Meadow will spend the remaining minutes using her red ribbon to tie some string beans or something other appropriate food to a few arrows. "I hate to use my fancy red ribbon to do this. Does anyone have some string?"
She will also head downstairs to speak to Jaima. "I don't suppose I could get one of your fancy invisibility spells that doesn't go away when you attack just before the monster appears could I?"
Tarcog offers Meadow some wire from his trap kit.
Seeing how far away from him Meadow has set up, Tarcog is forced to center the banner spell above himself.
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In the ritual room, Dr. Lazarus is sipping his brandy and taking notes in his writing pad. "Yes, dear lady, we're most certainly interested in learning the first 10 minutes of the un-tethering drill." He continues writing, as Jiudu explains what needs to be done.
While taking notes, the Doctor thinks back to his studies at the University, and muses aloud, "One of my favorite occult books, "Tether or Knot", discusses the topic at length. But it was all theory. It shall be fascinating to experience it in action." He savors another sip of brandy as he writes.
When it's time, Dr. Lazarus stows his writing pad and heads on deck. With his hammer in one hand, he finds one of the prepared dumplings and holds it in the other.
"But I wouldn't mind something to eat before the battle starts."
Hearing this, Amvolwatt quickly goes up on the aft deck and grabs several appetizers. He brings them down and offers them to Turiik.
“Remember to keep one for the Marrowkin!”
As he moves back into position, he pops a crab cake into his mouth. He still has a pork dumpling for the Marrowkin.
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After Jayma and Thurston learn part of the ritual, they make their way back on deck with a few minutes to spare before the arrival of the Morrowkin. When Meadow suggests casting Invisibility, Jayma nods. "I could cast Invisibility on everyone if need be, but it will deplete my magical resources substantially and I will not be as effective in the fight."
Jayma times the casting of the Invisibility spells so that they are complete just before the Morrowkin appears, and makes sure she has a dumpling in one hand, ready to offer it the creature.
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"Giving one to the enemy seems wasteful," Hunger grumbles petulantly. "It's for a good reason," Turiik reassures the spirit inside him.
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“Give them one of the pork ones, they aren’t as good as the seafood.” says the amphibious dragon.
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Provided at least one other person is staying visible, Tarcog tells Jayma that he and Amvolwatt do not need the spell.
The sun sets. Maika looks at all of you. "Ready?"
Rui takes cover behind a flipped over table on the aft deck. "I've been told the next event is a real showstopper..." He whispers in a terrified voice.
Maika starts counting aloud, holding up her fingers. "On the count of three!"
There's a flash and bang of fireworks in the sky, launched from the nearby luxury Dragonhead district. Startled by the sudden noise, Grandma Wu drops a copper cup of Phoenix Spirits, which clangs against the table, then the ground.
Maika shouts. "One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
Rui drops the platter of dumplings he was holding. "No, no, no!" he says, frantically trying to gather them up again.
A strange humanoid form with no distinct features appears on the dining deck, bathed in scintillating purple light. Images of haunted faces ripple slowly across its body. Though it has no mouth, it speaks as it raises its hands toward the guests. “We've come for your--"
As one, your readied actions go off as you offer pork dumplings to the Morrowkin. The nauseating snare explodes, and Meadow sends at least one dumpling tied to an arrow at it. Other dumplings bounce off the morrowkin as they are tossed at him.
Clutching its stomach, it tries to recapture the grandeur of its entrance and hisses, "--futures." He shakes himself. "So disgusting..."
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Dr. Lazarus realizes that the Morrowkin is endless. If reduced to 0 Hit Points or incapacitated for more than a few rounds, the morrowkin vanishes. In 1 minute, it reappears refreshed completely as if the previous battle never happened, with full HP, with all effects on it cleared, and with its Swallow Future ability ready to use again.
Without the Knife of Trouble Elimination, there is no way to truly defeat it in this loop.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Dr. Lazarus
Turiik
Tarcog + Amvolwatt
Morrowkin (sickened 6)
Meadow (invisible)
Silence
Jayma (invisible)
"If I am not holding it back from the ritual," Turiik says. "Then I will eat it!" Hunger roars as Turiik transforms into a polar bear with a blood stained mouth.
He bounds forward and snaps at the indistinct being's arm. Blue flames flare around his teeth.
+
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Dr. Lazarus graciously accepts a low-level Invisibility spell from the ever-resourceful sorceress. When the morrowkin appears, the Doctor lectures, "Alas my colleagues, it's worse than I feared. Even if we take it down, it'll reform fully healed. We'll ultimately need the Knife of Trouble Elimination."
From his temporarily invisible position, the Doctor calculates an attack strategy against the subject of his lead and hurls his hammer 3 times in succession.
