Pathfinders for all the good her warning does for the students. Giggling at her own humor, she bustles back into the corridor to catch up with Elfino and the rest of the group.
The Pathfinders push themselves through the door to the north.
This quiet courtyard is open to the sky above. A cobblestone pathway winds its way between carefully tended topiaries and past a burbling fountain.
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Elfino looks about the courtyard and sees nothing of interest. "Dis ain't de right place."
He moves onto the next set of doors with Jyllian and looks them over.
There is absolutely nothing odd about the courtyard. At least, nothing that isn't true about the rest of the lodge.
Weapon racks and suits of armor on display stands line the walls of this well-stocked armory. Several weapons are laid out on the table, along with whetstones and oil clothes. The items are disordered, as if people were using them and disappeared suddenly. There are other shields here, in case something happens to the one you have.