Batman bashes the creature and lays hands on Sylva, rousing her. Ravenna’s healing bullets further bolster the rogue as she gets up and kicks the kareq hard in the face! Its carapace cracks and it falls!
Sir Batman looks down at Nox'stil, but stable form.
I need to pray for 10 minutes before I can heal him.
The bronze-colored sprite grins.
Who has the sharpee?
Sylva says, “Oh, I can’t leave the old fart sprawled like that with Hildy puppy-eye-staring at him.”
"Wasn't sure that would work," Ravenna says, sitting down beside Sylva and Nox. She takes in a deep breath and holds it for a moment before relasing. "You alright?"
Sylva nods as she continues her healing, massaging herself.
“That monster sure took a kicking and kept on ticking. I think I’ll be okay in a bit.”
[ooc]I believe Sir Bat could LoH Nox and Sylva to full HP after half an hour or so, so they will probably be immune to Meds next post-combat… unless we need another heal-fest.
Nox’s hearing slowly returns as you tend to your wounds. Once everybody is healthy again, you make your way up the tower. Several stories of catwalks connected by staircases ascend the inside of the tower in seemingly random geometric patterns. Thirty-five feet above the ground floor, the stairs end in yet another five-foot-wide ledge circling the inside of the tower, this one leading through archways to continue on the tower’s exterior. Beyond this level, the staircase and catwalk continue partway around the northern side of the tower’s exterior, leading up to the top.
Smooth, three-foot-tall battlements surround the Offering Spire’s flat top. In the center of the stone floor, an engraved circle depicts interwoven vines and esoteric runes. On the eastern side, a horn of living fungus grows up out of the stone, its hollow stalk starting as a small mouthpiece and growing larger as it encircles itself and ends in a large trumpetlike bell. A nest of sticks and bones fills the roof’s northeastern corner.
Roosting in the nest is a falcon-headed sphinx! The creature is extremely hostile, though, and as soon as it notices you, it rises up with a shriek!
Sylva ▶️sneaks back a few feet (5’), ▶️hides behind Revenna and ▶️takes cover.
As Sylva wisely retreats, the sphinx pounces on Batman! It scores a critical hit, nearly eviscerating the champion with its beak! Batman barely manages to fend off its follow up attacks!
Ravenna, already starting to raise her rifle at the sight of the bones, pivots and fires a flaming bullet right into the bird's torso, then backs away from it as fast as she can.
“Hey! Creature! Leave that bat alone!”
Sylva ▶️moves in for the (eventual?) kill!
Absently kicking the insect-like creature, as he Lay on Hands his friends, Refocuses, kicks, Lays on Hands.....kick!
When everyone is whole and strutting about, the Champion takes the lead as they continue their quest. Blue eyes roaming about and over the Several stories of catwalks connected by staircases ascend(ing) the inside of the tower in seemingly random geometric patterns, the bronze-colored sprite smiles in appreciation of the symmetry and architecture.
We should do our hideout like this.
Rounding to the top of the sprite spiral, Sir Batman glances about. His eyes stray over the nest a few times before landing on the hostile sphinx!
Oh s#%$!
Before the not-so-smiling sprite can even s#!+ his greaves, the sounds of tearing and ripping and stretching and disemboweling is heard across the valley!
Wide-eyed, bronze hands roaming furiously all over his now red colored form, the Champion of Mazludeh flips the bird The Bird!
Ha! I still stand! Barely a scratch!
Raising his Shield, Striding into the beast's square, the sprite flutters up to Shield Boss its big (bloody) beak!
Suddenly feeling like someone just goosed him, Sir Batman turns his blue eyes to Nox and grins!
As Nox heals Batman, Ravenna shoots the sphinx with a fiery bullet. This seems to be a mistake, however, as the fire causes a glowing glyph to appear in front of the sphinx. The glyph’s magic infuses the creature with great haste!
The gunslinger reloads with beastbane bullets as she helps Batman land a solid blow. Sylva moves to flank, pummeling the sphinx. The creature continues to attack Batman with suoernatural speed, ripping with beak and claws!
Sir Batman does Broadway proud in his death scene.
Is the Academy watching?
Sylva keeps the sphinx occupied while the others do whatever they gotta do. Once Ravenna snd Nox have acted, Sylva stops dancing and strikes!
If Sir Bat is up, Sylva is is ready to Take Cover under his shield!
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Nox calls out to the forces that be once again weaving a spell that will allow Batman to stand and fight. A potentially scary sprawl of tendrils errupt from the knight as if pulling at him like puppet strings. He then thunks of a risky plan to use his magic to help drive off the creature or at least slow it down again.