+2 Striking Returning Flaming Cold Iron Grabthar's Hammer (w/ Stratagem) +KW bonus: 1d20 + 21 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 21 + 1 = 36
Amvolwatt moves up to the opposite side of the marrowkin from Turiik.
(deadly d8, finesse, magical),
Tarcog says “This should cool you off a little!” as he flings a ray of cold at the marrowkin.
CS: double damage and –10-foot status penalty to its Speeds for 1 round.
The party attacks, buoyed by the banner, invisibility spells, some kickass rolls and the morrowkin's sickened condition.
Turiik leads off with a crit! Then Dr. Lazarus follows up with a crit and two hits! Then Tarcog's ray of frost spell also crits!
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
It is the Morrowkin's turn. The morrowkin inhales and draws forth the future deeds of all creatures around it.
◈◈
" "
Then the Morrowkin strikes out with a claw at Turiik, but it is thrown off by its nausea and misses the barbarian.
◈
Amazingly, everyone within range of the Swallow Future succeeds at their will save for half damage and the Doomed 1 condition.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Dr. Lazarus does not get any information on the Morrowkin this round.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Dr. Lazarus (invisible, -23, doomed 1)
Turiik (-23, doomed 1)
Tarcog + Amvolwatt (-23, doomed 1)
Morrowkin (sickened 6, -177, -10 penalty to speed)
Meadow (invisible, -23, doomed 1)
Silence (30 feet up on mast)
Jayma (invisible)
Tarcog channels power into Amvolwatt as the dragon attacks.
Amvolwatt makes a flurry of attacks with his tail and finally his claw.
(agile, finesse, magical, trip, knockdown)
(agile, finesse, magical, trip, knockdown)
(deadly d8, finesse, magical),
He then causes the creature to fall prone!
(deadly d8, finesse, magical),
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Jayma sees the Morrowkin appear and prepares herself to be de-futured. She's pleasantly surprised to discover that the creature is too far away to touch her mind. "Ha! I may be out of your range, but you're not out of mine." Taking her chances by staying put, Jayma puts all her energies into her spell. She says, "Magic missiles meet mighty Morrowkin", and clapping her hands quickly nine times, sends nine bolts of force at her assailant.
Given the flank with Turiik, all three of Amvolwatt's strikes hit! Then Jayma hit with Magic Missiles galore!
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Dr. Lazarus (invisible, -23, doomed 1)
Turiik (-23, doomed 1)
Tarcog + Amvolwatt (-23, doomed 1)
Morrowkin (sickened 6, -278, prone)
Meadow (invisible, -23, doomed 1)
Silence (30 feet up on mast)
Jayma (invisible)
"Ha! We have him on the ropes, Silence! Go for his eyes!"
Meadow takes aim and calls her friend to assist.
"Now I will eat your future!" the polar bear roars before pouncing upon the fallen morrowkin.
+
+
+
"Screech!"
Silence issues a fierce battle cry and swoops down on his enemy.
damage on first hit.
The Morrowkin goes down!
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
And then begins a horrible slog where the whole party fights a fresh morrowkin, over and over, every minute. You slowly run out of spells during each iteration. During this time, you make a discovery about the hope talismans. The morrowkin is not able to drain potential from its victims with a hit if they are wearing hope talismans.
After the third time you bring him down, you watch Maika grab Hwarang and whisper something in his ear, handing him a note. He says, "Wait. Really?"
She pulls out paperwork from her silk sleeve, his eyes widen and he runs down the stairs. She turns to Meadow. "You are going to hate me for this, but it's the only way to save them. They're both on their last loop. If the Morrowkin slays them again, they're GONE."
A few minutes later, Fa and Kuen run back up the stairs and say, "Immunity?"
Maika nods, and they throw knives unerringly at Grandma Wu and Tai Fong, each knife hitting an older diner unerringly in the eye. The bodies fall to the ground, bleeding out.
Rui screams.
Panting and limping, the polar bear growls, "I could have held it for the rit--" He slumps over onto his side and shifts back to Turiik in a flurry of snow. He rises unsteadily to his feet. "We can prolong our cycles by killing each other?"
Meadow's jaw drops in astonishment as she stares at Maika. "Wait. Really? You're a cop? How long have you been after those guys and what did they do?"
"You have Hope Talismans, and so have partial protection," Maika says. "They're staff," she says pointing to Rui, Banjau, Hwarang, Fa and Kuen. "The Morrowkin just kills them rather than eating them, so they can keep drawing diners. Do you know how many times I have cycled through? How many diners have disappeared? How many times I arranged to die rather than get eaten? Until you came through, I'd lost hope."
She shows her paperwork to Meadow. "I'm Assistant Magistrate Li Maika, Goka office. I originally came on this boat to track down Fa and Kuen... They assassinated one of my sources, and I was pissed. Still am pissed, actually. But that was many loops ago. I don't remember how I found the talisman, but I've been in a living nightmare ever since."
“Sorry, but it seems we will need one more loop. Keep hope in your hearts, we know what we have to do to end this and have now proven we are strong enough to fight it.”
Creatures wearing a hope talisman are unaffected.
around it. All creatures within a 30-foot emanation of the morrowkin take 6d8+18 mental damage and must attempt a DC 39 Will save. The morrowkin can’t Swallow Future again for 1 minute.
Creatures wearing hope talismans can choose to let their hope talisman break in order to ignore the effectmafter seeing the result of their Will save.
Critical Success The creature takes no damage.
Success The creature takes half damage and is doomed 1.
Failure The creature takes full damage and is doomed 2.
Critical Failure The creature takes double damage and becomes doomed 4 (likely causing it to die immediately).
She shows her paperwork to Meadow. "I'm Assistant Magistrate Li Maika, Goka office. I originally came on this boat to track down Fa and Kuen... They assassinated one of my sources, and I was pissed. Still am pissed, actually. But that was many loops ago. I don't remember how I found the talisman, but I've been in a living nightmare ever since."
"So they really were assassins. I kinda thought everyone was just exaggerating."
A somber Meadow looks at the bodies of Grandma Wu and Tai Fong. She covers each with a tablecloth then turns to Maika, her eyes just beginning to tear up. "I don't hate you for that. It's obvious now that without the knife we can't kill the morrowkin for good. Grandma Wu and Tai Fong both seemed pretty depressed earlier and I was afraid they wouldn't survive another loop. I actually thought about killing them myself after the monster came back a third time but I couldn't quite make myself do it then. I'm kind of relieved that your assassins did the job instead. We'll just have to finish that monster off properly next time."
The young ranger gasps as a thought strikes her. "What about you though? Are we gonna hafta kill you too?"
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“Keep hope in your hearts...”
Meadow fingers her talisman. "Or keep it attached to your armor."
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Dr. Lazarus is about to devise another attack plan for the morrowkin, when the group very-capably takes it down. For the moment.
However, he is very concerned when Fa and Kuen come up on deck. "Be alert my dear colleagues. I don't believe they're here to deliver the next course." The Doctor immediately turns his attention to Fa, the subject of one of his leads, and devises a plan. Just in case.
When the assassins throw their knives at the diners, Dr. Lazarus doesn't hesitate. He flings his hammer at Fa.
+2 Striking Returning Flaming Cold Iron Grabthar's Hammer (w/ Stratagem) +Banner: 1d20 + 21 +1 ⇒ (14) + 21 + 1 = 36
The Doctor is about to hurl his hammer again, when he hears Meadow and Maika chatting about police work. And about Maika saving the diners. Indicating the staff, he asks Maika, "How much do they know about these time loops?" He grips his hammer tightly, not trusting the assassins, but holds his ground. For now.
Fa roars as the hammer hits, all trace of servile cook gone. "Now your cop flunky attacks us!"
This begins an ill-advised fight with the assassins where they slay Maika first and that continues until a fresh Morrowkin arrives to finish you all off.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
The ramp leads to the main deck of the boat, where guests are taking their seats at opulent darkwood tables and chairs with intricate carvings. An amethyst geode flickers as a middle-aged man with a bushy salt-and-pepper beard makes his way to the entrance, adjusting his maroon robes. “Welcome to the Golden Fortune! I've never -- oh, wait. I do know you from somewhere. We've met before, but where?" Rui looks at you with wonder and relief. "Well, wherever we met, I'm so glad you came for my opening night! I'm the host and owner of this fine restaurant. Please, let me find you a seat so you can prepare for the finest dinner experience in all Goka!”
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"I barely got to eat anything but morrowkin flesh last time," Hunger grumbles quite audibly. Turiik's voice then says, "Jayma, maybe you could quickly explain what's going on to Rui while someone else finds Maika?"
“Yes, we simply must speak to Jiudu as soon as possible Rui.”
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Dr. Lazarus suggests, "Perhaps the Knife is back in the storeroom where we found it. I'd be happy to get it and meet you all in Jiuda's room." He rubs his chin in thought and adds, "Of course, if our cook friends remember our little ... misunderstanding ... they might not be happy to see me. But I'm willing to risk it."
Unless someone stops him, Lazarus starts to make his way below deck to the storeroom.
"I'm here," says Maika. As Banjau comes by with a tray of tea, Maika grabs a cup and says, "Let's go. We have one hour and seven minutes."
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Jayma nods wearily to Turiik and Tarcog before heading over to talk to Rui. "My dear Rui, you may not remember us, but this is not the first time we've enjoyed your hospitality on this boat. Let me tell you all about it..." She then proceeds to fill him in on everything that's happened and will happen again. She tells him that she knows about Jiudu and the rituals; about the flaw that summoned the Morrowkin; and the kind of havoc it's been wreaking over multiple time loops...