"We may need to retreat for now!"
Sir Batman blinks.
That was not cool!
The Champion of Mazduleh gives a bronze-colored thumbs up to Nox, Raises his Shield grabs his Shield, Stands, and attempts to Shield Boss the bully in the face!
re-enters his Stance.
Got'em right where we want'em!
"Come on, come on...." Ravenna mutters, trying not to let her worry for Batman throw her aim off too much.
Ravenna grazes the sphinx again, but this time the wound festers with poison. Batman returns and misses, but provides Sylva with a flank and allows her to land two sneak attacks. Badly wounded. The sphinx takes flight and flees from the tower!
Several seconds later, you see its flight path become unsteady. In the distance, the beast plummets out of the air as the poison finishes it off. It crashes down into the forest below.
Anyone who searches the sphinx’s nest finds the gnawed bones of a lashunta, as well as a +1 striking short sword with an obsidian inlay of a serpent.
Now that the tower is secure, you may complete the summoning ritual at your leisure. When you lower the ropes, their Oatia guides below tie on the sacks of fruit, which you can then hoist up and spread out in the demarcated circle. All that’s left then is to blow the Sporehorn.
Sylva worlds her nonmagical magic on the bronze bat.
“Don’t worry about revenge. That animal will think twice befo… oh.
“Hee hee hee—” she giggles! *Snort!* She pauses her healing hands as her eyes follow the plummeting beast.
“Oh, that was… that was perfect.”
Sir Batman claps as he watches the mean bird fall from the sky. He turns to Revanna.
Something special about that last shot?
Smiling at all the attention from Sylva, Sir Batman also Lay on Hands anyone else, although he suspects only his bronze butt got pelted!
his bronze butt got pelted!
“Okay… um… turn over. I’m a medical professional…”
Once Batman is in tiptop shape, you blow the Sporehorn! As you blow the bizarre horn, it releases not only a surprisingly deep, mournful tone, but also bright orange spores that explode from the horn’s bell cap.
Nothing happens. For several minutes, nothing comtinues to happen.
At last, a low rumble, like a peal of distant thunder, shakes the tower. To the east, the jungle canopy seems to rise up and crest like a wave. The surge resolves itself into a titanic, quadrupedal body made of the jungle itself, a form either made of plants or encrusted so thickly that no flesh can be seen. The foliage on the creature’s back is thinner, and her head is crowned with a knot of trees around a glimmering freshwater spring, barely visible through a protective ring of glacial ice.
She Who Walks Through Seasons approaches quickly but stops 20 feet short of the tower and opens a whale-like mouth of tree roots and moss. At this cue, the flocks of birds following her descend on the tower in a flurry, working together to pluck up the offerings and carry it into her waiting maw.
This is your chance!
The way Sylva sails through the air begs the question, isn’t she a wingless?
She lands gracefully on She Who Walks, and swings a rope to the others!
You swing over onto She Who Walks' forested flank, then easily climb up through the dense tangle of vegetation towards the behemoth's spine. A long, narrow strip of grass runs down the length of it, forming a temperate valley between imposing walls of glacial ice. The grassy glen is studded with small, gnarled trees bearing fruit of all different types.
Suddenly, three colorful creatures burst forth from their hiding places! These small, turtle-like humanoids are mottled with bright colors. They have wavering antennae and bulging eyes that rotate independently of each other. The tops of their heads feature bowl-like depressions filled with clear, clean water. They angrily shout at you via telepathy.
"Trespassers! You are unworthy of the bounty of our Mother!"
"Blasphemers! We Who Defend shall protect the Mother's sacred waters!"
"For great justice!"
As the creatures approach, they each pull one of their arms. The opposing arm shrinks to little more than a hand extending from their shell, while the first arm stretches to give them reach! They stop ten feet away from Batman, slashing at him!
Sylva rolls in for the attack, striking a ninja turtle who is NOT in the middle.
Aaaaaand while her roll might get her into the melee unscathed, her opponent will be unscathed too.
Sir Batman finishes up the healing processes with a gr8n.
I feel great! Nothing like that has ever happened before! I swear it! Just a fluke! Betting odds it happening again are large!
At the approach of She Who Walks, the bronze-colored sprite smiles wider.
Look how beautiful and inviting! That must be the safest and the joystick of places to be!
Once everyone is safely aboard, the smiling bat seems to be enjoying the ambiance.
Perhaps, we should vacation here. Nothing has ever felt safer!
Then the thing happens!
Noooooooo.....