"... So you can see why we do not have a moment to waste. We must get the knife from the storeroom and calm down Jiudu's ghost in the private dining room so that we can complete the Knife of Trouble Elimination ritual. Without it, we cannot banish the Morrowkin permanently and break the endless cycle of death. Will you help us? Oh, and bring your beautiful geode pendant with you. I suspect we'll be needing it."
Turning to Thurston, she says, "Doctor, there will be time to play with your new cook friends after we're done with the knife ritual. I think it would be best if you took Rui with you to get the knife so that we do not waste any unnecessary time."
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As Dr. Lazarus is about to head below deck, he hears Jayma's familiar lilting voice charming the good Captain. Realizing the futility of arguing with the beguiling sorceress, he stops and nods, "As you wish, my dear Jayma. By all means, let's do what you wanna do." He grins, knowing that it's definitely a better plan than the Doctor risking trouble with the chefs.
He waits for Rui and the others.
Knowing what is coming, both Tarcog and Amvolwatt grab a cup of tea from the tray as well. They follow the others below deck.
Tai Fong beams at Amvolwatt and then whispers to Grandma Wu, "We have a dragon on board. They're very good luck."
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
Meanwhile, Rui pales. "The ritual gone wrong? Jiudu dead?" He looks shaken to his core, but walks with you down the stairs like a man in shock.
As you pass the kitchen, Fa and Kuen look up suspiciously. "Honorable employer, what brings this unexpected visit? We are but humble chefs, working on your banquet."
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Meadow immediately heads to Maika. "Okay we have him this time. Jayma and the Professor will get the magical knife working properly and then we'll totally be able to finish off the monster. Keep up with the countdown and when this is all over we'll help you capture your friend's killers so he can rest in peace."
She gets Banjau's attention. "Excuse me. I'd like a chrisamumumum...chrisanaton...chrisamulum..chrissamama...green tea please. Dang it! I still can't say it right."
After taking a few sips of her tea she spots the geode still in it's place and shakes her head. "Absent-minded professor. Hey Silence. Why don't you keep watch on the mast again?" She grabs the geode and takes it downstairs to Dr. Lazarus.
On the way she manages to resist the urge to give Grandma Wu a big hug. Instead she just pats the older woman on the shoulder. "There'll be better luck this time around."
Tarcog and Amvolwatt stop in front of the door to the lower decks dining room. There they start chanting in stereo “Little chick, grow your wings and be strong.”
They look at each other, then decide to do it again a little louder. “”
Nodding in satisfaction, they take up positions on either side of the door waiting as Jayma retrieves the knife.
Tarcog asks “Will we want the copy of the book to reference as we do this?” pointing towards Rui’s office.
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While Rui and Thurston go find the knife, Jayma grabs the ritual book from Rui's office and joins Tarcog and Amvolwatt outside the door to the private dining room.
As all three chant "Little chick, grow your wings and be strong," Jayma opens the door and finds Jiudu in the same place as before. Holding up her hands, she repeats the key phrase one more time and then adds, "Jiudu, we know its you. We know the ritual went wrong and that the Morrowkin killed you. We mean you no harm. We're here to help you, but we need your help in finishing the Knife of Trouble Elimination ritual."
Once Rui opens the locked door, Jiudu's white eyes turn brown again when you speak the "Little chick" phrase. "Ah, yes. It's you, and I'm myself again. Do you have the Knife of Trouble Elimination?"
Meanwhile, Rui and Dr. Lazarus move on to the storage room. "Where do you think the knife is?" asks Rui to Dr. Lazarus.
Dr. Lazarus pulls the knife from its crate, and they both return to the dining room with the blade.
"Excellent," Jiudu says. "Let's begin. We'll need a drop of blood, and then someone needs to focus on one the four magical traditions.
Occultism works best." She gestures for you all to join the circle, and begins chanting, after laying a ghostly hand on each of the people nearest her.
Ever the curious one, Tarcog asks “Does it matter who’s blood is used?”
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Upon finding the Knife of Trouble Elimination, Dr. Lazarus returns to the ritual room. He rummages through his book bag, finds an old dusty tome, and holds it up high, "My colleagues, this is a rare edition of the occult book, "Tether or Knot" that I mentioned earlier." After reviewing a few things, Dr. Lazarus is ready to help with the ritual, with a little aid from his favorite sorceress.
As Jiudu arranges the group in a circle, Dr. Lazarus points out, "Madam, for best results, should we not orient ourselves along the points of an inscribed pentagram?" After adjusting a couple people, who were no doubt perfectly fine where they were, the Doctor joins Jiudu in chanting.