Ravenna blinks in surprise at the bizarre appearance of these...water headed...turtles, but the brutal beating they lay on Batman stirs her into action.
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Noooo....oh, wait! I am still standing! Sweet!
Sir Batman enters his Stance, Raises his Shield, and Strides into whichever one Sylva is Sneak attacking.
Are you not entertained!
Ravenna recognizes these creatures as Castrovel’s version of kappas. Usually found in Tian Xia on Golarion, kappas are mischievous creatures that live in and near water. Water from a kappa's home lake, stream, or river fills their head bowls, which are believed to be the source of their strength. Younger kappa are easily tricked into bowing and accidentally emptying the water out of their own head bowls. Losing this water makes the kappa lethargic. The longer a kappa's head bowl remains empty, the weaker they grow.
Ravenna shoots one, but Sylva misses with her attacks. The kappas continue to flail at Batman, shrieking telepathic threats! Batman manages to fend off all their attacks with his shield!
Sylva admires the Bronze Bat’s resilience and that he’s still standing! “Or are you just taking the hits to earn another massage?”
She focuses on her foes, “Take THIS!”
She does a crazy upside down spin kick that makes her dizzy and miss a lot.
Sir Batman smiles. The Champion of Mazludeh Raises his Shield, Shield bosses it to the turtle face and then Lay's on Hands himself.
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Nox reaches out to the, not red Kappa and touches it. "Now you stop fighting right now!"
Regret eats away at the target's mind, punishing it for its violence until it ceases its hostility. The target must attempt a Will save.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success At the end of its next turn, the target takes 1d8 damage per different creature it intentionally damaged on that turn (1d8 if it damaged one creature, 2d8 if it damaged two different creatures, and so on). The maximum is 4d8 if it damaged 4 different creatures.
Failure As success, except the curse damages the target at the end of each of its turns and lasts until the target spends a complete round without intentionally damaging another creature.
Critical Failure As success, except the curse damages the target at the end of each of its turns and lasts until the target spends 24 hours atoning for its perceived sins.
He then gives Hildy a light tap in the belly and manuvers away from the scuffle hoping his magic does the job.
"Kappas!" Ravenna shouts, raising her jezail for another shot. "It sounds ridiculous, but try and knock the water out of their heads!" She fires twice more in quick succession.
Ravenna shoots the red kappa twice, then Sylva and Batman team up to take it down! Nox afflicts the blue kappa with regret, but it's not enough to stop it from attacking Batman, scoring a critical hit! The yellow kappa claws the champion as well and he goes down!
Sylva says, “One way to dump the water is to knock the guys down! Can somebody wake up my flank buddy?”
Sir Batman's bronze-colored face erupts into a grin, as the Champion and the Rogue finish off the first ninja turtle!
Now that was good team....s!++!
And the bat has left the building!
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A cool feeling like when one stands under the shade overcomes the fallen bat-sprite, but it's not as powerful as what had happened before when Nox urged him to heal.
The mounted sprite hums in worry for a moment, "Uh-uh You should really bow to an opponent you defeat otherwise they'll keep rising up, also it's very rude! So bow.. please."
Sir Batman blinks his blue eyes. The bronze-colored sprite frowns.
This is getting to be a bad habit!
Picking up his Shield, the he Stands back up, and Shield bosses the ninja turtle in the kneecap!
"Get away from him!" Ravenna shouts, putting a perfectly placed shot right into the kappa's face.
Ravenna fires a shot into the yellow kappa’s face, blowing a hole in it! As it falls, Batman gets back up to menace the blue kappa. Sylva slips in behind it and kicks it three times, knocking it out! You have emerged victorious.
Sylva raises both arms triumphantly as she knocks out her foe.
And suddenly she feels something wet and smelly rain upon her. The yellow kappa topples over, sans a face. She tries to maintain dignity. A big person’s brain weighs three pounds. I probably caught like two-and-a-half of them.
Sylva slowly lowers her arms. And her head.
Sir Batman smiles as his bronze colored sprite face is covered in turleshell soup!
The Champion of Mazludeh then calmly begins to Lay on Hands those injured, himself lastly.
Sir Batman glances at the form of a gourd of sacred fruit liquor hidden in its shell. The spirits were brewed from the spring water and fruits of She Who Walks.
Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop drinking.
Once you have healed up, you continue along the path to She Who Walks’s headwaters. A ring of trees, their leaves flickering through vibrant colors, surrounds a bubbling pool fogged with fragrant steam. Jets of boiling water occasionally burst from the water’s surface. The pond is pungent with the scent of eucalyptus and other plant oils.